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diff --git a/44969-8.txt b/44969-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 378ebbb..0000000 --- a/44969-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,53196 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The English and Scottish Popular Ballads -(Volume I of 5), by Various - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: The English and Scottish Popular Ballads (Volume I of 5) - -Author: Various - -Editor: Francis James Child - -Release Date: February 20, 2014 [EBook #44969] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISH, SCOTTISH BALLADS, VOL I *** - - - - -Produced by Simon Gardner, Katherine Ward, Alicia Williams, -David T. Jones and the Online Distributed Proofreading -Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - -Transcriber's Notes - -This book contains material in multiple languages, and numerous examples -of archaic, non-standard and dialect forms of English. Therefore no -attempts to standardize spelling would be appropriate. The only changes -to the text are to resolve typographical errors etc. which are listed at -the end of the book. Minor corrections to format or punctuation have -been made without comment. - -This Plain Text version of the e-book has been prepared using the -Latin-1 (ISO-8859-1) character set. The following substitutions have -been made to represent other characters and diacritics: - - [=a] macron - [)a] [)i] breve - [/c] [/n] [/s] [/w] acute accent - [vC] [vc] [ve] [vR] [vr] [vS] [vs] [vz] caron/hacek - [gh] yogh - [/l] l with stroke (Polish etc.) - [OE] [oe] oe-ligature - [s,] cedilla - [+] cross symbol - -[a'] and ['s] denote editorial insertions of contracted forms, not -special characters: e.g. on page 299 [a'] is an editorial insertion of -"a'" (for "all"); on page 309 ['s] is an editorial insertion of "'s" -(for "has"?). - - _underscore symbols_ represent italic typeface - ~tilde symbols~ represent roman typeface within italics - ALL CAPS represent small caps typeface - #number signs# represent bold typeface - $dollar symbols$ represent gesperrt (s p a c e d o u t) text - ^x or ^{x, y} represents superscript text - _x or _{xyz} represents subscript text - [Gk: ... ] indicates Greek script - -Bold mark-up is widely used to denote the distinctive font used by the -author for ballad version references. - -Some sections of ballads are set in differently sized type and indicated -in the introductions. Usually this is smaller type, but in the case of -ballad 39, larger. These passages are indicated by means of further -indentation and side-lining (|) in the left margin. Ballad 53 versions M -and N are entirely in smaller type, but without explanation. - -Footnotes have been numbered from [1] to [427] sequentially throughout -the whole book, but are presented at the end of each ballad or section -to which they refer. - -A line of 7 spaced dots indicates a missing line of poetry. A line of 7 -spaced asterisks indicates missing poetry material of one or more -stanzas; this is distinct from a "thought break" or sub-section -separator of 5 widely spaced asterisks such as follow these notes. - - * * * * * - - - - - THE ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH - POPULAR BALLADS - -[Illustration] - - THE - ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH - POPULAR BALLADS - - EDITED BY - FRANCIS JAMES CHILD - - - IN FIVE VOLUMES - - VOLUME I - - - NEW YORK - DOVER PUBLICATIONS, INC. - - This Dover edition, first published in 1965, is an - unabridged and unaltered republication of the work - originally published by Houghton, Mifflin and Company, as - follows: - - Vol. I--Part I, 1882; Part II, 1884 - Vol. II--Part III, 1885; Part IV, 1886 - Vol. III--Part V, 1888; Part VI, 1889 - Vol. IV--Part VII, 1890; Part VIII, 1892 - Vol. V--Part IX, 1894; Part X, 1898. - - This edition also contains as an appendix to Part X an - essay by Walter Morris Hart entitled "Professor Child and - the Ballad," reprinted _in toto_ from Vol. XXI, No. 4, - 1906 [New Series Vol. XIV, No. 4] of the _Publications of - the Modern Language Association of America_. - - - _Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 65-24347_ - - Manufactured in the United States of America - - Dover Publications, Inc. - 180 Varick Street - New York, N.Y. 10014 - - - _To_ - _FREDERICK J. FURNIVALL, ESQ._ - _OF LONDON_ - -_MY DEAR FURNIVALL_: - -_Without the Percy MS. no one would pretend to make a collection of the -English Ballads, and but for you that manuscript would still, I think, -be beyond reach of man, yet exposed to destructive chances. Through your -exertions and personal sacrifices, directly, the famous and precious -folio has been printed; and, indirectly, in consequence of the same, it -has been transferred to a place where it is safe, and open to -inspection. This is only one of a hundred reasons which I have for -asking you to accept the dedication of this book from_ - - _Your grateful friend and fellow-student_, - _F. J. CHILD._ - - _Cambridge, Mass., December 1, 1882._ - - - - -ADVERTISEMENT TO PART I - -NUMBERS 1-28 - - -It was my wish not to begin to print The English and Scottish Popular -Ballads until this unrestricted title should be justified by my having -at command every valuable copy of every known ballad. A continuous -effort to accomplish this object has been making for some nine or ten -years, and many have joined in it. By correspondence, and by an -extensive diffusion of printed circulars, I have tried to stimulate -collection from tradition in Scotland, Canada, and the United States, -and no becoming means has been left unemployed to obtain possession of -unsunned treasures locked up in writing. The gathering from tradition -has been, as ought perhaps to have been foreseen at this late day, -meagre, and generally of indifferent quality. Materials in the hands of -former editors have, in some cases, been lost beyond recovery, and very -probably have lighted fires, like that large cantle of the Percy -manuscript, _maxime deflendus_! Access to several manuscript collections -has not yet been secured. But what is still lacking is believed to bear -no great proportion to what is in hand, and may soon come in, besides: -meanwhile, the uncertainties of the world forbid a longer delay to -publish so much as has been got together. - -Of hitherto unused materials, much the most important is a large -collection of ballads made by Motherwell. For leave to take a copy of -this I am deeply indebted to the present possessor, Mr Malcolm Colquhoun -Thomson, of Glasgow, who even allowed the manuscript to be sent to -London, and to be retained several months, for my accommodation. Mr J. -Wylie Guild, of Glasgow, also permitted the use of a note-book of -Motherwell's which supplements the great manuscript, and this my -unwearied friend, Mr James Barclay Murdoch, to whose solicitation I owe -both, himself transcribed with the most scrupulous accuracy. No other -good office, asked or unasked, has Mr Murdoch spared. - -Next in extent to the Motherwell collections come those of the late Mr -Kinloch. These he freely placed at my disposal, and Mr William Macmath, -of Edinburgh, made during Mr Kinloch's life an exquisite copy of the -larger part of them, enriched with notes from Mr Kinloch's papers, and -sent it to me across the water. After Mr Kinloch's death his collections -were acquired by Harvard College Library, still through the agency of Mr -Macmath, who has from the beginning rendered a highly valued assistance, -not less by his suggestions and communications than by his zealous -mediation. - -No Scottish ballads are superior in kind to those recited in the last -century by Mrs Brown, of Falkland. Of these there are, or were, three -sets. One formerly owned by Robert Jamieson, the fullest of the three, -was lent me, to keep as long as I required, by my honored friend the -late Mr David Laing, who also secured for me copies of several ballads -of Mrs Brown which are found in an Abbotsford manuscript, and gave me a -transcript of the Glenriddell manuscript. The two others were written -down for William Tytler and Alexander Fraser Tytler respectively, the -former of these consisting of a portion of the Jamieson texts revised. -These having for some time been lost sight of, Miss Mary Fraser Tytler, -with a graciousness which I have reason to believe hereditary in the -name, made search for them, recovered the one which had been obtained by -Lord Woodhouselee, and copied it for me with her own hand. The same lady -furnished me with another collection which had been made by a member of -the family. - -For later transcriptions from Scottish tradition I am indebted to Mr J. -F. Campbell of Islay, whose edition and rendering of the racy West -Highland Tales is marked by the rarest appreciation of the popular -genius; to Mrs A. F. Murison, formerly of Old Deer, who undertook a -quest for ballads in her native place on my behalf; to Mr Alexander -Laing, of Newburgh-upon-Tay; to Mr James Gibb, of Joppa, who has given -me a full score; to Mr David Louden, of Morham, Haddington; to the late -Dr John Hill Burton and Miss Ella Burton; to Dr Thomas Davidson. - -The late Mr Robert White, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, allowed me to look -through his collections in 1873, and subsequently made me a copy of such -things as I needed, and his ready kindness has been continued by Mrs -Andrews, his sister, and by Miss Andrews, his niece, who has taken a -great deal of trouble on my account. - -In the south of the mother-island my reliance has, of necessity, been -chiefly upon libraries. The British Museum possesses, besides early -copies of some of the older ballads, the Percy MS., Herd's MSS and -Buchan's, and the Roxburgh broadsides. The library of the University of -Cambridge affords one or two things of first-rate importance, and for -these I am beholden to the accomplished librarian, Mr Henry Bradshaw, -and to Professor Skeat. I have also to thank the Rev. F. Gunton, Dean, -and the other authorities of Magdalen College, Cambridge, for permitting -collations of Pepys ballads, most obligingly made for me by Mr Arthur S. -B. Miller. Many things were required from the Bodleian library, and -these were looked out for me, and scrupulously copied or collated, by Mr -George Parker. - -Texts of traditional ballads have been communicated to me in America by -Mr W. W. Newell, of New York, who is soon to give us an interesting -collection of Children's Games traditional in America; by Dr Huntington, -Bishop of Central New York; Mr G. C. Mahon, of Ann Arbor, Michigan; Miss -Margaret Reburn, of New Albion, Iowa; Miss Perine, of Baltimore; Mrs -Augustus Lowell, Mrs L. F. Wesselhoeft, Mrs. Edward Atkinson, of Boston; -Mrs Cushing, of Cambridge; Miss Ellen Marston, of New Bedford; Mrs -Moncrieff, of London, Ontario. - -Acknowledgments not well despatched in a phrase are due to many others -who have promoted my objects: to Mr Furnivall, for doing for me -everything which I could have done for myself had I lived in England; to -that master of old songs and music, Mr William Chappell, very specially; -to Mr J. Payne Collier; Mr Norval Clyne, of Aberdeen; Mr Alexander -Young, of Glasgow; Mr Arthur Laurenson, of Lerwick, Shetland; Mr J. -Burrell Curtis, of Edinburgh; Dr Vigfusson, of Oxford; Professor Edward -Arber, of Birmingham; the Rev. J. Percival, Mr Francis Fry, Mr J. F. -Nicholls, of Bristol; Professor George Stephens, of Copenhagen; Mr R. -Bergström, of the Royal Library, Stockholm; Mr W. R. S. Ralston, Mr -William Henry Husk, Miss Lucy Toulmin Smith, Mr A. F. Murison, of -London; Professor Sophocles; Mr W. G. Medlicott, of Longmeadow; to Mr M. -Heilprin, of New York, Mme de Maltchycé, of Boston, and Rabbi Dr Cohn, -for indispensable translations from Polish and Hungarian; to Mr James -Russell Lowell, Minister of the United States at London; to Professor -Charles Eliot Norton, for such "pains and benefits" as I could ask only -of a life-long friend. - -In the editing of these ballads I have closely followed the plan of -Grundtvig's Old Popular Ballads of Denmark, a work which will be prized -highest by those who have used it most, and which leaves nothing to be -desired but its completion. The author is as much at home in English as -in Danish tradition, and whenever he takes up a ballad which is common -to both nations nothing remains to be done but to supply what has come -to light since the time of his writing. But besides the assistance which -I have derived from his book, I have enjoyed the advantage of Professor -Grundtvig's criticism and advice, and have received from him unprinted -Danish texts, and other aid in many ways. - -Such further explanations as to the plan and conduct of the work as may -be desirable can be more conveniently given by and by. I may say here -that textual points which may seem to be neglected will be considered in -an intended Glossary, with which will be given a full account of -Sources, and such indexes of Titles and Matters as will make it easy to -find everything that the book may contain. - -With renewed thanks to all helpers, and helpers' helpers, I would invoke -the largest coöperation for the correction of errors and the supplying -of deficiencies. To forestall a misunderstanding which has often -occurred, I beg to say that every traditional version of a popular -ballad is desired, no matter how many texts of the same may have been -printed already. - - F. J. CHILD. - - [DECEMBER, 1882.] - - - - -ADVERTISEMENT TO PART II - -NUMBERS 29-53 - - -I have again to express my obligations and my gratitude to many who have -aided in the collecting and editing of these Ballads. - -To Sir Hugh Hume Campbell, for the use of two considerable manuscript -volumes of Scottish Ballads. - -To Mr Allardyce, of Edinburgh, for a copy of the Skene Ballads, and for -a generous permission to print such as I required, in advance of a -possible publication on his part. - -To Mr Mansfield, of Edinburgh, for the use of the Pitcairn manuscripts. - -To Mrs Robertson, for the use of Note-Books of the late Dr Joseph -Robertson, and to Mr Murdoch, of Glasgow, Mr Lugton, of Kelso, Mrs -Alexander Forbes, of Edinburgh, and Messrs G. L. Kittredge and G. M. -Richardson, former students of Harvard College, for various -communications. - -To Dr Reinhold Köhler's unrivalled knowledge of popular fiction, and his -equal liberality, I am indebted for valuable notes, which will be found -in the Additions at the end of this volume. - -The help of my friend Dr Theodor Vetter has enabled me to explore -portions of the Slavic ballad-field which otherwise must have been -neglected. - -Professors D. Silvan Evans, John Rhys, Paul Meyer, and T. Frederick -Crane have lent me a ready assistance in literary emergencies. - -The interest and coöperation of Mr Furnivall and Mr Macmath have been -continued to me without stint or weariness. - -It is impossible, while recalling and acknowledging acts of courtesy, -good will, and friendship, not to allude, with one word of deep personal -grief, to the irreparable loss which all who are concerned with the -study of popular tradition have experienced in the death of Svend -Grundtvig. - - F. J. C. - - JUNE, 1884. - - - - -CONTENTS - - -VOLUME I - - BALLAD PAGE - - BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF PROFESSOR CHILD xvii - - 1. RIDDLES WISELY EXPOUNDED 1 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 484; II, 495; III, 496; - IV, 439; V, 205, 283.) - - 2. THE ELFIN KNIGHT 6 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 484; II, 495; III, 496; - IV, 439; V, 205, 284.) - - 3. THE FAUSE KNIGHT UPON THE ROAD 20 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 485; II, 496; III, 496; - IV, 440.) - - 4. LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF-KNIGHT 22 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 485; II, 496; III, 496; - IV, 440; V, 206, 285.) - - 5. GIL BRENTON 62 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 489; II, 498; III, 497; - IV, 442; V, 207, 285.) - - 6. WILLIE'S LADY 81 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 498; III, 497; V, 207, - 285.) - - 7. EARL BRAND 88 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 489; II, 498; III, 497; - IV, 443; V, 207, 285.) - - 8. ERLINTON 106 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 498; IV, 445.) - - 9. THE FAIR FLOWER OF NORTHUMBERLAND 111 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 493; II, 498; III, 499; - V, 207.) - - 10. THE TWA SISTERS 118 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 493; II, 498; III, 499; - IV, 447; V, 208, 286.) - - 11. THE CRUEL BROTHER 141 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 496; II, 498; III, 499; - IV, 449; V, 208, 286.) - - 12. LORD RANDAL 151 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 498; II, 498; III, 499; - IV, 449; V, 208, 286.) - - 13. EDWARD 167 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 501; II, 499; III, 499; - V, 209, 287.) - - 14. BABYLON; OR, THE BONNIE BANKS O FORDIE 170 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 501; II, 499; III, 499; - IV, 450; V, 209, 287.) - - 15. LEESOME BRAND 177 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 501; II, 499; III, 500; - IV, 450; V, 209, 287.) - - 16. SHEATH AND KNIFE 185 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 499; III, 500; IV, 450; - V, 210.) - - 17. HIND HORN 187 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 502; II, 499; III, 501; - IV, 450; V, 210, 287.) - - 18. SIR LIONEL 208 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 500; IV, 451.) - - 19. KING ORFEO 215 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 500; III, 502; IV, 451; - V, 211.) - - 20. THE CRUEL MOTHER 218 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 504; II, 500; III, 502; - IV, 451; V, 211, 287.) - - 21. THE MAID AND THE PALMER (THE SAMARITAN WOMAN) 228 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 501; III, 502; IV, 451; - V, 212, 288.) - - 22. ST. STEPHEN AND HEROD 233 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 505; II, 501; III, 502; - IV, 451; V, 212, 288.) - - 23. JUDAS 242 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 288.) - - 24. BONNIE ANNIE 244 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 452.) - - 25. WILLIE'S LYKE-WAKE 247 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 506; II, 502; III, 503; - IV, 453; V, 212, 289.) - - 26. THE THREE RAVENS 253 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 454; V, 212.) - - 27. THE WHUMMIL BORE 255 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 212.) - - 28. BURD ELLEN AND YOUNG TAMLANE 256 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 507; III, 503.) - - 29. THE BOY AND THE MANTLE 257 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 507; II, 502; III, 503; - IV, 454; V, 212, 289.) - - 30. KING ARTHUR AND KING CORNWALL 274 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 507; II, 502; III, 503; - V, 289.) - - 31. THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAIN 288 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 507; II, 502; IV, 454; - V, 213, 289.) - - 32. KING HENRY 297 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 502; IV, 454; V, 289.) - - 33. KEMPY KAY 300 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 213, 289.) - - 34. KEMP OWYNE 306 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 502; III, 504; IV, 454; - V, 213, 290.) - - 35. ALLISON GROSS 313 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 504; V, 214.) - - 36. THE LAILY WORM AND THE MACHREL OF THE SEA 315 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 214, 290.) - - 37. THOMAS RYMER 317 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 505; III, 504; IV, 454, - 290.) - - 38. THE WEE WEE MAN 329 - - 39. TAM LIN 335 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 507; II, 505; III, 504; - IV, 455; V, 215, 290.) - - 40. THE QUEEN OF ELFAN'S NOURICE 358 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 505; III, 505; IV, 459; - V, 215, 290.) - - 41. HIND ETIN 360 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 508; II, 506; III, 506; - IV, 459; V, 215.) - - 42. CLERK COLVILL 371 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 506; III, 506; IV, 459; - V, 215, 290.) - - 43. THE BROOMFIELD HILL 390 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 508; II, 506; III, 506; - IV, 459, 290.) - - 44. THE TWA MAGICIANS 399 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 506; III, 506; IV, 459; - V, 216, 290.) - - 45. KING JOHN AND THE BISHOP 403 - (Additions and Corrections: I, 508; II, 506; IV, 459; - V, 216, 291.) - - 46. CAPTAIN WEDDERBURN'S COURTSHIP 414 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 507; III, 507; IV, 459; - V, 216, 291.) - - 47. PROUD LADY MARGARET 425 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 460; V, 291.) - - 48. YOUNG ANDREW 432 - - 49. THE TWA BROTHERS 435 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 507; III, 507; IV, 460; - V, 217, 291.) - - 50. THE BONNY HIND 444 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 218.) - - 51. LIZIE WAN 447 - - 52. THE KING'S DOCHTER LADY JEAN 450 - - 53. YOUNG BEICHAN 454 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 508; III, 507; IV, 460; - V, 218, 291.) - - ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS 484 - - -VOLUME II - - 54. THE CHERRY-TREE CAROL 1 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 509; V, 220.) - - 55. THE CARNAL AND THE CRANE 7 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 509; III, 507; IV. 462; - V, 220.) - - 56. DIVES AND LAZARUS 10 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 510; III, 507; IV, 462; - V, 220, 292.) - - 57. BROWN ROBYN'S CONFESSION 13 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 510; III, 508; IV, 462; - V, 220, 292.) - - 58. SIR PATRICK SPENS 17 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 510; V, 220.) - - 59. SIR ALDINGAR 33 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 510; III, 508; IV, 463; - V, 292.) - - 60. KING ESTMERE 49 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 510; III, 508; IV, 463.) - - 61. SIR CAWLINE 56 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 511; III, 508; IV, 463.) - - 62. FAIR ANNIE 63 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 511; IV, 463; V, 220.) - - 63. CHILD WATERS 83 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 511; III, 508; IV, 463; - V, 220.) - - 64. FAIR JANET 100 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 508; IV, 464; V, 222, - 292.) - - 65. LADY MAISRY 112 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 508; IV, 466; V, 222, - 292.) - - 66. LORD INGRAM AND CHIEL WYET 126 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 511; III, 508; V, 223, - 292.) - - 67. GLASGERION 136 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 511; III, 509; IV, 468; - V, 293.) - - 68. YOUNG HUNTING 142 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 512; III, 509; IV, 468; - V, 223.) - - 69. CLERK SAUNDERS 156 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 512; III, 509; IV, 468; - V, 223, 293.) - - 70. WILLIE AND LADY MAISRY 167 - - 71. THE BENT SAE BROWN 170 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 509; IV, 469; V, 223.) - - 72. THE CLERKS'S TWA SONS O OWSENFORD 173 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 512; III, 509; IV, 469; - V, 293.) - - 73. LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNET 179 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 512; III, 509; IV, 469; - V, 223, 293.) - - 74. FAIR MARGARET AND SWEET WILLIAM 199 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 224, 293.) - - 75. LORD LOVEL 204 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 512; III, 510; IV, 471; - V, 225, 294.) - - 76. THE LASS OF ROCH ROYAL 213 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 510; IV, 471; V, 225, - 294.) - - 77. SWEET WILLIAM'S GHOST 226 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 512; IV, 474; V, 225, - 294.) - - 78. THE UNQUIET GRAVE 234 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 512; III, 512; IV, 474; - V, 225, 294.) - - 79. THE WIFE OF USHER'S WELL 238 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 513; V, 294.) - - 80. OLD ROBIN OF PORTINGALE 240 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 513; III, 514; IV, 476; - V, 225, 295.) - - 81. LITTLE MUSGRAVE AND LADY BARNARD 242 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 513; IV, 476; V, 225.) - - 82. THE BONNY BIRDY 260 - - 83. CHILD MAURICE 263 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 514; IV, 478.) - - 84. BONNY BARBARA ALLAN 276 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 514.) - - 85. LADY ALICE 279 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 514; V, 225.) - - 86. YOUNG BENJIE 281 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 478.) - - 87. PRINCE ROBERT 284 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 295.) - - 88. YOUNG JOHNSTONE 288 - - 89. FAUSE FOODRAGE 296 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 513; III, 515; IV, 479.) - - 90. JELLON GRAME 302 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 513; III, 515; IV, 479; - V, 226, 295.) - - 91. FAIR MARY OF WALLINGTON 309 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 513; III, 515; IV, 479; - V, 227.) - - 92. BONNY BEE HOM 317 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 229.) - - 93. LAMKIN 320 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 513; III, 515; IV, 480; - V, 229, 295.) - - 94. YOUNG WATERS 342 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 516.) - - 95. THE MAID FREED FROM THE GALLOWS 346 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 514; III, 516; IV, 481; - V, 231, 296.) - - 96. THE GAY GOSHAWK 355 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 517; IV, 482; V, 234, - 296.) - - 97. BROWN ROBIN 368 - - 98. BROWN ADAM 373 - - 99. JOHNIE SCOT 377 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 486; V, 234.) - - 100. WILLIE O WINSBURY 398 - (Additions and Corrections: II, 514; III, 517; IV, 491; - V, 296.) - - 101. WILLIE O DOUGLAS DALE 406 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 517; V, 235.) - - 102. WILLIE AND EARL RICHARD'S DAUGHTER 412 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 518.) - - 103. ROSE THE RED AND WHITE LILY 415 - - 104. PRINCE HEATHEN 424 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 296.) - - 105. THE BAILIFF'S DAUGHTER OF ISLINGTON 426 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 518; V, 237.) - - 106. THE FAMOUS FLOWER OF SERVING-MEN 428 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 518; IV, 492.) - - 107. WILL STEWART AND JOHN 432 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 237.) - - 108. CHRISTOPHER WHITE 439 - - 109. TOM POTTS 441 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 518.) - - 110. THE KNIGHT AND SHEPHERD'S DAUGHTER 457 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 492; V, 237.) - - 111. CROW AND PIE 478 - - 112. THE BAFFLED KNIGHT 479 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 518; IV, 495; V, 239, - 296.) - - 113. THE GREAT SILKIE OF SULE SKERRY 494 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 518; IV, 495.) - - ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS 495 - - -VOLUME III - - 114. JOHNIE COCK 1 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 495.) - - 115. ROBYN AND GANDELEYN 12 - - 116. ADAM BELL, CLIM OF THE CLOUGH, AND WILLIAM OF CLOUDESLY 14 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 518; IV, 496; V, 297.) - - 117. A GEST OF ROBYN HODE 39 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 519; IV, 496; V, 240, - 297.) - - 118. ROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNE 89 - - 119. ROBIN HOOD AND THE MONK 94 - - 120. ROBIN HOOD'S DEATH 102 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 240, 297.) - - 121. ROBIN HOOD AND THE POTTER 108 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 497.) - - 122. ROBIN HOOD AND THE BUTCHER 115 - - 123. ROBIN HOOD AND THE CURTAL FRIAR 120 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 297.) - - 124. THE JOLLY PINDER OF WAKEFIELD 129 - - 125. ROBIN HOOD AND LITTLE JOHN 133 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 297.) - - 126. ROBIN HOOD AND THE TANNER 137 - - 127. ROBIN HOOD AND THE TINKER 140 - - 128. ROBIN HOOD NEWLY REVIVED 144 - - 129. ROBIN HOOD AND THE PRINCE OF ARAGON 147 - - 130. ROBIN HOOD AND THE SCOTCHMAN 150 - - 131. ROBIN HOOD AND THE RANGER 152 - - 132. THE BOLD PEDLAR AND ROBIN HOOD 154 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 240.) - - 133. ROBIN HOOD AND THE BEGGAR, I 155 - - 134. ROBIN HOOD AND THE BEGGAR, II 158 - - 135. ROBIN HOOD AND THE SHEPHERD 165 - - 136. ROBIN HOOD'S DELIGHT 168 - - 137. ROBIN HOOD AND THE PEDLARS 170 - - 138. ROBIN HOOD AND ALLEN A DALE 172 - - 139. ROBIN HOOD'S PROGRESS TO NOTTINGHAM 175 - - 140. ROBIN HOOD RESCUING THREE SQUIRES 177 - - 141. ROBIN HOOD RESCUING WILL STUTLY 185 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 497.) - - 142. LITTLE JOHN A BEGGING 188 - - 143. ROBIN HOOD AND THE BISHOP 191 - - 144. ROBIN HOOD AND THE BISHOP OF HEREFORD 193 - - 145. ROBIN HOOD AND QUEEN KATHERINE 196 - - 146. ROBIN HOOD'S CHASE 205 - - 147. ROBIN HOOD'S GOLDEN PRIZE 208 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 519.) - - 148. THE NOBLE FISHERMAN, OR, ROBIN HOOD'S PREFERMENT 211 - - 149. ROBIN HOOD'S BIRTH, BREEDING, VALOR AND MARRIAGE 214 - - 150. ROBIN HOOD AND MAID MARIAN 218 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 519.) - - 151. THE KING'S DISGUISE, AND FRIENDSHIP WITH ROBIN HOOD 220 - - 152. ROBIN HOOD AND THE GOLDEN ARROW 223 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 241.) - - 153. ROBIN HOOD AND THE VALIANT KNIGHT 225 - - 154. A TRUE TALE OF ROBIN HOOD 227 - - 155. SIR HUGH, OR, THE JEW'S DAUGHTER 233 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 519; IV, 497; V, 241, - 297.) - - 156. QUEEN ELEANOR'S CONFESSION 257 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 498; V, 241, 297.) - - 157. GUDE WALLACE 265 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 242.) - - 158. HUGH SPENCER'S FEATS IN FRANCE 275 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 499; V, 243.) - - 159. DURHAM FIELD 282 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 297.) - - 160. THE KNIGHT OF LIDDESDALE 288 - - 161. THE BATTLE OF OTTERBURN 289 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 520; IV, 499; V, - 243, 297.) - - 162. THE HUNTING OF THE CHEVIOT 303 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 502; V, 244, 297.) - - 163. THE BATTLE OF HARLAW 316 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 245.) - - 164. KING HENRY FIFTH'S CONQUEST OF FRANCE 320 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 245.) - - 165. SIR JOHN BUTLER 327 - - 166. THE ROSE OF ENGLAND 331 - - 167. SIR ANDREW BARTON 334 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 502; V, 245.) - - 168. FLODDEN FIELD 351 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 507; V, 298.) - - 169. JOHNIE ARMSTRONG 362 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 520; IV, 507; V, - 298.) - - 170. THE DEATH OF QUEEN JANE 372 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 245, 298.) - - 171. THOMAS CROMWELL 377 - - 172. MUSSELBURGH FIELD 378 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 507.) - - 173. MARY HAMILTON 379 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 507; V, 246, 298.) - - 174. EARL BOTHWELL 399 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 247.) - - 175. THE RISING IN THE NORTH 401 - - 176. NORTHUMBERLAND BETRAYED BY DOUGLAS 408 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 299.) - - 177. THE EARL OF WESTMORELAND 416 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 299.) - - 178. CAPTAIN CAR, OR, EDOM O GORDON 423 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 520; IV, 513; V, - 247, 299.) - - 179. ROOKHOPE RYDE 439 - - 180. KING JAMES AND BROWN 442 - - 181. THE BONNY EARL OF MURRAY 447 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 515.) - - 182. THE LAIRD O LOGIE 449 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 520; IV, 515; V, - 299.) - - 183. WILLIE MACINTOSH 456 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 516.) - - 184. THE LADS OF WAMPHRAY 458 - (Additions and Corrections: III, 520.) - - 185. DICK O THE COW 461 - - 186. KINMONT WILLIE 469 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 516.) - - 187. JOCK O THE SIDE 475 - - 188. ARCHIE O CAWFIELD 484 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 516.) - - ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS 496 - - -VOLUME IV - - 189. HOBIE NOBLE 1 - - 190. JAMIE TELFER OF THE FAIR DODHEAD 4 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 518; V, 249, 300.) - - 191. HUGHIE GRAME 8 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 518; V, 300.) - - 192. THE LOCHMABEN HARPER 16 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 300.) - - 193. THE DEATH OF PARCY REED 24 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 520.) - - 194. THE LAIRD OF WARISTON 28 - - 195. LORD MAXWELL'S LAST GOODNIGHT 34 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 251.) - - 196. THE FIRE OF FRENDRAUGHT 39 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 521; V, 251, 301.) - - 197. JAMES GRANT 49 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 251.) - - 198. BONNY JOHN SETON 51 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 251.) - - 199. THE BONNIE HOUSE O AIRLIE 54 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 252.) - - 200. THE GYPSY LADDIE 61 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 522; V, 252, 301.) - - 201. BESSY BELL AND MARY GRAY 75 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 522; V, 253.) - - 202. THE BATTLE OF PHILIPHAUGH 77 - - 203. THE BARON OF BRACKLEY 79 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 522; V, 253.) - - 204. JAMIE DOUGLAS 90 - - 205. LOUDON HILL, OR, DRUMCLOG 105 - - 206. BOTHWELL BRIDGE 108 - - 207. LORD DELAMERE 110 - - 208. LORD DERWENTWATER 115 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 522; V, 254.) - - 209. GEORDIE 123 - - 210. BONNIE JAMES CAMPBELL 142 - - 211. BEWICK AND GRAHAM 144 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 522.) - - 212. THE DUKE OF ATHOLE'S NURSE 150 - - 213. SIR JAMES THE ROSE 155 - - 214. THE BRAES O YARROW 160 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 522; V, 255.) - - 215. RARE WILLIE DROWNED IN YARROW, OR, THE WATER O GAMRIE 178 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 256.) - - 216. THE MOTHER'S MALISON, OR, CLYDE'S WATER 185 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 256, 301.) - - 217. THE BROOM OF COWDENKNOWS 191 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 523; V, 257.) - - 218. THE FALSE LOVER WON BACK 209 - - 219. THE GARDENER 212 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 258.) - - 220. THE BONNY LASS OF ANGLESEY 214 - - 221. KATHARINE JAFFRAY 216 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 523; V, 260.) - - 222. BONNY BABY LIVINGSTON 231 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 523; V, 261.) - - 223. EPPIE MORRIE 239 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 262.) - - 224. THE LADY OF ARNGOSK 241 - - 225. ROB ROY 243 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 523; V, 262.) - - 226. LIZIE LINDSAY 255 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 524; V, 264.) - - 227. BONNY LIZIE BAILLIE 266 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 265.) - - 228. GLASGOW PEGGIE 270 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 266.) - - 229. EARL CRAWFORD 276 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 301.) - - 230. THE SLAUGHTER OF THE LAIRD OF MELLERSTAIN 281 - - 231. THE EARL OF ERROL 282 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 267.) - - 232. RICHIE STORY 291 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 270.) - - 233. ANDREW LAMMIE 300 - - 234. CHARLIE MACPHERSON 308 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 301.) - - 235. THE EARL OF ABOYNE 311 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 270, 301.) - - 236. THE LAIRD O DRUM 322 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 272.) - - 237. THE DUKE OF GORDON'S DAUGHTER 332 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 273.) - - 238. GLENLOGIE, OR, JEAN O BETHELNIE 338 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 273, 302.) - - 239. LORD SALTOUN AND AUCHANACHIE 347 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 273.) - - 240. THE RANTIN LADDIE 351 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 274.) - - 241. THE BARON O LEYS 355 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 275.) - - 242. THE COBLE O CARGILL 358 - - 243. JAMES HARRIS (THE DÆMON LOVER) 360 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 524.) - - 244. JAMES HATLEY 370 - - 245. YOUNG ALLAN 375 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 275.) - - 246. REDESDALE AND WISE WILLIAM 383 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 276.) - - 247. LADY ELSPAT 387 - - 248. THE GREY COCK, OR, SAW YOU MY FATHER? 389 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 302.) - - 249. AULD MATRONS 391 - - 250. HENRY MARTYN 393 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 302.) - - 251. LANG JOHNNY MORE 396 - (Additions and Corrections: IV, 524.) - - 252. THE KITCHIE-BOY 400 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 277.) - - 253. THOMAS O YONDERDALE 409 - - 254. LORD WILLIAM, OR, LORD LUNDY 411 - - 255. WILLIE'S FATAL VISIT 415 - - 256. ALISON AND WILLIE 416 - - 257. BURD ISABEL AND EARL PATRICK 417 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 278.) - - 258. BROUGHTY WA'S 423 - - 259. LORD THOMAS STUART 425 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 279.) - - 260. LORD THOMAS AND LADY MARGARET 426 - - 261. LADY ISABEL 429 - - 262. LORD LIVINGSTON 431 - - 263. THE NEW-SLAIN KNIGHT 434 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 279.) - - 264. THE WHITE FISHER 435 - - 265. THE KNIGHT'S GHOST 437 - - ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS 439 - - -VOLUME V - - 266. JOHN THOMSON AND THE TURK 1 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 279.) - - 267. THE HEIR OF LINNE 11 - - 268. THE TWA KNIGHTS 21 - - 269. LADY DIAMOND 29 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 303.) - - 270. THE EARL OF MAR'S DAUGHTER 38 - - 271. THE LORD OF LORN AND THE FALSE STEWARD 42 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 280.) - - 272. THE SUFFOLK MIRACLE 58 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 303.) - - 273. KING EDWARD THE FOURTH AND A TANNER OF TAMWORTH 67 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 303.) - - 274. OUR GOODMAN 88 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 281, 303.) - - 275. GET UP AND BAR THE DOOR 96 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 281, 304.) - - 276. THE FRIAR IN THE WELL 100 - - 277. THE WIFE WRAPT IN WETHER'S SKIN 104 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 304.) - - 278. THE FARMER'S CURST WIFE 107 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 305.) - - 279. THE JOLLY BEGGAR 109 - - 280. THE BEGGAR-LADDIE 116 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 305.) - - 281. THE KEACH I THE CREEL 121 - - 282. JOCK THE LEG AND THE MERRY MERCHANT 126 - - 283. THE CRAFTY FARMER 128 - - 284. JOHN DORY 131 - - 285. THE GEORGE ALOE AND THE SWEEPSTAKE 133 - - 286. THE SWEET TRINITY (THE GOLDEN VANITY) 135 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 305.) - - 287. CAPTAIN WARD AND THE RAINBOW 143 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 305.) - - 288. THE YOUNG EARL OF ESSEX'S VICTORY OVER THE EMPEROR OF - GERMANY 145 - - 289. THE MERMAID 148 - - 290. THE WYLIE WIFE OF THE HIE TOUN HIE 153 - - 291. CHILD OWLET 156 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 305.) - - 292. THE WEST-COUNTRY DAMOSEL'S COMPLAINT 157 - - 293. JOHN OF HAZELGREEN 159 - - 294. DUGALL QUIN 165 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 305.) - - 295. THE BROWN GIRL 166 - - 296. WALTER LESLY 168 - - 297. EARL ROTHES 170 - - 298. YOUNG PEGGY 171 - - 299. TROOPER AND MAID 172 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 306.) - - 300. BLANCHEFLOUR AND JELLYFLORICE 175 - - 301. THE QUEEN OF SCOTLAND 176 - - 302. YOUNG BEARWELL 178 - - 303. THE HOLY NUNNERY 179 - - 304. YOUNG RONALD 181 - - 305. THE OUTLAW MURRAY 185 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 307.) - - FRAGMENTS 201 - (Additions and Corrections: V, 307.) - - ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS 205, 283 - - GLOSSARY 309 - - SOURCES OF THE TEXTS 397 - - INDEX OF PUBLISHED AIRS 405 - - BALLAD AIRS FROM MANUSCRIPT: - 3. The Fause Knight upon the Road 411 - 9. The Fair Flower of Northumberland 411 - 10. The Twa Sisters 411 - 11. The Cruel Brother 412 - 12. Lord Randal 412 - 17. Hind Horn 413 - 20. The Cruel Mother 413 - 40. The Queen of Elfan's Nourice 413 - 42. Clerk Colvill 414 - 46. Captain Wedderburn's Courtship 414 - 47. Proud Lady Margaret 414 - 53. Young Beichan 415 - 58. Sir Patrick Spens 415 - 61. Sir Colin 415 - 63. Child Waters 415 - 68. Young Hunting 416 - 75. Lord Lovel 416 - 77. Sweet William's Ghost 416 - 84. Bonny Barbara Allan 416 - 89. Fause Foodrage 416 - 95. The Maid freed from the Gallows 417 - 97. Brown Robin 417 - 98. Brown Adam 417 - 99. Johnie Scot 418 - 100. Willie o Winsbury 418 - 106. The Famous Flower of Serving-Men 418 - 144. Johnie Cock 419 - 157. Gudo Wallace 419 - 161. The Battle of Otterburn 419 - 163. The Battle of Harlaw 419 - 164. King Henry Fifth's Conquest of France 420 - 169. Johnie Armstrong 420 - 173. Mary Hamilton 421 - 182. The Laird o Logie 421 - 222. Bonny Baby Livingston 421 - 226. Lizie Lindsay 421 - 228. Glasgow Peggie 422 - 235. The Earl of Aboyne 422 - 247. Lady Elspat 422 - 250. Andrew Bartin 423 - 256. Alison and Willie 423 - 258. Broughty Wa's 423 - 278. The Farmer's Curst Wife 423 - 281. The Keach i the Creel 424 - 286. The Sweet Trinity 424 - 299. Trooper and Maid 424 - - INDEX OF BALLAD TITLES 425 - - TITLES OF COLLECTIONS OF BALLADS, OR BOOKS CONTAINING BALLADS, - WHICH ARE VERY BRIEFLY CITED IN THIS WORK 455 - - INDEX OF MATTERS AND LITERATURE 469 - - BIBLIOGRAPHY 503 - - CORRECTIONS TO BE MADE IN THE PRINT 567 - - APPENDIX: PROFESSOR CHILD AND THE BALLAD 571 - - - - -FRANCIS JAMES CHILD - - -Francis James Child was born in Boston on the first day of February, -1825. He was the third in a family of eight children. His father was a -sailmaker, "one of that class of intelligent and independent mechanics," -writes Professor Norton, "which has had a large share in determining the -character of our democratic community, as of old the same class had in -Athens and in Florence." The boy attended the public schools, as a -matter of course; and, his parents having no thought of sending him to -college, he went, in due time, not to the Latin School, but to the -English High School of his native town. At that time the head master of -the Boston Latin School was Mr Epes Sargent Dixwell, who is still -living, at a ripe old age, one of the most respected citizens of -Cambridge. Mr Dixwell had a keen eye for scholarly possibilities in -boys, and, falling in with young Francis Child, was immediately struck -with his extraordinary mental ability. At his suggestion, the boy was -transferred to the Latin School, where he entered upon the regular -preparation for admission to Harvard College. His delight in his new -studies was unbounded, and the freshness of it never faded from his -memory. "He speedily caught up with the boys who had already made -considerable progress in Greek and Latin, and soon took the first place -here, as he had done in the schools which he had previously attended." -Mr Dixwell strongly advised his father to permit him to continue his -studies, and made arrangements by which his college expenses should be -provided for. The money Professor Child repaid, with interest, as soon -as his means allowed. His gratitude to Mr. Dixwell and the friendship -between them lasted through his life. - -In 1842 Mr Child entered Harvard College. The intellectual condition of -the college at that time and the undergraduate career of Mr Child have -been admirably described by his classmate and lifelong friend, Professor -Norton, in a passage which must be quoted in full[1]:-- - -"Harvard was then still a comparatively small institution, with no -claims to the title of University; but she had her traditions of good -learning as an inspiration for the studious youth, and still better she -had teachers who were examples of devotion to intellectual pursuits, and -who cared for those ends the attainment of which makes life worth -living. Josiah Quincy was approaching the close of his term of service -as President of the College, and stood before the eyes of the students -as the type of a great public servant, embodying the spirit of -patriotism, of integrity, and of fidelity in the discharge of whatever -duty he might be called to perform. Among the Professors were Walker, -Felton, Peirce, Channing, Beck, and Longfellow, men of utmost variety of -temperament, but each an instructor who secured the respect no less than -the gratitude of his pupils. - -"The class to which Child belonged numbered hardly over sixty. The -prescribed course of study which was then the rule brought all the -members of the class together in recitations and lectures, and every man -soon knew the relative standing of each of his fellows. Child at once -took the lead and kept it. His excellence was not confined to any one -special branch of study; he was equally superior in all. He was the best -in the classics, he was Peirce's favorite in mathematics, he wrote -better English than any of his classmates. His intellectual interests -were wider than theirs, he was a great reader, and his tastes in reading -were mature. He read for amusement as well as for learning, but he did -not waste his time or dissipate his mental energies over worthless or -pernicious books. He made good use of the social no less than of the -intellectual opportunities which college life affords, and became as -great a favorite with his classmates as he had been with his -schoolfellows. - -"The close of his college course was marked by the exceptional -distinction of his being chosen by his classmates as their Orator, and -by his having the first part at Commencement as the highest scholar in -the class. His class oration was remarkable for its maturity of thought -and of style. Its manliness of spirit, its simple directness of -presentation of the true objects of life, and of the motives by which -the educated man, whatever might be his chosen career, should be -inspired, together with the serious and eloquent earnestness with which -it was delivered, gave to his discourse peculiar impressiveness and -effect." - -Graduating with the degree of Bachelor of Arts in 1846, Mr Child -immediately entered the service of the college, in which he continued -till the day of his death. From 1846 to 1848 he was tutor in -mathematics. In 1848 he was transferred, at his own request, to a -tutorship in history and political economy, to which were annexed -certain duties of instruction in English. In 1849 he obtained leave of -absence for travel and study in Europe. He remained in Europe for about -two years, returning, late in 1851, to receive an appointment to the -Boylston Professorship of Rhetoric and Oratory, then falling vacant by -the resignation of Professor Edward T. Channing. - -The tutorships which Mr Child had held were not entirely in accordance -with his tastes, which had always led him in the direction of literary -and linguistic study. The faculty of the college was small, however, and -it was not always possible to assign an instructor to the department -that would have been most to his mind. But the governors of the -institution were glad to secure the services of so promising a scholar; -and Mr Child, whose preference for an academic career was decided, had -felt that it was wise to accept such positions as the college could -offer, leaving exacter adjustments to time and circumstances. Meantime -he had devoted his whole leisure to the pursuit of his favorite studies. -His first fruits were a volume entitled Four Old Plays[2] published in -1848, when he was but twenty-three years old. This was a remarkably -competent performance. The texts are edited with judgment and accuracy; -the introduction shows literary discrimination as well as sound -scholarship, and the glossary and brief notes are thoroughly good. There -are no signs of immaturity in the book, and it is still valued by -students of our early drama. - -The leave of absence granted to Mr Child in 1849 came at a most -favorable moment. His health had suffered from close application to -work, and a change of climate had been advised by his physicians. His -intellectual and scholarly development, too, had reached that stage in -which foreign study and travel were certain to be most stimulating and -fruitful. He was amazingly apt, and two years of opportunity meant much -more to him than to most men. He returned to take up the duties of his -new office a trained and mature scholar, at home in the best methods and -traditions of German universities, yet with no sacrifice of his -individuality and intellectual independence. - -While in Germany Mr Child studied at Berlin and Göttingen, giving his -time mostly to Germanic philology, then cultivated with extraordinary -vigor and success. The hour was singularly propitious. In the three or -four decades preceding Mr Child's residence in Europe, Germanic -philology (in the wider sense) had passed from the stage of "romantic" -dilettantism into the condition of a well-organized and strenuous -scientific discipline, but the freshness and vivacity of the first half -of the century had not vanished. Scholars, however severe, looked -through the form and strove to comprehend the spirit. The ideals of -erudition and of a large humanity were not even suspected of -incompatibility. The imagination was still invoked as the guide and -illuminator of learning. The bond between antiquity and mediævalism and -between the Middle Ages and our own century was never lost from sight. -It was certainly fortunate for American scholarship that at precisely -this juncture a young man of Mr Child's ardent love of learning, strong -individuality, and broad intellectual sympathies was brought into close -contact with all that was most quickening in German university life. He -attended lectures on classical antiquity and philosophy, as well as on -Germanic philology; but it was not so much by direct instruction that he -profited as by the inspiration which he derived from the spirit and the -ideals of foreign scholars, young and old. His own greatest contribution -to learning, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, may even, in a -very real sense, be regarded as the fruit of these years in Germany. -Throughout his life he kept a picture of William and James Grimm on the -mantel over his study fireplace. - -Mr Child wrote no "dissertation," and returned to Cambridge without -having attempted to secure a doctor's degree. Never eager for such -distinctions, he had been unwilling to subject himself to the -restrictions on his plan of study which candidacy for the doctorate -would have imposed. Three years after, however, in 1854, he was -surprised and gratified to receive from the University of Göttingen the -degree of Doctor of Philosophy, accompanied by a special tribute of -respect from that institution. Subsequently he received the degree of -LL. D. from Harvard (in 1884) and that of L. H. D. from Columbia (in -1887); but the Göttingen Ph. D., coming as it did at the outset of his -career, was in a high degree auspicious. - -The Boylston Professorship of Rhetoric and Oratory, to which, as has -been already mentioned, Mr Child succeeded on his return to America -toward the end of 1851, was no sinecure. In addition to academic -instruction of the ordinary kind, the duties of the chair included the -superintendence and criticism of a great quantity of written work, in -the nature of essays and set compositions prepared by students of all -degrees of ability. For twenty-five years Mr Child performed these -duties with characteristic punctuality and devotion, though with -increasing distaste for the drudgery which they involved. Meantime a -great change had come over Harvard: it had developed from a provincial -college into a national seminary of learning, and the introduction of -the "elective system"--corresponding to the "Lernfreiheit" of -Germany--had enabled it to become a university in the proper sense of -the word. One result of the important reform just referred to was the -establishment of a Professorship of English, entirely distinct from the -old chair of Rhetoric. This took place on May 8, 1876, and on the 20th -of the next month Mr Child was transferred to the new professorship. His -duties as an instructor were now thoroughly congenial, and he continued -to perform them with unabated vigor to the end. In the onerous details -of administrative and advisory work, inseparable, according to our -exacting American system, from the position of a university professor, -he was equally faithful and untiring. For thirty years he acted as -secretary of the Library Council, and in all that time he was absent -from but three meetings. As chairman of the Department of English and of -the Division of Modern Languages, and as a member of many important -committees, he was ever prodigal of time and effort. How steadily he -attended to the regular duties of the class-room, his pupils, for fifty -years, are the best witnesses. They, too, will best understand the -satisfaction he felt that, in the fiftieth year of his teaching, he was -not absent from a single lecture. No man was ever less a formalist; yet -the most formal of natures could not, in the strictest observance of -punctilio, have surpassed the regularity with which he discharged, as it -were spontaneously, the multifarious duties of his position. - -Throughout his service as professor of rhetoric, Mr Child, hampered -though he was by the requirements of his laborious office, had pursued -with unquenchable ardor the study of the English language and -literature, particularly in their older forms, and in these subjects he -had become an authority of the first rank long before the establishment -of the English chair enabled him to arrange his university teaching in -accordance with his tastes. Soon after he returned from Germany he -undertook the general editorial supervision of a series of the 'British -Poets,' published at Boston in 1853 and several following years, and -extending to some hundred and fifty volumes. Out of this grew, in one -way or another, his three most important contributions to learning: his -edition of Spenser, his Observations on the Language of Chaucer and -Gower, and his English and Scottish Popular Ballads. - -Mr Child's Spenser appeared in 1855.[3] Originally intended, as he says -in the preface, as little more than a reprint of the edition published -in 1839 under the superintendence of Mr George Hillard, the book grew -upon his hands until it had become something quite different from its -predecessor. Securing access to old copies of most of Spenser's poems, -Mr Child subjected the text to a careful revision, which left little to -be done in this regard. His Life of Spenser was far better than any -previous biography, and his notes, though brief, were marked by a -philological exactness to which former editions could not pretend. -Altogether, though meant for the general reader and therefore sparingly -annotated, Mr Child's volumes remain, after forty years, the best -edition of Spenser in existence. - -The plan of the 'British Poets' originally contemplated an edition of -Chaucer, which Mr Child was to prepare. Becoming convinced, however, -that the time was not ripe for such a work, he abandoned this project, -and to the end of his life he never found time to resume it. Thomas -Wright's print of the Canterbury Tales[4] from the Harleian MS. 7334 -had, however, put into his hands a reasonably faithful reproduction of -an old text, and he turned his attention to a minute study of Chaucer's -language. The outcome was the publication, in the Memoirs of the -American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 1863, of the great treatise to -which Mr Child gave the modest title of Observations on the Language of -Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. It is difficult, at the present day, to -imagine the state of Chaucer philology at the moment when this paper -appeared. Scarcely anything, we may say, was known of Chaucer's grammar -and metre in a sure and scientific way. Indeed, the difficulties to be -solved had not even been clearly formulated. Further, the accessible -mass of evidence on Anglo-Saxon and Middle English was, in comparison -with the stores now at the easy command of every tyro, almost -insignificant. Yet, in this brief treatise, Mr Child not only defined -the problems, but provided for most of them a solution which the -researches of younger scholars have only served to substantiate. He also -gave a perfect model of the method proper to such inquiries--a method -simple, laborious, and exact. The Observations were subsequently -rearranged and condensed, with Professor Child's permission, by Mr A. J. -Ellis for his work On Early English Pronunciation; but only those who -have studied them in their original form can appreciate their merit -fully. "It ought never to be forgotten," writes Professor Skeat, "that -the only full and almost complete solution of the question of the right -scansion of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is due to what Mr Ellis rightly -terms 'the wonderful industry, acuteness, and accuracy of Professor -Child.'" Had he produced nothing else, this work, with its pendant, the -Observations on Gower,[5] would have assured him a high place among -those very few scholars who have permanently settled important problems -of linguistic science. - -Mr Child's crowning work, however, was the edition of the English and -Scottish Popular Ballads, which the reader now has before him. The -history of this is the history of more than half a lifetime. - -The idea of the present work grew out of Mr Child's editorial labors on -the series of the 'British Poets,' already referred to. For this he -prepared a collection in eight small volumes (1857-58) called English -and Scottish Ballads.[6] This was marked by the beginnings of that -method of comparative study which is carried out to its ultimate issues -in the volumes of the present collection. The book circulated widely, -and was at once admitted to supersede all previous attempts in the same -field. To Mr Child, however, it was but the starting-point for further -researches. He soon formed the plan of a much more extensive collection -on an altogether different model. This was to include every obtainable -version of every extant English or Scottish ballad, with the fullest -possible discussion of related songs or stories in the "popular" -literature of all nations. To this enterprise he resolved, if need were, -to devote the rest of his life. His first care was to secure trustworthy -texts. In his earlier collection he had been forced to depend almost -entirely on printed books. No progress, he was convinced, could be made -till recourse could be had to manuscripts, and in particular to the -Percy MS. Accordingly he directed his most earnest efforts to securing -the publication of the entire contents of the famous folio. The Percy -MS. was at Ecton Hall, in the possession of the Bishop's descendants, -who would permit no one even to examine it. Two attempts were made by Dr -Furnivall, at Mr Child's instance, to induce the owners to allow the -manuscript to be printed,--one as early as 1860 or 1861, the other in -1864,--but without avail. A third attempt was more successful, and in -1867-68 the long-secluded folio was made the common property of scholars -in an edition prepared by Professor Hales and Dr Furnivall.[7] - -The publication of the Percy MS. not only put a large amount of -trustworthy material at the disposal of Mr Child; it exposed the full -enormity of Bishop Percy's sins against popular tradition. Some shadow -of suspicion inevitably fell on all other ballad collections. It was -more than ever clear to Mr Child that he could not safely take anything -at second hand, and he determined not to print a line of his projected -work till he had exhausted every effort to get hold of whatever -manuscript material might be in existence. His efforts in this direction -continued through many years. A number of manuscripts were in private -hands; of some the whereabouts was not known; of others the existence -was not suspected. But Mr Child was untiring. He was cordially assisted -by various scholars, antiquaries, and private gentlemen, to whose -coöperation ample testimony is borne in the Advertisements prefixed to -the volumes in the present work. Some manuscripts were secured for the -Library of Harvard University--notably Bishop Percy's Papers, the -Kinloch MSS, and the Harris MS.,[8]--and of others careful copies were -made, which became the property of the same library. In all these -operations the indispensable good offices of Mr William Macmath, of -Edinburgh, deserve particular mention. For a long series of years his -services were always at Mr Child's disposal. His self-sacrifice and -generosity appear to have been equalled only by his perseverance and -wonderful accuracy. But for him the manuscript basis of The English and -Scottish Popular Ballads would have been far less strong than it is. - -Gradually, then, the manuscript materials came in, until at last, in -1882, Mr Child felt justified in beginning to print. Other important -documents were, however, discovered or made accessible as time went on. -Especially noteworthy was the great find at Abbotsford (see the -Advertisement to Part VIII). In 1877 Dr David Laing procured, "not -without difficulty," leave to prepare for Mr Child a copy of the single -manuscript of ballads then known to remain in the library at Abbotsford. -This MS., entitled "Scottish Songs," was so inconsiderable, in -proportion to the accumulations which Sir Walter Scott had made in -preparing his Border Minstrelsy, that further search seemed to be -imperatively necessary. In 1890 permission to make such a search, and to -use the results, was given by the Honorable Mrs Maxwell-Scott. The -investigation, made by Mr Macmath, yielded a rich harvest of ballads, -which were utilized in Parts VII-IX. To dwell upon the details would be -endless. The reader may see a list of the manuscript sources at pp. 397 -ff. of the fifth volume; and, if he will observe how scattered they -were, he will have no difficulty in believing that it required years, -labor, and much delicate negotiation to bring them all together. One -manuscript remained undiscoverable, William Tytler's Brown MS., but -there is no reason to believe that this contained anything of -consequence that is not otherwise known.[9] - -Meanwhile, concurrently with the toil of amassing, collating, and -arranging texts, went on the far more arduous labor of comparative study -of the ballads of all nations; for, in accordance with Mr Child's plan -it was requisite to determine, in the fullest manner, the history and -foreign relations of every piece included in his collection. To this end -he devoted much time and unwearied diligence to forming, in the Library -of the University, a special collection of "Folk-lore," particularly of -ballads, romances, and _Märchen_. This priceless collection, the -formation of which must be looked on as one of Mr Child's most striking -services to the university, numbers some 7000 volumes. But these figures -by no means represent the richness of the Library in the departments -concerned, or the services of Mr Child in this particular. Mediæval -literature in all its phases was his province, and thousands of volumes -classified in other departments of the University Library bear testimony -to his vigilance in ordering books, and his astonishing bibliographical -knowledge. Very few books are cited in the present collection which are -not to be found on the shelves of this Library. - -In addition, Mr Child made an effort to stimulate the collection of such -remains of the traditional ballad as still live on the lips of the -people in this country and in the British Islands. The harvest was, in -his opinion, rather scanty; yet, if all the versions thus recovered from -tradition were enumerated, the number would not be found inconsiderable. -Enough was done, at all events, to make it clear that little or nothing -of value remains to be recovered in this way. - -To readers familiar with such studies, no comment is necessary, and to -those who are unfamiliar with them, no form of statement can convey even -a faint impression of the industry, the learning, the acumen, and the -literary skill which these processes required. In writing the history of -a single ballad, Mr Child was sometimes forced to examine hundreds of -books in perhaps a dozen different languages. But his industry was -unflagging, his sagacity was scarcely ever at fault, and his linguistic -and literary knowledge seemed to have no bounds. He spared no pains to -perfect his work in every detail, and his success was commensurate with -his efforts. In the Advertisement to the Ninth Part (1894), he was able -to report that the three hundred and five numbers of his collection -comprised the whole extant mass of this traditional material, with the -possible exception of a single ballad.[10] - -In June, 1896, Mr Child concluded his fiftieth year of service as a -teacher in Harvard College. He was at this time hard at work on the -Tenth and final Part, which was to contain a glossary, various indexes, -a bibliography, and an elaborate introduction on the general subject. -For years he had allowed himself scarcely any respite from work, and, in -spite of the uncertain condition of his health,--or perhaps in -consequence of it,--he continued to work at high pressure throughout the -summer. At the end of August he discovered that he was seriously ill. He -died at Boston on the 11th day of September. He had finished his great -work except for the introduction and the general bibliography. The -bibliography was in preparation by another hand and has since been -completed. The introduction, however, no other scholar had the hardihood -to undertake. A few pages of manuscript,--the last thing written by his -pen,--almost illegible, were found among his papers to show that he had -actually begun the composition of this essay, and many sheets of -excerpts testified to the time he had spent in refreshing his memory as -to the opinions of his predecessors, but he had left no collectanea that -could be utilized in supplying the Introduction itself. He was -accustomed to carry much of his material in his memory till the moment -of composition arrived, and this habit accounts for the fact that there -are no jottings of opinions and no sketch of precisely what line of -argument he intended to take. - -Mr Child's sudden death was felt as a bitter personal loss, not only by -an unusually large circle of attached friends in both hemispheres, but -by very many scholars who knew him through his works alone. He was one -of the few learned men to whom the old title of "Master" was justly due -and freely accorded. With astonishing erudition, which nothing seemed to -have escaped, he united an infectious enthusiasm and a power of lucid -and fruitful exposition that made him one of the greatest of teachers, -and a warmth and openness of heart that won the affection of all who -knew him. In most men, however complex their characters, one can -distinguish the qualities of the heart, in some degree, from the -qualities of the head. In Professor Child no such distinction was -possible, for all the elements of his many-sided nature were fused in -his marked and powerful individuality. In his case, the scholar and the -man cannot be separated. His life and his learning were one; his work -was the expression of himself. - -As an investigator Professor Child was at once the inspiration and the -despair of his disciples. Nothing could surpass the scientific exactness -of his methods and the unwearied diligence with which he conducted his -researches. No possible source of information could elude him; no book -or manuscript was too voluminous or too unpromising for him to examine -on the chance of its containing some fact that might correct or -supplement his material, even in the minutest point. Yet these qualities -of enthusiastic accuracy and thoroughness, admirable as they undoubtedly -were, by no means dominated him. They were always at the command of the -higher qualities of his genius,--sagacity, acumen, and a kind of -sympathetic and imaginative power in which he stood almost alone among -recent scholars. No detail of language or tradition or archæology was to -him a mere lifeless fact; it was transmuted into something vital, and -became a part of that universal humanity which always moved him wherever -he found it, whether in the pages of a mediæval chronicle, or in the -stammering accents of a late and vulgarly distorted ballad, or in the -faces of the street boys who begged roses from his garden. No man ever -felt a keener interest in his kind, and no scholar ever brought this -interest into more vivifying contact with the technicalities of his -special studies. The exuberance of this large humanity pervades his -edition of the English and Scottish ballads. Even in his last years, -when the languor of uncertain health sometimes got the better, for a -season, of the spirit with which he commonly worked, some fresh bit of -genuine poetry in a ballad, some fine trait of pure nature in a stray -folk-tale, would, in an instant, bring back the full flush of that -enthusiasm which he must have felt when the possibilities of his -achievement first presented themselves to his mind in early manhood. For -such a nature there was no old age. - -From this ready sympathy came that rare faculty--seldom possessed by -scholars--which made Professor Child peculiarly fit for his greatest -task. Few persons understand the difficulties of ballad investigation. -In no field of literature have the forger and the manipulator worked -with greater vigor and success. From Percy's day to our own it has been -thought an innocent device to publish a bit of one's own versifying, now -and then, as an "old ballad" or an "ancient song." Often, too, a late -stall-copy of a ballad, getting into oral circulation, has been -innocently furnished to collectors as traditional matter. Mere learning -will not guide an editor through these perplexities. What is needed is, -in addition, a complete understanding of the "popular" genius, a -sympathetic recognition of the traits that characterize oral literature -wherever and in whatever degree they exist. This faculty, which even the -folk has not retained, and which collectors living in ballad-singing and -tale-telling times have often failed to acquire, was vouchsafed by -nature herself to this sedentary scholar. In reality a kind of instinct, -it had been so cultivated by long and loving study of the traditional -literature of all nations that it had become wonderfully swift in its -operations and almost infallible. A forged or retouched piece could not -deceive him for a moment; he detected the slightest jar in the genuine -ballad tone. He speaks in one place of certain writers "who would have -been all the better historians for a little reading of romances." He was -himself the better interpreter of the poetry of art for this keen -sympathy with the poetry of nature. - -Constant association with the spirit of the folk did its part in -maintaining, under the stress of unremitting study and research, that -freshness and buoyancy of mind which was the wonder of all who met -Professor Child for the first time, and the perpetual delight of his -friends and associates. It is impossible to describe the charm of his -familiar conversation. There was endless variety without effort. His -peculiar humor, taking shape in a thousand felicities of thought and -phrase that fell casually and as it were inevitably from his lips, -exhilarated without reaction or fatigue. His lightest words were full of -fruitful suggestion. Sudden strains of melancholy or high seriousness -were followed, in a moment, by flashes of gaiety almost boyish. And -pervading it all one felt the attraction of his personality and the -goodness of his heart. - -Professor Child's humor was not only one of his most striking -characteristics as a man; it was of constant service to his scholarly -researches. Keenly alive to any incongruity in thought or fact, and the -least self-conscious of men, he scrutinized his own nascent theories -with the same humorous shrewdness with which he looked at the ideas of -others. It is impossible to think of him as the sponsor of some -hypotheses which men of equal eminence have advanced and defended with -passion; and, even if his goodness of nature had not prevented it, his -sense of the ridiculous would not have suffered him to engage in the -absurdities of philological polemics. In the interpretation of -literature, his humor stood him in good stead, keeping his native -sensibility under due control, so that it never degenerated into -sentimentalism. It made him a marvelous interpreter of Chaucer, whose -spirit he had caught to a degree attained by no other scholar or -critic. - -To younger scholars Professor Child was an influence at once stimulating -and benignant. To confer with him was always to be stirred to greater -effort, but, at the same time, the serenity of his devotion to learning -chastened the petulance of immature ambition in others. The talk might -be quite concrete, even definitely practical,--it might deal with -indifferent matters; but, in some way, there was an irradiation of the -master's nature that dispelled all unworthy feelings. In the presence of -his noble modesty the bustle of self-assertion was quieted and the petty -spirit of pedantic wrangling could not assert itself. However severe his -criticism, there were no personalities in it. He could not be other than -outspoken,--concealment and shuffling were abhorrent to him,--yet such -was his kindliness that his frankest judgments never wounded; even his -reproofs left no sting. With his large charity was associated, as its -necessary complement in a strong character, a capacity for righteous -indignation. "He is almost the only man I know," said one in his -lifetime, "who _thinks no evil_." There could be no truer word. Yet when -he was confronted with injury or oppression, none could stand against -the anger of this just man. His unselfishness did not suffer him to see -offences against himself, but wrong done to another roused him in an -instant to protesting action. - -Professor Child's publications, despite their magnitude and -importance, are no adequate measure either of his acquirements or of -his influence. He printed nothing about Shakspere, for example, yet he -was the peer of any Shaksperian, past or present, in knowledge and -interpretative power. As a Chaucer scholar he had no superior, in this -country or in Europe: his published work was confined, as we have -seen, to questions of language, but no one had a wider or closer -acquaintance with the whole subject. An edition of Chaucer from his -hand would have been priceless. His acquaintance with letters was not -confined to special authors or centuries. He was at home in modern -European literature and profoundly versed in that of the Middle Ages. -In his immediate territory,--English,--his knowledge, linguistic and -literary, covered all periods, and was alike exact and thorough. His -taste and judgment were exquisite, and he enlightened every subject -which he touched. As a writer, he was master of a singularly -felicitous style, full of individuality and charm. Had his time not -been occupied in other ways, he would have made the most delightful of -essayists. - -Fortunately, Professor Child's courses of instruction in the -university--particularly those on Chaucer and Shakspere--gave him an -opportunity to impart to a constantly increasing circle of pupils the -choicest fruits of his life of thought and study. In his later years he -had the satisfaction to see grow up about him a school of young -specialists who can have no higher ambition than to be worthy of their -master. But his teaching was not limited to these,--it included all -sorts and conditions of college students; and none, not even the idle -and incompetent, could fail to catch something of his spirit. One thing -may be safely asserted: no university teacher was ever more beloved. - -And with this may fitly close too slight a tribute to the memory of a -great scholar and a good man. Many things remain unsaid. His gracious -family life, his civic virtues, his patriotism, his bounty to the -poor,--all must be passed by with a bare mention, which yet will signify -much to those who knew him. In all ways he lived worthily, and he died -having attained worthy ends. - - G. L. KITTREDGE. - - -[1] C. E. Norton, 'Francis James Child,' in the Proceedings of the -American Academy of Arts and Sciences, XXXII, 334, 335; reprinted, with -some additions, in the Harvard Graduates' Magazine, VI, 161-169 (Boston, -1897). I have used this biographical sketch freely in my brief account -of Professor Child's boyhood. - -[2] Four Old Plays | Three Interludes: Thersytes Jack Jugler | and -Heywoods Pardoner and Frere: | and Jocasta a Tragedy | by Gascoigne and -| Kinwelmarsh | with an | Introduction and Notes | Cambridge | George -Nichols | MDCCCXLVIII. The editor's name does not appear in the -title-page, but the Preface is signed with the initials F. J. C. Jocasta -was printed from Steevens's copy of the first edition of Garcoigne's -Posies, which had come into Mr Child's possession. - -[3] The Poetical Works of Edmund Spenser. The text carefully revised, -and illustrated with notes, original and selected, by Francis J. Child. -Boston: Little, Brown, and Company. 1855. 5 vols. - -[4] The Canterbury Tales of Geoffrey Chaucer. A new text, with -illustrative notes. Edited by Thomas Wright. London, printed for the -Percy Society, 1847-51. 3 vols. - -[5] The paper entitled Observations on the Language of Chaucer was laid -before the American Academy of Arts and Sciences on June 3, 1862, and -was published in the Memoirs of the Academy, Vol. VIII, pt. ii, 445-502 -(Boston, 1863). The second paper, entitled Observations on the Language -of Gower's Confessio Amantis, was laid before the Academy on January 9, -1866, and appeared in Memoirs, IX, ii, 265-315 (Boston, 1873). A few -copies of each paper were struck off separately, but these are now very -hard to find. Mr Ellis's rearrangement and amalgamation of the two -papers, which is by no means a good substitute for the papers -themselves, may be found in Part I of his Early English Pronunciation, -London, 1869, pp. 343-97. - -[6] English and Scottish Ballads. Selected and edited by Francis James -Child. Boston, 1857-58. - -[7] How inseparable were the services of Dr Furnivall and those of -Professor Child in securing this devoutly wished consummation may be -seen by comparing Dr Furnivall's Forewords (I, ix, x), in which he gives -much of the credit to Mr Child, with Mr Child's Dedication (in vol. I of -the present collection), in which he gives the credit to Dr Furnivall. - -[8] Since Mr Child's death the important "Buchan original MS" has been -secured for the Child Memorial Library of the University,--a collection -endowed by friends and pupils of the dead master. - -[9] See V, 397 b. - -[10] This is 'Young Betrice,' No 5 in William Tytler's lost Brown MS. -(V, 397), which "may possibly be a version of 'Hugh Spencer's Feats in -France'" (see II, 377; III, 275). - - - - -1 - -RIDDLES WISELY EXPOUNDED - - #A. a.# 'A Noble Riddle Wisely Expounded; or, The Maid's - Answer to the Knight's Three Questions,' 4to, Rawlinson, - 566, fol. 193, Bodleian Library; Wood, E. 25, fol. 15, - Bod. Lib. #b.# Pepys, III, 19, No 17, Magdalen College, - Cambridge. #c.# Douce, II, fol. 168 b, Bod. Lib. #d.# 'A - Riddle Wittily Expounded,' Pills to Purge Melancholy, IV, - 129, ed. 1719. "II, 129, ed. 1712." - - #B.# 'The Three Sisters.' Some Ancient Christmas Carols - ... together with two Ancient Ballads, etc. By Davies - Gilbert, 2d ed., p. 65. - - #C.# 'The Unco Knicht's Wowing,' Motherwell's MS., p. 647. - - #D.# Motherwell's MS., p. 142. - - -The four copies of #A# differ but very slightly: #a#, #b#, #c# are -broadsides, and #d# is evidently of that derivation, #a# and #b# are of -the 17th century. There is another broadside in the Euing collection, -formerly Halliwell's, No 253. The version in The Borderer's Table Book, -VII, 83, was compounded by Dixon from others previously printed. - -Riddles, as is well known, play an important part in popular story, and -that from very remote times. No one needs to be reminded of Samson, -[OE]dipus, Apollonius of Tyre. Riddle-tales, which, if not so old as the -oldest of these, may be carried in all likelihood some centuries beyond -our era, still live in Asiatic and European tradition, and have their -representatives in popular ballads. The largest class of these tales is -that in which one party has to guess another's riddles, or two rivals -compete in giving or guessing, under penalty in either instance of -forfeiting life or some other heavy wager; an example of which is the -English ballad, modern in form, of 'King John and the Abbot of -Canterbury.' In a second class, a suitor can win a lady's hand only by -guessing riddles, as in our 'Captain Wedderburn's Courtship' and 'Proud -Lady Margaret.' There is sometimes a penalty of loss of life for the -unsuccessful, but not in these ballads. Thirdly, there is the tale -(perhaps an offshoot of an early form of the first) of The Clever Lass, -who wins a husband, and sometimes a crown, by guessing riddles, solving -difficult but practicable problems, or matching and evading -impossibilities; and of this class versions #A# and #B# of the present -ballad and #A-H# of the following are specimens. - -Ballads like our 1, #A#, #B#, 2, #A-H#, are very common in #German#. Of -the former variety are the following: - -#A.# 'Räthsellied,' Büsching, Wöchentliche Nachrichten, I, 65, from the -neighborhood of Stuttgart. The same, Erlach, III, 37; Wunderhorn, IV, -139; Liederhort, p. 338, No 153; Erk u. Irmer, H. 5, p. 32, No 29; -Mittler, No 1307 (omits the last stanza); Zuccalmaglio, II, 574, No 317 -[with change in st. 11]. A knight meets a maid on the road, dismounts, -and says, "I will ask you a riddle; if you guess it, you shall be my -wife." She answers, "Your riddle shall soon be guessed; I will do my -best to be your wife;" guesses eight pairs of riddles, is taken up -behind him, and they ride off. #B.# 'Räthsel um Räthsel,' Wunderhorn, -II, 407 [429, 418]==Erlach, I, 439. Zuccalmaglio, II, 572, No 316, -rearranges, but adds nothing. Mittler, No 1306, inserts three stanzas -(7, 9, 10). This version begins: "Maid, I will give you some riddles, -and if you guess them will marry you." There are seven pairs, and, these -guessed, the man says, "I can't give you riddles; let's marry;" to -which she gives no coy assent: but this conclusion is said not to be -genuine (Liederhort, p. 341, note). #C.# 'Räthsellied,' Erk, Neue -Sammlung, Heft 3, p. 64, No 57, and Liederhort, 340, No 153^a two -Brandenburg versions, nearly agreeing, one with six, the other with -five, pairs of riddles. A proper conclusion not having been obtained, -the former was completed by the two last stanzas of #B#, which are -suspicious. #C# begins like #B#. #D.# 'Räthselfragen,' Peter, -Volksthümliches aus Österreichisch-Schlesien, I, 272, No 83. A knight -rides by where two maids are sitting, one of whom salutes him, the other -not. He says to the former, "I will put you three questions, and if you -can answer them will marry you." He asks three, then six more, then -three, and then two, and, all being answered, bids her, since she is so -witty, build a house on a needle's point, and put in as many windows as -there are stars in the sky; which she parries with, "When all streams -flow together, and all trees shall fruit, and all thorns bear roses, -then come for your answer." #E.# 'Räthsellied,' Tschischka u. Schottky, -Oesterreichische Volkslieder, 2d ed., p. 28, begins like #B#, #C#, has -only three pairs of riddles, and ends with the same task of building a -house on a needle's point. #F.# 'Räthsellied,' Hocker, Volkslieder von -der Mosel, in Wolf's Zeits. für deutsche Myth., I, 251, from Trier, -begins with the usual promise, has five pairs of riddles, and no -conclusion. #G.# 'Räthsel,' Ditfurth, Fränkische V. L., II, 110, No 146, -has the same beginning, six pairs of riddles, and no conclusion. - -Some of the riddles occur in nearly all the versions, some in only one -or two, and there is now and then a variation also in the answers. Those -which are most frequent are: - - Which is the maid without a tress? #A-D#, #G#. - And which is the tower without a crest? #A-D#, #F#, #G#. - (Maid-child in the cradle; tower of Babel.) - Which is the water without any sand? #A#, #B#, #C#, #F#, #G#. - And which is the king without any land? #A#, #B#, #C#, #F#, #G#. - (Water in the eyes; king in cards.) - Where is no dust in all the road? #A-G.# - Where is no leaf in all the wood? #A-G.# - (The milky way, or a river; a fir-wood.) - Which is the fire that never burnt? #A#, #C-G#. - And which is the sword without a point? #C-G.# - (A painted fire; a broken sword.) - Which is the house without a mouse? #C-G.# - Which is the beggar without a louse? #C-G.# - (A snail's house; a painted beggar.)[11] - -A ballad translated in Ralston's Songs of the Russian People, p. 356, -from Buslaef's Historical Sketches of National Literature and Art, I, -31, resembles very closely German #A#. A merchant's son drives by a -garden where a girl is gathering flowers. He salutes her; she returns -her thanks. Then the ballad proceeds: - - 'Shall I ask thee riddles, beauteous maiden? - Six wise riddles shall I ask thee?' - 'Ask them, ask them, merchant's son, - Prithee ask the six wise riddles.' - 'Well then, maiden, what is higher than the forest? - Also, what is brighter than the light? - Also, maiden, what is thicker than the forest? - Also, maiden, what is there that's rootless? - Also, maiden, what is never silent? - Also, what is there past finding out?' - 'I will answer, merchant's son, will answer, - All the six wise riddles will I answer. - Higher than the forest is the moon; - Brighter than the light the ruddy sun; - Thicker than the forest are the stars; - Rootless is, O merchant's son, a stone; - Never silent, merchant's son, the sea; - And God's will is past all finding out.' - 'Thou hast guessed, O maiden fair, guessed rightly, - All the six wise riddles hast thou answered; - Therefore now to me shalt thou be wedded, - Therefore, maiden, shalt thou be the merchant's wife.'[12] - -Among the Gaels, both Scotch and Irish, a ballad of the same description -is extremely well known. Apparently only the questions are preserved in -verse, and the connection with the story made by a prose comment. Of -these questions there is an Irish form, dated 1738, which purports to be -copied from a manuscript of the twelfth century. Fionn would marry no -lady whom he could pose. Graidhne, "daughter of the king of the fifth of -Ullin," answered everything he asked, and became his wife. Altogether -there are thirty-two questions in the several versions. Among them are: -What is blacker than the raven? (There is death.) What is whiter than -the snow? (There is the truth.) 'Fionn's Questions,' Campbell's Popular -Tales of the West Highlands, III, 36; 'Fionn's Conversation with -Ailbhe,'Heroic Gaelic Ballads, by the same, pp. 150, 151. - -The familiar ballad-knight of #A#, #B# is converted in #C# into an "unco -knicht," who is the devil, a departure from the proper story which is -found also in #2 J#. The conclusion of #C#, - - As soon as she the fiend did name, - He flew awa in a blazing flame, - -reminds us of the behavior of trolls and nixes under like circumstances, -but here the naming amounts to a detection of the Unco Knicht's -quiddity, acts as an exorcism, and simply obliges the fiend to go off in -his real character. #D# belongs with #C#: it was given by the reciter as -a colloquy between the devil and a maiden. - -The earlier affinities of this ballad can be better shown in connection -with No 2. - -Translated, after #B# and #A#, in Grundtvig's Engelske og skotske -Folkeviser, p. 181: Herder, Volkslieder, I, 95, after #A d#. - - -A - -#a.# Broadside in the Rawlinson collection, 4to, 566, fol. 193, Wood, E. -25, fol. 15. #b.# Pepys, III, 19, No 17. #c.# Douce, II, fol. 168 b. -#d.# Pills to Purge Melancholy, IV, 130, ed. 1719. - - 1 - There was a lady of the North Country, - Lay the bent to the bonny broom - And she had lovely daughters three. - Fa la la la, fa la la la ra re - - 2 - There was a knight of noble worth - Which also lived in the North. - - 3 - The knight, of courage stout and brave, - A wife he did desire to have. - - 4 - He knocked at the ladie's gate - One evening when it was late. - - 5 - The eldest sister let him in, - And pin'd the door with a silver pin. - - 6 - The second sister she made his bed, - And laid soft pillows under his head. - - 7 - The youngest daughter that same night, - She went to bed to this young knight. - - 8 - And in the morning, when it was day, - These words unto him she did say: - - 9 - 'Now you have had your will,' quoth she, - 'I pray, sir knight, will you marry me?' - - 10 - The young brave knight to her replyed, - 'Thy suit, fair maid, shall not be deny'd. - - 11 - 'If thou canst answer me questions three, - This very day will I marry thee.' - - 12 - 'Kind sir, in love, O then,' quoth she, - 'Tell me what your [three] questions be.' - - 13 - 'O what is longer than the way, - Or what is deeper than the sea? - - 14 - 'Or what is louder than the horn, - Or what is sharper than a thorn? - - 15 - 'Or what is greener than the grass, - Or what is worse then a woman was?' - - 16 - 'O love is longer than the way, - And hell is deeper than the sea. - - 17 - 'And thunder is louder than the horn, - And hunger is sharper than a thorn. - - 18 - 'And poyson is greener than the grass, - And the Devil is worse than woman was.' - - 19 - When she these questions answered had, - The knight became exceeding glad. - - 20 - And having [truly] try'd her wit, - He much commended her for it. - - 21 - And after, as it is verifi'd, - He made of her his lovely bride. - - 22 - So now, fair maidens all, adieu, - This song I dedicate to you. - - 23 - I wish that you may constant prove - Vnto the man that you do love. - - -B - - Gilbert's Christmas Carols, 2d ed., p. 65, from the - editor's recollection. West of England. - - 1 - There were three sisters fair and bright, - Jennifer gentle and rosemaree - And they three loved one valiant knight. - As the dew flies over the mulberry tree - - 2 - The eldest sister let him in, - And barred the door with a silver pin. - - 3 - The second sister made his bed, - And placed soft pillows under his head. - - 4 - The youngest sister, fair and bright, - Was resolved for to wed with this valiant knight. - - 5 - 'And if you can answer questions three, - O then, fair maid, I will marry with thee. - - 6 - 'What is louder than an horn, - And what is sharper than a thorn?' - - 7 - 'Thunder is louder than an horn, - And hunger is sharper than a thorn.' - - 8 - 'What is broader than the way, - And what is deeper than the sea?' - - 9 - 'Love is broader than the way, - And hell is deeper than the sea.' - - * * * * * * * - - 10 - . . . . . . . - 'And now, fair maid, I will marry with thee.' - - -C - - Motherwell's MS., p. 647. From the recitation of Mrs - Storie. - - 1 - There was a knicht riding frae the east, - Sing the Cather banks, the bonnie brume - Wha had been wooing at monie a place. - And ye may beguile a young thing sune - - 2 - He came unto a widow's door - And speird whare her three dochters were. - - 3 - The auldest ane's to a washing gane, - The second's to a baking gane. - - 4 - The youngest ane's to a wedding gane, - And it will be nicht or she be hame. - - 5 - He sat him doun upon a stane, - Till thir three lasses came tripping hame. - - 6 - The auldest ane's to the bed making, - And the second ane's to the sheet spreading. - - 7 - The youngest ane was bauld and bricht, - And she was to lye with this unco knicht. - - 8 - 'Gin ye will answer me questions ten, - The morn ye sall be made my ain. - - 9 - 'O what is heigher nor the tree? - And what is deeper nor the sea? - - 10 - 'Or what is heavier nor the lead? - And what is better nor the breid? - - 11 - 'O what is whiter nor the milk? - Or what is safter nor the silk? - - 12 - 'Or what is sharper nor a thorn? - Or what is louder nor a horn? - - 13 - 'Or what is greener nor the grass? - Or what is waur nor a woman was?' - - 14 - 'O heaven is higher nor the tree, - And hell is deeper nor the sea. - - 15 - 'O sin is heavier nor the lead, - The blessing's better nor the bread. - - 16 - 'The snaw is whiter nor the milk, - And the down is safter nor the silk. - - 17 - 'Hunger is sharper nor a thorn, - And shame is louder nor a horn. - - 18 - 'The pies are greener nor the grass, - And Clootie's waur nor a woman was.' - - 19 - As sune as she the fiend did name, - He flew awa in a blazing flame. - - -D - - Motherwell's MS., p. 142. - - 1 - 'O what is higher than the trees? - Gar lay the bent to the bonny broom - And what is deeper than the seas? - And you may beguile a fair maid soon - - 2 - 'O what is whiter than the milk? - Or what is softer than the silk? - - 3 - 'O what is sharper than the thorn? - O what is louder than the horn? - - 4 - 'O what is longer than the way? - And what is colder than the clay? - - 5 - 'O what is greener than the grass? - And what is worse than woman was?' - - 6 - 'O heaven's higher than the trees, - And hell is deeper than the seas. - - 7 - 'And snow is whiter than the milk, - And love is softer than the silk. - - 8 - 'O hunger's sharper than the thorn, - And thunder's louder than the horn. - - 9 - 'O wind is longer than the way, - And death is colder than the clay. - - 10 - 'O poison's greener than the grass, - And the Devil's worse than eer woman was.' - - * * * * * - -#A. a.# - - _Title._ A Noble Riddle wisely Expounded: or, The Maids answer - to the Knights Three Questions. - - She with her excellent wit and civil carriage, - Won a young Knight to joyn with him in marriage; - This gallant couple now is man and wife, - And she with him doth lead a pleasant Life. - - Tune of Lay the bent to the bonny broom. - - +---------------+ +--------------+ - | | | | - | WOODCUT OF | | WOODCUT OF | - | THE KNIGHT. | | THE MAID. | - | | | | - +---------------+ +--------------+ - - #c.# Knights questions. Wed a knight ... with her in - marriage. - - #a.# Printed for F. Coles, T. Vere, I. Wright, and I. Clarke. - - #b.# Printed for W. Thackeray, E.M. and A.M. - - #c.# Licens'd according to Order. London. Printed by Tho. - Norris, at the L[o]oking glass on London-bridge. And sold by - J. Walter, in High Holborn. - - _In Rawlinson and Wood the first seven lines are in Roman and - Italic type; the remainder being in black letter and Roman. - The Pepys copy has one line of the ballad in black letter - and one line in Roman type. The Douce edition is in Roman - and Italic._ - -#A.# - - 1^1, #c#, i' th' North: #d#, in the. - - 3^1. #c#, This knight. - - 5^1. #a#, #b#, #c#, #d#, The youngest sister. - - 7^1. #b#, #d#, The youngest that same. #c#, that very same. - - 7^2. #a#, with this young knight. - - 9^2. #d#, sir knight, you marry me. - - _After 10, there is a wood-cut of the knight and the maid in - #a#; in #b# two cuts of the knight._ - - 11^2. #c#, I'll marry. #d#, I will. - - 12^1. #c# _omits_ in love. - - 12^2. #b#, #c#, #d#, three questions. - - 14^1. #d#, a horn. - - _After 15_: #a#, Here follows the Damosel's answer to the - Knight's Three Questions: #c#, The Damsel's Answers To The - Knight's Questions: #d#, The Damsel's Answer to the Three - Questions. - - 17, 18. #b#, #c#, #d#, thunder's, hunger's, poyson's, devil's. - - 18^2. #d#, the woman. - - 19^1. #c#, those. - - 20. #a#, #b# _omit_ truly. - - 21^1. #b#, #c#, #d#, as 't is. - -#B.# - - _The burden is printed by Gilbert, in the text, "~Jennifer - gentle and Rosemaree~." He appears to take ~Jennifer~ and - ~Rosemaree~ to be names of the sisters. As printed under the - music, the burden runs,_ - - Juniper, Gentle and Rosemary. - - _No doubt, ~juniper and rosemary~, simply, are meant; ~Gentle~ - might possibly be for ~gentian~. In #2 H# the burden is,_ - - Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme: - - _curiously varied in #I# thus:_ - - Every rose grows merry wi thyme: - - _and in #G#,_ - - Sober and grave grows merry in time. - -#C.# - - 18. "_~Vergris~ in another set._" M. - -#D.# - - _MS. before st. 1, "~The Devil speaks~;" before st. 6, "~The - maiden speaks~."_ - -FOOTNOTES: - -[11] #D# 4, What is green as clover? What is white as milk? comes near -to English #A# 15, #C# 13, #D# 5, What is greener than grass? #C# 11, -#D# 2, What is whiter than milk? We have again, What is greener than -grass? in 'Capt. Wedderburn's Courtship,' #A# 12; What is whiter than -snow? What is greener than clover? in 'Räthselfragen,' Firmenich, -Germaniens Völkerstimmen, III, 634; in 'Kranzsingen,' Erk's Liederhort, -p. 342, 3; 'Traugemundslied,' 11; 'Ein Spiel von den Freiheit,' -Fastnachtspiele aus dem 15n Jahrhundert, II, 555; Altdeutsche Wälder, -III, 138. So, What is whiter than a swan? in many of the versions of -Svend Vonved, Grundtvig, III, 786; IV, 742-3-7-8; Afzelius, II, 139, -etc.; and Sin is blacker than a sloe, or coal (cf. C 15, Sin is heavier -nor the lead), Grundtvig, I, 240, 247; IV, 748, 9; Afzelius, II, 139. -The road without dust and the tree without leaves are in 'Ein Spiel von -den Freiheit,' p. 557; and in Meier, Deutsche Kinderreime, p. 84, no -doubt a fragment of a ballad, as also the verses in Firmenich. The -question in German, #A# 4, Welches ist das trefflichste Holz? (die Rebe) -is in the Anglo-Saxon prose Salomon and Saturn: Kemble, Sal. and Sat. -188, No 40; 204; see also 287, 10. Riddle verses with little or no story -(sometimes fragments of ballads like #D#) are frequent. The -Traugemundslied, Uhland, I, 3, and the Spiel von den Freiheit, -Fastnachtspiele, II, 553, have only as much story as will serve as an -excuse for long strings of riddles. Shorter pieces of the kind are -(Italian) Kadeu, Italiens Wunderhern, p. 14; (Servian) 'The Maid and the -Fish,' Vuk, I, 196, No 285, Talvj, II, 176, Goetze, Serbische V. L., p. -75, Bowring, Servian Popular Poetry, p. 184; (Polish) Wojcicki, I, 203; -(Wendish) Haupt and Schmaler, I, 177, No 150, II, 69, No 74; (Russian) -Wenzig, Bibliothek Slav. Poesie, p. 174; (Esthonian) Neus, Ehstnische V. -L., 390 ff, and Fosterländskt Album, I, 13, Prior, Ancient Danish -Ballads, II, 341. - -[12] 'Capt. Wedderburn's Courtship,' 12: What's higher than the tree? -(heaven). Wojcicki, Pie[/s]ni, I, 203, l. 11, 206, l. 3; What grows -without a root? (a stone). - - - - -2 - -THE ELFIN KNIGHT - - #A.# 'A proper new ballad entituled The Wind hath blown my - Plaid away, or, A Discourse betwixt a young [Wo]man and - the Elphin Knight;' a broadside in black letter in the - Pepysian library, bound up at the end of a copy of Blind - Harry's 'Wallace,' Edin. 1673. - - #B.# 'A proper new ballad entitled The Wind hath blawn my - Plaid awa,' etc. Webster, A Collection of Curious Old - Ballads, p. 3. - - #C.# 'The Elfin Knicht,' Kinloch's Anc. Scott. Ballads, p. - 145. - - #D.# 'The Fairy Knight,' Buchan, II, 296. - - #E.# Motherwell's MS., p. 492. - - #F.# 'Lord John,' Kinloch MSS, I, 75. - - #G.# 'The Cambrick Shirt,' Gammer Gorton's Garland, p. 3, - ed. 1810. - - #H.# 'The Deil's Courtship,' Motherwell's MS., p. 92. - - #I.# 'The Deil's Courting,' Motherwell's MS., p. 103. - - #J.# Communicated by Rev. Dr Huntington, Bishop of Western - New York, as sung at Hadley, Mass. - - #K.# Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes of England, p. 109, No - 171, 6th ed. - - #L.# Notes and Queries, 1st S., VII, 8. - - -Pinkerton gave the first information concerning #A#, in Ancient Scotish -Poems ... from the MS. collections of Sir Richard Maitland, etc., II, -496, and he there printed the first and last stanzas of the broadside. -Motherwell printed the whole in the appendix to his Minstrelsy, No I. -What stands as the last stanza in the broadside is now prefixed to the -ballad, as having been the original burden. It is the only example, so -far as I remember, which our ballads afford of a burden of this kind, -one that is of greater extent than the stanza with which it was sung, -though this kind of burden seems to have been common enough with old -songs and carols.[13] - -The "old copy in black letter" used for #B# was close to #A#, if not -identical, and has the burden-stem at the end like #A#. 'The Jockey's -Lamentation,' Pills to Purge Melancholy, v, 317, has the burden, - - 'Tis oer the hills and far away [_thrice_], - The wind hath blown my plaid away. - -The 'Bridal Sark,' Cromek's Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, p. -108, and 'The Bridegroom Darg,' p. 113, are of modern manufacture and -impostures; at least, they seem to have imposed upon Cromek. - -A like ballad is very common in German. A man would take, or keep, a -woman for his love or his wife [servant, in one case], if she would spin -brown silk from oaten straw. She will do this if he will make clothes -for her of the linden-leaf. Then she must bring him shears from the -middle of the Rhine. But first he must build her a bridge from a single -twig, etc., etc. To this effect, with some variations in the tasks set, -in #A#, 'Eitle Dinge,' Rhaw, Bicinia (1545), Uhland, I, 14, No 4 A, -Böhme, p. 376, No 293. #B.# 'Van ideln unmöglichen Dingen,' Neocorus -([+] c. 1630), Chronik des Landes Ditmarschen, ed. Dahlmann, p. -180==Uhland, p. 15, No 4 B, Müllenhof, p. 473, Böhme, p. 376, No 294. -#C.# Wunderhorn, II, 410 [431]==Erlach, I, 441, slightly altered in -Kretzschmer [Zuccalmaglio], II, 620. #D.# 'Unmöglichkeiten,' Schmeller, -Die Mundarten Bayerns, p. 556. #E.# Schlesische Volkslieder, p. 115, No -93. #F.# 'Liebes-Neckerei,' Meier, Schwäbische V. L., p. 114, No 39. -#G.# 'Liebesspielereien,' Ditfurth, Fränkische V. L., II, 109, No 144. -#H.# 'Von eitel unmöglichen Dingen,' Erk's Liederhort, p. 337, No -152^b. #I.# 'Unmögliches Begehren,' V. L. aus Oesterreich, Deutsches -Museum, 1862, II, 806, No 16. #J.# 'Unmögliche Dinge,' Peter, -Volksthümliches aus Österreichisch-Schlesien, I, 270, No 82. In #K#, -'Wettgesang,' Meinert, p. 80, and #L#, Liederhort, p. 334, No 152, there -is a simple contest of wits between a youth and a maid, and in #M#, Erk, -Neue Sammlung, #H.# 2, No 11, p. 16, and #N#, 'Wunderbare Aufgaben,' -Pröhle, Weltliche u. geistliche Volkslieder, p. 36, No 22 B, the -wit-contest is added to the very insipid ballad of 'Gemalte Rosen.' - -'Store Fordringar,' Kristensen, Jydske Folkeviser, I, 221, No 82, and -'Opsang,' Lindeman, Norske Fjeldmelodier, No 35 (Text Bilag, p. 6), -closely resemble German #M#, #N#. In the Stev, or alternate song, in -Landstad, p. 375, two singers vie one with another in propounding -impossible tasks. - -A Wendish ballad, Haupt and Schmaler, I, 178, No 151, and a Slovak, -[vC]elakowsky, II, 68, No 12 (the latter translated by Wenzig, Slawische -Volkslieder, p. 86, Westslavischer Märchenschatz, p. 221, and Bibliothek -Slavischer Poesien, p. 126), have lost nearly all their story, and, like -German #K#, #L#, may be called mere wit-contests. - -The Graidhne whom we have seen winning Fionn for husband by guessing his -riddles, p. 3, afterwards became enamored of Diarmaid, Fionn's nephew, -in consequence of her accidentally seeing a beauty spot on Diarmaid's -forehead. This had the power of infecting with love any woman whose eye -should light upon it: wherefore Diarmaid used to wear his cap well down. -Graidhne tried to make Diarmaid run away with her. But he said, "I will -not go with thee. I will not take thee in softness, and I will not take -thee in hardness; I will not take thee without, and I will not take thee -within; I will not take thee on horseback, and I will not take thee on -foot." Then he went and built himself a house where he thought he should -be out of her way. But Graidhne found him out. She took up a position -between the two sides of the door, on a buck goat, and called to him to -go with her. For, said she, "I am not without, I am not within; I am not -on foot, and I am not on a horse; and thou must go with me." After this -Diarmaid had no choice. 'Diarmaid and Grainne,' Tales of the West -Highlands, III, 39-49; 'How Fingal got Graine to be his wife, and she -went away with Diarmaid,' Heroic Gaelic Ballads, p. 153; 'The Death of -Diarmaid,' ib., p. 154. The last two were written down c. 1774. - -In all stories of the kind, the person upon whom a task is imposed -stands acquitted, if another of no less difficulty is devised which must -be performed first. This preliminary may be something that is essential -for the execution of the other, as in the German ballads, or equally -well something that has no kind of relation to the original requisition, -as in the English ballads. - -An early form of such a story is preserved in Gesta Romanorum, c. 64, -Oesterley, p. 374. It were much to be wished that search were made for a -better copy, for, as it stands, this tale is to be interpreted only by -the English ballad. The old English version, Madden, XLIII, p. 142, is -even worse mutilated than the Latin. A king, who was stronger, wiser, -and handsomer than any man, delayed, like the Marquis of Saluzzo, to -take a wife. His friends urged him to marry, and he replied to their -expostulations, "You know I am rich enough and powerful enough; find me -a maid who is good looking and sensible, and I will take her to wife, -though she be poor." A maid was found who was eminently good looking and -sensible, and of royal blood besides. The king wished to make trial of -her sagacity, and sent her a bit of linen three inches square, with a -promise to marry her if she would make him a shirt of this, of proper -length and width. The lady stipulated that the king should send her "a -vessel in which she could work," and she would make the shirt: "michi -vas concedat in quo operari potero, et camisiam satis longam ei -promitto." So the king sent "vas debitum et preciosum," the shirt was -made, and the king married her.[14] It may be doubted whether the -sagacious maid did not, in the unmutilated story, deal with the problem -as is done in a Transylvanian tale, Haltrich, Deutsche Volksmärchen, -u.s.w., No 45, p. 245, where the king requires the maid to make a shirt -and drawers of two threads. The maid, in this instance, sends the king a -couple of broomsticks, requiring that he should first make her a loom -and bobbin-wheel out of them. - -The tale just cited, 'Der Burghüter und seine kluge Tochter,' is one of -several which have been obtained from tradition in this century, that -link the ballads of The Clever Lass with oriental stories of great age. -The material points are these. A king requires the people of a parish -to answer three questions, or he will be the destruction of them all: -What is the finest sound, the finest song, the finest stone? A poor -warder is instructed by his daughter to reply, the ring of bells, the -song of the angels, the philosopher's stone. "Right," says the king, -"but that never came out of your head. Confess who told you, or a -dungeon is your doom." The man owns that he has a clever daughter, who -had told him what to say. The king, to prove her sagacity further, -requires her to make a shirt and drawers of two threads, and she -responds in the manner just indicated. He next sends her by her father -an earthen pot with the bottom out, and tells her to sew in a bottom so -that no seam or stitch can be seen. She sends her father back with a -request that the king should first turn the pot inside out, for cobblers -always sew on the inside, not on the out. The king next demanded that -the girl should come to him, neither driving, nor walking, nor riding; -neither dressed nor naked; neither out of the road nor in the road; and -bring him something that was a gift and no gift. She put two wasps -between two plates, stripped, enveloped herself in a fishing net, put -her goat into the rut in the road, and, with one foot on the goat's -back, the other stepping along the rut, made her way to the king. There -she lifted up one of the plates, and the wasps flew away: so she had -brought the king a present and yet no present. The king thought he could -never find a shrewder woman, and married her. - -Of the same tenor are a tale in Zingerle's Tyrolese Kinder u. -Hausmärchen, 'Was ist das Schönste, Stärkste und Reichste?' No 27, p. -162, and another in the Colshorns' Hanoverian Märchen u. Sagen, 'Die -kluge Dirne,' No 26, p. 79. Here a rich and a poor peasant [a farmer and -his bailiff] have a case in court, and wrangle till the magistrate, in -his weariness, says he will give them three questions, and whichever -answers right shall win. The questions in the former tale are: What is -the most beautiful, what the strongest, what the richest thing in the -world? In the other, What is fatter than fat? How heavy is the moon? How -far is it to heaven? The answers suggested by the poor peasant's -daughter are: Spring is the most beautiful of things, the ground the -strongest, autumn the richest. And the bailiff's daughter answers: The -ground is fatter than fat, for out of it comes all that's fat, and this -all goes back again; the moon has four quarters, and four quarters make -a pound; heaven is only one day's journey, for we read in the Bible, -"Today shalt thou be with me in Paradise." The judge sees that these -replies are beyond the wit of the respondents, and they own to having -been prompted by a daughter at home. The judge then says that if the -girl will come to him neither dressed nor naked, etc., he will marry -her; and so the shrewd wench becomes a magistrate's wife. - -'Die kluge Bauerntochter,' in the Grimms' K. u. H. märchen, No 94, and -'Die kluge Hirtentochter,' in Pröhle's Märchen für die Jugend, No 49, p. -181, afford another variety of these tales. A peasant, against the -advice of his daughter, carries the king a golden mortar, as he had -found it, without any pestle. The king shuts him up in prison till he -shall produce the pestle [Grimms]. The man does nothing but cry, "Oh, -that I had listened to my daughter!" The king sends for him, and, -learning what the girl's counsel had been, says he will give her a -riddle, and if she can make it out will marry her. She must come to him -neither clothed nor naked, neither riding nor driving, etc. The girl -wraps herself in a fishing net [Grimms, in bark, Pröhle], satisfies the -other stipulations also, and becomes a queen.[15] - -Another story of the kind, and very well preserved, is No 25 of Vuk's -Volksmärchen der Serben, 'Von dem Mädchen das an Weisheit den Kaiser -übertraf,' p. 157. A poor man had a wise daughter. An emperor gave him -thirty eggs, and said his daughter must hatch chickens from these, or it -would go hard with her. The girl perceived that the eggs had been -boiled. She boiled some beans, and told her father to be ploughing along -the road, and when the emperor came in sight, to sow them and cry, "God -grant my boiled beans may come up!" The emperor, hearing these -ejaculations, stopped, and said, "My poor fellow, how _can_ boiled beans -grow?" The father answered, according to instructions, "As well as -chickens can hatch from boiled eggs." Then the emperor gave the old man -a bundle of linen, and bade him make of it, on pain of death, sails and -everything else requisite for a ship. The girl gave her father a piece -of wood, and sent him back to the emperor with the message that she -would perform what he had ordered, if he would first make her a distaff, -spindle, and loom out of the wood. The emperor was astonished at the -girl's readiness, and gave the old man a glass, with which she was to -drain the sea. The girl dispatched her father to the emperor again with -a pound of tow, and asked him to stop the mouths of all the rivers that -flow into the sea; then she would drain it dry. Hereupon the emperor -ordered the girl herself before him, and put her the question, "What is -heard furthest?" "Please your Majesty," she answered, "thunder and -lies." The emperor then, clutching his beard, turned to his assembled -counsellors, and said, "Guess how much my beard is worth." One said so -much, another so much. But the girl said, "Nay, the emperor's beard is -worth three rains in summer." The emperor took her to wife. - -With these traditional tales we may put the story of wise Petronelle and -Alphonso, king of Spain, told after a chronicle, with his usual -prolixity, by Gower, Confessio Amantis, Pauli, I, 145 ff. The king -valued himself highly for his wit, and was envious of a knight who -hitherto had answered all his questions. Determined to confound his -humbler rival, he devised three which he thought unanswerable, sent for -the knight, and gave him a fortnight to consider his replies, which -failing, he would lose his goods and head. The knight can make nothing -of these questions, which are, What is that which needs help least and -gets most? What is worth most and costs least? What costs most and is -worth least? The girl, who is but fourteen years old, observing her -father's heavy cheer, asks him the reason, and obtains his permission to -go to court with him and answer the questions. He was to say to the king -that he had deputed her to answer, to make trial of her wits. The answer -to the first question is the earth, and agrees in the details with the -solution of the query, What is fatter than fat? in the Tyrolese and the -Hanoverian tale. Humility is the answer to the second, and pride the -third answer. The king admires the young maid, and says he would marry -her if her father were noble; but she may ask a boon. She begs for her -father an earldom which had lately escheated; and, this granted, she -reminds the king of what he had said; her father is now noble. The king -marries her. - -In all these seven tales a daughter gets her father out of trouble by -the exercise of a superior understanding, and marries an emperor, a -king, or at least far above her station. The Grimms' story has the -feature, not found in the others, that the father had been thrown into -prison. Still another variety of these stories, inferior, but preserving -essential traits, is given by Schleicher, Litauische Märchen, p. 3, 'Vom -schlauen Mädchen.' - -A Turkish tale from South Siberia will take us a step further, 'Die -beiden Fürsten,' Radloff, Proben der Volkslitteratur der türkischen -Stämme Süd-Sibiriens, I, 197. A prince had a feeble-minded son, for whom -he wished to get a wife. He found a girl gathering fire-wood with -others, and, on asking her questions, had reason to be pleased with her -superior discretion. He sent an ox to the girl's father, with a message -that on the third day he would pay him a visit, and if by that time he -had not made the ox drop a calf and give milk, he would lose his head. -The old man and his wife fell to weeping. The daughter bade them be of -good cheer, killed the ox, and gave it to her parents to eat. On the -third day she stationed herself on the road by which the prince would -come, and was gathering herbs. The prince asked what this was for. The -girl said, "Because my father is in the pangs of child-birth, and I am -going to spread these herbs under him." "Why," said the prince, "it is -not the way, that men should bear children." "But if a man can't bear -children," answered the girl, "how can an ox have a calf?" The prince -was pleased, but said nothing. He went away, and sent his messenger -again with three stones in a bag. He would come on the third day, and if -the stones were not then made into boots, the old man would lose his -head. On the third day the prince came, with all his grandees. The girl -was by the roadside, collecting sand in a bag. "What are you going to do -with that sand?" asked the prince. "Make thread," said she. "But who -ever made thread out of sand?" "And who ever made boots out of stones?" -she rejoined. The prince laughed in his sleeve, prepared a great -wedding, and married the girl to his son. Soon after, another prince -wrote him a letter, saying, "Do not let us be fighting and killing, but -let us guess riddles. If you guess all mine, I will be your subject; if -you fail, I will take all your having." They were a whole year at the -riddles. The other prince "knew three words more," and threw ours into a -deep dungeon. From the depths of this dungeon he contrived to send a -profoundly enigmatic dispatch to his daughter-in-law, who understood -everything, disguised herself as one of his friends, and proposed to the -victor to guess riddles again. The clever daughter-in-law "knew seven -words more" than he, took her father-in-law out of the dungeon, threw -his rival in, and had all the people and property of the vanquished -prince for her own. - -This Siberian tale links securely those which precede it with a -remarkable group of stories, covering by representatives still extant, -or which may be shown to have existed, a large part of Asia and of -Europe. This group includes, besides a Wallachian and a Magyar tale from -recent popular tradition, one Sanskrit form; two Tibetan, derived from -Sanskrit; one Mongol, from Tibetan; three Arabic and one Persian, which -also had their source in Sanskrit; two Middle-Greek, derived from -Arabic, one of which is lost; and two old Russian, from lost -Middle-Greek versions.[16] - -The gist of these narratives is that one king propounds tasks to -another; in the earlier ones, with the intent to discover whether his -brother monarch enjoys the aid of such counsellors as will make an -attack on him dangerous; in the later, with a demand that he shall -acquit himself satisfactorily, or suffer a forfeit: and the king is -delivered from a serious strait by the sagacity either of a minister -(whom he had ordered to be put to death, but who was still living in -prison, or at least seclusion) or of the daughter of his minister, who -came to her father's assistance. Which is the prior of these two last -inventions it would not be easy to say. These tasks are always such as -require ingenuity of one kind or another, whether in devising practical -experiments, in contriving subterfuges, in solving riddles, or even in -constructing compliments.[17] - -One of the Tibetan tales, which, though dating from the beginning of -our era, will very easily be recognized in the Siberian tradition of -this century, is to this effect. King Rabssaldschal had a rich minister, -who desired a suitable wife for his youngest son. A Brahman, his trusty -friend, undertook to find one. In the course of his search, which -extended through many countries, the Brahman saw one day a company of -five hundred maidens, who were making garlands to offer to Buddha. One -of these attracted his notice by her behavior, and impressed him -favorably by replies to questions which he put.[18] The Brahman made -proposals to her father in behalf of the minister's son. These were -accepted, and the minister went with a great train to fetch home the -bride. On the way back his life was twice saved by taking her advice, -and when she was domiciliated, she so surpassed her sisters-in-law in -housekeeping talents and virtues that everything was put under her -direction. Discord arose between the king of the country she had left -and Rabssaldschal, under whom she was now living. The former wished to -make trial whether the latter had an able and keen-witted minister or -not, and sent him two mares, dam and filly, exactly alike in appearance, -with the demand that he should distinguish them. Neither king nor -counsellor could discern any difference; but when the minister's -daughter heard of their difficulty, she said, "Nothing is easier. Tie -the two together and put grass before them; the mother will push the -best before the foal." This was done; the king decided accordingly, and -the hostile ambassador owned that he was right. Soon after, the foreign -prince sent two snakes, of the same size and form, and demanded which -was male, which female. The king and his advisers were again in a -quandary. The minister resorted to his daughter-in-law. She said, "Lay -them both on cotton-wool: the female will lie quiet, the male not; for -it is of the feminine nature to love the soft and the comfortable, which -the masculine cannot tolerate." They followed these directions; the king -gave his verdict, the ambassador acquiesced, the minister received -splendid presents. For a final trial the unfriendly king sent a long -stick of wood, of equal thickness, with no knots or marks, and asked -which was the under and which the upper end. No one could say. The -minister referred the question to his daughter. She answered, "Put the -stick into water: the root end will sink a little, the upper end float." -The experiment was tried; the king said to the ambassador, "This is the -upper end, this the root end," to which he assented, and great presents -were again given to the minister. The adverse monarch was convinced that -his only safe course was peace and conciliation, and sent his ambassador -back once more with an offering of precious jewels and of amity for the -future. This termination was highly gratifying to Rabssaldschal, who -said to his minister, How could you see through all these things? The -minister said, It was not I, but my clever daughter-in-law. When the -king learned this, he raised the young woman to the rank of his younger -sister. - -The wise daughter is not found in the Sanskrit tale,[19] which also -differs from the Buddhist versions in this: that in the Sanskrit the -minister had become an object of displeasure to the king, and in -consequence had long been lying in prison when the crisis occurred which -rendered him indispensable, a circumstance which is repeated in the tale -of The Wise Heykar (Arabian Nights, Breslau transl., XIII, 73 ff, -Cabinet des Fées, XXXIX, 266 ff) and in the Life of Æsop. But The Clever -Wench reappears in another tale in the same Sanskrit collection (with -that express title), and gives her aid to her father, a priest, who has -been threatened with banishment by his king if he does not clear up a -dark matter within five days. She may also be recognized in Moradbak, in -Von der Hagen's 1001 Tag, VIII, 199 ff, and even in the minister's wife -in the story of The Wise Heykar. - -The tasks of discriminating dam and filly and the root end from the tip -end of a stick, which occur both in the Tibetan tales and the -Shukasaptati, are found again, with unimportant changes, in the -Wallachian popular story, and the Hungarian, which in general resemble -the Arabic. Some of those in the Arabian tale and in the Life of Æsop -are of the same nature as the wit-trials in the Servian and German -popular tales, the story in the Gesta Romanorum, and the German and -English ballads. The wise Heykar, e.g., is required to sew together a -burst mill-stone. He hands the king a pebble, requesting him first to -make an awl, a file, and scissors out of that. The king of Egypt tells -Æsop, the king of Babylon's champion sage, that when his mares hear the -stallions neigh in Babylon, they cast their foal. Æsop's slaves are told -to catch a cat, and are set to scourging it before the Egyptian public. -Great offense is given, on account of the sacred character of the -animal, and complaint is made to the king, who sends for Æsop in a rage. -Æsop says his king has suffered an injury from this cat, for the night -before the cat had killed a fine fighting-cock of his. "Fie, Æsop!" says -the king of Egypt; "how could the cat go from Egypt to Babylon in one -night?" "Why not," replies Æsop, "as well as mares in Egypt hear the -stallions neigh in Babylon and cast their foal?" - -The tales in the Shukasaptati and in the Dsanglun represent the object -of the sending of the tasks to be to ascertain whether the king retains -the capable minister through whom he has acquired supremacy. According -to the Arabian tale, and those derived from it, tribute is to be paid by -the king whose riddles are guessed, or by him who fails to guess. This -form of story, though it is a secondary one, is yet by no means late, as -is shown by the anecdote in Plutarch, Septem Sapientum Convivium (6), -itself probably a fragment of such a story, in which the king of the -Æthiops gives a task to Amasis, king of Egypt, with a stake of many -towns and cities. This task is the favorite one of draining [drinking] -all the water in the sea, which we have had in the Servian tale (it also -is in the Life of Æsop), and Bias gives the customary advice for dealing -with it.[20] - -From the number of these wise virgins should not be excluded the king's -daughter in the Gesta Romanorum who guesses rightly among the riddles of -the three caskets and marries the emperor's son, though Bassanio has -extinguished her just fame: Madden's Old English Versions, p. 238, No -66; Collier, Shakspere's Library, II, 102. - -The first three or four stanzas of #A-E# form the beginning of 'Lady -Isabel and the Elf-Knight,' and are especially appropriate to that -ballad, but not to this. The two last stanzas of #A#, #B#, make no kind -of sense here, and these at least, probably the opening verses as well, -must belong to some other and lost ballad. An elf setting tasks, or even -giving riddles, is unknown, I believe, in Northern tradition, and in no -form of this story, except the English, is a preternatural personage of -any kind the hero. Still it is better to urge nothing more than that the -elf is an intruder in this particular ballad, for riddle-craft is -practised by a variety of preternatural beings: notoriously by Odin, -Thor, the giant Vafþrúðnir, and the dwarf Alwíss in the Edda, and again -by a German "berggeist" (Ey, Harzmärchenbuch, p. 64, 'Die verwünschte -Prinzessin'), a Greek dragon (Hahn, Griechisebe u. Albanesische -Märchen, II, 210), the Russian rusalka, the Servian vila,[21] the Indian -rakshas. For example: a rusalka (water-nymph) pursues a pretty girl, and -says, I will give you three riddles: if you guess them, I will let you -go home to your father; if you do not, I shall take you with me. What -grows without a root? What runs without any object? What blooms without -any flower? She answers, Stones grow without a root; water runs without -any object; the fern blooms without any flower. These answers seem -satisfactory, as riddles go, but the ballad concludes (with an injustice -due to corruption?), "The girl did not guess the riddles: the rusalka -tickled her to death." (Wojcicki, Pie[/s]ni, I, 205.) A rakshas (ogre) -says he will spare a man's life if he can answer four questions, and -shall devour him if he cannot. What is cruel? What is most to the -advantage of a householder? What is love? What best accomplishes -difficult things? These questions the man answers, and confirms his -answers by tales, and gains the rakshas' good will. (Jacob, Hindoo -Tales, or the Adventures of Ten Princes, a translation of the Sanskrit -Dasakumaracharitam, p. 260 ff.) - -The auld man in #J# is simply the "unco knicht" of #1 C#, #D#, over -again. He has clearly displaced the elf-knight, for the elf's attributes -of hill-haunting and magical music remain, only they have been -transferred to the lady. That the devil should supplant the knight, unco -or familiar, is natural enough. He may come in as the substitute of the -elfin knight because the devil is the regular successor to any heathen -sprite, or as the embodiment of craft and duplicity, and to give us the -pleasure of seeing him outwitted. We find the devil giving riddles, as -they are called (tasks), in the Grimms' K. u. H. märchen, No 125 (see -also the note in vol. III); Pröhle's K. u. V. märchen, No 19; -Vernaleken, Oesterreichische K. u. H. märchen, No 37. He also appears as -a riddle-monger in one of the best stories in the Golden Legend. A -bishop, who was especially devoted to St Andrew, was tempted by Satan -under the semblance of a beautiful woman, and was all but lost, when a -loud knocking was heard at the door. A pilgrim demanded admittance. The -lady, being asked her pleasure about this, recommended that three -questions should be put to the stranger, to show whether he were fit to -appear in such presence. Two questions having been answered -unexceptionably, the fiend proposed a third, which was meant to be a -clincher: How far is it from earth to heaven? "Go back to him that sent -you," said the pilgrim (none other than St Andrew) to the messenger, -"and say that he himself knows best, for he measured the distance when -he fell." _Antiquus hostis de medio evanuit._ Much the same is related -in the legend of St Bartholomew, and, in a Slovenian ballad, of St -Ulrich, who interposes to save the Pope from espousing Satan in -disguise.[22] - -#J#, #K#, #L#, have completely lost sight of the original story. - -Translated, after #A#, #C#, and #D#, in Grundtvig's Engelske og skotske -Folkeviser, p. 251; R. Warrens, Schottische Lieder der Vorzeit, p. 8; -Knortz, Lieder u. Romanzen Alt-Englands, No 54. - - -A - - A broadside in black letter, "printed, I suppose," says - Pinkerton, "about 1670," bound up with five other pieces - at the end of a copy of Blind Harry's 'Wallace,' Edin. - 1673, in the Pepysian Library. - - My plaid awa, my plaid awa, - And ore the hill and far awa, - And far awa to Norrowa, - My plaid shall not be blown awa. - - 1 - The elphin knight sits on yon hill, - Ba, ba, ba, lilli ba - He blaws his horn both lowd and shril. - The wind hath blown my plaid awa - - 2 - He blowes it east, he blowes it west, - He blowes it where he lyketh best. - - 3 - 'I wish that horn were in my kist, - Yea, and the knight in my armes two.' - - 4 - She had no sooner these words said, - When that the knight came to her bed. - - 5 - 'Thou art over young a maid,' quoth he, - 'Married with me thou il wouldst be.' - - 6 - 'I have a sister younger than I, - And she was married yesterday.' - - 7 - 'Married with me if thou wouldst be, - A courtesie thou must do to me. - - 8 - 'For thou must shape a sark to me, - Without any cut or heme,' quoth he. - - 9 - 'Thou must shape it knife-and-sheerlesse, - And also sue it needle-threedlesse.' - - 10 - 'If that piece of courtesie I do to thee, - Another thou must do to me. - - 11 - 'I have an aiker of good ley-land, - Which lyeth low by yon sea-strand. - - 12 - 'For thou must eare it with thy horn, - So thou must sow it with thy corn. - - 13 - 'And bigg a cart of stone and lyme, - Robin Redbreast he must trail it hame. - - 14 - 'Thou must barn it in a mouse-holl, - And thrash it into thy shoes soll. - - 15 - 'And thou must winnow it in thy looff, - And also seck it in thy glove. - - 16 - 'For thou must bring it over the sea, - And thou must bring it dry home to me. - - 17 - 'When thou hast gotten thy turns well done, - Then come to me and get thy sark then.' - - 18 - 'I'l not quite my plaid for my life; - It haps my seven bairns and my wife.' - The wind shall not blow my plaid awa - - 19 - 'My maidenhead I'l then keep still, - Let the elphin knight do what he will.' - The wind's not blown my plaid awa - - -B - - A Collection of Curious Old Ballads, etc., p. 3. Partly - from an old copy in black letter, and partly from the - recitation of an old lady. - - My plaid awa, my plaid awa, - And owre the hills and far awa, - And far awa to Norrowa, - My plaid shall not be blawn awa. - - 1 - The Elphin knight sits on yon hill, - Ba, ba, ba, lillie ba - He blaws his horn baith loud and shrill. - The wind hath blawn my plaid awa - - 2 - He blaws it east, he blaws it west, - He blaws it where he liketh best. - - 3 - 'I wish that horn were in my kist, - Yea, and the knight in my arms niest.' - - 4 - She had no sooner these words said, - Than the knight came to her bed. - - 5 - 'Thou art oer young a maid,' quoth he, - 'Married with me that thou wouldst be.' - - 6 - 'I have a sister, younger than I, - And she was married yesterday.' - - 7 - 'Married with me if thou wouldst be, - A curtisie thou must do to me. - - 8 - 'It's ye maun mak a sark to me, - Without any cut or seam,' quoth he. - - 9 - 'And ye maun shape it, knife-, sheerless, - And also sew it needle-, threedless.' - - 10 - 'If that piece of courtisie I do to thee, - Another thou must do to me. - - 11 - 'I have an aiker of good ley land, - Which lyeth low by yon sea strand. - - 12 - 'It's ye maun till 't wi your touting horn, - And ye maun saw 't wi the pepper corn. - - 13 - 'And ye maun harrow 't wi a thorn, - And hae your wark done ere the morn. - - 14 - 'And ye maun shear it wi your knife, - And no lose a stack o 't for your life. - - 15 - 'And ye maun stack it in a mouse hole, - And ye maun thrash it in your shoe sole. - - 16 - 'And ye maun dight it in your loof, - And also sack it in your glove. - - 17 - 'And thou must bring it over the sea, - Fair and clean and dry to me. - - 18 - 'And when that ye have done your wark, - Come back to me, and ye'll get your sark.' - - 19 - 'I'll not quite my plaid for my life; - It haps my seven bairns and my wife.' - - 20 - 'My maidenhead I'll then keep still, - Let the elphin knight do what he will.' - - -C - - Kinloch's A. S. Ballads, p. 145. From the recitation of M. - Kinnear, a native of Mearnsshire, 23 Aug., 1826. - - 1 - There stands a knicht at the tap o yon hill, - Oure the hills and far awa - He has blawn his horn loud and shall. - The cauld wind's blawn my plaid awa - - 2 - 'If I had the horn that I hear blawn, - And the knicht that blaws that horn!' - - 3 - She had na sooner thae words said, - Than the elfin knicht cam to her side. - - 4 - 'Are na ye oure young a may - Wi onie young man doun to lie?' - - 5 - 'I have a sister younger than I, - And she was married yesterday.' - - 6 - 'Married wi me ye sall neer be nane - Till ye mak to me a sark but a seam. - - 7 - 'And ye maun shape it knife-, sheer-less, - And ye maun sew it needle-, threed-less. - - 8 - 'And ye maun wash it in yon cistran, - Whare water never stood nor ran. - - 9 - 'And ye maun dry it on yon hawthorn, - Whare the sun neer shon sin man was born.' - - 10 - 'Gin that courtesie I do for thee, - Ye maun do this for me. - - 11 - 'Ye'll get an acre o gude red-land - Atween the saut sea and the sand. - - 12 - 'I want that land for to be corn, - And ye maun aer it wi your horn. - - 13 - 'And ye maun saw it without a seed, - And ye maun harrow it wi a threed. - - 14 - 'And ye maun shear it wi your knife, - And na tyne a pickle o't for your life. - - 15 - 'And ye maun moue it in yon mouse-hole - And ye maun thrash it in your shoe-sole. - - 16 - 'And ye maun fan it wi your luves, - And ye maun sack it in your gloves. - - 17 - 'And ye maun bring it oure the sea, - Fair and clean and dry to me. - - 18 - 'And whan that your wark is weill deen, - Yese get your sark without a seam.' - - -D - - Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 296. - - 1 - The Elfin knight stands on yon hill, - Blaw, blaw, blaw winds, blaw - Blawing his horn loud and shrill. - And the wind has blawin my plaid awa - - 2 - 'If I had yon horn in my kist, - And the bonny laddie here that I luve best! - - 3 - 'I hae a sister eleven years auld, - And she to the young men's bed has made bauld. - - 4 - 'And I mysell am only nine, - And oh! sae fain, luve, as I woud be thine.' - - 5 - 'Ye maun make me a fine Holland sark, - Without ony stitching or needle wark. - - 6 - 'And ye maun wash it in yonder well, - Where the dew never wat, nor the rain ever fell. - - 7 - 'And ye maun dry it upon a thorn - That never budded sin Adam was born.' - - 8 - 'Now sin ye've askd some things o me, - It's right I ask as mony o thee. - - 9 - 'My father he askd me an acre o land, - Between the saut sea and the strand. - - 10 - 'And ye maun plow 't wi your blawing horn, - And ye maun saw 't wi pepper corn. - - 11 - 'And ye maun harrow 't wi a single tyne, - And ye maun shear 't wi a sheep's shank bane. - - 12 - 'And ye maun big it in the sea, - And bring the stathle dry to me. - - 13 - 'And ye maun barn 't in yon mouse hole, - And ye maun thrash 't in your shee sole. - - 14 - 'And ye maun sack it in your gluve, - And ye maun winno 't in your leuve. - - 15 - 'And ye maun dry 't without candle or coal, - And grind it without quirn or mill. - - 16 - 'Ye'll big a cart o stane and lime, - Gar Robin Redbreast trail it syne. - - 17 - 'When ye've dune, and finishd your wark, - Ye'll come to me, luve, and get your sark.' - - -E - - Motherwell's MS., p. 492. - - 1 - The Elfin Knight sits on yon hill, - Ba ba lilly ba - Blowing his horn loud and shill. - And the wind has blawn my plaid awa - - 2 - 'I love to hear that horn blaw; - I wish him [here] owns it and a'.' - - 3 - That word it was no sooner spoken, - Than Elfin Knight in her arms was gotten. - - 4 - 'You must mak to me a sark, - Without threed, sheers or needle wark.' - - -F - - Kinloch MSS, I, 75. From Mary Barr. - - 1 - 'Did ye ever travel twist Berwick and Lyne? - Sober and grave grows merry in time - There ye'll meet wi a handsome young dame, - Ance she was a true love o mine. - - 2 - 'Tell her to sew me a holland sark, - And sew it all without needle-wark: - And syne we'll be true lovers again. - - 3 - 'Tell her to wash it at yon spring-well, - Where neer wind blew, nor yet rain fell. - - 4 - 'Tell her to dry it on yon hawthorn, - That neer sprang up sin Adam was born. - - 5 - 'Tell her to iron it wi a hot iron, - And plait it a' in ae plait round.' - - 6 - 'Did ye ever travel twixt Berwick and Lyne? - There ye'll meet wi a handsome young man, - Ance he was a true lover o mine. - - 7 - 'Tell him to plough me an acre o land - Betwixt the sea-side hot and the sea-sand, - And syne we'll be true lovers again. - - 8 - 'Tell him to saw it wi ae peck o corn, - And harrow it a' wi ae harrow tine. - - 9 - 'Tell him to shear it wi ae hook-tooth, - And carry it hame just into his loof. - - 10 - 'Tell him to stack it in yon mouse-hole, - And thrash it a' just wi his shoe-sole. - - 11 - 'Tell him to dry it on yon ribless kiln, - And grind it a' in yon waterless miln. - - 12 - Tell this young man, whan he's finished his wark, - He may come to me, and hese get his sark.' - - -G - - Gammer Gurten's Garland, p. 3, ed. 1810. - - 1 - 'Can you make me a cambrick shirt, - Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme - Without any seam or needle work? - And you shall be a true lover of mine - - 2 - 'Can you wash it in yonder well, - Where never sprung water nor rain ever fell? - - 3 - 'Can you dry it on yonder thorn, - Which never bore blossom since Adam was born?' - - 4 - 'Now you have askd me questions three, - I hope you'll answer as many for me. - - 5 - 'Can you find me an acre of land - Between the salt water and the sea sand? - - 6 - 'Can you plow it with a ram's horn, - And sow it all over with one pepper corn? - - 7 - 'Can you reap it with a sickle of leather, - And bind it up with a peacock's feather? - - 8 - 'When you have done, and finishd your work, - Then come to me for your cambrick shirt.' - - -H - - Motherwell's MS., p. 92. - - 1 - 'Come, pretty Nelly, and sit thee down by me, - Every rose grows merry wi thyme - And I will ask thee questions three, - And then thou wilt be a true lover of mine. - - 2 - 'Thou must buy me a cambrick smock - Without any stitch of needlework. - - 3 - 'Thou must wash it in yonder strand, - Where wood never grew and water neer ran. - - 4 - 'Thou must dry it on yonder thorn, - Where the sun never shined on since Adam was formed.' - - 5 - 'Thou hast asked me questions three; - Sit down till I ask as many of thee. - - 6 - 'Thou must buy me an acre of land - Betwixt the salt water, love, and the sea-sand. - - 7 - 'Thou must plow it wi a ram's horn, - And sow it all over wi one pile o corn. - - 8 - 'Thou must shear it wi a strap o leather, - And tie it all up in a peacock feather. - - 9 - 'Thou must stack it in the sea, - And bring the stale o 't hame dry to me. - - 10 - 'When my love's done, and finished his work, - Let him come to me for his cambric smock.' - - -I - - Motherwell's MS., p. 103. From the recitation of John - McWhinnie, collier, Newtown Green, Ayr. - - 1 - A lady wonned on yonder hill, - Hee ba and balou ba - And she had musick at her will. - And the wind has blown my plaid awa - - 2 - Up and cam an auld, auld man, - Wi his blue bonnet in his han. - - 3 - 'I will ask ye questions three; - Resolve them, or ye'll gang wi me. - - 4 - 'Ye maun mak to me a sark, - It maun be free o woman's wark. - - 5 - 'Ye maun shape it knife-sheerless, - And ye maun sew it needle-threedless. - - 6 - 'Ye maun wash it in yonder well, - Whare rain nor dew has ever fell. - - 7 - 'Ye maun dry it on yonder thorn, - Where leaf neer grew since man was born.' - - 8 - 'I will ask ye questions three; - Resolve them, or ye'll neer get me. - - 9 - 'I hae a rig o bonnie land - Atween the saut sea and the sand. - - 10 - 'Ye maun plow it wi ae horse bane, - And harrow it wi ae harrow pin. - - 11 - 'Ye maun shear 't wi a whang o leather, - And ye maun bind 't bot strap or tether. - - 12 - 'Ye maun stack it in the sea, - And bring the stale hame dry to me. - - 13 - 'Ye maun mak a cart o stane, - And yoke the wren and bring it hame. - - 14 - 'Ye maun thresh't atween your lufes, - And ye maun sack't atween your thies.' - - 15 - 'My curse on those wha learnëd thee; - This night I weend ye'd gane wi me.' - - -J - - Communicated by Rev. F. D. Huntington, Bishop of Western - New York, as sung to him by his father in 1828, at Hadley, - Mass.; derived from a rough, roystering "character" in the - town. - - 1 - Now you are a-going to Cape Ann, - Follomingkathellomeday - Remember me to the self-same man. - Ummatiddle, ummatiddle, ummatallyho, tallyho, follomingkathellomeday - - 2 - Tell him to buy me an acre of land - Between the salt-water and the sea-sand. - - 3 - Tell him to plough it with a ram's horn, - Tell him to sow it with one peppercorn. - - 4 - Tell him to reap it with a penknife, - And tell him to cart it with two mice. - - 5 - Tell him to cart it to yonder new barn - That never was built since Adam was born. - - 6 - Tell him to thrash it with a goose quill, - Tell him to fan it with an egg-shell. - - 7 - Tell the fool, when he's done his work, - To come to me, and he shall have his shirt. - - -K - - Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes of England, 6th ed., p. 109, No - 171. - - 1 - My father left me three acres of land, - Sing ivy, sing ivy - My father left me three acres of land. - Sing holly, go whistle and ivy - - 2 - I ploughed it with a ram's horn, - And sowed it all over with one pepper corn. - - 3 - I harrowed it with a bramble bush, - And reaped it with my little penknife. - - 4 - I got the mice to carry it to the barn, - And thrashed it with a goose's quill. - - 5 - I got the cat to carry it to the mill; - The miller he swore he would have her paw, - And the cat she swore she would scratch his face. - - -#L# - - Notes and Queries, 1st S., VII, 8. Signed D. - - 1 - My father gave me an acre of land, - Sing ivy, sing ivy - My father gave me an acre of land. - Sing green bush, holly and ivy - - 2 - I ploughd it with a ram's horn. - - 3 - I harrowd it with a bramble. - - 4 - I sowd it with a pepper corn. - - 5 - I reapd it with my penknife. - - 6 - I carried it to the mill upon the cat's back. - - * * * * * * * - - 7 - I made a cake for all the king's men. - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - _The verses here prefaced to the ballad are appended to - the last stanza in the broadside._ _For_ Norrowa, _v. 3, - Pinkerton has_ To-morrow. 9^1, needle and sheerlesse. - -#B.# - - 'A Proper New Ballad entitled The Wind hath blawn my Plaid - awa, or a Discourse between a Young Woman and the Elphin - Knight. To be sung with its own proper tune.' - - "This ballad is printed partly from an old copy in black - letter, and partly from the recitation of an old lady, - which appears to be the Scottish version, and is here - chiefly adhered to." - -#D.# - - 3^2. hae made. - - 9^1. askd _should perhaps be_ left, _or_ gave, _as in_ - #K^1#, #L^1#. - -#E.# - - _Burden_^2, _in MS._, 1, blown her; 2, 3, blawn her; 4, - blawn my. - - 2^1, blow; - - 2^2, and a. - -#H.# - - 1^1. He speaks, _in the margin of MS_. - - _Burden_^1, _time in margin_. - - 5^1. Maid speaks, _in margin_. - -#I.# - - _Not divided regularly into stanzas in the MS._ - - 4^2. needlewark _in margin_. - - 10^1. shin? _in margin_. - -#L.# - - _After_ 6: "Then follows some more which I forget, but I - think it ends thus." - - -[13] All that was required of the burden, Mr Chappell kindly writes me, -was to support the voice by harmonious notes under the melody; it was -not sung _after_ each half of the stanza, or after the stanza, and it -was heard separately only when the voices singing the air stopped. Even -the Danish ballads exhibit but a few cases of these "burden-stems," as -Grundwig calls them: see Danmarks Gamle Folkeviser, II, 221, B 1; 295, B -1; 393, A 1: III, 197, D; 470, A. Such burden-stems are, however, very -common in Icelandic ballads. They are, for the most part, of a different -metre from the ballad, and very often not of the same number of lines as -the ballad stanza. A _part_ of the burden stem would seem to be taken -for the refrain; as Íslenzk Fornkvæði, I, 30, of four verses, 1, 2, 4; -129, of two, the last half of the first and all the second; 194, of -four, the last; 225, of five, the last two; II, 52, of five, the second -and last two. - -In later times the Danish stev-stamme was made to conform to the metre -of the ballad, and sung as the first stanza, the last line perhaps -forming the burden. Compare the stev-stamme, Grundwig, III, 470, with -the first stanza of the ballad at p. 475. If not so changed, says -Grundtvig, it dropped away. Lyngbye, at the end of his Færöiske Qvæder, -gives the music of a ballad which he had heard sung. The whole stem is -sung first, and then repeated as a burden at the end of every verse. The -modern way, judging by Berggreen, Folke-Sange og Melodier, 3d ed., I, -352, 358, is simply to sing the whole stem after each verse, and so says -Grundtvig, III, 200, D. The whole stem is appended to the last stanza -(where, as usual, the burden, which had been omitted after stanza 1, is -again expressed) in the Færöe ballad in Grundtvig, III, 199, exactly as -in our broadside, or in Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. iii. I -must avow myself to be very much in the dark as to the exact relation of -stem and burden. - -[14] Grundtvig has noticed the resemblance of G.R. 64 and the -ballad.--Much of what follows is derived from the admirable Benfey's -papers, 'Die kluge Dirne, Die indischen Märchen von den klugen -Räthsellösern, und ihre Verbreitung über Asien und Europa,' Ausland, -1859, p. 457, 486, 511, 567, 589, in Nos 20, 21, 22, 24, 25. - -[15] Ragnar Loðbrók (Saga, c. 4, Rafn, Fornaldar Sögur, I, 245), as -pointed out by the Grimms, notes to No 94, requires Kraka (Aslaug) to -come to him clothed and not clothed, fasting and not fasting, alone and -not without a companion. She puts on a fishing net, bites a leek, and -takes her dog with her. References for the very frequent occurrence of -this feature may be found in Oesterley's note to Gesta Romanorum, No -124, at p. 732. - -[16] Benfey, Das Ausland, 1859, p. 459. The versions referred to are: -Shukasaptati (Seventy Tales of a Parrot), 47th and 48th night; the -Buddhist Kanjur, Vinaya, III, fol. 71-83, and Dsanglun, oder der Weise -u. der Thor, also from the Kanjur, translated by I.J. Schmidt, c. 23; -the Mongol translation of Dsanglun [see Popow, Mongolische -Chrestomathie, p. 19, Schiefner's preface to Radloff, I, xi, xii]; an -imperfect Singhalese version in Spence Hardy's Manual of Buddhism, p. -220, 'The History of Wisákhá;' 'Geschichte des weisen Heykar,' 1001 -Nacht, Habicht, v. d. Hagen u. Schall, XIII, 71, ed. 1840; 'Histoire de -Sinkarib et de ses deux Visirs,' Cabinet des Fées, XXXIX, 266 (Persian); -two old Russian translations of Greek tales derived from Arabic, Pypin, -'in the Papers of the Second Division of the Imperial Acad. of Sciences, -St Petersburg, 1858, IV, 63-85;' Planudes, Life of Æsop; A. and A. -Schott, Walachische Mæhrchen, p. 125, No 9, 'Vom weissen und vom rothen -Kaiser;' Erdélyi, Népdalok és Mondák, III, 262, No 8, 'The Little Boy -with the Secret and his Little Sword.' To these is to be added, -'L'Histoire de Moradbak,' Caylus, Nouveaux Contes Orientaux, [OE]uvres -Badines, VII, 289 ff, Cabinet des Fées, XXV, 9-406 (from the Turkish?). -In the opinion of Benfey, it is in the highest degree likely, though not -demonstrable, that the Indian tale antedates our era by several -centuries. Ausland, p. 511; see also pp. 487, 459. - -[17] Ingenuity is one of the six transcendental virtues of -Mah[=a]y[=a]na Buddhism. Schlagintweit, Buddhism in Tíbet, p. 36. - -[18] The resemblance to the Siberian tale is here especially striking. - -[19] The Shukasaptati, in the form in which we have them, are supposed -to date from about the 6th century, and are regarded as abridgments of -longer tales. The Vinaya probably took a permanent shape as early as the -beginning of the Christian era. As already remarked, there is scarcely a -doubt that the Indian story is some centuries older still. - -[20] Amasis in return (8) puts some of the questions which we are apt to -think of as peculiarly mediæval: What is oldest? What is most beautiful, -biggest, wisest, strongest? etc. Two of these we have had in Zingerle's -story. They are answered in a commonplace way by the Æthiop, with more -refinement by Thales. Seven similar questions were propounded by David -to his sons, to determine who was worthiest to succeed him, and answered -by Solomon, according to an Arabian writer of the 14th century: Rosenöl, -I, 167. Amasis also sent a victim to Bias (2), and asked him to cut out -the best and worst of the flesh. Bias cut out the tongue. Here the two -anticipate the Anglo-Saxon Salomon and Saturn: "Tell me what is best and -worst among men." "I tell thee word is best and worst:" Kemble, p. 188, -No 37; Adrian and Ritheus, p. 204, No 43; and Bedæ Collectanea, p. 326. -This is made into a very long story in the Life of Æsop, 11. See other -examples in Knust, Mittheilungen aus dem Eskurial, p. 326 f, note b, and -Nachtrag, p. 647; Oesterley's Kirchhof, V, 94, note to 3, 129; and -Landsberger, Die Fabeln des Sophos, CX, ff. We may add that Plutarch's -question, Which was first, the bird or the egg? (Quæst. Conviv. l. 2, q. -3), comes up again in The Demaundes Joyous, No 41, Kemble's Salomon and -Saturn, p. 290. - -[21] Afanasief, Poetic Views of the Slavonians about Nature, I, 25. The -poludnitsa seems to belong to the same class: Afanasief, III, 76; -Ralston, Songs of the Russian People, p. 147. - -[22] The legend of St Andrew in Legenda Aurea, Grässe, cap. II, 9, p. 19 -ff; also in the Fornsvenskt Legendarium, I, 143 ff; Zambrini, Leggende -Inedite, II, 94 ff; Pitré, Canti pop. Siciliani, II, 232 ff: that of St -Bartholomew, Grässe, p. 545, cap. CXXIII, 5, and in a German Passional, -Mone's Anzeiger, 1839, VIII, col. 319 f: that of St Ulrich in Achazel -and Korytko, I, 76, 'Svéti Ureh,' translated by A. Grün, Volkslieder aus -Krain, p. 136 ff. The third question and answer are in all the same. St -Serf also has the credit of having baffled the devil by answering occult -questions in divinity: Wintown's Scottish Chronicle, I, 131, V, 1238 ff, -first pointed out by Motherwell, Minstrelsy, p. lxxiv, who besides cites -the legend of St Andrew. - - - - -3 - -THE FAUSE KNIGHT UPON THE ROAD - - #A.# 'The Fause Knight upon the Road,' Motherwell's - Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. lxxiv. - - #B.# 'The False Knight,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, - Appendix, Musick, p. xxiv. - - -This singular ballad is known only through Motherwell. The opening -stanza of a second version is given by the editor of the music, Mr. -Blaikie, in the Appendix to the Minstrelsy. The idea at the bottom of -the piece is that the devil will carry off the wee boy if he can nonplus -him. So, in certain humorous stories, a fool wins a princess by -dumfounding her: e.g., Halliwell's Popular Rhymes and Nursery-Tales, p. -32; Von der Hagen's Gesammtabenteuer, No 63, iii, 179; Asbjørnsen og -Moe, Norske Folkeeventyr, No 4. But here the boy always gets the last -word. (See further on, under 'Captain Wedderburn's Courtship.') - -An extremely curious Swedish ballad of the same description, from the -Lappfiord, Finland, with the substitution of an old crone, possibly a -witch, and clearly no better than one of the wicked, for the false -knight, is given by Oskar Rancken in Några Prof af Folksång och Saga i -det svenska Österbotten, p. 25, No 10. It is a point in both that the -replicant is a wee boy (gossen, som liten var). - - 1 - 'Why are you driving over my field?' said the carlin: - 'Because the way lies over it,' answered the boy, who was a little - fellow. - - 2 - 'I will cut [hew] your traces,' said etc.: - 'Yes, you hew, and I'll build,' answered etc. - - 3 - 'I wish you were in the wild wood:' - 'Yes, you in, and I outside.' - - 4 - 'I wish you were in the highest tree-top:' - 'Yes, you up in the top, and I at the roots.' - - 5 - 'I wish you were in the wild sea:' - 'Yes, you in the sea, and I in a boat.' - - 6 - 'I'll bore a hole in your boat:' - 'Yes, you bore, and I'll plug.' - - 7 - 'I wish you were in hell:' - 'Yes, you in, and I outside.' - - 8 - 'I wish you were in heaven:' - 'Yes, I in, and you outside.' - -Chambers, in his Popular Rhymes of Scotland, p. 66 of the new edition, -gives, without a word of explanation, a piece, 'Harpkin,' which seems to -have been of the same character, but now sounds only like a -"flyting."[23] The first stanza would lead us to expect that Harpkin is -to be a form of the Elfin Knight of the preceding ballad, but Fin is -seen to be the uncanny one of the two by the light of the other ballads. -Finn (Fin) is an ancestor of Woden, a dwarf in Völuspá 16 (19), and also -a trold (otherwise a giant), who is induced by a saint to build a -church: Thiele, Danske Folkesagn, I, 45, Grimm, Mythologie, p. 455. The -name is therefore diabolic by many antecedents. - - -HARPKIN. - - 1 - Harpkin gaed up to the hill, - And blew his horn loud and shrill, - And by came Fin. - - 2 - 'What for stand you there?' quo Fin: - 'Spying the weather,' quo Harpkin. - - 3 - 'What for had you your staff on your shouther?' quo Fin: - 'To haud the cauld frae me,' quo Harpkin. - - 4 - 'Little cauld will that haud frae you,' quo Fin: - 'As little will it win through me,' quo Harpkin. - - 5 - 'I came by your door,' quo Fin: - 'It lay in your road,' quo Harpkin. - - 6 - 'Your dog barkit at me,' quo Fin: - 'It's his use and custom,' quo Harpkin. - - 7 - 'I flang a stane at him,' quo Fin: - 'I'd rather it had been a bane,' quo Harpkin. - - 8 - 'Your wife's lichter,' quo Fin: - 'She'll clim the brae the brichter,' quo Harpkin. - - 9 - 'Of a braw lad bairn,' quo Fin: - 'There'll be the mair men for the king's wars,' quo Harpkin. - - 10 - 'There's a strae at your beard,' quo Fin: - 'I'd rather it had been a thrave,' quo Harpkin. - - 11 - 'The ox is eating at it,' quo Fin: - 'If the ox were i the water,' quo Harpkin. - - 12 - 'And the water were frozen,' quo Fin: - 'And the smith and his fore-hammer at it,' quo Harpkin. - - 13 - 'And the smith were dead,' quo Fin: - 'And another in his stead,' quo Harpkin. - - 14 - 'Giff, gaff,' quo Fin: - 'Your mou's fou o draff,' quo Harpkin. - -The peit (peat) in st. 3, below, as I am informed by Dr Davidson, is the -wee boy's contribution to the school firing. - - -A - - Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. lxxiv. From - Galloway. - - - 1 - 'O whare are ye gaun?' - Quo the fause knicht upon the road: - 'I'm gaun to the scule,' - Quo the wee boy, and still he stude. - - 2 - 'What is that upon your back? ' quo etc. - 'Atweel it is my bukes,' quo etc. - - 3 - 'What's that ye've got in your arm?' - 'Atweel it is my peit.' - - 4 - 'Wha's aucht they sheep?' - 'They are mine and my mither's.' - - 5 - 'How monie o them are mine?' - 'A' they that hae blue tails.' - - 6 - 'I wiss ye were on yon tree:' - 'And a gude ladder under me.' - - 7 - 'And the ladder for to break:' - 'And you for to fa down.' - - 8 - 'I wiss ye were in yon sie:' - 'And a gude bottom under me.' - - 9 - 'And the bottom for to break:' - 'And ye to be drowned.' - - -B - - Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. xxiv, No xxxii. - - - 'O whare are ye gaun?' quo the false knight, - And false, false was his rede: - - 'I'm gaun to the scule,' says the pretty little boy, - And still, still he stude. - - -[23] At the last moment I come upon this: "The only safeguard against -the malice of witches is 'to flight wi dem,' that is, draw them into a -controversy and scold them roundly:" (Mrs Saxby, in an interesting -contribution of folk-lore from Unst, Shetland, in The Leisure Hour, for -March 27, 1880, p. 199.) This view, which has apparently affected -'Harpkin,' is clearly a modern misunderstanding. Let no one trust to -scolding for foiling a witch, unless he "knows more words." - - - - -4 - -LADY ISABEL AND THE ELF-KNIGHT - - #A. a.# 'The Gowans sae gay,' Buchan's Ballads of the - North of Scotland, I, 22. #b.# 'Aye as the Gowans grow - gay,' Motherwell's MS., p. 563. - - #B.# 'The Water o Wearie's Well.' #a.# Buchan's MSS, II, - fol. 80. #b.# Buchan's B. N. S., II, 201. #c.# - Motherwell's MS., p. 561. #d.# 'Wearie's Wells,' Harris - MS., No 19. - - #C. a.# 'May Colven,' Herd's MSS, I, 166. #b.# 'May - Colvin,' Herd's Scottish Songs, 1776, I, 93. #c.# 'May - Colvin, or, False Sir John,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. - 67. - - #D. a.# 'May Collin,' Sharpe's Ballad Book, No 17, p. 45. - #b.# 'Fause Sir John and May Colvin,' Buchan, B. N. S., - II, 45. #c.# 'May Collean,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, - Appendix, p. xxi. - - #E.# 'The Outlandish Knight,' Dixon, Ancient Poems, - Ballads, etc., p. 74 == Bell, Ancient Poems, Ballads, - etc., p. 61. - - #F.# 'The False Knight Outwitted,' Roxburgh Ballads, - British Museum, III, 449. - - -Of all ballads this has perhaps obtained the widest circulation. It is -nearly as well known to the southern as to the northern nations of -Europe. It has an extraordinary currency in Poland. The Germans, Low and -High, and the Scandinavians, preserve it, in a full and evidently -ancient form, even in the tradition of this generation. Among the Latin -nations it has, indeed, shrunk to very meagre proportions, and though -the best English forms are not without ancient and distinctive marks, -most of these have been eliminated, and the better ballads are very -brief. - -#A# has but thirteen two-line stanzas. An elf-knight, by blowing his -horn, inspires Lady Isabel with love-longing. He appears on her first -breathing a wish for him, and induces her to ride with him to the -greenwood.[24] Arrived at the wood, he bids her alight, for she is come -to the place where she is to die. He had slain seven kings' daughters -there, and she should be the eighth. She persuades him to sit down, with -his head on her knee, lulls him asleep with a charm, binds him with his -own sword-belt, and stabs him with his own dagger, saying, If seven -kings' daughters you have slain, lie here a husband to them all. - -#B#, in fourteen four-line stanzas, begins unintelligibly with a bird -coming out of a bush for water, and a king's daughter sighing, "Wae 's -this heart o mine." A personage not characterized, but evidently of the -same nature as the elf-knight in #A#, lulls everybody but this king's -daughter asleep with his harp,[25] then mounts her behind him, and rides -to a piece of water called Wearie's Well. He makes her wade in up to her -chin; then tells her that he has drowned seven kings' daughters here, -and she is to be the eighth. She asks him for one kiss before she dies, -and, as he bends over to give it, pitches him from his saddle into the -water, with the words, Since ye have drowned seven here, I'll make you -bridegroom to them all.[26] - -#C# was first published by David Herd, in the second edition of his -Scottish Songs, 1776, and afterwards by Motherwell, "collated" with a -copy obtained from recitation. #D#,[27] #E#, #F# are all broadside or -stall copies, and in broadside style. #C#, #D#, #E#, #F# have nearly the -same story. False Sir John, a knight from the south country [west -country, north lands], entices May Colven, #C#, #D# [a king's daughter, -#C# 16, #E# 16; a knight's daughter, Polly, #F# 4, 9], to ride off with -him, employing, in #D#, a charm which he has stuck in her sleeve. At the -knight's suggestion, #E#, #F#, she takes a good sum of money with her, -#D#, #E#, #F#. They come to a lonely rocky place by the sea [river-side, -#F#], and the knight bids her alight: he has drowned seven ladies here -[eight #D#, six #E#, #F#], and she shall be the next. But first she is -to strip off her rich clothes, as being too good to rot in the sea. She -begs him to avert his eyes, for decency's sake, and, getting behind him, -throws him into the water. In #F# he is absurdly sent for a sickle, to -crop the nettles on the river brim, and is pushed in while thus -occupied. He cries for help, and makes fair promises, #C#, #E#, but the -maid rides away, with a bitter jest [on his steed, #D#, leading his -steed, #E#, #F#], and reaches her father's house before daybreak. The -groom inquires in #D# about the strange horse, and is told that it is a -found one. The parrot asks what she has been doing, and is silenced with -a bribe; and when the father demands why he was chatting so early, says -he was calling to his mistress to take away the cat. Here #C#, #E#, #F# -stop, but #D# goes on to relate that the maid at once tells her parents -what has happened, and that the father rides off at dawn, under her -conduct, to find Sir John. They carry off the corpse, which lay on the -sands below the rocks, and bury it, for fear of discovery. - -There is in Hone's Table Book, III, 130, ed. 1841, a _rifacimento_ by -Dixon of the common English broadside in what passes for old-ballad -style. This has been repeated in Richardson's Borderer's Table Book, VI, -367; in Dixon's Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads, p. -101; and, with alterations, additions, and omissions, in Sheldon's -Minstrelsy of the English Border, p. 194. - -Jamieson (1814) had never met with this ballad in Scotland, at least in -anything like a perfect state; but he says that a tale to the same -effect, intermixed with scraps of verse, was familiar to him when a boy, -and that he afterwards found it, "in much the same state, in the -Highlands, in Lochaber and Ardnamurchan." According to the tradition -reported by Jamieson, the murderer had seduced the younger sister of his -wife, and was seeking to prevent discovery, a difference in the story -which might lead us to doubt the accuracy of Jamieson's recollection. -(Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p. 348.) - -Stories like that of this ballad will inevitably be attached, and -perhaps more or less adapted, to localities where they become known. May -Collean, says Chambers, Scottish Ballads, p. 232, note, "finds locality -in that wild portion of the coast of Carrick (Ayrshire) which intervenes -betwixt Girvan and Ballantrae. Carlton Castle, about two miles to the -south of Girvan (a tall old ruin, situated on the brink of a bank which -overhangs the sea, and which gives title to Sir John Cathcart, Bart, of -Carlton), is affirmed by the country people, who still remember the -story with great freshness, to have been the residence of 'the fause Sir -John;' while a tall rocky eminence called Gamesloup, overhanging the sea -about two miles still further south, and over which the road passes in a -style terrible to all travellers, is pointed out as the place where he -was in the habit of drowning his wives, and where he was finally drowned -himself. The people, who look upon the ballad as a regular and proper -record of an unquestionable fact, farther affirm that May Collean was a -daughter of the family of Kennedy of Colzean," etc. Binyan's (Bunion) -Bay, in #D#, is, according to Buchan, the old name of the mouth of the -river Ugie. - -Far better preserved than the English, and marked with very ancient and -impressive traits, is the Dutch ballad 'Halewijn,' which, not many years -ago, was extensively sung in Brabant and Flanders, and is still popular -as a broadside, both oral tradition and printed copies exhibiting -manifold variations. A version of this ballad (#A#) was communicated by -Willems to Mone's Anzeiger in 1836, col. 448 ff, thirty-eight two-line -stanzas, and afterwards appeared in Willems's Oude vlaemsche Liederen -(1848), No 49, p. 116, with some changes in the text and some various -readings. Uhland, I, 153, 74 D, gave the Anzeiger text, with one -correction. So Hoffmann, Niederländische Volkslieder, 2d ed., No 9, p. -39, but substituting for stanzas 19, 20 four stanzas from the margin of -O.v.L., and making other slighter changes. Baecker, Chants historiques -de la Flandre, No 9, p. 61, repeats Willems's second text, with one -careless omission and one transposition. Coussemaker, Chants populaires -des Flamands de France, No 45, p. 142, professes to give the text of -Oude vlaemsche Liederen, and does so nearly. Snellaert, Oude en nieuwe -Liedjes, 3d ed., 1864, No 55, p. 58, inserts seven stanzas in the place -of 33, 34 of O.v.L., and two after 35, making forty-five two- (or -three-) line stanzas instead of thirty-eight. These additions are also -found in an excessively corrupt form of the ballad (#B#), Hoffmann, No -10, p. 43, in which the stanzas have been uniformly extended to three -verses, to suit the air, which required the repetition of the second -line of the original stanza. - -Heer Halewijn (#A#), like the English elf-knight, sang such a song that -those who heard it longed to be with him. A king's daughter asked her -father if she might go to Halewijn. No, he said; those who go that way -never come back [sixteen have lost their lives, #B#]. So said mother and -sister, but her brother's answer was, I care not where you go, so long -as you keep your honor. She dressed herself splendidly, took the best -horse from her father's stable, and rode to the wood, where she found -Halewijn waiting for her.[28] They then rode on further, till they came -to a gallows, on which many women were hanging. Halewijn says, Since you -are the fairest maid, choose your death [#B# 20 offers the choice -between hanging and the sword]. She calmly chooses the sword. "Only take -off your coat first, for a maid's blood spirts a great way, and it would -be a pity to spatter you." His head was off before his coat, but the -tongue still spake. This dialogue ensues: - - 'Go yonder into the corn, - And blow upon my horn, - That all my friends you may warn.' - - 'Into the corn I will not go, - And on your horn I will not blow: - A murderer's bidding I will not do.' - - 'Go yonder under the gallows-tree, - And fetch a pot of salve for me, - And rub my red neck lustily.' - - 'Under the gallows I will not go, - Nor will I rub your red neck, no, - A murderer's bidding I will not do.' - -She takes the head by the hair and washes it in a spring, and rides back -through the wood. Half-way through she meets Halewijn's mother, who asks -after her son; and she tells her that he is gone hunting, that he will -never be seen again, that he is dead, and she has his head in her lap. -When she came to her father's gate, she blew the horn like any man. - - And when the father heard the strain, - He was glad she had come back again. - - Thereupon they held a feast, - The head was on the table placed. - -Snellaert's copy and the modern three-line ballad have a meeting with -father, brother, sister, and mother successively. The maid's answer to -each of the first three is that Halewijn is amusing himself with sixteen -maids, or to that effect, but to the mother that he is dead, and she has -his head in her lap. The mother angrily replies, in #B#, that if she had -given this information earlier she would not have got so far on her way -home. The maid retorts, Wicked woman, you are lucky not to have been -served as your son; then rides, "like Judith wise," straight to her -father's palace, where she blows the horn blithely, and is received with -honor and love by the whole court.[29] - -Another Flemish version (#C#) has been lately published under the title, -'Roland,' by which only, we are informed, is this particular form known -in Bruges and many parts of Flanders:[30] Chants populaires recueillis -à Bruges par Adolphe Lootens et J. M. E. Feys, No 37, p. 60, 183 vv, in -sixty-three stanzas, of two, three, four, or five lines. This text dates -from the last century, and is given with the most exact fidelity to -tradition. It agrees with #A# as to some main points, but differs not a -little as to others. The story sets out thus: - - It was a bold Roland, - He loved a lass from England; - He wist not how to get her, - With reading or with writing, - With brawling or with fighting. - - -Roland has lost Halewyn's art of singing. Louise asks her father if she -may go to Roland, to the fair, as all her friends do. Her father -refuses: Roland is "een stoute kalant," a bad fellow that betrays pretty -maids; he stands with a drawn sword in his hand, and all his soldiers in -armor. The daughter says she has seen Roland more than once, and that -the tale about the drawn sword and soldiers is not true. This scene is -exactly repeated with mother and brother. Louise then tries her -shrift-father. He is easier, and does not care where she goes, provided -she keeps her honor and does not shame her parents. She tells father, -mother, and brother that she has leave from her confessor, makes her -toilet as in #A#, takes the finest horse in the stable, and rides to the -wood. There she successively meets Roland's father, mother, and brother, -each of whom asks her where she is going, and whether she has any right -to the crown she wears. To all she replies, Whether I have or not, be -off; I know you not. She does not encounter Roland in the wood, they do -not ride together, and there is no gallows-field. She enters Roland's -house, where he is lying abed. He bids her gather three rose-wreaths "at -his hands" and three at his feet; but when she approaches the foot of -the bed he rises, and offers her the choice to lose her honor or kneel -before the sword. She chooses the sword, advises him to spare his coat, -and, while he is taking it off, strikes off his head, all as in #A#. The -head speaks: Go under the gallows (of which we have heard nothing -hitherto), fetch a pot of salve, rub it on my wounds, and they shall -straight be well. She declines to follow a murderer's rede, or to learn -magic. The head bids her go under the blue stone and fetch a pot of -maidens-grease, which also will heal the wounds. This again she refuses -to do, in the same terms; then seizes the head by the hair, washes it in -a spring, and rides off with it through the wood, duly meeting Roland's -father, mother, and brother once more, all of whom challenge her, and to -all of whom she answers, - - Roland your son is long ago dead; - God has his soul and I his head; - For in my lap here I have his head, - And with the blood my apron is red. - -When she came back to the city the drums and the trumpets struck up.[31] -She stuck the head out of the window, and cried, "Now I am Roland's -bride!" She drew it in, and cried, "Now I am a heroine!" - -#Danish.# Eleven versions of this ballad are known in Danish, seven of -which are given in Danmarks gamle Folkeviser, No 183, 'Kvindemorderen,' -#A-G#. Four more, #H-L#, are furnished by Kristensen, Jydske Folkeviser, -I, Nos 46, 47, 91; II, No 85. #A#, in forty-one two-line stanzas -(previously printed in Grundtvig's Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, p. -233), is from a 16th century MS.; #B#, thirty stanzas, #C#, -twenty-four, #D#, thirty-seven, from MSS of the 17th century; #E#, -fifty-seven, from a broadside of the end of the 18th; #F#, thirty, from -one of the beginning of the 19th; and #G-L#, thirty-five, twenty-three, -thirty-one, twenty-six, thirty-eight stanzas, from recent oral -tradition. - -The four older versions, and also #E#, open with some lines that occur -at the beginning of other ballads.[32] In #A# and #E#, and, we may add, -#G#, the maid is allured by the promise of being taken to a paradise -exempt from death and sorrow; #C#, #D#, #F# promise a train of handmaids -and splendid presents. All the versions agree very well as to the kernel -of the story. A false knight prevails upon a lady to elope with him, and -they ride to a wood [they simply meet in a wood, #H#, #K#]. He sets to -work digging a grave, which she says is too long for his [her] dog and -too narrow for his [her] horse [all but #F#, #H#]. She is told that the -grave is for her. He has taken away the life [and honor, #B#, #C#, #I#] -of eight maids, and she shall be the ninth. The eight maids become nine -kings' daughters in #E#, ten in #F#, nineteen in #G#, and in #E# and #F# -the hard choice is offered of death by sword, tree, or stream. In #A#, -#E#, #I#, #L# the knight bids the lady get her gold together before she -sets out with him, and in #D#, #H#, #K#, #L# he points out a little -knoll under which he keeps the gold of his previous victims. The maid -now induces the knight to lie down with his head in her lap, professing -a fond desire to render him the most homely of services[33] [not in #C#, -#G#, #I#, #K#]. He makes an express condition in #E#, #F#, #G#, #H#, #L# -that she shall not betray him in his sleep, and she calls Heaven to -witness that she will not. In #G# she sings him to sleep. He slept a -sleep that was not sweet. She binds him hand and foot, then cries, Wake -up! I will not betray you in sleep.[34] Eight you have killed; yourself -shall be the ninth. Entreaties and fair promises and pretences that he -had been in jest, and desire for shrift, are in vain. Woman-fashion she -drew his sword, but man-fashion she cut him down. She went home a maid. - -#E#, #F#, #G#, however, do not end so simply. On her way home through -the wood [#E#], she comes upon a maid who is working gold, and who says, -The last time I saw that horse my brother rode it. She answers, Your -brother is dead, and will do no more murdering for gold; then turns her -horse, and sets the sister's bower on fire. Next she encounters seven -robbers on the heath, who recognize the horse as their master's, and are -informed of his death and of the end of his crimes. They ask about the -fire. She says it is an old pig-sty. She rides on, and they call to her -that she is losing her horse's gold shoe. But nothing can stop her; she -bids them pick it up and drink it in wine; and so comes home to her -father's. #F# has nothing of the sister; in place of seven robbers there -are nine of the robber's brothers, and the maid sets their house on -fire. #G# indulges in absurd extravagances: the heroine meets the -robber's sister with twelve fierce dogs, and then his twelve swains, and -cuts down both dogs and swains. - -The names in the Danish ballads are, #A#, Ulver and Vænelil; #B#, Olmor, -or Oldemor, and Vindelraad; #C#, Hollemen and Vendelraad; #D#, Romor, -Reimord, or Reimvord, and the maid unnamed; #F#, Herr Peder and Liden -Kirsten; #H-L#, Ribold, Rigbold [#I#, Rimmelil] and Guldborg. - -Four #Swedish# versions are known, all from tradition of this century. -#A#, 'Den Falske Riddaren,' twenty-three two-line stanzas, Arwidsson, 44 -B, I, 301. #B#, 'Röfvaren Brun,' fifteen stanzas, Afzelius, 83, III, 97. -#C#, twenty-seven stanzas, Arwidsson, 44 A, I, 298. #D#, 'Röfvaren -Rymer,' sixteen stanzas, Afzelius, 82, III, 94. #A#, #B#, #D# have -resemblances, at the beginning, to the Ribold ballads, like the Danish -#A#, #B#, #E#, #G#, while the beginning of #C# is like the Danish #C#, -#D#, #F#. #A# has the grave-digging; there have been eight maids before; -the knight lays his head in the lady's lap for the same reason as in -most of the Danish ballads, and under the same assurance that he shall -not be betrayed in sleep; he is bound, and conscientiously waked before -his head is struck off; and the lady rides home to her father's. There -have been eight previous victims in #C#, and they king's daughters; in -#B#, eleven (maids); #D# says not how many, but, according to an -explanation of the woman that sang it, there were seven princesses. #C#, -#D#, like Danish #E#, #F#, #G#, make the maid encounter some of the -robber's family on the way home. By a misconception, as we perceive by -the Dutch ballad, she is represented as blowing the robber's horn. Seven -sisters come at the familiar sound to bury the murdered girl and share -the booty, but find that they have their brother to bury. - -The woman has no name in any of the Swedish ballads. #A# calls the -robber "an outlandish man" (en man ifrån fremmande land), #B#, simple -Brun, #C#, a knight, and #D#, Riddaren Rymer, or Herr Rymer. - -Of #Norwegian# versions, but two have been printed: #A#, 'Svein -Norðmann,' twenty two-line stanzas, Landstad, 69, p. 567; #B#, -'Rullemann og Hildeborg,' thirty stanzas, Landstad, 70, p. 571, both -from recent recitation. Bugge has communicated eight others to -Grundtvig. Both #A# and #B# have the paradise at the beginning, which is -found in Danish #A#, #E#, #G#, and Swedish #D#. In both the lady gets -her gold together while the swain is saddling his horse. They come to a -grave already dug, which in #B# is said to be made so very wide because -Rulleman has already laid nine maidens in it. The stanza in #A# which -should give the number is lost, but the reciter or singer put it at -seven or nine. The maid gets the robber into her power by the usual -artifice, with a slight variation in #B#. According to #A#, she rides -straight home to her father. #B#, like Danish #F#, has an encounter with -her false lover's [five] brothers. They ask, Where is Rullemann, thy -truelove? She answers, He is lying down, in the green mead, and bloody -is his bridal bed. - -Of the unprinted versions obtained by Professor Bugge, two indicate that -the murderer's sleep was induced by a spell, as in English #A#. #F# 9 -has, - - Long time stood Gullbjör; to herself she thought, - May none of my _runes_ avail me ought? - -And #H# 18, as also a variant to #B# 20, says it was a rune-slumber that -came over him. Only #G#, #H#, #I#, #K# give the number of the murdered -women: in #G#, #H#, eight, in #I#, nine, in #K#, five. - -The names are, in #A#, Svein Norðmann and Guðbjörg; #B#, Rulleman and -Hildeborg [or Signe]; #C#, #D#, #E#, #F#, Svein Nórmann and Gullbjör -[Gunnbjör]; #G#, Rullemann and Kjersti; #H#, Rullball and Signelill; -#I#, Alemarken and Valerós; #K#, Rulemann and a fair maid. - -Such information as has transpired concerning #Icelandic# versions of -this ballad is furnished by Grundtvig, IV, 4. The Icelandic form, though -curtailed and much injured, has shown tenacity enough to preserve itself -in a series of closely agreeing copies from the 17th century down. The -eldest, from a manuscript of 1665, runs thus: - - 1 - Ása went along the street, she heard a sweet sound. - - 2 - Ása went into the house, she saw the villain bound. - - 3 - 'Little Ása, loose me! I will not beguile thee.' - - 4 - 'I dare not loose thee, I know not whether thou'lt beguile me.' - - 5 - 'God almighty take note who deceives the other!' - - 6 - She loosed the bands from his hand, the fetter from his foot. - - 7 - 'Nine lands have I visited, ten women I've beguiled; - - 8 - 'Thou art now the eleventh, I'll not let thee slip.' - -A copy, from the beginning of the 18th century, has, in stanza 2, "Ása -went into the _wood_," a recent copy, "over the fields;" and stanza 3, -in the former, with but slight differences in all the modern copies, -reads, - - 'Welcome art thou, Ása maid! thou wilt mean to loose me.' - -Some recent copies (there is one in Berggreen, Danske Folkesange, 2d -ed., I, 162) allow the maid to escape, adding, - - 9 - 'Wait for me a little space, whilst I go into the green wood.' - - 10 - He waited for her a long time, but she never came back to him. - - 11 - Ása took her white steed, of all women she rode most. - - 12 - Ása went into a holy cell, never did she harm to man. - -This is certainly one of the most important of the #German# ballads, and -additions are constantly making to a large number of known versions. -Excepting two broadsides of about 1560, and two copies from recitation -printed in 1778, all these, twenty-six in number, have been obtained -from tradition since 1800.[35] They are as follows: #A a#, 'Gert -Olbert,' 'Die Mörners Sang,' in Low German, as written down by William -Grimm, in the early years of this century, 61 vv, Reifferscheid, p. 161, -II. #A b#, "from the Münster region," communicated to Uhland by the -Baroness Annette von Droste-Hüllshof, 46 vv, Uhland, I, 151, No 74 C; -repeated in Mittler, No 79. #A c#, a fragment from the same source as -the preceding, and written down at the beginning of this century, 35 vv, -Reifferscheid, p. 161, I. #B#, 'Es wollt sich ein Markgraf ausreiten,' -from Bökendorf, Westphalia, as taken down by W. Grimm, in 1813, 41 vv, -Reifferscheid, p. 116. #C a#, 'Die Gerettete,' "from the Lower Rhine," -twenty-six two-line stanzas, Zuccalmaglio, No 28, p. 66; Mittler, No 85. -#C b#, eleven two-line stanzas, Montanus (==Zuccalmaglio) Die deutschen -Volksfeste, p. 45. #D#, 'Von einem wackern Mägdlein, Odilia geheissen,' -etc., from the Rhine, 34 vv [Longard], No 24, p. 48. #E#, 'Schondilie,' -Menzenberg and Breitbach, 59 vv, Simrock, No 7, p. 19; Mittler, No 86. -#F#, 'Jungfrau Linnich,' communicated by Zuccalmaglio as from the Rhine -region, Berg and Mark, fourteen two-line stanzas, Erlach, IV, 598, and -Kretzschmer (nearly), No 92, p. 164; Mittler, No 87. #G a#, 'Ulinger,' -120 vv, Nuremberg broadside "of about 1555" (Böhme) in Wunderhorn, ed. -1857, IV, 101, Böhme, No 13^a, p. 56. #G b c#, Basel broadsides, "of -about 1570" (Böhme), and of 1605, in Uhland, No 74 A, I, 141; Mittler, -No 77. #H#, 'Adelger,' 120 vv, an Augsburg broadside, "of about 1560" -(Böhme), Uhland, No 74 B, I, 146; Böhme, No 13^b, p. 58; Mittler, No -76. #I#, 'Der Brautmörder,' in the dialect of the Kuhländchen (Northeast -Moravia and Austrian Silesia), 87 vv, Meinert, p. 61; Mittler, No 80. -#J#, 'Annele,' Swabian, from Hirrlingen and Obernau, 80 vv, Meier, -Schwäbische V. L., No 168, p. 298. #K#, another Swabian version, from -Hirrlingen, Immenried, and many other localities, 80 vv, Scherer, -Jungbrunnen, No 5 B, p. 25. #L a#, from the Swabian-Würtemberg border, -81 VV, Birlinger, Schwäbisch-Augsburgisches Wörterbuch, p. 458. #L b#, -[Birlinger], Schwäbische V. L., p. 159, from Immenried, nearly word for -word the same. #M#, 'Der falsche Sänger,' 40 vv, Meier, No 167, p. 296. -#N#, 'Es reitets ein Ritter durch Haber und Klee,' 43 vv, a fifth -Swabian version, from Hirrlingen, Meier, p. 302. #O#, 'Alte Ballade die -in Entlebuch noch gesungen wird,' twenty-three double stanzas, in the -local dialect, Schweizerblätter von Henne und Reithard, 1833, II^R -Jahrgang, 210-12. #P#, 'Das Guggibader-Lied,' twenty-one treble stanzas -(23?), in the Aargau dialect, Rochholz, Schweizersagen aus dem Aargau, -#I# 24. #Q#, 'Es sitzt gut Ritter auf und ritt,' a copy taken down in -1815 by J. Grimm, from the recitation of a lady who had heard it as a -child in German Bohemia, 74 vv, Reifferscheid, p. 162. #R#, 'Bie wrüe -i[s,]t auv der ritter[s,]màn, 'in the dialect of Gottschee, Carniola, -86 vv, Schröer, Sitzungsberichte der Wiener Ak., phil-hist. Cl, LX, 462. -#S#, 'Das Lied von dem falschen Rittersmann,' 60 vv, from Styria, -Rosegger and Heuberger, Volkslieder aus Steiermark, No 19, p. 17. #T#, -'Ulrich und Ännchen,'[36] 49 vv, Herder's Volkslieder, 1778, I, 79; -Mittler, No 78. #U#, 'Schön Ulrich und Roth-Aennchen,' 46 vv, in -Taschenbuch für Dichter und Dichterfreunde, Abth. viii, 126, 1778, from -Upper Lusatia (slightly altered by the contributor, Meissner); Mittler, -No 84. A copy from Kapsdorf, in Hoffmann and Richter's Schlesische V. -L., No 13, p. 27, is the same, differing by only three words. #V#, -'Schön-Aennelein,' 54 vv, from the eastern part of Brandenburg, Erk u. -Irmer, 6th Heft, p. 64, No 56 (stanzas 4-8 from the preceding). #W#, -'Schön Ullerich und Hanselein,' twenty-nine two-line stanzas, from the -neighborhood of Breslau, in Gräter's Idunna und Hermode, No 35, Aug. 29, -1812, following p. 140. The same in Schlesische V. L., No 12, p. 23, -'Schön Ulrich u. Rautendelein,' with a stanza (12) inserted; and -Mittler, No 81. #X#, 'Der Albrecht u. der Hanselein,' 42 vv, from -Natangen, East Prussia, in Neue preussische Provinzial-Blätter, 2d -series, III, 158, No 8. #Y#, 'Ulrich u. Annle,' nineteen two-line -stanzas, a second Kuhländchen version, Meinert, p. 66; Mittler, No 83. -#Z a#, 'Von einem frechen Räuber, Herr Ulrich geheissen,' nineteen -two-line stanzas, from the Rhine [Longard], No 23, p. 46. #Z b#, -'Ulrich,' as sung on the Lower Rhine, the same ballad, with unimportant -verbal differences, and the insertion of one stanza (7, the editor's?), -Zuccalmaglio, No 15, p. 39; Mittler, No 82. - -The German ballads, as Grundtvig has pointed out, divide into three -well-marked classes. The first class, embracing the versions #A-F# (6), -and coming nearest to English and Dutch tradition, has been found along -the lower half of the Rhine and in Westphalia, or in Northwest Germany; -the second, including #G-S# (13), is met with in Swabia, Switzerland, -Bohemia, Moravia, Styria, Carniola, or in South Germany; the third, -#T-Z# (7), in East Prussia, the eastern part of Brandenburg and of -Saxony, Silesia, and, again, Moravia, or, roughly speaking, in North and -East Germany; but, besides the Moravian, there is also of this third -class one version, in two copies, from the Rhine. - -(I.) #A# runs thus. She that would ride out with Gert Olbert must dress -in silk and gold. When fair Helena had so attired herself, she called -from her window, Gert Olbert, come and fetch the bride. He took her by -her silken gown and swung her on behind him, and they rode three days -and nights. Helena then said, We must eat and drink; but Gert Olbert -said, We must go on further. They rode over the green heath, and Helena -once more tenderly asked for refreshment. Under yon fir [linden], said -Gert Olbert, and kept on till they came to a green spot, where nine -maids were hanging. Then it was, Wilt thou choose the fir-tree, the -running stream, or the naked sword? She chose the sword, but begged him -to take off his silken coat, "for a maid's blood spirts far, and I -should be sorry to spatter it." While he was engaged in drawing off his -coat, she cut off his head. But still the false tongue spoke. It bade -her blow in his horn; then she would have company enough. She was not so -simple as to do this. She rode three days and nights, and blew the horn -when she reached her father's castle. Then all the murderers came -running, like hounds after a hare. Frau Clara [Jutte] called out, Where -is my son? Under the fir-tree, sporting with nine maids; he meant me to -be the tenth, said Helena. - -#B# is the same story told of a margrave and Fair Annie, but some -important early stanzas are lost, and the final ones have suffered -injury; for the ballad ends with this conceit, "She put the horn to her -mouth, and blew the margrave quite out of her heart." Here, by a -transference exceedingly common in tradition, it is the man, and not the -maid, that "would ride in velvet and silk and red gold." - -#C a# has the names Odilia and Hilsinger, a trooper (reiter). Odilia was -early left an orphan, and as she grew up "she grew into the trooper's -bosom." He offered her seven pounds of gold to be his, and "she thought -seven pounds of gold a good thing." We now fall into the track of #A#. -Odilia dresses herself like a bride, and calls to the trooper to come -and get her. They ride first to a high hill, where she asks to eat and -drink, and then go on to a linden-tree, on which seven maids are -hanging. The choice of three deaths is offered, the sword chosen, he is -entreated to spare his coat, she seizes his sword and hews off his head. -The false tongue suggests blowing the horn. Odilia thinks "much biding -or blowing is not good." She rides away, and presently meets the -trooper's "little foot-page" (bot), who fancies she has Hilsinger's -horse and sword. "He sleeps," she says, "with seven maids, and thought I -was to be the eighth." This copy concludes with a manifestly spurious -stanza. #C b# agrees with #C a# for ten stanzas, as to the matter, and -so far seems to be #C a# improved by Zuccalmaglio, with such -substitutions as a princely castle for "seven pounds of gold." The last -stanza (11), - - Und als die Sternlein am Himmel klar, - Ottilia die achte der Todten war, - -was, no doubt, suggested by the last of #F#, another of Zuccalmaglio's -versions, and, if genuine, would belong to a ballad of the third class. - -#D# has the name Odilia for the maid, but the knight, or trooper, has -become expressly a robber (ritter, reiter, räuber). They ride to a green -heath, where there is a cool spring. Odilia asks for and gets a draught -of water, and is told that at the linden-tree there will be eating and -drinking for them. And when they come to the linden, there hang six, -seven maids! All proceeds as before. The talking head is lost. Odilia -meets the robber's mother, and makes the usual reply.[37] - -#E# resembles #C# closely. Odilia becomes Schondilg (Schön Odilie), -Räuber returns to Ritter, or Reiter, and the servant-maid bribe of seven -pounds of gold rises to ten tons.[38] Schondilg's toilet, preparatory to -going off (6-8), is described with a minuteness that we find only in the -Dutch ballad (12-16). After this, there is no important variation. She -meets the trooper's three brothers, and makes the same replies to them -as to the mother in #D#. - -#F.# The personages here are Linnich (i.e., Nellie) and a knight from -England. The first twelve stanzas do not diverge from #C#, #D#, #E#. In -stanza 13 we find the knight directing the lady to strip off her silk -gown and gold necklace, as in the English #C#, #D#, #E#; but certainly -this inversion of the procedure which obtains in German #C#, #D#, #E# is -an accident arising from confused recollection. The 14th and last stanza -similarly misunderstands the maid's feigned anxiety about the knight's -fine coat, and brings the ballad to a false close, resembling the -termination of those of the third class, still more those of certain -mixed forms to be spoken of presently. - -(II.) The second series, #G-S#, has three or four traits that are not -found in the foregoing ballads. #G#, which, as well as #H#, was in print -more than two hundred years before any other copy is known to have been -taken down, begins, like the Dutch Halewijn, with a knight (Ulinger) -singing so sweetly that a maid (Fridburg) is filled with desire to go -off with him. He promises to teach her his art. This magical song is -wanting only in #R#, of class II, and the promise to teach it only in -#Q#, #R#. She attires herself splendidly; he swings her on to his horse -behind him, and they ride to a wood. When they came to the wood there -was no one there but a white dove on a hazel-bush, that sang, Listen, -Fridburg: Ulinger has hanged eleven[39] maids; the twelfth is in his -clutches. Fridburg asked what the dove was saying. Ulinger replied, It -takes me for another; it lies in its red bill; and rode on till it -suited him to alight. He spread his cloak on the grass, and asked her to -sit down: - - Er sprach sie solt ihm lausen, - Sein gelbes Haar zerzausen.[40] - -Looking up into her eyes, he saw tears, and asked why she was weeping. -Was it for her sorry husband? Not for her sorry husband, she said. But -here some stanzas, which belong to another ballad,[41] have crept in, -and she is, with no reason, made to ride further on. She comes to a -lofty fir, and eleven maids hanging on it. She wrings her hands and -tears her hair, and implores Ulinger to let her be hanged in her clothes -as she is. - - 'Ask me not that, Fridburg,' he said; - 'Ask me not that, thou good young maid; - Thy scarlet mantle and kirtle black - Will well become my young sister's back.' - -Then she begs to be allowed three cries. - - 'So much I may allow thee well, - Thou art so deep within the dell; - So deep within the dell we lie, - No man can ever hear thy cry.' - -She cries, "Help, Jesu!" "Help, Mary!" "Help, dear brother!" - - 'For if thou come not straight, - For my life 't will be too late!' - -Her brother seems to hear his sister's voice "in every sense." - - He let his falcon fly, - Rode off with hounds in full cry; - With all the haste he could - He sped to the dusky wood. - - 'What dost thou here, my Ulinger? - What dost thou here, my master dear?' - 'Twisting a withe, and that is all, - To make a halter for my foal.' - - 'Twisting a withe, and that is all, - To make a halter for thy foal! - I swear by my troth thus shall it be, - Thyself shalt be the foal for me.' - - 'Then this I beg, my Fridburger, - Then this I beg, my master dear, - That thou wilt let me hang - In my clothes as now I stand.' - - 'Ask me not that, thou Ulinger, - Ask me not that, false perjurer; - Thy scarlet mantle and jerkin black - Will well become my scullion's back.' - - His shield before his breast he slung, - Behind him his fair sister swung, - And so he hied away - Where his father's kingdom lay. - -#H#, the nearly contemporaneous Augsburg broadside, differs from #G# in -only one important particular. The "reuter" is Adelger, the lady -unnamed. A stanza is lost between 6 and 7, which should contain the -warning of the dove, and so is Adelger's version of what the bird had -said. The important feature in #H#, not present in #G#, is that the halt -is made near a spring, about which blood is streaming, "der war mit blut -umbrunnenn." This adds a horror to this powerful scene which well suits -with it. When the maid begins to weep, Adelger asks whether her tears -are for her father's land, or because she dislikes him so much. It is -for neither reason, but because on yon fir she sees eleven maids -hanging. He confirms her fears: - - 'Ah, thou fair young lady fine, - O palsgravine, O empress mine, - Adelger 's killed his eleven before, - Thou 'lt be the twelfth, of that be sure.'[42] - -The last two lines seem, by their form, to be the dove's warning that -has dropped out between stanzas 6 and 7. The maid's clothes in #H# are -destined to be the perquisite of Adelger's mother, and the brother says -that Adelger's are to go to his shield-bearer. The unhappy maid cries -but twice, to the Virgin and to her brother. When surprised by the -brother, Adelger feigns to be twisting a withe for his falcon. - -#I# begins, like #G#, #H#, with the knight's seductive song. Instead of -the dove directly warning the maid, it upbraids the man: "Whither now, -thou Ollegehr?[43] Eight hast thou murdered already; and now for the -ninth!" The maid asks what the dove means, and is told to ride on, and -not mind the dove, who takes him for another man. There are eight maids -in the fir. The cries are to Jesus, Mary, and her brothers, one of whom -hastens to the rescue. He is struck with the beauty of his sister's -attire,--her velvet dress, her virginal crown, "which you shall wear -many a year yet." So saying, he draws his sword, and whips off his -"brother-in-law's" head, with this epicedium: - - 'Lie there, thou head, and bleed, - Thou never didst good deed. - - 'Lie there, thou head, and rot, - No man shall mourn thy lot. - - 'No one shall ever be sorry for thee - But the small birds on the greenwood tree.'[44] - -In #J#, again, the knight comes riding through the reeds, and sings such -a song that Brown Annele, lying under the casement, exclaims, "Could I -but sing like him, I would give my troth and my honor!" There are, by -mistake, two[45] doves in stanza 4, that warn Annele not to be beguiled, -but this error is set right in the next stanza. When she asks what the -dove is cooing, the answer is, "It is cooing about its red foot; it went -barefoot all winter." We have here again, as in #H#, the spring in the -wood, "mit Blute umrunnen," and the lady asks again the meaning of the -bloody spring. The knight replies, in a stanza which seems both -corrupted and out of place, "This is where the eleven pure virgins -perished." Then follow the same incidents as in #G-I#. He says she must -hang with the eleven in the fir, and be queen over all. Her cries are -for her father, for Our Lady, and for her brother, who is a hunter in -the forest. The hunter makes all haste to his sister, twists a withe, -and hangs the knight without a word between them, then takes his sister -by the hand and conducts her home, with the advice never more to trust a -knight: for all which she returns her devout thanks.[46] - -#K# and #L# are of the same length and the same tenor as #J#. There are -no names in #L#; in #K# both Annele and Ulrich, but the latter is very -likely to have been inserted by the editor. #K#, #L# have only one dove, -and in neither does the lady ask the meaning of the dove's song. The -knight simply says, "Be still; thou liest in thy throat!" Both have the -bloody spring, but out of place, for it is very improperly spoken of by -the knight as the spot he is making for: - - 'Wir wollen ein wenig weiter vorwärts faren, - Bis zu einem kühlen Waldbrunnen, - Der ist mit Blut überronnen.'[47] - - L 26-28, 17-19. - -The three cries are for father, mother, brother. In #K# the brother -fights with "Ulrich" two hours and a half before he can master him, then -despatches him with his two-edged sword, and hangs him in a withe. He -fires his rifle in #L#, to announce his coming, and hears his sister's -laugh; then stabs the knight through the heart. The moral of #J# is -repeated in both: Stay at home, and trust no knight. - -#M# smacks decidedly of the bänkelsänger, and has an appropriate moral -at the tail: _animi index cauda!_ The characters are a cavalier and a -girl, both nameless, and a brother. The girl, hearing the knight sing -"ein Liedchen von dreierlei Stimmen," which should seem to signify a -three-part song, says, "Ah, could I sing like him, I would straightway -give him my honor." They ride to the wood, and come upon a hazel-bush -with _three_ doves, one of which informs the maid that she will be -betrayed, the second that she will die that day, and the third that she -will be buried in the wood. The second and third doves, as being false -prophets, and for other reasons, may safely be pronounced intruders. All -is now lost till we come to the cries, which are addressed to father, -mother, and brother. The brother stabs the traitor to the heart.[48] - -#N# is as short as #M#, and, like it, has no names, but has all the -principal points: the fascinating song, the dove on the bush, eleven -maids in the fir, the three cries, and the rescue by the -huntsman-brother, who cocks his gun and shoots the knight. The reciter -of this ballad gave the editor to understand that if the robber had -succeeded in his twelfth murder, he would have attained such powers that -nobody after that could harm him.[49] - -#O# is a fairly well-preserved ballad, resembling #G-J# as to the course -of the story. Anneli, lying under the casement, hears the knight singing -as he rides through the reeds. The elaborate toilet is omitted, as in -#I#, #J#. The knight makes haste to the dark wood. They come to a cold -spring, "mit Bluot war er überrunnen;" then to a hazel, behind which a -dove coos ominously. Anneli says, Listen. The dove coos you are a false -man, that will not spare my life. No, says the knight, that is not it; -the dove is cooing about its blue foot, for its fate is to freeze in -winter. The cloak is thrown on the grass, the eleven maids in the fir -are descried, and Anneli is told she must hang highest, and be empress -over all. He concedes her as many cries as she likes, for only the -wood-birds will hear. She calls on God, the Virgin, and her brother. The -brother thinks he hears his sister's voice, calls to his groom to -saddle, comes upon the knight while he is twisting a withe for his -horse, as he says, ties him to the end of the withe, and makes him pay -for all he has perpetrated in the wood. He then swings Anneli behind -him, and rides home with her. - -#P#, the other Swiss ballad, has been retouched, and more than -retouched in places, by a modern pen. Still the substance of the story, -and, on the whole, the popular tone, is preserved. Fair Anneli, in the -miller's house, hears the knight singing as he rides through the rushes, -and runs down-stairs and calls to him: she would go off with him if she -could sing like that, and her clothes are fit for any young lady. The -knight promises that he will teach her his song if she will go with him, -and bids her put these fine clothes on. They ride to the wood. A dove -calls from the hazel, "He will betray thee." Anneli asks what the dove -is saying, and is answered much as in #J# and #O#, that it is talking -about its frost-bitten feet and claws. The knight tears through the -wood, to the great peril of Anneli's gown and limbs, and when he has -come to the right place, spreads his cloak on the grass, and makes the -usual request. She weeps when she sees eleven maids in the fir-tree, and -receives the customary consolation: - - 'Weep not too sore, my Anneli, - 'Tis true thou art doomed the twelfth to be; - Up to the highest tip must thou go, - And a margravine be to all below; - Must be an empress over the rest, - And hang the highest of all as the best.' - -The request to be allowed three cries is lost. The knight tells her to -cry as much as she pleases, he knows no one will come; the wild birds -will not hear, and the doves are hushed. She cries to father, mother, -and brother. The brother, who is sitting over his wine at the inn, -hears, saddles his best horse, rides furiously, and comes first to a -spring filled with locks of maid's hair and red with maid's blood; then -to a bush, where the knight (Rüdeli, Rudolph) is twisting his withe. He -bids his sister be silent, for the withe is not for her; the villain is -twisting it for his own neck, and shall be dragged at the tail of his -horse. - -#Q# resembles the Swabian ballads, and presents only these variations -from the regular story. The dove adds to the warning, "Fair maid, be not -beguiled," what we find nowhere else, "Yonder I see a cool spring, -around which blood is running." The knight, to remove the maid's -anxiety, says, "Let it talk; it does not know me; I am no such -murderer." The end is excessively feeble. When the brother, a hunter as -before, reaches his sister, "a robber runs away," and then the brother -takes her by the hand, conducts her to her father's land, and enjoins -her to stay at home and spin silk. There are no names. - -There is one feature entirely peculiar to #R#. The knight carries off -the maid, as before, but when they come to the hazel bush there are -eleven doves that sing this "new song:" - - 'Be not beguiled, maiden, - The knight is beguiling thee: - - 'We are eleven already, - Thou shalt be the twelfth.' - -The eleven doves are of course the spirits of the eleven preceding -victims. The maid's inquiry as to what they mean is lost. The knight's -evasion is not ingenious, but more likely to allay suspicion than simply -saying, "I am no such murderer." He says, "Fear not: the doves are -singing a song that is common in these parts." When they come to the -spring "where blood and water are running," and the maid asks what -strange spring is this, the knight answers in the same way, and perhaps -could not do better: "Fear not: _there is_ in these parts a spring that -runs blood and water." This spring is misplaced, for it occurs before -they enter the wood. The last scene in the ballad is incomplete, and -goes no further than the brother's exclamation when he comes in upon the -knight: "Stop, young knight! Spare my sister's life." The parties in #R# -are nameless. - -So again in #S#, which also has neither the knight's enchanting song nor -the bloody spring. There are two doves, as in #J#, stanza 4. The cries -are addressed to mother, father, brother, as in #N#, and, as in #N#, -again, the brother cocks his gun, and shoots the knight down;[50] then -calmly leads his sister home, with the warning against knights. - -(III.) #T#, the first of the third series, has marked signs of -deterioration. Ulrich does not enchant Ännchen by his song, and promise -to teach it to her; he offers to teach her "bird-song." They _walk_ out -together, apparently, and come to a hazel, with no dove; neither is -there any spring. Annie sits down on the grass; Ulrich lays his head in -her lap; she weeps, and he asks why. It is for eleven maids in the -fir-tree, as so often before. Ulrich's style has become much tamer: - - 'Ah, Annie, Annie, dear to me, - How soon shalt thou the twelfth one be!' - -She begs for three cries, and calls to her father, to God, to her -youngest brother. The last is sitting over the wine and hears. He -demands of Ulrich where she is, and is told, Upon yon linden, spinning -silk. Then ensues this dialogue: Why are your shoes blood-red? Why not? -I have shot a dove. That dove my mother bare under her breast. Annie is -laid in the grave, and angels sing over her; Ulrich is broken on the -wheel, and round him the ravens cry. - -There is no remnant or reminiscence of the magical singing in #U#. Schön -Ulrich and Roth Ännchen go on a walk, and come first to a fir-tree, then -a green mead. The next scene is exactly as in #T#. Ulrich says the -eleven maids were his wives, and that he had thrust his sword through -their hearts. Annie asks for three _sighs_, and directs them to God, to -Jesus, and to her youngest brother. He is sitting over his wine, when -the sigh comes into the window, and Ulrich simultaneously in at the -door. The remainder is very much as in #T#. - -#V# differs from #U# only in the names, which are Schön-Heinrich and -Schön-Ännelein, and in the "sighs" returning to cries, which invoke God, -father, and brother. - -#W# begins with a rivalry between Ulrich and Hanselein[51] for the hand -of Rautendelein (Rautendchen). Ulrich is successful. She packs up her -jewels, and he takes her to a wood, where she sees eleven maids hanging. -He assures her she shall presently be the twelfth. It is then they sit -down, and she leans her head on his breast and weeps, "because," as she -says, "I must die." His remark upon this, if there was any, is lost. -Hoffmann inserts a stanza from another Silesian copy, in which Ulrich -says, Rather than spare thy life, I will run an iron stake through thee. -She asks for three cries, and he says, Four, if you want. She prefers -four, and calls to her father, mother, sister, brother. The brother, as -he sits over the wine, hears the cry, and almost instantly Ulrich comes -in at the door. He pretends to have killed a dove; the brother knows -what dove, and hews off Ulrich's head, with a speech like that in #I#. -Still, as Rautendchen is brought to the grave, with toll of bells, so -Ulrich is mounted on the wheel, where ravens shriek over him. - -#X.# Albrecht and Hänselein woo Alalein. She is promised to Albrecht, -but Hänsel gets her. He takes her to a green mead, spreads his mantle on -the grass, and she sits down. His lying in her lap and her discovery of -the awful tree are lost. She weeps, and he tells her she shall be "his -eleventh." Her cries are condensed into one stanza: - - 'Gott Vater, Sohn, Herr Jesu Christ, - Mein jüngster Bruder, wo Du bist!' - -Her brother rides in the direction of the voice, and meets Hänselein in -the wood, who says Alalein is sitting with princes and counts. The -conclusion is as in #T#, #U#, #V#. - -#Y# has Ansar Uleraich wooing a king's daughter, Annle, to the eighth -year. He takes her to a fir-wood, then to a fir, a stump of a tree, a -spring; in each case bidding her sit down. At the spring he asks her if -she wishes to be drowned, and, upon her saying no, cuts off her head. -He has not walked half a mile before he meets her brother. The brother -inquires where Ulrich has left his sister, and the reply is, "By the -green Rhine." The conclusion is as in #W#. Ulrich loses his head, and -the brother pronounces the imprecation which is found there and in -I.[52] - -#Z#, which takes us back from Eastern Germany to the Rhine, combines -features from all the three groups. Ulrich fascinates a king's daughter -by his song. She collects her gold and jewels, as in #W#, and goes to a -wood, where a dove warns her that she will be betrayed. Ulrich -appropriates her valuables, and they wander about till they come to the -Rhine. There he takes her into a wood, and gives her a choice between -hanging and drowning, and, she declining both, says she shall die by his -sword. But first she is allowed three cries,--to God, her parents, her -youngest brother. The youngest brother demands of Ulrich where he has -left his sister. "Look in my pocket, and you shall find fourteen -tongues, and the last cut [reddest] of all is your sister's." The words -were scarcely out of his mouth before Ulrich's sword had taken off his -head. - -The three classes of the German ballad, it will be observed, have for -their principal distinction that in I the maid saves her own life by an -artifice, and takes the life of her treacherous suitor; in II, she is -rescued by her brother, who also kills the traitor; in III, she dies by -the villain's hand, and he by her brother's, or by a public execution. -There are certain subordinate traits which are constant, or nearly so, -in each class. In I, #A-F#, a choice of deaths is invariably offered; -the maid gets the advantage of the murderer by persuading him to take -off his coat [distorted in #F#, which has lost its conclusion]; and, on -her way home, she falls in with one or more of the robber's family, -mother, brothers, servant, who interrogate her [except #F#, which, as -just said, is a fragment]. Class II has several marks of its own. All -the thirteen ballads [#G-S#], except the last, represent the knight as -fascinating the maid by his singing; in all but #Q# she is warned of her -danger by a dove,[53] or more than one; in all but the much-abridged -#M#, #N#, the knight spreads his cloak on the grass, they sit down, and, -excepting #M#, #N#, #R#, the unromantic service is repeated which she -undertakes in Danish #A#, #B#, #D#, #E#, #F#, #H#, #L#, Swedish #A#, -Norwegian #A#, #B#. The bloody spring occurs in some form, though often -not quite intelligible, in #H#, #J#, #K#, #L#, #O#, #P#, #Q#, #R# (also -in #D#, #Y#). All but the much-abridged #M#, #N# have the question, What -are you weeping for? your father's land, humbled pride, lost honor? -etc.; but this question recurs in #T#, #U#, #V#, #W#. The cries for help -are a feature of both the second and the third class, and are wanting -only in #Y#. Class III differs from I, and resembles II, in having the -cries for help, and, in the less impaired forms, #T-W#, the knight -spreads his cloak, lies down with his head in the lady's lap, and asks -the cause of her tears. Beyond this, and the changed catastrophe, the -ballads of Class III are distinguished by what they have lost. - -Forms in which the story of this is mixed with that of some other German -ballad remain to be noticed. - -#A.# A ballad first published in Nicolai's Almanach, II, 100, No 21 -(1778), and since reprinted, under the titles, 'Liebe ohne Stand,' 'Der -Ritter und die Königstochter,' etc., but never with absolute fidelity, -in Wunderhorn (1819), I, 37 (==Erlach, II, 120), Kretzschmer, No 72, I, -129; Mittler, No 89; Erk, Neue Sammlung, iii, 18, No 14; also, with a -few changes, by Zuccalmaglio, No. 95, p. 199, as 'aus Schwaben;' by Erk, -Liederhort, No 28, p. 90, as "corrected from oral tradition;" and as -"from oral tradition," in Erk's Wunderhorn (1857), I, 39. Independent -versions are given by Mittler, No 90, p. 83, from Oberhessen; Pröhle, -Weltliche u. geistliche Volkslieder, No 5, p. 10, from the Harz; -Reifferscheid, No 18, p. 36, from Bökendorf. Erk refers to still another -copy, five stanzas longer than Nicolai's, from Hesse-Darmstadt, Neue -Sammlung, iii, 19, note. - -What other ballad is here combined with Ulinger, it is impossible to -make out. The substance of the narrative is that a knight rides singing -through the reeds, and is heard by a king's daughter, who forthwith -desires to go with him. They ride till the horse is hungry [tired]; he -spreads his cloak on the grass, and makes, _sans façon_, his usual -request. The king's daughter sheds many tears, and he asks why. "Had I -followed my father's counsel, I might have been empress." The knight -cuts off her head at the word, and says, Had you held your tongue, you -would have kept your head. He throws the body behind a tree, with Lie -there and rot; my young heart must mourn [no knight, a knight, shall -mourn over thee]. Another stanza or two, found in some versions, need -not be particularly noticed. - -'Stolz Sieburg,' Simrock, No 8, p. 21, from the Rhine, Mittler, No 88, -is another and somewhat more rational form of the same story. To the -question whether she is weeping for Gut, Muth, Ehre, the king's daughter -answers: - - 'Ich wein um meine Ehre, - Ich wollt gern wieder umkehren.' - -For this Stolz Sieburg strikes off her head, with a speech like that -which we have just had, and throws it into a spring; then resolves to -hang himself.[54] - -A #Dutch# version of this ballad, Le Jeune, No 92, p. 292; Willems, No -72, p. 186; Hoffmann, No 29, p. 92, has less of the Halewyn in it, and -more motive than the German, though less romance. "If you might have -been an empress," says the knight, "I, a margrave's son, will marry you -to-morrow." "I would rather lose my head than be your wife," replies the -lady; upon which he cuts off her head and throws it into a fountain, -saying, Lie there, smiling mouth! Many a thousand pound have you cost -me, and many pence of red gold. Your head is clean cut off. - -#B.# The Ulinger story is also found combined with that of the beautiful -ballad, 'Wassermanns Braut.'[55] (1.) In a Transylvanian ballad, -'Brautmörder,' Schuster, Siebenbürgisch-sächsische Volkslieder, p. 57, -No 54 #A#, 38 vv, with variations, and p. 59, #B#, a fragment of 10 vv; -(#A# in a translation, Böhme, No 14, p. 61.) A king from the Rhine sues -seven years for a king's daughter, and does not prevail till the eighth. -She begs her mother not to consent, for she has seen it in the sun that -she shall not long be her daughter, in the moon that she shall drown -before the year is out, in the bright stars that her blood shall be -dispersed far and wide. He takes her by the hand, and leads her through -a green wood, at the end of which a grave is already made. He pushes her -into the grave, and drives a stake through her heart. The princess' -brother asks what has become of his sister. "I left her on the Rhine, -drinking mead and wine." "Why are your skirts so bloody?" "I have shot a -turtle-dove." "That turtle-dove was, mayhap, my sister." They spit him -on a red-hot stake, and roast him like a fish. Lines 1-4 of this ballad -correspond to 1-4 of #Y# (which last agree with 1-4 of Meinert's -'Wassermanns Braut'); 17, 18, to #Y# 5, 6; 25-34 to 21-30; and we find -in verse 22 the stake through the heart which Hoffmann has interpolated -in #W#, stanza 12. - -(2.) A Silesian copy of 'Wassermanns Braut,' co[llecte]d by [Ho]ffman -contributed to Deutsches Museum, 1852, II, 164, represents the bride, -after she has fallen into the water and has been recovered by the nix, -as asking for three cries, and goes on from this point like the Ulrich -ballad #W#, the conclusion being that the sister is drowned before the -brother comes to her aid.[56] - -'Nun schürz dich, Gredlein,' "Forster's Frische Liedlein, No 66," Böhme, -No 53, Uhland, No 256 A, which is of the date 1549, and therefore older -than the Nuremberg and Augsburg broadsides, has derived stanzas 7-9 from -an Ulinger ballad, unless this passage is to be regarded as common -property. Some copies of the ballad commonly called 'Müllertücke' have -also adopted verses from Ulinger, especially that in Meier's Schwäbische -Volkslieder, No 233, p. 403. - -A form of ballad resembling English #C-F#, but with some important -differences, is extraordinarily diffused in #Poland#. There is also a -single version of the general type of English #A#, or, better, of the -first class of the German ballads. This version, #A#, Pauli, -Pie[/s][/n]i ludu Polskiego w Galicyi, p. 90, No 5, and Kolberg, -Pie[/s]ni ludu Polskiego, No 5, #bbb#, p. 70, runs thus. There was a man -who went about the world wiling away young girls from father and mother. -He had already done this with eight; he was now carrying off the ninth. -He took her to a frightful wood; then bade her look in the direction of -her house. She asked, "What is that white thing that I see on yon fir?" -"There are already eight of them," he said, "and you shall be the ninth; -never shall you go back to your father and mother. Take off that gown, -Maria." Maria was looking at his sword. "Don't touch, Maria, for you -will wound your pretty little hands." "Don't mind my hands, John," she -replied, "but rather see what a bold heart I have;" and instantly John's -head flew off. Then follows a single stanza, which seems to be addressed -to John's mother, after the manner of the German #A#, etc.: "See, dear -mother! I am thy daughter-in-law, who have just put that traitor out of -the world." There is a moral for conclusion, which is certainly a later -addition. - -The other ballads may be arranged as follows, having regard chiefly to -the catastrophe. #B#, Kolberg, No 5, #oo#: #C#, #rr#: #D#, #ccc#: #E#, -#dd#: #F#, #uu#: #G#, #ww#: #H#, #t#: #I#, #u#: #J#, #gg#: #K#, #mm#: -#L#, Wac[/l]aw z Oleska, p. 483, 2, Kolberg, #p#: #L*#, Koz[/l]owski, -Lud, p. 33, No IV: #M#, Wojcicki, I, 234, Kolberg, #r#: #N#, Wojcicki, -I, 82, Kolberg, #s#: #O#, Kolberg, #d#: #P#, _ib._ #f#: #Q#, #pp#: #R#, -Wojcicki, I, 78, Kolberg, #e#: #S#, Kolberg, #l#: #T#, _ib._ #n#: #U#, -Pauli, Pje[/s][/n]i ludu Polskiego w Galicyi, p. 92, No 6, Kolberg, #q#: -#V#, Kolberg, #y#: #W#, Wojcicki, II, 298, "J. Lipi[/n]ski, Pie[/s]ni -ludu Wielkopolskiego, p. 34," Kolberg, #ee#; #X#, Kolberg, #a#: #Y#, -_ib._ #z#: #Z#, #aa#: #AA#, #qq#: #BB#, #w#; #CC#, #ddd#: #DD#, #m#: -#EE#, #c#: #FF#, #o#: #GG#, [/l][/l]: #HH#, #ss#: #II#, #ii#: #JJ#, -#ff#: #KK#, #tt#: #LL#, #i#: #MM#, #g*#. In #B-K# the woman comes off -alive from her adventure: in #O-CC#, she loses her life: in #L-N# there -is a jumble of both conclusions: #DD-MM# are incomplete.[57] - -The story of the larger part of these ballads, conveyed as briefly as -possible, is this: John, who is watering horses, urges Catherine,[58] -who is drawing water, to elope with him. He bids her take silver and -gold enough, that the horse may have something to carry. Catherine says -her mother will not allow her to enter the new chamber. Tell her that -you have a headache, says John, and she will consent. Catherine feigns a -headache, is put into the new chamber, and absconds with John while her -mother is asleep.[59] At a certain stage, more commonly at successive -stages,--on the high road, #K#, #P#, #S#, #DD#, #II#, #LL#, in a dark -wood, #D#, #P#, #T#, #X#, #Z#, #DD#, #EE#, at a spring, #D#, #K#, #S#, -#T#, #V#, #W#, #X#, #Y#, #Z#, #EE#, #II#, #LL#, etc.,--he bids her take -off, or himself takes from her, her "rich attire," #D#, #P#, #T#, #V#, -#W#, #X#, #Y#, #Z#, #DD#, #EE#, her satin gown, #D#, #T#, #X#, #DD#, -#EE#, her French or Turkish costume, #K#, #P#, #II#, robes of silver, -#K#, shoes, #Z#, #CC#, #FF#, silk stockings, #T#, corals, #D#, #X#, -#CC#, #EE#, pearls, #T#, rings, #K#, #O-T#, #X#, #Z#, #CC-FF#, #II#, -#LL#. In many of the ballads he tells her to go back to her mother, -#B-G#, #K#, #L*#, #M#, #N#, #Q#, #S#, #U#, #X#, #Y#, #EE#, #HH-LL#, -sometimes after pillaging her, sometimes without mention of this. -Catherine generally replies that she did not come away to have to go -back, #B#, #C#, #D#, #G#, #L*#, #M#, #S#, #U#, #X#, #Y#, #EE#, #HH#, -#JJ#, #KK#, #LL#. John seizes her by the hands and sides and throws her -into a deep river [pool, water, sea]. Her apron [tress, #AA#, #II#, both -apron and tress, #O#, petticoat, #KK#] is caught on a stake or stump of -a tree, #B#, #C#, #G#, #H#, #I#, #O#, #P#, #R#, #T#, #U#, #V#, #W#, #Y#, -#BB#, #DD#, #EE#, #II#, #JJ#, #KK# [in a bush #D#]. John cuts it away -with axe or sword, #G#, #I#, #O#, #R#, #T#, #BB#, #II#, #JJ#. She cries -to him for help. He replies, "I did not throw you in to help you -out,"[60] #B#, #C#, #F#, #P#, #U#, #V#, #W#, #X#, #Z#, #EE#, #II#. -Catherine is drawn ashore in a fisherman's net [swims ashore #I#, #J#, -#GG#]. - -Catherine comes out from the water alive in #B-N#. The brother who plays -so important a part in the second class of German ballads, appears also -in a few of the Polish versions, #B#, #C#, #D#, and #L*#, #O#, #P#, #Q#, -#X#, but is a mere shadow. In #B# 21, 22, and #C# 16, 17, the brother, -who is "on the mountain," and may be supposed to hear the girl's cry, -slides down a silken cord, which proves too short, and the girl "adds -her tress"! He asks the fishermen to throw their nets for her. She is -rescued, goes to church, takes an humble place behind the door, and, -when her eyes fall on the young girls, melts into tears. Her apron -catches in a bush in #D#: she plucks a leaf, and sends it down the -stream to her mother's house. The mother says to the father, "Do you not -see how Catherine is perishing?" The leaf is next sent down stream to -her sister's house, who says to her brother, "Do you not see how -Catherine is perishing?" He rides up a high mountain, and slides down -his silken cord. Though one or two stanzas are lost, or not given, the -termination was probably the same as in #B#, #C#. In #L*# 15, #O# 12, -the brother, on a high mountain, hears the cry for help, and slides down -to his sister on a silken cord, but does nothing. #X# does not account -for the brother's appearance: he informs the fishermen of what has -happened, and they draw Catherine out, evidently dead. The brother hears -the cry from the top of a wall in #P# 21, 22; slides down his cord; the -sister adds her tress; he directs the fishermen to draw her out; she is -dead. Instead of the brother on the wall, we have a mason in #Q# 27 -[perhaps "the brother on the wall" in #P# _is_ a mason]. It is simply -said that "he added" a silken cord: the fishermen drew out Catherine -dead. The conclusion is equally, or more, impotent in all the versions -in which the girl escapes from drowning. In #G#, #I#, #J#, she seats -herself on a stone, and apostrophizes her hair, saying [in #G#, #I#], -"Dry, my locks, dry, for you have had much pleasure in the river!" She -goes to church, takes an humble place, and weeps, in #E#, #F#, #G#, as -in #B#, #C#, #D#. John goes scot-free in all these.[61] Not so in the -more vigorous ballads of tragic termination. Fierce pursuit is made for -him. He is cut to pieces, or torn to pieces, #O#, #P#, #S#, #T#, #Y#; -broken on the wheel, #L#, #U#, #V#, #W#; cleft in two, #BB#; broken -small as barley-corns, or quartered, by horses, #L*#, #Z#; committed to -a dungeon, to await, as we may hope, one of these penalties, #Q#, #R#. -The bells toll for Catherine [the organs play for her], and she is laid -in the grave, #O-W#, #Y#, #Z#, #L#, #L*#. - -There are, besides, in various ballads of this second class, special -resemblances to other European forms. The man (to whom rank of any sort -is assigned only in #N#[62]) comes from a distant country, or from over -the border, in #O#, #Q#, #R#, #T#, #DD#, #GG#, as in English #D#, #E#. -The maid is at a window in #M#, #W#, as in German #G#, #J#, #M#, #O#, -#P#, #Q#, etc. In #Q# 2, John, who has come from over the border, -persuades the maid to go with him by telling her that in his country -"the mountains are golden, the mountains are of gold, the ways of silk," -reminding us of the wonderland in Danish #A#, #E#, etc. After the pair -have stolen away, they go one hundred and thirty miles, #O#, #DD#, #FF#; -thrice nine miles, #Q#; nine and a half miles, #T#; cross one field and -another, #M#, #R#; travel all night, #GG#; and neither says a word to -the other. We shall find this trait further on in French #B#, #D#, -Italian #B#, #C#, #D#, #F#, #G#. The choice of deaths which we find in -German #A-F# appears in #J#. Here, after passing through a silent wood, -they arrive at the border of the (red) _sea_. She sits down on a stone, -he on a rotten tree. He asks, By which death will you die: by my right -hand, or by drowning in this _river_? They come to a dark wood in #AA#; -he seats himself on a beech-trunk, she near a stream. He asks, Will you -throw yourself into the river, or go home to your mother? So #H#, and -#R# nearly.[63] She prefers death to returning. Previous victims are -mentioned in #T#, #DD#, #HH#. When she calls from the river for help, he -answers, #T# 22, You fancy you are the only one there; six have gone -before, and you are the seventh: #HH# 16, Swim the river; go down to the -bottom; six maids are there already, and you shall be the seventh [four, -fifth]: #DD# 13, Swim, swim away, to the other side; there you will see -my seventh wife.[64] - -Other Slavic forms of this ballad resemble more or less the third German -class. A #Wendish# version from Upper Lusatia, Haupt and Schmaler, Part -I, No I, p. 27, makes Hil[vz]i[vc]ka (Lizzie) go out before dawn to cut -grass. Ho[/l]dra[vs]k suddenly appears, and says she must pay him some -forfeit for trespassing in his wood. She has nothing but her sickle, her -silver finger-ring, and, when these are rejected, her wreath, and that, -she says, he shall not have if she dies for it. Ho[/l]dra[vs]k, who -avows that he has had a fancy for her seven years (cf. German #Y#, and -the Transylvanian mixed form #B#), gives her her choice, to be cut to -pieces by his sword, or trampled to death by his horse. Which way -pleases him, she says, only she begs for three cries. All three are for -her brothers. They ride round the wood twice, seeing nobody; the third -time Ho[/l]drak comes up to them. Then follows the dialogue about the -bloody sword and the dove. When asked where he has left -Hi[/l][vz]i[vc]ka, Ho[/l]dra[vs]k is silent. The elder brother seizes -him, the younger dispatches him with his sword. - -Very similar is a #Bohemian# ballad, translated in Waldau's Böhmische -Granaten, II, 25.[65] While Katie is cutting grass, early in the -morning, Indriasch presents himself, and demands some for his horse. She -says, You must dismount, if your horse is to have grass. "If I do, I -will take away your wreath." "Then God will not grant you his blessing." -He springs from his horse, and while he gives it grass with one hand -snatches at the wreath with the other. "Will you die, or surrender your -wreath?" Take my life, she says, but allow me three cries. Two cries -reached no human ear, but the third cry her mother heard, and called to -her sons to saddle, for Katie was calling in the wood, and was in -trouble. They rode over stock and stone, and came to a brook where -Indriasch was washing his hands. The same dialogue ensues as in the -Wendish ballad. The brothers hewed the murderer into fragments. - -A #Servian# ballad has fainter but unmistakable traces of the same -tradition: Vuk, Srpske Narodne Pjesme, I, 282, No 385, ed. 1841; -translated by Goetze, Serbische V. L., p. 99, by Talvj, V. L. der -Serben, 2d ed., II, 172, by Kapper, Gesänge der Serben, II, 318. Mara is -warned by her mother not to dance with Thomas. She disobeys. Thomas, -while dancing, gives a sign to his servants to bring horses. The two -ride off, and when they come to the end of a field Thomas says, Seest -thou yon withered maple? There thou shalt hang, ravens eat out thine -eyes, eagles beat thee with their wings. Mara shrieks, Ah me! so be it -with every girl that does not take her mother's advice.[66] - -#French.# This ballad is well known in France, and is generally found in -a form resembling the English; that is to say, the scene of the -attempted murder is the sea or a river (as in no other but the Polish), -and the lady delivers herself by an artifice. One French version nearly -approaches Polish #O-CC#. - -#A.# 'Renauld et ses quatorze Femmes,' 44 vv, Paymaigre, Chants -populaires recueillis dans le pays messin, No 31, I, 140. Renauld -carried off the king's daughter. When they were gone half-way, she -called to him that she was dying of hunger (cf. German #A-F#). Eat your -hand, he answered, for you will never eat bread again. When they had -come to the middle of the wood, she called out that she was dying of -thirst. Drink your blood, he said, for you will never drink wine again. -When they came to the edge of the wood, he said, Do you see that river? -Fourteen dames have been drowned there, and you shall be the fifteenth. -When they came to the river-bank, he bade her put off her cloak, her -shift. It is not for knights, she said, to see ladies in such plight; -they should bandage their eyes with a handkerchief. This Renauld did, -and the fair one threw him into the river. He laid hold of a branch; she -cut it off with his sword (cf. the Polish ballad, where the catastrophe, -and consequently this act, is reversed). "What will they say if you go -back without your lover?" "I will tell them that I did for you what you -meant to do for me."[67] "Reach me your hand; I will marry you Sunday." - - "Marry, marry a fish, Renauld, - The fourteen women down below." - -#B.# 'De Dion et de la Fille du Roi,' from Auvergne, Ampère, -Instructions, etc., 40 vv, p. 40, stanzas 15-24, the first fourteen -constituting another ballad.[68] The pair went five or six leagues -without exchanging a word; only the fair one said, I am so hungry I -could eat my fist. Eat it, replied Dion, for you never again will eat -bread. Then they went five or six leagues in silence, save that she -said, I am so thirsty I could drink my blood. "Drink it, for you never -will drink wine. Over there is a pond in which fifteen ladies have had a -bath, have drowned themselves, and you will make sixteen." Arrived at -the pond, he orders her to take off her clothes. She tells him to put -his sword under his feet, his cloak before his face, and turn to the -pond; and, when he has done so, pushes him in. Here are my keys! he -cries. "I don't want them; I will find locksmiths." "What will your -friends say?" "I will tell them I did by you as you would have done by -me." - -#C.# 'Veux-tu venir, bell' Jeanneton,' 32 vv, from Poitou and Aunís, -Bujeaud, II, 232. When they reach the water, the fair one asks for a -drink. The man says, incoherently enough, Before drinking of this white -wine I mean to drink your blood. The stanza that should tell how many -have been drowned before is lost. Jeanneton, having been ordered to -strip, pushes the "beau galant" into the sea, while, at her request, he -is pulling off her stockings. He catches at a branch; she cuts it off, -and will not hear to his entreaties. - -#D.# 'En revenant de la jolie Rochelle,' twelve two-line stanzas, -Gagnon, Chansons populaires du Canada, p. 155. A cavalier meets three -fair maids, mounts the fairest behind him, and rides a hundred leagues -without speaking to her, at the end of which she asks to drink. He takes -her to a spring, but when there she does not care to drink. The rest of -the ballad is pointless, and shows that the original story has been -completely forgotten. - -#E.# 'Belle, allons nous épromener,' from the Lyonnais, 28 vv, -Champfleury, Chansons des Provinces, p. 172, is like #C#, but still more -defective. The pair go to walk by "la mer courante." There is no order -for the lady to strip: on the contrary, she cries, Déshabillez-moi, -déchaussez-moi! and, while the man is drawing off her shoe, "la belle -avance un coup de pied, le beau galant tombe dans l'eau." - -#F.# 'Allons, mie, nous promener,' 32 vv, Poésies populaires de la -France, MS., III, fol. 84, No 16, is like #C#. The lady asks the man to -pull off her shoes before he kills her. The man clutches a branch; the -woman cuts it away. - -#G.# 'Le Traître Noyé,' Chants pop. du Velay et du Forez, Romania, X, -199, is like #E#, #F#. - -#H.# 'La Fillette et le Chevalier,' Victor Smith, Chants pop. du Velay -et du Forez, Romania, X, 198, resembles the common Polish ballad. Pierre -rouses his love early in the morning, to take a ride with him. He mounts -her on his horse, and when they come to a lonesome wood bids her alight, -for it is the last of her days. He plunges his sword into her heart, and -throws her into a river. Her father and mother come searching for her, -and are informed of her fate by a shepherdess, who had witnessed the -murder. The youngest of her three brothers plunges into the water, -exclaiming, Who threw you in? An angel descends, and tells him it was -her lover. A less romantic version, described in a note, treats of a -valet who is tired of an amour with a servant-girl. He is judicially -condemned to be hanged _or_ burned. - -'La Fille de Saint-Martin de l'Ile,' Bujeaud, II, 226, has the -conclusion of the third class of German ballads. A mother incites her -son to make away with his wife. He carries her off on his horse to a -wheat-field [wood], and kills her with sword and dagger. Returning, he -meets his wife's brother, who asks why his shoes are covered with blood. -He says he has been killing rabbits. The brother replies, I see by your -paleness that you have been killing my sister. So Gérard de Nerval, Les -Filles du Feu, [OE]uvres Com., V, 134, and La Bohème galante (1866), p. -79: 'Rosine,' Chants pop. du Velay, etc., Romania, X, 197. - -The ballad is known over all #North Italy#, and always nearly in one -shape. - -#A.# 'Monchisa,' sixty-four short verses, Bernoni, Canti popolari -veneziani, Puntata v, No 2. A count's son asks Monchesa, a knight's -daughter, in marriage in the evening, espouses her in the morning, and -immediately carries her off. When they are "half-way," she heaves a -sigh, which she says is for father and mother, whom she shall no more -see. The count points out his castle; he has taken thirty-six maids -there, robbed them of their honor, and cut off their heads. "So will I -do with you when we are there." The lady says no word till she is asked -why she is silent; then requests the count to lend her his sword; she -wishes to cut a branch to shade her horse. The moment she gets the sword -in her hand, she plunges it into his heart; then throws the body into a -ditch. On her way back, she meets her brother, whom she tells that she -is looking after the assassins who have killed her husband. He fears it -was she; this she denies, but afterwards says she must go to Rome to -confess a great sin. There she obtains prompt absolution. - -#B.# 'La Figlia del Conte,' Adolf Wolf, Volkslieder aus Venetien, No 73, -#a#, 34 vv, #b#, 48 vv. Here it is the daughter of a count that marries -Malpreso, the son of a knight. He takes her to France immediately. She -goes sixty miles (#b#) without speaking. She confesses to her brother -what she has done. - -#C.# Righi, Canti popolari veronesi, 58 vv, No 94*, p. 30. The count's -son marries Mampresa, a knight's daughter. For thirty-six miles she does -not speak; after five more she sighs. She denies to her brother having -killed her husband, but still says she must go to the pope to confess an -old sin; then owns what she has done. - -#D.# 'La Monferrina,' 48 vv, Nigra, Canzoni popolari del Piemonte, in -Rivista Contemporanea, XXIV, 76. The lady is a Monferrina, daughter of a -knight. After the marriage they travel fifty miles without speaking to -one another. Fifty-two Monferrine have lost their heads; the bridegroom -does not say why. She goes to the Pope to confess. - -#E.# 'La Vendicatrice,' an incomplete copy from Alexandria, 18 vv only, -Marcoaldi, Canti popolari, No 12, p. 166, like #D#, as far as it goes. -Thirty-three have been beheaded before. - -#F.# 'La Inglese,' 40 vv, Ferraro, Canti popolari di Ferrara, Cento e -Pontelagoscuro, No 2, p. 14. The count's son marries an English girl, -daughter of a knight. She never speaks for more than three hundred -miles; after two hundred more she sighs. She denies having killed her -husband; has not a heart of that kind. - -#G.# 'La Liberatrice,' 24 vv, Ferraro, Canti popolari monferrini, No 3, -p. 4. Gianfleisa is the lady's name. When invited to go off, she says, -If you wish me to go, lend me a horse. Not a word is spoken for five -hundred miles. The man (Gilardu) points out his castle, and says that no -one he has taken there has ever come back. Gianfleisa goes home without -meeting anybody. - -'Laura,' Ferraro, C. p. di Pontelagoscuro, Rivista di Filologia romanza, -II, 197, and C. p. di Ferrara, etc., p. 86, is a mixture of this ballad -with another. Cf. 'La Maledetta,' Ferraro, C. p. monferrini, No 27, p. -35. - -Several other French and Italian ballads have common points with -Renauld, Monchisa, etc., and for this have sometimes been improperly -grouped with them: e.g., 'La Fille des Sables,' Bujeaud, II, 177 ff. A -girl sitting by the water-side hears a sailor sing, and asks him to -teach her the song. He says, Come aboard, and I will. He pushes off, and -by and by she begins to weep.[69] She says, My father is calling me to -supper. "You will sup with me." "My mother is calling me to bed." "You -will sleep with me." They go a hundred leagues, and not a word said, and -at last reach his father's castle. When she is undressing, her lace gets -into a knot. He suggests that his sword would cut it. She plunges the -sword into her heart. So 'Du Beau Marinier,' Beaurepaire, p. 57 f, and -Poésies populaires de la France, MS., III, fol. 59, No 4; 'L'Épée -Libératrice,' V. Smith, Chansons du Velay, etc., Romania, VII, 69, -nearly; also 'Il Corsaro,' Nigra, Rivista Coutemporanea, XXIV, p. 86 ff. -In 'La Monferrina Incontaminata,' Ferraro, C. p. m., No 2, p. 3, a -French knight invites a girl to go off with him, and mounts her behind -him. They ride five hundred miles without speaking, then reach an inn, -after which the story is the same. So Bernoni, Puntata IX, No 2. 'La -Fille du Patissier,' Paymaigre, No 30, p. 93, has the same conclusion. -All these, except 'La Fille des Sables,' make the girl ask for the sword -herself, and in all it is herself that she kills. - -The #Spanish# preserves this ballad in a single form, the earliest -printed in any language, preceding, by a few years, even the German -broadsides #G#, #H#. - -'Romance de Rico Franco,' 36 vv, "Cancionero de Romances, s. a., fol. -191: Canc. de Rom., ed. de 1550, fol. 202: ed. de 1555, fol. 296;" Wolf -and Hofmann, Primavera, No 119, II, 22: Duran, No 296, I, 160: Grimm, p. -252: Depping and Galiano, 1844, II, 167: Ochoa, p. 7. The king's -huntsmen got no game, and lost the falcons. They betook themselves to -the castle of Maynes, where was a beautiful damsel, sought by seven -counts and three kings. Rico Franco of Aragon carried her off by force. -Nothing is said of a rest in a wood, or elsewhere; but that something -has dropped out here is shown by the corresponding Portuguese ballad. -The lady wept. Rico Franco comforted her thus: If you are weeping for -father and mother, you shall never see them more; and if for your -brothers, I have killed them all three. I am not weeping for them, she -said, but because I know not what my fate is to be. Lend me your knife -to cut the fringes from my mantle, for they are no longer fit to wear. -This Rico Franco did, and the damsel thrust the knife into his breast. -Thus she avenged father, mother, and brothers. - -A #Portuguese# ballad has recently been obtained from tradition in the -island of St. George, Azores, which resembles the Spanish closely, but -is even curter: #A#, 'Romance de Dom Franco,' 30 vv; #B#, 'Dona Inez,' a -fragment of 18 vv; Braga, Cantos populares do Archipelago açoriano, No -48, p. 316, No 49, p. 317: Hartung's Romanceiro, II, 61, 63. Dona Inez -was so precious in the eyes of her parents that they gave her neither to -duke nor marquis. A knight who was passing [the Duke of Turkey, #B#] -took a fancy to her, and stole her away. When they came to the middle of -the mountain ridge on which Dona Inez lived, the knight stopped to rest, -and she began to weep. From this point Portuguese #A#, and #B# so far as -it is preserved, agree very nearly with the Spanish.[70] - -Certain Breton ballads have points of contact with the Halewyn-Ulinger -class, but, like the French and Italian ballads mentioned on the -preceding page, have more important divergences, and especially the -characteristic distinction that the woman kills herself to preserve her -honor. 1. 'Jeanne Le Roux,' Luzel, I, 324 ff, in two versions; Poésies -pop. de la France, MS., III, fol. 182. The sieur La Tremblaie attempts -the abduction of Jeanne from the church immediately after her marriage -ceremony. As he is about to compel her to get up on the crupper of his -horse, she asks for a knife to cut her bridal girdle, which had been -drawn too tight. He gives her the choice of three, and she stabs herself -in the heart. La Tremblaie _remarks_, I have carried off eighteen young -brides, and Jeanne is the nineteenth, words evidently taken from the -mouth of a Halewyn, and not belonging here. 2. Le Marquis de Coatredrez, -Luzel, I, 336 ff, meets a young girl on the road, going to the pardon of -Guéodet, and forces her on to his horse. On the way and at his house she -vainly implores help. He takes her to the garden to gather flowers. She -asks for his knife to shorten the stems, and kills herself. Early in the -morning the door of the château is broken in by Kerninon, foster-brother -of the victim, who forces Coatredrez to fight, and runs him through. 3. -'Rozmelchon,' Luzel, I, 308 ff, in three versions, and, 4, 'La Filleule -de du Guesclin,' Villemarqué, Barzaz-Breiz, 6th ed., 212 ff, are very -like 2. The wicked Rozmelchon is burned in his château in Luzel's first -copy; the other two do not bring him to punishment. Villemarqué's -villain is an Englishman, and has his head cloven by du Guesclin. 5. -'Marivonnic,' Luzel, I, 350 ff, a pretty young girl, is carried off by -an English vessel, the captain of which shows himself not a whit behind -the feudal seigneurs in ferocity. The young girl throws herself into the -water. - -#Magyar.# Five versions from recent traditions, all of them interesting, -are given in Arany and Gyulai's collection of Hungarian popular poetry, -'Molnár Anna,' I, 137 ff, Nos 1-5.[71]--#A#, p. 141, No 3. A man, -nameless here, but called in the other versions Martin Ajgó, or Martin -Sajgó, invites Anna Miller to go off with him. She refuses; she has a -young child and a kind husband. "Come," he says; "I have six palaces, -and will put you in the seventh," and persists so long that he prevails -at last. They went a long way, till they came to the middle of a green -wood. He asked her to sit down in the shade of a branchy tree (so all); -he would lie in her lap, and she was to look into his head (a point -found in all the copies). But look not up into the tree, he said. He -went to sleep (so #B#, #D#); she looked up into the tree, and saw six -fair maids hanging there (so all but #E#). She thought to herself, He -will make me the seventh! (also #B#, #D#). A tear fell on the face of -the "brave sir," and waked him. You have looked up into the tree, he -said. "No, but three orphans passed, and I thought of my child." He bade -her go up into the tree. She was not used to go first, she said. He led -the way. She seized the opportunity, tore his sword from its sheath (so -=C#), and hewed off his head. She then wrapped herself in his cloak, -sprang upon his horse, and returned home, where (in all the copies, as -in this) she effected a reconcilement with her husband. #B#, p. 138, No -2, agrees closely with the foregoing. Martin Ajgó calls to Anna Miller -to come with him a long way into the wilderness (so #D#, #E#). He boasts -of no palaces in this version. He calls Anna a long time, tempts her a -long time, drags her on to his horse, and carries her off. The scene -under the tree is repeated. Anna pretends (so #D#, #E#) that the tear -which drops on Martin's face is dew from the tree, and he retorts, How -can it be dew from the tree, when the time is high noon? His sword falls -out of its sheath as he is mounting the tree, and he asks her to hand it -to him. She throws it up (so #E#), and it cuts his throat in two. -Rightly served, Martin Ajgó, she says: why did you lure me from home? -#C#, p. 144, No 4. Martin Sajgó tells Anna Miller that he has six stone -castles, and is building a seventh. It is not said that he goes to -sleep. As in #A#, Anna pulls his sword from the scabbard. #D#, p. 146, -No 5. Here reappears the very important feature of the wonderland: -"Come, let us go, Anna Miller, a long journey into the wilderness, to a -place that flows with milk and honey." Anna insists, as before, that -Martin shall go up the tree first. He puts down his sword; she seizes -it, and strikes off his head with one blow. #E#, p. 137, No 1, is -somewhat defective, but agrees essentially with the others. Martin Ajgó -calls Anna; she will not come; he carries her off. He lets his sword -fall as he is climbing, and asks Anna to hand it up to him. She throws -it up, as in #B#, and it cuts his back in two. - -Neus, in his Ehstnische Volkslieder, maintains the affinity of -'Kallewisohnes Tod,' No 2, p. 5, with the Ulinger ballads, and even of -his Holepi with the Dutch Halewyn. The resemblance is of the most -distant, and what there is must be regarded as casual. The same of the -Finnish 'Kojoins Sohn,' Schröter, Finnische Runen, p. 114, 115; 'Kojosen -Poika,' Lönnrot, Kanteletar, p. 279. - -In places where a ballad has once been known, the story will often be -remembered after the verses have been wholly or partly forgotten, and -the ballad will be resolved into a prose tale, retaining, perhaps, some -scraps of verse, and not infrequently taking up new matter, or blending -with other traditions. Naturally enough, a ballad and an equivalent tale -sometimes exist side by side. It has already been mentioned that -Jamieson, who had not found this ballad in Scotland, had often come upon -the story in the form of a tale interspersed with verse. Birlinger at -one time (1860) had not been able to obtain the ballad in the Swabian -Oberland (where it has since been found in several forms), but only a -story agreeing essentially with the second class of German ballads. -According to this tradition, a robber, who was at the same time a -portentous magician, enticed the twelve daughters of a miller, one after -another, into a wood, and hanged eleven of them on a tree, but was -arrested by a hunter, the brother of the twelve, before he could -dispatch the last, and was handed over to justice. The object of the -murders was to obtain blood for magical purposes. This story had, so to -speak, naturalized itself in the locality, and the place where the -robber's house had been and that where the tree had stood were pointed -out. The hunter-brother was by some conceived of as the Wild Huntsman, -and came to the rescue through the air with a fearful baying of dogs. -(Birlinger in Volksthümliches aus Schwaben, I, 368, No 592, and -Germania, 1st Ser., V, 372.) - -The story of the German ballad #P# has attached itself to localities in -the neighborhood of Weissenbach, Aargau, and is told with modifications -that connect it with the history of the Guggi-, or Schongauer-, bad. A -rich man by lewd living had become a leper. The devil put it into his -head that he could be cured by bathing in the blood of twelve [seven] -pure maidens. He seized eleven at a swoop, while they were on their way -to church, and hanged them, and the next day enticed away a miller's -daughter, who was delivered from death as in the ballad. A medicinal -spring rose near the fatal tree. (Rochholz, I, 22.) No pure version of -this ballad has been obtained in the Harz region, though a mixed form -has already been spoken of; but 'Der Reiter in Seiden,' Pröhle, Märchen -für die Jugend, No 32, p. 136, which comes from the western Harz, or -from some place further north, on the line between Kyffhaüser and -Hamburg, is, roughly speaking, only 'Gert Olbert' turned into prose, -with a verse or two remaining. 'Der betrogene Betrüger,' from Mühlbach, -Müller's Siebenbürgische Sagen, No 418, p. 309, has for its hero a -handsome young man, addicted to women, who obtains from the devil the -power of making them follow his piping, on the terms that every twelfth -soul is to be the devil's share. He had taken eleven to a wood, and -hanged them on a tree after he had satisfied his desire. The brother of -a twelfth substituted himself for his sister, dressed in her clothes, -snatched the rope from the miscreant, and ran him up on the nearest -bough; upon which a voice was heard in the wind, that cried The twelfth -soul is mine. Grundtvig, in his Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, p. 249, -gives his recollections of a story that he had heard in his youth which -has a catastrophe resembling that of English #C-F#. A charcoal burner -had a way of taking up women beside him on his wagon, and driving them -into a wood, where he forced them to take off their clothes, then killed -them, and sunk them with heavy stones in a deep moss. At last a girl -whom he had carried off in this way got the advantage of him by inducing -him to turn away while she was undressing, and then pushing him into the -moss. Something similar is found in the conclusion of a robber story in -Grundtvig's Danske Folkeminder, 1861, No 30, p. 108, and in a modern -Danish ballad cited in Danmarks gamle Folkeviser, IV, 24, note.** - -Another Transylvanian tale, Schuster, p. 433, has a fountain, a thirsty -bride, and doves (two or three) that sing to her, traits which have -perhaps been derived from some Ulinger ballad; but the fountain is of an -entirely different character, and the doves serve a different purpose. -The tale is a variety of 'Fitchers Vogel,' Grimms, No 46, and belongs to -the class of stories to which 'Bluebeard,' from its extensive -popularity, has given name. The magician of 'Fitcher's Vogel' and of -'Bluebeard' becomes, or remains, a preternatural being (a hill-man) -further north, as in Grundtvig's Gamle danske Minder, 1857, No 312, p. -182. There is a manifest affinity between these three species of tales -and our ballad (also between the German and Danish tales and the -Scandinavian ballad of 'Rosmer'), but the precise nature of this -affinity it is impossible to expound. 'Bluebeard,' 'La Barbe Bleue,' -Perrault, Histoires ou Contes du temps passé, 1697, p. 57 (Lefèvre), has -a special resemblance to the German ballads of the second class in the -four calls to sister Anne, which represent the cries to father, mother, -and brother, and agrees with these ballads as to the means by which the -death of the malefactor is brought about. - -Looking back now over the whole field covered by this ballad, we observe -that the framework of the story is essentially the same in English, -Dutch, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian; in the first class of the German -ballads; in Polish #A#; in French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and -Magyar. The woman delivers herself from death by some artifice,[72] and -retaliates upon the man the destruction he had intended for her. The -second form of the German ballad attributes the deliverance of the woman -to her brother, and also the punishment of the murderer. The third form -of the German ballad makes the woman lose her life, and her murderer, -for the most part, to suffer the penalty of the law, though in some -cases the brother takes immediate vengeance. Polish #B-K# may be ranked -with the second German class, and #O-CC# still better with the third; -but the brother appears in only a few of these, and, when he appears, -counts for nothing. The Wendish and the Bohemian ballad have the -incident of fraternal vengeance, though otherwise less like the German. -The Servian ballad, a slight thing at best, is still less like, but -ranks with the third German class. The oldest Icelandic copy is -altogether anomalous, and also incomplete, but seems to imply the death -of the woman: later copies suffer the woman to escape, without vengeance -upon the murderer. - -It is quite beyond question that the third class of German ballad is a -derivation from the second.[73] Of the versions #T-Z#, #Z# alone has -preserved clear traits of the marvellous. A king's daughter is enticed -from home by Ulrich's singing, and is warned of her impending fate by -the dove, as in Class II. The other ballads have the usual marks of -degeneracy, a dropping or obscuring of marvellous and romantic -incidents, and a declension in the rank and style of the characters. -#T#, to be sure, has a hazel, and #Y# a tree-stump and a spring, and in -#T# Ulrich offers to teach Ännchen bird-song, but these traits have lost -all significance. Knight and lady sink to ordinary man and maid; for -though in #Y# the woman is called a king's daughter, the opening stanzas -of #Y# are borrowed from a different ballad. Ulrich retains so much of -the knight that he rides to Ännchen's house, in the first stanza of #T#, -but he apparently goes on foot with her to the wood, and this is the -rule in all the other ballads of this class. As Ulrich has lost his -horse, so the brother, in #T#, #U#, #V#, #X#, has lost his sword, or the -use of it, and in all these (also, superfluously, in #W#) Ulrich, like a -common felon as he was, is broken on the wheel. - -That the woman should save her life by her own craft and courage is -certainly a more primitive conception than that she should depend upon -her brother, and the priority of this arrangement of the plot is -supported, if not independently proved, by the concurrence, as to this -point, of so many copies among so many nations, as also by the -accordance of various popular tales. The second German form must -therefore, so far forth, be regarded as a modification of the first. -Among the several devices, again, which the woman employs in order to -get the murderer into her power, the original would seem to be her -inducing him to lay his head in her lap, which gives her the opportunity -(by the use of charms or runes, in English #A#, Danish #G#, Norwegian -#F#, #H#, and one form of #B#) to put him into a deep sleep. The success -of this trick no doubt implies considerable simplicity on the part of -the victim of it; not more, however, than is elsewhere witnessed in -preternatural beings, whose wits are frequently represented as no match -for human shrewdness. Some of the Scandinavian ballads are not liable to -the full force of this objection, whatever that may be, for they make -the knight express a suspicion of treachery, and the lady solemnly -asseverate that she will not kill [fool, beguile] him in his sleep. And -so, when he is fast bound, she cries out, Wake up, for I will not kill -thee _in thy sleep_! This last circumstance is wanting in hardly any of -the Scandinavian ballads, whereas the previous compact is found only in -Danish #E#, #F#, #G#, #H#, #L#, Swedish #A#, Norwegian #A#, and the -Icelandic ballad. Not occurring in any of the older Danish copies, it -may be that the compact is an after-thought, and was inserted to -qualify the improbability. But the lady's equivocation is quite of a -piece with Memering's oath in 'Ravengaard and Memering,' Grundtvig, No -13, and King Dietrich's in the Dietrichsaga, Unger, c. 222, p. 206.[74] - -English #A# and all the Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian ballads employ -the stratagem of lulling the man to sleep, but these are not the only -ballads in which the man lays his head in the woman's lap. This trait is -observed in nearly all German ballads of the second and third class, in -_all_ the well-preserved ones, and also in the Magyar ballad. With -regard to the German ballads, however, it is purposeless (for it does -not advance the action of the drama in the least), and must be regarded -as a relic of an earlier form.[75] English #B-F# and all the French -ballads dispose of the traitor by a watery death. The scene is shifted -from a wood to a sea-coast, pool, or river bank, perhaps to suit the -locality to which the ballad had wandered. In English #B#, where, -apparently under the influence of other ballads,[76] the lady is forced -to wade into water up to her chin, the knight is pushed off his horse -when bending over to give a last kiss for which he had been asked; in -English #C-F# and French #A#, #B#, the man is induced to turn his face -to save the woman's modesty; in French #C-E# he is made to pull off her -stockings or shoes, and then, while off his guard, pitched into a sea or -river. This expedient is sufficiently trivial; but still more so, and -grazing on the farcical, is that which is made use of in the Dutch -ballad and those of the German first class, the woman's persuading the -man to take off his fine coat lest it should be spattered with her -blood, and cutting off his head with his own sword while he is thus -occupied. The Spanish and Portuguese ballads make the lady borrow the -knight's knife to remove some of the trimming of her dress, and in the -Italian she borrows his sword to cut a bough to shade her horse; for in -Italian the halt in the wood is completely forgotten, and the last half -of the action takes place on horseback. All these contrivances plainly -have less claim to be regarded as primary than that of binding the -murderer after he has been put to sleep. - -The knight in English #A# is called an Elf, and as such is furnished -with an enchanting horn, which is replaced by a harp of similar -properties in #B#, where, however, the male personage has neither name -nor any kind of designation. The elf-horn of English #A# is again -represented by the seductive song of the Dutch ballad and of German -#G-R# and #Z#. Though the lady is not lured away in the Scandinavian -ballads by irresistible music,[77] Danish #A#, #E#, Norwegian #A#, #B#, -and Swedish #D# present to her the prospect of being taken to an -elf-land, or elysium, and there are traces of this in Danish #G# and #D# -also, and in Polish #Q#. The tongue that talks after the head is off, in -the Dutch ballad and in German #A#, #B#, #C#, #E#, is another mark of an -unearthly being. Halewyn, Ulver, Gert Olbert, like the English knight, -are clearly supernatural, though of a nondescript type. The elf in -English #A# is not to be interpreted too strictly, for the specific elf -is not of a sanguinary turn, as these so conspicuously are. He is -comparatively innocuous, like the hill-man Young Akin, in another -English ballad, who likewise entices away a woman by magical music, but -only to make her his wife. But the elf-knight and the rest seem to -delight in bloodshed for its own sake; for, as Grundtvig has pointed -out, there is no other apparent motive for murder in English #A#, #B#, -the Norwegian ballads, Danish #A#, Swedish #A#, #B#, or German -#A-E#.[78] This is true again, for one reason or another, of others of -the German ballads, of the French, of most of the Italian, and of the -Hungarian ballads. - -The nearest approach to the Elf-knight, Halewyn, etc., is perhaps -Quintalin, in the saga of Samson the Fair. He was son of the miller -Galin. Nobody knew who his mother was, but many were of the mind that -Galin might have had him of a "goddess," an elf or troll woman, who -lived under the mill force. He was a thief, and lay in the woods; was -versed in many knave's tricks, and had also acquired agreeable arts. He -was a great master of the harp, and would decoy women into the woods -with his playing, keep them as long as he liked, and send them home -pregnant to their fathers or husbands. A king's daughter, Valentina, is -drawn on by his music deep into the woods, but is rescued by a friendly -power. Some parts of her dress and ornaments, which she had laid off in -her rapid following up of the harping, are afterwards found, with a -great quantity of precious things, in the subaqueous cave of Quintalin's -mother, who is a complete counterpart to Grendel's, and was probably -borrowed from Beówulf.[79] This demi-elf Quintalin is a tame personage -by the side of Grendel or of Halewyn. Halewyn does not devour his -victims, like Grendel: Quintalin does not even murder his. He allures -women with his music to make them serve his lust. We may infer that he -would plunder them, for he is a notorious thief. Even two of the oldest -Danish ballads, #B#, #C#, and again Danish #I# and Swedish #C#, make the -treacherous knight as lecherous as bloody, and so with German #J#, #K#, -#L#, #O#, #P#, #Q#, #R#, #S#, and Italian #A#, #B#, #C#, #E#, #F#. This -trait is wanting in Danish #D#, where, though traces of the originally -demonic nature of the knight remain, the muckle gold of the maids -already appears as the motive for the murders. In the later Danish -#E-H#, #K#, #L#, and Swedish #C#, #D#, the original elf or demon has -sunk to a remorseless robber, generally with brothers, sisters, or -underlings for accomplices.[80] This is preëminently his character in -English #C-F#, in nearly all the forty Polish ballads, and in the two -principal ballads of the German second class, #G#, #H#, though English -#D#, German #H#, and Polish #Q# retain a trace of the supernatural: the -first in the charm by means of which the knight compels the maid to quit -her parents, the second in the bloody spring, and the last in the golden -mountains. There is nothing that unequivocally marks the robber in the -other German ballads of the second class and in those of the third. The -question 'Weinst du um deines Vaters Gut?' in #I-L#, #O-S#, #T-W#, is -hardly decisive, and only in #W# and #Z# is it expressly said that the -maid had taken valuable things with her (as in Swedish #D#, Norwegian -#A#, #B#, English #D-F#). #J-L#, #O-S#, give us to understand that the -lady had lost her honor,[81] but in all the rest, except the anomalous -#Z#, the motive for murder is insufficient.[82] - -The woman in these ballads is for the most part nameless, or bears a -stock name to which no importance can be attached. Not so with the names -of the knight. Most of these are peculiar, and the Northern ones, -though superficially of some variety, have yet likeness enough to tempt -one to seek for a common original. Grundtvig, with considerable -diffidence, suggests Oldemor as a possible ground-form. He conceives -that the #R# of some of the Scandinavian names may be a relic of a -foregoing Herr. The initial #H# would easily come or go. Given such a -name as Hollemen (Danish #C#), we might expect it to give place to -Halewyn, which is both a family and a local name in Flanders, if the -ballad should pass into the Low Countries from Denmark, a derivation -that Grundtvig is far from asserting. So Ulinger, a local appellation, -might be substituted for the Ulver of Danish #A#. Grundtvig, it must be -borne in mind, declines to be responsible for the historical correctness -of this genealogy, and would be still less willing to undertake an -explanation of the name Oldemor. - -In place of Oldemor, Professor Sophus Bugge, in a recent article, marked -by his characteristic sharp-sightedness and ingenuity, has proposed -Hollevern, Holevern, or Olevern as the base-form of all the Northern -names for the bloody knight, and he finds in this name a main support -for the entirely novel and somewhat startling hypothesis that the ballad -we are dealing with is a wild shoot from the story of Judith and -Holofernes.[83] His argument, given as briefly as possible, is as -follows. - -That the Bible story was generally known in the Middle Ages no one would -question. It was treated in a literary way by an Anglo-Saxon poet, who -was acquainted with the scriptural narrative, and in a popular way by -poets who had no direct acquaintance with the original.[84] The source -of the story in the ballad must in any case be a tradition many times -removed from the biblical story; that much should be changed, much -dropped, and much added is only what would be expected. - -Beginning the comparison with 'Judith' with this caution, it is first -submitted that Holofernes can be recognized in most of the Scandinavian -and German names of the knight. The v of the proposed base-form is -preserved in Ulver, Halewyn, and probably in the English Elf-knight. It -is easy to explain a v's passing over to g, as in Ulinger, Adelger, and -especially under the influence of the very common names in -ger. Again, -v might easily become b, as in Olbert, or m, as in Hollemen, Olmor; and -the initial R of Rulleman, Romor, etc., may have been carried over from -a prefixed Herr.[85] - -The original name of the heroine has been lost, and yet it is to be -noticed that Gert Olbert's mother, in German #A#, is called Fru Jutte. - -The heroine in this same ballad is named Helena (Linnich in #F#); in -others (German #C#, #D#, #E#), Odilia. These are names of saints, and -this circumstance may tend to show that the woman in the ballad was -originally conceived of as rather a saint than a secular character, -though in the course of time the story has so changed that the devout -widow who sought out her country's enemy in his own camp has been -transformed into a young maid who is enticed from home by a treacherous -suitor. - -It is an original trait in the ballad that the murderer, as is expressly -said in many copies, is from a foreign land. According to an English -version (#E#), he comes from the north, as Holofernes does, "venit Assur -ex montibus ab aquilone" (Jud. xvi, 5). - -The germ of this outlandish knight's bloodthirstiness is found in the -truculent part that Holofernes plays in the Bible, his threats and -devastations. That the false suitor appears without companions is in -keeping with the ballad style of representation; yet we might find -suggestions of the Assyrian's army in the swains, the brothers, the -stable-boy, whom the maid falls in with on her way home. - -The splendid promises made in many of the ballads might have been -developed from the passage where Holofernes, whose bed is described as -wrought with purple, gold, and precious stones, says to Judith, Thou -shalt be great in the house of Nebuchadnezzar, and thy name shall be -named in all the earth (xi, 21). - -In many forms of the ballad, especially the Dutch and the German, the -maid adorns herself splendidly, as Judith does: she even wears some sort -of crown in Dutch #A# 16, German #D# 8, as Judith does in x, 3, xvi, 10 -(mitram). - -In the English #D#, #E#, #F#, the oldest Danish, #A#, and the Polish -versions, the maid, like Judith, leaves her home in the night. - -The Piedmontese casté, Italian #E# 1 [there is a castle in nearly all -the Italian ballads, and also in Dutch #B#], may remind us of -Holofernes' castra. - -The knight's carrying off the maid, lifting her on to his horse in many -copies, may well come from a misunderstanding of elevaverunt in Judith -x, 20: Et cum in faciem ejus intendisset, adoravit eum, prosternens se -super terram. Et elevaverunt eam servi Holofernis, jubente domino -suo.[86] - -In German #A# Gert Olbert and Helena are said to ride three days and -nights, and in Danish #D# the ride is for three days; and we may -remember that Judith killed Holofernes the fourth day after her arrival -in his camp. - -The place in which the pair alight is, according to German #G# 20, a -deep dale, and this agrees with the site of Holofernes' camp in the -valley of Bethulia. There is a spring or stream in many of the ballads, -and also a spring in the camp, in which Judith bathes (xii, 7). - -Most forms of the ballad make the knight, after the halt, inform the -maid that she is to die, as many maids have before her in the same -place; e.g., German #G# 7: - - 'Der Ulinger hat eylff Jungfrawen gehangen, - Die zwölfft hat er gefangen.'[87] - -This corresponds with the passage in Judith's song (xvi, 6), $Dixit se$ -... infantes meos $dare$ in prædam et $virgenes in captivitatem$: but it -is reasonable to suppose that the ballad follows some version of the -Bible words that varied much from the original. - -The incident of the maid's lousing and tousing her betrayer's hair, -while he lies with his head in her lap, may have come from Judith -seizing Holofernes by the hair before she kills him, but the story of -Samson and Delilah may have had influence here. - -According to many German versions, the murderer grants the maid three -cries before she dies. She invokes Jesus, Mary, and her brother. Or she -utters three sighs, the first to God the Father, the second to Jesus, -the third to her brother. These cries or sighs seem to take the place of -Judith's prayer, Confirma me, Domine Deus Israel (xiii, 7), and it may -also be well to remember that Holofernes granted Judith, on her request, -permission to go out in the night to pray. - -The Dutch, Low-German, Scandinavian, and other versions agree in making -the woman kill the knight with his own sword, as in Judith. The Dutch -and Low-German [also Danish #F#, Swedish #A#] have preserved an original -trait in making the maid hew off the murderer's head. English and French -versions dispose of the knight differently: the maid pushes him into sea -or river. Perhaps, in some older form of the story, after the head was -cut off, the _trunk_ was pushed into the water: cf. Judith xiii, 10: -Abscidit caput ejus et ... evolvit corpus ejus truncum. The words -apprehendit comam capitis ejus (xiii, 9) have their parallel in Dutch -#A#, 33: "Zy nam het hoofd al by het haer." The Dutch ballad makes the -maid carry the head with her. - -"Singing and ringing" she rode through the wood: Judith sings a song of -praise to the Lord after her return home. - -In English #C-F#, May Colven comes home before dawn, as Judith does. The -Dutch #A# says, When to her father's gate she came, she blew the horn -like a man. Compare Judith xiii, 13: Et dixit Judith a longe custodibus -murorum, Aperite portas! - -The Dutch text goes on to say that when the father heard the horn he was -delighted at his daughter's return: and Judith v, 14, Et factum est, cum -audissent viri vocem ejus, vocaverunt presbyteros civitatis. - -The conclusion of Dutch #A# is that there was a banquet held, and the -head was set on the table. So Judith causes Holofernes' head to be hung -up on the city wall, and after the enemy have been driven off, the Jews -hold a feast. - -The Icelandic version, though elsewhere much mutilated, has a concluding -stanza which certainly belongs to the ballad: - - Ása went into a holy cell, - Never did she harm to man. - -This agrees with the view taken of the heroine of the ballad as a saint, -and with the Bible account that Judith lived a chaste widow after her -husband's demise. - -Danish #D# is unique in one point. The robber has shown the maid a -little knoll, in which the "much gold" of the women he has murdered -lies. When she has killed him, the maid says, "_I_ shall have the much -gold," and takes as much as she can carry off. Compare with this -Holofernes putting Judith into his treasury (xii, 1),[88] her carrying -off the conop[oe]um (xiii, 10), and her receiving from the people all -Holofernes' gold, silver, clothes, jewels, and furniture, as her share -of the plunder of the Assyrian camp (xv, 14). It is, perhaps, a -perversion of this circumstance that the robber in German #G#, #H#, is -refused permission to keep his costly clothes. - -English #D# seems also to have preserved a portion of the primitive -story, when it makes the maid tell her parents in the morning all that -has happened, whereupon they go with her to the sea-shore to find the -robber's body. The foundation for this is surely the Bible account that -Judith makes known her act to the elders of the city, and that the Jews -go out in the morning and fall on the enemy's camp, in which Holofernes' -body is lying. In Swedish #C# the robber's sisters mourn over his body, -and in Judith xiv, 18 the Assyrians break out into loud cries when they -learn of Holofernes' death. - -In all this it is simply contended that the story of Judith is the -remote source of the ballad, and it is conceded that many of the -correspondences which have been cited may be accidental. Neither the -Latin text of Judith nor any other written treatment of the story of -Judith is supposed to have been known to the author of the ballad. The -knowledge of its biblical origin being lost, the story would develop -itself in its own way, according to the fashion of oral tradition. And -so the pious widow into whose hands God gave over his enemies is -converted into a fair maid who is enticed by a false knight into a wood, -and who kills him in defence of her own life. - -A similar transformation can be shown elsewhere in popular poetry. The -little Katie of certain northern ballads (see Grundtvig, No 101) is a -maid among other maids who prefers death to dishonor; but was originally -Saint Catherine, daughter of the king of Egypt, who suffered martyrdom -for the faith under the Emperor Maxentius. All the versions of the -Halewyn ballad which we possess, even the purest, may be far removed -from the primitive, both as to story and as to metrical form. New -features would be taken up, and old ones would disappear. One copy has -preserved genuine particulars, which another has lost, but Dutch -tradition has kept the capital features best of all.[89] - -Professor Bugge's argument has been given with an approach to fulness -out of a desire to do entire justice to the distinguished author's case, -though most of the correspondences adduced by him fail to produce any -effect upon my mind. - -The case is materially strengthened by the Dutch text #C# ('Roland'), -which was not accessible at the time Bugge's paper was written. The name -Roland is not so close to Holofern as Halewyn, but is still within the -range of conceivable metamorphosis. The points of coincidence between -Dutch #C# and the story of Judith are these: The woman, first making an -elaborate toilet,[90] goes out to seek the man, who is spoken of as -surrounded with soldiers; she is challenged on the way; finds Roland -lying on his bed, which he proposes she shall share (or lose her -life);[91] she cuts off his head, which, after her return home, she -exposes from her window.[92] - -If this was the original form of the Dutch ballad, and the Dutch ballad -is the source from which all the other ballads have come, by processes -of dropping, taking up, and transforming, then we may feel compelled to -admit that this ballad might be a wild shoot from the story of Judith. -Any one who bears in mind the strange changes which stories undergo will -hesitate to pronounce this impossible. What poor Ophelia says of us -human creatures is even truer of ballads: "We know what we are, but know -not what we may be." - -But when we consider how much would have to be dropped, how much to be -taken up, and how much to be transformed, before the Hebrew "gest" could -be converted into the European ballad, we naturally look for a less -difficult hypothesis. It is a supposition attended with less difficulty -that an independent European tradition existed of a half-human, -half-demonic being, who possessed an irresistible power of decoying away -young maids, and was wont to kill them after he got them into his hands, -but who at last found one who was more than his match, and lost his own -life through her craft and courage. A modification of this story is -afforded by the large class of Bluebeard tales. The Quintalin story -seems to be another variety, with a substitution of lust for -bloodthirst. The Dutch ballad may have been _affected_ by some lost -ballad of Holofern, and may have taken up some of its features, at least -that of carrying home Halewyn's [Roland's] head, which is found in no -other version.[93] - -#A a# is translated by Grundtvig in Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, No -37, p. 230: #B b# in the same, No 36, p. 227: #C a#, #b#, #D a#, #b#, -blended, No 35, p. 221. #A#, by Rosa Warrens, Schottische V. L. der -Vorzeit, No 1, p. 1: Gerhard, p. 15. #C b#, by Rosa Warrens, No 34, p. -148: Wolf, Halle der Völker, I, 38, Hausschatz, 225. #C#, #D#, etc., as -in Allingham, p. 244, by Knortz, Lied. u. Rom. Alt-Englands, No 4, p. -14. - - -A - - #a.# Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 22. - #b.# Motherwell's MS., p. 563. - - 1 - Fair lady Isabel sits in her bower sewing, - Aye as the gowans grow gay - There she heard an elf-knight blawing his horn. - The first morning in May - - 2 - 'If I had yon horn that I hear blawing, - And yon elf-knight to sleep in my bosom.' - - 3 - This maiden had scarcely these words spoken, - Till in at her window the elf-knight has luppen. - - 4 - 'It's a very strange matter, fair maiden,' said he, - 'I canna blaw my horn but ye call on me. - - 5 - 'But will ye go to yon greenwood side? - If ye canna gang, I will cause you to ride.' - - 6 - He leapt on a horse, and she on another, - And they rode on to the greenwood together. - - 7 - 'Light down, light down, lady Isabel,' said he, - 'We are come to the place where ye are to die.' - - 8 - 'Hae mercy, hae mercy, kind sir, on me, - Till ance my dear father and mother I see.' - - 9 - 'Seven king's-daughters here hae I slain, - And ye shall be the eight o them.' - - 10 - 'O sit down a while, lay your head on my knee, - That we may hae some rest before that I die.' - - 11 - She stroakd him sae fast, the nearer he did creep, - Wi a sma charm she lulld him fast asleep. - - 12 - Wi his ain sword-belt sae fast as she ban him, - Wi his ain dag-durk sae sair as she dang him. - - 13 - 'If seven king's-daughters here ye hae slain, - Lye ye here, a husband to them a'.' - - -B - - #a.# Buchan's MSS, II, fol. 80. #b.# Buchan's Ballads of - the North of Scotland, II, 201. c. Motherwell's MS., p. - 561. #d.# Harris MS., No 19. - - 1 - There came a bird out o a bush, - On water for to dine, - An sighing sair, says the king's daughter, - 'O wae 's this heart o mine!' - - 2 - He 's taen a harp into his hand, - He 's harped them all asleep, - Except it was the king's daughter, - Who one wink couldna get. - - 3 - He 's luppen on his berry-brown steed, - Taen 'er on behind himsell, - Then baith rede down to that water - That they ca Wearie's Well. - - 4 - 'Wide in, wide in, my lady fair, - No harm shall thee befall; - Oft times I've watered my steed - Wi the waters o Wearie's Well.' - - 5 - The first step that she stepped in, - She stepped to the knee; - And sighend says this lady fair, - 'This water 's nae for me.' - - 6 - 'Wide in, wide in, my lady fair, - No harm shall thee befall; - Oft times I've watered my steed - Wi the water o Wearie's Well.' - - 7 - The next step that she stepped in, - She stepped to the middle; - 'O,' sighend says this lady fair, - I 've wat my gowden girdle.' - - 8 - 'Wide in, wide in, my lady fair, - No harm shall thee befall; - Oft times have I watered my steed - Wi the water o Wearie's Well.' - - 9 - The next step that she stepped in, - She stepped to the chin; - 'O,' sighend says this lady fair, - 'They sud gar twa loves twin.' - - 10 - 'Seven king's-daughters I 've drownd there, - In the water o Wearie's Well, - And I'll make you the eight o them, - And ring the common bell.' - - 11 - 'Since I am standing here,' she says, - 'This dowie death to die, - One kiss o your comely mouth - I'm sure wad comfort me.' - - 12 - He louted him oer his saddle bow, - To kiss her cheek and chin; - She 's taen him in her arms twa, - An thrown him headlong in. - - 13 - 'Since seven king's daughters ye 've drowned there, - In the water o Wearie's Well, - I'll make you bridegroom to them a', - An ring the bell mysell.' - - 14 - And aye she warsled, and aye she swam, - And she swam to dry lan; - She thanked God most cheerfully - The dangers she oercame. - - -C - - #a.# Herd's MSS, I, 166. #b.# Herd's Ancient and Modern - Scottish Songs, 1776, I, 93. #c.# Motherwell's Minstrelsy, - p. 67, == #b# "collated with a copy obtained from - recitation." - - 1 - False Sir John a wooing came - To a maid of beauty fair; - May Colven was this lady's name, - Her father's only heir. - - 2 - He wood her butt, he wood her ben, - He wood her in the ha, - Until he got this lady's consent - To mount and ride awa. - - 3 - He went down to her father's bower, - Where all the steeds did stand, - And he 's taken one of the best steeds - That was in her father's land. - - 4 - He 's got on and she 's got on, - And fast as they could flee, - Until they came to a lonesome part, - A rock by the side of the sea. - - 5 - 'Loup off the steed,' says false Sir John, - 'Your bridal bed you see; - For I have drowned seven young ladies, - The eight one you shall be. - - 6 - 'Cast off, cast off, my May Colven, - All and your silken gown, - For it 's oer good and oer costly - To rot in the salt sea foam. - - 7 - 'Cast off, cast off, my May Colven, - All and your embroiderd shoen, - For they 're oer good and oer costly - To rot in the salt sea foam.' - - 8 - 'O turn you about, O false Sir John, - And look to the leaf of the tree, - For it never became a gentleman - A naked woman to see.' - - 9 - He turnd himself straight round about, - To look to the leaf of the tree; - So swift as May Colven was - To throw him in the sea. - - 10 - 'O help, O help, my May Colven, - O help, or else I'll drown; - I'll take you home to your father's bower, - And set you down safe and sound.' - - 11 - 'No help, no help, O false Sir John, - No help, nor pity thee; - Tho seven king's-daughters you have drownd, - But the eight shall not be me.' - - 12 - So she went on her father's steed, - As swift as she could flee, - And she came home to her father's bower - Before it was break of day. - - 13 - Up then and spoke the pretty parrot: - 'May Colven, where have you been? - What has become of false Sir John, - That woo'd you so late the streen? - - 14 - 'He woo'd you butt, he woo'd you ben, - He woo'd you in the ha, - Until he got your own consent - For to mount and gang awa.' - - 15 - 'O hold your tongue, my pretty parrot, - Lay not the blame upon me; - Your cup shall be of the flowered gold, - Your cage of the root of the tree.' - - 16 - Up then spake the king himself, - In the bed-chamber where he lay: - 'What ails the pretty parrot, - That prattles so long or day?' - - 17 - 'There came a cat to my cage door, - It almost a worried me, - And I was calling on May Colven - To take the cat from me.' - - -D - - #a.# Sharpe's Ballad Book (1823), No 17, p. 45. #b.# - Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 45. #c.# - Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. 21, No. XXIV, one - stanza. - - 1 - O heard ye of a bloody knight, - Lived in the south country? - For he has betrayed eight ladies fair - And drowned them in the sea. - - 2 - Then next he went to May Collin, - She was her father's heir, - The greatest beauty in the land, - I solemnly declare. - - 3 - 'I am a knight of wealth and might, - Of townlands twenty-three; - And you'll be lady of them all, - If you will go with me.' - - 4 - 'Excuse me, then, Sir John,' she says; - 'To wed I am too young; - Without I have my parents' leave, - With you I darena gang.' - - 5 - 'Your parents' leave you soon shall have, - In that they will agree; - For I have made a solemn vow - This night you'll go with me.' - - 6 - From below his arm he pulled a charm, - And stuck it in her sleeve, - And he has made her go with him, - Without her parents' leave. - - 7 - Of gold and silver she has got - With her twelve hundred pound, - And the swiftest steed her father had - She has taen to ride upon. - - 8 - So privily they went along, - They made no stop or stay, - Till they came to the fatal place - That they call Bunion Bay. - - 9 - It being in a lonely place, - And no house there was nigh, - The fatal rocks were long and steep, - And none could hear her cry. - - 10 - 'Light down,' he said, 'fair May Collin, - Light down and speak with me, - For here I've drowned eight ladies fair, - And the ninth one you shall be.' - - 11 - 'Is this your bowers and lofty towers, - So beautiful and gay? - Or is it for my gold,' she said, - 'You take my life away?' - - 12 - 'Strip off,' he says, 'thy jewels fine, - So costly and so brave, - For they are too costly and too fine - To throw in the sea wave.' - - 13 - 'Take all I have my life to save, - O good Sir John, I pray; - Let it neer be said you killed a maid - Upon her wedding day.' - - 14 - 'Strip off,' he says, 'thy Holland smock, - That's bordered with the lawn, - For it's too costly and too fine - To rot in the sea sand.' - - 15 - 'O turn about, Sir John,' she said, - 'Your back about to me, - For it never was comely for a man - A naked woman to see.' - - 16 - But as he turned him round about, - She threw him in the sea, - Saying, 'Lie you there, you false Sir John, - Where you thought to lay me. - - 17 - 'O lie you there, you traitor false, - Where you thought to lay me, - For though you stripped me to the skin, - Your clothes you've got with thee.' - - 18 - Her jewels fine she did put on, - So costly, rich and brave, - And then with speed she mounts his steed, - So well she did behave. - - 19 - That lady fair being void of fear, - Her steed being swift and free, - And she has reached her father's gate - Before the clock struck three. - - 20 - Then first she called the stable groom, - He was her waiting man; - Soon as he heard his lady's voice - He stood with cap in hand. - - 21 - 'Where have you been, fair May Collin? - Who owns this dapple grey?' - 'It is a found one,' she replied, - 'That I got on the way.' - - 22 - Then out bespoke the wily parrot - Unto fair May Collin: - 'What have you done with false Sir John, - That went with you yestreen?' - - 23 - 'O hold your tongue, my pretty parrot, - And talk no more to me, - And where you had a meal a day - O now you shall have three.' - - 24 - Then up bespoke her father dear, - From his chamber where he lay: - 'What aileth thee, my pretty Poll, - That you chat so long or day?' - - 25 - 'The cat she came to my cage-door, - The thief I could not see, - And I called to fair May Collin, - To take the cat from me.' - - 26 - Then first she told her father dear - The deed that she had done, - And next she told her mother dear - Concerning false Sir John. - - 27 - 'If this be true, fair May Collin, - That you have told to me, - Before I either eat or drink - This false Sir John I'll see.' - - 28 - Away they went with one consent, - At dawning of the day, - Until they came to Carline Sands, - And there his body lay. - - 29 - His body tall, by that great fall, - By the waves tossed to and fro, - The diamond ring that he had on - Was broke in pieces two. - - 30 - And they have taken up his corpse - To yonder pleasant green, - And there they have buried false Sir John, - For fear he should be seen. - - -E - - J. H. Dixon, Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the - Peasantry of England, p. 74. - - 1 - An outlandish knight came from the north lands, - And he came a-wooing to me; - He told me he'd take me unto the north lands, - And there he would marry me. - - 2 - 'Come, fetch me some of your father's gold, - And some of your mother's fee, - And two of the best nags out of the stable, - Where they stand thirty and three.' - - 3 - She fetched him some of her father's gold, - And some of her mother's fee, - And two of the best nags out of the stable, - Where they stood thirty and three. - - 4 - She mounted her on her milk-white steed, - He on the dapple grey; - They rode till they came unto the sea-side, - Three hours before it was day. - - 5 - 'Light off, light off thy milk-white steed, - And deliver it unto me; - Six pretty maids have I drowned here, - And thou the seventh shalt be. - - 6 - 'Pull off, pull off thy silken gown, - And deliver it unto me; - Methinks it looks too rich and too gay - To rot in the salt sea. - - 7 - 'Pull off, pull off thy silken stays, - And deliver them unto me; - Methinks they are too fine and gay - To rot in the salt sea. - - 8 - 'Pull off, pull off thy Holland smock, - And deliver it unto me; - Methinks it looks too rich and gay - To rot in the salt sea.' - - 9 - 'If I must pull off my Holland smock, - Pray turn thy back unto me; - For it is not fitting that such a ruffian - A naked woman should see.' - - 10 - He turned his back towards her - And viewed the leaves so green; - She catched him round the middle so small, - And tumbled him into the stream. - - 11 - He dropped high and he dropped low, - Until he came to the side; - 'Catch hold of my hand, my pretty maiden, - And I will make you my bride.' - - 12 - 'Lie there, lie there, you false-hearted man, - Lie there instead of me; - Six pretty maids have you drowned here, - And the seventh has drowned thee.' - - 13 - She mounted on her milk-white steed, - And led the dapple grey; - She rode till she came to her own father's hall, - Three hours before it was day. - - 14 - The parrot being in the window so high, - Hearing the lady, did say, - 'I'm afraid that some ruffian has led you astray, - That you have tarried so long away.' - - 15 - 'Don't prittle nor prattle, my pretty parrot, - Nor tell no tales of me; - Thy cage shall be made of the glittering gold, - Although it is made of a tree.' - - 16 - The king being in the chamber so high, - And hearing the parrot, did say, - 'What ails you, what ails you, my pretty parrot, - That you prattle so long before day?' - - 17 - 'It's no laughing matter,' the parrot did say, - 'That so loudly I call unto thee, - For the cats have got into the window so high, - And I'm afraid they will have me.' - - 18 - 'Well turned, well turned, my pretty parrot, - Well turned, well turned for me; - Thy cage shall be made of the glittering gold, - And the door of the best ivory.' - - -F - - Roxburghe Ballads, III, 449. - - 1 - 'Go fetch me some of your father's gold, - And some of your mother's fee, - And I'll carry you into the north land, - And there I'll marry thee.' - - 2 - She fetchd him some of her father's gold, - And some of her mother's fee; - She carried him into the stable, - Where horses stood thirty and three. - - 3 - She leapd on a milk-white steed, - And he on a dapple-grey; - They rode til they came to a fair river's side, - Three hours before it was day. - - 4 - 'O light, O light, you lady gay, - O light with speed, I say, - For six knight's daughters have I drowned here, - And you the seventh must be.' - - 5 - 'Go fetch the sickle, to crop the nettle - That grows so near the brim, - For fear it should tangle my golden locks, - Or freckle my milk-white skin.' - - 6 - He fetchd the sickle, to crop the nettle - That grows so near the brim, - And with all the strength that pretty Polly had - She pushd the false knight in. - - 7 - 'Swim on, swim on, thou false knight, - And there bewail thy doom, - For I don't think thy cloathing too good - To lie in a watry tomb.' - - 8 - She leaped on her milk-white steed, - She led the dapple grey; - She rid till she came to her father's house, - Three hours before it was day. - - 9 - 'Who knocked so loudly at the ring?' - The parrot he did say; - 'O where have you been, my pretty Polly, - All this long summer's day?' - - 10 - 'O hold your tongue, parrot, - Tell you no tales of me; - Your cage shall be made of beaten gold, - Which is now made of a tree.' - - 11 - O then bespoke her father dear, - As he on his bed did lay: - 'O what is the matter, my parrot, - That you speak before it is day?' - - 12 - 'The cat's at my cage, master, - And sorely frighted me, - And I calld down my Polly - To take the cat away.' - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - _Burden. Song xix of Forbes's 'Cantus,' Aberdeen, 1682, 3d - ed., has, as pointed out by Motherwell, Minstrelsy, p. lx, - nearly the same burden: ~The gowans are gay, The first - morning of May~. And again, a song in the Tea Table - Miscellany, as remarked by Buchan, ~There gowans are gay, - The first morning of May~: p. 404 of the 12th ed., London, - 1763._ - -#b.# - - _No doubt furnished to Motherwell by Buchan, as a - considerable number of ballads in this part of his MS. - seem to have been._ - - 3^2. Then in. - - 8^1. kind sir, said she. - - 10^2. That we may some rest before I die. - - 11^1. the near. - - 13^2. to them ilk ane. - - _1 is given by Motherwell, Minstrelsy, p. lx, but - apparently to improve metre and secure rhyme, thus_: - - Lady Isabel sits in her bouir sewing, - She heard an elf-knight his horn blowing. - -#B b.# - - _Buchan's printed copy differs from the manuscript very - slightly, except in spelling._ - - 4^3, 6^3. Aft times hae I. - - 5^3. And sighing sair says. - - 7^3, 9^3. And sighing says. - - 14^2. Till she swam. - - 14^3. Then thanked. - - 14^4. she'd. - -#c.# - - _Like #A b#, derived by Motherwell from Buchan._ - - 4^1, 6^1, 8^1. wade in, wade in. - - 14^3. And thanked. - - _Dixon, Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads, - p. 63, printing #B# from the manuscript, makes one or two - trivial changes._ - -#d# - - _is only this fragment_. - - 4^3 - Mony a time I rade wi my brown foal - The water o Wearie's Wells. - - 'Leave aff, leave aff your gey mantle, - It's a' gowd but the hem; - Leave aff, leave [aff], it's far owre gude - To weet i the saut see faem.' - - 5 - She wade in, an he rade in, - Till it took her to the knee; - Wi sighin said that lady gay - 'Sic wadin's no for me.' - - * * * * * * * - - 9 - He rade in, and she wade in, - Till it took her to the chin; - Wi sighin said that ladie gay - 'I'll wade nae farer in.' - - 10^3 - 'Sax king's dochters I hae drowned, - An the seventh you sall be.' - - * * * * * * * - - 13 - 'Lie you there, you fause young man, - Where you thought to lay me.' - -#C b.# - - _The printed copy follows the manuscript with only very - trifling variations_: Colvin _for_ Colven; - - 13^1, up then spak; - - 16^4, ere day; - - 17^2, almost worried. - -#c.# - - 2^{1, 2}. he's courted. - - 2^3. Till once he got. - - _Between 2 and 3 is inserted:_ - - She's gane to her father's coffers, - Where all his money lay, - And she's taken the red, and she's left the white, - And so lightly as she tripped away. - - 3^1 She's gane down to her father's stable, - - 3^3 And she's taken the best, and she's left the warst. - - 4 - He rode on, and she rode on, - They rode a long summer's day, - Until they came to a broad river, - An arm of a lonesome sea. - - 5^{3, 4} - 'For it's seven king's daughters I have drowned here, - And the eighth I'll out make with thee.' - - 6^{1, 2} - 'Cast off, cast off your silks so fine, - And lay them on a stone.' - - 7^{1, 2, 3} - 'Cast off, cast off your holland smock, - And lay it on this stone, - For it's too fine.' ... - - 9^{3, 4} - She's twined her arms about his waist, - And thrown him into - - 10^{1, 2} - 'O hold a grip of me, May Colvin, - For fear that I should' - - ^3 father's gates - - ^4 and safely I'll set you down. - - 11 - 'O lie you there, thou false Sir John, - O lie you there,' said she, - 'For you lie not in a caulder bed - Than the ane you intended for me.' - - 12^3. father's gates. - - 12^4. At the breaking of the day. - - 13^4. yestreen. - - _Between 13 and 14 is inserted:_ - - Up then spake the pretty parrot, - In the bonnie cage where it lay: - 'O what hae ye done with the false Sir John, - That he behind you does stay?' - - 15^{3, 4} - 'Your cage will be made of the beaten gold, - And the spakes of ivorie.' - - 17^{1, 2} - 'It was a cat cam ... - I thought 't would have' ... - -#D a.# - - 2^1. Colin. - -#b#. - - _Buchan's copy makes many slight changes which are not - noticed here._ - - 1^2. west countrie. - - _After 1 is inserted:_ - - All ladies of a gude account - As ever yet were known; - This traitor was a baron knight, - They calld him fause Sir John. - - _After 2:_ - - 'Thou art the darling of my heart, - I say, fair May Colvin, - So far excells thy beauties great - That ever I hae seen.' - - 3^2. Hae towers, towns twenty three. - - 7^2. five hunder. - - 7^3. The best an steed. - - 8^3. fatal end. - - 8^4. Binyan's Bay. - - 12^2. rich and rare. - - 12^4. sea ware. - - _After 12:_ - - Then aff she's taen her jewels fine, - And thus she made her moan: - 'Hae mercy on a virgin young, - I pray you, gude Sir John.' - - 'Cast aff, cast aff, fair May Colvin, - Your gown and petticoat, - For they're too costly and too fine - To rot by the sea rock.' - - 13^4. Before her. - - 14^4. to toss. - - 18^3. her steed. - - 23^3. What hast thou made o fause. - - 28^3. Charlestown sands. _Sharps thinks Carline Sands - means Carlinseugh Sands on the coast of Forfarshire._ - - _After 30:_ - - Ye ladies a', wherever you be, - That read this mournful song, - I pray you mind on May Colvin, - And think on fause Sir John. - - Aff they've taen his jewels fine, - To keep in memory; - And sae I end my mournful sang - And fatal tragedy. - -#c.# - - _Motherwell's one stanza is:_ - - O heard ye eer o a bloody knight - That livd in the west countrie? - For he has stown seven ladies fair, - And drownd them a' in the sea. - -#E.# - - 3^2. of the. - - 17^2. But so. - - -[24] 'The Elfin Knight' begins very much like #A#, but perhaps has -borrowed its opening stanzas from this ballad. See page 13. - -[25] The second stanza, which describes the harping, occurs again in -'Glenkindie' (st. 6). - -[26] Perhaps the change from wood, #A#, to water, #B-F#, was made under -the influence of some Merman ballad, or by admixture with such a ballad; -e.g., 'Nøkkens Svig,' Grundtvig, No 39. In this (#A#) the nix entices a -king's daughter away from a dance, sets her on his horse, and rides with -her over the heath to a wild water, into which she sinks. It is also -quite among possibilities that there was originally an English nix -ballad, in which the king's daughter saved herself by some artifice, -not, of course, such as is employed in #B-F#, but like that in #A#, or -otherwise. Maid Heiemo, in Landstad, No 39, kills a nix with "one of her -small knives." Had she put him to sleep with a charm, and killed him -with _his own_ knife, as Lady Isabel does, there would have been nothing -to shock credibility in the story. - -Aytoun, Ballads of Scotland, I, 219, 2d ed., hastily pronounces Buchan's -ballad not authentic, "being made up of stanzas borrowed from versions -of 'Burd Helen' ['Child Waters']." There are, indeed, three successive -steps into the water in both ballads, but Aytoun should have bethought -himself how natural and how common it is for a passage to slip from one -ballad into another, when the circumstances of the story are the same; -and in some such cases no one can say where the verses that are common -originally belonged. Here, indeed, as Grundtvig remarks, IV, 7, note*, -it may well be that the verses in question belonged originally to 'Burd -Helen,' and were adopted (but in the processes of tradition) into 'The -Water of Wearie's Well;' for it must be admitted that the transaction in -the water is not a happy conception in the latter, since it shocks -probability that the woman should be able to swim ashore, and the man -not. - -[27] "This ballad appears modern, from a great many expressions, but yet -I am certain that it is old: the present copy came from the housekeeper -at Methven." Note by Sharpe, in Laing's ed. of the Ballad Book, 1880, p. -130, xvii. Motherwell, in his Minstrelsy, p. lxx, n. 24, says that he -had seen a stall ballad as early as 1749, entitled 'The Western -Tragedy,' which perfectly agreed with Sharpe's copy. But in his -Note-Book, p. 5 (about 1826-7), Motherwell says, "The best copy of May -Colean with which I have met occurs in a stall copy printed about thirty -years ago [should we then read 1799 instead of 1749?], under the title -of 'The Western Tragedy.' I have subsequently seen a posterior reprint -of this stall copy under this title, 'The Historical Ballad of May -Collean.' In Mr. Sharpe's Ballad Book, the same copy, wanting only one -stanza, is given." - -[28] According to the variation given by Willems, and adopted by -Hoffmann, Halewijn's _son_ came to meet her, tied her horse to a tree, -and bade her to sit down by him and loose her hair. For every hair she -undid she dropped a tear. But it will presently be seen not only that -the time has not come for them to sit down, but that Halewijn's bidding -her undo her hair (to no purpose) is a perversion of her offering to -"red" _his_, to get him into her power, an offer which she makes in the -German and Scandinavian ballads, where also there is good reason for her -tears, but none as yet here. - -[29] J. W. Wolf, Deutsche Märchen u. Sagen, No 29, p. 143, gives the -story according to #B#, apparently from a ballad like Snellaert's. So -Luise v. Ploennies, Reiseerinnerungen aus Belgien, p. 38. - -Halewyn makes his appearance again in the Flemish ballad, 'Halewyn en -het kleyne Kind,' Coussemaker, No 46, p. 149; Poésies populaires de la -France, vol. I. A boy of seven years has shot one of Halewyn's rabbits, -and is for this condemned to be hanged on the highest tree in the park. -The father makes great offers for his ransom, but in vain. On the first -step of the ladder the child looks back for his mother, on the second -for his father, on the third for his brother, on the fourth for his -sister, each of whom successively arrives and is told that delay would -have cost him his life. It will presently be seen that there is a -resemblance here to German ballads (#G-X#, #Z#). - -[30] "La chanson de Halewyn, telle à peu près que la donnent Willems, -Snellaert et de Coussemaker, se vend encore sur le marché de Bruges. -Quoiqu'elle porte pour titre _Halewyn_, jamais notre pièce n'a été -connue ici sous ce nom. Le nom de Halewijn, Alewijn ou Alwin ... est -réservé au héros de la pièce suivante" [Mi Adel en Hir Alewijn]. Lootens -et Feys, p. 66. "Il est a regretter que Willems et de Coussemaker -n'aient pas jugé à propos de donner cette pièce telle que le peuple l'a -conservée; on serait sans aucun doute en possession de variantes -remarquables, et les lacunes qui existent dans notre version n'eussent -pas manqué d'être com blées. Il est bon d'insister sur la remarque faite -à la suite de la chanson, qu'à Bruges et dans beaucoup de localités de -la Flandre, elle n'est connue que sous le titre de _Roland_. Ajoutons -que notre texte appartient au dernier siècle." L. et F., 295. - -[31] So in 'Liebe ohne Stand,' one of the mixed forms of the German -ballad, Wunderhorn, Erk I, 41, Crecelius, I, 36, - - Und als es nun kam an den dritten Tag, - Da gingen die Pfeiffen und Trommeln an. - -[32] E.g., the wonderland in #A# 2-6, and the strict watch kept over the -lady in 7-10 are repeated in 'Ribold og Guldborg,' Grundtvig, 82, #B# -2-7, 8-11, and in 'Den trofaste Jomfru,' ib. 249, #A# 3-6, 7-10. The -watching in #A#, #B#, #C# and the proffered gifts of #C#, #D#, #F# are -found in 'Nøkkens Svig,' Grundtvig, 39, #A#, #B#, 12-18. The disguise in -#A# 11-14, the rest in the wood with the knight's head in the lady's -lap, #A# 16, 27, #B# 11, 21, #D# 14, 24, #E# 11, 21, etc., recur in -Ribold, #B# 12-14, #L# 9, 10, #M# 19, 20, #N# 11, 13, #P# 12, 13. These -resemblances, naturally, are not limited to the Danish copies. - -[33] So the princess in Asbjörnsen og Moe, N. Folkeeventyr, p. 153. Cf. -Campbell's Tales of the West Highlands, III, 209; IV, 282, 283. - -[34] The binding and waking, with these words, are found also in a -made-up text of 'Frændehævn,' Grundtvig, No 4, #C# 51-53, but certainly -borrowed from some copy of 'Kvindemorderen.' - -[35] All the German versions appear to have been _originally_ in the -two-line stanza. - -[36] The copies with this title in Simrock, No 6, p. 15, and in -Scherer's Jungbrunnen, No 5 A, and his Deutsche V. L., 1851, p. 349, are -compounded from various texts. - -[37] Both #D# and #E# have attached to them this final stanza: - - 'Odilia, why are thy shoes so red?' - 'It is three doves that I shot dead.' - -This is a well-known commonplace in tragic ballads; and Grundtvig -suggests that this stanza was the occasion of the story taking the turn -which we find in ballads of the third class. - -[38] One scarcely knows whether this bribe is an imperfect reminiscence -of splendid promises which the knight makes, e.g., in the Danish -ballads, or a shifting from the maid to the knight of the gold which the -elsewhere opulent or well-to-do maid gets together while the knight is -preparing to set forth; or simply one of those extravagances which so -often make their appearance in later versions of ballads. - -[39] The number eleven is remarkably constant in the German ballads, -being found in #G#, #H#, #J-L#, #N-W#; it is also the number in Swedish -#B#. Eight is the favorite number in the North, and occurs in Danish -#A-D#, #H-L#, Swedish #A#, #C#, Norwegian #G#, #H#; again in German #I#. -German #M#, #X#, Danish #F#, have ten; German #A#, #B#, Danish #E#, -Norwegian #I#, have nine; German #C#, #D#, seven; Danish #G# has -nineteen. French #A#, #B# have fourteen, fifteen, Italian ballads still -higher numbers: #A#, #B#, #C#, thirty-six, #D#, fifty-two, #E#, -thirty-three, #F#, three hundred and three. - -[40] This stroke of realism fails only in #M#, #N#, #R#, of this second -class. - -[41] Apparently to a Ribold ballad, of which no other trace has been -found in German. See further on in this volume. - -[42] - - 13 - 'Ach du schöne junkfraw fein, - Du pfalzgrävin, du kaiserin! - Der Adelger hat sich vor ailf getödt, - Du wirst die zwölft, das sei dir gsait. - - 15 - 'So bitt mich nit, du junkfraw fein, - So bitt mich nit, du herzigs ein!' - -The _liebkosung_ of this murder-reeking Adelger, o'ersized with -coagulate gore, is admirably horrible. - -[43] Nimmersatt (All-begehrend) as interpreted by Meinert, not Adelger. - -[44] Verses which recur, nearly, not only in #Y# 17-19, #W# 27, 28, but -elsewhere, as in a copy of 'Graf Friedrich,' Erk's Liederhort, p. 41, No -15, st. 19. - -[45] There is no sense in _two_ doves. The single dove one may suppose -to be the spirit of the last victim. We shall find the _eleven_ -appearing as doves in #Q#. There is no occasion to regard the dove here -as a Waldminne (Vilmar, Handbüchlein für Freunde des deutschen -Volkslieds, p. 57). Cf. the nightingale (and two nightingales) in the -Danish 'Redselille og Medelvold:' see 'Leesome Brand,' further on in -this volume. - -[46] This ballad has become, in Tübingen, a children's game, called -'Bertha im Wald.' The three cries are preserved in verse, and very -nearly as in #J#, #M#. The game concludes by the robber smothering -Bertha. Meier, Deutsche Kinder-Reime, No 439. - -[47] #K#, or the editor, seeks to avoid the difficulty by taking the -last line from the knight, and reading, "Mit Blut war er umronnen," an -emendation not according with the simplicity of ballads. Another Swabian -copy, Meier, p. 301, note, strophe 6, has: - - 'Wir müssen zu selbigem Bronnen - Wo Wasser und Blut heraus ronnen.' - -[48] The last verses are these, and not very much worse than the rest: - - Mein Bruder ist ein Jägersmann, - Der alle Thierlein schiessen kann; - Er hatt' ein zweischneidiges Schwerte, - Und stach es dem Falschen ins Herze. - - Ihr Mädchen alle insgemein, - Lasst euch doch diess zur Warnung sein, - Und geht doch mit keinem so falschen - In einen so finsteren Walde. - - My brother is a hunting man, - And all the small game shoot he can; - He had a sword with edges two, - And ran the heart of the false man through - - Ye maidens now in general, - Let this be warning to you all; - With man so false you never should - Go to _so very_ dark a wood. - -[49] So in Rochholz, Schweizer Sagen, No 14, I, 23, a man who had killed -eleven maids would, if he could have made up the number twelve, have -been able to pass through walls and mouseholes. Again, a certain robber -in Jutland, who had devoured eight children's hearts, would have -acquired the power of flying could he but have secured one more. -Grundtvig, D. g. F. IV, 16, note. - -[50] What will those who are so troubled about cork-heeled shoon in 'Sir -Patrick Spens' say to the fire-arms in #L#, #N#, #S#? - -[51] A variety of #W#, cited in Schlesische Volkslieder, p. 26, has, - - 'Ach Ulbrich, Ulbrich, Halsemann, Halsemann, - Lass du mich nur drei Gale schrei'n!' - -Grundtvig, assuming that the name is Ulbrich Halsemann, would account -for the second and superfluous character here [found also in #W#] by a -divarication of Ulrich Halsemann into Ulrich _and_ Halsemann (Hanslein). -Ansar, "bisher unverständlicher Vorname des Ritters Uleraich" in #Y# -(Meinert), would equally well yield Hanslein. Might not Halsemann -possibly be an equivalent of Halsherr? - -[52] And in 'Der Mutter Fluch,' Meinert, p. 246, a ballad with which #Y# -agrees in the first two and last four stanzas. - -[53] There is a dove in #Z#, but #Z#, as has been said, presents traits -of all three classes. - -[54] - - 'Da lyge, feyns Lybchen, unndt fawle, - Meyn jungk Herze muss trawren.' - - Nicolai, vv 35, 36, - - 'Da liege, du Häuptchen, und faule, - Kein Reuter wird dir nachtrauern.' - - Simrock, vv 35, 36, - -are evidently derived from the apostrophe to the murderer's head in #I#, -#W#, #Y#. - -Stolz Syburg is the hero of a very different ballad, from the Münster -region, Reifferscheid, No 16, p. 32 (also No 17, and Simrock, No 9, p. -23, 'Stolz Heinrich'). And from this the name, in consequence of a -remote resemblance in the story, may have been taken up by the Rhine -ballad, though it has contributed nothing more. Margaret, a king's -daughter, is wiled away by a splendid description of Stolz Syburg's -opulence. When they have gone a long way, he tells her that he has -nothing but a barren heath. She stabs herself at his feet. - -[55] 'Wassermans Braut,' Meinert, p. 77; 'Die unglückliche Braut,' -Hoffmann u. Richter, Schlesische V. L., p. 6, No. 2; 'Königs -Töchterlein,' Erk u. Irmer, vi, 6, No 4; 'Der Wassermann,' Erk's -Liederhort, p. 50, No 17. ('Die Nixenbraut,' "Norddeutschland," -Zuccalmaglio, p. 192, No 92, seems to be Meinert's copy written over.) - -[56] The remarkable Norwegian ballad of the 'Wassermanns Brant' group, -The Nix and Heiemo, Landstad, No 39, p. 350, has not been unaffected by -the one we are now occupied with. There is even a verbal contact between -stanza 19, - - 'Heiemo tenkte með sjave seg: - Tru mine smá _knivar_ 'ki hjelper meg?' - -and Norwegian #F#, stanza 9, cited by Grundtvig, IV, 4, - - Lengji stó Gullbjör, hó tenkte mæ seg: - 'Kann inkje mí' _rúninne_ hjelpe meg?' - -[57] Kolberg's #b#, #h#, #k#, #v#, #x#, #bb#, #cc#, #hh#, #kk#, #ll#, -#nn#, #xx#, #yy#, #zz#, consist of only one or two initial stanzas, -containing no important variation. His #aaa#, a fragment of six stanzas, -Pauli, p. 147, No 6, Wojcicki, II, 169, though it begins like the rest, -sounds like a different ballad. - -The ballad in Wojcicki, I, 38, is allied with the one we are engaged -with, and the two fragments on p. 36, p. 37 with both this and that. - -[58] Anne in #R#, #LL#, and Kolberg's #h#: Mary in #I#, #U#, #II#: -Ursula, #N#: both Catherine and Alice, #AA#. John is found in all but -#N#, where there is a nameless seigneur. - -[59] They are expressly said to go off in a carriage in #I#, #O#, #Q#, -#T#, #BB#, #DD#, #FF#. Still, in #I#, John says, "Let the black horse -have something to carry under us." In #O#, #T#, #FF#, the horses have a -presentiment of evil to their mistress, and refuse to stir. - -[60] One version of 'The Two Sisters,' #Q#, has the same answer: - - 'I did not put you in with the design - Just for to pull you out again.' - - st. 9. - -This might be called a formula in Polish ballads: something of the kind -occurs three times in #X#, four times in #B#, five times in #P#; in -other ballads also. In #Q# 25, Catherine clutches the river bank, and -John pushes away her hands. Compare 'The Two Sisters,' #F# 9, further on -in this volume. - -[61] #L#, #L*#, #M#, #N#, as already said, confuse the two catastrophes. -John says, in #N#, "Do you see that broad river? I will measure its -depth by throwing you in." We may assume that he was as good as his -word. But Ursula made her way home through woods and forests, weeping -her eyes out on the way. Kind souls dug a grave for her. The conclusion -of #M# is absurd, but need not be particularized. #G# has a passage of -the sternest theology. While Catherine is struggling in the water, her -father comes by. She cries to him to save her. He says, "My dear -Catherine, you have loved pleasure too much. Lord Jesus grant you -drown!" Her mother appears, and makes the same reply to her daughter's -appeal. There are stall-copy terminal morals to many of the ballads. - -[62] #N# 1, "A lord came riding from his estate to a neighbor." - -[63] The place is high above the water in #R# 10, 11, as in English #D# -9, 29, #C# 4. - -[64] #BB# 6, "My mother said that I had seen you; she will _watch me -closely_," may be an accidental coincidence with Danish #A# 7-9, #B# -6-8, etc. - -[65] The second, and more valuable, volume of Waldau's B. G. I have -found it impossible to obtain. Reifferscheid cites the ballad at p. 166. - -[66] A few silly verses follow in the original, in which Thomas treats -what he had said as a jest. These are properly rejected by Talvj as a -spurious appendage. - -[67] - - 'De achte de soll Helena sin, - De achte de most he sölwer sin.' - - German #A b# 13. - -[68] Another version of this double ballad, but much corrupted in the -second part, was known to Gérard de Nerval. See Les Filles du Feu, -[OE]uvres complètes, V, 132. - -[69] So far there is agreement in 'La Fille du Prince,' Paymaigre, No -32, p. 106; Poésies pop. de la France, MS., III, fol. 133. - -[70] The Asturian romance communicated in two copies by Amador de los -Rios to Jahrbuch für rom. u. eng. Literatur, III, 285, No 2, and the -Portuguese 'Romance de Romeirinha,' Braga, Romanceiro, No 9, p. 24, 'A -Romeira,' Almeida-Garrett, III, 11, are not parallels, though they have -been cited as such. - -[71] Magyar Népköltési Gyüjtemény. Uj Folyam, szerkesztik és kiadják -Arany László és Gyulai Pál. Collection of Magyar Popular Poetry, New -Series, Pest, 1872, 2 vols. Aigner, has blended Nos 4 and 3 (#C#, #A#) -in 'Martin und Aennchen,' Ungarische Volksdichtungen, p. 170, and has -translated No 1 (#E#), at p. 120, 'Molnár Anna,' in each case obscuring -or omitting one or two traits which are important for a comparative -view. - -[72] Very little remains of the artifice in Polish #A#. The idea seems -to be that the girl pretends to be curious about the sword in order to -get it into her hands. But the whole story is told in ten stanzas. - -[73] I accept and repeat Grundtvig's views as to the relation of the -three forms of the story. And with regard to the history of the ballad -generally, this is but one of many cases in which much or most of the -work had been done to my hand in Danmarks gamle Folkeviser. - -[74] Memering was required by his adversary to swear that he knew not of -the sword Adelring, and took his oath that he knew of nothing but the -hilt being above ground, which was accepted as satisfactory. Presently -he pulls Adelring out of the ground, into which he had thrust the blade, -and, being accused of perjury, triumphantly rejoins that he had sworn -that he knew of nothing but the hilt _being above ground_. Dietrich does -the same in his duel with Sigurd Swain. - -[75] Magyar #A# is entirely peculiar. Apparently the man lays his head -in the woman's lap that he may know, by the falling of her tears, when -she has disobeyed his command not to look into the tree. This is like -'Bluebeard,' and rather subtle for a ballad. - -[76] 'Child Waters,' 'The Fair Flower of Northumberland.' - -[77] The murderer has a horn in Swedish #C#, #D#, as also in the Dutch -Halewyn and the German #A#, #B#, #C#, #E#, and the horn may be of -magical power, but it is not distinctly described as such. - -[78] The scenery of the halting-place in the wood--the bloody streams in -Danish #A#, #B#, #D#, #H#, #L#, #K#, the blood-girt spring in German -#H#, #J#, #K#, #L#, #O#, #P#, #Q#--is also, to say the least, suggestive -of something horribly uncanny. These are undoubtedly ancient features, -though the spring, as the Danish editor observes, has no longer any -significancy in the German ballads, because in all of them the previous -victims are said to have been _hanged_. - -[79] The saga in Björner's Nordiska Kämpadater, c. 5-7. - -[80] Danish #E#, #I#, #L#, and even #A#, make the knight suggest to the -lady that she should get her gold together while he is saddling his -horse; but this is a commonplace found in other cases of elopement, and -_by itself_ warrants no conclusion as to the knight's rapacity. See -'Samson,' Grundtvig, No 6, #C# 5; 'Ribold og Guldborg,' No 82, #C# 13, -#E# 14, etc.; 'Redselille og Medelvold,' No 271, #A# 21, #B# 20; 272, -Bilag 3, st. 8; 270, 18, etc. - -[81] So perhaps a Polish ballad in Wojcicki, I, 38, akin to the other -John and Katie ballads. - -[82] It is well known that in the Middle Ages the blood of children or -of virgins was reputed a specific for leprosy (see, e.g., Cassel in the -Weimar Jahrbücher, I, 408.) Some have thought to find in this fact an -explanation of the murders in these ballads and in the Bluebeard -stories, and, according to Rochholz, this theory has been adopted into -popular tradition in the Aargau. So far as this cycle of ballads is -concerned, there is as much ground for holding that the blood was wanted -to cure leprosy as for believing that the gold was wanted for _aurum -potabile_. - -[83] Det philologisk-historiske Samfunds Mindeskrift i Anledning af dets -femogtyveaarige Virksomhed, 1854-79, Bidrag til den nordiske -Balladedigtnings Historie, p. 75 ff. - -[84] Bugge cites the Old German Judith, Müllenhoff u. Scherer, -Denkmäler, 2d ed., No 37, p. 105, to show how the Bible story became -modified under a popular treatment. - -[85] Holefern might doubtless pass into Halewyn, but there is not the -slightest need of Holefern to _account_ for Halewyn. Halewyn, besides -being a well-known local and family appellation, is found in two other -Dutch ballads, one of which (Lootens and Feys, p. 66, No 38; Hoffmann, -p. 46, No 11) has no kind of connection with the present, and is no more -likely to have derived the name from this than this from that. It shall -not be denied that Adelger, Hilsinger, Rullemann, Reimvord might have -sprung from or have been suggested by Holofern, under the influence of -familiar terminations, but it may be remarked that Hildebrand, -Ravengaard, Valdemar, Rosmer, if they had occurred in any version, would -have occasioned no greater difficulty. - -[86] The Old German poem makes Holofernes kindle with desire for Judith -the moment he sees her, and he bids his men bring her to his tent. They -lift her up and bring her in. - -[87] It should be observed that these words are from the dove's warning. - -[88] Simply because he had no other apartment at his disposition. Shall -we add, the Polish mother putting her daughter into the "new room," in -which she kept her valuables? - -[89] Bugge holds that the ballad was derived by the Scandinavians from -the Germans, more precisely by the Danes from a Low German form. This, -he says, would follow from what he has maintained above, and he finds -support for his view in many particular traits of Norse copies. Thus, -one of the Norwegian names for the murderer is Alemarken. The first -three syllables are very near to the Danish Oldemor; but -ken seems to -be the German diminutive suffix, and can only be explained by the ballad -having come from Germany. - -[90] This toilet derives importance solely from the agreement with -Judith x, 3: for the rest it is entirely in the ballad style. Compare -the toilets in 'Hafsfrun,' Afzelius, No 92, III, 148, Arwidsson, No 150, -II, 320, Wigström, Folkdiktning, No 2, p. 11, Landstad, No 55, p. 494: -'Guldsmedens Datter,' Grundtvig, No. 245, IV, 481 ff, Wigström, ib., No -18, p. 37, Landstad, No 43, p. 437: Torkilds Riim, Lyngbye, Færøiske -Qvæder, 534, 535, Afzelius, III, 202: 'Stolts Karin,' Arwidsson, No 63, -I, 388: 'Liti Kerstis hevn,' Landstad, No 67, p. 559 == 'Lord Thomas and -Fair Annet': in many of which there is a gold crown. There is a man's -toilet in Grundtvig, No 207, IV, 201. - -[91] Bugge would naturally have seen the Assyrian scouts that Judith -falls in with (x, 11) in Roland's father, mother, and brother, all of -whom hail the maid as she is making for Roland's quarters (#C# 30-38); -still more "Holofernes jacebat in lecto" (xiii, 4), in "Roland die op -zijn bedde lag," #C# 39. - -[92] Judith xiv, 1: "Suspendite caput hoc super muros nostros." The -cutting off and bringing home of the head, as need hardly be said, is -not of itself remarkable, being found everywhere from David to Beówulf, -and from Beówulf to 'Sir Andrew Barton.' - -[93] Dutch #B#, which, as before said, has been completely rewritten, -makes the comparison with Holofernes: - - 34 - 'Ik heb van't leven hem beroofd, - in mynen schoot heb ik zyn hoofd, - hy is als Holofernes gelooft.' - - 37 - Zy reed dan voort als Judith wys, - zoo regt nae haer vaders paleis, - daer zy wierd ingehaeld met eer en prys. - - - - -5 - -GIL BRENTON - - #A. a.# 'Gil Brenton,' Jamieson Brown MS., fol. 34. #b.# - 'Chil Brenton,' William Tytler Brown MS., No 3. - - #B.# 'Cospatrick,' Scott's Minstrelsy, II, 117 (1802). - - #C.# 'We were sisters, we were seven,' Cromek's Remains of - Nithsdale and Galloway Song, p. 207. - - #D.# 'Lord Dingwall,' Buchan's Ballads of the North of - Scotland, I, 204. - - #E.# Elizabeth Cochrane's song-book, No 112. - - #F. a.# 'Lord Brangwill,' Motherwell's MSS, p. 219. #b.# - 'Lord Bengwill,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. - xvi. - - #G.# 'Bothwell,' Herd's Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, p. - 244. - - #H.# Kinloch MSS, V, 335. - - -Eight copies of this ballad are extant, four of them hitherto -unpublished. #A a#, No 16 in the Jamieson-Brown MS., is one of twenty -ballads written down from the recitation of Mrs. Brown of Falkland, by -her nephew, Robert Scott, in 1783, or shortly before. From these twenty -thirteen were selected, and, having first been revised by Mrs. Brown, -were sent, with two others, to William Tytler in the year just -mentioned. William Tytler's MS. has disappeared, but a list of the -ballads which it contained, with the first stanza of each, is given by -Dr Anderson, in Nichols's Illustrations of the Literary History of the -Eighteenth Century, VII, 176. #B# is the 'Cospatrick' of the Border -Minstrelsy, described by Scott as taken down from the recitation of a -lady (known to be Miss Christian Rutherford, his mother's sister) "with -some stanzas transferred from Herd's copy, and some readings adopted -from a copy in Mrs Brown's manuscript under the title of Child Brenton," -that is, from #A b#. #C# purports to be one of a considerable number of -pieces, "copied from the recital of a peasant-woman of Galloway, upwards -of ninety years of age." Though overlaid with verses of Cunningham's -making (of which forty or fifty may be excided in one mass) and though -retouched almost everywhere, both the groundwork of the story and some -genuine lines remain unimpaired. The omission of most of the passage -referred to, and the restoration of the stanza form, will give us, -perhaps, a thing of shreds and patches, but still a ballad as near to -genuine as some in Percy's Reliques or even Scott's Minstrelsy. #D# and -#F# are (the former presumably, the second certainly) from recitation of -the first quarter of this century. #E# is one of the few ballads in -Elizabeth Cochrane's song-book, and probably of the first half of the -last century. #G#, the earliest printed form of the ballad, appeared in -Herd's first collection, in the year 1769. #H# was taken down from -recitation by the late Dr Hill Burton in his youth. - -#A#, #B#, and #C# agree in these points: A bride, not being a maid, -looks forward with alarm to her wedding night, and induces her -bower-woman to take her place for the nonce. The imposture is detected -by the bridegroom, through the agency of magical blankets, sheets, and -pillows, #A#; or of blankets, bed, sheet, and sword, #B#; or simply of -the Billie Blin, #C#. (The sword is probably an editorial insertion; and -Jamieson, Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p. 343, doubts, but -without sufficient reason, the Billie Blin.) The bridegroom has recourse -to his mother, who demands an explanation of the bride, and elicits a -confession that she had once upon a time encountered a young man in a -wood, who subjected her to violence. Before they parted, he gave her -certain tokens, which he enjoined her to be very careful of, a lock of -his hair, a string of beads, a gold ring, and a knife. #B# omits the -knife, and #C# the beads. The mother goes back to her son, and asks what -he had done with the tokens she had charged him never to part with. He -owns that he had presented them to a lady, one whom he would now give -all his possessions to have for his wife. The lady of the greenwood is -identified by the tokens. - -#A#, #C#, and #D# make the mother set a golden chair for the bride, in -which none but a maid can sit, #D# [no leal maid will sit till bidden, -#C#]. In #D# the chair is declined; in #C#, taken without bidding; in -#A# the significance of the chair has been lost. #E#, #F#, #G# employ no -kind of test of maidenhood,--the bride frankly avows that she is with -child to another man; and #D#, as well as #E#, #F#, #G#, omits the -substitution of the chambermaid. The tokens in #D# are a chain, a ring, -and three locks of hair; in #E#, gloves and a ring; in #F#, #G#, green -gloves, a ring, and three locks [plaits] of hair. Only the ring remains -in #H#. - -"This ballad," says Motherwell (1827), "is very popular, and is known to -reciters under a variety of names. I have heard it called Lord Bangwell, -Bengwill, Dingwall, Brengwill, etc., and The Seven Sisters, or the -Leaves of Lind." He adds: "There is an unedited ballad in Scotland, -which is a nearer approximation to the Danish song, inasmuch as the -substitution of the maiden sister for the real bride constitutes a -prominent feature of the tale."[94] (Minstrelsy, Introduction, lxix^21 -and xc.) - -Scott remarks that Cospatrick[95] "was the designation of the Earl of -Dunbar, in the days of Wallace and Bruce." Mr Macmath informs me that it -is in use at the present day in the families of the Earl of Home and of -Dunbar of Mochrum, Bart, who, among others, claim descent from the -ancient earls of Dunbar and March. The story of the ballad might, of -course, attach itself to any person prominent in the region where the -ballad was known. - -#Swedish.# Three Swedish versions of this ballad were given by Afzelius: -#A#, 'Riddar Olle' in 50 two-line stanzas, II, 217; #B#, 19 two-line -stanzas, II, 59; #C#, 19 two-line stanzas, II, 56: No 33, I, 175-182 of -Bergström's edition. Besides these, there are two fragments in Cavallius -and Stephens's unprinted collection: #D#, 6 stanzas; #E#, 7 stanzas, the -latter printed in Grundtvig, V, 307.[96] All these were obtained from -recitation in the present century. #A# comes nearest to our #A#, #B#. -Like Scottish #B#, it seems to have been compounded from several copies. -Sir Olof betrothed Ingalilla, and carried her home for the spousal, -wearing a red gold crown and a wan cheek. Ingalilla gave birth to -twin-boys. Olof had a maid who resembled Ingalilla completely, and who, -upon Ingalilla's entreaty, consented to play the part of bride on the -morrow. Dressed in Ingalilla's clothes, blue kirtle, green jacket, etc., -and wearing five gold rings and a gold crown, the maid rode to church, -with Ingalilla at her back, and her beauty was admired by all as she -came and went. But outside of the church were a good many musicians; and -one of these piped out, "God-a-mercy, Ingalilla, no maid art thou!" -Ingalilla threw into the piper's hand something which made him change -his tune. He was an old drunken fellow, and no one need mind what he -sang. After five days of drinking, they took the bride to her chamber, -not without force. Ingalilla bore the light before her, and helped put -her to bed; then lay down herself. Olof had over him a fur rug, which -could talk as well as he, and it called out, - - 'Hear me, Sir Olof, hear what I say; - Thou hast taken a strumpet, and missed a may.' - -And Olof, - - 'Hear, little Inga, sweetheart,' he said; - 'What didst thou get for thy maidenhead?'[97] - -Inga explained. Her father was a strange sort of man, and built her -bower by the sea-strand, where all the king's courtiers took ship. Nine -had broken in, and one had robbed her of her honor. He had given her an -embroidered sark, a blue kirtle, green jacket, black mantle, gloves, -five gold rings, a red gold crown, a golden harp, and a silver-mounted -knife, which she now wishes in the youngster's body. The conclusion is -abruptly told in two stanzas. Olof bids Inga not to talk so, for he is -father of her children. He embraces her and gives her a queen's crown -and name. #B# has the same story, omitting the incident of the musician. -#C# has preserved this circumstance, but has lost both the substitution -of the waiting-woman for the bride and the magical coverlet. #D# has -also lost these important features of the original story; #E# has -retained them. - -#Danish.# 'Brud ikke Mø,' Grundtvig, No 274, V, 304. There are two old -versions (more properly only one, so close is the agreement), and a -third from recent tradition. This last, Grundtvig's #C#, from Jutland, -1856, seems to be of Swedish origin, and, like Swedish #C#, #D#, wants -the talking coverlet, though it has kept the other material feature, -that of the substitution. #A# is found in two manuscripts, one of the -sixteenth and the other of the seventeenth century. #B# is the -well-known 'Ingefred og Gudrune,' or 'Herr Samsings Nattergale,' Syv, -IV, No 62, Danske Viser, No 194, translated in Jamieson's Illustrations, -p. 340, and by Prior, III, 347. A later form of #B#, from recent -recitation, 1868, is given in Kristensen's Jydske Folkeviser, I, No 53. - -The story in #A# runs thus: Sølverlad and Vendelrod [Ingefred and -Gudrune] were sitting together, and Vendelrod wept sorely. Sølverlad -asked her sister the reason, and was told there was cause. Would she be -bride one night? Vendelrod would give her wedding clothes and all her -outfit. But Sølverlad asked for bridegroom too, and Vendelrod would not -give up her bridegroom, happen what might. She went to church and was -married to Samsing. On the way from church they met a spaeman [#B#, -shepherd], who warned Vendelrod that Samsing had some nightingales that -could tell him whether he had married a maid or no. The sisters turned -aside and changed clothes, but could not change cheeks! Sølverlad was -conducted to Samsing's house and placed on the bride bench. An unlucky -jester called out, "Methinks this is not Vendelrod!" but a gold ring -adroitly thrown into his bosom opened his eyes still wider, and made him -pretend he had meant nothing. The supposed bride is put to bed. Samsing -invokes his nightingales: "Have I a maid or no?" They reply, it is a -maid that lies in the bed, but Vendelrod stands on the floor. Samsing -asks Vendelrod why she avoided her bed, and she answers: her father -lived on the strand; her bower was broken into by a large company of -men, and one of them robbed her of her honor. In this case there are no -tokens for evidence. Samsing owns immediately that he and his men had -broken into the bower, and Vendelrod's agony is over. - -Some of the usual tokens, gold harp, sark, shoes, and silver-mounted -knife, are found in the later #C#. Danish #D# is but a single initial -stanza. - -Besides Sølverlad and Vendelrod, there is a considerable number of -Danish ballads characterized by the feature that a bride is not a maid, -and most or all of these have similarities to 'Gil Brenton.' 'Hr. Find -og Vendelrod,' Grundtvig, No 275, has even the talking blanket -(sometimes misunderstood to be a bed-_board_). In this piece there is no -substitution. Vendelrod gives birth to children, and the news makes Find -jump over the table. Still he puts the question mildly, who is the -father, and recognizes that he is the man, upon hearing the story of the -bower on the strand, and seeing half a gold ring which Vendelrod had -received "for her honor." - -In 'Ingelilles Bryllup,' Grundtvig, No 276, Blidelild is induced to take -Ingelild's place by the promise that she shall marry Ingelild's brother. -Hr. Magnus asks her why she is so sad, and says he knows she is not a -maid. Blidelild says, "Since you know so much, I will tell you more," -and relates Ingelild's adventure,--how she had gone out to the river, -and nine knights came riding by, etc. [so #A#; in #B# and #C# we have -the bower on the strand, as before]. Hr. Magnus avows that he was the -ninth, who stayed when eight rode away. Blidelild begs that he will -allow her to go and look for some lost rings, and uses the opportunity -to send back Ingelild in her stead. - -Various other Scandinavian ballads have more or less of the story of -those which have been mentioned. In the Danish 'Brud i Vaande,' -Grundtvig, No 277, a bride is taken with untimely pains while being -"brought home." The question asked in several of the Scottish ballads, -whether the saddle is uncomfortable, occurs in #A#, #B#; the bower that -was forced by eight swains and a knight in #A#, #C#, #D#, #F#; the gifts -in #A#, #B#, #F#; and an express acknowledgment of the act of violence -by the bridegroom in #A#, #B#, #D#. We find all of these traits except -the first in the corresponding Swedish ballad 'Herr Äster och Fröken -Sissa,' Afzelius, No 38, new ed., No 32,^1; the saddle and broken -bower in Swedish #D#, Grundtvig, No 277, Bilag 1; only the saddle in -Swedish #F#, Grundtvig, No. 277, Bilag 3, and #C#, Arwidsson, No 132; -the saddle and gifts in Icelandic #A#, #B#, #C#, #D#, #E#, Grundtvig, No -277, Bilag 5, 6, 7, 8. - -'Peder og Malfred,' Grundtvig, No 278, in four versions, the oldest from -a manuscript of 1630, represents Sir Peter as riding away from home -about a month after his marriage, and meeting a woman who informs him -that there is a birth in his house. He returns, and asks who is the -father. Sir Peter satisfies himself that he is the man by identifying -the gifts, in #A#, #B#, #C#, #D#; and in #A#, #B# we have also the bower -by the strand. - -In 'Oluf og Ellinsborg,' Grundtvig, No 279, #A#, #B#, #C#, one of the -queen's ladies is habitually sad, and is pressed by her lover to account -for this. She endeavors to put him off with fictitious reasons, but -finally nerves herself to tell the truth: she was walking by herself in -her orchard, when five knights came riding by, and one was the cause of -her grief. Oluf owns it was all his doing. A Swedish ballad, remarkably -close to the Danish, from a manuscript of the date 1572 (the oldest -Danish version is also from a manuscript of the 16th century), is -'Riddar Lage och Stolts Elensborg,' Arwidsson, No 56. - -'Iver Hr. Jonsøn,' Grundtvig, No 280, in five versions, the oldest of -the 16th century, exhibits a lady as fearing the arrival of her lover's -ship, and sending her mother to meet him, while she takes to her bed. -Immediately upon her betrothed's entering her chamber, she abruptly -discloses the cause of her trouble. Eight men had broken into her bower -on the strand, and the ninth deprived her of her honor. Iver Hr. Jonsøn, -with as little delay, confesses that he was the culprit, and makes -prompt arrangements for the wedding. - -There is another series of ballads, represented by 'Leesome Brand' in -English, and by 'Redselille og Medelvold' in Danish, which describe a -young woman, who is on the point of becoming a mother, as compelled to -go off on horseback with her lover, and suffering from the ride. We find -the question, whether the saddle is too narrow or the way too long, in -the Danish 'Bolde Hr. Nilaus' Løn,' Grundtvig, 270, 'Redselille og -Medelvold,' Grundtvig, 271 #C#, #D#, #E#, #I#, #K#, #L#, #M#, #P#, #Q#, -#V#, #Y#, and the Norwegian versions, #A#, #D#, #E#, #F#, of 'Sønnens -Sorg,' Grundtvig, 272, Bilag 1, 4, 5, 6.[98] The gifts also occur in -Grundtvig's 271 #A#, #Z#, and Norwegian #D#, Bilag 9. - -Perhaps no set of incidents is repeated so often in northern ballads as -the forcing of the bower on the strand, the giving of keepsakes, the -self-identification of the ravisher through these, and his full and -hearty reparation. All or some of these traits are found in many ballads -besides those belonging to the groups here spoken of: as 'Hildebrand og -Hilde,' #E#, #I#, Grundtvig, No 83, and Norwegian #A#, III, 857; -'Guldsmedens Datter,' Grundtvig, 245, and its Swedish counterpart at p. -481 of the preface to the same, and in Eva Wigström's Folkdiktning, p. -37, No 18; 'Liden Kirstins Dans,' Grundtvig, 263 (translated by Prior, -112), and Norwegian #B#, #C#, Bilag 2, 3; 'Jomfruens Harpeslæt,' -Grundtvig, 265 (translated by Jamieson, 'Illustrations,' p. 382, Prior, -123, Buchanan, p. 6), and Swedish #D#, Bilag 2, Swedish #A#, Afzelius, -81. So Landstad, 42, 45; Arwidsson, 141; Grundtvig, 37 #G#; 38 #A#, #D#; -Kristensen, I, No 95, II, No 28 #A#, #C#. - -A very pretty Norwegian tale has for the talisman a stepping-stone at -the side of the bed: Asbjørnsen og Moe, No 29, 'Vesle Aase Gaasepige,' -Dasent, 2d ed., p. 478. An English prince had pictures taken of all the -handsomest princesses, to pick his bride by. When the chosen one -arrived, Aase the goose-girl informed her that the stone at the bedside -knew everything and told the prince; so if she felt uneasy on any -account, she must not step on it. The princess begged Aase to take her -place till the prince was fast asleep, and then they would change. When -Aase came and put her foot on the stone, the prince asked, "Who is it -that is stepping into my bed?" "A maid clean and pure," answered the -stone. By and by the princess came and took Aase's place. When they were -getting up in the morning, the prince asked again, "Who is it stepping -out of my bed?" "One that has had three children," said the stone. The -prince sent his first choice away, and tried a second. Aase faithfully -warned her, and she had cause for heeding the advice. When Aase stepped -in, the stone said it was a maid clean and pure; when the princess -stepped out, the stone said it was one that had had six children. The -prince was longer in hitting on a third choice. Aase took the bride's -place once more, but this time the prince put a ring on her finger, -which was so tight that she could not get it off, for he saw that all -was not right. In the morning, when he asked, "Who is stepping out of my -bed?" the stone answered, "One that has had nine children." Then the -prince asked the stone to clear up the mystery, and it revealed how the -princesses had put little Aase in their place. The prince went straight -to Aase to see if she had the ring. She had tied a rag over her finger, -pretending she had cut it; but the prince soon had the rag off, -recognized his ring, and Aase got the prince, for the good reason that -so it was to be. - -The artifice of substituting waiting-woman for bride has been thought -to be derived from the romance of Tristan, in which Brangwain [Brengain, -Brangaene] sacrifices herself for Isold: Scott's 'Sir Tristrem,' ii, 54; -Gottfried V. Strassburg, xviii, ed. Bechstein. Grundtvig truly remarks -that a borrowing by the romance from the popular ballad is as probable a -supposition as the converse; and that, even should we grant the name of -the hero of the ballad to be a reminiscence of that of Isold's attendant -(e. g. Brangwill of Brangwain), nothing follows as to the priority of -the romance in respect to this passage. A similar artifice is employed -in the ballad of 'Torkild Trundeson,' Danske Viser, 200 (translated by -Prior, 100); Afzelius, II, 86, from the Danish; Arwidsson, 36. The -resemblance is close to 'Ingelilles Bryllup,' #C#, Grundtvig, 276. See -also, further on, 'The Twa Knights.' - -The Billie Blin presents himself in at least four Scottish ballads: 'Gil -Brenton,' #C#; 'Willie's Lady;' one version of 'Young Beichan;' two of -'The Knight and Shepherd's Daughter;' and also in the English ballad of -'King Arthur and the King of Cornwall,' here under the slightly -disfigured name of Burlow Beanie.[99] In all he is a serviceable -household demon; of a decidedly benignant disposition in the first four, -and, though a loathly fiend with seven heads in the last, very obedient -and useful when once thoroughly subdued. He is clearly of the same -nature as the Dutch _belewitte_ and German _bilwiz_, characterized by -Grimm as a friendly domestic genius, _penas_, _guote holde_; and the -names are actually associated in a passage cited by Grimm from Voet: "De -illis quos nostrates appellant _beeldwit et blinde belien_, a quibus -nocturna visa videri atque ex iis arcana revelari putant."[100] Though -the etymology of these words is not unencumbered with difficulty, _bil_ -seems to point to a just and kindly-tempered being. Bilvís, in the -seventh book of Saxo Grammaticus, is an aged counsellor whose bent is to -make peace, while his brother Bölvís, a blind man, is a strife-breeder -and mischief-maker.[101] The same opposition of Bil and Böl apparently -occurs in the Edda, Grímnismál, 47^4, where Bil-eygr and Böl-eygr -(Bal-eygr) are appellatives of Odin, which may signify mild-eyed and -evil-eyed. Bölvís is found again in the Hrômund's saga, under the -description of 'Blind the Bad,' and 'the Carl Blind whose name was -Bavís.' But much of this saga is taken from the story of Helgi -Hundingslayer; and Blind the Bad in the saga is only Sæmund's Blindr inn -bölvísi,--the blind man whose baleful wit sees through the disguise of -Helgi, and all but betrays the rash hero to his enemies; that is, Odin -in his malicious mood (Bölverkr), who will presently be seen in the -ballad of 'Earl Brand' masking as Old Carl Hood, "aye for ill and never -for good." Originally and properly, perhaps, only the bad member of this -mythical pair is blind; but it would not be at all strange that later -tradition, which confuses and degrades so much in the old mythology, -should transfer blindness to the good-natured one, and give rise to the -anomalous Billie Blind. See Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, 1879, I, 391 ff; -Uhland, Zur Geschichte der Dichtung u. Sage, III, 132 ff, VII, 229; -Schmeller, Bayerisches Wörterbuch, II, 1037 ff, ed. 1877; Van den Bergh, -Woordenboek der nederlandsche Mythologie, 12. - -It has been suggested to me that "the Haleigh throw" in #E# 6 is a -corruption of the High Leith Row, a street in Edinburgh. I have not as -yet been able to obtain information of such a street. - -#D# is translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, No 40, -p. 262. - - -A - - #a.# Jamieson-Brown MS., No 16, fol. 34. #b.# William - Tytler's Brown MS., No 3. From the recitation of Mrs Brown - of Falkland, 1783, Aberdeenshire. - - 1 - Gil Brenton has sent oer the fame, - He's woo'd a wife an brought her hame. - - 2 - Full sevenscore o ships came her wi, - The lady by the greenwood tree. - - 3 - There was twal an twal wi beer an wine, - An twal an twal wi muskadine: - - 4 - An twall an twall wi bouted flowr, - An twall an twall wi paramour: - - 5 - An twall an twall wi baken bread, - An twall an twall wi the goud sae red. - - 6 - Sweet Willy was a widow's son, - An at her stirrup-foot he did run. - - 7 - An she was dressd i the finest pa, - But ay she loot the tears down fa. - - 8 - An she was deckd wi the fairest flowrs, - But ay she loot the tears down pour. - - 9 - 'O is there water i your shee? - Or does the win blaw i your glee? - - 10 - 'Or are you mourning i your meed - That eer you left your mither gueede? - - 11 - 'Or are ye mourning i your tide - That ever ye was Gil Brenton's bride?' - - 12 - 'The[re] is nae water i my shee, - Nor does the win blaw i my glee: - - 13 - 'Nor am I mourning i my tide - That eer I was Gil Brenton's bride: - - 14 - 'But I am mourning i my meed - That ever I left my mither gueede. - - 15 - 'But, bonny boy, tell to me - What is the customs o your country.' - - 16 - 'The customs o't, my dame,' he says, - 'Will ill a gentle lady please. - - 17 - 'Seven king's daughters has our king wedded, - An seven king's daughters has our king bedded. - - 18 - 'But he's cutted the paps frae their breast-bane, - An sent them mourning hame again. - - 19 - 'But whan you come to the palace yate, - His mither a golden chair will set. - - 20 - 'An be you maid or be you nane, - O sit you there till the day be dane. - - 21 - 'An gin you're sure that you are a maid, - Ye may gang safely to his bed. - - 22 - 'But gin o that you be na sure, - Then hire some woman o youre bowr.' - - 23 - O whan she came to the palace yate, - His mither a golden chair did set. - - 24 - An was she maid or was she nane, - She sat in it till the day was dane. - - 25 - An she's calld on her bowr woman, - That waiting was her bowr within. - - 26 - 'Five hundred pound, maid, I'll gi to the, - An sleep this night wi the king for me.' - - 27 - Whan bells was rung, an mass was sung, - An a' man unto bed was gone, - - 28 - Gil Brenton an the bonny maid - Intill ae chamber they were laid. - - 29 - 'O speak to me, blankets, an speak to me, sheets, - An speak to me, cods, that under me sleeps; - - 30 - 'Is this a maid that I ha wedded? - Is this a maid that I ha bedded?' - - 31 - 'It's nae a maid that you ha wedded, - But it's a maid that you ha bedded. - - 32 - 'Your lady's in her bigly bowr, - An for you she drees mony sharp showr.' - - 33 - O he has taen him thro the ha, - And on his mither he did ca. - - 34 - 'I am the most unhappy man - That ever was in christend lan. - - 35 - 'I woo'd a maiden meek an mild, - An I've marryed a woman great wi child.' - - 36 - 'O stay, my son, intill this ha, - An sport you wi your merry men a'. - - 37 - 'An I'll gang to yon painted bowr, - An see how't fares wi yon base whore.' - - 38 - The auld queen she was stark an strang; - She gard the door flee aff the ban. - - 39 - The auld queen she was stark an steer; - She gard the door lye i the fleer. - - 40 - 'O is your bairn to laird or loon? - Or is it to your father's groom?' - - 41 - 'My bairn's na to laird or loon, - Nor is it to my father's groom. - - 42 - 'But hear me, mither, on my knee, - An my hard wierd I'll tell to thee. - - 43 - 'O we were sisters, sisters seven, - We was the fairest under heaven. - - 44 - 'We had nae mair for our seven years wark - But to shape an suc the king's son a sark. - - 45 - 'O it fell on a Saturday's afternoon, - Whan a' our langsome wark was dane, - - 46 - 'We keist the cavils us amang, - To see which shoud to the greenwood gang. - - 47 - 'Ohone, alas! for I was youngest, - An ay my wierd it was the hardest. - - 48 - 'The cavil it did on me fa, - Which was the cause of a' my wae. - - 49 - 'For to the greenwood I must gae, - To pu the nut but an the slae; - - 50 - 'To pu the red rose an the thyme, - To strew my mother's bowr and mine. - - 51 - 'I had na pu'd a flowr but ane, - Till by there came a jelly hind greeme, - - 52 - 'Wi high-colld hose an laigh-colld shoone, - An he 'peard to be some kingis son. - - 53 - 'An be I maid or be I nane, - He kept me there till the day was dane. - - 54 - 'An be I maid or be I nae, - He kept me there till the close of day. - - 55 - 'He gae me a lock of yallow hair, - An bade me keep it for ever mair. - - 56 - 'He gae me a carket o gude black beads, - An bade me keep them against my needs. - - 57 - 'He gae to me a gay gold ring, - An bade me ke[e]p it aboon a' thing. - - 58 - 'He gae to me a little pen-kniffe, - An bade me keep it as my life.' - - 59 - 'What did you wi these tokens rare - That ye got frae that young man there?' - - 60 - 'O bring that coffer hear to me, - And a' the tokens ye sal see.' - - 61 - An ay she ranked, an ay she flang, - Till a' the tokens came till her han. - - 62 - 'O stay here, daughter, your bowr within, - Till I gae parley wi my son.' - - 63 - O she has taen her thro the ha, - An on her son began to ca. - - 64 - 'What did you wi that gay gold ring - I bade you keep aboon a' thing? - - 65 - 'What did you wi that little pen-kniffe - I bade you keep while you had life? - - 66 - 'What did you wi that yallow hair - I bade you keep for ever mair? - - 67 - 'What did you wi that good black beeds - I bade you keep against your needs?' - - 68 - 'I gae them to a lady gay - I met i the greenwood on a day. - - 69 - 'An I would gi a' my father's lan, - I had that lady my yates within. - - 70 - 'I would gi a' my ha's an towrs, - I had that bright burd i my bowrs.' - - 71 - 'O son, keep still your father's lan; - You hae that lady your yates within. - - 72 - 'An keep you still your ha's an towrs; - You hae that bright burd i your bowrs.' - - 73 - Now or a month was come an gone, - This lady bare a bonny young son. - - 74 - An it was well written on his breast-bane - 'Gil Brenton is my father's name.' - - -B - - Scott's Minstrelsy, II, 117, ed. 1802. Ed. 1830, III, 263. - Partly from the recitation of Miss Christian Rutherford. - - 1 - Cospatrick has sent oer the faem, - Cospatrick brought his ladye hame. - - 2 - And fourscore ships have come her wi, - The ladye by the grenewood tree. - - 3 - There were twal and twal wi baken bread, - And twal and twal wi gowd sae reid: - - 4 - And twal and twal wi bouted flour, - And twal and twal wi the paramour. - - 5 - Sweet Willy was a widow's son, - And at her stirrup he did run. - - 6 - And she was clad in the finest pall, - But aye she let the tears down fall. - - 7 - 'O is your saddle set awrye? - Or rides your steed for you owre high? - - 8 - 'Or are you mourning in your tide - That you suld be Cospatrick's bride?' - - 9 - 'I am not mourning at this tide - That I suld be Cospatrick's bride; - - 10 - 'But I am sorrowing in my mood - That I suld leave my mother good. - - 11 - 'But, gentle boy, come tell to me, - What is the custom of thy countrye?' - - 12 - 'The custom thereof, my dame,' he says, - 'Will ill a gentle laydye please. - - 13 - 'Seven king's daughters has our lord wedded, - And seven king's daughters has our lord bedded; - - 14 - 'But he's cutted their breasts frae their breast bane, - And sent them mourning hame again. - - 15 - 'Yet, gin you're sure that you're a maid, - Ye may gae safely to his bed; - - 16 - 'But gif o that ye be na sure, - Then hire some damsell o your bour.' - - 17 - The ladye's calld her bour-maiden, - That waiting was into her train; - - 18 - 'Five thousand merks I will gie thee, - To sleep this night with my lord for me.' - - 19 - When bells were rung, and mass was sayne, - And a' men unto bed were gane, - - 20 - Cospatrick and the bonny maid, - Into ae chamber they were laid. - - 21 - 'Now, speak to me, blankets, and speak to me, bed, - And speak, thou sheet, inchanted web; - - 22 - 'And speak up, my bonny brown sword, that winna lie, - Is this a true maiden that lies by me?' - - 23 - 'It is not a maid that you hae wedded, - But it is a maid that you hae bedded. - - 24 - 'It is a liel maiden that lies by thee, - But not the maiden that it should be.' - - 25 - O wrathfully he left the bed, - And wrathfully his claiths on did. - - 26 - And he has taen him thro the ha, - And on his mother he did ca. - - 27 - 'I am the most unhappy man - That ever was in christen land! - - 28 - 'I courted a maiden meik and mild, - And I hae gotten naething but a woman wi child.' - - 29 - 'O stay, my son, into this ha, - And sport ye wi your merrymen a'; - - 30 - 'And I will to the secret bour, - To see how it fares wi your paramour.' - - 31 - The carline she was stark and sture; - She aff the hinges dang the dure. - - 32 - 'O is your bairn to laird or loun? - Or is it to your father's groom?' - - 33 - 'O hear me, mother, on my knee, - Till my sad story I tell to thee. - - 34 - 'O we were sisters, sisters seven, - We were the fairest under heaven. - - 35 - 'It fell on a summer's afternoon, - When a' our toilsome task was done, - - 36 - 'We cast the kavils us amang, - To see which suld to the grene-wood gang. - - 37 - 'O hon, alas! for I was youngest, - And aye my wierd it was the hardest. - - 38 - 'The kavil it on me did fa, - Whilk was the cause of a' my woe. - - 39 - 'For to the grene-wood I maun gae, - To pu the red rose and the slae; - - 40 - 'To pu the red rose and the thyme, - To deck my mother's bour and mine. - - 41 - 'I hadna pu'd a flower but ane, - When by there came a gallant hende, - - 42 - 'Wi high-colld hose and laigh-colld shoon, - And he seemd to be sum king's son. - - 43 - 'And be I maid or be I nae, - He kept me there till the close o day. - - 44 - 'And be I maid or be I nane, - He kept me there till the day was done. - - 45 - 'He gae me a lock o his yellow hair, - And bade me keep it ever mair. - - 46 - 'He gae me a carknet o bonny beads, - And bade me keep it against my needs. - - 47 - 'He gae to me a gay gold ring, - And bade me keep it abune a' thing.' - - 48 - 'What did ye wi the tokens rare - That ye gat frae that gallant there?' - - 49 - 'O bring that coffer unto me, - And a' the tokens ye sall see.' - - 50 - 'Now stay, daughter, your bour within, - While I gae parley wi my son.' - - 51 - O she has taen her thro the ha, - And on her son began to ca. - - 52 - 'What did you wi the bonny beads - I bade ye keep against your needs? - - 53 - 'What did you wi the gay gowd ring - I bade ye keep abune a' thing?' - - 54 - 'I gae them a' to a ladye gay - I met in grene-wood on a day. - - 55 - 'But I wad gie a' my halls and tours, - I had that ladye within my bours. - - 56 - 'But I wad gie my very life, - I had that ladye to my wife.' - - 57 - 'Now keep, my son, your ha's and tours; - Ye have that bright burd in your bours. - - 58 - 'And keep, my son, your very life; - Ye have that ladye to your wife.' - - 59 - Now or a month was cum and gane, - The ladye bore a bonny son. - - 60 - And 't was weel written on his breast-bane, - 'Cospatrick is my father's name.' - - 61 - 'O rowe my ladye in satin and silk, - And wash my son in the morning milk.' - - -C - - Cromek's Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, p. 207. - "From the recital of a peasant-woman of Galloway, upwards - of ninety years of age." - - 1 - We were sisters, we were seven, - We were the fairest under heaven. - - 2 - And it was a' our seven years wark - To sew our father's seven sarks. - - 3 - And whan our seven years wark was done, - We laid it out upo the green. - - 4 - We coost the lotties us amang, - Wha wad to the greenwood gang, - - 5 - To pu the lily but and the rose, - To strew witha' our sisters' bowers. - - 6 - ... I was youngest, - ... my weer was hardest. - - 7 - And to the greenwood I bud gae, - . . . . . . . - - 8 - There I met a handsome childe, - . . . . . . . - - 9 - High-coled stockings and laigh-coled shoon, - He bore him like a king's son. - - 10 - An was I weel, or was I wae, - He keepit me a' the simmer day. - - 11 - An though I for my hame-gaun sich[t], - He keepit me a' the simmer night. - - 12 - He gae to me a gay gold ring, - And bade me keep it aboon a' thing. - - 13 - He gae to me a cuttie knife, - And bade me keep it as my life: - - 14 - Three lauchters o his yellow hair, - For fear we wad neer meet mair. - - * * * * * * * - - 15 - Next there came shippes three, - To carry a' my bridal fee. - - 16 - Gowd were the beaks, the sails were silk, - Wrought wi maids' hands like milk. - - 17 - They came toom and light to me, - But heavie went they waie frae me. - - 18 - They were fu o baken bread, - They were fu of wine sae red. - - 19 - My dowry went a' by the sea, - But I gaed by the grenewode tree. - - 20 - An I sighed and made great mane, - As thro the grenewode we rade our lane. - - 21 - An I ay siched an wiped my ee, - That eer the grenewode I did see. - - 22 - 'Is there water in your glove, - Or win into your shoe? - O[r] am I oer low a foot-page - To rin by you, ladie?' - - 23 - 'O there's nae water in my glove, - Nor win into my shoe; - But I am maning for my mither - Wha's far awa frae me.' - - * * * * * * * - - 24 - 'Gin ye be a maiden fair, - Meikle gude ye will get there. - - 25 - 'If ye be a maiden but, - Meikle sorrow will ye get. - - 26 - 'For seven king's daughters he hath wedded, - But never wi ane o them has bedded. - - 27 - 'He cuts the breasts frae their breast-bane, - An sends them back unto their dame. - - 28 - 'He sets their backs unto the saddle, - An sends them back unto their father. - - 29 - 'But be ye maiden or be ye nane, - To the gowden chair ye draw right soon. - - 30 - 'But be ye leman or be ye maiden, - Sit nae down till ye be bidden.' - - 31 - Was she maiden or was she nane, - To the gowden chair she drew right soon. - - 32 - Was she leman or was she maiden, - She sat down ere she was bidden. - - 33 - Out then spake the lord's mother; - Says, 'This is not a maiden fair. - - 34 - 'In that chair nae leal maiden - Eer sits down till they be bidden.' - - 35 - The Billie Blin then outspake he, - As he stood by the fair ladie. - - 36 - 'The bonnie may is tired wi riding, - Gaurd her sit down ere she was bidden.' - - * * * * * * * - - 37 - But on her waiting-maid she ca'd: - 'Fair ladie, what 's your will wi me?' - 'O ye maun gie yere maidenheid - This night to an unco lord for me.' - - 38 - 'I hae been east, I hae been west, - I hae been far beyond the sea, - But ay, by grenewode or by bower, - I hae keepit my virginitie. - - 39 - 'But will it for my ladie plead, - I'll gie 't this night to an unco lord.' - - * * * * * * * - - 40 - When bells were rung an vespers sung, - An men in sleep were locked soun, - - 41 - Childe Branton and the waiting-maid - Into the bridal bed were laid. - - 42 - 'O lie thee down, my fair ladie, - Here are a' things meet for thee; - - 43 - 'Here's a bolster for yere head, - Here is sheets an comelie weids.' - - * * * * * * * - - 44 - 'Now tell to me, ye Billie Blin, - If this fair dame be a leal maiden.' - - 45 - 'I wat she is as leal a wight - As the moon shines on in a simmer night. - - 46 - 'I wat she is as leal a may - As the sun shines on in a simmer day. - - 47 - 'But your bonnie bride's in her bower, - Dreeing the mither's trying hour.' - - 48 - Then out o his bridal bed he sprang, - An into his mither's bower he ran. - - 49 - 'O mither kind, O mither dear, - This is nae a maiden fair. - - 50 - 'The maiden I took to my bride - Has a bairn atween her sides. - - 51 - 'The maiden I took to my bower - Is dreeing the mither's trying hour.' - - 52 - Then to the chamber his mother flew, - And to the wa the door she threw. - - 53 - She stapt at neither bolt nor ban, - Till to that ladie's bed she wan. - - 54 - Says, 'Ladie fair, sae meek an mild, - Wha is the father o yere child?' - - 55 - 'O mither dear,' said that ladie, - 'I canna tell gif I sud die. - - 56 - 'We were sisters, we were seven, - We were the fairest under heaven. - - 57 - 'And it was a' our seven years wark - To sew our father's seven sarks. - - 58 - 'And whan our seven years wark was done, - We laid it out upon the green. - - 59 - 'We coost the lotties us amang, - Wha wad to the greenwode gang; - - 60 - 'To pu the lily but an the rose, - To strew witha' our sisters' bowers. - - 61 - ..... 'I was youngest, - ..... my weer was hardest. - - 62 - 'And to the greenwode I bu[d] gae. - . . . . . . . - - 63 - 'There I met a handsome childe, - . . . . . . . - - 64 - 'Wi laigh-coled stockings and high-coled shoon, - He seemed to be some king's son. - - 65 - 'And was I weel or was I wae, - He keepit me a' the simmer day. - - 66 - 'Though for my hame-gaun I oft sicht, - He keepit me a' the simmer night. - - 67 - 'He gae to me a gay gold ring, - An bade me keep it aboon a' thing; - - 68 - 'Three lauchters o his yellow hair, - For fear that we suld neer meet mair. - - 69 - 'O mither, if ye'll believe nae me, - Break up the coffer, an there ye'll see.' - - 70 - An ay she coost, an ay she flang, - Till her ain gowd ring came in her hand. - - 71 - And scarce aught i the coffer she left, - Till she gat the knife wi the siller heft, - - 72 - Three lauchters o his yellow hair, - Knotted wi ribbons dink and rare. - - 73 - She cried to her son, 'Where is the ring - Your father gave me at our wooing, - An I gae you at your hunting? - - 74 - 'What did ye wi the cuttie knife, - I bade ye keep it as yere life?' - - 75 - 'O haud yere tongue, my mither dear; - I gae them to a lady fair. - - 76 - 'I wad gie a' my lands and rents, - I had that ladie within my brents. - - 77 - 'I wad gie a' my lands an towers, - I had that ladie within my bowers.' - - 78 - 'Keep still yere lands, keep still yere rents; - Ye hae that ladie within yere brents. - - 79 - 'Keep still yere lands, keep still yere towers; - Ye hae that lady within your bowers.' - - 80 - Then to his ladie fast ran he, - An low he kneeled on his knee. - - 81 - 'O tauk ye up my son,' said he, - 'An, mither, tent my fair ladie. - - 82 - 'O wash him purely i the milk, - And lay him saftly in the silk. - - 83 - 'An ye maun bed her very soft, - For I maun kiss her wondrous oft.' - - 84 - It was weel written on his breast-bane - Childe Branton was the father's name. - - 85 - It was weel written on his right hand - He was the heir o his daddie's land. - - -D - - Buchan's Ancient Ballads and Songs of the North of - Scotland, I, 204. - - 1 - We were sisters, sisters seven, - Bowing down, bowing down - The fairest women under heaven. - And aye the birks a-bowing - - 2 - They kiest kevels them amang, - Wha woud to the grenewood gang. - - 3 - The kevels they gied thro the ha, - And on the youngest it did fa. - - 4 - Now she must to the grenewood gang, - To pu the nuts in grenewood hang. - - 5 - She hadna tarried an hour but ane - Till she met wi a highlan groom. - - 6 - He keeped her sae late and lang - Till the evening set and birds they sang. - - 7 - He gae to her at their parting - A chain o gold and gay gold ring; - - 8 - And three locks o his yellow hair; - Bade her keep them for evermair. - - 9 - When six lang months were come and gane, - A courtier to this lady came. - - 10 - Lord Dingwall courted this lady gay, - And so he set their wedding-day. - - 11 - A little boy to the ha was sent, - To bring her horse was his intent. - - 12 - As she was riding the way along, - She began to make a heavy moan. - - 13 - 'What ails you, lady,' the boy said, - 'That ye seem sae dissatisfied? - - 14 - 'Are the bridle reins for you too strong? - Or the stirrups for you too long?' - - 15 - 'But, little boy, will ye tell me - The fashions that are in your countrie?' - - 16 - 'The fashions in our ha I'll tell, - And o them a' I'll warn you well. - - 17 - 'When ye come in upon the floor, - His mither will meet you wi a golden chair. - - 18 - 'But be ye maid or be ye nane, - Unto the high seat make ye boun. - - 19 - 'Lord Dingwall aft has been beguild - By girls whom young men hae defiled. - - 20 - 'He's cutted the paps frae their breast-bane, - And sent them back to their ain hame.' - - 21 - When she came in upon the floor, - His mother met her wi a golden chair. - - 22 - But to the high seat she made her boun: - She knew that maiden she was nane. - - 23 - When night was come, they went to bed, - And ower her breast his arm he laid. - - 24 - He quickly jumped upon the floor, - And said, 'I've got a vile rank whore.' - - 25 - Unto his mother he made his moan, - Says, 'Mother dear, I am undone. - - 26 - 'Ye've aft tald, when I brought them hame, - Whether they were maid or nane. - - 27 - 'I thought I'd gotten a maiden bright; - I've gotten but a waefu wight. - - 28 - 'I thought I'd gotten a maiden clear, - But gotten but a vile rank whore.' - - 29 - 'When she came in upon the floor, - I met her wi a golden chair. - - 30 - 'But to the high seat she made her boun, - Because a maiden she was nane.' - - 31 - 'I wonder wha 's tauld that gay ladie - The fashion into our countrie.' - - 32 - 'It is your little boy I blame, - Whom ye did send to bring her hame.' - - 33 - Then to the lady she did go, - And said, 'O Lady, let me know - - 34 - 'Who has defiled your fair bodie: - Ye're the first that has beguiled me.' - - 35 - 'O we were sisters, sisters seven, - The fairest women under heaven. - - 36 - 'And we kiest kevels us amang, - Wha woud to the grenewood gang; - - 37 - 'For to pu the finest flowers, - To put around our summer bowers. - - 38 - 'I was the youngest o them a'; - The hardest fortune did me befa. - - 39 - 'Unto the grenewood I did gang, - And pu'd the nuts as they down hang. - - 40 - 'I hadna stayd an hour but ane - Till I met wi a highlan groom. - - 41 - 'He keeped me sae late and lang - Till the evening set and birds they sang. - - 42 - 'He gae to me at our parting - A chain of gold and gay gold ring; - - 43 - 'And three locks o his yellow hair; - Bade me keep them for evermair. - - 44 - 'Then for to show I make nae lie, - Look ye my trunk, and ye will see.' - - 45 - Unto the trunk then she did go, - To see if that were true or no. - - 46 - And aye she sought, and aye she flang, - Till these four things came to her hand. - - 47 - Then she did to her ain son go, - And said, 'My son, ye'll let me know, - - 48 - 'Ye will tell to me this thing: - What did you wi my wedding-ring?' - - 49 - 'Mother dear, I'll tell nae lie: - I gave it to a gay ladie. - - 50 - 'I would gie a' my ha's and towers, - I had this bird within my bowers.' - - 51 - 'Keep well, keep well your lands and strands; - Ye hae that bird within your hands. - - 52 - 'Now, my son, to your bower ye'll go: - Comfort your ladie, she's full o woe.' - - 53 - Now when nine months were come and gane, - The lady she brought hame a son. - - 54 - It was written on his breast-bane - Lord Dingwall was his father's name. - - 55 - He's taen his young son in his arms, - And aye he praisd his lovely charms. - - 56 - And he has gien him kisses three, - And doubled them ower to his ladie. - - -E - - Elizabeth Cochrane's Song-Book, p. 146, No 112. - - 1 - Lord Benwall he's a hunting gone; - Hey down, etc. - He's taken with him all his merry men. - Hey, etc. - - 2 - As he was walking late alone, - He spyed a lady both brisk and young. - - 3 - He keeped her so long and long, - From the evening late till the morning came. - - 4 - All that he gave her at their parting - Was a pair of gloves and a gay gold ring. - - 5 - Lord Benwall he's a wooing gone, - And he's taken with him all his merry men. - - 6 - As he was walking the Haleigh throw, - He spy'd seven ladyes all in a row. - - 7 - He cast a lot among them all; - Upon the youngest the lot did fall. - - 8 - He wedded her and brought her home, - And by the way she made great moan. - - 9 - 'What aileth my dearest and dayly flower? - What ails my dear, to make such moan? - - 10 - 'Does the steed carry you too high? - Or does thy pillow sit awry? - - 11 - 'Or does the wind blow in thy glove? - Or is thy heart after another love?' - - 12 - 'The steed does not carry me too high, - Nor does my pillow sit awry. - - 13 - 'Nor does the wind blow in my glove, - Nor is my heart after another love.' - - 14 - When they were doun to supper set, - The weary pain took her by the back. - - 15 - 'What ails my dearest and dayly flower? - What ails my dearest, to make such moan?' - - 16 - 'I am with child, and it's not to thee, - And oh and alas, what shall I doe!' - - 17 - 'I thought I had got a maid so mild; - But I have got a woman big with child. - - 18 - 'I thought I had got a dayly flower; - I have gotten but a common whore.' - - * * * * * * * - - 19 - 'Rise up, Lord Benwall, go to your hall, - And cherrish up your merry men all.' - - * * * * * * * - - 20 - 'As I was walking once late alone, - I spy'd a lord, both brisk and young. - - 21 - 'He keeped me so long and long, - From the evening late till the morning came. - - 22 - 'All that he gave me at our parting - Was a pair of gloves and a gay gold ring. - - 23 - 'If you will not believe what I tell to thee, - There's the key of my coffer, you may go and see.' - - 24 - His mother went, and threw and flang, - Till to her hand the ring it came. - - 25 - 'Lord Benwall, wilt thou tell to me - Where is the ring I gave to thee?' - - 26 - 'Now I would give all my lands and tower, - To have that lady in my bower. - - 27 - 'I would give all my lands and rents, - To have that lady in my tents.' - - 28 - 'You need not give all your lands and tower, - For you have that lady in your power. - - 29 - 'You need not give all your lands and rents, - For you have that lady in your tents.' - - 30 - Now it was written on the child's breast-bone - Lord Benwall's sirname and his name. - - 31 - It was written on the child's right hand - That he should be heir of Lord Benwall's land. - - 32 - 'Canst cloath my lady in the silk, - And feed my young son with the milk.' - - -F - - #a.# Motherwell's MS., p 219. From the recitation of Mrs - Thomson, February, 1825. #b.# Motherwell's Minstrelsy, - Appendix, p. xvi, the first stanza only. - - 1 - There were three sisters in a bouir, - Eh down and Oh down - And the youngest o them was the fairest flour. - Eh down and O down - - 2 - And we began our seven years wark, - To sew our brither John a sark. - - 3 - When seven years was come and gane, - There was nae a sleeve in it but ane. - - 4 - But we coost kevils us amang - Wha wud to the green-wood gang. - - 5 - But tho we had coosten neer sae lang, - The lot it fell on me aye to gang. - - 6 - I was the youngest, and I was the fairest, - And alace! my wierd it was aye the sairest. - - 7 - . . . . . . . - Till I had to the woods to gae. - - 8 - To pull the cherrie and the slae, - And to seek our ae brither, we had nae mae. - - 9 - But as I was walking the leas o Lyne, - I met a youth gallant and fine; - - 10 - Wi milk white stockings and coal black shoon; - He seemed to be some gay lord's son. - - 11 - But he keepit me there sae lang, sae lang, - Till the maids in the morning were singing their sang. - - 12 - Would I wee or would I way, - He keepit me the lang simmer day. - - 13 - Would I way or would I wight, - He keepit me the simmer night. - - 14 - But guess what was at our parting? - A pair o grass green gloves and a gay gold ring. - - 15 - He gave me three plaits o his yellow hair, - In token that we might meet mair. - - 16 - But when nine months were come and gane, - This gallant lord cam back again. - - 17 - He's wed this lady, and taen her wi him; - But as they were riding the leas o Lyne, - - 18 - This lady was not able to ride, - . . . . . . . - - 19 - 'O does thy saddle set thee aside? - Or does thy steed ony wrang way ride? - - 20 - 'Or thinkst thou me too low a groom? - . . . . . . . - - 21 - 'Or hast thou musing in thy mind - For the leaving of thy mother kind?' - - 22 - 'My saddle it sets not me aside, - Nor does my steed ony wrang way ride. - - 23 - 'Nor think I thee too low a groom - . . . . . . . - - 24 - 'But I hae musing in my mind - For the leaving of my mother kind.' - - 25 - 'I'll bring thee to a mother of mine, - As good a mother as eer was thine.' - - 26 - 'A better mother she may be, - But an unco woman she'll prove to me.' - - 27 - But when lords and ladies at supper sat, - Her pains they struck her in the back. - - 28 - When lords and ladies were laid in bed, - Her pains they struck her in the side. - - 29 - 'Rise up, rise up, now, Lord Brangwill, - For I'm wi child and you do not know't.' - - 30 - He took up his foot and gave her sic a bang - Till owre the bed the red blood sprang. - - 31 - He is up to his mother's ha, - Calling her as hard as he could ca. - - 32 - 'I went through moss and I went through mure, - Thinking to get some lily flouir. - - 33 - . . . . . . . - 'But to my house I have brocht a hure. - - 34 - 'I thocht to have got a lady baith meek and mild, - But I've got a woman that's big wi child.' - - 35 - 'O rest you here, Lord Brangwill,' she said, - 'Till I relieve your lady that lyes so low.' - - 36 - 'O daughter dear, will you tell to me - Who is the father of your babie?' - - 37 - 'Yes, mother dear, I will tell thee - Who is the father of my babie. - - 38 - 'As I was walking the leas o Lyne, - I met a youth gallant and fine; - - 39 - 'With milk-white stockings and coal-black shoon; - He seemd to be sum gay lord's son. - - 40 - 'He keepit me sae lang, sae lang, - Till the maids in the morning were singing their sang. - - 41 - 'Would I wee or would I way, - He keepit me the lang simmer day. - - 42 - 'Would I way or would I wight, - He keepit me the simmer night. - - 43 - 'But guess ye what was at our parting? - A pair of grass green gloves and a gay gold ring. - - 44 - 'He gave me three plaits o his yellow hair, - In token that we might meet mair.' - - 45 - 'O dochter dear, will ye show me - These tokens that he gave to thee?' - - 46 - 'Altho my back should break in three, - Unto my coffer I must be.' - - 47 - 'Thy back it shall not break in three, - For I'll bring thy coffer to thy knee.' - - 48 - Aye she coost, and aye she flang, - Till these three tokens came to her hand. - - 49 - Then she is up to her son's ha, - Calling him hard as she could ca. - - 50 - 'O son, O son, will you tell me - . . . . . . . - - 51 - 'What ye did wi the grass green gloves and gay gold ring - That ye gat at your own birth-een?' - - 52 - 'I gave them to as pretty a may - As ever I saw in a simmer day. - - 53 - 'I wud rather than a' my lands sae broad - That I had her as sure as eer I had. - - 54 - 'I would rather than a' my lands sae free - I had her here this night wi me.' - - 55 - 'I wish you good o your lands sae broad, - For ye have her as sure as eer ye had. - - 56 - 'I wish ye good o your lands sae free, - For ye have her here this night wi thee.' - - 57 - 'Gar wash my auld son in the milk, - Gar deck my lady's bed wi silk.' - - 58 - He gave his auld son kisses three, - But he doubled them a' to his gay ladye. - - -G - - Herd's Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, 1769, p. 244; ed. - 1776, I, 83. - - 1 - As Bothwell was walking in the lowlands alane, - Hey down and a down - He met six ladies sae gallant and fine. - Hey down and a down - - 2 - He cast his lot amang them a', - And on the youngest his lot did fa. - - 3 - He's brought her frae her mother's bower, - Unto his strongest castle and tower. - - 4 - But ay she cried and made great moan, - And ay the tear came trickling down. - - 5 - 'Come up, come up,' said the foremost man, - 'I think our bride comes slowly on.' - - 6 - 'O lady, sits your saddle awry, - Or is your steed for you owre high?' - - 7 - 'My saddle is not set awry, - Nor carries me my steed owre high; - - 8 - 'But I am weary of my life, - Since I maun be Lord Bothwell's wife.' - - 9 - He's blawn his horn sae sharp and shrill, - Up start the deer on evry hill. - - 10 - He's blawn his horn sae lang and loud, - Up start the deer in gude green-wood. - - 11 - His lady mother lookit owre the castle wa, - And she saw them riding ane and a'. - - 12 - She's calld upon her maids by seven, - To mak his bed baith saft and even. - - 13 - She's calld upon her cooks by nine, - To make their dinner fair and fine. - - 14 - When day was gane, and night was come, - 'What ails my love on me to frown? - - 15 - 'Or does the wind blow in your glove? - Or runs your mind on another love?' - - 16 - 'Nor blows the wind within my glove, - Nor runs my mind on another love; - - 17 - 'But I nor maid nor maiden am, - For I'm wi bairn to another man.' - - 18 - 'I thought I'd a maiden sae meek and sae mild, - But I've nought but a woman wi child.' - - 19 - His mother's taen her up to a tower, - And lockit her in her secret bower. - - 20 - 'Now, doughter mine, come tell to me, - Wha's bairn this is that you are wi.' - - 21 - 'O mother dear, I canna learn - Wha is the faither of my bairn. - - 22 - 'But as I walkd in the lowlands my lane, - I met a gentleman gallant and fine. - - 23 - 'He keepit me there sae late and sae lang, - Frae the evning late till the morning dawn. - - 24 - 'And a' that he gied me to my propine - Was a pair of green gloves and a gay gold ring; - - 25 - 'Three lauchters of his yellow hair, - In case that we shoud meet nae mair.' - - 26 - His lady mother went down the stair: - . . . . . . . - - 27 - 'Now son, now son, come tell to me, - Where's the green gloves I gave to thee?' - - 28 - 'I gied to a lady sae fair and so fine - The green gloves and a gay gold ring. - - 29 - 'But I wad gie my castles and towers, - I had that lady within my bowers. - - 30 - 'But I wad gie my very life, - I had that lady to be my wife.' - - 31 - 'Now keep, now keep your castles and towers, - You have that lady within your bowers. - - 32 - 'Now keep, now keep your very life, - You have that lady to be your wife.' - - 33 - 'O row my lady in sattin and silk, - And wash my son in the morning milk.' - - -H - - Kinloch MSS, V, 335, in the handwriting of Dr John Hill - Burton. - - 1 - We were seven sisters in a bower, - Adown adown, and adown and adown - The flower of a' fair Scotland ower. - Adown adown, and adown and adown - - 2 - We were sisters, sisters seven, - The fairest women under heaven. - - 3 - There fell a dispute us amang, - Wha would to the greenwood gang. - - 4 - They kiest the kevels them amang, - O wha would to the greenwood gang. - - 5 - The kevels they gied thro the ha, - And on the youngest it did fa. - - 6 - The kevel fell into her hand, - To greenwood she was forced to gang. - - 7 - She hedna pued a flower but ane, - When by there came an earl's son. - - 8 - 'And was he well or was he wae, - He keepet me that summer's day.' - - 9 - And was he weel or was he weight, - He keepet her that summer's night. - - 10 - And he gave her a gay goud ring - His mother got at her wedding. - - * * * * * * * - - 11 - 'Oh is yer stirrup set too high? - Or is your saddle set awry? - - 12 - 'Oh is yer stirrup set too side? - Or what's the reason ye canna ride?' - - * * * * * * * - - 13 - When all were at the table set, - Then not a bit could this lady eat. - - 14 - When all made merry at the feast, - This lady wished she were at her rest. - - * * * * * * * - - * * * * * - -#A. a.# - - _In the MS. two lines are written continuously, and two of - these double lines numbered as one stanza._ - - 19^1, 23^1, 69^2, 71^2, _perhaps ~gate~, ~gates~ in MS._ - - 54^1, _MS._ be a nae. - - 56.^1 _~casket~ in MS.?_ - -#b. 1.# - - Chil Brenton has sent oer the faem, - Chil Brenton's brought his lady hame. - -#B.# - - _Printed by Scott in four-line stanzas. 7, 55, 56, 58, 61, - seem to be the stanzas transferred from Herd, but only the - last without change._ - -#C.# - - _The stanzas are not divided in Cromek. Between 14 and 15 - the following nineteen couplets have been omitted._ - - First blew the sweet, the simmer wind, - Then autumn wi her breath sae kind, - Before that eer the guid knight came - The tokens of his luve to claim. - Then fell the brown an yellow leaf - Afore the knight o luve shawed prief; - Three morns the winter's rime did fa, - When loud at our yett my luve did ca. - 'Ye hae daughters, ye hae seven, - Ye hae the fairest under heaven. - I am the lord o lands wide, - Ane o them maun be my bride. - I am lord of a baronie, - Ane o them maun lie wi me. - O cherry lips are sweet to pree, - A rosie cheek's meet for the ee; - Lang brown locks a heart can bind, - Bonny black een in luve are kind; - Sma white arms for clasping's meet, - Whan laid atween the bridal-sheets; - A kindlie heart is best of a', - An debonnairest in the ha. - Ane by ane thae things are sweet, - Ane by ane in luve they're meet; - But when they a' in ae maid bide, - She is fittest for a bride. - Sae be it weel or be it wae, - The youngest maun be my ladie; - Sae be it gude, sae be it meet, - She maun warm my bridal-sheet. - - Little kend he, whan aff he rode, - I was his tokend luve in the wood; - Or when he gied me the wedding-token, - He was sealing the vows he thought were broken. - First came a page on a milk-white steed, - Wi golden trappings on his head: - A' gowden was the saddle lap, - And gowden was the page's cap. - - _15-21 have been allowed to stand principally on account - of 18._ - - _There is small risk in pronouncing 24, 25, 42, 43, 80, 81 - spurious, and Cunningham surpasses his usual mawkishness - in 83._ - -#E# - - _is written in four-line stanzas_. - - 19. mother, _in the margin_. - - 20. lady, _in the margin_. - -#F. a.# - - 7^2. _MS_. Till [Still?]. - - _7^2 and 8, 17 and 18^1, 20^1 and 21, 23^1 and 24, 32 and - 33^2, 50^1 and 51, are respectively written as a stanza in - the MS._ - - 12^1, 41^1. _Motherwell conjectures_ - - Would I wait, or would I away. - - 13^1, 42^1. _Motherwell conjectures_ - - Would I away, or would I wait. - - 14^2, 43^2. _MS. ~green sleeves~: but see 51^1, and also - #E# 22^1, #G# 24^2, 28^2._ - - 29^2, _above you do not know't is written know ~not who - till~, apparently a conjecture of Motherwell's._ - - 30^2, _sometimes recited_ - - Till owre the bed this lady he flang. - - 53^1. _MS._ abroad. - -#b.1.# - - Seven ladies livd in a bower, - Hey down and ho down - And aye the youngest was the flower. - Hey down and ho down - -#G.# - - _The stanzas are not divided in Herd._ - -#H.# - - _4 is crossed through in the MS., but no reason given._ - - -[94] In his note-book, p. 117, Motherwell writes, with less than his -usual discretion: "The ballad of Bothwell, Cospatric, or Gil Brenton, -appears to be copied from an account of the birth of Makbeth given by -Wintown." The substance of this account is, that Macbeth's mother had a -habit of repairing to the woods for wholesome air, and that, during one -of her rambles, she fell in with a fair man, really the Devil, who -passed the day with her, and got on her a son. - - "And of that dede in taknyng - He gave his lemman thare a ryng, - And bad hyr that scho suld kepe that wele, - And hald for hys luve that jwele." - - _Cronykil_, Book VI, ch. xviii, 57-90. - -[95] Scott says: "Cospatrick, Comes Patricius;" but Cos- (Gos-)patrick -is apparently Servant of Patrick, like Gil-patrick (Kil-patrick). Mr -Macmath suggests to me that Gil Brenton may have originally been -Gil-brandon, which seems very likely. See Notes and Queries, 5th S., x, -443. - -[96] A fragment in Rancken's 'Några Prof af Folksång,' p. 14 f, belongs -not to 'Riddar Olle,' as there said, but to 'Herr Äster och Fröken -Sissa,' though the burden is 'Riddar Olof.' Other verses, at p. 16, -might belong to either. 'Riddar Ola,' E. Wigström's Folkdiktning, p. 37, -No 18, belongs with the Danish 'Guldsmedens Datter,' Grundtvig No 245. - -[97] The inquiry seems to refer to the morning gift. "Die Morgengabe ist -ein Geschenk des Mannes als Zeichen der Liebe (in signum amoris), für -die Uebergabe der vollen Schönheit (in honore pulchritudinis) und der -Jungfräulichkeit (pretium virginitatis)." Weinhold, Die deutschen Frauen -in dem Mittelalter, S. 270. - -[98] And again, "Is it the saddle, your horse, or your true-love?" -almost exactly as in our #B#, #E#, #F#, Grundtvig, 40 #C#, #E#, #F#, -Afzelius, 91, Landstad, 45, 52. So the Scottish ballad, 'The Cruel -Brother,' #B# 15 f. - -[99] The auld belly-blind man in 'Earl Richard,' 44^3, 45^1, Kinloch's -A. S. Ballads, p. 15, retains the bare name; and Belly Blind, or Billie -Blin, is the Scotch name for the game of Blindman's-buff. - -[100] Gisbertus Voetius, De Miraculis, Disput., II, 1018. Cited also by -Schmeller, Bayerisches Wörterbuch, from J. Prætorius's Alectryomantia, -p. 3. - -[101] Merlin, in Layamon, V. 17130 ff (as pointed out by Grundtvig, I, -274), says that his mind is balewise, "mi gæst is bæliwis," and that he -is not disposed to gladness, mirth, or good words. - - - - -6 - -WILLIE'S LADY - - #a.# 'Willie's Lady,' Fraser-Tytler MS. - - #b.# 'Sweet Willy,' Jamieson-Brown MS., No 15, fol. 33. - - -#a#, 'Willie's Lady,' was No 1 in the manuscript of fifteen ballads -furnished William Tytler by Mrs Brown in 1783, and having been written -down a little later than #b# may be regarded as a revised copy. This -manuscript, as remarked under No 5, is not now in the possession of the -Fraser-Tytler family, having often been most liberally lent, and, -probably, at last not returned. But a transcript had been made by the -grandfather of the present family of two of the pieces contained in it, -and 'Willie's Lady' is one of these two. - -Lewis had access to William Tytler's copy, and, having regulated the -rhymes, filled out a gap, dropped the passage about the girdle, and made -other changes to his taste, printed the ballad in 1801 as No 56 of his -Tales of Wonder. The next year Scott gave the "ancient copy, never -before published," "in its native simplicity, as taken from Mrs Brown of -Falkland's MS.,"--William Tytler's,--in Minstrelsy of the Scottish -Border, II, 27, but not with literal accuracy. Jamieson, in 1806, gave -'Sweet Willy,' almost exactly according to the text of his Brown -manuscript, in an appendix to the second volume of his collection, p. -367, and at p. 175 of the same volume, a reconstruction of the ballad -which might have been spared. - -#b# lacks altogether the passage which makes proffer of the cup, #a#, -stanzas 5-11, and substitutes at that place the girdle of #a# 21-28. The -woodbine in #a# 36, 41, is also wanting, and the concluding stanza. A -deficiency both in matter and rhyme at #a# 32, is supplied by #b# 25, -26, but not happily: - - 'An do you to your mither then, - An bid her come to your boy's christnen; - - 'For dear's the boy he's been to you: - Then notice well what she shall do.' - -Again, the transition in #a#, from st. 33 to st. 34, is abrupt even for -a ballad, and #b# introduces here four stanzas narrating the execution -of the Billy Blind's injunctions, and ending, - - And notic'd well what she did say, - -whereby we are prepared for the witch's exclamations.[102] - -Danish versions of this ballad are numerous: #A-I#, 'Hustru og Mands -Moder' ['Fostermoder,' 'Stifmoder'], Grundtvig, No 84, II, 404 ff; -#J-T#, 'Hustru og Mands Moder,' Kristensen, II, 111 ff, No 35: -#U-X#,'Barselkvinden,' Kristensen, I, 201 ff, No 74; #Y#, 'Hustru og -Slegfred,' Grundtvig, No 85, II, 448 ff: in all twenty-five, but many of -Kristensen's copies are fragments. Grundtvig's 84 #A#, #B#, and 85 #a# -are from manuscripts of the sixteenth century. 84 #F-I# and several -repetitions of 85 are of the seventeenth. Grundtvig's 84 #C#, #D#, #E#, -and all Kristensen's versions, are from recent oral tradition. Some of -these, though taken down since 1870, are wonderfully well preserved. - -The Danish ballads divide into two classes, principally distinguished by -their employing or not employing of the artifice of wax children. (There -is but one of these in #N#, #R#, Kristensen's #E#, #I#, II, 116, 122, -and in the oldest Swedish ballad, as in the Scottish: but children in -Scandinavian ballads are mostly born in pairs.) Of the former class, to -which our only known copy belongs, are #F-I#, #N-T#, #X# (Grundtvig, 84 -#F-I#, Kristensen, II, No 35, #E-L#, I, No 74 #D#). #N# and #I# furnish, -perhaps, the most consistent story, which, in the former, runs thus: Sir -Peter married Ellen (elsewhere Mettelille, Kirstin, Tidelil, Ingerlil), -and gave her in charge to his mother, a formidable witch, and, as -appears from #F#, violently opposed to the match. The first night of her -marriage Ellen conceived twins. She wrapped up her head in her cloak and -paid a visit to her mother-in-law, to ask how long women go with child. -The answer was, - - 'Forty weeks went Mary with Christ, - And so each Danish woman must. - - 'Forty weeks I went with mine, - But eight years shalt thou go with thine.' - -The forty weeks had passed, and Ellen began to long for relief. Sir -Peter besought aid of his sister Ingerlin. If I help your young bride, -she said, I must be traitor to my mother. Sir Peter insisted, and -Ingerlin moulded a fine child of wax,[103] wrapped it in linen, and -exhibited it to her mother, who, supposing that her arts had been -baffled, burst out into exclamations of astonishment. She had thought -she could twist a rope out of flying sand, lay sun and moon flat on the -earth with a single word, turn the whole world round about! She had -thought all the house was spell-bound, except the spot where the young -wife's chest stood, the chest of red rowan, which nothing can bewitch! -The chest was instantly taken away, and Ellen's bed moved to the place -it had occupied; and no sooner was this done than Ellen gave birth to -two children. - -In the ballads of the other class, the young wife, grown desperate after -eight years of suffering, asks to be taken back to her maiden home. Her -husband's mother raises objections: the horses are in the meadow, the -coachman is in bed. Then, she says, I will go on my bare feet. The -moment her husband learns her wish, the carriage is at the door, but by -the arts of the mother it goes to pieces on the way, and the journey has -to be finished on horseback. The joy of her parents at seeing their -daughter approaching was quenched on a nearer view: she looked more dead -than quick. She called her family about her and distributed her effects. -A great wail went up in the house when two sons were cut from the -mother's side. (#C#, #J#, #K#, #L#, #W#: Grundtvig, 84 #C#; Kristensen, -II, No 35 #A#, #B#, #C#; I, No 74 #C#.) - - The first son stood up and brushed his hair: - 'Most surely am I in my ninth year.' - - The second stood up both fair and red: - 'Most sure we'll avenge our dear mother dead.'[104] - -Several of the most important ballads of the first class have taken up a -part of the story of those of the second class, to the detriment of -consistency. #F#, #G#, #H#, #O#, #P# (Grundtvig, 84 #F#, #G#, #H#, -Kristensen, II, No 35 #F#, #G#), make the wife quit her husband's house -for her father's, not only without reason, but against reason. If the -woman is to die, it is natural enough that she should wish to die with -the friends of her early days, and away from her uncongenial -mother-in-law; but there is no kind of occasion for transferring the -scene of the trick with the wax children to her father's house; and, on -the other hand, it is altogether strange that her husband's mother and -the rowan-tree chest (which sometimes appears to be the property of the -mother, sometimes that of the wife) should go with her. - -#Y#, 'Hustru og Slegfred,' Grundtvig, 85, agrees with the second class -up to the point when the wife is put to bed at her mother's house, but -with the important variation that the spell is the work of a former -mistress of the husband; instead of his mother, as in most of the -ballads, or of the wife's foster-mother, as in #C#, #D#, #J#, #K#, #M# -(Grundtvig, 84 #C#, #D#, Kristensen, II, No 35 #A#, #B#, #D#), or of the -wife's step-mother as in #A# only. The conclusion of 'Hustru og -Slegfred' is rather flat. The wife, as she lies in bed, bids all her -household hold up their hands and pray for her relief, which occurs on -the same day. The news is sent to her husband, who rejoins his wife, is -shown his children, praises God, and burns his mistress. Burning is also -the fate of the mother-in-law in #B#, #I#, #O#, #P#, whereas in #F# she -dies of chagrin, and in #G# bursts into a hundred flinders -(flentsteene). - -This ballad, in the mixed form of #O#, #P# (Kristensen, II, 35 #F#, -#G#), has been resolved into a tale in Denmark, a few lines of verse -being retained. Recourse is had by the spell-bound wife to a cunning -woman in the village, who informs her that in her house there is a place -in which a rowan-tree chest has stood, and that she can get relief -there. The cunning woman subsequently pointing out the exact spot, two -boys are born, who are seven years old, and can both walk and talk. Word -is sent the witch that her son's wife has been delivered of two sons, -and that she herself shall be burned the day following. The witch says, -"I have been able to twine a string out of running water. If I have not -succeeded in bewitching the woman, she must have found the place where -the damned rowan chest stood." (Grundtvig, III, 858, No 84 #b#.) - -Three Swedish versions of the ballad have been printed. #A#, #B#, from -tradition of this century, are given by Arwidsson, II, 252 ff, 'Liten -Kerstins Förtrollning,' No 134. These resemble the Danish ballads of the -second class closely. Liten Kerstin goes to her mother's house, gives -birth to two children, and dies. In #A# the children are a son and -daughter. The son stands up, combs his hair, and says, "I am forty weeks -on in my ninth year." He can run errands in the village, and the -daughter sew red silk. In #B# both children are boys. One combs his -hair, and says, "Our grandmother shall be put on two wheels." The other -draws his sword, and says, "Our mother is dead, our grandmother to -blame. I hope our mother is with God. Our grandmother shall be laid on -seven wheels." The other copy, #C#, mentioned by Grundtvig as being in -Cavallius and Stephens' manuscript collection, has been printed in the -Svenska Fornminnesföreningens Tidskrift, vol. ii, p. 72 ff, 1873-74. It -dates from the close of the sixteenth century, and resembles the mixed -ballads of the Danish first class, combining the flitting to the -father's house with the artifice of the wax children. The conclusion of -this ballad has suffered greatly. After the two sons are born, we are -told that Kirstin, before unmentioned, goes to the chest and makes a wax -child. If the chest were moved, Elin would be free of her child. And -then the boy stands up and brushes his hair, and says he has come to his -eighth year. - -Three stanzas and some of the incidents of a #Norwegian# version of this -ballad have been communicated to Grundtvig, III, 858 f, No 84 c, by -Professor Sophus Bugge. The only place which was unaffected by a spell -was where Signelíti's bride-chest stood, and the chest being removed, -the birth took place. The witch was a step-mother, as in Danish #A#. - -There are two familiar cases of malicious arrest of childbirth in -classic mythology,--those of Latona and Alcmene. The wrath of Juno was -the cause in both, and perhaps the myth of Alcmene is only a repetition -of an older story, with change of name. The pangs of Latona were -prolonged through nine days and nights, at the end of which time -Ilithyia came to her relief, induced by a bribe. (Hymn to the Delian -Apollo, 91 ff.) Homer, Il. xix, 119, says only that Hera stopped the -delivery of Alcmene and kept back Ilithyia. Antoninus Liberalis, in the -second century of our era, in one of his abstracts from the -Metamorphoses of Nicander, a poem of the second century B. C., or -earlier, has this account: that when Alcmene was going with Hercules, -the Fates and Ilithyia, to please Juno, kept her in her pains by sitting -down and folding their hands; and that Galinthias, a playmate and -companion of Alcmene, fearing that the suffering would drive her mad, -ran out and announced the birth of a boy, upon which the Fates were -seized with such consternation that they let go their hands, and -Hercules immediately came into the world. (Antoninus Lib., Metam. c. -xxix.) Ovid, Metamorphoses, ix, 281-315, is more circumstantial. After -seven days and nights of torture, Lucina came, but, being bribed by -Juno, instead of giving the aid for which she was invoked, sat down on -the altar before Alcmene's door, with the right knee crossed over the -left, and fingers interlocked, mumbling charms which checked the -processes of birth. Galanthis, a servant girl _media de plebe_, was -shrewd enough to suspect that Juno had some part in this mischief; and -besides, as she went in and out of the house, she always saw Lucina -sitting on the altar, with her hands clasped over her knees. At last, by -a happy thought, she called out, "Whoever you are, wish my mistress joy; -she is lighter, and has her wish." Lucina jumped up and unclasped her -hands, and the birth followed instantly. Pausanias, ix, 11, tells a -similar but briefer story, in which Historis, daughter of Tiresias, -takes the place of Galanthis. See, for the whole matter, 'Ilithyia oder -die Hexe,' in C. A. Böttiger's Kleine Schriften, I, 76 ff. - -Apuleius, in his Metamorphoses, mentions a case of suspended childbirth, -which, curiously enough, had lasted eight years,[105] as in the Danish -and Swedish ballads. The witch is a mistress of her victim's husband, as -in Grundtvig, 85, and as in a story cited by Scott from Heywood's -'Hierarchy of the Blessed Angels,' p. 474. "There is a curious tale -about a Count of Westeravia [Vestravia, in diocesi Argentoratensi], 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." - -A story like that of the ballad is told as a fact that took place in -Arran within this century. A young man forsook his sweetheart and -married another girl. When the wife's time came, she suffered -excessively. A pack-man who was passing suspected the cause, went -straight to the old love, and told her that a fine child was born; when -up she sprang, and pulled out a large nail from the beam of the roof, -calling out to her mother, "Muckle good your craft has done!" The wife -was forthwith delivered. (Napier, in The Folklore Record, II, 117.) - -In the #Sicilian# tales, collected by Laura Gonzenbach, Nos 12 and 15, -we have the spell of folded hands placed between the knees to prevent -birth, and in No 54 hands raised to the head.[106] In all these examples -the spell is finally broken by telling the witch a piece of false news, -which causes her to forget herself and take away her hands. -(Sicilianische Märchen aus dem Volksmund gesammelt, Leipzig, 1870.) - -We find in a #Roumanian# tale, contributed to Das Ausland for 1857, p. -1029, by F. Obert, and epitomized by Grundtvig, III, 859, No 84 d, a -wife condemned by her offended husband to go with child till he lays his -hand upon her. It is twenty years before she obtains grace, and the son -whom she then bears immediately slays his father. A #Wallachian# form of -this story (Walachische Märchen von Arthur u. Albert Schott, No 23) -omits the revenge by the new-born child, and ends happily. - -With respect to the knots in st. 34, it is to be observed that the tying -of knots (as also the fastening of locks), either during the marriage -ceremony or at the approach of parturition was, and is still, believed -to be effectual for preventing conception or childbirth. The minister of -Logierait, Perthshire, testifies, about the year 1793, that immediately -before the celebration of a marriage it is the custom to loosen -carefully every knot about bride and bridegroom,--garters, shoe-strings, -etc. The knots are tied again before they leave the church. (Statistical -Account of Scotland, V, 83.) So among the Laps and Norwegians, when a -child is to be born, all the knots in the woman's clothes, or even all -the knots in the house, must be untied, because of their impeding -delivery. (Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, p. 322, who also cites the -Statistical Account of Scotland.) - - * * * * * - -Willie's Lady is translated by Schubart, p. 74, Talvj, p. 555, and by -Gerhard, p. 139. Grundtvig, 84 H (== Syv, 90, Danske Viser, 43), is -translated by Jamieson, Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p. 344, -and by Prior, No 89. - - -A - - #a.# A copy, by Miss Mary Fraser Tytler, of a transcript - made by her grandfather from William Tytler's manuscript. - #b.# Jamieson-Brown MS., No 15, fol. 33. - - 1 - Willie has taen him oer the fame, - He's woo'd a wife and brought her hame. - - 2 - He's woo'd her for her yellow hair, - But his mother wrought her mickle care. - - 3 - And mickle dolour gard her dree, - For lighter she can never be. - - 4 - But in her bower she sits wi pain, - And Willie mourns oer her in vain. - - 5 - And to his mother he has gone, - That vile rank witch of vilest kind. - - 6 - He says: 'My ladie has a cup, - Wi gowd and silver set about. - - 7 - 'This goodlie gift shall be your ain, - And let her be lighter o her young bairn.' - - 8 - 'Of her young bairn she'll neer be lighter, - Nor in her bower to shine the brighter. - - 9 - 'But she shall die and turn to clay, - And you shall wed another may.' - - 10 - 'Another may I'll never wed, - Another may I'll neer bring home.' - - 11 - But sighing says that weary wight, - 'I wish my life were at an end.' - - 12 - 'Ye doe [ye] unto your mother again, - That vile rank witch of vilest kind. - - 13 - 'And say your ladie has a steed, - The like o'm's no in the lands of Leed. - - 14 - 'For he [i]s golden shod before, - And he [i]s golden shod behind. - - 15 - 'And at ilka tet of that horse's main, - There's a golden chess and a bell ringing. - - 16 - 'This goodlie gift shall be your ain, - And let me be lighter of my young bairn.' - - 17 - 'O her young bairn she'll neer be lighter, - Nor in her bower to shine the brighter. - - 18 - 'But she shall die and turn to clay, - And ye shall wed another may.' - - 19 - 'Another may I['ll] never wed, - Another may I['ll] neer bring hame.' - - 20 - But sighing said that weary wight, - 'I wish my life were at an end.' - - 21 - 'Ye doe [ye] unto your mother again, - That vile rank witch of vilest kind. - - 22 - 'And say your ladie has a girdle, - It's red gowd unto the middle. - - 23 - 'And ay at every silver hem, - Hangs fifty silver bells and ten. - - 24 - 'That goodlie gift has be her ain, - And let me be lighter of my young bairn.' - - 25 - 'O her young bairn she's neer be lighter, - Nor in her bower to shine the brighter. - - 26 - 'But she shall die and turn to clay, - And you shall wed another may.' - - 27 - 'Another may I'll never wed, - Another may I'll neer bring hame.' - - 28 - But sighing says that weary wight, - 'I wish my life were at an end.' - - 29 - Then out and spake the Belly Blind; - He spake aye in good time. - - 30 - 'Ye doe ye to the market place, - And there ye buy a loaf o wax. - - 31 - 'Ye shape it bairn and bairnly like, - And in twa glassen een ye pit; - - 32 - 'And bid her come to your boy's christening; - Then notice weel what she shall do. - - 33 - 'And do you stand a little fore bye, - And listen weel what she shall say.' - - 34 - 'Oh wha has loosed the nine witch knots - That was amo that ladie's locks? - - 35 - 'And wha has taen out the kaims of care - That hangs amo that ladie's hair? - - 36 - 'And wha's taen down the bush o woodbine - That hang atween her bower and mine? - - 37 - 'And wha has killd the master kid - That ran beneath that ladie's bed? - - 38 - 'And wha has loosed her left-foot shee, - And lotten that ladie lighter be?' - - 39 - O Willie has loosed the nine witch knots - That was amo that ladie's locks. - - 40 - And Willie's taen out the kaims o care - That hang amo that ladie's hair. - - 41 - And Willie's taen down the bush o woodbine - That hang atween her bower and thine. - - 42 - And Willie has killed the master kid - That ran beneath that ladie's bed. - - 43 - And Willie has loosed her left-foot shee, - And letten his ladie lighter be. - - 44 - And now he's gotten a bonny young son, - And mickle grace be him upon. - - * * * * * - -#a.# - - _The stanzas are not regularly divided in the MS., nor - were they so divided by Scott._ - - 41^2. hung (?) beneath: _but see 36^2._ - - _Scott's principal variations are_: - - 12^1. Yet gae ye. - - 14^1. For he is silver shod. - - 15. - At every tuft of that horse main - There's a golden chess and a bell to ring. - - 21^1. Yet gae ye. - - 21^2. o rankest kind. - - 22^2. It's a' red gowd to. - - 24^1. This gudely gift sall be. - - 26^1. For she. - - 28^2. my days. - - 30^1. Yet gae ye. - - 30^2. there do buy. - - 31^1. Do shape. - - 31^2. you'll put. - - 32^1. And bid her your boy's christening to. - - 33^1. a little away. - - 33^2. To notice weel what she may saye. - - 35^2. That were amang. - - 38^2. And let. - - 39^1. Syne Willie. - - 40^2. That were into. - - 41^1, 42^1, 43^1. And he. - - 41^2. Hung atween her bour and the witch carline. - - 44^2. a bonny son. - -#b.# - - _Divided in Jamieson's MS. into stanzas of four verses, - two verses being written in one line: but Jamieson's_ - 8==#a# 14-16. - - 1^1. Sweet Willy's taen. - - 5-11, _wanting. Instead of the cup, the girdle occurs - here_:==#a# 21-28. - - 12^1. He did him till. - - 12^2. wilest kin. - - 13^1. An said, My lady. - - 14^{1, 2}. he is. - - 16^2. An lat her be lighter o her young bairn. - - 18^1. go to clay. - - #a# 21^1==b 5^1. Now to his mither he has gane. - - 18^2. kin. - - #a# 22^1==b 6^1. He say[s] my lady. - - 22^2. It's a' red. - - #a# 23^1==b 7^1. at ilka. - - 23^2. Hings. - - #a# 24^1==b 8^1. gift sall be your ain. - - 24^2. lat her ... o her. - - #a# 29==b 22. Then out it spake the belly blin; She spake - ay in a good time. - - #a# 32==b 25, 26. - - An do you to your mither then, An bid her come to your boy's - christnen; - For dear's the boy he's been to you: Then notice well what - she shall do. - - _Between #a# 33 and #a# 34 occurs in #b# (28-31)_: - - He did him to the market place, An there he bought a loaf o wax. - He shap'd it bairn and bairnly like, An in't twa glazen een he pat. - He did him till his mither then, An bade him (_sic_) to his boy's - christnen. - An he did stan a little forebye, An notic'd well what she did say. - - #a# 35^2==#b# 33^2. hang amo. - - 36. _wanting in #b#._ - - 37^2. aneath. - - 39^2==#b# 36^2. hang amo his. - - 40^1. kemb o care. - - 40^2. his lady's. - - 41. _wanting in #b#._ - - 42^2==#b# 38^2. ran aneath his. - - 44. _wanting in #b#._ - - #b# _22^2 makes the Billy Blind feminine. This is not so - in #a#, or in any other ballad, and may be only an error - of the transcriber, who has not always written carefully._ - - -[102] The Jamieson-Brown copy contains seventy-eight verses; Scott's -and the Tytler copy, eighty-eight. Dr Anderson's, Nichols's -Illustrations, VII, 176, counts seventy-six instead of eighty-eight; -but, judging by the description which Anderson has given of the -Alexander-Fraser-Tytler-Brown MS., at p. 179, he is not exact. -Still, so large a discrepancy is hard to explain. - -[103] The sister does this in #F-I# and #S#: in #O#, #P#, the husband -"has" it done. - -[104] Grundtvig, 84 #D#, #E#; Kristensen, I, No 74 #A#, #B#, #C#; II, No -35 #A#, #B#, #C#. - -[105] Eadem amatoris sui uxorem, quod in eam dicacule probrum dixerat, -jam in sarcina prægnationis, obsæpto utero et repigrato fetu, perpetua -prægnatione damuavit, et, ut cuncti numerant, jam octo annorum onere -misella illa velut elephantum paritura distenditur. I, 9. - -[106] We may suppose with closed fingers, or clasping the head, though -this is not said. Antique vases depict one or two Ilithyias as standing -by with hands elevated and _open_, during the birth of Athene from the -head of Zeus. Welcker, Kleine Schriften, III, 191, note 12. - - - - -7 - -EARL BRAND - - #A. a. b.# 'Earl Bran,' Mr Robert White's papers. #c.# - 'The Brave Earl Brand and the King of England's Daughter,' - Bell, Ancient Poems, etc., p. 122. #d.# Fragmentary verses - remembered by Mr R. White's sister. - - #B.# 'The Douglas Tragedy,' Scott's Minstrelsy, III, 246, - ed. 1803. - - #C.# 'Lord Douglas,' Motherwell's MS., p. 502. - - #D.# 'Lady Margaret,' Kinloch MSS, I, 327. - - #E.# 'The Douglas Tragedy,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. - 180. - - #F.# 'The Child of Ell,' Percy MS., p. 57; Hales and - Furnivall, I, 133. - - -'Earl Brand,' first given to the world by Mr Robert Bell in 1857, has -preserved most of the incidents of a very ancient story with a -faithfulness unequalled by any ballad that has been recovered from -English oral tradition. Before the publication of 'Earl Brand,' #A c#, -our known inheritance in this particular was limited to the beautiful -but very imperfect fragment called by Scott 'The Douglas Tragedy,' #B#; -half a dozen stanzas of another version of the same in Motherwell's -Minstrelsy, #E#; so much of Percy's 'Child of Elle' as was genuine, -which, upon the printing of his manuscript, turned out to be one fifth, -#F#; and two versions of Erlinton, #A#, #C#.[107] What now can be added -is but little: two transcripts of 'Earl Brand,' one of which, #A a#, has -suffered less from literary revision than the only copy hitherto -printed, #A c#; a third version of 'The Douglas Tragedy,' from -Motherwell's manuscript, #C#; a fourth from Kinloch's manuscripts, #D#; -and another of 'Erlinton,' #B#. Even 'Earl Brand' has lost a -circumstance that forms the turning-point in Scandinavian ballads, and -this capital defect attends all our other versions, though traces which -remain in 'Erlinton' make it nearly certain that our ballads originally -agreed in all important particulars with those which are to this day -recited in the north of Europe. - -The corresponding #Scandinavian# ballad is 'Ribold and Guldborg,' and it -is a jewel that any clime might envy. Up to the time of Grundtvig's -edition, in Danmarks gamle Folkeviser, No 82, though four versions had -been printed, the only current copy for a hundred and fifty years had -been Syv's No 88, based on a broadside of the date 1648, but compounded -from several sources; and it was in this form that the ballad became -known to the English through Jamieson's translation. Grundtvig has now -published twenty-seven versions of 'Ribold og Guldborg' (II, 347 ff, -nineteen; 675 ff, four; III, 849 ff, four:[108] of all which only two -are fragments), and nine of 'Hildebrand og Hilde,' No 83, which, is the -same story set in a dramatic frame-work (II, 393 ff, seven; 680 f, one; -III, 857, one, a fragment). Three more Danish versions of 'Ribold og -Guldborg' are furnished by Kristensen, Gamle jydske Folkeviser, I, No -37, II, No 84 #A#, #B# (#C*#, #D*#, #E*#). To these we may add the last -half, sts 15-30, of 'Den farlige Jomfru,' Grundtvig, 184 #G#. Of -Grundtvig's texts, 82 #A# is of the sixteenth century; #B-H# are of the -seventeenth; the remainder and Kristensen's three from recent tradition. -Six versions of 'Hildebrand og Hilde,' #A-F#, are of the seventeenth -century; one is of the eighteenth, #G#; and the remaining two are from -oral tradition of our day. - -The first six of Grundtvig's versions of 'Ribold and Guldborg,' #A-F#, -are all from manuscripts, and all of a pure traditional character, -untampered with by "collators." #G# and #H# are mixed texts: they have -#F# for their basis, but have admitted stanzas from other sources. Most -of the versions from recitation are wonderful examples and proofs of the -fidelity with which simple people "report and hold" old tales: for, as -the editor has shown, verses which never had been printed, but which are -found in old manuscripts, are now met with in recited copies; and these -recited copies, again, have verses that occur in no Danish print or -manuscript, but which nevertheless are found in Norwegian and Swedish -recitations, and, what is more striking, in Icelandic tradition of two -hundred years' standing. - -The story in the older Danish ballads runs thus. Ribold, a king's son, -sought Guldborg's love in secret. He said he would carry her to a land -where death and sorrow came not; where all the birds were cuckoos, and -all the grass was leeks, and all the streams ran wine. Guldborg, not -indisposed, asked how she should evade the watch kept over her by all -her family and by her betrothed. Ribold disguised her in his cloak and -armor, #B#, #E#, #F#, and rode off, with Guldborg behind him. On the -heath they meet a rich earl [a crafty man, #C#; her betrothed, #D#], who -asks, Whither away, with your stolen maid? [little page, #B#, #F#.] -Ribold replies that it is his youngest sister, whom he has taken from a -cloister, #A#, #E# [sick sister, #C#; brother, #B#, #F#; page, #D#]. -This shift avails nothing; no more does a bribe which he offers for -keeping his secret. Report is at once made to her father that Guldborg -has eloped with Ribold. Guldborg perceives that they are pursued, and is -alarmed. Ribold reassures her, and prepares to meet his foes. He bids -Guldborg hold his horse, #B#, #C#, #E#, and, whatever may happen, not to -call him by name: "Though thou see me bleed, name me not to death; -though thou see me fall, name me not at all!" Ribold cuts down six or -seven of her brothers and her father, besides others of her kin; the -youngest brother only is left, and Guldborg in an agony calls upon -Ribold to spare him, to carry tidings to her mother. No sooner was his -name pronounced than Ribold received a mortal wound. He sheathed his -sword, and said, Come, wilt thou ride with me? Wilt thou go home to thy -mother again, or wilt thou follow so sad a swain? And she answered, I -will not go home to my mother again; I will follow thee, my heart's -dearest man. They rode through the wood, and not a word came from the -mouth of either. Guldborg asked, Why art thou not as glad as before? And -Ribold answered, Thy brother's sword has been in my heart. They reached -his house. He called to one to take his horse, to another to bring a -priest, and said his brother should have Guldborg. But she would not -give her faith to two brothers. Ribold died that night, #C#. Three dead -came from Ribold's bower: Ribold and his lief, and his mother, who died -of grief! In #A# Guldborg slays herself, and dies in her lover's arms. - -'Hildebrand and Hilde,' #A#, #B#, #C#, #D#, opens with the heroine in a -queen's service, sewing her seam wildly, putting silk for gold and gold -for silk. The queen calls her to account. Hilde begs her mistress to -listen to her tale of sorrow. She was a king's daughter. Twelve knights -had been appointed to be her guard, and one had beguiled her, -Hildebrand, son of the king of England. They went off together, and -were surprised by her brothers [father, #B#, #C#, #D#]. Hildebrand bade -her be of good cheer; but she must not call him by name if she saw him -bleed or fall, #A#, #B#, #D#. A heap of knights soon lay at his feet. -Hilde forgot herself, and called out, Hildebrand, spare my youngest -brother! Hildebrand that instant received a mortal wound, and fell. The -younger brother tied her to his horse, and dragged her home. They shut -her up at first in a strong tower, built for the purpose, #A#,# B# -[Swedish #A#, a dark house], and afterwards sold her into servitude for -a church bell. Her mother's heart broke at the bell's first stroke, and -Hilde, with the last word of her tale, fell dead in the queen's arms. - -The most important deviation of the later versions from the old is -exhibited by #S# and #T#, and would probably be observed in #Q#, #R#, as -well, were these complete. #S#, #T# are either a mixture of 'Ribold and -Guldborg' with 'Hildebrand and Hilde,' or forms transitional between the -two. In these Ribold does not live to reach his home, and Guldborg, -unable to return to hers, offers herself to a queen, to spin silk and -weave gold [braid hair and work gold]. But she cannot sew for grief. The -queen smacks her on the cheek for neglecting her needle. Poor Guldborg -utters a protest, but gives no explanation, and the next morning is -found dead. Singularly enough, the name of the hero in #Q#, #R#, #S#, -#T#, is also an intermediate form. Ribold is the name in all the old -Danish copies except #C#, and that has Ride-bolt. Danish #I#, #K#, #X#, -#Z#, all the Icelandic copies, and Swedish #D#, have either Ribold or -some unimportant variation. #Q#, #R#, #S#, have Ride-brand [#T#, -Rederbrand]. All copies of Grundtvig 83, except Danish #G#, Swedish #C#, -which do not give the hero's name, have Hilde-brand; so also 82 #N#, -#O#, #P#, #V#, and Kristensen, I, No 37. The name of the woman is nearly -constant both in 82 and 83. - -The paradise promised Guldborg in all the old versions of 82[109] -disappears from the recited copies, except #K#, #M#. It certainly did -not originally belong to 'Ribold and Guldborg,' or to another Danish -ballad in which it occurs ('Den trofaste Jomfru,' Grundtvig, 249 #A#), -but rather to ballads like 'Kvindemorderen,' Grundtvig, 183 #A#, or -'Líti Kersti,' Landstad, 44, where a supernatural being, a demon or a -hillman, seeks to entice away a mortal maid. See No 4, p. 27. In 82 #L#, -#N#, #U#, #V#, #Y#, #Æ#, #Ø#, and Kristensen's copies, the lovers are -not encountered by anybody who reports their flight. Most of the later -versions, #K#, #L#, #M#, #N#, #P#, #U#, #V#, #Y#, #Æ#, #Ø#, and -Kristensen's three, make them halt in a wood, where Ribold goes to sleep -in Guldborg's lap, and is roused by her when she perceives that they are -pursued. So Norwegian #B#, Swedish #A#, #B#, #C#, and 'Hildebrand and -Hilde' #B#. #M#, #Q#, #R#, #S#, #T#, #Z#, have not a specific -prohibition of _dead-naming_, but even these enjoin silence. 83 #C# is -the only ballad in which there is a fight and no prohibition of either -kind, but it is clear from the course of the story that the stanza -containing the usual injunction has simply dropped out. #P# is -distinguished from all other forms of the story by the heroine's killing -herself before her dying lover reaches his house. - -The four first copies of 'Hildebrand and Hilde,' as has been seen, have -the story of Ribold and Guldborg with some slight differences and some -abridgment. There is no elopement in #B#: the lovers are surprised in -the princess' bower. When Hilde has finished her tale, in #A#, the queen -declares that Hildebrand was her son. In #B# she interrupts the -narrative by announcing her discovery that Hildebrand was her brother. -#C# and #D# have nothing of the sort. There is no fight in #E-H#. #E# -has taken up the commonplace of the bower on the strand which was forced -by nine men.[110] Hildebrand is again the son of the queen, and, coming -in just as Hilde has expired, exclaims that he will have no other love, -sets his sword against a stone, and runs upon it. #H# has the same -catastrophe. #F# represents the father as simply showing great -indignation and cruelty on finding out that one of the guardian knights -had beguiled his daughter, and presently selling her for a new church -bell. The knight turns out here again to be the queen's son; the queen -says he shall betroth Hille, and Hille faints for joy. #G# agrees with -#B# as to the surprise in the bower. The knight's head is hewn off on -the spot. The queen gives Hilde her youngest son for a husband, and -Hilde avows that she is consoled. #I# agrees with #E# so far as it goes, -but is a short fragment. - -There are three #Icelandic# versions of this ballad, 'Ribbalds kvæði,' -Íslenzk Fornkvæði, No 16, all of the seventeenth century. They all come -reasonably close to the Danish as to the story, and particularly #A#. -Ribbald, with no prologue, invites Gullbrún "to ride." He sets her on a -white horse; of all women she rode best. They have gone but a little -way, when they see a pilgrim riding towards them, who hails Ribbald -with, Welcome, with thy stolen maid! Ribbald pretends that the maid is -his sister, but the pilgrim knows very well it is Gullbrún. She offers -her cloak to him not to tell her father, but the pilgrim goes straight -to the king, and says, Thy daughter is off! The king orders his harp to -be brought, for no purpose but to dash it on the floor once and twice, -and break out the strings. He then orders his horse. Gullbrún sees her -father come riding under a hill-side, then her eleven brothers, then -seven brothers-in-law. She begs Ribbald to spare her youngest brother's -life, that he may carry the news to her mother. He replies, I will tie -my horse by the reins; you take up your sewing! then three times forbids -her to name him during the fight. He slew her father first, next the -eleven brothers, then the other seven, all which filled her with -compunction, and she cried out, Ribbald, still thy brand! On the instant -Ribbald received many wounds. He wiped his bloody sword, saying, This is -what you deserve, Gullbrún, but love is your shield; then set her on her -horse, and rode to his brother's door. He called out, Here is a wife for -you! But Gullbrún said, Never will I be given to two brothers. Soon -after Ribbald gave up the ghost. There was more mourning than mirth; -three bodies went to the grave in one coffin, Ribbald, his lady, and his -mother, who died of grief. - -#B# and #C# have lost something at the beginning, #C# starting at the -same point as our 'Douglas Tragedy.' The king pursues Ribbald by water. -Gullbrún (#B#) stands in a tower and sees him land. Ribbald gives -Gullbrún to his brother, as in #A#: she lives in sorrow, and dies a -maid. - -#Norwegian.# ('Ribold and Guldborg.') #A#, 'Rikeball og stolt Guðbjörg,' -Landstad, 33; #B#, 'Veneros og stolt Ölleber,' Landstad, 34; #C#, #D#, -#E#, #F#, in part described and cited, with six other copies, Grundtvig, -III, p. 853 f. The last half of Landstad No 23, stanzas 17-34, and -stanzas 18-25 of Landstad 28 #B#, also belong here. #A# agrees with the -older Danish versions, even to the extent of the paradise. #B# has been -greatly injured. Upon the lady's warning Veneros of the approach of her -father, he puts her up in an oak-tree for safety. He warns her not to -call him by name, and she says she will rather die first; but her -firmness is not put to the test in this ballad, some verses having -dropped out just at this point. Veneros is advised to surrender, but -dispatches his assailants by eighteen thousands (like Lille brór, in -Landstad, 23), and by way of conclusion hews the false Pál greive, who -had reported his elopement to Ölleber's father, into as many pieces. He -then takes Ölleber on his horse, they ride away and are married. Such -peculiarities in the other copies as are important to us will be noticed -further on. - -('Hildebrand and Hilde.') #A#, one of two Norwegian copies communicated -by Professor Bugge to Grundtvig, III, 857 f, agrees well with Danish -#E#, but has the happy conclusion of Danish #F#, #G#, #I#. The heroine -is sold for _nine_ bells. #B#, the other, omits the bower-breaking of -#A# and Danish #E#, and ends with marriage. - -The #Swedish# forms of 'Ribold and Guldborg' are: #A#, 'Hillebrand,' -Afzelius, No 2; #B#, 'Herr Redebold,' and #C#, 'Kung Vallemo,' -Afzelius, No 80; new ed., No 2, 1, 2, 3; #D#, 'Ribbolt,' Arwidsson, No -78; #E#, 'Herr Redebold' #F#, 'Herting Liljebrand,' and #G#, 'Herr -Balder,' in Cavallius and Stephens' manuscript collection; #H#, 'Kung -Walmon,' E. Wigström's Folkdiktning, No 15, p. 33. #A#, #B#, #C#, #H#, -are not markedly different from the ordinary Danish ballad, and this is -true also, says Grundtvig, of the unprinted versions, #E#, #F#, #G#. #D# -and #G# are of the seventeenth century, the others from recent -tradition. Ribold is pictured in #D# as a bold prince, equally versed in -runes and arts as in manly exercises. He visits Giötha by night: they -slumber sweet, but wake in blood. She binds up his wounds with rich -kerchiefs. He rides home to his father's, and sits down on a bench. The -king bids his servants see what is the matter, and adds, Be he sick or -be he hurt, he got it at Giötha-Lilla's. They report the prince stabbed -with sharp pikes within, and bound with silk kerchiefs without. Ribold -bids them bury him in the mould, and not blame Giötha-Lilla; "for my -horse was fleet, and I was late, and he hurtled me 'gainst an -apple-tree" (so Hillebrand in #A#). #E# represents the heroine as -surviving her lover, and united to a young king, but always grieving for -Redebold. - -'Hildebrand and Hilde' exists in Swedish in three versions: #A#, a -broadside of the last part of the seventeenth century, now printed in -the new edition of Afzelius, p. 142 ff of the notes (the last nine -stanzas before, in Danske Viser, III, 438 f); #B#, Afzelius, No 32, new -ed. No 26, #C#, Arwidsson, No 107, both taken down in this century. In -#A# and #B# Hillebrand, son of the king of England, carries off Hilla; -they halt in a grove; she wakes him from his sleep when she hears her -father and seven brothers coming; he enjoins her not to call him by -name, which still she does upon her father's being slain [or when only -her youngest brother is left], and Hillebrand thereupon receives mortal -wounds. He wipes his sword, saying, This is what you would deserve, were -you not Hilla. The youngest brother ties Hilla to his horse, drags her -home, and confines her in a dark house, which swarms with snakes and -dragons (#A# only). They sell her for a new church bell, and her -mother's heart breaks at the first sound. Hilla falls dead at the -queen's knee. #C# has lost the dead-naming, and ends with the queen's -promising to be Hilla's best friend. - -A detailed comparison of the English ballads, and especially of 'Earl -Brand,' with the Scandinavian (such as Grundtvig has made, III, 855 f) -shows an unusual and very interesting agreement. The name Earl Brand, to -begin with, is in all probability a modification of the Hildebrand found -in Danish 82 #N#, #O#, #P#, #V#, #C*#, in all versions of Danish 83, and -in the corresponding Swedish #A#. Ell, too, in Percy's fragment, which -may have been Ellë earlier, points to Hilde, or something like it, and -Erl-inton might easily be corrupted from such a form as the Alibrand of -Norwegian #B# (Grundtvig, III, 858). Hildebrand is the son of the king -of England in Danish 83 #A-E#, and the lady in 'Earl Brand' is the same -king's daughter, an interchange such as is constantly occurring in -tradition. Stanza 2 can hardly be the rightful property of 'Earl Brand.' -Something very similar is met with in 'Leesome Brand,' and is not much -in place there. For 'old Carl Hood,' of whom more presently, Danish 82 -#X# and Norwegian #A#, #C# have an old man, Danish #C# a crafty man, #T# -a false younker, and Norwegian #B# and three others "false Pál greive." -The lady's urging Earl Brand to slay the old carl, and the answer, that -it would be sair to kill a gray-haired man, sts 8, 9, are almost -literally repeated in Norwegian #A#, Landstad, No 33. The knight does -slay the old man in Danish #X# and Norwegian #C#, and slays the court -page in Danish #Z#, and false Pál greive in Norwegian #B#,--in this last -_after_ the battle. The question, "Where have ye stolen this lady away?" -in st. 11, occurs in Danish 82 #A#, #D#, #E#, #K#, #P#, #R#, #S#, #T#, -#Z#, in Norwegian #B# and Icelandic #B#, and something very similar in -many other copies. The reply, "She is my sick sister, whom I have -brought from Winchester" [nunnery], is found almost literally in Danish -#C#, #X#, #Z#: "It is my sick sister; I took her yesterday from the -cloister." [Danish #E#, it is my youngest sister from the cloister; she -is sick: Danish #A#, youngest sister from cloister: Danish #R# and -Norwegian #B#, sister from cloister: Danish #S#, #T#, sister's daughter -from cloister: Norwegian #F#, sister from Holstein: Danish #P#, -Icelandic #A#, Norwegian #A#, sister.] The old man, crafty man, rich -earl, in the Scandinavian ballads, commonly answers that he knows -Guldborg very well; but in Danish #D#, where Ribold says it is a court -page he has hired, we have something like sts 14, 15: "Why has he such -silk-braided hair?" On finding themselves discovered, the lovers, in the -Scandinavian ballad, attempt to purchase silence with a bribe: Danish -#A-I#, #M#, Icelandic and Norwegian #A#, #B#. This is not expressly done -in 'Earl Brand,' but the same seems to be meant in st. 10 by "I'll gie -him a pound." St. 17 is fairly paralleled by Danish #S#, 18, 19: "Where -is Guldborg, thy daughter? Walking in the garden, gathering roses;" and -st. 18, by Norwegian #B#, 15: "You may search without and search within, -and see whether Ölleber you can find." The announcement in st. 19 is -made in almost all the Scandinavian ballads, in words equivalent to -"Ribold is off with thy daughter," and then follows the arming for the -pursuit. The lady looks over her shoulder and sees her father coming, as -in st. 21, in Danish 82 #A#, #F#, #H#, #I#, #Q#, #R#, #T#, #X#, #Z#, and -Norwegian #A#. - -The scene of the fight is better preserved in the Scottish ballads than -in 'Earl Brand,' though none of these have the cardinal incident of the -death-naming. All the Scottish versions, #B-F#, and also 'Erlinton,' -#A#, #B#, make the lady hold the knight's horse: so Danish 82 #B#, #C#, -#E#, #I#, #Æ#, #D*#, Icelandic #C#, Norwegian and Swedish #A#, and -Danish 83 #D#. Of the knight's injunction, "Name me not to death, though -thou see me bleed," which, as has been noted, is kept by nearly every -Danish ballad (and by the Icelandic, the Norwegian, and by Swedish -'Ribold and Guldborg,' #A#, #B#, #C#, #H#, Swedish 'Hildebrand and -Hilde,' #A#, #B#), there is left in English only this faint trace, in -'Erlinton,' #A#, #B#: "See ye dinna change your cheer until ye see my -body bleed." It is the wish to save the life of her youngest brother -that causes the lady to call her lover by name in the larger number of -Scandinavian ballads, and she adds, "that he may carry the tidings to my -mother," in Danish 82 #A#, #B#, #C#, #E#, #F#, #G#, #H#, #M#, #X#, 83 -#B#, #C#, #D#. Grief for her father's death is the impulse in Danish 82 -#I#, #N#, #O#, #Q#, #R#, #S#, #Y#, #Z#, #Æ#, #Ø#, #A*#, #C*#, #D*#, -#E*#, Swedish #A#, #B#, #C#, #H#. English #A# says nothing of father or -brother; but in #B#, #C#, #D#, #E#, it is the father's death that causes -the exclamation. All the assailants are slain in 'Erlinton' #A#, #B#, -except an aged knight [the auldest man], and he is spared to carry the -tidings home. 'Erlinton' #C#, however, agrees with the oldest Danish -copies in making the youngest brother the motive of the lady's -intervention. It is the fifteenth, and last, of the assailants that -gives Earl Brand his death-wound; in Danish #H#, the youngest brother, -whom he has been entreated to spare; and so, apparently, in Danish #C# -and Norwegian #A#. - -The question, "Will you go with me or return to your mother?" which we -find in English #B#, #C#, #D#, is met with also in many Danish versions, -82 #B#, #H#, #K#, #L#, #M#, #N#, #P#, #U#, #Z#, #Æ#, #Ø#, #C*#, and -Swedish #A#, #B#, #C#. The dying man asks to have his bed made in -English #B#, #C#, as in Danish 82 #B#, #C#, #K#, #L#, #N#, #U#, #N#, -#Æ#, #Ø#, #C*#, #D*#, Norwegian #A#, Swedish #A#, #B#, #C#, #H#, and -desires that the lady may marry his brother in English #A#, as in nearly -all the Danish versions, Icelandic #A#, #B#, #C#, Norwegian #C#, #D#, -#E#, Swedish #C#. He declares her a maiden true in 'Earl Brand,' #A c# -33, and affirms the same with more particularity in Danish 82 #B#, #C#, -#E#, #F#, #G#, #M#, #Ø#, Icelandic #B#, #C#, Norwegian #A#, #C#, #E#, -Swedish #C#. The growth of the rose and brier [bush and brier] from the -lovers' grave in English #B#, #C#, is not met with in any version of -'Ribold and Guldborg' proper, but 'Den farlige Jomfru' #G#, Grundtvig, -184, the last half of which, as already remarked, is a fragment of a -Ribold ballad, has a linden in place of the rose and brier. - -No complete ballad of the Ribold class is known to have survived in -#German#, but a few verses have been interpolated by tradition in the -earliest copy of the Ulinger ballad (vv. 47-56), which may almost with -certainty be assigned to one of the other description. They disturb the -narrative where they are, and a ready occasion for their slipping in was -afforded by the scene being exactly the same in both ballads: a knight -and a lady, with whom he had eloped, resting in a wood.[111] See No 4, -p. 32 of this volume. - -We find in a pretty #Neapolitan-Albanian# ballad, which, with others, is -regarded by the editors as a fragment of a connected poem, several of -the features of these northern ones. A youth asks a damsel in marriage, -but is not favored by her mother, father, or brother. He wins over first -the mother and then the father by handsome presents, but his gifts, -though accepted, do not conciliate the brother. He carries off the lady -on horseback, and is attacked by the brother, four uncles, and seven -cousins. He is killed and falls from his horse; with him the lady falls -dead also, and both are covered up with stones. In the spring the youth -comes up a cypress, the damsel comes up a vine, and encloses the cypress -in her arms. (Rapsodie d'un poema albanese raccolte nelle colonie del -Napoletano, de Rada and de' Coronei, Florence, 1866, lib. ii., canto -viii.) - -These ballads would seem to belong among the numerous ramifications of -the Hilde saga. Of these, the second lay of Helgi Hundingslayer, in -Sæmund's Edda, and 'Waltharius,' the beautiful poem of Ekkehard, are -most like the ballads.[112] Leaving 'Waltharius' till we come to -'Erlinton,' we may notice that Sigrún, in the Helgi lay, though promised -by her father to another man, Hödbrodd, son of Granmar, preferred Helgi. -She sought him out, and told him frankly her predicament: she feared, -she said, the wrath of her friends, for breaking her father's promise. -Helgi accepted her affection, and bade her not care for the displeasure -of her relatives. A great battle ensued between Helgi and the sons of -Granmar, who were aided by Sigrún's father and brothers. All her kinsmen -were slain except one brother, Dag. He bound himself to peace with -Helgi, but, notwithstanding, made sacrifices to Odin to obtain the loan -of his spear, and with it slew Helgi. We have, therefore, in so much of -the lay of Helgi Hundingslayer, the groundwork of the story of the -ballads: a woman, who, as in many of the Ribold ballads, has been -betrothed to a man she does not care for, gives herself to another; -there is a fight, in which a great number of her kinsmen fall; one -brother survives, who is the death of the man she loves. The lay of -Helgi Hiörvard's son, whose story has much in common with that of his -namesake, affords two resemblances of detail not found in the lay of the -Hundingslayer. Helgi Hiörvard's son, while his life-blood is ebbing, -expresses himself in almost the words of the dying Ribold: "The sword -has come very near my heart." He then, like Ribold and Earl Brand, -declares his wish that his wife should marry his brother, and she, like -Guldborg, declines a second union.[113] - -There is also a passage in the earlier history of Helgi Hundingslayer -of which traces appear to be preserved in ballads, and before all in the -English ballad 'Earl Brand,' #A#. Hunding and Helgi's family were at -feud. Helgi introduced himself into Hunding's court as a spy, and when -he was retiring sent word to Hunding's son that he had been there -disguised as a son of Hagal, Helgi's foster-father. Hunding sent men to -take him, and Helgi, to escape them, was forced to assume woman's -clothes and grind at the mill. While Hunding's men are making search, a -mysterious blind man, surnamed the bale-wise, or evil-witted (Blindr inn -bölvísi), calls out, Sharp are the eyes of Hagal's maid; it is no -churl's blood that stands at the mill; the stones are riving, the -meal-trough is springing; a hard lot has befallen a war-king when a -chieftain must grind strange barley; fitter for that hand is the -sword-hilt than the mill-handle. Hagal pretends that the fierce-eyed -maid is a virago whom Helgi had taken captive, and in the end Helgi -escapes. This malicious personage reappears in the Hrômund saga as -"Blind the Bad" and "the Carl Blind, surnamed Bavís," and is found -elsewhere. His likeness to "old Carl Hood," who "comes for ill, but -never for good," and who gives information of Earl Brand's flight with -the king's daughter, does not require to be insisted on. Both are -identical, we can scarcely doubt, with the blind [one-eyed] old man of -many tales, who goes about in various disguises, sometimes as beggar, -with his hood or hat slouched over his face,--that is Odin, the Síðhöttr -or Deep-hood of Sæmund, who in the saga of Hálf and his champions is -called simple Hood, as here, and expressly said to be Odin.[114] Odin, -though not a thoroughly malignant divinity, had his dark side, and one -of his titles in Sæmund's Edda is Bölverkr, _maleficus_. He first caused -war by casting his spear among men, and Dag, after he has killed Helgi, -says Odin was the author of all the mischief, for he brought strife -among kinsmen.[115] - -The disastrous effects of "naming" in a great emergency appear in other -northern traditions, though not so frequently as one would expect. A -diverting Swedish saga, which has been much quoted, relates how St. Olof -bargained with a troll for the building of a huge church, the pay to be -the sun and moon, or St. Olof himself. The holy man was equally amazed -and embarrassed at seeing the building run up by the troll with great -rapidity, but during a ramble among the hills had the good luck to -discover that the troll's name was Wind and Weather, after which all was -easy. For while the troll was on the roof of the church, Olof called out -to him, - - 'Wind and Weather, hi! - You've set the spire awry;' - -and the troll, thus called by his name, lost his strength, fell off, and -was dashed into a hundred pieces, all flint stones. (Iduna, Part 3, p. -60 f, note. Other forms of the same story in Afzelius, Sago-Häfder, III, -100 f; Faye, Norske Folke-Sagn, p. 14, 2d ed.; Hofberg, Nerikes Gamla -Minnen, p. 234.) - -It is a Norwegian belief that when a nix assumes the human shape in -order to carry some one off, it will be his death if the selected victim -recognizes him and names him, and in this way a woman escaped in a -ballad. She called out, So you are the Nix, that pestilent beast, and -the nix "disappeared in red blood." (Faye, as above, p. 49, note.) A -nix is baffled in the same way in a Færoe and an Icelandic ballad cited -by Grundtvig, II, 57. - -The marvellous horse Blak agrees to carry Waldemar [Hildebrand] over a -great piece of water for the rescue of his daughter [sister], -stipulating, however, that his name shall not be uttered. The rider -forgets himself in a panic, calls to the horse by his name, and is -thrown off into the water. The horse, whose powers had been -supernatural, and who had been _running_ over the water as if it were -land, has now only ordinary strength, and is forced to swim. He brings -the lady back on the same terms, which she keeps, but when he reaches -the land he is bleeding at every hair, and falls dead. (Landstad, 58; -Grundtvig, 62; Afzelius, 59, preface; Kristensen, I, No 66.) - -Klaufi, a berserker, while under the operation of his peculiar fury, -loses his strength, and can no longer wield the weapon he was fighting -with, upon Gríss's crying out, "Klaufi, Klaufi, be not so mad!" -(Svarfdæla Saga, p. 147, and again p. 156 f.) So the blood-thirst of the -avenger's sword in the magnificent Danish ballad 'Hævnersværdet' is -restrained by naming. (Grundtvig, No 25, st. 35.) Again, men engaged in -_hamfarir_, that is in roving about in the shape of beasts, their proper -bodies remaining lifeless the while, must not be called by name, for -this might compel them to return at once to their own shape, or possibly -prevent their ever doing so. (Kristni Saga, ed. 1773, p. 149. R.T. King, -in Notes and Queries, 2d Ser., II, 506.) Grundtvig remarks that this -belief is akin to what is related in Fáfnismál (prose interpolation -after st. 1), that Sigurd concealed his name by reason of a belief in -old times that a dying man's word had great power, if he cursed his foe -by name. (D.g.F., II, 340.) - -The beautiful fancy of plants springing from the graves of star-crossed -lovers, and signifying by the intertwining of stems or leaves, or in -other analogous ways, that an earthly passion has not been extinguished -by death, presents itself, as is well known, very frequently in popular -poetry. Though the graves be made far apart, even on opposite sides of -the church, or one to the north and one to the south outside of the -church, or one without kirk wall and one in the choir, however -separated, the vines or trees seek one another out, and mingle their -branches or their foliage: - - "Even from the tomb the voice of Nature cries, - Even in our ashes live their wonted fires!" - -The principal ballads which exhibit this conception in one or another -form are the following: - -In English, 'The Douglas Tragedy,' 'Fair Margaret and Sweet William,' -'Lord Thomas and Fair Annet,' 'Fair Janet,' 'Prince Robert,' 'Lord -Lovel.' The plants in all these are either a brier and a rose, or a -brier and a birk. - -#Swedish.# Arwidsson, No 73: the graves are made east and west of the -church, a linden grows from each, the trees meet over the church roof. -So E. Wigström, Folkdiktning, No 20, p. 42. Arwidsson 74 #A#: Rosea -Lilla and the duke are buried south and north in the church-yard. A rose -from her grave covers his with its leaves. The duke is then laid in her -grave, from which a linden springs. 74 #B#: the rose as before, and a -linden from the duke's grave. Arwidsson, 72, 68, Afzelius, No 19 (new -ed., 18), 23 (new ed., 21, 1, 2): a common grave, with a linden, two -trees, or lilies, and, in the last, roses also growing from the mouths -of both lovers. In one version the linden leaves bear the inscription, -My father shall answer to me at doomsday. - -#Norwegian.# Landstad, 65: the lovers are laid north and south of the -church; lilies grow over the church roof. - -#Danish.# Danske Viser, 124, 153, two roses. Kristensen, II, No 60, two -lilies, interlocking over church wall and ridge. 61 #B#, #C# -(==Afzelius, 19), separate graves; #B#, a lily from each grave; #C#, a -flower from each breast. Grundtvig, 184 #G#, 271 #N#, a linden; Danske -Folkeminder, 1861, p. 81, two lilies. - -#German.# 'Der Ritter u. die Maid,' (1) Nicolai, I, No 2,==Kretzschmer, -I, 54; (2) Uhland, 97 #A#, Simrock, 12; (3) Erk's Liederhort, 26; -Hoffmann u. Richter, 4: the lovers are buried together, and there grow -from their grave (1) three pinks, (2) three lilies, (3) two lilies. -Wunderhorn, 1857, I, 53, Mittler, No 91: the maid is buried in the -churchyard, the knight under the gallows. A lily grows from his grave, -with an inscription, Beid wären beisammen im Himmel. Ditfurth, II, 7: -two lilies spring from her (or their) grave, bearing a similar -inscription. In Haupt and Schmaler, Volkslieder der Wenden, I, 136, from -the German, rue is _planted_ on the maid's grave, in accordance with the -last words of the knight, and the same inscription appears on one of the -leaves. - -'Graf Friedrich,' Uhland, 122, Wunderhorn, II, 293, Mittler, 108, Erk's -Liederhort, 15 #a#: Graf Friedrich's bride is by accident mortally -wounded while he is bringing her home. Her father kills him, and he is -dragged at a horse's heels. Three lilies spring from his grave, with an -inscription, Er wär bei Gott geblieben. He is then buried with his -bride, the transfer being attended with other miraculous manifestations. -Other versions, Hoffmann u. Richter, 19, ==Mittler, 112, ==Liederhort, -15; Mittler, 113, 114; also Meinert, 23, ==Mittler, 109, etc.: the -lilies in most of these growing from the _bride's_ grave, with words -attesting the knight's innocence. - -Lilies with inscriptions also in Wunderhorn, II, p. 251, ==Mittler, 128, -'Alle bei Gott die sich lieben;' Mittler, 130; Ditfurth, II, 4, 9; -Scherer, Jungbrunnen, 9 #A#, 25; Pogatschnigg und Hermann, 1458. Three -lilies from a maid's grave: 'Die schwazbraune Hexe' ('Es blies ein -Jäger'), Nicolai, I, 8; Wunderhorn, I, 36; Gräter's Bragur, I, 280; -Uhland, 103; Liederhort, 9; Simrock, 93; Fiedler, p. 158; Ditfurth, II, -33, 34; Reifferscheid, 15, etc. Three roses, Hoffmann u. Richter, 171, -p. 194; three pinks, _ib._, 172; rose, pink, lily, Alemannia, IV, 35. -Three lilies from a man's grave: 'Der Todwunde:' Schade, Bergreien, 10, -==Uhland, 93 #A#, ==Liederhort, 34 #g#, ==Mittler, 47, etc. - -#Portuguese.# 'Conde Nillo,' 'Conde Niño,' Almeida-Garrett, III, No 18, -at p. 21; Braga, Rom. Geral., No 14, at p. 38,==Hartung, I, 17: the -infanta is buried at the foot of the high altar, Conde Nillo near the -church door; a cypress and an orange [pines]. Almeida-Garrett, III, No -20, at p. 38: a sombre clump of pines over the knight, reeds from the -princess's grave, which, though cut down, shoot again, and are heard -sighing in the night. Braga, Archip. Açor., 'Filba Maria,' 'Dom -Doardos,' 'A Ermida no Mar,' Nos 32, 33, 34, Hartung, I, 220-224; -Estacio da Veiga, 'Dom Diniz,' p. 64-67, ==Hartung, I, 217, 2: tree and -pines, olive and pines, clove-tree and pine, roses and canes: in all, -new miracles follow the cutting down. So also Almeida-Garrett, No 6, I, -167. - -#Roumanian.# Alecsandri, 7, Stanley, p. 16, 'Ring and Handkerchief,' -translated by Stanley, p. 193, Murray, p. 56: a fir and a vine, which -meet over the church. - -#French.# Beaurepaire, Poésie pop. en Normandie, p. 51: a thorn and an -olive are _planted_ over the graves; the thorn embraces the olive. - -#Romaic.# Passow, Nos 414, 415, 456, 469; Zambelios, p. 754, No 41; -Tommaseo, Canti Popolari, III, 135; Chasiotis, p. 103, No 22: a cypress -from the man's grave, a reed from the maid's (or from a common tomb); -reversed in Passow, Nos 418, 470, and Schmidt, Griechische Märchen, -u.s.w., No 59, p. 203. Sakellarios, p. 25, No 9, cypress and apple-tree; -p. 38, No 13, cypress and lemon-tree. (F. Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, pp. -166, 168, 182, 183.) - -#Servian.# Talvj, V.L. der Serben, II, p. 85: a fir and a rose; the rose -twines round the fir. - -#Wend.# Haupt and Schmaler, V.L. der Wenden, II, No 48: a maid, who -kills herself on account of the death of her lover, orders two grape -vines _to be planted_ over their graves: the vines intertwine. - -#Breton.# Luzel, I, p. 423: a fleur-de-lis springs from a common tomb, -and is always in flower, however often it is plucked. - -#Italo-Albanian.# De Rada, Rapsodie d'un poema albanese, etc., p. 47: -the youth comes up (nacque) a cypress; the maid a white vine, which -clings around the tree. Camarda, Appendice al saggio di grammatologia -comparata, 'Angelina,' p. 112, the same; but inappropriately, as -Liebrecht has remarked, fidelity in love being wanting in this case. - -#Magyar.# The lovers are buried before and behind the altar; white and -red lilies spring from the tombs; mother or father destroys or attempts -to destroy the plants: Aigner, Ungarische Volksdichtungen, 2d ed., at p. -92, p. 138, 131 f. Again, at p. 160, of the 'Two Princes' (Hero and -Leander): here a white and a red tulip are _planted_ over the graves, in -a garden, and it is expressly said that the souls of the enamored pair -passed into the tulips. In the first piece the miracle occurs twice. The -lovers had thrown themselves into a deep lake; plants rose above the -surface of the water and intertwined (p. 91); the bodies were brought up -by divers and buried in the church, where the marvel was repeated. - -#Afghan.# Audam and Doorkhaunee, a poem "read, repeated, and sung, -through all parts of the country," Elphinstone's Account of the Kingdom -of Caubul, 1815, p. 185 f: two trees spring from their remains, and the -branches mingle over their tomb. First cited by Talvj, Versuch, p. 140. - -#Kurd.# Mem and Zin, a poem of Ahméd X[/-a]ni, died 1652-3: two rose -bushes spring from their graves and interlock. Bulletin de la classe des -sciences historiques, etc., de l'acad. impér. des sciences de St. Pét., -tome XV, No 11, p. 170. - -The idea of the love-animated plants has been thought to be derived from -the romance of Tristan, where it also occurs; agreeably to a general -principle, somewhat hastily assumed, that when romances and popular -ballads have anything in common, priority belongs to the romances. The -question as to precedence in this instance is an open one, for the -fundamental conception is not less a favorite with ancient Greek than -with mediæval imagination. - -Tristan and Isolde had unwittingly drunk of a magical potion which had -the power to induce an indestructible and ever-increasing love. Tristan -died of a wound received in one of his adventures, and Isolde of a -broken heart, because, though summoned to his aid, she arrived too late -for him to profit by her medical skill. They were buried in the same -church. According to the French prose romance, a green brier issued from -Tristan's tomb, mounted to the roof, and, descending to Isolde's tomb, -made its way within. King Marc caused the brier to be cut down three -several times, but the morning after it was as flourishing as -before.[116] - -Eilhart von Oberge, vv. 9509-21 (ed. Lichtenstein, Quellen u. -Forschungen, xix, 429) and the German prose romance (Büsching u. von der -Hagen, Buch der Liebe, c. 60), Ulrich von Thürheim, vv. 3546-50, and -Heinrich von Freiberg, vv. 6819-41 (in von der Hagen's ed. of G.v. -Strassburg's Tristan) make King Marc _plant_, the first two a grape-vine -over Tristan and a rose over Isolde, the others, wrongly, the rose over -Tristan and the vine over Isolde. These plants, according to Heinrich, -struck their roots into the hearts of the lovers below, while their -branches embraced above. Icelandic ballads and an Icelandic saga -represent Tristan's wife as forbidding the lovers to be buried in the -same grave, and ordering them to be buried on opposite sides of the -church. Trees spring from their bodies and meet over the church roof, -(Íslenzk Fornkvæði, 23 #A#, #B#, #C#, #D#; Saga af Tristram ok Ísönd, -Brynjulfson, p. 199; Tristrams Saga ok Ísondar, Kölbing, p. 112). The -later Titurel imitates the conclusion of Tristan. (Der jüngere Titurel, -ed. Hahn, sts 5789, 5790.) - -Among the miracles of the Virgin there are several which are closely -akin to the prodigies already noted. A lily is found growing from the -mouth of a clerk, who, though not leading an exemplary life, had every -day said his ave before the image of Mary: Unger, Mariu Saga, No 50; -Berceo, No 3; Miracles de N.D. de Chartres, p. lxiii, No 29, and p. 239; -Marien-legenden (Stuttgart, 1846), No xi and p. 269. A rose springs from -the grave and roots in the heart of a knight who had spared the honor -of a maid because her name was Mary: Unger, No clvi, Hagen's -Gesammtabenteuer, lxxiii. Roses inscribed Maria grow from the mouth, -eyes, and ears of a monk: Unger, cxxxvii; and a lily grows over a monk's -grave, springing from his mouth, every leaf of which bears Ave Maria in -golden letters: Unger, cxxxviii; Gesammtabenteuer, lxxxviii; Libro de -Exenplos, Romania, 1878, p. 509, 43, 44; etc., etc. - -No one can fail to be reminded of the purple, lily-shaped flower, -inscribed with the mournful AI AI, that rose from the blood of -Hyacinthus, and of the other from the blood of Ajax, with the same -letters, "his name and eke his plaint," hæc nominis, illa querellæ. -(Ovid, Met. X, 210 ff; xiii, 394 ff.) The northern lindens have their -counterpart in the elms from the grave of Protesilaus, and in the trees -into which Philemon and Baucis were transformed. See, upon the whole -subject, the essay of Koberstein in the Weimar Jahrbuch, I, 73 ff, with -Köhler's supplement, p. 479 ff; Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, II, 689 f, -and III, 246. - -"The ballad of the 'Douglas Tragedy,'" says Scott, "is one of the few to -which popular tradition has ascribed complete locality. The farm of -Blackhouse, in Selkirkshire, is said to have been the scene of this -melancholy event. There are the remains of a very ancient tower, -adjacent to the farm-house, in a wild and solitary glen, upon a torrent -named Douglas burn, which joins the Yarrow after passing a craggy rock -called the Douglas craig.... From this ancient tower Lady Margaret is -said to have been carried by her lover. Seven large stones, erected upon -the neighboring 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." - -The localities of the Danish story were ascertained, to her entire -satisfaction, by Anne Krabbe in 1605-6, and are given again in Resen's -Atlas Danicus, 1677. See Grundtvig, II, 342 f. - -#B#, Scott's 'Douglas Tragedy,' is translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og -skotske Folkeviser, No 11; Afzelius, III, 86; Schubart, p. 159; Talvj, -p. 565; Wolff, Halle, I, 76; Hausschatz, p. 201; Rosa Warrens, No 23; -Gerhard, p. 28; Loève Veimars, p. 292. - -'Ribold og Guldborg,' Danish #B#, is translated by Buchanan, p. 16 -(loosely); #G# by Jamieson, Illustrations, p. 317, and Prior, II, 400; -#T# by Prior, II, 407; Swedish #A#, For. Quart. Rev., XXV, 41. -'Hildebrand og Hilde,' Danish #A#, #B#, #F#, #H#, by Prior, II, 411-20. - - -A - - #a#, #b#, from the papers of the late Robert White, Esq., - of Newcastle-on-Tyne: #c#, R. Bell, Ancient Poems, - Ballads, etc. (1857), p. 122: #d#, fragmentary lines as - remembered by Mrs Andrews, Mr White's sister, from her - mother's singing. - - 1 - Oh did ye ever hear o brave Earl Bran? - Ay lally, o lilly lally - He courted the king's daughter of fair England. - All i the night sae early - - 2 - She was scarcely fifteen years of age - Till sae boldly she came to his bedside. - - 3 - 'O Earl Bran, fain wad I see - A pack of hounds let loose on the lea.' - - 4 - 'O lady, I have no steeds but one, - And thou shalt ride, and I will run.' - - 5 - 'O Earl Bran, my father has two, - And thou shall have the best o them a.' - - 6 - They have ridden oer moss and moor, - And they met neither rich nor poor. - - 7 - Until they met with old Carl Hood; - He comes for ill, but never for good. - - 8 - 'Earl Bran, if ye love me, - Seize this old carl, and gar him die.' - - 9 - 'O lady fair, it wad be sair, - To slay an old man that has grey hair. - - 10 - 'O lady fair, I'll no do sae; - I'll gie him a pound, and let him gae.' - - 11 - 'O where hae ye ridden this lee lang day? - Or where hae ye stolen this lady away?' - - 12 - 'I have not ridden this lee lang day. - Nor yet have I stolen this lady away. - - 13 - 'She is my only, my sick sister, - Whom I have brought from Winchester.' - - 14 - 'If she be sick, and like to dead, - Why wears she the ribbon sae red? - - 15 - 'If she be sick, and like to die, - Then why wears she the gold on high?' - - 16 - When he came to this lady's gate, - Sae rudely as he rapped at it. - - 17 - 'O where's the lady o this ha?' - 'She's out with her maids to play at the ba.' - - 18 - 'Ha, ha, ha! ye are a' mistaen: - Gae count your maidens oer again. - - 19 - 'I saw her far beyond the moor, - Away to be the Earl o Bran's whore.' - - 20 - The father armed fifteen of his best men, - To bring his daughter back again. - - 21 - Oer her left shoulder the lady looked then: - 'O Earl Bran, we both are tane.' - - 22 - 'If they come on me ane by ane, - Ye may stand by and see them slain. - - 23 - 'But if they come on me one and all, - Ye may stand by and see me fall.' - - 24 - They have come on him ane by ane, - And he has killed them all but ane. - - 25 - And that ane came behind his back, - And he's gien him a deadly whack. - - 26 - But for a' sae wounded as Earl Bran was, - He has set his lady on her horse. - - 27 - They rode till they came to the water o Doune, - And then he alighted to wash his wounds. - - 28 - 'O Earl Bran, I see your heart's blood!' - 'T is but the gleat o my scarlet hood.' - - 29 - They rode till they came to his mother's gate, - And sae rudely as he rapped at it. - - 30 - 'O my son's slain, my son's put down, - And a' for the sake of an English loun.' - - 31 - 'O say not sae, my dear mother, - But marry her to my youngest brother. - - * * * * * * * - - 32 - 'This has not been the death o ane, - But it's been that of fair seventeen.' - - * * * * * * * - - -B - - Scott's Minstrelsy, III, 246, ed. 1803; III, 6, ed. 1833: - the copy principally used supplied by Mr Sharpe, the three - last stanzas from a penny pamphlet and from tradition. - - 1 - 'Rise up, rise up, now, Lord Douglas,' she says, - 'And put on your armour so bright; - Let it never be said that a daughter of thine - Was married to a lord under night. - - 2 - 'Rise up, rise up, my seven bold sons, - And put on your armour so bright, - And take better care of your youngest sister, - For your eldest's awa the last night.' - - 3 - He's mounted her on a milk-white steed, - And himself on a dapple grey, - With a bugelet horn hung down by his side, - And lightly they rode away. - - 4 - Lord William lookit oer his left shoulder, - To see what he could see, - And there he spy'd her seven brethren bold, - Come riding over the lee. - - 5 - 'Light down, light down, Lady Margret,' he said, - 'And hold my steed in your hand, - Until that against your seven brethren bold, - And your father, I mak a stand.' - - 6 - She held his steed in her milk-white hand, - And never shed one tear, - Until that she saw her seven brethren fa, - And her father hard fighting, who lovd her so dear. - - 7 - 'O hold your hand, Lord William!' she said, - 'For your strokes they are wondrous sair; - True lovers I can get many a ane, - But a father I can never get mair.' - - 8 - O she's taen out her handkerchief, - It was o the holland sae fine, - And aye she dighted her father's bloody wounds, - That were redder than the wine. - - 9 - 'O chuse, O chuse, Lady Margret,' he said, - 'O whether will ye gang or bide?' - 'I'll gang, I'll gang, Lord William,' she said, - 'For ye have left me no other guide.' - - 10 - He's lifted her on a milk-white steed, - And himself on a dapple grey, - With a bugelet horn hung down by his side, - And slowly they baith rade away. - - 11 - O they rade on, and on they rade, - And a' by the light of the moon, - Until they came to yon wan water, - And there they lighted down. - - 12 - They lighted down to tak a drink - Of the spring that ran sae clear, - And down the stream ran his gude heart's blood, - And sair she gan to fear. - - 13 - 'Hold up, hold up, Lord William,' she says, - 'For I fear that you are slain;' - ''T is naething but the shadow of my scarlet cloak, - That shines in the water sae plain.' - - 14 - O they rade on, and on they rade, - And a' by the light of the moon, - Until they cam to his mother's ha door, - And there they lighted down. - - 15 - 'Get up, get up, lady mother,' he says, - 'Get up, and let me in! - Get up, get up, lady mother,' he says, - 'For this night my fair lady I've win. - - 16 - 'O mak my bed, lady mother,' he says, - 'O mak it braid and deep, - And lay Lady Margret close at my back, - And the sounder I will sleep.' - - 17 - Lord William was dead lang ere midnight, - Lady Margret lang ere day, - And all true lovers that go thegither, - May they have mair luck than they! - - 18 - Lord William was buried in St. Mary's kirk, - Lady Margret in Mary's quire; - Out o the lady's grave grew a bonny red rose, - And out o the knight's a briar. - - 19 - And they twa met, and they twa plat, - And fain they wad be near; - And a' the warld might ken right weel - They were twa lovers dear. - - 20 - But bye and rade the Black Douglas, - And wow but he was rough! - For he pulld up the bonny brier, - And flang't in St. Mary's Loch. - - -C - - Motherwell's MS., p. 502. From the recitation of Mrs - Notman. - - 1 - 'Rise up, rise up, my seven brave sons, - And dress in your armour so bright; - Earl Douglas will hae Lady Margaret awa - Before that it be light. - - 2 - 'Arise, arise, my seven brave sons, - And dress in your armour so bright; - It shall never be said that a daughter of mine - Shall go with an earl or a knight.' - - 3 - 'O will ye stand, fair Margaret,' he says, - 'And hold my milk-white steed, - Till I fight your father and seven brethren, - In yonder pleasant mead?' - - 4 - She stood and held his milk-white steed, - She stood trembling with fear, - Until she saw her seven brethren fall, - And her father that loved her dear. - - 5 - 'Hold your hand, Earl Douglas,' she says, - 'Your strokes are wonderous sair; - I may get sweethearts again enew, - But a father I'll ne'er get mair.' - - 6 - She took out a handkerchief - Was made o' the cambrick fine, - And aye she wiped her father's bloody wounds, - And the blood sprung up like wine. - - 7 - 'Will ye go, fair Margaret?' he said, - 'Will ye now go, or bide?' - 'Yes, I'll go, sweet William,' she said, - 'For ye've left me never a guide. - - 8 - 'If I were to go to my mother's house, - A welcome guest I would be; - But for the bloody deed that's done this day - I'll rather go with thee.' - - 9 - He lifted her on a milk-white steed - And himself on a dapple gray; - They drew their hats out over their face, - And they both went weeping away. - - 10 - They rode, they rode, and they better rode, - Till they came to yon water wan; - They lighted down to gie their horse a drink - Out of the running stream. - - 11 - 'I am afraid, Earl Douglas.' she said, - 'I am afraid ye are slain; - I think I see your bonny heart's blood - Running down the water wan.' - - 12 - 'Oh no, oh no, fair Margaret,' he said, - 'Oh no, I am not slain; - It is but the scad of my scarlet cloak - Runs down the water wan.' - - 13 - He mounted her on a milk-white steed - And himself on a dapple gray, - And they have reached Earl Douglas' gates - Before the break of day. - - 14 - 'O rise, dear mother, and make my bed, - And make it braid and wide, - And lay me down to take my rest, - And at my back my bride.' - - 15 - She has risen and made his bed, - She made it braid and wide; - She laid him down to take his rest, - And at his back his bride. - - 16 - Lord William died ere it was day, - Lady Margaret on the morrow; - Lord William died through loss of blood and wounds, - Fair Margaret died with sorrow. - - 17 - The one was buried in Mary's kirk, - The other in Mary's quire; - The one sprung up a bonnie bush, - And the other a bonny brier. - - 18 - These twa grew, and these twa threw, - Till they came to the top, - And when they could na farther gae, - They coost the lovers' knot. - - -D - - Kinloch MSS, I, 327. - - 1 - 'Sleepst thou or wakst thou, Lord Montgomerie, - Sleepst thou or wakst thou, I say? - Rise up, make a match for your eldest daughter, - For the youngest I carry away.' - - 2 - 'Rise up, rise up, my seven bold sons, - Dress yourselves in the armour sae fine; - For it ne'er shall be said that a churlish knight - Eer married a daughter of mine.' - - * * * * * * * - - 3 - 'Loup aff, loup aff, Lady Margaret,' he said, - 'And hold my steed in your hand, - And I will go fight your seven brethren, - And your father, where they stand.' - - 4 - Sometimes she gaed, sometimes she stood, - But never dropt a tear, - Until she saw her brethren all slain - And her father who lovd her so dear. - - 5 - 'Hold thy hand, sweet William,' she says, - 'Thy blows are wondrous sore; - Sweethearts I may have many a one, - But a father I'll never have more.' - - 6 - O she's taken her napkin frae her pocket, - Was made o the holland fine, - And ay as she dichted her father's bloody wounds, - They sprang as red as the wine. - - 7 - 'Two chooses, two chooses, Lady Margret,' he says, - 'Two chooses I'll make thee; - Whether to go back to your mother again, - Or go along with me.' - - 8 - 'For to go home to my mother again, - An unwelcome guest I'd be; - But since my fate has ordered it so, - I'll go along with thee.' - - 9 - He has mounted her on a milk-white steed, - Himself on the dapple gray, - And blawn his horn baith loud and shill, - And it sounded far on their way. - - 10 - They rode oer hill, they rode oer dale, - They rode oer mountains so high, - Until they came to that beautiful place - Where Sir William's mother did lie. - - 11 - 'Rise up, rise up, lady mother,' he said, - 'Rise up, and make much o your own; - Rise up, rise up, lady mother,' he said, - 'For his bride's just new come home.' - - 12 - Sir William he died in the middle o the night, - Lady Margaret died on the morrow; - Sir William he died of pure pure love, - Lady Margaret of grief and sorrow. - - -E - - Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 180. From recitation. - - 1 - He has lookit over his left shoulder, - And through his bonnie bridle rein, - And he spy'd her father and her seven bold brethren, - Come riding down the glen. - - 2 - 'O hold my horse, Lady Margret,' he said, - 'O hold my horse by the bonnie bridle rein, - Till I fight your father and seven bold brethren, - As they come riding down the glen.' - - 3 - Some time she rade, and some time she gaed, - Till she that place did near, - And there she spy'd her seven bold brethren slain, - And her father who loved her so dear. - - 4 - 'O hold your hand, sweet William,' she said, - 'Your bull baits are wondrous sair; - Sweet-hearts I may get many a one, - But a father I will never get mair.' - - 5 - She has taken a napkin from off her neck, - That was of the cambrick so fine, - And aye as she wiped her father's bloody wounds, - The blood ran red as the wine. - - * * * * * * * - - 6 - He set her upon the milk-white steed, - Himself upon the brown; - He took a horn out of his pocket, - And they both went weeping along. - - -F - - Percy MS., p. 57; ed. Hales and Furnivall, I, 133. - - 1 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - Sayes 'Christ thee saue, good Child of Ell! - Christ saue thee and thy steede! - - 2 - 'My father sayes he will [eat] noe meate, - Nor his drinke shall doe him noe good, - Till he haue slaine the Child of Ell, - And haue seene his harts blood.' - - 3 - 'I wold I were in my sadle sett, - And a mile out of the towne; - I did not care for yo_u_r father - And all his merry men! - - 4 - 'I wold I were in my sadle sett, - And a little space him froe; - I did not care for yo_u_r father - And all that long him to!' - - 5 - He leaned ore his saddle bow - To kisse this lady good; - The teares _that_ went them _two_ betweene - Were blend water and blood. - - 6 - He sett himselfe on one good steed, - This lady on a palfray, - And sett his litle horne to his mouth, - And roundlie he rode away. - - 7 - He had not ridden past a mile, - A mile out of the towne, - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 8 - Her father was readye with her _seuen_ brether, - He said, 'Sett thou my daughter downe! - For it ill beseemes thee, thou false churles sonne, - To carry her forth of this towne!' - - 9 - 'But lowd thou lyest, S_i_r Iohn the k_nigh_t, - Thou now doest lye of me; - A knight me gott, and a lady me bore; - Soe neuer did none by thee. - - 10 - 'But light now downe, my lady gay, - Light downe and hold my horsse, - Whilest I and yo_u_r father and yo_u_r brether - Doe play vs at this crosse. - - 11 - 'But light now downe, my owne trew loue, - And meeklye hold my steede, - Whilest yo_u_r father [and your _seuen_ brether] bold - - * * * * * * * - - * * * * * - -#A. a, b.# - - _Obtained from recitation "many years ago" wrote Mr White - in 1873, by James Telfer, of Laughtree Liddesdale, in some - part of the neighboring country: the copy has the date - 1818. #c# is said by the editor to have been taken down - from the recitation of an old fiddler in Northumberland, - but when and by whom he does not tell us. The three are - clearly more or less "corrected" copies of the same - original, #c# having suffered most from arbitrary changes. - Alterations for rhyme's sake, or for propriety's, that are - written above the lines or in the margin of #a# 2, 5, 8, - 19, are adopted in #c# without advertisement._ - - _Burden._ #b.# I the brave night sae early: - - #c.# I the brave nights so early: - - #d.# I (_or_ O) the life o the one, the randy. - - 1^1. #c.# Brand, _and always in_ #c#. - - 1^2. #a.# daughters. - - #b.# He's courted. - - 2^1. #c.# years that tide; that tide _is written over_ of - age _in_ #a#. - - 2^2. #c.# When sae. - - 4^2. #c.# But thou. - - 5^2. #b.# best o these. - - #c.# best of tho. of tho _is written over_ o them a - _in_ #a#. - - 6^2. #b, c.# have met. - - 7^1. #c.# Till at last they met. - - 7^2. #c.# He's aye for ill and never. - - 8^1. #b.# O Earl Bran. - - #c.# Now Earl Brand. Now _in the margin of_ #a#. - - 8^2. #b, c.# Slay this. - - 9^2. #b.# man that wears. - - #c.# carl that wears, carl ... wears _written over_ man - ... has _in_ #a#. - - 10. #b.# - O lady fair, I'll no do that, - I'll pay him penny, let him be jobbing at. - - #c.# - My own lady fair, I'll not do that, - I'll pay him his fee - - 11^2. #b.# where have stoln this fair. - - #c.# And where have ye stown this fair. - - 13. - #b.# - She is my sick sister, - Which I newly brought from Winchester. - - #c.# - For she is, I trow, my sick sister, - Whom I have been bringing fra Winchester. - - 14^1. #c.# nigh to dead. - - 14^2. #b, c.# What makes her wear. - - 15^1. #c.# If she's been. - - 15^2. #b, c.# What makes her wear the gold sae high. - - 16^1. #c.# When came the carl to the lady's yett. - - 16^2. #b.# rapped at. - - #c.# He rudely, rudely rapped thereat. - - 17^2. #b.# maids playen. - - #c.# a playing. - - #d.# She's out with the fair maids playing at the ball. - - 18^1. #b.# mistkane (?): - - 18^2. #b, c.# Ye may count. - - b^2. young Earl. - - 19. #c.# - I met her far beyond the lea - With the young Earl Brand, his leman to be: - - _In ~a lea~ is written over ~moor~, and ~With the young~, - etc., stands as a "correction."_ - - 20. #b.# - Her father, _etc._, - And they have riden after them. - - #c.# - Her father of his best men armed fifteen, - And they're ridden after them bidene. - - 21^1. #b, c.# The lady looket [looked] over [owre] her - left shoulder then. - - 22^1. #b, c.# If they come on me one by one, - - 22^2. #b.# Ye may stand by and see them fall. - - #c.# You may stand by till the fights be done. - - #d.# Then I will slay them every one. - - 23^1. #b.# all in all. - - #d.# all and all. - - 23^2. #d.# Then you will see me the sooner fall. - - 24^2. #b.# has slain. - - 24. #c.# - They came upon him one by one, - Till fourteen battles he has won. - And fourteen men he has them slain, - Each after each upon the plain. - - 25. #c.# - But the fifteenth man behind stole round, - And dealt him a deep and a deadly wound. - - 26. #c.# - Though he was wounded to the deid, - He set his lady on her steed. - - 27^1. #c.# river Donne: - - 27^2. #b.# And he lighted down. - - #c.# And there they lighted to wash his wound. - - 28^2. #b.# It's but the glent. - - #c.# It's nothing but the glent and my scarlet hood. - - 29^1. #c.# yett. - - 29^2. #b.# Sae ruddly as he rappet at. - - #c.# So faint and feebly he rapped thereat. - - 30^1. #b.# O my son's slain and cut down. - - #c.# O my son's slain, he is falling to swoon. - - 32. #b.# - ... death of only one, - But it's been the death of fair seventeen. - - _Instead of 32, #c# has_: - - To a maiden true he'll give his hand, - To the king's daughter o fair England, - To a prize that was won by a slain brother's brand. - -#B.# - - 3. _A stanza resembling this is found in Beaumont and - Fletcher's 'Knight of the Burning Pestle' (1611), Dyce, - II, 172, but may belong to some other ballad, as_ 'The - Knight and Shepherd's Daughter:' - - He set her on a milk-white steed, - And himself upon a grey; - He never turned his face again, - But he bore her quite away. - - 8^4. ware. - - 18^1. Marie. - - 20^4. flang'd. - -#C.# - - 12^3. _MS._ scâd. - -#D.# - - 10. _The following stanza, superscribed "~Mrs Lindores, - Kelso~," was found among Mr Kinlock's papers, and was - inserted at I, 331, of the Kinlock MSS. It may be a first - recollection of #D# 10, but is more likely to be another - version_: - - 'We raid over hill and we raid over dale, - And we raid over mountains sae high, - Until we cam in sicht o yon bonnie castle bowr - Whare Sir William Arthur did lie.' - -#E.# - - 5-6. _"Two stanzas are here omitted, in which Lord William - offers her the choice of returning to her mother, or of - accompanying him; and the ballad concludes with this [the - 6th] stanza, which is twice repeated in singing." - Motherwell's preface._ - -#F.# - - 3^4. _MS._ merrymen. - - 6^2. of one palfray. - - _7, 8 are written in one stanza. Half a page, or about - nine stanzas, is gone after st. 11._ - - -[107] 'Erlinton,' though not existing in a two-line stanza, follows -immediately after 'Earl Brand.' The copy of 'The Douglas Tragedy' in -Smith's Scottish Minstrel, III, 86, is merely Scott's, with changes to -facilitate singing. - -[108] #B*#, III, 853, a fragment of five stanzas, has been dropped by -Grundtvig from No 82, and assigned to No 249. See #D. g. F#. IV, 494. - -[109] Though the paradise has not been transmitted in any known copy of -'Earl Brand,' it appears very distinctly in the opening stanza of -'Leesome Brand' #A#. This last has several stanzas towards the close -(33-35) which seem to belong to 'Earl Brand,' and perhaps derived these, -the "unco land," and even its name, by the familiar process of -intermixture of traditions. - -[110] See No 5, pp. 64, 65, 66. - -[111] Compare vv 49-56, "Wilt thou ride to them, or wilt thou fight with -them, or wilt thou stand by thy love, sword in hand?" "I will not ride -to them, I will not fight with them [i. e., begin the fight], but I will -stand by my love, sword in hand," with Norwegian #A#, 29, 30: "Shall we -ride to the wood, or shall we bide like men?" "We will not ride to the -wood, but we will bide like men." And also with Danish #Æ#, sts 14, 15. - -[112] The chief branches, besides the Helgi lay and Walter, are the saga -in Snorri's Edda, Skáldskaparmal, § 50; that in Saxo Grammaticus, -Stephanius, ed. 1644, pp. 88-90; Sörla þáttr, in Fornaldar Sögur, I, 391 -ff; the Shetland ballad printed in Low's Tour through the Islands of -Orkney and Shetland, 108 ff, and in Barry's History of the Orkney -Islands, 2d ed., 489 ff, and paraphrased in Hibbert's Description of the -Shetland Islands, 561 ff; the Thidrik saga, §§ 233-239, Unger; Gudrun, -v-viii. The names of father, daughter, and lover in these are: (1) -Hügni, ----, Högni, Högin-, Högni, ----, [Artus], Hagen; (2) [Sigrún], -Hilde-gunde, Hildr, Hilda, Hildr, Hildina, Hildr, Hilde; (3) Helgi, -[Walter], Hedin, Hithin-, Hedin, ----, [Herburt], Hetel. Hagan, in -'Waltharius,' may be said to take the place of the father, who is -wanting; and this is in a measure true also of Hedin, Helgi's -half-brother, in the lay of Helgi Hiörvard's son. See the excellent -discussion of the saga by Klee, Zur Hildesage, Leipzig, 1873. - -The Swedish ballad, 'Herr Hjelmer,' #A#, Arwidsson, I, 155, No 21; #B#, -#C#, Afzelius, II, 178, 226, No 74 (Helmer); #D#, #E#. Wigström, -Folkdiktning, p. 25, No 10 (Hjelman), has several points of agreement -with Ribold and the Hilde saga. The hero kills six of seven brothers -[also the father, in #A#], spares the seventh on oath of fidelity, and -is treacherously slain by him. The youngest brother carries her lover's -head to his sister, is invited to drink by her (in three of the four -copies), and slain while so engaged; reminding us of Hildina in the -Shetland ballad. Danish 'Herr Hjælm,' Grundtvig, Danske Folkeminder, -1861, p. 81, agrees with the Swedish, except that there are only three -brothers. - -[113] Helgakviða Hjörvarðssonar, ed. Grundtvig, 42-44, Ribold og -Guldborg, #A# 33, 34, #B# 46, #D# 46, 47, #E# 42, #Q# 24. The -observation is Professor Bugge's. - -[114] Höttr, er Óðinn var reyndar, Hood, who was Odin really, Fornaldar -Sögur, II, p. 25. Klee observes, p. 10 f, that Högni [Hagen] is the evil -genius of the Hildesage. Sometimes he is the heroine's father; in -'Waltharius,' strangely enough, the hero's old friend (and even there a -one-eyed man.) Klee treats the introduction of a rival lover (as in the -Shetland ballad and Gudrun) as a departure from the older story. But we -have the rival in Helgi Hundingslayer. The proper marplot in this lay is -Blind the Ill-witted (Odin), whose part is sustained in 'Earl Brand' by -the malicious Hood, in several Norwegian ballads by a very enigmatical -"false Pál greive," in two other Norwegian ballads and one Danish by an -old man, and, what is most remarkable, in the Shetland ballad by the -rejected lover of Hildina (the Sir Nilaus of Danish #D#, Hertug Nilssón -of some Norwegian copies), who bears the name Hiluge, interpreted with -great probability by Conrad Hofmann (Munich Sitzungsberichte, 1867, II, -209, note), Illhugi, der Bössinnige, evil-minded (Icelandic íllhugaðr, -ílluðigr.) - -[115] Inimicitias Othinus serit, Saxo, p. 142, ed. 1644. See Grimm, -Deutsche Mythologie, I, 120, note 2, III, 56, new ed., for Odin's bad -points, though some of Grimm's interpretations might now be objected to. - -[116] Et de la tombe de monseigneur Tristan yssoit une ronce belle et -verte et bien feuilleue, qui alloit par dessus la chapelle, et -descendoit le bout de la ronce sur la tombe de la royne Yseult, et -entroit dedans. La virent les gens du pays et la comptèrent au roy Marc. -Le roy la fist couper par troys foys, et quant il l'avoit le jour fait -couper, le lendemain estoit aussi belle comme avoit aultre fois esté. -Fol. cxxiv as cited by Braga, Rom. Ger., p. 185. - - - - -8 - -ERLINTON - - #A.# 'Erlinton,' Scott's Minstrelsy, III, 235, ed. 1803. - - #B.# 'True Tammas,' Mr R. White's papers. - - #C.# 'Robin Hood and the Tanner's Daughter,' Gutch's Robin - Hood, II, 345. - - -'Erlinton' (#A#) first appeared in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish -Border, the text formed "from the collation of two copies obtained from -recitation." #B# is a manuscript copy, furnished by the late Mr Robert -White of Newcastle, and was probably taken down from recitation by Mr -James Telfer early in the century. #C#, in which Robin Hood has taken -the place of a hero who had at least _connections_ out of Great Britain, -was first printed in Gutch's Robin Hood, from a manuscript of Mr Payne -Collier, supposed to have been written about 1650. - -This ballad has only with much hesitation been separated from the -foregoing. In this as in that, a man induces a maid to go off with him; -he is set upon by a party of fifteen in #A#, #B#, as in 7 #A#; and he -spares the life of one of his assailants [an old man, #A#, #B#, the -younger brother, #C#]. Some agreements as to details with Scandinavian -Ribold ballads have already been noticed, and it has been observed that -while there is no vestige of the dead-naming in 'Earl Brand,' there is -an obvious trace of it in 'Erlinton' #A#, #B#. 'Erlinton' #A#, #B# has -also one other correspondence not found in 'Earl Brand,'--the strict -watch kept over the lady (st. 2). Even the bigly bower, expressly built -to confine her in, is very likely a reminiscence or a displacement of -the tower in which Hilde is shut up, _after_ her elopement, in some of -the Scandinavian ballads (Danish 83 #A#, #B#; Swedish #A#, dark house). -But notwithstanding these resemblances to the Ribold story, there is a -difference in the larger part of the details, and all the 'Erlinton' -ballads have a fortunate conclusion, which also does not seem forced, as -it does in Arwidsson, 107, the only instance, perhaps, in which a -fortunate conclusion in a Ribold ballad is of the least account; for -Grundtvig's #F#, #G# are manifestly copies that have been tampered with, -and Landstad 34 is greatly confused at the close. It may be an absolute -accident, but 'Erlinton' #A#, #B# has at least one point of contact with -the story of Walter of Aquitania which is not found in 'Earl Brand.' -This story requires to be given in brief on account of its kinship to -both. - -Walter, with his betrothed Hildegunde, fly from the court of Attila, at -which they have both lived as hostages since their childhood, taking -with them two boxes of jewels. Gunther, king of Worms, learns that a -knight and lady, with a richly-laden horse, have passed the Rhine, and -sets out in pursuit, with twelve of his best fighting men, resolved to -capture the treasure. The fugitives, after a very long ride, make a halt -in a forest, and Walter goes to sleep with his head on Hildegunde's -knees. The lady meanwhile keeps watch, and rouses her lover when she -perceives by the dust they raise that horsemen are approaching. Gunther -sends one of his knights with a message demanding the surrender of the -treasure. Walter scornfully refuses, but expresses a willingness to make -the king a present of a hundred bracelets, or rings, of red gold, in -token of his respect. The messenger is sent back with directions to take -the treasure by force, if it should be refused again. Walter, having -vainly offered a present of two hundred bracelets to avoid a conflict, -is attacked by the knight, whom he slays. Ten others go the way of this -first, and only the king and one of his troop, Hagen, a very -distinguished knight and an old comrade of Walter, remain. These now -attack Walter; the combat is long and fierce; all three are seriously -wounded, and finally so exhausted as to be forced to cease fighting. -Walter and Hagen enter into a friendly talk while refreshing themselves -with wine, and in the end Gunther[117] is put on a horse and conducted -home by Hagen, while Walter and Hildegunde continue their journey to -Aquitania. There they were married and ruled thirty happy years. -('Waltharius,' ed. R. Peiper, 1873.) - -The particular resemblances of 'Erlinton' #A#, #B# to 'Walter' are that -the assailants are "bold knights," or "bravest outlaws," _not_ the -lady's kinsmen; that there are two parleys before the fight; and that -the hero survives the fight and goes off with his love. The utmost that -could be insisted on is that some features of the story of Walter have -been blended in the course of tradition with the kindred story of -Ribold. 'Erlinton' #C# is much less like 'Walter,' and more like -'Ribold.' - -The 'Sultan's Fair Daughter,' translated by Aigner, Ungarische -Volksdichtungen, p. 93, 2d ed., has perhaps derived something from the -Walter story. Two Magyars escape from the Sultan's prison by the aid of -his daughter, under promise of taking her to Hungary. She often looks -backwards, fearing pursuit. At last a large band overtake them. One of -the Magyars guards the lady; the other assaults the Turks, of whom he -leaves only one alive, to carry back information. One of the two has a -love at home; the other takes the Sultan's daughter. - - * * * * * - -'Erlinton' is translated by Rosa Warrens, Schottische Volkslieder, No -24, and by Karl Knortz, Schottische Balladen, No 12. - - -A - - Scott's Minstrelsy, III, 235, ed. 1803; ed. 1833, II, 353. - Made up from two copies obtained from recitation. - - 1 - Erlinton had a fair daughter; - I wat he weird her in a great sin; - For he has built a bigly bower, - An a' to put that lady in. - - 2 - An he has warnd her sisters six, - An sae has he her brethren se'en, - Outher to watch her a' the night, - Or else to seek her morn an een. - - 3 - She hadna been i that bigly bower - Na not a night but barely ane, - Till there was Willie, her ain true love, - Chappd at the door, cryin 'Peace within!' - - 4 - 'O whae is this at my bower door, - That chaps sae late, nor kens the gin?' - 'O it is Willie, your ain true love, - I pray you rise an let me in!' - - 5 - 'But in my bower there is a wake, - An at the wake there is a wane; - But I'll come to the green-wood the morn, - Whar blooms the brier, by mornin dawn.' - - 6 - Then she's gane to her bed again, - Where she has layen till the cock crew thrice, - Then she said to her sisters a', - 'Maidens, 't is time for us to rise.' - - 7 - She pat on her back her silken gown, - An on her breast a siller pin, - An she's tane a sister in ilka hand, - An to the green-wood she is gane. - - 8 - She hadna walkd in the green-wood - Na not a mile but barely ane, - Till there was Willie, her ain true love, - Whae frae her sisters has her taen. - - 9 - He took her sisters by the hand, - He kissd them baith, an sent them hame, - An he's taen his true love him behind, - And through the green-wood they are gane. - - 10 - They hadna ridden in the bonnie green-wood - Na not a mile but barely ane, - When there came fifteen o the boldest knights - That ever bare flesh, blood, or bane. - - 11 - The foremost was an aged knight, - He wore the grey hair on his chin: - Says, 'Yield to me thy lady bright, - An thou shalt walk the woods within.' - - 12 - 'For me to yield my lady bright - To such an aged knight as thee, - People wad think I war gane mad, - Or a' the courage flown frae me.' - - 13 - But up then spake the second knight, - I wat he spake right boustouslie: - 'Yield me thy life, or thy lady bright, - Or here the tane of us shall die.' - - 14 - 'My lady is my warld's meed; - My life I winna yield to nane; - But if ye be men of your manhead, - Ye'll only fight me ane by ane.' - - 15 - He lighted aff his milk-white steed, - An gae his lady him by the head, - Sayn, 'See ye dinna change your cheer, - Untill ye see my body bleed.' - - 16 - He set his back unto an aik, - He set his feet against a stane, - An he has fought these fifteen men, - An killd them a' but barely ane. - - 17 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - For he has left that aged knight. - An a' to carry the tidings hame. - - 18 - When he gaed to his lady fair, - I wat he kissd her tenderlie: - 'Thou art mine ain love, I have thee bought; - Now we shall walk the green-wood free.' - - -B - - MS. of Robert White, Esq., of Newcastle, from James - Telfer's collection. - - 1 - There was a knight, an he had a daughter, - An he wad wed her, wi muckle sin; - Sae he has biggit a bonnie bower, love, - An a' to keep his fair daughter in. - - 2 - But she hadna been in the bonnie bower, love, - And no twa hours but barely ane, - Till up started Tammas, her ain true lover, - And O sae fain as he wad been in. - - 3 - 'For a' sae weel as I like ye, Tammas, - An for a' sae weel as I like the gin, - I wadna for ten thousand pounds, love, - Na no this night wad I let thee in. - - 4 - 'But yonder is a bonnie greenwud, - An in the greenwud there is a wauk, - An I'll be there an sune the morn, love, - It's a' for my true love's sake. - - 5 - 'On my right hand I'll have a glove, love, - An on my left are I'll have nane; - I'll have wi' me my sisters six, love, - An we will wauk the wuds our lane.' - - 6 - They hadna waukd in the bonnie greenwud, - Na no an hour but barely ane, - Till up start Tammas, her ain true lover, - He's taen her sisters her frae mang. - - 7 - An he has kissed her sisters six, love, - An he has sent them hame again, - But he has keepit his ain true lover, - Saying, 'We will wauk the wuds our lane.' - - 8 - They hadna waukd in the bonnie greenwud - Na no an hour but barely ane, - Till up start fifteen o the bravest outlaws - That ever bure either breath or bane. - - 9 - An up bespake the foremost man, love, - An O but he spake angrily: - 'Either your life--or your lady fair, sir, - This night shall wauk the wuds wi me.' - - 10 - 'My lady fair, O I like her weel, sir, - An O my life, but it lies me near! - But before I lose my lady fair, sir, - I'll rather lose my life sae dear.' - - 11 - Then up bespak the second man, love, - An aye he spake mair angrily, - Saying, 'Baith your life, and your lady fair, sir, - This night shall wauk the wuds wi me.' - - 12 - 'My lady fair, O I like her weel, sir, - An O my life, but it lies me near! - But before I lose my lady fair, sir, - I'll rather lose my life sae dear. - - 13 - 'But if ye'll be men to your manhood, - As that I will be unto mine, - I'll fight ye every ane man by man, - Till the last drop's blude I hae be slain. - - 14 - 'O sit ye down, my dearest dearie, - Sit down and hold my noble steed, - And see that ye never change your cheer - Until ye see my body bleed.' - - 15 - He's feughten a' the fifteen outlaws, - The fifteen outlaws every ane, - He's left naething but the auldest man - To go and carry the tidings hame. - - 16 - An he has gane to his dearest dear, - An he has kissed her, cheek and chin, - Saying, 'Thou art mine ain, I have bought thee dear, - An we will wauk the wuds our lane.' - - -C - - Gutch's Robin Hood, II, 345, from a MS. of Mr. Payne - Collier's, supposed to have been written about 1650. - - 1 - As Robin Hood sat by a tree, - He espied a prettie may, - And when she chanced him to see, - She turnd her head away. - - 2 - 'O feare me not, thou prettie mayde, - And doe not flie from mee; - I am the kindest man,' he said, - 'That ever eye did see.' - - 3 - Then to her he did doffe his cap, - And to her lowted low; - 'To meete with thee I hold it good hap, - If thou wilt not say noe.' - - 4 - Then he put his hand around her waste, - Soe small, so tight, and trim, - And after sought her lip to taste, - And she to kissed him. - - 5 - 'Where dost thou dwell, my prettie maide? - I prithee tell to me;' - 'I am a tanner's daughter,' she said, - 'John Hobbes of Barneslee.' - - 6 - 'And whither goest thou, pretty maide? - Shall I be thy true love?' - If thou art not afeard,' she said, - 'My true love thou shalt prove.' - - 7 - 'What should I feare?' then he replied; - 'I am thy true love now;' - 'I have two brethren, and their pride - Would scorn such one as thou.' - - 8 - 'That will we try,' quoth Robin Hood; - 'I was not made their scorne; - Ile shed my blood to doe the[e] good, - As sure as they were borne.' - - 9 - 'My brothers are proude and fierce and strong;' - 'I am,' said he, 'the same, - And if they offer thee to wrong, - Theyle finde Ile play their game. - - 10 - 'Through the free forrest I can run, - The king may not controll; - They are but barking tanners' sons, - To me they shall pay toll. - - 11 - 'And if not mine be sheepe and kine, - I have cattle on my land; - On venison eche day I may dine, - Whiles they have none in hand.' - - 12 - These wordes had Robin Hood scarce spoke, - When they two men did see, - Come riding till their horses smoke: - 'My brothers both,' cried shee. - - 13 - Each had a good sword by his side, - And furiouslie they rode - To where they Robin Hood espied, - That with the maiden stood. - - 14 - 'Flee hence, flee hence, away with speede!' - Cried she to Robin Hood, - 'For if thou stay, thoult surely bleede; - I could not see thy blood.' - - 15 - 'With us, false maiden, come away, - And leave that outlawe bolde; - Why fledst thou from thy home this day, - And left thy father olde?' - - 16 - Robin stept backe but paces five, - Unto a sturdie tree; - 'Ile fight whiles I am left alive; - Stay thou, sweete maide, with mee.' - - 17 - He stood before, she stoode behinde, - The brothers two drewe nie; - 'Our sister now to us resign, - Or thou full sure shalt die.' - - 18 - Then cried the maide, 'My brethren deare, - With ye Ile freely wend, - But harm not this young forrester, - Noe ill doth he pretend.' - - 19 - 'Stande up, sweete maide, I plight my troth; - Fall thou not on thy knee; - Ile force thy cruell brothers both - To bend the knee to thee. - - 20 - 'Stand thou behinde this sturdie oke, - I soone will quell their pride; - Thoult see my sword with furie smoke, - And in their hearts' blood died.' - - 21 - He set his backe against a tree, - His foote against a stone; - The first blow that he gave so free - Cleft one man to the bone. - - 22 - The tanners bold they fought right well, - And it was one to two; - But Robin did them both refell, - All in the damsell's viewe. - - 23 - The red blood ran from Robins brow, - All downe unto his knee; - 'O holde your handes, my brethren now, - I will goe backe with yee.' - - 24 - 'Stand backe, stand backe, my pretty maide, - Stand backe and let me fight; - By sweete St. James be no[t] afraide - But I will it requite.' - - 25 - Then Robin did his sword uplift, - And let it fall againe; - The oldest brothers head it cleft, - Right through unto his braine. - - 26 - 'O hold thy hand, bolde forrester, - Or ill may thee betide; - Slay not my youngest brother here, - He is my father's pride.' - - 27 - 'Away, for I would scorne to owe, - My life to the[e], false maide!' - The youngest cried, and aimd a blow - That lit on Robin's head. - - 28 - Then Robin leand against the tree, - His life nie gone did seeme; - His eyes did swim, he could not see - The maiden start betweene. - - 29 - It was not long ere Robin Hood - Could welde his sword so bright; - Upon his feete he firmly stood, - And did renew the fight. - - 30 - Untill the tanner scarce could heave - His weapon in the aire; - But Robin would not him bereave - Of life, and left him there. - - 31 - Then to the greenewood did he fly, - And with him went the maide; - For him she vowd that she would dye, - He'd live for her, he said. - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - 4^2. _Ed. 1833 has ~or kens~._ - -#B.# - - 1^2. _If #A# 1^2 be right, gross injustice is done the - father by changing ~I wat he weird her~ into ~he wad wed - her~. One of the two is a singular corruption._ - - _There is another copy of #B# among Mr White's papers, - with the title 'Sir Thamas,' which I have no doubt has - been "revised," whether by Telfer, or by Mr White himself, - it is impossible to say. The principal variations are here - given, that others may be satisfied._ - - 1^2. wed her mang his ain kin. - - 1^4. this fair. - - 2^3. Till up cam Thamas her only true love. - - 3^2. O tirl nae langer at the pin. - - 3^3. I wadna for a hundred pounds, love. - - 3^4. can I. - - 4^3. fu soon. - - 4^4. And by oursels we twa can talk. - - 5^{1,2}. - I'll hae a glove on my right hand, love, - And on my left I shall hae nane. - - 6^{2-4}. - Beyond an hour, or scarcely twa, - When up rode Thamas, her only true love, - And he has tane her frae mang them a'. - - 7^1. He kissed her sisters, a' the six, love. - - 7^3. his winsome true love. - - 7^4. That they might walk. - - 8^1. didna walk. - - 8^{2-4}. - Beyond two hours, or barely three, - Till up cam seven[118] stalwart outlaws, - The bauldest fellows that ane could see. - - 9^8. We'll take your life, for this lady fair, sir. - - 10^1. My lady's fair, I like her weel, sir. - - 11^{2,3}. - And he spak still mair furiously; - 'Flee, or we'll kill ye, because your lady. - - 12. - 'My lady fair, I shall part na frae thee, - And for my life, I did never fear; - Sae before I lose my winsome lady, - My life I'll venture for ane sae dear. - - 13. - 'But if ye're a' true to your manhood, - As I shall try to be true to mine, - I'll fight ye a', come man by man then, - Till the last drop o my bloud I tine.' - - 14^2. my bridled steed. - - 14^3. And mind ye never change your colour. - - 15. - He fought against the seven outlaws, - And he has beat them a' himsel; - But he left the auldest man amang them - That he might gae and the tidings tell. - - 16. - Then he has gane to his dearest dearie, - And he has kissed her oer and oer; - 'Though thou art mine, I hae bought thee dearly, - Now we shall sunder never more.' - -#C.# - - 1^1. _~Robinhood~, and so always._ - - 31. _After this_: Finis, T. Fleming. - - -[117] Gunther, as well remarked by Klee, 'Zur Hildesage,' p. 19, cannot -have belonged originally to the Hildegunde saga. No sufficient motive is -furnished for introducing him. In the Polish version of the story there -is only one pursuer, Arinoldus, whom Walter slays. Rischka, Verhältniss -der polnischen Sage von Walgierz Wdaly zu den deutschen Sagen von W. v. -Aquitanien, p. 8 ff. - -[118] "The original ballad had fifteen. Seven would do as well, and the -latter number would seem more nearly to resemble the truth." - - - - -9 - -THE FAIR FLOWER OF NORTHUMBERLAND - - #A. a.# Deloney's 'Jack of Newbury,' reprint of 1859, p. - 61. #b.# 'The Ungrateful Knight and the Fair Flower of - Northumberland,' Ritson's Ancient Songs, 1790, p. 169. - - #B. a.# Kinloch MSS, V, 49. #b.# 'The Provost's Dochter,' - Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 131. - - #C.# 'The Betrayed Lady.' #a.# Buchan's MSS, II, 166. #b.# - Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 208. - - #D.# Motherwell's MS., p. 102. - - #E.# 'The Flower of Northumberland,' Mr Robert White's - papers. - - -The earliest copy of this ballad is introduced as 'The Maidens' -Song,'[119] in Deloney's Pleasant History of John Winchcomb, in his -younger yeares called Jacke of Newberie, a book written as early as -1597. Mr Halliwell reprinted the "9th" edition, of the date 1633,[120] -in 1859, and the ballad is found at p. 61 of the reprint (#A#). The copy -in Ritson's Ancient Songs, 1790, p. 169, has a few variations, which are -probably to be explained by Ritson having used some other edition of -Deloney. Ritson's text is used in The Borderer's Table Book, VI, 25, -and was taken thence into Sheldon's Minstrelsy of the English Border, -with some arbitrary alterations. The ballad was formerly popular in -Scotland. Kinloch and Buchan printed #B# and #C# with some slight -changes; the texts are now given as they stand in the manuscripts. #E#, -a traditional version from the English border, has unfortunately been -improved by some literary pen. - -An English lady is prevailed upon to release a Scot from prison, and to -fly with him, on the promise of being made his wife, and (#A#) lady of -castles and towers. She takes much gold with her (#A#), and a swift -steed (two, #A#). According to #A# they come to a rough river; the lady -is alarmed, but swims it, and is wet from top to toe. On coming within -sight of Edinburgh, the faithless knight bids her choose whether she -will be his paramour or go back: he has wife and children. She begs him -to draw his sword and end her shame: he takes her horse away, and leaves -her. Two English knights come by, who restore her to her father. The -dismissal takes place at the Scottish cross and moor in #B#; at a moor -and a moss, #C#; at Scotland bridge, #D#; at a fair Scottish cross, #E#. -She offers to be servant in his kitchen rather than go back, #B#, #C#, -#E#; begs him to throw her into the water, #D#; from his castle wall, -#E#. He fees an old man to take her home on an old horse, #B#, #E#. - -We do not find the whole of this story repeated among other European -nations, but there are interesting agreements in parts with -Scandinavian, Polish, and German ballads. - -There is some resemblance in the first half to a pretty ballad of the -northern nations which treats in a brief way the theme of our exquisite -romance of 'The Nutbrown Maid:' #Danish#, 'Den Trofaste Jomfru,' -Grundtvig, No 249, IV, 494, nine copies, #A-I#, the first three from -16th or 17th century manuscripts, the others from tradition of this -century, as are also the following: #K-M#, 'Den Fredløse,' Kristensen, -II, 191, No 57: Swedish, 'De sju Gullbergen,' #A#, Afzelius, No 79, III, -71, new ed., No 64, I, 322; #B#, #C#, Grundtvig, IV, 507 f: #Norwegian# -#A#, 'Herre Per og stolt Margit,' Landstad, No 74, p. 590; #B#, 'Herr' -Nikelus,' Landstad, No 75, p. 594.[121] All tell very much the same -tale. A knight carries off a maid on his horse, making her magnificent -promises, among which are eight gold castles, Dan. #C#, #D#, #E#, #H#, -#I#; one, #K#, #L#, #M#; eight, Norw. #A#; nine, Norw. #B#; seven, Swed. -#B#; seven gold mountains, Swed. #A#, perhaps, by mistake of ber_gen_ -for bor_gar_[122] She gets her gold together while he is saddling his -horse, Dan. #A, C, D, F, H, M#; Swed. #A#; Norw. #A#, #B#. They come to -a sea-strand or other water, it is many miles to the nearest land, Dan. -#B#, #D#, Swed. #A#, #C#; the lady wishes she were at home, Dan. #E#, -#F#, Swed. #B#, #C#. He swims the horse across, Dan. #A#, #B#, #D#, #E#, -#F#, #H#, #K#, #L#, #M#; Swed. #A#, #B#, #C# [part of the way, having -started in a boat, Norw. #A#, #B#]. The maid wrings her clothes, Dan. -#A#, #D#, #K#, #L#; Swed. #A#; Norw. #A#, #B#. She asks, Where are the -gold castles which you promised? Dan. #C# 7, #D# 14, #K# 9, #L# 7, #M# -8; Norw. #A# 22, #B# 16.[123] He tells her that he has no gold castle -but this green turf, Dan. #C# 8; he needs none but the black ground and -thick wood, Dan. #K# 10: he is a penniless, banished man. She offers him -her gold to buy him a charter of peace. In all, except Dan. #A#, #B#, -#C#, and the incomplete Dan. #I#, Norw. #B#, he goes on to say that he -has plighted faith to another woman, and she meekly replies, Then I will -be your servant. He continues the trial no further, reveals himself as -of wealth and rank, says that she shall have ladies to wait on her, and -makes her his queen. The knight is king of England in Dan. #B#, #H#, -King Henry, simply, in Dan. #F#. The gold castles prove to be realities: -there is in Dan. #E# even one more than was promised.[124] - -The #Polish# ballads of the class of 'Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight' -(see p. 39 f) have thus much in common with 'The Fair Flower of -Northumberland:' a maid is induced to go off with a man on horseback, -and takes gold with her; after going a certain distance, he bids her -return home; in #AA#, #H#, #R#, he gives her her choice whether to -return or to jump into the river; she prefers death (cf. #D# 3, 5, p. -116); in all they finally come to a river, or other water, into which he -throws her.[125] - -There is a #German# ballad which has some slight connection with all the -foregoing, and a very slight story it is altogether: 'Stolz Heinrich,' -Simrock, No 9, p. 23, 'Stolz Syburg,' Reiffenberg, No 16, p. 32, No 17, -p. 34, from the Lower Rhine and Münster; made over, in Kretzschmer, I, -187, No 106. Heinrich, or Syburg, wooes a king's daughter in a distant -land. He asks her to go with him, and says he has seven mills in his -country. "Tell me what they grind," says Margaret, "and I will go with -you." The mills grind sugar and cinnamon, mace and cloves. They come to -a green heath. Margaret thinks she sees the mills gleaming: he tells her -that a green heath is all he has. "Then God have mercy that I have come -so far," she says; draws a sword; kneels before him, and stabs herself. - -The ballad of 'Young Andrew,' further on, has points in common with 'The -Fair Flower of Northumberland.' - - * * * * * - -#C# is translated by Rosa Warrens, Schottische Lieder der Vorzeit, No -31, p. 137. - - -A - - #a.# Deloney's Pleasant History of John Winchcomb, 9th - ed., London, 1633, reprinted by Halliwell, p. 61. #b.# - Ritson's Ancient Songs, 1790, p. 169. - - 1 - It was a knight in Scotland borne - Follow, my love, come over the strand - Was taken prisoner, and left forlorne, - Even by the good Earle of Northumberland. - - 2 - Then was he cast in prison strong, - Where he could not walke nor lie along, - Even by the goode Earle of Northumberland. - - 3 - And as in sorrow thus he lay, - The Earle's sweete daughter walkt that way, - And she the faire flower of Northumberland. - - 4 - And passing by, like an angell bright, - The prisoner had of her a sight, - And she the faire flower of Northumberland. - - 5 - And loud to her this knight did crie, - The salt teares standing in his eye, - And she the faire flower of Northumberland. - - 6 - 'Faire lady,' he said, 'take pity on me, - And let me not in prison dye, - And you the faire flower of Northumberland.' - - 7 - 'Faire Sir, how should I take pity on thee, - Thou being a foe to our countrey, - And I the faire flower of Northumberland.' - - 8 - 'Faire lady, I am no foe,' he said, - 'Through thy sweet love heere was I stayd, - For thee, the faire flower of Northumberland.' - - 9 - 'Why shouldst thou come heere for love of me, - Having wife and children in thy countrie? - And I the faire flower of Northumberland.' - - 10 - 'I sweare by the blessed Trinitie, - I have no wife nor children, I, - Nor dwelling at home in merrie Scotland. - - 11 - 'If curteously you will set me free, - I vow that I will marrie thee, - So soone as I come in faire Scotland. - - 12 - 'Thou shalt be a lady of castles and towers, - And sit like a queene in princely bowers, - When I am at home in faire Scotland.' - - 13 - Then parted hence this lady gay, - And got her father's ring away, - To helpe this sad knight into faire Scotland. - - 14 - Likewise much gold she got by sleight, - And all to helpe this forlorne knight - To wend from her father to faire Scotland. - - 15 - Two gallant steedes, both good and able, - She likewise tooke out of the stable, - To ride with this knight into faire Scotland. - - 16 - And to the jaylor she sent this ring, - The knight from prison forth to bring, - To wend with her into faire Scotland. - - 17 - This token set the prisoner free, - Who straight went to this faire lady, - To wend with her into faire Scotland. - - 18 - A gallant steede he did bestride, - And with the lady away did ride, - And she the faire flower of Northumberland. - - 19 - They rode till they came to a water cleare: - 'Good Sir, how should I follow you heere, - And I the faire flower of Northumberland? - - 20 - 'The water is rough and wonderfull deepe, - An[d] on my saddle I shall not keepe, - And I the faire flower of Northumberland.' - - 21 - 'Feare not the foord, faire lady,' quoth he, - 'For long I cannot stay for thee, - And thou the faire flower of Northumberland.' - - 22 - The lady prickt her wanton steed, - And over the river swom with speede, - And she the faire flower of Northumberland. - - 23 - From top to toe all wet was shee: - 'This have I done for love of thee, - And I the faire flower of Northumberland.' - - 24 - Thus rode she all one winter's night, - Till Edenborow they saw in sight, - The chiefest towne in all Scotland. - - 25 - 'Now chuse,' quoth he, 'thou wanton flower, - Whe'r thou wilt be my paramour, - Or get thee home to Northumberland. - - 26 - 'For I have wife, and children five, - In Edenborow they be alive; - Then get thee home to faire England. - - 27 - 'This favour shalt thou have to boote, - Ile have thy horse, go thou on foote, - Go, get thee home to Northumberland.' - - 28 - 'O false and faithlesse knight,' quoth shee, - 'And canst thou deale so bad with me, - And I the faire flower of Northumberland? - - 29 - 'Dishonour not a ladie's name, - But draw thy sword and end my shame, - And I the faire flower of Northumberland.' - - 30 - He tooke her from her stately steed, - And left her there in extreme need, - And she the faire flower of Northumberland. - - 31 - Then sate she downe full heavily; - At length two knights came riding by, - Two gallant knights of faire England. - - 32 - She fell downe humbly on her knee, - Saying, 'Courteous knights, take pittie on me, - And I the faire flower of Northumberland. - - 33 - 'I have offended my father deere, - And by a false knight that brought me heere, - From the good Earle of Northumberland.' - - 34 - They tooke her up behind them then, - And brought her to her father's againe, - And he the good Earle of Northumberland. - - 35 - All you faire maidens be warned by me, - Scots were never true, nor never will be, - To lord, nor lady, nor faire England. - - -B - - #a.# Kinloch MSS, V, 49, in the handwriting of J. Beattie. - #b.# Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 134, from the - recitation of Miss E. Beattie. - - 1 - The provost's daughter went out a walking, - A may's love whiles is easy won - She heard a poor prisoner making his moan, - And she was the fair flower of Northumberland. - - 2 - 'If any lady would borrow me - Out into the prison strong, - I would make her a lady of high degree, - For I am a great lord in fair Scotland.' - - 3 - She's done her to her father's bed-stock, - A may's love whiles is easy won - She's stolen the keys o many braw lock, - And she's loosd him out o the prison strong. - - 4 - She's done her to her father's stable, - A may's love whiles is easy won - She's taen out a steed that was both swift and able, - To carry them both to fair Scotland. - - 5 - O when they came to the Scottish cross, - A may's love whiles is easy won - 'Ye brazen-faced whore, light off o my horse, - And go get you back to Northumberland!' - - 6 - O when they came to the Scottish moor, - A may's love whiles is easy won - 'Get off o my horse, you're a brazen-faced whore, - So go get you back to Northumberland!' - - 7 - 'O pity on me, O pity,' said she, - 'O that my love was so easy won! - Have pity on me as I had upon thee, - When I loosd you out of the prison strong.' - - 8 - 'O how can I have pity on thee? - O why was your love so easy won! - When I have a wife and children three - More worthy than a' Northumberland.' - - 9 - 'Cook in your kitchen I will be, - O that my love was so easy won! - And serve your lady most reverently, - For I darena go back to Northumberland.' - - 10 - 'Cook in my kitchen you shall not be, - Why was your love so easy won! - For I will have no such servants as thee, - So get you back to Northumberland.' - - 11 - But laith was he the lassie to tyne, - A may's love whiles is easy won - He's hired an old horse and feed an old man, - To carry her back to Northumberland. - - 12 - O when she came her father before, - A may's love whiles is easy won - She fell down on her knees so low - For she was the fair flower of Northumberland. - - 13 - 'O daughter, O daughter, why was ye so bold, - Or why was your love so easy won, - To be a Scottish whore in your fifteen year old? - And you the fair flower of Northumberland!' - - 14 - Her mother she gently on her did smile, - O that her love was so easy won! - 'She is not the first that the Scotts have beguild, - But she's still the fair flower of Northumberland. - - 15 - 'She shanna want gold, she shanna want fee, - Altho that her love was so easy won, - She shanna want gold to gain a man wi, - And she's still the fair flower of Northumberland.' - - -C - - #a.# Buchan's MSS, II, 166. #b.# Buchan's Ballads of the - North of Scotland, II, 208. - - 1 - As I went by a jail-house door, - Maid's love whiles is easy won - I saw a prisoner standing there, - 'I wish I were home in fair Scotland. - - 2 - 'Fair maid, will you pity me? - Ye'll steal the keys, let me gae free: - I'll make you my lady in fair Scotland. - - 3 - 'I'm sure you have no need of me, - For ye have a wife and bairns three, - That lives at home in fair Scotland.' - - 4 - He swore by him that was crownd with thorn, - That he never had a wife since the day he was born, - But livd a free lord in fair Scotland. - - 5 - She went unto her father's bed-head, - She's stown the key o mony a lock, - She's let him out o prison strong. - - 6 - She's went to her father's stable, - She's stown a steed baith wight and able, - To carry them on to fair Scotland. - - 7 - They rode till they came to a muir, - He bade her light aff, they'd call her a whore, - If she didna return to Northumberland. - - 8 - They rode till they came to a moss, - He bade her light aff her father's best horse, - And return her again to Northumberland. - - 9 - 'I'm sure I have no need of thee, - When I have a wife and bairns three, - That lives at home in fair Scotland.' - - 10 - 'I'll be cook in your kitchen, - And serve your lady handsomelie, - For I darena gae back to Northumberland.' - - 11 - 'Ye cannot be cook in my kitchen, - My lady cannot fa sic servants as thee, - So ye'll return again to Northumberland.' - - 12 - When she went thro her father's ha, - She looted her low amongst them a', - She was the fair flower o Northumberland. - - 13 - Out spake her father, he spake bold, - 'How could ye be a whore in fifteen years old, - And you the flower of Northumberland?' - - 14 - Out spake her mother, she spake wi a smile, - 'She's nae the first his coat did beguile, - Ye're welcome again to Northumberland.' - - -D - - Motherwell's MS., p. 102. - - 1 - She's gane down to her father's stable, - O my dear, and my love that she wan - She's taen out a black steed baith sturdy and able, - And she's away to fair Scotland. - - 2 - When they came to Scotland bridge, - 'Light off, you whore, from my black steed, - And go your ways back to Northumberland.' - - 3 - 'O take me by the body so meek, - And throw me in the water so deep, - For I daurna gae back to Northumberland.' - - 4 - 'I'll no take thee by the body so meek, - Nor throw thee in the water so deep; - Thou may go thy ways back to Northumberland.' - - 5 - 'Take me by the body so small, - And throw me in yon bonny mill-dam, - For I daurna gae back to Northumberland.' - - -E - - "Written down from memory by Robert Hutton, Shepherd, - Peel, Liddesdale." Mr R. White's papers. - - 1 - A bailiff's fair daughter, she lived by the Aln, - A young maid's love is easily won - She heard a poor prisoner making his moan, - And she was the flower of Northumberland. - - 2 - 'If ye could love me, as I do love thee, - A young maid's love is hard to win - I'll make you a lady of high degree, - When once we go down to fair Scotland.' - - 3 - To think of the prisoner her heart was sore, - A young maid's love is easily won - Her love it was much, but her pity was more, - And she, etc. - - 4 - She stole from her father's pillow the key, - And out of the dungeon she soon set him free, - And she, etc. - - 5 - She led him into her father's stable, - And they've taken a steed both gallant and able, - To carry them down to fair Scotland. - - 6 - When they first took the way, it was darling and dear; - As forward they fared, all changed was his cheer, - And she, etc. - - 7 - They rode till they came to a fair Scottish corse; - Says he, 'Now, pray madam, dismount from my horse, - And go get you back to Northumberland. - - 8 - 'It befits not to ride with a leman light, - When awaits my returning my own lady bright, - My own wedded wife in fair Scotland.' - - 9 - The words that he said on her fond heart smote, - She knew not in sooth if she lived or not, - And she, etc. - - 10 - She looked to his face, and it kythed so unkind - That her fast coming tears soon rendered her blind, - And she, etc. - - 11 - 'Have pity on me as I had it on thee, - O why was my love so easily won! - A slave in your kitchen I'm willing to be, - But I may not go back to Northumberland. - - 12 - 'Or carry me up by the middle sae sma, - O why was my love so easily won! - And fling me headlong from your high castle wa, - For I dare not go back to Northumberland.' - - 13 - Her wailing, her woe, for nothing they went, - A young maid's love is easily won - His bosom was stone and he would not relent, - And she, etc. - - 14 - He turned him around and he thought of a plan, - He bought an old horse and he hired an old man, - To carry her back to Northumberland. - - 15 - A heavy heart makes a weary way, - She reached her home in the evening gray, - And she, etc. - - 16 - And all as she stood at her father's tower-gate, - More loud beat her heart than her knock thereat, - And she, etc. - - 17 - Down came her step-dame, so rugged and doure, - O why was your love so easily won! - 'In Scotland go back to your false paramour, - For you shall not stay here in Northumberland.' - - 18 - Down came her father, he saw her and smiled, - A young maid's love is easily won - 'You are not the first that false Scots have beguiled, - And ye're aye welcome back to Northumberland. - - 19 - 'You shall not want houses, you shall not want land, - You shall not want gold for to gain a husband, - And ye're aye welcome back to Northumberland.' - - * * * * * - -#A. a.# - - 2. _Halliwell's Deloney, in the first line of the burden, - has ~leape over~, but not elsewhere._ - - 9^2. in the. - - 25^2. Where. - -#b.# - - 3^2. walks. - - 3^4. she is. - - 5^1. aloud. - - 13^3. _omits_ sad. - - 15^3. the knight. - - 16^2. forth did. - - 24^3. The fairest. - - 27^1 thou shalt. - - 32^2. knight. - - 35^2. never were. - -#B. b.# - - 2^2. this prison. - - 4^3. _omits_ that was. - - 6^3. ye brazen-fac'd. - - 11^3. He hired. - - 12^3. fell at his feet. - - 13^1. _omits_ so. - - 14^1. mother on her sae gentlie smild, _etc._ - -#C. a.# - - 8^2. Her bade. - - 8^3. return him. - -#b.# - - 5^1. into. - - 13^2. at fifteen. - -#D.# - - 2. _Thus in Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. xv_: - - When they came to Scotland brig, - O my dear, my love that she wan! - 'Light off, ye hure, from my black steed, - And his ye awa to Northumberland.' - -#E.# - - "The Flower of Northumberland. Written down from memory by - Robert Hutton, Shepperd, Peel, Liddesdale, and sent by - James Telfor to his friend Robert White, Newcastle on - Tyne. 20 copies printed." _Mr White's note._ - - -[119] "Two of them singing the dittie," says Deloney, "and all the rest -bearing the burden." - -[120] The earliest edition now known to exist is of 1619. - -[121] Some of these ballads begin with stanzas which are found also in -Kvindemorderen and Ribold ballads (our No 4, No 7), where also a young -woman is carried off furtively by a man. This is only what is to be -expected. - -[122] By mistake, most probably. But in one of the Polish ballads, cited -a little further on, #Q# (Kolberg, P. 1. Polskiego, 5 pp), the maid is -told, "In my country the mountains are golden, the mountains are of -gold." - -[123] So 'Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight,' #D# 11: - - 'Is this your bowers and lofty towers?' - -[124] There is a similarity, which is perhaps not accidental, between -these Scandinavian ballads and 'Child Waters.' Child Waters makes Ellen -swim a piece of water, shows her his hall--"of red gold shines the -tower"--where the fairest lady is his paramour, subjects her to menial -services, and finally, her patience withstanding all trials, marries -her. - -[125] They pass the water in #Q# only, and that in a boat. She is thrown -in from a bridge in #V#, #W#, the bridge of Cracow in #C#: cf. Scotland -bridge, #D# 2 of this ballad. By a curious accident, it is at a wayside -crucifix that the man begins his change of demeanor in Polish #CC# 2 -(Kolberg, #ddd#), as in #B# 5, #E# 7, of this ballad, it is at a -Scottish cross. - - - - -10 - -THE TWA SISTERS - - #A. a.# 'The Miller and the King's Daughter,' broadside of - 1656, Notes and Queries, 1st S., V, 591. #b.# Wit - Restor'd, 1658, "p. 51," in the reprint of 1817, p. 153. - #c.# 'The Miller and the King's Daughters,' Wit and - Drollery, ed. 1682, p. 87. #d.# 'The Miller and the King's - Daughter,' Jamieson's Popular Ballads, I, 315. - - #B. a.# 'The Twa Sisters,' Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. 39. - #b.# 'The Cruel Sister,' Wm. Tytler's Brown MS., No 15. - #c.# 'The Cruel Sister,' Abbotsford MS., "Scottish Songs," - fol. 21. #d.# 'The Twa Sisters,' Jamieson's Popular - Ballads, I, 48. - - #C.# 'The Cruel Sister,' Scott's Minstrelsy, II, 143 - (1802). - - #D.# 'The Bonnie Milldams of Binnorie,' Kinloch MSS, II, - 49. - - #E.# 'The Twa Sisters,' Sharpe's Ballad Book, No X, p. 30. - - #F.# 'The Bonny Bows o London,' Motherwell's MS., p. 383. - - #G.# Motherwell's MS., p. 104. - - #H.# Motherwell's MS., p. 147. - - #I.# 'Bonnie Milldams o Binnorie,' Kinloch MSS, V, 425. - - #J.# 'The Miller's Melody,' Notes and Queries, 4th S., V, - 23. - - #K.# 'Binnorie,' Kinloch's papers. - - #L. a.# 'The Miller's Melody,' Notes and Queries, 1st S., - V, 316. #b.# 'The Drowned Lady,' The Scouring of the White - Horse, p. 161. - - #M.# 'Binorie, O an Binorie,' Murison MS., p. 79. - - #N.# 'Binnorie,' [Pinkerton's] Scottish Tragic Ballads, p. - 72. - - #O.# 'The Bonny Bows o London.' #a.# Buchan's Ballads of - the North of Scotland, II, 128. #b.# Christie's - Traditional Ballad Airs, I, 42. - - #P. a.# 'The Twa Sisters,' Motherwell's MS., p. 245. #b.# - 'The Swan swims bonnie O,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, - Appendix, p. xx. - - #Q.# 'The Twa Sisters,' communicated by J. F. Campbell, - Esq. - - #R. a.# 'The Three Sisters,' Notes and Q., 1st S., VI, - 102. #b.# 'Bodown,' communicated by J. F. Campbell, Esq. - #c.# 'The Barkshire Tragedy,' The Scouring of the White - Horse, p. 158. - - #S.# Kinloch MSS, VI, 89. - - #T.# 'Sister, dear Sister,' Allingham's Ballad Book, p. - xxxiii. - - #U.# From Long Island, N.Y., communicated by Mr W. W. - Newell. - - -This is one of the very few old ballads which are not extinct as -tradition in the British Isles. Even drawing-room versions are spoken of -as current, "generally traced to some old nurse, who sang them to the -young ladies."[126] It has been found in England, Scotland, Wales, and -Ireland, and was very early in print. Dr Rimbault possessed and -published a broadside of the date 1656[127] (#A a#), and the same copy -is included in the miscellany called Wit Restor'd, 1658. Both of these -name "Mr Smith" as the author; that is, Dr James Smith, a well-known -writer of humorous verses, to whom the larger part of the pieces in Wit -Restor'd has been attributed. If the ballad were ever in Smith's hands, -he might possibly have inserted the three burlesque stanzas, 11-13; but -similar verses are found in another copy (#L a#), and might easily be -extemporized by any singer of sufficiently bad taste. Wit and Drollery, -the edition of 1682, has an almost identical copy of the ballad, and -this is repeated in Dryden's Miscellany, edition of 1716, Part III, p. -316. In 1781 Pinkerton inserted in his Tragic Ballads one with the title -'Binnorie,' purporting to be from Scottish tradition. Of twenty-eight -couplets, barely seven are genuine. Scott printed in 1802 a copy (#C#) -compounded from one "in Mrs Brown's MS." (#B b#) and a fragment of -fourteen stanzas which had been transcribed from recitation by Miss -Charlotte Brooke, adopting a burden found in neither.[128] Jamieson -followed, four years after, with a tolerably faithful, though not, as he -says, _verbatim_, publication of his copy of Mrs Brown's ballad, -somewhat marred, too, by acknowledged interpolations. This text of Mrs -Brown's is now correctly given, with the whole or fragments of eleven -others, hitherto unpublished. - -The ballad is as popular with the Scandinavians as with their Saxon -cousins. Grundtvig, 'Den talende Strengeleg,' No 95, gives nine #Danish# -versions and one stanza of a tenth; seven, #A-E#, in II, 507 ff, the -remainder, #H-K#, in III, 875 ff. One more, #L#, is added by Kristensen, -No 96, I, 253. Of these, only #E# had been previously printed. All are -from tradition of this century. - -There are two #Icelandic# versions, #A# from the 17th, #B# from the -19th, century, printed in Íslenzk Fornkvæði, No 13, 'Hörpu kvæði.' - -Of twelve #Norwegian# versions, #A#, by Moe, "is printed in Norske -Universitets og Skole-Annaler for 1850, p. 287," and in Moe's Samlede -Skrifter, II, 118, 'Dæ bur ein Mann hær utmæ Aa;' #B#, by Lindeman, -Annaler, as before, "p. 496," and in his Norske Fjeldmelodier, vol. I, -Tekst-Bilag, p. 4, No 14, 'Dei tvæ Systa;' #C#, by Landstad, 'Dei tvo -systar,' No 53, p. 480; #D-L# are described by Professor Bugge in -Grundtvig, III, 877 f; #M# "is printed in Illustreret Nyhedsblads -Nytaarsgave for 1860, p. 77, Christiania." - -Four #Färöe# versions are known: #A#, 'Hörpuríma,' "in Svabo's MS., No -16, I, 291," incorrectly printed by Afzelius, I, 86, and accurately, -from a copy furnished by Grundtvig, in Bergström's edition of Afzelius, -II, 69; #B#, a compound of two versions taken down by Pastor Lyngbye and -by Pastor Schröter, in Nyeste Skilderie af Kjøbenhavn, 1821, col. 997 -ff; #C#, a transcript from recitation by Hammershaimb (Grundtvig); #D#, -"in Fugloyjarbók, No 31." - -#Swedish# versions are: #A#, 'Den underbara Harpan,' Afzelius, No 17, I, -81, new ed., No 16, 1, I, 72: #B#, 'De två Systrarne,' Afzelius, No 69, -III, 16, new ed., No 16, 2, I, 74: #C#, #D#, #E#, unprinted copies in -Cavallius and Stephens's collection: #F#, 'De två Systrarne,' Arwidsson, -No 99, II, 139: #G#, 'Systermordet,' E. Wigström, Skånska Visor, p. 4, -and the same, Folkdiktning, etc., No 7, p. 19: #H#, Rancken, Några Prof -af Folksång, No 3, p. 10. Afzelius, moreover, gives variations from four -other copies which he had collected, III, 20 ff, new ed., II, 74 ff; and -Rancken from three others. Both of the editors of the new Afzelius have -recently obtained excellent copies from singers. The ballad has also -been found in Finnish, Bergström's Afzelius, II, 79. - -There is a remarkable agreement between the Norse and English ballads -till we approach the conclusion of the story, with a natural diversity -as to some of the minuter details. - -The sisters are king's daughters in English #A#, #B#, #C#, #H#, #O# (?), -#P#, #Q#, #R a#, and in Swedish #B# and two others of Afzelius's -versions. They are an earl's daughters in Swedish #F#, and sink to -farmer's daughters in English #R b#, #c#,[129] Swedish #A#, #G#, -Norwegian #C#. - -It is a thing made much of in most of the Norse ballads that the younger -sister is fair and the older dark; the younger is bright as the sun, as -white as ermine or as milk, the elder black as soot, black as the earth, -Icelandic #A#, Swedish #A#, #B#, #G#, Danish #A#, #D#, etc.; and this -difference is often made the ground for very unhandsome taunts, which -qualify our compassion for the younger; such as Wash all day, and you -will be no whiter than God made you, Wash as white as you please, you -will never get a lover, Färöe #A#, #B#, Norwegian #A#, #C#, etc. This -contrast may possibly be implied in "the youngest was the fairest -flower," English #F#, #G#, #Q# ["sweetest," #D#], but is expressed only -in #M#, "Ye was fair and I was din" (dun), and in #P a#, "The old was -black and the young are fair." - -The scene of action is a seashore in Icelandic and Färöe #A#, #B#, -Norwegian #A#, Swedish #A#, #B#, #G#, #H#, and in all the Danish -complete copies: a seashore, or a place where ships come in, in English -#A#, #B a#, #D-I#, #Q#, #R a#, #T#, but in all save the last of these -(the last is only one stanza) we have the absurdity of a body drowned in -navigable water being discovered floating down a mill-stream.[130] #B c# -has "the deep mill-dam;" #C# "the river-strand," perhaps one of Scott's -changes; #M#, "the dams;" #L#, #O#, #P#, #R b c#, a river, Tweed -mill-dam, or the water of Tweed. Norwegian #B# has a river. - -The pretence for the older sister's taking the younger down to the water -is in English #A-E#, #G#, #H#, #I#, #O#, #Q#, to see their father's -ships come in; in Icelandic #B# to wash their silks;[131] in most of the -Norse ballads to wash themselves, so that, as the elder says, "we may be -alike white," Danish #C-H#, Norwegian #A#, #C#, Swedish #F#, #G#, Färöe -#A#, #B#. Malice prepense is attributed to the elder in Swedish #B#, -#F#, Norwegian C, Danish #E#, #F#, #G#: but in Färöe #A#, #B#, Norwegian -#A#, #B#, and perhaps some other cases, a previous evil intent is not -certain, and the provocations of the younger sister may excuse the elder -so far. - -The younger is pushed from a stone upon which she sits, stands, or -steps, in English #B#, #C#, #E-H#, #M#, #O#, #Q#, Icelandic #A#, #B#, -Färöe #A#, #B#, Norwegian #A#, #B#, #C#, Danish #A-E#, #H#, #L#, Swedish -#G#, #H#, and Rancken's other copies. - -The drowning scene is the same in all the ballads, except as to one -point. The younger sister, to save her life, offers or consents to -renounce her lover in the larger number, as English #B-E#, #G#, #H#, -#I#, #M#, #P#, #Q#, Danish #A-D#, #F#, #G#, #I#, Swedish #A-D#, #G#, -#H#; and in Icelandic #B# and "all the Färöe" ballads she finally -yields, after first saying that her lover must dispose of himself. But -Swedish #F#, with more spirit, makes the girl, after promising -everything else, reply: - - 'Help then who can, help God above! - But ne'er shalt thou get my dear true-love.' - -In this refusal concur Icelandic #A#, Danish #E#, #H#, #L#, and all the -Norwegian versions except #L#. - -Swedish #A#, #G#, and Rancken's versions (or two of them) make the -younger sister, when she sees that she must drown, send greetings to her -father, mother, true-love [also brother, sister, Rancken], and add in -each case that she is drinking, or dancing, her bridal in the flood, -that her bridal-bed is made on the white-sand, etc. - -The body of the drowned girl is discovered, in nearly all the English -ballads, by some member of the miller's household, and is taken out of -the water by the miller. In #L b#, which, however, is imperfect at the -beginning, a harper finds the body. In the Icelandic ballads it is found -on the seashore by the lover; in all the Norwegian but #M# by two -fishermen, as also in Swedish #D# [fishermen in Swedish #B#]; in all the -Färöe versions and Norwegian #M# by two "pilgrims;"[132] in Danish -#A-F#, #L#, and Swedish #C# by two musicians, Danish #H#, Swedish #A#, -#G#, one. Danish #G#, which is corrupted at the close, has three -musicians, but these simply witness and report the drowning. - -According to all complete and uncorrupted forms of the ballad, either -some part of the body of the drowned girl is taken to furnish a musical -instrument, a harp or a viol,[133] or the instrument is wholly made from -the body. This is done in the Norse ballads by those who first find the -body, save in Swedish #B#, where fishermen draw the body ashore, and a -passing "speleman" makes the instrument. In English it is done by the -miller, #A#; by a harper, #B#, #C#, #G#, #L b# (the _king's_ harper in -#B#); by a fiddler, #D#, #E#, #I#, #L a# (?), #O#, #P# (the _king's_ -fiddler, #O# (?), #P#); by both a fiddler and the king's harper, #H#; in -#F# by the father's herdsman, who happens to be a fiddler. - -Perhaps the original conception was the simple and beautiful one which -we find in English #B# and both the Icelandic ballads, that the king's -harper, or the girl's lover, takes three locks of her yellow hair to -string his harp with. So we find three tets of hair in #D#, #E#, #I#, -and three links in #F#, #P#, used, or directed to be used, to string the -fiddle or the fiddle-bow, and the same, apparently, with Danish #A#. -Infelicitous additions were, perhaps, successively made; as a harp-frame -from the breast-bone in English #C#, and fiddle-pins formed of the -finger-joints, English #F#, #O#, Danish #B#, #C#, #E#, #F#, #L#. Then we -have all three: the frame of the instrument formed from the breast (or -trunk), the screws from the finger-joints, the strings from the hair, -Swedish #A#, #B#, #G#, Norwegian #A#, #C#, #M#. And so one thing and -another is added, or substituted, as fiddle-bows of the arms or legs, -Swedish #C#, #D#, Danish #H#, English #L a#; a harp-frame from the arms, -Norwegian #B#, Färöe #A#; a fiddle-frame from the skull, Swedish #C#, or -from the back-bone, English #L b#; a _plectrum_ from the arm, Färöe #B#; -strings from the veins, English #A#; a bridge from the nose, English -#A#, #L a#; "hørpønota" from the teeth, Norwegian #B#; till we end with -the buffoonery of English #A# and #L a#. - -Swedish #H# has nothing about the finding of the body. Music is wanted -for the bridal, and a man from another village, who undertakes to -furnish it, looks three days for a proper tree to make a harp of. The -singer of this version supplied the information, lost from the ballad, -that the drowned sister had floated ashore and grown up into a linden, -and that this was the very tree which was chosen for the harp. (See, -further on, a Lithuanian, a Slovak, and an Esthonian ballad.) - -All the Norse ballads make the harp or fiddle to be taken to a wedding, -which chances to be that of the elder sister with the drowned girl's -betrothed.[134] Unfortunately, many of the English versions are so -injured towards the close that the full story cannot be made out. There -is no wedding-feast preserved in any of them. The instrument, in #A#, -#B#, #C#, #H#, is taken into the king's presence. The viol in #A# and -the harp in #H# are expressly said to speak. The harp is laid upon a -stone in #C#, #J#, and plays "its lone;" the fiddle plays of itself in -#L b#.[135] #B# makes the harper play, and #D#, #F#, #K#, #O#, which say -the fiddle played, probably mean that there was a fiddler, and so -perhaps with all the Norse versions; but this is not very material, -since in either case the instrument speaks "with most miraculous organ." - -There are three strings made from the girl's hair in Icelandic #A#, #B#, -English #B# [veins, English #A#], and the three tets or links in English -#D#, #E#, #F#, #I#, #P# were no doubt taken to make three strings -originally. Corresponding to this are three enunciations of the -instrument in English #A#, #B#, #C#, Icelandic #A#, Färöe #A#,[136] #B#, -Swedish #A#, #B#, #C#, #E#, #G#, #H#, Danish #A#, #D#, #F#, #I#. These -are reduced to two in Icelandic #B#, Danish #B#, #C#, #H#, #L#, Swedish -#D#, and even to one in English #D#, #F#, #I#, #K#, #O#, but some of -these have suffered injury towards the conclusion. The number is -increased to four in Norwegian #B#, to five in Norwegian #A#, #D#, and -even to six in Norwegian #C#, #K#, #M#. The increase is, of course, a -later exaggeration, and very detrimental to the effect. In those English -copies in which the instrument speaks but once,[137] #D#, #F#, #K#, #O#, -and we may add #P#, it expresses a desire for vengeance: Hang my sister, -#D#, #F#, #K#; Ye'll drown my sister, as she's dune me, #O#; Tell him to -burn my sister, #P#. This is found in no Norse ballad, neither is it -found in the earliest English versions. These, and the better forms of -the Norse, reveal the awful secret, directly or indirectly, and, in the -latter case, sometimes note the effect on the bride. Thus, in Icelandic -#B#, the first string sounds, The bride is our sister; the second, The -bride is our murderer. In Danish #B# the first fiddle plays, The bride -is my sister; the second, The bridegroom is my true-love; in #C#, #H#, -the first strain is, The bride has drowned her sister, the second, Thy -sister is driven [blown] to land. Färöe #A#, #B#, have: (1) The bride -was my sister; (2) The bride was my murderer; (3) The bridegroom was my -true-love. The bride then says that the harp disturbs her much, and that -she lists to hear it no more. Most impressive of all, with its terse, -short lines, is Icelandic #A#: - - The first string made response: - 'The bride was my sister once.' - - The bride on the bench, she spake: - 'The harp much trouble doth make.' - - The second string answered the other: - 'She is parting me and my lover.' - - Answered the bride, red as gore: - 'The harp is vexing us sore.' - - The canny third string replied: - 'I owe my death to the bride.' - - He made all the harp-strings clang; - The bride's heart burst with the pang. - -This is the wicked sister's end in both of the Icelandic ballads and in -Färöe #A#, #B#. In Swedish #A#, #G#, at the first stroke on the harp she -laughs; at the second she grows pale [has to be undressed]; upon the -third she lay dead in her bed [falls dead on the floor]. She is burned -in Danish #A#, #B#, #C#, #F#, #G#, Swedish #B#, Norwegian #A#, #B#, #C#, -#I#, #M#. In Norwegian #K#, #L#, the younger sister (who is restored to -life) begs that the elder may not be burned, but sent out of the country -(cf. English #R b c#); nevertheless, she is buried alive in #L#, which -is her fate also in #E#, and in other unprinted versions. A prose -comment upon Danish #I# has her stabbed by the bridegroom. - -Norwegian #B# 21 makes the bride, in her confusion at the revelations of -the harp, ask the bridegroom to drive the fiddler out of the house. So -far from complying, the bridegroom orders him mead and wine, and the -bride to the pile. In Norwegian #C# the bride treads on the harper's -foot, then orders the playing to stop; but the bridegroom springs from -the table, and cries, Let the harp have its song out, pays no regard to -the lady's alleging that she has so bad a head that she cannot bear it, -and finally sends her to the pile. So, nearly, Norwegian #A#. In Danish -#A#, #C#, #D#, #H#, #L#, vainly in the first two, the bride tries to -hush the fiddler with a bribe. He endeavors to take back what he has -said in #D#, #L#, declaring himself a drunken fool (the passage is -borrowed from another ballad): still in #L#, though successful for the -nonce, she comes to the stake and wheel some months after. In #H# the -fiddler dashes the instrument against a stone, seemingly to earn his -bribe, but this trait belongs to versions which take the turn of the -Norwegian. In #C# 15 the bride springs from the table, and says, Give -the fiddlers a trifle, and let them go. This explains the last stanza of -English #A# (cf., Norwegian #B# 21): - - Now pay the miller for his payne, - And let him bee gone in the divel's name. - -Swedish #F# has an entirely perverted and feeble conclusion. "A good -man" takes the younger sister from the water, carries her to his house, -revives her, and nurses her till the morrow, and then restores her to -her father, who asks why she is so pale, and why she had not come back -with her sister. She explains that she had been pushed into the water, -"and we may thank this good man that I came home at all." The father -tells the elder that she is a disgrace to her country, and condemns her -to the "blue tower." But her sister intercedes, and a cheerful and -handsome wedding follows. - -Swedish #C# and nearly all the Norwegian ballads[138] restore the -drowned girl to life, but not by those processes of the Humane Society -which are successfully adopted by the "arlig man" in Swedish #F#. The -harp is dashed against a stone, or upon the floor, and the girl stands -forth "as good as ever." As Landstad conceives the matter (484, note 7), -the elder sister is a witch, and is in the end burned _as such_. The -white body of the younger is made to take on the appearance of a crooked -log, which the fishermen (who, by the way, are angels in #C#, #E#) -innocently shape into a harp, and the music, vibrating from her hair -"through all her limbs, marrow and bone," acts as a disenchantment. -However this may be, the restoration of the younger sister, like all -good endings foisted on tragedies, emasculates the story. - -English #F# 9 has the peculiarity, not noticed elsewhere, that the -drowning girl catches at a broom-root, and the elder sister forces her -to let go her hold.[139] In Swedish #G# she is simply said to swim to an -alder-root. In English #G# 8 the elder drives the younger from the land -with a switch, in #I# 8 pushes her off with a silver wand. - -English #O# introduces the _ghost_ of the drowned sister as instructing -her father's fiddler to make a string of her hair and a peg of her -little finger bone, which done, the first spring the fiddle plays, it -says, - - 'Ye'll drown my sister as she's dune me.' - -#P#, which is disordered at the end, seems to have agreed with #O#. In -#Q# the ghost sends, by the medium of the miller and his daughter, -respects to father, mother, and true-love, adding a lock of yellow hair -for the last. The ghost is found in #N#, Pinkerton's copy, as well, but -there appears to the lover at dead of night, two days after the -drowning. It informs him of the murder, and he makes search for the -body. This is a wide departure from the original story, and plainly a -modern perversion. Another variation, entirely wanting in ancient -authority, appears in #R#, #S#. The girl is not dead when she has -floated down to the mill-dam, and, being drawn out of the water by the -miller, offers him a handsome reward to take her back to her father -[#S#, to throw her in again!]. The miller takes the reward, and pushes -the girl in again, for which he is hanged.[140] - -#Q# has a burden partly Gaelic, - - ... ohone and aree (alack and O Lord), - On the banks of the Banna (White River), ohone and aree, - -which may raise a question whether the Scotch burden Binnorie -(pronounced Bínnorie, as well as Binnórie) is corrupted from it, or the -corruption is on the other side. Mr Campbell notices as quaint the reply -in stanza 9: - - 'I did not put you in with the design - Just for to pull you out again.' - -We have had a similar reply, made under like circumstances, in Polish -versions of No 4: see p. 40, note. - -All the Norse versions of this ballad are in two-line stanzas, and all -the English, except #L b# and in part #L a#. - -Some of the traits of the English and Norse story are presented by an -Esthonian ballad, 'The Harp,' Neus, Ehstnische Volkslieder, No 13, p. -56. Another version is given in Rosenplänter's Beiträge zur genauern -Kenntniss der ehstnischen Sprache, Heft 4, 142, and a third, says Neus, -in Ch. H. J. Schlegel's Reisen in mehrere russische Gouvernements, V, -140. A young woman, who tells her own story, is murdered by her -sisters-in-law and buried in a moor. She comes up as a birch, from -which, with the jaw-bone of a salmon, the teeth of a pike, and her own -hair (the account is somewhat confused) a harp is made. The harp is -taken to the hall by the murdered girl's brother, and responds to his -playing with tones of sorrow like those of the bride who leaves father -and mother for the house of a husband.[141] - -A Slovak ballad often translated (Talvj, Historical View, etc., p. 392; -Wenzig's Slawische Volkslieder, p. 110, Westslawischer Märchenschatz, -273, and Bibliothek Slavischer Poesien, p. 134; Lewestam, Polnische -Volksagen und Märchen, p. 151) comes nearer in some respects. A daughter -is cursed by her mother for not succeeding in drawing water in frosty -weather. Her bucket turns to stone, but she to a maple. Two fiddlers -come by, and, seeing a remarkably fine tree, propose to make of it -fiddles and fiddle-sticks. When they cut into the tree, blood spirts -out. The tree bids them go on, and when they have done, play before the -mother's door, and sing, Here is your daughter, that you cursed to -stone. At the first notes the mother runs to the window, and begs them -to desist, for she has suffered much since she lost her daughter. - -The soul of a dead girl speaks through a tree, again, in a Lithuanian -ballad, Nesselmann, Littauische Volkslieder, No 378, p. 320. The girl is -drowned while attempting to cross a stream, carried down to the sea, and -finally thrown ashore, where she grows up a linden. Her brother makes a -pipe from a branch, and the pipe gives out sweet, sad tones. The mother -says, That tone comes not from the linden; it is thy sister's soul, that -hovers over the water. A like idea is met with in another Lithuanian -ballad, Rhesa, Dainos, ed. Kurschat, No 85, p. 231. A sister plucks a -bud from a rose-bush growing over the grave of her brother, who had died -from disappointed love. How fragrant! she exclaims. But her mother -answers, with tears, It is not the rosebud, but the soul of the youth -that died of grief. - -Though the range of the ballad proper is somewhat limited, popular tales -equivalent as to the characteristic circumstances are very widely -diffused. - -A Polish popular tale, which is, indeed, half song, Wojcicki, Klechdy, -ed. 1851, II, 15 (Lewestam, p. 105), Kolberg, Pie[/s]ni ludu Polskiego, -p. 292, No 40 #a#, #b#, #c#, approaches very close to the English-Norse -ballad. There were three sisters, all pretty, but the youngest far -surpassing the others. A young man from the far-off Ukraine fell in with -them while they were making garlands. The youngest pleased him best, and -he chose her for his wife. This excited the jealousy of the eldest, and -a few days after, when they were gathering berries in a wood, she killed -the youngest, notwithstanding the resistance of the second sister, -buried her, and gave out that she had been torn to pieces by wolves. -When the youth came to ask after his love, the murderess told him this -tale, and so won him by her devoted consolations that he offered her his -hand. A willow grew out of the grave of the youngest, and a herdsman -made a pipe from one of its boughs. Blow as he would, he could get no -sound from the pipe but this: - - 'Blow on, herdsman, blow! God shall bless thee so. - The eldest was my slayer, the second tried to stay her.' - -The herdsman took the pipe to the house of the murdered girl. The -mother, the father, and the second sister successively tried it, and the -pipe always sang a like song, Blow, mother, blow, etc. The father then -put the pipe into the eldest sister's hands. She had hardly touched it, -when blood spattered her cheeks, and the pipe sang: - - 'Blow on, sister, blow: God shall wreak me now. - Thou, sister, 't was didst slay me, the younger tried to stay thee,' - etc. - -The murderess was torn by wild horses. - -Professor Bugge reports a Norwegian tale, Grundtvig, III, 878, which -resembles the ballad at the beginning. There were in a family two -daughters and a son. One sister was wasteful, the other saving. The -second complained of the first to her parents, and was killed and buried -by the other. Foliage covered the grave, so that it could not be seen, -but on the trees under which the body lay, there grew "strings." These -the brother cut off and adapted to his fiddle, and when he played, the -fiddle said, My sister is killed. The father, having heard the fiddle's -revelation, brought his daughter to confess her act. - -There is a series of tales which represent a king, or other personage, -as being afflicted with a severe malady, and as promising that whichever -of his children, commonly three sons, should bring him something -necessary for his cure or comfort should be his heir: (1) 'La Flor del -Lililá,' Fernan Caballero, Lágrimas, cap. 4; (2) 'La caña del riu de -arenas,' Milá, Observaciones sobre la poesia popular, p. 178, No 3; (3) -'Es kommt doch einmal an den Tag,' Müllenhof, Sagen, u. s. w., p. 495, -No 49; (4) 'Vom singenden Dudelsack,' Gonzenbach, Sicilianische Märchen, -I, 329, No 51. Or the inheritance is promised to whichever of the -children finds something lost, or rich and rare, a griffin's feather, a -golden branch, a flower: (5) 'Die Greifenfeder,' Schneller, Märchen und -Sagen aus Wälschtirol, p. 143, No 51; (6) 'La Flanuto,' Bladé, Contes et -proverbes populaires recueillis en Armagnac, p. 3, No 1; (7) -Wackernagel, in Haupt's Zeitschrift, III, 35, No 3, == 'Das -Todtebeindli,' Colshorn, C. u. Th., Märchen u. Sagen, p. 193, No 71, == -Sutermeister, Kinder-u.-Hausmärchen aus der Schweiz, p. 119, No 39. Or a -king promises his daughter to the man who shall capture a dangerous wild -beast, and the exploit is undertaken by three brothers [or two]: (8) -'Der singende Knochen,' Grimms, K. u. H. märchen, I, 149, No 28 (1857); -(9) 'Die drei Brüder,' Curtze, Volksüberlieferungen aus dem Fürstenthum -Waldeck, p. 53, No 11; (10) 'Der Rohrstengel,' Haltrich, Deutsche -Volksmärchen aus dem Sachsenlande, u. s. w., p. 225, No 42. With these -we may group, though divergent in some respects, (11) 'Der goldene -Apfel,' Toeppen, Aberglauben aus Masuren, p. 139.[142] In all these -tales the youngest child is successful, and is killed, out of envy, by -the eldest or by the two elder. [There are only two children in (6), -(7), (8); in (4) the second is innocent, as in the Polish tale.] Reeds -grow over the spot where the body is buried (1), (2), (10), (11), or an -elder bush (3), out of which a herdsman makes a pipe or flute; or a -white bone is found by a herdsman, and he makes a pipe or horn of it -(5-9); or a bag-pipe is made of the bones and skin of the murdered youth -(4). The instrument, whenever it is played, attests the murder. - -Among the tales of the South African Bechuana, there is one of a younger -brother, who has been killed by an older, immediately appearing as a -bird, and announcing what has occurred. The bird is twice killed, and -the last time burnt and its ashes scattered to the winds, but still -reappears, and proclaims that his body lies by a spring in the desert. -Grimms, K. u. H. m. III, 361. Liebrecht has noted that the fundamental -idea is found in a Chinese drama, 'The Talking Dish,' said to be based -on a popular tale. An innkeeper and his wife kill one of their guests -for his money, and burn the body. The innkeeper collects the ashes and -pounds the bones, and makes a sort of mortar and a dish. This dish -speaks very distinctly, and denounces the murderers. Journal Asiatique, -1851, 4th Series, vol. 18, p. 523. - - * * * * * - -Danish #A#, #E# are translated by Prior, I, 381, 384. English #B#, with -use of #C#, is translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, -p. 104, No 15; #C#, by Afzelius, III, 22. #C#, by Talvj, Versuch, u. s. -w., p. 532; by Schubart, p. 133; by Gerhard, p. 143; by Doenniges, p. -81; Arndt, p. 238. #C#, with use of Aytoun's compounded version, by R. -Warrens, Schottische V. L. der Vorzeit, p. 65; Allingham's version by -Knortz, Lieder u. Romanzen Alt-Englands, p. 180. - - -A - - #A. a.# Broadside "printed for Francis Grove, 1656," - reprinted in Notes and Queries, 1st S., V, 591. #b.# Wit - Restor'd, 1658, "p. 51," p. 153 of the reprint of 1817. - #c.# Wit and Drollery, ed. 1682, p. 87,== Dryden's - Miscellany, Part 3, p. 316, ed. 1716. #d.# Jamieson's - Popular Ballads, I, 315. - - 1 - There were two sisters, they went playing, - With a hie downe downe a downe-a - To see their father's ships come sayling in. - With a hy downe downe a downe-a - - 2 - And when they came unto the sea-brym, - The elder did push the younger in. - - 3 - 'O sister, O sister, take me by the gowne, - And drawe me up upon the dry ground.' - - 4 - 'O sister, O sister, that may not bee, - Till salt and oatmeale grow both of a tree.' - - 5 - Somtymes she sanke, somtymes she swam, - Until she came unto the mill-dam. - - 6 - The miller runne hastily downe the cliffe, - And up he betook her withouten her life. - - 7 - What did he doe with her brest-bone? - He made him a violl to play thereupon. - - 8 - What did he doe with her fingers so small? - He made him peggs to his violl withall. - - 9 - What did he doe with her nose-ridge? - Unto his violl he made him a bridge. - - 10 - What did he doe with her veynes so blew? - He made him strings to his violl thereto. - - 11 - What did he doe with her eyes so bright? - Upon his violl he played at first sight. - - 12 - What did he doe with her tongue so rough? - Unto the violl it spake enough. - - 13 - What did he doe with her two shinnes? - Unto the violl they danc'd Moll Syms. - - 14 - Then bespake the treble string, - 'O yonder is my father the king.' - - 15 - Then bespake the second string, - 'O yonder sitts my mother the queen.' - - 16 - And then bespake the strings all three, - 'O yonder is my sister that drowned mee.' - - 17 - 'Now pay the miller for his payne, - And let him bee gone in the divel's name.' - - -B - - #a.# Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. 39. #b.# Wm. Tytler's Brown - MS., No 15. #c.# Abbotsford MS., "Scottish Songs," fol. - 21. #d.# Jamieson's Popular Ballads, I, 48. - - 1 - There was twa sisters in a bowr, - Edinburgh, Edinburgh - There was twa sisters in a bowr, - Stirling for ay - There was twa sisters in a bowr, - There came a knight to be their wooer. - Bonny Saint Johnston stands upon Tay - - 2 - He courted the eldest wi glove an ring, - But he lovd the youngest above a' thing. - - 3 - He courted the eldest wi brotch an knife, - But lovd the youngest as his life. - - 4 - The eldest she was vexed sair, - An much envi'd her sister fair. - - 5 - Into her bowr she could not rest, - Wi grief an spite she almos brast. - - 6 - Upon a morning fair an clear, - She cried upon her sister dear: - - 7 - 'O sister, come to yon sea stran, - An see our father's ships come to lan.' - - 8 - She's taen her by the milk-white han, - An led her down to yon sea stran. - - 9 - The younges[t] stood upon a stane, - The eldest came an threw her in. - - 10 - She tooke her by the middle sma, - An dashd her bonny back to the jaw. - - 11 - 'O sister, sister, tak my han, - An Ise mack you heir to a' my lan. - - 12 - 'O sister, sister, tak my middle, - An yes get my goud and my gouden girdle. - - 13 - 'O sister, sister, save my life, - An I swear Ise never be nae man's wife.' - - 14 - 'Foul fa the han that I should tacke, - It twin'd me an my wardles make. - - 15 - 'Your cherry cheeks an yallow hair - Gars me gae maiden for evermair.' - - 16 - Sometimes she sank, an sometimes she swam, - Till she came down yon bonny mill-dam. - - 17 - O out it came the miller's son, - An saw the fair maid swimmin in. - - 18 - 'O father, father, draw your dam, - Here's either a mermaid or a swan.' - - 19 - The miller quickly drew the dam, - An there he found a drownd woman. - - 20 - You coudna see her yallow hair - For gold and pearle that were so rare. - - 21 - You coudna see her middle sma - For gouden girdle that was sae braw. - - 22 - You coudna see her fingers white, - For gouden rings that was sae gryte. - - 23 - An by there came a harper fine, - That harped to the king at dine. - - 24 - When he did look that lady upon, - He sighd and made a heavy moan. - - 25 - He's taen three locks o her yallow hair, - An wi them strung his harp sae fair. - - 26 - The first tune he did play and sing, - Was, 'Farewell to my father the king.' - - 27 - The nextin tune that he playd syne, - Was, 'Farewell to my mother the queen.' - - 28 - The lasten tune that he playd then, - Was, 'Wae to my sister, fair Ellen.' - - -C - - Scott's Minstrelsy, 1802, II; 143. Compounded from #B b# - and a fragment of fourteen stanzas transcribed from the - recitation of an old woman by Miss Charlotte Brooke. - - 1 - There were two sisters sat in a bour; - Binnorie, O Binnorie - There came a knight to be their wooer. - By the bonny mill-dams of Binnorie - - 2 - He courted the eldest with glove and ring, - But he loed the youngest aboon a' thing. - - 3 - He courted the eldest with broach and knife, - But he loed the youngest aboon his life. - - 4 - The eldest she was vexed sair, - And sore envied her sister fair. - - 5 - The eldest said to the youngest ane, - 'Will ye go and see our father's ships come in?' - - 6 - She's taen her by the lilly hand, - And led her down to the river strand. - - 7 - The youngest stude upon a stane, - The eldest came and pushed her in. - - 8 - She took her by the middle sma, - And dashed her bonnie back to the jaw. - - 9 - 'O sister, sister, reach your hand, - And ye shall be heir of half my land.' - - 10 - 'O sister, I'll not reach my hand, - And I'll be heir of all your land. - - 11 - 'Shame fa the hand that I should take, - It's twin'd me and my world's make.' - - 12 - 'O sister, reach me but your glove, - And sweet William shall be your love.' - - 13 - 'Sink on, nor hope for hand or glove, - And sweet William shall better be my love. - - 14 - 'Your cherry cheeks and your yellow hair - Garrd me gang maiden evermair.' - - 15 - Sometimes she sunk, and sometimes she swam, - Until she came to the miller's dam. - - 16 - 'O father, father, draw your dam, - There's either a mermaid or a milk-white swan.' - - 17 - The miller hasted and drew his dam, - And there he found a drowned woman. - - 18 - You could not see her yellow hair, - For gowd and pearls that were sae rare. - - 19 - You could na see her middle sma, - Her gowden girdle was sae bra. - - 20 - A famous harper passing by, - The sweet pale face he chanced to spy. - - 21 - And when he looked that ladye on, - He sighed and made a heavy moan. - - 22 - He made a harp of her breast-bone, - Whose sounds would melt a heart of stone. - - 23 - The strings he framed of her yellow hair, - Whose notes made sad the listening ear. - - 24 - He brought it to her father's hall, - And there was the court assembled all. - - 25 - He laid this harp upon a stone, - And straight it began to play alone. - - 26 - 'O yonder sits my father, the king, - And yonder sits my mother, the queen. - - 27 - 'And yonder stands my brother Hugh, - And by him my William, sweet and true.' - - 28 - But the last tune that the harp playd then, - Was 'Woe to my sister, false Helen!' - - -D - - Kinloch's MSS, II, 49. From the recitation of Mrs - Johnston, a North-country lady. - - 1 - There lived three sisters in a bouer, - Edinbruch, Edinbruch - There lived three sisters in a bouer, - Stirling for aye - There lived three sisters in a bouer, - The youngest was the sweetest flowr. - Bonnie St Johnston stands upon Tay - - 2 - There cam a knicht to see them a', - And on the youngest his love did fa. - - 3 - He brought the eldest ring and glove, - But the youngest was his ain true-love. - - 4 - He brought the second sheath and knife, - But the youngest was to be his wife. - - 5 - The eldest sister said to the youngest ane, - 'Will ye go and see our father's ships come in?' - - 6 - And as they walked by the linn, - The eldest dang the youngest in. - - 7 - 'O sister, sister, tak my hand, - And ye'll be heir to a' my land.' - - 8 - 'Foul fa the hand that I wad take, - To twin me o my warld's make.' - - 9 - 'O sister, sister, tak my glove, - And yese get Willie, my true-love.' - - 10 - 'Sister, sister, I'll na tak your glove, - For I'll get Willie, your true-love.' - - 11 - Aye she swittert, and aye she swam, - Till she cam to yon bonnie mill-dam. - - 12 - The miller's dochter cam out wi speed, - It was for water, to bake her bread. - - 13 - 'O father, father, gae slack your dam; - There's in't a lady or a milk-white swan.' - - * * * * * * * - - 14 - They could na see her coal-black eyes - For her yellow locks hang oure her brees. - - 15 - They could na see her weel-made middle - For her braid gowden girdle. - - * * * * * * * - - 16 - And by there cam an auld blind fiddler, - And took three tets o her bonnie yellow hair. - - * * * * * * * - - 17 - The first spring that the bonnie fiddle playd, - 'Hang my cruel sister, Alison,' it said. - - -E - - Sharpe's Ballad Book, No 10, p. 30. - - 1 - There livd twa sisters in a bower, - Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch! - There lived twa sisters in a bower, - Stirling for aye! - The youngest o them O she was a flower! - Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay! - - 2 - There cam a squire frae the west, - He loed them baith, but the youngest best. - - 3 - He gied the eldest a gay gold ring, - But he loed the youngest aboon a' thing. - - 4 - 'O sister, sister, will ye go to the sea? - Our father's ships sail bonnilie.' - - 5 - The youngest sat down upon a stane; - The eldest shot the youngest in. - - 6 - 'O sister, sister, lend me your hand, - And you shall hae my gouden fan. - - 7 - 'O sister, sister, save my life, - And ye shall be the squire's wife.' - - 8 - First she sank, and then she swam, - Untill she cam to Tweed mill-dam. - - 9 - The millar's daughter was baking bread, - She went for water, as she had need. - - 10 - 'O father, father, in our mill-dam - There's either a lady, or a milk-white swan.' - - 11 - They could nae see her fingers small, - Wi diamond rings they were coverd all. - - 12 - They could nae see her yellow hair, - Sae mony knots and platts were there. - - 13 - They could nae see her lilly feet, - Her gowden fringes war sae deep. - - 14 - Bye there cam a fiddler fair, - And he's taen three taits o her yellow hair. - - -F - - Motherwell's MS., p. 383. From the recitation of Agnes - Lyle, Kilbarchan, 27th July, 1825. - - 1 - There was two ladies livd in a bower, - Hey with a gay and a grinding O - The youngest o them was the fairest flower - About a' the bonny bows o London. - - 2 - There was two ladies livd in a bower, - An wooer unto the youngest did go. - - 3 - The oldest one to the youngest did say, - 'Will ye take a walk with me today, - And we'll view the bonny bows o London. - - 4 - 'Thou'll set thy foot whare I set mine, - Thou'll set thy foot upon this stane.' - - 5 - 'I'll set my foot where thou sets thine:' - The old sister dang the youngest in, - At, etc. - - 6 - 'O sister dear, come tak my hand, - Take my life safe to dry land,' - At, etc. - - 7 - 'It's neer by my hand thy hand sall come in, - It's neer by my hand thy hand sall come in, - At, etc. - - 8 - 'It's thy cherry cheeks and thy white briest bane - Gars me set a maid owre lang at hame.' - - 9 - She clasped her hand[s] about a brume rute, - But her cruel sister she lowsed them out. - - 10 - Sometimes she sank, and sometimes she swam, - Till she cam to the miller's dam. - - 11 - The miller's bairns has muckle need, - They were bearing in water to bake some breid. - - 12 - Says, 'Father, dear father, in our mill-dam, - It's either a fair maid or a milk-white swan.' - - 13 - The miller he's spared nae his hose nor his shoon - Till he brocht this lady till dry land. - - 14 - I wad he saw na a bit o her feet, - Her silver slippers were made so neat. - - 15 - I wad he saw na a bit o her skin, - For ribbons there was mony a ane. - - 16 - He laid her on a brume buss to dry, - To see wha was the first wad pass her by. - - 17 - Her ain father's herd was the first man - That by this lady gay did gang. - - 18 - He's taen three links of her yellow hair, - And made it a string to his fiddle there. - - 19 - He's cut her fingers long and small - To be fiddle-pins that neer might fail. - - 20 - The very first spring that the fiddle did play, - 'Hang my auld sister,' I wad it did say. - - 21 - 'For she drowned me in yonder sea, - God neer let her rest till she shall die,' - At the bonny bows o London. - - -G - - Motherwell's MS., p. 104. From Mrs King, Kilbarchan. - - 1 - There were three sisters lived in a bouir, - Hech, hey, my Nannie O - And the youngest was the fairest flouir. - And the swan swims bonnie O - - 2 - 'O sister, sister, gang down to yon sand, - And see your father's ships coming to dry land.' - - 3 - O they have gane down to yonder sand, - To see their father's ships coming to dry land. - - 4 - 'Gae set your fit on yonder stane, - Till I tye up your silken goun.' - - 5 - She set her fit on yonder stane, - And the auldest drave the youngest in. - - 6 - 'O sister, sister, tak me by the hand, - And ye'll get a' my father's land. - - 7 - 'O sister, sister, tak me by the gluve, - An ye'll get Willy, my true luve.' - - 8 - She had a switch into her hand, - And ay she drave her frae the land. - - 9 - O whiles she sunk, and whiles she swam, - Until she swam to the miller's dam. - - 10 - The miller's daughter gade doun to Tweed, - To carry water to bake her bread. - - 11 - 'O father, O father, what's yon in the dam? - It's either a maid or a milk-white swan.' - - 12 - They have tane her out till yonder thorn, - And she has lain till Monday morn. - - 13 - She hadna, hadna twa days lain, - Till by there came a harper fine. - - 14 - He made a harp o her breast-bane, - That he might play forever thereon. - - -H - - Motherwell's MS., p. 147. From I. Goldie, March, 1825. - - 1 - There were three sisters lived in a hall, - Hey with the gay and the grandeur O - And there came a lord to court them all. - At the bonnie bows o London town - - 2 - He courted the eldest with a penknife, - And he vowed that he would take her life. - - 3 - He courted the youngest with a glove, - And he said that he'd be her true love. - - 4 - 'O sister, O sister, will you go and take a walk, - And see our father's ships how they float? - - 5 - 'O lean your foot upon the stone, - And wash your hand in that sea-foam.' - - 6 - She leaned her foot upon the stone, - But her eldest sister has tumbled her down. - - 7 - 'O sister, sister, give me your hand, - And I'll make you lady of all my land.' - - 8 - 'O I'll not lend to you my hand, - But I'll be lady of your land.' - - 9 - 'O sister, sister, give me your glove, - And I'll make you lady of my true love.' - - 10 - 'It's I'll not lend to you my glove, - But I'll be lady of your true love.' - - 11 - Sometimes she sank, and sometimes she swam, - Until she came to a miller's dam. - - 12 - The miller's daughter was coming out wi speed, - For water for to bake some bread. - - 13 - 'O father, father, stop the dam, - For it's either a lady or a milk-white swan.' - - 14 - He dragged her out unto the shore, - And stripped her of all she wore. - - 15 - By cam a fiddler, and he was fair, - And he buskit his bow in her bonnie yellow hair. - - 16 - By cam her father's harper, and he was fine, - And he made a harp o her bonny breast-bone. - - 17 - When they came to her father's court, - The harp [and fiddle these words] spoke: - - 18 - 'O God bless my father the king, - And I wish the same to my mother the queen. - - 19 - 'My sister Jane she tumbled me in, - . . . . . . . - - * * * * * * * - - -I - - Kinloch MSS, V, 425. From the recitation of M. Kinnear, - 23d August, 1826. - - 1 - There war twa sisters lived in a bouer, - Binnorie and Binnorie - There cam a squire to court them baith. - At the bonnie mill-streams o Binnorie - - 2 - He courted the eldest with jewels and rings, - But he lovd the youngest the best of all things. - - 3 - He courted the eldest with a penknife, - He lovd the youngest as dear as his life. - - 4 - It fell ance upon a day - That these twa sisters hae gane astray. - - 5 - It was for to meet their father's ships that had come in. - . . . . . . . - - 6 - As they walked up the linn, - The eldest dang the youngest in. - - 7 - 'O sister, sister, tak my hand, - And ye'll hae Lud John and aw his land.' - - 8 - With a silver wand she pushd her in, - . . . . . . . - - 9 - 'O sister, sister, tak my glove, - And ye sall hae my ain true love.' - - 10 - The miller's dochter cam out wi speed. - It was for a water to bake her bread. - - 11 - 'O father, father, gae slack your dam; - There's either a white fish or a swan.' - - * * * * * * * - - 12 - Bye cam a blind fiddler that way, - And he took three tets o her bonnie yellow hair. - - 13 - And the first spring that he playd, - It said, 'It was my sister threw me in.' - - -J - - Notes and Queries, 4th S., V, 23, from the north of - Ireland. - - 1 - There were two ladies playing ball, - Hey, ho, my Nannie O - A great lord came to court them all. - The swan she does swim bonnie O - - 2 - He gave to the first a golden ring, - He gave to the second a far better thing. - - * * * * * * * - - 3 - He made a harp of her breast-bone - . . . . . . . - - 4 - He set it down upon a stone, - And it began to play its lone. - - -K - - Mr G.R. Kinloch's papers, Kinloch MSS, II, 59. From Mrs - Lindores. - - 1 - 'O sister, sister, gie me your hand, - Binnorie and Binnorie - And I'll give the half of my fallow-land, - By the bonnie mill-dams of Binnorie.' - - * * * * * * * - - 2 - The first time the bonnie fiddle played, - 'Hang my sister, Alison,' it said, - 'At the bonnie mill-dams of Binnorie.' - - -L - - #a.# From oral tradition, Notes and Queries, 1st S., V, - 316. #b.# The Scouring of the White Horse, p. 161. From - North Wales. - - 1 - O was it eke a pheasant cock, - Or eke a pheasant hen, - Or was it the bodye of a fair ladye, - Come swimming down the stream? - - 2 - O it was not a pheasant cock, - Nor eke a pheasant hen, - But it was the bodye of a fair ladye - Came swimming down the stream. - - * * * * * * * - - 3 - And what did he do with her fair bodye? - Fal the lal the lal laral lody - He made it a case for his melodye. - Fal, etc. - - 4 - And what did he do with her legs so strong? - He made them a stand for his violon. - - 5 - And what did he do with her hair so fine? - He made of it strings for his violine. - - 6 - And what did he do with her arms so long? - He made them bows for his violon. - - 7 - And what did he do with her nose so thin? - He made it a bridge for his violin. - - 8 - And what did he do with her eyes so bright? - He made them spectacles to put to his sight. - - 9 - And what did he do with her petty toes? - He made them a nosegay to put to his nose. - - -M - - Taken down from recitation at Old Deir, 1876, by Mrs A.F. - Murison. MS., p. 79. - - 1 - There lived twa sisters in yonder ha, - Binórie O an Binórie - They hadna but ae lad atween them twa, - He's the bonnie miller lad o Binórie. - - 2 - It fell oot upon a day, - The auldest ane to the youngest did say, - At the bonnie mill-dams o Binórie, - - 3 - 'O sister, O sister, will ye go to the dams, - To hear the blackbird thrashin oer his songs? - At the,' etc. - - 4 - 'O sister, O sister, will ye go to the dams, - To see oor father's fish-boats come safe to dry lan? - An the bonnie miller lad o Binorie.' - - 5 - They hadna been an oor at the dams, - Till they heard the blackbird thrashin oer his tune, - At the, etc. - - 6 - They hadna been an oor at the dams - Till they saw their father's fish-boats come safe to dry lan, - Bat they sawna the bonnie miller laddie. - - 7 - They stood baith up upon a stane, - An the eldest ane dang the youngest in, - I the, etc. - - 8 - She swam up, an she swam doon, - An she swam back to her sister again, - I the, etc. - - 9 - 'O sister, O sister, len me your han, - An yes be heir to my true love, - He's the bonnie miller lad o Binorie.' - - 10 - 'It was not for that love at I dang you in, - But ye was fair and I was din, - And yes droon i the dams o Binorie.' - - 11 - The miller's daughter she cam oot, - For water to wash her father's hans, - Frae the, etc. - - 12 - 'O father, O father, ye will fish your dams, - An ye'll get a white fish or a swan, - I the,' etc. - - 13 - They fished up and they fished doon, - But they got nothing but a droonet woman, - I the, etc. - - 14 - Some o them kent by her skin sae fair, - But weel kent he by her bonnie yallow hair - She's the bonnie miller's lass o Binorie. - - 15 - Some o them kent by her goons o silk, - But weel kent he by her middle sae jimp, - She's the bonnie miller's lass o Binorie. - - 16 - Mony ane was at her oot-takin, - But mony ane mair at her green grave makin, - At the bonny mill-dams o Binorie. - - -N - - [Pinkerton's] Scottish Tragic Ballads, p. 72. - - 1 - There were twa sisters livd in a bouir, - Binnorie, O Binnorie - Their father was a baron of pouir. - By the bonnie mildams of Binnorie - - 2 - The youngest was meek, and fair as the may - Whan she springs in the east wi the gowden day. - - 3 - The eldest austerne as the winter cauld, - Ferce was her saul, and her seiming was bauld. - - 4 - A gallant squire cam sweet Isabel to wooe; - Her sister had naething to luve I trow. - - 5 - But filld was she wi dolour and ire, - To see that to her the comlie squire - - 6 - Preferd the debonair Isabel: - Their hevin of luve of spyte was her hell. - - 7 - Till ae ein she to her sister can say, - 'Sweit sister, cum let us wauk and play.' - - 8 - They wauked up, and they wauked down, - Sweit sang the birdis in the vallie loun. - - 9 - Whan they cam to the roaring lin, - She drave unweiting Isabel in. - - 10 - 'O sister, sister, tak my hand, - And ye sall hae my silver fan. - - 11 - 'O sister, sister, tak my middle, - And ye sall hae my gowden girdle.' - - 12 - Sumtimes she sank, sumtimes she swam, - Till she cam to the miller's dam. - - 13 - The miller's dochtor was out that ein, - And saw her rowing down the streim. - - 14 - 'O father deir, in your mil-dam - There is either a lady or a milk-white swan!' - - 15 - Twa days were gane, whan to her deir - Her wraith at deid of nicht cold appeir. - - 16 - 'My luve, my deir, how can ye sleip, - Whan your Isabel lyes in the deip! - - 17 - 'My deir, how can ye sleip bot pain - Whan she by her cruel sister is slain!' - - 18 - Up raise he sune, in frichtfu mude: - 'Busk ye, my meiny, and seik the flude.' - - 19 - They socht her up and they socht her doun, - And spyd at last her glisterin gown. - - 20 - They raisd her wi richt meikle care; - Pale was her cheik and grein was her hair. - - -O - - #a.# Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 128. - #b.# Traditional Ballad Airs, edited by W. Christie, I, - 42. - - 1 - There were twa sisters in a bower, - Hey wi the gay and the grinding - And ae king's son has courted them baith. - At the bonny bonny bows o London - - 2 - He courted the youngest wi broach and ring, - He courted the eldest wi some other thing. - - 3 - It fell ance upon a day - The eldest to the youngest did say, - - 4 - 'Will ye gae to yon Tweed mill-dam, - And see our father's ships come to land?' - - 5 - They baith stood up upon a stane, - The eldest dang the youngest in. - - 6 - She swimmed up, sae did she down, - Till she came to the Tweed mill-dam. - - 7 - The miller's servant he came out, - And saw the lady floating about. - - 8 - 'O master, master, set your mill, - There is a fish, or a milk-white swan.' - - 9 - They could not ken her yellow hair, - [For] the scales o gowd that were laid there. - - 10 - They could not ken her fingers sae white, - The rings o gowd they were sae bright. - - 11 - They could not ken her middle sae jimp, - The stays o gowd were so well laced. - - 12 - They could not ken her foot sae fair, - The shoes o gowd they were so rare. - - 13 - Her father's fiddler he came by, - Upstarted her ghaist before his eye. - - 14 - 'Ye'll take a lock o my yellow hair, - Ye'll make a string to your fiddle there. - - 15 - 'Ye'll take a lith o my little finger bane, - And ye'll make a pin to your fiddle then.' - - 16 - He's taen a lock o her yellow hair, - And made a string to his fiddle there. - - 17 - He's taen a lith o her little finger bane, - And he's made a pin to his fiddle then. - - 18 - The firstand spring the fiddle did play, - Said, 'Ye'll drown my sister, as she's dune me.' - - -P - - #a.# Motherwell's MS., p. 245. #b.# Motherwell's - Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. xx, xx. - - 1 - There were twa ladies in a bower, - Hey my bonnie Nannie O - The old was black and the young ane fair. - And the swan swims bonnie O - - 2 - Once it happened on a day - The auld ane to the young did say, - - 3 - The auld ane to the young did say, - 'Will you gae to the green and play?' - - 4 - 'O sister, sister, I daurna gang, - For fear I file my silver shoon.' - - 5 - It was not to the green they gaed, - But it was to the water of Tweed. - - 6 - She bowed her back and she's taen her on, - And she's tumbled her in Tweed mill-dam. - - 7 - 'O sister, O sister, O tak my hand, - And I'll mak you heir of a' my land.' - - 8 - 'O sister, O sister, I'll no take your hand, - And I'll be heir of a' your land.' - - 9 - 'O sister, O sister, O tak my thumb, - And I'll give you my true-love John.' - - 10 - 'O sister, O sister, I'll no tak your thumb, - And I will get your true-love John.' - - 11 - Aye she swattered and aye she swam, - Until she came to the mouth of the dam. - - 12 - The miller's daughter went out to Tweed, - To get some water to bake her bread. - - 13 - In again she quickly ran: - 'Here's a lady or a swan in our mill-dam.' - - 14 - Out went the miller and his man - And took the lady out of the dam. - - 15 - They laid her on the brae to dry; - Her father's fiddler then rode by. - - 16 - When he this lady did come near, - Her ghost to him then did appear. - - 17 - 'When you go to my father the king, - You'll tell him to burn my sister Jean. - - 18 - 'When you go to my father's gate, - You'll play a spring for fair Ellen's sake. - - 19 - 'You'll tak three links of my yellow hair, - And play a spring for evermair.' - - -Q - - Copied Oct. 26, 1861, by J.F. Campbell, Esq., from a - collection made by Lady Caroline Murray; traced by her to - an old nurse, and beyond the beginning of this century. - - 1 - There dwelt twa sisters in a bower, - Oh and ohone, and ohone and aree! - And the youngest she was the fairest flower. - On the banks of the Banna, ohone and aree! - - 2 - There cam a knight to court the twa, - But on the youngest his love did fa. - - 3 - He courted the eldest with ring and wi glove, - But he gave the youngest all his love. - - 4 - He courted the eldest with brooch and wi knife, - But he loved the youngest as his life. - - 5 - 'O sister, O sister, will ye come to the stream, - To see our father's ships come in?' - - 6 - The youngest stood upon a stane, - Her sister came and pusht her in. - - 7 - 'O sister, O sister, come reach me your hand, - And ye shall hae all our father's land. - - 8 - 'O sister, O sister, come reach me your glove, - And you shall hae William to be your true love.' - - 9 - 'I did not put you in with the design - Just for to pull you out again.' - - 10 - Some time she sank, some time she swam, - Until she came to a miller's dam. - - 11 - The miller's daughter dwelt on the Tweed, - She went for water to bake her bread. - - 12 - 'O faither, faither, come drag me your dam, - For there's aither a lady in't, or a milk-white swan.' - - 13 - The miller went, and he dragd his dam, - And he brought her fair body to lan. - - 14 - They couldna see her waist sae sma - For the goud and silk about it a'. - - 15 - They couldna see her yallow hair - For the pearls and jewels that were there. - - 16 - Then up and spak her ghaist sae green, - 'Do ye no ken the king's dochter Jean? - - 17 - 'Tak my respects to my father the king, - And likewise to my mother the queen. - - 18 - 'Tak my respects to my true love William, - Tell him I deid for the love of him. - - 19 - 'Carry him a lock of my yallow hair, - To bind his heart for evermair.' - - -R - - #a.# Notes and Queries, 1st S., VI, 102, from Lancashire. - #b.# Written down for J.F. Campbell, Esq., Nov. 7, 1861, - at Wishaw House, Lancashire, by Lady Louisa Primrose, #c.# - 'The Scouring of the White Horse,' p. 158, from Berkshire, - as heard by Mr Hughes from his father. - - 1 - There was a king of the north countree, - Bow down, bow down, bow down - There was a king of the north countree, - And he had daughters one, two, three. - I'll be true to my love, and my love'll be true to me - - 2 - To the eldest he gave a beaver hat, - And the youngest she thought much of that. - - 3 - To the youngest he gave a gay gold chain, - And the eldest she thought much of the same. - - 4 - These sisters were walking on the bryn, - And the elder pushed the younger in. - - 5 - 'Oh sister, oh sister, oh lend me your hand, - And I will give you both houses and land.' - - 6 - 'I'll neither give you my hand nor glove, - Unless you give me your true love.' - - 7 - Away she sank, away she swam, - Until she came to a miller's dam. - - 8 - The miller and daughter stood at the door, - And watched her floating down the shore. - - 9 - 'Oh father, oh father, I see a white swan, - Or else it is a fair woman.' - - 10 - The miller he took up his long crook, - And the maiden up from the stream he took. - - 11 - 'I'll give to thee this gay gold chain, - If you'll take me back to my father again.' - - 12 - The miller he took the gay gold chain, - And he pushed her into the water again. - - 13 - The miller was hanged on his high gate - For drowning our poor sister Kate. - - 14 - The cat's behind the buttery shelf, - If you want any more, you may sing it yourself. - - -S - - Kinloch MSS, VI, 89, in Kinloch's hand. - - * * * * * * * - - 1 - 'O father, father, swims a swan,' - This story I'll vent to thee - 'O father, father, swims a swan, - Unless it be some dead woman.' - I'll prove true to my true love, - If my love prove true to me - - 2 - The miller he held out his long fish hook, - And hooked this fair maid from the brook. - - 3 - She offered the miller a gold ring stane - To throw her into the river again. - - 4 - Down she sunk, and away she swam, - Until she came to her father's brook. - - 5 - The miller was hung at his mill-gate, - For drowning of my sister Kate. - - -T - - Allingham's Ballad Book, p. xxxiii. From Ireland. - - 'Sister, dear sister, where shall we go play?' - Cold blows the wind, and the wind blows low - 'We shall go to the salt sea's brim.' - And the wind blows cheerily around us, high ho - - -U - - Communicated by Mr W.W. Newell, as repeated by an ignorant - woman in her dotage, who learned it at Huntington, Long - Island, N.Y. - - 1 - There was a man lived in the mist, - Bow down, bow down - He loved his youngest daughter best. - The bow is bent to me, - So you be true to your own true love, - And I'll be true to thee. - - 2 - These two sisters went out to swim; - The oldest pushed the youngest in. - - 3 - First she sank and then she swam, - First she sank and then she swam. - - 4 - The miller, with his rake and hook, - He caught her by the petticoat. - - * * * * * * * - - * * * * * - -#A. b.# - - 1^1, went a-playing. - - _Burden^2._ a downe-o. - -#c.# - - 1^1. went a-playing. - - _Burden^{1,2}._ With a hey down, down, a down, down-a. - - 4^2. Till oat-meal and salt grow both on a tree. - - 6^1. ran hastily down the clift. - - 6^2. And up he took her without any life. - - 13^2. Moll Symns. - - 14^1, 15^1. Then he bespake. - - 17^2. And let him go i the devil's name. - -#d.# - - 1^1, went a-playing. - - 1^2, ships sailing in. - - 2^1. into. - - 3^2. me up on. - - 6^2. withouten life. - -#B. a.# - - 26, 27, 28. _An_ it _has been written in as a conjectural - emendation by Jamieson, ~he did it play, {it/he} playd~; - and ~it~ is adopted by Jamieson in his printed copy: see - below, #d# 26, 27, 28._ - -#b.# - - _The first stanza only, agreeing with #a# 1, is given by - Anderson, Nichols's Illustrations, VII, 178._ - -#c.# - - _Evidently a copy of Mrs Brown's version, and in Scott's - MS. it has the air, as all the Tytler-Brown ballads had. - Still it has but twenty-three stanzas, whereas Dr Anderson - gives fifty-eight lines as the extent of the Tytler-Brown - copy of 'The Cruel Sister' (Nichols, Illus. Lit. Hist., - VII, 178). This, counting the first stanza, with the - burden, as four lines, according to the arrangement in - Scott's MS., would tally exactly with the Jamieson-Brown - MS., #B a#._ - - _It would seem that #B c# had been altered by somebody in - order to remove the absurd combination of sea and - mill-dam; the invitation to go see the ships come to land, - #B a# 7, is omitted, and "~the deep mill-dam~" - substituted, in 8, for "~yon sea-stran~." Stanza 17 of - #c#, "~They raisd her~," etc., cited below, occurs in - Pinkerton, #N# 20, and is more likely to be his than - anybody's._ - - 2^1. brooch and ring. - - 2^2. abune a' thing. - - 3^1. wooed ... with glove and knife. - - 3^2. looed the second. - - 5^2. she well nigh brist. - - 7. _wanting._ - - 8^2. led her to the deep mill-dam. - - 9^2. Her cruel sister pushd her in. - - 11^2. And Ise mak ye. - - 12. _wanting._ - - 14^1. Shame fa the hand that I shall tak. - - 15^1. gowden hair. - - 15^2. gar ... maiden ever mair. - - 16. _wanting._ - - 17^1. Then out and cam. - - 17^2. swimming down. - - 18^1. O father, haste and draw. - - 19^1. his dam. - - 19^2. And then. (?) - - _Instead of 20-22_: - - They raisd her wi meikle dule and care, - Pale was her cheek and green was her hair. - - 24^1. that corpse upon. - - 25^2. he's strung. - - 26^1, 27^1, 28^1, _for ~tune~, ~line~, if the copy be - right._ - - 27^1. The next. - - 28^1. The last. - - 28^2. fause Ellen. - - "Note by Ritson. 'The fragment of a very different copy of - this ballad has been communicated to J.R. by a friend at - Dublin.'" [_J.C. Walker, no doubt._] - -#d.# - - _Jamieson, Popular Ballads and Songs, I, 48, says that he - gives his text verbatim as it was taken from the - recitation of the lady in Fifeshire (Mrs Brown), to whom - both he and Scott were so much indebted. That this is not - to be understood with absolute strictness will appear from - the variations which are subjoined. Jamieson adds that he - had received another copy from Mrs Arrott of Aberbrothick, - "~but as it furnished no readings by which the text could - have been materially improved~," it was not used. Both - Jamieson and Scott substitute the "~Binnorie~" burden, - "~the most common and popular~," says Scott, for the one - given by Mrs Brown, with which Mrs Arrott's agreed. It may - be added that Jamieson's interpolations are stanzas 20, - 21, 27, etc., and not, as he says (I, 49), 19, 20, 27, - etc. These interpolations also occur as such in the - manuscript._ - - 1^1. sisters livd. - - 2^2. aboon. - - 3^2. he loved. - - 4^2. and sair envied. - - 5^1. Intill her bower she coudna. - - 5^2. maistly brast. - - 11^2. mak ye. - - 14^2. me o. - - 16^1. _omits ~an~._ - - 16^2. came to the mouth o yon mill-dam. - - 18^2. There's. - - 20^2. that was. - - 22^2. that were. - - 26^1. it did. - - 27^1. it playd seen. - - 28^1. thirden tune that it. - - _A copy in Motherwell's MS., p. 239, is derived from - Jamieson's printed edition. It omits the interpolated - stanzas, and makes a few very slight changes._ - -#C.# - - _Scott's account of his edition is as follows (II, 143, - later ed., III, 287)_: - - "It is compiled from a copy in Mrs Brown's MS., intermixed - with a beautiful fragment, of fourteen verses, transmitted - to the editor by J.C. Walker, Esq., the ingenious - historian of the Irish bards. Mr Walker, at the same time, - favored the editor with the following note: 'I am indebted - to my departed friend, Miss Brooke, for the foregoing - pathetic fragment. Her account of it was as follows: This - song was transcribed, several years ago, from the memory - of an old woman, who had no recollection of the concluding - verses; probably the beginning may also be lost, as it - seems to commence abruptly.' The first verse and burden of - the fragment run thus: - - "'O sister, sister, reach thy hand! - Hey ho, my Nanny, O - And you shall be heir of all my land. - While the swan swims bonny, O'" - - _Out of this stanza, or the corresponding one in Mrs - Brown's copy, Scott seems to have made his 9, 10._ - -#E.# - - "My mother used to sing this song." Sharpe's Ballad Book, - ed. of 1880, note, p. 129. - -#F.# - - 2^2. An wooer. - -#G.# - - 2^1. _~strand~, with ~sand~ written above: ~sand~ in 3^1._ - -#I.# - - 1^2. _var. in MS._ There was a knicht and he loved them - bath. - - 7. _The following stanza was subsequently written on an - opposite blank page,--perhaps derived from #D# 8_: - - Foul fa the hand that I wad take, - To twin me and my warld's make. - - 10^2. _~a~ was, perhaps, meant to be expunged, but is only - a little blotted._ - - 11^2. _var._ a lady or a milk-white swan. - - 12, 13 _were written in later than the rest; at the same - time, apparently, as the stanza above (7)._ - -#K.# - - _Found among Mr Kinloch's papers by Mr Macmath, and - inserted by him as a note on p. 59, vol. II, of Kinloch's - MSS. The order of the stanzas is there, wrongly, - inverted._ - - 1^2. _var._ I wad give you. - -#L. a.# - - _These fragments were communicated to Notes and Queries, - April 3, 1852, by "~G. A. C.~," who had heard '~The - Miller's Melody~' sung by an old lady in his childhood, - and who represents himself as probably the last survivor - of those who had enjoyed the privilege of listening to her - ballads. We may, therefore, assign this version to the - latter part of the 18th century. The two four-line stanzas - were sung to "~a slow, quaint strain~." Two others which - followed were not remembered, "~but their purport was that - the body 'stopped hard by a miller's mill,' and that this - 'miller chanced to come by,' and took it out of the water - 'to make a melodye.'~" G.A.C. goes on to say_: "My - venerable friend's tune here became a more lively one, and - the time quicker; but I can only recollect a few of the - couplets, and these not correctly nor in order of - sequence, in which the transformation of the lady into a - viol is described." - -#b.# - - _Some stanzas of this four-line version, with a ludicrous - modern supplement, are given in '~The Scouring of the - White Horse~,' p. 161, as from the Welsh marshes. Five out - of the first six verses are there said to be very old - indeed, "~the rest all patchwork by different hands~." Mr - Hughes has kindly informed me that he derived the ballad - from his father, who had originally learned it at Ruthyn - when a boy. What is material here follows_: - - 1 - O it was not a pheasant cock, - Nor yet a pheasant hen, - But O it was a lady fair - Came swimming down the stream. - - 2 - An ancient harper passing by - Found this poor lady's body, - To which his pains he did apply - To make a sweet melódy. - - 3 - To cat-gut dried he her inside, - He drew out her back-bone, - And made thereof a fiddle sweet - All for to play upon. - - 4 - And all her hair, so long and fair, - That down her back did flow, - O he did lay it up with care, - To string his fiddle bow. - - 5 - And what did he with her fingers, - Which were so straight and small? - O he did cut them into pegs, - To screw up his fiddoll. - - 6 - Then forth went he, as it might be, - Upon a summer's day, - And met a goodly company, - Who asked him in to play. - - | 7 - | Then from her bones he drew such tones - | As made their bones to ache, - | They sounded so like human groans - | Their hearts began to quake. - - | 8 - | They ordered him in ale to swim,-- - | For sorrow's mighty dry,-- - | And he to share their wassail fare - | Essayd right willingly. - - 9 - He laid his fiddle on a shelf - In that old manor-hall, - It played and sung all by itself, - And thus sung this fiddoll: - - | 10 - | 'There sits the squire, my worthy sire, - | A-drinking hisself drunk,' etc., etc. - -#N.# - - _Pinkerton tells us, in the Preface to his ~Ancient - Scottish Poems~, p. cxxxi, that "~Binnorie is one half - from tradition, one half by the editor~." One fourth and - three fourths would have been a more exact apportionment. - The remainder of his text, which is wholly of his - invention, is as follows_: - - 'Gae saddle to me my swiftest steid; - Her fere, by my fae, for her dethe sall bleid.' - A page cam rinning out owr the lie: - 'O heavie tydings I bring,' quoth he. - 'My luvely lady is far awa gane; - We weit the fairy hae her tane. - Her sister gaed wood wi dule and rage; - Nocht cold we do her mind to suage. - "O Isabel, my sister," she wold cry, - "For thee will I weip, for thee will I die." - Till late yestrene, in an elric hour, - She lap frae aft the hichest touir.' - 'Now sleip she in peace,' quoth the gallant squire; - 'Her dethe was the maist that I cold require. - But I'll main for the, my Isabel deir, - Full mony a dreiry day, hot weir.' - - 20. _This stanza occurs also in #B c# (17), and was - perhaps borrowed from Pinkerton by the reviser of that - copy._ - -#O. a#. - - _Buchan's note, II, 320_: "I have seen four or five - different versions of this ballad, but none in this dress, - nor with the same chorus.... The old woman from whose - recitation I took it down says she had heard another way - of it, quite local, whose burden runs thus: - - 'Ever into Buchanshire, vari vari O.'" - - 1^2. hae courted. - -#b.# - - _Mr Christie has "~epitomized~" Buchan's copy (omitting - stanzas 9-12), with these few slight alterations from the - singing of a Banffshire woman, who died in 1860, at the - age of nearly eighty_: - - _Burden_: It's hey, etc. - - 2^2. And he courted the eldest wi mony other thing. - - 3^1. But it fell. - - 5^2. And the eldest. - -#P. b.# - - _This stanza only_: - - There livd twa sisters in a bower, - Hey my bonnie Annie O - There cam a lover them to woo. - And the swan swims bonnie O, - And the swan swims bonnie O - -#Q.# - - _The burden is given thus in ~Pop. Tales of the West - Highlands~, IV, 125_: - - Oh ochone, ochone a rie, - On the banks of the Banna, ochone a rie. - -#R. a.# - - _The title '~The Three Sisters,~' and perhaps the first - stanza, belongs rather to ~No 1 #A#, #B#, p. 3f.~_ - -#b.# - - 1. - A farmer there lived in the north countree, - Bo down - And he had daughters one, two, three. - And I'll be true unto my love, if he'll be true unto me - - (_The burden is given as ~Bo down, bo down~, etc., in - ~Popular Tales of the West Highlands~, IV, 125._) - - _Between 1 and 2 #b# has_: - - The eldest she had a lover come, - And he fell in love with the younger one. - - He bought the younger a ... - The elder she thought ... - - 3. _wanting._ - - 4^1. The sisters they walkt by the river brim. - - 6^2. my true love. - - 8. - The miller's daughter was at the door, - As sweet as any gillyflower. - - 9. - O father, O father, there swims a swain, - And he looks like a gentleman. - - 10. - The miller he fetcht his line and hook, - And he fisht the fair maiden out of the brook. - - 11^1. O miller, I'll give you guineas ten, - - 12. - The miller he took her guineas ten, - And then he popt her in again. - - 13^1. ... behind his back gate, - - 13^2. the farmer's daughter Kate. - - - _Instead of 14_: - - The sister she sailed over the sea, - And died an old maid of a hundred and three. - - The lover became a beggar man, - And he drank out of a rusty tin can. - - #b# _8, 11, 12, 14, 15 are cited in ~Popular Tales of the - West Highlands~, IV, 127._ - -#c.# - - 1. - A varmer he lived in the west countree, - Hey-down, bow-down - A varmer he lived in the west countree, - And he had daughters one, two, and dree. - And I'll be true to my love, - If my love'll be true to me. - - 2, 3. _wanting._ - - 4^1. As thay wur walking by the river's brim. - - 5^1. pray gee me thy hand. - - 7^1. So down she sank and away she swam. - - 8. - The miller's daughter stood by the door, - As fair as any gilly-flower. - - 9. - here swims a swan, - Very much like a drownded gentlewoman. - - 10. - The miller he fot his pole and hook, - And he fished the fair maid out of the brook. - - 11^1. O miller, I'll gee thee guineas ten. - - 12^2. pushed the fair maid in again. - - _Between 12 and 13 #c# has_, - - But the crowner he cum and the justice too, - With a hue and a cry and a hullaballoo. - - They hanged the miller beside his own gate - For drowning the varmer's daughter, Kate. - - _Instead of 14_: - - The sister she fled beyond the seas, - And died an old maid among black savagees. - - So I've ended my tale of the west countree, - And they calls it the Barkshire Tragedee. - -#S.# - - 1^2. _MS._ Or less (?). - -#T.# - - "Sung to a peculiar and beautiful air." _Allingham, p. - xxxiii._ - - -[126] Campbell's Popular Tales of the West Highlands, IV, 126, 1862. - -[127] Jamieson, in his Popular Ballads, II, 315, prints the ballad, with -five inconsiderable variations from the broadside, as from Musarum -Deliciæ, 2d edition, 1656. The careful reprint of this book, and of the -same edition, in "Facetiæ," etc., 1817, does not contain this piece, and -the first edition, of 1655, differed in no respect as to contents, -according to the editor of "Facetiæ." Still it is hardly credible that -Jamieson has blundered, and we may suppose that copies, ostensibly of -the same edition, varied as to contents, a thing common enough with old -books. - -[128] Cunningham has re-written Scott's version, Songs of Scotland, II, -109, 'The Two Fair Sisters.' He says, "I was once deeply touched with -the singing of this romantic and mournful song.... I have ventured to -print it in the manner I heard it sung." There is, to be sure, no reason -why he should not have heard his own song sung, _once_, and still less -why he should not have been deeply touched with his own pathos. -Cunningham adds one genuine stanza, resembling the first of #G#, #J#, -#P#: - - Two fair sisters lived in a bower, - Hey ho my nonnie O - There came a knight to be their wooer. - While the swan swims bonnie O - -[129] English #M# is confused on this point. The sisters live in a hall. -The burden in st. 1 makes them love a miller-lad; but in 14, 15, calls -the drowned girl "the bonnie miller's-lass o Binorie." - -[130] The sisters, #D#, #I#, walk by, up, a linn; #G#, go to a sand -[strand]; #Q#, go to the stream; #R a#, walk on the bryn. - -[131] Swedish #H# begins, "Dear sister, come follow me to the -clapping-stone:" "Nay, I have no foul clothes." So #F# 6, 7, #G# 4, 5, -Färöe #A# 6, nearly; and then follows the suggestion that they should -wash themselves. Another of Rancken's copies begins, "Two sisters went -to the bucking-stone, to buck their clothes snow-white," #H#; and so -Rancken's #S# nearly. - -[132] There are, besides the two fishermen, in Norwegian #A#, two -"twaddere," i.e., landloupers, possibly (Bugge) a corruption of the word -rendered pilgrims, Färöe vallarar, Swedish vallare. The vallarar in -these ballads are perhaps more respectable than those whose acquaintance -we shall make through the Norse versions of 'Babylon,' and may be -allowed to be harmless vagrants, but scarcely better, seeing that they -are ranked with "staff-carls" in Norges Gamle Love, cited by Cleasby and -Vigfusson at 'vallari.' - -[133] A harp in the Icelandic and Norwegian ballads, Färöe #A#, #B#, -#C#, Swedish #A#, #B#, #D#, #G#, #H#; a harp in English #B#, #C#, #G#, -#J#. A harp is not named in any of the Danish versions, but a fiddle is -mentioned in #C#, #E#, #H#, is plainly meant in #A#, and may always be -intended; or perhaps _two_ fiddles in all but #H# (which has only one -fiddler), and the corrupted #G#. #D# begins with two fiddlers, but -concludes with only one. We have a fiddle in Swedish #C#, and in English -#A#, #D#, #E#, #F#, #I#, #J#, #K#, #L#, #O#, #P#; both harp and fiddle -in #H#. - -[134] Some of the unprinted Norwegian ballads are not completely -described, but a departure from the rule of the major part would -probably have been alluded to. - -[135] The stanza, 9, in which this is said is no doubt as to its form -entirely modern, but not so the idea. #I# has "the first spring that he -playd, _it_ said," etc. - -[136] The fourth string is _said_ to speak in Färöe #A# 30, but no -utterance is recorded, and this is likely to be a mistake. In many of -the versions, and in this, after the strings have spoken individually, -they unite in a powerful but inarticulate concord. - -[137] #I# has lost the terminal stanzas. - -[138] Not #M#, and apparently not #D#, which ends: - - When he kissed the harp upon the mouth, his heart broke. - -[139] So the traitor John pushes away Catherine's hands in 'Lady Isabel -and the Elf Knight,' Polish #Q# 25 (see p. 40). In the French versions -#A#, #C#, #E# of the same, the knight catches at a branch to save -himself, and the lady cuts it off with his sword. - -[140] The miller begins to lose character in #H#: - - 14 - He dragged her out unto the shore, - And stripped her of all she wore. - -[141] Neus also refers to an Esthonian saga of Rögutaja's wife, and to -'Die Pfeiferin,' a tale, in Das Inland, 1846, No 48, Beilage, col. 1246 -ff, 1851, No 14, col. 230 ff; and to a Slovenian ballad in Tielemann, -Livona, ein historisch-poetisches Taschenbuch, 1812, p. 187. - -[142] All these are cited in Köhler's note, Gonzenbach, II, 235. - - - - -11 - -THE CRUEL BROTHER - - #A.# '[The] Cruel Brother, or the Bride's Testament.' #a.# - Alex. Fraser Tytler's Brown MS. #b.# Jamieson's Popular - Ballads, I, 66. - - #B.# The Kinloch MSS, I, 21. - - #C.# 'Ther waur three ladies,' Harris MS., p. 11 b. - - #D. a.# Notes and Queries, 1st S., VI, 53. #b.# 2d S., V, - 171. - - #E.# Notes and Queries, 4th S., V, 105. - - #F.# 'The Three Knights,' Gilbert's Ancient Christmas - Carols, 2d ed., p. 68. - - #G.# 'Fine Flowers of the Valley.' #a.# Herd's MSS, I, 41. - #b.# Herd's Scottish Songs, 1776, I, 88. - - #H.# Fragment appended to #G#. - - #I.# The Kinloch MSS, I, 27. - - #J.# As current in County Meath, Ireland, about 1860. - - #K.# Notes and Queries, 4th S., IV, 517. - - -#A a# was obtained directly from Mrs Brown of Falkland, in 1800, by -Alexander Fraser Tytler. Jamieson says that he gives #b# verbatim from -the recitation of Mrs Arrott; but it would seem that this must have been -a slip of memory, for the two agree except in half a dozen words. #B#, -#C#, #I#, #J# are now for the first time printed. #G# only was taken -down earlier than the present century. - -Aytoun remarks (1858): "This is, perhaps, the most popular of all the -Scottish ballads, being commonly recited and sung even at the present -day." The copy which he gives, I, 232, was "taken down from recitation," -but is nevertheless a compound of #G# and #A b#, with a few unimportant -variations, proceeding, no doubt, from imperfect recollection.[143] The -copy in Dixon's Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs, p. 56, repeated in -Bell's volume of the same title, p. 50, is Gilbert's #F#. Dixon informs -us that the ballad was (in 1846) still popular amongst the peasantry in -the west of England. Cunningham gives us a piece called 'The Three -Ladies of Leithan Ha,' Songs of Scotland, II, 87, which he would fain -have us believe that he did not know he had written himself. "The common -copies of this tragic lyric," he truly says, "differ very much from -this; not so much in the story itself as in the way it is told." - -All versions but #K#, which has pretty nearly lost all point, agree -after the opening stanzas. #A-E# have three ladies and only one knight; -#F# has three knights and one lady; #G#, #I#, #J#, #K# have three ladies -and three knights [lords in #G#, "bonny boys" in #I#, the first line -being caught from 'Sir Hugh.'] Three knights are to no purpose; only one -knight has anything to do. The reason for three ladies is, of course, -that the youngest may be preferred to the others,--an intention somewhat -obscured in #B#. The ladies are in colors in #B#, #C#, #I#, #J#, and -this seems to be the better interpretation in the case of #G#, though a -strict construction of the language would rather point to the other. The -colors are transferred to the knights in #F# because there is only one -lady. In #K# this is a part of the general depravation of the ballad. - -'Rizzardo bello,' Wolf, Volkslieder aus Venetien, No 83, seems to be the -same story, with a change of relations such as we often find in ballad -poetry. Rizzardo is conducting his bride home, and on the way embraces -and kisses her. Her brother witnesses "questo onore," and thrusts his -sword into the happy bridegroom's heart. Rizzardo tells his bride to -come on slowly; he will go before to make preparation. He begs his -mother to open the doors, for his bride is without, and he is wounded to -death. They try to make the bride eat. She says she can neither eat nor -drink: she must put her husband to bed. He gives her a ring, saying, -Your brother has been the death of me; then another ring, in sign that -she is to be wife of two brothers. She answers him as Guldborg answers -Ribold, that she would die rather: "Rather die between two knives than -be wife of two brothers." This ballad was obtained from a peasant woman -of Castagnero. Another version, which unfortunately is not printed, was -sung by a woman at Ostiglia on the Po. - -Dr Prior remarks that the offence given by not asking a brother's assent -to his sister's marriage was in ballad-times regarded as unpardonable. -Other cases which show the importance of this preliminary, and the -sometimes fatal consequences of omitting it, are: 'Hr. Peder og -Mettelille,' Grundtvig, No 78, II, 325, sts 4, 6; 'Jomfruen i Skoven,' -Danske Viser, III, 99, st. 15; 'Jomfru Ellensborg og Hr. Olof,' ib., -III, 316, st. 16; 'Iver Lang og hans Søster,' ib., IV, 87, st. 116; -'Herr Helmer Blaa,' ib., IV, 251, st. 8; 'Jomfru Giselmaar,' ib., IV, -309, st. 13. See Prior's Ancient Danish Ballads, III, 112, 232 f, 416. - -There is a very common German ballad, 'Graf Friedrich,' in which a bride -receives a mortal wound during the bringing-home, but accidentally, and -from the bridegroom's hand. The marriage train is going up a hill; the -way is narrow; they are crowded; Graf Friedrich's sword shoots from its -sheath and wounds the bride. The bridegroom is exceedingly distressed; -he tries to stop the bleeding with his shirt; she begs that they may -ride slowly. When they reach the house there is a splendid feast, and -everything is set before the bride; but she can neither eat nor drink, -and only wishes to lie down. She dies in the night. Her father comes in -the morning, and, learning what has happened, runs Graf Friedrich -through, then drags his body at a horse's heels, and buries it in a bog. -Three lilies sprang from the spot, with an inscription announcing that -Graf Friedrich was in heaven, and a voice came from the sky commanding -that the body should be disinterred. The bridegroom was then buried with -his bride, and this act of reparation was attended with other miraculous -manifestations. As the ballads stand now, the kinship of 'Graf -Friedrich' with 'The Cruel Brother' is not close and cannot be insisted -on; still an early connection is not improbable. - -The versions of 'Graf Friedrich' are somewhat numerous, and there is a -general agreement as to all essentials. They are: #A#, a Nuremberg -broadside "of about 1535," which has not been made accessible by a -reprint. #B#, a Swiss broadside of 1647, without place, "printed in -Seckendorf's Musenalmanach für 1808, p. 19;" Uhland, No 122, p. 277; -Mittler, No 108; Wunderhorn, II, 293 (1857); Erk's Liederhort, No -15^a, p. 42; Böhme, No 79, p. 166: also, in Wunderhorn, 1808, II, 289, -with omission of five stanzas and with many changes; Simrock, No 11, -p. 28, omitting four stanzas and with changes; as written down by -Goethe for Herder, Düntzer u. Herder, Briefe Goethes, u.s.w., Aus -Herder's Nachlass, I, 167, with the omission of eight stanzas and with -some variations. #C#, Wunderhorn (1857), II, 299, from the -Schwarzwald,==Erlach, IV, 291, Mittler, No 113. #D#, Taschenbuch für -Dichter, u.s.w., Theil VIII, 122, from Upper Lusatia,==Erlach, III, -448, Talvj, Charakteristik, p. 421. #E#, from the Kuhländchen, -Meinert, p. 23,==Mittler, No 109. #F#, Hoffmann u. Richter, -Schlesische V. L., No 19, p. 35,==Mittler, No 112, Erk's Liederhort, -No 15, p. 40. #G#, Zingerle, in Wolf's Zeitschrift für deutsche -Mythologie, I, 341, from Meran. #H#, from Uckermark, Brandenburg, -Mittler, No 114. #I#, Hesse, from oral tradition, Mittler, No 111. -#J#, Erk u. Irmer, II, 54, No 54, from the neighborhood of -Halle,==Mittler, No 110. #K#, from Estedt, district of Magdeburg, -Parisius, p. 31, No 9. - -A Danish ballad, 'Den saarede Jomfru,' Grundtvig, No 244, IV, 474, has -this slight resemblance with 'Graf Friedrich:' While a knight is dancing -with a princess, his sword glides from the scabbard and cuts her hand. -To save her partner from blame, she represents to her father that she -had cut herself with her brother's sword. This considerateness so -touches the knight (who is, of course, her equal in rank) that he offers -her his hand. The Danish story is found also in Norwegian and in Färöe -ballads. - -The peculiar testament made by the bride in 'The Cruel Brother,' by -which she bequeaths good things to her friends, but ill things to the -author of her death, is highly characteristic of ballad poetry. It will -be found again in 'Lord Ronald,' 'Edward,' and their analogues. Still -other ballads with this kind of testament are: 'Frillens Hævn,' -Grundtvig, No 208 #C#, 16-18, IV, 207; a young man, stabbed by his -leman, whom he was about to give up in order to marry, leaves his lands -to his father, his bride-bed to his sister, his gilded couch to his -mother, and his knife to his leman, wishing it in her body. 'Møen paa -Baalet,' Grundtvig, No 109 #A#, 1821, II, 587; Ole, falsely accused by -her brother, and condemned to be burned, gives her mother her silken -sark, her sister her shoes, her father her horse, and her brother her -knife, with the same wish. 'Kong Valdemar og hans Søster,' Grundtvig, No -126, III, 97, has a testament in #A-E# and #I#; in #I#, 14-19 (III, -912), Liden Kirsten bequeaths her knife, with the same imprecation, to -the queen, who, in the other copies, is her unrelenting foe: so Lillelin -to Herr Adelbrand, Danske Viser, III, 386, No 162, 16-18, Kristensen, I, -262, No 100, #A# 20-23, having been dragged at a horse's heels in -resentment of a taunt. 'Hustru og Mands Moder,' Grundtvig, No. 84, II, -404, has a testament in #A#, #B#, #D#, #H#, and in the last three a -bequest of shoes or sark to a cruel mother-in-law or foster-mother, with -the wish that she may have no peace or much pain in the wearing. -'Catarina de Lió,' Briz y Candi, Cansons de la Terra, I, 209, has been -beaten by her mother-in-law while in a delicate state. When she is at -the point of death, the mother-in-law asks what doctor she will have and -what will she will make. "My will," says Catherine, "will not please you -much. Send back my velvet dress to my father's; my gala dress give my -sister; give my working dress to the maid, my jewels to the Virgin." -"And what will you leave to me?" "What I leave you will not please you -much: my husband to be hanged, my mother-in-law to be quartered, and my -sister-in-law to be burned." 'Le Testament de Marion,' another version -of this story from the south of France, Uchaud, Gard, Poésies pop. de la -France, MS., IV, fol. 283, bequeaths "my laces to my sister Marioun, my -prettiest gowns to my sister Jeanneton; to my rascal of a husband three -fine cords, and, if that is not enough (to hang him), the hem of his -shirt." The Portuguese ballad of 'Dona Helena' rather implies than -expresses the imprecation: Braga, C.P. do Archipelago Açoriano, p. 225, -No 15, p. 227, No 16; Almeida-Garrett, III, 56; Hartung, I, 233-43, No -18. Helena leaves her husband's house when near childbirth, out of fear -of his mother. Her husband, who does not know her reason, goes after -her, and compels her to return on horseback, though she has just borne a -son. The consequences are what might be expected, and Helena desires to -make her shrift and her will. She leaves one thing to her oldest sister, -another to her youngest. "And your boy?" "To your bitch of a mother, -cause of my woes." "Rather to yours," says the husband, "for I shall -have to kill mine" (so Braga; Garrett differs somewhat). 'Die Frau zur -Weissenburg' (#A#), Uhland, p. 287, No 123 #B#, Scherer's Jungbrunnen, -p. 94, No 29; 'Das Lied von der Löwenburg' (#B#), Simrock, p. 65, No 27; -'Hans Steutlinger' (#C#), Wunderhorn, II, 168 (1857), all one story, -have a bitterly sarcastic testament. A lady instigates her paramour to -kill her husband. The betrayed man is asked to whom he will leave his -children [commit, #A#, bequeath, #B#, #C#]. "To God Almighty, for he -knows who they are." "Your property?" "To the poor, for the rich have -enough." "Your wife?" "To young Count Frederic, whom she always liked -more than me (#A#)." "Your castle?" "To the flames." - -In some cases there is no trace of animosity towards the person who has -caused the testator's death; as in 'El testamento de Amelia' (who has -been poisoned by her mother), Milá, Observaciones, p. 103, No 5, Briz y -Saltó, Cansons de la Terra, II, 197 (two copies); 'Herren Båld,' -Afzelius, I, 76, No 16 (new ed. I, 59, No 15); a Swedish form of -'Frillens Hævn,' Grundtvig, IV, 203; 'Renée le Glaz' and 'Ervoanik Le -Lintier,' Luzel, C.P. de la Basse Bretagne, I, 405, 539, 553. There are -also simple testaments where there is no occasion for an ill -remembrance, as in 'Ribold og Guldborg,' Grundtvig, No 82, #I#, #K#, -#L#, #U#, #X#, #Æ#, Kristensen, II, No 84 B; 'Pontplancoat;' Luzel, I, -383, 391. And, again, there are parodies of these wills. Thus the fox -makes his will: Grundtvig, Gamle danske Minder, 1854, 'Mikkels -Arvegods,' p. 24, and p. 25 a copy from a manuscript three hundred years -old; Kristensen, Jyske Folkeviser, II, 324, No 90; 'Reven og Bjönnen,' -'Reven og Nils fiskar,' Landstad, Nos 85, 86, p. 637, 639: and the -robin, 'Robin's Tesment,' Buchan, I, 273, Herd's MSS, I, 154, and -Scottish Songs (1776), II, 166, Chambers' Popular Rhymes, p. 38, "new -edition." - - * * * * * - -Translated in Grundtvig's Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, No 33, p. 212, -#F#, with use of #A# and #G b#; Aytoun's copy, with omissions, by Rosa -Warrens, Schottische Volkslieder der Vorzeit, No 17, p. 80; after -Allingham and others, by Knortz, Lieder und Romanzen Alt-Englands, No 5, -p. 16. - - -A - - #a.# Alex. Fraser Tytler's Brown MS. #b.# Jamieson's - Popular Ballads, I, 66, purporting to be from the - recitation of Mrs Arrot of Aberbrothick. - - 1 - There was three ladies playd at the ba, - With a hey ho and a lillie gay - There came a knight and played oer them a'. - As the primrose spreads so sweetly - - 2 - The eldest was baith tall and fair, - But the youngest was beyond compare. - - 3 - The midmost had a graceful mien, - But the youngest lookd like beautie's queen. - - 4 - The knight bowd low to a' the three, - But to the youngest he bent his knee. - - 5 - The ladie turned her head aside, - The knight he woo'd her to be his bride. - - 6 - The ladie blushd a rosy red, - And sayd, 'Sir knight, I'm too young to wed.' - - 7 - 'O ladie fair, give me your hand, - And I'll make you ladie of a' my land.' - - 8 - 'Sir knight, ere ye my favor win, - You maun get consent frae a' my kin.' - - 9 - He's got consent frae her parents dear, - And likewise frae her sisters fair. - - 10 - He's got consent frae her kin each one, - But forgot to spiek to her brother John. - - 11 - Now, when the wedding day was come, - The knight would take his bonny bride home. - - 12 - And many a lord and many a knight - Came to behold that ladie bright. - - 13 - And there was nae man that did her see, - But wishd himself bridegroom to be. - - 14 - Her father dear led her down the stair, - And her sisters twain they kissd her there. - - 15 - Her mother dear led her thro the closs, - And her brother John set her on her horse. - - 16 - She leand her oer the saddle-bow, - To give him a kiss ere she did go. - - 17 - He has taen a knife, baith lang and sharp, - And stabbd that bonny bride to the heart. - - 18 - She hadno ridden half thro the town, - Until her heart's blude staind her gown. - - 19 - 'Ride softly on,' says the best young man, - 'For I think our bonny bride looks pale and wan.' - - 20 - 'O lead me gently up yon hill, - And I'll there sit down, and make my will.' - - 21 - 'O what will you leave to your father dear?' - 'The silver-shod steed that brought me here.' - - 22 - 'What will you leave to your mother dear?' - 'My velvet pall and my silken gear.' - - 23 - 'What will you leave to your sister Anne?' - 'My silken scarf and my gowden fan.' - - 24 - 'What will you leave to your sister Grace?' - 'My bloody cloaths to wash and dress.' - - 25 - 'What will you leave to your brother John?' - 'The gallows-tree to hang him on.' - - 26 - 'What will you leave to your brother John's wife?' - 'The wilderness to end her life.' - - 27 - This ladie fair in her grave was laid, - And many a mass was oer her said. - - 28 - But it would have made your heart right sair, - To see the bridegroom rive his haire. - - -B - - Kinloch's MSS, I, 21, from Mary Barr, May, 1827, - Clydesdale. - - 1 - A gentleman cam oure the sea, - Fine flowers in the valley - And he has courted ladies three. - With the light green and the yellow - - 2 - One o them was clad in red: - He asked if she wad be his bride. - - 3 - One o them was clad in green: - He asked if she wad be his queen. - - 4 - The last o them was clad in white: - He asked if she wad be his heart's delight. - - 5 - 'Ye may ga ask my father, the king: - Sae maun ye ask my mither, the queen. - - 6 - 'Sae maun ye ask my sister Anne: - And dinna forget my brither John.' - - 7 - He has asked her father, the king: - And sae did he her mither, the queen. - - 8 - And he has asked her sister Anne: - But he has forgot her brother John. - - 9 - Her father led her through the ha, - Her mither danced afore them a'. - - 10 - Her sister Anne led her through the closs, - Her brither John set her on her horse. - - 11 - It's then he drew a little penknife, - And he reft the fair maid o her life. - - 12 - 'Ride up, ride up,' said the foremost man; - 'I think our bride comes hooly on.' - - 13 - 'Ride up, ride up,' said the second man; - 'I think our bride looks pale and wan.' - - 14 - Up than cam the gay bridegroom, - And straucht unto the bride he cam. - - 15 - 'Does your side-saddle sit awry? - Or does your steed ... - - 16 - 'Or does the rain run in your glove? - Or wad ye chuse anither love?' - - 17 - 'The rain runs not in my glove, - Nor will I e'er chuse anither love. - - 18 - 'But O an I war at Saint Evron's well, - There I wad licht, and drink my fill! - - 19 - 'Oh an I war at Saint Evron's closs, - There I wad licht, and bait my horse!' - - 20 - Whan she cam to Saint Evron's well, - She dought na licht to drink her fill. - - 21 - Whan she cam to Saint Evron's closs, - The bonny bride fell aff her horse. - - 22 - 'What will ye leave to your father, the king?' - 'The milk-white steed that I ride on.' - - 23 - 'What will ye leave to your mother, the queen?' - 'The bluidy robes that I have on.' - - 24 - 'What will ye leave to your sister Anne?' - 'My gude lord, to be wedded on.' - - 25 - 'What will ye leave to your brither John?' - 'The gallows pin to hang him on.' - - 26 - 'What will ye leave to your brither's wife?' - 'Grief and sorrow a' the days o her life.' - - 27 - 'What will ye leave to your brither's bairns?' - 'The meal-pock to hang oure the arms.' - - 28 - Now does she neither sigh nor groan: - She lies aneath yon marble stone. - - -C - - Harris MS., p. 11 b, No 7. - - 1 - There waur three ladies in a ha, - Hech hey an the lily gey - By cam a knicht, an he wooed them a'. - An the rose is aye the redder aye - - 2 - The first ane she was cled in green; - 'Will you fancy me, an be my queen?' - - 3 - 'You may seek me frae my father dear, - An frae my mither, wha did me bear. - - 4 - 'You may seek me frae my sister Anne, - But no, no, no frae my brither John.' - - 5 - The niest ane she was cled in yellow; - 'Will you fancy me, an be my marrow?' - - 6 - 'Ye may seek me frae my father dear, - An frae my mither, wha did me bear. - - 7 - 'Ye may seek me frae my sister Anne, - But no, no, no frae my brither John.' - - 8 - The niest ane she was cled in red: - 'Will ye fancy me, an be my bride?' - - 9 - 'Ye may seek me frae my father dear, - An frae my mither wha did me bear. - - 10 - 'Ye may seek me frae my sister Anne, - An dinna forget my brither John.' - - 11 - He socht her frae her father, the king, - An he socht her frae her mither, the queen. - - 12 - He socht her frae her sister Anne, - But he forgot her brither John. - - 13 - Her mither she put on her goun, - An her sister Anne preened the ribbons doun. - - 14 - Her father led her doon the close, - An her brither John set her on her horse. - - * * * * * * * - - 15 - Up an spak our foremost man: - 'I think our bonnie bride's pale an wan.' - - * * * * * * * - - 16 - 'What will ye leave to your father dear?' - 'My ... an my ... chair.' - - 17 - 'What will ye leave to your mither dear?' - 'My silken screen I was wont to wear.' - - 18 - 'What will ye leave to your sister Anne?' - 'My silken snood an my golden fan.' - - 19 - 'What will you leave to your brither John?' - 'The gallows tree to hang him on.' - - -D - - Notes and Queries, 1st S., VI, 53, 2d S., V, 171. As sung - by a lady who was a native of County Kerry, Ireland. - - 1 - There were three ladies playing at ball, - Farin-dan-dan and farin-dan-dee - There came a white knight, and he wooed them all. - With adieu, sweet honey, wherever you be - - 2 - He courted the eldest with golden rings, - And the others with many fine things. - And adieu, etc. - - -E - - Notes and Queries, 4th S., V, 105. From Forfarshire, W.F. - - There were three sisters playin at the ba, - Wi a hech hey an a lillie gay - There cam a knicht an lookt ower the wa'. - An the primrose springs sae sweetly. - Sing Annet, an Marret, an fair Maisrie, - An the dew hangs i the wood, gay ladie. - - -F - - Gilbert's Ancient Christmas Carols, 2d ed., p. 68, as - remembered by the editor. West of England. - - 1 - There did three knights come from the west, - With the high and the lily oh - And these three knights courted one lady. - As the rose was so sweetly blown - - 2 - The first knight came was all in white, - And asked of her, if she'd be his delight. - - 3 - The next knight came was all in green, - And asked of her, if she'd be his queen. - - 4 - The third knight came was all in red, - And asked of her, if she would wed. - - 5 - 'Then have you asked of my father dear, - Likewise of her who did me bear? - - 6 - 'And have you asked of my brother John? - And also of my sister Anne?' - - 7 - 'Yes, I have asked of your father dear, - Likewise of her who did you bear. - - 8 - 'And I have asked of your sister Anne, - But I've not asked of your brother John.' - - 9 - Far on the road as they rode along, - There did they meet with her brother John. - - 10 - She stooped low to kiss him sweet, - He to her heart did a dagger meet. - - 11 - 'Ride on, ride on,' cried the serving man, - 'Methinks your bride she looks wondrous wan.' - - 12 - 'I wish I were on yonder stile, - For there I would sit and bleed awhile. - - 13 - 'I wish I were on yonder hill, - There I'd alight and make my will.' - - 14 - 'What would you give to your father dear?' - 'The gallant steed which doth me bear.' - - 15 - 'What would you give to your mother dear?' - 'My wedding shift which I do wear. - - 16 - 'But she must wash it very clean, - For my heart's blood sticks in evry seam.' - - 17 - 'What would you give to your sister Anne?' - 'My gay gold ring and my feathered fan.' - - 18 - 'What would you give to your brother John?' - 'A rope and gallows to hang him on.' - - 19 - 'What would you give to your brother John's wife?' - 'A widow's weeds, and a quiet life.' - - -G - - #a.# Herd's MSS, I, 41. #b.# Herd's Scottish Songs, 1776, - I, 88. - - 1 - There was three ladys in a ha, - Fine flowers i the valley - There came three lords amang them a', - Wi the red, green, and the yellow - - 2 - The first of them was clad in red: - 'O lady fair, will you be my bride?' - - 3 - The second of them was clad in green: - 'O lady fair, will you be my queen?' - - 4 - The third of them was clad in yellow: - 'O lady fair, will you be my marrow?' - - 5 - 'You must ask my father dear, - Likewise the mother that did me bear.' - - 6 - 'You must ask my sister Ann, - And not forget my brother John,' - - 7 - 'I have askt thy father dear, - Likewise thy mother that did thee bear. - - 8 - 'I have askt thy sister Ann, - But I forgot thy brother John.' - - 9 - Her father led her through the ha, - Her mother dancd before them a'. - - 10 - Her sister Ann led her through the closs, - Her brother John put her on her horse. - - 11 - 'You are high and I am low; - Let me have a kiss before you go.' - - 12 - She was louting down to kiss him sweet, - Wi his penknife he wounded her deep. - - * * * * * * * - - 13 - 'O lead me over into yon stile, - That I may stop and breath a while. - - 14 - 'O lead me over to yon stair, - For there I'll ly and bleed ne mair.' - - 15 - 'O what will you leave your father dear?' - 'That milk-white steed that brought me here.' - - 16 - 'O what will you leave your mother dear?' - 'The silken gown that I did wear.' - - 17 - 'What will you leave your sister Ann?' - 'My silken snood and golden fan.' - - 18 - 'What will you leave your brother John?' - 'The highest gallows to hang him on.' - - 19 - 'What will you leave your brother John's wife?' - 'Grief and sorrow to end her life.' - - 20 - 'What will ye leave your brother John's bairns?' - 'The world wide for them to range.' - - -H - - Herd's MSS, I, 44, II, 75; Scottish Songs, 1776, I, 90; - appended to #G#. - - She louted down to gie a kiss, - With a hey and a lilly gay - - He stuck his penknife in her hass. - And the rose it smells so sweetly - - 'Ride up, ride up,' cry'd the foremost man; - 'I think our bride looks pale and wan.' - - -I - - Kinloch's MSS, I, 27. From Mrs Bouchart, an old lady - native of Forfarshire. - - 1 - There war three bonnie boys playing at the ba, - Hech hey and a lily gay - There cam three ladies to view them a'. - And the rose it smells sae sweetlie - - 2 - The first ane was clad in red: - 'O,' says he, 'ye maun be my bride.' - - 3 - The next o them was clad in green: - 'O,' says he, 'ye maun be my queen.' - - 4 - The tither o them was clad in yellow: - 'O,' says he, 'ye maun be my marrow.' - - 5 - 'Ye maun gang to my father's bouer, - To see gin your bride he'll let me be.' - - 6 - Her father led her doun the stair, - Her mither at her back did bear. - - 7 - Her sister Jess led her out the closs, - Her brother John set her on the horse. - - 8 - She loutit doun to gie him a kiss; - He struck his penknife thro her breist. - - 9 - 'Ride on, ride on,' says the foremaist man; - 'I think our bride looks pale and wan.' - - 10 - 'Ride on, ride on,' says the merry bridegroom; - 'I think my bride's blude is rinnin doun.' - - 11 - 'O gin I war at yon bonnie hill, - I wad lie doun and bleed my fill! - - 12 - 'O gin I war at yon bonnie kirk-yard, - I wad mak my testament there!' - - 13 - 'What will ye leave to your father dear?' - 'The milk-white steed that brocht me here.' - - 14 - 'What will ye leave to your mother dear?' - 'The bluidy robes that I do wear.' - - 15 - 'What will ye leave to your sister Ann?' - 'My silken snood and gowden fan.' - - 16 - 'What will ye leave to your sister Jess?' - 'The bonnie lad that I loe best.' - - 17 - 'What will ye leave to your brother John?' - 'The gallows pin to hang him on.' - - 18 - 'What will ye leave to your brother John's wife?' - 'Sorrow and trouble a' her life.' - - 19 - 'What will ye leave to your brother's bairns?' - 'The warld's wide, and let them beg.' - - -J - - From Miss Margaret Reburn, as current in County Meath, - Ireland, about 1860. - - 1 - There were three sisters playing ball, - With the high and the lily O - And there came three knights to court them all. - With the rosey sweet, heigh ho - - 2 - The eldest of them was drest in green: - 'I wish I had you to be my queen.' - - 3 - The second of them was drest in red: - 'I wish I had you to grace my bed.' - - 4 - The youngest of them was drest in white: - 'I wish I had you to be my wife.' - - 5 - 'Did ye ask my father brave? - Or did ye ask my mother fair? - - 6 - 'Or did ye ask my brother John? - For without his will I dare not move on.' - - 7 - 'I did ask your parents dear, - But I did not see your brother John.' - - * * * * * * * - - 8 - 'Ride on, ride on,' said the first man, - 'For I fear the bride comes slowly on.' - - 9 - 'Ride on, ride on,' said the next man, - 'For lo! the bride she comes bleeding on.' - - * * * * * * * - - 10 - 'What will you leave your mother dear?' - 'My heart's best love for ever and aye.' - - 11 - 'What will ye leave your sister Anne?' - 'This wedding garment that I have on.' - - 12 - 'What will ye leave your brother John's wife?' - 'Grief and sorrow all the days of her life.' - - 13 - 'What will ye leave your brother John?' - 'The highest gallows to hang him on.' - - 14 - 'What will ye leave your brother John's son?' - 'The grace of God to make him a man.' - - -K - - Notes and Queries, 4th S., IV, 517, as "sung in Cheshire - amongst the people" in the last century. T. W. - - 1 - There were three ladies playing at ball, - Gilliver, Gentle, and Rosemary - There came three knights and looked over the wall. - Sing O the red rose and the white lilly - - 2 - The first young knight, he was clothed in red, - And he said, 'Gentle lady, with me will you wed?' - - 3 - The second young knight, he was clothed in blue, - And he said, 'To my love I shall ever be true.' - - 4 - The third young knight, he was clothed in green, - And he said, 'Fairest maiden, will you be my queen?' - - 5 - The lady thus spoke to the knight in red, - 'With you, sir knight, I never can wed.' - - 6 - The lady then spoke to the knight in blue, - And she said, 'Little faith I can have in you.' - - 7 - The lady then spoke to the knight in green, - And she said, ''T is at court you must seek for a queen.' - - 8 - The three young knights then rode away, - And the ladies they laughed, and went back to their play. - Singing, etc. - - * * * * * - -#A. b.# - - 6^2. oer young. - - 10^2. spear at. - - 17^2. the bonny. - - 19^1. said. - - 23^1. And what will ye. - - 25^1. This fair lady. - - 25^2. And a mass. - - _Variations of Aytoun's copy, sts. 9-13, 16, 17, 20-24: - 11^1 omits ~And~; 12^1, 13^1 omit ~dear~; 13^2 omits - ~And~; 16^1, ~through half~ for ~half thro~; 17^2 omits - ~For, bonny~; 21^2, ~pearlin~ for ~silken~; 22^1 omits - ~And~; 22^2, ~My silken gown that stands its lane~; 23^2, - ~shirt~ for ~cloaths~; 24^1, ~And what~; 24^2, ~The gates - o hell to let him in~._ - -#B.# - - "I have seen a fragment of another copy in which [the - burden is] - - The red rose and the lily - And the roses spring fu sweetly." _Kinloch_, p. 19. - -#F.# - - 9^1. For on the road. - -#G. a.# - - 1. _Burden^2. ~The red, green~, etc.: afterwards, ~Wi the - red~, etc._ - - 2^2. _MS. also_, He askt of me if I'd be his bride. - - 3^2. _MS. also_, He askt of me if I'd be his queen. - - 4^2. _MS. also_, He askt me if I'd be his marrow. - - 15^2. _MS. also_, The gold and silver that I have here. - - 16^2. _MS. also_, The silken garment. - - 17^2. _MS. also_, My satine hat. - - 20^2, _MS. also_, The world wide, let them go beg. - -#b.# - - 7^2. the mother. - -#b.# - - 14^1. into yon stair. - - _Variations of Aytoun's copy, sts. 1-8, 14, 15, 18, 19 - from Herd, 1776_: 1^1, three sisters; 2^2, 3^2, 4^2 _omit_ - fair; 5^1, O ye maun; 6^1, And ye; 7^1, O I have; 8^1, And - I have ask'd your sister; 8^2, your brother; 14^2, Give me - a kiss; 15^2, When wi his knife. - -#H.# - - "I have heard this song, to a very good tune not in any - collection, with the above variations--the chorus, of the - whole as in the above two verses." _Herd's note in his - MSS._ - - -[143] Aytoun, 1-8==Herd, 1776, 1-8: 9-13==Jamieson, 11-15: 14, 15==Herd, -11, 12: 16, 17==Jamieson, 18, 19: 18, 19==Herd, 13, 14: 20-24==Jamieson, -21-25. - - - - -12 - -LORD RANDAL - - #A.# From a manuscript copy, probably of the beginning of - this century. - - #B.# 'Lord Donald,' Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. - 110. - - #C.# Motherwell's MS., p. 69. - - #D.# Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, 1803, III, 292. - - #E.# Halliwell's Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales, p. 261. - - #F.# 'Lord Ronald, my Son,' Johnson's Museum, No 327, p. - 337. - - #G.# Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p. 319. - - #H.# From recitation, 1881. - - #I.# 'Tiranti, my Son.' #a.# Communicated by a lady of - Boston, #b.# By an aunt of the same. #c.# By a lady of New - Bedford. #d.# By a lady of Cambridge. #e#, #f#, #g#. By - ladies of Boston. - - #J.# 'The Bonnie Wee Croodlin Dow,' Motherwell's MS., p. - 238. - - #K. a.# 'The Croodlin Doo,' Chambers, Scottish Ballads, p. - 324. #b.# 'The Wee Croodlen Doo,' Chambers, Popular - Rhymes, 1842, p. 53. #c.# Johnson's Museum, by Stenhouse - and Laing, IV, 364*. - - #L.# 'Willie Doo,' Buchan's MSS, II, 322, and Ballads, II, - 179. - - #M.# 'The Croodin Doo,' Chambers, Popular Rhymes, 1870, p. - 51. - - #N.# Kinloch MSS, V, 347. - - #O.# 'The Croodlin Doo.' From a manuscript belonging to - the Fraser-Tytler family. - - -The title 'Lord Randal' is selected for this ballad because that name -occurs in one of the better versions, and because it has become familiar -through Scott's Minstrelsy. Scott says that the hero was more generally -termed Lord Ronald: but in the versions that have come down to us this -is not so. None of these can be traced back further than a century. #F# -and #D# were the earliest published. Jamieson remarks with respect to -#G# (1814): "An English gentleman, who had never paid any attention to -ballads, nor ever read a collection of such things, told me that when a -child he learnt from a playmate of his own age, the daughter of a -clergyman in Suffolk, the following imperfect ditty." #I#, a version -current in eastern Massachusetts, may be carried as far back as any. -#a#, #b# derive from Elizabeth Foster, whose parents, both natives of -eastern Massachusetts, settled, after their marriage, in Maine, where -she was born in 1789. Elizabeth Foster's mother is remembered to have -sung the ballad, and I am informed that the daughter must have learned -it not long after 1789, since she was removed in her childhood from -Maine to Massachusetts, and continued there till her death. 'Tiranti' -['Taranti'] may not improbably be a corruption of Lord Randal. - -The copy in Smith's Scottish Minstrel, III, 58, is Scott's altered. The -first four stanzas are from the Border Minstrelsy, except the last line -of the fourth, which is from Johnson's Museum. The last two stanzas are -a poor modern invention. - -Three stanzas which are found in #A#. Cunningham's Scottish Songs, I, -286 f, may be given for what they are worth. 'The house of Marr,' in the -first, is not to be accepted on the simple ground of its appearance in -his pages. The second is inserted in his beautified edition of Scott's -ballad, and has its burden accordingly; but there is, besides this, no -internal evidence against the second, and none against the third. - - 'O where have you been, Lord Ronald, my son? - O where have you been, my handsome young man?' - 'At the house of Marr, mother, so make my bed soon, - For I'm wearied with hunting, and fain would lie down.' - - 'O where did she find them, Lord Randal, my son? - O where did she catch them, my handsome young man?' - 'Neath the bush of brown bracken, so make my bed soon, - For I'm wae and I'm weary, and fain would lie down.' - - 'O what got your bloodhounds, Lord Ronald, my son? - O what got your bloodhounds, my handsome young man?' - 'They lapt the broo, mother, so make my bed soon, - I am wearied with hunting, and fain would lie down.' - -A pot-pourri or quodlibet, reprinted in Wolff's Egeria, p. 53, from a -Veronese broadside of the date 1629, shows that this ballad was popular -in #Italy# more than 250 years ago; for the last but one of the -fragments which make up the medley happens to be the first three lines -of 'L'Avvelenato,' very nearly as they are sung at the present day, and -these are introduced by a summary of the story: - - "Io vo' finire con questa _d'un amante - Tradito dall' amata._ - Oh che l'è sì garbata - A cantarla in ischiera: - _'Dov' andastu iersera, - Figliuol mio ricco, savio e gentile? - Dov' andastu iersera'?_"[144] - -The ballad was first recovered in 1865, by Dr G. B. Bolza, who took it -down from the singing of very young girls at Loveno. Since then good -copies have been found at Venice. #A#, 'L'Avvelenato,' Bolza, Canzoni -popolari comasche, No 49, Sitzungsberichte of the Vienna Academy -(philos. histor. class), LIII, 668, is of seventeen stanzas, of seven -short lines, all of which repeat but two: the 8th and 10th stanzas are -imperfect.[145] A mother inquires of her son where he has been. He has -been at his mistress's, where he has eaten part of an eel; the rest was -given to a dog, that died in the street. The mother declares that he has -been poisoned. He bids her send for the doctor to see him, for the -curate to shrive him, for the notary to make his will. He leaves his -mother his palace, his brothers his carriage and horses, his sisters a -dowry, his servants a free passage to mass ("la strada d'andà a messa" # -nothing), a hundred and fifty masses for his soul; for his mistress the -gallows to hang her. #B#, #C#, 'L'Avvelenato,' Bernoni, Nuovi Canti -popolari veneziani, 1874, No 1, p. 5, p. 3, have twelve and eighteen -four-line stanzas, the questions and answers in successive stanzas, and -the last three lines of the first pair repeated respectively -throughout.[146] #B#, which is given as a variant of #C#, agrees with -#A# as to the agent in the young man's death. It is his mistress in #B#, -but in #C# it is his mother. In both, as in #A#, he has eaten of an eel. -The head he gave to the dogs, the tail to the cats (#C#). He leaves to -his stewards (castaldi) his carriages and horses (#C#); to his herdsmen -his cows and fields; to the maids his chamber furnishings; to his sister -the bare privilege of going to mass (#C#, as in #A#); to his mother -[wife, #C#] the keys of his treasure. "La forca per picarla" is in #B# -as in #A# the bequest to his false love, instead of whom we have his -mother in #C#. - -The corresponding #German# ballad has been known to the English for two -generations through Jamieson's translation. The several versions, all -from oral tradition of this century, show the same resemblances and -differences as the English. - -#A#, #B#, 'Schlangenköchin,' eight stanzas of six lines, four of which -are burden, #A#, Liederhort, p. 6, No 2^a, from the neighborhood of -Wilsnack, Brandenburg, #B#, Peter, I, 187, No 6, from Weidenau, Austrian -Silesia, run thus: Henry tells his mother that he has been at his -sweetheart's (but not a-hunting); has had a speckled fish to eat, part -of which was given to the dog [cat, #B#], which burst. Henry wishes his -father and mother all blessings, and hell-pains to his love, #A# 6-8. -His mother, #B# 8, asks where she shall make his bed: he replies, In the -church-yard. #C#, 'Grossmutter Schlangenköchin,' first published in -1802, in Maria's (Clemens Brentano's) romance Godwi, II, 113, afterward -in the Wunderhorn, I, 19 (ed. 1819, I, 20, ed. 1857), has fourteen -two-line stanzas, or seven of four lines, one half burden. The copy in -Zuccalmaglio, p. 217, No 104, "from Hesse and North Germany," is the -same thing with another line of burden intercalated and two or three -slight changes. Maria has been at her grandmother's, who gave her a fish -to eat which she had caught in her kitchen garden; the dog ate the -leavings, and his belly burst. The conclusion agrees with #B#, neither -having the testament. #D#, 'Stiefmutter,' seven stanzas of four short -lines, two being burden, Uhland, No 120, p. 272; excepting one slight -variation, the same as Liederhort, p. 5, No 2, from the vicinity of -Bückeburg, Lippe-Schaumburg. A child has been at her mother's sister's -house, where she has had a well-peppered broth and a glass of red wine. -The dogs [and cats] had some broth too, and died on the spot. The child -wishes its father a seat in heaven, for its mother one in hell. #E#, -'Kind, wo bist du denn henne west?' Reiffenberg, p. 8, No 4, from -Bökendorf, Westphalia, four stanzas of six lines, combining question and -answer, two of the six burden. A child has been at its step-aunt's, and -has had a bit of a fish caught in the nettles along the wall. The child -gives all its goods to its brother, its clothes to its sister, but three -devils to its [step-]mother. #F#, 'Das vergiftete kind,' seven four-line -stanzas, two burden, Schuster, Siebenbürgisch-sächsische V. L., p. 62, -No 58, from Mühlbach. A child tells its father that its heart is -bursting; it has eaten of a fish, given it by its mother, which the -father declares to be an adder. The child wishes its father a seat in -heaven, its mother one in hell. - -#A#, #B# are nearer to 'Lord Randal,' and have even the name Henry which -we find in English #C#. #C-F# are like #J-O#, 'The Croodlin Doo.' - -#Dutch.# 'Isabelle,' Snellaert, p. 73, No 67, seven four-line stanzas, -the first and fourth lines repeated in each. Isabel has been sewing at -her aunt's, and has eaten of a fish with yellow stripes that had been -caught with tongs in the cellar. The broth, poured into the street, -caused the dogs to burst. She wishes her aunt a red-hot furnace, herself -a spade to bury her, her brother a wife like his mother. - -#Swedish.# #A#, 'Den lillas Testamente,' ten five-line stanzas, three -lines burden, Afzelius, III, 13, No 68; ed. Bergström, I, 291, No 55. A -girl, interrogated by her step-mother, says she has been at her aunt's, -and has eaten two wee striped fishes. The bones she gave the dog; the -stanza which should describe the effect is wanting. She wishes heaven -for her father and mother, a ship for her brother, a jewel-box and -chests for her sister, and hell for her step-mother and her nurse. #B#, -Arwidsson, II, 90, No 88, nine five-line stanzas, two lines burden. In -the first stanza, evidently corrupt, the girl says she has been at her -brother's. She has had eels cooked with pepper, and the bones, given to -the dogs, made them burst. She gives her father good corn in his barns, -her brother and sister a ship, etc., hell to her step-mother and nurse. - -#Danish.# Communicated by Prof. Grundtvig, as obtained for the first -time from tradition in 1877; five stanzas of five lines, three lines -repeating. Elselille, in answer to her mother, says she has been in the -meadow, where she got twelve small snakes. She wishes heavenly joy to -her father, a grave to her brother, hell torment to her sister. - -#Magyar.# 'Der vergiftete Knabe,' Aigner, Ungarische Volksdichtungen, -2^e Auflage, p. 127, in nine six-line stanzas, four being a burden. -Johnnie, in answer to his mother, says he has been at his -sister-in-law's, and has eaten a speckled toad, served on her handsomest -plate, of which he is dying. He bequeaths to his father his best -carriage, to his brothers his finest horses, to his sister his house -furniture, to his sister-in-law everlasting damnation, to his mother -pain and sorrow. - -#Wendish.# 'Der vergiftete Knabe,' Haupt u. Schmaler, I, 110, No 77, -twelve four-line stanzas, combining question and answer, the first and -last line repeating. Henry has been at the neighbor's, has eaten part of -a fish caught in the stable with a dung-fork; his dog ate the rest, and -burst. There is no testament. His mother asks him where she shall make -his bed; he replies, In the churchyard; turn my head westward, and cover -me with green turf. - -The numerous forms of this story show a general agreement, with but -little difference except as to the persons who are the object and the -agent of the crime. These are, according to the Italian -tradition,--which is 250 years old, while no other goes back more than a -hundred years, and far the larger part have been obtained in recent -years,--a young man and his true-love; and in this account unite two of -the three modern Italian versions, English #A-G#, German #A#, #B#. Scott -suggests that the handsome young sportsman (whom we find in English #A#, -#C#, #D#, #E#, #F#, #H#) may have been exchanged for a little child -poisoned by a step-mother, to excite greater interest in the nursery. -This seems very reasonable. What girl with a lover, singing the ballad, -would not be tempted to put off the treacherous act on so popular, -though most unjustly popular, an object of aversion? A mother, again, -would scarcely allow "mother" to stand, as is the case in Italian #C# -and German #F#, and a singer who considered that all blood relations -should be treated as sacred would ascribe the wickedness to somebody -beyond that pale, say a neighbor, as the Wendish ballad does, and -Zuccalmaglio's reading of German #C#. The step-mother is expressly named -only in English #J#, #K c#, #L#, #M#, #N#, #O#, and in four of these, -#J#, #K c#, #M#, #O#, the child has a mammie,[147] which certainly -proves an _alibi_ for the step-mother, and confirms what Scott says. -There is a step-aunt in German #E# and Swedish #A#, and the aunt in -German #D# and the Dutch ballad, and the grandmother in English #I#, #K -a#, #b#, German #C#, are perhaps meant (as the brother in Swedish #B# -certainly is) to be step-relations and accommodating instruments. - -The poisoning is shifted to a wife in English #H#, to an uncle in -English #I d#, and to a sister-in-law in the Magyar version. - -There is all but universal consent that the poisoning was done by -serving up snakes for fish. The Magyar says a toad, English #M# a -four-footed fish,[148] German #D# a well-peppered broth and a glass of -red wine. English #L# adds a drink of hemlock stocks to the speckled -trout; #F#, #H# have simply poison. The fish are distinctively eels in -the Italian versions, and in English #A#, #D#, #E#, #G#, #I#, Swedish -#B#. English #A#, #J#, #K#, #M#, #N#, #O#, German #A-D#, the Italian, -Swedish, Dutch, Wendish versions, and by implication English #C#, #D#, -#E# also, concur in saying that a part of the fish was given to a dog -[dogs, cat, cats], and that death was the consequence. Bursting or -swelling is characteristic of this kind of poisoning: German #A#, #B#, -#C#, #F#, English #D#, #E#, and the Dutch and Wendish versions. - -The dying youth or child in many cases makes a nuncupative will, or -declares his last wishes, upon a suggestion proceeding from the person -who is by him, commonly from the mother: English #A#, #B#, #C#, #H#, -#I#: German #A#, #D#, #E#, #F#: the Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, -Magyar versions. The bequest to the poisoner is the gallows in English -#B#, #C#, #H#, #I#, Italian #A#, #B#, #C#; hell, English #A#, German -#A#, #D#, #F#, Swedish #A#, #B#, Danish; and an equivalent in German -#E#, the Dutch and the Magyar copy. 'The Cruel Brother,' No 11, and -'Edward,' No 13, have a will of this same fashion. - -In all the English versions the burden has the entreaty "Make my bed," -and this is addressed to the mother in all but #L#, #N#. In #H#, an -Irish copy, and #I#, an American one, the mother asks where the bed -shall be made; and the answer is, In the churchyard. This feature is -found again in German #B#, #C# and in the Wendish version. - -The resemblance in the form of the stanza in all the versions deserves a -word of remark. For the most part, the narrative proceeds in sections of -two short lines, or rather half lines, which are a question and an -answer, the rest of the stanza being regularly repeated. English #L#, -#N#, as written (#L# not always), separate the question and answer; this -is done, too, in Italian #B#, #C#. German #E#, on the contrary, has two -questions and the answers in each stanza, and is altogether peculiar. -Swedish #B# varies the burden in part, imagining father, brother, -sister, etc., to ask what the little girl will give to each, and -adapting the reply accordingly, "Faderen min," "Broderen min." - -A Bohemian and a Catalan ballad which have two of the three principal -traits of the foregoing, the poisoning and the testament, do not -exhibit, perhaps have lost, the third, the employment of snakes. - -The story of the first is that a mother who dislikes the wife her son -has chosen attempts to poison her at the wedding feast. She sets a glass -of honey before the son, a glass of poison before the bride. They -exchange cups. The poison is swift. The young man leaves four horses to -his brother, eight cows to his sister, his fine house to his wife. "And -what to me, my son?" asks the mother. A broad mill-stone and the deep -Moldau is the bequest to her. Waldau, Böhmische Granaten, II, 109, cited -by Reifferscheid, p. 137 f. - -The Catalan ballad seems to have been softened at the end. Here again a -mother hates her daughter-in-law. She comes to the sick woman, "com qui -no 'n sabès res," and asks What is the matter? The daughter says, You -have poisoned me. The mother exhorts her to confess and receive the -sacrament, and then make her will. She gives her castles in France to -the poor and the pilgrims [and the friars], and to her brother Don -Carlos [who, in one version is her husband]. Two of the versions -remember the Virgin. "And to me?" "To you, my husband [my cloak, -rosary], that when you go to mass you may remember me." In one version -the mother asks the dying woman where she will be buried. She says At -Saint Mary's. Milà, Observaciones, p. 103 f, No 5, two versions: Briz y -Saltó, II, 197 f, two also, the first nearly the same as Milà's first. - -Poisoning by giving a snake as food, or by infusing the venom in drink, -is an incident in several other popular ballads. - -Donna Lombarda attempts, at the instigation of a lover, to rid herself -of her husband by pounding a serpent, or its head, in a mortar, and -mixing the juice with his wine [in one version simply killing the snake -and putting it in a cask]: Nigra, Canzoni del Piemonti, in Rivista -Contemporanea, XII, 32 ff, four versions; Marcoaldi, p. 177, No 20; -Wolf, Volkslieder aus Venetien, p. 46, No 72; Righi, Canti popolari -veronesi, p. 37, No 100*; Ferraro, C. p. monferrini, p. 1, No 1; -Bernoni, C. p. veneziani, Puntata V, No 1. In three of Nigra's versions -and in Ferraro's the drink is offered when the husband returns from -hunting. The husband, rendered suspicious by the look of the wine, or -warned of his danger, forces his wife to drink first. So in a northern -ballad, a mother who attempts to destroy her sons [step-sons] with a -brewage of this description is obliged to drink first, and bursts with -the poison: 'Eiturbyrlunar kvæði,' Íslenzk Fornkv., II, 79, No 43 A; -'Fru Gundela,' Arwidsson, II, 92, No 89; 'Signelill aa hennes synir,' -Bugge, p. 95, No XX, the last half. - -In one of the commonest Slavic ballads, a girl, who finds her brother an -obstacle to her desires, poisons him, at the instigation and under the -instruction of the man she fancies, or of her own motion, by giving him -a snake to eat, or the virus in drink. The object of her passion, on -being informed of what she has done, casts her off, for fear of her -doing the like to him. Bohemian: 'Sestra travi[vc]ka,' Erben, P. n. w -[vC]echách, 1842, I, 9, No 2, Prostonárodni [vc]eské P., 1864, p. 477, -No 13; Swoboda, Sbírka [vc]. n. P., p. 19; German translations by -Swoboda, by Wenzig, W. s. Märchenschatz, p. 263, I. v. Düringsfeld, -Böhmische Rosen, p. 176, etc. Moravian: Su[vs]il, p. 167, No 168. -Slovak, [vC]elakowsky, Slowanské n. P., III, 76. Polish: Kolberg, P. L. -p., I, 115, No 8, some twenty versions; Wojcicki, P. L. -bia[/l]ochrobatow, etc., I, 71, 73, 232, 289; Pauli, P. L. polskiego, p. -81, 82: Konopka, P. L. krakowskiego, p. 125. Servian: Vuk, I, 215, No -302, translated by Talvj, II, 192, and by Kapper, Gesänge der Serben, -II, 177. Russian: [vC]elakowsky, as above, III, 108. Etc. The attempt is -made, but unsuccessfully, in Sacharof, P. russkago N., IV, 7. - -A version given by De Rada, Rapsodie d'un poema albanese, p. 78, canto -x, resembles the Slavic, with a touch of the Italian. A man incites a -girl to poison her brother by pounding the poison out of a serpent's -head and tail and mixing it with wine. - -In a widely spread Romaic ballad, a mother poisons the bride whom her -son has just brought home,--an orphan girl in some versions, but in one -a king's daughter wedding a king's son. The cooks who are preparing the -feast are made to cook for the bride the heads of three snakes [nine -snakes' heads, a three-headed snake, winged snakes and two-headed -adders]. In two Epirote versions the poisoned girl bursts with the -effects. "[Gk: Ta kaka petherika]," Passow, p. 335, No 456, -nearly==Zambelios, p. 753, No 41; Passow, p. 337, No 457; Tommaseo, -Canti popolari, III, 135; Jeannaraki, p. 127, No 130[149]; Chasiotis -(Epirote), p. 51, No 40, "[Gk: Hê bourgaropoula kai hê kakê pethera;]" -p. 103, No 22, "[Gk: Ho Dionys kai hê kakê pethera]." (Liebrecht, -Volkskunde, p. 214.) - -An Italian mother-in-law undertakes to poison her son's wife with a -snake-potion. The wife, on her husband's return from the chase, -innocently proposes to share the drink with him. Her husband no sooner -has tasted than he falls dead. (Kaden, Italien's Wunderhorn, p. 85). - -Scott cites in his preface to 'Lord Randal' a passage from a MS. -chronicle of England, in which the death of King John is described as -being brought about by administering to him the venom of a toad (cf. the -Magyar ballad). The symptoms--swelling and rupture--are found in the -Scandinavian and Epirote ballads referred to above, besides those -previously noticed (p. 155). King John had asked a monk at the abbey of -Swinshed how much a loaf on the table was worth. The monk answered a -half-penny. The king said that if he could bring it about, such a loaf -should be worth twenty pence ere half a year. The monk thought he would -rather die than that this should come to pass. "And anon the monk went -unto his abbot and was shrived of him, and told the abbot all that the -king said, and prayed his abbot to assoil him, for he would give the -king such a wassail that all England should be glad and joyful thereof. -Then went the monk into a garden, and found a toad therein, and took her -up, and put her in a cup, and filled it with good ale, and pricked her -in every place, in the cup, till the venom came out in every place, and -brought it before the king, and kneeled, and said: 'Sir, wassail: for -never in your life drank ye of such a cup.' 'Begin, monk,' said the -king: and the monk drank a great draught, and took the king the cup, and -the king also drank a great draught, and set down the cup. The monk anon -went to the firmary, and there died anon, on whose soul God have mercy, -amen. And five monks sing for his soul especially, and shall while the -abbey standeth. The king was anon full evil at ease, and commanded to -remove the table, and asked after the monk; and men told him that he was -dead, for his womb was broke in sunder. When the king heard this tiding, -he commanded for to truss: but all it was for nought, for his belly -began to swell from the drink that he drank, that he died within two -days, the morrow after Saint Luke's day." Minstrelsy, III, 287 f. The -same story in Eulogium Historiarum, ed. Haydon, III, 109 f. - - * * * * * - -#B# and #K c# are translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og skotske -Folkeviser, p. 284, 286. #D#, by W. Grimm, 3 Altschottische Lieder, p. -3; by Schubart, p. 177; Arndt, p. 229; Doenniges, p. 79; Gerhardt, p. -83; Knortz, L. u. R. Alt-Englands, p. 174. #K a# by Fiedler, Geschichte -der volksthümlichen schottischen Liederdichtung, II, 268. German #C# is -translated by Jamieson, Illustrations, p. 320: Swedish #A# by W. and M. -Howitt, Literature and Romance of Northern Europe, I, 265. - - -A - - From a small manuscript volume lent me by Mr William - Macmath, of Edinburgh, containing four pieces written in - or about 1710, and this ballad in a later hand. Charles - Mackie, August, 1808, is scratched upon the binding. - - 1 - 'O where ha you been, Lord Randal, my son? - And where ha you been, my handsome young man?' - 'I ha been at the greenwood; mother, mak my bed soon, - For I'm wearied wi hunting, and fain wad lie down.' - - 2 - 'An wha met ye there, Lord Randal, my son? - An wha met you there, my handsome young man?' - 'O I met wi my true-love; mother, mak my bed soon, - For I'm wearied wi huntin, an fain wad lie down.' - - 3 - 'And what did she give you, Lord Randal, my son? - And what did she give you, my handsome young man?' - 'Eels fried in a pan; mother, mak my bed soon, - For I'm wearied wi huntin, and fain wad lie down.' - - 4 - 'And wha gat your leavins, Lord Randal, my son? - And wha gat your leavins, my handsom young man?' - 'My hawks and my hounds; mother, mak my bed soon, - For I'm wearied wi hunting, and fain wad lie down.' - - 5 - 'And what becam of them, Lord Randal, my son? - And what becam of them, my handsome young man?' - 'They stretched their legs out an died; mother, mak my bed soon, - For I'm wearied wi huntin, and fain wad lie down.' - - 6 - 'O I fear you are poisoned, Lord Randal, my son! - I fear you are poisoned, my handsome young man!' - 'O yes, I am poisoned; mother, mak my bed soon, - For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie down.' - - 7 - 'What d' ye leave to your mother, Lord Randal, my son? - What d' ye leave to your mother, my handsome young man?' - 'Four and twenty milk kye; mother, mak my bed soon, - For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie down.' - - 8 - 'What d' ye leave to your sister, Lord Randal, my son? - What d' ye leave to your sister, my handsome young man?' - 'My gold and my silver; mother, mak my bed soon, - For I'm sick at the heart, an I fain wad lie down.' - - 9 - 'What d' ye leave to your brother, Lord Randal, my son? - What d' ye leave to your brother, my handsome young man?' - 'My houses and my lands; mother, mak my bed soon, - For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie down.' - - 10 - 'What d' ye leave to your true-love, Lord Randal, my son? - What d' ye leave to your true-love, my handsome young man?' - 'I leave her hell and fire; mother, mak my bed soon, - For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie down.' - - -B - - Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 110. From Mrs - Comie, Aberdeen. - - 1 - 'O whare hae ye been a' day, Lord Donald, my son? - O whare hae ye been a' day, my jollie young man?' - 'I've been awa courtin; mither, mak my bed sune, - For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie doun.' - - 2 - 'What wad ye hae for your supper, Lord Donald, my son? - What wad ye hae for your supper, my jollie young man?' - 'I've gotten my supper; mither, mak my bed sune, - For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie doun.' - - 3 - 'What did ye get for your supper, Lord Donald, my son? - What did ye get for your supper, my jollie young man?' - 'A dish of sma fishes; mither mak my bed sune, - For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie doun.' - - 4 - 'Whare gat ye the fishes, Lord Donald, my son? - Whare gat ye the fishes, my jollie young man?' - 'In my father's black ditches; mither, mak my bed sune, - For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie doun.' - - 5 - 'What like were your fishes, Lord Donald, my son? - What like were your fishes, my jollie young man?' - 'Black backs and spreckld bellies; mither, mak my bed sune, - For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie doun.' - - 6 - 'O I fear ye are poisond, Lord Donald, my son! - O I fear ye are poisond, my jollie young man!' - 'O yes! I am poisond; mither mak my bed sune, - For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie doun.' - - 7 - 'What will ye leave to your father, Lord Donald my son? - What will ye leave to your father, my jollie young man?' - 'Baith my houses and land; mither, mak my bed sune, - For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie doun.' - - 8 - 'What will ye leave to your brither, Lord Donald, my son? - What will ye leave to your brither, my jollie young man?' - 'My horse and the saddle; mither, mak my bed sune, - For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie doun.' - - 9 - 'What will ye leave to your sister, Lord Donald, my son? - What will ye leave to your sister, my jollie young man?' - 'Baith my gold box and rings; mither, mak my bed sune, - For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie doun.' - - 10 - 'What will ye leave to your true-love, Lord Donald, my son? - What will ye leave to your true-love, my jollie young man?' - 'The tow and the halter, for to hang on yon tree, - And lat her hang there for the poysoning o me.' - - -C - - Motherwell's MS., p. 69. From the recitation of Margaret - Bain, in the parish of Blackford, Perthshire. - - 1 - 'What's become of your hounds, King Henrie, my son? - What's become of your hounds, my pretty little one?' - 'They all died on the way; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm sick to the heart, and I fain wald lie down.' - - 2 - 'What gat ye to your supper, King Henry, my son? - What gat ye to your supper, my pretty little one?' - 'I gat fish boiled in broo; mother, mak my bed soon, - For I'm sick to the heart, and I fain wald lie down.' - - 3 - 'What like were the fish, King Henry, my son? - What like were the fish, my pretty little one?' - 'They were spreckled on the back and white on the belly; mother, make - my bed soon, - For I'm sick to the heart, and I fain wald lie down.' - - 4 - 'What leave ye to your father, King Henry, my son? - What leave ye to your father, my pretty little one?' - 'The keys of Old Ireland, and all that's therein; mother, make my bed - soon, - For I'm sick to the heart, and I fain wald lie down.' - - 5 - 'What leave ye to your brother, King Henry, my son? - What leave ye to your brother, my pretty little one?' - 'The keys of my coffers and all that's therein; mother, mak my bed - soon, - For I'm sick to the heart, and I fain wald lie down.' - - 6 - 'What leave ye to your sister, King Henry, my son? - What leave ye to your sister, my pretty little one?' - 'The world's wide, she may go beg; mother, mak my bed soon, - For I'm sick to the heart, and I fain wald lie down.' - - 7 - 'What leave ye to your trew-love, King Henry, my son? - What leave ye to your trew-love, my pretty little one?' - 'The highest hill to hang her on, for she's poisoned me and my hounds - all; mother, make my bed soon, - Oh I'm sick to the heart, and I fain wald lie down.' - - -D - - Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, 1803, III, 292. - - 1 - 'O where hae ye been, Lord Randal, my son? - O where hae ye been, my handsome young man?' - 'I hae been to the wild wood; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm weary wi hunting, and fain wald lie down.' - - 2 - 'Where gat ye your dinner, Lord Randal, my son? - Where gat ye your dinner, my handsome young man?' - 'I din'd wi my true-love; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm weary wi hunting, and fain wald lie down.' - - 3 - 'What gat ye to your dinner, Lord Randal, my son? - What gat ye to your dinner, my handsome young man?' - 'I gat eels boild in broo; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm weary wi hunting, and fain wald lie down.' - - 4 - 'What became of your bloodhounds, Lord Randal, my son? - What became of your bloodhounds, my handsome young man?' - 'O they swelld and they died; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm weary wi hunting, and fain wald lie down.' - - 5 - 'O I fear ye are poisond, Lord Randal, my son! - O I fear ye are poisond, my handsome young man!' - 'O yes! I am poisond; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm sick at the heart, and I fain wald lie down.' - - -E - - Halliwell's Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales, p. 261. "A - version still popular in Scotland," 1849. - - 1 - 'Ah where have you been, Lairde Rowlande, my son? - Ah where have you been, Lairde Rowlande, my son?' - 'I've been in the wild woods; mither, mak my bed soon, - For I'm weary wi hunting, and faine would lie down.' - - 2 - 'Oh you've been at your true love's, Lairde Rowlande, my son! - Oh you've been at your true-love's, Lairde Rowlande, my son!' - 'I've been at my true-love's; mither, mak my bed soon, - For I'm weary wi hunting, and faine would lie down.' - - 3 - 'What got you to dinner, Lairde Rowlande, my son? - What got you to dinner, Lairde Rowlande, my son?' - 'I got eels boild in brue; mither, mak my bed soon, - For I'm weary wi hunting, and faine would lie down.' - - 4 - 'What's become of your warden, Lairde Rowlande, my son? - What's become of your warden, Lairde Rowlande, my son?' - 'He died in the muirlands; mither, mak my bed soon, - For I'm weary wi hunting, and faine would lie down.' - - 5 - 'What's become of your stag-hounds, Lairde Rowlande, my son? - What's become of your stag-hounds, Lairde Rowlande, my son?' - 'They swelled and they died; mither, mak my bed soon, - For I'm weary wi hunting, and faine would lie down.' - - -F - - Johnson's Museum, No 327, p. 337. Communicated by Burns. - - 1 - 'O where hae ye been, Lord Ronald, my son? - O where hae ye been, Lord Ronald, my son?' - 'I hae been wi my sweetheart; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm weary wi the hunting, and fain wad lie down.' - - 2 - 'What got ye frae your sweetheart, Lord Ronald, my son? - What got ye frae your sweetheart, Lord Ronald, my son?' - 'I hae got deadly poison; mother, make my bed soon, - For life is a burden that soon I'll lay down.' - - * * * * * * * - - -G - - Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p. 319. Originally - from a clergyman's daughter, in Suffolk. - - 1 - 'Where have you been today, Billy, my son? - Where have you been today, my only man?' - 'I've been a wooing; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm sick at heart, and fain would lay down.' - - 2 - 'What have you ate today, Billy, my son? - What have you ate today, my only man?' - 'I've ate eel-pie; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm sick at heart, and shall die before noon.' - - -H - - Taken down by me, February, 1881, from the recitation of - Ellen Healy, as repeated to her by a young girl at - "Lackabairn," Kerry, Ireland, about 1868. - - 1 - 'Where was you all day, my own pretty boy? - Where was you all day, my comfort and joy?' - 'I was fishing and fowling; mother, make my bed soon, - There 's a pain in my heart, and I mean to lie down.' - - 2 - 'What did you have for your breakfast, my own pretty boy? - What did you have for your breakfast, my comfort and joy?' - 'A cup of strong poison; mother, make my bed soon, - There 's a pain in my heart, and I mean to lie down.' - - 3 - 'I fear you are poisoned, my own pretty boy, - I fear you are poisoned, my comfort and joy!' - 'O yes, I am poisoned; mother, make my bed soon, - There 's a pain in my heart, and I mean to lie down.' - - 4 - 'What will you leave to your father, my own pretty boy? - What will you leave to your father, my comfort and joy?' - 'I'll leave him my house and my property; mother, make my bed soon, - There 's a pain in my heart, and I mean to lie down.' - - 5 - 'What will you leave to your mother, my own pretty boy? - What will you leave to your mother, my comfort and joy?' - 'I'll leave her my coach and four horses; mother, make my bed soon, - There 's a pain in my heart, and I mean to lie down.' - - 6 - 'What will you leave to your brother, my own pretty boy? - What will you leave to your brother, my comfort and joy?' - 'I'll leave him my bow and my fiddle; mother, make my bed soon, - There 's a pain in my heart, and I mean to lie down.' - - 7 - 'What will you leave to your sister, my own pretty boy? - What will you leave to your sister, my comfort and joy?' - 'I'll leave her my gold and my silver; mother, make my bed soon, - There 's a pain in my heart, and I mean to lie down.' - - 8 - 'What will you leave to your servant, my own pretty boy? - What will you leave to your servant, my comfort and joy?' - 'I'll leave him the key of my small silver box; mother, make my bed - soon, - There 's a pain in my heart, and I mean to lie down.' - - 9 - 'What will you leave to your children, my own pretty boy? - What will you leave to your children, my comfort and joy?' - 'The world is wide all round for to beg; mother, make my bed soon, - There 's a pain in my heart, and I mean to lie down.' - - 10 - 'What will you leave to your wife, my own pretty boy? - What will you leave to your wife, my comfort and joy?' - 'I'll leave her the gallows, and plenty to hang her; mother, make my - bed soon, - There 's a pain in my heart, and I mean to lie down.' - - 11 - 'Where shall I make it, my own pretty boy? - Where shall I make it, my comfort and joy?' - 'Above in the churchyard, and dig it down deep, - Put a stone to my head and a flag to my feet, - And leave me down easy until I'll take a long sleep.' - - -I - - #a.# Communicated by Mrs L. F. Wesselhoeft, of Boston, as - sung to her when a child by her grandmother, Elizabeth - Foster, born in Maine, who appears to have learned the - ballad of her mother about 1800. #b.# By a daughter of - Elizabeth Foster, as learned about 1820. #c.# By Miss - Ellen Marston, of New Bedford, as learned from her mother, - born 1778. #d.# By Mrs Cushing, of Cambridge, Mass., as - learned in 1838 from a schoolmate, who is thought to have - derived it from an old nurse. #e.# By Mrs Augustus Lowell, - of Boston. #f.# By Mrs Edward Atkinson, of Boston, learned - of Mrs A. Lowell, in girlhood. #g.# By Mrs A. Lowell, as - derived from a friend. - - 1 - 'O where have you been, Tiranti, my son? - O where have you been, my sweet little one?' - 'I have been to my grandmother's; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm sick to my heart, and I'm faint to lie down.' - - 2 - 'What did you have for your supper, Tiranti, my son? - What did you have for your supper, my sweet little one?' - 'I had eels fried in butter; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm sick to my heart, and I'm faint to lie down.' - - 3 - 'Where did the eels come from, Tiranti, my son? - Where did the eels come from, my sweet little one?' - 'From the corner of the haystack; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm sick to my heart, and I'm faint to lie down.' - - 4 - 'What color were the eels, Tiranti, my son? - What color were the eels, my sweet little one?' - 'They were streakëd and stripëd; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm sick to my heart, and I'm faint to lie down.' - - 5 - 'What'll you give to your father, Tiranti, my son? - What'll you give to your father, my sweet little one?' - 'All my gold and my silver; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm sick to my heart, and I'm faint to lie down.' - - 6 - 'What'll you give to your mother, Tiranti, my son? - What'll you give to your mother, my sweet little one?' - 'A coach and six horses; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm sick to my heart, and I'm faint to lie down.' - - 7 - 'What'll you give to your grandmother, Tiranti, my son? - What'll you give to your grandmother, my sweet little one?' - 'A halter to hang her; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm sick to my heart, and I'm faint to lie down.' - - 8 - 'Where'll you have your bed made, Tiranti, my son? - Where'll you have your bed made, my sweet little one?' - 'In the corner of the churchyard; mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm sick to my heart, and I'm faint to lie down.' - - -J - - Motherwell's MS., p. 238. From the recitation of Miss - Maxwell, of Brediland. - - 1 - 'O whare hae ye been a' day, my bonnie wee croodlin dow? - O whare hae ye been a' day, my bonnie wee croodlin dow?' - 'I 've been at my step-mother's; oh mak my bed, mammie, now! - I 've been at my step-mother's; oh mak my bed, mammie, now!' - - 2 - 'O what did ye get at your step-mother's, my bonnie wee croodlin dow?' - [_Twice._] - 'I gat a wee wee fishie; oh mak my bed, mammie, now!' [_Twice._] - - 3 - 'O whare gat she the wee fishie, my bonnie wee croodlin dow?' - 'In a dub before the door; oh mak my bed, mammie, now!' - - 4 - 'What did ye wi the wee fishie, my bonnie wee croodlin dow?' - 'I boild it in a wee pannie; oh mak my bed, mammy, now!' - - 5 - 'Wha gied ye the banes o the fishie till, my bonnie wee croodlin dow?' - 'I gied them till a wee doggie; oh mak my bed, mammie, now!' - - 6 - 'O whare is the little wee doggie, my bonnie wee croodlin dow? - O whare is the little wee doggie, my bonnie wee croodlin doo?' - 'It shot out its fit and died, and sae maun I do too; - Oh mak my bed, mammy, now, now, oh mak my bed, mammy, now!' - - -K - - #a.# Chambers' Scottish Ballads, p. 324. #b.# Chambers' - Popular Rhymes of Scotland, 1842, p. 53. #c.# The - Stenhouse-Laing ed. of Johnson's Museum, IV, 364*, - communicated by Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe. - - 1 - 'O whaur hae ye been a' the day, my little wee croodlin doo?' - 'O I 've been at my grandmother's; mak my bed, mammie, now!' - - 2 - 'O what gat ye at your grandmother's, my little wee croodlin doo?' - 'I got a bonnie wee fishie; mak my bed, mammie, now!' - - 3 - 'O whaur did she catch the fishie, my bonnie wee croodlin doo?' - 'She catchd it in the gutter hole: mak my bed, mammie, now!' - - 4 - 'And what did she do wi the fish, my little wee croodlin doo?' - 'She boiled it in a brass pan; O mak my bed, mammie, now!' - - 5 - 'And what did ye do wi the banes o't, my bonnie wee croodlin doo?' - 'I gied them to my little dog; mak my bed, mammie, now!' - - 6 - 'And what did your little doggie do, my bonnie wee croodlin doo?' - 'He stretched out his head, his feet, and deed; and so will I, mammie, - now!' - - -L - - Buchan's MSS, II, 322; Ballads of the North of Scotland, - II, 179. - - 1 - 'Whar hae ye been a' the day, Willie doo, Willie doo? - Whar hae ye been a' the day, Willie, my doo?' - - 2 - 'I've been to see my step-mother; make my bed, lay me down; - Make my bed, lay me down, die shall I now!' - - 3 - 'What got ye frae your step-mother, Willie doo, Willie doo? - What got ye frae your step-mother, Willie, my doo?' - - 4 - 'She gae me a speckled trout; make my bed, lay me down; - She gae me a speckled trout, die shall I now!' - - 5 - 'Whar got she the speckled trout, Willie doo, Willie doo?' - 'She got it amang the heather hills; die shall I now.' - - 6 - 'What did she boil it in, Willie doo, Willie doo?' - 'She boild it in the billy-pot; die shall I now!' - - 7 - 'What gaed she you for to drink, Willie doo, Willie doo? - What gaed she you for to drink, Willie, my doo?' - - 8 - 'She gaed me hemlock stocks; make my bed, lay me down; - Made in the brewing pot; die shall I now!' - - 9 - They made his bed, laid him down, poor Willie doo, Willie doo; - He turnd his face to the wa; he 's dead now! - - -M - - Popular Rhymes of Scotland, 1870, p. 51. "Mrs Lockhart's - copy." - - 1 - 'Where hae ye been a' the day, my bonny wee croodin doo?' - 'O I hae been at my stepmother's house; make my bed, mammie, now, now, - now, - Make my bed, mammie, now!' - - 2 - 'Where did ye get your dinner?' my, etc. - 'I got it at my stepmother's;' make, etc. - - 3 - 'What did she gie ye to your dinner?' - 'She gae me a little four-footed fish.' - - 4 - 'Where got she the four-footed fish?' - 'She got it down in yon well strand;' O make, etc. - - 5 - 'What did she do with the banes o't?' - 'She gae them to the little dog.' - - 6 - 'O what became o the little dog?' - 'O it shot out its feet and died;' O make, etc. - - -N - - Kinloch's MSS, V, 347. In Dr John Hill Burton's hand. - - 1 - 'Fare hae ye been a' day, a' day, a' day, - Fare hae ye been a' day, my little wee croudlin doo?' - - 2 - 'I 've been at my step-mammie's, my step-mammie's, my step-mammie's, - I 've been at my step-mammie's; come mack my beddy now!' - - 3 - 'What got ye at yer step-mammie's, - My little wee croudlin doo?' - - 4 - 'She gied me a spreckled fishie; - Come mack my beddy now!' - - 5 - 'What did ye wi the baenies oet, - My little wee croudlin doo?' - - 6 - 'I gaed them till her little dogie; - Come mack my beddy now!' - - 7 - 'What did her little dogie syne, - My little wee croudlin doo?' - - 8 - 'He laid down his heed and feet; - And sae shall I dee now!' - - -O - - From a manuscript collection, copied out in 1840 or 1850, - by a granddaughter of Alexander Fraser-Tytler, p. 67. - - 1 - 'O where hae ye been a' the day, my wee wee croodlin doo doo? - O where hae ye been a' the day, my bonnie wee croodlin doo?' - 'O I hae been to my step-mammie's; mak my bed, mammy, noo, noo, - Mak my bed, mammy, noo!' - - 2 - 'O what did yere step-mammie gie to you?' etc. - 'She gied to me a wee wee fish,' etc. - - 3 - '[O] what did she boil the wee fishie in?' - 'O she boiled it in a wee wee pan; it turned baith black an blue, blue, - It turned baith black an blue.' - - 4 - 'An what did she gie the banes o't to?' - 'O she gied them to a wee wee dog;' mak, etc. - - 5 - 'An what did the wee wee doggie do then?' - 'O it put out its tongue and its feet, an it deed; an sae maun I do - noo, noo, - An sae maun I do noo!' - - * * * * * - -#C.# - - 4^2. your father, King Henry, my son. - -#I. a.# - - 1^4. _~faint to~, an obvious corruption of ~fain to~, is - found also in #b#, #c#; #d# has fain wad; #e#, ~faint~ or - ~fain~; #f#, ~fain~; #g#, ~I faint to~. N. B. 8 stands 5 - in the MS. copy, but is the last stanza in all others - which have it._ - - #b.# - - 2^1. for your dinner. - - _After 2 follows_: - - Who cooked you the eels, Tiranti, my son? etc. - O 't was my grandmother; mother, make my bed soon, etc. - - #b# 5==#a# 3: - - ^1. Where did she get the, eels? etc. - - ^3. By the side of the haystack, etc. - - #b# 6==#a# 7 : 7==#a# 8 : 8==#a# 5. - - 8^4. and die to lie down. - - #a# is wanting in_ #b#. - - #c.# - - 1^4. at my heart (_and always_). - - 2^1. O what did she give you? _etc._ - - 2^3. Striped eels fried, etc. - - 3==#a# 4. - - 3^1. O how did they look? etc. - - 3^3. Ringed, streaked, and speckled, etc. - - 4==#a# 3. - - 4^1. O where did they come from? - - 5^1. O what will you give your father, my son? - - 5^2. O what will you give him? - - 5^3. A coach and six horses. - - 6^1. O what will you give your mother, my son? _as in 5._ - - 6^3. All my gold and my silver. - - 7^1. O what will you give your granny? _as in 5._ - - 8^1. O where'll, etc. - - #c# _adds, as 9_: - - So this is the end of Tiranti my son, - So this is the end of my sweet little one: - His grandmother poisoned him with an old dead snake, - And he left her a halter to hang by the neck. - - #d.# - - 1^1, _etc._ Tyrante. - - 1^3. O I've been to my uncle's, _etc._ - - 1^4. and fain wad lie doun. - - 2^3. eels and fresh butter. - - 3==#a# 4. - - 3^3. black stripëd with yellow. - - 4==#a# 7. - - 4^1. What'll ye will to your mither? - - 4^3. My gold and my silver. - - 5==#a# 6. - - 5^1 What'll ye will to your father? - - 5^3. My coach and my horses. - - 6==#a# 8. - - 6^1. What'll you will to your uncle? - - _3, 5 of #a# are wanting._ - - #e.# - - 1^4. For I'm sick at heart, and faint [fain] to lie down. - - 3==#a# 7. - - 3^1. What will you leave your mother? - - 3^3. A box full of jewels. - - 4^1. What will you leave your sister? - - 4^3. A box of fine clothing. - - 5==#a# 8. - - 5^3. A rope to hang her with. - - 6==#a# 5. - - 6^1 Where shall I make it? - - _3, 4 of #a# are wanting._ - - #f.# - - _This copy was derived from the singing of the lady who - communicated #e#, and they naturally agree closely._ - - 1^4, fain to lie down. #f# 3==e 4 : #f# 4==e 3. - - #g.# - - 1^4. For I'm sick at the heart, and I faint to lie down. - - 2^1. What did you get at your grandmother's? - - 2^3. I got eels stewed in butter. - - 3==#a# 8. - - 3^1. What will you leave ... - - 4^1. What will you leave to your brother? - - 4^3. A full suit of mourning. - - 5==#a# 7. - - 5^1. leave to your mother. - - 5^3. A carriage and fine horses. - - 6==#a# 5. - - _3, 4 of #a# are wanting._ - -#K.# - - #a#, #b#, #c# are printed, in the publications in which - they occur, in four-line stanzas._ - - #b.# - - _Omits 4._ - - 6^1. the little doggie. - - 6^2. as I do, mammie, noo. - - #c.# - - 1^1, my bonnie wee crooden doo: _and always_. - - 1^2. at my step-mither's. - - 2. - And what did scho gie you to eat ... - Scho gied to me a wee fishie.... - - 3^1. An what did she catch the fishie in ... - - _4 is wanting_. - -#L.# - - _Written in the MS., and printed by Buchan, in stanzas of - 4 lines._ - -#M.# - - _Printed by Chambers in stanzas of 4 lines, the last - repeated._ - -#N.# - - _The second line of each stanza is written as two in the - MS._ - -#O.# - - _The stanza, being written with short lines in the - manuscript, is of seven lines, including the repetitions._ - - -[144] Opera nuova, nella quale si contiene una incatenatura di più -villanelle ed altre cose ridiculose.... Data in luce per me Camillo, -detto il Bianchino, cieco Florentino. Fliegendes Blatt von Verona, 1629. -Egeria, p. 53; p. 260, note 31.--With the above (Egeria, p. 59) compare -especially the beginning of Italian #B#, further on. - -[145] It begins: - - "Dôve sî stâ jersira, - _Figliuol mio caro, fiorito e gentil? - Dôve sî stâ jersira_?" - "Sôn stâ dalla mia dama; - _Signóra Mama, mio core sta mal! - Son stâ dalla mia dama; - Ohimè! ch'io moro, ohimè_!" - -[146] E.g. (#B#): - - 1 - "E dove xestu stà gieri sera, - Figlio mio rico, sapio e gentil? - E dove xestu stà gieri sera, - Gentil mio cavalier?" - - 2 - "E mi so' stato da la mia bela; - Signora madre, el mio cuor stà mal! - E mi so' stato da la mia bela; - Oh Dio, che moro, ohimè!" - - 3 - "E cossa t'àla dato da çena, - Figlio mio?" etc. - - 4 - "E la m'à dato 'n'anguila rostita; - Signora madre," etc. - -[147] Grundtvig notices this absurdity, Eng. og skotske F. v, p. 286, -note **. - -[148] "The nurse or nursery maid who sung these verses (to a very -plaintive air) always informed the juvenile audience that the -step-mother was a rank witch, and that the fish was an ask (newt), which -was in Scotland formerly deemed a most poisonous reptile." C. K. Sharpe, -in the Musical Museum, Laing-Stenhouse, IV, 364*. - -[149] A golden bird, sitting on the bride's hand, sings, "You had better -not go there; you will have a bad mother-in-law and a bad -father-in-law." There are ill omens also in Passow, No 437. - - - - -13 - -EDWARD - - #A. a.# Motherwell's MS., p. 139. #b.# Motherwell's - Minstrelsy, p. 339. From recitation. - - #B.# Percy's Reliques, 1765, I, 53. Communicated by Sir - David Dalrymple. - - #C.# MS. of A. Laing, one stanza. - - -#A b#, "given from the recitation of an old woman," is evidently #A a# -slightly regulated by Motherwell. #B#, we are informed in the 4th -edition of the Reliques, p. 61, was sent Percy by Sir David Dalrymple, -Lord Hailes. Motherwell thought there was reason to believe "that his -lordship made a few slight verbal improvements on the copy he -transmitted, and altered the hero's name to Edward,--a name which, by -the bye, never occurs in a Scottish ballad, except where allusion is -made to an English king."[150] Dalrymple, at least, would not be likely -to change a Scotch for an English name. The Bishop might doubtless -prefer Edward to Wat, or Jock, or even Davie. But as there is no -evidence that any change of name was made, the point need not be -discussed. As for other changes, the word "brand," in the first stanza, -is possibly more literary than popular; further than this the language -is entirely fit. The affectedly antique spelling[151] in Percy's copy -has given rise to vague suspicions concerning the authenticity of the -ballad, or of the language: but as spelling will not make an old ballad, -so it will not unmake one. We have, but do not need, the later -traditional copy to prove the other genuine. 'Edward' is not only -unimpeachable, but has ever been regarded as one of the noblest and most -sterling specimens of the popular ballad. - -Motherwell seems to incline to regard 'Edward' rather as a detached -portion of a ballad than as complete in itself. "The verses of which it -consists," he says, "generally conclude the ballad of 'The Twa -Brothers,' and also some versions of 'Lizie Wan:'" Minstrelsy, LXVII, -12. The Finnish parallel which Motherwell refers to, might have -convinced him that the ballad is complete as it is; and he knew as well -as anybody that one ballad is often appended to another by reciters, to -lengthen the story or improve the conclusion.[152] More or less of -'Edward' will be found in four versions of 'The Twa Brothers' and two of -'Lizie Wan,' further on in this volume. - -This ballad has been familiarly known to have an exact counterpart in -#Swedish#. There are four versions, differing only as to length: 'Sven i -Rosengård,' #A#, Afzelius, No 67, III, 4, eleven two-line stanzas, with -three more lines of burden; #B#, III, 3, six stanzas (Bergström's ed., -No 54, 1, 2); #C#, Arwidsson, No 87 #A#, II, 83, eighteen stanzas; #D#, -No 87 B, II, 86, sixteen stanzas. The same in #Danish#: #A#, Grundtvig, -Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, p. 175, nine stanzas; #B#, Boisen, Nye -og gamle Viser, 10th ed., No 95, p. 185, 'Brodermordet.' And in -#Finnish#, probably derived from the Swedish, but with traits of its -own: #A#, Schröter's Finnische Runen, p. 124, 'Werinen Pojka,' The -Bloodstained Son, fifteen two-line stanzas, with two lines of refrain; -#B#, 'Velisurmaaja,' Brother-Murderer, Kanteletar, p. x, twenty stanzas. - -All these are a dialogue between mother and son, with a question and -answer in each stanza. The mother asks, Where have you been? The son -replies that he has been in the stable [Danish, grove, fields; Finnish -#A#, on the sea-strand]. "How is it that your foot is bloody?"[153] -[clothes, shirt; Finnish, "How came your jerkin muddy?" etc.] A horse -has kicked or trod on him. "How came your sword so bloody?" He then -confesses that he has killed his brother. [Swedish #D# and the Danish -copies have no question about the foot, etc.] Then follows a series of -questions as to what the son will do with himself, and what shall become -of his wife, children, etc., which are answered much as in the English -ballad. Finally, in all, the mother asks when he will come back, and he -replies (with some variations), When crows are white. And that will be? -When swans are black. And that? When stones float. And that? When -feathers sink, etc. This last feature, stupidly exaggerated in some -copies, and even approaching burlesque, is one of the commonplaces of -ballad poetry, and may or may not have been, from the beginning, a part -of the ballads in which it occurs. Such a conclusion could not be made -to adhere to 'Edward,' the last stanza of which is peculiar in -implicating the mother in the guilt of the murder. Several versions of -'The Twa Brothers' preserve this trait, and 'Lizie Wan' also. - -The stanza of this ballad was originally, in all probability, one of two -lines--a question and an answer--with refrains, as we find it in #A# 10, -11, 12, and the corresponding Swedish and Finnish ballad; and in 'Lord -Randal,' #J#, #K#, etc., and also the corresponding Swedish and German -ballad. #A# 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 are now essentially stanzas of one line, -with refrains; that is, the story advances in these at that rate. #A# 4, -7 (==#C#) are entirely irregular, substituting narrative or descriptive -circumstances for the last line of the refrain, and so far forth -departing from primitive simplicity.[154] The stanza in #B# embraces -always a question and a reply, but for what is refrain in other forms of -the ballad we have epical matter in many cases. #A# 1, 2, -substantially,==#B# 1; #A# 3, 4==#B# 2; #A# 5, 6==#B# 3; #A# 8, 9==#B# -4; #A# 11==6; #A# 12==7. - -Testaments such as this ballad ends with have been spoken of under No -11. - - * * * * * - -#A# is translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, No 26, -p. 172; by Rosa Warrens, Schottische V. L., No 21, p. 96; by Wolff, -Halle des Völker, I, 22, and Hausschatz, p. 223. #B#, in Afzelius, III, -10; "often in Danish," Grundtvig; by Herder, Volkslieder, II, 207; by -Döring, p. 217; Gerhard, p. 88; Knortz, Schottische Balladen, No 27. -Swedish #A#, by W. and M. Howitt, Literature and Romance of Northern -Europe, I, 263.[155] - - -A - - #a.# Motherwell's MS., p. 139. From Mrs King, Kilbarchan. - #b.# Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 339. - - 1 - 'What bluid's that on thy coat lap, - Son Davie, son Davie? - What bluid's that on thy coat lap? - And the truth come tell to me.' - - 2 - 'It is the bluid of my great hawk, - Mother lady, mother lady: - It is the bluid of my great hawk, - And the truth I have told to thee.' - - 3 - 'Hawk's bluid was neer sae red, - Son Davie, son Davie: - Hawk's bluid was neer sae red, - And the truth come tell to me.' - - 4 - 'It is the bluid of my greyhound, - Mother lady, mother lady: - It is the bluid of my greyhound, - And it wadna rin for me.' - - 5 - 'Hound's bluid was neer sae red, - Son Davie, son Davie: - Hound's bluid was neer sae red, - And the truth come tell to me.' - - 6 - 'It is the bluid o my brither John, - Mother lady, mother lady: - It is the bluid o my brither John, - And the truth I have told to thee.' - - 7 - 'What about did the plea begin, - Son Davie, son Davie?' - 'It began about the cutting of a willow wand - That would never been a tree.' - - 8 - 'What death dost thou desire to die, - Son Davie, son Davie? - What death dost thou desire to die? - And the truth come tell to me.' - - 9 - 'I'll set my foot in a bottomless ship, - Mother lady, mother lady: - I'll set my foot in a bottomless ship, - And ye'll never see mair o me.' - - 10 - 'What wilt thou leave to thy poor wife, - Son Davie, son Davie?' - 'Grief and sorrow all her life, - And she'll never see mair o me.' - - 11 - 'What wilt thou leave to thy old son, - Son Davie, son Davie?' - 'I'll leave him the weary world to wander up and down, - And he'll never get mair o me.' - - 12 - 'What wilt thou leave to thy mother dear, - Son Davie, son Davie?' - 'A fire o coals to burn her, wi hearty cheer, - And she'll never get mair o me.' - - -B - - Percy's Reliques, 1765, I, 53. Communicated by Sir David - Dalrymple. - - 1 - 'Why dois your brand sae drap wi bluid, - Edward, Edward, - Why dois your brand sae drap wi bluid, - And why sae sad gang yee O?' - 'O I hae killed my hauke sae guid, - Mither, mither, - O I hae killed my hauke sae guid, - And I had nae mair bot hee O.' - - 2 - 'Your haukis bluid was nevir sae reid, - Edward, Edward, - Your haukis bluid was nevir sae reid, - My deir son I tell thee O.' - 'O I hae killed my reid-roan steid, - Mither, mither, - O I hae killed my reid-roan steid, - That erst was sae fair and frie O.' - - 3 - 'Your steid was auld, and ye hae gat mair, - Edward, Edward, - Your steid was auld, and ye hae gat mair, - Sum other dule ye drie O.' - 'O I hae killed my fadir deir, - Mither, mither, - O I hae killed my fadir deir, - Alas, and wae is mee O!' - - 4 - 'And whatten penance wul ye drie, for that, - Edward, Edward? - And whatten penance will ye drie for that? - My deir son, now tell me O.' - 'Ile set my feit in yonder boat, - Mither, mither, - Ile set my feit in yonder boat, - And Ile fare ovir the sea O.' - - 5 - 'And what wul ye doe wi your towirs and your ha, - Edward, Edward? - And what wul ye doe wi your towirs and your ha, - That were sae fair to see O?' - 'Ile let thame stand tul they doun fa, - Mither, mither, - Ile let thame stand tul they doun fa, - For here nevir mair maun I bee O.' - - 6 - 'And what wul ye leive to your bairns and your wife, - Edward, Edward? - And what wul ye leive to your bairns and your wife, - Whan ye gang ovir the sea O?' - 'The warldis room, late them beg thrae life, - Mither, mither, - The warldis room, late them beg thrae life, - For thame nevir mair wul I see O.' - - 7 - 'And what wul ye leive to your ain mither deir, - Edward, Edward? - And what wul ye leive to your ain mither deir? - My deir son, now tell me O.' - 'The curse of hell frae me sall ye beir, - Mither, mither, - The curse of hell frae me sall ye beir, - Sic counseils ye gave to me O.' - - -C - - MS. of Alexander Laing, 1829, p. 25. - - 'O what did the fray begin about? - My son, come tell to me:' - 'It began about the breaking o the bonny hazel wand, - And a penny wad hae bought the tree.' - - * * * * * - -#A. b.# - - 1^4. tell to me O. _And so every fourth line._ - - 7^4. That would never hae been a tree O. - - 10^4. And she'll never get mair frae me O. - - 11^3. The weary warld to wander up and down. - -#B.# - - _Initial ~qu~ for ~w~ and ~z~ for ~y~ have been changed - throughout to ~w~ and ~y~._ - - 6^7. let. - - -[150] An eager "Englishman" might turn Motherwell's objection to the -name into an argument for 'Edward' being an "English" ballad. - -[151] That is to say, initial _quh_ and _z_ for modern _wh_ and _y_, for -nothing else would have excited attention. Perhaps a transcriber thought -he ought to give the language a look at least as old as Gavin Douglas, -who spells _quhy_, _dois_, _[gh]our_. The _quh_ would serve a purpose, -if understood as indicating that the aspirate was not to be dropped, as -it often is in English _why_. The _z_ is the successor of [gh], and was -meant to be pronounced _y_, as _z_ is, or was, pronounced in -_gaberlunzie_ and other Scottish words. See Dr J. A. H. Murray's Dialect -of the Southern Counties of Scotland, pp. 118, 129. Since _quh_ and _z_ -serve rather as rocks of offence than landmarks, I have thought it best -to use _wh_ and _y_. - -[152] Motherwell also speaks of a ballad of the same nature as quoted in -Werner's 'Twenty-Fourth of February.' The stanza cited (in Act I, Scene -1) seems to be Herder's translation of 'Edward' given from memory. - -[153] We have a similar passage in most of the copies of the third class -of the German ballads corresponding to No 4. A brother asks the man who -has killed his sister why his shoes [sword, hands] are bloody. See p. -36, p. 38. So in 'Herr Axel,' Arwidsson, No 46, I, 308. - -[154] These have perhaps been adapted to the stanza of 'The Twa -Brothers,' with some versions of which, as already remarked, the present -ballad is blended. - -[155] With regard to translations, I may say now, what I might well have -said earlier, that I do not aim at making a complete list, but give such -as have fallen under my notice. - - - - -14 - -BABYLON; OR, THE BONNIE BANKS O FORDIE - - #A. a, b.# 'Babylon; or, The Bonnie Banks o Fordie,' - Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 88. #c.# The same, Appendix, - p. xxii, No XXVI. - - #B. a.# Herd's MSS, I, 38, II, 76. #b.# 'The Banishd Man,' - The Scots Magazine, October, 1803, p. 699, evidently - derived from Herd. - - #C.# Motherwell's MS., p. 172. - - #D.# Motherwell's MS., p. 174. - - #E.# 'Duke of Perth's Three Daughters,' Kinloch's Ancient - Scottish Ballads, p. 212. - - -#B a# is from tradition of the latter half of the eighteenth century; -the other copies from the earlier part of this. - -Three sisters go out (together, #A#, #B#, #C#, successively, #D#, #E#) -to gather flowers (#A#, #B#, #E#). A banished man (outlyer bold, #D#, -Loudon lord, #E#) starts up from a hiding-place, and offers them one -after the other the choice of being his wife or dying by his hand. - - (#A.#) - 'It's whether will ye be a rank robber's wife, - Or will ye die by my wee penknife?' - - (#D.#) - 'Wiltow twinn with thy maidenhead, or thy sweet life?' - -The first and the second express a simple preference for death, and are -killed and laid by, "to bear the red rose company" (#A#). The youngest, -in #A#, says she has a brother in the wood, who will kill him if he -kills her. The outlaw asks the brother's name, finds that he himself is -the man, and takes his own life with the same weapon that had shed the -blood of his sisters. #B#, #C#, #D# have three brothers, the youngest of -whom is the banished lord (#C#), the outlyer bold (#D#). The story is -defective in #B#, #C#. In #D# the outlaw, on finding what he has done, -takes a long race, and falls on his knife. The conclusion of #E# is not -so finely tragic. A brother John comes riding by just as the robber is -about to kill the third sister, apprehends him by the agency of his -three pages, and reserves him to be hanged on a tree, - - Or thrown into the poisond lake, - To feed the toads and rattle-snake. - -According to the account given by Herd, and repeated by Jamieson, the -story of the lost conclusion of #B# made the banished man discover that -he had killed his two brothers as well as his two sisters. - -This ballad, with additional circumstances, is familiar to all branches -of the Scandinavian race. - -#Danish.# There are many versions from oral tradition, as yet unprinted, -besides these two: #A#, 'Hr. Truels's Døttre,' Danske Viser, III, 392, -No 164, there reprinted from Sandvig, Beskrivelse over Øen Møen, 1776: -#B#, 'Herr Thors Børn,' from recent tradition of North Sleswig, -Berggreen, Danske Folke-Sange, 3d ed., p. 88, No 42. - -#A.# Herr Truels' three daughters oversleep their matins one morning, -and are roused by their mother. If we have overslept our matins, they -say, we will make up at high mass. They set out for church, and in a -wood fall in with three robbers, who say: - - 'Whether will ye be three robbers' wives, - Or will ye rather lose your lives?' - -Much rather death, say they. The two elder sisters submitted to their -fate without a word; the third made a hard resistance. With her last -breath she adjured the robbers to seek a lodging at Herr Truels' that -night. This they did. They drank so long that they drank Herr Truels to -bed. Then they asked his wife to promise herself to all three. First, -she said, she must look into their bags. In their bags she saw her -daughters' trinkets. She excused herself for a moment, barred the door -strongly, roused her husband, and made it known to him that these guests -had killed his three daughters. Herr Truels called on all his men to -arm. He asked the robbers who was their father. They said that they had -been stolen by robbers, on their way to school, one day; had had a hard -life for fourteen years; and the first crime they had committed was -killing three maids yesterday. Herr Truels revealed to them that they -had murdered their sisters, and offered them new clothes, in which they -might go away. "Nay," they said, "not so; life for life is meet." They -were taken out of the town, and their heads struck off. #B# differs from -#A# in only a few points. The robbers ask lodging at Herr Thor's, as -being pilgrims. When he discovers their true character, he threatens -them with the wheel. They say, Shall we come to the wheel? Our father -drinks Yule with the king. They tell him their story, and their father -offers them saddle and horse to make their best way off. They reply, "We -will give blood for blood," spread their cloaks on the floor, and let -their blood run. - -#Swedish.# 'Pehr Tyrsons Döttrar i Wänge.' #A#, Arwidsson, II, 413, No -166. #B#, Afzelius, III, 193, No 98: ed. Bergström, I, 380, No 84, 1. -#C#, Afzelius, III, 197: ed. Bergström, I, 382, No 84, 2, as old as the -last half of the seventeenth century. #D#, Afzelius, III, 202: ed. -Bergström, I, 384, No 84, 3. #E#, "C. J. Wessén, De paroecia Kärna (an -academical dissertation), Upsala, 1836," Arwidsson, as above, who -mentions another unprinted copy in the Royal Library. - -#A.# Herr Töres' daughters overslept matins, dressed themselves -handsomely, and set off for mass. All on the heath they were met by -three wood-robbers, who demanded, Will ye be our wives, or lose your -lives? The first answered: God save us from trying either! the second, -Rather let us range the world! the third, Better death with honor! But - - First were they the three wood-robbers' wives, - And after that they lost their young lives. - -The robbers strip them; then go and ask to be taken in by Herr Töres. He -serves them with mead and wine, but presently begins to wish his -daughters were at home. His wife sees him to bed; then returns to her -guests, who offer her a silken sark to pass the night with them. "Give -me a sight of the silken sark," she cries, with prophetic soul: "God -have mercy on my daughters!" She rouses her husband, and tells him that -the robbers have slain his bairns. He puts on his armor and kills two of -them: the third begs to be spared till he can say who were his kin; his -father's name is Töres! Father and mother resolve to build a church for -penance, and it shall be called Kerna. #B#, #C#, #D#. The girls meet -three "vallare," strolling men, and none of them good (#C#). The robbers -cut off the girls' heads on the trunk of a birch (cf. English #C# 5: -"It's lean your head upon my staff," and with his pen-knife he has -cutted it aff): three springs burst forth immediately. They go to the -house, and ask the mother if she will buy silken sarks that nine maids -have stitched (#B#). She says: - - 'Open your sacks, and let me see: - Mayhap I shall know them all three.' - -The father, in #B#, when he discovers that he has slain his own sons, -goes to the smith, and has an iron band fastened round his middle. The -parents vow to build a church as an expiation, and it shall be called -Kerna (#B#, #C#). - -#Färöe.# 'Torkilds Riim, eller St. Catharinæ Vise, 'Lyngbye, Færøiske -Qvæder, p. 534/p. 535. In this form of the story, as in the Icelandic -versions which follow, the robbers are not the brothers of the maids. -Torkild's two daughters sleep till the sun shines on their beds. Their -father wakens them, and tells Katrine she is waited for at church. -Katrine dresses herself splendidly, but does not disdain to saddle her -own horse. - - And since no knave was ready to help, - Katrine bridled the horse herself. - - And since no knave was standing about, - Herself put the bit in her horse's mouth. - -First she came upon three strollers (vadlarar[156]), then two, then one, -and the last asked her whether she would pass the night with him (vera -qvöldar vujv) or die. He cut off her head, and wherever her blood ran a -light kindled; where her head fell a spring welled forth: where her body -lay a church was [afterwards] built. The rover came to Torkild's house, -and the father asked if he had seen Katrine. He said she had been at -Mary kirk the day before, and asked for a lodging, feigning to be sick. -This was readily granted. He went to bed, and Aasa, the other sister, -waited upon him. He offered her a silken sark to sleep with him. Aasa -asked to see the sark first, and found on it her sister's mark. The -fellow went on to offer her a blue cloak and gold crown successively, -and on both of these she saw her sister's mark. Aasa bade him -good-night, went to her father, and told him that the man they had -housed had killed his daughter. Torkild ordered his swains to light a -pile in the wood: early the next morning they burned the murderer on it. - -#Icelandic.# Five Icelandic versions, and the first stanza of two more, -are given in Íslenzk Fornkvæði, I, 108 ff, No 15, 'Vallara kvæði.' - -The story is nearly the same as in the Färöe ballad. Two of Thorkell's -daughters sleep till after the sun is up (#B#, #C#). They wash and -dress; they set out for church (#C#). On the heath they encounter a -strolling man, #A#; a tall, large man, #C#, #E#; a horseman or knight, -#D#. He greets them: "Why will ye not speak? Are ye come of elves, or of -kings themselves?" #A# [Are ye come of earls, or of beggar-churls? #B#]. -They answer, We are not come of elves, nor of kings themselves; we are -Thorkell's daughters, and serve Mary kirk. He asks, Will ye choose to -lose your life, or shall I rather take you to wife? The choice, they -say, is hard: they would rather die. He kills them and buries them. At -night he goes to Thorkell's house, where Asa is alone. He knocks to be -let in; Asa refuses; he draws the latch with his deft fingers (#A#, #C#, -#D#). He offers Asa a silken sark to sleep with him [and a blue cloak to -say nothing, #A#]. She asked to see the sark, and knew her sisters' -work, begged him to wait a moment, went to her father, and told him that -the murderer of his daughters was there. Thorkell dashed his harp to the -floor [and kicked over the table, #D#, #E#]. The murderer in the morning -was hanged like a dog, #A#, #B#. [Thorkell tore at his hair and cut him -down with an elder-stock, #C#; they fought three days, and on the fourth -the villain was hanged in a strap, #E#, the knight was hanging like a -dog, #D#]. A miraculous light burned over the place where the maids had -been buried, #A# 16, #C# 27, #D# 24, #E# 12. When their bodies were -taken into the church, the bells rang of themselves, #D#. - -#Norwegian# versions of this ballad have been obtained from tradition, -but none as yet have been published. - -"The mains and burn of Fordie, the banks of which are very beautiful," -says Aytoun (I, 159), "lie about six miles to the east of Dunkeld." -Tradition has connected the story with half a dozen localities in -Sweden, and, as Professor Grundtvig informs me, with at least eight -places in the different provinces of Denmark. The Kerna church of the -Swedish ballads, not far from Linköping (Afzelius), has been popularly -supposed to derive its name from a Catharina, Karin, or Karna, killed by -her own brother, a wood-robber, near its site. See Afzelius, ed. -Bergström, II, 329 ff: Danske Viser, III, 444 f. - - * * * * * - -#A# is translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, No 34, -p. 216, and, with some slight use of Aytoun, I, 160, by Rosa Warrens, -Schottische Volkslieder der Vorzeit, No 18, p. 85. Danish #A#, by Prior, -III, 252. - - -A - - #a.# Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 88. #b.# The same. #c.# - The same, Appendix, p. xxii, No XXVI, apparently from - South Perthshire. - - 1 - There were three ladies lived in a bower, - Eh vow bonnie - And they went out to pull a flower. - On the bonnie banks o Fordie - - 2 - They hadna pu'ed a flower but ane, - When up started to them a banisht man. - - 3 - He's taen the first sister by her hand, - And he's turned her round and made her stand. - - 4 - 'It's whether will ye be a rank robber's wife, - Or will ye die by my wee pen-knife?' - - 5 - 'It's I'll not be a rank robber's wife, - But I'll rather die by your wee pen-knife.' - - 6 - He's killed this may, and he's laid her by, - For to bear the red rose company. - - 7 - He's taken the second ane by the hand, - And he's turned her round and made her stand. - - 8 - 'It's whether will ye be a rank robber's wife, - Or will ye die by my wee pen-knife?' - - 9 - 'I'll not be a rank robber's wife, - But I'll rather die by your wee pen-knife.' - - 10 - He's killed this may, and he's laid her by, - For to bear the red rose company. - - 11 - He's taken the youngest ane by the hand, - And he's turned her round and made her stand. - - 12 - Says, 'Will ye be a rank robber's wife, - Or will ye die by my wee pen-knife?' - - 13 - 'I'll not be a rank robber's wife, - Nor will I die by your wee pen-knife. - - 14 - 'For I hae a brother in this wood. - And gin ye kill me, it's he'll kill thee.' - - 15 - 'What's thy brother's name? come tell to me.' - 'My brother's name is Baby Lon.' - - 16 - 'O sister, sister, what have I done! - O have I done this ill to thee! - - 17 - 'O since I've done this evil deed, - Good sall never be seen o me.' - - 18 - He's taken out his wee pen-knife, - And he's twyned himsel o his ain sweet life. - - -B - - #a.# Herd's MSS, I, 38, II, 76. #b.# The Scots Magazine, - Oct., 1803, p. 699, communicated by Jamieson, and - evidently from Herd's copy. - - 1 - There wond three ladies in a bower, - Annet and Margret and Marjorie - And they have gane out to pu a flower. - And the dew it lyes on the wood, gay ladie - - 2 - They had nae pu'd a flower but ane, - When up has started a banished man. - - 3 - He has taen the eldest by the hand, - He has turned her about and bade her stand. - - 4 - 'Now whether will ye be a banisht man's wife, - Or will ye be sticked wi my pen-knife?' - - 5 - 'I will na be ca'd a banished man's wife, - I'll rather be sticked wi your pen-knife.' - - 6 - And he has taen out his little pen-knife, - And frae this lady he has taen the life. - - 7 - He has taen the second by the hand, - He has turned her about and he bad her stand. - - 8 - 'Now whether will ye be a banisht man's wife, - Or will ye be sticked wi my pen-knife?' - - 9 - 'I will na be ca'd a banished man's wife; - I'll rather be sticked wi your pen-knife.' - - 10 - And he has taen out his little pen-knife, - And frae this lady he has taen the life. - - 11 - He has taen the youngest by the hand, - He has turned her about and he bad her stand. - - 12 - 'Now whether will ye be a banished man's wife, - Or will ye be sticked wi my pen-knife?' - - 13 - 'I winnae be called a banished man's wife, - Nor yet will I be sticked wi your pen-knife. - - 14 - 'But gin my three brethren had been here, - Ye had nae slain my sisters dear.' - - * * * * * * * - - -C - - Motherwell's MS., p. 172. From J. Goldie, March, 1825. - - 1 - There were three sisters on a road, - Gilly flower gentle rosemary - And there they met a banished lord. - And the dew it hings over the mulberry tree - - 2 - The eldest sister was on the road, - And there she met with the banished lord. - - 3 - 'O will ye consent to lose your life, - Or will ye be a banished lord's wife?' - - 4 - 'I'll rather consent to lose my life - Before I'll be a banished lord's wife.' - - 5 - 'It's lean your head upon my staff,' - And with his pen-knife he has cutted it aff. - - 6 - He flang her in amang the broom, - Saying, 'Lye ye there till another ane come.' - - 7 - The second sister was on the road, - And there she met with the banished lord. - - 8 - 'O will ye consent to lose your life, - Or will ye be a banished lord's wife?' - - 9 - 'I'll rather consent to lose my life - Before I'll be a banished lord's wife.' - - 10 - 'It's lean your head upon my staff,' - And with his pen-knife he has cutted it aff. - - 11 - He flang her in amang the broom, - Saying, 'Lie ye there till another ane come.' - - 12 - The youngest sister was on the road, - And there she met with the banished lord. - - 13 - 'O will ye consent to lose your life, - Or will ye be a banished lord's wife?' - - 14 - 'O if my three brothers were here, - Ye durstna put me in such a fear.' - - 15 - 'What are your three brothers, altho they were here, - That I durstna put you in such a fear?' - - 16 - 'My eldest brother's a belted knight, - The second, he's a ... - - 17 - 'My youngest brother's a banished lord, - And oftentimes he walks on this road.' - - * * * * * * * - - -D - - Motherwell's MS., p. 174. From the recitation of Agnes - Lyle, Kilbarchan, July 27, 1825. - - 1 - There were three sisters, they lived in a bower, - Sing Anna, sing Margaret, sing Marjorie - The youngest o them was the fairest flower. - And the dew goes thro the wood, gay ladie - - 2 - The oldest of them she's to the wood gane, - To seek a braw leaf and to bring it hame. - - 3 - There she met with an outlyer bold, - Lies many long nights in the woods so cold. - - 4 - 'Istow a maid, or istow a wife? - Wiltow twinn with thy maidenhead, or thy sweet life?' - - 5 - 'O kind sir, if I hae 't at my will, - I'll twinn with my life, keep my maidenhead still.' - - 6 - He's taen out his we pen-knife, - He's twinned this young lady of her sweet life - - 7 - He wiped his knife along the dew; - But the more he wiped, the redder it grew. - - 8 - The second of them she's to the wood gane, - To seek her old sister, and to bring her hame. - - 9 - There she met with an outlyer bold, - Lies many long nights in the woods so cold. - - 10 - 'Istow a maid, or istow a wife? - Wiltow twinn with thy maidenhead, or thy sweet life?' - - 11 - 'O kind sir, if I hae 't at my will, - I'll twinn with my life, keep my maidenhead still.' - - 12 - He's taen out his we pen-knife, - He's twinned this young lady of her sweet life. - - 13 - He wiped his knife along the dew; - But the more he wiped, the redder it grew. - - 14 - The youngest of them she's to the wood gane, - To seek her two sisters, and to bring them hame. - - 15 - There she met with an outlyer bold, - Lies many long nights in the woods so cold. - - 16 - 'Istow a maid, or istow a wife? - Wiltow twinn with thy maidenhead, or thy sweet life?' - - 17 - 'If my three brethren they were here, - Such questions as these thou durst nae speer.' - - 18 - 'Pray, what may thy three brethren be, - That I durst na mak so bold with thee? ' - - 19 - 'The eldest o them is a minister bred, - He teaches the people from evil to good. - - 20 - 'The second o them is a ploughman good, - He ploughs the land for his livelihood. - - 21 - 'The youngest of them is an outlyer bold, - Lies many a long night in the woods so cold.' - - 22 - He stuck his knife then into the ground, - He took a long race, let himself fall on. - - -E - - Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 212. From - Mearnsshire. - - 1 - The Duke o Perth had three daughters, - Elizabeth, Margaret, and fair Marie; - And Elizabeth's to the greenwud gane, - To pu the rose and the fair lilie. - - 2 - But she hadna pu'd a rose, a rose, - A double rose, but barely three, - Whan up and started a Loudon lord, - Wi Loudon hose, and Loudon sheen. - - 3 - 'Will ye be called a robber's wife? - Or will ye be stickit wi my bloody knife? - For pu'in the rose and the fair lilie, - For pu'in them sae fair and free.' - - 4 - 'Before I'll be called a robber's wife, - I'll rather be stickit wi your bloody knife, - For pu'in,' etc. - - 5 - Then out he's tane his little pen-knife, - And he's parted her and her sweet life, - And thrown her oer a bank o brume, - There never more for to be found. - - 6 - The Duke o Perth had three daughters, - Elizabeth, Margaret, and fair Marie; - And Margaret's to the greenwud gane, - To pu the rose and the fair lilie. - - 7 - She hadna pu'd a rose, a rose, - A double rose, but barely three, - When up and started a Loudon lord, - Wi Loudon hose, and Loudon sheen. - - 8 - 'Will ye be called a robber's wife? - Or will ye be stickit wi my bloody knife? - For pu'in,' etc. - - 9 - 'Before I'll be called a robber's wife, - I'll rather be stickit wi your bloody knife, - For pu'in,' etc. - - 10 - Then out he's tane his little pen-knife, - And he's parted her and her sweet life, - For pu'in, etc. - - 11 - The Duke o Perth had three daughters, - Elizabeth, Margaret, and fair Marie; - And Mary's to the greenwud gane, - To pu the rose and the fair lilie. - - 12 - She hadna pu'd a rose, a rose, - A double rose, but barely three, - When up and started a Loudon lord, - Wi Loudon hose, and Loudon sheen. - - 13 - 'O will ye be called a robber's wife? - Or will ye be stickit wi my bloody knife? - For pu'in,' etc. - - 14 - 'Before I'll be called a robber's wife, - I'll rather be stickit wi your bloody knife, - For pu'in,' etc. - - 15 - But just as he took out his knife, - To tak frae her her ain sweet life, - Her brother John cam ryding bye, - And this bloody robber he did espy. - - 16 - But when he saw his sister fair, - He kennd her by her yellow hair; - He calld upon his pages three, - To find this robber speedilie. - - 17 - 'My sisters twa that are dead and gane, - For whom we made a heavy maene, - It's you that's twinnd them o their life, - And wi your cruel bloody knife. - - 18 - 'Then for their life ye sair shall dree; - Ye sail be hangit on a tree, - Or thrown into the poisond lake, - To feed the toads and rattle-snake.' - - * * * * * - -#A. a.# - - "Given from two copies obtained from recitation, which - differ but little from each other. Indeed, the only - variation is in the verse where the outlawed brother - unweetingly slays his sister." [19.] _Motherwell._ - - #b.# - - 19. - He's taken out his wee penknife, - Hey how bonnie - And he's twined her o her ain sweet life. - On the, etc. - - #c.# - - _The first stanza, only_: - - There were three sisters livd in a bower, - Fair Annet and Margaret and Marjorie - And they went out to pu a flower. - And the dew draps off the hyndberry tree - -#B. a.# - - "To a wild melancholy old tune not in any collection." - - "N.B. There are a great many other verses which I could - not recover. Upon describing her brothers, the banished - man finds that he has killed his two brothers and two - sisters,--upon which he kills himself." _Herd._ - - 2^2. _MS._ Quhen. - - 4^1, 4^2, 5^2, 12^1, 12^2, 13^2, 14^2. ye, your, yet, - _MS._ ze, zour, zet. _8, 9, 10 are not written out._ - - #b.# - - "Of this I have got only 14 stanzas, but there are many - more. It is a horrid story. The banished man discovers - that he has killed two of his brothers and his three (?) - sisters, upon which he kills himself." _Jamieson_. - - _The first two stanzas only are cited by Jamieson_. - - 1^1. three sisters. - - 2^2. up there started. - -#C.# - - _7-11 and 12^2 are not written out in the MS._ "Repeat as - to the second sister, mutatis mutandis." _Motherwell._ - -#D#. - - _9-13 are not written out in the MS._ "Same as 1st - sister." _Motherwell._ - - 14^2. bring her. - - _15,16 are not written out._ "Same as 1st and 2d sisters, - but this additional, viz^t." _M._ - - 22^2. longe, _or_ large? - - -[156] Lyngbye insists on translating _vadlarar_ pilgrims, though his -people understood the word to mean robbers. He refers to the Icelandic -vallari, which, originally a pilgrim, came to mean a tramp. No one can -fail to recognize the character who has become the terror of our rural -districts, and to whom, in our preposterous regard for the rights of -"man," we sacrifice the peace, and often the lives, of women. - - - - -15 - -LEESOME BRAND - - #A.# 'Leesome Brand.' #a.# Buchan's Ballads of the North - of Scotland, I, 38. #b.# Motherwell's MS., p. 626. - - #B.# 'The Broom blooms bonnie,' etc., Motherwell's MS., p. - 365. - - -This is one of the cases in which a remarkably fine ballad has been -worse preserved in Scotland than anywhere else. Without light from -abroad we cannot fully understand even so much as we have saved, and -_with_ this light comes a keen regret for what we have lost. - -#A#, from Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, is found also in -Motherwell's MS., but without doubt was derived from Buchan. Though -injured by the commixture of foreign elements, #A# has still much of the -original story. #B# has, on the contrary, so little that distinctively -and exclusively belongs to this story that it might almost as well have -been put with the following ballad, 'Sheath and Knife,' as here. A third -ballad, 'The Birth of Robin Hood,' preserves as much of the story as -#A#, but in an utterly incongruous and very modern setting, being, like -'Erlinton,' #C#, forced into an absurd Robin Hood framework. - -The mixture of four-line with two-line stanzas in #A# of course comes -from different ballads having been blended, but for all that, these -ballads might have had the same theme. Stanzas 33-35, however, are such -as we meet with in ballads of the 'Earl Brand' class, but not in those -of the class to which 'Leesome Brand' belongs. In the English ballads, -and nearly all the Danish, of the former class, there is at least a -conversation between son and mother [father], whereas in the other the -catastrophe excludes such a possibility. Again, the "unco land" in the -first stanza, "where winds never blew nor cocks ever crew," is at least -a reminiscence of the paradise depicted in the beginning of many of the -versions of 'Ribold and Guldborg,' and stanza 4 of 'Leesome Brand' -closely resembles stanza 2 of 'Earl Brand,' #A#.[157] Still, the first -and fourth stanzas suit one ballad as well as the other, which is not -true of 33-35. - -The name Leesome Brand may possibly be a corruption of Hildebrand, as -Earl Brand almost certainly is; but a more likely origin is the -Gysellannd of one of the kindred Danish ballads. - -The white hind, stanzas 28, 30, is met with in no other ballad of this -class, and, besides this, the last four stanzas are in no kind of -keeping with what goes before, for the "young son" is spoken of as -having been first brought home at some previous period. Grundtvig has -suggested that the hind and the blood came from a lost Scottish ballad -resembling 'The Maid Transformed into a Hind,' D.g.F, No 58. In this -ballad a girl begs her brother, who is going hunting, to spare the -little hind that "plays before his foot." The brother nevertheless -shoots the hind, though not mortally, and sets to work to flay it, in -which process he discovers his sister under the hind's hide. His sister -tells him that she had been successively changed into a pair of -scissors, a sword, a hare, a hind, by her step-mother, and that she was -not to be free of the spell until she had drunk of her brother's blood. -Her brother at once cuts his fingers, gives her some of his blood, and -the girl is permanently restored to her natural shape, and afterwards is -happily married. Stanzas similar to 36-41 of #A# and 12-16 of #B# will -be found in the ballad which follows this, to which they are especially -well suited by their riddling character; and I believe that they belong -there, and not here. It is worthy of remark, too, that there is a _hind_ -in another ballad, closely related to No 16 ('The Bonny Hind'), and that -the hind in 'Leesome Brand' may, in some way not now explicable, have -come from this. The confounding of 'Leesome Brand' with a ballad of the -'Bonny Hind' class would be paralleled in Danish, for in 'Redselille og -Medelvold' #T# (and perhaps #I#, see Grundtvig's note, V, 237), the -knight is the lady's brother. - -The "auld son" in #B#, like the first bringing home of the _young_ son -in #A# 45, 47, shows how completely the proper story has been lost sight -of. There should be no son of any description at the point at which this -stanza comes in, and _auld_ son should everywhere be _young_ son. The -best we can do, to make sense of stanza 3, is to put it after 8, with -the understanding that woman and child are carried off for burial; -though really there is no need to move them on that account. The -shooting of the child is unintelligible in the mutilated state of the -ballad. It is apparently meant to be an accident. Nothing of the kind -occurs in other ballads of the class, and the divergence is probably a -simple corruption. - -The ballad which 'Leesome Brand' represents is preserved among the -Scandinavian races under four forms. - -#Danish.# I. 'Bolde Hr. Nilaus' Lön,' a single copy from a manuscript -of the beginning of the 17th century: Grundtvig, V, 231, No 270. II. -'Redselille og Medelvold,' in an all but unexampled number of versions, -of which some sixty are collated, and some twenty-five printed, by -Grundtvig, most of them recently obtained from tradition, and the oldest -a broadside of about the year 1770: Grundtvig, V, 234, No 271. III. -'Sönnens Sorg,' Grundtvig, V, 289, No 272, two versions only: #A# from -the middle of the 16th century; #B# three hundred years later, -previously printed in Berggreen's Danske Folkesange, I, No 83 (3d ed.). -IV. 'Stalbroders Kvide,' Grundtvig, V, 301, No 273, two versions: #A# -from the beginning of the 17th century, #B# from about 1570. - -#Swedish.# II. #A#, broadside of 1776, reprinted in Grundtvig, No 271, -V, 281, Bilag 1, and in Jamieson's Illustrations, p. 373 ff, with a -translation. #B#, 'Herr Redevall,' Afzelius, II, 189, No 58, new ed. No -51. #C#, 'Krist' Lilla och Herr Tideman,' Arwidsson, I, 352, No 54 A. -#D#, #E#, #F#, #G#, from Cavallius and Stephens' manuscript collection, -first printed by Grundtvig, No 271, V, 282 ff, Bilag 2-5. #H#, 'Rosa -lilla,' Eva Wigström, Folkvisor från Skåne, in Ur de nordiska Folkens -Lif, af Artur Hazelius, p. 133, No 8. III. A single version, of date -about 1650, 'Moder och Son,' Arwidsson, II, 15, No 70. - -#Norwegian.# II. Six versions and a fragment, from recent tradition: -#A-E#, #G#, first printed by Grundtvig, No 271, V, 284 ff, Bilag 6-11; -#F#, 'Grivilja,' in Lindeman's Norske Fjeldmelodier, No 121. III. Six -versions from recent tradition, #A-F#, first printed by Grundtvig, No -272, V, 297 ff, Bilag I-6. - -#Icelandic.# III. 'Sonar harmur,' Íslenzk Fornkvæði, I, 140 ff, No 17, -three versions, #A#, #B#, #C#, the last, which is the oldest, being from -late in the 17th century; also the first stanza of a fourth, #D#. - -All the Scandinavian versions are in two-line stanzas save Danish 272 -#B#, and #A# in part, and Icelandic 17 #C#, which are in four; the last, -however, in stanzas of two couplets. - -It will be most convenient to give first a summary of the story of -'Redselille og Medelvold,' and to notice the chief divergences of the -other ballads afterwards. A mother and her daughter are engaged in -weaving gold tissue. The mother sees milk running from the girl's -breasts, and asks an explanation. After a slight attempt at evasion, the -daughter confesses that she has been beguiled by a knight. The mother -threatens both with punishment: he shall be hanged [burned, broken on -the wheel, sent out of the country, i.e., sold into servitude], and she -sent away [broiled on a gridiron, burned, drowned]. Some copies begin -further back, with a stanza or two in which we are told that the knight -has served in the king's court, and gained the favor of the king's -daughter. Alarmed by her mother's threats, the maid goes to her lover's -house at night, and after some difficulty in effecting an entrance (a -commonplace, like the ill-boding milk above) informs him of the fate -that awaits them. The knight is sufficiently prompt now, and bids her -get her gold together while he saddles his horse. They ride away, with -[or without] precautions against discovery, and come to a wood. Four -Norwegian versions, #A#, #B#, #C#, #G#, and also two Icelandic versions, -#A#, #B#, of 'Sønnens Sorg,' interpose a piece of water, and a -difficulty in crossing, owing to the ferryman's refusing help or the -want of oars; but this passage is clearly an infiltration from a -different story. Arriving at the wood, the maid desires to rest a while. -The customary interrogation does not fail,--whether the way is too long -or the saddle too small. The knight lifts her off the horse, spreads his -cloak for her on the grass, and she gives way to her anguish in such -exclamations as "My mother had nine women: would that I had the worst of -them!" "My mother would never have been so angry with me but she would -have helped me in this strait!" Most of the Danish versions make the -knight offer to bandage his eyes and render such service as a man may; -but she replies that she would rather die than that man should know of -woman's pangs. So Swedish #H#, nearly. Partly to secure privacy, and -partly from thirst, she expresses a wish for water, and her lover goes -in search of some. (This in nearly all the Danish ballads, and many of -the others. But in four of the Norwegian versions of 'Sønnens Sorg' the -lover is told to go and amuse himself, much as in our ballads.) When he -comes to the spring or the brook, there sits a nightingale and sings. -_Two_ nightingales, a small bird, a voice from heaven, a small dwarf, an -old man, replace the nightingale in certain copies, and in others there -is nothing at all; but the great majority has a single nightingale, and, -as Grundtvig points out, the single bird is right, for the bird is -really a vehicle for the soul of the dead Redselille. The nightingale -sings, "Redselille lies dead in the wood, with two sons [son and -daughter] in her bosom." All that the nightingale has said is found to -be true. According to Danish #O# and Swedish #C#, the knight finds the -lady and a child, according to Swedish #B# and Norwegian #A#, #B#, #C#, -the lady and two sons, dead. In Danish #B#, #L# (as also the Icelandic -'Sonar Harmur,' #A#, #B#, and Danish 'Stalbroders Kvide,' #A#) the -knight digs a grave, and lays mother and children in it; he lays himself -with them in #A# and #M#. It is not said whether the children are dead -or living, and the point would hardly be raised but for what follows. In -Danish #D#, #P# and Swedish #F#, it is expressly mentioned that the -children are _alive_, and in #Q#, #R#, #S#, #T#, #U#, six copies of #V#, -and #Y#, and also in 'Bolde Hr. Nilaus' Løn,' and in 'Sønnens Sorg,' -Danish #A#, Norwegian #A#, #C#, #D#, #E#, the children are heard, or -seem to be heard, shrieking from under the ground. Nearly all the -versions make the knight run himself through with his sword, either -immediately after the others are laid in the grave, or after he has -ridden far and wide, because he cannot endure the cries of the children -from under the earth. This would seem to be the original conclusion of -the story; the horrible circumstance of the children being buried alive -is much more likely to be slurred over or omitted at a later day than to -be added. - -We may pass over in silence the less important variations in the very -numerous versions of 'Redselille and Medelvold,' nor need we be detained -long by the other three Scandinavian forms of the ballad. 'Sønnens Sorg' -stands in the same relation to 'Redselille and Medelvold' as 'Hildebrand -and Hilde,' does to 'Ribold and Guldborg' (see p. 89 of this volume); -that is, the story is told in the first person instead of the third. A -father asks his son why he is so sad, Norwegian #A#, #B#, #C#, #D#, -Icelandic #A#, #B#, #C#, #D#. Five years has he sat at his father's -board, and never uttered a merry word. The son relates the tragedy of -his life. He had lived in his early youth at the house of a nobleman, -who had three daughters. He was on very familiar terms with all of them, -and the youngest loved him. When the time came for him to leave the -family, she proposed that he should take her with him, Danish #B#, -Icelandic #A#, #B#, #C# [_he_ makes the proposal in Norwegian #C#]. From -this point the narrative is much the same as in 'Redselille and -Medelvold,' and at the conclusion he falls dead in his father's arms [at -the table], Norwegian #A#, #B#, #D#, Icelandic #A#. The mother takes the -place of the father in Danish #B# and Swedish, and perhaps it is the -mother who tells the story in English #A#, but the bad condition of the -text scarcely enables us to say. Danish #B# and the Swedish copy have -lost the middle and end of the proper story: there is no wood, no -childbirth, no burial. The superfluous boat of some Norwegian versions -of 'Redselille' reappears in these, and also in Icelandic #A#, #B#; it -is overturned in a storm, and the lady is drowned. - -'Stalbroders Kvide' differs from 'Sønnens Sorg' only in this: that the -story is related to a comrade instead of father or mother. - -'Bolde Hr. Nilaus' Løn,' which exists but in a single copy, has a -peculiar beginning. Sir Nilaus has served eight years in the king's -court without recompense. He has, however, gained the favor of the -king's daughter, who tells him that she is suffering much on his -account. If this be so, says Nilaus, I will quit the land with speed. He -is told to wait till she has spoken to her mother. She goes to her -mother and says: Sir Nilaus has served eight years, and had no reward; -he desires the best that it is in your power to give. The queen -exclaims, He shall never have my only daughter's hand! The young lady -immediately bids Nilaus saddle his horse while she collects her gold, -and from this point we have the story of Redselille. - -#Dutch.# Willems, Oude vlaemsche Liederen, p. 482, No 231, 'De Ruiter en -Mooi Elsje;' Hoffmann v. Fallersleben, Niederländische Volkslieder, 2d -ed., p. 170, No 75: broadside of the date 1780. - -A mother inquires into her daughter's condition, and learns that she is -going with child by a trooper (he is called both 'ruiter' and -'landsknecht'). The conversation is overheard by the other party, who -asks the girl whether she will ride with him or bide with her mother. -She chooses to go with him, and as they ride is overtaken with pains. -She asks whether there is not a house where she can rest. The soldier -builds her a hut of thistles, thorns, and high stakes, and hangs his -cloak over the aperture. She asks him to go away, and to come back when -he hears a cry: but the maid was dead ere she cried. The trooper laid -his head on a stone, and his heart brake with grief. - -#German.# #A#, Simrock, No 40, p. 92, 'Von Farbe so bleich,' from Bonn -and Rheindorf, repeated in Mittler, No 194. The mother, on learning her -daughter's plight, imprecates a curse on her. The maid betakes herself -to her lover, a trooper, who rides off with her. They come to a cool -spring, and she begs for a fresh drink, but, feeling very ill, asks if -there is no hamlet near, from which she could have woman's help. The aid -of the trooper is rejected in the usual phrase, and he is asked to go -aside, and answer when called. If there should be no call, she will be -dead. There was no call, and she was found to be dead, with two sons in -her bosom. The trooper wrapped the children in her apron, and dug her -grave with his sword. #B#, Reifferscheid, Westfälische Volkslieder, p. -106, 'Ach Wunder über Wunder,' from Bökendorf: much the same as to the -story. #C#, Mittler, No 195, p. 175, 'Von Farbe so bleich,' a fragment -of a copy from Hesse; Zuccalmaglio, p. 187, No 90, 'Die Waisen,' an -entire copy, ostensibly from the Lower Rhine, but clearly owing its last -fourteen stanzas to the editor. The trooper, in this supplement, leaves -the boys with his mother, and goes over seas. The boys grow up, and set -out to find their father. In the course of their quest, they pass a -night in a hut in a wood, and are overheard saying a prayer for their -father and dead mother, by a person who announces herself as their -maternal grandmother! After this it is not surprising that the father -himself should turn up early the next morning. The same editor, under -the name of Montanus, gives in Die deutschen Volksfeste, p. 45 f, a part -of this ballad again, with variations which show his hand beyond a -doubt. We are here informed that the ballad has above a hundred stanzas, -and that the conclusion is that the grandmother repents her curse, makes -her peace with the boys, and builds a convent. - -#French.# Bujeaud, Chants et Chansons populaires des provinces de -l'Ouest, #A#, I, 198, #B#, I, 200, 'J'entends le rossignolet.' #A#. This -ballad has suffered injury at the beginning and the end, but still -preserves very well the chief points of the story. A lover has promised -his mistress that after returning from a long absence he would take her -to see his country. While traversing a wood she is seized with her -pains. The aid of her companion is declined: "Cela n'est point votre -métier." She begs for water. The lover goes for some, and meets a lark, -who tells him that he will find his love dead, with a child in her arms. -Two stanzas follow which are to no purpose. #B#. The other copy of this -ballad has a perverted instead of a meaningless conclusion, but this -keeps some traits that are wanting in #A#. It is a two-line ballad, with -the nightingale in the refrain: "J'entends le rossignolet." A fair maid, -walking with her lover, falls ill, and lies down under a thorn. The -lover asks if he shall go for her mother. "She would not come: she has a -cruel heart." Shall I go for mine? "Go, like the swallow!" He comes back -and finds his love dead, and says he will die with his mistress. The -absurd conclusion follows that she was feigning death to test his love. - -The names in the Scandinavian ballads, it is remarked by Grundtvig, V, -242, 291, are not Norse, but probably of German derivation, and, if -such, would indicate a like origin for the story. The man's name, for -instance, in the Danish 'Sønnens Sorg,' #A#, Gysellannd, seems to point -to Gisalbrand or Gisalbald, German names of the 8th or 9th century. -There is some doubt whether this Gysellannd is not due to a corruption -arising in the course of tradition (see Grundtvig, V, 302); but if the -name may stand, it will account for our Leesome Brand almost as -satisfactorily as Hildebrand does for Earl Brand in No 7. - -The passage in which the lady refuses male assistance during her -travail--found as well in almost all the Danish versions of 'Redselille -and Medelvold,' in the German and French, and imperfectly in Swedish -#D#--occurs in several other English ballads, viz., 'The Birth of Robin -Hood,' 'Rose the Red and White Lily,' 'Sweet Willie,' of Finlay's -Scottish Ballads, II, 61, 'Burd Helen,' of Buchan, II, 30, 'Bonnie -Annie,' No 23. Nearly the whole of the scene in the wood is in -'Wolfdietrich.' Wolfdietrich finds a dead man and a woman naked to the -girdle, who is clasping the stem of a tree. The man, who was her -husband, was taking her to her mother's house, where her first child was -to be born, when he was attacked by the dragon Schadesam. She was now in -the third day of her travail. Wolfdietrich, having first wrapped her in -his cloak, offers his help, requesting her to tear a strip from her -shift and bind it round his eyes. She rejects his assistance in this -form, but sends him for water, which he brings in his helmet, but only -to find the woman dead, with a lifeless child at her breast. He wraps -mother and child in his mantle, carries them to a chapel, and lays them -on the altar; then digs a grave with his sword, goes for the body of the -man, and buries all three in the grave he has made. Grimm, Altdänische -Heldenlieder, p. 508; Holtzmann, Der grosse Wolfdietrich, st. 1587-1611; -Amelung u. Jänicke,[158] Ortnit u. die Wolfdietriche, II, 146, #D#, st. -51-75; with differences, I, 289, B, st. 842-848; mother and child -surviving, I, 146, #A#, st. 562-578; Weber's abstract of the Heldenbuch, -in Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p. 119, 120. - -'Herr Medelvold,' a mixed text of Danish II, Danske Viser, No 156, is -translated by Jamieson, Illustrations, p. 377; by Borrow, Romantic -Ballads, p. 28 (very ill); and by Prior, No 101. Swedish, II, #A#. is -translated by Jamieson, _ib._, p. 373. - - -A - -#a.# Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 38. #b.# Motherwell's -MS., p. 626. - - 1 - My boy was scarcely ten years auld, - Whan he went to an unco land, - Where wind never blew, nor cocks ever crew, - Ohon for my son, Leesome Brand! - - 2 - Awa to that king's court he went, - It was to serve for meat an fee; - Gude red gowd it was his hire, - And lang in that king's court stayd he. - - 3 - He hadna been in that unco land - But only twallmonths twa or three, - Till by the glancing o his ee, - He gaind the love o a gay ladye. - - 4 - This ladye was scarce eleven years auld, - When on her love she was right bauld; - She was scarce up to my right knee, - When oft in bed wi men I'm tauld. - - 5 - But when nine months were come and gane, - This ladye's face turnd pale and wane. - - 6 - To Leesome Brand she then did say, - 'In this place I can nae mair stay. - - 7 - 'Ye do you to my father's stable, - Where steeds do stand baith wight and able. - - 8 - 'Strike ane o them upo the back, - The swiftest will gie his head a wap. - - 9 - 'Ye take him out upo the green, - And get him saddled and bridled seen. - - 10 - 'Get ane for you, anither for me, - And lat us ride out ower the lee. - - 11 - 'Ye do you to my mother's coffer, - And out of it ye'll take my tocher. - - 12 - 'Therein are sixty thousand pounds, - Which all to me by right belongs.' - - 13 - He's done him to her father's stable, - Where steeds stood baith wicht and able. - - 14 - Then he strake ane upon the back, - The swiftest gae his head a wap. - - 15 - He's taen him out upo the green, - And got him saddled and bridled seen. - - 16 - Ane for him, and another for her, - To carry them baith wi might and virr. - - 17 - He's done him to her mother's coffer, - And there he 's taen his lover's tocher; - - 18 - Wherein were sixty thousand pound, - Which all to her by right belongd. - - 19 - When they had ridden about six mile, - His true love then began to fail. - - 20 - 'O wae's me,' said that gay ladye, - 'I fear my back will gang in three! - - 21 - 'O gin I had but a gude midwife, - Here this day to save my life, - - 22 - 'And ease me o my misery, - O dear, how happy I woud be!' - - 23 - 'My love, we're far frae ony town, - There is nae midwife to be foun. - - 24 - 'But if ye'll be content wi me, - I'll do for you what man can dee.' - - 25 - 'For no, for no, this maunna be,' - Wi a sigh, replied this gay ladye. - - 26 - 'When I endure my grief and pain, - My companie ye maun refrain. - - 27 - 'Ye'll take your arrow and your bow, - And ye will hunt the deer and roe. - - 28 - 'Be sure ye touch not the white hynde, - For she is o the woman kind.' - - 29 - He took sic pleasure in deer and roe, - Till he forgot his gay ladye. - - 30 - Till by it came that milk-white hynde, - And then he mind on his ladye syne. - - 31 - He hasted him to yon greenwood tree, - For to relieve his gay ladye; - - 32 - But found his ladye lying dead, - Likeways her young son at her head. - - 33 - His mother lay ower her castle wa, - And she beheld baith dale and down; - And she beheld young Leesome Brand, - As he came riding to the town. - - 34 - 'Get minstrels for to play,' she said, - 'And dancers to dance in my room; - For here comes my son, Leesome Brand, - And he comes merrilie to the town.' - - 35 - 'Seek nae minstrels to play, mother, - Nor dancers to dance in your room; - But tho your son comes, Leesome Brand, - Yet he comes sorry to the town. - - 36 - 'O I hae lost my gowden knife; - I rather had lost my ain sweet life! - - 37 - 'And I hae lost a better thing, - The gilded sheath that it was in.' - - 38 - 'Are there nae gowdsmiths here in Fife, - Can make to you anither knife? - - 39 - 'Are there nae sheath-makers in the land, - Can make a sheath to Leesome Brand?' - - 40 - 'There are nae gowdsmiths here in Fife, - Can make me sic a gowden knife; - - 41 - 'Nor nae sheath-makers in the land, - Can make to me a sheath again. - - 42 - 'There ne'er was man in Scotland born, - Ordaind to be so much forlorn. - - 43 - 'I 've lost my ladye I lovd sae dear, - Likeways the son she did me bear.' - - 44 - 'Put in your hand at my bed head, - There ye'll find a gude grey horn; - In it three draps o' Saint Paul's ain blude, - That hae been there sin he was born. - - 45 - 'Drap twa o them o your ladye, - And ane upo your little young son; - Then as lively they will be - As the first night ye brought them hame.' - - 46 - He put his hand at her bed head, - And there he found a gude grey horn, - Wi three draps o' Saint Paul's ain blude, - That had been there sin he was born. - - 47 - Then he drappd twa on his ladye, - And ane o them on his young son, - And now they do as lively be, - As the first day he brought them hame. - - -B - - Motherwell's MS., p. 365. From the recitation of Agnes - Lyle, Kilbarchan. - - 1 - 'There is a feast in your father's house, - The broom blooms bonnie and so is it fair - It becomes you and me to be very douce. - And we'll never gang up to the broom nae mair - - 2 - 'You will go to yon hill so hie; - Take your bow and your arrow wi thee.' - - 3 - He's tane his lady on his back, - And his auld son in his coat lap. - - 4 - 'When ye hear me give a cry, - Ye'll shoot your bow and let me lye. - - 5 - 'When ye see me lying still, - Throw away your bow and come running me till.' - - 6 - When he heard her gie the cry, - He shot his bow and he let her lye. - - 7 - When he saw she was lying still, - He threw away his bow and came running her till. - - 8 - It was nae wonder his heart was sad - When he shot his auld son at her head. - - 9 - He houkit a grave, long, large and wide, - He buried his auld son doun by her side. - - 10 - It was nae wonder his heart was sair - When he shooled the mools on her yellow hair. - - 11 - 'Oh,' said his father, 'son, but thou'rt sad! - At our braw meeting you micht be glad.' - - 12 - 'Oh,' said he, 'Father, I've lost my knife - I loved as dear almost as my own life. - - 13 - 'But I have lost a far better thing, - I lost the sheath that the knife was in.' - - 14 - 'Hold thy tongue, and mak nae din; - I'll buy thee a sheath and a knife therein.' - - 15 - 'A' the ships eer sailed the sea - Neer'll bring such a sheath and a knife to me. - - 16 - 'A' the smiths that lives on land - Will neer bring such a sheath and knife to my hand.' - - * * * * * - -#A. b.# - - 1^2. he came to. - - 1^3. For wind ... and cock never. - - 4^4. bed wi him. - - 5^2. His lady's. - - 22^2. would I be. - - 29^1. deer and doe. - - 30^2. And then on his lady he did mind. - - 31^1. to greenwood tree. - - 33^1. the castle wa. - - 34^1. Go, minstrels. - - 43^1. lady I 've loved. - - 44^8. draps Saint Paul's. - - 44^4. That has. - - 45^2. little wee son. - -#B.# - - 2^1. Will you. - - -[157] And also stanza 3 of Buchan's 'Fairy Knight,' 'The Elfin Knight,' -#D#, p. 17 of this volume, which runs: - - I hae a sister eleven years auld, - And she to the young men's bed has made bauld. - -[158] Who suggests, II, xlv, somewhat oddly, that the passage may have -been taken from Revelation, xii, 2 f, 13 f. - - - - -16 - -SHEATH AND KNIFE - - #A. a.# Motherwell's MS., p. 286. #b.# 'The broom blooms - bonnie and says it is fair,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. - 189. - - #B.# Sharpe's Ballad Book, ed. by D. Laing, p. 159. - - #C.# 'The broom blooms bonie,' Johnson's Museum, No 461. - - #D.# Notes and Queries, First Series, V, 345, one stanza. - - -The three stanzas of this ballad which are found in the Musical Museum -(#C#) were furnished, it is said, by Burns. It was first printed in full -(#A b#) in Motherwell's Minstrelsy. Motherwell retouched a verse here -and there slightly, to regulate the metre. #A a# is here given as it -stands in his manuscript. #B# consists of some scattered verses as -remembered by Sir W. Scott. - -The directions in 3, 4 receive light from a passage in 'Robin Hood's -Death and Burial:' - - 'But give me my bent bow in my hand, - And a broad arrow I'll let flee, - And where this arrow is taken up - There shall my grave diggd be. - - 'Lay me a green sod under my head,' etc. - -Other ballads with a like theme are 'The Bonny Hind,' further on in this -volume, and the two which follow it. - - * * * * * - -Translated in Grundtvig's E. og s. Folkeviser, No 49, p. 308; Wolff's -Halle der Völker, I, 64. - - -A - - #a.# Motherwell's MS., p. 286. From the recitation of Mrs - King, Kilbarchan Parish, February 9, 1825. #b.# 'The broom - blooms bonnie and says it is fair,' Motberwell's - Minstrelsy, p. 189. - - 1 - It is talked the warld all over, - The brume blooms bonnie and says it is fair - That the king's dochter gaes wi child to her brither. - And we'll never gang doun to the brume onie mair - - 2 - He's taen his sister doun to her father's deer park, - Wi his yew-tree bow and arrows fast slung to his back. - - 3 - 'Now when that ye hear me gie a loud cry, - Shoot frae thy bow an arrow and there let me lye. - - 4 - 'And when that ye see I am lying dead, - Then ye'll put me in a grave, wi a turf at my head.' - - 5 - Now when he heard her gie a loud cry, - His silver arrow frae his bow he suddenly let fly. - Now they'll never, etc. - - 6 - He has made a grave that was lang and was deep, - And he has buried his sister, wi her babe at her feet. - And they'll never, etc. - - 7 - And when he came to his father's court hall, - There was music and minstrels and dancing and all. - But they'll never, etc. - - 8 - 'O Willie, O Willie, what makes thee in pain?' - 'I have lost a sheath and knife that I'll never see again.' - For we'll never, etc. - - 9 - 'There is ships o your father's sailing on the sea - That will bring as good a sheath and a knife unto thee.' - - 10 - 'There is ships o my father's sailing on the sea, - But sic a sheath and a knife they can never bring to me.' - Now we'll never, etc. - - -B - - Sharpe's Ballad Book, ed. by D. Laing, p. 159: Sir Walter - Scott, from his recollection of a nursery-maid's singing. - - 1 - Ae lady has whispered the other, - The broom grows bonnie, the broom grows fair - Lady Margaret's wi bairn to Sir Richard, her brother. - And we daur na gae doun to the broom nae mair - - * * * * * * * - - 2 - 'And when ye hear me loud, loud cry, - O bend your bow, let your arrow fly. - And I daur na, etc. - - 3 - 'But when ye see me lying still, - O then you may come and greet your fill.' - - * * * * * * * - - 4 - 'It's I hae broken my little pen-knife - That I loed dearer than my life.' - And I daur na, etc. - - * * * * * * * - - 5 - 'It's no for the knife that my tears doun run, - But it's a' for the case that my knife was kept in.' - - -C - - Johnson's Museum, No 461. - - 1 - It's whispered in parlour, it's whispered in ha, - The broom blooms bonie, the broom blooms fair - Lady Marget's wi child amang our ladies a'. - And she dare na gae down to the broom nae mair - - 2 - One lady whisperd unto another - Lady Marget's wi child to Sir Richard, her brother. - - * * * * * * * - - 3 - 'O when that you hear my loud loud cry, - Then bend your bow and let your arrows fly. - For I dare na,' etc. - - -D - - Notes and Queries, 1st Series, V, 345, communicated by E. - F. Rimbault. - - 1 - Ae king's dochter said to anither, - Broom blooms bonnie an grows sae fair - We'll gae ride like sister and brither. - But we'll never gae down to the broom nae mair - - * * * * * - -#A. b.# - - _Motherwell's printed copy has these variations:_ - - 1^1. It is talked, it is talked; _a variation found in the - MS._ - - 3^1. O when ... loud, loud cry. - - 3^2. an arrow frae thy bow. - - 4^1. cauld and dead. - - 5^1. loud, loud cry. - - 6^1. has houkit. - - 6^2. babie. - - 7^1. came hame. - - 7^2. dancing mang them a': _this variation also in the - MS._ - - 9^1, 10^1. There are. - -#B.# - - "I have heard the 'Broom blooms bonnie' sung by our poor - old nursery-maid as often as I have teeth in my head, but - after cudgelling my memory I can make no more than the - following stanzas." _Scott, Sharpe's Ballad Book, 1880, p. - 159._ - - _Scott makes Effie Deans, in The Heart of Mid-Lothian, - vol. I, ch. 10, sing this stanza, probably of his own - making:_ - - The elfin knight sat on the brae, - The broom grows bonny, the broom grows fair - And by there came lilting a lady so gay. - And we daurna gang down to the broom nae mair - - - - -17 - -HIND HORN - - #A.# 'Hindhorn,' Motherwell's MS., p. 106. - - #B.# 'Young Hyndhorn,' Motherwell's MS., p. 418. - - #C. a.# 'Young Hyn Horn,' Motherwell's Note-Book, p. 42. - #b.# Motherwell's MS., p. 413. - - #D.# 'Young Hynhorn,' Cromek's Select Scotish Songs, II, - 204. - - #E.# 'Hynd Horn,' Motherwell's MS., p. 91. - - #F.# Lowran Castle, or the Wild Boar of Curridoo: with - other Tales. By R. Trotter, Dumfries, 1822. - - #G.# 'Hynde Horn,' Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. - 135. - - #H.# 'Hynd Horn,' Buchan's Ballads of the North of - Scotland, II, 268. - - -A defective copy of this ballad was printed in Cromek's Select Scottish -Songs, Ancient and Modern, 1810 (#D#). A fragment, comprising the first -half of the story, was inserted in "Lowran Castle, or the Wild Boar of -Curridoo: with other Tales," etc., by Robert Trotter, Dumfries, -1822[159] (#F#). A complete copy was first given in Kinloch's Ancient -Scottish Ballads, 1827 (#G#); another, described by the editor as made -up from Cromek's fragment and two copies from recitation, in -Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 36,[160] later in the same year; and a -third, closely resembling Kinloch's, in Buchan's Ballads of the North of -Scotland, in 1828 (#H#). Three versions complete, or nearly so, and a -fragment of a fourth are now printed for the first time, all from -Motherwell's manuscripts (#A#, #B#, #C#, #E#). - -The stanza about the auger bore [wimble bore], #B# 1, #F# 3, #H# 4, is -manifestly out of place. It is found in 'The Whummil Bore' (see further -on), and may have slipped into 'Hind Horn' by reason of its following, -in its proper place, a stanza beginning, "Seven lang years I hae served -the king:" cf. #F# 2, #H# 3. - -#G# 17, 18, 21, 22, which are not intelligible in their present -connection, are perhaps, as well as #G# 16, #H# 18-20, borrowed from -some Robin Hood ballad, in which a change is made with a beggar. - -The noteworthy points in the story of Hind Horn are these. Hind Horn has -served the king seven years (#D#, #F#), and has fallen in love with his -daughter. She gives Hind Horn a jewelled ring: as long as the stone -keeps its color, he may know that she is faithful; but if it changes -hue, he may ken she loves another man. The king is angry (#D#), and Hind -Horn goes to sea [is sent, #D#]. He has been gone seven years, #E#, #F# -[seven years and a day, #B#], when, looking on his ring, he sees that -the stone is pale and wan, #A-H#. He makes for the land at once, and, -meeting an old beggar, asks him for news. No news but the king's -daughter's wedding: it has lasted nine days [two and forty, #A#], and -she will not go into the bride-bed till she hears of Hind Horn, #E#. -Hind Horn changed cloaks and other gear with the beggar, and when he -came to the king's gate asked for a drink in Horn's name,[161] #A#, #B#, -#D#. The bride herself came down, and gave him a drink out of her own -hand, #A#, #B#, #C#, #G#, #H#. He drank out the drink and dropped in the -ring. - - 'O gat ye 't by sea, or gat ye 't by lan, - Or gat ye 't aff a dead man's han?' - -So she asked; and he answered: - - 'I gat na 't by sea, I gat na 't by lan, - But I gat it out of your own han.' #D# 14. - - 'I got na 't by sea, I got na 't by land, - Nor got I it aff a drownd man's hand; - - 'But I got it at my wooing, - And I'll gie it at your wedding.' #G# 29, 30. - -The bride, who had said, - - 'I'll go through nine fires so hot, - But I'll give him a drink for Young Hynhorn's sake,' #B# 16, - -is no less ready now: - - 'I'll tak the red gowd frae my head, - And follow you and beg my bread. - - 'I'll tak the red gowd frae my hair, - And follow you for evermair.' #H# 31, 32. - -But Hind Horn let his cloutie cloak fall, #G#, #H#, and told her, - - 'Ye need na leave your bridal gown, - For I'll make ye ladie o many a town.' - -The story of Horn, of which this ballad gives little more than the -catastrophe, is related at full in - -I. 'King Horn,' a _gest_ in about 1550 short verses, preserved in three -manuscripts: the oldest regarded as of the second half of the 13th -century, or older; the others put at 1300 and a little later. All three -have been printed: (1.) By Michel, Horn et Rimenhild, p. 259 ff, -Bannatyne Club, 1845; J. R. Lumby, Early English Text Society, 1866; and -in editions founded on Lumby's text, by Mätzner, Altenglische -Sprachproben, p. 270 ff, and later by Wissmann, Quellen u. Forschungen, -No 45. (2.) By Horstmann, Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen, -1872, L, 39 ff. (3.) By Ritson, A.E. Metrical Romanceës, II, 91 ff. - -II. 'Horn et Rymenhild,' a romance in about 5250 heroic verses, -preserved likewise in three manuscripts; the best in the Public Library -of the University of Cambridge, and of the 14th century. - -III. 'Horn Childe and Maiden Rimnild,' from a manuscript of the 14th -century, in not quite 100 twelve-line stanzas: Ritson, Metrical -Romanceës, III, 282 ff; Michel, p. 341 ff. - -Horn, in the old English _gest_, is son of Murry [Allof], king of -Suddenne. He is a youth of extraordinary beauty, and has twelve -comrades, of whom Athulf and Fikenild are his favorites. One day, as -Murry was out riding, he came upon fifteen ships of Saracens, just -arrived. The pagans slew the king, and insured themselves, as they -thought, against Horn's future revenge by putting him and his twelve -aboard a vessel without sail or rudder; but "the children" drove to -shore, unhurt, on the coast of Westerness. The king, Ailmar, gave them a -kind reception, and committed them to Athelbrus, his steward, to be -properly brought up. Rymenhild, the king's daughter, fell in love with -Horn, and having, with some difficulty, prevailed upon Athelbrus to -bring him to her bower, offered herself to him as his wife. It were no -fair wedding, Horn told her, between a thrall and a king,--a speech -which hurt Rymenhild greatly; and Horn was so moved by her grief that he -promised to do all she required, if she would induce the king to knight -him. This was done the next day, and Horn at once knighted all his -comrades. Rymenhild again sent for Horn, and urged him now to make her -his wife. But Horn said he must first prove his knighthood: if he came -back alive, he would then marry her. Upon this Rymenhild gave him a -ring, set with stones of such virtue that he could never be slain if he -looked on it and thought of his leman. The young knight had the good -fortune to fall in immediately with a ship full of heathen hounds, and -by the aid of his ring killed a hundred of the best of them. The next -day he paid Rymenhild a visit, and found her drowned in grief on account -of a bad dream. She had cast her net in the sea, and a great fish had -broken it: she weened she should lose the fish that she would choose. -Horn strove to comfort her, but could not conceal his apprehension that -trouble was brewing. The fish proved to be Fikenild, Horn's much -cherished friend. He told Ailmar of the intimacy with Rymenhild, and -asserted that Horn meant to kill the king as well as marry the princess. -Ailmar was very angry (v. 724, Wissmann), and much grieved, too. He -found the youth in his daughter's bower, and ordered him to quit the -land anon. Horn saddled his horse and armed himself, then went back to -Rymenhild, and told her that he was going to a strange land for seven -years: if, after that, he neither came nor sent word, she might take a -husband. He sailed a good way eastward (v. 799) to Ireland, and, -landing, met two princes, who invited him to take service with their -father. The king, Thurston, welcomed him, and had soon occasion to -employ him; for at Christmas came into court a giant, with a message -from pagans newly arrived. They proposed that one of them should fight -three Christians: - - 'If your three slay our one. - Let all this land be your own; - If our one oercomes your three, - All this land then ours shall be.' - -Horn scorned to fight on such terms; he alone would undertake three of -the hounds; and so he did. In the course of a hard fight it came out -that these were the very heathen that had slain King Murry. Horn looked -on his ring and thought on Rymenhild, then fell on his foes. Not a man -of them escaped; but King Thurston lost many men in the fight, among -them his two sons. Having now no heir, he offered Horn his daughter -Reynild and the succession. Horn replied that he had not earned such a -reward yet. He would serve the king further; and when he asked for his -daughter, he hoped the king would not refuse her. - -Seven years Horn stayed with King Thurston, and to Rymenhild neither -sent nor went. A sorry time it was for her, and worst at the end, for -King Modi of Reynis asked her in marriage, and her father consented. The -wedding was to be in a few days. Rymenhild despatched messengers to -every land, but Horn heard nothing, till one day, when he was going out -to shoot, he encountered one of these, and learned how things stood. He -sent word to his love not to be troubled; he would be there betimes. -But, alas, the messenger was drowned on his way back, and Rymenhild, -peering out of her door for a ray of hope, saw his body washed up by the -waves. Horn now made a clean breast to Thurston, and asked for help. -This was generously accorded, and Horn set sail for Westerness. He -arrived not too early on the day of the wedding,--"ne might he come no -later!"--left his men in a wood, and set off for Ailmar's court alone. -He met a palmer, and asked his news. The palmer had come from a bridal; -a wedding of maid Rymenhild, who wept and would not be married, because -she had a husband, though he was out of the land. Horn changed clothes -with the palmer, put on the sclavin, took scrip and staff, blackened his -skin and twisted his lip, and presented himself at the king's gate. The -porter would not let him in; Horn kicked open the wicket, threw the -porter over the bridge, made his way into the hall, and sat down in the -beggars' row. Rymenhild was weeping as if she were out of her wits, but -after meat she rose to give all the knights and squires drink from a -horn which she bare: such was the custom. Horn called to her: - - 'Skink us with the first, - The beggars ben athirst.' - -She laid down her horn and filled him a gallon bowl; but Horn would not -drink of that. He said, mysteriously, "Thou thinkest I am a beggar, but -I am a fisher, come far from the East, to fish at thy feast. My net lies -near at hand, and hath full seven year. I am come to see if it has taken -any fish. - - 'I am come to fish; - Drink to me from thy dish, - Drink to Horn from horn!'" - -Rymenhild looked at him, a chill creeping over her heart. What he meant -by his fishing she did not see. She filled her horn and drank to him, -handed it to the pilgrim, and said, "Drink thy fill, and tell me if ever -thou saw Horn." Horn drank, and threw the ring into the vessel. When the -princess went to bower, she found the ring she had given Horn. She -feared he was dead, and sent for the palmer. The palmer said Horn had -died on the voyage to Westerness, and had begged him to go with the ring -to Rymenhild. Rymenhild could bear no more. She threw herself on her -bed, where she had hid a knife, to kill both King Modi and herself if -Horn should not come; she set the knife to her heart, and there Horn -stopped her. He wiped off the black, and cried, "I am Horn!" Great was -their bliss, but it was not a time to indulge themselves fully. - - Horn sprang out of hall, - And let his sclavin fall, (1246) - -and went to summon his knights. Rymenhild sent after him the faithful -Athulf, who all the while had been watching for Horn in the tower. They -slew all that were in the castle, except King Ailmar and Horn's old -comrades. Horn spared even Fikenild, taking an oath of fidelity from him -and the rest. Then he made himself known to Ailmar, denied what he had -been charged with, and would not marry Rymenhild even now, not till he -had won back Suddenne. This he went immediately about; but while he was -engaged in clearing the land of Saracens and rebuilding churches, the -false Fikenild bribed young and old to side with him, built a strong -castle, "married" Rymenhild, carried her into his fortress, and began a -feast. Horn, warned in a dream, again set sail for Westerness, and came -in by Fikenild's new castle. Athulf's cousin was on the shore, to tell -him what had happened; how Fikenild had wedded Rymenhild that very day; -he had beguiled Horn twice. Force would not avail now. Horn disguised -himself and some of his knights as harpers and fiddlers, and their music -gained them admittance. Horn began a lay which threw Rymenhild into a -swoon. This smote him to the heart; he looked on his ring and thought of -her. Fikenhild and his men were soon disposed of. Horn was in a -condition to reward all his faithful adherents. He married Athulf to -Thurston's daughter, and made Rymenhild queen of Suddenne. - -The French romance contains very nearly the same story, extended, by -expansions of various sorts, to about six times the length of King Horn. -It would be out of place to notice other variations than those which -relate to the story preserved in the ballads. Rimild offers Horn a ring -when she first avows her love. He will not take it then, but accepts a -second tender, after his first fight. When he is accused to the king, he -offers to clear himself by combat with heavy odds, but will not submit, -king's son as he is, to purgation by oath. The king says, then he may -quit the land and go--to Norway, if he will. Horn begs Rimild to -maintain her love for him seven years. If he does not come then, he will -send her word to act thereafter at her pleasure. Rimild exchanges the -ring she had previously given him for one set with a sapphire, wearing -which faithfully he need not fear death by water nor fire, battle nor -tourney (vv 2051-8). He looks at this ring when he fights with the pagan -that had killed his father, and it fires his heart to extraordinary -exploits (3166 ff). Having learned through a friend, who had long been -seeking him, that Rimild's father is about to marry her to a young king -(Modun), Horn returns to Brittany with a large force. He leaves his men -in a woody place, and goes out alone on horseback for news; meets a -palmer, who tells him that the marriage is to take place that very day; -gives the palmer his fine clothes in exchange for sclavin, staff and -scrip, forces his way into the city, and is admitted to the banquet hall -with the beggars. After the guests had eaten (4152 ff), Rimild filled a -splendid cup with piment, presented it first _a sun dru_, and then, with -her maids, served the whole company. As she was making her fifth round, -Horn pulled her by the sleeve, and reproached her with attending only to -the rich. "Your credit would be greater should you serve _us_." She set -a handsome cup before him, but he would not drink. "Corn apelent Horn li -Engleis," he said. "If, for the love of him who bore that name, you -would give me the same horn that you offered your _ami_, I would share -it with you." All but fainting, Rimild gave him the horn. He threw in -his ring, even that which she had given him at parting, drank out half, -and begged her to drink by the love of him whom he had named. In -drinking, she sipped the ring into her mouth, and she saw at once what -it was (4234). "I have found a ring," said she. "If it is yours, take -it. Blest be he to whom I gave it: if you know aught of him, conceal it -not. If you are Horn, it were a great sin not to reveal yourself." Horn -owned that the ring was his, but denied knowledge of the man she spake -of. For himself, he had been reared in that land, and by service had -come into possession of a hawk, which, before taming it, he had put in a -cage: that was nigh seven years since: he had come now to see what it -amounted to. If it should prove to be as good as when he left it, he -would carry it away with him; but if its feathers were ruffled and -broken, he would have nothing to do with it. At this, Rimild broke into -a laugh, and cried, "Horn, 't is you, and your hawk has been safely -kept!"[162] She would go with him or kill herself. Horn saw that she had -spoken truth, but, to try her yet further, said he was indeed Horn, whom -she had loved, but he had come back with nothing: why should she follow -a poor wretch who could not give her a gown to her back? "Little do you -know me," was her reply. "I can bear what you bear, and there is no king -in the East for whom I would quit you." - -'Horn Childe and Maiden Rimnild,' with many diversities of its own as to -details, is more like the French than the English romance as to the -story, and, on the other hand, has one or two resemblances to the -ballads which they both lack. Rimnild's father, maddened by the traitor -Wikel's false information, beats her till she bleeds, and threatens to -slay Horn. Rimnild, expecting her lover to be at least exiled, assures -Horn that she will marry no other man for seven years. The king, who had -shut himself up till his first wrath was past, tells Horn, when he next -comes into his presence, that if he is found in the land on the morrow, -he shall be drawn with horses and hanged. Rimnild, at parting, gives him -a ring, with these words: - - 'Loke thou forsake it for no thing, - It schal ben our tokening; - The ston it is wele trewe. - When the ston wexeth wan, - Than chaungeth the thou[gh]t of thi leman, - Take than a newe; - When the ston wexeth rede, - Than have Y lorn mi maidenhed, - O[gh]aines the untrewe.' - - (Michel, st. 48.) - -Horn, for his part, bids her every day look into a spring in her arbor: -should she see his shadow, then he is about to marry another; till then -his thought will not have changed (sts 48, 49). Though loved, as before, -by another princess, Horn kept his faith; but when seven years were -gone, on looking at the stone he saw that its hue was changed (st. 71). -He immediately gathered a force, and set sail for Rimnild. On landing he -saw a beggar, who turned out to be one of his old friends, and had been -looking for him a long time. That day Moging the king was to marry -Rimnild. They changed weeds (76); Horn forced his way into the castle. -While Rimnild was serving the guests, Horn, who had tried to pass for a -fool, called to her to attend to God's men. She fetched him drink, and -he said, "For Horn's love, if ever he was dear to thee, go not ere this -be drunk." He threw the ring into the cup: she brought him another drink -(something is wrong here, for nothing is said of her seeing and -recognizing the ring), and asked if Horn were there. She fainted when -she learned that he was, but on recovering sent Hatherof (==Athulf) to -bid the king make merry, and then to gather periwinkle and ivy, "grasses -that ben of main" (to stain her face with, no doubt), and then to tell -Horn to wait for her under a woodside. - - 'When al this folk is gon to play, - He and Y schal steal oway, - Bituene the day and the ni[gh]t.' (87) - -Hatherof did his message. Of true love Horn was sure. He said he would -come into the field with a hundred knights. A tournament follows, as in -the French romance; the royal bridegroom is unhorsed, but spared; -treachery is punished and forced to confession. - - Now is Rimnild tuiis wedde, - Horn brou[gh]t hir to his bedde. (94) - -That the lay or gest of King Horn is a far more primitive poem than the -French romance, and could not possibly be derived from it, will probably -be plain to any one who will make even a hasty comparison of the two; -and that the contrary opinion should have been held by such men as -Warton and Tyrwhitt must have been the result of a general theory, not -of a particular examination.[163] There is, on the other hand, no -sufficient reason for supposing that the English lay is the source of -the other two poems. Nor do the special approximations of the ballads to -the romance of Horn Child oblige us to conclude that these, or any of -them, are derived from that poem. The particular resemblances are the -discoloration of the ring, the elopement with the bride, in #C#, #G#, -#H# (which is only prepared for, but not carried out, in Horn Child), -and the agreement between the couplet just cited from Horn Child, - - Now is Rimnild tuiis wedde, - Horn brou[gh]t hir to his bedde, - -and the last stanza of #A#, #B#, #C#: - - The bridegroom he had wedded the bride, - But Young Hind Horn he took her to bed. (#A#) - - The bridegroom thought he had the bonnie bride wed, - But Young Hyn Horn took the bride to bed. (#B#) - - Her ain bridegroom had her first wed, - But Young Hyn Horn had her first to bed. (#C#) - -The likeness evinces a closer affinity of the oral traditions with the -later English romance than with the earlier English or the French, but -no filiation. And were filiation to be accepted, there would remain the -question of priority. It is often assumed, without a misgiving, that -oral tradition must needs be younger than anything that was committed to -writing some centuries ago; but this requires in each case to be made -out; there is certainly no antecedent probability of that kind.[164] - -Two Scandinavian ballads, as Dr Prior has remarked, seem to have been at -least suggested by the romances of Horn. - -(1.) 'Unge Hr. Tor og Jomfru Tore,' Grundtvig, No 72, II, 263, -translated by Prior, III, 151. Of this there are two traditional -versions: #A# from a manuscript of the sixteenth century, #B# from one -of the seventeenth. They agree in story. In #A#, Tor asks Sølffuermord -how long she will wait for him. Nine years, she answers, if she can do -so without angering her friends. He will be satisfied with eight. Eight -have passed: a family council is held, and it is decided that she shall -not have Young Tor, but a certain rich count. Her father "gives her -away" that same day. The lady goes up to a balcony and looks seaward. -Everybody seems to be coming home but her lover. She begs her brother to -ride down to the shore for her. Tor is just coming in, hails the -horseman, and eagerly asks how are the maids in the isle. The brother -tells him that _his_ maid has waited eight years, and is even now -drinking her bridal, but with tears. Tor takes his harp and chess-board, -and plays outside the bridal hall till the bride hears and knows him. He -then enters the hall, and asks if there is anybody that can win a game -of chess. The father replies, Nobody but Sølffuermord, and she sits a -bride at the board. The mother indulgently suggests that the midsummer -day is long, and the bride might well try a game. The bride seeks an -express sanction of her father, who lessons her the livelong day, being -suspicious of Tor, but towards evening consents to her playing a little -while,--not long. Tor wins the first game, and must needs unpack his -heart in a gibing parable, ending - - 'Full hard is gold to win, - And so is a trothless quean.' - -She wins the next game, takes up the parable, and says - - 'Many were glad their faith to hold, - Were their lot to be controlled.' - -They are soon at one, and resolve to fly. They slip away, go aboard -Tor's ship, and put off. The bride's parents get information, and the -mother, who is a professor of the black art, raises a storm which she -means shall sink them both. No one can steer the ship but the bride. She -stands at the helm, with her gold crown on, while her lover is lying -seasick on the deck, and she brings the craft safe into Norway, where a -second wedding is celebrated. - -(2.) The other ballad is 'Herr Lovmand og Herr Thor,' Syv, iv, No 68, -Danske Viser, IV, 180, No 199, translated by Prior, II, 442. Lovmand, -having betrothed Ingelil, asks how long she will be his maid. "Eight -years, if I may," she says. This term has elapsed; her brothers consult, -and give her to rich Herr Thor. They drink the bridal for five days; for -nine days; she will not go to bed. On the evening of the tenth, they -begin to use force. She begs that she may first go to the look-out -up-stairs. From there she sees ships, great and small, and the sails -which her own hands have made for her lover. Her brother goes down to -the sea, as in the other ballad, and has a similar interview. Lovmand -has the excuse of having been sick seven years. He borrows the brother's -horse, flies faster than a bird, and the torch is burning at the door of -the bride's house when he arrives. Thor is reasonable enough to give up -the bride, and to accept Lovmand's sister. - -The ballad is extremely common in Sweden, and at least six versions have -been published. #A#, 'Herr Lagman och Herr Thor,' from a manuscript of -the end of the sixteenth century, Arwidsson, I, 165, No 24; #B#, from a -manuscript, _ib._, p. 168; #C#, from oral tradition, p. 171; #D#, -'Lageman och hans Brud,' Eva Wigström, Folkdiktning samlad och -upptecknad i Skåne, p. 29, No 12; #E#, 'Stolt Ingrid,' Folkvisor fråu -Skåne, upptecknade af E. Wigström, in Hazelius, Ur de nordiska Folkens -Lif, p. 121, No 3; #F#, 'Deielill och Lageman,' Fagerlund, Anteckningar -om Korpo och Houtskärs Socknar, p. 192, No 3. In #A#, #D# the bride goes -off in her lover's ship; in #C# he carries her off on his horse, when -the dancing is at its best, and subsequently, upon the king's -requisition, settles matters with his rival by killing him in single -fight. The stolid bridegroom, in the others, consents to a peaceable -arrangement. - -Certain points in the story of Horn--the long absence, the sudden -return, the appearance under disguise at the wedding feast, and the -dropping of the ring into a cup of wine obtained from the bride--repeat -themselves in a great number of romantic tales. More commonly it is a -husband who leaves his wife for seven years, is miraculously informed on -the last day that she is to be remarried on the morrow, and is restored -to his home in the nick of time, also by superhuman means. Horn is -warned to go back, in the ballads and in Horn Child, by the -discoloration of his ring, but gets home as he can; this part of the -story is slurred over in a way that indicates a purpose to avoid a -supernatural expedient. - -Very prominent among the stories referred to is that of Henry of -Brunswick [Henry the Lion, Reinfrid of Brunswick], and this may well be -put first, because it is preserved in Scandinavian popular ballads.[165] - -(1.) The latest of these, a Swedish ballad, from a collection made at -the end of the last century, 'Hertig Henrik,' Arwidsson, No 168, II, -422, represents Duke Henry as telling his wife that he is minded to go -off for seven years (he says not whither, but it is of course to the -East); should he stay eight or nine, she may marry the man she fancies. -He cuts a ring in two; gives her one half and keeps the other. He is -made captive, and serves a heathen lord and lady seven years, drawing -half the plough, "like another horse." His liberation is not accounted -for, but he was probably set free by his mistress, as in the ballad -which follows. He gets possession of an excellent sword, and uses it on -an elephant who is fighting with a lion. The grateful lion transports -the duke to his own country while he is asleep. A herdsman, of whom he -asks food, recommends him to go to the Brunswick mansion, where there is -a wedding, and Duke Henry's former spouse is the bride. When Henry comes -to the house, his daughter is standing without; he asks food for a poor -pilgrim. She replies that she has never heard of a pilgrim taking a lion -about with him. But they give him drink, and the bride, _pro more_, -drinks out of the same bowl, and finds the half ring in the bottom. The -bride feels in her pocket and finds her half,[166] and the two, when -thrown upon a table, run together and make one ring. - -(2.) The Danish ballad[167] (Grundtvig, No 114, #B#, from a 17th century -manuscript), relates that Duke Henry, in consequence of a dream, took -leave of his wife, enjoining her to wait to the eighth year, and, if -then he did not return, marry whom she liked. In the course of his -fights with the heathen, Henry was made captive, and had to draw the -harrow and plough, like a beast. One day (during his lord's absence, as -we learn from #A#) the heathen lady whom he served set him free. He had -many adventures, and in one of them killed a panther who was pressing a -lion hard, for which service the lion followed him like a dog. The duke -then happened upon a hermit, who told him that his wife was to be -married the next day, but he was to go to sleep, and not be concerned. -He laid his head on a stone in the heathen land, and woke in a trice to -hear German speech from a herdsman's mouth. The herdsman confirmed what -the hermit had said: the duchess was to be married on the morrow. The -duke went to the kitchen as a pilgrim, and sent word to the lady that he -wished to drink to her. The duchess, surprised at this freedom, summoned -him into her presence. The verses are lost in which the cup should be -given the pilgrim and returned to the lady. When she drank off the wine -that was left, a half ring lay in the glass. - -Danish #A#, though of the 16th century, does not mention the ring. - -(3.) A Flemish broadside, which may originally have been of the 15th -century, relates the adventures of the Duke of Brunswick in sixty-five -stanzas of four long lines: reprinted in von der Hagen's Germania, VIII, -359, and Hoffmann's Niederländische Volkslieder, No 2, p. 6; -Coussemaker, No 47, p. 152; abridged and made over, in Willems, O. v. -L., p. 251, No 107. The duke, going to war, tells his wife to marry -again if he stays away seven years. She gives him half of her ring. -Seven years pass, and the duke, being then in desperate plight in a -wilderness, is taken off by a ship; by providential direction, no doubt, -though at first it does not so appear. For the fiend is aboard, who -tells him that his wife is to be married to-morrow, and offers, for his -soul, to carry him to his palace in his sleep before day. The duke, -relying on heaven and his lion, professes to accept the terms: he is to -be taken to his palace _in his sleep_. The lion rouses his master at the -right time, and the fiend is baffled. The duke goes to the marriage -feast, and sends a message to the bride that he desires a drink from her -in memory of her lord. They take him for a beggar, but the lady orders -him wine in a gold cup. The cup goes back to her with the duke's half -ring in it. She cries, "It is my husband!" joins her half to the one in -the cup, and the two adhere firmly. - -(4.) A German poem of the 15th century, by Michel Wyssenhere, in -ninety-eight stanzas of seven lines, first printed by Massmann, -Denkmæler deutscher Sprache und Literatur, p. 122, and afterwards by -Erlach, II, 290, and elsewhere. The Lord of Brunswick receives an -impression in a dream that he ought to go to the Holy Sepulchre. He cuts -a ring in two, and gives his wife one half for a souvenir, but fixes no -time for his absence, and so naturally says nothing about her taking -another husband. He has the adventures which are usual in other versions -of the story, and at last finds himself among the Wild Hunt (das wöden -her), and obliges one of the company, by conjurations, to tell him how -it is with his wife and children. The spirit informs him that his wife -is about to marry another man. He then constrains the spirit to -transport him and his lion to his castle. This is done on the same terms -as in the Flemish poem, and the lion wakes his master. His wife offers -him drink; he lets his half ring drop in the glass, and, upon the glass -being returned to the lady, she takes out the token, finds it like her -half, and cries out that she has recovered her dear husband and lord. - -(5.) Henry the Lion, a chap-book printed in the 16th century, in one -hundred and four stanzas of eight short verses; reprinted in Büsching's -Volkssagen, Märchen und Legenden, p. 213 ff, and (modernized) by -Simrock in the first volume of Die deutschen Volksbücher. The hero goes -out simply in quest of adventures, and, having lost his ship and all his -companions, is floating on a raft with his lion, when the devil comes to -him and tells him that his wife is to remarry. A compact is made, and -the devil balked, as before. Though we were not so informed at the -beginning, it now turns out that the duke had given a half ring to the -duchess seven years before, and had bidden her take a second husband if -he did not come back in that time. The duke sends a servant to beg a -drink of wine of his wife, and returns the cup, as in (3), (4). - -(6.) A ballad in nine seven-line stanzas, supposed to be by a -Meistersinger, preserved in broadsides of about 1550 and 1603, Böhme, No -5, p. 30, Erk's Wunderhorn, IV, 111. (7.) Hans Sachs's 'Historia,' 1562, -in two hundred and four verses, Works, ed. 1578, Buch iv, Theil ii, -Blatt lvii^b-lviii^b.[168] (8.) A Meistersingerlied of the end of the -16th century, in three twenty-line stanzas, printed in Idunna u. Hermode -for March 27, 1813 (appended to p. 64), and after this, with changes, in -Kretzschmer, II, 17, No 5.--These three agree with the foregoing as to -the ring. - -(9.) Reinfrid von Braunschweig, c. 1300, ed. Bartsch, 1871. Reinfrid is -promised by the Virgin, who appears to him thrice in vision, that he -shall have issue if he will go over sea to fight the heathen. He breaks -a ring which his wife had given him, and gives her one half, vv. -14,906-11. If he dies, she is to marry, for public reasons, vv. -14,398-407; but she is not to believe a report of his death unless she -receives his half of the ring back, vv. 14,782-816, 15,040-049. The -latter part of the romance not being extant, we do not know the -conclusion, but a variation as to the use made of the ring is -probable.[169] - -The story of Reinfrit is also preserved in a Bohemian prose chap-book -printed before 1565. This prose is clearly a poem broken up, and it is -believed that the original should be placed in the first half of the -14th century, or possibly at the end of the 13th. The hero returns, in -pilgrim's garb, after seven years' absence, to find his wife about to be -handed over by her father to another prince. He lets his ring fall into -a cup, and goes away; his wife recognizes the ring, and is reunited to -him. The story has passed from the Bohemian into Russian and Magyar. -Feifalik, Sitzungsberichte der phil.-hist. Classe der Wiener Akademie, -XXIX, 83 ff, the ring at p. 92; XXXII, 322 ff. - -Similar use is made of the ring in other German romances. (1.) 'Der edle -Moringer' (MS. of 14th century) asks his wife to wait seven years for -him, while he visits the land of St Thomas. He is warned by an angel, at -the expiration of that period, that he will lose her if he does not go -back, bewails himself to his patron, and is conveyed home in a sleep. He -begs an alms at his castle-gate in the name of God, St Thomas, and the -noble Moringer; is admitted to his wife's presence; sings a lay -describing his own case, which moves the lady much; throws into a beaker -of wine, which she sets before him, the ring by which she was married to -him, sends the cup back to her, and is recognized. Böhme, No 6, p. 32; -Uhland, No 298, p. 773. (2.) In the older Hildebrandslied, which is of -the 14th century, or earlier, the hero, returning after an absence of -thirty-two years, drops his ring into a cup of wine presented to him by -his wife. Böhme, No 1, p. 1; Uhland, No 132, p. 330. (3.) Wolfdietrich -drops Ortnit's ring into a cup of wine sent him by Liebgart, who has -been adjudged to the Graf von Biterne in consideration of his having, as -he pretended, slain the dragon. The cup is returned to the empress, the -ring identified, the pretension refuted, and Liebgart given to Ortnit's -avenger. Wolfdietrich B, ed. Jänicke, I, 280 ff, stanzas 767-785. (4.) -King Rother (whose history has passages of the strongest resemblance to -Horn's), coming to retrieve his wife, who has been kidnapped and carried -back to her father, lands below Constantinople, at a woody and hilly -place, and assumes a pilgrim's disguise. On his way to the city he meets -a man who tells him that Ymelot of Babylon has invaded Greece, and taken -Constantin, his wife's father, prisoner; and that Constantin, to save -his life, has consented to give his daughter to the heathen king's son. -Rother steals into the hall, and even under the table at which the royal -party are sitting, and contrives to slip his ring into the hand of his -distressed young queen, who, thus assured of his presence, immediately -recovers her spirits. Massmann, Deutsche Gedichte des zw[oe]lften -Jahrhunderts, Theil ii, p. 213, vv. 3687-3878. - -One of the best and oldest stories of the kind we are engaged with is -transmitted by Cæsarius of Heisterbach in his Dialogus Miraculorum, of -the first quarter of the 13th century. Gerard, a soldier living in -Holenbach ("his grandchildren are still alive, and there is hardly a man -in the town who does not know about this"), being, like Moringer, -devoted to St Thomas of India, was impelled to visit his shrine. He -broke a ring and gave one half to his wife, saying, Expect me back in -five years, and marry whom you wish if I do not come then. The journey, -which would be long enough any way, was providentially protracted. He -reached the shrine at last, and said his prayers, and then remembered -that that was the last day of his fifth year. Alas, my wife will marry -again, he thought; and quite right he was, for the wedding was even then -preparing. A devil, acting under the orders of St Thomas, set Gerard -down at his own door. He found his wife supping with her second partner, -and dropped his half ring into her cup. She took it out, fitted it to -the half which had been given her, rushed into his arms, and bade -good-by to the new bridegroom. Ed. Strange, II, 131. - -A tradition closely resembling this has been found in Switzerland, -Gerard and St Thomas being exchanged for Wernhart von Strättlingen and -St Michael. Menzel's Odin, p. 96. - -Another of the most remarkable tales of this class is exquisitely told -by Boccaccio in the Decamerone, G. x, N. ix. Messer Torello, going to -the crusade, begs his wife to wait a year, a month, and a day before she -marries again. The lady assures him that she will never be another man's -wife; but he replies that a woman young, beautiful, and of high family, -as she is, will not be allowed to have her way. With her parting embrace -she gives him a ring from her finger, saying, If I die before I see you -again, remember me when you look on this. The Christians were wasted by -an excessive mortality, and those who escaped the ravages of disease -fell into the hands of Saladin, and were imprisoned by him in various -cities, Torello in Alexandria. Here he was recognized by Saladin, whom -he had entertained with the most delicate and splendid hospitality a few -months before, when the soldan was travelling through Italy in disguise. -Saladin's return for this courtesy was so magnificent as almost to put -Lombardy out of Torello's head,[170] and besides he trusted that his -wife had been informed of his safety by a letter which he had sent. This -was not so, however, and the death of another Torello was reported in -Italy as his, in consequence of which his supposed widow was solicited -in marriage, and was obliged to consent to take another husband after -the time should have expired which she had promised to wait. A week -before the last day, Torello learned that the ship which carried his -letter had been wrecked, and the thought that his wife would now marry -again drove him almost mad. Saladin extracted from him the cause of his -distress, and promised that he should yet be at home before the time was -out, which Torello, who had heard that such things had often been done, -was ready to believe. And in fact, by means of one of his necromancers, -Saladin caused Torello to be transported to Pavia in one night--the -night before the new nuptials. Torello appeared at the banquet the next -day in the guise of a Saracen, under the escort of an uncle of his, a -churchman, and at the right moment sent word to the lady that it was a -custom in his country for a bride to send her cup filled with wine to -any stranger who might be present, and for him to drink half and cover -the cup, and for her to drink the rest. To this the lady graciously -assented. Torello drank out most of the wine, dropped in the ring which -his wife had given him when they parted, and covered the cup. The lady, -upon lifting the cover, saw the ring, knew her husband, and, upsetting -the table in her ecstasy, threw herself into Torello's arms. - -Tales of this description still maintain themselves in popular -tradition. 'Der Ring ehelicher Treue,' Gottschalk, Deutsche -Volksmärchen, II, 135, relates how Kuno von Falkenstein, going on a -crusade, breaks his ring and gives one half to his wife, begging her to -wait seven years before she marries again. He has the adventures of -Henry of Brunswick, with differences, and, like Moringer, sings a lay -describing his own case. The new bridegroom hands him a cup; he drops in -his half ring, and passes the cup to the bride. The two halves join of -themselves.[171] Other examples, not without variations and -deficiencies, in details, are afforded by 'Der getheilte Trauring,' -Schmitz, Sagen u. Legenden des Eifler Volkes, p. 82; 'Bodman,' Uhland, -in Pfeiffer's Germania, IV, 73-76; 'Graf Hubert von Kalw,' Meier, -Deutsche Sagen, u.s.w., aus Schwaben, p. 332, No 369, Grimms, Deutsche -Sagen, No 524; 'Der Bärenhäuter,' Grimms, K.u.H. märchen, No 101; -'Berthold von Neuhaus,' in Kern's Schlesische Sagen-Chronik, p. 93. - -A story of the same kind is interwoven with an exceedingly impressive -adventure related of Richard Sans-Peur in Les Chroniques de Normandie, -Rouen, 1487, chap. lvii, cited in Michel, Chronique des Ducs de -Normandie par Benoit, II, 336 ff. A second is told of Guillaume Martel, -seigneur de Bacqueville; still others of a seigneur Gilbert de Lomblon, -a comrade of St. Louis in his first crusade. Amélie de Bosquet, La -Normandie romanesque et merveilleuse, pp. 465-68, 470. - -A Picard ballad, existing in two versions, partly cited by Rathery in -the Moniteur Universel for August 26, 1853, tells of a Sire de Créqui, -who, going beyond seas with, his sovereign, breaks his ring and gives -half to his young wife; is gone ten years, and made captive by the -Turks, who condemn him to death on account of his adhesion to Christ; -and is transported to his château on the eve of the day of his doom. -This very day his wife is to take another husband, sorely against her -will. Créqui appears in the rags of a beggar, and legitimates himself by -producing his half of the ring (which, in a way not explained by -Rathery, has been brought back by a swan). - -'Le Retour du Mari,' Puymaigre, Chants populaires messins, p. 20, has -also some traits of ballads of this class. A bridegroom has to go on a -campaign the very day of his nuptials. The campaign lasts seven years, -and the day of his return his wife is about to remarry. He is invited to -the wedding supper, and towards the close of it proposes to play cards -to see who shall have the bride. The guests are surprised. The soldier -says he will have the bride without winning her at cards or dice, and, -turning to the lady, asks, Where are the rings I gave you at your -wedding seven years ago? She will go for them; and here the story breaks -off.[172] - -The same hard fortune is that of Costantino, a young Albanian, who is -called to the service of his king three days after his marriage. He -gives back her ring to his wife, and tells her he must go to the wars -for nine years. Should he not return in nine years and nine days, he -bids her marry. The young wife says nothing, waits her nine years and -nine days, and then, since she is much sought for, her father wishes her -to marry. She says nothing, again, and they prepare for the bridal. -Costantino, sleeping in the king's palace, has a bad dream, which makes -him heave a sigh that comes to his sovereign's ear. The king summons all -his soldiers, and inquires who heaved that sigh. Costantino confesses it -was he, and says it was because his wife was marrying. The king orders -him to take the swiftest horse and make for his home. Costantino meets -his father, and learns that his dream is true, presses on to the church, -arrives at the door at the same time as the bridal procession, and -offers himself for a bride's-man. When they come to the exchange of -rings, Costantino contrives that his ring shall remain on the bride's -finger. She knows the ring; her tears burst forth. Costantino declares -himself as having been already crowned with the lady.[173] Camarda, -Appendice al Saggio di Grammatologia, etc., 90-97, a Calabrian-Albanese -copy. There is a Sicilian, but incomplete, in Vigo, Canti popolari -siciliani, p. 342 ff, ed. 1857, p. 695 ff, ed. 1870-74. - -With this belongs a ballad, very common in Greece, which, however, has -for the most part lost even more of what was in all probability the -original catastrophe. '[Gk: Anagnôrismos],' Chasiotis, Popular Songs of -Epirus, p. 88, No 27, comes nearer the common story than other -versions.[174] A man who had been twelve years a slave after being a -bridegroom of three days, dreams that his wife is marrying, runs to the -cellar, and begins to sing dirges. The king hears, and is moved. "If it -is one of the servants, increase his pay; if a slave, set him free." The -slave tells his story (in three lines); the king bids him take a swift -gray. The slave asks the horses, which is a swift gray. Only one -answers, an old steed with forty wounds. "I am a swift gray; tie two or -three handkerchiefs around your head, and tie yourself to my back!"[175] -He comes upon his father pruning the vineyard. "Whose sheep are those -feeding in the meadows?" "My lost son's." He comes to his mother. "What -bride are they marrying?" "My lost son's." "Shall I get to them in -church while they are crowning?" "If you have a fast horse, you will -find them crowning; if you have a bad horse, you will find them at -table." He finds them at church, and calls out, A bad way ye have: why -do ye not bring out the bride, so that strangers may give her the cup? A -good way we have, they answer, we who bring out the bride, and strangers -give her the cup. Then he takes out his ring, while he is about to -present the cup to the bride. The bride can read; she stands and reads -(his name), and bids the company begone, for her mate has come, the -first crowned. - -In other cases we find the hero in prison. He was put in for thirty -days; the keys are lost, and he stays thirty years. Legrand, p. 326, No -145; [Gk: Neoellênika Analekta], I, 85, No 19. More frequently he is a -galley slave: Zambelios, p. 678, No 103==Passow, No 448; Tommaseo, III, -152==Passow, No 449; Sakellarios, [Gk: Kypriaka], III, 37, No 13: [Gk: -Neoellênika Analekta], I, 86, No 20; Jeannaraki, [Gk: Asmata krêtika], -p. 203, No 265. His bad dream [a letter from home] makes him heave a -sigh which shakes the prison, or stops [splits] the galley.[176] In -Tommaseo, III, 152, on reaching the church, he cries, "Stand aside, -gentlemen, stand aside, my masters; let the bride pour for me." She -pours him one cup and two, and exclaims (the ring which was dropped into -the cup having dropped out of the story), My John has come back! Then -they both "go out like candles." In Sakellarios they embrace and fall -dead, and when laid in the grave come up as a cypress and a citron tree. -In the Cretan ballad John does not dismount, but takes the bride on to -the horse and is off with her; so in the beautiful ballad in Fauriel, -II, 140, No 11, '[Gk: HÊ HArpagê],' "peut-être la plus distinguée de ce -recueil," which belongs with this group, but seems to be later at the -beginning and the end. Even here the bride takes a cup to pour a draught -for the horseman. - -In Russia the ring story is told of Dobrynya and Nastasya. Dobrynya, -sent out shortly after his marriage to collect tribute for Vladimir, -requests Nastasya to wait for him twelve years: then she may wed again, -so it be not with Alesha. Twelve years pass. Alesha avows that he has -seen Dobrynya's corpse lying on the steppe, and sues for her hand. -Vladimir supports the suit, and Nastasya is constrained to accept this -prohibited husband. Dobrynya's horse [two doves, a pilgrim] reveals to -his master what is going on, and carries him home with marvellous speed. -Dobrynya gains admittance to the wedding-feast in the guise of a -merry-maker, and so pleases Vladimir with his singing that he is allowed -to sit where he likes. He places himself opposite Nastasya, drops his -ring in a cup, and asks her to drink to him. She finds the ring in the -bottom, falls at his feet and implores pardon.[177] Wollner, Volksepik -der Grossrussen, p. 122 f; Rambaud, La Russie Épique, p. 86 f. - -We have the ring employed somewhat after the fashion of these western -tales in Somadeva's story of Vidúshaka. The Vidyúdhárí Bhadrá, having to -part for a while with Vidúshaka, for whom she had conceived a passion, -gives him her ring. Subsequently, Vidúshaka obliges a rakshas whom he -has subdued to convey him to the foot of a mountain on which Bhadrá had -taken refuge. Many beautiful girls come to fetch water in golden -pitchers from a lake, and, on inquiring, Vidúshaka finds that the water -is for Bhadrá. One of the girls asks him to lift her pitcher on to her -shoulder, and while doing this he drops into the pitcher Bhadrá's ring. -When the water is poured on Bhadrá's hands, the ring falls out. Bhadrá -asks her maids if they have seen a stranger. They say they have seen a -mortal, and that he had helped one of them with her pitcher. They are -ordered to go for the youth at once, for he is Bhadrá's consort.[178] - -According to the letter of the ballads, should the ring given Horn by -his lady turn wan or blue, this would signify that she loved another -man: but though accuracy would be very desirable in such a case, these -words are rather loose, since she never faltered in her love, and -submitted to marry another, so far as she submitted, only under -constraint. 'Horn Child,' sts 48, 71, agrees with the ballads as to this -point. We meet a ring of similar virtue in 'Bonny Bee-Hom,' Jamieson's -Popular Ballads, I, 187, and Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, -I, 169. - - 'But gin this ring should fade or fail, - Or the stone should change its hue, - Be sure your love is dead and gone, - Or she has proved untrue.' - - Jamieson, p. 191. - -In the Roumanian ballad, 'Ring and Handkerchief,' a prince going to war -gives his wife a ring: if it should rust, he is dead. She gives him a -gold-embroidered handkerchief: if the gold melts, she is dead. -Alecsandri, Poesi[)i] pop. ale Românilor, p. 20, No 7; Stanley, Rouman -Anthology, p. 16, p. 193. In Gonzenbach's Sicilianische Märchen, I, 39, -No 7, a prince, on parting with his sister, gives her a ring, saying, So -long as the stone is clear, I am well: if it is dimmed, that is a sign -that I am dead. So No 5, at p. 23. A young man, in a Silesian story, -receives a ring from his sweetheart, with the assurance that he can -count upon her faith as long as the ring holds; and after twenty years' -detention in the mines of Siberia, is warned of trouble by the ring's -breaking: Goedsche, Schlesischer Sagen- Historien- u. Legendenschatz, I, -37, No 16. So in some copies of 'Lamkin,' the lord has a foreboding that -some ill has happened to his lady from the rings on his fingers bursting -in twain: Motherwell, p. 291, st. 23; Finlay, II, 47, st. 30.[179] - - * * * * * - -Hind Horn is translated by Grundtvig, Eng. og sk. Folkeviser, p. 274, No -42, mainly after the copy in Motherwell's Minstrelsy; by Rosa Warrens, -Schottische V. l. der Vorzeit, p. 161, No 37, after Buchan (#H#); by -Knortz, L. u. R. Alt-Englands, p. 184, No 52, after Allingham. - - -A - - Motherwell's MS., p. 106. From Mrs King, Kilbarchan. - - 1 - In Scotland there was a babie born, - Lill lal, etc. - And his name it was called young Hind Horn. - With a fal lal, etc. - - 2 - He sent a letter to our king - That he was in love with his daughter Jean. - - 3 - He's gien to her a silver wand, - With seven living lavrocks sitting thereon. - - 4 - She's gien to him a diamond ring, - With seven bright diamonds set therein. - - 5 - 'When this ring grows pale and wan, - You may know by it my love is gane.' - - 6 - One day as he looked his ring upon, - He saw the diamonds pale and wan. - - 7 - He left the sea and came to land, - And the first that he met was an old beggar man. - - 8 - 'What news, what news?' said young Hind Horn; - 'No news, no news,' said the old beggar man. - - 9 - 'No news,' said the beggar, 'no news at a', - But there is a wedding in the king's ha. - - 10 - 'But there is a wedding in the king's ha, - That has halden these forty days and twa.' - - 11 - 'Will ye lend me your begging coat? - And I'll lend you my scarlet cloak. - - 12 - 'Will you lend me your beggar's rung? - And I'll gie you my steed to ride upon. - - 13 - 'Will you lend me your wig o hair, - To cover mine, because it is fair?' - - 14 - The auld beggar man was bound for the mill, - But young Hind Horn for the king's hall. - - 15 - The auld beggar man was bound for to ride, - But young Hind Horn was bound for the bride. - - 16 - When he came to the king's gate, - He sought a drink for Hind Horn's sake. - - 17 - The bride came down with a glass of wine, - When he drank out the glass, and dropt in the ring. - - 18 - 'O got ye this by sea or land? - Or got ye it off a dead man's hand?' - - 19 - 'I got not it by sea, I got it by land, - And I got it, madam, out of your own hand.' - - 20 - 'O I'll cast off my gowns of brown, - And beg wi you frae town to town. - - 21 - 'O I'll cast off my gowns of red, - And I'll beg wi you to win my bread.' - - 22 - 'Ye needna cast off your gowns of brown, - For I'll make you lady o many a town. - - 23 - 'Ye needna cast off your gowns of red, - It's only a sham, the begging o my bread.' - - 24 - The bridegroom he had wedded the bride, - But young Hind Horn he took her to bed. - - -B - - Motherwell's MS., p. 418. From the singing of a - servant-girl at Halkhead. - - 1 - I never saw my love before, - With a hey lillelu and a ho lo lan - Till I saw her thro an oger bore. - With a hey down and a hey diddle downie - - 2 - She gave to me a gay gold ring, - With three shining diamonds set therein. - - 3 - And I gave to her a silver wand, - With three singing lavrocks set thereon. - - 4 - 'What if these diamonds lose their hue, - Just when your love begins for to rew?' - - 5 - He's left the land, and he's gone to sea, - And he's stayd there seven years and a day. - - 6 - But when he looked this ring upon, - The shining diamonds were both pale and wan. - - 7 - He's left the seas and he's come to the land, - And there he met with an auld beggar man. - - 8 - 'What news, what news, thou auld beggar man - For it is seven years sin I've seen lan.' - - 9 - 'No news,' said the old beggar man, 'at all, - But there is a wedding in the king's hall.' - - 10 - 'Wilt thou give to me thy begging coat? - And I'll give to thee my scarlet cloak. - - 11 - 'Wilt thou give to me thy begging staff? - And I'll give to thee my good gray steed.' - - 12 - The old beggar man was bound for to ride, - But Young Hynd Horn was bound for the bride. - - 13 - When he came to the king's gate, - He asked a drink for Young Hynd Horn's sake. - - 14 - The news unto the bonnie bride came - That at the yett there stands an auld man. - - 15 - 'There stands an auld man at the king's gate; - He asketh a drink for young Hyn Horn's sake.' - - 16 - 'I'll go thro nine fires so hot, - But I'll give him a drink for Young Hyn Horn's sake.' - - 17 - She gave him a drink out of her own hand; - He drank out the drink and he dropt in the ring. - - 18 - 'Got thou't by sea, or got thou't by land? - Or got thou't out of any dead man's hand?' - - 19 - 'I got it not by sea, but I got it by land, - For I got it out of thine own hand.' - - 20 - 'I'll cast off my gowns of brown, - And I'll follow thee from town to town. - - 21 - 'I'll cast off my gowns of red, - And along with thee I'll beg my bread.' - - 22 - 'Thou need not cast off thy gowns of brown, - For I can make thee lady of many a town. - - 23 - 'Thou need not cast off thy gowns of red, - For I can maintain thee with both wine and bread.' - - 24 - The bridegroom thought he had the bonnie bride wed, - But Young Hyn Horn took the bride to bed. - - -C - - #a.# Motherwell's Note-Book, p. 42: from Agnes Lyle. #b.# - Motherwell's MS., p. 413: from the singing of Agnes Lyle, - Kilbarchan, August 24, 1825. - - 1 - Young Hyn Horn's to the king's court gone, - Hoch hey and an ney O - He's fallen in love with his little daughter Jean. - Let my love alone, I pray you - - 2 - He's bocht to her a little gown, - With seven broad flowers spread it along. - - 3 - She's given to him a gay gold ring. - The posie upon it was richt plain. - - 4 - 'When you see it losing its comely hue, - So will I my love to you.' - - 5 - Then within a little wee, - Hyn Horn left land and went to sea. - - 6 - When he lookt his ring upon, - He saw it growing pale and wan. - - 7 - Then within a little [wee] again, - Hyn Horn left sea and came to the land. - - 8 - As he was riding along the way, - There he met with a jovial beggar. - - 9 - 'What news, what news, old man?' he did say: - 'This is the king's young dochter's wedding day.' - - 10 - 'If this be true you tell to me, - You must niffer clothes with me. - - 11 - 'You'll gie me your cloutit coat, - I'll gie you my fine velvet coat. - - 12 - 'You'll gie me your cloutit pock, - I'll gie you my purse; it'll be no joke.' - - 13 - 'Perhaps there['s] nothing in it, not one bawbee;' - 'Yes, there's gold and silver both,' said he. - - 14 - 'You'll gie me your bags of bread, - And I'll gie you my milk-white steed.' - - 15 - When they had niffered all, he said, - 'You maun learn me how I'll beg.' - - 16 - 'When you come before the gate, - You'll ask for a drink for the highman's sake.' - - 17 - When that he came before the gate, - He calld for a drink for the highman's sake. - - 18 - The bride cam tripping down the stair, - To see whaten a bold beggar was there. - - 19 - She gave him a drink with her own hand; - He loot the ring drop in the can. - - 20 - 'Got ye this by sea or land? - Or took ye't aff a dead man's hand?' - - 21 - 'I got na it by sea nor land, - But I got it aff your own hand.' - - 22 - The bridegroom cam tripping down the stair, - But there was neither bride nor beggar there. - - 23 - Her ain bridegroom had her first wed, - But Young Hyn Horn had her first to bed. - - -D - - Cromek's Select Scotish Songs, II, 204. - - 1 - Near Edinburgh was a young son born, - Hey lilelu an a how low lan - An his name it was called young Hyn Horn. - An it's hey down down deedle airo - - 2 - Seven long years he served the king, - An it's a' for the sake of his daughter Jean. - - 3 - The king an angry man was he; - He send young Hyn Horn to the sea. - - * * * * * * * - - 4 - An on his finger she put a ring. - . . . . . . . - - * * * * * * * - - 5 - 'When your ring turns pale and wan, - Then I'm in love wi another man.' - - * * * * * * * - - 6 - Upon a day he lookd at his ring, - It was as pale as anything. - - 7 - He's left the sea, an he's come to the lan, - An there he met an auld beggar man. - - 8 - 'What news, what news, my auld beggar man? - What news, what news, by sea or by lan?' - - 9 - 'Nae news, nae news,' the auld beggar said, - 'But the king's dochter Jean is going to be wed.' - - 10 - 'Cast off, cast off thy auld beggar-weed, - An I'll gie thee my gude gray steed.' - - * * * * * * * - - 11 - When he cam to our guid king's yet, - He sought a glass o wine for young Hyn Horn's sake. - - 12 - He drank out the wine, an he put in the ring, - An he bade them carry't to the king's dochter Jean. - - * * * * * * * - - 13 - 'O gat ye't by sea, or gat ye't by lan? - Or gat ye't aff a dead man's han?' - - 14 - 'I gat na't by sea, I gat na't by lan, - But I gat it out of your own han.' - - * * * * * * * - - 15 - 'Go take away my bridal gown, - For I'll follow him frae town to town.' - - 16 - 'Ye need na leave your bridal gown, - For I'll make ye ladie o' mony a town.' - - -E - - Motherwell's MS., p. 91. From the recitation of Mrs - Wilson. - - * * * * * * * - - 1 - Hynd Horn he has lookt on his ring, - Hey ninny ninny, how ninny nanny - And it was baith black and blue, - And she is either dead or she's married. - And the barck and the broom blooms bonnie - - 2 - Hynd Horn he has shuped to land, - And the first he met was an auld beggar man. - - 3 - 'What news, what news, my silly auld man? - For it is seven years syne I have seen land. - - 4 - 'What news, what news, my auld beggar man? - What news, what news, by sea or by land?' - - 5 - 'There is a king's dochter in the east, - And she has been marryed these nine nights past. - - 6 - 'Intil the bride's bed she winna gang - Till she hears tell of her Hynd Horn.' - - 7 - 'Cast aff, cast aff thy auld beggar weed, - And I will gie thee my gude gray steed.' - - -F - - Lowran Castle, or the Wild Boar of Curridoo: with other - Tales. By Robert Trotter, Dumfries, 1822, p. 6. From the - recitation of a young friend. - - 1 - In Newport town this knight was born, - Hey lily loo, hey loo lan - And they've called him Young Hynd Horn. - Fal lal la, fal the dal the dady - - 2 - Seven long years he served the king, - For the love of his daughter Jean. - - 3 - He courted her through a wimble bore, - The way never woman was courted before. - - 4 - He gave her through a silver wand, - With three singing laverocks there upon. - - 5 - She gave him back a gay gold ring, - With three bright diamonds glittering. - - 6 - 'When this ring grows pale and blue, - Fair Jeanie's love is lost to you.' - - 7 - Young Hynd Horn is gone to sea, - And there seven long years staid he. - - 8 - When he lookd his ring upon, - It grew pale and it grew wan. - - 9 - Young Hynd Horn is come to land, - When he met an old beggar man. - - 10 - 'What news, what news doth thee betide?' - 'No news, but Princess Jeanie's a bride.' - - 11 - 'Will ye give me your old brown cap? - And I'll give you my gold-laced hat. - - 12 - 'Will ye give me your begging weed? - And I'll give you my good grey steed.' - - 13 - The beggar has got on to ride, - But Young Hynd Horn's bound for the bride. - - * * * * * * * - - -G - - Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 135. "From the - recitation of my niece, M. Kinnear, 23 Aug^t, 1826:" the - north of Scotland. - - 1 - 'Hynde Horn's bound love, and Hynde Horn's free, - Whare was ye born, or in what countrie?' - - 2 - 'In gude greenwud whare I was born, - And all my friends left me forlorn. - - 3 - 'I gave my love a silver wand; - That was to rule oure all Scotland. - - 4 - 'My love gave me a gay gowd ring; - That was to rule abune a' thing.' - - 5 - 'As lang as that ring keeps new in hue, - Ye may ken that your love loves you. - - 6 - 'But whan that ring turns pale and wan, - Ye may ken that your love loves anither man.' - - 7 - He hoisted up his sails, and away sailed he, - Till that he cam to a foreign countrie. - - 8 - He looked at his ring; it was turnd pale and wan; - He said, 'I wish I war at hame again.' - - 9 - He hoisted up his sails, and hame sailed he, - Until that he came to his ain countrie. - - 10 - The first ane that he met wi - Was wi a puir auld beggar man. - - 11 - 'What news, what news, my silly old man? - What news hae ye got to tell to me?' - - 12 - 'Na news, na news,' the puir man did say, - 'But this is our queen's wedding day.' - - 13 - 'Ye'll lend me your begging weed, - And I'll gie you my riding steed.' - - 14 - 'My begging weed is na for thee, - Your riding steed is na for me.' - - 15 - But he has changed wi the beggar man, - . . . . . . . - - 16 - 'Which is the gate that ye used to gae? - And what are the words ye beg wi?' - - 17 - 'Whan ye come to yon high hill, - Ye'll draw your bent bow nigh until. - - 18 - 'Whan ye come to yonder town, - Ye'll let your bent bow low fall down. - - 19 - 'Ye'll seek meat for St Peter, ask for St Paul, - And seek for the sake of Hynde Horn all. - - 20 - 'But tak ye frae nane of them a', - Till ye get frae the bonnie bride hersel O.' - - 21 - Whan he cam to yon high hill, - He drew his bent bow nigh until. - - 22 - And whan he cam to yonder town, - He lute his bent bow low fall down. - - 23 - He saught meat for St Peter, he askd for St Paul, - And he sought for the sake of Hynde Horn all. - - 24 - But he would tak frae nane o them a', - Till he got frae the bonnie bride hersel O. - - 25 - The bride cam tripping doun the stair, - Wi the scales o red gowd on her hair. - - 26 - Wi a glass of red wine in her hand, - To gie to the puir auld beggar man. - - 27 - It's out he drank the glass o wine, - And into the glass he dropt the ring. - - 28 - 'Got ye't by sea, or got ye't by land, - Or got ye't aff a drownd man's hand?' - - 29 - 'I got na't by sea, I got na't by land, - Nor got I it aff a drownd man's hand. - - 30 - 'But I got it at my wooing, - And I'll gie it at your wedding.' - - 31 - 'I'll tak the scales o gowd frae my head, - I'll follow you, and beg my bread. - - 32 - 'I'll tak the scales of gowd frae my hair, - I'll follow you for evermair.' - - 33 - She has tane the scales o gowd frae her head, - She has followed him to beg her bread. - - 34 - She has tane the scales o gowd frae her hair, - And she has followed him for evermair. - - 35 - But atween the kitchen and the ha, - There he lute his cloutie cloak fa. - - 36 - And the red gowd shined oure him a', - And the bride frae the bridegroom was stown awa. - - -H - - Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 268. - - 1 - 'Hynd Horn fair, and Hynd Horn free, - O where were you born, in what countrie?' - - 2 - 'In gude greenwood, there I was born, - And all my forbears me beforn. - - 3 - 'O seven years I served the king, - And as for wages, I never gat nane; - - 4 - 'But ae sight o his ae daughter, - And that was thro an augre bore. - - 5 - 'My love gae me a siller wand, - 'Twas to rule ower a' Scotland. - - 6 - 'And she gae me a gay gowd ring, - The virtue o't was above a' thing.' - - 7 - 'As lang's this ring it keeps the hue, - Ye'll know I am a lover true: - - 8 - 'But when the ring turns pale and wan, - Ye'll know I love another man.' - - 9 - He hoist up sails, and awa saild he, - And saild into a far countrie. - - 10 - And when he lookd upon his ring, - He knew she loved another man. - - 11 - He hoist up sails and home came he, - Home unto his ain countrie. - - 12 - The first he met on his own land, - It chancd to be a beggar man. - - 13 - 'What news, what news, my gude auld man? - What news, what news, hae ye to me?' - - 14 - 'Nae news, nae news,' said the auld man, - 'The morn's our queen's wedding day.' - - 15 - 'Will ye lend me your begging weed? - And I'll lend you my riding steed.' - - 16 - 'My begging weed will ill suit thee, - And your riding steed will ill suit me.' - - 17 - But part be right, and part be wrang, - Frae the beggar man the cloak he wan. - - 18 - 'Auld man, come tell to me your leed; - What news ye gie when ye beg your bread.' - - 19 - 'As ye walk up unto the hill, - Your pike staff ye lend ye till. - - 20 - 'But whan ye come near by the yett, - Straight to them ye will upstep. - - 21 - 'Take nane frae Peter, nor frae Paul, - None frae high or low o them all. - - 22 - 'And frae them all ye will take nane, - Until it comes frae the bride's ain hand.' - - 23 - He took nane frae Peter nor frae Paul, - Nane frae the high nor low o them all. - - 24 - And frae them all he would take nane, - Until it came frae the bride's ain hand. - - 25 - The bride came tripping down the stair, - The combs o red gowd in her hair. - - 26 - A cup o red wine in her hand, - And that she gae to the beggar man. - - 27 - Out o the cup he drank the wine, - And into the cup he dropt the ring. - - 28 - 'O got ye't by sea, or got ye't by land, - Or got ye't on a drownd man's hand?' - - 29 - 'I got it not by sea, nor got it by land, - Nor got I it on a drownd man's hand. - - 30 - 'But I got it at my wooing gay, - And I'll gie't you on your wedding day.' - - 31 - 'I'll take the red gowd frae my head, - And follow you, and beg my bread. - - 32 - 'I'll take the red gowd frae my hair, - And follow you for evermair.' - - 33 - Atween the kitchen and the ha, - He loot his cloutie cloak down fa. - - 34 - And wi red gowd shone ower them a', - And frae the bridegroom the bride he sta. - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - 1^2, 8^1, 14^2, 15^2, 16^2, 24^2. Hindhorn. - -#B.# - - _The burden is given in Motherwell, Appendix, p. xviii, - thus:_ - - With a hey lilloo and a how lo lan - And the birk and the brume blooms bonnie. - - 12^2, 13^2. Hyndhorn. - - 15^2, 16^2, 24^2. Hynhorn. - -#C. a.# - - 5^2. to see. - - 5^2, 7^2. Hynhorn. - - 23^2. H. horn. - - 11^1. clouted. - - 11^1, 14^1. give. - - 14^2. white milk. #b.# milk-white. - - 16^2. hymen's. #b.# highman's. - - 22^1. can. - - #b.# - - 5^2, 7^2, 23^2. Hynhorn. - - 7^1. little wee. - - 13^1. there's. - -#D.# - - 1^2, 3^2, 11^2. Hynhorn. - -#E.# - - _The second line of the burden stands after st. 2 in MS._ - - 2^1. _The MS reading may be ~sheeped~._ - - 2^1, 6^2. Hyndhorn. - -#G.# - - _After ~my niece, M. Kinnear, etc.~, stands in pencil - ~Christy Smith~._ - - 15. _On the opposite page, over against this stanza, is - written_: - - But part by richt, or part be wrang, - The auldman's duddie cloak he's on. - - _#G# and #H# are printed by Kinloch and by Buchan in - four-line stanzas._ - - _The stanzas printed by Motherwell, which have not been - found in his manuscripts, are_: - - 10 - Seven lang years he has been on the sea, - And Hynd Horn has looked how his ring may be. - - 21 - The auld beggar man cast off his coat, - And he's taen up the scarlet cloak. - - 22 - The auld beggar man threw down his staff, - And he has mounted the good gray steed. - - 29 - She went to the gate where the auld man did stand, - And she gave him a drink out of her own hand. - - -[159] This I should have missed but for the kindness of Mr W. Macmath. - -[160] Motherwell's printed copy, Minstrelsy, p. 36, is thus made up: -stanzas 1, 2, 3, 8, 15, from Cromek (#D#); 4-7, 9, 11, 13, 14, 16, 19, -20, 24-28, 30-37, from #B#; 12, 17, 18 from #E#. 23 # #A# 14. 10, 21, -22, 29, have not been found in his manuscripts. The first line of the -burden is from #B#, the second from #E#. Motherwell alters his texts -slightly, now and then. - -[161] #C# 16, 17 are corrupted, and also #F# 19, 23, #G# 21; all three -in a way which allows of easy emendation. Hymon [high, man] in #C# -should of course be Hyn Horn. The injunction in #G#, #H# should be to -ask nothing for Peter or Paul's sake, but all for Horn's. - -[162] When Horn was near the city, he stopped to see how things would -go. King Modun passed, with Wikel, in gay discourse of the charms of -Rimild. Horn called out to them insultingly, and Modun asked who he was. -Horn said he had formerly served a man of consequence as his fisherman: -he had thrown a net almost seven years ago, and had now come to give it -a look. If it had taken any fish, he would love it no more; if it should -still be as he left it, he would carry it away. Modun thinks him a fool. -(3984-4057, and nearly the same in 'Horn Childe and Maiden Rimild,' -77-79). This is part of a story in the Gesta Romanorum, of a soldier who -loved the emperor's daughter, and went to the holy land for seven years, -after a mutual exchange of fidelity for that time. A king comes to woo -the princess, but is put off for seven years, upon her alleging that she -has made a vow of virginity for so long. At the expiration of this term, -the king and the soldier meet as they are on the way to the princess. -The king, from certain passages between them, thinks the soldier a fool. -The soldier takes leave of the king under pretence of looking after a -net which he had laid in a certain place seven years before, rides on -ahead, and slips away with the princess. Gest. Rom., Oesterley, p. 597, -No 193; Grässe, II, 159; Madden, p. 32; Swan, I, p. lxv. A similar story -in Campbell's Tales of the West Highlands, I, 281, 'Baillie Lunnain.' -(Simrock, Deutsche Märchen, No 47, is apparently a translation from the -Gesta.) The riddle of the hawk, slightly varied, is met with in the -romance of Blonde of Oxford and Jehan of Dammartin, v. 2811 ff, 3143 ff, -3288 ff (ed. Le Roux de Lincy, pp. 98, 109, 114), and, still further -modified, in Le Romant de Jehan de Paris, ed. Montaiglon, pp. 55, 63, -111. (Le Roux de Lincy, Köhler, Mussafia, G. Paris). 'Horn et -Rimenhild,' it will be observed, has both riddles, and that of the net -is introduced under circumstances entirely like those in the Gesta -Romanorum. The French romance is certainly independent of the English in -this passage. - -[163] See the excellent studies of King Horn by Wissmann, in Quellen und -Forschungen, No 16, and Anglia, IV, 342 ff. - -[164] #A#, #B#, and #E#, which had not been printed at the time of his -writing, will convince Professor Stimming, whose valuable review in -Englische Studien, I, 351 ff, supplements, and in the matter of -_derivation_, I think, rectifies, Wissmann's Untersuchungen, that the -king's daughter in the ballads was faithful to Horn, and that they were -marrying her against her will, as in the romances. This contingency -seems not to have been foreseen when the ring was given: but it must be -admitted that it was better for the ring to change, to the temporary -clouding of the lady's character, than to have Horn stay away and the -forced marriage go on. - -[165] See the ample introduction to 'Henrik af Brunsvig,' in Grundtvig, -No 114, II, 608 ff. - -[166] It appears that these half rings are often dug up. "Neuere -Ausgrabungen haben vielfach auf solche Ringstücke geführt, die, als -Zeichen unverbrüchlicher Treue, einst mit dem Geliebten gebrochen, ja -wie der Augenschein beweist, entzwei geschnitten, und so ins Grab -mitgenommen wurden, zum Zeichen dass die Liebe über den Tod hinaus -daure." Rochholz, Schweizersagen aus dem Aargau, II, 116. - -[167] Translated, with introduction of verses from #A#, by Prior, -Ancient Danish Ballads, II, 71. - -[168] I have not seen this, and depend upon others here. - -[169] Gödeke, 'Reinfrît von Braunschweig,' p. 89, conjectures that the -half ring was, or would have been, employed in the sequel by some -impostor (the story may never have been finished) as evidence of -Brunswick's death. A ring is so used in a Silesian tradition, of the -general character of that of Henry the Lion, with the difference that -the knight is awakened by a cock's crowing: 'Die Hahnkrähe bei Breslau,' -in Kern's Schlesische Sagen-Chronik, p. 151. There is a variation of -this last, without the deception by means of the ring, in Goedsche's -Schlesischer Sagenschatz, p. 37, No 16. - -[170] There are marked correspondences between Boccaccio's story and the -veritable history of Henry the Lion as given by Bartsch, Herzog Ernst, -cxxvi f: e. g., the presents of clothes by the empress (transferred to -Torello's wife), and the handsome behavior of two soldens, here -attributed to Saladin. - -[171] Without the conclusion, also in Binder's Schwäbische Volkssagen, -II, 173. These Volksmärchen, by the way, are "erzählt" by Gottschalk. It -is not made quite so clear as could be wished, whether they are merely -re-told. - -[172] Germaine's husband, after an absence of seven years, overcomes his -wife's doubts of his identity by exhibiting half of her ring, which -_happened_ to break the day of their wedding, or the day after: -Puymaigre, p. 11, Champfleury, Chansons des Provinces, p. 77. The -conclusion to Sir Tristrem, which Scott supplied, "abridged from the -French metrical romance, in the style of Tomas of Erceldoune," makes -Ganhardin lay a ring in a cup which Brengwain hands Ysonde, who -recognizes the ring as Tristrem's token. The cup was one of the presents -made to King Mark by Tristrem's envoy, and is transferred to Ysonde by -Scott. The passage has been cited as ancient and genuine. - -[173] In the Greek rite, rings are used in the betrothal, which as a -rule immediately precedes the marriage. The rings are exchanged by the -priest and sponsors (Camarda says three times). Crowns, of vine twigs, -etc., are the emblems in the nuptial ceremony, and these are also -changed from one head to the other. - -[174] I was guided to nearly all these Greek ballads by Professor -Liebrecht's notes, Zur Volkskunde, p. 207. - -[175] This high-mettled horse is a capital figure in most of the -versions. In one of them the caution is given, "Do not feel safe in -spurring him: he will scatter thy brains ten ells below the ground." The -gray (otherwise the black) is of the same breed as the Russian -Dobrynya's, a little way on; or the foal that took Charles the Great, -under similar circumstances, from Passau to Aachen between morn and eve, -('Karl der Grosse,' from Enenkels Weltbuch, c. 1250, in von der Hagen's -Gesammtabenteuer, II, 619 ff); or the black in the poem and tale of -Thedel von Walmoden. - -[176] In Jeannaraki the bey says, "My slave, give us a song, and I will -free you." John sings of his love, whom he was to lose that day. So -Zambelios, as above, Tommaseo, p. 152, and [Gk: Neo. Anal.] No. 20. -Compare Brunswick, in Wyssenhere, and Moringer. - -[177] Otherwise: Nastasya waits _six_ years, as desired; is told that -Dobrynya is dead and is urged to marry Alesha; will not hear of marriage -for six years more; Vladimir then interposes. Dobrynya is furious, as -these absentees are sometimes pleased to be. He complains that women -have long hair and short wits, and so does Brunswick in Wyssenhere's -poem, st. 89. Numerous as are the instances of these long absences, the -woman is rarely, if ever, represented as in the least to blame. The -behavior of the man, on the other hand, is in some cases trying. Thus, -the Conde Dirlos tells his young wife to wait for him seven years, and -if he does not come in eight to marry the ninth. He accomplishes the -object of his expedition in three years, but stays fifteen, never -writes,--he had taken an unnecessary oath not to do that before he -started,--and forbids anybody else to write, on pain of death. Such is -his humor; but he is very much provoked at being reported dead. Wolf and -Hofmann, Primavera y Flor de Romances, II, 129, No 164. - -[178] Kathá Sarit Ságara (of the early part of the 12th century), -Tawney's translation, I, 136 ff. The story is cited by Rajna, in -Romania, VI, 359. Herr v. Bodman leaves his marriage ring in a -wash-bowl! Meier, Deutsche V. m. aus Schwaben, 214 f. - -[179] The ring given Horn by Rymenbild, in 'King Horn,' 579 ff -(Wissmann), and in the French romance, 2056 ff, protects him against -material harm or mishap, or assures him superiority in fight, as long as -he is faithful. So in Buchan's version of 'Bonny Bee-Ho'm,' st. 8: - - 'As lang's this ring's your body on, - Your blood shall neer be drawn.' - -"The king's daughter of Linne" gives her champion two rings, one of -which renders him invulnerable, and the other will staunch the blood of -any of his men who may be wounded: Motherwell's Minstrelsy, -Introduction, p. lvii. Eglamore's ring, Percy MS., II, 363, st. 51, will -preserve his life on water or land. A ring given Wolfdietrich by the -empress, #D# VIII, st. 42, ed. Jänicke, doubles his strength and makes -him fire-proof in his fight with the dragon. The ring lent Ywaine by his -lady will keep him from prison, sickness, loss of blood, or being made -captive in battle, and give him superiority to all antagonists, so long -as he is true in love: Ritson, Met. Rom. I, 65, vv 1533 ff. But an -Indian ring which Reinfrît receives from his wife before he departs for -the crusade, 15,066 ff, has no equal, after all; for, besides doing as -much as the best of these, it imparts perpetual good spirits. It is -interesting to know that this matchless jewel had once been the property -of a Scottish king, and was given by him to his daughter when she was -sent to Norway to be married: under convoy of Sir Patrick Spens? - - - - -18 - -SIR LIONEL. - - #A.# 'Sir Lionell,' Percy MS., p. 32, Hales and Furnivall, - I, 75. - - #B.# 'Isaac-a-Bell and Hugh the Græme,' Christie, - Traditional Ballad Airs, I, 110. - - #C. a.# 'The Jovial Hunter of Bromsgrove,' Allies, The - British, Roman and Saxon Antiquities and Folk-Lore of - Worcestershire, 2d ed., p. 116. #b.# Bell's Ancient Poems, - Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England, p. 124. - - #D.# Allies, as above, p. 118. - - #E. a.# 'The Old Man and his Three Sons,' Bell, as above, - p. 250. #b.# Mr Robert White's papers. - - #F.# Allies, as above, p. 120. - - -#B# can be traced in Banffshire, according to Christie, for more than a -hundred years, through the old woman that sang it, and her forbears. #C -a#, #D# were originally published by Allies in the year 1845, in a -pamphlet bearing the title The Jovial Hunter of Bromsgrove, Horne the -Hunter, and Robin Hood. No intimation as to the source of his copy, #C -b#, is given by Bell, i. e., Dixon. Apparently all the variations from -Allies, #C a#, are of the nature of editorial improvements. #E a# is -said (1857) to be current in the north of England as a nursery song. - -One half of #A#, the oldest and fullest copy of this ballad (the second -and fourth quarters), is wanting in the Percy MS. What we can gather of -the story is this. A knight finds a lady sitting in a tree, #A#, #C#, -#D# [under a tree, #E#], who tells him that a wild boar has slain Sir -Broning, #A# [killed her lord and thirty of his men, #C#; worried her -lord and wounded thirty, #E#]. The knight kills the boar, #B-D#, and -seems to have received bad wounds in the process, #A#, #B#; the boar -belonged to a giant, #B#; or a wild woman, #C#, #D#. The knight is -required to forfeit his hawks and leash, and the little finger of his -right hand, #A# [his horse, his hound, and his lady, #C#]. He refuses to -submit to such disgrace, though in no condition to resist, #A#; the -giant allows him time to heal his wounds, forty days, #A#; thirty-three, -#B#; and he is to leave his lady as security for his return, #A#. At the -end of this time the knight comes back sound and well, #A#, #B#, and -kills the giant as he had killed the boar, #B#. #C# and #D# say nothing -of the knight having been wounded. The wild woman, to revenge her -"pretty spotted pig," flies fiercely at him, and he cleaves her in two. -The last quarter of the Percy copy would, no doubt, reveal what became -of the lady who was sitting in the tree, as to which the traditional -copies give no light. - -Our ballad has much in common with the romance of 'Sir Eglamour of -Artois,' Percy MS., Hales and Furnivall, II, 338; Thornton Romances, -Camden Society, ed. Halliwell, p. 121; Ellis, Metrical Romances, from an -early printed copy, Bohn's ed., p. 527. Eglamour, simple knight, loving -Christabel, an earl's daughter, is required by the father, who does not -wish him well, to do three deeds of arms, the second being to kill a -boar in the kingdom of Sattin or Sydon, which had been known to slay -forty armed knights in one day (Percy, st. 37). This Eglamour does, -after a very severe fight. The boar belonged to a giant, who had kept -him fifteen years to slay Christian men (Thornton, st. 42, Percy, 40). -This giant had demanded the king of Sydon's daughter's hand, and comes -to carry her off, by force, if necessary, the day following the -boar-fight. Eglamour, who had been found by the king in the forest, in a -state of exhaustion, after a contest which had lasted to the third or -fourth day, and had been taken home by him and kindly cared for, is now -ready for action again. He goes to the castle walls with a squire, who -carries the boar's head on a spear. The giant, seeing the head, -exclaims, - - 'Alas, art thou dead! - My trust was all in thee! - Now by the law that I lieve in, - My little speckled hoglin, - Dear bought shall thy death be.' - - Percy, st. 44. - -Eglamour kills the giant, and returns to Artois with both heads. The -earl has another adventure ready for him, and hopes the third chance may -quit all. Eglamour asks for twelve weeks to rest his weary body. - -#B# comes nearest the romance, and possibly even the wood of Tore is a -reminiscence of Artois. The colloquy with the giant in #B# is also, -perhaps, suggested by one which had previously taken place between -Eglamour and another giant, brother of this, after the knight had killed -one of his harts (Percy, st. 25). #C# 11, #D# 9 strikingly resemble the -passage of the romance cited above (Percy, 44, Thornton, 47). - -The ballad has also taken up something from the romance of 'Eger and -Grime,' Percy MS., Hales and Furnivall, I, 341; Laing, Early Metrical -Tales, p. 1; 'Sir Eger, Sir Grahame, and Sir Gray-Steel,' Ellis's -Specimens, p. 546. Sir Egrabell (Rackabello, Isaac-a-Bell), Lionel's -father, recalls Sir Eger, and Hugh the Græme in #B# is of course the -Grahame or Grime of the romance, the Hugh being derived from a later -ballad. Gray-Steel, a man of proof, although not quite a giant, cuts off -the little finger of Eger's right hand, as the giant proposes to do to -Lionel in #A# 21. - -The friar in #E# 1^3, 4^1, may be a corruption of Ryalas, or some like -name, as the first line of the burden of #E#, 'Wind well, _Lion_, good -hunter,' seems to be a perversion of 'Wind well _thy horn_, good -hunter,' in #C#, #D#.[180] This part of the burden, especially as it -occurs in #A#, is found, nearly, in a fragment of a song of the time of -Henry VIII, given by Mr Chappell in his Popular Music of the Olden Time, -I, 58, as copied from "MSS Reg., Append. 58." - - 'Blow thy horne, hunter, - Cum, blow thy horne on hye! - In yonder wode there lyeth a doo, - In fayth she woll not dye. - Cum, blow thy horne, hunter, - Cum, blow thy horne, joly hunter!' - -A terrible swine is a somewhat favorite figure in romantic tales. A -worthy peer of the boar of Sydon is killed by King Arthur in 'The -Avowynge of King Arthur,' etc., Robson, Three Early English Metrical -Romances (see st. xii). But both of these, and even the Erymanthian, -must lower their bristles before the boar in 'Kilhwch and Olwen,' -Mabinogion, Part iv, pp. 309-16. Compared with any of these, the "felon -sow" presented by Ralph Rokeby to the friars of Richmond (Evans, Old -Ballads, II, 270, ed. 1810, Scott, Appendix to Rokeby, note M) is a tame -villatic pig: the old mettle is bred out. - -Professor Grundtvig has communicated to me a curious Danish ballad of -this class, 'Limgrises Vise,' from a manuscript of the latter part of -the 16th century. A very intractable damsel, after rejecting a multitude -of aspirants, at last marries, with the boast that her progeny shall be -fairer than Christ in heaven. She has a litter of nine pups, a pig, and -a boy. The pig grows to be a monster, and a scourge to the whole region. - - He drank up the water from dike and from dam, - And ate up, besides, both goose, gris and lamb. - -The beast is at last disposed of by baiting him with the nine -congenerate dogs, who jump down his throat, rend liver and lights, and -find their death there, too. This ballad smacks of the broadside, and is -assigned to the 16th century. A fragment of a Swedish swine-ballad, in -the popular tone, is given by Dybeck, Runa, 1845, p. 23; another, very -similar, in Axelson's Vesterdalarne, p. 179, 'Koloregris,' and Professor -Sophus Bugge has recovered some Norwegian verses. The Danish story of -the monstrous birth of the pig has become localized: the Liimfiord is -related to have been made by the grubbing of the Limgris: Thiele, -Danmarks Folkesagn, II. 19, two forms. - -There can hardly be anything but the name in common between the Lionel -of this ballad and Lancelot's cousin-german. - - -A - - Percy MS., p. 32, Hales and Furnivall, I, 75. - - 1 - Sir Egrabell had sonnes three, - Blow thy horne, good hunter - Sir Lyonell was one of these. - As I am a gentle hunter - - 2 - S_ir_ Lyonell wold on hunting ryde, - Vntill the forrest him beside. - - 3 - And as he rode thorrow the wood, - Where trees and harts and all were good, - - 4 - And as he rode over the plaine, - There he saw a knight lay slaine. - - 5 - And as he rode still on the plaine, - He saw a lady sitt in a graine. - - 6 - 'Say thou, lady, and tell thou me, - What blood shedd heere has bee.' - - 7 - 'Of this blood shedd we may all rew, - Both wife and childe and man alsoe. - - 8 - 'For it is not past 3 days right - Since S_ir_ Broninge was mad a k_nigh_t. - - 9 - 'Nor it is not more than 3 dayes agoe - Since the wild bore did him sloe.' - - 10 - 'Say thou, lady, and tell thou mee, - How long thou wilt sitt in _tha_t tree.' - - 11 - She said, 'I will sitt in this tree - Till my friends doe feitch me.' - - 12 - 'Tell me, lady, and doe not misse, - Where that y_ou_r friends dwellings is.' - - 13 - 'Downe,' shee said, 'in yonder towne, - There dwells my freinds of great renowne.' - - 14 - Says, 'Lady, Ile ryde into yonder towne - And see wether y_ou_r friends beene bowne. - - 15 - 'I my self wilbe the formost man - That shall come, lady, to feitch you home.' - - 16 - But as he rode then by the way, - He thought it shame to goe away; - - 17 - And vmbethought him of a wile, - How he might that wilde bore beguile. - - 18 - 'S_i_r Egrabell,' he said, 'my father was; - He neuer left lady in such a case; - - 19 - 'Noe more will I' ... - . . . . . . . - - 20 - 'And a[fter] that thou shalt doe mee - Thy hawkes and thy lease alsoe. - - 21 - 'Soe shalt thou doe at my com_m_and - The litle fingar on thy right hand.' - - 22 - 'Ere I wold leaue all this with thee, - Vpoon this ground I rather dyee.' - - 23 - The gyant gaue S_i_r Lyon_el_l such a blow, - The fyer out of his eyen did throw. - - 24 - He said then, 'if I were saffe and sound, - As with-in this hower I was in this ground, - - 25 - 'It shold be in the next towne told - How deare thy buffett it was sold; - - 26 - 'And it shold haue beene in the next towne _sai_d - How well thy buffett it were paid.' - - 27 - 'Take 40 daies into spite, - To heale thy wounds that beene soe wide. - - 28 - 'When 40 dayes beene at an end, - Heere meete thou me both safe and sound. - - 29 - 'And till thou come to me againe, - With me thoust leaue thy lady alone. - - 30 - When 40 dayes was at an end, - Sir Lyon_el_l of his wounds was healed sound. - - 31 - He tooke with him a litle page, - He gaue to him good yeomans wage. - - 32 - And as he rode by one hawthorne, - Even there did hang his hunting horne. - - 33 - He sett his bugle to his mouth, - And blew his bugle still full south. - - 34 - He blew his bugle lowde and shrill; - The lady heard, and came him till. - - 35 - Sayes, 'the gyant lyes vnder yond low, - And well he heares yo_u_r bugle blow. - - 36 - 'And bidds me of good cheere be, - This night heele supp with you and me.' - - 37 - Hee sett that lady vppon a steede, - And a litle boy before her yeede. - - 38 - And said, 'lady, if you see that I must dye, - As euer you loued me, from me flye. - - 39 - 'But, lady, if you see _tha_t I must liue,' - . . . . . . . - - -B - - Christie, Traditional Ballad Airs, I, 110. From the - singing of an old woman in Buckie, Enzie, Banffshire. - - 1 - A knicht had two sons o sma fame, - Hey nien nanny - Isaac-a-Bell and Hugh the Graeme. - And the norlan flowers spring bonny - - 2 - And to the youngest he did say, - 'What occupation will you hae? - When the, etc. - - 3 - 'Will you gae fee to pick a mill? - Or will you keep hogs on yon hill?' - While the, etc. - - 4 - 'I winna fee to pick a mill, - Nor will I keep hogs on yon hill. - While the, etc. - - 5 - 'But it is said, as I do hear, - That war will last for seven year, - And the, etc. - - 6 - 'With a giant and a boar - That range into the wood o Tore. - And the, etc. - - 7 - 'You'll horse and armour to me provide, - That through Tore wood I may safely ride.' - When the, etc. - - 8 - The knicht did horse and armour provide, - That through Tore wood Graeme micht safely ride. - When the, etc. - - 9 - Then he rode through the wood o Tore, - And up it started the grisly boar. - When the, etc. - - 10 - The firsten bout that he did ride, - The boar he wounded in the left side. - When the, etc. - - 11 - The nexten bout at the boar he gaed, - He from the boar took aff his head. - And the, etc. - - 12 - As he rode back through the wood o Tore, - Up started the giant him before. - And the, etc. - - 13 - 'O cam you through the wood o Tore, - Or did you see my good wild boar?' - And the, etc. - - 14 - 'I cam now through the wood o Tore, - But woe be to your grisly boar. - And the, etc. - - 15 - 'The firsten bout that I did ride, - I wounded your wild boar in the side. - And the, etc. - - 16 - 'The nexten bout at him I gaed, - From your wild boar I took aff his head.' - And the, etc. - - 17 - 'Gin you have cut aff the head o my boar, - It's your head shall be taen therfore. - And the, etc. - - 18 - 'I'll gie you thirty days and three, - To heal your wounds, then come to me.' - While the, etc. - - 19 - 'It's after thirty days and three, - When my wounds heal, I'll come to thee.' - When the, etc. - - 20 - So Graeme is back to the wood o Tore, - And he's killd the giant, as he killd the boar. - And the, etc. - - -C - - #a.# Allies, The British, Roman, and Saxon Antiquities and - Folk-Lore of Worcestershire, 2d ed., p. 116. From the - recitation of Benjamin Brown, of Upper Wick, about 1845. - #b.# Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of - England, edited by Robert Bell, p. 124. - - 1 - Sir Robert Bolton had three sons, - Wind well thy horn, good hunter - And one of them was called Sir Ryalas. - For he was a jovial hunter - - 2 - He rang'd all round down by the woodside, - Till up in the top of a tree a gay lady he spy'd. - For he was, etc. - - 3 - 'O what dost thou mean, fair lady?' said he; - 'O the wild boar has killed my lord and his men thirty.' - As thou beest, etc. - - 4 - 'O what shall I do this wild boar to see?' - 'O thee blow a blast, and he'll come unto thee.' - As thou beest, etc. - - 5 - [Then he put his horn unto his mouth], - Then he blowd a blast full north, east, west and south. - As he was, etc. - - 6 - And the wild boar heard him full into his den; - Then he made the best of his speed unto him. - To Sir Ryalas, etc. - - 7 - Then the wild boar, being so stout and so strong, - He thrashd down the trees as he came along. - To Sir Ryalas, etc. - - 8 - 'O what dost thou want of me?' the wild boar said he; - 'O I think in my heart I can do enough for thee.' - For I am, etc. - - 9 - Then they fought four hours in a long summer's day, - Till the wild boar fain would have gotten away. - From Sir Ryalas, etc. - - 10 - Then Sir Ryalas drawd his broad sword with might, - And he fairly cut his head off quite. - For he was, etc. - - 11 - Then out of the wood the wild woman flew: - 'Oh thou hast killed my pretty spotted pig! - As thou beest, etc. - - 12 - 'There are three things I do demand of thee, - It's thy horn, and thy hound, and thy gay lady.' - As thou beest, etc. - - 13 - 'If these three things thou dost demand of me, - It's just as my sword and thy neck can agree.' - For I am, etc. - - 14 - Then into his locks the wild woman flew, - Till she thought in her heart she had torn him through. - As he was, etc. - - 15 - Then Sir Ryalas drawd his broad sword again, - And he fairly split her head in twain. - For he was, etc. - - 16 - In Bromsgrove church they both do lie; - There the wild boar's head is picturd by - Sir Ryalas, etc. - - -D - - Allies, Antiquities and Folk-Lore of Worcestershire, p. - 118. From the recitation of ---- Oseman, Hartlebury. - - 1 - As I went up one brook, one brook, - Well wind the horn, good hunter - I saw a fair maiden sit on a tree top. - As thou art the jovial hunter - - 2 - I said, 'Fair maiden, what brings you here?' - 'It is the wild boar that has drove me here.' - As thou art, etc. - - 3 - 'I wish I could that wild boar see;' - Well wind the horn, good hunter, - And the wild boar soon will come to thee.' - As thou art, etc. - - 4 - Then he put his horn unto his mouth, - And he blowd both east, west, north and south. - As he was, etc. - - 5 - The wild boar hearing it into his den, - [Then he made the best of his speed unto - him]. - - 6 - He whetted his tusks for to make them strong, - And he cut down the oak and the ash as he came along. - For to meet with, etc. - - 7 - They fought five hours one long summer's day, - Till the wild boar he yelld, and he'd fain run away. - And away from, etc. - - 8 - O then he cut his head clean off, - . . . . . . . - - 9 - Then there came an old lady running out of the wood, - Saying, 'You have killed my pretty, my pretty spotted pig.' - As thou art, etc. - - 10 - Then at him this old lady she did go, - And he clove her from the top of her head to her toe. - As he was, etc. - - 11 - In Bromsgrove churchyard this old lady lies, - And the face of the boar's head there is drawn by, - That was killed by, etc. - - -E - - #a.# Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of - England, edited by Robert Bell, p. 250. #b.# Mr Robert - White's papers. - - 1 - There was an old man and sons he had three; - Wind well, Lion, good hunter - A friar he being one of the three, - With pleasure he ranged the north country. - For he was a jovial hunter - - 2 - As he went to the woods some pastime to see, - He spied a fair lady under a tree, - Sighing and moaning mournfully. - He was, etc. - - 3 - 'What are you doing, my fair lady?' - 'I'm frightened the wild boar he will kill me; - He has worried my lord and wounded thirty.' - As thou art, etc. - - 4 - Then the friar he put his horn to his mouth, - And he blew a blast, east, west, north and south, - And the wild boar from his den he came forth. - Unto the, etc. - - * * * * * * * - - -F - - Allies, Antiquities of Worcestershire, p. 120. - - 1 - Sir Rackabello had three sons, - Wind well your horn, brave hunter - Sir Ryalash was one of these. - And he was a jovial hunter - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - 3^1. _MS._ And as thé. - - 6^2. _MS._ had bee. - - 11^1. _MS._ I wilt. - - 12^1. _MS._ miste. - - 16^2. _MS._ awaw. - - 17^1. _MS._ vnbethought ... while. - - 19. _Between 19 and 20 half a page of the MS. is wanting._ - - 20^1. a[fter]: _MS. blotted._ - - 36^1. _MS._ bidds eue. - - 39. _Half a page of the MS. is wanting._ - -#B.# - - _The stanzas are doubled in Christie, to suit the air._ - -#C#. - - #a.# 3^1, 4^2, 7^2. #D.# 2^1, 3^2, 6. _John Cole, who had - heard an old man sing the ballad fifty years before - (Allies, p. 115), could recollect only so much:_ - - 'Oh! lady, Oh! lady, what bringst thou here?' - Wind went his horn, as a hunter - 'Thee blow another blast, and he'll soon come to thee.' - As thou art a jovial hunter - - He whetted his tusks as he came along, - Wind went his horn, as a hunter - - #a# 5, 6 _stand thus in Allies_: - - V - Then he blowd a blast full north, east, west and south, - For he was, etc. - And the wild boar heard him full into his den, - As he was, etc. - - VI - Then he made the best of his speed unto him. - _(Two lines wrongly supplied from another source.)_ - To Sir Ryalas, etc. - - _5 has been completed from the corresponding stanza in - #D#, and the two verses of 6, separated above, are put - together._ - - #b.# - - 1^1. Old Sir Robert. - - 1^2. was Sir Ryalas. - - 2^2. Till in a tree-top. - - 3^1. dost thee. - - 3^2. The wild boar's killed my lord and has thirty men - gored. - - _Burden_^2. And thou beest. - - 4^1. for to see. - - 5^1. _As in Allies (see above), except ~full~ in his den._ - - 5^2. then heard him full in his den. - - 6^1. _As in Allies (see above), but 6^2 supplied by Bell._ - - 7^2. Thrashed down the trees as he ramped him along. - - 8^1. 'Oh, what dost thee want of me, wild boar.' - - _Burden_^2. the jovial. - - 9^1. summer. - - 9^2. have got him. - - 10^2. cut the boar's head off quite. - - 11^2. Oh, my pretty spotted pig thou hast slew. - - _Burden_^2. for thou beest. - - 12^1. I demand them of thee. - - 13^1. dost ask. - - 14^1. long locks. - - 14^2. to tear him through. - - _Burden_^2. Though he was. - - 15^2. into twain. - - 16^1. the knight he doth lie. - - 16^2. And the wild boar's head is pictured thereby. - -#D#. - - 5, 6. _In Allies thus:_ - - V - The wild boar hearing it into his den, - Well wind, etc. - He whetted his tusks, for to make them strong, - And he cut down the oak and the ash as he came along. - For to meet with, etc. - - _Stanza 5 has been completed from stanza vi of Allies' - other ballad, and 6 duly separated from the first line of - 5._ - - 8^2, 9. _In Allies' copy thus_: - - VII - Oh! then he cut his head clean off! - Well wind, etc. - Then there came an old lady running out of the wood - Saying, 'You have killed my pretty, my pretty spotted pig.' - As thou art, etc. - - _What stanza 8 should be is easily seen from #C# 10._ - - #C# 16, #D# 11. _As imperfectly remembered by Allies (p. - 114):_ - - In Bromsgrove church his corpse doth lie, - Why winded his horn the hunter? - Because there was a wild boar nigh, - And as he was a jovial hunter. - -#E.# - - #b.# "Fragment found on the fly-leaf of an old book." _Mr - R. White's papers._ - - 1^2, one of these three. - - 1^3. wide countrie. - - _Burden_^2. He was. - - 2^1. was in woods. - - 2^3. With a bloody river running near she. - - 3^1. He said, 'Fair lady what are you doing there?' - - 3^3. killed my lord. - - 4. _wanting._ - - -[180] The friar might also be borrowed from 'The Felon Sow and the -Friars of Richmond,' but this piece does not appear to have been -extensively known. - - - - -19 - -KING ORFEO - - The Leisure Hour, February 14, 1880, No 1468: Folk-Lore - from Unst, Shetland, by Mrs Saxby, p. 109. - - -Mr Edmondston, from whose memory this ballad was derived, notes that -though stanzas are probably lost after the first which would give some -account of the king in the east wooing the lady in the west, no such -verses were sung to him. He had forgotten some stanzas after the fourth, -of which the substance was that the lady was carried off by fairies; -that the king went in quest of her, and one day saw a company passing -along a hill-side, among whom he recognized his lost wife. The troop -went to what seemed a great "ha-house," or castle, on the hillside. -Stanzas after the eighth were also forgotten, the purport being that a -messenger from behind the grey stane appeared and invited the king in. - -We have here in traditional song the story of the justly admired -mediæval romance of Orpheus, in which fairy-land supplants Tartarus, -faithful love is rewarded, and Eurydice (Heurodis, Erodys, Eroudys) is -retrieved. This tale has come down to us in three versions: #A#, in the -Auchinleck MS., dating from the beginning of the fourteenth century, -Advocates Library, Edinburgh, printed in Laing's Select Remains of the -Ancient Popular Poetry of Scotland, 'Orfeo and Heurodis,' No 3; #B#, -Ashmole MS., 61, Bodleian Library, of the first half of the fifteenth -century, printed in Halliwell's Illustrations of Fairy Mythology, 'Kyng -Orfew,' p. 37; #C#, Harleian MS., 3810, British Museum, printed by -Ritson, Metrical Romancëes, II, 248, 'Sir Orpheo.' At the end of the -Auchinleck copy we are told that harpers in Britain heard this marvel, -and made a lay thereof, which they called, after the king, 'Lay Orfeo.' -The other two copies also, but in verses which are a repetition of the -introduction to 'Lay le Freine,' call this a Breton lay. - -The story is this (#A#). Orfeo was a king [and so good a harper never -none was, #B#]. One day in May his queen went out to a garden with two -maidens, and fell asleep under an "ympe" tree. When she waked she -shrieked, tore her clothes, and acted very wildly. Her maidens ran to -the palace and called for help, for the queen would go mad. Knights and -ladies went to the queen, took her away, and put her to bed; but still -the excitement continued. The king, in great affliction, besought her to -tell him what was the matter, and what he could do. Alas! she said, I -have loved thee as my life, and thou me, but now we must part. As she -slept knights had come to her and had bidden her come speak with their -king. Upon her refusal, the king himself came, with a company of knights -and damsels, all on snow-white steeds, and made her ride on a palfrey by -his side, and, after he had shown her his palace, brought her back and -said: Look thou be under this ympe tree tomorrow, to go with us; and if -thou makest us any let, we will take thee by force, wherever thou be. -The next day Orfeo took the queen to the tree under guard of a thousand -knights, all resolved to die before they would give her up: but she was -spirited away right from the midst of them, no one knew whither. - -The king all but died of grief, but it was no boot. He gave his kingdom -in charge to his high steward, told his barons to choose a new king when -they should learn that he was dead, put on a sclavin and nothing else, -took his harp, and went barefoot out at the gate. Ten years he lived in -the woods and on the heath; his body wasted away, his beard grew to his -girdle. His only solace was in his harp, and, when the weather was -bright, he would play, and all the beasts and birds would flock to him. -Often at hot noon-day he would see the king of fairy hunting with his -rout, or an armed host would go by him with banners displayed, or -knights and ladies would come dancing; but whither they went he could -not tell. One day he descried sixty ladies who were hawking. He went -towards them and saw that one of them was Heurodis. He looked at her -wistfully, and she at him; neither spoke a word, but tears fell from her -eyes, and the ladies hurried her away. He followed, and spared neither -stub nor stem. They went in at a rock, and he after. They alighted at a -superb castle; he knocked at the gate, told the porter he was a -minstrel, and was let in. There he saw Heurodis, sleeping under an ympe -tree. - -Orfeo went into the hall, and saw a king and queen, sitting in a -tabernacle. He kneeled down before the king. What man art thou? said the -king. I never sent for thee, and never found I man so bold as to come -here unbidden. Lord, quoth Orfeo, I am but a poor minstrel, and it is a -way of ours to seek many a lord's house, though we be not welcome. -Without more words he took his harp and began to play. All the palace -came to listen, and lay down at his feet. The king sat still and was -glad to hear, and, when the harping was done, said, Minstrel, ask of me -whatever it be; I will pay thee largely. "Sir," said Orfeo, "I beseech -thee give me the lady that sleepeth under the ympe tree." "Nay," quoth -the king, "ye were a sorry couple; for thou art lean and rough and -black, and she is lovely and has no lack. A lothly thing were it to see -her in thy company." "Gentle king," replied the harper, it were a fouler -thing to hear a lie from thy mouth." "Take her, then, and be blithe of -her," said the king. - -Orfeo now turned homewards, but first presented himself to the steward -alone, and in beggar's clothes, as a harper from heathendom, to see if -he were a true man. The loyal steward was ready to welcome every good -harper for love of his lord. King Orfeo made himself known; the steward -threw over the table, and fell down at his feet, and so did all the -lords. They brought the queen to the town. Orfeo and Heurodis were -crowned anew, and lived long afterward. - -The Scandinavian burden was, perhaps, no more intelligible to the singer -than "Hey non nonny" is to us. The first line seems to be Unst for -Danish - - Skoven årle grön (Early green's the wood). - -The sense of the other line is not so obvious. Professor Grundtvig has -suggested to me, - - Hvor hjorten han går årlig (Where the hart goes yearly). - - -A - - The Leisure Hour, February 14, 1880, No 1468, p. 109. - Obtained from the singing of Andrew Coutts, an old man in - Unst, Shetland, by Mr Biot Edmondston. - - 1 - Der lived a king inta da aste, - Scowan ürla grün - Der lived a lady in da wast. - Whar giorten han grün oarlac - - 2 - Dis king he has a huntin gaen, - He's left his Lady Isabel alane. - - 3 - 'Oh I wis ye'd never gaen away, - For at your hame is döl an wae. - - 4 - 'For da king o Ferrie we his daert, - Has pierced your lady to da hert.' - - * * * * * * * - - 5 - And aifter dem da king has gaen, - But whan he cam it was a grey stane. - - 6 - Dan he took oot his pipes ta play, - Bit sair his hert wi döl an wae. - - 7 - And first he played da notes o noy, - An dan he played da notes o joy. - - 8 - An dan he played da göd gabber reel, - Dat meicht ha made a sick hert hale. - - * * * * * * * - - 9 - 'Noo come ye in inta wir ha, - An come ye in among wis a'.' - - 10 - Now he's gaen in inta der ha, - An he's gaen in among dem a'. - - 11 - Dan he took out his pipes to play, - Bit sair his hert wi döl an wae. - - 12 - An first he played da notes o noy, - An dan he played da notes o joy. - - 13 - An dan he played da göd gabber reel, - Dat meicht ha made a sick hert hale. - - 14 - 'Noo tell to us what ye will hae: - What sall we gie you for your play? - - 15 - 'What I will hae I will you tell, - An dat's me Lady Isabel.' - - 16 - 'Yees tak your lady, an yees gaeng hame, - An yees be king ower a' your ain.' - - 17 - He's taen his lady, an he's gaen hame, - An noo he's king ower a' his ain. - - - - -20 - -THE CRUEL MOTHER. - - #A.# Herd's MSS, I, 132, II, 191. Herd's Ancient and - Modern Scottish Songs, 1776, II, 237. - - #B. a.# 'Fine Flowers in the Valley,' Johnson's Museum, p. - 331. #b.# Scott's Minstrelsy, III, 259 (1803). - - #C#. 'The Cruel Mother,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 161. - - #D. a.# Kinloch MSS, V, 103. #b.# 'The Cruel Mother,' - Kinloch, Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 46. - - #E.# 'The Cruel Mother.' #a.# Motherwell's MS., p. 390. - #b.# Motherwell's Note-Book, p. 33. - - #F.# 'The Cruel Mother.' #a.# Buchan's MSS, II, 98. #b.# - Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 222. - - #G.# Notes and Queries, 1st S., VIII, 358. - - #H.# 'The Cruel Mother,' Motherwell's MS., p. 402. - - #I.# 'The Minister's Daughter of New York.' #a.# Buchan's - MSS, II, 111. #b.# Buchan's Ballads of the North of - Scotland, II, 217. #c.# 'Hey wi the rose and the lindie - O,' Christie, Traditional Ballad Airs, I, 106. - - #J. a.# 'The Rose o Malindie O,' Harris MS., f. 10. #b.# - Fragment communicated by Dr T. Davidson. - - #K.# Motherwell's MS., p. 186. - - #L.# 'Fine Flowers in the Valley,' Smith's Scottish - Minstrel, IV, 33. - - #M.# From Miss M. Reburn, as learned in County Meath, - Ireland, one stanza. - - -Two fragments of this ballad, #A#, #B#, were printed in the last quarter -of the eighteenth century; #C-L# were committed to writing after 1800; -and, of these, #E#, #H#, #J#, #K# are now printed for the first time. - -#A-H# differ only slightly, but several of these versions are very -imperfect. A young woman, who passes for a leal maiden, gives birth to -two babes [#A#, #B#, one, #H#, three], puts them to death with a -penknife, #B-F#, and buries them, or, #H#, ties them hand and feet and -buries them alive. She afterwards sees two pretty boys, and exclaims -that if they were hers she would treat them most tenderly. They make -answer that when they were hers they were very differently treated, -rehearse what she had done, and inform or threaten her that hell shall -be her portion, #C#, #D#, #E#, #F#, #H#. In #I# the children are buried -alive, as in #H#, in #J a# strangled, in #J b# and #L# killed with the -penknife, but the story is the same down to the termination, where, -instead of simple hell-fire, there are various seven-year penances, -properly belonging to the ballad of 'The Maid and the Palmer,' which -follows this. - -All the English ballads are in two-line stanzas.[181] - -Until 1870 no corresponding ballad had been found in Denmark, though -none was more likely to occur in #Danish#. That year Kristensen, in the -course of his very remarkable ballad-quest in Jutland, recovered two -versions which approach surprisingly near to Scottish tradition, and -especially to #E#: Jydske Folkeviser, I, 329, No 121 #A#, #B#, -'Barnemordersken.' Two other Danish versions have been obtained since -then, but have not been published. #A# and #B# are much the same, and a -close translation of #A# will not take much more space than would be -required for a sufficient abstract. - - Little Kirsten took with her the bower-women five, - And with them she went to the wood belive. - - She spread her cloak down on the earth, - And on it to two little twins gave birth. - - She laid them under a turf so green, - Nor suffered for them a sorrow unseen. - - She laid them under so broad a stone, - Suffered sorrow nor harm for what she had done. - - Eight years it was, and the children twain - Would fain go home to their mother again. - - They went and before Our Lord they stood: - 'Might we go home to our mother, we would.' - - 'Ye may go to your mother, if ye will, - But ye may not contrive any ill.' - - They knocked at the door, they made no din: - 'Rise up, our mother, and let us in.' - - By life and by death hath she cursed and sworn, - That never a child in the world had she borne. - - 'Stop, stop, dear mother, and swear not so fast, - We shall recount to you what has passed. - - 'You took with you the bower-women five, - And with them went to the wood belive. - - 'You spread your cloak down on the earth, - And on it to two little twins gave birth. - - 'You laid us under a turf so green, - Nor suffered for us a sorrow unseen. - - 'You laid us under so broad a stone, - Suffered sorrow nor harm for what you had done.' - - 'Nay my dear bairns, but stay with me; - And four barrels of gold shall be your fee.' - - 'You may give us four, or five, if you choose, - But not for all that, heaven will we lose. - - 'You may give us eight, you may give us nine, - But not for all these, heaven will we tine. - - 'Our seat is made ready in heavenly light, - But for you a seat in hell is dight.' - -A ballad is spread all over #Germany# which is probably a variation of -'The Cruel Mother,' though the resemblance is rather in the general -character than in the details. #A#, 'Höllisches Recht,' Wunderhorn, II, -202, ed. of 1808, II, 205, ed. 1857. Mittler, No 489, p. 383, seems to -be this regulated and filled out. #B#, Erlach, 'Die Rabenmutter,' IV, -148; repeated, with the addition of one stanza, by Zuccalmaglio, p. 203, -No 97. #C#, 'Die Kindsmörderinn,' Meinert, p. 164, from the Kuhländchen; -turned into current German, Erk's Liederhort, p. 144, No 41^c. #D#, -Simrock, p. 87, No 37^a, from the Aargau. #E#, 'Das falsche Mutterherz,' -Erk u. Irmer, Heft 5, No 7, and 'Die Kindesmörderin,' Erk's Liederhort, -p. 140, No 41, Brandenburg. #F#, Liederhort, p. 142, No 41^a, Silesia. -#G#, Liederhort, p. 143, 41^b, from the Rhein, very near to #B#. #H#, -Hoffmann u. Richter, No 31, p. 54, and #I#, No 32, p. 57, Silesia. #J#, -Ditfurth, Fränkische V. 1., II, 12, No 13. #K#, 'Die Rabenmutter,' -Peter, Volksthümliches aus Österreichisch-Schlesien, I, 210, No 21. #L#, -'Der Teufel u. die Müllerstochter,' Pröhle, Weltliche u. geistliche V. -1., p. 15, No 9, Hanoverian Harz. Repetitions and compounded copies are -not noticed. - -The story is nearly this in all. A herdsman, passing through a wood, -hears the cry of a child, but cannot make out whence the sound comes. -The child announces that it is hidden in a hollow tree, and asks to be -taken to the house where its mother is to be married that day. There -arrived, the child proclaims before all the company that the bride is -its mother. The bride, or some one of the party, calls attention to the -fact that she is still wearing her maiden-wreath. Nevertheless, says the -child, she has had three children: one she drowned, one she buried in a -dung-heap [the sand], and one she hid in a hollow tree. The bride wishes -that the devil may come for her if this is true, and, upon the word, -Satan appears and takes her off; in #B#, #G#, #J#, with words like -these: - - 'Komm her, komm her, meine schönste Braut, - Dein Sessel ist dir in der Hölle gebaut.' #J# 9. - -A #Wendish# version, 'Der Höllentanz,' in Haupt and Schmaler, I, 290, No -292, differs from the German ballads only in this, that the bride has -already borne nine children, and is going with the tenth. - -A combination of #B#, #C#, #D#, #F# is translated by Grundtvig, Engelske -og skotske Folkeviser, No 43, p. 279, and #I#, from the eighth stanza -on, p. 282. #C# is translated by Wolff, Halle der Völker, I, 11, and -Hauschatz, p. 223; Allingham's version (nearly #B a#) by Knortz, L. u. -R. Alt-Englands, p. 178, No 48. - - -A - - Herd's MSS, I, 132, II, 191: Ancient and Modern Scottish - Songs, 1776, II, 237. - - * * * * * * * - - 1 - And there she's leand her back to a thorn, - Oh and alelladay, oh and alelladay - And there she has her baby born. - Ten thousand times good night and be wi thee - - 2 - She has houked a grave ayont the sun, - And there she has buried the sweet babe in. - - 3 - And she's gane back to her father's ha, - She's counted the leelest maid o them a'. - - * * * * * * * - - 4 - 'O look not sae sweet, my bonie babe, - Gin ye smyle sae, ye'll smyle me dead.' - - * * * * * * * - - -B - - #a.# Johnson's Museum, p. 331. #b.# Scott's Minstrelsy, - 1803, III, 259, preface. - - 1 - She sat down below a thorn, - Fine flowers in the valley - And there she has her sweet babe born. - And the green leaves they grow rarely - - 2 - 'Smile na sae sweet, my bonie babe, - And ye smile sae sweet, ye'll smile me dead.' - - 3 - She's taen out her little pen-knife, - And twinnd the sweet babe o its life. - - 4 - She's howket a grave by the light o the moon, - And there she's buried her sweet babe in. - - 5 - As she was going to the church, - She saw a sweet babe in the porch. - - 6 - 'O sweet babe, and thou were mine, - I wad cleed thee in the silk so fine.' - - 7 - 'O mother dear, when I was thine, - You did na prove to me sae kind.' - - * * * * * * * - - -C - - Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 161. - - 1 - She leaned her back unto a thorn, - Three, three, and three by three - And there she has her two babes born. - Three, three, and thirty-three - - 2 - She took frae 'bout her ribbon-belt, - And there she bound them hand and foot. - - 3 - She has taen out her wee pen-knife, - And there she ended baith their life. - - 4 - She has howked a hole baith deep and wide, - She has put them in baith side by side. - - 5 - She has covered them oer wi a marble stane, - Thinking she would gang maiden hame. - - 6 - As she was walking by her father's castle wa, - She saw twa pretty babes playing at the ba. - - 7 - 'O bonnie babes, gin ye were mine, - I would dress you up in satin fine. - - 8 - 'O I would dress you in the silk, - And wash you ay in morning milk.' - - 9 - 'O cruel mother, we were thine, - And thou made us to wear the twine. - - 10 - 'O cursed mother, heaven's high, - And that's where thou will neer win nigh. - - 11 - 'O cursed mother, hell is deep, - And there thou'll enter step by step.' - - -D - - #a.# Kinloch's MSS, V, 103, in the handwriting of James - Beattie. #b.# Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 46: - from the recitation of Miss C. Beattie. - - 1 - There lives a lady in London, - All alone and alone ee - She's gane wi bairn to the clerk's son. - Down by the green wood sae bonnie - - 2 - She's taen her mantle her about, - She's gane aff to the gude green wood. - - 3 - She's set her back untill an oak, - First it bowed and then it broke. - - 4 - She's set her back untill a tree, - Bonny were the twa boys she did bear. - - 5 - But she took out a little pen-knife, - And she parted them and their sweet life. - - 6 - She's aff untill her father's ha; - She was the lealest maiden that was amang them a'. - - 7 - As she lookit oure the castle wa, - She spied twa bonnie boys playing at the ba. - - 8 - 'O if these two babes were mine, - They should wear the silk and the sabelline!' - - 9 - 'O mother dear, when we were thine, - We neither wore the silks nor the sabelline. - - 10 - 'But out ye took a little pen-knife, - And ye parted us and our sweet life. - - 11 - 'But now we're in the heavens hie, - And ye've the pains o hell to drie.' - - -E - - #a.# Motherwell's MS., p. 390. #b.# Motherwell's - Note-Book, p. 33. From the recitation of Agnes Lyle, - Kilbarchan, August 24, 1825. - - 1 - There was a lady, she lived in Lurk, - Sing hey alone and alonie O - She fell in love with her father's clerk. - Down by yon greenwood sidie O - - 2 - She loved him seven years and a day, - Till her big belly did her betray. - - 3 - She leaned her back unto a tree, - And there began her sad misery. - - 4 - She set her foot unto a thorn, - And there she got her two babes born. - - 5 - She took out her wee pen-knife, - She twind them both of their sweet life. - - 6 - She took the sattins was on her head, - She rolled them in both when they were dead. - - 7 - She howkit a grave forenent the sun, - And there she buried her twa babes in. - - 8 - As she was walking thro her father's ha, - She spied twa boys playing at the ba. - - 9 - 'O pretty boys, if ye were mine, - I would dress ye both in the silks so fine.' - - 10 - 'O mother dear, when we were thine, - Thou neer dressed us in silks so fine. - - 11 - 'For thou was a lady, thou livd in Lurk, - And thou fell in love with thy father's clerk. - - 12 - 'Thou loved him seven years and a day, - Till thy big belly did thee betray. - - 13 - 'Thou leaned thy back unto a tree, - And there began thy sad misery. - - 14 - 'Thou set thy foot unto a thorn, - And there thou got thy two babes born. - - 15 - 'Thou took out thy wee pen-knife, - And twind us both of our sweet life. - - 16 - 'Thou took the sattins was on thy head, - Thou rolled us both in when we were dead. - - 17 - 'Thou howkit a grave forenent the sun, - And there thou buried thy twa babes in. - - 18 - 'But now we're both in [the] heavens hie, - There is pardon for us, but none for thee.' - - 19 - 'My pretty boys, beg pardon for me!' - 'There is pardon for us, but none for thee.' - - -F - - #a.# Buchan's MSS, II, 98. #b.# Buchan's Ballads of the - North of Scotland, II, 222. - - 1 - It fell ance upon a day, - Edinburgh, Edinburgh - It fell ance upon a day, - Stirling for aye - It fell ance upon a day - The clerk and lady went to play. - So proper Saint Johnston stands fair upon Tay - - 2 - 'If my baby be a son, - I'll make him a lord of high renown.' - - 3 - She's leand her back to the wa, - Prayd that her pains might fa. - - 4 - She's leand her back to the thorn, - There was her baby born. - - 5 - 'O bonny baby, if ye suck sair, - You'll never suck by my side mair.' - - 6 - She's riven the muslin frae her head, - Tied the baby hand and feet. - - 7 - Out she took her little pen-knife, - Twind the young thing o its sweet life. - - 8 - She's howked a hole anent the meen, - There laid her sweet baby in. - - 9 - She had her to her father's ha, - She was the meekest maid amang them a'. - - 10 - It fell ance upon a day, - She saw twa babies at their play. - - 11 - 'O bonny babies, gin ye were mine, - I'd cleathe you in the silks sae fine.' - - 12 - 'O wild mother, when we were thine, - You cleathd us not in silks so fine. - - 13 - 'But now we're in the heavens high, - And you've the pains o hell to try.' - - 14 - She threw hersell oer the castle-wa, - There I wat she got a fa. - - -G - - Notes and Queries, 1st S., VIII, 358. From Warwickshire, - communicated by C. Clifton Barry. - - 1 - There was a lady lived on [a] lea, - All alone, alone O - Down by the greenwood side went she. - Down the greenwood side O - - 2 - She set her foot all on a thorn, - There she had two babies born. - - 3 - O she had nothing to lap them in, - But a white appurn, and that was thin. - - -H - - Motherwell's MS., p. 402. From Agnes Laird, Kilbarchan, - August 24, 1825. - - 1 - There was a lady brisk and smart, - All in a lone and a lonie O - And she goes with child to her father's clark. - Down by the greenwood sidie O - - 2 - Big, big oh she went away, - And then she set her foot to a tree. - - 3 - Big she set her foot to a stone, - Till her three bonnie babes were borne. - - 4 - She took the ribbons off her head, - She tied the little babes hand and feet. - - 5 - She howkit a hole before the sun, - She's laid these three bonnie babes in. - - 6 - She covered them over with marble stone, - For dukes and lords to walk upon. - - 7 - She lookit over her father's castle wa, - She saw three bonnie boys playing at the ba. - - 8 - The first o them was clad in red, - To shew the innocence of their blood. - - 9 - The neist o them was clad in green, - To shew that death they had been in. - - 10 - The next was naked to the skin, - To shew they were murderd when they were born. - - 11 - 'O bonnie babes, an ye were mine, - I wad dress you in the satins so fine.' - - 12 - 'O mother dear, when we were thine, - Thou did not use us half so kind.' - - 13 - 'O bonnie babes, an ye be mine, - Whare hae ye been a' this time?' - - 14 - 'We were at our father's house, - Preparing a place for thee and us.' - - 15 - 'Whaten a place hae ye prepar'd for me?' - 'Heaven's for us, but hell's for thee. - - 16 - 'O mother dear, but heaven's high; - That is the place thou'll ne'er come nigh. - - 17 - 'O mother dear, but hell is deep; - 'T will cause thee bitterlie to weep.' - - -I - - #a.# Buchan's MS., II, 111. #b.# Buchan's Ballads of the - North of Scotland, II, 217. #c.# Christie, Traditional - Ballad Airs, I, 106. - - 1 - The minister's daughter of New York, - Hey wi the rose and the lindie, O - Has faen in love wi her father's clerk. - Alone by the green burn sidie, O - - 2 - She courted him six years and a day, - At length her belly did her betray. - - 3 - She did her down to the greenwood gang, - To spend awa a while o her time. - - 4 - She lent her back unto a thorn, - And she's got her twa bonny boys born. - - 5 - She 's taen the ribbons frae her hair, - Bound their bodyes fast and sair. - - 6 - She 's put them aneath a marble stane, - Thinking a maiden to gae hame. - - 7 - Looking oer her castle wa, - She spied her bonny boys at the ba. - - 8 - 'O bonny babies, if ye were mine, - I woud feed you with the white bread and wine. - - 9 - 'I woud feed you wi the ferra cow's milk, - And dress you in the finest silk.' - - 10 - 'O cruel mother, when we were thine, - We saw none of your bread and wine. - - 11 - 'We saw none of your ferra cow's milk, - Nor wore we of your finest silk.' - - 12 - 'O bonny babies, can ye tell me, - What sort of death for you I must die?' - - 13 - 'Yes, cruel mother, we'll tell to thee, - What sort of death for us you must die. - - 14 - 'Seven years a fowl in the woods, - Seven years a fish in the floods. - - 15 - 'Seven years to be a church bell, - Seven years a porter in hell.' - - 16 - 'Welcome, welcome, fowl in the wood[s], - Welcome, welcome, fish in the flood[s]. - - 17 - 'Welcome, welcome, to be a church bell, - But heavens keep me out of hell.' - - -J - - #a.# Harris MS., fol. 10, "Mrs Harris and others." #b.# - Fragment communicated by Dr T. Davidson. - - 1 - She leant her back against a thorn, - Hey for the Rose o' Malindie O - And there she has twa bonnie babes born. - Adoon by the green wood sidie O - - 2 - She's taen the ribbon frae her head, - An hankit their necks till they waur dead. - - 3 - She luikit outowre her castle wa, - An saw twa nakit boys, playin at the ba. - - 4 - 'O bonnie boys, waur ye but mine, - I wald feed ye wi flour-bread an wine.' - - 5 - 'O fause mother, whan we waur thine, - Ye didna feed us wi flour-bread an wine.' - - 6 - 'O bonnie boys, gif ye waur mine, - I wald clied ye wi silk sae fine.' - - 7 - 'O fause mother, whan we waur thine, - You didna clied us in silk sae fine. - - 8 - 'Ye tuik the ribbon aff your head, - An' hankit our necks till we waur dead. - - * * * * * * * - - 9 - 'Ye sall be seven years bird on the tree, - Ye sall be seven years fish i the sea. - - 10 - 'Ye sall be seven years eel i the pule, - An ye sail be seven years doon into hell.' - - 11 - 'Welcome, welcome, bird on the tree, - Welcome, welcome, fish i the sea. - - 12 - 'Welcome, welcome, eel i the pule, - But oh for gudesake, keep me frae hell!' - - -K - - Motherwell's MS., p. 186. - - 1 - Lady Margaret looked oer the castle wa, - Hey and a lo and a lilly O - And she saw twa bonnie babes playing at the ba. - Down by the green wood sidy O - - 2 - 'O pretty babes, an ye were mine, - I would dress you in the silks so fine.' - - 3 - 'O false mother, when we were thine, - Ye did not dress us in silks so fine.' - - 4 - 'O bonnie babes, an ye were mine, - I would feed you on the bread and wine.' - - 5 - 'O false mother, when we were thine, - Ye did not feed us on the bread and the wine.' - - * * * * * * * - - 6 - 'Seven years a fish in the sea, - And seven years a bird in the tree. - - 7 - 'Seven years to ring a bell, - And seven years porter in hell.' - - -L - - Smith's Scottish Minstrel, IV, 33, 2d ed. - - 1 - A lady lookd out at a castle wa, - Fine flowers in the valley - She saw twa bonnie babes playing at the ba. - And the green leaves they grow rarely - - 2 - 'O my bonnie babes, an ye were mine, - I would cleed ye i the scarlet sae fine. - - 3 - 'I 'd lay ye saft in beds o down, - And watch ye morning, night and noon.' - - 4 - 'O mither dear, when we were thine, - Ye didna cleed us i the scarlet sae fine. - - 5 - 'But ye took out yere little pen-knife, - And parted us frae our sweet life. - - 6 - 'Ye howkit a hole aneath the moon, - And there ye laid our bodies down. - - 7 - 'Ye happit the hole wi mossy stanes, - And there ye left our wee bit banes. - - 8 - 'But ye ken weel, O mither dear, - Ye never cam that gate for fear.' - - * * * * * * * - - 9 - 'Seven lang years ye'll ring the bell, - And see sic sights as ye darna tell.' - - -M - - Communicated by Miss Margaret Reburn, as learned in County - Meath, Ireland, about 1860. - - 'O mother dear, when we were thine, - All a lee and aloney O - You neither dressed us in coarse or fine.' - Down by the greenwood sidy O - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - _Superscribed_, "Fragment to its own tune. Melancholy." - _Against the first line of the burden is written in the - margin, "~perhaps alas-a-day~," and this change is adopted - in Herd's printed copy. Scott suggested ~well-a-day~._ - - 4^2. _MSS and ed. 1776 have ~ze ... ze'll~._ - -#B. b.# - - "A fragment [_of 5 stanzas_] containing the following - verses, which I have often heard sung in my childhood." - _Scott, III. 259. No burden is given._ - - 1^1. She set her back against. - - 1^2. young son born. - - 2^1. O smile nae sae. - - 3, 4, _wanting_. - - 5^1. An when that lady went. - - 5^2. She spied a naked boy. - - 6^1. O bonnie boy, an ye. - - 6^2. I'd cleed ye in the silks. - - 7^2. To me ye were na half. - - _Cunningham, Songs of Scotland, I, 340, says:_ "I remember - a verse, and but a verse, of an old ballad which records a - horrible instance of barbarity," _and quotes the first two - stanzas of Scott's fragment literally; from which we may - infer that it was Scott's fragment that he partly - remembered. But he goes on:_ "At this moment a hunter - came--one whose suit the lady had long rejected with - scorn--the brother of her lover: - - He took the babe on his spear point, - And threw it upon a thorn: - 'Let the wind blow east, the wind blow west, - The cradle will rock alone.'" - - _Cunningham's recollection was evidently much confused. - This last stanza, which is not in the metre of the others, - is perhaps from some copy of '~Edom o Gordon~.'_ - -#D. a.# - - 6^2. I was. - - #b.# - - _Kinloch makes slight changes in his printed copy, as - usual._ - - 4^1. until a brier. - - 5^1. out she 's tane. - - 6^2. She seemd the lealest maiden amang. - - 8^1. O an thae. - -#E.# - - 1^1, 11^1. Lurk _may be a corruption of ~York~, which - is written in pencil (by way of suggestion?) in the MSS._ - - #a.# - - 16^1. on your. - - #b.# - - 4^1, 14^1. upon a thorn. - - 5^2. twind _wanting_. - - 6^1. sattins _wanting_. - - _13, 14, 15, 16, 17 are not written out in the note-book_. - - 18^1. the heavens. - - 19^2. but there is none. - -#F. a.# - - _9 stands last but one in the MS._ - - 14^2. Here. - - #b.# - - 4^2. has her. - - 7^2. sweet _is omitted_. - - _Printed as from the MS. in Dixon's Scottish Traditional - Versions, etc., p. 46. Dixon has changed ~baby~ to - ~babies~ in 4, 5, 6, 8, and indulges in other variations._ - -#H.# - - _The ballad had been heard with two different burdens; - besides the one given in the text, this:_ - - Three and three, and three by three - Ah me, some forty three - - 7 'Lady Mary Ann,' _Johnson's Museum, No 377, begins_: - - O Lady Mary Ann looks oer the castle wa, - She saw three bonie boys playing at the ba. - -#I. a, b.# - - 14^1, 16^1. _~fool~, i.e. ~fowl~ spelt phonetically._ - -#a.# - - 3^1. greenwoods - -#b.# - - 2^2. it did. - - 8^2. with white. - - 11^2. wear'd. - - 13^2. maun die. - -#c.# - - "Epitomized" _from Buchan, II, 217_, "and somewhat changed - for this work, some of the changes being made according to - the way the Editor has heard it sung." _Note by Christie, - p. 106._ - - _Burden_, It 's hey with the rose, etc. - - 7^1. As a lady was looking. - - 7^2. She spied twa. - - 11^2. Nor wore we a. - - 12^2. What sort of pain for you I must drie. - - 13^2. What sort of pain for us you must drie. - - 14^2. And seven. - - _Printed as from the MS. in Dixon's Scottish Traditional - Versions of Ancient Ballads, p. 50, '~The Minister's - Dochter o Newarke~,' with a few arbitrary changes._ - -#J. a.# - - 9^1. You. - - #b.# _has stanzas corresponding to a 1, 3, 4, 6, and, in - place of 2_, - - She 's taen oot a little pen-knife, - And she 's robbit them o their sweet life. - - _Burden_^1. Hey i the rose o Mylindsay O. - - 1^1, until a thorn. - - 1^2. An syne her twa bonnie boys was born. - - 3^1. As she leukit oer her father's. - - 3^2. bonnie boys. - - 4^1. an ye were mine. - - 4^2. bread. - - 6^2. claithe ye in. - -#L.# - - _8 looks like an interpolation, and very probably the - ballad was docked at the beginning in order to suit the - parlor better._ - - -[181] All the genuine ones. 'Lady Anne,' in Scott's Minstrelsy, III, -259, 1803, is on the face of it a modern composition, with extensive -variations, on the theme of the popular ballad. It is here given in an -Appendix, with a companion piece from Cromek's Remains of Nithsdale and -Galloway Song. - - -APPENDIX - -LADY ANNE - -"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 [#B b#], which I have -often heard sung in my childhood." Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, -III, 259, ed. 1803. - -Buchan, Gleanings, p. 90, has an additional stanza between 8 and 9 of -Scott's, whether from the old magazine or not, it would not be worth the -while to ascertain. - -Cunningham, Songs of Scotland, I, 339, has rewritten even 'Lady Anne.' - -Translated by Schubart, p. 170, and by Gerhard, p. 92. - - 1 - Fair Lady Anne sate in her bower, - Down by the greenwood side, - And the flowers did spring, and the birds did sing, - 'Twas the pleasant May-day tide. - - 2 - But fair Lady Anne on Sir William calld, - With the tear grit in her ee, - 'O though them be fause, may Heaven thee guard, - In the wars ayont the sea!' - - 3 - Out of the wood came three bonnie boys, - Upon the simmer's morn, - And they did sing and play at the ba', - As naked as they were born. - - 4 - 'O seven lang years wad I sit here, - Amang the frost and snaw, - A' to hae but ane o these bonnie boys, - A playing at the ba.' - - 5 - Then up and spake the eldest boy, - 'Now listen, thou fair ladie, - And ponder well the rede that I tell, - Then make ye a choice of the three. - - 6 - ''Tis I am Peter, and this is Paul, - And that ane, sae fair to see, - But a twelve-month sinsyne to paradise came, - To join with our companie.' - - 7 - 'O I will hae the snaw-white boy, - The bonniest of the three:' - 'And if I were thine, and in thy propine, - O what wad ye do to me?' - - 8 - ''Tis I wad clead thee in silk and gowd, - And nourice thee on my knee:' - 'O mither, mither, when I was thine, - Sic kindness I couldna see. - - 9 - 'Beneath the turf, where now I stand, - The fause nurse buried me; - The cruel pen-knife sticks still in my heart, - And I come not back to thee.' - - * * * * * - -"There are many variations of this affecting tale. One of them appears -in the Musical Museum, and is there called 'Fine Flowers of the Valley,' -of which the present is either the original or a parallel song. I am -inclined to think it is the original." Cromek's Remains of Nithsdale and -Galloway Song, p. 267. - -This is translated by Talvj, Versuch, p. 571. - - 1 - There sat 'mang the flowers a fair ladie, - Sing ohon, ohon, and ohon O - And there she has born a sweet babie. - Adown by the greenwode side O - - 2 - An strait she rowed its swaddling band, - An O! nae mother grips took her hand. - - 3 - O twice it lifted its bonnie wee ee: - 'Thae looks gae through the saul o me!' - - 4 - She buried the bonnie babe neath the brier, - And washed her hands wi mony a tear. - - 5 - And as she kneelt to her God in prayer, - The sweet wee babe was smiling there. - - 6 - 'O ay, my God, as I look to thee, - My babe 's atween my God and me. - - 7 - 'Ay, ay, it lifts its bonnie wee ee: - '"Sic kindness get as ye shawed me."' - - 8 - 'An O its smiles wad win me in, - But I'm borne down by deadly sin. - - - - -21 - -THE MAID AND THE PALMER - - #A.# Percy MS., p. 461. 'Lillumwham,' Hales and Furnivall, - IV, 96. - - #B.# Sharpe's Ballad Book, ed. Laing, p. 157. - - -The only English copy of this ballad that approaches completeness is -furnished by the Percy manuscript, #A#. Sir Walter Scott remembered, and -communicated to Kirkpatrick Sharpe, three stanzas, and half of the -burden, of another version, #B#. - -There are three versions in #Danish#, no one of them very well -preserved. #A#,'Maria Magdalena,' is a broadside of about 1700, existing -in two identical editions: Grundtvig, No 98, II, 530; #B#, _ib._, was -written down in the Färöe isles in 1848, by Hammershaimb; #C# was -obtained from recitation by Kristensen in Jutland in 1869, Jydske -Folkeviser, I, 197, No 72, 'Synderinden.' - -A #Färöe# version, from the end of the last century or the beginning of -this, is given in Grundtvig's notes, p. 533 ff. - -Versions recently obtained from recitation in #Norway# are: 'Maria,' -Bugge's Gamle Norske Folkeviser, No 18; #A#, p. 88; #B#, p. 90, a -fragment, which has since been completed, but only two more stanzas -printed, Grundtvig, III, 889; #C#, Bugge, p. 91. #D#, #E# are reported, -but only a stanza or two printed, Grundtvig, III, 889f; #F#, printed 890 -f, and #G#, as obtained by Lindeman, 891: all these, #D-G#, communicated -by Bugge. #C#, and one or two others, are rather Danish than Norwegian. - -This is, according to Afzelius, one of the commonest of #Swedish# -ballads. These versions are known: #A#, "a broadside of 1798 and 1802," -Grundtvig, II, 531, Bergström's Afzelius, I, 335; #B#, 'Magdalena,' -Atterbom's Poetisk Kalender for 1816, p. 20; #C#, Afzelius, II, 229; -#D#, Arwidsson, I, 377, No 60; #E#, Dybeck's Svenska Visor, Häfte 2, No -6, only two stanzas; #F#, #G#, "in Wiede's collection, in the Swedish -Historical and Antiquarian Academy;" #H#, "in Cavallius and Stephens' -collection, where also #A#, #F#, #G# are found;" #I#, Maximilian -Axelson's Vesterdalarne, p. 171; #J#, 'Jungfru Adelin,' E. Wigström's -Folkdiktning, No 38, p. 76; #K#, 'Jungfru Maja,' Album utgifvet af -Nyländingar, VI, 227. #A-F# are printed in Grundtvig's notes, II, 533 -ff, and also some verses of #G#, #H#. - -The ballad is known to have existed in #Icelandic# from a minute of Arne -Magnusson, who cites the line, "Swear not, swear not, wretched woman," -but it has not been recovered (Grundtvig, III, 891, note d). - -#Finnish#, 'Mataleenan vesimatka,' Kanteletar, ed. 1864, p. 240. - -The story of the woman of Samaria, John, iv, is in all these blended -with mediæval traditions concerning Mary Magdalen, who is assumed to be -the same with the woman "which was a sinner," in Luke, vii, 37, and also -with Mary, sister of Lazarus. This is the view of the larger part of the -Latin ecclesiastical writers, while most of the Greeks distinguish the -three (Butler, 'Lives of the Saints,' VII, 290, note). It was reserved -for ballads, as Grundtvig remarks, to confound the Magdalen with the -Samaritan woman. - -The traditional Mary Magdalen was a beautiful woman of royal descent, -who derived her surname from Magdalum, her portion of the great family -estate. For some of her earlier years entirely given over to carnal -delights, "unde jam, proprio nomine perdito, peccatrix consueverat -appellari," she was, by the preaching of Jesus, converted to a -passionate repentance and devotedness. In the course of the persecution -of the church at Jerusalem, when Stephen was slain and the Christians -widely dispersed, Mary, with Lazarus, her brother, Martha, and many -more, were set afloat on the Mediterranean in a rudderless ship, with -the expectation that they would find a watery grave. But the malice of -the unbelieving was overruled, and the vessel came safe into port at -Marseilles. Having labored some time for the christianizing of the -people, and founded churches and bishoprics, Mary retired to a solitude -where there was neither water, tree, nor plant, and passed the last -thirty years of her life in heavenly contemplation. The cave in which -she secluded herself is still shown at La Sainte Baume. The absence of -material comforts was, in her case, not so great a deprivation, since -every day at the canonical hours she was carried by angels to the skies, -and heard, with ears of the flesh, the performances of the heavenly -choirs, whereby she was so thoroughly refected that when the angels -restored her to her cave she was in need of no bodily aliment. (Golden -Legend, Græsse, c. 96.) It is the practical Martha that performs real -austerities, and those which are ascribed to her correspond too closely -with the penance in the Scandinavian ballads not to be the original of -it: "Nam in primis _septem_ annis, glandibus et radicibus herbisque -crudis et _pomis_[182] silvestribus corpusculum sustentans potius quam -reficiens, victitavit.... Extensis solo ramis arboreis aut viteis, -lapide pro cervicali capiti superposito subjecto, ... incumbebat." -(Vincent of Beauvais, Spec. Hist., ix, 100.) - -The best-preserved Scandinavian ballads concur nearly in this account. A -woman at a well, or a stream, is approached by Jesus, who asks for -drink. She says she has no vessel to serve him with. He replies that if -she were pure, he would drink from her hands. She protests innocence -with oaths, but is silenced by his telling her that she has had three -children, one with her father, one with her brother, one with her parish -priest: Danish #A#, #B#, #C#; Färöe; Swedish #C#, #D#, #F#, #I#, #J#, -#K#; Norwegian #A#, #C#, #F#, #G#. She falls at his feet, and begs him -to shrive her. Jesus appoints her a seven years' penance in the wood. -Her food shall be the buds or the leaves of the tree [grass, worts, -berries, bark], her drink the dew [brook, juice of plants], her bed the -hard ground [linden-roots, thorns and prickles, rocks, straw and -sticks]; all the while she shall be harassed by bears and lions -[wolves], or snakes and drakes (this last in Swedish #B#, #C#, #D#, #I#, -#K#, Norwegian #A#). The time expired, Jesus returns and asks how she -has liked her penance. She answers, as if she had eaten daintily, drunk -wine, slept on silk or swan's-down, and had angelic company [had been -listening to music].[183] Jesus then tells her that a place is ready for -her in heaven. - -The penance lasts eight years in Swedish #C#, #F#, #J#, Norwegian #A#; -nine in the Färöe ballad; fifteen in Danish #B#; and six weeks in Danish -#C#. It is to range the field in Danish #A#, Swedish #F#; to walk the -snows barefoot in the Färöe ballad and Norwegian #B#; in Norwegian #D# -to stand nine years in a rough stream and eight years naked in the -church-paths. - -The names Maria, or Magdalena, Jesus, or Christ, are found in most of -the Scandinavian ballads. Swedish #E# has 'Lena (Lilla Lena); Swedish -#H# He-lena; #J#, Adelin; #K#, Maja. Norwegian #A# gives no name to the -woman, and Danish #A# a name only in the burden; Norwegian #B# has, -corruptly, Margjit. In Danish #C#, Norwegian #B#, #G#, Jesus is called -an _old_ man, correspondingly with the "old palmer" of English #A#, but -the old man is afterwards called Jesus in Norwegian #G# (#B# is not -printed in full), and in the burden of Danish #C#. The Son is exchanged -for the Father in Swedish #D#. - -Stanzas 4, 5 of Swedish #A#, #G#, approach singularly near to English -#A# 6, 7: - -Swedish #A#: - - 4 - 'Would thy leman now but come, - Thou wouldst give him to drink out of thy hand.' - - 5 - By all the worlds Magdalen swore, - That leman she never had. - -Swedish #G#: - - 4 - 'Yes, but if I thy leman were, - I should get drink from thy snow-white hand.' - - 5 - Maria swore by the Holy Ghost, - She neer had to do with any man. - -The woman is said to have taken the lives of her three children in -Danish #A#, #B#, #C#, and of two in Swedish #C#, #D#, #F#, #I#, #J#, #K# -(#B# also, where there are but two in all), a trait probably borrowed -from 'The Cruel Mother.' - -The seven years' penance of the Scandinavian ballads is multiplied three -times in English #A#, and four times in #B# and in those versions of -'The Cruel Mother' which have been affected by the present ballad (20, -#I#, #J#, #K#; #L# is defective). What is more important, the penance in -the English ballads is completely different in kind, consisting not in -exaggerated austerities, but partly, at least, in transmigration or -metensomatosis: seven years to be a fish, 20, #I#, #J#, #K#; seven years -a bird, 20, #I#, #J#, #K#; seven years a stone, 21, #A#, #B#; seven -years an eel, 20, #J#; seven years a bell, or bell-clapper, 20, #I#, 21, -#A# (to ring a bell, 20, #K#, #L#). Seven years in hell seems to have -been part of the penance or penalty in every case: seven years a porter -in hell, 21, #B#, 20, #I#, #K#; seven years down in hell, 20, #J#; seven -years to "ring the bell and see sic sights as ye darna tell, 20, #L#;" -"other seven to lead an ape in hell," #A#, a burlesque variation of the -portership. - -The Finnish Mataleena, going to the well for water, sees the reflection -of her face, and bewails her lost charms. Jesus begs a drink: she says -she has no can, no glass. He bids her confess. "Where are your three -boys? One you threw into the fire, one into the water, and one you -buried in the wilderness." She fills a pail with her tears, washes his -feet, and wipes them with her hair: then asks for penance. "Put me, Lord -Jesus, where you will. Make me a ladder-bridge over the sea, a brand in -the fire, a coal in the furnace." - -There are several Slavic ballads which blend the story of the Samaritan -woman and that of 'The Cruel Mother,' without admixture of the Magdalen. -#Wendish# #A,# 'Aria' (M-aria?), Haupt and Schmaler, I, 287, No 290, has -a maid Who goes for water on Sunday morning, and is joined by an old man -who asks for a drink. She says the water is not clean; it is dusty and -covered with leaves. He says, The water is clean, but you are unclean. -She demands proof, and he bids her go to church in her maiden wreath. -This she does. The grass withers before her, a track of blood follows -her, and in the churchyard there come to her nine headless boys, who -say, Nine sons hast thou killed, chopt off their heads, and meanest to -do the same for a tenth. She entreats their forgiveness, enters the -church, sprinkles herself with holy water, kneels at the altar and -crosses herself, then suddenly sinks into the ground, so that nothing is -to be seen but her yellow hair. #B#, 'Die Kindesmörderin,' _ib._, II, -149, No 197, begins like #A#. As the maid proceeds to the church, nine -graves open before her, and nine souls follow her into the church. The -oldest of her children springs upon her and breaks her neck, saying, -"Mother, here is thy reward. Nine of us didst thou kill." - -There are two #Moravian# ballads of the same tenor: #A#, Deutsches -Museum, 1855, I, 282, translated by M. Klapp: #B#, communicated to the -Zeitschrift des böhmischen Museums, 1842, p. 401, by A.W. [vS]embera, as -sung by the "mährisch sprechenden Slawen" in Prussian Silesia; the first -seven stanzas translated in Haupt u. Schmaler, II, 314, note to No 197. -The Lord God goes out one Sunday morning, and meets a maid, whom he asks -for water. She says the water is not clean. He replies that it is -cleaner than she; for (#A#) she has seduced fifteen men and had -children with all of them, has filled hell with the men and the sea with -the children. He sends her to church; but, as she enters the -church-yard, the bells begin to ring (of themselves), and when she -enters the church, all the images turn their backs. As she falls on her -knees, she is changed into a pillar of salt. - -The popular ballads of some of the southern nations give us the legend -of the Magdalen without mixture. - -#French.# #A#, Poésies populaires de la France, I (not paged), from -Sermoyer, Ain, thirty lines, made stanzas by repetition. Mary goes from -door to door seeking Jesus. He asks what she wants: she answers, To be -shriven. Her sins have been such, she says, that the earth ought not to -bear her up, the trees that see her can but tremble. For penance she is -to stay seven years in the woods of Baume, eat the roots of the trees, -drink the dew, and sleep under a juniper. Jesus comes to inquire about -her when this space has expired. She says she is well, but her hands, -once white as flower-de-luce, are now black as leather. For this Jesus -requires her to stay seven years longer, and then, being thoroughly -cured of her old vanities, she is told, - - 'Marie Magdeleine, allez au paradis; - La porte en est ouverte depuis hier à midi.' - -#B# is nearly the same legend in Provençal: Damase Arbaud, I, 64. The -penance is seven years in a cave, at the end of which Jesus passes, and -asks Mary what she has had to eat and drink. "Wild roots, and not always -them; muddy water, and not always that." The conclusion is peculiar. -Mary expresses a wish to wash her hands. Jesus pricks the rock, and -water gushes out. She bewails the lost beauty of her hands, and is -remanded to the cavern for another seven years. Upon her exclaiming at -the hardship, Jesus tells her that Martha shall come to console her, the -wood-dove fetch her food, the birds drink. But Mary is not reconciled: - - 'Lord God, my good father, - Make me not go back again! - With the tears from my eyes - I will wash my hands clean. - - 'With the tears from my eyes - I will wash your feet, - And then I will dry them - With the hair of my head.' - -#C#, Poésies populaires de la Gascogne, Bladé, 1881, p. 339; 'La pauvre -Madeleine,' seventeen stanzas of four short lines, resembles #B# till -the close. When Jesus comes back after the second penance, and Mary -says, as she had before, that she has lived like the beasts, only she -has lacked water, Jesus again causes water to spring from the rock. But -Mary says, I want no water. I should have to go back to the cave for -another seven years. She is conducted straightway to paradise. - -#D#, Bladé, as before, p. 183, 'Marie-Madeleine,' six stanzas of five -short lines. Mary is sent to the mountains for seven years' penance; at -the end of that time washes her hands in a brook, and is guilty of -admiring them; is sent back to the mountains for seven years, and is -then taken to heaven. - -A #Catalan# ballad combines the legend of the Magdalen's penance with -that of her conversion: Milá, Observaciones, p. 128, No 27, 'Santa -Magdalena,' and Briz y Saltó, Cansons de la Terra, II, 99. Martha, -returning from church, asks Magdalen, who is combing her hair with a -gold comb, if she has been at mass. Magdalen says no, nor had she -thought of going. Martha advises her to go, for she certainly will fall -in love with the preacher, a young man; pity that he ever was a friar. -Magdalen attires herself with the utmost splendor, and, to hear the -sermon better, takes a place immediately under the pulpit. The first -word of the sermon touched her; at the middle she fainted. She stripped -off all her ornaments, and laid them at the preacher's feet. At the door -of the church she inquired of a penitent where Jesus was to be found. -She sought him out at the house of Simon, washed his feet with her -tears, and wiped them with her hair, picked up from the floor the bones -which he had thrown away. Jesus at last noticed her, and asked what she -wished. She wished to confess. He imposed the penance of seven years on -a mountain, "eating herbs and fennels, eating bitter herbs." Magdalen -turned homewards after the seven years, and found on the way a spring, -where she washed her hands, with a sigh over their disfigurement. She -heard a voice that said, Magdalen, thou hast sinned. She asked for new -penance, and was sent back to the mountain for seven years more. At the -end of this second term she died, and was borne to the skies with every -honor from the Virgin, saints, and angels. - - * * * * * - -Danish #A# is translated by Prior, II, 25, No 44: Swedish #C# by William -and Mary Howitt, Literature and Romance of Northern Europe, I, 282. - - -A - - Percy MS., p. 461. Furnivall, IV, 96. - - 1 - The maid shee went to the well to washe, - Lillumwham, lillumwham! - The mayd shee went to the well to washe, - Whatt then? what then? - The maid shee went to the well to washe, - Dew ffell of her lilly white fleshe. - Grandam boy, grandam boy, heye! - Leg a derry, leg a merry, mett, mer, whoope, whir! - Driuance, larumben, grandam boy, heye! - - 2 - While shee washte and while shee ronge, - While shee hangd o the hazle wand. - - 3 - There came an old palmer by the way, - Sais, 'God speed thee well, thou faire maid!' - - 4 - 'Hast either cupp or can, - To giue an old palmer drinke therin?' - - 5 - Sayes, 'I have neither cupp nor cann, - To giue an old palmer drinke therin.' - - 6 - 'But an thy lem_m_an came from Roome, - Cupps and canns thou wold ffind soone.' - - 7 - Shee sware by God & good St. John, - Lemman had shee neuer none. - - 8 - Saies, 'Peace, ffaire mayd, you are fforsworne! - Nine children you haue borne. - - 9 - 'Three were buryed vnder thy bed's head, - Other three vnder thy brewing leade. - - 10 - 'Other three on yon play greene; - Count, maid, and there be 9.' - - 11 - 'But I hope you are the good old man - That all the world beleeues vpon. - - 12 - 'Old palmer, I pray thee, - Pennaunce _tha_t thou wilt giue to me.' - - 13 - 'Penance I can giue thee none, - But 7 yeere to be a stepping-stone. - - 14 - 'Other seaven a clapper in a bell, - Other 7 to lead an ape in hell. - - 15 - 'When thou hast thy penance done, - Then thoust come a mayden home.' - - -B - - A Ballad Book, by Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, edited by - David Laing, p. 157 f, VII; from Sir W. Scott's - recollection. - - 1 - 'Seven years ye shall be a stone, - . . . . . . . - For many a poor palmer to rest him upon. - And you the fair maiden of Gowden-gane - - 2 - 'Seven years ye'll be porter of hell, - And then I'll take you to mysell.' - - * * * * * * * - - 3 - 'Weel may I be a' the other three, - But porter of hell I never will be.' - And I, etc. - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - 2^1. White shee washee & white. - - 2^2. White. - - 9^1. They were. - - 10^1. on won. - - 10^2. maids - -#B.# - - _Note by Scott_: "There is or was a curious song with this - burthen to the verse, - - 'And I the fair maiden of Gowden-gane.' - - Said maiden is, I think, courted by the devil in human - shape, but I only recollect imperfectly the concluding - stanzas [1, 2]: - - 'Seven years ye shall be a stone,' - - (here a chorus line which I have forgot), etc. The lady - answers, in allusion to a former word which I have - forgotten, - - "Weel may I be [etc., st. 3]." - - -[182] The Magdalen's food is to be dry apple in Danish #B# 9. - -[183] Swedish #F#: - - 14 - 'And tell me how has it been with thy meat?' - 'O I have eaten of almonds sweet.' - - 15 - 'And tell me how it has been with thy drink?' - 'I have drunk both mead and wine, I think.' - - 16 - 'And tell me how was that bed of thine?' - 'Oh I have rested on ermeline.' - -Norwegian #G#: - - 13 - 'I have fed as well on herbage wild - As others have fed on roast and broiled. - - 14 - 'I have rested as well on the hard, hard stone - As others have rested on beds of down. - - 15 - 'I have drunk as well from the rippling rill - As others that drank both wine and ale.' - - - - - - -22 - -ST STEPHEN AND HEROD - - Sloane MS., 2593, fol. 22 b; British Museum. - - -The manuscript which preserves this delightful little legend has been -judged by the handwriting to be of the age of Henry VI. It was printed -entire by Mr T. Wright, in 1856, for the Warton Club, under the title, -Songs and Carols, from a manuscript in the British Museum of the -fifteenth century, the ballad at p. 63. Ritson gave the piece as 'A -Carol for St Stephen's Day,' in Ancient Songs, 1790, p. 83, and it has -often been repeated; e. g., in Sandys' Christmas Carols, p. 4, -Sylvester's, p. 1. - -The story, with the Wise Men replacing Stephen, is also found in the -carol, still current, of 'The Carnal and the Crane,' Sandys, p. 152, in -conjunction with other legends and in this order: the Nativity, the Wise -Men's passage with Herod, the Massacre of the Innocents, the Flight into -Egypt, Herod and the Sower. - -The legend of Stephen and Herod occurs, and is even still living, in -Scandinavian tradition, combined, as in English, with others relating to -the infancy of Jesus. - -#Danish.# 'Jesusbarnet, Stefan og Herodes:' #A#, Grundtvig, No 96, II, -525. First printed in Erik Pontoppidan's little book on the reliques of -Paganism and Papistry among the Danish People, 1736, p. 70, as taken -down from the singing of an old beggar-woman before the author's -door.[184] Syv alludes to the ballad in 1695, and cites one stanza. The -first five of eleven stanzas are devoted to the beauty of the Virgin, -the Annunciation, and the birth of the Saviour. The song then goes on -thus: - - 6 - Saint Stephen leads the foals to water, - All by the star so gleaming: - 'Of a truth the prophet now is born - That all the world shall ransom.' - - 7 - King Herod answered thus to him: - 'I'll not believe this story, - Till the roasted cock that is on the board - Claps his wings and crows before me.' - - 8 - The cock he clapped his wings and crew, - 'Our Lord, this is his birthday!' - Herod fell off from his kingly seat, - For grief he fell a swooning. - - 9 - King Herod bade saddle his courser gray, - He listed to ride to Bethlem; - Fain would he slay the little child - That to cope with him pretended. - - 10 - Mary took the child in her arms, - And Joseph the ass took also, - So they traversed the Jewish land, - To Egypt, as God them guided. - - 11 - The little children whose blood was shed, - They were full fourteen thousand, - But Jesus was thirty miles away - Before the sun was setting. - -#B.# A broadside of fourteen four-line stanzas, in two copies, #a# of -the middle, #b# from the latter part, of the last century. #b# was -printed "in the Dansk Kirketidende for 1862, No 43," by Professor George -Stephens: #a# is given by Grundtvig, III, 881. The first three stanzas -correspond to #A# 1-5, the next three to #A# 6-8: the visit of the Wise -Men to Herod is then intercalated, 7-10, and the story concludes as in -#A# 9-11. - -#C.# 'Sankt Steffan,' Kristensen, II, 123, No 36, from recitation about -1870, eight four-line stanzas, 1-3 agreeing with #A# 3-6, 4-6 with #A# -6-9, 7, 8 with #A# 9, 11. The verbal resemblance with the copy sung by -the old beggar-woman more than a hundred and thirty years before is -often close. - -A #Färöe# version, 'Rudisar vísa,' was communicated to the Dansk -Kirketidende for 1852, p. 293, by Hammershaimb, twenty-six two-line -stanzas (Grundtvig, II, 519). Stephen is in Herod's service. He goes out -and sees the star in the east, whereby he knows that the Saviour of the -world, "the great king," is born. He comes in and makes this -announcement. Herod orders his eyes to be put out: so, he says, it will -appear whether this "king" will help him. They put out Stephen's eyes, -but now he sees as well by night as before by day. At this moment a -cock, roast and carved, is put on the board before Herod, who cries out: - - 'If this cock would stand up and crow, - Then in Stephen's tale should I trow.' - - Herod he stood, and Herod did wait, - The cock came together that lay in the plate. - - The cock flew up on the red gold chair, - He clapped his wings, and he crew so fair. - -Herod orders his horse and rides to Bethlehem, to find the new-born -king. As he comes in, Mary greets him, and tells him there is still mead -and wine. He answers that she need not be so mild with him: he will have -her son and nail him on the cross. "Then you must go to heaven for him," -says Mary. Herod makes an attempt on Jesus, but is seized by twelve -angels and thrown into the Jordan, where the Evil One takes charge of -him. - -#Swedish.# A single stanza, corresponding to Danish #A# 6, #B# 4, #C# 4, -is preserved in a carol, 'Staffans Visa,' which was wont to be sung all -over Sweden on St Stephen's day, in the Christmas sport, not yet given -up, called Staffansskede; which consisted in young fellows riding about -from house to house early in the morning of the second day of Yule, and -levying refreshments.[185] One of the party carried at the end of a pole -a lighted lantern, made of hoops and oiled paper, which was sometimes in -the shape of a six-cornered star. Much of the chant was improvised, and -both the good wishes and the suggestions as to the expected treat would -naturally be suited to particular cases; but the first stanza, with but -slight variations, was (Afzelius, III, 208, 210): - - Stephen was a stable-groom, - We thank you now so kindly! - He watered the five foals all and some, - Ere the morning star was shining. - No daylight's to be seen, - The stars in the sky - Are gleaming. - -or, - - Stephen was a stable-groom, - Bear thee well my foal! - He watered the five foals all and some, - God help us and Saint Stephen! - The sun is not a-shining, - But the stars in the sky - Are gleaming. - -There is also a Swedish ballad which has the substance of the story of -Danish #A# 6-8, but without any allusion to Stephen. It occurs as a -broadside, in two copies, dated 1848, 1851, and was communicated by -Professor Stephens to the Dansk Kirketidende, 1861, Nos 3, 4, and is -reprinted by Grundtvig, III, 882 f, and in Bergström's Afzelius, II, 360 -f. There are eleven four-line stanzas, of which the last six relate how -Mary was saved from Herod by the miracle of the Sower (see 'The Carnal -and the Crane,' stanzas 18-28). The first five cover the matter of our -ballad. The first runs: - - In Bethlem of Judah a star there rose, - At the time of the birth of Christ Jesus: - 'Now a child is born into the world - That shall suffer for us death and torment.' - -Herod then calls his court and council, and says to them, as he says to -Stephen in the Danish ballad, "I cannot believe your story unless the -cock on this table claps his wings and crows." This comes to pass, and -Herod exclaims that he can never thrive till he has made that child feel -the effects of his wrath. He then steeps his hands in the blood of the -Innocents, and falls off his throne in a marvellous swoon. Mary is -warned to fly to Egypt. It is altogether likely that the person who -speaks in the first stanza was originally the same as the one who says -nearly the same thing in the three Danish ballads, that is, Stephen, and -altogether unlikely that Herod's words, which are addressed to Stephen -in the Danish ballads, were addressed to his court and council rather -than to Stephen here. - -#Norwegian.# Two stanzas, much corrupted, of what may have been a ballad -like the foregoing, have been recovered by Professor Bugge, and are -given by Grundtvig, III, 883. - -St Stephen's appearance as a stable-groom, expressly in the Swedish -carol and by implication in the Danish ballads, is to be explained by -his being the patron of horses among the northern nations.[186] On his -day, December 26, which is even called in Germany the great Horse Day, -it was the custom for horses to be let blood to keep them well during -the year following, or raced to protect them from witches. In Sweden -they were watered "ad alienos fontes" (which, perhaps, is what Stephen -is engaged in in the carol), and treated to the ale which had been left -in the cups on St Stephen's eve; etc., etc.[187] This way of observing -St Stephen's day is presumed to be confined to the north of Europe, or -at least to be derived from that quarter. Other saints are patrons of -horses in the south, as St Eloi, St Antony, and we must seek the -explanation of St Stephen's having that office in Scandinavia, Germany, -and England in the earlier history of these regions. It was suggested as -long ago as the middle of the sixteenth century by the Archbishop Olaus -Magnus, that the horseracing, which was universal in Sweden on December -26, was a remnant of heathen customs. The horse was sacred to Frey, and -Yule was Frey's festival. There can hardly be a doubt that the customs -connected with St Stephen's day are a continuation, under Christian -auspices, of old rites and habits which, as in so many other cases, the -church found it easier to consecrate than to abolish.[188] - -The miracle of the cock is met with in other ballads, which, for the -most part, relate the wide-spread legend of the Pilgrims of St James. - -#French.# In three versions, Chants de Pauvres en Forez et en Velay, -collected by M. Victor Smith, Romania, II, 473 ff. Three pilgrims, -father, mother, and son, on their way to St James, stop at an inn, at St -Dominic. A maid-servant, enamored of the youth (qui ressemble une image, -que semblavo-z-un ange) is repelled by him, and in revenge puts a silver -cup [cups] belonging to the house into his knapsack. The party is -pursued and brought back, and the young pilgrim is hanged. He exhorts -his father to accomplish his vow, and to come that way when he returns. -When the father returns, after three [six] months, the boy is found to -be alive; his feet have been supported, and he has been nourished, by -God and the saints. The father tells the judge that his son is alive; -the judge replies, I will believe that when this roast fowl crows. The -bird crows: #A#, le poulet se mit a chanter sur la table; #B#, le poulet -vole au ciel, trois fois n'a battu l'aile; #C#, trois fois il a chanté, -trois fois l'a battu l'aile. The boy is taken down and the maid hanged. - -#Spanish.# #A#, Milá, Observaciones sobre la Poesia Popular, p. 106, No -7, 'El Romero;' #B#, Briz, Cansons de la Terra, I, 71, 'S. Jaume de -Galicia,' two copies essentially agreeing. The course of the story is -nearly as in the French. The son does not ask his father to come back. -It is a touch of nature that the mother cannot be prevented from going -back by all that her husband can say. The boy is more than well. St -James has been sustaining his feet, the Virgin his head. He directs his -mother to go to the alcalde (Milá), who will be dining on a cock and a -hen, and to request him politely to release her son, who is still alive. -The alcalde replies: "Off with you! Your son is as much alive as this -cock and hen." The cock began to crow, the hen laid an egg in the dish! - -#Dutch.# 'Een liedeken van sint Jacob,' Antwerpener Liederbuch, 1544, No -20, Hoffmann, p. 26; Uhland, p. 803, No 303; Willems, p. 318, No 133. -The pilgrims here are only father and son. The host's daughter avows her -love to her father, and desires to detain the young pilgrim. The older -pilgrim, hearing of this, says, My son with me and I with him. We will -seek St James, as pilgrims good and true. The girl puts the cup in the -father's sack. The son offers himself in his father's place, and is -hanged. The father finds that St James and the Virgin have not been -unmindful of the pious, and tells the host that his son is alive. The -host, in a rage, exclaims, "That's as true as that these roast fowls -shall fly out at the door!" - - But ere the host could utter the words, - One by one from the spit brake the birds, - And into the street went flitting; - They flew on the roof of St Dominic's house, - Where all the brothers were sitting. - -The brothers resolve unanimously to go to the judicial authority in -procession; the innocent youth is taken down, the host hanged, and his -daughter buried alive. - -#Wendish.# Haupt und Schmaler, I, 285, No 289, 'Der gehenkte -Schenkwirth.' There are two pilgrims, father and son. The host himself -puts his gold key into the boy's basket. The boy is hanged: the father -bids him hang a year and a day, till he returns. The Virgin has put a -stool under the boy's feet, and the angels have fed him. The father -announces to the host that his son is living. The host will not believe -this till three dry staves which he has in the house shall put out green -shoots. This comes to pass. The host will not believe till three fowls -that are roasting shall recover their feathers and fly out of the -window. This also comes to pass. The host is hanged. - -A #Breton# ballad, 'Marguerite Laurent,' Luzel, I, #A#, p. 211, #B#, p. -215, inverts a principal circumstance in the story of the pilgrims: a -maid is hanged on a false accusation of having stolen a piece of plate. -This may be an independent tradition or a corrupt form of the other. -Marguerite has, by the grace of St Anne and of the Virgin, suffered no -harm. A young clerk, her lover, having ascertained this, reports the -case to the seneschal, who will not believe till the roasted capon on -the dish crows. The capon crows. Marguerite goes on her bare knees to St -Anne and to Notre-Dame du Folgoat, and dies in the church of the latter -(first version). - -'Notre-Dame du Folgoat,' Villemarqué, Barzaz Breiz, p. 272, No 38, 6th -ed., is of a different tenor. Marie Fanchonik, wrongly condemned to be -executed for child murder, though hanged, does not die. The executioner -reports to the seneschal. "Burn her," says the seneschal. "Though in -fire up to her breast," says the executioner, "she is laughing -heartily." "Sooner shall this capon crow than I will believe you." The -capon crows: a roast capon on the dish, all eaten but the feet. - -Religious writers of the 13th century have their version of the story of -the pilgrims, but without the prodigy of the cock. Vincent of Beauvais, -Speculum Historiale, 1. 26, c. 33, who bases his narrative on a -collection of the miracles of St James incorrectly attributed to Pope -Callixtus II,[189] has but two pilgrims, Germans, father and son. On -their way to Compostella they pass a night in an inn at Toulouse. The -host, having an eye to the forfeiture of their effects, makes them drunk -and hides a silver cup in their wallet. Son wishes to die for father, -and father for son. The son is hanged, and St James interposes to -preserve his life.[190] With Vincent agree the author of the Golden -Legend, following Callixtus, Graesse, 2d ed., p. 426, c. 99 (94), § -5,[191] and Cæsarius Heisterbacensis, Dialogus Miraculorum, c. 58, II, -130, ed. Strange, who, however, does not profess to remember every -particular, and omits to specify Toulouse as the place. Nicolas -Bertrand, who published in 1515 a history of Toulouse, places the -miracle there.[192] He has three pilgrims, like the French and Spanish -ballads, and the roast fowl flying from the spit to convince a doubting -official, like the Dutch and Wendish ballads. - -But, much earlier than the last date, this miracle of St James had -become connected with the town of San Domingo de la Calzada, one of the -stations on the way to Compostella,[193] some hours east of Burgos. -Roig, the Valencian poet, on arriving there in the course of his -pilgrimage, tells the tale briefly, with two roasted fowls, cock and -hen: Lo Libre de les Dones e de Conçells, 1460, as printed by Briz from -the edition of 1735, p. 42, Book 2, vv. 135-183. Lucio Marineo, whose -work, De las cosas memorables de España, appeared in 1530, had been at -San Domingo, and is able to make some addition to the miracle of the -cock. Up to the revivification, his account agrees very well with the -Spanish ballad. A roast cock and hen are lying before the mayor, and -when he expresses his incredulity, they jump from the dish on to the -table, in feathers whiter than snow. After the pilgrims had set out a -second time on their way to Compostella, to return thanks to St James, -the mayor returned to his house with the priests and all the people, and -took the cock and hen to the church, where they lived seven years, and -then died, leaving behind them a pair of the same snowy whiteness, who -in turn, after seven years, left their successors, and so on to -Marineo's day; and though of the infinite number of pilgrims who -resorted to the tomb each took away a feather, the plumage was always -full, and Marineo speaks as an eye-witness. (Edition of 1539, fol. -xliii.) Dr Andrew Borde gives nearly the same account as Marineo, in the -First Book of the Introduction of Knowledge, 1544, p. 202 ff, ed. -Furnivall.[194] - -Early in the sixteenth century the subject was treated in at least two -miracle-plays, for which it is very well adapted: Un miracolo di tre -Pellegrini, printed at Florence early in the sixteenth century, -D'Ancona, Sacre Rappresentazioni, III, 465; Ludus Sancti Jacobi, -fragment de mystère provençale, Camille Arnaud, 1858.[195] - -Nicolas Bertrand, before referred to, speaks of the miracle as depicted -in churches and chapels of St James. It was, for example, painted by -Pietro Antonio of Foligno, in the fifteenth century, in SS. Antonio e -Jacopo at Assisi, and by Pisanello in the old church of the Tempio at -Florence, and, in the next century, by Palmezzano in S. Biagio di S. -Girolamo at Forlì, and by Lo Spagna in a small chapel or tribune -dedicated to St James, about four miles from Spoleto, on the way to -Foligno. The same legend is painted on one of the lower windows of St -Ouen, and again on a window of St Vincent, at Rouen. Many more cases -might, no doubt, be easily collected.[196] - -It is not at all surprising that a miracle performed at San Domingo de -la Calzada should, in the course of time, be at that place attributed to -the patron of the locality; and we actually find Luis de la Vega, in a -life of this San Domingo published at Burgos in 1606, repeating -Marineo's story, very nearly, with a substitution of Dominic for -James.[197] More than this, this author claims for this saint, who, -saving reverence, is decidedly _minorum gentium_, the merit and glory of -delivering a captive from the Moors, wherein he, or tradition, makes -free again with St James's rightful honors. The Moor, when told that the -captive will some day be missing, rejoins, If you keep him as close as -when I last saw him, he will as soon escape as this roast cock will fly -and crow. It is obvious that this anecdote is a simple jumble of two -miracles of St James, the freeing of the captives, recounted in Acta -Sanctorum, VI Julii, p. 47, § 190f, and the saving the life of the young -pilgrim.[198] - -The restoration of a roasted fowl to life is also narrated in Acta -Sanctorum, I Septembris, p. 529, § 289, as occurring early in the -eleventh century (the date assigned to the story of the pilgrims), at -the table of St Stephen, the first king of Hungary. St Gunther was -sitting with the king while he was dining. The king pressed Gunther to -partake of a roast peacock, but Gunther, as he was bound by his rule to -do, declined. The king then ordered him to eat. Gunther bent his head -and implored the divine mercy; the bird flew up from the dish; the king -no longer persisted. The author of the article, without questioning the -reality of the miracle, well remarks that there seems to be something -wrong in the story, since it is impossible that the holy king should -have commanded the saint to break his vow. - -But the prime circumstances in the legend, the resuscitation of the -cock, does not belong in the eleventh century, where Vincent and others -have put it, but in the first, where it is put by the English and -Scandinavian ballads. A French romance somewhat older than Vincent, -Ogier le Danois, agrees with the later English ballad in making the -occasion to be the visit of the Wise Men to Herod. Herod will not -believe what they say, - - 'Se cis capon que ci m'est en présant - N'en est plumeus com il estoit devant, - Et se redrece à la perche en cantant.' - - vv 11621-23. - -And what he exacts is performed for his conviction.[199] Nevertheless, -as we shall now see, the true epoch of the event is not the Nativity, -but the Passion. - -The ultimate source of the miracle of the reanimated cock is an -interpolation in two late Greek manuscripts of the so-called Gospel of -Nicodemus: Thilo, Codex Apocryphus Novi Testamenti, p. cxxix f; -Tischendorf, Evangelia Apocrypha, p. 269, note 3. After Judas had tried -to induce the Jews to take back the thirty pieces, he went to his house -to hang himself, and found his wife sitting there, and a cock roasting -on a spit before the coals. He said to his wife, Get me a rope, for I -mean to hang myself, as I deserve. His wife said to him, Why do you say -such things? And Judas said to her, Know in truth that I have betrayed -my master Jesus to evil-doers, who will put him to death. But he will -rise on the third day, and woe to us. His wife said, Do not talk so nor -believe it; for this cock that is roasting before the coals will as soon -crow as Jesus rise again as you say. And even while she was speaking the -words, the cock flapped his wings and crew thrice. Then Judas was still -more persuaded, and straightway made a noose of the rope and hanged -himself.[200] - -The Cursor Mundi gives its own turn to this relation, with the intent to -blacken Judas a little more.[201] When Judas had betrayed Jesus, he went -to his mother with his pence, boasting of the act. "Hast thou sold thy -master?" said she. "Shame shall be thy lot, for they will put him to -death; but he shall rise again." "Rise, mother?" said Judas, "sooner -shall this cock rise up that was scalded yesternight." - - Hardly had he said the word, - The cock leapt up and flew, - Feathered fairer than before, - And by God's grace he crew; - The traitor false began to fear, - His peril well he knew. - This cock it was the self-same cock - Which Peter made to rue, - When he had thrice denied his lord - And proved to him untrue. - -A still different version existed among the Copts, who had their copies -of the apocryphal writings, and among them the gospel of Nicodemus. - -The Copts say, according to Thévenot, "that on the day of the Supper a -roasted cock was served to our Lord, and that when Judas went out to -sell Jesus to the Jews, the Saviour commanded the cock to get up and -follow him; which the cock did, and brought back his report to our Lord -that Judas had sold him, for which service this cock shall be admitted -to paradise."[202] - -The herald of the morn is described in other carols as making known the -birth of the Saviour to the animal creation, or the more familiar -members of it. - -"There is a sheet of carols headed thus: 'CHRISTUS NATUS EST, Christ is -born,' with a wood-cut ten inches high by eight and one half inches -wide, representing the stable at Bethlehem; Christ in the crib, watched -by the Virgin and Joseph; shepherds kneeling; angels attending; a man -playing on the bagpipes; a woman with a basket of fruit on her head; a -sheep bleating and an ox lowing on the ground; a raven croaking and a -crow cawing on the hay-rack; a cock crowing above them; and angels -singing in the sky. The animals have labels from their mouths, bearing -Latin inscriptions. Down the side of the wood-cut is the following -account and explanation: 'A religious man, inventing the conceits of -both birds and beasts, drawn in the picture of our Saviour's birth, doth -thus express them. The cock croweth _Christus natus est_, Christ is -born. The raven asked _Quando_, When? The crow replied, _Hac nocte_, -This night. The ox cryeth out, _Ubi, ubi?_ Where, where? The sheep -bleated out, _Bethlehem_, Bethlehem. A voice from heaven sounded, -_Gloria in excelsis_, Glory be on high!'" London, 1701. Hone's Every-Day -Book, I, col. 1600 f. - -So in Vieux Noëls français, in Les Noëls Bressans, etc., par Philibert -Le Duc, p. 145. - - Joie des Bestes - - à la nouvelle de la naissance du Sauveur. - - Comme les Bestes autrefois - Parloient mieux latin que françois, - Le Coq, de loin voyant le faict, - S'écria: _Christus natus est_; - Le B[oe]uf, d'un air tout ébaubi, - Demande: _Ubi, ubi, ubi_? - La Chèvre, se torchant le groin, - Respond que c'est à _Bethleem_; - Maistre Baudet, _curiosus_ - De l'aller voir, dit: _Eamus_; - Et, droit sur ses pattes, le Veau - Beugle deux fois: _Volo, volo_.[203] - -And again, in Italian, Bolza, Canzoni popolari comasche, p. 654, No 30: - - Il Gallo. È nato Gesù! - Il Bue. In dôva? - La Pecora. Betlèm! Betlèm! - L'Asino. Andèm! Andèm! Andèm! - -A little Greek ballad, 'The Taking of Constantinople,' only seven lines -long, relates a miracle entirely like that of the cock, which was -operated for the conviction of incredulity. A nun, frying fish, hears a -voice from above, saying, Cease your frying, the city will fall into the -hands of the Turks. "When the fish fly out of the pan alive," she says, -"then shall the Turks take the city." The fish fly out of the pan alive, -and the Turkish admiraud comes riding into the city. Zambelios, p. 600, -No 2; Passow, p. 147, No 197. (Liebrecht, Volkskunde, p. 179.) - -With Herod's questions and Stephen's answers in stanzas 5-8, we may -compare a passage in some of the Greek ballads cited under No 17, p. -199. - - [Gk: Sklabe, panas; sklabe, dipsas; mê to psômi sou leipei; - Sklabe, panas; sklabe, dipsas; sklabe, krasin sou leipei]; - Lakkyt þe eyþer mete or drynk? - [Gk: Mête peinô, mête dipsô, mête psômi [krasin] mou leipei]. - Lakit me neyþer mete ne drynk. - - Jeannaraki, p. 203, No 265: - Sakellarios, p. 37, No 13. - - [Gk: Sklabe, peinas; sklabe, dipsas; sklabe, rhoga sou leipei; - Sklabe, peinas; sklabe, dipsas; sklabe mou rhoucha theleis;] - Lakkyt þe eyþer gold or fe, - Or ony ryche wede? - [Gk: Oute peinô, oute dipsô, oute rhoga mou leipei. - Mête peinô, mête dipsô, mête kai rhoucha thelô]. - Lakyt me neyþer gold ne fe, - Ne non ryche wede. - - Tommaseo, III, 154; Passow, p. 330, No 449: - Tommaseo, III, 152; Zambelios, p. 678, No 103; Passow, No 448. - -A Danish translation of the English ballad is printed in Dansk -Kirketidende for 1852, p. 254 (Grundtvig). Danish #A# is translated by -Dr Prior, I, 398. - - * * * * * - - Sloane MS., 2593, fol. 22 b, British Museum. - - 1 - Sey_n_t Steuene was a clerk i_n_ ky_n_g Herowd_e_s halle, - _And_ seruyd hi_m_ of bred _and_ cloþ, as euery ky_n_g befalle. - - 2 - Steuy_n_ out of kechon_e_ ca_m_, w_y_t_h_ boris hed o_n_ honde; - He saw a sterr_e_ was fayr _and_ bry[gh]t ou_er_ Bedle_m_ sto_n_de. - - 3 - He kyst adoun þe boris hed _and_ went in to þe halle: - 'I forsak þe, ky_n_g Herowd_e_s, _and_ þi werk_e_s alle. - - 4 - 'I forsak þe, ky_n_g Herowd_es_, _and_ þi werk_e_s alle; - Þ_er_ is a chyld in Bedle_m_ born is bet_er_ þa_n_ we alle.' - - 5 - 'Q_uat_ eylyt þe, Steuene? q_uat_ is þe befalle? - Lakkyt þe eyþ_er_ mete or drynk in kyng Herowd_es_ h_alle_?' - - 6 - 'Lakit me neyþ_er_ mete ne drynk i_n_ ky_n_g Herowd_es_ halle; - Þ_er_ is a chyld in Bedle_m_ born is bet_er_ þa_n_ we alle.' - - 7 - Q_uat_ eylyt þe, Steuyn? art þu wod, or þu gy_n_nyst to brede? - Lakkyt þe eyþ_er_ gold or fe, or ony ryche wede?' - - 8 - 'Lakyt me neyþ_er_ gold ne fe, ne no_n_ ryche wede; - Þ_er_ is a chyld in Bedle_m_ born xal helpy_n_ vs at _our_ nede.' - - 9 - 'Þ_a_t is al so soþ, Steuy_n_, al so soþ, iwys, - As þis capou_n_ crowe xal þ_a_t lyp her_e_ in my_n_ dysh.' - - 10 - Þ_a_t word was not so sone seyd, þ_a_t word i_n_ þ_a_t halle, - Þe capou_n_ crew C_ristus_ nat_us_ est! among þe lord_es_ alle. - - 11 - Rysyt vp, my_n_ turme_n_towr_es_, be to _and_ al be on, - _And_ led_y_t Steuy_n_ out of þis town, _and_ sto_n_yt hy_m_ w_y_t_h_ - ston!' - - 12 - Toky_n_ he Steuene, _and_ stonyd hy_m_ in the way, - _And_ þ_e_rfor_e_ is his euy_n_ on Cryst_es_ owy_n_ day. - - * * * * * - - 1^2, 5^1. be falle. - - 3^1. a dou_n_. - - 3^2, 4^1. for sak. - - 5^2. _There is room only for the ~h~ at the end of the - line._ - - 9^1. also ... also ... I wys. - - 9^2. dych. - - 10^2. a mong. - - -[184] Everriculum fermenti veteris, seu residuæ in Danico orbe cum -paganismi tum papismi reliquiæ in apricum prolatæ. "Rogata anus num vera -esse crederet quæ canebat, respondit: Me illa in dubium vocaturam -averruncet Deus!" Grundtvig, II, 518. - -[185] "Staffans-skede, lusus, vel, ut rectius dicam, licentia puerorum -agrestium, qui in Festo S. Stephani, equis vecti per villas discurrunt, -et cerevisiam in lagenis, ad hoc ipsum præparatis, mendicando ostiatim -colligunt:" a dissertation, Upsala, 1734, cited by Bergström in his -edition of Afzelius, II, 358, note 28. Skede is gallop, or run, -Icelandic skeið (Bergström), Norwegian skeid, skjei. Many copies of the -Staffansvisa have been collected: see Bergström's Afzelius, II, 356: and -for a description of the custom as practised among Swedes in Finland, -with links and lanterns, but no foals, Fagerlund, Anteckningar om Korpo -och Houtskärs Socknar, p. 39 ff. Something very similar was known in -Holstein: see Schütze, Holsteinsches Idioticon, III, 200, as quoted by -Grundtvig, II, 521, note **. From Chambers' Book of Days, II, 763 f, it -appears that a custom, called a Stephening, was still existing at the -beginning of this century, of the inhabitants of the parish of Drayton -Beauchamp, Bucks, paying a visit to the rector on December 26, and -lightening his stores of all the bread, cheese and ale they wanted. -Chambers, again, in his Popular Rhymes of Scotland, p. 168 f, gives a -song closely resembling the Staffansvisa, which was sung before every -house on New Year's eve, in Deerness, Orkney, with the same object of -stimulating hospitality. Similar practices are known in the Scottish -Highlands: see Campbell, Tales of the West Highlands, III, 19, and -Chambers, at p. 167 of the Popular Rhymes. - -[186] Stephen in all the ballads can be none other than the first -martyr, though Ihre, and other Swedes since his day, choose, for their -part, to understand a "Stephanum primum Helsingorum apostolum," who -certainly did not see the star in the east. The peasantry in -Helsingland, we are told, make their saints' day December 26, too, and -their St Stephen is a great patron of horses. The misappropriation of -the glories of the protomartyr is somewhat transparent. - -[187] Grundtvig, whom I chiefly follow here, II, 521-24. In a note on -page 521, supplemented at III, 883 e, Grundtvig has collected much -interesting evidence of December 26 being the great Horse Day. J. W. -Wolf, cited by Grundtvig, II, 524, had said previously: "Nichts im leben -des ersten christlichen blutzeugen erinnert auch nur fern an pferde; -trotzdem machte das volk ihn zum patron der pferde, und setzte ihn also -an die stelle des Fro, dem im Norden, und nicht weniger bei uns, die -pferde heilig waren." Beiträge zur deutschen Mythologie, I, 124. - -[188] Jean Baptiste Thiers, Traité des Superstitions, etc., 2d ed., -Paris, 1697, as cited by Liebrecht, Gervasius von Tilbury, Otia -Imperialia, p. 233, No 169, condemns the belief, "qu'il vaut bien mieux -...saigner des chevaux le jour de la fête de S. Estienne qu'à tout autre -jour." This may be one of the practices which Thiers had learned of from -his reading (see Liebrecht's preface, p. xvii f), but might also have -migrated from the east or north into France. Superstitions, like new -fashions, are always sure of a hospitable reception, even though they -impose a servitude. - -[189] From a copy of this collection the story is given in Acta -Sanctorum, VI Julii, p. 50, § 202 ff. - -[190] Vincent, as pointed out by Professor George Stephens, knew of the -miracle of the cock, and tells it at l. 25, c. 64, on the authority of -Pietro Damiani. Two Bolognese dining together, one of them carved a cock -and dressed it with pepper and sauce. "Gossip," says the other, "you -have 'fixed' that cock so that Peter himself could not put him on his -legs again." "Peter? No, not Christ himself." At this the cock jumped -up, in all his feathers, clapped his wings, crow, and threw the sauce -all over the blasphemous pair, whereby they were smitten with leprosy. - -[191] So, naturally, the Fornsvenskt Legendarium, I, 170, and the -Catalan Recull de Eximplis e Miracles, etc., Barcelona, 1880, I, 298. - -[192] Opus de Tholosanorum gestis, fol. 49 verso, according to Acta S., -p. 46, of the volume last cited. Toulouse rivalled with Compostella in -the possession of relics of St James, and was amply entitled to the -honor of the miracle. Dr Andrew Borde, in his First Book of the -Introduction of Knowledge, says that an ancient doctor of divinity at -Compostella told him, "We have not one hair nor bone of St. James; for -St James the More and St James the Less, St Bartholomew and St Philip, -St Simon and Jude, St Bernard and St George, with divers other saints, -Carolus Magnus brought them to Toulouse." Ed. Furnivall, p. 204 f. I do -not know where the splenetic old divine got his information, but -certainly from no source so trustworthy as the chronicle of Turpin. -Besides other places in France, the body, or at least the head, of St -James was claimed by churches in Italy, Germany, and the Low Countries. -But the author of an old Itinerary of the Pilgrims to Compostella -asserts that James the Greater is one of four saints who never changed -his burial-place. See Victor Le Clerc in Hist. Litt. de la France, xxi, -283. - -[193] See 'La grande Chanson des Pélerins de Saint-Jacques,' in Socard, -Noëls et Cantiques, etc., p. 76, last stanza, p. 80, third stanza, p. -89, fifth stanza; the last==Romancero de Champagne, I, 165, stanza 5. - -[194] Southey follows Marineo in his Christmas Tale of "The Pilgrim to -Compostella." - -[195] "Auch eine deutsche Jesuitenkomödie, Peregrinus Compostellanus, -Innsbruck, 1624, behandelt diesen Stoff. F. Liebrecht, in Serapeum, -1864, S. 235." - -[196] Vasari, V, 184, Milan, 1809; Crowe and Cavalcaselle, III, 124, II, -566 ff, ed. 1866; Mrs Jameson's Sacred and Legendary Art, I, 241, ed. -1857. Professor N. Høyen indicated to Grundtvig the picture of Pietro -Antonio, and d'Ancona refers to Pisanello's. - -[197] He denies the perpetual multiplication of the feathers, and adds -that the very gallows on which the pilgrim was hanged is erected in the -upper part of the church, where everybody can see it. It is diverting to -find Grossenhain, in Saxony, claiming the miracle on the ground of a big -cock in an altar picture in a chapel of St James: Grässe, Sagenschatz -des Königreichs Sachsen, 2d ed., I, 80, No 82, from Chladenius, -Materialien zu Grossenhayner Stadtchronik, I, 2, Pirna, 1788; in verse -by Ziehnert, Volkssagen, p. 99, No 14, ed. 1851. - -[198] For Luis de la Vega, see Acta Sanctorum, III Maii, p. 171 f, §§ 6, -7, 8, VI Julii, p. 46, § 187. The Spanish and the Dutch ballad give due -glory to St James and the Virgin; French #C# to God and St James. The -Wendish ballad can hardly be expected to celebrate St James, and refers -the justification and saving of the boy to the Virgin and the saints. -French #A# has St Michas; #B#, God and the Virgin. - -Luis de la Vega, with what seems an excess of caution, says, p. 172, as -above, § 8: appositique erant ad comedendum gallus et gallina, _assati -nescio an elixi_. Of boiled fowl we have not heard so far. But we find -in a song in Fletcher's play of 'The Spanish Curate,' this stanza: - - The stewd cock shall crow, cock-a-loodle-loo, - A loud cock-a-loodle shall he crow; - The duck and the drake shall swim in a lake - Of onions and claret below. - - Act III, Sc. 2; Dyce, viii, 436. - -In Father Merolla's Voyage to Congo, 1682, a reference to which I owe to -Liebrecht, there is a story of a stewed cock, which, on the whole, -justifies Luis de la Vega's scruple. This must have been introduced into -Africa by some missioner, and, when so introduced, the miracle must have -had an object, which it had lost before the tale came to Father Merolla. - -One of two parties at feud having marched upon the chief city of his -antagonist, and found all the inhabitants fled, the soldiers fell to -rifling the houses and killing all the living creatures they met, to -satisfy their hunger. "Amongst the rest they found a cock of a larger -size than ordinary, with a great ring of iron about one of his legs, -which occasioned one of the wisest among them to cry out, Surely this -cock must be bewitched, and it is not at all proper for us to meddle -with. To which the rest answered, Be it what it will, we are resolved to -eat it. For this end they immediately killed and tore it to pieces after -the manner of the negroes, and afterwards put it into a pot to boil. -When it was enough, they took it out into a platter, and two, according -to the custom, having said grace, five of them sat down to it with great -greediness. But before they had touched a bit, to their great wonder and -amazement, the boiled pieces of the cock, though sodden, and near -dissolved, began to move about and unite into the form they were in -before, and, being so united, the restored cock immediately raised -himself up, and jumped out of the platter upon the ground, where he -walked about as well as when he was first taken. Afterwards he leaped -upon an adjoining wall, where he became new feathered all of a sudden, -and then took his flight to a tree hard by, where fixing himself, he, -after three claps of his wings, made a most hideous noise, and then -disappeared. Every one may easily imagine what a terrible fright the -spectators were in at this sight, who, leaping with a thousand Ave -Marias in their mouths from the place where this had happened, were -contented to observe most of the particulars at a distance." It appears -that the brother of one of the two contending parties was said to have -had a very large cock, from whose crowing he took auguries, but whether -this was the same as the one restored to life is not known. Churchill's -Collection of Voyages and Travels, 1704, I, 682, Pinkerton's Collection, -XVI, 229. - -[199] La Chevalerie Ogier de Danemarche, par Raimbert de Paris, Poëme du -xii siècle, etc., II, 485, vv 11606-627. - -[200] The gospel of Nicodemus was introduced into the French and the -Italian romance of Perceforest, but unfortunately this "narratio ab -inepto Græculo pessime interpolata" (Thilo) seems to be lacking. - -[201] Cursor Mundi, a Northumbrian poem of the 14th century, in four -versions, ed. by R. Morris, p. 912 f, vv 15961-998. This passage was -kindly pointed out to me by Professor George Stephens. - -[202] Rélation d'un Voyage fait au Levant par Monsieur De Thévenot, -Paris, 1665, I, 502. Cited by Thilo, p. xxxvii, and by Victor Smith, -Romania, II, 474, who adds: "Parmi les manuscrits rapportés d'Éthiopie -par M. d'Abbadie, il se trouve un volume dont le titre a pour -équivalent, Actes de la passion. Un chapitre de ce volume, intitulé Le -livre du coq, développe la légende indiquée par Thévenot. Catalogue -raisonné des manuscrits éthiopiens, appartenant à M. A. T. d'Abbadie, in -4^o, imp. impériale, Paris, 1859." - -[203] "Ce couplet se débite en imitant successivement le chant du coq, -le mugissement du b[oe]uf, le cri de la chèvre, le braiment de l'âne, et -le beuglement du veau." Bolza makes a similar explanation with regard to -the Italian colloquy. - - - - -23 - -JUDAS - - MS. B. 14, 39, of the thirteenth century, library of - Trinity College, Cambridge, as printed in Wright & - Halliwell's Reliquiæ Antiquæ, I, 144. - - -This legend, which has not been heretofore recognized as a ballad, is, -so far as is known, unique in several particulars. The common tradition -gives Judas an extraordinary domestic history,[204] but does not endow -him with a sister as perfidious as himself. Neither is his selling his -Master for thirty pieces accounted for elsewhere as it is here, if it -may be strictly said to be accounted for here. - -A popular explanation, founded upon John xii, 3-6, and current for six -centuries and more, is that Judas, bearing the bag, was accustomed to -take tithes of all moneys that came into his hands, and that he -considered he had lost thirty pence on the precious ointment which had -not been sold for three hundred pence, and took this way of indemnifying -himself. - -A Wendish ballad, Haupt und Schmaler, I, 276, No 284, has the following -story. Jesus besought hospitality for himself and his disciples of a -poor widow. She could give a lodging, but had no bread. Jesus said he -would care for that, and asked which of his disciples would go and buy -bread for thirty pieces of silver. Judas offered himself eagerly, and -went to the Jews' street to do his errand. Jews were gaming, under a -tub, and they challenged Judas to play. The first time he won the stake, -and the second. The third time he lost everything. "Why so sad, Judas?" -they say: "go sell your Master for thirty pieces." We are to suppose -Judas to have rejoined his company. Jesus then asks who has sold him. -John says, Is it I? and Peter, and then Judas, to whom Jesus replies, -Thou knowest best. Judas, in remorse, runs to hang himself. The Lord -bids him turn, for his sin is forgiven. But Judas keeps on till he comes -to a fir: "Soft wood, thou fir, thou wilt not bear me." Further on, till -he comes to an aspen. "Hard wood, thou aspen, thou wilt bear me." So he -hanged himself on the aspen; and still the aspen shakes and trembles for -fear of the judgment day. - -According to the ballads, then, Judas lost the thirty pieces at play, or -was robbed of them, with collusion of his sister. But his passionate -behavior in the English ballad, st. 9, goes beyond all apparent -occasion. Surely it was not for his tithe of the thirty pieces. - -And why does he insist to Pilate on the very thirty pieces he had lost, -rejecting every other form of payment? The ballad-singer might answer, -So it was, and rest contented. Or perhaps he might have heard, and might -tell us by way of comment, that these pieces had for long ages been -destined to be "the price of him that was valued, whom they of the -children of Israel did value;" had been coined by Abraham's father for -Ninus, and been given by Terah to his son; had passed through various -hands to the Ishmaelites, had been paid by them as the price of Joseph, -and been repaid to Joseph by his brethren for corn in Egypt; thence were -transferred to Sheba, and in the course of events were brought by the -Queen of the South as an offering to Solomon's temple; when the temple -was despoiled by Nebuchadnezzar, were given by him to the king of -Godolia, and after the kingdom of Godolia had been fused in that of -Nubia, were brought as his tribute to the infant Jesus by Melchior, king -of the same, etc.[205] - -It is much to be regretted that the manuscript from which this piece was -taken has been for some years lost from Trinity College Library, so that -a collation of Wright's text has not been possible. - - - 1 - Hit wes upon a Scere-thorsday that ure loverd aros; - Ful milde were the wordes he spec to Judas. - - 2 - 'Judas, thou most to Jurselem, oure mete for to bugge; - Thritti platen of selver thou bere up othi rugge. - - 3 - 'Thou comest fer ithe brode stret, fer ithe brode strete; - Summe of thine tunesmen ther thou meiht imete.' - - 4 - . . . . . . . - Imette wid is soster, the swikele wimon. - - 5 - 'Judas, thou were wrthe me stende the wid ston, - For the false prophete that tou bilevest upon.' - - 6 - 'Be stille, leve soster, thin herte the tobreke! - Wiste min loverd Crist, ful wel he wolde be wreke.' - - 7 - 'Judas, go thou on the roc, heie upon the ston; - Lei thin heved imy barm, slep thou the anon.' - - 8 - Sone so Judas of slepe was awake, - Thritti platen of selver from hym weren itake. - - 9 - He drou hymselve bi the cop, that al it lavede a blode; - The Jewes out of Jurselem awenden he were wode. - - 10 - Foret hym com the riche Jeu that heihte Pilatus: - 'Wolte sulle thi loverd, that hette Jesus?' - - 11 - 'I nul sulle my loverd [for] nones cunnes eihte, - Bote hit be for the thritti platen that he me bitaihte.' - - 12 - 'Wolte sulle thi lord Crist for enes cunnes golde?' - 'Nay, bote hit be for the platen that he habben wolde.' - - 13 - In him com ur lord Crist gon, as is postles seten at mete: - 'Wou sitte ye, postles, ant wi nule ye ete? - - 14 - ['Wou sitte ye, postles, ant wi nule ye ete?] - Ic am ibouht ant isold today for oure mete.' - - 15 - Up stod him Judas: 'Lord, am I that ...? - 'I nas never othe stude ther me the evel spec.' - - 16 - Up him stod Peter, and spec wid al is mihte, - . . . . . . . - - 17 - 'Thau Pilatus him come wid ten hundred cnihtes, - Yet ic wolde, loverd, for thi love fihte.' - - 18 - 'Still thou be, Peter, wel I the icnowe; - Thou wolt fursake me thrien ar the coc him crowe.' - - * * * * * - - _Not divided into stanzas in Reliquiæ Antiquæ._ - - 3^2. meist. - - 10^1. heiste. - - 11^1. eiste. - - 11^2. bitaiste. - - 14^2. i-boust. - - 16^1. miste. - - 17^1. cnistes. - - 17^2. fiste. - - _In the absence of the original manuscript, I have thought - it better to change Wright's ~s~ in the above instances - (3-17) to ~h~. In this substitution I follow Mätzner's - Altenglische Sprachproben, I, 114._ - - -[204] Legenda Aurea, Grässe, 2d ed., p. 184 ff; Mone's Anzeiger, VII, -col. 532 f, and du Méril, Poésies populaires latines du Moyen Age, p. -326 ff; Furnivall, Early English Poems and Lives of Saints, p. 107 ff; -Douhet, Dictionnaire des Légendes, col. 714 ff; Das alte Passional, ed. -K.A. Hahn, p. 312 ff; Bäckström, Svenska Folkböcker, II, 198 ff; etc. - -[205] See Fabricius, Codex Pseudepigraphus Veteris Testamenti, II, 79; -Godfrey of Viterbo (who derives his information from a lost writing of -the apostle Bartholomew) in his Pantheon, Pistorius, German. Script., -ed. Struve, II, 243, or E. du Méril, Poésies pop. latines du Moyen Age, -p. 321; Genesi de Scriptura, Biblioteca Catalana, p. 20, etc. - - - - -24 - -BONNIE ANNIE - - #A.# 'Bonnie Annie,' Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, - p. 123. - - #B.# 'The High Banks o Yarrow,' Motherwell's MS., p. 652. - - -Had an old copy of this still pretty and touching, but much disordered, -ballad been saved, we should perhaps have had a story like this. Bonnie -Annie, having stolen her father's gold and her mother's fee, and fled -with her paramour (like the maid in No 4), the ship in which she is -sailing encounters a storm and cannot get on. Annie is seized with the -pangs of travail, and deplores the absence of women (#B# 6, 7, #A# 9, -10; compare No 15, 21-26). The sailors say there is somebody on board -who is marked for death, or flying from a just doom. They cast lots, and -the lot falls on Annie,--a result which strikes us as having more -semblance of the "corrupted currents of this world" than of a pure -judgment of God. Annie, conscious only of her own guilt, asks to be -thrown overboard. Her paramour offers great sums to the crew to save -her, but their efforts prove useless, and Annie again begs, or they now -insist, that she shall be cast into the sea with her babe. This done, -the ship is able to sail on; Annie floats to shore and is buried there. - -The captain of the ship is the guilty man in #A#, in #B# a rich squire. -#A# may exhibit the original plot, but it is just as likely that the -captain was substituted for a passenger, under the influence of another -ballad, in which there is no Annie, but a ship-master stained with many -crimes, whom the lot points out as endangering or obstructing the -vessel. See 'Brown Robyn's Confession,' further on. - -If the narrative in Jonah, i, is the ultimate source of this and similar -stories, it must be owned that the tradition has maintained its -principal traits in this ballad remarkably well. Jonah flies from the -presence of the Lord in a ship; the ship is overtaken by a tempest;[206] -the sailors cast lots to know who is the guilty cause, and the lot falls -on Jonah; he bids the sailors take him up and cast him into the sea; -nevertheless the men row hard to bring the ship to land, but cannot -succeed; they throw Jonah into the water, and the storm ceases.[207] - -Translated in Grundtvig's Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, p. 199, No 31. - - -#A# - - Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 123. - - 1 - There was a rich lord, and he lived in Forfar, - He had a fair lady, and one only dochter. - - 2 - O she was fair, O dear, she was bonnie! - A ship's captain courted her to be his honey. - - 3 - There cam a ship's captain out owre the sea sailing, - He courted this young thing till he got her wi bairn. - - 4 - 'Ye'll steal your father's gowd, and your mother's money, - And I'll mak ye a lady in Ireland bonnie.' - - 5 - She's stown her father's gowd, and her mother's money, - But she was never a lady in Ireland bonnie. - - * * * * * * * - - 6 - 'There's fey fowk in our ship, she winna sail for me, - There's fey fowk in our ship, she winna sail for me.' - - 7 - They've casten black bullets twice six and forty, - And ae the black bullet fell on bonnie Annie. - - 8 - 'Ye'll tak me in your arms twa, lo, lift me cannie, - Throw me out owre board, your ain dear Annie.' - - 9 - He has tane her in his arms twa, lo, lifted her cannie, - He has laid her on a bed of down, his ain dear Annie. - - 10 - 'What can a woman do, love, I'll do for ye;' - 'Muckle can a woman do, ye canna do for me.' - - 11 - 'Lay about, steer about, lay our ship cannie, - Do all ye can to save my dear Annie.' - - 12 - 'I've laid about, steerd about, laid about cannie, - But all I can do, she winna sail for me. - - 13 - 'Ye'll tak her in your arms twa, lo, lift her cannie, - And throw her out owre board, your ain dear Annie.' - - 14 - He has tane her in his arms twa, lo, lifted her cannie, - He has thrown her out owre board, his ain dear Annie. - - 15 - As the ship sailed, bonnie Annie she swam, - And she was at Ireland as soon as them. - - 16 - He made his love a coffin of the gowd sae yellow, - And buried his bonnie love doun in a sea valley. - - -B - - Motherwell's MS., p. 652. From the singing of a boy, Henry - French, Ayr. - - 1 - Down in Dumbarton there wonnd a rich merchant, - Down in Dumbarton there wond a rich merchant, - And he had nae family but ae only dochter. - Sing fal lal de deedle, fal lal de deedle lair, O a day - - 2 - There cam a rich squire, intending to woo her, - He wooed her until he had got her wi babie. - - 3 - 'Oh what shall I do! oh what shall come o me! - Baith father and mither will think naething o me.' - - 4 - 'Gae up to your father, bring down gowd and money, - And I'll take ye ower to a braw Irish ladie.' - - 5 - She gade to her father, brought down gowd and money, - And she's awa ower to a braw Irish ladie. - - 6 - She hadna sailed far till the young thing cried 'Women!' - 'What women can do, my dear, I'll do for you.' - - 7 - 'O haud your tongue, foolish man, dinna talk vainly, - For ye never kent what a woman driet for you. - - 8 - 'Gae wash your hands in the cauld spring water, - And dry them on a towel a' giltit wi silver. - - 9 - 'And tak me by the middle, and lift me up saftlie, - And throw me ower shipboard, baith me and my babie.' - - 10 - He took her by the middle, and lifted her saftly, - And threw her ower shipboard, baith her and her babie. - - 11 - Sometimes she did sink, sometimes she did float it, - Until that she cam to the high banks o Yarrow. - - 12 - 'O captain tak gowd, O sailors tak money, - And launch out your sma boat till I sail for my honey.' - - 13 - 'How can I tak gowd, how can I tak money? - My ship's on a sand bank, she winna sail for me.' - - 14 - The captain took gowd, the sailors took money, - And they launchd out their sma boat till he sailed for his honey. - - 15 - 'Mak my love a coffin o the gowd sae yellow, - Whar the wood it is dear, and the planks they are narrow, - And bury my love on the high banks o Yarrow.' - - 16 - They made her a coffin o the gowd sae yellow, - And buried her deep on the high banks o Yarrow. - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - _Printed by Kinloch in four-line stanzas._ - - 16^1. coffin off the Goats of Yerrow. - -#B.# - - 16. _Motherwell, Minstrelsy, p. xcix_, 146, _gives the - stanza thus_: - - They made his love a coffin of the gowd sae yellow, - They made his love a coffin of the gowd sae yellow, - And they buried her deep on the high banks of Yarrow. - Sing fal lal, de deedle, fal lal, de deedle lair, Oh a Day! - - -[206] Jonah is asleep below. This trait we find in several Norse -ballads: see 'Brown Robyn's Confession.' - -[207] A singular episode in the life of Saint Mary Magdalen in the -Golden Legend, Grässe, c. xcvi, 2, p. 409 ff, indicates a belief that -even a dead body might prejudice the safety of a ship. The princess of -Marseilles, in the course of a storm, has given birth to a boy and -expired. The sailors demand that the body shall be thrown into the sea -(and apparently the boy, too), for, they say, as long as it shall be -with us, this thumping will not cease. They presently see a hill, and -think it better to put off the corpse, _and the boy_, there, than that -these should be devoured by sea-monsters. Fear will fasten upon anything -in such a case. - -The Digby Mystery of Mary Magdalene has this scene, at p. 122 of the New -Shakspere Society edition, ed. Furnivall. - - - - -25 - -WILLIE'S LYKE-WAKE - - #A.# 'Willie, Willie,' Kinloch's MSS, I, 53. - - #B. a.# 'Blue Flowers and Yellow,' Buchan's Ballads of the - North of Scotland, I, 185. #b.# 'The Blue Flowers and the - Yellow,' Christie, Traditional Ballad Airs, I, 120. - - #C.# Motherwell's MS., p. 187. - - #D.# 'Amang the blue flowers and yellow,' Motherwell's - Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. xix, No XVII, one stanza. - - -This piece was first printed by Buchan, in 1828, and all the copies -which have been recovered are of about that date. The device of a -lover's feigning death as a means of winning a shy mistress enjoys a -considerable popularity in European ballads. Even more favorite is a -ballad in which the _woman_ adopts this expedient, in order to escape -from the control of her relations: see 'The Gay Goshawk,' with which -will be given another form of the present story. - -A #Danish# ballad answering to our Feigned Lyke-Wake is preserved, as I -am informed by Professor Grundtvig, in no less than fourteen -manuscripts, some of them of the 16th century, and is still living in -tradition. Five versions, as yet unprinted, #A-E#, have been furnished -me by the editor of the Ballads of Denmark. - -#A#, from a manuscript of the sixteenth century. Young Herre Karl asks -his mother's rede how he may get the maid his heart is set upon. She -advises him to feign sickness, and be laid on his bier, no one to know -his counsel but the page who is to do his errands. The page bids the -lady to the wake that night. Little Kirstin asks her mother's leave to -keep wake over Karl. The wake is to be in the upper room of Karl's -house. The mother says, Be on your guard; he means to cheat you; but -Kirstin, neither listening to her mother nor asking her father, goes to -keep wake in the upper room. When she went in she could not see the -lights for her tears. She begged all the good people to pray for Karl's -soul, sat down by his head and made her own prayer, and murmured, While -thou livedst I loved thee. She lifted the cloths, and there lay Karl -wide awake and laughing. "All the devils in hell receive thy soul!" she -cried. "If thou livedst a hundred years, thou shouldst never have my -good will! "Karl proposed that she should pass the night with him. "Why -would you deceive me!" Kirstin exclaimed. "Why did you not go to my -father and betroth me honorably?" Karl immediately rode to her father's -to do this, and they were married. - -#B. a#, from MSS of 1610 and later, almost identical with #b#, 'Den -forstilte Vaagestue,' Levninger, Part II, 1784, p. 34, No 7.[208] This -version gives us some rather unnecessary previous history. Karl has sued -for Ingerlille three years, and had an ill answer. He follows her to -church one fine day, and, after mass, squeezes her fingers and asks, -Will you take pity on me? She replies, You must ask my father and -friends; and he, I have, and can get no good answer. If you will give me -your troth, we can see to that best ourselves. "Never," she says. -"Farewell, then; but Christ may change your mind." Karl meets his mother -on his way from church, who asks why he is so pale. He tells her his -plight, and is advised, as before, to use craft. The wake is held on -Karl's premises.[209] Ingerlille, in scarlet mantle, goes with her -maids. She avows her love, but adds that it was a fixed idea in her mind -that he would deceive her. She lifts up the white cloth that covers the -face. Karl laughs, and says, We were good friends before, so are we -still. Bear out the bier, and follow me to bed with the fair maid. She -hopes he will have respect for her honor. Karl reassures her, leaves her -with his mother, rides to Ingerlille's house, obtains her parents' -approbation, and buys wine for his wedding. - -#C#, from manuscripts of the sixteenth century. Karl is given out for -dead, and his pages ride to the convent to ask that his body may be laid -in the cloister. The bier is borne in; the prioress comes to meet it, -with much respect. The pages go about bidding maids to the wake. Ellin -asks her mother if she may go. (This looks as if there had originally -been no convent in the ballad.) Her mother tells her to put on red gold -and be wary of Karl, he is so very tricky. When Ellin owns her -attachment, Karl whispers softly, Do not weep, but follow me. Horses -were ready at the portal--_black_ horses all! - -Karl sprang from the bier, took Ellin, and made for the door. The nuns, -who stood reading in the choir, thought it was an angel that had -translated her, and wished one would come for them. Karl, with fifteen -men who were in waiting, carried Ellin home, and drank his bridal with -her. - -#D#, from recent oral tradition. As Karl lay in his bed, he said, How -shall I get the fair maid out of the convent? His foster-mother heard -him, and recommended him to feign death and bid the fair maid to his -wake. The maid asked her father's leave to go, but he said, Nay, the -moment you are inside the door he will seize you by the foot. But when -the page, who had first come in blue, comes back in scarlet, she goes. -She stands at Karl's head and says, I never shall forget thee; at his -feet, "I wished thee well;" at his side, "Thou wast my dearest." Then -she turns and bids everybody good-night, but Karl seizes her, and calls -to his friends to come drink his bridal. We hear nothing of the convent -after the first stanza. - -#E#, from oral tradition of another quarter. Karl consults his mother -how he shall get little Kirstin out of the convent, and receives the -same counsel. A page is sent to the convent, and asks who will come to -the wake now Herr Karl is dead? Little Kirstin, without application to -the prioress, goes to her mother, who does not forbid her, but warns her -that Karl will capture her as sure as she goes into the room. - - The maid has the door by the handle, - And is wishing them all good-night; - Young Karl, that lay a corpse on the bier, - Sprang up and held her tight. - - 'Why here's a board and benches, - And there's no dead body here; - This eve I'll drink my mead and wine, - All with my Kirstin dear. - - 'Why here's a board and beds too, - And here there's nobody dead; - To-morrow will I go to the priest, - All with my plighted maid.' - -#F#, another copy from recent tradition, was published in 1875, in -Kristensen's Jyske Folkeviser, II, 213, No 62, 'Vaagestuen.' There is no -word of a convent here. The story is made very short. Kirsten's mother -says she will be fooled if she goes to the wake. The last stanza, -departing from all other copies, says that when Kirsten woke in the -morning Karl was off. - -#G.# 'Klosterranet,' Levninger, I, 23, No 4 (1780), Danske Viser, IV, -261, No 212, a very second-rate ballad, may have the praise of -preserving consistency and conventual discipline. The young lady does -not slip out to see her mother without leave asked and had. It is my -persuasion that the convent, with its little jest about the poor nuns, -is a later invention, and that #C# is a blending of two different -stories. In #G#, Herr Morten betroths Proud Adeluds, who is more -virtuous than rich. His friends object; her friends do not want spirit, -and swear that she shall never be his. Morten's father sends him out of -the country, and Adeluds is put into a convent. After nine years Morten -returns, and, having rejected an advantageous match proposed by his -father, advises with his brother, Herr Nilaus, how to get his true love -out of the cloister. The brother's plan is that of the mother and -foster-mother in the other versions. Herr Nilaus promises a rich gift if -Morten's body may be buried within the cloister. From this point the -story is materially the same as in #C#. - -#H.# A copy, which I have not yet seen, in Rahbek's Læsning i blandede -Æmner (or Hesperus), III, 151, 1822 (Bergström). - - * * * * * - -'Hertugen af Skage,' Danske Viser, II, 191, No 88, has this slight -agreement with the foregoing ballads. Voldemar, the king's youngest son, -hearing that the duke has a daughter, Hildegerd, that surpasses all -maids, seeks her out in a convent in which she has taken refuge, and -gets a cold reception. He feigns death, desiring that his bones may -repose in the cloister. His bier is carried into the convent church. -Hildegerd lights nine candles for him, and expresses compassion for his -early death. While she is standing before the altar of the Virgin, -Voldemar carries her out of the church by force. - - * * * * * - -This, says Afzelius, 1814, is one of the commonest ballads in #Sweden#, -and is often represented as a drama by young people in country places. -#A a#, 'Herr Carl, eller Klosterrofvet,' Afzelius, I, 179, No 26, new -ed. No 24; #b#, Afzelius, Sago-Häfder, ed. 1851, IV, 106. #B#, Atterbom, -Poetisk Kalender for 1816, p. 63, 'Det Iefvande Liket.' #C#. Rancken, -Några Prof af Folksång, o. s. v., p. 13, No 4. These differ but slightly -from Danish #D#, #E#. All three conclude with the humorous verses about -the nuns, which in Rancken's copy take this rollicking turn: - - And all the nuns in the convent they all danced in a ring; - 'Christ send another such angel, to take us all under his wing!' - - And all the nuns in the convent, they all danced each her lone; - 'Christ send another such angel, to take us off every one!' - -Bergström, new Afzelius, II, 131, refers to another version in -Gyllenmärs' visbok, p. 191, and to a good copy obtained by himself. - -An Icelandic version for the 17th century, which is after the fashion of -Danish #C#, #G#, is given in Íslenzk Fornkvæði, II, 59, No 40, 'Marteins -kviða.' The lover has in all three a troop of armed men in waiting -outside of the convent. - -Professor Bugge has obtained a version in Norway, which, however, is as -to language essentially Danish. (Bergström, as above.) - -There is a very gay and pretty south-European ballad, in which the -artifice of feigning death is successfully tried by a lover after the -failure of other measures. - -#A.# #Magyar.# Arany and Gyulai, I, 172, No 18, 'Pálbeli Szép Antal;' -translated by Aigner, Ungarische Volksdichtungen, p. 80, 'Schön Anton.' -Handsome Tony tells his mother that he shall die for Helen. The mother -says, Not yet. I will build a marvellous mill. The first wheel shall -grind out pearls, the middle stone discharge kisses, the third wheel -distribute small change. The pretty maids will come to see, and Helen -among them. Helen asks her mother's leave to see the mill. "Go not," the -mother replies. "They are throwing the net, and a fox will be caught." -Tony again says he must die. His mother says, not yet; for she will -build an iron bridge; the girls will come to see it, and Helen among -them. Helen asks to see the bridge; her mother answers as before. Tony -says once more that he shall die for Helen. His mother again rejoins, -Not yet. Make believe to be dead; the girls will come to see you, and -Helen among them. Helen entreats to be allowed to go to see the handsome -young man that has died. Her mother tells her she will never come back. -Tony's mother calls to him to get up; the girl he was dying for is even -now before the gate, in the court, standing at his feet. "Never," says -Helen, "saw I so handsome a dead man,--eyes smiling, mouth tempting -kisses, and his feet all ready for a spring." Up he jumped and embraced -her. - -#B.# #Italian.# Ferraro, Canti popolari monferrini, p. 59, No 40, 'Il -Genovese.' The Genoese, not obtaining the beautiful daughter of a rich -merchant on demand, plants a garden. All the girls come for flowers, -except the one desired. He then gives a ball, with thirty-two musicians. -All the girls are there, but not the merchant's daughter. He then builds -a church, very richly adorned. All the girls come to mass, all but one. -Next he sets the bells a ringing, in token of his death. The fair one -goes to the window to ask who is dead. The good people ("ra bun-ha -gent," in the Danish ballad "det gode folk") tell her that it is her -first love, and suggest that she should attend the funeral. She asks her -father, who consents if she will not cry. As she was leaving the church, -the lover came to life, and called to the priests and friars to stop -singing. They went to the high altar to be married. - -#C.# #Slovenian.# Vraz, Narodne pe[/s]ni ilirske, p. 93, '[vC]udna -bolezen' ('Strange Sickness'); translated by Anastasius Grün, -Volkslieder aus Krain, p. 36, 'Der Scheintodte.' "Build a church, -mother," cries the love-sick youth, "that all who will may hear mass; -perhaps my love among them." The mother built a church, one and another -came, but not his love. "Dig a well, mother, that those who will may -fetch water; perhaps my love among them." The well was dug, one and -another came for water, but not his love. "Say I am dead, mother, that -those who will may come to pray." Those who wished came, his love first -of all. The youth was peeping through the window. "What kind of dead man -is this, that stretches his arms for an embrace, and puts out his mouth -for a kiss?" - - * * * * * - -Danish #G# translated by the Rev. J. Johnstone, 'The Robbery of the -Nunnery, or, The Abbess Outwitted,' Copenhagen, 1786 (Danske Viser, IV, -366); by Prior, III, 400. Swedish #A#, by G. Stephens, For. Quar. Rev., -1841, XXVI, 49, and by the Howitts, Lit. and Rom. of Northern Europe, I, -292. English #C#, by Rosa Warrens, Schottische V. 1., p. 144, No 33. - - -A - - Kinloch's MSS, I, 53, from the recitation of Mary Barr, - Lesmahagow, aged upwards of seventy. May, 1827. - - 1 - 'Willie, Willie, I'll learn you a wile,' - And the sun shines over the valleys and a' - 'How this pretty fair maid ye may beguile.' - Amang the blue flowrs and the yellow and a' - - 2 - 'Ye maun lie doun just as ye were dead, - And tak your winding-sheet around your head. - - 3 - 'Ye maun gie the bellman his bell-groat, - To ring your dead-bell at your lover's yett.' - - 4 - He lay doun just as he war dead, - And took his winding-sheet round his head. - - 5 - He gied the bellman his bell-groat, - To ring his dead-bell at his lover's yett. - - 6 - 'O wha is this that is dead, I hear?' - 'O wha but Willie that loed ye sae dear.' - - 7 - She is to her father's chamber gone, - And on her knees she's fallen down. - - 8 - 'O father, O father, ye maun grant me this; - I hope that ye will na tak it amiss. - - 9 - 'That I to Willie's burial should go; - For he is dead, full well I do know.' - - 10 - 'Ye'll tak your seven bauld brethren wi thee, - And to Willie's burial straucht go ye.' - - 11 - It's whan she cam to the outmost yett, - She made the silver fly round for his sake. - - 12 - It's whan she cam to the inmost yett, - She made the red gowd fly round for his sake. - - 13 - As she walked frae the court to the parlour there, - The pretty corpse syne began for to steer. - - 14 - He took her by the waist sae neat and sae sma, - And threw her atween him and the wa. - - 15 - 'O Willie, O Willie, let me alane this nicht, - O let me alane till we're wedded richt.' - - 16 - 'Ye cam unto me baith sae meek and mild, - But I'll mak ye gae hame a wedded wife wi child.' - - -B - - #a.# Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 185. - #b.# Christie, Traditional Ballad Airs, I, 120. - - 1 - 'O Willie my son, what makes you sae sad?' - As the sun shines over the valley - 'I lye sarely sick for the love of a maid.' - Amang the blue flowers and the yellow - - 2 - 'Were she an heiress or lady sae free, - That she will take no pity on thee? - - 3 - 'O Willie, my son, I'll learn you a wile, - How this fair maid ye may beguile. - - 4 - 'Ye'll gie the principal bellman a groat, - And ye'll gar him cry your dead lyke-wake.' - - 5 - Then he gae the principal bellman a groat, - He bade him cry his dead lyke-wake. - - 6 - This maiden she stood till she heard it a', - And down frae her cheeks the tears did fa. - - 7 - She is hame to her father's ain bower: - 'I'll gang to yon lyke-wake ae single hour.' - - 8 - 'Ye must take with you your ain brither John; - It's not meet for maidens to venture alone.' - - 9 - 'I'll not take with me my brither John, - But I'll gang along, myself all alone.' - - 10 - When she came to young Willie's yate, - His seven brithers were standing thereat. - - 11 - Then they did conduct her into the ha, - Amang the weepers and merry mourners a'. - - 12 - When she lifted up the covering sae red, - With melancholy countenance to look on the dead, - - 13 - He's taen her in his arms, laid her gainst the wa, - Says, 'Lye ye here, fair maid, till day.' - - 14 - 'O spare me, O spare me, but this single night, - And let me gang hame a maiden sae bright.' - - 15 - 'Tho all your kin were about your bower, - Ye shall not be a maiden ae single hour. - - 16 - 'Fair maid, ye came here without a convoy, - But ye shall return wi a horse and a boy. - - 17 - 'Ye came here a maiden sae mild, - But ye shall gae hame a wedded wife with child.' - - -C - - Motherwell's MS., p. 187. - - 1 - 'O Willie, Willie, what makes thee so sad?' - And the sun shines over the valley - 'I have loved a lady these seven years and mair.' - Down amang the blue flowers and the yellow - - 2 - 'O Willie, lie down as thou were dead, - And lay thy winding-sheet down at thy head. - - 3 - 'And gie to the bellman a belling-great, - To ring the dead-bell at thy love's bower-yett.' - - 4 - He laid him down as he were dead, - And he drew the winding-sheet oer his head. - - 5 He gied to the bellman a belling-great, - To ring the dead-bell at his love's bower-yett. - - * * * * * * * - - 6 - When that she came to her true lover's gate, - She dealt the red gold and all for his sake. - - 7 - And when that she came to her true lover's bower, - She had not been there for the space of half an hour, - - 8 - Till that she cam to her true lover's bed, - And she lifted the winding-sheet to look at the dead. - - 9 - He took her by the hand so meek and sma, - And he cast her over between him and the wa. - - 10 - 'Tho all your friends were in the bower, - I would not let you go for the space of half an hour. - - 11 - 'You came to me without either horse or boy, - But I will send you home with a merry convoy.' - - -D - - Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. xix, No XVII. - - 'O Johnie, dear Johnie, what makes ye sae sad?' - As the sun shines ower the valley - 'I think nae music will mak ye glad.' - Amang the blue flowers and the yellow - - * * * * * - -#B.# - - #b# _is #a# with stanzas 3, 12-15 omitted, and_ "a few - alterations, _some_ of them given from the recitation of - an old woman." "Buchan's version differs little from the - way the old woman sang the ballad." _The old woman's - variations, so far as adopted, are certainly of the most - trifling._ - - 1^2. I am. - - 2^1. Is she. - - 7^1. And she. - - 16^1. Ye've come. - - 16^4. And ye. - - 17. _Evidently by Christie_: - - 'Fair maid, I love thee as my life, - But ye shall gae hame a lovd wedded wife.' - -#C.# - - _Burden. The lines are transposed in the second stanza, - but are given in the third in the order of the first._ - - 3^1, 5^1. _MS._ belling great. - - 11^2. you come. - - -[208] But #a# has two stanzas more: the first a stev-stamme, or lyrical -introduction (see p. 7), the other, 31, nearly a repetition of Sandvig's -29. - -[209] After the page has bidden Ingerlille to the wake, we are told, #a# -27, 28, #b# 26, 27: all the convent bells were going, and the tidings -spreading that the knight was dead; all the ladies of the convent sat -sewing, except Ingerlille, who wept. But Ingerlille, in the next stanza, -puts on her scarlet cloak and goes to the höjeloft to see her father and -mother. The two stanzas quoted signify nothing in this version. - - - - -26 - -THE THREE RAVENS - - #a.# Melismata. Musicall Phansies. Fitting the Court, - Cittie, and Countrey Humours. London, 1611, No 20.[210] - [T. Ravenscroft.] - - #b.# 'The Three Ravens,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, - Appendix, p. xviii, No XII. - - -#a# was printed from Melismata, by Ritson, in his Ancient Songs, 1790, -p. 155. Mr. Chappell remarked, about 1855, Popular Music of the Olden -Time, I, 59, that this ballad was still so popular in some parts of the -country that he had "been favored with a variety of copies of it, -written down from memory, and all differing in some respects, both as to -words and tune, but with sufficient resemblance to prove a similar -origin." Motherwell, Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. lxxvii, note 49, says -he had met with several copies almost the same as #a.# #b# is the first -stanza of one of these (traditional) versions, "very popular in -Scotland." - -The following verses, first printed in the Minstrelsy of the Scottish -Border, and known in several versions in Scotland, are treated by -Motherwell and others as a traditionary form of 'The Three Ravens.' They -are, however, as Scott says, "rather a counterpart than a copy of the -other," and sound something like a cynical variation of the tender -little English ballad. Dr Rimbault (Notes and Queries, Ser. V, III, 518) -speaks of unprinted copies taken down by Mr Blaikie and by Mr Thomas -Lyle of Airth. - - -THE TWA CORBIES. - - #a.# Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, III, 239, ed. - 1803, communicated by C. K. Sharpe, as written down from - tradition by a lady. #b.# Albyn's Anthology, II, 27, 1818, - "from the singing of Mr Thomas Shortreed, of Jedburgh, as - sung and recited by his mother." #c.# Chambers's Scottish - Ballads, p. 283, partly from recitation and partly from - the Border Minstrelsy. #d.# Fraser-Tytler MS., p. 70. - - 1 - As I was walking all alane, - I heard twa corbies making a mane; - The tane unto the t'other say, - 'Where sall we gang and dine to-day?' - - 2 - 'In behint yon auld fail dyke, - I wot there lies a new slain knight; - And naebody kens that he lies there, - But his hawk, his hound, and lady fair. - - 3 - 'His hound is to the hunting gane, - His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl hame, - His lady's ta'en another mate, - So we may mak our dinner sweet. - - 4 - 'Ye'll sit on his white hause-bane, - And I'll pike out his bonny blue een; - Wi ae lock o his gowden hair - We' theek our nest when it grows bare. - - 5 - 'Mony a one for him makes mane, - But nane sall ken where he is gane; - Oer his white banes, when they are bare, - The wind sall blaw for evermair.' - -'The Three Ravens' is translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og skotske -Folkeviser, p. 145, No 23; by Henrietta Schubart, p. 155; Gerhard, p. -95; Rosa Warrens, Schottische V. l. der Vorzeit, p. 198; Wolff, Halle -der Völker, I, 12, Hausschatz, p. 205. - -'The Twa Corbies' (Scott), by Grundtvig, p. 143, No 22; Arndt, p. 224; -Gerhard, p. 94; Schubart, p. 157; Knortz, L. u. R. Alt-Englands, p. 194; -Rosa Warrens, p. 89. The three first stanzas, a little freely rendered -into four, pass for Pushkin's: Works, 1855, II, 462, xxiv. - - 1 - There were three rauens sat on a tree, - Downe a downe, hay down, hay downe - There were three rauens sat on a tree, - With a downe - There were three rauens sat on a tree, - They were as blacke as they might be. - With a downe derrie, derrie, derrie, downe, downe - - 2 - The one of them said to his mate, - 'Where shall we our breakefast take?' - - 3 - 'Downe in yonder greene field, - There lies a knight slain vnder his shield. - - 4 - 'His hounds they lie downe at his feete, - So well they can their master keepe. - - 5 - 'His haukes they flie so eagerly, - There's no fowle dare him come nie.' - - 6 - Downe there comes a fallow doe, - As great with yong as she might goe. - - 7 - She lift vp his bloudy hed, - And kist his wounds that were so red. - - 8 - She got him vp vpon her backe, - And carried him to earthen lake. - - 9 - She buried him before the prime, - She was dead herselfe ere euen-song time. - - 10 - God send euery gentleman, - Such haukes, such hounds, and such a leman. - - * * * * * - -#b.# - - Three ravens sat upon a tree, - Hey down, hey derry day - Three ravens sat upon a tree, - Hey down - Three ravens sat upon a tree, - And they were black as black could be. - And sing lay doo and la doo and day - - -_Variations of The Twa Corbies._ - -#b.# - - 1. - As I cam by yon auld house end, - I saw twa corbies sittin thereon. - - 2^1. Whare but by yon new fa'en birk. - - 3. - We'll sit upon his bonny breast-bane, - And we'll pick out his bonny gray een; - We'll set our claws intil his yallow hair, - And big our bowr, it's a' blawn bare. - - 4. - My mother clekit me o an egg, - And brought me up i the feathers gray, - And bade me flee whereer I wad, - For winter wad be my dying day. - - 5. - Now winter it is come and past, - And a' the birds are biggin their nests, - But I'll flee high aboon them a', - And sing a sang for summer's sake. - -#c.# - - 1. - As I gaed doun by yon hous-en, - Twa corbies there were sittand their lane. - - 2^1. O down beside yon new-faun birk. - - 3^1. His horse. - - 3^2. His hounds to bring the wild deer hame. - - 4. - O we'll sit on his bonnie breist-bane, - And we'll pyke out his bonnie grey een. - -#d.# - - 1^1. walking forth. - - 1^2. the ither. - - 1^3. we twa dine. - - 3^2. wild bird. - - 5^2. naebody kens. - - 5^3. when we've laid them bare. - - 5^4. win may blaw. - - -[210] Misprinted 22. - - - - -27 - -THE WHUMMIL BORE - - #a.# Motherwell's MS., p. 191. #b.# Motherwell's - Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. xvi, No III. - - -This ballad, if it ever were one, seems not to have been met with, or at -least to have been thought worth notice, by anybody but Motherwell. As -already observed in the preface to 'Hind Horn,' stanza 2 seems to have -slipped into that ballad, in consequence of the resemblance of stanza 1 -to #F# 2, #H# 3 of 'Hind Horn.' This first stanza is, however, a -commonplace in English and elsewhere: e. g., 'The Squire of Low Degree:' - - He served the kyng, her father dere, - Fully the tyme of seven yere. vv 5, 6. - - He loved her more then seven yere, - Yet was he of her love never the nere. vv 17, 18. - - Ritson, Met. Rom. III, 145 f. - - - 1 - Seven lang years I hae served the king, - Fa fa fa fa lilly - And I never got a sight of his daughter but ane. - With my glimpy, glimpy, glimpy eedle, - Lillum too tee a ta too a tee a ta a tally - - 2 - I saw her thro a whummil bore, - And I neer got a sight of her no more. - - 3 - Twa was putting on her gown, - And ten was putting pins therein. - - 4 - Twa was putting on her shoon, - And twa was buckling them again. - - 5 - Five was combing down her hair, - And I never got a sight of her nae mair. - - 6 - Her neck and breast was like the snow, - Then from the bore I was forced to go. - - * * * * * - -#a.# - - 2^2. _Variation_: And she was washing in a pond. - - 6^2. _Variation_: Ye might have tied me with a strae. - -#b.# - - _Burden_: - - Fa, fa, falilly - With my glimpy, glimpy, glimpy eedle, - Lillum too a tee too a tally. - - - - -28 - -BURD ELLEN AND YOUNG TAMLANE - - Maidment's North Countrie Garland, 1824, p. 21. - Communicated by R. Pitcairn, "from the recitation of a - female relative, who had heard it frequently sung in her - childhood," about sixty years before the above date. - - -Motherwell informs us, Minstrelsy, p. xciv of Introduction, note to 141, -that 'Burd Helen and Young Tamlene' is very popular, and that various -sets of it are to be found traditionally current (1827). Still I have -not found it, out of Maidment's little book; not even in Motherwell's -large folio. - -I cannot connect this fragment with what is elsewhere handed down -concerning Tamlane, or with the story of any other ballad. - - - 1 - Burd Ellen sits in her bower windowe, - With a double laddy double, and for the double dow - Twisting the red silk and the blue. - With the double rose and the May-hay - - 2 - And whiles she twisted, and whiles she twan, - And whiles the tears fell down amang. - - 3 - Till once there by cam Young Tamlane: - 'Come light, oh light, and rock your young son.' - - 4 - 'If you winna rock him, you may let him rair, - For I hae rockit my share and mair.' - - * * * * * * * - - 5 - Young Tamlane to the seas he's gane, - And a' women's curse in his company's gane. - - - - -29 - -THE BOY AND THE MANTLE - - Percy MS., p. 284. Hales & Furnivall, II, 304. - - -This ballad and the two which follow it are clearly not of the same -rise, and not meant for the same ears, as those which go before. They -would come down by professional rather than by domestic tradition, -through minstrels rather than knitters and weavers. They suit the hall -better than the bower, the tavern or public square better than the -cottage, and would not go to the spinning-wheel at all. An exceedingly -good piece of minstrelsy 'The Boy and the Mantle' is, too; much livelier -than most of the numerous variations on the somewhat overhandled -theme.[211] - -Of these, as nearest related, the fabliau or "romance" of Le Mantel -Mautaillié, 'Cort Mantel,' must be put first: Montaiglon et Raynaud, -Recueil Général des Fabliaux, III, 1, from four manuscripts, three of -the thirteenth century, one of the fourteenth; and previously by Michel, -from the three older manuscripts, in Wolf, Ueber die Lais, p. 324. A -rendering of the fabliau in prose, existing in a single manuscript, was -several times printed in the sixteenth century: given in Legrand, ed. -Renouard, I, 126, and before, somewhat modernized, by Caylus, 'Les -Manteaux,' [OE]uvres Badines, VI, 435.[212] - -The story in 'Cort Mantel' goes thus. Arthur was holding full court at -Pentecost, never more splendidly. Not only kings, dukes, and counts were -there, but the attendance of all young bachelors had been commanded, and -he that had a _bele amie_ was to bring her. The court assembled on -Saturday, and on Sunday all the world went to church. After service the -queen took the ladies to her apartments, till dinner should be ready. -But it was Arthur's wont not to dine that day until he had had or heard -of some adventure;[213] dinner was kept waiting; and it was therefore -with great satisfaction that the knights saw a handsome and courteous -varlet arrive, who must certainly bring news; news that was not to be -good to all, though some would be pleased (cf. stanza 5 of the ballad). -A maid had sent him from a very distant country to ask a boon of the -king. He was not to name the boon or the lady till he had the king's -promise; but what he asked was no harm. The king having said that he -would grant what was asked, the varlet took from a bag a beautiful -mantle, of fairy workmanship. This mantle would fit no dame or damsel -who had in any way misbehaved towards husband or lover; it would be too -short or too long; and the boon was that the king should require all the -ladies of the court to put it on. - -The ladies were still waiting dinner, unconscious of what was coming. -Gawain was sent to require their presence, and he simply told them that -the magnificent mantle was to be given to the one it best fitted. The -king repeated the assurance, and the queen, who wished much to win the -mantle, was the first to try it on. It proved too short. Ywain suggested -that a young lady who stood near the queen should try. This she readily -did, and what was short before was shorter still. Kay, who had been -making his comments unguardedly, now divulged the secret, and after that -nobody cared to have to do with the mantle. The king said, We may as -well give it back; but the varlet insisted on having the king's promise. -There was general consternation and bad humor. - -Kay called his mistress, and very confidently urged her to put on the -mantle. She demurred, on the ground that she might give offence by -forwardness; but this roused suspicion in Kay, and she had no resource -but to go on. The mantle was again lamentably short. Bruns and Ydier let -loose some gibes. Kay bade them wait; he had hopes for them. Gawain's -_amie_ next underwent the test, then Ywain's, then Perceval's. Still a -sad disappointment. Many were the curses on the mantle that would fit -nobody, and on him that brought it. Kay takes the unlucky ladies, one -after the other, to sit with his mistress. - -At this juncture Kay proposes that they shall have dinner, and continue -the experiment by and by. The varlet is relentless; but Kay has the -pleasure of seeing Ydier discomfited. And so they go on through the -whole court, till the varlet says that he fears he shall be obliged to -carry his mantle away with him. But first let the chambers be searched; -some one may be in hiding who may save the credit of the court. The king -orders a search, and they find one lady, not in hiding, but in her bed, -because she is not well. Being told that she must come, she presents -herself as soon as she can dress, greatly to the vexation of her lover, -whose name is Carados Briebras. The varlet explains to her the quality -of the mantle, and Carados, in verses very honorable to his heart, begs -that she will not put it on if she has any misgivings.[214] The lady -says very meekly that she dare not boast being better than other people, -but, if it so please her lord, she will willingly don the mantle. This -she does, and in sight of all the barons it is neither too short nor too -long. "It was well we sent for her," says the varlet. "Lady, your lover -ought to be delighted. I have carried this mantle to many courts, and of -more than a thousand who have put it on you are the only one that has -escaped disgrace. I give it to you, and well you deserve it." The king -confirms the gift, and no one can gainsay. - -A Norse prose translation of the French fabliau was executed by order of -the Norwegian king, Hákon Hákonarson, whose reign covers the years -1217-63. Of this translation, 'Möttuls Saga,' a fragment has come down -which is as old as 1300; there are also portions of a manuscript which -is assigned to about 1400, and two transcripts of this latter, made when -it was complete, besides other less important copies. This translation, -which is reasonably close and was made from a good exemplar, has been -most excellently edited by Messrs Cederschiöld and Wulff, Versions -nordiques du Fabliau Le Mantel Mautaillié, Lund, 1877, p. 1.[215] It -presents no divergences from the story as just given which are material -here. - -Not so with the 'Skikkju Rímur,' or Mantle Rhymes, an Icelandic -composition of the fifteenth century, in three parts, embracing in all -one hundred and eighty-five four-line stanzas: Cederschiöld and Wulff, -p. 51. In these the story is told with additions, which occur partially -in our ballad. The mantle is of white velvet. Three elf-women had been -not less than fifteen years in weaving it, and it seemed both yellow and -gray, green and black, red and blue: II, 22, 23, 26. Our English -minstrel describes these variations of color as occurring after Guenever -had put the mantle on: stanzas 11, 12. Again, there are among the -Pentecostal guests a king and queen of Dwarf Land; a beardless king of -Small-Maids Land, with a queen eight years old; and a King Felix, three -hundred years old, with a beard to the crotch, and a wife, tall and fat, -to whom he has been two centuries married,--all these severally attended -by generous retinues of pigmies, juveniles, and seniors: I, 28-35; III, -41. Felix is of course the prototype of the old knight pattering over a -creed in stanzas 21-24 of the ballad, and he will have his -representative in several other pieces presently to be spoken of. In the -end Arthur sends all the ladies from his court in disgrace, and his -knights to the wars; we will get better wives, he says: III, 74, 75. - -The land of Small-Maids and the long-lived race are mentioned in a brief -geographical chapter (the thirteenth) of that singular gallimaufry the -saga of Samson the Fair, but not in connection with a probation by the -mantle, though this saga has appropriated portions of the story. Here -the mantle is one which four fairies have worked at for eighteen years, -as a penalty for stealing from the fleece of a very remarkable ram; and -it is of this same fleece, described as being of all hues, gold, silk, -_ok kolors_, that the mantle is woven. It would hold off from an -unchaste woman and fall off from a thief. Quintalin, to ransom his life, -undertakes to get the mantle for Samson. Its virtue is tried at two -weddings, the second being Samson's; and on this last occasion -Valentina, Samson's bride, is the only woman who can put it on. The -mantle is given to Valentina, as in the fabliau to Carados's wife, but -nevertheless we hear later of its being presented by Samson to another -lady, who, a good while after, was robbed of the same by a pirate, and -the mantle carried to Africa. From Africa it was sent to our Arthur by a -lady named Elida, "and hence the saga of the mantle."[216] Björner, -Nordiska Kämpa Dater, cc 12, 14, 15, 21, 22, 24. - -There is also an incomplete German version of the fabliau, now credibly -shown to be the work of Heinrich von dem Türlin, dating from the -earliest years of the thirteenth century.[217] Though the author has -dealt freely with his original, there are indications that this, like -the Möttulssaga, was founded upon some version of the fabliau which is -not now extant. One of these is an agreement between vv 574-6 and the -sixth stanza of our ballad. The mantle, in English, is enclosed between -two nut-shells;[218] in German, the bag from which it is taken is hardly -a span wide. In the Möttulssaga, p. 9, l. 6, the mantle comes from a -púss, a small bag hanging on the belt; in Ulrich von Zatzikhoven's -Lanzelet, from ein mæzigez teschelîn, and in the latter case the mantle -instantaneously expands to full size (Warnatsch); it is also of all -colors known to man, vv 5807-19. Again, when Guenever had put on the -mantle, st. 10 of our ballad, "it was from the top to the toe as sheeres -had itt shread." So in 'Der Mantel,' vv 732, 733: - - Unde [==unten] het man in zerizzen, - Oder mit mezzern zesnitten.[219] - -The Lanzelet of Ulrich von Zatzikhoven, dating from the first years of -the thirteenth century, with peculiarities of detail and a partially new -set of names, presents the outline of the same story. A sea-fairy sends -a maid to Arthur with a magnificent gift, which is, however, conditioned -upon his granting a boon. Arthur assents, and the maid takes, from a -small bag which she wears at her girdle, a mantle, which is of all -colors that man ever saw or heard of, and is worked with every manner of -beast, fowl, and strange fish. The king's promise obliges him to make -all the court ladies don the mantle, she to have it whom it perfectly -fits. More than two hundred try, and there is no absolute fit.[220] But -Iblis, Lanzelet's wife, is not present: she is languishing on account of -his absence on a dangerous adventure. She is sent for, and by general -agreement the mantle is, on her, the best-fitting garment woman ever -wore. Ed. Hahn, vv 5746-6135. - -The adventure of the Mantle is very briefly reported to Gawain, when on -his way with Ydain to Arthur, by a youth who had just come from the -court, in terms entirely according with the French fabliau, in Messire -Gauvain, ou La Vengeance de Raguidel, by the trouvère Raoul, ed. -Hippeau, p. 135 ff, vv 3906-55, and in the Dutch Lancelot, ed. -Jonckbloet, Part II, p. 85, vv 12,500-527, poems of the thirteenth -century. The one lady whom the mantle fits is in the latter Carados -vrindinne, in the other l'amie Caraduel Briefbras. - -The Scalachronica, by Sir Thomas Gray of Heton, a chronicle of England -and Scotland, 1066-1362, begun in 1355, gives the analysis of many -romances, and that of the adventure of the Mantle in this form. There -was sent to Arthur's court the mantle of Karodes, which was of such -virtue that it would fit no woman who was not willing that her husband -should know both her act and her thought.[221] This was the occasion of -much mirth, for the mantle was either too short, or too long, or too -tight, for all the ladies except Karodes' wife. And it was said that -this mantle was sent by the father of Karodes, a magician, to prove the -goodness of his son's wife.[222] - -Two fifteenth-century German versions of the Mantle story give it a -shape of their own. In Fastnachtspiele aus dem fünfzehnten Jahrhundert, -II, 665, No 81, 'Der Luneten Mantel,' the amiable Lunet, so well and -favorably known in romances, takes the place of the English boy and -French varlet. The story has the usual course. The mantle is -unsuccessfully tried by Arthur's queen, by the wife of the Greek -emperor, and by the queen of Lorraine. The king of Spain, who announces -himself as _the oldest man_ present, is willing to excuse his wife, who -is the youngest of the royal ladies. She says, If we lack lands and -gold, "so sei wir doch an eren reich," offers herself to the test with -the fearlessness of innocence, and comes off clear, to the delight of -her aged spouse. A meistergesang, Bruns, Beiträge zur kritischen -Bearbeitung alter Handschriften, p. 143,[223] 'Lanethen Mantel,' again -awards the prize to the young wife of a very old knight. Laneth, a clean -maid, who is Arthur's niece, having made herself poor by her bounty, is -cast off by her uncle's wife and accused of loose behavior. She makes -her trouble known to a dwarf, a good friend of her father's, and -receives from him a mantle to take to Arthur's court: if anybody huffs -her, she is to put it to use. The queen opens upon Laneth, as soon as -she appears, with language not unlike that which she employs of -Cradock's wife in stanzas 33, 34 of the ballad. The mantle is offered to -any lady that it will fit. In front it comes to the queen's knee, and it -drags on the ground behind. Three hundred and fifty knights' ladies fare -as ill as the sovereign.[224] - -The Dean of Lismore's collection of Gaelic poetry, made in the early -part of the sixteenth century, contains a ballad, obscure in places, but -clearly presenting the outlines of the English ballad or French -fabliau.[225] Finn, Diarmaid, and four other heroes are drinking, with -their six wives. The women take too much, and fall to boasting of their -chastity. While they are so engaged, a maid approaches who is clad in a -seamless robe of pure white. She sits down by Finn, and he asks her what -is the virtue of the garment. She replies that her seamless robe will -completely cover none but the spotless wife. Conan, a sort of Kay, says, -Give it to my wife at once, that we may learn the truth of what they -have been saying. The robe shrinks into folds, and Conan is so angry -that he seizes his spear and kills his wife.[226] Diarmaid's wife tries, -and the robe clings about her hair; Oscar's, and it does not reach to -her middle; Maighinis, Finn's wife, and it folds around her ears. -MacRea's wife only is completely covered. The 'daughter of Deirg,' -certainly a wife of Finn, and here seemingly to be identified with -Maighinis, claims the robe: she has done nothing to be ashamed of; she -has erred only with Finn. Finn curses her and womankind, "because of her -who came that day." - -The probation by the Horn runs parallel with that by the Mantle, with -which it is combined in the English ballad. Whether this or that is the -anterior creation it is not possible to say, though the 'Lai du Corn' -is, beyond question, as Ferdinand Wolf held, of a more original stamp, -fresher and more in the popular vein than the fabliau of the Mantle, as -we have it.[227] The 'Lai du Corn,' preserved in a single not very early -manuscript (Digby 86, Bodleian Library, "of the second half of the -thirteenth or beginning of the fourteenth century"), may well belong, -where Wolf puts it, in the middle of the twelfth. Robert Bikez, the -jongleur who composed it, attributes the first authorship to "Garadue," -the hero, and says that he himself derived the story from the oral -communication of an abbé. Arthur has assembled thirty thousand knights -at a feast at Pentecost, and each of them is paired with a lady. Before -dinner there arrives a donzel, with an ivory horn adorned with four gold -bands and rich jewels. This horn has been sent Arthur by Mangounz, king -of Moraine. The youth is told to take his place before the king, who -promises to knight him after dinner and give him a handsome present the -next day; but he laughingly excuses himself, on the ground that it is -not proper for a squire to eat at a knight's table, and retires. Arthur -sees that there is an inscription on the horn, and desires that his -"chapelein" may read it. Everybody is eager to hear, but some repent -afterwards. The horn was made by a fairy, who endued it with this -quality, that no man should drink of it without spilling, if his wife -had not been true in act and thought. Even the queen hung her head, and -so did all the barons that had wives. The maids jested, and looked at -their lovers with "Now we shall see." Arthur was offended, but ordered -Kay to fill. The king drank and spilled; seized a knife, and was about -to strike the queen, but was withheld by his knights. Gawain gallantly -came to the queen's vindication. "Be not such a churl," he said, "for -there is no married woman but has her foolish thought." The queen -demanded an ordeal by fire: if a hair of her were burned, she would be -torn by horses. She confessed that the horn was in so far right that she -had once given a ring to a youth who had killed a giant that had accused -Gawain of treason, etc. She thought this youth would be a desirable -addition to the court. Arthur was not convinced: he would make everybody -try the horn now, king, duke, and count, for he would not be the only -one to be shamed. Eleven kings, thirty counts, all who essay, spill: -they are very angry, and bid the devil take him who brought and him who -sent the horn. When Arthur saw this, he began to laugh: he regarded the -horn as a great present, he said, and he would part with it to nobody -except the man that could drink out of it. The queen blushed so prettily -that he kissed her three times, and asked her pardon for his bad humor. -The queen said, Let everybody take the horn, small and great. There was -a knight who was the happiest man in all the court, the least a -braggart, the most mannerly, and the most redoubtable after Gawain. His -name was Garadue, and he had a wife, _mout leal_, who was a fairy for -beauty, and surpassed by none but the queen. Garadue looked at her. She -did not change color. "Drink," she said; "indeed, you are at fault to -hesitate." She would never have husband but him: for a woman should be a -dove, and accept no second mate. Garadue was naturally very much -pleased: he sprang to his feet, took the horn, and, crying Wassail! to -the king, drank out every drop. Arthur presented him with Cirencester, -and, for his wife's sake, with the horn, which was exhibited there on -great days. - -The romance of Perceval le Gallois, by Chrestien de Troyes and others -(second half of the twelfth century), describes Arthur, like the -fabliau, as putting off dinner till he should hear of some strange news -or adventure. A knight rides into the hall, with an ivory horn, -gold-banded and richly jewelled, hanging from his neck, and presents it -to the king. Have it filled with pure water, says the bearer, and the -water will turn to the best wine in the world, enough for all who are -present. "A rich present!" exclaims Kay. But no knight whose wife or -love has betrayed him shall drink without spilling. "Or empire vostre -présens," says Kay. The king has the horn filled, and does not heed -Guenever, who begs him not to drink, for it is some enchantment, to -shame honest folk. "Then I pray God," says the queen, "that if you try -to drink you may be wet." The king essays to drink, and Guenever has her -prayer. Kay has the same luck, and all the knights,[228] till the horn -comes to Carados (Brisié-Bras). Carados, as in the lai, hesitates; his -wife (Guinon, Guimer) looks at him, and says, Drink! He spills not a -drop. Guenever and many a dame hate nothing so much as her. Perceval le -Gallois, ed. Potvin, II, 216 ff, vv 15,640-767.[229] - -The story of 'Le Livre de Carados,' in Perceval, is given in abridgment -by the author of Le Roman du Renard contrefait, writing in the second -half of the fourteenth century: Tarbé, Poètes de Champagne antérieurs au -siècle de François I^{er}, Histoire de Quarados Brun-Bras, p. 79 ff. The -horn here becomes a cup. - -A meistergesang, entitled 'Dis ist Frauw Tristerat Horn von Saphoien,' -and found in the same fifteenth-century manuscript as Der Lanethen -Mantel, Bruns, as before, p. 139, preserves many features of the lai. -While Arthur is at table with seven other kings and their wives, a -damsel comes, bringing an ivory horn, with gold letters about the rim, a -present from Frau Tristerat of Savoy. The king sends for a clerk to read -the inscription, and declares he will begin the experiment. The damsel -prudently retires. Arthur is thoroughly wet, and on the point of -striking the queen, but is prevented by a knight. The seven kings then -take the horn, one after the other. Six of them fare like Arthur. The -king of Spain looks at his wife, fearing shame. She encourages him to -drink, saying, as in the other meistergesang, If we are poor in goods, -we are rich in honor. Arthur presents him with the horn, and adds cities -and lands. Another copy of this piece was printed by Zingerle, in -Germania, V, 101, 'Das goldene Horn.' The queen is aus der Syrenen -lant.[230] - -A fastnachtspiel gives substantially the same form to the story: Keller, -Nachlese, No 127, p. 183. Arthur invites seven kings and queens to his -court. His wife wishes him to ask his sister, the Queen of Cyprus, also; -but she has offended him, and he cannot be prevailed upon to do it. The -Queen of Cyprus sends the horn to Arthur by her maid as a gift from a -queen who is to be nameless, and in fulfilling her charge the messenger -describes her lady simply as a sea princess. The inscription is read -aloud by one of Arthur's knights. The King of Spain carries off the -honors, and receives in gift, besides the horn, a ducal crown, and gold -to boot. Arthur resolves that the horn shall be forgotten, and no grudge -borne against the women, and proposes a dance, which he leads off with -his wife.[231] - -We have Arthur joining in a dance under nearly the same circumstances in -an English "bowrd" found in a MS. of about the middle of the fifteenth -century (Ashmolean Museum, No 61). The king has a bugle horn, which -always stands before him, and often amuses himself by experimenting with -it. Those who cannot drink without spilling are set at a table by -themselves, with willow garlands on their heads, and served with the -best. Upon the occasion of a visit from the Duke of Gloucester, the -king, wishing to entertain his guest with an exhibition of the property -of the horn, says he will try all who are present. He begins himself, as -he was wont to do, but this time spills. He takes the mishap merrily, -and says he may now join in a dance which the "freyry" were to have -after meat. 'The Cokwolds Daunce,' Hartshorne's Ancient Metrical Tales, -p. 209; Karajan, Frühlingsgabe [Schatzgräber], p. 17; Hazlitt, Remains -of Early Popular Poetry, I, 38.[232] - -Heinrich von dem Türlîn narrates the episode of the probation by the -Horn with many variations of his own, among them the important one of -subjecting the women to the test as well as the men.[233] In his Crône, -put at 1200-10, a misshapen, dwarfish knight, whose skin is overgrown -with scales, riding on a monster who is fish before and dolphin behind, -with wings on its legs, presents himself to Arthur on Christmas Day as -an envoy from a sea king, who offers the British monarch a gift on -condition of his first granting a boon. The gift is a cup, made by a -necromancer of Toledo, of which no man or woman can drink who has been -false to love, and it is to be the king's if there shall be anybody at -the court who can stand the test. The ladies are sent for, and the -messenger gives the cup first to them. They all spill. The knights -follow, Arthur first; and he, to the general astonishment, bears the -proof, which no one else does except the sea king's messenger. -Caraduz[234] von Caz fails with the rest. Diu Crône, ed. Scholl, vv -466-3189. - -The prose Tristan confines the proof to the women, and transfers the -scene to King Mark's court. Morgan the Fay having sent the enchanted -horn to Arthur's court by the hands of a damsel, to avenge herself on -Guenever, two knights who had a spite against Mark and Tristan intercept -it, and cause the horn to be taken to King Mark, who is informed that no -lady that has been false to her lord can drink of it without spilling. -Yseult spills, and the king says she deserves to die. But, fortunately -or unfortunately, all the rest of the ladies save four are found to be -in the same plight as the queen. The courtiers, resolved to make the -best of a bad matter, declare that they have no confidence in the -probation, and the king consents to treat the horn as a deception, and -acquits his wife.[235] - -Ariosto has introduced the magical vessel made by Morgan the Fay for -Arthur's behoof[236] into Orlando Furioso. A gentleman tries it on his -guests for ten years, and they all spill but Rinaldo, who declines il -periglioso saggio: canto XLII, 70-73, 97-104; XLIII, 6-44. Upon -Ariosto's narrative La Fontaine founded the tale and the comedy of 'La -Coupe Enchantée,' Works ed. Moland, IV, 37, V, 361. - -In a piece in the Wunderhorn, I, 389, ed. 1819, called 'Die -Ausgleichung,' and purporting to be from oral tradition, but reading -like an imitation, or at most a reconstruction, of a meistergesang, the -cup and mantle are made to operate conjointly: the former to convict a -king and his knights, the other a queen and her ladies, of -unfaithfulness in love. Only the youngest of the ladies can wear the -mantle, and only the oldest of the knights, to whom she is espoused, can -drink from the cup. This knight, on being presented with the cup, turns -into a dwarf; the lady, on receiving the gift of the mantle, into a fay. -They pour a drop of wine from the cup upon the mantle, and give the -mantle to the queen, and the cup, empty, to the king. After this, the -king and all the world can drink without inconvenience, and the mantle -fits every woman. But the stain on the mantle grows bigger every year, -and the cup gives out a hollow sound like tin! An allegory, we may -suppose, and, so far as it is intelligible, of the weakest sort. - -Tegau Eurvron is spoken of in Welsh triads as one of the three chaste -ladies, and again as one of the three fair ladies, of Arthur's -court.[237] She is called the wife of Caradawe Vreichvras by various -Welsh writers, and by her surname of "Gold-breasted" she should be -so.[238] If we may trust the author of The Welsh Bards, Tegau was the -possessor of three treasures or rarities "which befitted none but -herself," a mantle, a goblet, and a knife. The mantle is mentioned in a -triad,[239] and is referred to as having the variable hue attributed to -it in our ballad and elsewhere. There are three things, says the triad, -of which no man knows the color; the peacock's expanded tail, the mantle -of Tegau Eurvron, and the miser's pence. Of this mantle, Jones, in whose -list of "Thirteen Rarities of Kingly Regalia" of the Island of Britain -it stands eleventh, says, No one could put it on who had dishonored -marriage, nor a young damsel who had committed incontinence; but it -would cover a chaste woman from top to toe: Welsh Bards, II, 49. The -mantle certainly seems to be identified by what is said of its color in -the (not very ancient) triad, and so must have the property attributed -to it by Jones, but one would be glad to have had Jones cite chapter and -verse for his description. - -There is a drinking-horn among the Thirteen Precious Things of the -Island of Britain, which, like the conjurer's bottle of our day, will -furnish any liquor that is called for, and a knife which will serve -four-and-twenty men at meat "all at once." How this horn and this knife -should befit none but the chaste and lovely Tegau, it is not easy to -comprehend. Meanwhile the horn and the knife are not the property of -Cradock's wife, in the English ballad: the horn falls to Cradock of -right, and the knife was his from the beginning. Instead of Tegau's -mantle we have in another account a mantle of Arthur, which is the -familiar cloak that allows the wearer to see everything without himself -being seen. Not much light, therefore, but rather considerable mist, -comes from these Welsh traditions, of very uncertain date and -significance. It may be that somebody who had heard of the three Welsh -rarities, and of the mantle and horn as being two of them, supposed that -the knife must have similar virtues with the horn and mantle, whence its -appearance in our ballad; but no proof has yet been given that the Welsh -horn and knife had ever a power of testing chastity.[240] - -Heinrich von dem Türlin, not satisfied with testing Arthur's court first -with the mantle, and again with the horn, renews the experiment with a -Glove, in a couple of thousand lines more of tedious imitation of 'Cort -Mantel,'[241] Crône, 22,990-24,719. This glove renders the right side of -the body invisible, when put on by man or woman free of blame, but -leaves in the other case some portion of that side visible and bare. A -great many ladies and knights don the glove, and all have reason to -regret the trial except Arthur and Gawain.[242] - -There is another German imitation of the fabliau of the mantle, in the -form (1) of a farce of the fifteenth century and (2) of a meistergesang -printed in the sixteenth. In these there is substituted for the mantle a -Crown that exposes the infidelity of husbands. - -1. "Das Vasnachtspil mit der Kron."[243] A "master" has been sent to -Arthur's court with a rich crown, which the King of Abian wishes to -present to whichever king or lord it shall fit, and it will fit only -those who have not "lost their honor." The King of Orient begins the -trial, very much against his will: the crown turns to ram's horns. The -King of Cyprus is obliged to follow, though he says the devil is in the -crown: the crown hangs about his neck. Appeals are made to Arthur that -the trial may now stop, so that the knights may devote themselves to the -object for which they had come together, the service and honor of the -ladies. But here Lanet, Arthur's sister (so she is styled), interposes, -and expresses a hope that no honors are intended the queen, for she is -not worthy of them, having broken her faith. Arthur is very angry, and -says that Lanet has by her injurious language forfeited all her lands, -and shall be expelled from court. (Cf. Der Lanethen Mantel, p. 261.) A -knight begs the king to desist, for he who heeds every tale that is told -of his wife shall never be easy. - -2. The meistergesang 'Die Krone der Königin von Afion.'[244] While his -majesty of Afion is holding a great feast, a youth enters the hall -bearing a splendid crown, which has such chaste things in it that no -king can wear it who haunts false love. The crown had been secretly made -by order of the queen. The king wishes to buy the crown at any price, -but the youth informs him that it is to be given free to the man who can -wear it. The king asks the favor of being the first to try the crown: -when put on his head it falls down to his back. The King of Portugal is -eager to be next: the crown falls upon his shoulder. The King of Holland -at first refuses to put on the crown, for there was magic in it, and it -was only meant to shame them: but he is obliged to yield, and the crown -goes to his girdle. The King of Cyprus offers himself to the adventure: -the crown falls to his loins. And so with eleven. But there was a "Young -Philips," King of England, who thought he might carry off the prize. His -wife was gray and old and ugly, and quite willing, on this account, to -overlook e bisserle Falschheit, and told him that he might spare -himself. But he would not be prevented; so they put the crown on him, -and it fitted to a hair. This makes an edifying pendant to 'Der Luneten -Mantel,' p. 261. - -Still another imitation is the Magical Bridge in the younger Titurel -which Klingsor throws over the Sibra. Knights and ladies assembled at -Arthur's court, if less than perfect[245], on attempting to ride over it -are thrown off into the water, or stumble and fall on the bridge: ed. -Hahn, p. 232 ff, st. 2337 ff. Hans Sachs has told this story twice, with -Virgil for the magician: ed. Keller, Historia, König Artus mit der -ehbrecher-brugk, II, 262; Goedeke, Dichtungen von Hans Sachs, I, 175. -Kirchhof follows Hans Sachs in a story in Wendunmuth, ed. Österley, II, -38. - -Florimel's Girdle, in the fourth book of the 'Fairy Queen,' canto v, -once more, is formed on the same pattern.[246] - -There might be further included in imitations of the horn or mantle test -several other inventions which are clearly, as to form, modelled on this -original, but which have a different object: the valley from which no -false lover could escape till it had been entered by one "qui de nulle -chose auroit vers s'amie fausé ne mespris, nè d'euvre nè de pensée nè de -talent," the prose Lancelot in Jonckbloet, II, lxix (Warnatsch), -Ferrario, Storia ed Analisi, Lancilotto del Lago, III, 372, Legrand, -Fabliaux, I, 156; the arch in Amadis, which no man or woman can pass who -has been unfaithful to a first love, and again, the sword which only the -knight who loves his lady best can draw, and the partly withered garland -which becomes completely fresh on the head of the lady who best loves -her husband or lover, Amadís de Gaula, l. ii, introduccion, c. 1, c. 14, -and ballad 1890 in Duran, II, 665; the cup of congealed tears in -Palmerin of England, which liquefies in the hand of the best knight and -faithfulest lover, chapters 87-89, II, 322 ff, ed. of London, 1807. - -Besides those which have been spoken of, not a few other criterions of -chastity occur in romantic tales. - -#Bed clothes and bed.# 'Gil Brenton,' #A#, #B#; the corresponding -Swedish ballad, #A#, #B#, #E#; Danish, Grundtvig, No 275:[247] see pp -64, 65, of this volume. - -#A stepping-stone# by the bed-side. 'Vesle Aase Gaasepige,' Asbjørnsen -og Moe, No 29: see p. 66. - -A chair in which no leal maiden can sit, or will sit till bidden (?). -'Gil Brenton,' #D#, #C#. - -#Flowers# [foliage]. 1. In the Sanskrit story of Guhasena, the -merchant's son, and Devasmitá, this married pair, who are to be -separated for a time, receive from Shíva each a red lotus: if either -should be unfaithful, the lotus in the hand of the other would fade, but -not otherwise: Kathá Sarit Ságara, ch. 13, Tawney, I, 86, Brockhaus, I, -137. 2. In the Tales of a Parrot, a soldier, going into service, -receives from his wife a rose [flower, nosegay], which will keep fresh -as long as she remains true: Rosen, Tuti-nameh, from the Turkish -version, I, 109; Wickerhauser, also from the Turkish, p. 57; Iken, p. -30,[248] from the Persian of Kadiri. 3. So the knight Margon in the -French romance of Perceforest, vol. IV, ch. 16 and 17. 4. In a Turkish -tale found in a manuscript collection called 'Joy after Sorrow,' an -architect or housewright, having to leave home for want of employment, -is presented by his wife with a bunch of evergreen of the same property. -5. An English story of a wright reverts to the rose. A widow, having -nothing else to give with her daughter, presents the bridegroom with a -rose-garland, which will hold its hue while his wife is "stable:" 'The -Wright's Chaste Wife,' by Adam of Cobsam, from a manuscript of about -1462, ed. Furnivall.[249] - -#A shirt# [mantle]. 1. In connection with the same incidents there is -substituted for the unfading flower, in Gesta Romanorum, 69, a shirt. -This a knight's wife gives to a carpenter or housewright who has married -her daughter, and it will not need washing, will not tear, wear, or -change color, as long as both husband and wife are faithful, but will -lose all its virtues if either is untrue. The shirt is given by a wife -to a husband in several versions of an otherwise different story. 2. In -the German meistergesang and the Flemish tale Alexander of Metz: Körner, -Historische Volkslieder, p. 49, No 8; Goedeke, Deutsche Dichtung im -Mittelalter, 2d ed., p. 569 ff; 'De Historia van Florentina,' etc., Van -den Bergh, De nederlandsche Volksromaus, p. 52 f. 3. In the story 'Von -dem König von Spanien[250] und seiner Frau,' Müllenhoff, Sagen, u. s. -w., p. 586, No 607, a wife gives the shirt to her husband the morning -after the wedding: it will always be white until she dies, when it will -turn black, or unless she misbehaves, in which case it will be spotted. -4. 'Die getreue Frau,' Plönnies, in Wolf's Zeitschrift für deutsche -Mythologie,' II, 377. An English princess gives her consort, a Spanish -prince, at parting, a white shirt which will not spot as long as she is -faithful. 5. 'Die treue Frau,' Curtze, Volksüberlieferungen aus Waldeck, -p. 146. A merchant's son, married to a princess, goes away for a voyage; -they change rings and shirts, and neither shirt will soil until one of -the two shall be untrue. 6. 'Die getreue Frau,' J. W. Wolf, Deutsche -Hausmärchen, at p. 102. A prince, going on a voyage, gives his sword to -his wife; as long as the blade is not spotted, he is faithful. He -receives from the princess a mantle; as long as it is white, her faith -is inviolate. - -#A picture.# For the rose, as in Perceforest, there is substituted, in -a story otherwise essentially the same, a picture. A knight, compelled -to leave his wife, receives from a magician a picture of her, small -enough to carry in a box about his person, which will turn yellow if she -is tempted, pale if she wavers, black if she yields, but will otherwise -preserve its fresh hues: Bandello, Part I, nov. 21. This tale, -translated in Painter's Palace of Pleasure, 1567 (ed. Haslewood, II, -471, nov. 28), furnished the plot for Massinger's 'Picture,' 1630. The -miniature will keep its color as long as the woman is innocent and -unattempted, will grow yellow if she is solicited but unconquered, and -black if she surrenders: Act I, Scene 1. Bandello's story is also the -foundation of Sénecé's tale, 'Filer le parfait amour,' with a wax image -taking the place of the picture: [OE]uvres Choisies, ed. Charles et Cap, -p. 95.[251] - -#A ring.# The picture is exchanged for a ring in a French tale derived, -and in parts almost translated, from Bandello's: the sixth in 'Les -Faveurs et les Disgraces de l'Amour,' etc., said to have appeared in -1696.[252] A white stone set in the ring may become yellow or black -under circumstances. Such a ring Rimnild gave Horn Child: when the stone -should grow wan, her thoughts would have changed; should it grow red, -she is no more a maid: see p. 192. A father, being required to leave -three daughters, gives them each such a ring in Basile, Pentamerone, -III, 4. The rings are changed into glass distaffs in 'L'Adroite -Princesse,' an imitation of this story by Mlle. Lhéritier de Villaudon, -which has sometimes been printed with Perrault's tales: Perrault, Contes -des Fées, ed. Giraud, p. 239; Dunlop, ch. 13. - -#A mirror#, in the History of Prince Zeyn Alasnam, reflecting the image -of a chaste maid, will remain unblurred: Arabian Nights, Scott, IV, 120, -124; 1001 Nacht, Habicht, VI, 146, 150; etc. Virgil made a mirror of -like property; it exposed the woman that was "new-fangle," wandelmüetic, -by the ignition of a "worm" in the glass: Meisterlieder der Kolmarer -Handschrift, Bartsch, p. 605 (Warnatsch). There is also one of these -mirrors in Primaleon, l. ii, cap. 27; Rajna, Le Fonti dell' Orlando -Furioso, p. 504, note 3. Alfred de Musset, in 'Barberine,' substitutes a -pocket-mirror for the picture in Bandello, Part I, nov. 21: [OE]uvres -Complètes, III, 378 ff. - -#A harp#, in the hands of an image, upon the approach of a -_despucellée_, plays out of tune and breaks a string: Perceval le -Gallois, II, 149, vv 13, 365-72 (Rajna, as above). - -A crystal #brook#, in the amiral's garden in Flor and Blancheflor, when -crossed by a virgin remains pellucid, but in the other case becomes red, -or turbid: ed. Du Méril, p. 75, vv 1811-14; Bekker, Berlin Academy, -XLIV, 26, vv 2069-72; Fleck, ed. Sommer, p. 148, vv 4472-82; Swedish, -ed. Klemming, p. 38, 1122-25; Lower Rhine, Haupt's Zeitschrift, XXI, -321, vv 57-62; Middle Greek, Bekker, Berlin Academy, 1845, p. 165, -Wagner, Mediæval Greek Texts, p. 40 f, vv 1339-48; etc. In the English -poem, Hartshorne's Ancient Metrical Tales, p. 93, if a clean maid wash -her hands in the water, it remains quiet and clear; but if one who has -lost her purity do this, the water will yell like mad and become red as -blood. - -The #stone# Aptor, in Wigamur, vv 1100-21, is red to the sight of clean -man or woman, but misty to others: Von der Hagen und Büsching, Deutsche -Gedichte des Mittelalters, p. 12 (Warnatsch).[253] - -A #statue#, in an Italian ballad, moved its eyes when young women who -had sacrificed their honor were presented to it: Ferraro, Canti -popolari di Ferrara, Cento e Pontelagoscuro, p. 84, 'Il Conte -Cagnolino.' There was said to be a statue of Venus in Constantinople -which could not be approached by an incontinent woman without a very -shameful exposure; and again, a pillar surmounted by four horns, which -turned round three times if any [Gk: keratas] came up to it.[254] -Virgil, 'Filius,' made a brass statue which no misbehaving woman might -touch, and a vicious one received violent blows from it: Meisterlieder -der Kolmarer Handschrift, Bartsch, p. 604, 14th century. This statue -would bite off the fingers of an adulteress if they were put in its -mouth, according to a poem of the same century published by Bartsch in -Germania, IV, 237; and a third version makes the statue do this to _all_ -perjurers, agreeing in other respects with the second: Kolmarer -Meisterlieder, as before, p. 338. In the two last the offence of the -wife causes a horn to grow out of the husband's forehead. Much of the -story in these poems is derived from the fifteenth tale of the -Shukasaptati, where a woman offers to pass between the legs of a statue -of a Yaksha, which only an innocent one can do: Benfey, Pantschatantra, -I, 457.[255] - -According to a popular belief in Austria, says J. Grimm, you may know a -clean maid by her being able to blow out a candle with one puff and to -light it again with another. The phrase was known in Spain: "Matar un -candil con un soplo y encenderlo con otro." Grimm adds that it is an -article of popular faith in India that a virgin can make a ball of -water, or carry water in a sieve: Rechtsalterthümer, p. 932.[256] - -An ordeal for chastity is a feature in several of the Greek romances. In -Heliodorus's Æthiopica, X, 8, 9, victims to be offered to the sun and -moon, who must be pure, are obliged to mount a #brazier# covered with a -golden grating. The soles of those who are less than perfect are burned. -Theagenes and Chariclea experience no inconvenience. The Clitophon and -Leucippe of Achilles Tatius, VIII, 6, 13, 14, has a #cave# in the grove -of Diana of Ephesus, in which they shut up a woman. If it is a virgin, a -delicious melody is presently heard from a syrinx, the doors open of -themselves, and the woman comes out crowned with pine leaves; if not a -virgin, a wail is heard, and the woman is never seen again. There is -also a not perfectly convincing trial, by the Stygian #water#, in § 12, -which seems to be imitated in the Hysmine and Hysminias of Eustathius -[Eumathius], VIII, 7, XI, 17. In the temple of Diana, at Artycomis, -stands a statue of the goddess, with bow in hand, and from about her -feet flows water like a roaring river. A woman, crowned with laurel, -being put in, she will float quietly, if all is right; but should she -not have kept her allegiance to Dian, the goddess bends her bow as if to -shoot at her head, which causes the culprit to duck, and the water -carries off her wreath.[257] - -It is prescribed in Numbers v, 11-31, that any man jealous of his wife -may bring her to the priest, who shall, with and after various -ceremonies, give her a bitter drink of holy water in which dust from the -floor of the tabernacle has been infused. If she have trespassed, her -body shall swell and rot. In the Pseudo-Matthew's Gospel, ch. xii, -Joseph and Mary successively take this aquam potationis domini. No -pretender to innocence could taste this and then make seven turns round -the altar, without some sign of sin appearing in the face. The -experiment shows both to be faultless. So, with some variation, the -sixteenth chapter of the Protevangelium of James. This trial is the -subject of one of the Coventry Mysteries, No 14, p. 137 ff, ed. -Halliwell, and no doubt of other scripture plays. It is naturally -introduced into Wernher's Maria, Hoffmann, Fundgruben, II, 188, line 26 -ff, and probably into other lives of the Virgin. - -Herodotus relates, II, 111, that Pheron, son of Sesostris, after a -blindness of ten years' duration, received an intimation from an oracle -that he would recover his sight upon following a certain prescription, -such as we are assured is still thought well of in Egypt in cases of -ophthalmia. For this the coöperation of a chaste woman was -indispensable. Repeatedly balked, the king finally regained his vision, -and collecting in a town many women of whom he had vainly hoped aid, in -which number his queen was included, he set fire to the place and burned -both it and them, and then married the woman to whom he was so much -indebted. (First cited in the Gentleman's Magazine, 1795, vol. 65, I, -114.) The coincidence with foregoing tales is certainly curious, but to -all appearance accidental.[258] - -The 'Boy and the Mantle' was printed "verbatim" from his manuscript by -Percy in the Reliques, III, 3, ed. 1765. The copy at p. 314 is of course -the same "revised and altered" by Percy, but has been sometimes mistaken -for an independent one. - - * * * * * - -Translated by Herder, I, 219; Bodmer, I, 18; Bothe, p. 59. - - - Percy MS., p. 284: Hales and Furnivall, II, 304. - - 1 - In the third day of May - to Carleile did come - A kind curteous child, - that cold much of wisdome. - - 2 - A kirtle and a mantle - this child had vppon, - With brauches and ringes - full richelye bedone. - - 3 - He had a sute of silke, - about his middle drawne; - Without he cold of curtesye, - he thought itt much shame. - - 4 - 'God speed thee, K_ing_ Arthur, - sitting att thy meate! - And the goodly Queene Gueneuer! - I canott her fforgett. - - 5 - 'I tell you lords in this hall, - I hett you all heede, - Except you be the more surer, - is you for to dread.' - - 6 - He plucked out of his potewer, - and longer wold not dwell, - He pulled forth a pretty mantle, - betweene two nut-shells. - - 7 - 'Haue thou here,' K_ing_ Arthure, - haue thou heere of mee; - Giue itt to thy comely queene, - shapen as itt is alreadye. - - 8 - 'Itt shall neu_er_ become _tha_t wiffe - _tha_t hath once done amisse:' - Then euery k_nigh_t in the k_ing_s court - began to care for his. - - 9 - Forth came dame Gueneuer, - to the mantle shee her bed; - The ladye shee was new-fangle, - but yett shee was affrayd. - - 10 - When shee had taken the mantle, - shee stoode as she had beene madd; - It was from the top to the toe - as sheeres had itt shread. - - 11 - One while was itt gaule, - another while was itt greene; - Another while was itt wadded; - ill itt did her beseeme. - - 12 - Another while was it blacke, - and bore the worst hue; - 'By my troth,' q_uo_th K_ing_ Arthur, - 'I thinke thou be not true.' - - 13 - Shee threw downe the mantle, - _tha_t bright was of blee, - Fast with a rudd redd - to her chamber can shee flee. - - 14 - Shee curst the weauer and the walker - that clothe _tha_t had wrought, - And bade a vengeance on his crowne - _tha_t hither hath itt brought. - - 15 - 'I had rather be in a wood, - vnder a greene tree, - Then in K_ing_ Arthurs court - shamed for to bee.' - - 16 - Kay called forth his ladye, - and bade her come neere; - Saies, 'Madam, and thou be guiltye, - I pray thee hold thee there.' - - 17 - Forth came his ladye - shortlye and anon, - Boldlye to the mantle - then is shee gone. - - 18 - When she had tane the mantle, - and cast it her about, - Then was shee bare - all aboue the buttocckes. - - 19 - Then euery knight - _tha_t was in the kings court - Talked, laughed, and showted, - full oft att _tha_t sport. - - 20 - Shee threw downe the mantle, - _tha_t bright was of blee, - Ffast with a red rudd - to her chamber can shee flee. - - 21 - Forth came an old k_night_, - pattering ore a creede, - And he _pro_ferred to this little boy - twenty markes to his meede, - - 22 - And all the time of the Christmasse - willinglye to ffeede; - For why, this mantle might - doe his wiffe some need. - - 23 - When shee had tane the mantle, - of cloth _tha_t was made, - Shee had no more left on her - but a tassell and a threed: - Then euery k_night_ in the k_ing_s court - bade euill might shee speed. - - 24 - Shee threw downe the mantle, - _tha_t bright was of blee, - And fast w_i_th a redd rudd - to her chamber can shee flee. - - 25 - Craddocke called forth his ladye, - and bade her come in; - Saith, 'Winne this mantle, ladye, - with a litle dinne. - - 26 - 'Winne this mantle, ladye, - and it shalbe thine - If thou neuer did amisse - since thou wast mine.' - - 27 - Forth came Craddockes ladye - shortlye and anon, - But boldlye to the mantle - then is shee gone. - - 28 - When shee had tane the mantle, - and cast itt her about, - Vpp att her great toe - itt began to crinkle and crowt; - Shee said, 'Bowe downe, mantle, - and shame me not for nought. - - 29 - 'Once I did amisse, - I tell you certainlye, - When I kist Craddockes mouth - vnder a greene tree, - When I kist Craddockes mouth - before he marryed mee.' - - 30 - When shee had her shreeuen, - and her sines shee had tolde, - The mantle stoode about her - right as shee wold; - - 31 - Seemelye of coulour, - glittering like gold; - Then euery k_nigh_t in Arthurs court - did her behold. - - 32 - Then spake dame Gueneuer - to Arthur our king: - 'She hath tane yonder mantle, - not with wright but w_i_th wronge! - - 33 - 'See you not yonder woman - _tha_t maketh her selfe soe clene? - I haue seene tane out of her bedd - of men fiueteene; - - 34 - 'Preists, clarkes, and wedded men, - from her by-deene; - Yett shee taketh the mantle, - and maketh her-selfe cleane!' - - 35 - Then spake the litle boy - _tha_t kept the mantle in hold; - Sayes 'K_ing_, chasten thy wiffe; - of her words shee is to bold. - - 36 - 'Shee is a bitch and a witch, - and a whore bold; - King, in thine owne hall - thou art a cuchold.' - - 37 - The litle boy stoode - looking ou_e_r a dore; - He was ware of a wyld bore, - wold haue werryed a man. - - 38 - He pulld forth a wood kniffe, - fast thither _tha_t he ran; - He brought in the bores head, - and quitted him like a man. - - 39 - He brought in the bores head, - and was wonderous bold; - He said there was neu_e_r a cucholds kniffe - carue itt that cold. - - 40 - Some rubbed their kniues - vppon a whetstone; - Some threw them vnder the table, - and said they had none. - - 41 - K_ing_ Arthur and the child - stood looking them vpon; - All their kniues edges - turned backe againe. - - 42 - Craddoccke had a litle kniue - of iron and of steele; - He birtled the bores head - wonderous weele, - _Tha_t euery k_nigh_t in the k_ing_s court - had a morssell. - - 43 - The litle boy had a horne, - of red gold _tha_t ronge; - He said, 'there was noe cuckolde - shall drinke of my horne, - But he shold itt sheede, - either behind or beforne.' - - 44 - Some shedd on their shoulder, - and some on their knee; - He _tha_t cold not hitt his mouth - put it in his eye; - And he _tha_t was a cuckold, - euery man might him see. - - 45 - Craddoccke wan the horne - and the bores head; - His ladye wan the mantle - vnto her meede; - Euerye such a lonely ladye, - God send her well to speede! - - * * * * * - - _& is printed ~and~, wherever it occurs._ - - 2^3. _MS. might be read ~branches~._ - - 5^2. all heate. - - 6^4. 2 nut-shells. - - 8^4. his wiffe. - - 9^2. biled. "_Query the ~le~ in the MS._" Furnivall. - - 18^4. _Perhaps the last word was originally ~tout~, as Mr - T. Wright has suggested._ - - 19^2. lauged. - - 21^4. 20 markes. - - 22^2. willignglye. - - 33^2. _MS. perhaps has ~cleare~ altered to ~clene~._ - - 33^4. fiueteeene. - - 37^1. A litle. - - 37^2. _Perhaps, as Percy suggested, two lines have dropped - out after this, and the two which follow belong with the - next stanza._ - - 40^1, 41^3. kiues. - - 41^1. Arthus. - - 44^2. sone on. - - -[211] After I had finished what I had to say in the way of introduction -to this ballad, there appeared the study of the Trinkhorn and -Mantelsage, by Otto Warnatsch: Der Mantel, Bruchstück eines -Lanzeletromans, etc., Breslau, 1883. To this very thorough piece of -work, in which the relations of the multiform versions of the -double-branched story are investigated with a care that had never before -been attempted, I naturally have frequent occasion to refer, and by its -help I have supplied some of my deficiencies, indicating always the -place by the author's name. - -[212] The Bibliothèque des Romans, 1777, Février, pp. 112-115, gives an -abstract of a small printed piece in prose, there assigned to the -beginning of the sixteenth century, which, as Warnatsch observes, p. 72, -must have been a different thing from the tale given by Legrand, -inasmuch as it brings in Lancelot and Gawain as suppressing the jests of -Kay and Dinadam. - -[213] The custom of Arthur not to eat till he had heard of some -adventure or strange news was confined to those days when he held full -court, according to Perceval le Gallois, II, 217, 15,664-71, and the -Roman de Perceval, fol. lxxviii. It is mentioned, with the same -limitations, I suppose, in the Roman de Lancelot, III, fol. lxxxii, and -we learn from this last romance, I, fol. xxxvi, that Arthur was -accustomed to hold a court and wear his crown five times in the year, at -Easter, Ascension-day, Pentecost, All Saints, and Christmas. The Roman -de Merlin, II, lvi^b, or, as cited by Southey, II, 48, 49, says that -"King Arthur, after his first dinner at Logres, when he brought home his -bride, made a vow that while he wore a crown he never would seat himself -at table till some adventure had occurred." In Malory's King Arthur, Kay -reminds the king that this had been the old custom of his court at -Pentecost. Arthur is said to observe this custom on Christmas, "vpon -such a dere day," in Sir Gawayn and the Green Knight, Madden, p. 6, vv -90-99. Messire Gauvain says "à feste ne mangast, devant," etc., p. 2, vv -18-21. Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival does not limit the custom to -high holidays, ed. Bartsch, I, 331, vv 875-79; and see Riddarasögur, -Parcevals Saga, etc., ed. Kölbing, p. 26. Neither does Wigalois, vv -247-51, or a fragment of Daniel von Blühenthal, Symbolæ ad literaturam -Teutonicam, p. 465, cited by Benecke, Wigalois, p. 436 f, or the Färöe -Galians kvæði, Kölbing, in Germania, XX, 397. See Madden's Syr Gawayne, -which has furnished much of this note, pp 310-12; Southey's King Arthur, -II, 203, 462. Robin Hood imitates Arthur: see the beginning of the -Little Gest. - -[214] - - 'Quar je vous aim tant bonement, - Que je ne voudroie savoir - Vostre mesfet por nul avoir. - Miex en veuil je estre en doutance. - - Por tot le royaume de France, - N'en voudroie je estre cert; - Quar qui sa bone amie pert - Molt a perdu, ce m'est avis.' 818-25. - -[215] See also Brynjúlfsson, Saga af Tristram ok Ísönd, samt Möttuls -Saga, Udtog, pp 318-26, Copenhagen, 1878. There is a general presumption -that the larger part of the works translated for King Hákon were derived -from England. C. & W., p. 47. - -[216] That is, the current one. The Samson saga professes to supply the -earlier history. Samson's father is another Arthur, king of England. An -abstract of so much of the saga as pertains to the Mantle is given by -Cederschiöld and Wulff, p. 90f. Warnatsch, p. 73 f, shows that the Rímur -and Samson had probably a common source, independent of the Möttulssaga. - -[217] By Warnatsch, who gives the text with the corresponding passages -of the fabliau in a parallel column, pp 8-54: the argument for -Heinrich's authorship, pp 85-105. 'Der Mantel' had been previously -printed in Haupt and Hoffmann's Altdeutsche Blätter, II, 217, and by -Müllenhoff in his Altdeutsche Sprachproben, p. 125. Of this poem, which -Warnatsch, pp 105-110, holds to be a fragment of a lost romance of -Lanzelet, written before the 'Crône,' only 994 verses are left. -Deducting about a hundred of introduction, there are some 782 German -against some 314 French verses, an excess which is owing, no doubt, -largely to insertions and expansions on the part of Heinrich, but in -some measure to the existing texts of the fabliau having suffered -abridgment. The whole matter of the church service, with the going and -coming, is dispatched in less than a dozen verses in the French, but -occupies more than seventy in German, and just here we read in the -French: - - Ci ne vueil je plus demorer, - Ni de noient fere lone conte, - Si con l'estoire le raconte. - -But possibly the last verse should be taken with what follows. - -[218] In Hahn, Griechische Märchen, No 70, II, 60 f, a walnut contains a -dress with the earth and its flowers displayed on it, an almond one with -the heaven and its stars, a hazel-nut one with the sea and its fishes. -No 7, I, 99, a walnut contains a complete costume exhibiting heaven with -its stars, a hazel-nut another with the sea and its waves. No 67, II, -33, an almond encloses a woman's dress with heaven and its stars on it, -a hazel-nut a suit for her husband. In the Grimms' No 113, three walnuts -contain successively each a finer dress than the other, II, 142 f, ed. -1857. There are three similar nuts in Haltrich, No 43, and in -Volksmärchen aus Venetien, Jahrbuch für r. u. e. Lit., VII, 249, No 12. -Ulrich's mantle is worked with all manner of beasts, birds, and sea -monsters, on earth or under, and betwixt earth and heaven: Lanzelet, -5820-27. - -[219] I cite the text according to Warnatsch. Warnatsch thinks it worth -noticing that it is the queen only, in Mantel 771 f, as in our ballad, -st. 14, that curses the maker of the mantle; not, as in the fabliau, the -gentlemen whose feelings were so much tried. These, like the queen in -the ballad, ont maudit le mantel, et celui qui li aporta. - -[220] Not even for Ginovere hübsch unde guot, or Enîte diu reine. The -queen has always been heedful of her acts, and has never done anything -wrong: doch ist siu an den gedenken missevarn, Heaven knows how. Ulrich -is very feeble here. - -A remark is here in place which will be still more applicable to some of -the tests that are to be spoken of further on. Both the French fabliau -and the English ballad give to the mantle the power of detecting the -woman that has once done amiss, a de rien messerré. We naturally suppose -that we understand what is meant. The trial in the fabliau is so -conducted as to confirm our original conception of the nature of the -inquest, and so it is, in the case of Arthur's queen, Kay's lady, and -the old knight's wife, in the ballad. But when we come to the charmingly -pretty passage about Cradock's wife, what are we to think? Is the mantle -in a teasing mood, or is it exhibiting its real quality? If once to have -kissed Cradock's mouth before marriage is once to have done amiss, -Heaven keep our Mirandas and our Perditas, and Heaven forgive our -Juliets and our Rosalinds! ("Les dames et demoiselles, pour être baisées -devant leur noces, il n'est pas la coutume de France," we know, but this -nice custom could hardly have had sway in England. Is then this passage -rendered from something in French that is lost?) But the mantle, in the -ballad, after indulging its humor or its captiousness for a moment, does -Cradock's wife full justice. The mantle, if uncompromising as to acts, -at least does not assume to bring thoughts under its jurisdiction. Many -of the probations allow themselves this range, and as no definite idea -is given of what is charged, no one need be shocked, or perhaps -disturbed, by the number of convictions. The satire loses zest, and the -moral effect is not improved. - -[221] Nul femme que [ne] vouloit lesser sauoir à soun marry soun fet et -pensé. T. Wright, in Archæologia Cambrensis, January, 1863, p. 10. Mr -Wright gives one of the texts of Cort Mantel, with an English -translation. We are further told, in Scalachronica, that this mantle was -afterwards made into a chasuble, and that it is "to this day" preserved -at Glastonbury. Three versions of the fabliau testify that Carados and -his _amie_ deposited the mantle in a Welsh abbey. The Skikkju Rímur say -that the lady presented it to the cloister of Cologne; the Möttulssaga -has simply a monastery (and, indeed, the mantle, as described by some, -must have had a vocation that way from the beginning). "Item, in the -castel of Douer ye may see Gauwayn's skull and Cradok's mantel:" Caxton, -in his preface to Kyng Arthur, 1485, I, ii, in Southey's ed.; cited by -Michel, Tristan, II, 181, and from him by Warnatsch. - -[222] For this enchanter see _Le Livre de Karados_ in Perceval le -Gallois, ed. Potvin, II, 118 ff. It is not said in the printed copy that -he sent the mantle [horn]. - -[223] Another copy, assigned to the end of the 14th century, from the -Kolmar MS., Barisch, p. 373, No LXIX (Warnatsch). - -[224] Warnatsch shows, p. 75 f, that the fastnachtspiel must have been -made up in part from some version of the Mantle story which was also the -source of the meisterlied, and in part from a meisterlied of the Horn, -which will be mentioned further on. - -[225] The Dean of Lismore's Book, edited by Rev. Thomas M'Lauchlan, p. -72 of the translation, 50/51 of the original. Repeated in Campbell's -Heroic Gaelic Ballads, p. 138 f, 'The Maid of the White Mantle.' Mr -Campbell remarks: "This ballad, or the story of it, is known in Irish -writings. It is not remembered in Scotland now." Mr Wright cites this -poem, Archæologia Cambrensis, p. 14 f, 39 f. - -[226] Cf. Arthur in the Lai du Corn and Fraw Tristerat Horn, a little -further on. - -[227] Wolf at first speaks of the lai as being made over into the -fabliau, in regular court style, ganz nach höfischer Weise, about the -middle of the 13th century; then goes on to say that even if the author -of the fabliau followed another version of the story, he must have known -the jongleur's poem, because he has repeated some of the introductory -lines of the lai. This excellent scholar happened, for once, not to -observe that the first fourteen lines of the lai, excepting the fourth, -which is questionable, are in a longer metre than the rest of the poem, -in eights and sevens, not sixes, and the first three of the lai, which -agree with the first three of the fabliau, in the eight-syllable verse -of the latter; so that it was not the author of the fabliau that -borrowed. Warnatsch (who has also made this last remark) has noted other -agreements between lai and fabliau, p. 61. Both of these acknowledge -their derivation from an earlier _dit, estoire_, not having which we -shall find it hard to determine by which and from what the borrowing was -done. - -[228] Montpellier MS. - -[229] Perceval exhibits agreements, both as to phrase and matter, now -with the lai, now with the fabliau, and this phenomenon will occur again -and again. This suggests the likelihood of a source which combined -traits of both lai and fabliau: Warnatsch, pp 62-64. - -[230] So amended by Zingerle from Syrneyer lant. A third copy is cited -as in the Kolmar MS., No 806, Bartsch, Meisterlieder der Kolmarer -Handschrift, p. 74 (Warnatsch). A remarkable agreement between the -French lai, 94, 97, 99-102, and Wigamur 2623-30 convinces Warnatsch that -the source of this meisterlied must have been a Middle High German -rendering of some form of the Drinking-horn Test closely resembling the -lai. See Warnatsch, p. 66. - -[231] The king of _Spain_, who is again the poorest of all the kings, p. -206, line 32, p. 214, line 22, is addressed by Arthur as his nephew, p. -207, line 11, and p. 193, line 30. Carados is called Arthur's nephew in -Perceval (he is son of Arthur's niece), e.g. 15,782, and Carados, his -father, is Carados de _Vaigne_, II, 117. It is said of Kalegras's _amie_ -in the 'Mantle Rhymes,' III, 59, that many a lady looked down upon her. -This may be a chance expression, or possibly point to the poverty which -is attributed to the royal pair of Spain in Fastnachtspiele, Nos 81, -127, and in Frau Tristerat Horn. In Der Lanethen Mantel, Laneth is -Arthur's niece, and poor: see p. 261. - -The fastnachtspiel has points in common with the fabliau, and the -assumption of a source which combined features of both lai and fabliau -is warrantable: Warnatsch, pp 66-68. - -[232] This is a thoroughly dissolute piece, but not ambiguous. It is -also the most humorous of the whole series. - -[233] Warnatsch shows that Heinrich cannot have derived any part of his -Trinkhornprobe from the Perceval of Chrestien, characteristic agreements -with Perceval being entirely wanting. There are agreements with the lai, -many more with the fabliau; and Heinrich's poem, so far as it is not of -his own invention, he believes to be compounded from his own version of -the fabliau and some lost version of the Horn-test: pp 111-114. - -[234] The principal variations of this name, of which the Welsh Caradoc -is assumed to be the original, are: Craddocke (English ballad); Carados, -Caradox (Cort Mantel); Karodes (Scalachronica); Caraduz (Crône, 2309, -elsewhere) Karadas; Carigras, Kaligras (Rímur); Karodeus, Caraduel -(Perceval, 12,466, 12,457, 12,491, but generally), Carados, -ot, or; -Caraduel (Messire Gauvain, 3943); Garadue (Lai du Corn); Karadin -(Möttuls Saga). Garadue probably==Caraduel, which, in Percival twice, -and once in Messire Gauvain, is used for Carados, through confusion with -Arthur's residence, Carduel, Cardoil. So Karadas is twice put in the -Crône, 16,726, 16,743, for Karidol==Cardoil. Might not Karadin have been -written for Karadiu? - -[235] Tristan of Hélie de Borron, I, 73 verso, in Rajna, Fonti dell' -Orlando Furioso, p. 498 ff. So in Malory's King Arthur, Southey, I, 297, -Wright, II, 64. The Italian Tristan, La Tavola Ritonda, ed. Polidori, -XLIII, pp 157-160, makes 686 try, of whom only 13 prove to be innocent, -and those in spite of themselves. Another account exempts 2 out of 365: -Nannucci, Manuale, II, 168-171. - -[236] Un vasello fatto da ber, qual già, per fare accorto il suo -fratello del fallo di Ginevra, fe Morgana: XLIII, 28; un bel nappo d'or, -di fuor di gamme, XLII, 98. The Orlando concurs with the prose Tristan -as to the malice of Morgan, but does not, with the Tristan, depart from -prescription in making the women drink. Warnatsch observes that the -Orlando agrees with the Horn Fastnachtspiel, and may with it follow some -lost version of the story: p. 69. - -Before leaving these drinking-tests, mention may be made of Oberon's -gold cup, which, upon his passing his right hand three times round it -and making the sign of the cross, fills with wine enough for all the -living and the dead; but no one can drink s'il n'est preudom, et nes et -purs et sans pecié mortel: Huon de Bordeaux, ed. Guessard et -Grandmaison, p. 109 f, vv 3652-69. - -[237] The Myvyrian Archæology of Wales, II, 13, triad 54==triad 103, p. -73; p. 17, triad 78==triad 108, p. 73. - -[238] See the story in Le Livre de Carados, Perceval le Gallois, Potvin, -especially II, 214-16, vv 15,577-638. "The Rev. Evan Evans," says Percy, -Reliques, III, 349, ed. 1794, "affirmed that the story of the Boy and -the Mantle is taken from what is related in some of the old Welsh MSS of -Tegan Earfron, _one of King Arthur's mistresses_." This aspersion, which -is even absurd, must have arisen from a misunderstanding on the part of -the Bishop: no Welshman could so err. - -[239] Myvyrian Archæology, III, 247^a, No 10, pointed out to me by -Professor Evans. The story of the 'Boy and the Mantle,' says Warton, "is -recorded in many manuscript Welsh chronicles, as I learn from original -letters of Llwyd, in the Ashmolean Museum:" History of English Poetry, -ed. 1871, I, 97, note 1. - -[240] The horn is No 4 in Jones's list, and No 3 in a manuscript of -Justice Bosanquet; the knife is 13th in Jones and 6th in the other; the -mantle of invisibility is 13th in the Bosanquet series, and, under the -title of Arthur's veil or mask, 1st in Jones. The mantle of Tegau -Eurvron does not occur in the Bosanquet MS. Jones says, "The original -Welsh account of the above regalia was transcribed from a transcript of -Mr Edward Llwyd, the antiquary, who informs me that he copied it from an -old parchment MS. I have collated this with two other MSS." Not a word -of dates. Jones's Welsh Bards, II, 47-49; Lady Charlotte Guest's -Mabinogion, II, 353-55. - -Lady Charlotte Guest remarks that a boar's head in some form appears as -the armorial bearing of all of Caradawc's name. Though most anxious to -believe all that is said of Caradawc, I am compelled to doubt whether -this goes far to prove that he owned the knife celebrated in the ballad. - -[241] Heinrich seeks to put his wearisome invention off on Chrestien de -Troyes. Warnatsch argues with force against any authorship but -Heinrich's, pp 116 ff. - -[242] Gawain had failed in the earlier trial, though he had no fault in -mind or body, except that he rated his favor with women too high: -1996-2000. - -In the first two probations a false heart is the corpus delicti; -something is said of carnal offences, but not very distinctly. - -The scope of the glove is of the widest. It takes cognizance of _rede -und gedanc_ in maids, _werc und gedanc_ in wives, _tugent und manheit, -unzuht und zageheit_, in men. One must have known as little what one was -convicted of as if one had been in the hands of the Holy Office. - -[243] Fastnachtspiele aus dem fünfzehnten Jahrhundert, Zweiter Theil, p. -654, No 80. - -[244] From Vulpius's Curiositäten, II, 463, in Erlach, I, 132, after a -printed copy of the beginning of the 16th century: Wolff, Halle der -Völker, II, 243, from a Fliegendes Blatt of the 16th century. Two copies -are cited by title in Mone's Anzeiger, VIII, 354 b, No 1; 378, No 165. -Wolff prints Asion. - -[245] A man must be "clear as beryl." One of the knights is tumbled into -the water for having kissed a lady; but this is according to the code, -for he had done it without leave. We learn from Perceval that kissing is -permissible; marry, not without the lady be willing. 'Die bruck zu -Karidol' is alluded to in 'Der Spiegel,' Meister Alswert, ed. Holland u. -Keller, p. 179, vv 10-13. (Goedeke.) A man who has transferred his -devotion from an earlier love to the image of a lady shown him in a -mirror says the bridge would have thrown him over. - -[246] Florimel's girdle is a poor contrivance every way, and most of all -for practical purposes; for we are told in stanza 3 that it _gives_ the -virtue of chaste love to all who wear it, and then that whosoever -contrary doth prove cannot keep it on. But what could one expect from a -cast-off girdle of Venus? - -[247] Nightingales in Grundtvig, No 274, #A#, #B#: see p. 64. See, also, -Uhland, Zur Geschichte der Dichtung, III, 121 f. - -[248] Neither the Sanskrit Shukasaptati nor Nakshabi's Persian version, -made early in the fourteenth century, has been published. The Turkish -version is said to have been made in the second half of the next -century, for Bajazet II. Kadiri's is probably of the seventeenth -century. An English and Persian version (Kadiri's), 1801, has the tale -at p. 43; Small's English, from a Hindustani version of Kadiri, 1875, at -p. 40. - -[249] In the Contes à rire, p. 89, a sylph who loves a prince gives him -a flower and a vase which will blacken upon his wife's proving -unfaithful: Legrand, 1779, I, 78. I have not seen this edition of the -book, but presume that this tale is entirely akin with the above. - -[250] Cf. the King of Spain, at pp. 261, 263. The agreement may, or may -not, be accidental. - -[251] All these examples of the probation by flowers, shirt, or picture -are noticed in Loiseleur Deslongchamps, Essai sur les Fables Indiennes, -p. 107 ff; or in Von der Hagen's Gesammtabenteuer, III, lxxxiv ff; or in -an article by Reinhold Köhler, of his usual excellence, in Jahrbuch für -romanische und englische Literatur, VIII, 44 ff. - -[252] Köhler, as above, p. 60 f. - -[253] There is a stone in the Danish Vigoleis with the Gold Wheel which -no one could approach "who was not as clean as when he came from his -mother's body." Gawain could touch it with his hand, Arthur often sat -upon it, and Vigoleis was found sitting on it. Nyerup, Almindelig -Morskabslæsning i Danmark og Norge, p. 129, a chap-book of 1732. The -stone is not quite so strict in the German Volksbuch, Marbach, No 18, p. -13 f, Simrock, III, 432 f. In the German romance no man less than -immaculate in all respects can touch it: Wigalois, ed. Benecke, p. 57, -vv 1485-88. - -[254] Georgii Codini Excerpta de antiquitatibus Constantinopolitanis, in -Corpus Scriptorum Historiæ Byzantinæ, XLV, 50 f, cited by Liebrecht, -Germania, I, 264; De Originibus Constantinopolitanis, cited by Lütcke, -Von der Hagen's Germania, I, 252, referred to by Liebrecht: both -anecdotes in Banduri, Imperium Orientale, Anonymus de Ant. Const. p. 35, -96, p. 57, 162. The statue again in a note of Nic. Alemannus to -Procopius, Arcana, 1623, p. 83: cited by Mr Wright, Archæologia -Cambrensis, as above, p. 17. Mr Wright also makes mention, p. 16, of the -blind dog that quidam Andreas (evidently a merry one) was exhibiting in -the seventeenth year of Justinian, which, among other clever -performances, ostendebat in utero habentes et fornicarios et adulteros -et avaros et magnanimos--omnes cum veritate: Historia Miscella, -Eyssenhardt, p. 377 f, l. 18, c. 23; Cedrenus, in the Byzantine Corpus, -XXXIII, 657, Theophanes, in XXXVIII, 347 f. - -[255] The Meisterlieder and the Indian tale are cited by Warnatsch. -Virgil's statue was circumvented by an artifice which is employed in -this tale of the Shukasaptati, and in other oriental stories presumably -derived from it; and so was the well-known Bocca della Verità, -Kaiserchronik, Massmann, pp 448 f. The Bocca della Verità bit off the -fingers of perjurers, but took no particular cognizance of the unchaste. -A barley-corn [grain of wheat], again, which stood on end when _any_ -false oath was sworn over it, Jülg, Mongolische Märchensammlung, Die -Geschichte des Ardschi-Bordschi Chan, pp 250-52, cited by Benfey, -Pantschatantra, I, 458, and referred to by Warnatsch, does not belong -with special tests of chastity. - -[256] The phrase looks more malicious than _naïf_, whether Austrian or -Spanish, and implies, I fear, an exsufflicate and blown surmise about -female virtue; and so of the Indian 'Volksglaube.' The candle-test is -said to be in use for men in Silesia: Warnatsch, citing Weinhold, p. 58. - -[257] These are all noted in Liebrecht's Dunlop, pp 11, 16, 33. The -spring, says the author of Hysmine, served as good a purpose for -Artycomis as the Rhine did for the Celts; referring to a test of the -legitimacy of children by swinging or dipping them in the Rhine, which -the "Celts" practiced, according to a poem in the Anthology: Jacobs, II, -42 f, No 125; Grimm, Deutsche Rechtsalterthümer, p. 935 (Warnatsch). - -[258] Besides sources specially referred to, there may be mentioned, as -particularly useful for the history of these tests. Legrand, Fabliaux, -1779, I, 60, 76-78; Dunlop's History of Fiction, 1814, in many places, -with Liebrecht's notes, 1851; Grässe, Sagenkreise, 1842, pp 185-87; Von -der Hagen's Gesammtabenteuer, 1850, III, lxxxiv-xc, cxxxv f. - - - - -30 - -KING ARTHUR AND KING CORNWALL - - Percy MS., p. 24. Hales & Furnivall, I, 61; Madden's Syr - Gawayne, p. 275. - - -The mutilation of the earlier pages of the Percy manuscript leaves us in -possession of only one half of this ballad, and that half in eight -fragments, so that even the outline of the story cannot be fully made -out.[259] We have, to be sure, the whole of a French poem which must be -regarded as the probable source of the ballad, and, in view of the -recklessness of the destroyer Time, may take comfort; for there are few -things in this kind that the Middle Ages have bequeathed which we could -not better spare. But the losses from the English ballad are still very -regrettable, since from what is in our hands we can see that the story -was treated in an original way, and so much so that comparison does not -stead us materially. - -'King Arthur and King Cornwall' is apparently an imitation, or a -traditional variation, of Charlemagne's Journey to Jerusalem and -Constantinople, a _chanson de geste_ of complete individuality and of -remarkable interest. This all but incomparable relic exists in only a -single manuscript,[260] and that ill written and not older than the end -of the thirteenth century, while the poem itself may be assigned to the -beginning of the twelfth, if not to the latter part of the -eleventh.[261] Subsequently, the story, with modifications, was -introduced into the romance of Galien, and in this setting it occurs in -three forms, two manuscript of the fifteenth century, and the third a -printed edition of the date 1500. These are all in prose, but betray by -metrical remains imbedded in them their descent from a romance in verse, -which there are reasons for putting at least as early as the beginning -of the fourteenth century.[262] - -A very little of the story, and this little much changed, is found in -Italian romances of Charles's Journey to Spain and of Ogier the Dane. -The derivation from Galien is patent.[263] - -The Journey of Charlemagne achieved great popularity, as it needs must. -It forms a section of the Karlamagnus Saga, a prose translation into -Norse of _gestes_ of Charles and his peers, made in the thirteenth -century, and probably for King Hákon the Old, though this is not -expressly said, as in the case of the 'Mantle.' Through the Norwegian -version the story of Charles's journey passed into the other -Scandinavian dialects. There is a Swedish version, slightly defective, -existing in a manuscript earlier than 1450, and known to be older than -the manuscript, and a Danish abridgment, thought to have been made from -the Swedish version, is preserved in a manuscript dated 1480, which -again is probably derived from an elder. Like the 'Mantle,' the Journey -of Charlemagne is treated in Icelandic Rímur, the oldest manuscript -being put at about 1500. These Rhymes (Geiplur, Gabs, Japes), though -their basis is the Norwegian saga, present variations from the existing -manuscripts of this saga. There is also a Färöe traditional ballad upon -this theme, 'Geipa-táttur.' This ballad has much that is peculiar to -itself.[264] - -Charlemagne's Journey was also turned into Welsh in the thirteenth -century. Three versions are known, of which the best is in the Red Book -of Hergest.[265] - -Let us now see what is narrated in the French poem. - -One day when Charlemagne was at St Denis he had put on his crown and -sword, and his wife had on a most beautiful crown, too. Charles took her -by the hand, under an olive-tree, and asked her if she had ever seen a -king to whom crown and sword were so becoming. The empress was so unwise -as to reply that possibly he thought too well of himself: she knew of a -king who appeared to even better advantage when he wore his crown. -Charles angrily demanded where this king was to be found: they would -wear their crowns together, and if the French sided with her, well; but -if she had not spoken truth, he would cut off her head. The empress -endeavored to explain away what she had said: the other king was simply -richer, but not so good a knight, etc. Charles bade her name him, on her -head. There being no escape, the empress said she had heard much of -Hugo, the emperor of Greece and Constantinople. "By my faith," said -Charles, "you have made me angry and lost my love, and are in a fair way -to lose your head, too. I will never rest till I have seen this king." - -The emperor, having made his offering at St Denis, returned to Paris, -taking with him his twelve peers and some thousand of knights. To these -he announced that they were to accompany him to Jerusalem, to adore the -cross and the sepulchre, and that he would incidentally look up a king -that he had heard of. They were to take with them seven hundred camels, -laden with gold and silver, and be prepared for an absence of seven -years. - -Charlemagne gave his people a handsome equipment, but not of arms. They -left behind them their lances and swords, and took the pilgrim's staff -and scrip. When they came to a great plain it appeared that the number -was not less than eighty thousand: but we do not have to drag this host -through the story, which concerns itself only with Charles and his -peers. They arrived at Jerusalem one fine day, selected their inns, and -went to the minster. Here Jesus and his apostles had sung mass, and the -chairs which they had occupied were still there. Charles seated himself -in the middle one, his peers on either side. A Jew came in, and, seeing -Charles, fell to trembling; so fierce was the countenance of the emperor -that he dared not look at it, but fled from the church to the patriarch, -and begged to be baptized, for God himself and the twelve apostles were -come. The patriarch went to the church, in procession, with his clergy. -Charles rose and made a profound salutation, the priest and the monarch -embraced, and the patriarch inquired who it was that had assumed to -enter that church as he had done. "Charles is my name," was the answer. -"Twelve kings have I conquered, and I am seeking a thirteenth whom I -have heard of. I have come to Jerusalem to adore the cross and the -sepulchre." The patriarch proving gracious, Charles went on to ask for -relics to take home with him. "A plentet en avrez," says the patriarch; -"St Simeon's arm, St Lazarus's head, St Stephen's--" "Thanks!" "The -sudarium, one of the nails, the crown of thorns, the cup, the dish, the -knife, some of St Peter's beard, some hairs from his head--" "Thanks!" -"Some of Mary's milk, of the holy shift--" And all these Charles -received.[266] He stayed four months in Jerusalem, and began the church -of St Mary. He presented the patriarch with a hundred mule-loads of gold -and silver, and asked "his leave and pardon" to return to France: but -first he would find out the king whom his wife had praised. They take -the way through Jericho to gather palms. The relics are so strong that -every stream they come to divides before them, every blind man receives -sight, the crooked are made straight, and the dumb speak.[267] On -reaching Constantinople they have ample reason to be impressed with the -magnificence of the place. Passing twenty thousand knights, who are -playing at chess and tables, dressed in pall and ermine, with fur cloaks -training at their feet, and three thousand damsels in equally sumptuous -attire, who are disporting with their lovers, they come to the king, who -is at that moment taking his day at the plough, not on foot, goad in -hand, but seated most splendidly in a chair drawn by mules, and holding -a gold wand, the plough all gold, too; none of this elegance, however, -impairing the straightness of his majesty's furrow. The kings exchange -greetings. Charles tells Hugo that he is last from Jerusalem, and should -be glad to see him and his knights. Hugo makes him free to stay a year, -if he likes, unyokes the oxen, and conducts his guests to the palace. - -The palace is gorgeous in the extreme, and, omitting other architectural -details, it is circular, and so constructed as to turn like a wheel when -the wind strikes it from the west. Charles thinks his own wealth not -worth a glove in comparison, and remembers how he had threatened his -wife. "Lordings," he says, "many a palace have I seen, but none like -this had even Alexander, Constantine, or Cæsar." At that moment a strong -wind arose which set the palace in lively motion; the emperor was fain -to sit down on the floor; the twelve peers were all upset, and as they -lay on their backs, with faces covered, said one to the other, "This is -a bad business: the doors are open, and yet we can't get out!" But as -evening approached the wind subsided; the Franks recovered their legs, -and went to supper. At the table they saw the queen and the princess, a -beautiful blonde, of whom Oliver became at once enamored. After a most -royal repast, the king conducted Charles and the twelve to a -bed-chamber, in which there were thirteen beds. It is doubtful whether -modern luxury can vie with the appointments in any respect, and certain -that we are hopelessly behind in one, for this room was lighted by a -carbuncle. But, again, there was one luxury which Hugo did not allow -them, and this was privacy, even so much privacy as thirteen can have. -He had put a man in a hollow place under a marble stair, to watch them -through a little hole. - -The Franks, as it appears later, had drunk heavily at supper, and this -must be their excuse for giving themselves over, when in a foreign -country, to a usage or propensity which they had no doubt indulged in at -home, and which is familiar in northern poetry and saga, that of making -brags (gabs, Anglo-Saxon beót, gilp[268]). Charles began: Let Hugo arm -his best man in two hauberks and two helms, and set him on a charger: -then, if he will lend me his sword, I will with a blow cut through -helms, hauberks, and saddle, and if I let it have its course, the blade -shall never be recovered but by digging a spear's depth in the ground. -"Perdy," says the man in hiding, "what a fool King Hugo was when he gave -you lodging!" - -Roland followed: Tell Hugo to lend me his horn, and I will go into yon -plain and blow such a blast that not a gate or a door in all the city -shall be left standing, and a good man Hugo will be, if he faces me, not -to have his beard burned from his face and his fur robe carried away. -Again said the man under the stair, "What a fool was King Hugo!" - -The emperor next called upon Oliver, whose gab was: - - 'Prenget li reis sa fille qui tant at bloi le peil, - En sa chambre nos metet en un lit en requeit; - Se jo n'ai testimoigne de li anuit cent feiz, - Demain perde la teste, par covent li otrei.' - -"You will stop before that," said the spy; "great shame have you -spoken." - -Archbishop Turpin's brag was next in order: it would have been more in -keeping for Turpin of Hounslow Heath, and we have all seen it performed -in the travelling circus. While three of the king's best horses are -running at full speed on the plain, he will overtake and mount the -foremost, passing the others, and will keep four big apples in constant -motion from one hand to the other; if he lets one fall, put out his -eyes.[269] "A good brag this," is the comment of the simple scout -(_l'escolte_), "and no shame to my lord." - -William of Orange will take in one hand a metal ball which thirty men -have never been able to stir, and will hurl it at the palace wall and -bring down more than forty toises of it. "The king is a knave if he does -not make you try," says _l'escolte_. - -The other eight gabs may be passed over, save one. Bernard de Brusban -says, "You see that roaring stream? To-morrow I will make it leave its -bed, cover the fields, fill the cellars of the city, drench the people, -and drive King Hugo into his highest tower, from which he shall never -come down without my leave." "The man is mad," says the spy. "What a -fool King Hugo was! As soon as morning dawns they shall all pack." - -The spy carries his report to his master without a moment's delay. Hugo -swears that if the brags are not accomplished as made, his guests shall -lose their heads, and orders out a hundred thousand men-at-arms to -enforce his resolution. - -When the devout emperor of the west came from mass the next morning -(Hugo was evidently not in a state of mind to go), he advanced to meet -his brother of Constantinople, olive branch in hand; but Hugo called out -from far off, "Charles, why did you make me the butt of your brags and -your scorns?" and repeated that all must be done, or thirteen heads -would fall. Charles replied that they had drunk a good deal of wine the -night before, and that it was the custom for the French when they had -gone to bed to allow themselves in jesting. He desired to speak with his -knights. When they were together, the emperor said that they had drunk -too much, and had uttered what they ought not. He caused the relics to -be brought, and they all fell to praying and beating their breasts, that -they might be saved from Hugo's wrath, when lo, an angel appeared, who -bade them not be afraid; they had committed a great folly yesterday, and -must never brag again, but for this time, "Go, begin, not one of them -shall fail."[270] - -Charles returned to Hugo master of the situation. He repeated that they -had drunk too much wine the night before, and went on to say that it was -an outrage on Hugo's part to set a spy in the room, and that they knew a -land where such an act would be accounted villainy: "but all shall be -carried out; choose who shall begin." Hugo said, Oliver; and let him not -fall short of his boast, or I will cut off his head, and the other -twelve shall share his fate. The next morning, in pursuance of an -arrangement made between Oliver and the princess, the king was informed -that what had been undertaken had been precisely discharged. "The first -has saved himself," says Hugo; "by magic, I believe; now I wish to know -about the rest." "What next?" says Charlemagne. William of Orange was -called for, threw off his furs, lifted the huge ball with one hand, -hurled it at the wall, and threw down more than forty toises. "They are -enchanters," said the king to his men. "Now I should like to see if the -rest will do as much. If one of them fails, I will hang them all -to-morrow." "Do you want any more of the gabs?" asked Charles. Hugo -called upon Bernard to do what he had threatened. Bernard asked the -prayers of the emperor, ran down to the water, and made the sign of the -cross. All the water left its bed, spread over the fields, came into the -city, filled the cellars, drenched the people, and drove King Hugo into -his highest tower; Charles and the peers being the while ensconced in an -old pine-tree, all praying for God's pity. - -Charles in the tree heard Hugo in the tower making his moan: he would -give the emperor all his treasure, would become his man and hold his -kingdom of him. The emperor was moved, and prayed that the flood might -stop, and at once the water began to ebb. Hugo was able to descend from -his tower, and he came to Charles, under an "ympe tree," and repeated -what he had uttered in the moment of extremity. "Do you want the rest of -the gabs?" asked Charles. "Ne de ceste semaine," replied Hugo. "Then, -since you are my man," said the emperor, "we will make a holiday and -wear our crowns together." When the French saw the two monarchs walking -together, and Charles overtopping Hugo by fifteen inches, they said the -queen was a fool to compare anybody with him. - -After this promenade there was mass, at which Turpin officiated, and -then a grand dinner. Hugo once more proffered all his treasures to -Charles, but Charles would not take a denier. "We must be going," he -said. The French mounted their mules, and went off in high spirits. Very -happy was Charles to have conquered such a king without a battle. -Charles went directly to St Denis, and performed his devotions. The nail -and the crown he deposited on the altar, distributed the other relics -over the kingdom, and for the love of the sepulchre he gave up his anger -against the queen. - -The story in the English ballad, so far as it is to be collected from -our eight fragments, is that Arthur, represented as King of Little -Britain, while boasting to Gawain of his round table, is told by -Guenever that she knows of one immeasurably finer; the very trestle is -worth his halls and his gold, and the palace it stands in is worth all -Little Britain besides; but not a word will she say as to where this -table and this goodly building may be. Arthur makes a vow never to sleep -two nights in one place till he sees that round table; and, taking for -companions Gawain, Tristram, Sir Bredbeddle, and an otherwise unknown -Sir Marramiles, sets out on the quest. - -The pilgrimage which, to save his dignity, Charles makes a cover for his -visit to the rival king forms no part of Arthur's programme.[271] The -five assume a palmer's weed simply for disguise, and travel east and -west, in many a strange country, only to arrive at Cornwall, so very -little a way from home. - -The proud porter of Cornwall's gate, a minion swain, befittingly clad in -a suit of gold, for his master is the richest king in Christendom, or -yet in heathenness, is evidently impressed with Arthur's bearing, as is -quite the rule in such cases:[272] he has been porter thirty years and -three, but [has never seen the like]. Cornwall would naturally ask the -pilgrims some questions. From their mentioning some shrine of Our Lady -he infers that they have been in Britain,--Little Britain we must -suppose to be meant. Cornwall asks if they ever knew King Arthur, and -boasts that he had lived seven years in Little Britain, and had had a -daughter by Arthur's wife, now a lady of radiant beauty, and Arthur has -none such.[273] He then sends for his steed, which he can ride three -times as far in a day as Arthur can any of his, and we may suppose that -he also exhibits to his guests a horn and a sword of remarkable -properties, and a Bur-low-Beanie, or Billy-Blin, a seven-headed, -fire-breathing fiend whom he has in his service. Arthur is then -conducted to bed, and the Billy-Blin, shut up, as far as we can make -out, in some sort of barrel, or other vessel,[274] is set by Arthur's -bed-side to hear and report the talk of the pilgrims. Now, it would -seem, the knights make each their vow or brag. Arthur's is that he will -be the death of Cornwall King before he sees Little Britain. Gawain, who -represents Oliver, will have Cornwall's daughter home with him. Here -there is an unlucky gap. Tristram should undertake to carry off the -horn, Marramiles the steed, and Sir Bredbeddle the sword. But first it -would be necessary to subdue the loathly fiend. Bredbeddle goes to work -without dallying, bursts open the rub-chadler with his sword, and fights -the fire-breathing monster in a style that is a joy to see; but sword, -knife, and axe all break, and he is left without a weapon. Yet he had -something better to fall back on, and that was a little book which he -had found by the seaside, no doubt in the course of those long travels -which conducted the pilgrims from Little Britain to Cornwall. It was -probably a book of Evangiles; our Lord had written it with his hands and -sealed it with his blood. With this little book, which in a manner takes -the place of the relics in the French tale, for the safety of the -pilgrims and the accomplishment of their vows are secured through it, -Bredbeddle conjures the Burlow-beanie, and shuts him up till wanted in a -"wall of stone," which reminds us of the place in which Hugo's spy is -concealed. He then reports to Arthur, who has a great desire to see the -fiend in all his terrors, and, upon the king's promising to stand firm, -Bredbeddle makes the fiend start out again, with his seven heads and the -fire flying out of his mouth. The Billy-Blin is now entirely amenable to -command: Bredbeddle has only to "conjure" him to do a thing, and it is -done. First he fetches down the steed. Marramiles, who perhaps had vowed -to bring off the horse, considers that he is the man to ride him, but -finds he can do nothing with him, and has to call on Bredbeddle for -help. The Billy-Blin is required to tell how the steed is to be ridden, -and reveals that three strokes of a gold wand which stands in Cornwall's -study-window will make him spring like spark from brand. And so it comes -out that Cornwall is a magician. Next the horn has to be fetched, but, -when brought, it cannot be sounded. For this a certain powder is -required. This the fiend procures, and Tristram blows a blast which -rends the horn up to the midst.[275] Finally the Billy-Blin is conjured -to fetch the sword, and with this sword Arthur goes and strikes off -Cornwall's head. So Arthur keeps his vow, and, so far as we can see, all -the rest are in a condition to keep theirs. - -The English ballad retains too little of the French story to enable us -to say what form of it this little was derived from. The poem of Galien -would cover all that is borrowed as well as the Journey of Charlemagne. -It may be regarded as an indication of late origin that in this ballad -Arthur is king of _Little_ Britain, that Bredbeddle and Marramiles are -made the fellows of Gawain and Tristram, Bredbeddle carrying off all the -honors, and that Cornwall has had an intrigue with Arthur's queen. The -name Bredbeddle is found elsewhere only in the late Percy version of the -romance of the Green Knight, Hales and Furnivall, II, 56, which version -alludes to a custom of the Knights of the Bath, an order said to have -been instituted by Henry IV at his coronation, in 1399. - -The Färöe ballad, 'Geipa-táttur,' exists in four versions: #A#, Svabo's -manuscript collection, 1782, III, 1, 85 stanzas; #B#, Sandøbog, 1822, p. -49, 140 stanzas; #C#, Fugløbog, c. 1840, p. 9, 120 stanzas; #D#, Syderø -version, obtained by Hammershaimb, 1848, 103 stanzas.[276] It repeats -the story of the Norse saga, with a moderate number of traditional -accretions and changes. The emperor, from his throne, asks his champions -where is his superior [equal]. They all drop their heads; no one -ventures to answer but the queen, who better had been silent. "The -emperor of Constantinople" (Hákin, #D#), she says, "is thy superior." -"If he is not," answers Karl, "thou shalt burn on bale." In #B#, when -they have already started for Constantinople, Turpin persuades them to -go rather to Jerusalem: in the other versions it must be assumed that -the holy city was on the route. As Karl enters the church the bells ring -and the candles light of themselves, #C#, #D#. There are thirteen seats -in the choir: Karl takes the one that Jesus had occupied, and the peers -those of the apostles. A heathen tells the patriarch[277] that the Lord -is come down from heaven, #C#, #D#. The patriarch proceeds to the -church, with no attendance but his altar-book [singing from his -altar-book]; he asks Karl what he has come for, and Karl replies, to see -the halidoms, #A#, #C#, #D#. In #B# the patriarch presents himself to -the emperor at his lodging, and inquires his purpose; and, learning that -he is on his way to Constantinople, for glory, advises him first to go -to the church, where the ways and means of success are to be found. The -patriarch gives Karl some of the relics: the napkin on which Jesus had -wiped his hands, cups from which he had drunk, etc. Karl, in #A#, #C#, -now announces that he is on his way to Constantinople; the patriarch -begs him not to go, for he will have much to suffer. At the exterior -gate of the palace will be twelve white bears, ready to go at him; the -sight of his sword [of the holy napkin, #B#] will cause them to fall -stone-dead, or at least harmless, #B#. At the gate next within there -will be twelve wolf-dogs[278] [and further on twelve toads, #B#], which -must be disposed of in like wise: etc. The castle stands on a hundred -pillars, #A#, and is full of ingenious contrivances: the floor goes up -to the sky, and the roof comes down to the ground, #B#. Karl now sets -out, with the patriarch's blessing and escort. Before they reach the -palace they come upon three hundred knights and ladies dancing, which -also had been foretold, and at the portals of the palace they find and -vanquish the formidable beasts. The palace is to the full as splendid -and as artfully constructed as they had been informed: the floor goes up -and the roof comes down, #B#; there are monstrous figures (?), with -horns at their mouths, and upon a wind rising the horns all sound, the -building begins to revolve, and the Frenchmen jump up, each clinging to -the other, #B#, #C#, #D#. Karl remembers what his wife had said, #A#, -#D#. - -Of the reception by the monarch of Constantinople nothing further is -said. We are immediately taken to the bedroom, in which there are twelve -beds, with a thirteenth in the middle, and also a stone arch, or vault, -inside of which is a man with a candle. Karl proposes that they shall -choose feats, make boasts, rouses [_skemtar_, jests, #C#]. These would -inevitably be more or less deranged and corrupted in the course of -tradition. #A# and #C# have lost many. Karl's boast, dropped in #B#, -#C#, is that he will smite King Hákin, so that the sword's point shall -stick in the ground, #D#; hit the emperor on the neck and knock him off -his horse, #A#. Roland, in all, will blow the emperor's hair off his -head with the blast of his horn. Oliver's remains as in the French poem. -William of Orange's ball is changed to a bolt. The exploit with the -horses and apples is assigned to Bernard in #D#, the only version which -preserves it, as in the Norse saga; and, as in the saga again, it is -Turpin, and not Bernard, who brings in the river upon the town, and -forces the king to take refuge in the tower. - -Early in the morning the spy reports in writing, and King Hákin, #D#, -says that Karl and his twelve peers shall burn on the bale, #A#, #C#, -#D#, if they cannot make good their boasts, #B#. Karl's queen appears to -him in his sleep, #A#, and bids him think of last night's words. It is -the queen of Constantinople in #B#, #C#, #D# who rouses Karl to a sense -of his plight; in #B# she tells him that the brags have been reported, -and that burning will be the penalty unless they be achieved. Karl then -sees that his wife knew what she was saying, and vows to give her -Hildarheim and a scarlet cloak if he gets home alive. He hastens to -church; a dove descends from heaven and sits on his arm [in #B# a voice -comes from heaven]; he is assured that the boasts shall all be -performed, but never let such a thing be done again. In #A# three of the -feats are executed, in #D# four, in #C# seven, Oliver's in each case -strictly, and Turpin's, naturally, last. The king in #C# does the feat -which is proposed by Eimer in the saga. #A# and #C# end abruptly with -Turpin's exploit. In #D# Karl falls on his knees and prays, and the -water retires; Karl rides out of Constantinople, followed three days on -the road by Koronatus, as Hákin is now called, stanza 103: it is -Karlamagnús that wears his crown higher. #B# takes a turn of its own. -Roland, Olger and Oliver are called upon to do their brags. Roland blows -so that nobody in Constantinople can keep his legs, and the emperor -falls into the mud, but he blows not a hair off the emperor's head; -Olger slings the gold-bolt over the wall, but breaks off none; Oliver -gives a hundred kisses, as in the saga. The emperor remarks each time, I -hold him no champion that performs his rouse that way. But Turpin's brag -is thoroughly done; the emperor is driven to the tower, and begs Karl to -turn off the water; no more feats shall be exacted. Now the two kaisers -walk in the hall, conferring about tribute, which Karl takes and rides -away. When he reaches home his queen welcomes him, and asks what -happened at Constantinople: "Hvat gekk af?" "This," says Karl; "I know -the truth now; you shall be queen as before, and shall have a voice in -the rule." - -It is manifest that Charlemagne's pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the visit -to the king of Constantinople, though somewhat intimately combined in -the old French _geste_, were originally distinct narratives. As far as -we can judge, nothing of the pilgrimage was retained by the English -ballad. We are not certain, even, that it is Charlemagne's visit to Hugo -upon which the ballad was formed, though the great popularity of the -French poem makes this altogether likely. As M. Gaston Paris has said -and shown,[279] the visit to Hugo is one of a cycle of tales of which -the framework is this: that a king who regards himself as the richest or -most magnificent in the world is told that there is somebody that -outstrips him, and undertakes a visit to his rival to determine which -surpasses the other, threatening death to the person who has disturbed -his self-complacency, in case the rival should turn out to be his -inferior. A familiar example is afforded by the tale of Aboulcassem, the -first of the Mille et un Jours. Haroun Alraschid was incessantly -boasting that no prince in the world was so generous as he.[280] The -vizier Giafar humbly exhorted the caliph not to praise himself, but to -leave that to others. The caliph, much piqued, demanded, Do you then -know anybody who compares with me? Giafar felt compelled to reply that -there was a young man at Basra, who, though in a private station, was -not inferior even to the caliph in point of generosity. Haroun was very -angry, and, on Giafar's persisting in what he had said, had the vizier -arrested, and finally resolved to go to Basra to see with his own eyes: -if Giafar should have spoken the truth, he should be rewarded, but in -the other event he should forfeit his life.[281] - -This story, it is true, shows no trace of the gabs which Charlemagne and -the peers make, and which Hugo requires to be accomplished on pain of -death. The gabs are a well-known North-European custom, and need not be -sought for further; but the requiring by one king of certain feats to be -executed by another under a heavy penalty is a feature of a large class -of Eastern tales of which there has already been occasion to speak: see -'The Elfin Knight,' p. 11. The demand in these, however, is made not in -person, but through an ambassador. The combination of a personal visit -with a task to be performed under penalty of death is seen in the -Vafþrúðnismál, where Odin, disguised as a traveller, seeks a contest in -knowledge with the wisest of the giants.[282] - -The story of the gabs has been retold in two modern imitations: very -indifferently by Nivelle de la Chaussée, 'Le Roi Hugon,' [OE]uvres, t. -V, supplément, p. 66, ed. 1778, and well by M. J. Chénier, 'Les -Miracles,' III, 259, ed. 1824.[283] Uhland treated the subject -dramatically in a composition which has not been published: Keller, -Altfranzösische Sagen, 1876, Inhalt (Koschwitz). - - - Percy MS., p. 24. Hales and Furnivall, I, 61; Madden's Syr - Gawayne, p. 275. - - * * * * * * * - - 1 - [Saies, 'Come here, cuzen Gawaine so gay,] - My sisters sonne be yee; - Ffor you shall see one of the fairest round tables - That euer you see with your eye.' - - 2 - Then bespake Lady Qu_een_ Gueneuer, - And these were the words said shee: - 'I know where a round table is, thou noble k_ing_, - Is worth thy round table and other such three. - - 3 - 'The trestle that stands vnder this round table,' she said, - 'Lowe downe to the mould, - It is worth thy round table, thou worthy k_ing_, - Thy halls, and all thy gold. - - 4 - 'The place where this round table stands in, - . . . . . . . - It is worth thy castle, thy gold, thy fee, - And all good Litle Britaine.' - - 5 - 'Where may that table be, lady?' q_uo_th hee, - 'Or where may all that goodly building be?' - 'You shall it seeke,' shee says, 'till you it find, - For you shall neuer gett more of me.' - - 6 - Then bespake him noble K_ing_ Arthur, - These were the words said hee: - 'He make mine avow to God, - And alsoe to the Trinity, - - 7 - 'He never sleepe one night there as I doe another, - Till _tha_t round table I see: - S_ir_ Marramiles and S_ir_ Tristeram, - Fellowes _tha_t ye shall bee. - - 8 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - 'Weele be clad in palmers weede, - Fiue palmers we will bee; - - 9 - 'There is noe outlandish man will vs abide, - Nor will vs come nye.' - Then they riued east and thé riued west, - In many a strange country. - - 10 - Then they tranckled a litle further, - They saw a battle new sett: - 'Now, by my faith,' saies noble King Arthur, - . . . . . . well . - - * * * * * * * - - 11 - But when he cam to this ... c ... - And to the palace gate, - Soe ready was ther a proud porter, - And met him soone therat. - - 12 - Shooes of gold the porter had on, - And all his other rayment was vnto the same: - 'Now, by my faith,' saies noble K_ing_ Arthur, - 'Yonder is a minion swaine.' - - 13 - Then bespake noble K_ing_ Arthur, - These were the words says hee: - 'Come hither, thou proud porter, - I pray thee come hither to me. - - 14 - 'I haue two poore rings of my finger, - The better of them Ile giue to thee; - Tell who may be lord of this castle,' he sayes, - 'Or who is lord in this cuntry?' - - 15 - 'Cornewall K_ing_,' the porter sayes, - 'There is none soe rich as hee; - Neither in christendome, nor yet in heathen-nest, - None hath soe much gold as he.' - - 16 - And then bespake him noble K_ing_ Arthur, - These were the words sayes hee: - 'I haue two poore rings of my finger, - The better of them Ile giue thee, - If thou wilt greete him well, Cornewall K_ing_, - And greete him well from me. - - 17 - 'Pray him for one nights lodging and two meales meate, - For his love that dyed vppon a tree; - Of one ghesting and two meales meate, - For his loue that dyed vppon a tree. - - 18 - 'Of one ghesting, of two meales meate, - For his love that was of virgin borne, - And in the morning _tha_t we may scape away, - Either w_i_thout scath or scorne.' - - 19 - Then forth is gone this proud porter, - As fast as he cold hye, - And when he came befor Cornewall K_ing_, - He kneeled downe on his knee. - - 20 - Sayes, 'I haue beene porter-man, at thy gate, - This thirty winter and three ... - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - * * * * * * * - - 21 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - Our Lady was borne; then thought Cornewall K_ing_ - These palmers had beene in Britt_aine_. - - 22 - Then bespake him Cornwall King, - These were the words he said there: - 'Did you euer know a comely k_ing_, - His name was King Arthur?' - - 23 - And then bespake him noble K_ing_ Arthur, - These were the words said hee: - 'I doe not know that comly k_ing_, - But once my selfe I did him see.' - Then bespake Cornwall K_ing_ againe, - These were the words said he: - - 24 - Sayes, 'Seuen yeere I was clad and fed, - In Litle Brittaine, in a bower; - I had a daughter by K_ing_ Arthurs wife, - _Tha_t now is called my flower; - For K_ing_ Arthur, that kindly cockward, - Hath none such in his bower. - - 25 - 'For I durst sweare, and saue my othe, - _Tha_t same lady soe bright, - That a man _tha_t were laid on his death bed - Wold open his eyes on her to haue sight.' - 'Now, by my faith,' sayes noble K_ing_ Arthur, - 'And that's a full faire wight!' - - 26 - And then bespake Cornewall [King] againe, - And these were the words he said: - 'Come hither, fiue or three of my knights, - And feitch me downe my steed; - King Arthur, that foule cockeward, - Hath none such, if he had need. - - 27 - 'For I can ryde him as far on a day - As King Arthur can doe any of his on three; - And is it not a pleasure for a k_ing_ - When he shall ryde forth on his iourney? - - 28 - 'For the eyes that beene in his head, - Thé glister as doth the gleed.' - 'Now, by my faith,' says noble King Arthur, - '_Tha_t is a well faire steed.' - - * * * * * * * - - 29 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - 'Nobody say . . . . - But one _that_'s learned to speake.' - - 30 - Then K_ing_ Arthur to his bed was brought, - A greeiued man was hee; - And soe were all his fellowes with him, - From him thé thought neuer to flee. - - 31 - Then take they did that lodly groome, - And under the rub-chadler closed was hee, - And he was set by K_ing_ Arthurs bed-side, - To heere theire talke and theire comu_n_ye; - - 32 - _Tha_t he might come forth, and make p_ro_clamation, - Long before it was day; - It was more for K_ing_ Cornwalls pleasure, - Then it was for K_ing_ Arthurs pay. - - 33 - And when K_ing_ Arthur in his bed was laid, - These were the words said hee: - 'Ile make mine avow to God, - And alsoe to the Trinity, - That Ile be the bane of Cornwall Kinge, - Litle Brittaine or euer I see!' - - 34 - 'It is an vnaduised vow,' saies Gawaine the gay, - 'As ever k_ing_ hard make I; - But wee _tha_t beene fiue Christian men, - Of the christen faith are wee, - And we shall fight against anoynted k_ing_ - And all his armorie.' - - 35 - And then bespake him noble Arthur, - And these were the words said he: - 'Why, if thou be afraid, S_ir_ Gawaine the gay, - Goe home, and drinke wine in thine owne country.' - - 36 - And then bespake S_i_r Gawaine the gay, - And these were the words said hee: - 'Nay, seeing you have made such a hearty vow, - Heere another vow make will I. - - 37 - 'Ile make mine avow to God, - And alsoe to the Trinity, - _Tha_t I will haue yonder faire lady - To Litle Brittaine with mee. - - 38 - 'Ile hose her hourly to my heart, - And with her Ile worke my will;' - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - * * * * * * * - - 39 - . . . . . . . - These were the words sayd hee: - 'Befor I wold wrestle with yonder feend, - It is better be drowned in the sea.' - - 40 - And then, bespake S_i_r Bredbeddle, - And these were the words said he: - 'Why, I will wrestle w_i_th yon lodly feend, - God, my gouernor thou wilt bee!' - - 41 - Then bespake him noble Arthur, - And these were the words said he: - 'What weapons wilt thou haue, thou gentle knight? - I pray thee tell to me.' - - 42 - He sayes, 'Collen brand Ile haue in my hand, - And a Millaine knife fast by me knee, - And a Danish axe fast in my hands, - _Tha_t a sure weapon I thinke wilbe.' - - 43 - Then with his Collen brand _tha_t he had in his hand - The bunge of that rub-chandler he burst in three; - W_i_th that start out a lodly feend, - W_i_th seuen heads, and one body. - - 44 - The fyer towards the element flew, - Out of his mouth, where was great plentie; - The knight stoode in the middle and fought, - _Tha_t it was great ioy to see. - - 45 - Till his Collaine brand brake in his hand, - And his Millaine knife burst on his knee, - And then the Danish axe burst in his hand first, - That a sur weapon he thought shold be. - - 46 - But now is the knight left w_i_thout any weapons, - And alacke! it was the more pitty; - But a surer weapon then he had one, - Had neuer l_ord_ in Christentye; - And all was but one litle booke, - He found it by the side of the sea. - - 47 - He found it at the sea-side, - Wrucked upp in a floode; - Our L_ord_ had written it w_i_th his hands, - And sealed it w_i_th his bloode. - - * * * * * * * - - 48 - 'That thou doe not s ... - But ly still in that wall of stone, - Till I haue beene with noble K_ing_ Arthur, - And told him what I haue done.' - - 49 - And when he came to the k_ing_s chamber, - He cold of his curtesie: - Says, 'Sleepe you, wake you, noble K_ing_ Arthur? - And euer Iesus waken yee!' - - 50 - 'Nay, I am not sleeping, I am waking,' - These were the words said hee; - 'Ffor thee I haue card; how hast thou fared? - O gentle knight, let me see.' - - 51 - The knight wrought the k_ing_ his booke, - Bad him behold, reede and see; - And euer he found it on the backside of the leafe - As noble Arthur wold wish it to be. - - 52 - And then bespake him K_ing_ Arthur, - 'Alas! thow gentle knight, how may this be, - That I might see him in the same licknesse - _Tha_t he stood vnto thee?' - - 53 - And then bespake him the Greene Knight, - These were the words said hee: - 'If youle stand stifly in the battell stronge, - For I haue won all the victory.' - - 54 - Then bespake him the k_ing_ againe, - And these were the words said hee: - 'If wee stand not stifly in this battell strong, - Wee are worthy to be hanged all on a tree.' - - 55 - Then bespake him the Greene Knight, - These were the words said he: - Saies, 'I doe coniure thee, thou fowle feend, - In the same licknesse thou stood vnto me.' - - 56 - W_i_th that start out a lodly feend, - W_i_th seuen heads, and one body; - The fier towards the element flaugh, - Out of his mouth, where was great plenty. - - 57 - The knight stood in the middle p ... - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - * * * * * * * - - 58 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - ... they stood the space of an houre, - I know not what they did. - - 59 - And then bespake him the Greene Knight, - And these were the words said he: - Saith, 'I coniure thee, thou fowle feend, - _Tha_t thou feitch downe the steed that we see.' - - 60 - And then forth is gone Burlow-beanie, - As fast as he cold hie, - And feitch he did _tha_t faire steed, - And came againe by and by. - - 61 - Then bespake him S_ir_ Marramiles, - And these were the words said hee: - 'Riding of this steed, brother Bredbeddle, - The mastery belongs to me.' - - 62 - Marramiles tooke the steed to his hand, - To ryd him he was full bold; - He cold noe more make him goe - Then a child of three yeere old. - - 63 - He laid vppon him w_i_th heele and hand, - W_i_th yard that was soe fell; - 'Helpe! brother Bredbeddle,' says Marramile, - 'For I thinke he be the devill of hell. - - 64 - 'Helpe! brother Bredbeddle,' says Marramile, - 'Helpe! for Christs pittye; - Ffor w_i_thout thy help, brother Bredbeddle, - He will neuer be rydden for me.' - - 65 - Then bespake him S_ir_ Bredbeddle, - These were the words said he: - 'I coniure thee, thou Burlow-beane, - Thou tell me how this steed was riddin in his country.' - - 66 - He saith, 'there is a gold wand - Stands in K_ing_ Cornwalls study windowe; - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 67 - 'Let him take that wand in _tha_t window, - And strike three strokes on that steed; - And then he will spring forth of his hand - As sparke doth out of gleede.' - - 68 - And then bespake him the Greene Knight, - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - * * * * * * * - - 69 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - A lowd blast he may blow then. - - 70 - And then bespake S_ir_ Bredebeddle, - To the ffeend these words said hee: - Says, 'I coniure thee, thou Burlow-beanie, - The powder-box thou feitch me.' - - 71 - Then forth is gone Burlow-beanie, - As fast as he cold hie, - And feich he did the powder-box, - And came againe by and by. - - 72 - Then S_ir_ Tristeram tooke powder forth of _tha_t box, - And blent it w_i_th warme sweet milke, - And there put it vnto that horne, - And swilled it about in that ilke. - - 73 - Then he tooke the horne in his hand, - And a lowd blast he blew; - He rent the horne vp to the midst, - All his ffellowes this thé knew. - - 74 - Then bespake him the Greene Knight, - These were the words said he: - Saies, 'I coniure thee, thou Burlow-beanie, - _Tha_t thou feitch me the sword _tha_t I see.' - - 75 - Then forth is gone Burlow-beanie, - As fast as he cold hie, - And feitch he did that faire sword, - And came againe by and by. - - 76 - Then bespake him Sir Bredbeddle, - To the k_ing_ these words said he: - 'Take this sword in thy hand, thou noble K_ing_ A_rthur_, - For the vowes sake _tha_t thou made Ile giue it th[ee,] - And goe strike off K_ing_ Cornewalls head, - In bed were he doth lye.' - - 77 - Then forth is gone noble K_ing_ Arthur, - As fast as he cold hye, - And strucken he hath off K_ing_ Cornwalls head, - And came againe by and by. - - 78 - He put the head vpon a swords point, - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - * * * * * * * - - * * * * * - - 1^1. _The tops of the letters of this line were cut off in - binding. Percy thought it had stood previously_, - - come here Cuz_en_ Gawaine so gay. - - _Furnivall says "~the bottoms of the letters left suit - better those in the text~" as given. 4 and 5, 8 and 9, are - joined in the MS._ - - 10^4. _Half a page is gone from the MS., or about 38 or 40 - lines; and so after 20^2, 28^4, 38^2, 47^4, 57^1, 68^1, - 78^1._ - - 14^2. they better. - - 17^3, 18^1. _The first two words are hard to make out, and - look like ~A vne~._ - - 18^2. boirne. - - 19^1. his gone. - - 20^2. _The lower half of the letters is gone._ - - 21. _In MS.:_ - - our Lady was borne - then thought cornewall K_ing_ these palmers had - beene in Brittanie. - - 28^4. _? MS. Only the upper part of the letters is left._ - - 31^2. under thrub chadler. - - 35. _After this stanza is written, in the left margin of - the MS., ~The 3d Part~._ - - 38^1. homly to my hurt. _Madden read ~hourly~._ - - 39^1. _The top line is pared away._ - - 41^2. they words. - - 43^2. of the trubchandler. - - 46^3. then had he. - - 64. p', _i. e._ pro _or_ per, me. _Madden._ - - 66. _Attached to 65 in MS._ - - 69^4. _? MS._ - - 76^{5,6}. _Joined with 77 in MS. & and Arabic numerals - have been frequently written out._ - - -[259] Half a page is gone in the manuscript between 'Robin Hood's Death' -and the beginning of this ballad, and again between the end of this -ballad and the beginning of 'Sir Lionel.' 'Robin Hood's Death,' judging -by another copy, is complete within two or three stanzas, and 'Sir -Lionel' appears to lack nothing. We may suppose that quite half a dozen -stanzas are lost from both the beginning and the end of 'King Arthur and -King Cornwall.' - -[260] British Museum (but now missing), King's Library, 16, E, VIII, -fol. 131, recto: "Ci comence le liucr_e_ cu_m_ment charels de fraunce -voiet in ierh_usale_m Et pur p_ar_ols sa feme a co_n_stanti_n_noble -p_ur_ ver_e_ roy hugon." First published by Michel, London, 1836, and -lately reëdited, with due care, by Koschwitz: Karls des Grossen Reise -nach Jerusalem und Constantinopel, Heilbronn, 1880; 2d ed., 1883. - -[261] See the argument of Gaston Paris, Romanis, XI, 7 ff; and of -Koschwitz, Karl des Grossen Reise, 2te Auflage, Einleitung, pp. -xiv-xxxii. - -[262] Printed by Koschwitz in Sechs Bearbeitungen von Karls des Grossen -Reise, the last from a somewhat later edition, pp. 40-133. The recovery -of a metrical form of Galien is looked for. In the view of Gaston Paris, -the Pilgrimage was made over (renouvelé) at the end of the twelfth or -the beginning of the thirteenth century, and this _rifacimento_ -intercalated in Galien by some rhymer of the fourteenth. See his -'Galien,' in Hist. Litt. de la France, XXVIII, 221-239, for all that -concerns the subject. - -[263] Il Viaggio di Carlo Magno in Ispagna, pubblicato per cure di -Antonio Ceruti, c. LI, II, 170: Rajna, Uggeri il Danese nella -letteratura romanzesca degl' Italiani, Romania IV, 414 ff. A king of -Portugal, of the faith of Apollo and Mahound, takes the place of the -king of Constantinople in the former, and one Saracen or another in the -several versions of the second. G. Paris, in Romania, IX, 3, 10, notes. - -[264] The Norwegian version in Karlamagnus Saga ok Kappa hans, ed. -Unger, p. 466, the Seventh Part. Both the Swedish and Danish are given -in Storm's Sagnkredsene om Karl den Store, etc., Kristiania, 1874, pp. -228-245. For the sources, see p. 160 ff. The whole of the Danish -Chronicle of Charlemagne is printed in Brandt's Romantisk Digtning fra -Middelalderen, Copenhagen, 1877, the Journey to the Holy Land, p. 146 -ff. Brandt does not admit that the Danish chronicle was translated from -Swedish: p. 347. The 'Geiplur,' 968 vv, and one version of -'Geipa-táttur,' 340 vv, are included in Koschwitz's Sechs Bearbeitungen, -p. 139 ff, p. 174 ff. For a discussion of them see Kölbing in Germania, -XX, 233-239, and as to the relations of the several versions, etc., -Koschwitz, in Romanische Studien, II, 1 ff, his Ueberlieferung und -Sprache der Chanson du Voyage de Charlemagne, and Sechs Bearbeitungen, -Einleitung. The Färöe ballad is thought to show traces in some places of -Christiern Pedersen's edition of the Danish chronicle, 1584 (Kölbing, as -above, 238, 239), or of stall prints founded on that. This does not, -however, necessarily put the ballad into the sixteenth century. Might -not Pedersen have had ballad authority for such changes and additions as -he made? It may well be supposed that he had, and if what is peculiar to -Pedersen may have come from ballads, we must hesitate to derive the -ballads from Pedersen. It is, moreover, neither strange nor unexampled -that popular ballads should be affected by tradition committed to print -as well as by tradition still floating in memory. The Färöe copies of -'Greve Genselin,' for example, as Grundtvig remarks, I, 223, note, -though undoubtedly original and independent of Danish, evince -acquaintance with Vedel's printed text. - -[265] Given, with an English translation by Professor Rhys, in Sechs -Bearbeitungen, p. 1, p. 19. - -[266] There are some variations in the list of relics in the other -versions. The Rímur say "many," without specifying. - -[267] On the way from Jerusalem to Constantinople the French, according -to Galien, were waylaid by several thousand Saracens. Three or four of -the peers prepared for a fight, though armed only with swords ("which -they never or only most reluctantly put off," Arsenal MS.), but Charles -and the rest felt a better confidence in the relics, and through the -prayers of the more prudent and pious of the company their foes were -turned into rocks and stones. - -[268] The heir of a Scandinavian king, or earl, at the feast which -solemnized his accession, drank a bragur-full, a chief's cup or king's -toast, to the memory of his father, and then made some important vow. -This he did before he took his father's seat. The guests then made vows. -The custom seems not to have been confined to these funeral banquets. -See Vigfusson, at the word $Bragr$. Charles and his peers show their -blood. - -[269] Excepting the Welsh translation, which conforms to the original, -all other versions give Bernard's gab to Turpin, and most others -Turpin's to Bernard. The Danish chronicle assigns the "grand three-horse -act" to Gerard; the Färöe ballad omits it; the two manuscript Galiens -attribute it to Bernard [Berart] de Mondidier, the printed Galien to -Berenger. In these last the feat is, though enormously weighted with -armor, to leap over two horses and come down on the back of the third so -heavily as to break his bones. There are, in one version or another, -other differences as to the feats. - -[270] In Galien, Hugo is exceedingly frightened by Charlemagne's fierce -demeanor and by what he is told by a recreant Frenchman who is living in -exile at his court, and rouses the city for an assault on his guests, in -which he loses two thousand of his people. A parley ensues. Hugo will -hear of no accommodation unless the gabs are performed. "Content," says -Charles, angrily, "they shall be, if you wish;" but he feels how great -the peril is, and goes to church to invoke the aid of heaven, which is -vouchsafed. - -[271] Arthur is said to have "socht to the ciete of Criste," in -'Golagros and Gawane,' Madden's 'Syr Gawayne,' p. 143, v. 302. The -author probably followed the so-called Nennius, c. 63. - -[272] Cf. 'Young Beichan,' where the porter has also served thirty years -and three; 'The Grene Knight,' Percy MS., Hales and Furnivall, II, 62; -the porter in Kilhwch and Olwen, Mabinogion, II, 255 f. - -[273] In Heinrich vom Türlin's Crône we have the following passage, vv -3313-4888, very possibly to be found in some French predecessor, which -recalls the relations of Cornwall King and Guenever. The queen's -demeanor may be an imitation of Charlemagne's (Arthur's) wife's -bluntness, but the _liaison_ of which Cornwall boasts appears to be -vouched by no other tradition, and must be regarded as the invention of -the author of this ballad. - -Arthur and three comrades return half frozen from a hunt. Arthur sits -down at the fire to warm himself. The queen taunts him: she knows a -knight who rides, winter and summer alike, in a simple shirt, chanting -love-songs the while. Arthur resolves to go out with the three the next -night to overhaul this hardy chevalier. The three attendants of the king -have an encounter with him and fare hard at his hands, but Arthur has -the advantage of the stranger, who reveals himself to the king as -Guenever's first love, by name Gasozein, and shows a token which he had -received from her. - -[274] - - Under thrub chadler closed was hee. 29^2. - The bunge of the trubchandler he burst in three. 43^2. - -Being unable to make anything of thrub, trub, I am compelled to conjecture -_the rub-chadler, that rub-chandler_. The fiend is certainly closed under -a barrel or tub, and I suppose a rubbish barrel or tub. Rubb, however -derived, occurs in Icelandic in the sense of rubbish, and chalder, however -derived, is a Scottish form of the familiar chaldron. Professor Skeat, -with great probability, suggests that chadler==chaudeler, chaudière. -Caldaria _lignea_ are cited by Ducange. Cad or kad is well known in the -sense barrel, and cadiolus, cadulus, are found in Ducange. Cadler, chadler, -however, cannot be called a likely derivative from cad. - -In stanza 48 the fiend, after he has been ousted from the -"trubchandler," is told to "lie still in that wall of stone," which is -perhaps his ordinary lair. The spy is concealed under a flight of stone -steps in the French poem; in "a large hollow stone in the door outside" -in the Welsh story; in a hollow pillar in Galien and the Rímur; in a -stone vault in the Färöe ballad: Koschwitz, Karls Reise, p. 64; Sechs -Bearbeitungen, pp 29, 52, 85, 117, 153, 179. - -[275] Roland's last blast splits his horn. See the citations by G. -Paris, in Romania, XI, 506 f. - -[276] The first has been printed by Kölbing in Koschwitz's Sechs -Bearbeitungen, as already said. The four texts were most kindly -communicated to me by Professor Grundtvig, a short time before his -lamentable death, copied by his own hand in parallel columns, with a -restoration of the order of the stanzas, which is considerably disturbed -in all, and a few necessary emendations. - -[277] Pól, #A#, #C#, Kortunatus, #B#, i. e. Koronatus (Grundtvig). -Coronatus==clericus, tonsura seu corona clericali donatus: Ducange. - -[278] The white bears and the wolf-dogs are found in another Färöe -ballad, as yet unprinted, 'Ásmundar skeinkjari,' where they are subdued -by an arm-ring and "rune-gold:" the white bears in a kindred ballad, -Grundtvig, No 71, #A# 4, 5, 8, 9, #C# 6, 7, 13, quelled with a -lily-twig; #E# 12, 13, with runes; and in No 70, #A# 28, #B# 27, 30. The -source of this ballad is Fjölsvinnsmál, which has two watch-dogs in 13, -14. 'Kilhweh and Olwen,' Mabinogion, II, has a similar story, and there -are nine watch-dogs, at p. 277. (Grundtvig.) - -[279] Romania, IX, 8 ff. The English ballad has also combined two -stories: that of the gabs with another in which a magical horse, horn, -and sword are made prize of by a favored hero. - -[280] The particular for which superiority is claimed will naturally -vary. The author of Charlemagne's Journey has the good taste not to give -prominence to simple riches, but in Galien riches is from the beginning -the point. So none hath so much gold as Cornwall King. Solomon's fame is -to exceed all the kings of the earth "for riches and for wisdom;" and -although the queen of Sheba came to prove him with hard questions, she -must have had the other matter also in view, for she says, The half was -not told me; thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard: -1 Kings, x. Coming down to very late times, we observe that it is the -wealth of the Abbot of Canterbury which exposes him to a visit from the -king. - -[281] The tale in the Mille et un Jours is directly from the Persian, -but the Persian is in the preface said to be a version from Indian, that -is, Sanskrit. There are two Tatar traditional versions in Radloff, IV, -120, 310, which are cited by G. Paris. - -[282] Cited by G. Paris, who refers also to King Gylfi's expedition to -Asgard (an imitation of Odin's to Vafþrúðnir), and sees some resemblance -to the revolving palace of King Hugo in the vanishing mansion in which -Gylfi is received in Gylfaginning; and again to Thor's visit to the -giant Geirröðr, Skáldskaparmál, 18, which terminates by the giant's -flinging a red-hot iron bar at Thor, who catches it and sends it back -through an iron pillar, through Geirröðr skulking behind the pillar, -through the wall of the house, and into the ground, a fair matching of -Charlemagne's gab. (The giant Geirröðr, like Cornwall King, is skilled -in magic.) The beginning of Biterolf and Dietleib also recalls that of -Charlemagne's Journey. Biterolf, a Spanish king, hears from an old -palmer, who has seen many a hero among Christians and heathens, that -none is the equal of Attila. Biterolf had thought that he himself had no -superior, and sets out with eleven chosen knights to see Etzel's court -with his own eyes. Romania, IX, 9 f. - -Játmundr [Hlöðver], a haughty emperor in Saxon-land, sitting on his -throne one day, in the best humor with himself, asks Sigurðr, his prime -minister, where is the monarch that is his match. Sigurðr demurs a -little: the emperor specifies his hawk, horse, and sword as quite -incomparable. That may be, says the counsellor, but his master's glory, -to be complete, requires a queen that is his peer. The suggestion of a -possible equal rouses the emperor's ire. "But since you talk such folly, -name one," he says. Sigurðr names the daughter of Hrólfr [Hugo] of -Constantinople, and is sent to demand her in marriage. Magus saga jarls, -ed. Cederschiöld, c. I: Wulff, Recherches sur les Sagas de Mágus et de -Geirard, p. 14 f. - -[283] G. Paris, Histoire Poétique de Charlemagne, p. 344. - - - - -31 - -THE MARRIAGE OF SIR GAWAIN - - Percy MS., p. 46. Hales & Furnivall, I, 105; Madden's Syr - Gawayne, p. 288; Percy's Reliques, ed. 1794, III, 350. - - -We have here again half a ballad, in seven fragments, but the essentials -of the story, which is well known from other versions, happen to be -preserved, or may be inferred. - -Arthur, apparently some day after Christmas, had been encountered at -Tarn Wadling,[284] in the forest of Inglewood, by a bold baron armed -with a club, who offered him the choice of fighting, or ransoming -himself by coming back on New Year's day and bringing word what women -most desire. Arthur puts this question in all quarters, and having -collected many answers, in which, possibly, he had little confidence, he -rides to keep his day. On the way he meets a frightfully ugly woman; she -intimates that she could help him. Arthur promises her Gawain in -marriage, if she will, and she imparts to him the right answer. Arthur -finds the baron waiting for him at the tarn, and presents first the -answers which he had collected and written down. These are -contemptuously rejected. Arthur then says that he had met a lady on a -moor, who had told him that a woman would have her will. The baron says -that the misshapen lady on the moor was his sister, and he will burn her -if he can get hold of her. Upon Arthur's return he tells his knights -that he has a wife for one of them, and they ride with the king to see -her, or perhaps for her to make her choice. When they see the bride, -they decline the match in vehement terms, all but Gawain, who is somehow -led to waive "a little foul sight and misliking." She is bedded in all -her repulsiveness, and turns to a beautiful young woman. To try Gawain's -compliance further, she asks him whether he will have her in this -likeness by night only or only by day. Putting aside his own preference, -Gawain leaves the choice to her, and this is all that is needed to keep -her perpetually beautiful. For a stepmother had witched her to go on the -wild moor in that fiendly shape until she should meet some knight who -would let her have all her will. Her brother, under a like spell, was to -challenge men either to fight with him at odds or to answer his hard -question. - -These incidents, with the variation that Arthur (who does not show all -his customary chivalry in this ballad) waits for Gawain's consent before -he promises him in marriage, are found in a romance, probably of the -fifteenth century, printed in Madden's Syr Gawayne, and somewhat hastily -pronounced by the editor to be "unquestionably the original of the -mutilated poem in the Percy folio."[285] - -Arthur, while hunting in Ingleswood, stalked and finally shot a great -hart, which fell in a fern-brake. While the king, alone and far from his -men, was engaged in making the assay, there appeared a groom, bearing -the quaint name of Gromer Somer Joure,[286] who grimly told him that he -meant now to requite him for having taken away his lands. Arthur -represented that it would be a shame to knighthood for an armed man to -kill a man in green, and offered him any satisfaction. The only terms -Gromer would grant were that Arthur should come back alone to that place -that day twelvemonth, and then tell him what women love best; not -bringing the right answer, he was to lose his head. The king gave his -oath, and they parted. The knights, summoned by the king's bugle, found -him in heavy cheer, and the reason he would at first tell no man, but -after a while took Gawain into confidence. Gawain advised that they two -should ride into strange country in different directions, put the -question to every man and woman they met, and write the answers in a -book. This they did, and each made a large collection. Gawain thought -they could not fail, but the king was anxious, and considered that it -would be prudent to spend the only month that was left in prosecuting -the inquiry in the region of Ingleswood. Gawain agreed that it was good -to be speering, and bade the king doubt not that some of his saws should -help at need. - -Arthur rode to Ingleswood, and met a lady, riding on a -richly-caparisoned palfrey, but herself of a hideousness which beggars -words; nevertheless the items are not spared. She came up to Arthur and -told him that she knew his counsel; none of his answers would help. If -he would grant her one thing, she would warrant his life; otherwise, he -must lose his head. This one thing was that she should be Gawain's wife. -The king said this lay with Gawain; he would do what he could, but it -were a pity to make Gawain wed so foul a lady. "No matter," she -rejoined, "though I be foul: choice for a mate hath an owl. When thou -comest to thine answer, I shall meet thee; else art thou lost." - -The king returned to Carlisle with a heart no lighter, and the first man -he saw was Gawain, who asked how he had sped. Never so ill: he had met a -lady who had offered to save his life, but she was the foulest he had -ever seen, and the condition was that Gawain should be her husband. "Is -that all?" said Gawain. "I will wed her once and again, though she were -the devil; else were I no friend." Well might the king exclaim, "Of all -knights thou bearest the flower!" - -After five or six days more the time came for the answer. The king had -hardly ridden a mile into the forest when he met the lady, by name Dame -Ragnell. He told her Gawain should wed her, and demanded _her_ answer. -"Some say this and some say that, but above all things women desire to -have the sovereignty; tell this to the knight; he will curse her that -told thee, for his labor is lost." Arthur, thus equipped, rode on as -fast as he could go, through mire and fen. Gromer was waiting, and -sternly demanded the answer. Arthur offered his two books, for Dame -Ragnell had told him to save himself by any of those answers if he -could. "Nay, nay, king," said Gromer, "thou art but a dead man." "Abide, -Sir Gromer, I have an answer shall make all sure. Women desire -sovereignty." "She that told thee that was my sister, Dame Ragnell; I -pray I may see her burn on a fire." And so they parted. - -Dame Ragnell was waiting for Arthur, too, and would hear of nothing but -immediate fulfillment of her bargain. She followed the king to his -court, and required him to produce Gawain instantly, who came and -plighted his troth. The queen begged her to be married privately, and -early in the morning. Dame Ragnell would consent to no such arrangement. -She would not go to church till high-mass time, and she would dine in -the open hall. At her wedding she was dressed more splendidly than the -queen, and she sat at the head of the table at the dinner afterwards. -There her appetite was all but as horrible as her person: she ate three -capons, three curlews, and great bake meats, all that was set before -her, less and more.[287] - -A leaf is wanting now, but what followed is easily imagined. She chided -Gawain for his offishness, and begged him to kiss her, at least. "I will -do more," said Gawain, and, turning, beheld the fairest creature he ever -saw. But the transformed lady told him that her beauty would not hold: -he must choose whether she should be fair by night and foul by day, or -fair by day and foul by night.[288] Gawain said the choice was hard, and -left all to her. "Gramercy," said the lady, "thou shalt have me fair -both day and night." Then she told him that her step-dame had turned her -into that monstrous shape by necromancy, not to recover her own till the -best knight in England had wedded her and given her sovereignty in all -points.[289] A charming little scene follows, vv 715-99, in which Arthur -visits Gawain in the morning, fearing lest the fiend may have slain him. -Something of this may very likely have been in that half page of the -ballad which is lost after stanza 48. - -Gower and Chaucer both have this tale, though with a different setting, -and with the variation, beyond doubt original in the story, that the man -whose life is saved by rightly answering the question has himself to -marry the monstrous woman in return for her prompting him. - -Gower relates, Confessio Amantis, Book First, I, 89-104, ed. Pauli, that -Florent, nephew of the emperor, as Gawain is of Arthur, slew Branchus, a -man of high rank. Branchus's kin refrained from vengeance, out of fear -of the emperor; but a shrewd lady, grandmother to Branchus, undertook to -compass Florent's death in a way that should bring blame upon nobody. -She sent for Florent, and told him that she would engage that he should -not be molested by the family of Branchus if he could answer a question -she would ask. He was to have a proper allowance of time to find the -answer, but he was also to agree that his life should be forfeited -unless his answer were right. Florent made oath to this agreement, and -sought the opinions of the wisest people upon the subject, but their -opinions were in no accord. Considering, therefore, that he must -default, he took leave of the emperor, adjuring him to allow no revenge -to be taken if he lost his life, and went to meet his fate. But on his -way through a forest he saw an ugly old woman, who called to him to -stop. This woman told him that he was going to certain death, and asked -what he would give her to save him. He said, anything she should ask, -and she required of him a promise of marriage. That he would not give. -"Ride on to your death, then," said she. Florent began to reflect that -the woman was very old, and might be hidden away somewhere till she -died, and that there was no other chance of deliverance, and at last -pledged his word that he would marry her if it should turn out that his -life could be saved only through the answer that she should teach him. -She was perfectly willing that he should try all other shifts first, but -if they failed, then let him say that women cared most to be sovereign -in love. Florent kept back this answer as long as he could. None of his -own replies availed, and the lady who presided in judgment at last told -him that he could be allowed but one more. Then he gave the old woman's -answer, and was discharged, with a curse on her that told.[290] - -The old woman was waiting for Florent, and he now had full leisure to -inspect all her points; but he was a knight, and would hold his troth. -He set her on his horse before him, rode by night and lay close by day, -till he came to his castle. There the ladies made an attempt to attire -her for the wedding, and she was the fouler for their pains. They were -married that night. He turned away from the bride; she prayed him not to -be so discourteous. He turned toward her, with a great moral effort, and -saw (for the chamber was full of light) a lady of eighteen, of -unequalled beauty. As he would have drawn her to him she forbade, and -said he must make his choice, to have her such by day or by night. -"Choose for us both," was his reply. "Thanks," quoth she, "for since you -have made me sovereign, I shall be both night and day as I am now." She -explained that, having been daughter of the king of Sicily, her -stepmother had forshapen her, the spell to hold till she had won the -love and the sovereignty of what knight passed all others in good name. - -The scene of Chaucer's tale, The Wife of Bath, returns to Arthur's -court. One of the bachelors of the household, when returning from -hawking, commits a rape, for which he is condemned to death. But the -queen and other ladies intercede for him, and the king leaves his life -at the disposal of the queen. The queen, like the shrewd lady in Gower, -but with no intent to trapan the young man, says that his life shall -depend upon his being able to tell her what women most desire, and -gives him a year and a day to seek an answer. He makes extensive -inquiries, but there is no region in which two creatures can be found to -be of the same mind, and he turns homeward very downcast. - -On his way through a wood he saw a company of ladies dancing, and moved -towards them, in the hope that he might learn something. But ere he came -the dancers had vanished, and all he found was the ugliest woman -conceivable sitting on the green. She asked the knight what he wanted, -and he told her it was to know what women most desire. "Plight me thy -troth to do the next thing I ask of thee, and I will tell thee." He gave -his word, and she whispered the secret in his ear. - -The court assembled, the queen herself sitting as justice, and the -knight was commanded to say what thing women love best. He made his -response triumphantly; there was no dissenting voice. But as soon as he -was declared to have ransomed his life, up sprang the old woman he had -met in the wood. She had taught the man his answer, he had plighted his -word to do the first thing she asked of him, and now she asked him to -make her his wife. The promise was not disputed, but the poor youth -begged her to make some other request; to take all he had in the world, -and let him go. She would not yield, and they were married the next day. -When they have gone to bed, the old wife, "smiling ever mo," rallies her -husband for his indifference, and lectures him for objecting to -ugliness, age, and vulgar birth, which things, she says, are a great -security for him, and then gives him his election, to have her ugly and -old as she is, but true, or young and fair, with the possible -contingencies. The knight has the grace to leave the decision to her. -"Then I have the sovereignty," she says, "and I will be both fair and -good; throw up the curtain and see." Fair and young she was, and they -lived to their lives' end in perfect joy. - -Chaucer has left out the step-mother and her bewitchment, and saves, -humbles, and rewards the young knight by the agency of a good fairy; for -the ugly old woman is evidently such by her own will and for her own -purposes. She is "smiling ever mo," and has the power, as she says, to -set all right whenever she pleases. Her fate is not dependent on the -knight's compliance, though his is. - -The Wife of Bath's Tale is made into a ballad, or what is called a -sonnet, 'Of a Knight and a Fair Virgin,' in The Crown Garland of Golden -Roses, compiled by Richard Johnson, not far from 1600: see the Percy -Society reprint, edited by W. Chappell, vol. vi of the series, p. 68. -Upon Chaucer's story is founded Voltaire's tale, admirable in its way, -of Ce qui plaît aux Dames, 1762; of which the author writes, 1765, -November 4, that it had had great success at Fontainebleau in the form -of a comic opera, entitled La Fée Urgèle.[291] The amusing ballad of The -Knight and Shepherd's Daughter has much in common with the Wife of -Bath's Tale, and might, if we could trace its pedigree, go back to a -common original.[292] - -Tales resembling the Marriage of Gawain must have been widely spread -during the Middle Ages. The ballad of 'King Henry' has much in common -with the one now under consideration, and Norse and Gaelic connections, -and is probably much earlier. At present I can add only one parallel out -of English, and that from an Icelandic saga. - -Grímr was on the verge of marriage with Lopthæna, but a week before the -appointed day the bride was gone, and nobody knew what had become of -her. Her father had given her a step-mother five years before, and the -step-mother had been far from kind; but what then? Grímr was restless -and unhappy, and got no tidings. A year of scarcity coming, he left -home with two of his people. After an adventure with four trolls, he had -a fight with twelve men, in which, though they were all slain, he lost -his comrades and was very badly wounded. As he lay on the ground, -looking only for death, a woman passed, if so she might be called; for -she was not taller than a child of seven years, so stout that Grímr's -arms would not go round her, misshapen, bald, black, ugly, and -disgusting in every particular. She came up to Grímr, and asked him if -he would accept his life from her. "Hardly," said he, "you are so -loathsome." But life was precious, and he presently consented. She took -him up and ran with him, as if he were a babe, till she came to a large -cave; there she set him down, and it seemed to Grímr that she was uglier -than before. "Now pay me for saving your life," she said, "and kiss me." -"I cannot," said Grímr, "you look so diabolical." "Expect no help, then, -from me," said she, "and I see that it will soon be all over with you." -"Since it must be, loath as I am," said Grímr, and went and kissed her; -she seemed not so bad to kiss as to look at. When night came she made up -a bed, and asked Grímr whether he would lie alone or with her. "Alone," -he answered. "Then," said she, "I shall take no pains about healing your -wounds." Grímr said he would rather lie with her, if he had no other -chance, and she bound up his wounds, so that he seemed to feel no more -of them. No sooner was Grímr abed than he fell asleep, and when he woke, -he saw lying by him almost the fairest woman he had ever laid eyes on, -and marvellously like his true-love, Lopthæna. At the bedside he saw -lying the troll-casing which she had worn; he jumped up and burned this. -The woman was very faint; he sprinkled her with water, and she came to, -and said, It is well for both of us; I saved thy life first, and thou -hast freed me from bondage. It was indeed Lopthæna, whom the step-mother -had transformed into a horrible shape, odious to men and trolls, which -she should never come out of till a man should consent to three -things,--which no man ever would,--to accept his life at her hands, to -kiss her, and to share her bed. Gríms saga loðinkinna, Rafn, Fornaldar -Sögur, II, 143-52. - -Sir Frederic Madden, in his annotations upon this ballad, 'Syr Gawayne,' -p. 359, remarks that Sir Steven, stanza 31, does not occur in the Round -Table romances; that Sir Banier, 32, is probably a mistake for Beduer, -the king's constable; and that Sir Bore and Sir Garrett, in the same -stanza, are Sir Bors de Gauves, brother of Lionel, and Gareth, or -Gaheriet, the younger brother of Gawain. - -'The Marriage of Sir Gawaine,' as filled out by Percy from the fragments -in his manuscript, Reliques, 1765, III, 11, is translated by Bodmer, I, -110; by Bothe, p. 75; by Knortz, Lieder u. Romanzen Alt-Englands, p. -135. - - - 1 - Kinge Arthur liues in merry Carleile, - And seemely is to see, - And there he hath with him Queene Genev_er_, - _Tha_t bride soe bright of blee. - - 2 - And there he hath w_i_th [him] Queene Genever, - _Tha_t bride soe bright in bower, - And all his barons about him stoode, - _Tha_t were both stiffe and stowre. - - 3 - The k_ing_ kept a royall Christmasse, - Of mirth and great honor, - And when ... - . . . . . . . - - * * * * * * * - - 4 - 'And bring me word what thing it is - T_ha_t a woman [will] most desire; - This shalbe thy ransome, Arthur,' he sayes, - 'For Ile haue noe other hier.' - - 5 - K_ing_ Arthur then held vp his hand, - According thene as was the law; - He tooke his leaue of the baron there, - And homward can he draw. - - 6 - And when he came to merry Carlile, - To his chamber he is gone, - And ther came to him his cozen S_i_r Gawaine, - As he did make his mone. - - 7 - And there came to him his cozen S_i_r Gawaine, - _Tha_t was a curteous knight; - 'Why sigh you soe sore, vnckle Arthur,' he said, - 'Or who hath done thee vnright? ' - - 8 - 'O peace, O peace, thou gentle Gawaine, - _Tha_t faire may thee beffall! - For if thou knew my sighing soe deepe, - Thou wold not meruaile att all. - - 9 - 'Ffor when I came to Tearne Wadling, - A bold barron there I fand, - W_i_th a great club vpon his backe, - Standing stiffe and strong. - - 10 - 'And he asked me wether I wold fight - Or from him I shold begone, - O[r] else I must him a ransome pay, - And soe dep_ar_t him from. - - 11 - 'To fight w_i_th him I saw noe cause; - Methought it was not meet; - For he was stiffe and strong w_i_th-all, - His strokes were nothing sweete. - - 12 - 'Therefor this is my ransome, Gawaine, - I ought to him to pay; - I must come againe, as I am sworne, - Vpon the New Yeers day; - - 13 - 'And I must bring him word what thing it is - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - * * * * * * * - - 14 - Then king Arthur drest him for to ryde, - In one soe rich array, - Toward the fore-said Tearne Wadling, - _Tha_t he might keepe his day. - - 15 - And as he rode over a more, - Hee see a lady where shee sate - Betwixt an oke and a greene hollen; - She was cladd in red scarlett. - - 16 - Then there as shold haue stood her mouth, - Then there was sett her eye; - The other was in her forhead fast, - The way that she might see. - - 17 - Her nose was crooked and turnd outward, - Her mouth stood foule a-wry; - A worse formed lady than shee was, - Neuer man saw w_i_th his eye. - - 18 - To halch vpon him, K_ing_ Arthur, - This lady was full faine, - But K_ing_ Arthur had forgott his lesson, - What he shold say againe. - - 19 - 'What knight art thou,' the lady sayd, - 'That will not speak to me? - Of me be thou nothing dismayd, - Tho I be vgly to see. - - 20 - 'For I haue halched you curteouslye, - And you will not me againe; - Yett I may happen S_i_r Knight,' shee said, - 'To ease thee of thy paine.' - - 21 - 'Giue thou ease me, lady,' he said, - 'Or helpe me any thing, - Thou shalt have gentle Gawaine, my cozen, - And marry him w_i_th a ring.' - - 22 - 'Why, if I help thee not, thou noble K_ing_ Arthur, - Of thy owne hearts desiringe, - Of gentle Gawaine ... - . . . . . . . - - * * * * * * * - - 23 - And when he came to the Tearne Wadling, - The baron there cold he finde, - W_i_th a great weapon on his backe, - Standing stiffe and stronge. - - 24 - And then he tooke K_ing_ Arthurs letters in his hands, - And away he cold them fling, - And then he puld out a good browne sword, - And cryd himselfe a k_ing_. - - 25 - And he sayd, I have thee and thy land, Arthur, - To doe as it pleaseth me, - For this is not thy ransome sure, - Therfore yeeld thee to me. - - 26 - And then bespoke him noble Arthur, - And bad him hold his hand: - 'And giue me leaue to speake my mind - In defence of all my land.' - - 27 - He said, As I came over a more, - I see a lady where shee sate - Betweene an oke and a green hollen; - Shee was clad in red scarlett. - - 28 - And she says a woman will haue her will, - And this is all her cheef desire: - Doe me right, as thou art a baron of sckill, - This is thy ransome and all thy hyer. - - 29 - He sayes, An early vengeance light on her! - She walkes on yonder more; - It was my sister that told thee this, - And she is a misshappen hore. - - 30 - But heer Ile make mine avow to God - To doe her an euill turne, - For an euer I may thate fowle theefe get, - In a fyer I will her burne. - - * * * * * * * - - 31 - Sir Lancelott and S_i_r Steven bold, - They rode w_i_th them that day, - And the formost of the company - There rode the steward Kay. - - 32 - Soe did S_i_r Banier and S_i_r Bore, - S_i_r Garrett with them soe gay, - Soe did S_i_r Tristeram _tha_t gentle k_nigh_t, - To the forrest fresh and gay. - - 33 - And when he came to the greene forrest, - Vnderneath a greene holly tree, - Their sate that lady in red scarlet - _Tha_t vnseemly was to see. - - 34 - S_i_r Kay beheld this ladys face, - And looked vppon her swire; - 'Whosoeuer kisses this lady,' he sayes, - 'Of his kisse he stands in feare.' - - 35 - S_i_r Kay beheld the lady againe, - And looked vpon her snout; - 'Whosoeuer kisses this lady,' he saies, - 'Of his kisse he stands in doubt.' - - 36 - 'Peace, coz_en_ Kay,' then said S_i_r Gawaine, - 'Amend thee of thy life; - For there is a knight amongst vs all - _Tha_t must marry her to his wife.' - - 37 - 'What! wedd her to wiffe!' then said S_i_r Kay, - 'In the diuells name anon! - Gett me a wiffe where-ere I may, - For I had rather be slaine!' - - 38 - Then some tooke vp their hawkes in hast, - And some tooke vp their hounds, - And some sware they wold not marry her - For citty nor for towne. - - 39 - And then be-spake him noble K_ing_ Arthur, - And sware there by this day, - 'For a litle foule sight and misliking - . . . . . . . - - * * * * * * * - - 40 - Then shee said, Choose thee, gentle Gawaine, - Truth as I doe say, - Wether thou wilt haue me in this liknesse - In the night or else in the day. - - 41 - And then bespake him gentle Gawaine, - Was one soe mild of moode, - Sayes, Well I know what I wold say, - God grant it may be good! - - 42 - To haue thee fowle in the night - When I w_i_th thee shold play-- - Yet I had rather, if I might, - Haue thee fowle in the day. - - 43 - 'What! when lords goe w_i_th ther feires,' shee said, - 'Both to the ale and wine, - Alas! then I must hyde my selfe, - I must not goe withinne.' - - 44 - And then bespake him gentle Gawaine, - Said, Lady, that's but skill; - And because thou art my owne lady, - Thou shalt haue all thy will. - - 45 - Then she said, Blesed be thou, gentle Gawain, - This day _tha_t I thee see, - For as thou seest me att this time, - From hencforth I wilbe. - - 46 - My father was an old knight, - And yett it chanced soe - _Tha_t he marryed a younge lady - That brought me to this woe. - - 47 - Shee witched me, being a faire young lady, - To the greene forrest to dwell, - And there I must walke in womans liknesse, - Most like a feend of hell. - - 48 - She witched my brother to a carlish b ... - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - * * * * * * * - - 49 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - 'That looked soe foule, and that was wont - On the wild more to goe.' - - 50 - 'Come kisse her, brother Kay,' then said S_i_r Gawaine, - 'And amend thé of thy liffe; - I sweare this is the same lady - _Tha_t I marryed to my wiffe.' - - 51 - S_i_r Kay kissed that lady bright, - Standing vpon his ffeete; - He swore, as he was trew knight, - The spice was neuer soe sweete. - - 52 - 'Well, coz_en_ Gawaine,' sayes S_i_r Kay, - 'Thy chance is fallen arright, - For thou hast gotten one of the fairest maids - I euer saw with my sight.' - - 53 - 'It is my fortune,' said S_i_r Gawaine; - 'For my vnckle Arthurs sake - I am glad as grasse wold be of raine, - Great ioy that I may take.' - - 54 - S_i_r Gawaine tooke the lady by the one arme, - S_i_r Kay tooke her by the tother, - They led her straight to K_ing_ Arthur, - As they were brother and brother. - - 55 - K_ing_ Arthur welcomed them there all, - And soe did Lady Geneuer his queene, - W_i_th all the knights of the Round Table, - Most seemly to be scene. - - 56 - K_ing_ Arthur beheld that lady faire - That was soe faire and bright, - He thanked Christ in Trinity - For S_i_r Gawaine that gentle knight. - - 57 - Soe did the knights, both more and lesse, - Reioyced all _tha_t day - For the good chance that hapened was - To S_i_r Gawaine and his lady gay. - - * * * * * - - 1^3. Qqueene. - - 3^3. _Half a page gone from the MS., about 9 stanzas; and - so after 13^1, 22^3, 30^4, 39^3, 48^1._ - - 19^1. _Perhaps ~sayes~._ - - 23^2. he fimde. - - 25^1. _Perhaps ~sayes~._ - - 26^2. _Perhaps ~hands~._ - - 27^1. _~He~ altered from ~the~ in MS._ - - 31. "The 2d Part" _is written here in the left margin of - the MS._ Furnivall. - - 34^2. her smire. - - 37^4. shaine. - - 41^2. w_i_th one. - - 43^1. seires. - - 44^2. a skill. - - 45^3. thou see - - 48^1. Carlist B ... _~&~ is printed ~and~._ - - -[284] Still so called: near Aiketgate, Hesket. Lysons, Cumberland, p. -112. - -[285] 'The Weddynge of S^r Gawen and Dame Ragnell,' Rawlinson MS., C 86, -Bodleian Library, the portion containing the poem being paper, and -indicating the close of Henry VII's reign. The poem is in six-line -stanzas, and, with a leaf that is wanting, would amount to about 925 -lines. Madden's Syr Gawayne, lxiv, lxvii, 26, 298^a-298^y. - -[286] Sir Gromer occurs in "The Turke and Gowin," Percy MS., Hales and -Furnivall, I, 102; Sir Grummore Grummorsum, "a good knight of Scotland," -in Morte d'Arthur; ed. Wright, I, 286 and elsewhere (Madden). - -[287] See 'King Henry,' the next ballad. - -[288] The Gaelic tale of 'The Hoodie' offers a similar choice. The -hoodie, a species of crow, having married the youngest of a farmer's -three daughters, says to her, "Whether wouldst thou rather that I should -be a hoodie by day and a man at night, or be a hoodie at night and a man -by day?" The woman maintains her proper sovereignty, and does not leave -the decision to him: "'I would rather that thou wert a man by day and a -hoodie at night,' says she. After this he was a splendid fellow by day, -and a hoodie at night." Campbell, Popular Tales of the West Highlands, -I, 63. - -The having one shape by day and another by night is a common feature in -popular tales: as, to be a bear by day and a man by night, Hrólfr -Kraki's Saga, c. 26, Asbjørnsen og Moe, Norske Folkeeventyr, No 41; a -lion by day and a man by night, Grimms, K. u. H. m., No 88; a crab by -day and a man by night, B. Schmidt, Griechische Märchen, u. s. w., No -10; a snake by day and a man by night, Karadshitch, Volksmärchen der -Serben, Nos 9, 10; a pumpkin by day and a man by night, A. & A. Schott, -Walachische Mærchen, No 23; a ring by day, a man by night, Müllenhoff, -No 27, p. 466, Karadshitch, No 6, Afanasief, VI, 189. Three princes in -'Kung Lindorm,' Nicolovius, Folklifwet, p. 48 ff, are cranes by day and -men by night, the king himself being man by day and worm by night. The -double shape is sometimes implied though not mentioned. - -[289] The brother, Grower Somer Joure, was a victim of the same -necromancy; so the Carl of Carlile, Percy MS., Hales & Furnivall, III, -291. - -[290] - - And whan that this matrone herde - The maner how this knight answerde, - She saide, Ha, treson, wo the be! - That hast thus told the privete - Which alle women most desire: - I wolde that thou were a-fire! - -So Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell, vv 474 f, and our ballad, stanzas 29, 30. - -[291] This was a melodrama by Favart, in four acts: reduced in 1821 to -one act, at the Gymnase. - -[292] Chaucer's tale is commonly said to be derived from Gower's, but -without sufficient reason. Vv 6507-14, ed. Tyrwhitt, are close to Dame -Ragnell, 409-420. Gower may have got his from some Example-book. I have -not seen it remarked, and therefore will note, that Example-books may -have been known in England as early as 1000, for Aelfric seems to speak -slightingly of them in his treatise on the Old Testament. The Proverbs, -he says, is a "bigspellbóc, _ná swilce gé secgað_, ac wísdómes bigspell -and warnung wið dysig," etc. - - - - -32 - -KING HENRY - - 'King Henry.' #a.# The Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. 31. #b.# - Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, 1802, II, 132. - - -Scott describes his copy of 'King Henry' as "edited from the MS. of Mrs -Brown, corrected by a recited fragment." This MS. of Mrs Brown was -William Tytler's, in which, as we learn from Anderson's communication to -Percy (see p. 62, above), this ballad was No 11. Anderson notes that it -extended to twenty-two stanzas, the number in Scott's copy. No account -is given of the recited fragment. As published by Jamieson, II, 194, the -ballad is increased by interpolation to thirty-four stanzas. "The -interpolations will be found inclosed in brackets," but a painful -contrast of style of itself distinguishes them. They were entered by -Jamieson in his manuscript as well. - -The fourteenth stanza, as now printed, the eighteenth in Jamieson's -copy, is not there bracketed as an interpolation, and yet it is not in -the manuscript. This stanza, however, with some verbal variation, is -found in Scott's version, and as it may have been obtained by Jamieson -in one of his visits to Mrs Brown, it has been allowed to stand. - -Lewis rewrote the William Tytler version for his Tales of Wonder, -'Courteous King Jamie,' II, 453, No 57, and it was in this shape that -the ballad first came out, 1801. - -The story is a variety of that which is found in 'The Marriage of Sir -Gawain,' and has its parallel, as Scott observed, in an episode in -Hrólfr Kraki's saga; #A#, Torfæus, Historia Hrolfi Krakii, c. vii, -Havniæ, 1705; #B#, Fornaldar Sögur, Rafn, I, 30 f, c. 15. - -King Helgi, father of Hrólfr Kraki, in consequence of a lamentable -misadventure, was living in a solitary way in a retired lodge. One -stormy Yule-night there was a loud wail at the door, after he had gone -to bed. Helgi bethought himself that it was unkingly of him to leave -anything to suffer outside, and got up and unlocked the door. There he -saw a poor tattered creature of a woman, hideously misshapen, filthy, -starved, and frozen (#A#), who begged that she might come in. The king -took her in, and bade her get under straw and bearskin to warm herself. -She entreated him to let her come into his bed, and said that her life -depended on his conceding this boon. "It is not what I wish," replied -Helgi, "but if it is as thou sayest, lie here at the stock, in thy -clothes, and it will do me no harm." She got into the bed, and the king -turned to the wall. A light was burning, and after a while the king took -a look over his shoulder; never had he seen a fairer woman than was -lying there, and not in rags, but in a silk kirtle. The king turned -towards her now, and she informed him that his kindness had freed her -from a weird imposed by her stepmother, which she was to be subject to -till some king had admitted her to his bed, #A#. She had asked this -grace of many, but no one before had been moved to grant it. - -Every point of the Norse saga, except the stepmother's weird, is found -in the Gaelic tale 'Nighean Righ fo Thuinn,' 'The Daughter of King -Under-waves,' Campbell's Popular Tales of the West Highlands, No lxxxvi, -III, 403 f. - -The Finn were together one wild night, when there was rain and snow. An -uncouth woman knocked at Fionn's door about midnight, and cried to him -to let her in under cover. "Thou strange, ugly creature, with thy hair -down to thy heels, how canst thou ask _me_ to let thee in!" he answered. -She went away, with a scream, and the whole scene was repeated with -Oisean. Then she came to Diarmaid. "Thou art hideous," he said, "and thy -hair is down to thy heels, but come in." When she had come in, she told -Diarmaid that she had been travelling over ocean and sea for seven -years, without being housed, till he had admitted her. She asked that -she might come near the fire. "Come," said Diarmaid; but when she -approached everybody retreated, because she was so hideous. She had not -been long at the fire, when she wished to be under Diarmaid's blanket. -"Thou art growing too bold," said he, "but come." She came under the -blanket, and he turned a fold of it between them. "She was not long -thus, when he gave a start, and he gazed at her, and he saw the finest -drop of blood that ever was, from the beginning of the universe till the -end of the world, at his side." - -Mr Campbell has a fragment of a Gaelic ballad upon this story, vol. -xvii., p. 212 of his manuscript collection, 'Collun gun Cheann,' or 'The -Headless Trunk,' twenty-two lines. In this case, as the title imports, a -body without a head replaces the hideous, dirty, and unkempt -draggle-tail who begs shelter of the Finn successively and obtains her -boon only from Diarmaid. See Campbell's Gaelic Ballads, p. ix. - -The monstrous deformity of the woman is a trait in the ballad of 'The -Marriage of Sir Gawain,' and related stories, and is described in these -with revolting details. Her exaggerated appetite also is found in the -romance of The Wedding of Sir Gawen and Dame Ragnell, see p. 290. The -occasion on which she exhibits it is there the wedding feast, and the -scene consequently resembles, even more closely there than here, what we -meet with in the Danish ballads of 'Greve Genselin,' Grundtvig, No 16, -I, 222, and 'Tord af Havsgaard,' Grundtvig, No 1, I, 1, IV, 580 -(==Kristensen, 'Thors Hammer,' I, 85, No 35) the latter founded on the -þrymskviða, or Hamarsheimt, of the older Edda. In a Norwegian version of -'Greve Genselin,' Grundtvig, IV, 732, the feats of eating and drinking -are performed not by the bride, but by an old woman who acts as -bridesmaid, brúrekvinne.[293] - -A maid who submits, at a linden-worm's entreaty, to lie in the same bed -with him, finds a king's son by her side in the morning: Grundtvig, -'Lindormen,' No 65, #B#, #C#, II, 213, III, 839; Kristensen, I, 195, No -71; Afzelius, III, 121, No 88; Arwidsson, II, 270, No 139; Hazelius, Ur -de nordiska Folkens Lif, p. 117, and p. 149. In 'Ode und de Slang',' -Müllenhoff, Sagen u. s. w., p. 383, a maid, without much reluctance, -lets a snake successively come into the house, into her chamber, and -finally into her bed, upon which the snake changes immediately into a -prince. - -Scott's copy is translated by Schubart, p. 127, and by Gerhard, p. 129; -Jamieson's, without the interpolations, after Aytoun, II, 22, by Knortz, -Schottische Balladen, No 36. - - - 1 - Lat never a man a wooing wend - That lacketh thingis three; - A routh o gold, an open heart, - Ay fu o charity. - - 2 - As this I speak of King Henry, - For he lay burd-alone; - An he's doen him to a jelly hunt's ha, - Was seven miles frae a town. - - 3 - He chas'd the deer now him before, - An the roe down by the den, - Till the fattest buck in a' the flock - King Henry he has slain. - - 4 - O he has doen him to his ha, - To make him beerly cheer; - An in it came a griesly ghost, - Steed stappin i the fleer. - - 5 - Her head hat the reef-tree o the house, - Her middle ye mot wel span; - He's thrown to her his gay mantle, - Says, 'Lady, hap your lingcan.' - - 6 - Her teeth was a' like teather stakes, - Her nose like club or mell; - An I ken naething she 'peard to be, - But the fiend that wons in hell. - - 7 - 'Some meat, some meat, ye King Henry, - Some meat ye gie to me!' - 'An what meat's in this house, lady, - An what ha I to gie?' - 'O ye do kill your berry-brown steed, - An you bring him here to me.' - - 8 - O whan he slew his berry-brown steed, - Wow but his heart was sair! - Shee eat him [a'] up, skin an bane, - Left naething but hide an hair. - - 9 - 'Mair meat, mair meat, ye King Henry, - Mair meat ye gi to me!' - 'An what meat's in this house, lady, - An what ha I to gi?' - 'O ye do kill your good gray-hounds, - An ye bring them a' to me.' - - 10 - O whan he slew his good gray-hounds, - Wow but his heart was sair! - She eat them a' up, skin an bane, - Left naething but hide an hair. - - 11 - 'Mair meat, mair meat, ye King Henry, - Mair meat ye gi to me!' - 'An what meat's i this house, lady, - An what ha I to gi?' - 'O ye do kill your gay gos-hawks, - An ye bring them here to me.' - - 12 - O whan he slew his gay gos-hawks, - Wow but his heart was sair! - She eat them a' up, skin an bane, - Left naething but feathers bare. - - 13 - 'Some drink, some drink, now, King Henry, - Some drink ye bring to me!' - 'O what drink's i this house, lady, - That you're nae welcome ti?' - 'O ye sew up your horse's hide, - An bring in a drink to me.' - - | 14 - | And he's sewd up the bloody hide, - | A puncheon o wine put in; - | She drank it a' up at a waught, - | Left na ae drap ahin. - - 15 - 'A bed, a bed, now, King Henry, - A bed you mak to me! - For ye maun pu the heather green, - An mak a bed to me.' - - 16 - O pu'd has he the heather green, - An made to her a bed, - An up has he taen his gay mantle, - An oer it has he spread. - - 17 - 'Tak aff your claiths, now, King Henry, - An lye down by my side!' - 'O God forbid,' says King Henry, - 'That ever the like betide; - That ever the fiend that wons in hell - Shoud streak down by my side.' - - * * * * * * * - - 18 - Whan night was gane, and day was come, - An the sun shone throw the ha, - The fairest lady that ever was seen - Lay atween him an the wa. - - 19 - 'O well is me!' says King Henry, - 'How lang'll this last wi me?' - Then out it spake that fair lady, - 'Even till the day you dee. - - 20 - 'For I've met wi mony a gentle knight - That's gien me sic a fill, - But never before wi a courteous knight - That ga me a' my will.' - - * * * * * - -#a.# - - 13^6. shew. - - 19^1. will. - -#b.# - - 1. _The first stanza of the original of this copy, as - cited by Anderson, is_: - - Let never a man a wooing wend - That lacketh things three, - A routh of gold, and open heart, - An fu o charity. - - 1^4. And fu o courtesey. - - 2^1. And this was seen o. - - 2^3. And he has taen him to a haunted hunt's ha. - - 3^1. He's chaced the dun deer thro the wood. - - 3^3. in a' the herd. - - 4. - - He's taen him to his hunting ha, - For to make burly cheir; - When loud the wind was heard to sound, - And an earthquake rocked the floor. - - And darkness coverd a' the hall, - Where they sat at their meat; - The gray dogs, youling, left their food, - And crept to Henrie's feet. - - And louder houled the rising wind - And burst the fastned door; - And in there came a griesly ghost, - Stood stamping on the floor. - - _The wind and darkness are not of Scott's invention, for - nearly all that is not in #a# is found in Lewis, too._ - - 5^{3,4}. - - Each frighted huntsman fled the ha, - And left the king alone. - - 7^{4-6}. - - That ye're nae wellcum tee?' - 'O ye's gae kill your berry brown steed, - And serve him up to me.' - - 9^4. That ye're na wellcum tee? - - 10^3. a' up, ane by ane. - - 11^{4-6}. - - That I hae left to gie?' - 'O ye do fell your gay goss-hawks, - And bring them a' to me.' - - 12^1. he felled. - - 12^3. bane by bane. - - 14^2. And put in a pipe of wine. - - 14^3. up a' at ae draught. - - 14^4. drap therein. - - 15. _Between ^2 and ^3_: - - And what's the bed i this house, ladye, - That ye're nae wellcum tee? - - 15^3. O ye maun pu the green heather. - - 17^{1,2}. - - Now swear, now swear, ye king Henrie, - To take me for your bride. - - 18^1. When day was come, and night was gane. - - 19^3. And out and spak that ladye fair. - - 20. - - For I was witched to a ghastly shape, - All by my stepdame's skill, - Till I should meet wi a courteous knight - Wad gie me a' my will. - - -[293] The like by a carlin at a birth-feast, 'Kællingen til Barsel,' -Kristensen, II, 341, No 100, Landstad, p. 666, No 96; known also in -Sweden. Again, by a fighting friar, 'Den stridbare Munken,' Arwidsson, -I, 417. 'Greve Genselin' is translated by Prior, I, 173, and by -Jamieson, Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p. 310; 'Tord af -Havsgaard' by Prior, I, 3. - - - - -33 - -KEMPY KAY - - #A.# 'Kempy Kay.' Pitcairn's MSS, II, 125. Scotish Ballads - and Songs [James Maidment], Edinb. 1859, p. 85; Sharpe's - Ballad Book, p. 81. - - #B.# 'Kempy Kaye.' #a.# Kinloch MSS, I, 65. #b.# Kinloch's - Ballad Book, p. 41. - - #C.# 'Kempy Kay,' or 'Kempy Kane,' Motherwell's MS., p. - 193. The first stanza in Motherwell's Minstrelsy, - Appendix, p. xxiv, No XXX. - - #D.# 'Kempy Kay,' Motherwell's MS., p. 192. - - #E.# 'Drowsy Lane.' Campbell MSS, II, 122. - - #F.# 'Bar aye your bower door weel.' Campbell MSS, II, - 101. - - #G.# 'King Knapperty.' Buchan's MSS, I, 133. - - -All these versions of 'Kempy Kay' are known, or may be presumed, to have -been taken down within the first three decades of this century; #A# is -traced as many years back into the last. The fourth stanza of #A# -clearly belongs to some other ballad. Both #A# and #B# appear to have -undergone some slight changes when published by Sharpe and Kinloch -respectively. Some verses from this ballad have been adopted into one -form of a still more unpleasant piece in the Campbell collection, -concerning a wife who was "the queen of all sluts."[294] - -Sharpe remarks: "This song my learned readers will perceive to be of -Scandinavian origin, and that the wooer's name was probably suggested by -Sir Kaye's of the Round Table.... The description of Bengoleer's -daughter resembles that of the enchanted damsel who appeared to -courteous King Henrie." It is among possibilities that the ballad was an -outgrowth from some form of the story of The Marriage of Sir Gawain, in -the Percy version of which the "unseemly" lady is so rudely commented on -and rejected by Kay. This unseemly lady, in The Wedding of Gawen and -Dame Ragnell, and her counterpart in 'King Henry,' who is of superhuman -height, show an extravagant voracity which recalls the giantess in -'Greve Genselin.' In 'Greve Genselin,' a burlesque form of an heroic -ballad which is preserved in a pure shape in three Färöe versions -(Grundtvig, IV, 737-42), there are many kemps invited to the wedding, -and in a little dance which is had the smallest kemp is fifteen ells to -[below] the knee, Grundtvig, No 16, #A# 26, #B# 29, #C# 29. Kempy Kay -has gigantic dimensions in #A# 7, #C# 9, #E# 7: teeth like -tether-stakes, a nose three [nine, five] feet long, three ells [nine -yards] between his shoulders, a span between his eyne.[295] Of the bride -it is said in #A# 12 that her finger nails were like the teeth of a rake -and her teeth like tether-stakes. This is not decisive; it is her -ugliness, filthiness, and laziness that are made most of. We may assume -that she would be in dimension and the shape of nature a match for the -kemp, but she does not comport herself especially like a giantess. - -If Kempy Kay be the original name of the wooer, Knapperty and Chickmakin -might easily be derived from corrupt pronunciations like Kampeky, -Kimpaky. - - -A - - Pitcairn's MSS, II, 125, as taken down by Mr Pitcairn from - the singing of his aunt, Mrs Gammell, who had learned it - in the neighborhood of Kincaid, Stirlingshire, when a - child, or about 1770. Scotish Ballads and Songs [James - Maidment], Edinburgh, 1859, p. 35; Sharpe's Ballad Book, - p. 81. - - 1 - Kempy Kaye's a wooing gane, - Far, far ayont the sea, - And he has met with an auld, auld man, - His gudefaythir to be. - - 2 - 'It's I'm coming to court your daughter dear, - And some part of your gear:' - 'And by my sooth,' quoth Bengoleer, - 'She'll sare a man a wear. - - 3 - 'My dochter she's a thrifty lass, - She span seven year to me, - And if it were weel counted up, - Full three heire it would be. - - 4 - 'What's the matter wi you, my fair creature, - You look so pale and wan? - I'm sure you was once the fairest creature - That ever the sun shined on. - - 5 - 'Gae scrape yoursel, and gae scart yoursel, - And mak your brucket face clean, - For the wooers are to be here to nighte, - And your body's to be seen.' - - 6 - Sae they scrapit her, and they scartit her, - Like the face of an aussy pan; - Syne in cam Kempy Kay himself, - A clever and tall young man. - - 7 - His teeth they were like tether-sticks, - His nose was three fit lang, - Between his shouthers was ells three, - And tween his eyne a span. - - 8 - He led his dochter by the hand, - His dochter ben brought he: - 'O is she not the fairest lass - That's in great Christendye?' - - 9 - Ilka hair intil her head - Was like a heather-cowe, - And ilka louse anunder it - Was like a bruckit ewe. - - 10 - She had tauchy teeth and kaily lips, - And wide lugs, fou o hair; - Her pouches fou o peasemeal-daighe - A' hinging down her spare. - - 11 - Ilka eye intil her head - Was like a rotten plumbe, - And down browed was the queyne, - And sairly did she gloom. - - 12 - Ilka nail upon her hand - Was like an iron rake, - And ilka tooth intil her head - Was like a tether-stake. - - * * * * * * * - - 13 - She gied to him a gravat, - O the auld horse's sheet, - And he gied her a gay gold ring, - O the auld couple-root. - - -B - - #a.# Kinloch MSS, I, 65. #b.# Kinloch's Ballad Book, p. - 41. From the recitation of Mary Barr. - - 1 - Kempy Kaye is a wooing gane, - Far ayont the sea, - And there he met wi auld Goling, - His gudefather to be, be, - His gudefather to be. - - 2 - 'Whar are ye gaun, O Kempy Kaye, - Whar are ye gaun sae sune?' - 'O I am gaun to court a wife, - And think na ye that's weel dune?' - - 3 - 'An ye be gaun to court a wife, - As ye do tell to me, - 'T is ye sal hae my Fusome Fug, - Your ae wife for to be.' - - 4 - Whan auld Goling cam to the house, - He lookit thro a hole, - And there he saw the dirty drab - Just whisking oure the coal. - - 5 - 'Rise up, rise up my Fusome Fug, - And mak your foul face clean, - For the brawest wooer that ere ye saw - Is come develling doun the green.' - - 6 - Up then rose the Fusome Fug, - To mak her foul face clean; - And aye she cursed her mither - She had na water in. - - 7 - She rampit out, and she rampit in, - She rampit but and ben; - The tittles and tattles that hang frae her tail - Wad muck an acre o land. - - 8 - She had a neis upon her face - Was like an auld pat-fit; - Atween her neis hot an her mon - Was inch thick deep wi dirt. - - 9 - She had twa een intil her head - War like twa rotten plums; - The heavy brows hung doun her face, - And O I vow she glooms! - - 10 - He gied to her a braw silk napkin, - Was made o' an auld horse-brat: - 'I ne'er wore a silk napkin a' my life, - But weel I wat Ise wear that.' - - 11 - He gied to her a braw gowd ring, - Was made frae an auld brass pan: - 'I neer wore a gowd ring in a' my life, - But now I wat Ise wear ane.' - - 12 - Whan thir twa lovers had met thegither, - O kissing to get their fill, - The slaver that hang atween their twa gabs - Wad hae tetherd a ten year auld bill. - - -C - - Motherwell's MS., p. 193. Motherwell's Minstrelsy, - Appendix, p. xxiv, No XXX, the first stanza. - - 1 - Kempy Kaye's a wooing gane, - And far beyond the sea, a wee - And there he met wi Drearylane, - His gay gudefather to be. a wee - - 2 - 'Gude een, gude een,' quo Drearylane, - 'Gude een, gude een,' quo he, a wee - 'I've come your dochter's love to win, - I kenna how it will do.' a wee - - 3 - 'My dochter she's a thrifty lass, - She's spun this gay seven year, - And if it come to gude guiding, - It will be half a heer.' - - 4 - 'Rise up, rise up, ye dirty slut, - And wash your foul face clean; - The wooers will be here the night - That suld been here yestreen.' - - 5 - They took him ben to the fire en, - And set him on a chair; - He looked on the lass that he loved best, - And thought she was wondrous fair. - - 6 - The een that was in our bride's head - Was like twa rotten plooms; - She was a chaunler-chaftit quean, - And O but she did gloom! - - 7 - The skin that was on our bride's breast - Was like a saffron bag, - And aye her hand was at her neek, - And riving up the scabs. - - 8 - The hair that was on our bride's head - Was like a heather-cow, - And every louse that lookit out - Was like a brockit ewe. - - 9 - Betwixd Kempy's shouthers was three ells, - His nose was nine feet lang, - His teeth they were like tether sticks, - Between his eyne a span. - - 10 - So aye they kissed, and aye they clapped, - I wat they kissed weel; - The slaver that hang between their mouths - Wad hae tethered a twa year auld bill. - - -D - - Motherwell's MS., p. 192. - - * * * * * * * - - 1 - The father came unto the door, - And keeked thro the key-hole, a wee - And there he saw his dochter Jean, - Sitting on a coal. a wee - - 2 - They scartit her, and scrapit her, - Wi the hand o a rusty pan, a wee - Her father he did all his best - For to get her a man. a wee - - 3 - She is to the stoups gane, - There is nae water in; - She's cursed the hands and ban'd the feet - That did na bring it in. - - 4 - Out then spak her auld mither, - In her bed whare she lay: - 'If there is nae water in the house, - Gae harl her thro the lin.' - - 5 - O she is to the taipy tapples gane, - That stood for seven year, - And there she washed her foul face clean, - And dried it wi a huggar. - - 6 - He's gien her a gay gold ring, - Just like a cable-rope, - And she's gien him a gay gravat, - Made out o the tail o a sark. - - -E - - Campbell MSS, II, 122. - - 1 - 'Gud een, gud een,' says Chickmakin, - 'Ye're welcome here,' says Drowsy Lane; - 'I'm comd to court your daughter Jean, - And marry her wi yer will, a wee.' - - 2 - 'My daughter Jean's a thrifty lass, - She's spun these seven lang years to me, - And gin she spin another seven, - She'll munt a half an heir, a wee.' - - 3 - Drowsy Lane, it's he's gane hame, - And keekit through the hole, a wee - And there he saw his daughter Jean - A reeking oer the coal. a wee - - 4 - 'Get up, get up, ye dirty bitch, - And wash yer foul face clean, - For they are to be here the night - That should hae been here yestreen.' - - 5 - Up she rose, pat on her clothes, - She's washen her foul face clean; - She cursd the hands, she ban'd the feet, - That wadna bring the water in. - - 6 - She rubbit hersel, she scrubbit hersel, - Wi the side of a rustit pan, a wee, - And in a little came Chickmakin, - A braw young lad indeed was he. - - 7 - His teeth they were like tether-steeks, - His nose was five feet lang; - Between his shoulders was nine yards broad, - And between his een a span. - - 8 - Ilka hair into his head - Was like a heather-cowe, - And ilka louse that lookit out - Was like a brookit ewe. - - 9 - Thae twa kissd and thae twa clapt, - And thae twa kissd their fill, - And aye the slaver between them hang - Wad tetherd a ten-pund bull. - - 10 - They twa kissd and they twa clapt, - And they gaed to their bed, a wee, - And at their head a knocking stane - And at their feet a mell, a wee. - - 11 - The auld wife she lay in her bed: - 'And gin ye'll do my bidding a wee, - And gin ye'll do my bidding,' quoth she, - 'Yees whirl her oer the lea, a wee.' - - -F - - Campbell MSS, II, 101. - - 1 - As I cam oer yon misty muir, - And oer yon grass-green hill, - There I saw a campy carle - Going to the mill. - And bar aye yer bower door weel weel, - And bar aye yer bower door weel. - - 2 - I lookit in at her window, - And in at her hove hole, - And there I saw a fousome fag, - Cowering oer a coal. - - 3 - 'Get up, get up, ye fousome fag, - And make yer face fou clean; - For the wooers will be here the night, - And your body will be seen.' - - 4 - He gave her a gay cravat, - 'T was of an auld horse-sheet; - He gave her a gay goud ring, - 'T was of an auld tree root. - - 5 - He laid his arms about her neck, - They were like kipple-roots; - And aye he kissd her wi his lips, - They were like meller's hoops. - - 6 - When they were laid in marriage bed, - And covered oer wi fail, - The knocking mell below their heads - Did serve them wondrous weel. - - 7 - Ilka pap into her breasts - Was like a saffron bag, - And aye his hand at her a..e - Was tearing up the scabs. - - 8 - Ilka hair into her head - Was like a heather-cow, - And ilka louse that lookit out - Was like a brookit ewe. - - -G - - Buchan's MSS, I, 133. - - 1 - King Knapperty he's a hunting gane, - Oer hills and mountains high, high, high, - A gude pike-staff intill his hand, - And dulgets anew forbye, I, I, I, - And dulgets anew forbye. - - 2 - Then he met in wi an auld woman, - Was feeding her flocks near by, I, I, I: - 'I'm come a wooing to your daughter, - And a very gude bargain am I, I, I.' - - 3 - And she's awa to her wee hole house, - Lookd in a wee chip hole, - And there she saw her filthy wee flag, - Was sitting athort the coal. - - 4 - 'Get up, get up, ye filthy foul flag, - And make your foul face clean; - There are wooers coming to the town, - And your foul face mauna be seen.' - - 5 - Then up she raise, an awa she gaes, - And in at the back o the door, - And there a pig o water she saw, - 'T was seven years auld an mair. - - 6 - Aye she rubbed, an aye she scrubbed, - To make her foul face clean, - And aye she bannd the auld wife, her mither, - For nae bringing clean water in. - - 7 - King Knapperty he came in at the door, - Stood even up in the floor; - Altho that she had neer seen him before, - She kent him to be her dear. - - 8 - He has taen her in his arms twa, - And kissd her, cheek and chin: - 'I neer was kissd afore in my life, - But this night got mony ane.' - - 9 - He has put his hand in his pocket, - And he's taen out a ring: - Says, 'Take ye that, my dearest dear, - It is made o the brazen pan.' - - 10 - She thankd him ance, she thankd him twice, - She thankd him oer again: - 'I neer got a ring before in my life, - But this night hae gotten ane.' - - 11 - These lovers bed it was well made, - And at their hearts' desire; - These lovers bed it was well made, - At the side o the kitchen fire. - - 12 - The bolster that these lovers had - Was the mattock an the mell, - And the covring that these lovers had - Was the clouted cloak an pale. - - 13 - The draps that fell frae her twa een - Woud have gard a froth-mill gang, - An [the] clunkerts that hung at their heels - Woud hae muckd an acre o land. - - 14 - An ilka hair that was in their head - Was like a heather-cow, - And ilka tenant that it containd - Was like a lintseed-bow. - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - 5^{3,4}. _Var._ - - For Kempy Kay will be here the night - Or else the morn at een. - - 9^4. _Var._ Was like a lintseed bow. - - _These variations are found in Sharpe's copy. The first - seven stanzas are put in the order 1, 6, 7, 3, 2, 4, 5._ - - 2^1. I'm coming. - - 3^4. Full ten wobs it would be. - - 4^{1,3}. fair maiden, fairest maiden. - - 5^2. bruchty. - - 6^3. And in. - - 7^4. Between his een. - - 10^1. _~tauchty~ is misprinted ~lauchty~._ - - 10^4. War hinging. - - 11^3. An down down. - - 12^3. _~teeth~, no doubt to indicate the pronunciation._ - -#B. a.# - - 4^1. Whan Kempy Kaye. _Other copies show that it must be - the father, and not the wooer._ - - 6^3. _~ae~, with ~ay~ in the margin: qu. ~aye as~?_ - - #b.# - - _The variations of the ~Ballad Book~ are apparently - arbitrary._ - - 1^2. Far far. - - 8^4. o dirt. - - _After 9 follows_: - - Ilka hair that was on her head - Was like a heather cow, - And ilka Iouse that lookit out - Was like a lintseed bow. - - _#a^4# succeeds, with ~Kempy Kaye~ for ~auld Goling~, and - is necessarily transferred if the reading ~Kempy Kaye~ is - retained._ - -#C.# - - _The order of the first five stanzas in the MS is 1, 2, 5, - 4, 3._ - - _~A wee~ is the burden after every second and fourth - verse, and so with #D#._ - - 1^{1,2}. _In Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. xxiv, - No_ XXX, - - Kempy Kane's a wooin gane, - And far ayont the sea awee. - - 3^2. years. - - 5^2. on a stool. - -#D.# - - _The first stanza is numbered 3 in the MS., the second 5, - and there is space left, as if for another, between 2 and - 3._ - -#E.# - - _~A wee~, originally a burden at the middle and the end of - the stanza, as in #C#, #D#, has been adopted into the - verse in 1, 2, 6, 10(?), 11, in which stanzas the even - lines are of four accents instead of three. 2, 6 can be - easily restored, on the model of #C# 3, #A# 6._ - - 5^4. in the water. - -#G.# - - _~I, I, I~ is added as burden to every second and fourth - line; except 1^2, which adds ~high, high~, and 2^4, only - ~I, I~._ - - -[294] MSS, II, 294, "What a bad luck had I"==The Queen of all Sluts, the -same, p. 297. Stanzas 2, 3, 4, of the former are: - - Then een in her head are like two rotten plumbs; - Turn her about and see how she glooms. - - The teeth in her head were like harrow-pins; - Turn her about, and see how she girns. - - The hair in her head was like heathercrows, - The l ...s were in't thick as linseed bows. - -A comparatively inoffensive version, 'The Queen of Sluts,' in Chambers' -Scottish Songs, p. 454. - -[295] The Carl of Carlile has the space of a large span between his -brows, three yards over his shoulders, fingers like tether-stakes, and -fifty cubits of height. Percy MS., Hales & Furnivall, III, 283 f, vv -179-187. - - - - -34 - -KEMP OWYNE - - #A.# 'Kemp Owyne.' Buchan's Ballads of the North of - Scotland, II, 78; Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 373; 'Kemp - Owayne,' Motherwell's MS., p. 448. - - #B.# 'Kempion.' #a.# Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. 29. #b.# - Scott's Minstrelsy, 1802, II, 93, from William Tytler's - Brown MS., No 9, "with corrections from a recited - fragment." - - -It is not, perhaps, material to explain how Owain, "the king's son -Urien," happens to be awarded the adventure which here follows. It is -enough that his right is as good as that of other knights to whom the -same achievement has been assigned, though the romance, or, as the -phrase used to be, "the book," says nothing upon the subject. Owain's -slaying the fire-drake who was getting the better of the lion may have -led to his name becoming associated with the still more gallant exploit -of thrice kissing a fire-drake to effect a disenchantment. The ring in -#A# 9 might more plausibly be regarded as being a repetition of that -which Owain's lady gave him on leaving her for a twelvemonth's outing, a -ring which would keep him from loss of blood, and also from prison, -sickness, and defeat in battle--in short, preserve him against all the -accidents which the knight suggested might prevent his holding his -day--provided that he had it by him and thought on her. Ritson, Ywaine -and Gawin, vv 1514-38. - -But an Icelandic saga comes near enough to the story of the ballad as -given in #A# to show where its connections lie. Alsól and a brother and -sister are all transformed by a stepmother, a handsome woman, much, -younger than her husband. Alsól's heavy weird is to be a nondescript -monster with a horse's tail, hoofs, and mane, white eyes, big mouth, and -huge hands, and never to be released from the spell till a king's son -shall consent to kiss her. One night when Hjálmtèr had landed on a woody -island, and it had fallen to him to keep watch, he heard a great din and -crashing in the woods, so that the oaks trembled. Presently this monster -came out of the thicket with a fine sword in her hand, such as he had -not seen the like of. They had a colloquy, and he asked her to let him -have the sword. She said he should not have it unless he would kiss her. -"I will not kiss thy snout," said Hjálmtèr, "for mayhap I should stick -to it." But something came into his mind which made him think better of -her offer, and he said he was ready. "You must leap upon my neck, then," -she said, "when I throw up the sword, and if you then hesitate, it will -be your death." She threw up the sword, he leaped on her neck and kissed -her, and she gave him the sword, with an augury of victory and good luck -for him all his days. The retransformation does not occur on the spot, -but further on Hjálmtèr meets Álsól as a young lady at the court of her -brother, who has also been restored to his proper form and station; -everything is explained; Hjálmtèr marries her, and his foster-brother -her sister. Hjálmtèrs ok Ölvers Saga, cc 10, 22, Rafn, Fornaldar Sögur, -III, 473 ff, 514 ff. - -In many tales of the sort a single kiss suffices to undo the spell and -reverse the transformation; in others, as in the ballad, three are -required. The triplication of the kiss has led in #A# to a triplication -of the talisman against wounds. The popular genius was inventive enough -to vary the properties of the several gifts, and we may believe that -belt, ring, and sword had originally each its peculiar quality. The -peril of touching fin or tail in #A# seems to correspond to that in the -saga of hesitating when the sword is thrown up. - -The #Danish# ballad, 'Jomfruen i Ormeham,' from MSS of the sixteenth and -the seventeenth century, Grundtvig, No 59, II, 177, resembles both the -first version of the Scottish ballad and the Icelandic saga in the -points that the maid offers gifts and is rehabilitated by a kiss. The -maid in her proper shape, which, it appears, she may resume for a -portion of the day, stands at Sir Jenus's bedside and offers him -gifts--five silver-bowls, all the gold in her kist, twelve foals, twelve -boats--and ends with saying, "Were I a swain, as you are, I would -betroth a maid." It is now close upon midnight, and she hints that he -must be quick. But Jenus is fast asleep the while; twelve strikes, and -the maid instantly turns into a little snake. The page, however, has -been awake, and he repeats to his master all that has occurred.[296] Sir -Jenus orders his horse, rides along a hillside, and sees the little -snake in the grass. He bends over and kisses it, and it turns to a -courteous maid, who thanks him, and offers him any boon he may ask. He -asks her to be his, and as she has loved him before this, she has no -difficulty in plighting him her troth. - -A maid transformed by a step-mother into a tree is freed by being kissed -by a man, in 'Jomfruen i Linden,' Grundtvig, II, 214, No 66, Kristensen, -II, 90, No 31; 'Linden,' Afzelius, III, 114, 118, No 87. In 'Linden,' -Kristensen, I, 13, No 5, a combination of two ballads, a prince cuts -down the linden, which changes to a linden-worm; he kisses the worm, and -a young maid stands before him. - -A knight bewitched into the shape of a troll is restored by being kissed -by a peasant's wife thrice [once], 'Trolden og Bondens Hustru,' -Grundtvig, II, 142, No 52, #A#, #B#; a prince by a kiss from a maid, -'Lindormen,' Grundtvig, D. g. F., II, 211, No 65 #A#, 'Slangen og den -lille Pige,' Danske Folkeminder, 1861, p. 15. - -The removal of a spell which compels man or woman to appear continuously -or alternately as a monster, commonly a snake, by three kisses or by -one, is a regular feature in the numerous German tales of -Schlangenjungfrauen, Weissefrauen. Often the man is afraid to venture -the third kiss, or even a single one. See Grimm, Deutsche Sagen, No 13, -No 222; Dobeneck, Des deutschen Mittelalters Volksglauben, I, 18==Grimm, -No 13; Mone's Anzeiger, III, 89, VII, 476; Panzer, Bayerische Sagen u. -Bräuche, I, 196, No 214; Schönhuth, Die Burgen u.s.w. Badens u. der -Pfalz, I, 105; Stöber, Die Sagen des Elsasses, p. 346, No 277, p. 248, -No 190; Curtze, Volksüberlieferungen aus Waldeck, p. 198; Sommer, Sagen, -Märchen u. Gebräuche aus Sachsen u. Thüringen, p. 21, No 16; Schambach -u. Müller, p. 104, No 132; Müllenhoff, p. 580, No 597; Wolf, Hessische -Sagen, No 46; etc., etc.: also, Kreutzwald, Ehstnische Märchen, by Löwe, -No 19, p. 270 f. So in some forms of 'Beauty and the Beast:' Töppen, -Aberglauben aus Masuren, p. 142; Mikuli[vc]i[/c], Narodne Pripovietke, -p. 1, No 1; Afanasief, VII, 153, No 15; Coelho, Contos populares -portuguezes, p. 69, No 29.[297] - -Rivals or peers of Owain among romantic knights are, first, Lanzelet, in -Ulrich von Zatzikhoven's poem, who kisses a serpent on the mouth once, -which, _after bathing in a spring_ (see 'Tam Lin'), becomes the finest -woman ever seen: vv 7836-7939. Brandimarte, again, in Orlando -Innamorato, lib. II., c. XXVI, stanzas 7-15; and Carduino, I Cantari di -Carduino, Rajna, stanzas 49, 54 f, 61-64, pp 35-41. Le Bel Inconnu is an -involuntary instrument in such a disenchantment, for the snake -fascinates him first and kisses him without his knowledge; he afterwards -goes to sleep, and finds a beautiful woman standing at his head when he -wakes: ed. Hippeau, p. 110 ff, v. 3101 ff. The English Libius Disconius -is kist or he it wist, and the dragon at once turns to a beautiful -woman: Percy MS., Hales & Furnivall, II, 493f; Ritson, Romances, II, 84 -f. Espertius, in Tiran le Blanc, is so overcome with fear that he cannot -kiss the dragon,--a daughter of Hippocrates, transformed by Diana, in -the island of Lango,--but Espertius not running away, as two men before -him had done, the dragon kisses him with equally good effect: Caylus, -Tiran le Blanc, II, 334-39. This particular disenchantment had not been -accomplished down to Sir John Mandeville's time, for he mentions only -the failures: Voyage and Travel, c. iv, pp 28-31, ed. 1725. Amadis -d'Astra touches two dragons on the face and breast, and restores them to -young-ladyhood: Historia del Principe Sferamundi, the 13th book of -Amadis of Gaul, P. II, c. xcvii, pp 458-462, Venice, 1610. This feat is -shown by the details to be only a variation of the story in Tiran le -Blanc.[298] - -The Rev. Mr Lamb, of Norham, communicated to Hutchinson, author of 'A -View of Northumberland,' a ballad entitled 'The Laidley Worm of -Spindleston Heughs,' with this harmless preamble: "A song 500 years old, -made by the old Mountain Bard, Duncan Frasier, living on Cheviot, A.D. -1270. From an ancient manuscript." This composition of Mr Lamb's--for -nearly every line of it is his--is not only based on popular tradition, -but evidently preserves some small fragments of a popular ballad, and -for this reason is given in an Appendix. There is a copy deviating but -very little from the print in Kinloch's MSS, I, 187. It was obtained -from the recitation of an old woman in Berwickshire.[299] In this -recited version the Child of Wynd, or Childy Wynd (Child O-wyne), has -become Child o Wane (Child O-wayn). - -Mr R.H. Evans, in his preface to this ballad, Old Ballads, 1810, IV, -241, says that Mr Turner had informed him "that a lady upwards of -seventy had heard her mother repeat an older and nearly similar ballad." - - * * * * * - -#A# is translated by Rosa Warrens, Schottische Volkslieder, p. 19; #B b# -by Gerhard, p. 171, by Schubart, p. 110, by Knortz, Lieder u. Romanzen -Alt-Englands, p. 201. 'Jomfruen i Ormeham' by Prior, III, 135. - - -A - - Buchan, Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 78, from Mr - Nicol of Strichen, as learned in his youth from old - people; Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 374; Motherwell's MS., - p. 448. - - 1 - Her mother died when she was young, - Which gave her cause to make great moan; - Her father married the warst woman - That ever lived in Christendom. - - 2 - She served her with foot and hand, - In every thing that she could dee, - Till once, in an unlucky time, - She threw her in ower Craigy's sea. - - 3 - Says, 'Lie you there, dove Isabel, - And all my sorrows lie with thee; - Till Kemp Owyne come ower the sea, - And borrow you with kisses three, - Let all the warld do what they will, - Oh borrowed shall you never be!' - - 4 - Her breath grew strang, her hair grew lang, - And twisted thrice about the tree, - And all the people, far and near, - Thought that a savage beast was she. - - 5 - These news did come to Kemp Owyne, - Where he lived, far beyond the sea; - He hasted him to Craigy's sea, - And on the savage beast lookd he. - - 6 - Her breath was strang, her hair was lang, - And twisted was about the tree, - And with a swing she came about: - 'Come to Craigy's sea, and kiss with me. - - 7 - 'Here is a royal belt,' she cried, - 'That I have found in the green sea; - And while your body it is on, - Drawn shall your blood never be; - But if you touch me, tail or fin, - I vow my belt your death shall be.' - - 8 - He stepped in, gave her a kiss, - The royal belt he brought him wi; - Her breath was strang, her hair was lang, - And twisted twice about the tree, - And with a swing she came about: - 'Come to Craigy's sea, and kiss with me. - - 9 - 'Here is a royal ring,' she said, - 'That I have found in the green sea; - And while your finger it is on, - Drawn shall your blood never be; - But if you touch me, tail or fin, - I swear my ring your death shall be.' - - 10 - He stepped in, gave her a kiss, - The royal ring he brought him wi; - Her breath was strang, her hair was lang, - And twisted ance about the tree, - And with a swing she came about: - 'Come to Craigy's sea, and kiss with me. - - 11 - 'Here is a royal brand,' she said, - 'That I have found in the green sea; - And while your body it is on, - Drawn shall your blood never be; - But if you touch me, tail or fin, - I swear my brand your death shall be.' - - 12 - He stepped in, gave her a kiss, - The royal brand he brought him wi; - Her breath was sweet, her hair grew short, - And twisted nane about the tree, - And smilingly she came about, - As fair a woman as fair could be. - - -B - - #a.# Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. 29. #b.# Scott's Minstrelsy, - II, 93, 1802, from William Tytler's Brown MS., No 9, "with - corrections from a recited fragment." - - 1 - 'Come here, come here, you freely feed, - An lay your head low on my knee; - The hardest weird I will you read - That eer war read to a lady. - - 2 - 'O meikle dollour sall you dree, - An ay the sat seas oer ye['s] swim; - An far mair dollour sall ye dree - On Eastmuir craigs, or ye them clim. - - 3 - 'I wot ye's be a weary wight, - An releived sall ye never be - Till Kempion, the kingis son, - Come to the craig and thrice kiss thee.' - - 4 - O meickle dollour did she dree, - An ay the sat seas oer she swam; - An far mair dollour did she dree - On Eastmuir craigs, or them she clam; - An ay she cried for Kempion, - Gin he would come till her han. - - 5 - Now word has gane to Kempion - That sich a beast was in his lan, - An ay be sure she would gae mad - Gin she gat nae help frae his han. - - 6 - 'Now by my sooth,' says Kempion, - 'This fiery beast I['ll] gang to see;' - 'An by my sooth,' says Segramour, - 'My ae brother, I'll gang you wi.' - - 7 - O biggit ha they a bonny boat, - An they hae set her to the sea, - An Kempion an Segramour - The fiery beast ha gane to see: - A mile afore they reachd the shore, - I wot she gard the red fire flee. - - 8 - 'O Segramour, keep my boat afloat, - An lat her no the lan so near; - For the wicked beast she'll sure gae mad, - An set fire to the land an mair.' - - 9 - 'O out o my stye I winna rise-- - An it is na for the fear o thee-- - Till Kempion, the kingis son, - Come to the craig an thrice kiss me.' - - 10 - He's louted him oer the Eastmuir craig, - An he has gien her kisses ane; - Awa she gid, an again she came, - The fieryest beast that ever was seen. - - 11 - 'O out o my stye I winna rise-- - An it is na for fear o thee-- - Till Kempion, the kingis son, - Come to the craig an thrice kiss me.' - - 12 - He louted him oer the Eastmuir craig, - An he has gien her kisses twa; - Awa she gid, an again she came, - The fieryest beast that ever you saw. - - 13 - 'O out o my stye I winna rise-- - An it is na for fear o ye-- - Till Kempion, the kingis son, - Come to the craig an thrice kiss me.' - - 14 - He's louted him oer the Eastmuir craig, - An he has gien her kisses three; - Awa she gid, an again she came, - The fairest lady that ever coud be. - - 15 - 'An by my sooth,' say[s] Kempion, - 'My ain true love--for this is she-- - O was it wolf into the wood, - Or was it fish intill the sea, - Or was it man, or wile woman, - My true love, that misshapit thee?' - - 16 - 'It was na wolf into the wood, - Nor was it fish into the sea, - But it was my stepmother, - An wae an weary mot she be. - - 17 - 'O a heavier weird light her upon - Than ever fell on wile woman; - Her hair's grow rough, an her teeth's grow lang, - An on her four feet sal she gang. - - 18 - 'Nane sall tack pitty her upon, - But in Wormie's Wood she sall ay won, - An relieved sall she never be, - Till St Mungo come oer the sea.' - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - _Buchan gives 4-6 in two six-line stanzas. There are a few - trivial diversities between Motherwell's manuscript, or my - copy of it, and his printed text, which conforms to - Buchan's._ - -#B. a.# - - _Written in long or double lines in the manuscript._ - - 2^2, 4^2. or. - - 5^3. a besure. - - 8^4. landy mair - - 11^4. twice. - - 16^3. _~wicked~ is inserted before stepmother, seemingly - by Jamieson._ - - #b.# - - _The first stanza, as given by Anderson, Nichols, Literary - Illustrations, VII, 177, is_: - - 'Come here, come here, ye freely feed, - And lay your head low on my knee; - The heaviest weird I will you read - That ever was read till a lady.' - - 1^3. heaviest. - - 1^4. gaye ladye. - - 2^2. ye'se. - - 2^4. when ye. - - 3^1. I weird ye to a fiery beast. - - 5==#a# 4^{5,6} + #a# 5^{1,2}: #a# 5^{3,4} _omitted:_ - - And aye she cried for Kempion, - Gin he would but cum to her hand; - Now word has gane to Kempion - That sicken a beast was in his land. - - 6^4. wi thee. - - 7 _omits #a#^{3,4}._ - - 7^5. But a mile before. - - 7^6. Around them she. - - 8^2. oer near. - - 8^3. will sure. - - 8^4. to a' the land and mair. - - _After 8 is inserted:_ - - Syne has he bent an arblast bow, - And aimd an arrow at her head, - And swore if she didna quit the land, - Wi that same shaft to shoot her dead. - - 9^1. stythe. - - 9^2. awe o thee. - - 10^1. dizzy crag. - - 10^2. gien the monster. - - 11^1. stythe. - - 11^2. And not for a' thy bow nor thee. - - 12^1. Estmere craigs. - - 13^1. my den. - - 13^2. Nor flee it for the feir o thee. - - 13^3. Kempion, that courteous knight. - - 14^1. lofty craig. - - 14^4. loveliest lady eer. - - 15^{1,2}. _After this is inserted:_ - - They surely had a heart o stane, - Could put thee to such misery. - - 15^{3-6} _make a separate stanza._ - - 15^3, 16^1. warwolf in the wood. - - 15^4, 16^2. mermaid in the sea. - - 15^6. my ain true. - - 17^1. weird shall light her on. - - 17^3. Her hair shall grow ... teeth grow. - - 18^2. In Wormeswood she aye shall won. - - 18^{5,6}. - - And sighing said that weary wight, - I doubt that day I'll never see. - - -[296] The incident of a woman trying to move a man who all the while is -in a deep sleep, and of his servant reporting what has been going on, -can hardly have belonged to this ballad from the beginning. It is -exceedingly common in popular tales: see 'The Red Bull of Norroway,' in -Chambers's Popular Rhymes of Scotland, 3d ed., p. 99; Grimms, 'Das -singende springende Löweneckerchen,' No 88, 'Der Eisenhofen,' No 127, -and the notes in vol. iii; Leskien u. Brugman, Litanische V. l. u. -Märchen, 'Vom weissen Wolf,' No 23, p. 438, and Wollner's note, p. 571. - -[297] But not in Mme Villeneuve's or in Mme de Beaumont's 'La Belle et -la Bête.' - -[298] Lanzelet is cited by J. Grimm; Brandimarte by Walter Scott; -Carduino by G. Paris; Espertius by Dunlop; Amadis d'Astra by Valentin -Schmidt. Dunlop refers to a similar story in the sixth tale of the -Contes Amoureux de Jean Flore, written towards the end of the fifteenth -century. - -[299] "The Childe of Wane, as a protector of disconsolate damsels, is -still remembered by young girls at school in the neighborhood of -Bamborough, who apply the title to any boy who protects them from the -assaults of their school-fellows." (Kinloch.) - - -APPENDIX - -THE LAIDLEY WORM OF SPINDLESTON HEUGHS. - - A View of Northumberland, by W. Hutchinson, Anno 1776, - Newcastle, 1778, II, 162-64. Communicated by the Rev. Mr - Lamb, of Norham. - -Kinloch's account of the tradition in relation to the queen, as it -maintains itself in Berwickshire, is quite in accord with German _sagen_ -about enchanted ladies, innocent or guilty, and as such may be worth -giving: Kinloch MSS, I, 187. - -"Though the ballad mentions that the queen was transformed into 'a -spiteful toad of monstrous size,' and was doomed in that form to wend on -the earth until the end of the world, yet the tradition of the country -gives another account of the endurance of her enchantment. It is said -that in form of a toad as big as a 'clockin hen' she is doomed to -expiate her guilt by confinement in a cavern in Bamborough castle, in -which she is to remain in her enchanted shape until some one shall have -the hardihood to break the spell by penetrating the cavern, whose -'invisible' door only opens every seven years, on Christmas eve. The -adventurer, after entering the cavern, must take the sword and horn of -the Childe of Wane, which hang on the wall, and having unsheathed and -resheathed the sword thrice, and wound three blasts on the horn, he must -kiss the toad three times; upon which the enchantment will be dissolved, -and the queen will recover her human form. - -"Many adventurers, it is said, have attempted to disenchant the queen, -but have all failed, having immediately fallen into a trance, something -similar to the princes in the Arabian tale who went in search of the -Talking Bird, Singing Tree, and Yellow Water. The last one, it is said, -who made the attempt was a countryman, about sixty years ago, who, -having watched on Christmas eve the opening of the door, entered the -cavern, took the sword and horn from the wall, unsheathed and resheathed -the sword thrice, blew three blasts on the horn, and was proceeding to -the final disenchantment by kissing the toad, which he had saluted -twice, when, perceiving the various strange sleepers to arise from the -floor, his courage failed, and he fled from the cavern, having just -attained the outside of the door when it suddenly shut with a loud clap, -catching hold of the skirt of his coat, which was torn off and left in -the door. - - And none since that time - To enter the cavern presume." - - 1 - The king is gone from Bambrough castle, - Long may the princess mourn; - Long may she stand on the castle wall, - Looking for his return. - - 2 - She has knotted the keys upon a string, - And with her she has them taen, - She has cast them oer her left shoulder, - And to the gate she is gane. - - 3 - She tripped out, she tripped in, - She tript into the yard; - But it was more for the king's sake, - Than for the queen's regard. - - 4 - It fell out on a day the king - Brought the queen with him home, - And all the lords in our country - To welcome them did come. - - 5 - 'O welcome, father,' the lady cries, - 'Unto your halls and bowers; - And so are you, my stepmother, - For all that is here is yours.' - - 6 - A lord said, wondering while she spake, - This princess of the North - Surpasses all of female kind - In beauty and in worth. - - 7 - The envious queen replied: At least, - You might have excepted me; - In a few hours I will her bring - Down to a low degree. - - 8 - I will her liken to a laidley worm, - That warps about the stone, - And not till Childy Wynd comes back - Shall she again be won. - - 9 - The princess stood at the bower door, - Laughing, who could her blame? - But eer the next day's sun went down, - A long worm she became. - - 10 - For seven miles east, and seven miles west, - And seven miles north and south, - No blade of grass or corn could grow, - So venomous was her mouth. - - 11 - The milk of seven stately cows-- - It was costly her to keep-- - Was brought her daily, which she drank - Before she went to sleep. - - 12 - At this day may be seen the cave - Which held her folded up, - And the stone trough, the very same - Out of which she did sup. - - 13 - Word went east, and word went west, - And word is gone over the sea, - That a laidley worm in Spindleston Heughs - Would ruin the north country. - - 14 - Word went east, and word went west, - And over the sea did go; - The Child of Wynd got wit of it, - Which filled his heart with woe. - - 15 - He called straight his merry men all, - They thirty were and three: - 'I wish I were at Spindleston, - This desperate worm to see. - - 16 - 'We have no time now here to waste, - Hence quickly let us sail; - My only sister Margaret, - Something, I fear, doth ail.' - - 17 - They built a ship without delay, - With masts of the rown tree, - With fluttering sails of silk so fine, - And set her on the sea. - - 18 - They went aboard; the wind with speed - Blew them along the deep; - At length they spied an huge square tower, - On a rock high and steep. - - 19 - The sea was smooth, the weather clear; - When they approached nigher, - King Ida's castle they well knew, - And the banks of Bambroughshire. - - 20 - The queen looked out at her bower-window, - To see what she could see; - There she espied a gallant ship, - Sailing upon the sea. - - 21 - When she beheld the silken sails, - Full glancing in the sun, - To sink the ship she sent away - Her witch-wives every one. - - 22 - Their spells were vain; the hags returned - To the queen in sorrowful mood, - Crying that witches have no power - Where there is rown-tree wood. - - 23 - Her last effort, she sent a boat, - Which in the haven lay, - With armed men to board the ship, - But they were driven away. - - 24 - The worm leapt up, the worm leapt down, - She plaited round the stane; - And ay as the ship came to the land - She banged it off again. - - 25 - The Child then ran out of her reach - The ship on Budle sand, - And jumping into the shallow sea, - Securely got to land. - - 26 - And now he drew his berry-brown sword, - And laid it on her head, - And swore, if she did harm to him, - That he would strike her dead. - - 27 - 'O quit thy sword, and bend thy bow, - And give me kisses three; - For though I am a poisonous worm, - No hurt I will do to thee. - - 28 - 'O quit thy sword, and bend thy bow, - And give me kisses three; - If I am not won eer the sun go down, - Won I shall never be.' - - 29 - He quitted his sword, he bent his bow, - He gave her kisses three; - She crept into a hole a worm, - But stept out a lady. - - 30 - No cloathing had this lady fine, - To keep her from the cold; - He took his mantle from him about, - And round her did it fold. - - 31 - He has taken his mantle from him about, - And it he wrapt her in, - And they are up to Bambrough castle, - As fast as they can win. - - 32 - His absence and her serpent shape - The king had long deplored; - He now rejoiced to see them both - Again to him restored. - - 33 - The queen they wanted, whom they found - All pale, and sore afraid, - Because she knew her power must yield - To Childy Wynd's, who said: - - 34 - 'Woe be to thee, thou wicked witch, - An ill death mayest thou dee; - As thou my sister hast likened, - So likened shalt thou be. - - 35 - 'I will turn you into a toad, - That on the ground doth wend, - And won, won shalt thou never be, - Till this world hath an end.' - - 36 - Now on the sand near Ida's tower, - She crawls a loathsome toad, - And venom spits on every maid - She meets upon her road. - - 37 - The virgins all of Bambrough town - Will swear that they have seen - This spiteful toad, of monstrous size, - Whilst walking they have been. - - 38 - All folks believe within the shire - This story to be true, - And they all run to Spindleston, - The cave and trough to view. - - 39 - This fact now Duncan Frasier, - Of Cheviot, sings in rhime, - Lest Bambroughshire men should forget - Some part of it in time. - - * * * * * - - 28^3. son. - - - - -35 - -ALLISON GROSS - - 'Allison Gross,' Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. 40. - - -'Allison Gross' was printed by Jamieson, Popular Ballads, II, 187, -without deviation from the manuscript save in spelling. - -In a Greek tale, a nereid, that is elf or fairy, turns a youth who had -refused to espouse her into a snake, the curse to continue till he finds -another love who is as fair as she: 'Die Schönste,' B. Schmidt, -Griechische Märchen, etc., No 10. This tale is a variety of 'Beauty and -the Beast,' one of the numerous wild growths from that ever charming -French story.[300] - -An elf, a hill-troll, a mermaid, make a young man offers of splendid -gifts, to obtain his love or the promise of his faith, in 'Elveskud,' -Grundtvig, No 47, many of the Danish and two of the Norwegian copies; -'Hertig Magnus och Elfvorna,' Afzelius, III, 172; 'Hr. Magnus og -Bjærgtrolden,' Grundtvig, No 48, Arwidsson, No 147 B; 'Herr Magnus och -Hafstrollet,' Afzelius, No 95, Bugge, No 11; a lind-worm, similarly, to -a young woman, 'Lindormen,' Grundtvig, No 65. Magnus answers the -hill-troll that he should be glad to plight faith with her were she like -other women, but she is the ugliest troll that could be found: -Grundtvig, II, 121, #A# 6, #B# 7; Arwidsson, II, 303, #B# 5; Afzelius, -III, 169, st. 5, 173, st. 6. This is like what we read in stanza 7 of -our ballad, but the answer is inevitable in any such case. Magnus comes -off scot-free. - -The queen of the fairies undoing the spell of the witch is a remarkable -feature, not paralleled, so far as I know, in English or northern -tradition. The Greek nereids, however, who do pretty much everything, -good or bad, that is ascribed to northern elves or fairies, and even -bear an appellation resembling that by which fairies are spoken of in -Scotland and Ireland, "the good damsels," "the good ladies," have a -queen who is described as taking no part in the unfriendly acts of her -subjects, but as being kindly disposed towards mankind, and even as -repairing the mischief which subordinate sprites have done against her -will. If now the fairy queen might interpose in behalf of men against -her own kith and kin, much more likely would she be to exert herself to -thwart the malignity of a witch.[301] - -The object of the witch's blowing thrice on a grass-green horn in 8^2 is -not clear, for nothing comes of it. In the closely related ballad which -follows this, a witch uses a horn to summon the sea-fishes, among whom -there is one who has been the victim of her spells. The horn is -appropriate. Witches were supposed to blow horns when they joined the -wild hunt, and horn-blower, "hornblâse," is twice cited by Grimm as an -equivalent to witch: Deutsche Mythologie, p. 886. - - * * * * * - -Translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, No 19; by Rosa -Warrens, Schottische Volkslieder, No 7; Knortz, Lieder und Romanzen -Alt-Englands, No 9; Loève-Veimars, Ballades de l'Angleterre, p. 353. - - - 1 - O Allison Gross, that lives in yon towr, - The ugliest witch i the north country, - Has trysted me ae day up till her bowr, - An monny fair speech she made to me. - - 2 - She stroaked my head, an she kembed my hair, - An she set me down saftly on her knee; - Says, Gin ye will be my lemman so true, - Sae monny braw things as I woud you gi. - - 3 - She showd me a mantle o red scarlet, - Wi gouden flowrs an fringes fine; - Says, Gin ye will be my lemman so true, - This goodly gift it sal be thine. - - 4 - 'Awa, awa, ye ugly witch, - Haud far awa, an lat me be; - I never will be your lemman sae true, - An I wish I were out o your company.' - - 5 - She neist brought a sark o the saftest silk, - Well wrought wi pearles about the ban; - Says, Gin you will be my ain true love, - This goodly gift you sal comman. - - 6 - She showd me a cup of the good red gold, - Well set wi jewls sae fair to see; - Says, Gin you will be my lemman sae true, - This goodly gift I will you gi. - - 7 - 'Awa, awa, ye ugly witch, - Had far awa, and lat me be; - For I woudna ance kiss your ugly mouth - For a' the gifts that ye coud gi.' - - 8 - She's turnd her right and roun about, - An thrice she blaw on a grass-green horn, - An she sware by the meen and the stars abeen, - That she'd gar me rue the day I was born. - - 9 - Then out has she taen a silver wand, - An she's turnd her three times roun an roun; - She's mutterd sich words till my strength it faild, - An I fell down senceless upon the groun. - - 10 - She's turnd me into an ugly worm, - And gard me toddle about the tree; - An ay, on ilka Saturdays night, - My sister Maisry came to me, - - 11 - Wi silver bason an silver kemb, - To kemb my heady upon her knee; - But or I had kissd her ugly mouth, - I'd rather a toddled about the tree. - - 12 - But as it fell out on last Hallow-even, - When the seely court was ridin by, - The queen lighted down on a gowany bank, - Nae far frae the tree where I wont to lye. - - 13 - She took me up in her milk-white han, - An she's stroakd me three times oer her knee; - She chang'd me again to my ain proper shape, - An I nae mair maun toddle about the tree. - - -[300] Of these Dr Reinhold Köhler has given me a note of more than -twenty. The French tale itself had, in all likelihood, a popular -foundation. - -[301] B. Schmidt, Das Volksleben der Neugriechen, pp 100 f, 107, 123. -Euphemistically the nereids are called [Gk: hê kalais archontissais, hê -kalais kyrades, hê kalokardais, hê kalotychais]; their sovereign is [Gk: -hê megalê kyra, hê prôtê], etc. - - - - -36 - -THE LAILY WORM AND THE MACHREL OF THE SEA - - Skene MS., p. 30: taken down from recitation in the north - of Scotland, in 1802 or 1803. - - -Somewhat mutilated, and also defaced, though it be, this ballad has -certainly never been retouched by a pen, but is pure tradition. It has -the first stanza in common with 'Kemp Owyne,' and shares more than that -with 'Allison Gross.' But it is independent of 'Allison Gross,' and has -a far more original sound. - -Maisry's services in washing and combing are more conceivable when -rendered by a maid in her proper shape, as in 'Allison Gross,' than when -attributed to a machrel of the sea; and it is likely that the machrel -returned to her own figure every Saturday, and that this is one of the -points lost from the story. It is said, here as in 'Allison Gross,' that -Maisry kames the laily head on her knee.[302] It would be a mere cavil -to raise a difficulty about combing a laily worm's head. The fiery beast -in 'Kemp Owyne,' #A#, has long hair, and the laily worm may have had -enough to be better for combing.[303] - -It is only natural that the transformed maid should not wish to trust -herself again in the hands of the stepmother, but it is not according to -poetical justice that she should remain a machrel of the sea, and here -again we may suppose something to have dropped out. - -We have had a double transformation, of sister and brother, in the -'Marriage of Gawain' and in the 'Wedding of Gawen and Dame Ragnell,' and -again, with a second sister added, in the story of Álsól. Brother and -sister are transformed in the Danish 'Nattergalen,' Grundtvig, No 57. It -is an aggravation of stepmother malice that the victim of enchantment, -however amiable and inoffensive before, should become truculent and -destructive; so with the brother of Gawain's bride, and with the Carl of -Carlile. The stepmother is satisfactorily disposed of, as she is in -'Kemp Owyne,' #B#, and the 'Laidly Worm of Spindleston Heughs.' - - - 1 - 'I was but seven year auld - When my mither she did die; - My father married the ae warst woman - The warld did ever see. - - 2 - 'For she has made me the laily worm, - That lies at the fit o the tree, - An my sister Masery she's made - The machrel of the sea. - - 3 - 'An every Saturday at noon - The machrel comes to me, - An she takes my laily head - An lays it on her knee, - She kaims it wi a siller kaim, - An washes't in the sea. - - 4 - 'Seven knights hae I slain, - Sin I lay at the fit of the tree, - An ye war na my ain father, - The eight ane ye should be.' - - 5 - 'Sing on your song, ye laily worm, - That ye did sing to me:' - 'I never sung that song but what - I would it sing to thee. - - 6 - 'I was but seven year auld, - When my mither she did die; - My father married the ae warst woman - The warld did ever see. - - 7 - 'For she changed me to the laily worm, - That lies at the fit o the tree, - And my sister Masery - To the machrel of the sea. - - 8 - 'And every Saturday at noon - The machrel comes to me, - An she takes my laily head - An lays it on her knee, - An kames it wi a siller kame, - An washes it i the sea. - - 9 - 'Seven knights hae I slain, - Sin I lay at the fit o the tree, - An ye war na my ain father, - The eighth ane ye shoud be.' - - 10 - He sent for his lady, - As fast as send could he: - 'Whar is my son that ye sent frae me, - And my daughter, Lady Masery?' - - 11 - 'Your son is at our king's court, - Serving for meat an fee, - An your daughter's at our queen's court, - . . . . . . . ' - - 12 - 'Ye lie, ye ill woman, - Sae loud as I hear ye lie; - My son's the laily worm, - That lies at the fit o the tree, - And my daughter, Lady Masery, - Is the machrel of the sea!' - - 13 - She has tane a siller wan, - An gien him strokes three, - And he has started up the bravest knight - That ever your eyes did see. - - 14 - She has taen a small horn, - An loud an shrill blew she, - An a' the fish came her untill - But the proud machrel of the sea: - 'Ye shapeit me ance an unseemly shape, - An ye's never mare shape me.' - - 15 - He has sent to the wood - For whins and for hawthorn, - An he has taen that gay lady, - An there he did her burn. - - * * * * * - - 2^2, 7^2. lays: _but ~lies~, 12^4._ - - 3^3. _~ducks~, but compare 8^3._ - - -[302] Dives, in one version of a well-known carol, has "a place prepared -in hell, to sit upon a _serpent's knee_." The pious chanson in question -is a very different thing from an old ballad, which, it is hoped, no one -will think capable of fatuity. - -[303] As, for example, a dragon has in Hahn's Griechische Märchen, No -26, I, 187, and elsewhere. - - - - -37 - -THOMAS RYMER - - #A.# 'Thomas Rymer and Queen of Elfland,' Alexander Fraser - Tytler's Brown MS., No 1. - - #B.# 'Thomas the Rhymer,' Campbell MSS, II, 83. - - #C.# 'Thomas the Rhymer,' Minstrelsy of the Scottish - Border, II, 251, 1802, "from a copy obtained from a lady - residing not far from Erceldoune, corrected and enlarged - by one in Mrs Brown's MS." - - -#A# is one of the nine ballads transmitted to Alexander Fraser Tytler by -Mrs Brown in April, 1800, as written down from her recollection.[304] -This copy was printed by Jamieson, II, 7, in his preface to 'True Thomas -and the Queen of Elfland.' #B#, never published as yet, has been -corrupted here and there, but only by tradition. #C# being compounded of -#A# and another version, that portion which is found in #A# is put in -smaller type. - -Thomas of Erceldoune, otherwise Thomas the Rhymer, and in the popular -style True Thomas, has had a fame as a seer, which, though progressively -narrowed, is, after the lapse of nearly or quite six centuries, far from -being extinguished. The common people throughout the whole of Scotland, -according to Mr Robert Chambers (1870), continue to regard him with -veneration, and to preserve a great number of his prophetic sayings, -which they habitually seek to connect with "dear years" and other -notable public events.[305] A prediction of Thomas of Erceldoune's is -recorded in a manuscript which is put at a date before 1320, and he is -referred to with other soothsayers in the Scalacronica, a French -chronicle of English history begun in 1355. Erceldoune is spoken of as a -poet in Robert Mannyng's translation of Langtoft's chronicle, finished -in 1338; and in the Auchinleck copy of 'Sir Tristrem,' said to have been -made about 1350, a Thomas is said to have been consulted at Erþeldoun -touching the history of Tristrem. So that we seem safe in holding that -Thomas of Erceldoune had a reputation both as prophet and poet in the -earlier part of the fourteenth century. The vaticinations of Thomas are -cited by various later chroniclers, and had as much credit in England as -in Scotland. "During the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth -centuries," says Chambers, "to fabricate a prophecy in the name of -Thomas the Rhymer appears to have been found a good stroke of policy on -many occasions. Thus was his authority employed to countenance the views -of Edward III against Scottish independence, to favor the ambitious -views of the Duke of Albany in the minority of James V, and to sustain -the spirits of the nation under the harassing invasions of Henry VIII." -During the Jacobite rising of 1745 the accomplishment of Thomas's as -then unfulfilled predictions was looked for by many. His prophecies, and -those of other Scotch soothsayers, were consulted, says Lord Hailes, -"with a weak if not criminal curiosity." Even as late as the French -revolutionary war a rhyme of Thomas's caused much distress and -consternation in the border counties of Scotland, where people were -fearing an invasion. The 'Whole Prophecie' of Merlin, Thomas Rymour, and -others, collected and issued as early as 1603, continued to be printed -as a chap-book down to the beginning of this century, when, says Dr -Murray, few farm-houses in Scotland were without a copy of it. - -All this might have been if Thomas of Erceldoune had been not more -historical than Merlin. But the name is known to have belonged to a real -person. Thomas Rymor de Ercildune is witness to a deed whereby one -Petrus de Haga obliges himself to make a certain payment to the Abbey of -Melrose. Petrus de Haga is, in turn, witness to a charter made by -Richard de Moreville. Unluckily, neither of these deeds is dated. But -Moreville was constable of Scotland from 1162 to 1189. If we suppose -Moreville's charter to have been given towards 1189, and Haga to have -been then about twenty years old, and so born about 1170, and further -suppose Haga to have made his grant to Melrose towards the end of a life -of threescore, or three score and ten, the time of Thomas Rymer's -signature would be about 1230 or 1240. If Thomas Rymer was then twenty -years of age, his birth would have been at 1210 or 1220. In the year -1294 Thomas de Ercildoun, son and heir of Thomas Rymour de Ercildoun, -conveyed to a religious house his inheritance of lands in Ercildoun. -With Thomas Rhymer in mind, one naturally interprets Thomas Rymour as -the prophet and Thomas de Ercildoun as his son. If Rymour was the -surname of this family,[306] it would have been better, for us at least, -if the surname had been subjoined to the first Thomas also. As the -language stands, we are left to choose among several possibilities. -Thomas the Rhymer may have been dead in 1294; Thomas Rymour, meaning the -same person, may have made this cession of lands in 1294, and have -survived still some years. Thomas, the father, may, as Dr Murray -suggests, have retired from the world, but still be living, and it may -be his son who resigns the lands. Blind Harry's Life of Wallace makes -Thomas Rimour to be alive down to 1296 or 1297. A story reported by -Bower in his continuation of Fordun, c. 1430, makes Thomas to have -predicted the death of Alexander III in 1286, when, according to the -previous (necessarily very loose) calculation, the seer would have been -between sixty-six and seventy-six. Neither of these last dates is -established by the strongest evidence, but there is no reason for -refusing to admit, at least, that Thomas of Erceldoune may have been -alive at the latter epoch. - -Thomas of Erceldoune's prophetic power was a gift of the queen of the -elves; the modern elves, equally those of northern Europe and of Greece, -resembling in respect to this attribute the nymphs of the ancient -Hellenic mythology. How Thomas attained this grace is set forth in the -first of three fits of a poem which bears his name. This poem has come -down in four somewhat defective copies: the earliest written a little -before the middle of the fifteenth century, two others about 1450, the -fourth later. There is a still later manuscript copy of the second and -third fits.[307] All the manuscripts are English, but it is manifest -from the nature of the topics that the original poem was the work of a -Scotsman. All four of the complete versions speak of an older story: -'gyff it be als the storye sayes,' v. 83, 'als the storye tellis full -ryghte,' v. 123. The older story, if any, must be the work of Thomas. -The circumstance that the poem, as we have it, begins in the first -person, and after a long passage returns for a moment to the first -person, though most of the tale is told in the third, is of no -importance; nor would it have been important if the whole narrative had -been put into Thomas's mouth, since that is the simplest of literary -artifices. - -Thomas, having found favor with the queen of Elfland, was taken with her -to that country, and there he remained more than three [seven] years. -Then the time came round when a tribute had to be paid to hell, and as -Thomas was too likely to be chosen by the fiend, the elf queen conducted -him back to the world of men. At the moment of parting Thomas desires -some token which may authenticate his having spoken with her. She gives -him the gift of soothsaying. He presses her to stay and tell him some -ferly. Upon this she begins a train of predictions, which Thomas more -than once importunes her to continue. The first two of these, the -failure of Baliol's party and the battle of Halidon Hill, 1333, stand by -themselves, but they are followed by a series in chronological order, -extending from the battle of Falkirk to the battle of Otterbourn, -1298-1388. The third fit, excepting, perhaps, a reference to Henry IV's -invasion of Scotland in 1401, seems to consist, not of predictions made -after the event, but of "adaptations of legendary prophecies, -traditionally preserved from far earlier times, and furbished up anew at -each period of national trouble and distress, in expectation of their -fulfilment being at length at hand."[308] - -The older "story," which is twice referred to in the prologue to the -prophecies of Thomas of Erceldoune, was undoubtedly a romance which -narrated the adventure of Thomas with the elf queen _simply_, without -specification of his prophecies. In all probability it concluded, in -accordance with the ordinary popular tradition, with Thomas's return to -fairy-land after a certain time passed in this world.[309] For the story -of Thomas and the Elf-queen is but another version of what is related of -Ogier le Danois and Morgan the Fay. Six fairies made gifts to Ogier at -his birth. By the favor of five he was to be the strongest, the bravest, -the most successful, the handsomest, the most susceptible, of knights: -Morgan's gift was that, after a long and fatiguing career of glory, he -should live with her at her castle of Avalon, in the enjoyment of a -still longer youth and never wearying pleasures. When Ogier had passed -his hundredth year, Morgan took measures to carry out her promise. She -had him wrecked, while he was on a voyage to France, on a loadstone rock -conveniently near to Avalon, which Avalon is a little way this side of -the terrestrial paradise. In due course he comes to an orchard, and -there he eats an apple, which affects him so peculiarly that he looks -for nothing but death. He turns to the east, and sees a beautiful lady, -magnificently attired. He takes her for the Virgin; she corrects his -error, and announces herself as Morgan the Fay. She puts a ring on his -finger which restores his youth, and then places a crown on his head -which makes him forget all the past. For two hundred years Ogier lived -in such delights as no worldly being can imagine, and the two hundred -years seemed to him but twenty. Christendom was then in danger, and even -Morgan thought his presence was required in the world. The crown being -taken from his head, the memory of the past revived, and with it the -desire to return to France. He was sent back by the fairy, properly -provided, vanquished the foes of Christianity in a short space, and -after a time was brought back by Morgan the Fay to Avalon.[310] - -The fairy adventures of Thomas and of Ogier have the essential points in -common, and even the particular trait that the fairy is taken to be the -Virgin. The occurrence of this trait again in the ballad, viewed in -connection with the general similarity of the two, will leave no doubt -that the ballad had its source in the romance. Yet it is an entirely -popular ballad as to style,[311] and must be of considerable age, though -the earliest version (#A#) can be traced at furthest only into the first -half of the last century. - -The scene of the meeting of Thomas with the elf queen is Huntly Banks -and the Eildon Tree in versions #B#, #C# of the ballad, as in the -romance.[312] Neither of these is mentioned in #A#, the reciter of which -was an Aberdeen woman. The elf-lady's costume and equipment, minutely -given in the romance (henceforth referred to as #R#), are reduced in the -ballad to a skirt of grass-green silk and a velvet mantle, #A#, and a -dapple-gray horse, #B# 2 (#R# 5), with nine and fifty bells on each tett -of its mane, #A# 2 (three bells on either side of the bridle, #R# -9).[313] Thomas salutes the fairy as queen of heaven, #A# 3, #R# 11. #B# -3 has suffered a Protestant alteration which makes nonsense of the -following stanza. She corrects his mistake in all, and in #B# 4 tells -him she is out hunting, as in #R# 16. As #C# 5 stands, she challenges -Thomas to kiss her, warning him at the same time, unnaturally, and of -course in consequence of a corrupt reading, of the danger; which Thomas -defies, #C# 6. These two stanzas in #C# represent the passage in the -romance, 17-21, in which Thomas embraces the fairy queen, and are -wanting in #A#, #B#, though not to be spared. It is contact with the -fairy that gives her the power to carry her paramour off; for carry him -off she does, and he is in great fright at having to go. The ballad is -no worse, and the romance would have been much better, for the omission -of another passage, impressive in itself, but incompatible with the -proper and original story. The elf-queen had told Thomas that he would -ruin her beauty, if he had his will, and so it came to pass: her eyes -seemed out, her rich clothing was away, her body was like the lead; and -it is while thus disfigured that she bids Thomas take leave of sun and -moon, so that his alarm is not without reason.[314] He must go with her -for seven years, #A#, #B#; only for a twelvemonth, #R#. She takes him up -behind her, #A#; she rides and he runs, #B#; she leads him in at Eldon -hill, #R#; they cross a water, he wading up to the knee, #B#, #R#. The -water is subterranean in #R#, and for three days naught is heard but the -soughing of the flood. Then they come to an orchard, #A#, #B#, #R#, and -Thomas, like to tyne for lack of food, is about to pull fruit, but is -told that the fruit is cursed, #A# 9, #B# 8;[315] if he plucks it, his -soul goes to the fire of hell, #R# 35. The fairy has made a provision of -safe bread and wine for him in the ballad, #A# 10, #B# 9, but he has -still to fast a while in the romance. #C#, which lacks this passage, -makes them ride till they reach a wide desert, and leave living land -behind, 9; and here (but in #A#, #B#, and #R# in the vicinity of the -orchard) the fairy bids Thomas lay his head on her knee, and she will -show him rare sights. These are the way to heaven, #A# 12, #B# 11, #R# -38; the way to hell, #A# 13, #B# 10, #R# 41; the road to Elfland, -whither they are going, #A# 14. #R# does not point out the road to -Elfland, but the elf-queen's castle on a high hill; and there are two -additional ferlies, the way to paradise and the way to purgatory,[316] -39, 40. Thomas, in #A# 15, is now admonished that he must hold his -tongue, for if he speaks a word he will never get back to his own -country; in #R# 44 he is told to answer none but the elf-queen, whatever -may be said to him, and this course he takes in #B# 12. But before they -proceed to the castle the lady resumes all the beauty and splendor which -she had lost, and no explanation is offered save the naive one in the -Lansdowne copy, that if she had not, the king, her consort, would have -known that she had been in fault. Now follows in #A# 15 (as recited, -here 7), #C# 15, 16, the passage through the subterranean water, which -should come before they reach the orchard, as in #B# 6, #R# 30, 31. -There is much exaggeration in the ballad: they wade through rivers in -darkness and hear the sea roaring, #C# 15, #A# 7, as in #R#, but they -also wade through red blood to the knee, #A# 7, #C# 16, and the crossing -occupies not three days, as in #R# 31, but forty days, #A# 7. In #C# -they _now_ come to the garden. Stanzas 15, 16 are out of place in #C#, -as just remarked, and 17 is entirely perverted. The cursed fruit which -Thomas is not to touch in #A# 9, #B# 8, #R# 35, is offered him by the -elf-queen as his wages, and will give him the tongue that can never -lie,--a gift which is made him in the romance at the beginning of the -second fit, when the fairy is preparing to part with him. Stanzas 18,19 -of #C# are certainly a modern, and as certainly an ill-devised, -interpolation. #B# has lost the conclusion. In #A#, #C#, Thomas gets a -fairy costume, and is not seen on earth again for seven years. - -The romance, after some description of the life at the elf-castle, -informs us that Thomas lived there more than three years [Cambridge MS., -seven], and thought the time but a space of three days, an almost -moderate illusion compared with the experience of other mortals under -analogous circumstances.[317] The fairy queen then hurried him away, on -the eve of the day when the foul fiend was to come to fetch his tribute. -He was a mickle man and hend, and there was every reason to fear that he -would be chosen. She brought him again to Eldon Tree, and was bidding -him farewell. Thomas begged of her a token of his conversation with her, -and she gave him the gift of true speaking. He urged her further to tell -him some ferly, and she made him several predictions, but he would not -let her go without more and more. Finally, with a promise to meet him on -Huntly Banks when she might, she left him under the tree. - -Popular tradition, as Sir Walter Scott represents, held that, though -Thomas was allowed to revisit the earth after a seven years' sojourn in -fairy-land, he was under an obligation to go back to the elf-queen -whenever she should summon him. One day while he "was making merry with -his friends in the town of Erceldoune, a person came running in, and -told, with marks of fear and astonishment, that a hart and hind had left -the neighboring forest, and were composedly and slowly parading the -street of the village. The prophet instantly arose, left his habitation, -and followed the wonderful animals to the forest, whence he was never -seen to return." He is, however, expected to come back again at some -future time. - -What we learn from the adventures of Thomas concerning the perils of -dealing with fairies, and the precautions to be observed, agrees with -the general teaching of tradition upon the subject. In this matter there -is pretty much one rule for all "unco" folk, be they fairies, dwarfs, -water-sprites, devils, or departed spirits, and, in a limited way, for -witches, too. Thomas, having kissed the elf-queen's lips, must go with -her. When the dead Willy comes to ask back his faith and troth of -Margaret, and she says he must first kiss her, cheek and chin, he -replies, "If I should kiss your red, red lips, your days would not be -long."[318] When Thomas is about to pull fruit in the subterranean -garden, or paradise, the elf bids him let be: all the plagues of hell -light on the fruit of this country; "if thou pluck it, thy soul goes to -the fire of hell."[319] The queen had taken the precaution of bringing -some honest bread and wine with her for Thomas's behoof. So when Burd -Ellen's brother sets out to rescue his sister, who had been carried off -by the king of Elfland, his sage adviser enjoins him to eat and drink -nothing in fairy-land, whatever his hunger or thirst; "for if he tasted -or touched in Elfland, he must remain in the power of the elves, and -never see middle-eard again."[320] Abstinence from speech is equally -advisable, according to our ballad and to other authority: Gin ae word -you should chance to speak, you will neer get back to your ain countrie, -#A# 15. They've asked him questions, one and all, but he answered none -but that fair ladie, #B# 12. What so any man to thee say, look thou -answer none but me, #R# 44. - -That eating and drinking, personal contact, exchange of speech, -receiving of gifts, in any abode of unearthly beings, including the -dead, will reduce a man to their fellowship and condition might be -enforced by a great number of examples, and has already been abundantly -shown by Professor Wilhelm Müller in his beautiful essay, Zur Symbolik -der deutschen Volkssage.[321] The popular belief of the northern nations -in this matter is more completely shown than anywhere else in Saxo's -account of King Gormo's visit to Guthmund, and it will be enough to cite -that. The Danish King Gormo, having heard extraordinary things of the -riches of Geruth (the giant Geirröðr), determines to verify the reports -with his own eyes, under the guidance of Thorkill, from whom he has -received them. The land of Geruth is far to the northeast, beyond the -sun and stars, and within the realm of Chaos and Old Night. It is, in -fact, a very dismal and terrific sort of Hades. The way to it lies -through the dominion of Guthmund, Geruth's brother, which is described -as a paradise, but a paradise of the same dubious attractions as that in -Thomas of Erceldoune. Guthmund, himself a giant, receives the -travellers, a band of about three hundred, very graciously, and conducts -them to his palace. Thorkill takes his comrades apart, and puts them on -their guard: they must eat and drink nothing that is offered them, but -live on the provisions which they have brought, must keep off from the -people of the place and not touch them; if they partake of any of the -food, they will forget everything, and have to pass their lives in this -foul society. Guthmund complains that they slight his hospitality, but -Thorkill, now and always, has an excuse ready. The genial monarch offers -Gormo one of his twelve beautiful daughters in marriage, and their -choice of wives to all the rest of the train. Most of the Danes like the -proposition, but Thorkill renews his warnings. Four take the bait, and -lose all recollection of the past. Guthmund now commends the delicious -fruits of his garden, and tries every art to make the king taste them. -But he is again foiled by Thorkill, and clearly perceiving that he has -met his match, transports the travellers over the river which separates -him and his brother, and allows them to continue their journey.[322] - - * * * * * - -#C# is translated by Talvj, Versuch, etc., p. 552; by Doenniges, p. 64; -by Arndt, Blütenlese, p. 246; by Rosa Warrens, Schottische Volkslieder, -p. 14; by Knortz, Lieder u. Romanzen, p. 1; by Edward Barry, Cycle -populaire de Robin Hood, p. 92; and by F.H. Bothe, Janus, p. 122, after -Barry. - - -A - - Alexander Fraser Tytler's Brown MS., No 1: Jamieson's - Popular Ballads, II, 7. - - 1 - True Thomas lay oer yond grassy bank, - And he beheld a ladie gay, - A ladie that was brisk and bold, - Come riding oer the fernie brae. - - 2 - Her skirt was of the grass-green silk, - Her mantel of the velvet fine, - At ilka tett of her horse's mane - Hung fifty silver bells and nine. - - 3 - True Thomas he took off his hat, - And bowed him low down till his knee: - 'All hail, thou mighty Queen of Heaven! - For your peer on earth I never did see.' - - 4 - 'O no, O no, True Thomas,' she says, - 'That name does not belong to me; - I am but the queen of fair Elfland, - And I'm come here for to visit thee. - - * * * * * * * - - 5 - 'But ye maun go wi me now, Thomas, - True Thomas, ye maun go wi me, - For ye maun serve me seven years, - Thro weel or wae as may chance to be.' - - 6 - She turned about her milk-white steed, - And took True Thomas up behind, - And aye wheneer her bridle rang, - The steed flew swifter than the wind. - - 7 - For forty days and forty nights - He wade thro red blude to the knee, - And he saw neither sun nor moon, - But heard the roaring of the sea. - - 8 - O they rade on, and further on, - Until they came to a garden green: - 'Light down, light down, ye ladie free, - Some of that fruit let me pull to thee.' - - 9 - 'O no, O no, True Thomas,' she says, - 'That fruit maun not be touched by thee, - For a' the plagues that are in hell - Light on the fruit of this countrie. - - 10 - 'But I have a loaf here in my lap, - Likewise a bottle of claret wine, - And now ere we go farther on, - We'll rest a while, and ye may dine.' - - 11 - When he had eaten and drunk his fill, - 'Lay down your head upon my knee,' - The lady sayd, 'ere we climb yon hill, - And I will show you fairlies three. - - 12 - 'O see not ye yon narrow road, - So thick beset wi thorns and briers? - That is the path of righteousness, - Tho after it but few enquires. - - 13 - 'And see not ye that braid braid road, - That lies across yon lillie leven? - That is the path of wickedness, - Tho some call it the road to heaven. - - 14 - 'And see not ye that bonny road, - Which winds about the fernie brae? - That is the road to fair Elfland, - Whe[re] you and I this night maun gae. - - 15 - 'But Thomas, ye maun hold your tongue, - Whatever you may hear or see, - For gin ae word you should chance to speak, - You will neer get back to your ain countrie.' - - 16 - He has gotten a coat of the even cloth, - And a pair of shoes of velvet green, - And till seven years were past and gone - True Thomas on earth was never seen. - - -B - - Campbell MSS, II, 83. - - 1 - As Thomas lay on Huntlie banks-- - A wat a weel bred man was he-- - And there he spied a lady fair, - Coming riding down by the Eildon tree. - - 2 - The horse she rode on was dapple gray, - And in her hand she held bells nine; - I thought I heard this fair lady say - These fair siller bells they should a' be mine. - - 3 - It's Thomas even forward went, - And lootit low down on his knee: - 'Weel met thee save, my lady fair, - For thou'rt the flower o this countrie.' - - 4 - 'O no, O no, Thomas,' she says, - 'O no, O no, that can never be, - For I'm but a lady of an unco land, - Comd out a hunting, as ye may see. - - 5 - 'O harp and carp, Thomas,' she says, - 'O harp and carp, and go wi me; - It's be seven years, Thomas, and a day, - Or you see man or woman in your ain countrie.' - - 6 - It's she has rode, and Thomas ran, - Until they cam to yon water clear; - He's coosten off his hose and shon, - And he's wooden the water up to the knee. - - 7 - It's she has rode, and Thomas ran, - Until they cam to yon garden green; - He's put up his hand for to pull down ane, - For the lack o food he was like to tyne. - - 8 - 'Hold your hand, Thomas,' she says, - 'Hold your hand, that must not be; - It was a' that cursed fruit o thine - Beggared man and woman in your countrie. - - 9 - 'But I have a loaf and a soup o wine, - And ye shall go and dine wi me; - And lay yer head down in my lap, - And I will tell ye farlies three. - - 10 - 'It's dont ye see yon broad broad way, - That leadeth down by yon skerry fell? - It's ill's the man that dothe thereon gang, - For it leadeth him straight to the gates o hell. - - 11 - 'It's dont ye see yon narrow way, - That leadeth down by yon lillie lea? - It's weel's the man that doth therein gang, - For it leads him straight to the heaven hie.' - - * * * * * * * - - 12 - It's when she cam into the hall-- - I wat a weel bred man was he-- - They've asked him question[s], one and all, - But he answered none but that fair ladie. - - 13 - O they speerd at her where she did him get, - And she told them at the Eildon tree; - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - -C - - Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 251, ed. 1802. - - | 1 - | True Thomas lay on Huntlie bank, - | A ferlie he spied wi' his ee, - | And there he saw a lady bright, - | Come riding down by the Eildon Tree. - - | 2 - | Her shirt was o the grass-green silk, - | Her mantle o the velvet fyne, - | At ilka tett of her horse's mane - | Hang fifty siller bells and nine. - - | 3 - | True Thomas, he pulld aff his cap, - | And louted low down to his knee: - | 'All hail, thou mighty Queen of Heaven! - | For thy peer on earth I never did see.' - - | 4 - | 'O no, O no, Thomas,' she said, - | 'That name does not belang to me; - | I am but the queen of fair Elfland, - | That am hither come to visit thee. - - 5 - 'Harp and carp, Thomas,' she said, - 'Harp and carp along wi me, - And if ye dare to kiss my lips, - Sure of your bodie I will be.' - - 6 - 'Betide me weal, betide me woe, - That weird shall never daunton me;' - Syne he has kissed her rosy lips, - All underneath the Eildon Tree. - - | 7 - | 'Now, ye maun go wi me,' she said, - | 'True Thomas, ye maun go wi me, - | And ye maun serve me seven years, - | Thro weal or woe, as may chance to be.' - - | 8 - | She mounted on her milk-white steed, - | She's taen True Thomas up behind, - | And aye wheneer her bridle rung, - | The steed flew swifter than the wind. - - | 9 - | O they rade on, and farther on-- - | The steed gaed swifter than the wind-- - | Untill they reached a desart wide, - | And living land was left behind. - - | 10 - | 'Light down, light down, now, True Thomas, - | And lean your head upon my knee; - | Abide and rest a little space, - | And I will shew you ferlies three. - - | 11 - | 'O see ye not yon narrow road, - | So thick beset with thorns and briers? - | That is the path of righteousness, - | Tho after it but few enquires. - - | 12 - | 'And see not ye that braid braid road, - | That lies across that lily leven? - | That is the path of wickedness, - | Tho some call it the road to heaven. - - | 13 - | 'And see not ye that bonny road, - | That winds about the fernie brae? - | That is the road to fair Elfland, - | Where thou and I this night maun gae. - - | 14 - | 'But, Thomas, ye maun hold your tongue, - | Whatever ye may hear or see, - | For, if you speak word in Elflyn land, - | Ye'll neer get back to your ain countrie.' - - 15 - O they rade on, and farther on, - And they waded thro rivers aboon the knee, - And they saw neither sun nor moon, - But they heard the roaring of the sea. - - 16 - It was mirk mirk night, and there was nae stern light, - And they waded thro red blude to the knee; - For a' the blude that's shed on earth - Rins thro the springs o that countrie. - - 17 - Syne they came on to a garden green, - And she pu'd an apple frae a tree: - 'Take this for thy wages, True Thomas, - It will give the tongue that can never lie.' - - 18 - 'My tongue is mine ain,' True Thomas said; - 'A gudely gift ye wad gie to me:' - I neither dought to buy nor sell, - At fair or tryst where I may be. - - 19 - 'I dought neither speak to prince or peer, - Nor ask of grace from fair ladye:' - 'Now hold thy peace,' the lady said, - 'For as I say, so must it be.' - - 20 - He has gotten a coat of the even cloth, - And a pair of shoes of velvet green, - And till seven years were gane and past - True Thomas on earth was never seen. - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - _7 stands 15 in the MS._ - - 8^2. _~golden green~, if my copy is right._ - - _11^{2,3} are 11^{3,2} in the MS.: the order of words is - still not simple enough for a ballad._ - - 14^4. goe. - - _Jamieson has a few variations, which I suppose to be his - own._ - - 1^1. oer yonder bank. - - 3^4. your like. - - 4^4. And I am come here to. - - 6^4. Her steed. - - 8^2. garden, _rightly_. - - 10^2. clarry. - - 11^2. Lay your head. - - 12^1. see you not. - - 12^4. there's few. - - 13. see ye not yon. - - 14^1. see ye not. - - 14^2. Which winds. - -#B.# - - 3^2. her knee. - - 3^3. thou save. - - 12^1. _MS. perhaps ~unto~._ - - 13^{1,2} _follow st. 12 without separation_. - -#C.# - - 20^1. a cloth. - - -APPENDIX. - -THOMAS OFF ERSSELDOUNE. - - Thornton MS., leaf 149, back, as printed by Dr. J. A. H. - Murray. - - [A prologue of six stanzas, found only in the Thornton - MS., is omitted, as being, even if genuine, not to the - present purpose.] - - 1 - Als I me wente þis endres daye, - Ffull faste i_n_ mynd makand my mone, - In a mery morny_n_ge of Maye, - By Huntle bankkes my selfe allone, - - 2 - I herde þe jaye and þe throstelle, - The mawys menyde of hir songe, - þe wodewale beryde als a belle, - That alle þe wode a-bowte me ronge. - - 3 - Allon_n_e in longynge thus als I laye, - Vndyre-nethe a semely tre, - [Saw] I whare a lady gaye - [Came ridand] ou_er_ a longe lee. - - 4 - If I solde sytt to domesdaye, - W_i_t_h_ my tonge to wrobbe and wrye, - Certanely þat lady gaye - Neu_er_ bese scho askryede for mee. - - 5 - Hir palfraye was a dappill graye, - Swylke one ne saghe I neu_er_ none; - Als dose þe sonne on som_er_es daye, - þ_a_t faire lady hir selfe scho schone. - - 6 - Hir selle it was of roelle bone, - Ffull semely was þ_a_t syghte to see; - Stefly sett w_i_t_h_ p_re_cyous stones, - And compaste all with crapotee; - - 7 - Stones of oryente, grete plente. - Hir hare abowte hir hede it hange; - Scho rade ou_er_ þat lange lee; - A whylle scho blewe, a-noþ_er_ scho sange. - - 8 - Hir garthes of nobyll sylke þay were, - The bukylls were of berelle stone, - Hir steraps were of crystalle clere, - And all w_i_t_h_ perelle ou_er_-by-gone. - - 9 - Hir payetrelle was of irale fyne, - Hir cropoure was of orpharë, - And als clere golde hir brydill it schone; - One aythir syde hange bellys three. - - 10 - [Scho led _three_ grehoundis in a leesshe,] - And seuen_e_ raches by hir þay rone; - Scho bare an horne abowte hir halse, - And vndir hir belte full many a flone. - - 11 - Thom_a_s laye and sawe þat syghte, - Vndir-nethe ane semly tree; - He sayd, [gh]one es Marye, moste of myghte, - Þat bare þ_a_t childe þat dyede for mee. - - 12 - Bot if I speke w_i_t_h_ [gh]one lady bryghte, - I hope myn_e_ herte will bryste i_n_ three; - Now sall I go w_i_t_h_ all my myghte, - Hir for to mete at Eldoun_e_ tree. - - 13 - Thomas rathely vpe he rase, - And he rane ou_er_ þat mountayne hye; - Gyff it be als the storye sayes, - He hir mette at Eldone tree. - - 14 - He knelyde down_e_ appon_e_ his knee, - Vndir-nethe þat grenwode spraye, - And sayd, Lufly ladye, rewe one mee, - Qwene of heuen_e_, als þou wele maye! - - 15 - Then spake þat lady milde of thoghte: - Thomas, late swylke wordes bee; - Qwene of heuen_e_ ne am I noghte, - Ffor I tuke neu_er_ so heghe degre. - - 16 - Bote I ame of ane oþ_er_ cou_n_tree, - If I be payrelde moste of pryse; - I ryde aftyre this wylde fee; - My raches rynnys at my devyse.' - - 17 - 'If þ_o_u be parelde moste of pryse, - And here rydis thus in thy folye, - Of lufe, lady, als þ_o_u erte wyse, - Þou gyffe me leue to lye the bye.' - - 18 - Scho sayde, þou man_e_, þat ware folye; - I praye þe, Thomas, þ_o_u late me bee; - Ffor I saye þe full sekirlye, - Þat synne will fordoo all my beaute. - - 19 - 'Now, lufly ladye, rewe one mee, - And I will eu_er_ more w_i_t_h_ the duelle; - Here my trouthe I will the plyghte, - Whethir þ_o_u will in heuen_e_ or helle.' - - 20 - 'Mane of molde, þ_o_u will me marre, - But [gh]itt þou sall hafe all thy will; - And trowe it wele, þ_o_u chewys þe werre, - Ffor alle my beaute will þ_o_u spylle.' - - 21 - Down_e_ þan_e_ lyghte þat lady bryghte, - Vndir-nethe þat grenewode spraye; - And, als the storye tellis full ryghte, - Seuen_e_ sythis by hir he laye. - - 22 - Scho sayd, Man_e_, the lykes thy playe: - Whate byrde in boure maye delle w_i_t_h_ the? - Thou merrys me all þis longe daye; - I pray the, Thomas, late me bee. - - 23 - Thom_a_s stode vpe i_n_ þat stede, - And he by-helde þat lady gaye; - Hir hare it hange all ou_er_ hir hede, - Hir eghne semede owte, þ_a_t are were graye. - - 24 - And alle þe riche clothynge was a-waye, - Þat he by-fore sawe i_n_ þat stede; - Hir a schanke blake, hir oþer graye, - And all hir body lyke the lede. - - 25 - Thom_a_s laye, and sawe þat syghte, - Vndir-nethe þat grenewod tree. - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 26 - Þan said Thom_a_s, Allas! allas! - In faythe þis es a dullfull syghte; - How arte þ_o_u fadyde þus i_n_ þe face, - Þat schane by-fore als þe sonne so bryght[e]! - - 27 - Scho sayd, Thom_a_s, take leue at sone and mon[e], - And als at lefe þ_a_t grewes on tree; - This twelmoneth sall þ_o_u w_i_t_h_ me gone, - And medill-erthe sall þ_o_u none see.' - - 28 - He knelyd downe appon_e_ his knee, - Vndir-nethe þ_a_t grenewod spraye, - And sayd, Lufly lady, rewe on mee, - Mylde qwene of heuen_e_, als þ_o_u beste maye! - - 29 - 'Allas!' he sayd, 'and wa es mee! - I trowe my dedis wyll wirke me care; - My saulle, Jh_e_su, by-teche I the, - Whedir-some þ_a_t eu_er_ my banes sall fare.' - - 30 - Scho ledde hy_m_ in at Eldone hill, - Vndir-nethe a derne lee, - Whare it was dirke as mydnyght myrke, - And eu_er_ þe wat_e_r till his knee. - - 31 - The montenans of dayes three, - He herd bot swoghynge of þe flode; - At þe laste he sayde, Full wa es mee! - Almaste I dye, for fawte of f[ode.] - - 32 - Scho lede hy_m_ in-till a faire herbere, - Whare frwte was g[ro]wan[d gret plentee]; - Pere and appill, bothe ryppe þay were, - The date, and als the damasee. - - 33 - Þe fygge, and alsso þe wyneberye, - The nyghtgales byggande on þair neste; - Þe papeioyes faste abowte gan_e_ flye, - And throstylls sange, wolde hafe no reste. - - 34 - He p_re_ssede to pulle frowte w_i_t_h_ his hande, - Als man_e_ for fude þ_a_t was nere faynt; - Scho sayd, Thom_a_s, þ_o_u late þam_e_ stande, - Or ells þe fende the will atteynt. - - 35 - If þ_o_u it plokk, sothely to saye, - Thi saule gose to þe fyre of helle; - It co_m_mes neu_er_ owte or domesdaye, - Bot þ_er_ in payne ay for to duelle. - - 36 - Thomas, sothely I the hyghte, - Come lygge thyn_e_ hede down_e_ on my knee, - And [þou] sall se þe fayreste syghte - Þat eu_er_ sawe man_e_ of thi contree. - - 37 - He did in hye als scho hym badde; - Appone hir knee his hede he layde, - Ffor hir to paye he was full glade; - And þan_e_ þat lady to hy_m_ sayde: - - 38 - Seese þ_o_u nowe [gh]one faire waye, - Þat lygges ou_er_ [gh]one heghe mou_n_tayne? - [gh]one es þe waye to heuen_e_ for aye, - When_e_ synfull sawles are passed þer payne. - - 39 - Seese þ_o_u nowe [gh]one oþ_er_ waye, - Þat lygges lawe by-nethe [gh]one rysse? - [gh]one es þe waye, þe sothe to saye, - Vn-to þe joye of paradyse. - - 40 - Seese þ_o_u [gh]itt [gh]one thirde waye, - Þat ligges vndir [gh]one grene playne? - [gh]one es þe waye, w_i_t_h_ tene and traye, - Whare synfull saulis suffirris þaire payne. - - 41 - Bot seese þ_o_u nowe [gh]one ferthe waye, - Þat lygges ou_er_ [gh]one depe delle? - [gh]one es þe waye, so waylawaye! - Vn-to þe birnande fyre of helle. - - 42 - Seese þ_o_u [gh]itt [gh]one faire castelle, - [Þ_a_t standis ouer] [gh]one heghe hill? - Of towne and towre it beris þe belle; - In erthe es none lyke it vn-till. - - 43 - Ffor sothe, Thom_a_s, [gh]one es myn_e_ awenn_e_, - And þe kynges of this countree; - Bot me ware leu_er_ be hanged and drawen_e_, - Or þat he wyste þou laye by me. - - 44 - When þ_o_u co_m_mes to [gh]one castelle gay, - I pray þe curtase man_e_ to bee; - And whate so any man_e_ to þe saye, - Luke þ_o_u answere none bott mee. - - 45 My lorde es seruede at ylk a mese - W_i_t_h_ thritty knyghttis faire and free; - I sall saye, syttande at the desse, - I tuke thi speche by-[gh]onde the see - - 46 - Thom_a_s still als stane he stude, - And he by-helde þat lady gaye; - Scho come agayne als faire and gude, - And also ryche one hir palfraye. - - 47 - Hir grewehundis fillide w_i_t_h_ dere blode, - Hir raches couplede, by my faye; - Scho blewe hir horne w_i_t_h_ mayne and mode, - Vn-to þe castelle scho tuke þe waye. - - 48 - In-to þe haulle sothely scho went, - Thomas foloued at hir hande; - Than ladyes come, bothe faire and gent, - With curtassye to hir knelande. - - 49 - Harpe and fethill bothe þay fande, - Gett_er_ne, and als so þe sawtrye; - Lutte and ryhyne bothe gangande, - And all man_er_e of mynstralsye. - - 50 - Þe most m_er_uelle þ_a_t Thom_a_s thoghte, - When_e_ þat he stode appon_e_ the flore; - Ffor feftty hertis in were broghte, - Þat were bothe grete and store. - - 51 - Raches laye lapande in þe blode, - Cokes come w_i_t_h_ dryssynge knyfe; - Thay brittened þam_e_ als þay were wode; - Reuelle amanges þame was full ryfe. - - 52 - Knyghtis dawnesede by three and three, - There was revelle, gamen_e_ and playe; - Lufly ladyes, faire and free, - That satte and sange one riche araye. - - 53 - Thom_a_s duellide i_n_ that solace - More þan_e_ I [gh]owe saye, p_a_rde, - Till one a daye, so hafe I grace, - My lufly lady sayde to mee: - - 54 - Do buske the, Thom_a_s, þe buse agayne, - Ffor þ_o_u may here no lengare be; - Hye the faste, w_i_t_h_ myghte and mayne, - I sall the brynge till Eldone tree. - - 55 - Thom_a_s sayde þan_e_, w_i_t_h_ heuy chere, - Lufly lady, nowe late me bee; - Ffor certis, lady, I hafe bene here - Noghte bot þe space of dayes three. - - 56 - 'Ffor sothe, Thomas, als I þe telle, - Þou hase bene here thre [gh]ere and more; - Bot langere here þ_o_u may noghte duelle; - The skylle I sall þe telle whare-fore. - - 57 - 'To morne of helle þe foulle fende - Amange this folke will feche his fee; - And þ_o_u arte mekill man_e_ and hende; - I trowe full wele he wolde chese the. - - 58 - 'Ffor alle þe gold þ_a_t eu_e_r may bee, - Ffro hethyn_e_ vn-to þe worldis ende, - Þou bese neu_er_ be-trayede for mee; - Þerefore w_i_t_h_ me I rede thou wende.' - - 59 - Scho broghte hy_m_ agayne to Eldone tree, - Vndir-nethe þ_a_t grenewode spraye; - In Huntlee bannkes es mery to bee, - Whare fowles synges bothe nyght and daye. - - 60 - 'Fferre owtt in [gh]one mountane graye, - Thomas, my fawkon_e_ bygges a neste; - A fawconn_e_ es an erlis praye; - Ffor-thi in na place may he reste. - - 61 - 'Ffare well, Thomas, I wend my waye, - Ffor me by-houys ou_er_ thir benttis brown_e:_' - Loo here a fytt: more es to saye, - All of Thomas of Erselldown_e_. - - -FYTT II. - - 1 - 'Fare wele, Thom_a_s, I wend my waye, - I may no lengare stande wit_h_ the:' - 'Gyff me a tokynynge, lady gaye, - That I may saye I spake wit_h_ the.' - - 2 - 'To harpe or carpe, whare-so þ_o_u gose, - Thom_a_s, þ_o_u sall hafe þe chose sothely:' - And he saide, Harpynge kepe I none, - Ffor tonge es chefe of mynstralsye. - - 3 - 'If þ_o_u will spelle, or tales telle, - Thom_a_s, þ_o_u sall neu_er_ lesynge lye; - Whare eu_er_ þ_o_u fare, by frythe or felle, - I praye the speke none euyll of me. - - 4 - 'Ffare wele, Thom_a_s, wit_h_-owttyn_e_ gyle, - I may no lengare duelle with the:' - 'Lufly lady, habyde a while, - And telle þ_o_u me of some ferly.' - - 5 - 'Thom_a_s, herkyn_e_ what I the saye:' etc. - -_Here begin the prophecies._ - - * * * * * - - _~&~ and ~j~ are replaced by ~and~ and ~I~._ - - 2^1. throstyll cokke: throstell, _Cambridge MS._ - - 2^2. menyde hir. - - 10^1. _Wanting._ She led, etc., _Cambridge_. - - 12^4, 13^4. _Lansdowne_, elden; _Cambridge_, eldryn, - eldryn_e_. - - 16^2. prysse. - - 17^1. prysee. - - 17^3. wysse. - - 43^4. me by. _Cambridge_, be me. - - 46^4. also. - -FYTT 2. - - 2^1. þ_o_u gose. _Cambridge_, [gh]e gon. - - -[304] See the letter of Dr Anderson to Bishop Percy, December 29, 1800, -in Nichols's Illustrations of the Literary History of the Eighteenth -Century, VII, 178 f. - -[305] Chambers' Popular Rhymes of Scotland, 1870, pp. 211-224. See, -also, Scott's Minstrelsy, IV, 110-116, 129-151, ed. 1833. But, above -all, Dr J. A. H. Murray's Introduction to The Romance and Prophecies of -Thomas of Erceldoune, 1875. - -[306] Hector Boece (1527) says the surname was Leirmont, but there is no -evidence for this that is of value. See Murray, p. xiii. - -[307] The five copies have been edited by Dr J. A. H. Murray, and -printed by the Early English Text Society. A reconstructed text by Dr -Alois Brandl makes the second volume of a Sammlung englischer Denkmäler -in kritischen Ausgaben, Berlin, 1880. - -[308] Murray, pp xxiv-xxvii. As might be expected, the Latin texts -corrupt the names of persons and of places, and alter the results of -battles. Dr Murray remarks: "The oldest text makes the Scots win Halidon -Hill, with the slaughter of six thousand Englishmen, while the other -texts, wise after the fact, makes the Scots lose, as they actually did." -This, and the consideration that a question about the conflict between -the families of Bruce and Baliol would not be put after 1400, when the -Baliol line was extinct, disposes Dr Murray to think that verses 326-56 -of the second fit, with perhaps the first fit, the conclusion of the -poem, and an indefinite portion of fit third, may have been written on -the eve of Halidon Hill, with a view to encourage the Scots. - -[309] The poem, vv 675-80, says only that Thomas and the lady did not -part for ever and aye, but that she was to visit him at Huntley banks. - -[310] The relations of Thomas Rhymer and Ogier might, perhaps, be -cleared up by the poem of The Visions of Ogier in Fairy Land. The book -is thus described by Brunet, ed. 1863, IV, 173: Le premier (second et -troisième) livre des visions d'Oger le Dannoys au royaulme de Fairie, -Paris, 1542, pet. in-8, de 48 ff. Brunet adds: A la suite de ce poëme, -dans l'exemplaire de la Bibliothèque impériale, se trouve, Le liure des -visions fantastiques, Paris, 1542, pet. in-8, de 24 ff. The National -Library is not now in possession of the volume; nor have all the -inquiries I have been able to make, though most courteously aided in -France, resulted, as I hoped, in the finding of a copy. - -[311] Excepting the two satirical stanzas with which Scott's version -(#C#) concludes. "The repugnance of Thomas to be debarred the use of -falsehood when he should find it convenient," may have, as Scott says, -"a comic effect," but is, for a ballad, a miserable conceit. Both ballad -and romance are serious. - -[312] Eildon Tree, the site of which is supposed now to be marked by the -Eildon Tree Stone, stood, or should have stood, on the slope of the -eastern of the three Eildon Hills. Huntly Banks are about half a mile to -the west of the Eildon Stone, on the same hill-slope. Erceldoun, a -village on the Leader, two miles above its junction with the Tweed, is -all but visible from the Eildon Stone. Murray, pp l-lii. - -[313] In #B# 2, absurdly, the lady holds nine bells in her hand. Ringing -or jingling bridles are ascribed to fairies, Tam Lin, #A# 37, Cromek's -Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, p. 298 ("manes hung wi whustles -that the win played on," p. 299). The fairy's saddle has a bordure of -bells in the English Launfal, Halliwell's Illustrations of Fairy -Mythology, p. 31, but not in Marie's lai. The dwarf-king Antiloie, in -Ulrich Von Eschenbach's Alexander, has bells on his bridle: Grimm, -Deutsche Mythologie, I, 385. These bells, however, are not at all -distinctive of fairies, but are the ordinary decoration of elegant -"outriders" in the Middle Ages, especially of women. In the romance of -Richard C[oe]ur de Lion, a messenger's trappings ring with five hundred -bells. Besides the bridle, bells were sometimes attached to the horse's -breastplate, to the saddle-bow, crupper, and stirrups. Conde Claros's -steed has three hundred around his breastplate. See Weber's Metrical -Romances, R.C. de Lion, vv 1514-17, 5712-14, cited by T. Wright, History -of Domestic Manners in England, 214 f; Liebrecht, Gervasius, p. 122; -Kölbing, Englische Studien, III, 105; Zupitza and Varnhagen, Anglia, -III, 371, IV, 417; and particularly A. Schultz, Das höfische Leben zur -Zeit der Minnesinger, I, 235, 388-91. - -[314] The original I suppose to be the very cheerful tale of Ogier, with -which the author of Thomas of Erceldoune has blended a very serious one, -without any regard to the irreconcilableness of the two. He is presently -forced to undo this melancholy transformation of the fairy, as we shall -see. Brandl, 'Thomas of Erceldoune,' p. 20, cites from Giraldus -Cambrensis, Itinerarium Cambriæ, I, 5, a story about one Meilyr, a -Welshman, the like of which our poet had in mind. This Meilyr was a -great soothsayer, and "owed his skill to the following adventure:" Being -in company one evening with a girl for whom he had long had a passion, -desideratis amplexibus atque deliciis cum indulsisset, statim loco -puellæ formosæ formam quamdam villosam, hispidam et hirsutam, adeoque -enormiter deformem invenit, quod in ipso ejusdem aspectu dementire -c[oe]pit et insanire. Meilyr recovered his reason after several years, -through the merits of the saints, but always kept up an intimacy with -unclean spirits, and by their help foretold the future. It is not said -that they gave him the tongue that never could lie, but no other tongue -could lie successfully in his presence: he always saw a little devil -capering on it. He was able, by similar indications, to point out the -lies and errors of books. The experiment being once tried of laying the -Gospel of John in his lap, every devil instantly decamped. Geoffrey of -Monmouth's history was substituted, and imps swarmed all over the book -and him, too. - -[315] #B# 8^{3,4} "It was a' that cursed fruit o thine beggared man and -woman in your countrie:" the fruit of the Forbidden Tree. - -[316] Purgatory is omitted in the Cotton MS. of the romance, as in the -ballad. - -[317] Ogier le Danois hardly exceeded the proportion of the ordinary -hyperbole of lovers: two hundred years seemed but twenty. The British -king Herla lived with the king of the dwarfs more than two hundred -years, and thought the time but three days: Walter Mapes, Nugæ -Curialium, ed. Wright, p. 16 f (Liebrecht). The strongest case, I -believe, is the exquisite legend, versified by Trench, of the monk, with -whom three hundred years passed, while he was listening to a bird's -song--as he thought, less than three hours. For some of the countless -repetitions of the idea, see Pauli's Schimpf und Ernst, ed. Oesterley, -No 562, and notes, p. 537; Liebrecht's Gervasins, p. 89; W. Hertz, -Deutsche Sage im Elsass, pp 115-18, 263; A. Graf, La Leggenda del -Paradiso Terrestre, pp 26-29, 31-33, and notes; J. Koch, Die -Siebenschläferlegende, kap. ii. - -[318] In an exquisite little ballad obtained by Tommaseo from a -peasant-girl of Empoli, I, 26, a lover who had visited hell, and there -met and kissed his mistress, is told by her that he must not hope ever -to go thence. How the lover escaped in this instance is not explained. -Such things happen sometimes, but not often enough to encourage one to -take the risk. - - Sono stato all' inferno, e son tornato: - Misericordia, la gente che c'era! - V'era una stanza tutta illuminata, - E dentro v'era la speranza mia. - Quando mi vedde, gran festa mi fece, - E poi mi disse: Dolce anima mia, - Non ti arricordi del tempo passato, - Quando tu mi dicevi, "anima mia?" - Ora, mio caro ben, baciami in bocca, - Baciami tanto ch'io contenta sia. - È tanto saporita la tua bocca! - Di grazia saporisci anco la mia. - Ora, mio caro ben, che m'hai baciato, - Di qui non isperar d'andarne via. - -[319] #A# 8, 9, #R# 34, 35. It was not that Thomas was about to pluck -fruit from the Forbidden Tree, though #B# understands it so: cf. #R# 32, -33. The curse of this tree seems, however, to have affected all -Paradise. In modern Greek popular poetry Paradise occurs sometimes -entirely in the sense of Hades. See B. Schmidt, Volksleben der -Neugriechen, p. 249. - -[320] Jamieson, in Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p. 398: 'Child -Rowland and Burd Ellen.' - -[321] Niedersächsische Sagen und Märchen, Schambach und Müller, p. 373. -Shakspere has this: "They are fairies; he that speaks to them shall -die;" Falstaff, in Merry Wives of Windsor, V, 5. Ancient Greek tradition -is not without traces of the same ideas. It was Persephone's eating of -the pomegranate kernel that consigned her to the lower world, in spite -of Zeus and Demeter's opposition. The drinking of Circe's brewage and -the eating of lotus had an effect on the companions of Ulysses such as -is sometimes ascribed to the food and drink of fairies, or other demons, -that of producing forgetfulness of home: Odyssey, X, 236, IX, 97. But it -would not be safe to build much on this. A Hebrew tale makes the human -wife of a demon charge a man who has come to perform, a certain service -for the family not to eat or drink in the house, or to take any present -of her husband, exactly repeating the precautions observed in Grimm, -Deutsche Sagen, Nos 41, 49: Tendlan, Das Buch der Sagen und Legenden -jüdischer Vorzeit, p. 141. The children of Shem may probably have -derived this trait in the story from the children of Japhet. Aladdin, in -the Arabian Nights, is to have a care, above all things, that he does -not touch the walls of the subterranean chamber so much as with his -clothes, or he will die instantly. This again, by itself, is not very -conclusive. - -[322] Historia Danica, l. viii: Müller et Velschow, I, 420-25. - - - - -38 - -THE WEE WEE MAN - - #A. a.# 'The Wee Wee Man,' Herd's MSS, I, 153; Herd's - Scottish Songs, 1776, I, 95. - - #B.# Caw's Poetical Museum, p. 348. - - #C.# 'The Wee Wee Man,' Scott's Minstrelsy, II, 234, ed. - 1802. - - #D.# 'The Wee Wee Man,' Kinloch MSS, VII, 253. - - #E. a.# 'The Wee Wee Man,' Motherwell's Note-Book, fol. - 40; Motherwell's MS., p. 195. #b.# Motherwell's - Minstrelsy, p. 343. - - #F.# 'The Wee Wee Man,' Motherwell's MS., p. 68. - - #G.# 'The Little Man,' Buchan's Ballads of the North of - Scotland, I, 263. - - -This extremely airy and sparkling little ballad varies but slightly in -the half dozen known copies. The one in the Musical Museum, No 370, p. -382, and that in Ritson's Scotish Songs, II, 139, are reprinted from -Herd. - -Singularly enough, there is a poem in eight-line stanzas, in a -fourteenth-century manuscript, which stands in somewhat the same -relation to this ballad as the poem of Thomas of Erceldoune does to the -ballad of Thomas Rymer, but with the important difference that there is -no reason for deriving the ballad from the poem in this instance. There -seems to have been an intention to make it, like Thomas of Erceldoune, -an introduction to a string of prophecies which follows, but no junction -has been effected. This poem is given in an appendix. - - * * * * * - -#A# is translated by Arndt, Blütenlese, p. 210; #B#, with a few -improvements from #E b#, by Rosa Warrens, Schottische Volkslieder, p. -12. - - -A - - Herd's MSS, I, 153, Herd's Ancient and Modern Scottish - Songs, 1776, I, 95. - - 1 - As I was wa'king all alone, - Between a water and a wa, - And there I spy'd a wee wee man, - And he was the least that ere I saw. - - 2 - His legs were scarce a shathmont's length, - And thick and thimber was his thigh; - Between his brows there was a span, - And between his shoulders there was three. - - 3 - He took up a meikle stane, - And he flang't as far as I could see; - Though I had been a Wallace wight, - I couldna liften 't to my knee. - - 4 - 'O wee wee man, but thou be strang! - O tell me where thy dwelling be?' - 'My dwelling's down at yon bonny bower; - O will you go with me and see?' - - 5 - On we lap, and awa we rade, - Till we came to yon bonny green; - We lighted down for to bait our horse, - And out there came a lady fine. - - 6 - Four and twenty at her back, - And they were a' clad out in green; - Though the King of Scotland had been there, - The warst o them might hae been his queen. - - 7 - On we lap, and awa we rade, - Till we came to yon bonny ha, - Whare the roof was o the beaten gould, - And the floor was o the cristal a'. - - 8 - When we came to the stair-foot, - Ladies were dancing, jimp and sma, - But in the twinkling of an eye, - My wee wee man was clean awa. - - -B - - Caw's Poetical Museum, p. 348. - - 1 - As I was walking by my lane, - Atween a water and a wa, - There sune I spied a wee wee man, - He was the least that eir I saw. - - 2 - His legs were scant a shathmont's length, - And sma and limber was his thie; - Atween his shoulders was ae span, - About his middle war but three. - - 3 - He has tane up a meikle stane, - And flang 't as far as I cold see; - Ein thouch I had been Wallace wicht, - I dought na lift 't to my knie. - - 4 - 'O wee wee man, but ye be strang! - Tell me whar may thy dwelling be? - 'I dwell beneth that bonnie bouir; - O will ye gae wi me and see?' - - 5 - On we lap, and awa we rade, - Till we cam to a bonny green; - We lichted syne to bait our steid, - And out there cam a lady sheen. - - 6 - Wi four and twentie at her back, - A' comely cled in glistering green; - Thouch there the King of Scots had stude, - The warst micht weil hae been his queen. - - 7 - On syne we past wi wondering cheir, - Till we cam to a bonny ha; - The roof was o the beaten gowd, - The flure was o the crystal a'. - - 8 - When we cam there, wi wee wee knichts - War ladies dancing, jimp and sma, - But in the twinkling of an eie, - Baith green and ha war clein awa. - - -C - - Scott's Minstrelsy, II, 234, ed. 1802, incorporated with - 'The Young Tamlane.' From recitation. - - 1 - 'Twas down by Carterhaugh, father, - I walked beside the wa, - And there I saw a wee wee man, - The least that eer I saw. - - 2 - His legs were skant a shathmont lang, - Yet umber was his thie; - Between his brows there was ae span, - And between his shoulders three. - - 3 - He's taen and flung a meikle stane, - As far as I could see; - I could na, had I been Wallace wight, - Hae lifted it to my knee. - - 4 - 'O wee wee man, but ye be strang! - Where may thy dwelling be?' - 'It 's down beside yon bonny bower; - Fair lady, come and see.' - - 5 - On we lap, and away we rade, - Down to a bonny green; - We lighted down to bait our steed, - And we saw the fairy queen. - - 6 - With four and twenty at her back, - Of ladies clad in green; - Tho the King of Scotland had been there, - The worst might hae been his queen. - - 7 - On we lap, and away we rade, - Down to a bonny ha; - The roof was o the beaten goud, - The floor was of chrystal a'. - - 8 - And there were dancing on the floor, - Fair ladies jimp and sma; - But in the twinkling o an eye, - They sainted clean awa. - - -D - - Kinloch MSS, VII, 253. From Mrs Elder. - - 1 - As I gaed out to tak a walk, - Atween the water and the wa, - There I met wi a wee wee man, - The weest man that ere I saw. - - 2 - Thick and short was his legs, - And sma and thin was his thie, - And atween his een a flee might gae, - And atween his shouthers were inches three. - - 3 - And he has tane up a muckle stane, - And thrown it farther than I c_ou_d see; - If I had been as strong as ere Wallace was, - I c_ou_d na lift it to my knie. - - 4 - 'O,' quo I, 'but ye be strong! - And O where may your dwelling be?' - 'It 's down in to yon bonnie glen; - Gin ye dinna believe, ye can come and see.' - - 5 - And we rade on, and we sped on, - Till we cam to yon bonny glen, - And there we lichted and louted in, - And there we saw a dainty dame. - - 6 - There was four and twenty wating on her, - And ilka ane was clad in green, - And he had been the king of fair Scotland, - The warst o them micht hae been his queen. - - 7 - There war pipers playing on ilka stair, - And ladies dancing in ilka ha, - But before ye c_ou_d hae sadd what was that, - The house and wee manie was awa. - - -E - - #a.# Motherwell's Note-Book, fol. 40, "from Agnes Lyle;" - Motherwell's MS., p. 195, "from the recitation of Agnes - Laird, Kilbarchan." #b.# Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 343. - - 1 - As I was walking mine alone, - Betwext the water and the wa, - There I spied a wee wee man, - He was the least ane that eer I saw. - - 2 - His leg was scarse a shaftmont lang, - Both thick and nimble was his knee; - Between his eyes there was a span, - Betwixt his shoulders were ells three. - - 3 - This wee wee man pulled up a stone, - He flang't as far as I could see; - Tho I had been like Wallace strong, - I wadna gotn't up to my knee. - - 4 - I said, Wee man, oh, but you're strong! - Where is your dwelling, or where may't be? - 'My dwelling's at yon bonnie green; - Fair lady, will ye go and see?' - - 5 - On we lap, and awa we rade, - Until we came to yonder green; - We lichtit down to rest our steed, - And there cam out a lady soon. - - 6 - Four and twenty at her back, - And every one of them was clad in green; - Altho he had been the King of Scotland, - The warst o them a' micht hae been his queen. - - 7 - There were pipers playing in every neuk, - And ladies dancing, jimp and sma, - And aye the owre-turn o their tune - Was 'Our wee wee man has been lang awa.' - - -F - - Motherwell's MS., p. 68, "from the recitation of Mrs - Wilson, of the Renfrewshire Tontine; now of the Caledonian - Hotel, Inverness." - - 1 - As I was walking mine alane, - Between the water and the wa, - And oh there I spy'd a wee wee mannie, - The weeest mannie that ere I saw. - - 2 - His legs they were na a gude inch lang, - And thick and nimble was his thie; - Between his een there was a span, - And between his shouthers there were ells three. - - 3 - I asked at this wee wee mannie - Whare his dwelling place might be; - The answer that he gied to me - Was, Cum alang, and ye shall see. - - 4 - So we'll awa, and on we rade, - Till we cam to yon bonnie green; - We lichted down to bait our horse, - And up and started a lady syne. - - 5 - Wi four and twenty at her back, - And they were a' weell clad in green; - Tho I had been a crowned king, - The warst o them might ha been my queen. - - 6 - So we'll awa, and on we rade, - Till we cam to yon bonnie hall; - The rafters were o the beaten gold, - And silver wire were the kebars all. - - 7 - And there was mirth in every end, - And ladies dancing, ane and a, - And aye the owre-turn o their sang - Was 'The wee wee mannie's been lang awa.' - - -G - - Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 263. - - 1 - As I gaed out to tak the air, - Between Midmar and bonny Craigha, - There I met a little wee man, - The less o him I never saw. - - 2 - His legs were but a finger lang, - And thick and nimle was his knee; - Between his brows there was a span, - Between his shoulders ells three. - - 3 - He lifted a stane sax feet in hight, - He lifted it up till his right knee, - And fifty yards and mair, I'm sure, - I wyte he made the stane to flee. - - 4 - 'O little wee man, but ye be wight! - Tell me whar your dwelling be;' - 'I hae a bower, compactly built, - Madam, gin ye'll cum and see.' - - 5 - Sae on we lap, and awa we rade, - Till we come to yon little ha; - The kipples ware o the gude red gowd, - The reef was o the proseyla. - - 6 - Pipers were playing, ladies dancing, - The ladies dancing, jimp and sma; - At ilka turning o the spring, - The little man was wearin's wa. - - 7 - Out gat the lights, on cam the mist, - Ladies nor mannie mair coud see - I turnd about, and gae a look, - Just at the foot o' Benachie. - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - 2^2. _The printed copy has ~thighs~._ - - 4^3. dwelling down. - - _There is a copy of this ballad in ~Cunningham's Songs of - Scotland, I, 303~. Though no confidence can be felt in the - genuineness of the "~several variations from recitation - and singing~," with which Cunningham says he sought to - improve Herd's version, the more considerable ones are - here noted._ - - 1^3. O there I met. - - 2^1. a shathmont lang. - - 3^3. been a giant born. - - 4^1. ye're wonder strong. - - 4^4. O ladie, gang wi me. - - 5^1. away we flew. - - 5^2. to a valley green. - - 5^3. down and he stamped his foot. - - 5^4. And up there rose. - - 6^1. Wi four. - - 6^2. the glossy green. - - 7^2. stately ha. - - 8. - And there were harpings loud and sweet, - And ladies dancing, jimp and sma; - He clapped his hands, and ere I wist, - He sank and saunted clean awa. - -#E. a.# - - 4^1. your. - - _Motherwell has made one or two slight changes in copying - from his Note-Book into his MS._ - - #b.# _Besides some alterations of his own, Motherwell has - introduced readings from #F#._ - - 2^4. there were. - - 3^3 as Wallace. - - 5^4. lady sheen. - - 6^1. Wi four. - - 6^2. And they were a' weel clad. - - _After 6 is inserted #F# 6, with the first line changed - to_ - - So on we lap, and awa we rade. - - -APPENDIX. - -This piece is found in Cotton MS., Julius, A, V, the ninth article in -the manuscript, fol. 175, r^o, (otherwise 180, r^o). It is here given -nearly as printed by Mr Thomas Wright in his edition of the Chronicle of -Pierre de Langtoft, II, 452. It had been previously printed in Ritson's -Ancient Songs, ed. 1829, I, 40; Finlay's Scottish Ballads, II, 168; the -Retrospective Review, Second Series, II, 326. The prophecies, omitted -here, are given by all the above. - - 1 - Als y yod on ay Mounday - Bytwene Wyltinden and Walle, - Me ane aftere brade waye, - Ay litel man y mette withalle; - The leste that ever I sathe, [sothe] to say, - Oithere in boure, oithere in halle; - His robe was noithere grene na gray, - Bot alle yt was of riche palle. - - 2 - On me he cald, and bad me bide; - Well stille y stode ay litel space; - Fra Lanchestre the parke syde - Yeen he come, wel fair his pase. - He hailsed me with mikel pride; - Ic haved wel mykel ferly wat he was; - I saide, Wel mote the bityde! - That litel man with large face. - - 3 - I biheld that litel man - Bi the stretes als we gon gae; - His berd was syde ay large span, - And glided als the fethere of pae; - His heved was wyte als any swan, - His hegehen ware gret and grai alsso; - Brues lange, wel I the can - Merke it to five inches and mae. - - 4 - Armes scort, for sothe I saye, - Ay span seemed thaem to bee; - Handes brade, vytouten nay, - And fingeres lange, he scheued me. - Ay stan he toke op thare it lay, - And castid forth that I mothe see; - Ay merke-soote of large way - Bifor me strides he castid three. - - 5 - Wel stille I stod als did the stane, - To loke him on thouth me nouthe lange; - His robe was alle golde bigane, - Wel craftlike maked, I underestande; - Botones asurd, everlke ane, - Fra his elbouthe on til his hande; - Eldelike man was he nane, - That in myn herte icke onderestande. - - 6 - Til him I sayde ful sone on ane, - For forthirmare I wald him fraine, - Glalli wild I wit thi name, - And I wist wat me mouthe gaine; - Thou ert so litel of flesse and bane, - And so mikel of mithe and mayne; - Ware vones thou, litel man, at hame? - Wit of the I walde ful faine. - - 7 - 'Thoth I be litel and lith, - Am y nothe wytouten wane; - Fferli frained thou wat I hith, - Yat thou salt noth with my name. - My wonige stede ful wel es dyth, - Nou sone thou salt se at hame.' - Til him I sayde, For Godes mith, - Lat me forth myn erand gane. - - 8 - 'The thar noth of thin errand lette, - Thouth thou come ay stonde wit me; - Forthere salt thou noth bisette - Bi miles twa noythere bi three.' - Na linger durste I for him lette, - But forth ij fundid wyt that free; - Stintid vs broke no becke; - Ferlicke me thouth hu so mouth bee. - - 9 - He vent forth, als ij you say, - In at ay yate, ij underestande; - Intil ay yate, wundouten nay; - It to se thouth me nouth lange. - The bankers on the binkes lay, - And fair lordes sette ij fonde; - In ilka ay hirn ij herd ay lay, - And levedys south meloude sange. - - The meeting with the little man was on Monday. We are now - invited to listen to a tale told on Wednesday by "a moody - barn," who is presently addressed, in language which, to - be sure, fits the elf well enough, as "merry man, that is - so wight:" but things do not fay at all here. - - 10 Lithe, bothe yonge and alde: - Of ay worde ij will you saye, - A litel tale that me was tald - Erli on ay Wedenesdaye. - A mody barn, that was ful bald, - My frend that ij frained aye, - Al my yerning he me tald, - And yatid me als we went bi waye. - - 11 - 'Miri man, that es so wythe, - Of ay thinge gif me answere: - For him that mensked man wyt mith, - Wat sal worth of this were?' &c. - - * * * * * - - _The orthography of this piece, if rightly rendered, is - peculiar, and it is certainly not consistent._ - - 1^5. _~saith~ for ~saw~ occurs in 23^3._ - - 2^4. _Wright_, Y cen: _Retrosp. Rev._, Yeen. - - 3^8. _W._, Merkes: _R. R._, Merke. fize. - - 5^5. _W._, everlkes: _R. R._, euerelke. - - 6^8. _W._, of their: _R. R._, of ye (þe). i. wald. - - 7^4. _W._, That thou: _R. R._, yat. - - 7^5. dygh. - - 9^4. south me. - - 9^8. me loude. - - 10^7. _W._, thering: _R. R._, yering. - - 10^8. _W._, y atid: _R. R._, yatid. - - - - -39 - -TAM LIN - - #A.# 'Tam Lin,' Johnson's Museum, p. 423, 1792. - Communicated by Burns. - - #B.# 'Young Tom Line,' Glenriddell MS., vol. xi, No 17, - 1791. - - #C.# 'Kertonha, or, The Fairy Court,' Herd, The Ancient - and Modern Scots Songs, 1769, p. 300. - - #D.# 'Tom Linn.' #a.# Motherwell's MS., p. 532. #b.# - Maidment's New Book of Old Ballads, p. 54. #c.# 'Tom o - Linn,' Pitcairn's MSS, III, fol. 67. - - #E.# 'Young Tamlin,' Motherwell's Note-Book, fol. 13. - - #F.# 'Tomaline,' Motherwell's MS., p. 64. - - #G.# 'Tam-a-line, the Elfin Knight,' Buchan's MSS, I, 8; - 'Tam a-Lin, or The Knight of Faerylande,' Motherwell's - MS., p. 595. Dixon, Scottish Traditionary Versions of - Ancient Ballads, Percy Society, XVII, 11. - - #H.# 'Young Tam Lane,' Campbell MSS, II, 129. - - #I.# 'The Young Tamlane.' Minstrelsy of the Scottish - Border: #a#, II, 337, ed. 1833; #b#, II, 228, ed. 1802. - - -The first twenty-two stanzas of #B# differ from the corresponding ones -in #A#, 1-23, omitting 16, by only a few words, and there are other -agreements in the second half of these versions. Burns's intimacy with -Robert Riddell would naturally lead to a communication from one to the -other; but both may have derived the verses that are common from the -same third party. Herd's fragment, #C#, was the earliest printed. -Scott's version, #I#, as he himself states, was compounded of the Museum -copy, Riddell's, Herd's, and "several recitals from tradition." #I b#, -the edition of 1802, contained fragments of 'The Bromfield Hill' and of -'The Wee Wee Man,' which were dropped from the later edition; but -unfortunately this later edition was corrupted with eleven new stanzas, -which are not simply somewhat of a modern cast as to diction, as Scott -remarks, but of a grossly modern invention, and as unlike popular verse -as anything can be. #I# is given according to the later edition, with -those stanzas omitted; and all that is peculiar to this version, and not -taken from the Museum, Glenriddell, or Herd, is distinguished from the -rest by the larger type. This, it will be immediately seen, is very -little. - -The copy in Tales of Wonder, II, 459, is #A#, altered by Lewis. Mr -Joseph Robertson notes, Kinloch MSS, VI, 10, that his mother had -communicated to him some fragments of this ballad slightly differing -from Scott's version, with a substitution of the name True Tammas for -Tam Lane. - -The Scots Magazine for October, 1818, LXXXII, 327-29, has a "fragment" -of more than sixty stanzas, composed in an abominable artificial lingo, -on the subject of this ballad, and alleged to have been taken from the -mouth of a good old peasant, who, not having heard the ballad for thirty -years, could remember no more. Thomas the Rhymer appears in the last -lines with very great distinction, but it is not clear what part he has -in the story.[323] - -A copy printed in Aberdeen, 1862, and said to have been edited by the -Rev. John Burnett Pratt, of Cruden, Aberdeenshire, is made up from -Aytoun and Scott, with a number of slight changes.[324] - -'The Tayl of the [gh]ong Tamlene' is spoken of as told among a company -of shepherds, in Vedderburn's Complaint of Scotland, 1549, p. 63 of Dr -James A. H. Murray's edition for the Early English Text Society. 'Thom -of Lyn' is mentioned as a dance of the same party, a little further on, -Murray, p. 66, and 'Young Thomlin' is the name of an air in a medley in -"Wood's MS.," inserted, as David Laing thought, between 1600 and 1620, -and printed in Forbes's Cantus, 1666: Stenhouse's ed. of The Scots -Musical Museum, 1853, IV, 440. "A ballett of Thomalyn" is licensed to -Master John Wallye and Mistress Toye in 1558: Arber, Transcript of the -Registers of the Company of Stationers, I, 22; cited by Furnivall, -Captain Cox, &c., Ballad Society, p. clxiv. - -Sir Walter Scott relates a tradition of an attempt to rescue a woman -from fairydom which recalls the ill success of many of the efforts to -disenchant White Ladies in Germany: "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 at Halloween, 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 forever." The same author proceeds to recount a real incident, which -took place at the town of North Berwick, within memory, of a man who was -prevented from undertaking, or at least meditating, a similar rescue -only by shrewd and prompt practical measures on the part of his -minister.[325] - -This fine ballad stands by itself, and is not, as might have been -expected, found in possession of any people but the Scottish. Yet it has -connections, through the principal feature in the story, the -retransformation of Tam Lin, with Greek popular tradition older than -Homer. - -Something of the successive changes of shape is met with in a -Scandinavian ballad: 'Nattergalen,' Grundtvig, II, 168, No 57; 'Den -förtrollade Prinsessan,' Afzelius, II, 67, No 41, Atterbom, Poetisk -Kalender, 1816, p. 44; Dybeck, Runa, 1844, p. 94, No 2; Axelson, -Vandring i Wermlands Elfdal, p. 21, No 3; Lindeman, Norske -Fjeldmelodier, Tekstbilag til 1ste Bind, p. 3, No 10. - -Though many copies of this ballad have been obtained from the mouth of -the people, all that are known are derived from flying sheets, of which -there is a Danish one dated 1721 and a Swedish of the year 1738. What is -of more account, the style of the piece, as we have it, is not quite -popular. Nevertheless, the story is entirely of the popular stamp, and -so is the feature in it, which alone concerns us materially. A -nightingale relates to a knight how she had once had a lover, but a -step-mother soon upset all that, and turned her into a bird and her -brother into a wolf. The curse was not to be taken off the brother till -he drank of his step-dame's blood, and after seven years he caught her, -when she was taking a walk in a wood, tore out her heart, and regained -his human shape. The knight proposes to the bird that she shall come and -pass the winter in his bower, and go back to the wood in the summer: -this, the nightingale says, the step-mother had forbidden, as long as -she wore feathers. The knight seizes the bird by the foot, takes her -home to his bower, and fastens the windows and doors. She turns to all -the marvellous beasts one ever heard of,--to a lion, a bear, a variety -of small snakes, and at last to a loathsome lind-worm. The knight makes -a sufficient incision for blood to come, and a maid stands on the floor -as fair as a flower. He now asks after her origin, and she answers, -Egypt's king was my father, and its queen my mother; my brother was -doomed to rove the woods as a wolf. "If Egypt's king," he rejoins, "was -your father, and its queen your mother, then for sure you are my -sister's daughter, who was doomed to be a nightingale."[326] - -We come much nearer, and indeed surprisingly near, to the principal -event of the Scottish ballad in a Cretan fairy-tale, cited from -Chourmouzis by Bernhard Schmidt.[327] A young peasant of the village -Sgourokepháli, who was a good player on the rote, used to be taken by -the nereids into their grotto for the sake of his music. He fell in love -with one of them, and, not knowing how to help himself, had recourse to -an old woman of his village. She gave him this advice: that just before -cock-crow he should seize his beloved by the hair, and hold on, -unterrified, till the cock crew, whatever forms she should assume. The -peasant gave good heed, and the next time he was taken into the cave -fell to playing, as usual, and the nereids to dancing. But as cock-crow -drew nigh, he put down his instrument, sprang upon the object of his -passion, and grasped her by her locks. She instantly changed shape; -became a dog, a snake, a camel, fire. But he kept his courage and held -on, and presently the cock crew, and the nereids vanished all but one. -His love returned to her proper beauty, and went with him to his home. -After the lapse of a year she bore a son, but in all this time never -uttered a word. The young husband was fain to ask counsel of the old -woman again, who told him to heat the oven hot, and say to his wife that -if she would not speak he would throw the boy into the oven. He acted -upon this prescription; the nereid cried out, Let go my child, dog! tore -the infant from his arms, and vanished. - -This Cretan tale, recovered from tradition even later than our ballad, -repeats all the important circumstances of the forced marriage of Thetis -with Peleus. Chiron, like the old woman, suggested to his protégé that -he should lay hands on the nereid, and keep his hold through whatever -metamorphosis she might make. He looked out for his opportunity and -seized her; she turned to fire, water, and a wild beast, but he did not -let go till she resumed her primitive shape. Thetis, having borne a son, -wished to make him immortal; to which end she buried him in fire by -night, to burn out his human elements, and anointed him with ambrosia by -day. Peleus was not taken into counsel, but watched her, and saw the boy -gasping in the fire, which made him call out; and Thetis, thus thwarted, -abandoned the child and went back to the nereids. Apollodorus, -Bibliotheca, III, 13, 5, 6. - -The Cretan tale does not differ from the one repeated by Apollodorus -from earlier writers a couple of thousand years ago more than two -versions of a story gathered from oral tradition in these days are apt -to do. Whether it has come down to our time from mouth to mouth through -twenty-five centuries or more, or whether, having died out of the -popular memory, it was reintroduced through literature, is a question -that cannot be decided with certainty; but there will be nothing -unlikely in the former supposition to those who bear in mind the -tenacity of tradition among people who have never known books.[328] - -#B# 34, - - First dip me in a stand of milk, - And then in a stand of water; - Haud me fast, let me na gae, - I'll be your bairnie's father, - -has an occult and very important significance which has only very lately -been pointed out, and which modern reciters had completely lost -knowledge of, as appears by the disorder into which the stanzas have -fallen.[329] Immersion in a liquid, generally water, but sometimes milk, -is a process requisite for passing from a non-human shape, produced by -enchantment, back into the human, and also for returning from the human -to a non-human state, whether produced by enchantment or original. We -have seen that the serpent which Lanzelet kisses, in Ulrich's romance, -is not by that simple though essential act instantly turned into a -woman. It is still necessary that she should bathe in a spring (p. 308). -In an Albanian tale, 'Taubenliebe,' Hahn, No 102, II, 130, a dove flies -into a princess's window, and, receiving her caresses, asks, Do you love -me? The princess answering Yes, the dove says, Then have a dish of milk -ready to-morrow, and you shall see what a handsome man I am. A dish of -milk is ready the next morning; the dove flies into the window, dips -himself in the milk, drops his feathers, and steps out a beautiful -youth. When it is time to go, the youth dips in the milk, and flies off -a dove. This goes on every day for two years. A Greek tale, 'Goldgerte,' -Hahn, No 7, I, 97, has the same transformation, with water for milk. Our -#B# 34 has well-water only.[330] Perhaps the bath of milk occurred in -one earlier version of our ballad, the water-bath in another, and the -two accounts became blended in time. - -The end of the mutations, in #F# 11, #G# 43, is a naked man, and a -mother-naked man in #B# 33, under the presumed right arrangement; -meaning by right arrangement, however, not the original arrangement, but -the most consistent one for the actual form of the tradition. Judging by -analogy, the naked man should issue from the bath of milk or of water; -into which he should have gone in one of his non-human shapes, a dove, -swan, or snake (for which, too, a "stand" of milk or of water is a more -practicable bath than for a man). The fragment #C# adds some slight -probability to this supposition. The last change there is into "a dove -but and a swan;" then Tam Lin bids the maiden to let go, for he'll "be a -perfect man:" this, nevertheless, he could not well become without some -further ceremony. #A# is the only version which has preserved an -essentially correct process: Tam Lin, when a burning gleed, is to be -thrown into well-water, from which he will step forth a naked -knight.[331] - -At stated periods, which the ballads make to be seven years, the fiend -of hell is entitled to take his teind, tithe, or kane from the people of -fairy-land: #A# 24, #B# 23, #C# 5, #D# 15, #G# 28, #H# 15. The fiend -prefers those that are fair and fu o flesh, according to #A#, #G#; ane o -flesh and blood, #D#. #H# makes the queen fear for herself; "the koors -they hae gane round about, and I fear it will be mysel." #H# is not -discordant with popular tradition elsewhere, which attributes to fairies -the practice of abstracting young children to serve as substitutes for -themselves in this tribute: Scott's Minstrelsy, II, 220, 1802. #D# 15 -says "the last here goes to hell," which would certainly not be -equitable, and #C# "we're a' dung down to hell," where "all" must be -meant only of the naturalized members of the community. Poor Alison -Pearson, who lost her life in 1586 for believing these things, testified -that the tribute was annual. Mr William Sympson, who had been taken away -by the fairies, "bidd her sign herself that she be not taken away, for -the teind of them are tane to hell everie year:" Scott, as above, p. -208. The kindly queen of the fairies[332] will not allow Thomas of -Erceldoune to be exposed to this peril, and hurries him back to earth -the day before the fiend comes for his due. Thomas is in peculiar -danger, for the reason given in #A#, #G#, #R#. - - To morne of helle þe foulle fende - Amange this folke will feche his fee; - And þou art mekill man and hende; - I trowe full wele he wolde chese the. - -The elf-queen, #A# 42, #B# 40, would have taken out Tam's twa gray een, -had she known he was to be borrowed, and have put in twa een of tree, -#B# 41, #D# 34, #E# 21, #H# 14; she would have taken out his heart of -flesh, and have put in, #B#, #D#, #E#, a heart of stane, #H# of tree. -The taking out of the eyes would probably be to deprive Tam of the -faculty of recognizing fairy folk thereafter. Mortals whose eyes have -been touched with fairies' salve can see them when they are to others -invisible, and such persons, upon distinguishing and saluting fairies, -have often had not simply this power but their ordinary eyesight taken -away: see Cromek's Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, p. 304, -Thiele, Danmarks Folkesagn, 1843, II, 202, IV, etc. Grimm has given -instances of witches, Slavic, German, Norse and Italian, taking out the -heart of man (which they are wont to devour), and replacing it in some -instances with straw, wood, or something of the kind; nor do the Roman -witches appear to have been behind later ones in this dealing: Deutsche -Mythologie, 904 f, and the note III, 312. - -The fairy in the Lai de Lauval, v. 547, rides on a white palfrey, and -also two damsels, her harbingers, v. 471; so the fairy princess in the -English Launfal, Halliwell, Fairy Mythology, p. 30. The fairy king and -all his knights and ladies ride on white steeds in King Orfeo, -Halliwell, as above, p. 41. The queen of Elfland rides a milk-white -steed in Thomas Rymer, #A#, #C#; in #B#, and all copies of Thomas of -Erceldoune, her palfrey is dapple gray. Tam Lin, #A# 28, #B# 27, etc., -is distinguished from all the rest of his "court" by being thus mounted; -all the other horses are black or brown. - -Tam Lane was taken by the fairies, according to #G# 26, 27, while -sleeping under an apple-tree. In Sir Orfeo (ed. Zielke, v. 68) it was -the queen's sleeping under an ympe-tree that led to her being carried -off by the fairy king, and the ympe-tree we may suppose to be some kind -of fruit tree, if not exclusively the apple. Thomas of Erceldoune is -lying under a semely [derne, cumly] tree, when he sees the fairy queen. -The derivation of that poem from Ogier le Danois shows that this must -have been an apple-tree. Special trees are considered in Greece -dangerous to lie under in summer and at noon, as exposing one to be -taken by the nereids or fairies, especially plane, poplar, fig, nut, and -St John's bread: Schmidt, Volksleben der Neugriechen, p. 119. The elder -and the linden are favorites of the elves in Denmark. - -The rencounter at the beginning between Tam Lin and Janet (in the wood, -#D#, #F#, #G#) is repeated between Hind Etin [Young Akin] and Margaret -in 'Hind Etin,' further on. Some Slavic ballads open in a similar way, -but there is nothing noteworthy in that: see p. 41. "First they did call -me Jack," etc., #D# 9, is a commonplace of frequent occurrence: see, -e.g., 'The Knight and Shepherd's Daughter.' - -Some humorous verses, excellent in their way, about one Tam o Lin are -very well known: as Tam o the Linn, Chambers, Scottish Songs, p. 455, -Popular Rhymes of Scotland, p. 33, ed. 1870; Sharpe's Ballads, new ed., -p. 44, p. 137, No XVI; Tommy Linn, North Country Chorister, ed. Ritson, -p. 3; Halliwell's Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales, p. 271, ed. 1849; -Thomas o Linn, Kinloch MSS, III, 45, V, 81; Tam o Lin, Campbell MSS., -II, 107. (Miss Joanna Baillie tried her hand at an imitation, but the -jocosity of the real thing is not feminine.) A fool sings this stanza -from such a song in Wager's comedy, 'The longer thou livest, the more -fool thou art,' put at about 1568; see Furnivall, Captain Cox, his -Ballads and Books, p. cxxvii: - - Tom a Lin and his wife, and his wiues mother, - They went ouer a bridge all three together; - The bridge was broken, and they fell in: - 'The deuil go with all!' quoth Tom a Lin. - -Mr Halliwell-Phillips (as above) says that "an immense variety of songs -and catches relating to Tommy Linn are known throughout the country." -Brian o Lynn seems to be popular in Ireland: Lover's Legends and Stories -of Ireland, p. 260 f. There is no connection between the song and the -ballad beyond the name: the song is no parody, no burlesque, of the -ballad, as it has been called. - -"Carterhaugh is a plain at the confluence of the Ettrick with the -Yarrow, scarcely an English mile above the town of Selkirk, and on this -plain they show two or three rings on the ground, where, they say, the -stands of milk and water stood, and upon which grass never grows." -Glenriddell MS. - - * * * * * - -Translated, after Scott, by Schubart, p. 139, and Büsching's -Wöchentliche Nachrichten, I, 247; by Arndt, Blütenlese, p. 212; after -Aytoun, I, 7, by Rosa Warrens, Schottische Volkslieder, No 8; by Knortz, -Schottische Balladen, No 17, apparently after Aytoun and Allingham. The -Danish 'Nattergalen' is translated by Prior, III, 118, No 116. - - -A - - Johnson's Museum, p. 423, No 411. Communicated by Robert - Burns. - - 1 - O I forbid you, maidens a', - That wear gowd on your hair, - To come or gae by Carterhaugh, - For young Tam Lin is there. - - 2 - There's nane that gaes by Carterhaugh - But they leave him a wad, - Either their rings, or green mantles, - Or else their maidenhead. - - 3 - Janet has kilted her green kirtle - A little aboon her knee, - And she has broded her yellow hair - A little aboon her bree, - And she's awa to Carterhaugh, - As fast as she can hie. - - 4 - When she came to Carterhaugh - Tam Lin was at the well, - And there she fand his steed standing, - But away was himsel. - - 5 - She had na pu'd a double rose, - A rose but only twa, - Till up then started young Tam Lin, - Says, Lady, thou's pu nae mae. - - 6 - Why pu's thou the rose, Janet, - And why breaks thou the wand? - Or why comes thou to Carterhaugh - Withoutten my command? - - 7 - 'Carterhaugh, it is my ain, - My daddie gave it me; - I'll come and gang by Carterhaugh, - And ask nae leave at thee.' - - * * * * * * * - - 8 - Janet has kilted her green kirtle - A little aboon her knee, - And she has snooded her yellow hair - A little aboon her bree, - And she is to her father's ha, - As fast as she can hie. - - 9 - Four and twenty ladies fair - Were playing at the ba, - And out then cam the fair Janet, - Ance the flower amang them a'. - - 10 - Four and twenty ladies fair - Were playing at the chess, - And out then cam the fair Janet, - As green as onie glass. - - 11 - Out then spak an auld grey knight, - Lay oer the castle wa, - And says, Alas, fair Janet, for thee - But we'll be blamed a'. - - 12 - 'Haud your tongue, ye auld fac'd knight, - Some ill death may ye die! - Father my bairn on whom I will, - I'll father nane on thee.' - - 13 - Out then spak her father dear, - And he spak meek and mild; - 'And ever alas, sweet Janet,' he says, - 'I think thou gaes wi child.' - - 14 - 'If that I gae wi child, father, - Mysel maun bear the blame; - There's neer a laird about your ha - Shall get the bairn's name. - - 15 - 'If my love were an earthly knight, - As he's an elfin grey, - I wad na gie my ain true-love - For nae lord that ye hae. - - 16 - 'The steed that my true-love rides on - Is lighter than the wind; - Wi siller he is shod before, - Wi burning gowd behind.' - - 17 - Janet has kilted her green kirtle - A little aboon her knee, - And she has snooded her yellow hair - A little aboon her bree, - And she's awa to Carterhaugh, - As fast as she can hie. - - 18 - When she cam to Carterhaugh, - Tam Lin was at the well, - And there she fand his steed standing, - But away was himsel. - - 19 - She had na pu'd a double rose, - A rose but only twa, - Till up then started young Tam Lin, - Says Lady, thou pu's nae mae. - - 20 - Why pu's thou the rose, Janet, - Amang the groves sae green, - And a' to kill the bonie babe - That we gat us between? - - 21 - 'O tell me, tell me, Tam Lin,' she says, - 'For's sake that died on tree, - If eer ye was in holy chapel, - Or christendom did see?' - - 22 - 'Roxbrugh he was my grandfather, - Took me with him to bide, - And ance it fell upon a day - That wae did me betide. - - 23 - 'And ance it fell upon a day, - A cauld day and a snell, - When we were frae the hunting come, - That frae my horse I fell; - The Queen o Fairies she caught me, - In yon green hill to dwell. - - 24 - 'And pleasant is the fairy land, - But, an eerie tale to tell, - Ay at the end of seven years - We pay a tiend to hell; - I am sae fair and fu o flesh, - I'm feard it be mysel. - - 25 - 'But the night is Halloween, lady, - The morn is Hallowday; - Then win me, win me, an ye will, - For weel I wat ye may. - - 26 - 'Just at the mirk and midnight hour - The fairy folk will ride, - And they that wad their true-love win, - At Miles Cross they maun bide.' - - 27 - 'But how shall I thee ken, Tam Lin, - Or how my true-love know, - Amang sae mony unco knights - The like I never saw?' - - 28 - 'O first let pass the black, lady, - And syne let pass the brown, - But quickly run to the milk-white steed, - Pu ye his rider down. - - 29 - 'For I'll ride on the milk-white steed, - And ay nearest the town; - Because I was an earthly knight - They gie me that renown. - - 30 - 'My right hand will be glovd, lady, - My left hand will be bare, - Cockt up shall my bonnet be, - And kaimd down shall my hair, - And thae's the takens I gie thee, - Nae doubt I will be there. - - 31 - 'They'll turn me in your arms, lady, - Into an esk and adder; - But hold me fast, and fear me not, - I am your bairn's father. - - 32 - 'They'll turn me to a bear sae grim, - And then a lion bold; - But hold me fast, and fear me not, - As ye shall love your child. - - 33 - 'Again they'll turn me in your arms - To a red het gaud of airn; - But hold me fast, and fear me not, - I'll do to you nae harm. - - 34 - 'And last they'll turn me in your arms - Into the burning gleed; - Then throw me into well water, - O throw me in wi speed. - - 35 - 'And then I'll be your ain true-love, - I'll turn a naked knight; - Then cover me wi your green mantle, - And cover me out o sight.' - - 36 - Gloomy, gloomy was the night, - And eerie was the way, - As fair Jenny in her green mantle - To Miles Cross she did gae. - - 37 - About the middle o the night - She heard the bridles ring; - This lady was as glad at that - As any earthly thing. - - 38 - First she let the black pass by, - And syne she let the brown; - But quickly she ran to the milk-white steed, - And pu'd the rider down. - - 39 - Sae weel she minded whae he did say, - And young Tam Lin did win; - Syne coverd him wi her green mantle, - As blythe's a bird in spring. - - 40 - Out then spak the Queen o Fairies, - Out of a bush o broom: - 'Them that has gotten young Tam Lin - Has gotten a stately groom.' - - 41 - Out then spak the Queen o Fairies, - And an angry woman was she: - 'Shame betide her ill-far'd face, - And an ill death may she die, - For she's taen awa the boniest knight - In a' my companie. - - 42 - 'But had I kend, Tam Lin,' she says, - 'What now this night I see, - I wad hae taen out thy twa grey een, - And put in twa een o tree.' - - -B - - Glenriddell's MSS, vol. xi, No 17. - - 1 - I forbid ye, maidens a', - That wear goud on your gear, - To come and gae by Carterhaugh, - For young Tom Line is there. - - 2 - There's nane that gaes by Carterhaugh - But they leave him a wad. - Either their things or green mantles, - Or else their maidenhead. - - 3 - But Janet has kilted her green kirtle - A little above her knee, - And she has broded her yellow hair - A little above her bree, - And she has gaen for Carterhaugh, - As fast as she can hie. - - 4 - When she came to Carterhaugh - Tom Line was at the well, - And there she fand his steed standing, - But away was himsell. - - 5 - She hadna pu'd a double rose, - A rose but only twae, - Till up then started young Tom Line, - Says, Lady, thou's pu nae mae. - - 6 - Why pu's thou the rose, Janet? - Why breaks thou the wand? - Why comest thou to Carterhaugh - Withouthen my command? - - 7 - 'Fair Carterhaugh it is my ain, - My daddy gave it me; - I'll come and gae by Carterhaugh, - And ask nae leave at thee.' - - * * * * * * * - - 8 - Janet has kilted her green kirtle - A little aboon her knee, - And she has snooded her yellow hair - A little aboon her bree, - And she is on to her father's ha, - As fast as she can hie. - - 9 - Four and twenty ladies fair - Were playing at the ba, - And out then came fair Janet, - The flowr amang them a'. - - 10 - Four and twenty ladies fair - Were playing at the chess, - Out then came fair Janet, - As green as ony glass. - - 11 - Out spak an auld grey-headed knight, - Lay owre the castle wa, - And says, Alas, fair Janet, - For thee we'll be blam'd a'. - - 12 - 'Had your tongue, you auld grey knight, - Some ill dead may ye die! - Father my bairn on whom I will, - I'll father nane on thee.' - - 13 - Out then spak her father dear, - He spak baith thick and milde; - 'And ever alas, sweet Janet,' he says, - 'I think ye gae wi childe.' - - 14 - 'If that I gae wi child, father, - Mysell bears a' the blame; - There's not a laird about your ha - Shall get the bairnie's name. - - 15 - 'If my lord were an earthly knight, - As he's an elfish grey, - I wad na gie my ain true-love - For nae lord that ye hae.' - - 16 - Janet has kilted her green kirtle - A little aboon her knee, - And she has snooded her yellow hair - A little aboon her bree, - And she's away to Carterhaugh, - As fast as she can hie. - - 17 - When she came to Carterhaugh, - Tom Line was at the well, - And there she faund his steed standing, - But away was himsell. - - 18 - She hadna pu'd a double rose, - A rose but only twae, - Till up then started young Tom Line, - Says, Lady, thou's pu na mae. - - 19 - Why pu's thou the rose, Janet, - Out owr yon groves sae green, - And a' to kill your bonny babe, - That we gat us between? - - 20 - 'O tell me, tell me, Tom,' she says, - 'For's sake who died on tree, - If eer ye were in holy chapel, - Or christendom did see.' - - 21 - 'Roxburgh he was my grandfather, - Took me with him to bide, - And ance it fell upon a day - That wae did me betide. - - 22 - 'Ance it fell upon a day, - A cauld day and a snell, - When we were frae the hunting come, - That from my horse I fell. - - 23 - 'The Queen of Fairies she came by, - Took me wi her to dwell, - Evn where she has a pleasant land - For those that in it dwell, - But at the end o seven years, - They pay their teind to hell. - - 24 - 'The night it is gude Halloween, - The fairie folk do ride, - And they that wad their true-love win, - At Miles Cross they maun bide.' - - 25 - 'But how shall I thee ken, Thomas, - Or how shall I thee knaw, - Amang a pack o uncouth knights - The like I never saw?' - - 26 - 'The first company that passes by, - Say na, and let them gae; - The next company that passes by, - Say na, and do right sae; - The third company that passes by, - Then I'll be ane o thae. - - 27 - 'Some ride upon a black, lady, - And some ride on a brown, - But I ride on a milk-white steed, - And ay nearest the town: - Because I was an earthly knight - They gae me that renown. - - 28 - 'My right hand will be glovd, lady, - My left hand will be bare, - And thae's the tokens I gie thee, - Nae doubt I will be there. - - 29 - 'Then hie thee to the milk-white steed, - And pu me quickly down, - Cast thy green kirtle owr me, - And keep me frae the rain. - - 30 - 'They'll turn me in thy arms, lady, - An adder and a snake; - But hold me fast, let me na gae, - To be your warldly mate. - - 31 - 'They'll turn me in your arms, lady, - A grey greyhound to girn; - But hald me fast, let me na gae, - The father o your bairn. - - 32 - 'They'll turn me in your arms, lady, - A red het gad o iron; - Then hand me fast, and be na feard, - I'll do to you nae harm. - - 33 - 'They'll turn me in your arms, lady, - A mother-naked man; - Cast your green kirtle owr me, - To keep me frae the rain. - - 34 - 'First dip me in a stand o milk, - And then a stand o water; - Haud me fast, let me na gae, - I'll be your bairnie's father.' - - 35 - Janet has kilted her green kirtle - A little aboon her knee, - And she has snooded her yellow hair - A little aboon her bree, - And she is on to Miles Cross, - As fast as she can hie. - - 36 - The first company that passd by, - She said na, and let them gae; - The next company that passed by, - She said na, and did right sae; - The third company that passed by, - Then he was ane o thae. - - 37 - She hied her to the milk-white steed, - And pu'd him quickly down; - She cast her green kirtle owr him, - To keep him frae the rain; - Then she did all was orderd her, - And sae recoverd him. - - 38 - Then out then spak the Queen o Fairies, - Out o a bush o broom: - 'They that hae gotten young Tom Line - Hae got a stately groom.' - - 39 - Out than spak the Queen o Fairies, - Out o a bush of rye: - 'Them that has gotten young Tom Line - Has the best knight in my company. - - 40 - 'Had I kend, Thomas,' she says, - 'A lady wad hae borrowd thee, - I wad hae taen out thy twa grey een, - Put in twa een o tree. - - 41 - 'Had I but kend, Thomas,' she says, - 'Before I came frae hame, - I had taen out that heart o flesh, - Put in a heart o stane.' - - -C - - Herd, The Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, 1769, p. 300. - - * * * * * * * - - 1 - She's prickt hersell and prind hersell, - By the ae light o the moon, - And she's awa to Kertonha, - As fast as she can gang. - - 2 - 'What gars ye pu the rose, Jennet? - What gars ye break the tree? - What gars you gang to Kertonha - Without the leave of me?' - - 3 - 'Yes, I will pu the rose, Thomas, - And I will break the tree; - For Kertonha shoud be my ain, - Nor ask I leave of thee.' - - 4 - 'Full pleasant is the fairy land, - And happy there to dwell; - I am a fairy, lyth and limb, - Fair maiden, view me well. - - 5 - 'O pleasant is the fairy land, - How happy there to dwell! - But ay at every seven years end - We're a' dung down to hell. - - 6 - 'The morn is good Halloween, - And our court a' will ride; - If ony maiden wins her man, - Then she may be his bride. - - 7 - 'But first ye'll let the black gae by, - And then ye'll let the brown; - Then I'll ride on a milk-white steed, - You'll pu me to the ground. - - 8 - 'And first, I'll grow into your arms - An esk but and an edder; - Had me fast, let me not gang, - I'll be your bairn's father. - - 9 - 'Next, I'll grow into your arms - A toad but and an eel; - Had me fast, let me not gang, - If you do love me leel. - - 10 - 'Last, I'll grow into your arms - A dove but and a swan; - Then, maiden fair, you'll let me go, - I'll be a perfect man.' - - * * * * * * * - - -D - - #a.# Motherwell's MS., p. 532, a North Country version. - #b.# Maidment's New Book of Old Ballads, 1844, p. 54, from - the recitation of an old woman. #c.# Pitcairn's MSS, - 1817-25, III, p. 67: "procured by David Webster, - Bookseller, from tradition." - - 1 - O all you ladies young and gay, - Who are so sweet and fair, - Do not go into Chaster's wood, - For Tomlin will be there. - - 2 - Fair Margret sat in her bonny bower, - Sewing her silken seam, - And wished to be in Chaster's wood, - Among the leaves so green. - - 3 - She let her seam fall to her foot, - The needle to her toe, - And she has gone to Chaster's wood, - As fast as she could go. - - 4 - When she began to pull the flowers, - She pulld both red and green; - Then by did come, and by did go, - Said, Fair maid, let aleene. - - 5 - 'O why pluck you the flowers, lady, - Or why climb you the tree? - Or why come ye to Chaster's wood - Without the leave of me?' - - 6 - 'O I will pull the flowers,' she said, - 'Or I will break the tree, - For Chaster's wood it is my own, - I'll no ask leave at thee.' - - 7 - He took her by the milk-white hand, - And by the grass green sleeve, - And laid her low down on the flowers, - At her he asked no leave. - - 8 - The lady blushed, and sourly frowned, - And she did think great shame; - Says, 'If you are a gentleman, - You will tell me your name.' - - 9 - 'First they did call me Jack,' he said, - 'And then they called me John, - But since I lived in the fairy court - Tomlin has always been my name. - - 10 - 'So do not pluck that flower, lady, - That has these pimples gray; - They would destroy the bonny babe - That we've got in our play.' - - 11 - 'O tell me, Tomlin,' she said, - 'And tell it to me soon, - Was you ever at good church-door, - Or got you christendoom?' - - 12 - 'O I have been at good church-door, - And aff her yetts within; - I was the Laird of Foulis's son, - The heir of all this land. - - 13 - 'But it fell once upon a day, - As hunting I did ride, - As I rode east and west yon hill - There woe did me betide. - - 14 - 'O drowsy, drowsy as I was! - Dead sleep upon me fell; - The Queen of Fairies she was there, - And took me to hersell. - - 15 - 'The Elfins is a pretty place, - In which I love to dwell, - But yet at every seven years' end - The last here goes to hell; - And as I am ane o flesh and blood, - I fear the next be mysell. - - 16 - 'The morn at even is Halloween; - Our fairy court will ride, - Throw England and Scotland both, - Throw al the world wide; - And if ye would me borrow, - At Rides Cross ye may bide. - - 17 - 'You may go into the Miles Moss, - Between twelve hours and one; - Take holy water in your hand, - And cast a compass round. - - 18 - 'The first court that comes along, - You'll let them all pass by; - The next court that comes along, - Salute them reverently. - - 19 - 'The next court that comes along - Is clad in robes of green, - And it's the head court of them all, - For in it rides the queen. - - 20 - 'And I upon a milk-white steed, - With a gold star in my crown; - Because I am an earthly man - I'm next to the queen in renown. - - 21 - 'Then seize upon me with a spring, - Then to the ground I'll fa, - And then you'll hear a rueful cry - That Tomlin is awa. - - 22 - 'Then I'll grow in your arms two - Like to a savage wild; - But hold me fast, let me not go, - I'm father of your child. - - 23 - 'I'll grow into your arms two - Like an adder or a snake; - But hold me fast, let me not go, - I'll be your earthly maick. - - 24 - 'I'll grow into your arms two - Like iron in strong fire; - But hold me fast, let me not go, - Then you'll have your desire.' - - 25 - She rid down to Miles Cross, - Between twelve hours and one, - Took holy water in her hand, - And cast a compass round. - - 26 - The first court that came along, - She let them all pass by; - The next court that came along - Saluted reverently. - - 27 - The next court that came along - Were clad in robes of green, - When Tomlin, on a milk-white steed, - She saw ride with the queen. - - 28 - She seized him in her arms two, - He to the ground did fa, - And then she heard a ruefull cry - 'Tomlin is now awa.' - - 29 - He grew into her arms two - Like to a savage wild; - She held him fast, let him not go, - The father of her child. - - 30 - He grew into her arms two - Like an adder or a snake; - She held him fast, let him not go, - He was her earthly maick. - - 31 - He grew into her arms two - Like iron in hot fire; - She held him fast, let him not go, - He was her heart's desire. - - 32 - Then sounded out throw elphin court, - With a loud shout and a cry, - That the pretty maid of Chaster's wood - That day had caught her prey. - - 33 - 'O stay, Tomlin,' cried Elphin Queen, - 'Till I pay you your fee;' - 'His father has lands and rents enough, - He wants no fee from thee.' - - 34 - 'O had I known at early morn - Tomlin would from me gone, - I would have taken out his heart of flesh - Put in a heart of stone.' - - -E - - Motherwell's Note-book, p. 13. - - 1 - Lady Margaret is over gravel green, - And over gravel grey, - And she's awa to Charteris ha, - Lang lang three hour or day. - - 2 - She hadna pu'd a flower, a flower, - A flower but only ane, - Till up and started young Tamlin, - Says, Lady, let alane. - - 3 - She hadna pu'd a flower, a flower, - A flower but only twa, - Till up and started young Tamlene, - Atween her and the wa. - - 4 - 'How daur you pu my flower, madam? - How daur ye break my tree? - How daur ye come to Charter's ha, - Without the leave of me?' - - 5 - 'Weel I may pu the rose,' she said, - 'But I daurna break the tree; - And Charter's ha is my father's, - And I'm his heir to be.' - - 6 - 'If Charteris ha be thy father's, - I was ance as gude mysell; - But as I came in by Lady Kirk, - And in by Lady Well, - - 7 - 'Deep and drowsy was the sleep - On my poor body fell; - By came the Queen of Faery, - Made me with her to dwell. - - 8 - 'But the morn at een is Halloween, - Our fairy foks a' do ride; - And she that will her true-love win, - At Blackstock she must bide. - - 9 - 'First let by the black,' he said, - 'And syne let by the brown; - But when you see the milk-white steed, - You'll pull his rider down. - - 10 - 'You'll pull him into thy arms, - Let his bricht bridle fa, - And he'll fa low into your arms - Like stone in castle's wa. - - 11 - 'They'll first shape him into your arms - An adder or a snake; - But hold him fast, let him not go, - He'll be your world's make. - - 12 - 'They'll next shape him into your arms - Like a wood black dog to bite; - Hold him fast, let him not go, - For he'll be your heart's delight. - - 13 - 'They'll next shape [him] into your arms - Like a red-het gaud o airn; - But hold him fast, let him not go, - He's the father o your bairn. - - 14 - 'They'll next shape him into your arms - Like the laidliest worm of Ind; - But hold him fast, let him not go, - And cry aye "Young Tamlin."' - - * * * * * * * - - 15 - Lady Margaret first let by the black, - And syne let by the brown, - But when she saw the milk-white steed - She pulled the rider down. - - 16 - She pulled him into her arms, - Let his bright bridle fa', - And he fell low into her arms, - Like stone in castle's wa. - - 17 - They first shaped him into arms - An adder or a snake; - But she held him fast, let him not go, - For he'd be her warld's make. - - 18 - They next shaped him into her arms - Like a wood black dog to bite; - But she held him fast, let him not go, - For he'd be her heart's delight. - - 19 - They next shaped him into her arms - Like a red-het gaud o airn; - But she held him fast, let him not go, - He'd be father o her bairn. - - 20 - They next shaped him into her arms - Like the laidliest worm of Ind; - But she held him fast, let him not go, - And cried aye 'Young Tamlin.' - - 21 - The Queen of Faery turned her horse about, - Says, Adieu to thee, Tamlene! - For if I had kent what I ken this night, - If I had kent it yestreen, - I wad hae taen out thy heart o flesh, - And put in a heart o stane. - - -F - - Motherwell's MS., p. 64, from the recitation of widow - McCormick, February, 1825. - - * * * * * * * - - 1 - She's taen her petticoat by the band, - Her mantle owre her arm, - And she's awa to Chester wood, - As fast as she could run. - - 2 - She scarsely pulled a rose, a rose, - She scarse pulled two or three, - Till up there starts Thomas - On the Lady Margaret's knee. - - 3 - She's taen her petticoat by the band, - Her mantle owre her arm, - And Lady Margaret's gane hame agen, - As fast as she could run. - - 4 - Up starts Lady Margaret's sister, - An angry woman was she: - 'If there ever was a woman wi child, - Margaret, you are wi!' - - 5 - Up starts Lady Margaret's mother, - An angry woman was she: - 'There grows ane herb in yon kirk-yard - That will scathe the babe away.' - - 6 - She took her petticoats by the band, - Her mantle owre her arm, - And she's gane to yon kirk-yard - As fast as she could run. - - 7 - She scarcely pulled an herb, an herb, - She scarse pulled two or three, - Till up starts there Thomas - Upon this Lady Margret's knee. - - 8 - 'How dare ye pull a rose?' he says, - 'How dare ye break the tree? - How dare ye pull this herb,' he says, - 'To scathe my babe away? - - 9 - 'This night is Halloweve,' he said, - 'Our court is going to waste, - And them that loves their true-love best - At Chester bridge they'll meet. - - 10 - 'First let pass the black,' he says, - 'And then let pass the brown, - But when ye meet the milk-white steed, - Pull ye the rider down. - - 11 - 'They'll turn me to an eagle,' he says, - 'And then into an ass; - Come, hold me fast, and fear me not, - The man that you love best. - - 12 - 'They'll turn me to a flash of fire, - And then to a naked man; - Come, wrap you your mantle me about, - And then you'll have me won.' - - 13 - She took her petticoats by the band, - Her mantle owre her arm, - And she's awa to Chester bridge, - As fast as she could run. - - 14 - And first she did let pass the black, - And then let pass the brown, - But when she met the milk-white steed, - She pulled the rider down. - - 15 - They turned him in her arms an eagle, - And then into an ass; - But she held him fast, and feared him not, - The man that she loved best. - - 16 - They turned him into a flash of fire, - And then into a naked man; - But she wrapped her mantle him about, - And then she had him won. - - 17 - 'O wae be to ye, Lady Margaret, - And an ill death may you die, - For you've robbed me of the bravest knight - That eer rode in our company.' - - -G - - Buchan's MSS, I, 8; Motherwell's MS., p. 595. - - 1 - Take warning, a' ye ladies fair, - That wear gowd on your hair, - Come never unto Charter's woods, - For Tam-a-line he's there. - - 2 - Even about that knight's middle - O' siller bells are nine; - Nae ane comes to Charter wood, - And a maid returns again. - - 3 - Lady Margaret sits in her bower door, - Sewing at her silken seam; - And she langd to gang to Charter woods, - To pou the roses green. - - 4 - She hadna poud a rose, a rose, - Nor broken a branch but ane, - Till by it came him true Tam-a-line, - Says, Ladye, lat alane. - - 5 - O why pou ye the rose, the rose? - Or why brake ye the tree? - Or why come ye to Charter woods, - Without leave askd of me? - - 6 - 'I will pou the rose, the rose, - And I will brake the tree; - Charter woods are a' my ain, - I'll ask nae leave o thee.' - - 7 - He's taen her by the milk-white hand, - And by the grass-green sleeve, - And laid her low on gude green wood, - At her he spierd nae leave. - - 8 - When he had got his wills of her, - His wills as he had taen, - He's taen her by the middle sma, - Set her to feet again. - - 9 - She turnd her right and round about, - To spier her true-love's name, - But naething heard she, nor naething saw, - As a' the woods grew dim. - - 10 - Seven days she tarried there, - Saw neither sun nor meen; - At length, by a sma glimmering light, - Came thro the wood her lane. - - 11 - When she came to her father's court, - As fine as ony queen; - But when eight months were past and gane, - Got on the gown o' green. - - 12 - Then out it speaks an eldren knight, - As he stood at the yett: - 'Our king's daughter, she gaes wi bairn, - And we'll get a' the wyte.' - - 13 - 'O had your tongue, ye eldren man, - And bring me not to shame; - Although that I do gang wi bairn, - Yese naeways get the blame. - - 14 - 'Were my love but an earthly man, - As he's an elfin knight, - I woudna gie my ain true love - For a' that's in my sight.' - - 15 - Then out it speaks her brither dear, - He meant to do her harm: - 'There is an herb in Charter wood - Will twine you an the bairn.' - - 16 - She's taen her mantle her about, - Her coffer by the band, - And she is on to Charter wood, - As fast as she coud gang. - - 17 - She hadna poud a rose, a rose, - Nor braken a branch but ane, - Till by it came him Tam-a-Line, - Says, Ladye, lat alane. - - 18 - O why pou ye the pile, Margaret, - The pile o the gravil green, - For to destroy the bonny bairn - That we got us between? - - 19 - O why pou ye the pile, Margaret, - The pile o the gravil gray, - For to destroy the bonny bairn - That we got in our play? - - 20 - For if it be a knave-bairn, - He's heir o a' my land; - But if it be a lass-bairn, - In red gowd she shall gang. - - 21 - 'If my luve were an earthly man, - As he's an elfin rae, - I coud gang bound, love, for your sake, - A twalmonth and a day.' - - 22 - 'Indeed your love's an earthly man, - The same as well as thee, - And lang I've haunted Charter woods, - A' for your fair bodie.' - - 23 - 'O tell me, tell me, Tam-a-Line, - O tell, an tell me true, - Tell me this night, an mak nae lie, - What pedigree are you?' - - 24 - 'O I hae been at gude church-door, - An I've got Christendom; - I'm the Earl o' Forbes' eldest son, - An heir ower a' his land. - - 25 - 'When I was young, o three years old, - Muckle was made o me; - My step-mother put on my claithes, - An ill, ill sained she me. - - 26 - 'Ae fatal morning I went out, - Dreading nae injury, - And thinking lang, fell soun asleep, - Beneath an apple tree. - - 27 - 'Then by it came the Elfin Queen, - And laid her hand on me; - And from that time since ever I mind, - I've been in her companie. - - 28 - 'O Elfin it's a bonny place, - In it fain woud I dwell; - But ay at ilka seven years' end - They pay a tiend to hell, - And I'm sae fou o flesh an blude, - I'm sair feard for mysell.' - - 29 - 'O tell me, tell me, Tam-a-Line, - O tell, an tell me true; - Tell me this night, an mak nae lie, - What way I'll borrow you?' - - 30 - 'The morn is Halloweven night, - The elfin court will ride, - Through England, and thro a' Scotland, - And through the world wide. - - 31 - 'O they begin at sky setting, - Rides a' the evening tide; - And she that will her true-love borrow, - [At] Miles-corse will him bide. - - 32 - 'Ye'll do you down to Miles-corse, - Between twall hours and ane, - And full your hands o holy water, - And cast your compass roun. - - 33 - 'Then the first an court that comes you till - Is published king and queen; - The next an court that comes you till, - It is maidens mony ane. - - 34 - 'The next an court that comes you till - Is footmen, grooms and squires; - The next an court that comes you till - Is knights, and I'll be there. - - 35 - 'I Tam-a-Line, on milk-white steed, - A goud star on my crown; - Because I was an earthly knight, - Got that for a renown. - - 36 - 'And out at my steed's right nostril, - He'll breathe a fiery flame; - Ye'll loot you low, and sain yoursel, - And ye'll be busy then. - - 37 - 'Ye'll take my horse then by the head, - And lat the bridal fa; - The Queen o' Elfin she'll cry out, - True Tam-a-Line's awa. - - 38 - 'Then I'll appear in your arms - Like the wolf that neer woud tame; - Ye'll had me fast, lat me not go, - Case we neer meet again. - - 39 - 'Then I'll appear in your arms - Like the fire that burns sae bauld; - Ye'll had me fast, lat me not go, - I'll be as iron cauld. - - 40 - 'Then I'll appear in your arms - Like the adder an the snake; - Ye'll had me fast, lat me not go, - I am your warld's make. - - 41 - 'Then I'll appear in your arms - Like to the deer sae wild; - Ye'll had me fast, lat me not go, - And I'll father your child. - - 42 - 'And I'll appear in your arms - Like to a silken string; - Ye'll had me fast, lat me not go, - Till ye see the fair morning. - - 43 - 'And I'll appear in your arms - Like to a naked man; - Ye'll had me fast, lat me not go, - And wi you I'll gae hame.' - - 44 - Then she has done her to Miles-corse, - Between twall hours an ane, - And filled her hands o holy water, - And kiest her compass roun. - - 45 - The first an court that came her till - Was published king and queen; - The niest an court that came her till - Was maidens mony ane. - - 46 - The niest an court that came her till - Was footmen, grooms and squires; - The niest an court that came her till - Was knights, and he was there. - - 47 - True Tam-a-Line, on milk-white steed, - A gowd star on his crown; - Because he was an earthly man, - Got that for a renown. - - 48 - And out at the steed's right nostril, - He breathd a fiery flame; - She loots her low, an sains hersell, - And she was busy then. - - 49 - She's taen the horse then by the head, - And loot the bridle fa; - The Queen o Elfin she cried out, - 'True Tam-a-Line's awa.' - - 50 - 'Stay still, true Tam-a-Line,' she says, - 'Till I pay you your fee:' - 'His father wants not lands nor rents, - He'll ask nae fee frae thee.' - - 51 - 'Gin I bad kent yestreen, yestreen, - What I ken weel the day, - I shoud taen your fu fause heart, - Gien you a heart o clay.' - - 52 - Then he appeared in her arms - Like the wolf that neer woud tame; - She held him fast, let him not go, - Case they neer meet again. - - 53 - Then he appeared in her arms - Like the fire burning bauld; - She held him fast, let him not go, - He was as iron cauld. - - 54 - And he appeared in her arms - Like the adder an the snake; - She held him fast, let him not go, - He was her warld's make. - - 55 - And he appeared in her arms - Like to the deer sae wild; - She held him fast, let him not go, - He's father o her child. - - 56 - And he appeared in her arms - Like to a silken string; - She held him fast, let him not go, - Till she saw fair morning. - - 57 - And he appeared in her arms - Like to a naked man; - She held him fast, let him not go, - And wi her he's gane hame. - - 58 - These news hae reachd thro a' Scotland, - And far ayont the Tay, - That Lady Margaret, our king's daughter, - That night had gaind her prey. - - 59 - She borrowed her love at mirk midnight, - Bare her young son ere day, - And though ye'd search the warld wide, - Ye'll nae find sic a may. - - -H - - Campbell MSS, II, 129. - - 1 - I forbid ye, maidens a', - That wears gowd in your hair, - To come or gang by Carterhaugh, - For young Tam Lane is there. - - 2 - I forbid ye, maidens a', - That wears gowd in your green, - To come or gang by Carterhaugh, - For fear of young Tam Lane. - - 3 - 'Go saddle for me the black,' says Janet, - 'Go saddle for me the brown, - And I'll away to Carterhaugh, - And flower mysell the gown. - - 4 - 'Go saddle for me the brown,' says Janet, - 'Go saddle for me the black, - And I'll away to Carterhaugh, - And flower mysel a hat.' - - * * * * * * * - - 5 - She had not pulld a flowr, a flowr, - A flower but only three, - Till up there startit young Tam Lane, - Just at bird Janet's knee. - - 6 - 'Why pullst thou the herb, Janet, - And why breaks thou the tree? - Why put you back the bonny babe - That's between you and me?' - - 7 - 'If my child was to an earthly man, - As it is to a wild buck rae, - I would wake him the length of the winter's night, - And the lea lang simmer's day.' - - 8 - 'The night is Halloween, Janet, - When our gude neighbours will ride, - And them that would their true-love won - At Blackning Cross maun bide. - - 9 - 'Many will the black ride by, - And many will the brown, - But I ride on a milk-white steed, - And ride nearest the town: - Because I was a christened knight - They gie me that renown. - - 10 - 'Many will the black ride by, - But far mae will the brown; - But when ye see the milk-white stead, - Grip fast and pull me down. - - 11 - 'Take me in yer arms, Janet, - An ask, an adder lang; - The grip ye get ye maun haud fast, - I'll be father to your bairn. - - 12 - 'Take me in your arms, Janet, - An adder and a snake; - The grip ye get ye maun haud fast, - I'll be your warld's make.' - - * * * * * * * - - 13 - Up bespak the Queen of Fairies, - She spak baith loud and high: - 'Had I kend the day at noon - Tam Lane had been won from me, - - 14 - 'I wad hae taen out his heart o flesh, - Put in a heart o tree, - That a' the maids o Middle Middle Mist - Should neer hae taen Tam Lane frae me.' - - 15 - Up bespack the Queen of Fairies, - And she spak wi a loud yell: - 'Aye at every seven year's end - We pay the kane to hell, - And the koors they hae gane round about, - And I fear it will be mysel.' - - -I - - #a.# Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 337, ed. 1833. - #b.# II, 228, ed. 1802. - - 1 - 'O I forbid ye, maidens a', - That wear gowd on your hair, - To come or gae by Carterhaugh, - For young Tamlane is there. - - 2 - 'There's nane that gaes by Carterhaugh - But maun leave him a wad, - Either gowd rings, or green mantles, - Or else their maidenheid. - - 3 - 'Now gowd rings ye may buy, maidens, - Green mantles ye may spin, - But, gin ye lose your maidenheid, - Ye'll neer get that agen.' - - 4 - But up then spak her, fair Janet, - The fairest o a' her kin: - 'I'll cum and gang to Carterhaugh, - And ask nae leave o him.' - - 5 - Janet has kilted her green kirtle - A little abune her knee, - And she has braided her yellow hair - A little abune her bree. - - 6 - And when she came to Carterhaugh, - She gaed beside the well, - And there she fand his steed standing, - But away was himsell. - - 7 - She hadna pu'd a red red rose, - A rose but barely three, - Till up and starts a wee wee man, - At lady Janet's knee. - - 8 - Says, Why pu ye the rose, Janet? - What gars ye break the tree? - Or why come ye to Carterhaugh, - Withouten leave o me? - - 9 - Says, Carterhaugh it is mine ain, - My daddie gave it me; - I'll come and gang to Carterhaugh, - And ask nae leave o thee. - - 10 - He's taen her by the milk-white hand, - Among the leaves sae green, - And what they did I cannot tell, - The green leaves were between. - - 11 - He's taen her by the milk-white hand, - Among the roses red, - And what they did I cannot say, - She neer returnd a maid. - - 12 - When she cam to her father's ha, - She looked pale and wan; - They thought she'd dreed some sair sickness, - Or been with some leman. - - 13 - She didna comb her yellow hair - Nor make meikle o her head, - And ilka thing that lady took - Was like to be her deid. - - 14 - It's four and twenty ladies fair - Were playing at the ba; - Janet, the wightest of them anes, - Was faintest o them a'. - - 15 - Four and twenty ladies fair - Were playing at the chess; - And out there came the fair Janet, - As green as any grass. - - 16 - Out and spak an auld grey-headed knight, - Lay oer the castle wa: - 'And ever, alas! for thee, Janet, - But we'll be blamed a'!' - - 17 - 'Now haud your tongue, ye auld grey knight, - And an ill deid may ye die! - Father my bairn on whom I will, - I'll father nane on thee.' - - 18 - Out then spak her father dear, - And he spak meik and mild: - 'And ever, alas! my sweet Janet, - I fear ye gae with child.' - - 19 - 'And if I be with child, father, - Mysell maun bear the blame; - There's neer a knight about your ha - Shall hae the bairnie's name. - - 20 - 'And if I be with child, father, - 'T will prove a wondrous birth, - For weel I swear I'm not wi bairn - To any man on earth. - - 21 - 'If my love were an earthly knight, - As he's an elfin grey, - I wadna gie my ain true love - For nae lord that ye hae.' - - 22 - She prinkd hersell and prinnd hersell, - By the ae light of the moon, - And she's away to Carterhaugh, - To speak wi young Tamlane. - - 23 - And when she cam to Carterhaugh, - She gaed beside the well, - And there she saw the steed standing, - But away was himsell. - - 24 - She hadna pu'd a double rose, - A rose but only twae, - When up and started young Tamlane, - Says, Lady, thou pu's nae mae. - - 25 - Why pu ye the rose, Janet, - Within this garden grene, - And a' to kill the bonny babe - That we got us between? - - 26 - 'The truth ye'll tell to me, Tamlane, - A word ye mauna lie; - Gin eer ye was in haly chapel, - Or sained in Christentie?' - - 27 - 'The truth I'll tell to thee, Janet, - A word I winna lie; - A knight me got, and a lady me bore, - As well as they did thee. - - 28 - 'Randolph, Earl Murray, was my sire, - Dunbar, Earl March, is thine; - We loved when we were children small, - Which yet you well may mind. - - 29 - 'When I was a boy just turnd of nine, - My uncle sent for me, - To hunt and hawk, and ride with him, - And keep him companie. - - 30 - 'There came a wind out of the north, - A sharp wind and a snell, - And a deep sleep came over me, - And frae my horse I fell. - - 31 - 'The Queen of Fairies keppit me - In yon green hill to dwell, - And I'm a fairy, lyth and limb, - Fair ladye, view me well. - - 32 - 'Then would I never tire, Janet, - In Elfish land to dwell, - But aye, at every seven years, - They pay the teind to hell; - And I am sae fat and fair of flesh, - I fear 't will be mysell. - - 33 - 'This night is Halloween, Janet, - The morn is Hallowday, - And gin ye dare your true love win, - Ye hae nae time to stay. - - 34 - 'The night it is good Halloween, - When fairy folk will ride, - And they that wad their true-love win, - At Miles Cross they maun bide.' - - 35 - 'But how shall I thee ken, Tamlane? - Or how shall I thee knaw, - Amang so many unearthly knights, - The like I never saw?' - - 36 - 'The first company that passes by, - Say na, and let them gae; - The next company that passes by, - Say na, and do right sae; - The third company that passes by, - Then I'll be ane o thae. - - 37 - 'First let pass the black, Janet, - And syne let pass the brown, - But grip ye to the milk-white steed, - And pu the rider down. - - 38 - 'For I ride on the milk-white steed, - And aye nearest the town; - Because I was a christend knight, - They gave me that renown. - - 39 - 'My right hand will be gloved, Janet, - My left hand will be bare; - And these the tokens I gie thee, - Nae doubt I will be there. - - 40 - 'They'll turn me in your arms, Janet, - An adder and a snake; - But had me fast, let me not pass, - Gin ye wad be my maik. - - 41 - 'They'll turn me in your arms, Janet, - An adder and an ask; - They'll turn me in your arms, Janet, - A bale that burns fast. - - 42 - 'They'll turn me in your arms, Janet, - A red-hot gad o airn; - But haud me fast, let me not pass, - For I'll do you no harm. - - 43 - 'First dip me in a stand o milk, - And then in a stand o water; - But had me fast, let me not pass, - I'll be your bairn's father. - - 44 - 'And next they'll shape me in your arms - A tod but and an eel; - But had me fast, nor let me gang, - As you do love me weel. - - 45 - 'They'll shape me in your arms, Janet, - A dove but and a swan, - And last they'll shape me in your arms - A mother-naked man; - Cast your green mantle over me, - I'll be myself again.' - - 46 - Gloomy, gloomy, was the night, - And eiry was the way, - As fair Janet, in her green mantle, - To Miles Cross she did gae. - - 47 - About the dead hour o the night - She heard the bridles ring, - And Janet was as glad o that - As any earthly thing. - - 48 - And first gaed by the black black steed, - And then gaed by the brown; - But fast she gript the milk-white steed, - And pu'd the rider down. - - 49 - She pu'd him frae the milk-white steed, - And loot the bridle fa, - And up there raise an erlish cry, - 'He's won amang us a'!' - - 50 - They shaped him in fair Janet's arms - An esk but and an adder; - She held him fast in every shape, - To be her bairn's father. - - 51 - They shaped him in her arms at last - A mother-naked man, - She wrapt him in her green mantle, - And sae her true love wan. - - 52 - Up then spake the Queen o Fairies, - Out o a bush o broom: - 'She that has borrowd young Tamlane - Has gotten a stately groom.' - - 53 - Up then spake the Queen o Fairies, - Out o a bush o rye: - 'She's taen awa the bonniest knight - In a' my cumpanie. - - 54 - 'But had I kennd, Tamlane,' she says, - 'A lady wad borrowd thee - I wad taen out thy twa grey een, - Put in twa een o tree. - - 55 - 'Had I but kennd, Tamlane,' she says, - 'Before ye came frae hame, - I wad taen out your heart o flesh, - Put in a heart o stane. - - 56 - 'Had I but had the wit yestreen - That I hae coft the day, - I'd paid my kane seven times to hell - Ere you'd been won away.' - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - _Divided in the Museum into 45-1/2 four-line stanzas, - without heed to rhyme or reason, 3^{5,6} making a stanza - with 4^{1,2}, etc._ - - 3^1. has belted. - - 4^2. _~Tom~, elsewhere ~Tam~._ - - 17^4. brie. - - 34^2. burning lead. - -#B.# - - "An Old Song called Young Tom Line." _Written in - twenty-six stanzas of four [three, two] long, or double, - lines._ - - 19^3. yon bonny babes. - - 26^2. and do right sae. - - 26^4. and let them gae. _See 36._ - - _26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 stand in MS. 31, 26, 27, - 32, 28, 29, 33, 30._ - -#D.# - - _#b# has 26 stanzas, #c# has 12. The first 12 stanzas of - #a# and #b# and the 12 of #c#, and again the first 22 - stanzas of #a#, and #b#, are almost verbally the same, and - #a# 23==#b# 24. #b# has but 26 stanzas._ - - #a.# _15 stands 24 in MS._ - - 17^1. Miles Cross: #b#, Moss. - - 17^3. the holy. - - 19^2. So(?)clad: #b#, is clad. - - 22^1. twa. - - 25^1. ride. - - #b.# 4^4. let abeene. - - 6^4. I'll ask no. - - 7^8. her down. - - 10^4. gotten in. - - 11^1. to me. - - 11^3. at a. - - 12^4. his land. - - 15^3. and through. - - 16^5. if that. - - 16^6. _Rides Cross, as in #a#._ - - 17^8. Take holy. - - 20^4. next the. - - _After 23_: - - 'I'll grow into your arms two - Like ice on frozen lake; - But hold me fast, let me not go, - Or from your goupen break.' - - 25. - And it's next night into Miles Moss - Fair Margaret has gone, - When lo she stands beside Rides Cross, - Between twelve hours and one. - - 26. - There's holy water in her hand, - She casts a compass round, - And presently a fairy band - Comes riding oer the mound. - - #c.# _1^3, and always, ~Chester's wood~._ - - 3^1. the seam. - - 4^4. let alane. - - 6^1. will pluck. - - 6^4. ask no. - - 9^4. has been. - - 11^1. me, Tom o Lin. - - 12^4. his land. - -#E.# - - _18, 19, 20 are not written out. We are directed to - understand them to be "~as in preceding stanzas, making - the necessary grammatical changes~."_ - -#F.# - - 11^2, 15^2. _~ass~, somebody's blunder for ~ask~._ - -#G.# - - 21^2. _~elfin gray~, Motherwell, but see #H#, 7^2._ - - 26^1. Ay. - - 31^1. began. - - 58^2. _Motherwell_: far's the river Tay. - - 58^4. _Motherwell_: she gained. - - _Motherwell, as usual, seems to have made some slight - changes in copying._ - -#I.# - - _Scott's copy having been "~prepared from a collation of - the printed copies~," namely, those in Johnson's Museum - and Herd's Scottish Songs, "~with a very accurate one in - Glenriddell's MS., and with several recitals from - tradition~," what was not derived from tradition, but from - the Museum, Glenriddell, and Herd, is printed in smaller - type._ - - #a.# _3, 20, not in #b.#_ - - _After 31 are omitted five stanzas of the copy obtained by - Scott "~from a gentleman residing near Langholm~," and - others, of the same origin, after 46 and 47._ - - 32 - 'But we that live in Fairy-land - No sickness know nor pain; - I quit my body when I will, - And take to it again. - - 33 - 'I quit my body when I please, - Or unto it repair; - We can inhabit at our ease - In either earth or air. - - 34 - 'Our shapes and size we can convert - To either large or small; - An old nut-shell's the same to us - As is the lofty hall. - - 35 - 'We sleep in rose-buds soft and sweet, - We revel in the stream; - We wanton lightly on the wind - Or glide on a sunbeam. - - 36 - 'And all our wants are well supplied - From every rich man's store, - Who thankless sins the gifts he gets, - And vainly grasps for more.' - - 40^4. _~buy me maik~, a plain misprint for the ~be my - maik~ of #b# 57._ - - 46. _After this stanza are omitted:_ - - 52 - The heavens were black, the night was dark, - And dreary was the place, - But Janet stood with eager wish - Her lover to embrace. - - 53 - Betwixt the hours of twelve and one - A north wind tore the bent, - And straight she heard strange elritch sounds - Upon that wind which went. - - 47. _After this stanza are omitted:_ - - 55 - Their oaten pipes blew wondrous shrill, - The hemlock small blew clear, - And louder notes from hemlock large, - And bog-reed, struck the ear; - But solemn sounds, or sober thoughts, - The fairies cannot bear. - - 56 - They sing, inspired with love and joy, - Like skylarks in the air; - Of solid sense, or thought that's grave, - You'll find no traces there. - - 57 - Fair Janet stood, with mind unmoved, - The dreary heath upon, - And louder, louder waxd the sound - As they came riding on. - - 58 - Will o Wisp before them went, - Sent forth a twinkling light, - And soon she saw the fairy bands - All riding in her sight. - - #b# _6-12 is a fragment of '~The Broomfield-Hill~,' - introduced by a stanza formed on the sixth, as here - given:_ - - 5. - And she's away to Carterhaugh, - And gaed beside the wood, - And there was sleeping young Tamlane, - And his steed beside him stood. - - _After the fragment of '~The Broomfield-Hill~' follows:_ - - 13. - Fair Janet, in her green cleiding, - Returned upon the morn, - And she met her father's ae brother, - The laird of Abercorn. - - _And then these two stanzas, the first altered from Herd's - fragment of '~The Broomfield Hill~,' '~I'll wager, I'll - wager~,' p. 310, ed. 1769, and the second from Herd's - fragment, '~Kertonha~,' or version #C# of this ballad:_ - - 14. - I'll wager, I'll wager, I'll wager wi you - Five hunder merk and ten, - I'll maiden gang to Carterhaugh, - And maiden come again. - - 15. - She princked hersell, and prin'd hersell, - By the ae light of the moon, - And she's away to Carterhaugh - As fast as she could win. - - _Instead of #a# 10, 11, #b# has:_ - - He's taen her by the milk-white hand, - And by the grass-green sleeve, - He's led her to the fairy ground, - And spierd at her nae leave. - - _Instead of 14 of #a#, #b# has something nearer to #A#, - #B# 9:_ - - 23. - It's four and twenty ladies fair - Were in her father's ha, - Whan in there came the fair Janet, - The flower amang them a'. - - _After 21 of #a# follows in #b# a copy of '~The Wee Wee - Man~,' 32-39, attached by these two stanzas, which had - been "~introduced in one recital only~:"_ - - 30. - 'Is it to a man of might, Janet, - Or is it to a man o mean? - Or is it unto young Tamlane, - That 's wi the fairies gane?' - - 31. - ''T was down by Carterhaugh, father, - I walked beside the wa, - And there I saw a wee, wee man, - The least that eer I saw.' - - _Instead of 22, which had been used before, we have in - #b#:_ - - 40. - Janet's put on her green cleiding, - Whan near nine months were gane, - And she's awa to Carterhaugh, - To speak wi young Tamlane. - - #b# _has in place of #a# 28-30:_ - - 46. - Roxburgh was my grandfather, - Took me with him to bide, - And as we frae the hunting came - This harm did me betide. - - 47. - Roxburgh was a hunting knight, - And loved hunting well, - And on a cauld and frosty day - Down frae my horse I fell. - - #b# _49 has #A# 24 instead of #a# 37, #I# 32._ - - #b# _61^2==#a# 49^2==#I# 44^2 has ~toad~, and so has #C# - 9^2, from which the stanza is taken. ~Tod~ is an - improvement, but probably an editorial improvement._ - - -[323] These are the concluding verses, coming much nearer to the -language of this world than the rest. They may have a basis of -tradition: - - Whar they war aware o the Fairy King, - A huntan wi his train. - - Four an twenty gentlemen - Cam by on steeds o brown; - In his hand ilk bore a siller wand, - On his head a siller crown. - - Four an twenty beltit knichts - On duiplit greys cam by; - Gowden their wands an crowns, whilk scanct - Like streamers in the sky. - - Four an twenty noble kings - Cam by on steeds o snaw, - But True Thomas, the gude Rhymer, - Was king outower them a'. - -[324] "Tamlane: an old Scottish Border Ballad. Aberdeen, Lewis and James -Smith, 1862. "I am indebted for a sight of this copy, and for the -information as to the editor, to Mr Macmath. - -[325] Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 221-24, ed. 1802. - -[326] Restoration from enchantment is effected by drinking blood, in -other ballads, as Grundtvig, No 55, II, 156, No 58, II, 174; in No 56, -II, 158, by a maid in falcon shape eating of a bit of flesh which her -lover had cut from his breast. - -[327] Volksleben der Neugriechen, pp 115-17, "from Chourmouzis, [Gk: -Krêtika], p. 69 f, Athens, 1842." Chourmouzis heard this story, about -1820 or 1830, from an old Cretan peasant, who had heard it from his -grandfather. - -[328] The silence of the Cretan fairy, as #B#. Schmidt has remarked, -even seems to explain Sophocles calling the nuptials of Peleus and -Thetis "speechless," [Gk: aphthongous gamous]. Sophocles gives the -transformations as being lion, snake, fire, water: Scholia in Pindari -Nemea, III, 60; Schmidt, as before, p. 116, note. That a firm grip and a -fearless one would make any sea-god do your will would appear from the -additional instances of Menelaus and Proteus, in Odyssey, IV, and of -Hercules and Nereus, Apollodorus, II, 5, 11, 4, Scholia in Apollonii -Argonaut., IV, 1396. Proteus masks as lion, snake, panther, boar, -running water, tree; Nereus as water, fire, or, as Apollodorus says, in -all sorts of shapes. Bacchus was accustomed to transform himself when -violence was done him, but it is not recorded that he was ever brought -to terms like the watery divinities. See Mannhardt, Wald- und Feldkulte, -II, 60-64, who also well remarks that the tales of the White Ladies, -who, to be released from a ban, must be kissed three times in various -shapes, as toad, wolf, snake, etc., have relation to these Greek -traditions. - -[329] The significance of the immersion in water is shown by Mannhardt, -Wald-u. Feldkulte, II, 64 ff. The disorder in the stanzas of #A# at this -place has of course been rectified. In Scott's version, #I#, -transformations are added at random from #C#, _after_ the dipping in -milk and in water, which seems indeed to have been regarded by the -reciters only as a measure for cooling red-hot iron or the burning -gleed, and not as the act essential for restoration to the human nature. - -[330] Possibly the holy water in #D# 17, #G# 32, is a relic of the -water-bath. - -[331] In the MS. of #B# also the transformation into a het gad of iron -comes just before the direction to dip the object into a stand of milk; -but we have the turning into a mother-naked man several stanzas earlier. -By reading, in 33^1, I'll turn, and putting 33 after 34, we should have -the order of events which we find in #A#. - -That Tam Lin should go into water or milk as a dove or snake, or in some -other of his temporary forms, and _come out_ a man, is the only -disposition which is consistent with the order of the world to which he -belongs. Mannhardt gives us a most curious and interesting insight into -some of the laws of that world in Wald-u. Feldkulte, II, 64-70. The wife -of a Cashmere king, in a story there cited from Benfey's Pantschatantra, -I, 254, § 92, is delivered of a serpent, but is reported to have borne a -son. Another king offers his daughter in marriage, and the Cashmere -king, to keep his secret, accepts the proposal. In due time the princess -claims her bridegroom, and they give her the snake. Though greatly -distressed, she accepts her lot, and takes the snake about to the holy -places, at the last of which she receives a command to put the snake -into the water-tank. As soon as this is done the snake takes the form of -a man. A woman's giving birth to a snake was by no means a rare thing in -Karst in the seventeenth century, and it was the rule in one noble -family that all the offspring should be in serpent form, or at least -have a serpent's head; but a bath in water turned them into human shape. -For elves and water nymphs who have entered into connections with men in -the form of women, bathing in water is equally necessary for resuming -their previous shape, as appears from an ancient version of the story of -Melusina: Gervasius, ed. Liebrecht, p. 4 f, and Vincentius -Bellovacensis, Speculum Naturale, 2, 127 (from Helinaudus), cited by -Liebrecht, at p. 66. - -A lad who had been changed into an ass by a couple of witches recovers -his shape merely by jumping into water and rolling about in it: William -of Malmesbury's Kings of England, c. 10, cited by Vincent of Beauvais, -Speculum Naturale, iii, 109; Düntzer, Liebrecht's Dunlop, p. 538. Simple -illusions of magic, such as clods and wisps made to appear swine to our -eyes, are inevitably dissolved when the unrealities touch water. -Liebrecht's Gervasius, p. 65. - -[332] Cf. 'Allison Gross.' - - - - -40 - -THE QUEEN OF ELFAN'S NOURICE - - Skene MSS, No 8, p. 25. Sharpe's Ballad Book, ed. Laing, - p. 169. - - -We see from this pretty fragment, which, after the nature of the best -popular ballad, forces you to chant and will not be read, that a woman -had been carried off, four days after bearing a son, to serve as nurse -in the elf-queen's family. She is promised that she shall be permitted -to return home if she will tend the fairy's bairn till he has got the -use of his legs. We could well have spared stanzas 10-12, which belong -to 'Thomas Rymer,' to know a little more of the proper story. - -That elves and water-spirits have frequently solicited the help of -mortal women at lying-in time is well known: see Stewart's Popular -Superstitions of the Highlands, p. 104; Grimm, Deutsche Sagen, Nos 41, -49, 68, 69, 304; Müllenhoff, Nos 443, 444; Thiele, Danmarks Folkesagen, -1843, II, 200, Nos 1-4; Asbjørnsen, Norske Huldre-Eventyr, 2d ed., I, -16; Maurer, Isländische Volkssagen, p. 6 f; Keightley's Fairy Mythology, -pp 122, 261, 275, 301, 311, 388, 488.[333] They also like to have their -offspring suckled by earthly women. It is said, writes Gervase of -Tilbury, that nobody is more exposed to being carried off by -water-sprites than a woman in milk, and that they sometimes restore -such a woman, with pay for her services, after she has nursed their -wretched fry seven years. He had himself seen a woman who had been -abducted for this purpose, while washing clothes on the bank of the -Rhone. She had to nurse the nix's son under the water for that term, and -then was sent back unhurt. Otia Imperialia, III, 85, Liebrecht, p. 38. -Choice is naturally made of the healthiest and handsomest mothers for -this office. "A fine young woman of Nithsdale, when first made a mother, -was sitting singing and rocking her child, when a pretty lady came into -her cottage, covered with a fairy mantle. She carried a beautiful child -in her arms, swaddled in green silk. 'Gie my bonnie thing a suck,' said -the fairy. The young woman, conscious to whom the child belonged, took -it kindly in her arms, and laid it to her breast. The lady instantly -disappeared, saying, 'Nurse kin', an ne'er want.' The young mother -nurtured the two babes, and was astonished, whenever she awoke, at -finding the richest suits of apparel for both children, with meat of -most delicious flavor. This food tasted, says tradition, like loaf mixed -with wine and honey," etc. Cromek, Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway -Song, p. 302. - - - 1 - I heard a cow low, a bonnie cow low, - An a cow low down in yon glen; - Lang, lang will my young son greet - Or his mither bid him come ben. - - 2 - I heard a cow low, a bonnie cow low, - An a cow low down in yon fauld; - Lang, lang will my young son greet - Or his mither take him frae cauld. - - * * * * * * * - - 3 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - Waken, Queen of Elfan, - An hear your nourice moan.' - - 4 - 'O moan ye for your meat, - Or moan ye for your fee, - Or moan ye for the ither bounties - That ladies are wont to gie?' - - 5 - 'I moan na for my meat, - Nor moan I for my fee, - Nor moan I for the ither bounties - That ladies are wont to gie. - - 6 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - But I moan for my young son - I left in four nights auld. - - 7 - 'I moan na for my meat, - Nor yet for my fee, - But I mourn for Christen land, - It's there I fain would be.' - - 8 - 'O nurse my bairn, nourice,' she says, - 'Till he stan at your knee, - An ye's win hame to Christen land, - Whar fain it's ye wad be. - - 9 - 'O keep my bairn, nourice, - Till he gang by the hauld, - An ye's win hame to your young son - Ye left in four nights auld.' - - * * * * * * * - - 10 - 'O nourice lay your head - Upo my knee: - See ye na that narrow road - Up by yon tree? - - 11 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - That's the road the righteous goes, - And that's the road to heaven. - - 12 - 'An see na ye that braid road, - Down by yon sunny fell? - Yon's the road the wicked gae, - An that's the road to hell.' - - * * * * * * * - - 1^1. an a bonnie cow low, _with ~an~ crossed out_. - - 2^2. yon fall: _~fauld~ in margin_. - - 6^4. _~auld~ not in MS., supplied from 9^4._ - - 7^3. Christend. - - 8^1. _~she says~ is probably the comment of the singer or - reciter._ - - -[333] Many of these instances are cited by Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, -1875, I, 378. In Thiele's first example the necessity of having -Christian aid comes from the lying-in woman being a Christian who had -been carried off by an elf. In Asbjørnsen's tale, the woman who is sent -for to act as midwife finds that her own serving-maid is forced, without -being aware of it, to work all night in the elfin establishment, and is -very tired with double duty. - - - - -41 - -HIND ETIN - - #A.# 'Young Akin,' Buchan's Ballads of the North of - Scotland, I, 6. Motherwell's MS., p. 554. - - #B.# 'Hynde Etin,' Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. - 228. - - #C.# 'Young Hastings,' Buchan, Ballads of the North of - Scotland, II, 67. 'Young Hastings the Groom,' Motherwell's - MS., p. 450; Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 287. - - -It is scarcely necessary to remark that this ballad, like too many -others, has suffered severely by the accidents of tradition. #A# has -been not simply damaged by passing through low mouths, but has been -worked over by low hands. Something considerable has been lost from the -story, and fine romantic features, preserved in Norse and German -ballads, have been quite effaced. - -Margaret, a king's daughter, #A#, an earl's daughter, #B#, a lady of -noble birth, #C#, as she sits sewing in her bower door, hears a note in -Elmond's wood and wishes herself there, #A#. The wood is Amon-shaw in -#C#, Mulberry in #B#: the Elmond (Amond, Elfman?) is probably -significant. So far the heroine resembles Lady Isabel in No 4, who, -sewing in her bower, hears an elf-horn, and cannot resist the enchanted -tone. Margaret makes for the wood as fast as she can go. The note that -is heard in #A# is mistaken in #B# for _nuts_: Margaret, as she stands -in her bower door, spies some nuts growing in the wood, and wishes -herself there. Arrived at the wood, Margaret, in #A# as well as #B#, -immediately takes to pulling nuts.[334] The lady is carried off in #C# -under cover of a magical mist, and the hero in all is no ordinary hind. - -Margaret has hardly pulled a nut, when she is confronted by young Akin, -#A#, otherwise, and correctly, called Etin in #B#, a hind of giant -strength in both, who accuses her of trespassing, and stops her. Akin -pulls up the highest tree in the wood and builds a bower, invisible to -passers-by, for their habitation. #B#, which recognizes no influence of -enchantment upon the lady's will, as found in #A#, and no prepossession -on her part, as in #C#, makes Hind Etin pull up the biggest tree in the -forest as well, but it is to scoop out a cave many fathoms deep, in -which he confines Margaret till she comes to terms, and consents to _go -home_ with him, wherever that may be. Hastings, another corruption of -Etin, carries off the lady on his horse to the wood, "where again their -loves are sworn," and there they take up their abode in a cave of stone, -#C# 9. Lady Margaret lives with the etin seven years, and bears him -seven sons, #A# 9; many years, and bears seven sons, #B#; ten years, and -bears seven bairns, #C# 6, 8, 9.[335] - -Once upon a time the etin goes hunting, and takes his eldest boy with -him. The boy asks his father why his mother is so often in tears, and -the father says it is because she was born of high degree, but had been -stolen by him; "is wife of Hynde Etin, wha ne'er got christendame," #B# -15. The etin, who could pull the highest tree in the wood up by the -roots, adds in #A# 15 that when he stole his wife he was her father's -cup-bearer! and that he caught her "on a misty night," which reminds us -of the mist which Young Hastings, "the groom," cast before the lady's -attendants when he carried her off. - -The next time Akin goes hunting he leaves his young comrade behind, and -the boy tells his mother that he heard "fine music ring" when he was -coming home, on the other occasion. She wishes she had been there. He -takes his mother and six brothers, and they make their way through the -wood at their best speed, not knowing in what direction they are going. -But luckily they come to the gate of the king, the father and -grandfather of the band. The mother sends her eldest boy in with three -rings, to propitiate the porter, the butler-boy, who acts as usher in -this particular palace, and the minstrel who plays before the king. His -majesty is so struck with the resemblance of the boy to his daughter -that he is blinded with tears. The boy informs his grandfather that his -mother is standing at the gates, with six more brothers, and the king -orders that she be admitted. He asks her to dine, but she can touch -nothing till she has seen her mother and sister. Admitted to her mother, -the queen in turn says, You will dine with me; but she can touch nothing -till she has seen her sister. Her sister, again, invites her to dine, -but now she can touch nothing till she has seen her "dear husband." -Rangers are sent into the wood to fetch Young Akin, under promise of a -full pardon. He is found tearing his yellow hair. The king now asks Akin -to dine with him, and there appears to have been a family dinner. While -this is going on the boy expresses a wish to be christened, "to get -christendoun;" in all his eight years he had never been in a church. The -king promises that he shall go that very day with his mother, and all -seven of the boys seem to have got their christendoun; and so, we may -hope, did Hind Etin, who was, if possible, more in want of it than they; -#B# 15, 19. - -In this story #A# and #B# pretty nearly agree. #C# has nothing of the -restoration of the lady to her parents and home. The mother, in this -version, having harped her seven bairns asleep, sits down and weeps -bitterly. She wishes, like Fair Annie, that they were rats, and she a -cat, to eat them one and all. She has lived ten years in a stone cave, -and has never had a churching. The eldest boy suggests that they shall -all go to some church: they be christened and she be churched. This is -accomplished without any difficulty, and, as the tale stands, we can -only wonder that it had not been attempted before. - -The etin of the Scottish story is in Norse and German a dwarf-king, -elf-king, hill-king, or even a merman. The ballad is still sung in -Scandinavia and Germany, but only the Danes have versions taken down -before the present century. - -#Danish.# 'Jomfruen og Dværgekongen,' Grundtvig, No 37, #A-C# from -manuscripts of the sixteenth century. #A-G#, Grundtvig, II, 39-46; #H#, -I, III, 806-808; #K-T#, IV, 795-800, #P-S# being short fragments. #K# -previously in "Fylla," a weekly newspaper, 1870, Nos 23, 30; #L-O#, #Q#, -#R#, 'Agnete i Bjærget,' in Kristensen's Jyske Folkeviser, II, 72, 77, -349, 74, I, xxxi, II, 79; #U#, a short fragment, Danske Viser, V, x, -xi. - -#Swedish.# 'Den Bergtagna,' #A#, #B#, Afzelius, I, 1, No 1, II, 201. -#C#, 'Bergkonungen,' Afzelius, II, 22, No 35. #D#, #E#, 'Herr Elver, -Bergakonungen,' Arwidsson, II, 277, No 141 B, II, 275, No 141 A. #F#, -'Jungfrun och Bergakonungen,' Arwidsson, II, 280, No 142. #G#, 'Agneta -och Bergamannen,' Wigström, Folkdiktning, p. 13. #H#, 'Jungfrun och -Bergamannen,' the same, p. 21. #I#, #K#, #L#, in Cavallius and Stephens' -manuscript collection (#K#, #L#, fragments), given by Grundtvig, IV, -803. #M#, F. L. Borgströms Folkvisor, No 11, described by Grundtvig, IV, -802. #N#, Werner's Westergötlands Fornminnen, p. 93 f, two stanzas. - -#Norwegian.# #A#, #B#,[336] #C#, 'Liti Kersti, som vart inkvervd,' -Landstad, p. 431, No 42, p. 442, No 44, p. 446, No 45. #D#, 'Margit -Hjuxe, som vart inkvervd,' the same, p. 451, No 46. #E#, #F#, 'Målfri,' -'Antonetta,' Grundtvig, IV, 801 f, the last evidently derived from -Denmark. #G-P#, nine versions communicated to Grundtvig by Professor -Sophus Bugge, and partially described in Danmarks gamle Folkeviser, III, -808-10. Lindeman gives the first stanza of #A# with airs No 214, No 262 -of his Fjeldmelodier, and perhaps had different copies. Nos 323, 320 may -also have been versions of this ballad. #C#, rewritten, occurs in #J#. -M. Moe og Ivar Mortensen's Norske Fornkvæde og Folkevisur, p. 16. Mixed -forms, in which the ballad proper is blended with another, Landstad, No -43==Swedish, Arwidsson, No 145; eight, communicated by Bugge, Grundtvig, -III, 810-13; two others, IV, 483 f.[337] - -#Färöe.# #A#, #B#, Grundtvig, IV, 803 f. - -#Icelandic.# 'Rika álfs kvæði,' Íslenzk fornkvæði, No 4. - -Danish #A#, one of the three sixteenth-century versions, tells how a -knight, expressing a strong desire to obtain a king's daughter, is -overheard by a dwarf, who says this shall never be. The dwarf pretends -to bargain with the knight for his services in forwarding the knight's -object, but consults meanwhile with his mother how he may get the lady -for himself.[338] The mother tells him that the princess will go to -even-song, and the dwarf writes runes on the way she must go by, which -compel her to come to the hill. The dwarf holds out his hand and asks, -How came ye to this strange land? to which the lady answers mournfully, -I wot never how. The dwarf says, You have pledged yourself to a knight, -and he has betrayed you with runes: this eve you shall be the dwarf's -guest. She stayed there the night, and was taken back to her mother in -the morning. Eight years went by; her hand was sought by five kings, -nine counts, but no one of them could get a good answer. One day her -mother asked, Why are thy cheeks so faded? Why can no one get thee? She -then revealed that she had been beguiled by the dwarf, and had seven -sons and a daughter in the hill, none of whom she ever saw. She thought -she was alone, but the dwarf-king was listening. He strikes her with an -elf-rod, and bids her hie to the hill after him. Late in the evening the -poor thing dons her cloak, knocks at her father's door, and says -good-night to the friends that never will see her again, then sadly -turns to the hill. Her seven sons advance to meet her, and ask why she -told of their father. Her tears run sore; she gives no answer; she is -dead ere midnight. - -With #A# agrees another of the three old Danish copies, #B#, and three -modern ones, #D#, #M#, #N#, have something of the opening scene which -characterizes #A#. So also Swedish #C#, #I#, and the Icelandic ballad. -In Swedish #C#, Proud Margaret, who is daughter of a king of seven -kingdoms, will have none of her suitors (this circumstance comes too -soon). A hill-king asks his mother how he may get her. She asks in -return, What will you give me to make her come of herself to the hill? -He promises red gold and chestfuls of pence; and one Sunday morning -Margaret, who has set out to go to church, is made--by magical -operations, of course--to take the way to the hill. - -A second form begins a stage later: Danish #C#, #G#, #K#, Swedish #D#, -#E#, #K#, Norwegian #A#, #C#, #E#, #G#, #H#, #I# (?), #K#, #L#, #M# (?), -#N# (?), Färöe #A#, #B#. We learn nothing of the device by which the -maid has been entrapped. Mother and daughter are sitting in their bower, -and the mother asks her child why her cheeks are pale, why milk is -running from her breasts. She answers that she has been working too -hard; that what is taken for milk is mead. The mother retorts that other -women do not suffer from their industry; that mead is brown, and milk is -white. Hereupon the daughter reveals that she has been beguiled by an -elf, and, though living under her mother's roof, has had eight or nine -children (seven or eight sons and a daughter; fifteen children, Färöe -#A#, #B#), none of whom she ever saw, since after birth they were always -transferred to the hill (see, especially, Danish #C#, #G#, also #A#; -Norwegian #H#, #I#; Färöe #A#, #B#). The mother (who disowns her, Danish -#C#, #G#, Swedish #D#, #E#, Norwegian #K#), in several versions, asks -what gifts she got for her honor. Among these was a harp [horn, -Norwegian #L#], which she was to play when she was unhappy. The mother -asks for a piece, and the first tones bring the elf, who reproaches the -daughter for betraying him: had she concealed their connection she might -still have lived at home, #C#; but now she must go with him. She is -kindly received by her children. They give her a drink which makes her -forget father and mother, heaven and earth, moon and sun, and even makes -her think she was born in the hill, Danish #C#, #G#, Swedish #D#, -Norwegian #A#, #C#.[339] - -Danish #G#, #K#, Färöe #A#, #B#, take a tragic turn: the woman dies in -the first two the night she comes to the hill. Danish #C#, one of the -sixteenth-century versions, goes as far as possible in the other -direction. The elf-king pats Maldfred's cheek, takes her in his arms, -gives her a queen's crown and name. - - And this he did for the lily-wand, - He had himself christened and all his land! - -A third series of versions offers the probable type of the -much-corrupted Scottish ballads, and under this head come Danish #E#, -#F#, #H#, #I#, #L-R#, #T#; Swedish #A#, #B#, #F-I#, and also #C#, after -an introduction which belongs to the first class; Norwegian #D#, #F#. -The characteristic feature is that the woman has been living eight or -nine years in the hill, and has there borne her children, commonly seven -sons and a daughter. She sets out to go to matins, and whether under the -influence of runes, or accidentally, or purposely, takes the way to the -hill. In a few cases it is clear that she does not seek the hill-man or -put herself in his way, e.g., Danish #N#, Swedish #G#, but Swedish #A#, -#H#, #N# make her apply for admission at the hill-door. In Danish #I#, -#N-R#, #T#, Norwegian #F#, it is not said that she was on her way to -church; she is in a field or in the hill. In Swedish #F# she has been -two years in the cave, and it seems to her as if she had come yesterday. -After her eight or nine years with the hill-man the woman longs to go -home, Danish #E#, #F#, #I#, Swedish #A#, #F#, #I#, Norwegian #D#; to go -to church, Danish #L#, #M#, #N#, #P#, #T#, Norwegian #F#; for she had -heard Denmark's bells, church bells, Danish #L-P#, #T#, Swedish #G#, -Norwegian #D#, #F#. She had heard these bells as she watched the -cradle, Danish #T#, #P#, Swedish #G#; sat by the cradle and sang, #T# 4; -compare English #C# 7. She asks the hill-man's permission, and it is -granted on certain terms: she is not to talk of him and her life in the -hill, Danish #E#, #I#, Swedish #A#, #F#, #I#, is to come back, Danish -#F#, must not stay longer than an hour or two, Norwegian #D#; she is not -to wear her gold, her best clothes, not to let out her hair, not to go -into her mother's pew at the church, not to bow when the priest -pronounces the holy name, or make an offering, or go home after service, -etc., Danish #I#, #L-P#, #T#, Norwegian #F#. All these last conditions -she violates, nor does she in the least heed the injunction not to speak -of the hill-man. The consequence is that he summarily presents himself, -whether at the church or the paternal mansion, and orders her back to -the hill, sometimes striking her on the ear or cheek so that blood runs, -or beating her with a rod, Danish #E#, #I#, #L#, #M#, #S#, #T#, Swedish -#A#, #B#, #C#, #H#, #I#, Norwegian #F#. In a few versions, the hill-man -tells her that her children are crying for her, and she replies, Let -them cry; I will never go back to the hill; Danish #M#, #N#, #O#, -Norwegian #F#. In Danish #E#, Swedish #G#, a gold apple thrown into her -lap seems to compel her to return; more commonly main force is used. She -is carried dead into the hill, or dies immediately on her arrival, in -Norwegian #F#, Danish #T#; she dies of grief, according to traditional -comment, in Norwegian #D#. They give her a drink, and her heart breaks, -Swedish #A#, #G#, #H#, #M#; but elsewhere the drink only induces -forgetfulness, Danish #L#, #M#, Swedish #B#, #C#, #F#. - -Much of the story of 'Jomfruen og Dværgekongen' recurs in the ballad of -'Agnete og Havmanden,' which, for our purposes, may be treated as a -simple variation of the other. The Norse forms are again numerous, but -all from broadsides dating, at most, a century back, or from recent -tradition. - -#Danish.# 'Agnete og Havmanden,' Grundtvig, No 38, #A-D#, II, 51 ff, 656 -ff, III, 813 ff. Copies of #A# are numerous, and two had been previously -printed; in Danske Viser, I, 313, No 50, and "in Barfod's Brage og Idun, -II, 264." #E#, Rask's Morskabslæsning, III, 81, Grundtvig, II, 659. #F#, -one stanza, Grundtvig, p. 660. #G#, #H#, the same, III, 816. #I#, -Kristensen, II, 75, No 28 C, Grundtvig, IV, 807. #K#, Grundtvig, IV, -808.[340] - -#Swedish.# #A#, #B#, #C#, in Cavallius and Stephens' unprinted -collection, described by Grundtvig, II, 661. #D#, 'Agneta och -Hafsmannen,' Eva Wigström's Folkdiktning, p. 9. #E#, Bergström's -Afzelius, II, 308. #F#, 'Skön Anna och Hafskungen,' Aminson, Bidrag till -Södermanlands äldre Kulturhistoria, III, 43. #G#, 'Helena och -Hafsmannen,' the same, p. 46. - -#Norwegian.# #A#, Grundtvig, III, 817, properly Danish rather than -Norwegian. #B#, a version partly described at p. 818. #C#, Grundtvig, -IV, 809, also more Danish than Norwegian. All these communicated by -Bugge. - -Danish #C#, #G#, Norwegian #A#, have a hillman instead of a merman, and -might as well have been put with the other ballad. On the other hand, -the Danish versions #M#, #N#, #O# of 'The Maid and the Dwarf-King' call -the maid Agenet, and give the hill-man a name, Nek, Netmand, Mekmand, -which implies a watery origin for him, and the fragments #P#, #Q#, #R# -have similar names, Nekmand, Negen, Lækkemand, as also Agenete, and -might as well have been ranked with 'Agnes and the Merman.' In 'The Maid -and the Dwarf-King,' Swedish #L# (one stanza) the maid is taken by "Pel -Elfven" to the sea. - -Agnes goes willingly with the merman to the sea-bottom, Danish #A#, #D#, -#E#, #K#, Swedish #A#, #D#, #E#, Norwegian #A#, #C#. She lives there, -according to many versions, eight years, and has seven children. As she -is sitting and singing by the cradle one day, she hears the bells of -England, Danish #A#, #C#, #D#, #E#, #H#, #I#, #K#, Swedish #D# [church -bells, bells, #F#, #G#], Norwegian #A#, #C#. She asks if she may go to -church, go home, and receives permission on the same terms as in the -other ballad. Her mother asks her what gifts she had received, Danish -#A#, #D#, #E#, #H#, #I#, Swedish #E#, #F#, Norwegian #C#. When the -merman comes into the church all the images turn their backs, Danish -#A#, #D#, #K#, Swedish #D#, #F#, #G#, Norwegian #A#, #C#; and, in some -cases, for Agnes, too. He tells her that the children are crying for -her; she refuses to go back, Danish #A#, #C#,# D#, #I#, #K#, Swedish -#D#, #F#, #G# (and apparently #A#, #B#, #C#), Norwegian #C#. In -Norwegian #A# the merman strikes her on the cheek, and she returns; in -Danish #I# she is taken back quietly; in Danish #C# he gives her so sore -an ail that she dies presently; in Danish #H# she is taken away by -force, and poisoned by her children; in Danish #K# the merman says that -if she stays with her mother they must divide the children (five). He -takes two, she two, and each has to take half of the odd one. - -The Norse forms of 'Agnes and the Merman' are conceded to have been -derived from Germany: see Grundtvig, IV, 812. Of the #German# ballad, -which is somewhat nearer to the English, the following versions have -been noted: - -#A.# 'Die schöne Agniese,' Fiedler, Volksreime und Volkslieder in -Anhalt-Dessau, p. 140, No 1==Mittler, No 553. #B.# 'Die schöne Agnese,' -Parisius, Deutsche Volkslieder in der Altmark und im Magdeburgischen -gesammelt, p. 29, No 8 B, from nearly the same region as #A#. #C.# -Parisius, p. 28, No 8 A, Pechau on the Elbe. #D.# 'Die schöne Angnina,' -Erk's Neue Sammlung, ii, 40, No 26==Mittler, No 552, from the -neighborhood of Magdeburg. #E.# 'Die Schöne Agnete,' Erk's Liederhort, -No 16^a, p. 47, Erk's Wunderhorn, IV, 91, from the neighborhood of -Guben. _F._ 'Die schöne Dorothea,' Liederhort, No 16^b, p. 48, Gramzow -in der Ukermark. #G.# 'Die schöne Hann[)a]le,' Liederhort, No 16, p. 44, -Erk's Wunderhorn, IV, 87, Silesia. #H.# 'Die schöne Hannele,' Hoffmann -u. Richter, Schlesische Volkslieder, p. 3, No 1==Mittler, No 551, Böhme, -No 90 A, Breslau. 'Der Wassermann,' Simrock, No 1, is a compounded copy. - -A wild merman has become enamored of the King of England's daughter, -#A#, #B#, #C#, #D#. He plates a bridge with gold; she often walks over -the bridge; it sinks with her into the water [the merman drags her down -into the water, #H#]. She stays below seven years, and bears seven sons. -One day [by the cradle, #C#, #G#] she hears the bells of England, #A# 6, -#B#, #C#, #D#, #F# [bells, #E#, #G#, #H#], and longs to go to church. -She expresses this wish to the merman, #C#, #D#, #G#, #H#. The merman -says she must take her seven sons with her, #B#, #C#, #D#; she must come -back, #G#, #H#. She takes her seven sons by the hand, and goes with them -to England, #A# 5, #B# 7; cf. Scottish #C# 13, 14, #A# 22, 50. When she -enters the church everything in it bows, #A#, #B#, #F#. Her parents are -there, #C#, #D#; her father opens the pew, her mother lays a cushion for -her, #G#, #H#. As she goes out of the church, there stands the merman, -#A#, #B#, #E#, #F#. Her parents take her home in #D#, #G#, #H#. They -seat her at the table, and while she is eating, a gold apple falls into -her lap (cf. 'The Maid and the Dwarf-King,' Danish #E#, Swedish #G#), -which she begs her mother to throw into the fire; the merman appears, -and asks if she wishes him burnt, #G#, #H#. The merman, when he presents -himself at the church, asks whether the woman will go back with him, or -die where she is, and she prefers death on the spot, #A#, #B#, #E#. In -the other case, he says that if she will not return, the children must -be divided,--three and three, and half of the seventh to each; the -mother prefers the water to this. #D# has a peculiar and not very happy -trait. The merman fastens a chain to his wife's foot before she goes up, -and, having been kept long waiting, draws it in. But the people at the -church have taken off the chain, and he finds nothing at the end of it. -He asks whether she does not wish to live with him; she replies, I will -no longer torment you, or fret myself to death. - -The story of Agnes and the Merman occurs in a Wendish ballad, with an -introductory scene found in the beautiful German ballad, 'Wassermanns -Braut:'[341] Haupt und Schmaler, I, 62, No 34. A maid begs that she may -be left to herself for a year, but her father says it is time for her to -be married. She goes to her chamber, weeps and wrings her hands. The -merman comes and asks, Where is my bride? They tell him that she is in -her chamber, weeping and wringing her hands. The merman asks her the -reason, and she answers, They all say that you are the merwoman's son. -He says he will build her a bridge of pure silver and gold, and have her -driven over it with thirty carriages and forty horses; but ere she has -half passed the bridge it goes down to the bottom. She is seven years -below, has seven sons in as many years, and is going with the eighth. -She implores her husband to permit her to go to church in the upper -world, and he consents, with the proviso that she shall not stay for the -benediction. At church she sees her brother and sister, who receive her -kindly. She tells them that she cannot stay till the benediction;[342] -they beg her to come home to dine with them. She does wait till the -benediction; the merman rushes frantically about. As she leaves the -church and is saying good-by to her sister, she meets the merman, who -snatches the youngest child from her (she appears to have all seven with -her), tears it in pieces, strangles the rest, scatters their limbs on -the road, and hangs himself, asking, Does not your heart grieve for your -children? She answers, I grieve for none but the youngest.[343] - -A Slovenian ballad has the story with modifications, Achacel and -Korytko, [S,]lovén[s,]ke Pé[s,]mi krajnskiga Naróda, I, 30,[344] -'Povodnji mósh;' given in abstract by Haupt and Schmaler, I, 339, note -to No. 34. Mizika goes to a dance, in spite of her mother's forbidding. -Her mother, in a rage, wishes that the merman may fetch her. A young man -who dances with her whirls her round so furiously that she complains, -but he becomes still more violent. Mizika sees how it is, and exclaims, -The merman has come for me! The merman flies out of the window with her, -and plunges into the water. She bears a son, and asks leave to pay a -visit to her mother; and this is allowed on conditions, one of which is -that she shall not expose herself to a benediction. She does not -conform, and the merman comes and says that her son is crying for her. -She refuses to go with him, and he tears the boy in two, that each may -have a half. - -Two or three of the minuter correspondences between the Scottish and the -Norse or German ballads, which have not been referred to, may be -indicated in conclusion. The hillman, in several Norwegian copies, as -#B#, #M#, carries off the lady on horseback, and so Hastings in #C#. In -#A# 34-39, the returned sister, being invited to dine, cannot eat a bit -or drink a drop. So, in 'The Maid and the Dwarf-King,' Swedish #G# 15, -16, they set before Agnes dishes four and five, dishes eight and nine, -but she can take nothing: - - Agneta ej smakte en endaste bit. - -Young Akin, in #A# 43, is found in the wood, "tearing his yellow hair." -The merman has golden hair in Danish #A# 16, Swedish #D# 2, 19, -Norwegian #A# 17 (nothing very remarkable, certainly), and in Danish #D# -31 wrings his hands and is very unhappy, because Agnes refuses to -return. It is much more important that in one of the Swedish copies of -the merman ballad, Grundtvig, II, 661a, we find a trace of the -'christendom' which is made such an object in the Scottish ballads: - - 'Nay,' said the mother, 'now thou art mine,' - And christened her with water and with wine. - -'The Maid and the Dwarf-King,' Danish #E#, is translated by Prior, III, -338; Swedish #A# by Stephens, Foreign Quarterly Review, XXV, 35; Swedish -#C# by Keightley, Fairy Mythology, p. 103. 'Agnes and the Merman,' -Danish #A#, #C#, by Prior, III, 332, 335; some copy of #A# by Borrow, p. -120; Øhlenschlæger's ballad by Buchanan, p. 76. - -Scottish #B# is translated, after Allingham, by Knortz, Lieder u. -Romanzen, No 30; #A# 1-8, #C# 6-14, by Rosa Warrens, Schottische -Volkslieder, No 2; a compounded version by Roberts into German by -Podhorszki, Acta Comparationis, etc., VIII, 69-73. - - -A - - Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 6; - Motherwell's MS., p. 554. - - 1 - Lady Margaret sits in her bower door, - Sewing at her silken seam; - She heard a note in Elmond's wood, - And wishd she there had been. - - 2 - She loot the seam fa frae her side, - And the needle to her tae, - And she is on to Elmond's wood - As fast as she coud gae. - - 3 - She hadna pu'd a nut, a nut, - Nor broken a branch but ane, - Till by it came a young hind chiel, - Says, Lady, lat alane. - - 4 - O why pu ye the nut, the nut, - Or why brake ye the tree? - For I am forester o this wood: - Ye shoud spier leave at me. - - 5 - 'I'll ask leave at no living man, - Nor yet will I at thee; - My father is king oer a' this realm, - This wood belongs to me.' - - 6 - She hadna pu'd a nut, a nut, - Nor broken a branch but three, - Till by it came him Young Akin, - And gard her lat them be. - - 7 - The highest tree in Elmond's wood, - He's pu'd it by the reet, - And he has built for her a bower, - Near by a hallow seat. - - 8 - He's built a bower, made it secure - Wi carbuncle and stane; - Tho travellers were never sae nigh, - Appearance it had nane. - - 9 - He's kept her there in Elmond's wood, - For six lang years and one, - Till six pretty sons to him she bear, - And the seventh she's brought home. - - 10 - It fell ance upon a day, - This guid lord went from home, - And he is to the hunting gane, - Took wi him his eldest son. - - 11 - And when they were on a guid way, - Wi slowly pace did walk, - The boy's heart being something wae, - He thus began to talk: - - 12 - 'A question I woud ask, father, - Gin ye woudna angry be:' - 'Say on, say on, my bonny boy, - Ye'se nae be quarrelld by me.' - - 13 - 'I see my mither's cheeks aye weet, - I never can see them dry; - And I wonder what aileth my mither, - To mourn continually.' - - 14 - 'Your mither was a king's daughter, - Sprung frae a high degree, - And she might hae wed some worthy prince, - Had she nae been stown by me. - - 15 - 'I was her father's cup-bearer, - Just at that fatal time; - I catchd her on a misty night, - Whan summer was in prime. - - 16 - 'My luve to her was most sincere, - Her luve was great for me, - But when she hardships doth endure, - Her folly she does see.' - - 17 - 'I'll shoot the buntin o the bush, - The linnet o the tree, - And bring them to my dear mither, - See if she'll merrier be.' - - 18 - It fell upo another day, - This guid lord he thought lang, - And he is to the hunting gane, - Took wi him his dog and gun. - - 19 - Wi bow and arrow by his side, - He's aff, single, alane, - And left his seven children to stay - Wi their mither at hame. - - 20 - 'O I will tell to you, mither, - Gin ye wadna angry be:' - 'Speak on, speak on, my little wee boy, - Ye'se nae be quarrelld by me.' - - 21 - 'As we came frae the hynd-hunting, - We heard fine music ring:' - 'My blessings on you, my bonny boy, - I wish I'd been there my lane.' - - 22 - He's taen his mither by the hand, - His six brithers also, - And they are on thro Elmond's wood, - As fast as they coud go. - - 23 - They wistna weel where they were gaen, - Wi the stratlins o their feet; - They wistna weel where they were gaen, - Till at her father's yate. - - 24 - 'I hae nae money in my pocket, - But royal rings hae three; - I'll gie them you, my little young son, - And ye'll walk there for me. - - 25 - 'Ye'll gie the first to the proud porter, - And he will lat you in; - Ye'll gie the next to the butler-boy, - And he will show you ben; - - 26 - 'Ye'll gie the third to the minstrel - That plays before the king; - He'll play success to the bonny boy - Came thro the wood him lane.' - - 27 - He gae the first to the proud porter, - And he opend an let him in; - He gae the next to the butler-boy, - And he has shown him ben; - - 28 - He gae the third to the minstrel - That playd before the king; - And he playd success to the bonny boy - Came thro the wood him lane. - - 29 - Now when he came before the king, - Fell low down on his knee; - The king he turned round about, - And the saut tear blinded his ee. - - 30 - 'Win up, win up, my bonny boy, - Gang frae my companie; - Ye look sae like my dear daughter, - My heart will birst in three.' - - 31 - 'If I look like your dear daughter, - A wonder it is none; - If I look like your dear daughter, - I am her eldest son.' - - 32 - 'Will ye tell me, ye little wee boy, - Where may my Margaret be?' - 'She's just now standing at your yates, - And my six brithers her wi.' - - 33 - 'O where are all my porter-boys - That I pay meat and fee, - To open my yates baith wide and braid? - Let her come in to me.' - - 34 - When she came in before the king, - Fell low down on her knee; - 'Win up, win up, my daughter dear, - This day ye'll dine wi me.' - - 35 - 'Ae bit I canno eat, father, - Nor ae drop can I drink, - Till I see my mither and sister dear, - For lang for them I think.' - - 36 - When she came before the queen, - Fell low down on her knee; - 'Win up, win up, my daughter dear - This day ye'se dine wi me.' - - 37 - 'Ae bit I canno eat, mither, - Nor ae drop can I drink, - Until I see my dear sister, - For lang for her I think.' - - 38 - When that these two sisters met, - She haild her courteouslie; - 'Come ben, come ben, my sister dear, - This day ye'se dine wi me.' - - 39 - 'Ae bit I canno eat, sister, - Nor ae drop can I drink, - Until I see my dear husband, - For lang for him I think.' - - 40 - 'O where are all my rangers bold - That I pay meat and fee, - To search the forest far an wide, - And bring Akin to me?' - - 41 - Out it speaks the little wee boy: - Na, na, this maunna be; - Without ye grant a free pardon, - I hope ye'll nae him see. - - 42 - 'O here I grant a free pardon, - Well seald by my own han; - Ye may make search for Young Akin, - As soon as ever you can.' - - 43 - They searchd the country wide and braid, - The forests far and near, - And found him into Elmond's wood, - Tearing his yellow hair. - - 44 - 'Win up, win up now, Young Akin, - Win up, and boun wi me; - We're messengers come from the court, - The king wants you to see.' - - 45 - 'O lat him take frae me my head, - Or hang me on a tree; - For since I've lost my dear lady, - Life's no pleasure to me.' - - 46 - 'Your head will nae be touchd, Akin, - Nor hangd upon a tree; - Your lady's in her father's court, - And all he wants is thee.' - - 47 - When he came in before the king, - Fell low down on his knee; - 'Win up, win up now, Young Akin, - This day ye'se dine wi me.' - - 48 - But as they were at dinner set, - The boy asked a boun: - 'I wish we were in the good church, - For to get christendoun. - - 49 - 'We hae lived in guid green wood - This seven years and ane; - But a' this time, since eer I mind, - Was never a church within.' - - 50 - 'Your asking's nae sae great, my boy, - But granted it shall be; - This day to guid church ye shall gang, - And your mither shall gang you wi.' - - 51 - When unto the guid church she came, - She at the door did stan; - She was sae sair sunk down wi shame, - She coudna come farer ben. - - 52 - Then out it speaks the parish priest, - And a sweet smile gae he: - 'Come ben, come ben, my lily flower, - Present your babes to me.' - - 53 - Charles, Vincent, Sam and Dick, - And likewise James and John; - They calld the eldest Young Akin, - Which was his father's name. - - 54 - Then they staid in the royal court, - And livd wi mirth and glee, - And when her father was deceasd, - Heir of the crown was she. - - -B - - Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 228. - - 1 - May Margret stood in her bouer door, - Kaiming doun her yellow hair; - She spied some nuts growin in the wud, - And wishd that she was there. - - 2 - She has plaited her yellow locks - A little abune her bree, - And she has kilted her petticoats - A little below her knee, - And she's aff to Mulberry wud, - As fast as she could gae. - - 3 - She had na pu'd a nut, a nut, - A nut but barely ane, - Till up started the Hynde Etin, - Says, Lady, let thae alane! - - 4 - 'Mulberry wuds are a' my ain; - My father gied them me, - To sport and play when I thought lang; - And they sall na be tane by thee.' - - 5 - And ae she pu'd the tither berrie, - Na thinking o' the skaith, - And said, To wrang ye, Hynde Etin, - I wad be unco laith. - - 6 - But he has tane her by the yellow locks, - And tied her till a tree, - And said, For slichting my commands, - An ill death sall ye dree. - - 7 - He pu'd a tree out o the wud, - The biggest that was there, - And he howkit a cave monie fathoms deep, - And put May Margret there. - - 8 - 'Now rest ye there, ye saucie may; - My wuds are free for thee; - And gif I tak ye to mysell, - The better ye'll like me.' - - 9 - Na rest, na rest May Margret took, - Sleep she got never nane; - Her back lay on the cauld, cauld floor, - Her head upon a stane. - - 10 - 'O tak me out,' May Margret cried, - 'O tak me hame to thee, - And I sall be your bounden page - Until the day I dee.' - - 11 - He took her out o the dungeon deep, - And awa wi him she's gane; - But sad was the day an earl's dochter - Gaed hame wi Hynde Etin. - - * * * * * * * - - 12 - It fell out ance upon a day - Hynde Etin's to the hunting gane, - And he has tane wi him his eldest son, - For to carry his game. - - 13 - 'O I wad ask ye something, father, - An ye wadna angry be;' - 'Ask on, ask on, my eldest son, - Ask onie thing at me.' - - 14 - 'My mother's cheeks are aft times weet, - Alas! they are seldom dry;' - 'Na wonder, na wonder, my eldest son, - Tho she should brast and die. - - 15 - 'For your mother was an earl's dochter, - Of noble birth and fame, - And now she's wife o Hynde Etin, - Wha neer got christendame. - - 16 - 'But we'll shoot the laverock in the lift, - The buntlin on the tree, - And ye'll tak them hame to your mother, - And see if she'll comforted be.' - - * * * * * * * - - 17 - 'I wad ask ye something, mother, - An ye wadna angry be;' - 'Ask on, ask on, my eldest son, - Ask onie thing at me.' - - 18 - 'Your cheeks they are aft times weet, - Alas! they're seldom dry;' - 'Na wonder, na wonder, my eldest son, - Tho I should brast and die. - - 19 - 'For I was ance an earl's dochter, - Of noble birth and fame, - And now I am the wife of Hynde Etin, - Wha neer got christendame.' - - * * * * * * * - - -C - - Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 67, - communicated by Mr James Nicol, of Strichen; Motherwell's - Minstrelsy, p. 287; Motherwell's MS., p. 450. - - 1 - 'O well like I to ride in a mist, - And shoot in a northern win, - And far better a lady to steal, - That's come of a noble kin.' - - 2 - Four an twenty fair ladies - Put on this lady's sheen, - And as mony young gentlemen - Did lead her ower the green. - - 3 - Yet she preferred before them all - Him, young Hastings the Groom; - He's coosten a mist before them all, - And away this lady has taen. - - 4 - He's taken the lady on him behind, - Spared neither grass nor corn, - Till they came to the wood o Amonshaw, - Where again their loves were sworn. - - 5 - And they hae lived in that wood - Full mony a year and day, - And were supported from time to time - By what he made of prey. - - 6 - And seven bairns, fair and fine, - There she has born to him, - And never was in gude church-door, - Nor ever got gude kirking. - - 7 - Ance she took harp into her hand, - And harped them a' asleep, - Then she sat down at their couch-side, - And bitterly did weep. - - 8 - Said, Seven bairns hae I born now - To my lord in the ha; - I wish they were seven greedy rats, - To run upon the wa, - And I mysel a great grey cat, - To eat them ane and a'. - - 9 - For ten lang years now I hae lived - Within this cave of stane, - And never was at gude church-door, - Nor got no gude churching. - - 10 - O then out spake her eldest child, - And a fine boy was he: - O hold your tongue, my mother dear; - I'll tell you what to dee. - - 11 - Take you the youngest in your lap, - The next youngest by the hand, - Put all the rest of us you before, - As you learnt us to gang. - - 12 - And go with us unto some kirk-- - You say they are built of stane-- - And let us all be christened, - And you get gude kirking. - - 13 - She took the youngest in her lap, - The next youngest by the hand, - Set all the rest of them her before, - As she learnt them to gang. - - 14 - And she has left the wood with them, - And to the kirk has gane, - Where the gude priest them christened, - And gave her gude kirking. - - * * * * * - - #C.# _Motherwell's copies exhibit five or six slight - variations from Buchan._ - - -[334] This reading, _nuts_, may have subsequently made its way into #A# -instead of _rose_, which it would be more ballad-like for Margaret to be -plucking, as the maid does in 'Tam Lin,' where also the passage #A# 3-6, -#B# 2-4 occurs. Grimm suggests a parallel to Tam Lin in the dwarf -Laurin, who does not allow trespassing in his rose-garden: Deutsche -Mythologie, III, 130. But the resemblance seems not material, there -being no woman in the case. The pretence of trespass in Tam Lin and Hind -Etin is a simple commonplace, and we have it in some Slavic forms of No -4, as at p. 41. - -[335] #B# is defective in the middle and the end. "The reciter, -unfortunately, could not remember more of the ballad, although the story -was strongly impressed on her memory. She related that the lady, after -having been taken home by Hynde Etin, lived with him many years, and -bore him seven sons, the eldest of whom, after the inquiries at his -parents detailed in the ballad, determines to go in search of the earl, -his grandfather. At his departure his mother instructs him how to -proceed, giving him a ring to bribe the porter at her father's gate, and -a silken vest, wrought by her own hand, to be worn in presence of her -father. The son sets out, and arrives at the castle, where, by bribing -the porter, he gets admission to the earl, who, struck with the -resemblance of the youth to his lost daughter, and the similarity of the -vest to one she had wrought for himself, examines the young man, from -whom he discovers the fate of his daughter. He gladly receives his -grandson, and goes to his daughter's residence, where he meets her and -Hynde Etin, who is pardoned by the earl, through the intercession of his -daughter." Kinloch, Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 226 f. - -[336] #B#, Landstad 44 (which has only this in common with the Scottish -ballad, that a hill-man carries a maid to his cave), has much -resemblance at the beginning to 'Kvindemorderen,' Grundtvig, No 183, our -No 4. See Grundtvig's note ** at III, 810. This is only what might be -looked for, since both ballads deal with abductions. - -[337] It is not necessary, for purposes of the English ballad, to notice -these mixed forms. - -[338] In 'Nøkkens Svig,' #C#, Grundtvig, No 39, the merman consults with -his mother, and then, as also in other copies of the ballad, transforms -himself into a knight. See the translation by Prior, III, 269; Jamieson, -Popular Ballads, I, 210; Lewis, Tales of Wonder, I, 60. - -[339] The beauty of the Norse ballads should make an Englishman's heart -wring for his loss. They are particularly pretty here, where the -forgetful draught is administered; as Norwegian #C#, #A#: - - Forth came her daughter, as jimp as a wand, - She dances a dance, with silver can in hand. - 'O where wast thou bred, and where wast thou born? - And where were thy maiden-garments shorn?' - 'In Norway was I bred, in Norway was I born, - And in Norway were my maiden-garments shorn.' - The ae first drink from the silver can she drank, - What stock she was come of she clean forgat. - 'O where wast thou bred, and where wast thou born? - And where were thy maiden-garments shorn?' - 'In the hill was I bred, and there was I born, - In the hill were my maiden-garments shorn.' - -[340] For reasons, doubtless sufficient, but to me unknown, Grundtvig -has not noticed two copies in Boisen's Nye og gamle Viser, 10th edition, -p. 192, p. 194. The former of these is like #A#, with more resemblance -here and there to other versions, and may be a made-up copy; the other, -'Agnete og Bjærgmanden, fra Sønderjylland,' consists of stanzas 1-5 of -#C#. - -[341] See five versions in Mittler, Nos 546-550. As Grundtvig remarks, -what is one ballad in Wendish is two in German and three in Norse: #D#. -g. #F#., IV, 810. - -[342] This trait, corresponding to the prohibition in the Norse ballads -of bowing when the holy name is pronounced, occurs frequently in -tradition, as might be expected. In a Swedish merman-ballad, 'Necken,' -Afzelius, III, 133, the nix, who has attended to church the lady whom he -is about to kidnap, makes off with his best speed when the priest reads -the benediction. See, further, Árnason's Íslenzkar þjóðsögur, I, 73 f; -Maurer's Isländische Volksagen, 19 f; Liebrecht, Gervasius, p. 26, LVII, -and p. 126, note (Grundtvig). - -[343] The merfolk are apt to be ferocious, as compared with hill-people, -elves, etc. See Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, I, 409 f. - -[344] I 79, of a second edition, which, says Vraz, has an objectionable -fantastic spelling due to the publisher. - - - - -42 - -CLERK COLVILL - - #A.# 'Clark Colven,' from a transcript of No 13 of William - Tytler's Brown MS. - - #B.# 'Clerk Colvill, or, The Mermaid,' Herd's Ancient and - Modern Scots Songs, 1769, p. 302. - - #C.# W. F. in Notes and Queries, Fourth Series, VIII, 510, - from the recitation of a lady in Forfarshire. - - -Although, as has been already said, William Tytler's Brown manuscript is -now not to be found, a copy of two of its fifteen ballads has been -preserved in the Fraser Tytler family, and 'Clerk Colvill,' #A# ('Clark -Colven') is one of the two.[345] This ballad is not in Jamieson's Brown -manuscript. Rewritten by Lewis, #A# was published in Tales of Wonder, -1801, II, 445, No 56. #B#, 1769, is the earliest printed English copy, -but a corresponding Danish ballad antedates its publication by -seventy-five years. Of #C#, W. F., who communicated it to Notes and -Queries, says: "I have reason to believe that it is originally from the -same source as that from which Scott, and especially Jamieson, derived -many of their best ballads." This source should be no other than Mrs -Brown, who certainly may have known two versions of Clerk Colvill; but -#C# is markedly different from #A#. An Abbotsford manuscript, entitled -"Scottish Songs," has, at fol. 3, a version which appears to have been -made up from Lewis's copy, its original, #A#, and Herd's, #B#. - -All the English versions are deplorably imperfect, and #C# is corrupted, -besides. The story which they afford is this. Clerk Colvill, newly -married as we may infer, is solemnly entreated by his gay lady never to -go near a well-fared may who haunts a certain spring or water. It is -clear that before his marriage he had been in the habit of resorting to -this mermaid, as she is afterwards called, and equally clear, from the -impatient answer which he renders his dame, that he means to visit her -again. His coming is hailed with pleasure by the mermaid, who, in the -course of their interview, does something which gives him a strange pain -in the head,--a pain only increased by a prescription which she pretends -will cure it, and, as she then exultingly tells him, sure to grow worse -until he is dead. He draws his sword on her, but she merrily springs -into the water. He mounts his horse, rides home tristful, alights -heavily, and bids his mother make his bed, for all is over with him. - -#C# is at the beginning blended with verses which belong to 'Willie and -May Margaret,' Jamieson, I, 135 (from Mrs Brown's recitation), or 'The -Drowned Lovers,' Buchan, I, 140. In this ballad a mother adjures her son -not to go wooing, under pain of her curse. He goes, nevertheless, and is -drowned. It is obvious, without remark, that the band and belt in #C# 1 -do not suit the mother; neither does the phrase 'love Colin' in the -second stanza.[346] #C# 9-11 afford an important variation from the -other versions. The mermaid appears at the foot of the young man's bed, -and offers him a choice between dying then and living with her in the -water. (See the Norwegian ballads at p. 377.) - -Clerk Colvill is not, as his representative is or may be in other -ballads, the guiltless and guileless object of the love or envy of a -water-sprite or elf. His relations with the mermaid began before his -marriage with his gay lady, and his death is the natural penalty of his -desertion of the water-nymph; for no point is better established than -the fatal consequences of inconstancy in such connections.[347] His -history, were it fully told, would closely resemble that of the Knight -of Staufenberg, as narrated in a German poem of about the year -1300.[348] - -The already very distinguished chevalier, Peter Diemringer, of -Staufenberg (in the Ortenau, Baden, four leagues from Strassburg), when -riding to mass one Whitsunday, saw a lady of surpassing beauty, dressed -with equal magnificence, sitting on a rock by the wayside. He became -instantaneously enamored, and, greeting the lady in terms expressive of -his admiration, received no discouraging reply. The lady rose; the -knight sprang from his horse, took a hand which she offered, helped her -from the rock, and they sat down on the grass. The knight asked how she -came to be there alone. The lady replied that she had been waiting for -him: ever since he could bestride a horse she had been devoted to him; -she had been his help and protection in tourneys and fights, in all -climes and regions, though he had never seen her. The knight wished he -might ever be hers. He could have his wish, she said, and never know -trouble or sickness, on one condition, and that was that he never should -marry: if he did this, he would die in three days. He vowed to be hers -as long as he lived; they exchanged kisses, and then she bade him mount -his horse and go to mass. After the benediction he was to return home, -and when he was alone in his chamber, and wished for her, she would -come, and so always; that privilege God had given her: "swâ ich wil, dâ -bin ich." They had their meeting when he returned from church: he -redoubled his vows, she promised him all good things, and the bounties -which he received from her overflowed upon all his friends and comrades. - -The knight now undertook a chivalrous tour, to see such parts of the -world as he had not visited before. Wherever he went, the fair lady had -only to be wished for and she was by him: there was no bound to her love -or her gifts. Upon his return he was beset by relatives and friends, and -urged to marry. He put them off with excuses: he was too young to -sacrifice his freedom, and what not. They returned to the charge before -long, and set a wise man of his kindred at him to beg a boon of him. -"Anything," he said, "but marrying: rather cut me into strips than -that." Having silenced his advisers by this reply, he went to his closet -and wished for his lady. She was full of sympathy, and thought it might -make his position a little easier if he should tell his officious -friends something of the real case, how he had a wife who attended him -wherever he went and was the source of all his prosperity; but he must -not let them persuade him, or what she had predicted would surely come -to pass. - -At this time a king was to be chosen at Frankfurt, and all the nobility -flocked thither, and among them Staufenberg, with a splendid train. He, -as usual, was first in all tourneys, and made himself remarked for his -liberal gifts and his generous consideration of youthful antagonists: -his praise was in everybody's mouth. The king sent for him, and offered -him an orphan niece of eighteen, with a rich dowry. The knight excused -himself as unworthy of such a match. The king said his niece must accept -such a husband as he pleased to give, and many swore that Staufenberg -was a fool. Bishops, who were there in plenty, asked him if he had a -wife already. Staufenberg availed himself of the leave which had been -given him, and told his whole story, not omitting that he was sure to -die in three days if he married. "Let me see the woman," said one of the -bishops. "She lets nobody see her but me," answered Staufenberg. "Then -it is a devil," said another of the clergy, "and your soul is lost -forever." Staufenberg yielded, and said he would do the king's will. He -was betrothed that very hour, and set out for Ortenau, where he had -appointed the celebration of the nuptials. When night came he wished for -the invisible lady. She appeared, and told him with all gentleness that -he must prepare for the fate of which she had forewarned him, a fate -seemingly inevitable, and not the consequence of her resentment. At the -wedding feast she would display her foot in sight of all the guests: -when he saw that, let him send for the priest. The knight thought of -what the clergy had said, and that this might be a cheat of the devil. -The bride was brought to Staufenberg, the feast was held, but at the -very beginning of it a foot whiter than ivory was seen through the -ceiling. Staufenberg tore his hair and cried, Friends, ye have ruined -yourselves and me! He begged his bride and all who had come with her to -the wedding to stay for his funeral, ordered a bed to be prepared for -him and a priest to be sent for. He asked his brothers to give his bride -all that he had promised her. But she said no; his friends should rather -have all that she had brought; she would have no other husband, and -since she had been the cause of his death she would go into a cloister, -where no eye should see her: which she did after she had returned to her -own country. - -A superscription to the old poem denominates Staufenberg's amphibious -consort a mer-fey, sea-fairy; but that description is not to be strictly -interpreted, no more than mer-fey, or fata morgana, is in some other -romantic tales. There is nothing of the water-sprite in her, nor is she -spoken of by any such name in the poem itself. The local legends of -sixty years ago,[349] and perhaps still, make her to have been a proper -water-nymph. She is first met with by the young knight near a spring or -a brook, and it is in a piece of water that he finds his death, and that -on the evening of his wedding day. - -Clerk Colvill and the mermaid are represented by Sir Oluf and an elf in -Scandinavian ballads to the number of about seventy. The oldest of these -is derived from a Danish manuscript of 1550, two centuries and a half -later than the Staufenberg poem, but two earlier than Clerk Colvill, the -oldest ballad outside of the Scandinavian series. Five other versions -are of the date 1700, or earlier, the rest from tradition of this -century. No ballad has received more attention from the heroic Danish -editor, whose study of 'Elveskud' presents an admirably ordered synoptic -view of all the versions known up to 1881: Grundtvig, No 47, II, 109-19, -663-66; III, 824-25; IV, 835-74.[350] - -The Scandinavian versions are: - -#Färöe#, four: #A#, 39 sts, #B#, 24 sts, #C#, 18 sts, #D#, 23 sts, -Grundtvig, IV, 849-52. - -#Icelandic#, twelve, differing slightly except at the very end: #A#, -'Kvæði af Ólafi Liljurós,' 24 sts, MS. of 1665; #B#, #C#, MS. of about -1700, 20 sts, 1 st.; #D#, 18 sts; #E#, 17 sts; #F#, #G#, 16 sts; #H#, -'Ólafs kvæði,' 22 sts; #I a#, 18 sts;# I b#, 20 sts; #K#, 22 sts; #L#, -24 sts; #M#, 25 sts. These in Íslenzk fornkvæði, pp 4-10, #A a# in full, -but only the variations of the other versions. #I b#, previously, -'Ólafur og álfamær,' Berggreen, Danske Folke-Sange og Melodier, 2d ed., -pp 56, 57, No 20 d; and #M#, "Snót, p. 200." - -#Danish#, twenty-six: 'Elveskud' #A#, 54 sts, MS. of 1550, Grundtvig, -II, 112; #B#, 25 sts, Syv No 87 (1695), Danske Viser, I, 237, Grundtvig, -II, 114; #C#, 29 sts, the same, II, 115; #D a#, #D b#, 31, 15 sts, II, -116, 665; #E-G#, 20, 16, 8 sts, II, 117-19; #H#, _I_, 32, 25 sts, II, -663-64; #K#, 29 sts, #L#, 15 sts, #M#, 27 sts, #N#, 16 sts, #O#, 33 sts, -#P#, 22 sts, #Q#, 7 sts, #R#, 22 sts, #S#, 32 sts, #T#, 27 sts, #U#, 25 -sts, #V#, 18 sts, #X#, 11 sts, #Y#, 11 sts, #Z#, 8 sts, #Æ#, 23 sts, IV, -835-47; #Ø#, 10 sts, Boisen, Nye og gamle Viser, 1875, p. 191, No 98. - -#Swedish#, eight: #A#, 15 sts, 'Elf-Qvinnan och Herr Olof,' MS. of -seventeenth century, Afzelius, III, 165; #B#, 12 sts, 'Herr Olof i -Elfvornas dans,' Afzelius, III, 160; #C#, 18 sts, Afzelius, III, 162; -#D#, 21 sts, 'Herr Olof och Elfvorna,' Arwidsson, II, 304; #E#, 20 sts, -Arwidsson, II, 307; #F#, 19 sts, Grundtvig, IV, 848; #G#, 12 sts, 'Herr -Olof och Elffrun,' Djurklou, p. 94; _H_, 8 sts, Afzelius, Sago-Häfder, -ed. 1844, ii, 157. - -#Norwegian#, eighteen: #A#, 39 sts, 'Olaf Liljukrans,' Landstad, p. 355; -#B#, 15 sts, Landstad, p. 843; #C-S#, collections of Professor Bugge, -used in manuscript by Grundtvig; #C#, 36 sts, partly printed in -Grundtvig, III, 824; #D#, 23 sts, Grundtvig, III, 824-25, partly; #E#, -22 sts; #F#, 11 sts; #G#, 27 sts; #H#, 13 sts; #I#, 7 sts; #K#, 4 sts, -two printed, _ib._, p. 824.[351] - -Of these the Färöe versions are nearest to the English. Olaf's mother -asks him whither he means to ride; his corselet is hanging in the loft; -#A#, #C#, #D#. "I am going to the heath, to course the hind," he says. -"You are not going to course the hind; you are going to your leman. -White is your shirt, well is it washed, but bloody shall it be when it -is taken off," #A#, #D#. "God grant it be not as she bodes!" exclaims -Olaf, as he turns from his mother, #A#. He rides to the hills and comes -to an elf-house. An elf comes out, braiding her hair, and invites him to -dance. "You need not braid your hair for me; I have not come a-wooing," -he says. "I must quit the company of elves, for to-morrow is my bridal." -"If you will have no more to do with elves, a sick bridegroom shall you -be! Would you rather lie seven years in a sick-bed, or go to the mould -to-morrow?" He would rather go to the mould to-morrow. The elf brought -him a drink, with an atter-corn, a poison grain, floating in it: at the -first draught his belt burst #A#, #B*#. "Kiss me," she said, "before you -ride." He leaned over and kissed her, though little mind had he to it: -she was beguiling him, him so sick a man. His mother came out to meet -him: "Why are you so pale, as if you had been in an elf-dance?" "I have -been in an elf-dance," he said,[352] went to bed, turned his face to the -wall, and was dead before midnight. His mother and his love (moy, vív) -died thereupon. - -Distinct evidence of previous converse with elves is lacking in the -Icelandic versions. Olaf rides along the cliffs, and comes upon an -elf-house. One elf comes out with her hair twined with gold, another -with a silver tankard, a third in a silver belt, and a fourth welcomes -him by name. "Come into the booth and drink with us." "I will not live -with elves," says Olaf; "rather will I believe in God." The elf answers -that he might do both, excuses herself for a moment, and comes back in a -cloak, which hides a sword. "You shall not go without giving us a kiss," -she says. Olaf leans over his saddle-bow and kisses her, with but half a -heart, and she thrusts the sword under his shoulder-blade into the roots -of his heart. He sees his heart's blood under his horse's feet, and -spurs home to his mother. "Whence comest thou, my son, and why so pale, -as if thou hadst been in an elf-dance (leik)?" "It boots not to hide it -from thee: an elf has beguiled me. Make my bed, mother; bandage my side, -sister." He dies presently: there was more mourning than mirth; three -were borne to the grave together. - -Nearly all the Danish and Swedish versions, and a good number of the -Norwegian, interpose an affecting scene between the death of the hero -and that of his bride and his mother. The bride, on her way to Olaf's -house, and on her arrival, is disconcerted and alarmed by several -ominous proceedings or circumstances. She hears bells tolling; sees -people weeping; sees men come and go, but not the bridegroom. She is put -off for a time with false explanations, but in the end discovers the -awful fact. Such a passage occurs in the oldest Danish copy, which is -also the oldest known copy of the ballad. The importance of this version -is such that the story requires to be given with some detail. - -Oluf rode out before dawn, but it seemed to him bright as day.[353] He -rode to a hill where dwarfs were dancing. A maid stepped out from the -dance, put her arm round his neck, and asked him whither he would ride. -"To talk with my true-love," said he. "But first," said she, "you must -dance with us." She then went on to make him great offers if he would -plight himself to her: a horse that would go to Rome and back in an -hour, and a gold saddle for it; a new corselet, having which he never -need fly from man; a sword such, as never was used in war. Such were all -her benches as if gold were laid in links, and such were all her -drawbridges as the gold on his hands. "Keep your gold," he answered; "I -will go home to my true-love." She struck him on the cheek, so that the -blood spattered his coat; she struck him midshoulders, so that he fell -to the ground: "Stand up, Oluf, and ride home; you shall not live more -than a day." He turned his horse, and rode home a shattered man. His -mother was at the gate: "Why comest thou home so sad?" "Dear mother, -take my horse; dear brother, fetch a priest," "Say not so, Oluf; many a -sick man does not die. To whom do you give your betrothed?" "Rise, my -seven brothers, and ride to meet my young bride." - -As the bride's train came near the town, they heard the bells going. -"Why is this?" she asked, her heart already heavy with pain; "I know of -no one having been sick." They told her it was a custom there to receive -a bride so. But when she entered the house, all the women were weeping. -"Why are these ladies weeping?" No one durst answer a word. The bride -went on into the hall, and took her place on the bride-bench. "I see," -she said, "knights go and come, but I see not my lord Oluf." The mother -answered, Oluf is gone to the wood with hawk and hound. "Does he care -more for hawk and hound than for his young bride?" - -At evening they lighted the torches as if to conduct the bride to the -bride-bed; but Oluf's page, who followed his lady, revealed the truth on -the way. "My lord," he said, "lies on his bier above, and you are to -give your troth to his brother." "Never shalt thou see that day that I -shall give my troth to two brothers." She begged the ladies that she -might see the dead. They opened the door; she ran to the bier, threw -back the cloth, kissed the body precipitately; her heart broke in -pieces; grievous was it to see. - -Danish #B#, printed by Syv in 1695, is the copy by which the ballad of -the Elf-shot has become so extensively known since Herder's time, -through his translation and others.[354] - -The principal variations of the Scandinavian ballads, so far as they -have not been given, now remain to be noted. - -The hero's name is mostly Oluf, Ole, or a modification of this, Wolle, -Rolig, Volder; sometimes with an appendage, as Färöe Ólavur Riddararós, -Rósinkrans, Icelandic Ólafur Liljurós, Norwegian Olaf Liljukrans, etc. -It is Peder in Danish #H#, #I#, #O#, #P#, #Q#, #R#, #Æ#. - -Excepting the Färöe ballads, Oluf is not distinctly represented as -having had previous acquaintance with the elves. In Swedish #A# 5 he -says, I cannot dance with you, my betrothed has forbidden me; in Danish -#C#, I should be very glad if I could; to-morrow is my wedding-day. - -The object of his riding out is to hunt, or the like, in Danish #D b#, -#E#, #F#, #I#, #R#, #T#, #X#, #Y#; to bid guests to his wedding, Danish -#B#, #C#, #D a#, #G#, #H#, #K-N#, #P#, #S#, #U#, #V#, #Ø#, Norwegian -#A#, #B#. - -He falls in with dwarfs, Danish #A#, #H#, Norwegian _A_; trolds, Danish -#I#; elves and dwarfs, Norwegian #B#, and a variation of #A#: elsewhere -it is elves. - -There is naturally some diversity in the gifts which the elf offers Oluf -in order to induce him to dance with her. He more commonly replies that -the offer is a handsome one, 'kan jeg vel få,' but dance with her he -cannot; sometimes that his true-love has already given him that, or two, -three, seven such, Danish #D a#, #I#, #T#, #X#, #Y#. - -If he will not dance with her, the elf threatens him with sore sickness, -Danish #B#, #E#, #H#, #Z#, #Ø#, Norwegian #A#, Swedish #E#, #F#; a great -misfortune, Danish #F#, Swedish #A#; sharp knives, Danish #P#; it shall -cost him his young life, Danish #D a, b#, #T#, #Y#. - -Oluf dances with the elves, obviously under compulsion, in Danish #C#, -#D#, #G-N#, #S#, #T#, #U#, #X#, #Y#, Swedish #F#, and only in these. He -dances till both his boots are full of blood, #D a# 15, #D b# 4, #G# 5, -#I# 11, #K# 5, #L# 5, #M# 6, #N# 7, #S# 6 [shoes], #T# 10, #U# 5, #X# 8, -#Y# 7; he dances so long that he is nigh dead, #I# 12. - -The hard choice between dying at once or lying sick seven years is -found, out of the Färöe ballads, only in Danish #H# 8, #M# 8, #O# 4, #Q# -2, #S# 8. Norwegian ballads, like English #C#, present an option between -living with elves and dying, essentially a repetition of the terms under -which Peter of Staufenberg weds the fairy, that he shall forfeit his -life if he takes a mortal wife. So Norwegian - - #A# 12 - Whether wilt thou rather live with the elves, - Or leave the elves, a sick man? - - 13 - Whether wilt thou be with the elves, - Or bid thy guests and be sick? - - #B# 9 - Whether wilt thou stay with the elves, - Or, a sick man, flit [bring home] thy true-love? - - 10 - Whether wilt thou be with elves, - Or, a sick man, flit thy bride? - -There is no answer. - -Norwegian #C#, #E#, #G#, #I# resemble #A#. #H# is more definite. - - 6 - Whether wilt thou go off sick, "under isle," - Or wilt thou marry an elf-maid? - - 7 - Whether wilt thou go off sick, under hill, - Or wilt thou marry an elf-wife? - -To which Olaf answers that he lists not to go off a sick man, and he -cannot marry an elf. - -The two last stanzas of English #C#, which correspond to these, - - 'Will ye lie there an die, Clerk Colin, - Will ye lie there an die? - Or will ye gang to Clyde's water, - To fish in flood wi me?' - - 'I will lie here an die,' he said, - 'I will lie here an die; - In spite o a' the deils in hell, - I will lie here an die,' - -may originally have come in before the mermaid and the clerk parted; but -her visit to him as he lies in bed is paralleled by that of the fairy to -Staufenberg after he has been persuaded to give up what he had been -brought to regard as an infernal _liaison_; and certainly Clerk Colin's -language might lead us to think that some priest had been with him, too. - -Upon Oluf's now seeking to make his escape through the elves' flame, -ring, dance, etc., Norwegian #A#, #B#, #C#, #E#, #G#, #I#, #H#, #K#, the -elf-woman strikes at him with a gold band, her wand, hand, a branch or -twig; gives him a blow on the cheek, between the shoulders, over his -white neck; stabs him in the heart, gives him knife-strokes five, nine; -sickness follows the stroke, or blood: Danish #A#, #B#, #F#, #N#, #O#, -#R#, #V#, #Z#, #Æ#, #Ø#, Swedish #D#, #G#, Norwegian #A-E#, #H#, #I#, -Icelandic. The knife-stabs are delayed till the elves have put him on -his horse in Danish #D#, #G#, #X#; as he sprang to his horse the knives -rang after him, #H#. "Ride home," they say, "you shall not live more -than a day" [five hours, two hours], Danish #A#, #C#, #K-N#, #S#, #U#, -#V#. His hair fades, Danish #E#; his cheek pales, Danish #E#, Norwegian -#A#; sickness follows him home, Swedish #A#, #C#, #D#, #E#; the blood is -running out of the wound in his heart, Swedish #G#; when he reaches his -father's house both his boots are full of blood, Danish #R#, #Æ#. - -His mother [father] is standing without, and asks, Why so pale? Why runs -the blood from thy saddle? Oluf, in some instances, pretends that his -horse, not being sure-footed, had stumbled, and thrown him against a -tree, but is told, or of himself adds, that he has been among the elves. -He asks one or the other of his family to take his horse, bring a -priest, make his bed, put on a bandage. He says he shall never rise from -his bed, Swedish #C#, Danish #F#; fears he shall not live till the -priest comes, Danish #O#, #P#. - -The important passage which relates the arrival of the bride, the -ominous circumstances at the bridegroom's house, the attempts to keep -the bride in ignorance of his death, and her final discovery that she is -widowed before marriage, occupies some thirty stanzas in Danish #A#, -the oldest of all copies; in Danish #B# it is reduced to six; in other -Danish versions it has a range of from fifteen to two; but, shorter or -longer, it is found in all versions but #R#, #Ø#, and the fragments #G#, -#L#, #Q#, #X#, #Z#. All the Swedish versions have a similar scene, -extending from three to nine stanzas, with the exception of #G# and of -#A#, which latter should perhaps be treated as a fragment. In Norwegian -#A#, again, this part of the story fills ten stanzas; #B# lacks it, but -#C-H# (which have not been published in full) have it, and probably -other unpublished copies. - -The bride is expected the next day, Danish #D#, #F#, #I#, #K#, #N#, #O#, -#S#, #T#, #U#, Swedish #A#, #D#. In Danish #A# Oluf begs his brothers, -shortly after his reaching home, to set out to meet her; he fears she -may arrive that very night, Danish #Æ#. "What shall I answer your young -bride?" asks the mother, Danish #B#, #C#, #D#, etc., Swedish #H#. "Tell -her that I have gone to the wood, to hunt and shoot, to try my horse and -my dogs," Danish #B#, #C#, #D#, #F#, #H#, #I#, #K#, #O#, #S#, #T#, #U#, -Swedish #D#, #H#, Norwegian #A#, #L#; in Danish #N# only, "Say I died in -the night." Oluf now makes his will; he wishes to assign his bride to -his brother, Danish #L#, #O#, #R#, Norwegian #C#, #F#; he dies before -the bride can come to him. (Norwegian #F# seems to have gone wrong -here.) - -The bride, with her train, comes in the morning, Danish #B#, #D#, #E#, -#I#, #M#, #T#, Swedish #D#, Norwegian #D#; Swedish #C# makes her wait -for her bridegroom several days. As she passes through the town the -bells are tolling, and she anxiously asks why, Danish #A#, #K#, #O#, -#S#, #U#; she is told that it is a custom there to ring when the bride -comes, Danish #A#, Swedish #B#. In Danish #H#, though it is day, she -sees a light burning in Oluf's chamber, and this alarms her. When she -comes to the house, Oluf's mother is weeping, all the ladies are -weeping, or there are other signs of grief, Danish #A#, #C#, #H#, #U#, -#Æ#. When she asks the reason, no one can answer, or she is told that a -woman, a fair knight, is dead, #A#, #C#, #H#. Now she asks, Where is -Oluf, who should have come to meet me, should have been here to receive -me? Danish #K#, #O#, #S#, #U#, #D#, #E#, #I#, #T#, etc. They conduct the -bride into the hall and seat her on the bride bench; knights come and -go; they pour out mead and wine. "Where is Oluf," she asks again; the -mother replies, as best she can, that Oluf is gone to the wood, Danish -#B#, #H#, Norwegian #A#, #D#, Swedish #H#, etc. "Does he then care more -for that than for his bride?" Danish #A#, #D#, #I#, #M#, etc., Swedish -#C#, #D#, Norwegian #A#, #E#, #G#. - -The truth is now avowed that Oluf is dead, Danish #A#, #D#, #I#, #T#, -#Y#, #Æ#, Swedish #B#, Norwegian #G#. The bride begs that she may see -the dead, Danish #A#, #C#, #P#, #Æ#, Swedish #F#, Norwegian #D#, #E#, -and makes her way to the room where Oluf is lying. She puts aside the -cloths that cover him, or the curtains, or the flowers, Danish #A#, #B#, -#K#, #V#, etc., Swedish #C#, #D#, Norwegian #C#, #D#, #E#, #G#; says a -word or two to her lover, Danish #A#, #C#, #E#, #H#, Swedish #E#, #F#, -Norwegian #G#; kisses him, Danish #A#, #C#, #H#; her heart breaks, -Danish #A#, #C#; she swoons dead at his feet, Danish #K#, #M#, #S#, #U#. -In Norwegian #A#, #C#, #D#, she kills herself with Olaf's sword; in -Swedish #E#, with her own knife. In Danish #R# she dies in Oluf's -mother's arms. On the morrow, when it was day, in Oluf's house three -corpses lay: the first was Oluf, the second his maid, the third his -mother, of grief was she dead: Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, -_passim_.[355] - -#Breton# ballads preserve the story in a form closely akin to the -Scandinavian, and particularly to the oldest Danish version. I have seen -the following, all from recent tradition: #A#, #C#, 'Ann Aotro ar -C'hont,' 'Le Seigneur Comte,' Luzel, I, 4/5, 16/17, fifty-seven and -fifty-nine two-line stanzas. #B#, 'Ann Aotro Nann,' 'Le Seigneur Nann,' -Luzel, #I#, 10/11, fifty-seven stanzas.[356] #D#, 'Aotrou Nann hag ar -Gorrigan,' 'Le Seigneur Nann et la Fée,' Villemarqué, p. 25, ed. 1867, -thirty-nine stanzas. #E#, 'Monsieur Nann,' Poésies populaires de la -France, MS., V, fol. 381, fifty-three verses. #F#, 'Sonen Gertrud guet -hi Vam,' 'Chant de Gertrude et de sa Mère,' L. Kérardven [==Dufilhol], -Guionvac'h, Études sur la Bretagne, 2d ed., Paris, 1835, p. 362, p. 13, -eleven four-line stanzas. #G#, Rolland in Romania, XII, 117, a somewhat -abridged literal translation, in French. - -The count [Nann] and his wife were married at the respective ages of -thirteen and twelve. The next year a son was born [a boy and girl, #D#]. -The young husband asked the countess if she had a fancy for anything. -She owned that she should like a bit of game, and he took his gun -[lance] and went to the wood. At the entrance of the wood he met a fairy -[a dwarf, #E#; a hind, #G#; saw a white hind, which he pursued hotly -till evening, when he dismounted near a grotto to drink, and there was a -korrigan, sitting by the spring, combing her hair with a gold comb, -#D#]. The fairy [dwarf, hind] said that she had long been looking for -him, #A#, #B#, #C#, #E#, #G#. "Now that I have met you, you must marry -me."[357] "Marry you? Not I. I am married already." "Choose either to -die in three days or to lie sick in bed seven [three] years" [and then -die, #C#]. He would rather die in three days, for his wife is very -young, and would suffer greatly [he would rather die that instant than -wed a korrigan, #D#]. - -On reaching home the young man called to his mother to make his bed; he -should never get up again. [His mother, in #C# 21, says, Do not weep so: -it is not every sick man that dies, as in Danish #A# 22.] He recounted -his meeting with the fairy, and begged that his wife might not be -informed of his death. - -The countess asked, What has happened to my husband, that he does not -come to see me? She was told that he had gone to the wood to get her -something, #A# [to Paris, #C#; to the city, #D#]. Why were the -men-servants weeping? The best horse had been drowned in bathing him, -#A#, #E#; had been eaten by the wolves, #B#; had broken his neck, #C#; -had died, #F#. They were not to weep; others should be bought. And why -were the maids weeping? Linen had been lost in washing, #A#, #C#, #E#, -#F#; the best silver cover had been stolen, #F#. They must not weep; the -loss would be supplied. Why were the priests chanting? [the bells -tolling, #E#, #F#]. A poor person whom they had lodged had died in the -night, #A-E# [a young prince had died, #F#]. What dress should she wear -for her churching,--red or blue? #D#, #F#.[358] The custom had come in -of wearing black [she asks for red, they give her black, #F#]. On -arriving at the church, or cemetery, she saw that the earth had been -disturbed; her pew was hung with black, #B#; why was this? "I can no -longer conceal it," said her mother-in-law: "your husband is dead." She -died upon the spot, #A#, #D#. "Take my keys, take care of my son; I will -stay with his father," #B#, #C#. "Your son is dead, your daughter is -dead," #F#.[359] - -This ballad has spread, apparently from Brittany, over all France. No -distinct trace of the fairy remains, however, except in a single case. -The versions that have been made public, so far as they have come to my -knowledge, are as follows, resemblance to the Breton ballad principally -directing the arrangement. - -#A.# 'Le fils Louis,' Vendée, pays de Retz, Poésies populaires de la -France, MS., III, fol. 118, printed in Romania, XI, 100, 44 verses. #B.# -Normandy, 1876, communicated by Legrand to Romania, X, 372, 61 verses. -#C.# "Forez, Frédéric Noëlas, Annales de la Société impériale -d'agriculture, industrie, sciences, arts et belles-lettres du -département de la Loire, Année 1865, p. 210, 64 verses," Grundtvig, IV, -867-70. #D.# Victor Smith, Chants populaires du Velay et du Forez, -Romania, X, 583, 68 verses. #E.# The same, p. 581, 64 verses. #F.# -Saint-Denis, Poés. pop. de la France, III, fol. 103, Romania, XI, 98, 74 -verses, as sung by a young girl, her mother and grandmother. #G.# Poitou -et Vendée, Études historiques et artistiques par B. Fillon et O. De -Rochbrune, 7^e-10^e livraisons, Fontenay-le-Comte, 1865, article -Nalliers, pp 17, 18, nineteen four-line stanzas and a couplet; before by -B. Fillon in "L'Histoire véridique des fraudes et exécrables voleries et -subtilités de Guillery, depuis sa naissance jusqu'à la juste punition de -ses crimes, Fontenay, 1848," extracted in Poés, pop., III, fol. 112; -other copies at fol. 108 and at fol. 116; Romania, XI, 101, 78 verses. -#H.# Bourbonnais, Poés. pop. III, fol. 91, Romania, XI, 103, 38 verses, -sung by a woman seventy-two years old. #I.# Bretagne, Loudéac, Poés. -pop., III, fol. 121, Romania, XI, 103 f, 64 verses. #J.# Poés. pop., -III, fol. 285, Romania, XII, 115 (I), 50 verses. #K.# Bretagne (?), -Romania, XII, 115 f, 36 verses. #L.# V. Smith, Chants pop. du Velay et -du Forez, Romania, X, 582. 57 verses. #M.# 'Le roi Renaud,' Flévy, -Puymaigre, I, 39, 78 verses. #N.# Touraine, Bléré, Brachet in Revue -Critique, II, 125, 60 verses. #O.# The same, variations of a later -version. #P.# 'L'Arnaud l'Infant,' Limoges, Laforest, Limoges au XVII^e -siècle, 1862, p. 300, Poés. pop., III, fol. 95, Romania, XI, 104, 82 -verses. #Q.# Charente, Poés. pop., III, fol. 107, Romania, XI, 99, 60 -verses. #R.# Cambes, Lot-et-Garonne, Romania, XII, 116, 46 verses. #S.# -Jura, Revue des Deux Mondes, 1854, Août, p. 486, 50 verses. #T.# Rouen, -Poés. pop. III, fol. 100, Romania, XI, 102, 60 verses, communicated by a -gentleman who at the beginning of the century had learned the ballad -from an aunt, who had received it from an aged nun. #U. a#, Buchon, -Noëls et Chants populaires de la Franche-Comté, p. 85, 34 verses; #b#, -Tarbé, Romancero de Champagne, Vol. II, Chants Populaires, p. 125, 32 -verses; #c#, G. de Nerval, La Bohème Galante, ed. 1866, p. 77, Les -Filles du Feu, ed. 1868, p. 130, 30 verses; #d#, 'Jean Renaud,' Bujeaud, -Chants et Chansons populaires des Provinces de l'Ouest, II, 213, 32 -verses. #V.# Poés. pop., III, fol. 122, Romania, XI, 100 f, 32 verses. -#W.# Le Blésois, Ampère, Instructions, etc., p. 37, 36 verses. #X.# -Provence, Poés. pop., III, fol. 114, Romania, XI, 105, 44 verses. #Y.# -'Lou Counte Arnaud,' Bivès, Gers, Bladé, Poés. pop. de la Gascogne, II, -134/135, 48 verses. #Z.# Vagney, Vosges, Mélusine, p. 75, 44 verses. -#AA.# Cambes, Lot-et-Garonne, Romania, XII, 116 f, 40 verses. #BB.# -Quercy, Sérignac, Poés. pop., Romania, XI, 106, 34 verses. #CC.# Quercy, -Poés. pop., Romania, XI, 107, 26 verses. #DD.# Bretagne, Villemarqué, -Barzaz-Breiz, ed. 1846, I, 46, 12 verses. #EE.# Orléans, Poés. pop., -III, fol. 102, Romania, XI, 107, 10 verses. #FF.# Auvergne, Poés, pop., -III, fol. 89, Romania, XI, 107 f, 6 verses. #GG.# Boulonnais, 'La -Ballade du Roi Renaud,' E. Hamy, in Almanach de Boulogne-sur-Mer pour -1863, p. 110 (compounded from several versions), 16 four-line -stanzas.[360] - -The name of the hero in the French ballad is mostly Renaud, or some -modification of Renaud: Jean Renaud, #G#, #H#, #U#; Renom, #AA#; Arnaud, -#C#, #E#, #L#, #Y#, #BB#; L'Arnaud l'Infant, #P#; Louis Renaud, brother -of Jean, #F#. It is Louis in #A#, #I#, #J#, #V#. He is king, or of the -royal family, #F#, #M#, #N#, #O#, #Q#, #W#, #BB#, #CC#, #GG#; count, -#Y#; Renaud le grand, #H#, #Z#. In #A#, while he is walking in his -meadows, he meets Death, who asks him, peremptorily, Would you rather -die this very night, or languish seven years? and he answers that he -prefers to die at once. Here there is a very plain trace of the older -fairy. He is mortally hurt, while hunting, by a wolf, #B#; by a boar, -#DD#. But in more than twenty versions he returns from war, often with a -horrible wound, "apportant son c[oe]ur dans sa main," #C#; "tenant ses -tripes dans ses mains," #N#; "oque ses tripes on sa main, sen estoumac -on sen chapea, sen cûr covert de sen mentea," #G#; etc. In #F#, #I#, #J# -he comes home in a dying state from prison (to which he was consigned, -according to #I#, for robbing a church!). In these versions the story is -confused with that of another ballad, existing in Breton, and very -likely in French, 'Komt ar Chapel,' 'Le Comte des Chapelles,' Luzel, I, -456/457, or 'Le Page de Louis XIII,' Villemarqué, Barzaz-Breiz, p. 301. -A fragment of a corresponding Italian ballad is given by Nigra, Romania, -XI, 397, No 9. - -Renaud, as it will be convenient to call the hero, coming home triste et -chagrin, #F#, #P#, #U b, c#, triste et bien malau #Y#, receives on his -arriving felicitations from his mother on account of the birth of a son. -He has no heart to respond to these: "Ni de ma femme, ni de mon fils, je -ne saurais me réjoui." He asks that his bed may be made, with -precautions against his wife's hearing. At midnight he is dead. - -The wife, hearing the men-servants weeping, asks her mother-in-law the -cause. The best horse [horses] has been found dead in the stable, has -strayed away, etc., #B#, #D-S#, #GG#. "No matter for that," says the -wife; "when Renaud comes he will bring better," #B#, #D-G#, #L-Q#, #GG#. -The maids are heard weeping; why is that? They have lost, or injured, -sheets in the washing, #B#, #D#, #E#, #G#, #J#. When Renaud comes we -shall have better, #B#, #D#, #E#, #G#. Or a piece of plate has been lost -or broken, #A#, #F#, #H#, #I#, #K#, #O#. [It is children with the -toothache, #F#, #U a, b, c, d#]. "What is this chanting which I hear?" -It is a procession, making the tour of the house: #B#, #D-F#, #L#, -#P-X#, #GG#. "What gown shall I wear when I go to church?" Black is the -color for women at their churching, #B#, #F#, #I#, #L#, #M#, #O#, #P#, -#V#, #Y#; black is more becoming, plus joli, plus convenant, plus -conséquent, #A#, #D#, #H#, #K#, #N#, #R#, #X#, #BB#, #DD#, #GG#; -"quittez le ros', quittez le gris, prenez le noir, pour mieux choisir," -etc., #Q#, #W#, #U#, #E#, #S#, #T#. - -Besides these four questions, all of which occur in Breton ballads, -there are two which are met with in many versions, always coming before -the last. "What is this pounding (frapper, cogner, taper) which I hear?" -It is carpenters, or masons, repairing some part of the house, #D#, #E#, -#K#, #L#, #N#, #P-U#, #W#; #A#, #V#, #X#, #AA#; #GG#. "Why are the bells -ringing?" For a procession, or because a distinguished personage has -come, has died, etc., #A#, #B#, #F-L#, #Q#, #R#, #W#, #Y#, #AA#, #DD#, -#GG#. On the way to church [or cemetery] herdboys or others say to one -another, as the lady goes by, That is the wife of the king, the -seigneur, that was buried last night, or the like; and the mother-in-law -has again to put aside the lady's question as to what they were saying, -#D#, #E#, #G#, #H#, #L-P#, #S#, #T#, #X#, #Y#, #FF#, #GG#. - -Flambeaux or candles are burning at the church, #E#, #V#; a taper is -presented to the widow, #M#, or holy water, #N#, #T#, #Z#, #GG#; the -church is hung with black, #D#, #O#, #FF#; the funeral is going on, -#AA#, #CC#. "Whose is this new monument?" "What a fine tomb!" #M#, #N#, -#R#, #T#, #Z#, #GG#. The scene in other cases is transferred to the -cemetery. "Why has the earth been disturbed?" "What new monument is -this?" #A#, #DD#; #C#, #F#, #I#, #J#, #P#. In #B# the tomb is in the -garden; in #L#, #S#, #X#, #BB# the place is not defined. - -The young wife utters a piercing shriek, #C#, #D#, #K#, #L#, #N#. Open -earth, split tomb, split tiles! #A#, #B#, #Q#, #R#, #V#, #W#, #X#, #Y#; -I will stay with my husband, will die with my husband, will not go back, -#A#, #C#, #D#, #M#, #N#, #Q#, #R#, #S#, #X#, #Y#, #Z#, #BB#, #CC#, #GG#. -She bids her mother take her keys, #B#, #C#, #G#, #L#, #M#, #P#, #Y#, -#BB#, #CC#, #GG#, and commits her son [children] to her kinsfolk, to -bring up piously, #B#, #G#, #I#, #J#, #L#, #M#, #O#, #Z#, #BB#, #CC#. In -#H#, #P#, #Q#, #W#, #X#, #Y# the earth opens, and in the last four it -encloses her. In #K# heaven is rent by her shriek, and she sees her -husband in light (who says, strangely, that his mouth smacks of rot); he -bids her bring up the children as Christians. Heaven opens to her prayer -in #AA#, and a voice cries, Wife, come up hither! In #GG# the voice from -heaven says, Go to your child: I will keep your husband safe. There are -other variations.[361] - -#G#, #T#, #I# say expressly that Renaud's wife died the next day, or -after hearing three masses, or soon after. #M#, #O#, by a feeble modern -perversion, make her go into a convent. - -#Italian# ballads cover very much the same ground as the French. The -versions hitherto published are: - -#A.# 'La Lavandaia,' Cento, Ferraro, Canti popolari di Ferrara, Cento e -Pontelagoscuro, p. 52, 16 verses, Romania, XI, 397, amended. #B.# 'Il -Cavaliere della bella Spada,' Pontelagoscuro, Ferraro, p. 107, -previously in Rivista di Filologia romanza, II, 205, 28 verses, Romania, -XI, 398. #C.# Piedmont, communicated by Nigra, with other versions, to -Romania, XI, 394, No 4, 48 verses. #D.# Romania, XI, 393 f, No 3, 34 -verses. #E.# _Ib._ p. 395, No 6, 42 verses. #F.# _Ib._ p. 392 f, No 2, -46 verses. #G.# 'Conte Anzolin,' Wolf, Volkslieder aus Venetien, p. 61, -57 verses. #H.# Romania, XI, 396, No 7, 38 verses. #I.# _Ib._ p. 394 f, -No 5, 26 verses. #J.# 'Il re Carlino,' Ferraro, Canti popolari -monferrini, p. 34, 42 verses. #K.# Romania, XI, 392, No 1, 20 verses. -#L.# 'Il Conte Angiolino,' Rovigno, Ive, Canti popolari istriani, p. -344, 34 verses. #M.# 'Il Conte Cagnolino,' Pontelagoscuro, Ferraro, as -above, p. 84, Rivista di Filologia romanza, II, 196, 36 verses. All -these are from recent tradition. - -The name Rinaldo, Rinald, is found only in _I_, #C#, and the latter has -also Lüis. Lüis is the name in #E#; Carlino, Carlin, in #J#, #H#; -Angiolino, Anzolin, #L#, #G#; Cagnolino, #M#. The rank is king in #C#, -#E#, #H-K#; prince, #D#; count, #G#, #L#, #M#. - -#A# and #B#, corrupted fragments though they be, retain clear traces of -the ancient form of the story, and of the English variety of that form. -Under the bridge of the Rella [Diamantina] a woman is washing clothes, -gh' è 'na lavandera. A knight passes, #B#, and apparently accosts the -laundress. She moves into the water, and the knight after her; the -knight embraces her, #A#. Dowy rade he hame, el va a cà tüto mojà, #A#. -In #B# (passing over some verses which have intruded) he has many -knife-stabs, and his horse many also.[362] He asks his mother to put him -to bed and his horse into the stable, and gives directions about his -funeral. - -All of the story which precedes the hero's return home is either -omitted, #D#, #F#, #J#, #K#, #L#, or abridged to a single stanza: ven da -la cassa lo re Rinald, ven da la cassa, l'è tüt ferì, #C#; ven da la -guerra re Rinaldo, ven da la guerra, l'è tüt ferì, #I#, #E#, #H#; save -that #G#, which like #C# makes him to have been hunting (and to have -been bitten by a mad dog), adds that, while he was hunting, his wife had -given birth to a boy. #M# has an entirely false beginning: Count -Cagnolino was disposed to marry, but wished to be secure about his -wife's previous life. He had a marble statue in his garden which moved -its eyes when any girl that had gone astray presented herself before it. -The daughter of Captain Tartaglia having been declined, for reason, and -another young woman espoused, Tartaglia killed the count while they were -hunting. - -The wounded man, already feeling the approach of death, #F#, #G#, #L#, -asks that his bed may be made; he shall die before the morrow, #D#, #F#, -#J#; let not his wife know, #F#, #G#. The wife asks why the -men-servants, coachmen, are weeping, and is told that they have drowned -[lost] some of the horses, #C-J#, #M# [have burned the king's carriage, -#K#]. We will get others when the king comes, she answers, #C#, #D#, #H# -[when I get up, #F#, as in Breton #A#]. Why are the maids weeping? The -maids have lost sheets or towels in washing, #F#, #I#, #K#; have -scorched the shirts in ironing, #C#, #D#, #H#. When the king comes, he -will buy or bring better, #C#, #D#, #H# [when I get up, #F#, as in -Breton #A#]. Why are the priests chanting? For a great feast to-morrow, -#F#. Why are the carpenters at work? They are making a cradle for your -boy, #C-E#, #H-K#. Why do the bells ring? A great lord is dead; in honor -of somebody or something; #C#, #E-L#. Why does not Anzolin come to see -me? He has gone a-hunting, #G#, #L#. What dress shall I put on to go to -church? [When I get up I shall put on red, #F#, #I#.] You in black and I -in gray, as in our country is the way, #C-F#, #H#, #I# [#H# moda a -_Paris_, by corruption of dël pais]; I white, you gray, #J#; you will -look well in black, #M#; put on red, or put on white, or put on black -for custom's sake, #G#. - -The children in the street say, That is the wife of the lord who was -buried, or the people look at the lady in a marked way, #C#, #J#, #G#, -#M#; and why is this? For the last time the mother-in-law puts off the -question. At the church, under the family bench, there is a grave new -made, and now it has to be said that the husband is buried there, #C-K#, -#M#. - -A conclusion is wanting in half of the ballads, and what there is is -corrupted in others. The widow commends her boy to her husband's mother, -#G#, #M#, and says she will die with her dear one, #D#, #E#, #J#, #M#. -In #C#, as in French #V#, she wishes to speak to her husband. If the -dead ever spake to the quick, she would speak once to her dear Lüis; if -the quick ever spake to the dead, she would speak once to her dear -husband. In #G# she bids the grave unlock, that she may come into the -arms of her beloved, and then bids it close, that in his arms she may -stay: cf. French #Y#, #Q#, #X#, #R#, #AA#. - -The story of the Italian ballad, under the title of 'Il Conte -Angiolino,' was given in epitome by Luigi Carrer, in his Prose e Poesie, -Venice, 1838, IV, 81 f, before any copy had been published (omitted in -later editions). According to Carrer's version, the lady, hearing bells, -and seeing from her windows the church lighted up as for some office, -extracts the fact from her mother-in-law on the spot, and then, going to -the church and seeing her husband's tomb, prays that it would open and -receive her. - -A fragment of an Italian ballad given by Nigra, Romania, XI, 396, No 8, -describes three card players, quarrelling over their game, as passing -from words to knives, and from knives to pistols, and one of the party, -the king of Spain, as being wounded in the fray. He rides home with a -depressed air, and asks his mother to make his bed, for he shall be dead -at midnight and his horse at dawn. There is a confusion of two stories -here, as will be seen from Spanish ballads which are to be spoken of. -Both stories are mixed with the original adventure of the mermaid in 'Il -Cavaliere della bella spada,' already referred to as #B#. In this last -the knight has a hundred and fifty stabs, and his horse ninety.[363] - -Nigra has added to the valuable and beautiful ballads furnished to -Romania, XI, a tale (p. 398) from the province of Turin, which preserves -the earlier portion of the Breton story. A hunter comes upon a beautiful -woman under a rock. She requires him to marry her, and is told by the -hunter that he is already married. The beautiful woman, who is of course -a fairy, presents the hunter with a box for his wife, which he is not to -open. This box contains an explosive girdle, intended to be her death; -and the hunter's curiosity impelling him to examine the gift, he is so -much injured by a detonation which follows that he can just drag himself -home to die. - -#Spanish.# This ballad is very common in Catalonia, and has been found -in Asturias. Since it is also known in Portugal, we may presume that it -might be recovered in other parts of the peninsula. #A.# 'La bona -viuda,' Briz, Cansons de la Terra, III, 155, 32 verses. #B.# 'La Viuda,' -33 verses, Milá y Fontanals, Romancerillo Catalan, 2d ed., p. 155, No -204. #C-I#. _Ib._ p. 156 f. #J.# _Ib._ p. 157 f, No 204, 36 verses. #K.# -'Romance de Doña Ana,' Asturias, the argument only, Amador de los Rios, -Historia Critica de la Literatura Española, VII, 446, being No 30 of -that author's unpublished collection. - -The name of the husband is Don Joan de Sevilla, #D#, Don Joan, #F#, Don -Olalbo, #I#, Don Francisco, #J#, Don Pedro, #K#. His wife, a princess, -#A#, #G#, has given birth to a child, or is on the eve of so doing. The -gentleman is away from home, or is about to leave home on a pilgrimage -of a year and a day, #A#, #G#; has gone to war, #D#; to a hunt, #I#, -#K#. He dies just as he returns home or is leaving home, or away from -home, in other versions, but in #K# comes back in a dying condition, and -begs that his state may be concealed from his wife. The lady, hearing a -commotion in the house, and asking the cause, is told that it is the -noisy mirth of the servants, #A-D#. There is music, chanting, tolling of -bells; and this is said to be for a great person who has died, #B#, #D#, -#A#. In #B#, #D#, the wife asks, Can it be for my husband? In #J# the -mother-in-law explains her own sorrowful demeanor as occasioned by the -death of an uncle, and we are informed that the burial was without -bells, in order that the new mother might not hear. In #J# only do we -have the question, Where is my husband? He has been summoned to court, -says the mother-in-law, where, as a favorite, he will stay a year and -ten days. When should the young mother go to mass? Peasants go after a -fortnight, tradesfolk after forty days, etc.; she, as a great lady, will -wait a year and a day, #A#, #D#, #I#, a year, #B#, a year and ten days, -#J#. What dress should she wear, silk, gold tissue, silver? etc. Black -would become her best, #A#, #J#, #K#. [Doña Ana, in #K#, like the lady -in Italian #G#, resists the suggestion of mourning, as proper only for a -widow, and appears in a costume de Pascua florida: in some other copies -also she seems to wear a gay dress.] The people, the children, point to -her, and say, There is the widow, and her mother-in-law parries the -inquiry why she is the object of remark; but the truth is avowed when -they see a grave digging, and the wife asks for whom it is, #A#. In #J# -the lady sees a monument in the church, hung with black, reads her -husband's name, and swoons. #B#, #C# make the mother's explanation -follow upon the children's talk. In #K# the announcement is made first -by a shepherd, then confirmed by gaping spectators and by a rejected -lover. The widow commends her child to its grandmother, and says she -will go to her husband in heaven, #A-D#; dies on the spot, #K#; Don -Francisco dies in March, Doña Ana in May, #J#. - -'Don Joan y Don Ramon' is a ballad in which a young man returns to his -mother mortally wounded, and therefore would be likely to blend in the -memory of reciters with any other ballad in which the same incident -occurred. A version from the Balearic Islands may be put first, which -has not yet taken up any characteristic part of the story of Renaud: -Recuerdos y Bellezas de España, Mallorca, p. 336, 1842==Milá, 1853, p. -114, No 15, Briz, III, 172; Die Balearen in Wort und Bild geschildert, -by the Archduke Ludwig Salvator, Leipzig, 1871, II, 556.[364] - -Don Joan and Don Ramon are returning from the chase. Don Ramon falls -from his horse; Don Joan rides off. Don Ramon's mother sees her son -coming through a field, gathering plants to heal his wounds. "What is -the matter?" she asks; "you are pale." "I have been bled, and they made -a mistake." "Ill luck to the barber!" "Curse him not; it is the last -time. Between me and my horse we have nine and twenty lance thrusts; the -horse has nine and I the rest. The horse will die to-night and I in the -morning. Bury him in the best place in the stable, and me in St Eulalia; -lay a sword crosswise over my grave, and if it is asked who killed me, -let the answer be, Don Joan de la cassada." - -There are numerous Catalan versions, and most of them add something to -this story: Milá, 2d ed., 'El guerrero mal herido,' p. 171, No 210, -#A-F#, #A_{1}-G_{1}#, #A_{11}#; Briz, III, 171 f, two copies. These -disagree considerably as to the cause of the hero's death, and the names -are not constant. In #A_{1}# of Milá, as in the Balearic ballad, Don -Joan and Don Ramon are coming from the chase, and have a passage at -lances; Don Joan is left dead, and Don Ramon is little short of it. #A#, -#B#, of Milá, tell us that Don Pedro died on the field of battle and Don -Joan came home mortally wounded. #E# says that Don Joan and Don Ramon -come from the chase, but Don Joan immediately says that he comes from a -great battle. It is battle in #F_{1}#, in #E_{1}# (with Gastó -returning), and in both the Catalan copies of Briz, the hero being Don -Joan in the first of these last, and in the other nameless. The wounded -man says he has been badly bled, Milá, #A#, #B#, #A_{1}#, #C_{1}#, Briz -2; he and his horse have lance wounds fifty-nine, thirty-nine, -twenty-nine, etc., the horse nine and he the rest, Milá, #A#, #B#, #E#, -#A_{1}#, Briz 1. His mother informs him that his wife has borne a child, -"a boy like the morning star," Briz 1, and says that if he will go to -the best chamber he will find her surrounded by dames and ladies. This -gives him no pleasure; he does not care for wife, nor dames, nor ladies, -nor boys, nor morning stars: Briz 1, Milá, #A_{1}-G_{1}#. He asks to -have his bed made, Milá, #A-D#, #B_{1}#, #C_{1}#, Briz 1, 2, for he -shall die at midnight and his horse at dawn, #A-D#, #A_{1}#, Briz 2, and -gives directions for his burial and that of his horse. Let the bells -toll when he is dead, and when people ask for whom it is, the answer -will be, For Don Joan, Briz 1, Gastó, Milá, #E_{1}#, who was killed in -battle. Let his arms be put over the place where his horse is buried, -and when people ask whose arms they are his mother will say, My son's, -who died in battle, Milá #A#, #B_{1}#. Let a drawn sword be laid across -his grave, and let those that ask who killed him be told, Don Joan, at -the chase, Milá, #A_{1}#.[365] - -We have, probably, to do with two different ballads here, versions #A-F# -of Milá's 'Guerrero mal herido,' and Briz's second, belonging with 'Don -Joan y Don Ramon,' while #A_{1}-G_{1}# of Milá, and Briz's first, -represent a ballad of the Renaud class. It is, however, possible that -the first series may be imperfect copies of the second. - -'Don Joan y Don Ramon' has agreements with Italian #B#, #A#: in #B#, -particularly, we note the hundred and fifty stabs of the knight and the -ninety of his horse. - -#Portuguese.# A good Portuguese version, 'D. Pedro e D. Leonarda,' in -fifty short verses, unfortunately lacking the conclusion, has been -lately communicated to Romania (XI, 585) by Leite de Vasconcellos. Dom -Pedro went hunting, to be gone a year and a day, but was compelled to -return home owing to a malady which seized him. His mother greets him -with the information that his wife has given birth to a son. "Comfort -and cheer her," he says, "and for me make a bed, which I shall never -rise from." The wife asks, Where is my husband, that he does not come to -see me? "He has gone a-hunting for a year and a day," replies the -mother. What is this commotion in the house? "Only visitors." But the -bells are tolling! Could it be for my husband? "No, no; it is for a -feast-day." When do women go to mass after child-birth? "Some in three -weeks and some in two, but a lady of your rank after a year and a day." -And what color do they wear? "Some light blue and some a thousand -wonders, but you, as a lady of rank, will go in mourning." The ballad -stops abruptly with a half-pettish, half-humorous imprecation from the -daughter-in-law against the mother for keeping her shut up so long. - -There is a Slavic ballad, which, like the versions that are so popular -with the Romance nations, abridges the first part of the story, and -makes the interest turn upon the gradual discovery of the hero's death, -but in other respects agrees with northern tradition. - -#Bohemian.# #A a.# Erben, p. 473, No 9, He[vr]man a Dorni[vc]ka==Waldau, -Böhmische Granaten, I, 73, No 100; #b.# [vC]elakowsky, I, 26==Haupt u. -Schmaler, I, 327. #B.# Erben, p. 475. #C.# Moravian, Su[vs]il, p. 82, No -89 a, 'Ne[vs]t'astná svatba,' 'The Doleful Wedding.' #D.# Su[vs]il, p. -83, No 89 b. #E.# Slovak, [vC]elakowsky, I, 80. - -#Wendish.# #A.# Haupt und Schmaler, I, 31, No 3, 'Zrudny kwas,' 'The -Doleful Wedding.' #B.# II, 131, No 182, 'Plakajuen [/n]e[/w]esta,' 'The -Weeping Bride' (the last eight stanzas, the ten before being in no -connection). - -The hero on his wedding day is making ready his horse to fetch the -bride; for he is, as in the Scandinavian ballads, not yet a married man. -His mother, Bohemian #A#, ascertaining his intention, begs him not to go -himself with the bridal escort. Obviously she has a premonition of -misfortune. Herman will never invite guests, and not go for them. The -mother, in an access of passion, exclaims, If you go, may you break your -neck, and never come back! Here we are reminded of the Färöe ballad. -Bohemian #C#, #D# make the forebodings to rise in Herman's mind, not in -his mother's. The mother opposes the match in Bohemian #E#, and the -sister wishes that he may break his neck. Wendish #A# has nothing of -opposition or bodement before the start, but the crows go winging about -the young men who are going for the bride, and caw a horrible song, how -the bridegroom shall fall from his horse and break his neck. The train -sets off with a band of trumpets, drums, and stringed instruments, or, -Bohemian #D#, with a discharge of a hundred muskets, and when they come -to a linden in a meadow Herman's horse "breaks his foot," and the rider -his neck; Bohemian #D#, when they come to a copse in a meadow the -hundred pieces are again discharged, and Herman is mortally wounded. His -friends stand debating what they shall do. The dying man bids them keep -on: since the bride cannot be his, she shall be his youngest brother's, -Bohemian #A#, #C#; cf. Danish #L#, #O#, #R#, Norwegian #C#, #F#. The -train arrives at the bride's house; the bride comes out to greet them, -but, not seeing the bridegroom, inquires affrightedly what has become of -him. They pretend that he has remained at home to see to the tables. The -mother is reluctant to give them the bride, but finally yields. When the -train comes again to the linden in the mead, Dorothy sees blood. It is -Herman's! she cries; but they assure her that it is the blood of a deer -that Herman had killed for the feast. They reach Herman's house, where -the bride has an appalling reception, which need not be particularized. - -In Bohemian #A#, while they are at supper (or at half-eve==three in the -afternoon), a death-bell is heard. Dorothy turns pale. For whom are they -tolling? Surely it is for Herman. They tell her that Herman is lying in -his room with a bad headache, and that the bell is ringing for a child. -But she guesses the truth, sinks down and dies, #a#. She wears two -knives in her hair, and thrusts one of them into her heart, #b#. The two -are buried in one grave. In Bohemian #B# the bell sounds for the first -time as the first course is brought on, and a second time when the -second course comes. The bride is told in each case that the knell is -for a child. Upon the third sounding, when the third course is brought -in, they tell her that it is for Herman. She seizes two knives and runs -to the graveyard: with one she digs herself a grave, and with the other -stabs herself. In the Wendish fragment #B#, at the first and second -course (there is no bell) the bride asks where the bridegroom is, and at -the third repeats the question with tears. She is told that he is -ranging the woods, killing game for his wedding. In Bohemian #C# the -bell tolls while they are getting the table ready. The bride asks if it -is for Herman, and is told that it is for a child. When they sit down to -table, the bells toll again. For whom should this be? For whom but -Herman? She springs out of the window, and the catastrophe is the same -as in Bohemian #B#. In #D# the bride hears the bell as the train is -approaching the house, and they say it is for a child. On entering the -court she asks where Herman is. He is in the cellar drawing wine for his -guests. She asks again for Herman as the company sits down to table, and -the answer is, In the chamber, lying in a coffin. She springs from the -table and rushes to the chamber, seizing two golden knives, one of which -she plunges into her heart. In Bohemian #E#, when the bride arrives at -John the bridegroom's house, and asks where he is, they tell her she had -better go to bed till midnight. The moment she touches John she springs -out of bed, and cries, Dear people, why have ye laid a living woman with -a dead man? They stand, saying, What shall we give her, a white cap or a -green chaplet? "I have not deserved the white (widow's) cap," she says; -"I have deserved a green chaplet." In Wendish #A#, when the bell first -knolls, the bride asks, Where is the bridegroom? and they answer, In the -new chamber, putting on his fine clothes. A second toll evokes a second -inquiry; and they say he is in the new room, putting on his sword. The -third time they conceal nothing: He fell off his horse and broke his -neck. "Then tear off my fine clothes and dress me in white, that I may -mourn a year and a day, and go to church in a green chaplet, and never -forget him that loved me!" It will be remembered that the bride takes -her own life in Norwegian #A#, #C#, #D#, and in Swedish #E#, as she does -in Bohemian #A b#, #B#, #C#, #D#. - - * * * * * - -#B# is translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, p. 305, -No 48; by Doenniges, p. 25. - -'Der Ritter von Staufenberg' is translated by Jamieson, from the -"Romanzen" in the Wunderhorn, in Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, -p. 257. Danish #A# by Prior, II, 301; #B# by Jamieson, Popular Ballads, -I, 219, and by Prior, II, 306, Buchanan, p. 52. 'The Erl-King's -Daughter,' "Danish," in Lewis's Tales of Wonder, I, 53, No 10, is -rendered from Herder. Swedish #A# by Keightley, Fairy Mythology, p. 84; -#B# by Keightley, p. 82, and by William and Mary Howitt, Literature and -Romance of Northern Europe, I, 269. There is a version from Swedish by -J. H. Dixon, in Notes and Queries, 4th Series, I, 168. Breton #D# by -Keightley, as above, p. 433, and by Tom Taylor, Ballads and Songs of -Brittany, 'Lord Nann and the Fairy,' p. 9. Bohemian #A b# by Bowring, -Cheskian Anthology, p. 69. - - -#A# - - From a transcript from William Tytler's Brown MS. - - 1 - Clark Colven and his gay ladie, - As they walked to yon garden green, - A belt about her middle gimp, - Which cost Clark Colven crowns fifteen: - - 2 - 'O hearken weel now, my good lord, - O hearken weel to what I say; - When ye gang to the wall o Stream, - O gang nae neer the well-fared may.' - - 3 - 'O haud your tongue, my gay ladie, - Tak nae sic care o me; - For I nae saw a fair woman - I like so well as thee.' - - 4 - He mounted on his berry-brown steed, - And merry, merry rade he on, - Till he came to the wall o Stream, - And there he saw the mermaiden. - - 5 - 'Ye wash, ye wash, ye bonny may, - And ay's ye wash your sark o silk:' - 'It's a' for you, ye gentle knight, - My skin is whiter than the milk.' - - 6 - He's taen her by the milk-white hand, - He's taen her by the sleeve sae green, - And he's forgotten his gay ladie, - And away with the fair maiden. - - * * * * * * * - - 7 - 'Ohon, alas!' says Clark Colven, - 'And aye sae sair's I mean my head!' - And merrily leugh the mermaiden, - 'O win on till you be dead. - - 8 - 'But out ye tak your little pen-knife, - And frae my sark ye shear a gare; - Row that about your lovely head, - And the pain ye'll never feel nae mair.' - - 9 - Out he has taen his little pen-knife, - And frae her sark he's shorn a gare, - Rowed that about his lovely head, - But the pain increased mair and mair. - - 10 - 'Ohon, alas!' says Clark Colven, - 'An aye sae sair's I mean my head!' - And merrily laughd the mermaiden, - 'It will ay be war till ye be dead.' - - 11 - Then out he drew his trusty blade, - And thought wi it to be her dead, - But she's become a fish again, - And merrily sprang into the fleed. - - 12 - He's mounted on his berry-brown steed, - And dowy, dowy rade he home, - And heavily, heavily lighted down - When to his ladie's bower-door he came. - - 13 - 'Oh, mither, mither, mak my bed, - And, gentle ladie, lay me down; - Oh, brither, brither, unbend my bow, - 'T will never be bent by me again.' - - 14 - His mither she has made his bed, - His gentle ladie laid him down, - His brither he has unbent his bow, - 'T was never bent by him again. - - -B - - Herd's Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, 1769, p. 302; ed. - 1776, I, 161. - - 1 - Clerk Colvill and his lusty dame - Were walking in the garden green; - The belt around her stately waist - Cost Clerk Colvill of pounds fifteen. - - 2 - 'O promise me now, Clerk Colvill, - Or it will cost ye muckle strife, - Ride never by the wells of Slane, - If ye wad live and brook your life.' - - 3 - 'Now speak nae mair, my lusty dame, - Now speak nae mair of that to me; - Did I neer see a fair woman, - But I wad sin with her body?' - - 4 - He's taen leave o his gay lady, - Nought minding what his lady said, - And he's rode by the wells of Slane, - Where washing was a bonny maid. - - 5 - 'Wash on, wash on, my bonny maid, - That wash sae clean your sark of silk;' - 'And weel fa you, fair gentleman, - Your body whiter than the milk.' - - * * * * * * * - - 6 - Then loud, loud cry'd the Clerk Colvill, - 'O my head it pains me sair;' - 'Then take, then take,' the maiden said, - 'And frae my sark you'll cut a gare.' - - 7 - Then she's gied him a little bane-knife, - And frae her sark he cut a share; - She's ty'd it round his whey-white face, - But ay his head it aked mair. - - 8 - Then louder cry'd the Clerk Colvill, - 'O sairer, sairer akes my head;' - 'And sairer, sairer ever will,' - The maiden crys, 'till you be dead.' - - 9 - Out then he drew his shining blade, - Thinking to stick her where she stood, - But she was vanishd to a fish, - And swam far off, a fair mermaid. - - 10 - 'O mother, mother, braid my hair; - My lusty lady, make my bed; - O brother, take my sword and spear, - For I have seen the false mermaid.' - - -C - - Notes and Queries, 4th Series, VIII, 510, from the - recitation of a lady in Forfarshire. - - 1 - Clerk Colin and his mother dear - Were in the garden green; - The band that was about her neck - Cost Colin pounds fifteen; - The belt about her middle sae sma - Cost twice as much again. - - 2 - 'Forbidden gin ye wad be, love Colin, - Forbidden gin ye wad be, - And gang nae mair to Clyde's water, - To court yon gay ladie.' - - 3 - 'Forbid me frae your ha, mother, - Forbid me frae your bour, - But forbid me not frae yon ladie; - She's fair as ony flour. - - 4 - 'Forbidden I winna be, mother, - Forbidden I winna be, - For I maun gang to Clyde's water, - To court yon gay ladie.' - - 5 - An he is on his saddle set, - As fast as he could win, - An he is on to Clyde's water, - By the lee licht o the moon. - - 6 - An when he cam to the Clyde's water - He lichted lowly down, - An there he saw the mermaiden, - Washin silk upon a stane. - - 7 - 'Come down, come down, now, Clerk Colin, - Come down an [fish] wi me; - I'll row ye in my arms twa, - An a foot I sanna jee.' - - * * * * * * * - - 8 - 'O mother, mother, mak my bed, - And, sister, lay me doun, - An brother, tak my bow an shoot, - For my shooting is done.' - - 9 - He wasna weel laid in his bed, - Nor yet weel fa'en asleep, - When up an started the mermaiden, - Just at Clerk Colin's feet. - - 10 - 'Will ye lie there an die, Clerk Colin, - Will ye lie there an die? - Or will ye gang to Clyde's water, - To fish in flood wi me?' - - 11 - 'I will lie here an die,' he said, - 'I will lie here an die; - In spite o a' the deils in hell - I will lie here an die.' - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - 7^3. _~laugh~; but we have ~laughd~ in 10^3._ - - 9^3. _~Rowed~ seems to be written ~Round~, possibly - ~Rowad~._ - - 14^3. brother. - -#B.# - - 5^4. _The edition of 1776 has ~body's~._ - -#C.# - - 7. When they part he returns home, and on the way his head - becomes "wondrous sair:" _seemingly a comment of the - reciter_. - - _The Abbotsford copy in "~Scottish Songs~," fol. 3, has - these readings, not found in Lewis, the Brown MS., or - Herd._ - - 3^2. - - And dinna deave me wi your din: _Lewis_, - And haud, my Lady gay, your din. - - 6^3. He's laid her on the flowery green. - - -[345] "From a MS. in my grandfather's writing, with the following note: -Copied from an old MS. in the possession of Alexander Fraser Tytler." -Note of Miss Mary Fraser Tytler. The first stanza agrees with that which -is cited from the original by Dr Anderson in Nichols's Illustrations, -VII, 177, and the number of stanzas is the same. - -Colvill, which has become familiar from Herd's copy, is the correct -form, and Colven, Colvin, a vulgarized one, which in #C# lapses into -Colin. - -[346] Still, though these _particular verses_ appear to have come from -'The Drowned Lovers,' they may represent other original ones which were -to the same effect. See, further on, the beginning of some Färöe -versions. - -[347] Hoc equidem a viris omni exceptione majoribus quotidie scimus -probatum, quod quosdam hujusmodi larvarum quas fadas nominant amatores -audivimus, et cum ad aliarum foeminarum matrimonia se transtulerunt, -ante mortuos quam cum superinductis carnali se copula immiscuerunt. Des -Gervasius von Tilbury Otia Imperialia (of about 1211), Liebrecht, p. 41. - -[348] Der Ritter von Stauffenberg, from a MS. of perhaps 1437, C. M. -Engelhardt, Strassburg, 1823. Edited by Oskar Jänicke, in Altdeutsche -Studien von O. Jänicke, E. Steinmeyer, W. Wilmanns, Berlin, 1871. Die -Legende vom Ritter Herrn Peter Diemringer von Staufenberg in der -Ortenau, reprint by F. Culemann of the Strassburg edition of Martin -Schott, 1480-82. The old printed copy was made over by Fischart in 1588 -(Jobin, Strassburg, in that year), and this 'ernewerte Beschreibung der -alten Geschicht' is rehashed in seven 'Romanzen' in Wunderhorn, I, -407-18, ed. 1806, 401-12, ed. 1853. Simrock, Die deutschen Volksbücher, -III, 1-48. - -[349] Engelhardt, pp 6, 13 f: Sagen aus Baden und der Umgegend, -Carlsruhe, 1834, pp 107-122. - -[350] Separately printed, under the title, Elveskud, dansk, svensk, -norsk, færøsk, islandsk, skotsk, vendisk, bømisk, tysk, fransk, -italiensk, katalonsk, spansk, bretonsk Folkevise, i overblik ved Svend -Grundtvig. Kjøbenhavn, 1881. - -[351] All the Norse versions are in two-line stanzas. - -[352] In 'Jomfruen og Dværgekongen,' #C# 25, 26, Grundtvig, No 37, the -woman who has been carried off to the hill, wishing to die, asks that -atter-corns may be put into her drink. She evidently gets, however, only -the villar-konn, elvar-konn, of Landstad, Nos 42-45, which are of -lethean property. But in J. og D. #F#, we may infer an atter-corn, -though none is mentioned, from the effect of the draughts, which is that -belt, stays, and sark successively burst. See p. 363 f. - -[353] So, also, Swedish #A#, #F#, Norwegian #A#, #C#. This is a cantrip -sleight of the elves. The Icelandic burden supposes this illumination, -"The low was burning red;" and when Olaf seeks to escape, in Norwegian -#A#, #C#, #E#, #G#, #I#, #K#, he has to make his way through the -elf-flame, elvelogi. - -[354] Grundtvig remarks that Herder's translation, 'Erlkönigs Tochter,' -Volkslieder, II, 158, took so well with the Germans that at last it came -to pass for an original German ballad. The Wunderhorn, I, 261, ed. 1806, -gives it with the title, 'Herr Olof,' as from a flying sheet -(==Scherer's Deutsche Volkslieder, 1851, p. 371). It appears, with some -little changes, in Zarnack's Deutsche Volkslieder, 1819, I, 29, whence -it passed into Erlach, IV, 6, and Richter und Marschner, p. 60. -Kretzschmer has the translation, again, with a variation here and there, -set to a "North German" and to a "Westphalian" air, p. 8, p. 9. - -[355] Owing to a close resemblance of circumstances in 'The Elf-shot,' -in 'Frillens Hævn' ('The Leman's Wreak'), Grundtvig, No 208, and in -'Ribold og Guldborg,' Grundtvig, No 82, these ballads naturally have -details in common. The pretence that the horse was not sure-footed and -hurtled his rider against a tree; the request to mother, father, etc., -to make the bed, take care of the horse, apply a bandage, send for a -priest, etc.; the testament, the assignment of the bride by the dying -man to his brother, and her declaration that she will never give her -troth to two brothers; and the nearly simultaneous death of hero, bride, -and mother, occur in many versions of both Elveskud and Ribold, and most -of them in Frillens Hævn. A little Danish ballad, 'Hr. Olufs Død,' cited -by Grundtvig, IV, 847, seems to be Elveskud with the elf-shot omitted. - -[356] Luzel was in possession of other versions, but he assures us that -every detail is contained in one or the other of these three. - -[357] #B# 13, "You must marry me straightway, or give me my weight in -silver;" _then_, "or die in three days," etc. It is not impossible that -this stanza, entirely out of place in this ballad, was derived from 'Le -Comte des Chapelles,' Luzel, p. 457, from which certain French versions -have taken a part of their story. See Luzel, the eighth and ninth -stanzas, on p. 461. - -[358] #B# 50, "A white gown, or _broget_, or my violet petticoat?" Luzel -says he does not understand _broget_, and in his Observations, prefixed -to the volume, expresses a conjecture that it must have been altered -from _droged_, robe d'enfant, robe de femme, but we evidently want a -color. Grundtvig remarks that _broget_ would make sense in Danish, where -it means party-colored. Scotch _broakit_ is black and white. Icelandic -_brók_, tartan, party-colored cloth, is said to be from Gaelic _breac_, -versicolor (Vigfusson). This points to a suitable meaning for Breton -_broget_. - -[359] #D# adds: "It was a marvel to see, the night after husband and -wife had been buried, two oaks rise from the common tomb, and on their -branches two white doves, which sang there at daybreak, and then took -flight for the skies." - -[360] It will be observed that some of the Renaud ballads in the Poésies -populaires de la France were derived from earlier publications: such as -were communicated by collectors appear to have been sent in in 1852 or -1853. The versions cited by Rathery, Revue Critique, II, 287 ff, are all -from the MS. Poésies populaires. #BB#, #CC# have either been overlooked -by me in turning over the first five volumes, or occur in vol. vi, which -has not yet been received. #GG# came to hand too late to be ranked at -its proper place. - -[361] In #C# the mother-in-law tells her daughter, austerely: - - Vous aurez plutôt trouvé un mari - Que moi je n'aurai trouvé un fils. - -So #E#, nearly. A mother makes a like remark to the betrothed of a dead -son in the Danish ballad of 'Ebbe Tygesen,' Grundtvig, Danske Kæmpeviser -og Folkesange, fornyede i gammel Stil, 1867, p. 122, st. 14. #F# and #T# -conclude with these words of the wife: - - 'Ma mère, dites au fossoyeur - Qu'il creuse une fosse pour deux; - 'Et que l'espace y soit si grand - Que l'on y mette aussi l'enfant.' - -The burial of father, mother, and child in a common grave is found -elsewhere in ballads, as in 'Redselille og Medelvold,' Grundtvig, No -271, #A# 37, #G# 20, #M# 26, #X# 27. - -[362] Shutting our eyes to other Romance versions, or, we may say, -opening them to Scandinavian ones, we might see in these stabs the -wounds made by the elf-knives in Danish #D#, #G#, #H#, #N#, #O#, #R#, -#X#, Swedish #G#, Norwegian #H#, #I#. See 'Don Joan y Don Ramon,' -further on. - -[363] The ballad of 'Luggieri,' published by Salvatori in the Rassegna -Settimanale, Rome, June 22, 1879, and reprinted by Nigra in Romania, XI, -391 (a variety of 'Rizzardo bello,' Wolf, Volkslieder aus Venetien, p. -62, No 83), appears to me not to belong with 'Renaud,' but with the -class of 'The Cruel Brother,' as already remarked of the Venetian ballad -at p. 142. - -[364] The version in the Recuerdos was obtained in Majorca by Don J. M. -Quadrado. The editor remarks that the employment of the articles Il and -La instead of Es and Sa proves it to be as old as the sixteenth century. -Die Balearen, etc., is cited after Grundtvig. - -[365] I do not entirely understand Professor Milá's arrangement of those -texts which he has not printed in full, and it is very likely that more -of his copies than I have cited exhibit some of the traits specified. - - - - -43 - -THE BROOMFIELD HILL - - #A.# 'The Broomfield Hill.' #a.# Scott's Minstrelsy, III, - 271, 1803. #b.# The same, II, 229, 1802. - - #B.# 'I'll wager, I'll wager,' etc., Herd's Ancient and - Modern Scots Songs, 1769, p. 310. - - #C.# 'Broomfield Hills,' Buchan's Ballads of the North of - Scotland, II, 291. - - #D.# 'Lord John,' Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. - 195. - - #E.# Joseph Robertson's Note-Book, January, 1830, p. 7. - - #F.# 'The Merry Broomfield, or The West Country Wager.' - #a.# Douce Ballads, III, fol. 64^b. #b.# The same, IV, - fol. 10. - - -A song of 'Brume, brume on hil' is one of those named in The Complaint -of Scotland, 1549, p. 64 of Dr J. A. H. Murray's edition. "The foot of -the song" is sung, with others, by Moros in Wager's "very merry and -pithy Comedy called The longer thou livest the more fool thou art," c. -1568. 'Broom, broom on hil' is also one of Captain Cox's "bunch of -ballets and songs, all auncient," No 53 of the collection, 1575.[366] -The lines that Moros sings are: - - Brome, brome on hill, - The gentle brome on hill, hill, - Brome, brome on Hive hill, - The gentle brome on Hive hill, - The brome stands on Hive hill #a#. - -"A more sanguine antiquary than the editor," says Scott, "might perhaps -endeavor to identify this poem, which is of undoubted antiquity, with -the 'Broom, broom on hill' mentioned ... as forming part of Captain -Cox's collection." Assuredly "Broom, broom on hill," if that were all, -would justify no such identification, but the occurrence of Hive hill, -both in the burden which Moros sings and in the eighth stanza of Scott's -ballad, is a circumstance that would embolden even a very cautious -antiquary, if he had received Hive hill from tradition, and was -therefore unaffected by a suspicion that this locality had been -introduced by an editor from the old song.[367] - -Most of the versions give no explicit account of the knight's prolonged -sleep. He must needs be asleep when the lady comes to him, else there -would be no story; but his heavy slumber, not broken by all the efforts -of his horse and his hawk, is as a matter of course not natural; es geht -nicht zu mit rechten dingen; the witch-wife of #A# 4 is at the bottom of -that. And yet the broom-flowers strewed on his hals-bane in #A# 8, #B# -3, and the roses in #D# 6, are only to be a sign that the maid had been -there and was gone. Considering the character of many of Buchan's -versions, we cannot feel sure that #C# has not borrowed the second and -third stanzas from #B#, and the witch-wife, in the sixth, from #A#; but -it would be extravagant to call in question the genuineness of #C# as a -whole. The eighth stanza gives us the light which we require. - - 'Ye'll pu the bloom frae aff the broom, - Strew't at his head and feet, - And aye the thicker that ye do strew, - The sounder he will sleep.' - -The silver belt about the knight's head in #A# 5 can hardly have to do -with his sleeping, and to me seems meaningless. It is possible that -roses are not used at random in #D# 6, though, like the posie of -pleasant perfume in #F# 9, they serve only to prove that the lady had -been there. An excrescence on the dog-rose, rosenschwamm, schlafkunz, -kunz, schlafapfel, it is believed in Germany, if laid under a man's -pillow, will make him sleep till it is taken away. Grimm, Deutsche -Mythologie, p. 1008, and Deutsches Wörterbuch (Hildebrand), V, 2753 _e_. - -#C# makes the lady hide in the broom to hear what the knight will say -when he wakes, and in this point agrees with the broadside #F#, as also -in the comment made by the men on their master in stanza 24; cf. #F# 16. - -Mr J. W. Dixon has reprinted an Aldermary Churchyard copy of the -broadside, differing as to four or five words only from #F#, in Ancient -Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England, p. 116, Percy -Society, Volume XVII. The editor remarks that #A# is evidently taken -from #F#; from which it is clear that the pungent buckishness of the -broadside does not necessarily make an impression. #A# smells of the -broom; #F# suggests the groom.[368] - -The sleep which is produced in #A# by strewing the flower of the broom -on a man's head and feet, according to a witch's advice, is brought -about in two Norse ballads by means not simply occult, but altogether -preternatural; that is, by the power of runes. One of these, -'Sömn-runorna,' Arwidsson, II, 249, No 133, is preserved in a manuscript -of the end of the seventeenth, or the beginning of the eighteenth, -century. The other, 'Sövnerunerne,' Grundtvig, II, 337, No 81, was taken -down in 1847 from the singing of a woman seventy-five years of age. - -The Swedish ballad runs thus. There is a damsel in our land who every -night will sleep with a man, and dance a maid in the morning. The fame -of this comes to the ears of the son of the king of England, who orders -his horse, thinking to catch this damsel. When he arrives at the castle -gate, there stands the lady, and asks him what is his haste. He frankly -answers that he expects to get a fair maid's honor for his pains, and -she bids him follow her to the upper room. She lays sheets on the bed, -and writes strong runes on them. The youth sits down on the bed, and is -asleep before he can stretch himself out. He sleeps through that day, -and the next, and into the third. Then the lady rouses him. "Wake up; -you are sleeping your two eyes out." He is still so heavy that he can -hardly stir. He offers her his horse and saddle to report the matter as -he wishes. "Keep your horse," she says; "shame fa such liars." - -The Danish story is much the same. One of a king's five sons goes to -make trial of the maid. She tells him to fasten his horse while she goes -before and unlocks; calls to her maid to bring five feather-beds, -feather-beds nine, and write a sleep on each of them. He sleeps through -three days, and is roused the fourth, with "Wake up, wake up; you have -slept away your pluck." He offers her a bribe, as before, which she -scornfully rejects, assuring him that he will not be spared when she -comes among maids and knights. - -A sleep produced by runes or gramarye is one of the two main incidents -of a tale in the Gesta Romanorum, better known through the other, which -is the forfeit of flesh for money not forthcoming at the day set, as in -the Merchant of Venice: Latin, Oesterley, No 195, p. 603;[369] English, -Harleian MS. 7333, No 40, printed by Douce, Illustrations of Shakspere, -I, 281, Madden, p. 130, Herrtage, p. 158; German, No 68, of the printed -edition of 1489 (which I have not seen). A knight, who has a passion -for an emperor's daughter, engages to give a thousand [hundred] marks -for being once admitted to her bed. He instantly falls asleep, and has -to be roused in the morning. Like terms are made for a second night, and -the man's lands have to be pledged to raise the money. He sleeps as -before, but stipulates for a third night at the same price. A merchant -lends him the thousand marks, on condition that, if he breaks his day, -his creditor may take the money's weight of flesh from his body. Feeling -what a risk he is now running, the knight consults a philosopher, -Virgil, in the English version. The philosopher (who in the Latin -version says he ought to know, for he had helped the lady to her trick) -tells the knight that between the sheet and coverlet of the bed there is -a letter, which causes the sleep; this he must find, and, when found, -cast far from the bed. The knight follows these directions, and gets the -better of the lady, who conceives a reciprocal passion for him, and -delivers him, in the sequel, from the fearful penalty of his bond by -pleading that the flesh must be taken without shedding of blood. - -The romance of Dolopathos, a variety of the Seven Wise Masters, written -about 1185, considerably before the earliest date which has hitherto been -proposed for the compilation of the Gesta, has this story, with -variations, of which only these require to be noted. The lady has herself -been a student in magic. She is wooed of many; all comers are received, -and pay a hundred marks; any one who accomplishes his will may wed her the -next day. An enchanted feather of a screech-owl, laid under the pillow, -makes all who enter the bed fall asleep at once, and many have been -baffled by this charm. At last a youth of high birth, but small means, -tries his fortune, and, failing at the first essay, tries once more. -Thinking that the softness of his couch was the cause of his falling -asleep, he puts away the pillow, and in this process the feather is thrown -out: Iohannis de Alta Silva Dolopathos, ed. Oesterley, pp 57-59; Herbers, -Li Romans de Dolopathos, Brunet et Montaiglon, vv 7096-7498, pp 244-59; Le -Roux de Lincy, in a sequel to Loiseleur-Deslongchamps's Essai sur les -Fables indiennes, pp 211 ff. This form of the tale is found in German, in -a fifteenth-century manuscript, from which it was printed by Haupt in -Altdeutsche Blätter, I, 143-49; but here the sleep is produced by the use -of _both_ the means employed in the Gesta and in Dolopathos, letter -(runes) and feather, "the wild man's feather."[370] - -Magic is dropped, and a sleeping draught administered, just as the man -is going to bed, in a version of the story in the Pecorone of Ser -Giovanni Fiorentino, Giornata, IV^a, Nov. 1_{a} (last quarter of the -fourteenth century). Upon the third trial the man, warned by a friendly -chambermaid not to drink, pours the medicated wine into his bosom. The -account of Ser Giovanni is adopted in Les Adventures d'Abdalla fils -d'Hanif, etc., La Haye, 1713, Bibliothèque de Romans, 1778, Janvier, I, -112-14, 143 f. - -Ellin writes sleep-runes on the cushions on which her husband is to -sleep, in the Danish ballad 'Frændehævn,' Grundtvig, No 4, #A# 33 [#C# -45]. - -In Icelandic tales a sleep-thorn[371] is employed, probably a thorn -inscribed with runes. The thorn is stuck into the clothes or into the -head (the ears, according to the popular notion, Vigfusson), and the -sleep lasts till the thorn is taken out. Odin stuck such a thorn into -Brynhild's garments: Fáfnismál, 43; Sigrdrífumál, 7; Völsúnga Saga, -Fornaldar Sögur, I, 166. The thorn is put into the clothes also in the -Icelandic fairy-tale, Mærþöll, Maurer, Isländische Volkssagen, p. 286. -Ólöf, to save herself from Helgi's violence, and to punish his -insolence, sticks him with a sleep-thorn after he is dead drunk: Hrólfs -Saga Kraka, Forn. S. I, 18f, Torfæus, p. 32. Vilhjálmr sticks a -sleep-thorn into Hrólfr, and he lies as if dead so long as the thorn is -in him: Gaungu-Hrólfs Saga, Forn. S., III, 303, 306. - -A pillow of soporific quality, which Kamele, by Isot's direction, puts -under Kaedin's head, assures her safety though she lies all night by his -side: Ulrich's continuation of Gottfried's Tristan, vv 1668-99, 1744-85; -and Heinrich's continuation, omitting the last circumstance, vv -4861-4960 (J. Grimm). - -The witch-woman, in the English ballad, #A# 4, represents the -philosopher in the Gesta, and the wager in the other versions the fee or -fine exacted by the lady in the Gesta and elsewhere. - -An Italian ballad, a slight and unmeritable thing, follows the story of -Ser Giovanni, or agrees with it, in respect to the sleeping-draught. A -man falls in with a girl at a spring, and offers her a hundred ducats, -or scudi, per una nottina. The girl says that she must consult her -mother. The mother advises her to accept the offer: she will give the -man a drug, and the money will serve for a dowry. The man, roused in the -morning, counts out the money with one hand and wipes his eyes with the -other. When asked why he is crying, he replies that the money is not the -loss he weeps for, and makes a second offer of the same amount. The girl -wishes to refer the matter to her mother again, but the gallant says the -mother shall not take him in a second time. One version (#A#) ends -somewhat more respectably: the girl declares that, having come off with -her honor once, she will not again expose herself to shame. #A.# -Ferraro, Canti popolari monferrini, 'La Ragazza onesta,' p. 66, No 47. -#B.# Ferraro, C. p. di Ferrara, Cento e Pontelagoscuro, p. 53 (Cento) No -4, 'La Ragazza onesta.' #C.# The same, p. 94 (Pontelagoscuro) No 8, 'La -Brunetta,' previously in Rivista di Filologia Romanza, II, 200. #D.# -Wolf, Volkslieder aus Venetien, p. 74, 'La Contadina alla Fonte.' #E.# -Bernoni, C. p. veneziani, Puntata V, No 4, p. 6, 'La bella Brunetta.' -#F.# Bolza, Canzoni p. comasche, p. 677, No 57, 'L'Amante deluso.' #G.# -Ive, C. p. istriani, p. 324, No 4, 'La Contadina alla Fonte.' #H.# -Ginandrea, C. p. marchigiani, p. 277, No 12, 'La Madre indegna.' #I.# -Ferraro, C. p. della Bassa Romagna, Rivista di Letteratura popolare, p. -57, 'La Ragazza onesta.' #J.# Casetti e Imbriani, C. p. della Provincie -meridionali, p. 1, No 1 (Chieti), the first sixteen verses. #K.# -Archivio per Tradizioni popolari, I, 89, No 4, 'La Fandéll e lu -Cavalére,' the first thirteen lines. - -'The Sleepy Merchant,' a modern ballad, in Kinloch's MSS, V, 26, was -perhaps fashioned on some traditional report of the story in Il -Pecorone. The girl gives the merchant a drink, and when the sun is up -starts to her feet, crying, "I'm a leal maiden yet!" The merchant comes -back, and gets another dram, but "tooms it a' between the bolster and -the wa," and then sits up and sings. - -A ballad found everywhere in Germany, but always in what appears to be -an extremely defective form, must originally, one would think, have had -some connection with those which we are considering. A hunter meets a -girl on the heath, and takes her with him to his hut, where they pass -the night. She rouses him in the morning, and proclaims herself still a -maid. The hunter is so chagrined that he is of a mind to kill her, but -spares her life. 'Der Jäger,' 'Der ernsthafte Jäger,' 'Des Jägers -Verdruss,' 'Der Jäger und die reine Jungfrau,' 'Der verschlafene Jäger:' -Meinert, p. 203; Wunderhorn, 1857, I, 274, Birlinger u. Crecelius, I, -190; Büsching u. von der Hagen, p. 134, No 51; Nicolai, Almanach, I, 77 -(fragment); Erk u. Irmer, ii, 12, No 15; Meier, p. 305, No 170; Pröhle, -No 54, p. 81; Fiedler, p. 175; Erk, Liederhort, pp 377 f, Nos 174, -174^a; Hoffmann u. Richter, p. 202, No 176; Ditfurth, Fränkische -Volkslieder, II, 26 f, Nos 30, 31; Norrenberg, Des dülkener Fiedlers -Liederbuch, No 16, p. 20; J. A. E. Köhler, Volksbrauch im Voigtlande, p. -307; Jeitteles, Volkslied in Steiermark, Archiv für Lit. gesch., IX, -361, etc.; Uhland, No 104, Niederdeutsches Liederbuch, No 59, -'vermuthlich vom Eingang des 17. Jhd.' Cf. Die Mâeget, Flemish, -Büsching u. von der Hagen, p. 311; Willems, p. 160, No 61.[372] - -#A a# is translated by Doenniges, p. 3; by Gerhard, p. 146; by Arndt, -Blütenlese, p. 226. - - -A - - #a.# Scott's Minstrelsy, III, 271, ed. 1803. #b.# Sts. - 8-14; the same, II, 229, ed. 1802. - - 1 - There was a knight and a lady bright, - Had a true tryste at the broom; - The ane gaed early in the morning, - The other in the afternoon. - - 2 - And ay she sat in her mother's bower door, - And ay she made her mane: - 'O whether should I gang to the Broomfield Hill, - Or should I stay at hame? - - 3 - 'For if I gang to the Broomfield Hill, - My maidenhead is gone; - And if I chance to stay at hame, - My love will ca me mansworn.' - - 4 - Up then spake a witch-woman, - Ay from the room aboon: - 'O ye may gang to the Broomfield Hill, - And yet come maiden hame. - - 5 - 'For when ye gang to the Broomfield Hill, - Ye'll find your love asleep, - With a silver belt about his head, - And a broom-cow at his feet. - - 6 - 'Take ye the blossom of the broom, - The blossom it smells sweet, - And strew it at your true-love's head, - And likewise at his feet. - - 7 - 'Take ye the rings off your fingers, - Put them on his right hand, - To let him know, when he doth awake, - His love was at his command.' - - 8 - She pu'd the broom flower on Hive Hill, - And strewd on 's white hals-bane, - And that was to be wittering true - That maiden she had gane. - - 9 - 'O where were ye, my milk-white steed, - That I hae coft sae dear, - That wadna watch and waken me - When there was maiden here?' - - 10 - 'I stamped wi my foot, master, - And gard my bridle ring, - But na kin thing wald waken ye, - Till she was past and gane.' - - 11 - 'And wae betide ye, my gay goss-hawk, - That I did love sae dear, - That wadna watch and waken me - When there was maiden here.' - - 12 - 'I clapped wi my wings, master, - And aye my bells I rang, - And aye cry'd, Waken, waken, master, - Before the ladye gang.' - - 13 - 'But haste and haste, my gude white steed, - To come the maiden till, - Or a' the birds of gude green wood - Of your flesh shall have their fill.' - - 14 - 'Ye need na burst your gude white steed - Wi racing oer the howm; - Nae bird flies faster through the wood, - Than she fled through the broom.' - - -B - - Herd, Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, 1769, p. 310. - - 1 - 'I'll wager, I'll wager, I'll wager with you - Five hundred merks and ten, - That a maid shanae go to yon bonny green wood, - And a maiden return agen.' - - 2 - 'I'll wager, I'll wager, I'll wager with you - Five hundred merks and ten, - That a maid shall go to yon bonny green wood, - And a maiden return agen.' - - * * * * * * * - - 3 - She's pu'd the blooms aff the broom-bush, - And strewd them on 's white hass-bane: - 'This is a sign whereby you may know - That a maiden was here, but she's gane.' - - 4 - 'O where was you, my good gray steed, - That I hae loed sae dear? - O why did you not awaken me - When my true love was here?' - - 5 - 'I stamped with my foot, master, - And gard my bridle ring, - But you wadnae waken from your sleep - Till your love was past and gane.' - - 6 - 'Now I may sing as dreary a sang - As the bird sung on the brier, - For my true love is far removd, - And I'll neer see her mair.' - - -C - - Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 291. - - 1 - There was a knight and lady bright - Set trysts amo the broom, - The one to come at morning ear, - The other at afternoon. - - 2 - 'I'll wager a wager wi you,' he said, - 'An hundred merks and ten, - That ye shall not go to Broomfield Hills, - Return a maiden again.' - - 3 - 'I'll wager a wager wi you,' she said, - 'A hundred pounds and ten, - That I will gang to Broomfield Hills, - A maiden return again.' - - 4 - The lady stands in her bower door, - And thus she made her mane: - 'O shall I gang to Broomfield Hills, - Or shall I stay at hame? - - 5 - 'If I do gang to Broomfield Hills, - A maid I'll not return; - But if I stay from Broomfield Hills, - I'll be a maid mis-sworn.' - - 6 - Then out it speaks an auld witch-wife, - Sat in the bower aboon: - 'O ye shall gang to Broomfield Hills, - Ye shall not stay at hame. - - 7 - 'But when ye gang to Broomfield Hills, - Walk nine times round and round; - Down below a bonny burn bank, - Ye'll find your love sleeping sound. - - 8 - 'Ye'll pu the bloom frae aff the broom, - Strew 't at his head and feet, - And aye the thicker that ye do strew, - The sounder he will sleep. - - 9 - 'The broach that is on your napkin, - Put it on his breast bane, - To let him know, when he does wake, - That's true love's come and gane. - - 10 - 'The rings that are on your fingers, - Lay them down on a stane, - To let him know, when he does wake, - That's true love's come and gane. - - 11 - 'And when ye hae your work all done, - Ye'll gang to a bush o' broom, - And then you'll hear what he will say, - When he sees ye are gane.' - - 12 - When she came to Broomfield Hills, - She walkd it nine times round, - And down below yon burn bank, - She found him sleeping sound. - - 13 - She pu'd the bloom frae aff the broom, - Strew'd it at 's head and feet, - And aye the thicker that she strewd, - The sounder he did sleep. - - 14 - The broach that was on her napkin, - She put on his breast bane, - To let him know, when he did wake, - His love was come and gane. - - 15 - The rings that were on her fingers, - She laid upon a stane, - To let him know, when he did wake, - His love was come and gane. - - 16 - Now when she had her work all dune, - She went to a bush o broom, - That she might hear what he did say, - When he saw she was gane. - - 17 - 'O where were ye, my guid grey hound, - That I paid for sae dear, - Ye didna waken me frae my sleep - When my true love was sae near?' - - 18 - 'I scraped wi my foot, master, - Till a' my collars rang, - But still the mair that I did scrape, - Waken woud ye nane.' - - 19 - 'Where were ye, my berry-brown steed, - That I paid for sae dear, - That ye woudna waken me out o my sleep - When my love was sae near?' - - 20 - 'I patted wi my foot, master, - Till a' my bridles rang, - But still the mair that I did patt, - Waken woud ye nane.' - - 21 - 'O where were ye, my gay goss-hawk, - That I paid for sae dear, - That ye woudna waken me out o my sleep - When ye saw my love near?' - - 22 - 'I flapped wi my wings, master, - Till a' my bells they rang, - But still the mair that I did flap, - Waken woud ye nane.' - - 23 - 'O where were ye, my merry young men, - That I pay meat and fee, - Ye woudna waken me out o' my sleep - When my love ye did see?' - - 24 - 'Ye'll sleep mair on the night, master, - And wake mair on the day; - Gae sooner down to Broomfield Hills - When ye've sic pranks to play. - - 25 - 'If I had seen any armed men - Come riding over the hill-- - But I saw but a fair lady - Come quietly you until.' - - 26 - 'O wae mat worth you, my young men, - That I pay meat and fee, - That ye woudna waken me frae sleep - When ye my love did see. - - 27 - 'O had I waked when she was nigh, - And o her got my will, - I shoudna cared upon the morn - Tho sma birds o her were fill.' - - 28 - When she went out, right bitter wept, - But singing came she hame; - Says, I hae been at Broomfield Hills, - And maid returnd again. - - -D - - Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 195. - - 1 - 'I'll wager, I'll wager,' says Lord John, - 'A hundred merks and ten, - That ye winna gae to the bonnie broom-fields, - And a maid return again.' - - 2 - 'But I'll lay a wager wi you, Lord John, - A' your merks oure again, - That I'll gae alane to the bonnie broom-fields, - And a maid return again.' - - 3 - Then Lord John mounted his grey steed, - And his hound wi his bells sae bricht, - And swiftly he rade to the bonny broom-fields, - Wi his hawks, like a lord or knicht. - - 4 - 'Now rest, now rest, my bonnie grey steed, - My lady will soon be here, - And I'll lay my head aneath this rose sae red, - And the bonnie burn sae near.' - - 5 - But sound, sound was the sleep he took, - For he slept till it was noon, - And his lady cam at day, left a taiken and away, - Gaed as licht as a glint o the moon. - - 6 - She strawed the roses on the ground, - Threw her mantle on the brier, - And the belt around her middle sae jimp, - As a taiken that she'd been there. - - 7 - The rustling leaves flew round his head, - And rousd him frae his dream; - He saw by the roses, and mantle sae green, - That his love had been there and was gane. - - 8 - 'O whare was ye, my gude grey steed, - That I coft ye sae dear, - That ye didna waken your master, - Whan ye kend that his love was here?' - - 9 - 'I pautit wi my foot, master, - Garrd a' my bridles ring, - And still I cried, Waken, gude master, - For now is the hour and time.' - - 10 - 'Then whare was ye, my bonnie grey hound, - That I coft ye sae dear, - That ye didna waken your master, - Whan ye kend that his love was here?' - - 11 - 'I pautit wi my foot, master, - Garrd a' my bells to ring, - And still I cried, Waken, gude master, - For now is the hour and time.' - - 12 - 'But whare was ye, my hawks, my hawks, - That I coft ye sae dear, - That ye didna waken your master, - Whan ye kend that his love was here?' - - 13 - 'O wyte na me, now, my master dear, - I garrd a' my young hawks sing, - And still I cried, Waken, gude master, - For now is the hour and time.' - - 14 - 'Then be it sae, my wager gane, - 'T will skaith frae meikle ill, - For gif I had found her in bonnie broom-fields, - O her heart's blude ye'd drunken your fill.' - - -E - - Joseph Robertson's Note-Book, January 1, 1830, p. 7. - - 1 - 'I'll wager, I'll wager wi you, fair maid, - Five hunder punds and ten, - That a maid winna gae to the bonnie green bower, - An a maid return back agen.' - - 2 - 'I'll wager, I'll wager wi you, kin' sir, - Five hunder punds and ten, - That a maid I'll gang to the bonnie green bower, - An a maid return again.' - - 3 - But when she cam to the bonnie green bower, - Her true-love was fast asleep; - Sumtimes she kist his rosie, rosie lips, - An his breath was wondrous sweet. - - 4 - Sometimes she went to the crown o his head, - Sometimes to the soles o his feet, - Sometimes she kist his rosie, rosie lips, - An his breath was wondrous sweet. - - 5 - She's taen a ring frae her finger, - Laid it upon his breast-bane; - It was for a token that she had been there, - That she had been there, but was gane. - - 6 - 'Where was you, where was ye, my merrymen a', - That I do luve sae dear, - That ye didna waken me out o my sleep - When my true love was here? - - 7 - 'Where was ye, where was ye, my gay goshawk, - That I do luve sae dear, - That ye didna waken me out o my sleep - When my true love was here?' - - 8 - 'Wi my wings I flaw, kin' sir, - An wi my bill I sang, - But ye woudna waken out o yer sleep - Till your true love was gane.' - - 9 - 'Where was ye, my bonnie grey steed, - That I do luve sae dear, - That ye didna waken me out o my sleep - When my true love was here?' - - 10 - 'I stampit wi my fit, maister, - And made my bridle ring, - But ye wadna waken out o yer sleep, - Till your true love was gane.' - - -F - - #a.# Douce Ballads, III, fol. 64b: Newcastle, printed and - sold by John White, in Pilgrim Street. #b.# Douce Ballads, - IV, fol. 10. - - 1 - A noble young squire that livd in the west, - He courted a young lady gay, - And as he was merry, he put forth a jest, - A wager with her he would lay. - - 2 - 'A wager with me?' the young lady reply'd, - 'I pray, about what must it be? - If I like the humour you shan't be deny'd; - I love to be merry and free.' - - 3 - Quoth he, 'I will lay you an hundred pounds, - A hundred pounds, aye, and ten, - That a maid if you go to the merry broomfield, - That a maid you return not again.' - - 4 - 'I'll lay you that wager,' the lady she said, - Then the money she flung down amain; - 'To the merry broomfield I'll go a pure maid, - The same I'll return home again.' - - 5 - He coverd her bett in the midst of the hall - With an hundred and ten jolly pounds, - And then to his servant straightway he did call, - For to bring forth his hawk and his hounds. - - 6 - A ready obedience the servant did yield, - And all was made ready oer night; - Next morning he went to the merry broomfield, - To meet with his love and delight. - - 7 - Now when he came there, having waited a while, - Among the green broom down he lies; - The lady came to him, and coud not but smile, - For sleep then had closed his eyes. - - 8 - Upon his right hand a gold ring she secur'd, - Down from her own finger so fair, - That when he awaked he might be assur'd - His lady and love had been there. - - 9 - She left him a posie of pleasant perfume, - Then stept from the place where he lay; - Then hid herself close in the besom of the broom, - To hear what her true-love would say. - - 10 - He wakend and found the gold ring on his hand, - Then sorrow of heart he was in: - 'My love has been here, I do well understand, - And this wager I now shall not win. - - 11 - 'O where was you, my goodly gawshawk, - The which I have purchasd so dear? - Why did you not waken me out of my sleep - When the lady, my lover, was here?' - - 12 - 'O with my bells did I ring, master, - And eke with my feet did I run; - And still did I cry, Pray awake, master, - She's here now, and soon will be gone.' - - 13 - 'O where was you, my gallant greyhound, - Whose collar is flourishd with gold? - Why hadst thou not wakend me out of my sleep - When thou didst my lady behold?' - - 14 - 'Dear master, I barkd with my mouth when she came, - And likewise my coller I shook, - And told you that here was the beautiful dame, - But no notice of me then you took.' - - 15 - 'O where was thou, my serving-man, - Whom I have cloathed so fine? - If you had wak'd me when she was here, - The wager then had been mine.' - - 16 - 'In the night ye should have slept, master, - And kept awake in the day; - Had you not been sleeping when hither she came, - Then a maid she had not gone away.' - - 17 Then home he returnd, when the wager was lost, - With sorrow of heart, I may say; - The lady she laughd to find her love crost,-- - This was upon midsummer-day. - - 18 - 'O squire, I laid in the bushes conceald, - And heard you when you did complain; - And thus I have been to the merry broomfield, - And a maid returnd back again. - - 19 - 'Be chearful, be chearful, and do not repine, - For now 't is as clear as the sun, - The money, the money, the money is mine, - The wager I fairly have won.' - - * * * * * - -#A. b.# - - 8^1. flower frae the bush. - - 8^3. a witter true. - - 9^2. I did love. - - 11^1. gray goshawk. - - 11^2. sae well. - - 11^3. When my love was here hersell. - - 12^4. Afore your true love gang. - - 13^3. in good. - - 14^{2-4}. - - By running oer the howm; - Nae hare runs swifter oer the lea - Nor your love ran thro the broom. - -#E# - - _concludes with these stanzas, which do not belong to this - ballad_: - - 11 - 'Rise up, rise up, my bonnie grey cock, - And craw when it is day, - An your neck sall be o the beaten gowd, - And your wings o the silver lay.' - - 12 - But the cock provd fauss, and untrue he was, - And he crew three hour ower seen, - The lassie thocht it day, and sent her love away, - An it was but a blink o the meen. - - 13 - 'If I had him but agen,' she says, - 'O if I but had him agen, - The best grey cock that ever crew at morn - Should never bereave me o 's charms.' - -#F. a.# - - 8^2. fingers. - - 11^1, 13^1. Oh. - - 15^2. I am. - - #b.# - - 2^2. I pray you now, what. - - 3^1. Said he. - - 3^4. _omits_ That. - - 4^3. _omits_ pure. - - 4^4. And the ... back again. - - 5^2. ten good. - - 5^3. he strait. - - 5^4. _omits_ For. - - 6^1. his servants. - - 6^2. _omits_ made. - - 6^4. his joy. - - 7^4. sleep had fast. - - 8^2. finger. - - 9^3. in the midst. - - 9^4. what her lover. - - 10^1. Awaking he found. - - 10^2. of bearst. - - 10^3. _omits_ do. - - 11^3. wake. - - 11^4. and lover. - - 12^{1,2}. I did. - - 12^3. wake. - - 12^4. here and she. - - 13^3. Why did you not wake. - - 14^1. I barked aloud when. - - 14^3. that there was my. - - 15^2. I have. - - 15^3. when she had been here. - - 15^4. had been surely mine. - - 16^1. _omits_ should. - - 17^3. to see. - - 18^1. lay. - - 18^3. so I. - - 18^4. have returnd. - - #b# _has no imprint._ - - -[366] Furnivall, Captain Cox, his Ballads and Books, pp cxxvii f. Ritson -cited the comedy in the dissertation prefixed to his Ancient Songs, -1790, p. lx. - -[367] Motherwell remarks, at page 42 of his Introduction, "The song is -popular still, and is often to be met with." It was printed in a cheap -American song-book, which I have not been able to recover, under the -title of 'The Green Broomfield,' and with some cis-atlantic variations. -Graham's Illustrated Magazine, September, 1858, gives these stanzas: - - "Then when she went to the green broom field, - Where her love was fast asleep, - With a gray _goose_-hawk and a green laurel bough, - And a green broom under his feet. - - "And when he awoke from out his sleep, - An angry man was he; - He looked to the East, and he looked to the West, - And he wept for his sweetheart to see. - - "Oh! where was you, my gray _goose_-hawk, - The hawk that I loved so dear, - That you did not awake me from out my sleep, - When my sweetheart was so near?" - -[368] The broadside is also copied into Buchan's MSS, II, 197. - -[369] The Anglo-Latin text in Harleian MS. 2270, No 48. - -[370] Sy ... bereytte keyn abende das bette met der czöberye met der -schryft und met des wylden mannes veddere, p. 145, lines 8, 10-12; das -quam alles von der czoyberye, das die jungfrowe dy knaben alle beczobert -hatte met schryft und met bryven, dy sy en under dy höbt leyte under dy -kussen, und met den veddern von den wylden ruchen lüten, lines 1-5. Only -_one_ letter and one feather is employed in each case. - -[371] Svefnþorn, Danish søvntorn, or søvnpreen: blundstafir, -sleep-staves, rods (if not letters, runes) in Sigrdrífumál, 2. - -[372] The first stanza of the German ballad occurs in a music-book of -1622: Hoffmann u. Richter, p. 202, who add that the ballad is extant in -Dutch and Flemish. - - - - -44 - -THE TWA MAGICIANS - - Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 24; - Motherwell's MS., p. 570. - - -A base-born cousin of a pretty ballad known over all Southern Europe, -and elsewhere, and in especially graceful forms in France. - -The French ballad generally begins with a young man's announcing that he -has won a mistress, and intends to pay her a visit on Sunday, or to give -her an _aubade_. She declines his visit, or his music. To avoid him she -will turn, e. g., into a rose; then he will turn bee, and kiss her. She -will turn quail; he sportsman, and bag her. She will turn carp; he -angler, and catch her. She will turn hare; and he hound. She will turn -nun; he priest, and confess her day and night. She will fall sick; he -will watch with her, or be her doctor. She will become a star; he a -cloud, and muffle her. She will die; he will turn earth, into which they -will put her, or St Peter, and receive her into Paradise. In the end she -says, Since you are inevitable, you may as well have me as another; or -more complaisantly, Je me donnerai à toi, puisque tu m'aimes tant. - -This ballad might probably be found anywhere in France, but most of the -known versions are from south of the Loire. #A.# Romania, X, 390, E. -Legrand, from Normandy; also known in Champagne. #B.# 'Les -Transformations,' V. Smith, Vielles Chansons du Velay et du Forez, -Romania, VII, 61 ff. #C.# Poésies populaires de la France, MS., III, -fol. 233, Vienne. #D.# The same, II, fol. 39, Guéret, Creuse. #E, F.# -The same volume, fol. 41, fol. 42. #G.# 'La maitresse gagnée,' the same -volume, fol. 38: "on chante cette chanson sur les confines du -département de l'Ain qui le séparent de la Savoie."[373] #H.# 'J'ai fait -une maitresse,' Champfleury, Chansons populaires des Provinces, p. 90, -Bourbonnais. #I.# 'Adiu, Margaridoto,' Bladé, Poésies pop. de la -Gascogne, II, 361. #J.# Mélusine, col. 338 f, Carcasonne. #K.# Montel et -Lambert, Chansons pop. du Languedoc, p. 544-51, and Revue des Langues -romanes, XII, 261-67, four copies. #L.# 'Les Transfourmatiens,' Arbaud, -II, 128. The Provençal ballad is introduced by Mistral into Mirèio, -Chant III, as the song of Magali. #M.# 'La Poursuite d'Amour,' Marelle, -in Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen, LVI, 191. #N.# 'J'ai -fait une maitresse,' Gagnon, Chansons populaires du Canada, p. 137, and -Lovell, Recueil de Chansons canadiennes, 'Chanson de Voyageur,' p. 68. -#O.# Gagnon, p. 78. - -#Catalan.# Closely resembling the French: #A.# 'La Esquerpa,' Briz, -Cansons de la Terra, I, 125. #B, C, D.# 'Las Transformaciones,' Milá, -Romancerillo Catalan, p. 393, No 513. - -#Italian.# Reduced to a _rispetto_, Tigri, Canti popolari toscani, ed. -1860, p. 241, No 861. - -#Roumanian.# 'Cucul si Turturica,' Alecsandri, Poesi[ve] populare ale -Românilor, p. 7, No 3; French version, by the same, Ballades et Chants -populaires, p. 35, No 7; Schuller, Romänische Volkslieder, p. 47. The -cuckoo, or the lover under that style, asks the dove to be his mistress -till Sunday. The dove, for his sake, would not say No, but because of -his mother, who is a witch, if not let alone will change into a roll, -and hide under the ashes. Then he will turn into a shovel, and get her -out. She will turn into a reed, and hide in the pond. He will come as -shepherd to find a reed for a flute, put her to his lips, and cover her -with kisses. She will change to an image, and hide in the depths of the -church. He will come every day in the week, as deacon or chorister, to -kiss the images (a pious usage in those parts), and she will not thus -escape him. Schuller refers to another version, in Schuster's unprinted -collection, in which youth and maid carry on this contest in their -proper persons, and not under figure. - -#Ladin.# Flugi, Die Volkslieder des Engadin, p. 83, No 12. "Who is the -younker that goes a-field ere dawn? Who is his love?" "A maid all too -fair, with dowry small enough." "Maid, wilt give me a rose?" "No; my -father has forbidden." "Wilt be my love?" "Rather a seed, and hide in -the earth." "Then I will be a bird, and pick thee out," etc. - -#Greek.# Tommaseo, III, 61, Passow, p. 431, No 574a. A girl tells her -mother she will kill herself rather than accept the Turk: she will turn -swallow, and take to the woods. The mother replies, Turn what you will, -he will turn hunter, and take you from me. The same kernel of this -ballad of transformations in Comparetti, Saggi dei Dialetti greci dell' -Italia meridionale, p. 38, No 36, as M. Paul Meyer has remarked, Revue -Critique, II, 302. - -The ballad is well known to the Slavic nations. - -#Moravian.# [vC]elakovský, p. 75, No 6, Wenzig, Slawische Volkslieder, -p. 72, Bibliothek slavischer Poesien, p. 92. A youth threatens to carry -off a maid for his wife. She will fly to the wood as a dove. He has a -rifle that will bring her down. She will jump into the water as a fish. -He has a net that will take the fish. She will turn to a hare; he to a -dog; she cannot escape him. - -#Polish.# Very common. #A a.# Wac[/l]aw z Oleska, p. 417, No 287; -Konopka, p. 124. A young man says, though he should ride night and day -for it, ride his horse's eyes out, the maid must be his. She will turn -to a bird, and take to the thicket. But carpenters have axes which can -fell a wood. Then she will be a fish, and take to the water. But -fishermen have nets which will find her. Then she will become a wild -duck, and swim on the lake. Sportsmen have rifles to shoot ducks. Then -she will be a star in the sky, and give light to the people. He has a -feeling for the poor, and will bring the star down to the earth by his -prayers. "I see," she says, "it's God's ordinance; whithersoever I -betake myself, you are up with me; I will be yours after all." Nearly -the same mutations in other versions, with some variety of introduction -and arrangement. #A b.# Kolberg, Lud, VI, 129, No 257. #A c.# -"Przyjaciel ludu, 1836, rok 2, No 34;" Lipi[/n]ski, p. 135; Kolberg, Lud -XII, 98, No 193. #B.# Pauli, Pie[/s][/n]i ludu polskiego, I, 135. #C.# -The same, p. 133. #D.# Kolberg, Lud, XII, 99, No 194. #E.# Lud, IV, 19, -No 137. #F.# Lud, XII, 97, No 192. #G.# Lud, II, 134, No 161. #H.# Lud, -VI, 130, No 258. #I.# Woicicki, I, 141, Waldbrühl, Slawische Balalaika, -p. 433. #J. a, b.# Roger, p. 147, No 285, p. 148, No 286. - -#Servian.# Karadshitch, I, 434, No 602; Talvj, II, 100; Kapper, II, 208; -Pellegrini, p. 37. Rather than be her lover's, the maid will turn into a -gold-jug in a drinking-house; he will be mine host. She will change into -a cup in a coffee-house; he will be _cafetier_. She will become a quail, -he a sportsman; a fish, he a net. Pellegrini has still another form, 'La -fanciulla assediata,' p. 93. An old man desires a maid. She will rather -turn into a lamb; he will turn into a wolf. She will become a quail; he -a hawk. She will change into a rose; he into a goat, and tear off the -rose from the tree. - -There can be little doubt that these ballads are derived, or take their -hint, from popular tales, in which (1) a youth and maid, pursued by a -sorcerer, fiend, giant, ogre, are transformed by the magical powers of -one or the other into such shapes as enable them to elude, and finally -to escape, apprehension; or (2) a young fellow, who has been apprenticed -to a sorcerer, fiend, etc., and has acquired the black art by -surreptitious reading in his master's books, being pursued, as before, -assumes a variety of forms, and his master others, adapted to the -destruction of his intended victim, until the tables are turned by the -fugitive's taking on the stronger figure and despatching his adversary. - -Specimens of the first kind are afforded by Gonzenbach, Sicilianische -Märchen, Nos 14, 15, 54, 55; Grimms, Nos 51, 56, 113; Schneller, No 27; -Pitrè, Fiabe, Novelle e Racconti siciliani, No 15; Imbriani, Novellaja -milanese, No 27, N. fiorentana, No 29; Maspons y Labrós, Rondallayre, I, -85, II, 30; Cosquin, Contes lorrains, in Romania, V, 354; Ralston's -Russian Folk-Tales, p. 129 f, from Afanasief V, No 23; Bechstein, -Märchenbuch, p. 75, ed. 1879, which combines both. Others in Köhler's -note to Gonzenbach, No 14, at II, 214. - -Of the second kind, among very many, are Straparola, viii, 5, see -Grimms, III, 288, Louveau et Larivey, II, 152; Grimms, Nos 68, 117; -Müllenhoff, No 27, p. 466; Pröhle, Märchen für die Jugend, No 26; -Asbjørnsen og Moe, No 57; Grundtvig, Gamle danske Minder, 1854, Nos 255, -256; Hahn, Griechische Märchen, No 68; the Breton tale Koadalan, Luzel, -in Revue Celtique, I, 106/107; the Schotts, Walachische Mærchen, No -18;[374] Woicicki, Klechdy, II, 26, No 4; Karadshitch, No 6; Afanasief, -V, 95 f, No 22, VI, 189 ff, No 45 a, b, and other Russian and Little -Russian versions, VIII, 340. Köhler adds several examples of one kind or -the other in a note to Koadalan, Revue Celtique, I, 132, and Wollner -Slavic parallels in a note to Leskien und Brugman, Litanische -Volkslieder und Märchen, p. 537 f. - -The usual course of events in these last is that the prentice takes -refuge in one of many pomegranate kernels, barley-corns, poppy-seeds, -millet-grains, pearls; the master becomes a cock, hen, sparrow, and -picks up all of these but one, which turns into a fox, dog, weasel, -crow, cat, hawk, vulture, that kills the bird. - -The same story occurs in the Turkish Forty Viziers, Behrnauer, p. 195 -ff, the last transformations being millet, cock, man, who tears off the -cock's head. Also in the introduction to Siddhi-Kür, Jülg, pp 1-3, where -there are seven masters instead of one, and the final changes are worms, -instead of seeds, seven hens, a man with a cane who kills the hens.[375] - -The pomegranate and cock (found in Straparola) are among the -metamorphoses in the contest between the afrite and the princess in the -tale of the Second Calender in the Arabian Nights. - -Entirely similar is the pursuit of Gwion the pigmy by the goddess -Koridgwen, cited by Villemarqué, Barzaz Breiz, p. lvi, ed. 1867, from -the Myvyrian Archaiology of Wales, I, 17. Gwion having, by an accident, -come to the knowledge of superhuman mysteries, Koridgwen wishes to take -his life. He flees, and turns successively into a hare, fish, bird; she -follows, in the form of hound, otter, hawk; finally he becomes a wheaten -grain, she a hen, and swallows the grain. - -The ordinary tale has found its way into rhyme in a German broadside -ballad, Longard, Altrheinländische Mährlein und Liedlein, p. 76, No 40, -'Von einem gottlosen Zauberer und seiner unschuldigen Kindlein -wunderbarer Erlösung.' The two children of an ungodly magician, a boy -and a girl, are devoted by him to the devil. The boy had read in his -father's books while his father was away. They flee, and are pursued: -the girl becomes a pond, the boy a fish. The wicked wizard goes for a -net. The boy pronounces a spell, by which the girl is turned into a -chapel, and he into an image on the altar. The wizard, unable to get at -the image, goes for fire. The boy changes the girl into a -threshing-floor, himself into a barley-corn. The wizard becomes a hen, -and is about to swallow the grain of barley. By another spell the boy -changes himself into a fox, and then twists the hen's neck. - - * * * * * - -Translated by Gerhard, p. 18. - - - * * * * * - - 1 - The lady stands in her bower door, - As straight as willow wand; - The blacksmith stood a little forebye, - Wi hammer in his hand. - - 2 - 'Weel may ye dress ye, lady fair, - Into your robes o red; - Before the morn at this same time, - I'll gain your maidenhead.' - - 3 - 'Awa, awa, ye coal-black smith, - Woud ye do me the wrang - To think to gain my maidenhead, - That I hae kept sae lang!' - - 4 - Then she has hadden up her hand, - And she sware by the mold, - 'I wudna be a blacksmith's wife - For the full o a chest o gold. - - 5 - 'I'd rather I were dead and gone, - And my body laid in grave, - Ere a rusty stock o coal-black smith - My maidenhead shoud have.' - - 6 - But he has hadden up his hand, - And he sware by the mass, - 'I'll cause ye be my light leman - For the hauf o that and less.' - - O bide, lady, bide, - And aye he bade her bide; - The rusty smith your leman shall be, - For a' your muckle pride. - - 7 - Then she became a turtle dow, - To fly up in the air, - And he became another dow, - And they flew pair and pair. - O bide, lady, bide, &c. - - 8 - She turnd hersell into an eel, - To swim into yon burn, - And he became a speckled trout, - To gie the eel a turn. - O bide, lady, bide, &c. - - 9 - Then she became a duck, a duck, - To puddle in a peel, - And he became a rose-kaimd drake, - To gie the duck a dreel. - O bide, lady, bide, &c. - - 10 - She turnd hersell into a hare, - To rin upon yon hill, - And he became a gude grey-hound, - And boldly he did fill. - O bide, lady, bide, &c. - - 11 - Then she became a gay grey mare, - And stood in yonder slack, - And he became a gilt saddle. - And sat upon her back. - Was she wae, he held her sae, - And still he bade her bide; - The rusty smith her leman was, - For a' her muckle pride. - - 12 - Then she became a het girdle, - And he became a cake, - And a' the ways she turnd hersell, - The blacksmith was her make. - Was she wae, &c. - - 13 - She turnd hersell into a ship, - To sail out ower the flood; - He ca'ed a nail intill her tail, - And syne the ship she stood. - Was she wae, &c. - - 14 - Then she became a silken plaid, - And stretchd upon a bed, - And he became a green covering, - And gaind her maidenhead. - Was she wae, &c. - - -[373] There are two other versions in this great collection besides the -five cited, but either I have overlooked these, or they are in Volume -VI, not yet received. - -[374] The Schotts are reminded by their story that Wade puts his son -Weland in apprenticeship to Mimir Smith, and to the dwarfs. They might -have noted that the devil, in the Wallachian tale, wishes to keep his -prentice a second year, as the dwarfs wish to do in the case of Weland. -That little trait comes, no doubt, from Weland's story; but we will not, -therefore, conclude that our smith is Weland Smith, and his adventure -with the lady founded upon that of Weland with Nidung's daughter. - -[375] See Benfey, Pantschatantra, I, 410 f, who maintains the Mongol -tale to be of Indian origin, and thinks the story to have been derived -from the contests in magic between Buddhist and Brahman saints, of which -many are related in Buddhist legends. - - - - -45 - -KING JOHN AND THE BISHOP - - #A.# 'Kinge John and Bishoppe,' Percy MS., p. 184; Hales - and Furnivall, I, 508. - - #B.# 'King John and the Abbot of Canterbury,' broadside - printed for P. Brooksby. - - -The broadside #B# was printed, with trifling variations, or corrections, -in Pills to purge Melancholy, IV, 29 (1719), and in Old Ballads, II, 49 -(1723). It is found in several of the collections: Pepys, II, 128, No -112; Roxburghe, III, 883; Ouvry, No 47; the Bagford; and it was among -Heber's ballads. Brooksby published from 1672 to 1695, and #B# was -"allowed" by Roger l'Estrange, who was licenser from 1663 to 1685: -Chappell, The Roxburghe Ballads, I, xviii, xxiii. The title of #B# is A -_new_ ballad of King John and the Abbot of Canterbury, to the tune of -'The King and the Lord Abbot.'[376] This older ballad seems not to have -come down. - -There are at least two other broadsides extant upon the same subject, -both mentioned by Percy, and both inferior even to #B#, and in a far -less popular style: 'The King and the Bishop,' Pepys, I, 472, No 243, -Roxburghe, III, 170, Douce, fol. 110; and 'The Old Abbot and King -Olfrey,' Douce, II, fol. 169, Pepys, II, 127, No 111, printed in Old -Ballads, II, 55.[377] In both of these the Shepherd is the Bishop's -brother, which he is not in #B#; in #A# he is half-brother. Pepys's -Penny Merriments contain, I, 14, 'The pleasant History of King Henry the -Eighth and the Abbot of Reading.'[378] This last may, without rashness, -be assumed to be a variation of 'King John and the Abbot.' - -Percy admitted 'King John and the Abbot' to his Reliques, II, 302, -introducing many lines from #A# "worth reviving," and many improvements -of his own,[379] and thus making undeniably a very good ballad out of a -very poor one. - -The story of this ballad was told in Scotland, some fifty years ago, of -the Gudeman of Ballengeigh, James the V, the hero of not a few other -tales. Once on a time, falling in with the priest of Markinch (near -Falkland), and finding him a dullard, he gave the poor man four -questions to think of till they next met, with an intimation that his -benefice would be lost were they not rightly answered. The questions -were those of our ballad, preceded by Where is the middle of the earth? -The parson could make nothing of them, and was forced to resort to a -miller of the neighborhood, who was reputed a clever fellow. When called -to answer the first question, the miller put out his staff, and said, -There, as your majesty will find by measuring. The others were dealt -with as in the ballad. The king said that the miller should have the -parson's place, but the miller begged off from this in favor of the -incumbent. Small, Interesting Roman Antiquities recently discovered in -Fife, p. 289 ff. - -Riddle stories in which a forfeit is to be paid by a vanquished party -have incidentally been referred to under No 1 and No 2. They are a very -extensive class. The oldest example is that of Samson's riddle, with a -stake of thirty sheets (or shirts) and thirty change of garments: -Judges, xiv, 12 ff. Another from Semitic tradition is what is related of -Solomon and Hiram of Tyre, in Josephus against Apion, i, 17, 18, and -Antiquities, viii, 5. After the manner of Amasis and the Æthiopian king -in Plutarch (see p. 13), they send one another riddles, with a heavy -fine for failure,--in this case a pecuniary one. Solomon at first poses -Hiram; then Hiram guesses Solomon's riddles, by the aid of Abdemon (or -the son of Abdemon), and in turn poses Solomon with riddles devised by -Abdemon.[380] - -'Pá grönaliðheiði,' Landstad, p. 369, is a contest in riddles between -two brothers (refreshingly original in some parts), introduced by three -stanzas, in which it is agreed that the defeated party shall forfeit his -share of their inheritance: and this the editor seems to take quite -seriously. - -Death is the penalty attending defeat in many of these wit-contests. -Odin (Vafþrúðnismál), jealous of the giant Vafþrúðnir's wisdom, wishes -to put it to test. He enters the giant's hall, assuming the name of -Gagnráðr, and announces the object of his visit. The giant tells him he -shall never go out again unless he prove the wiser, asks a few questions -to see whether he be worth contending with, and, finding him so, -proposes a decisive trial, with their heads for the stake. Odin now -propounds, first, twelve questions, mostly in cosmogony, and then five -relating to the future of the universe; and all these the giant is -perfectly competent to answer. The very unfair question is then put, -What did Odin say in his son's ear ere Balder mounted the funeral pile? -Upon this Vafþrûðnir owns himself vanquished, and we may be sure he was -not spared by his antagonist. - -The Hervarar saga contains a story which, in its outlines, approximates -to that of our ballad until we come to the conclusion, where there is no -likeness. King Heiðrekr, after a long career of blood, gave up war and -took to law-making. He chose his twelve wisest men for judges, and -swore, with one hand on the head and the other on the bristles of a huge -hog which he had reared, that no man should do such things that he -should not get justice from these twelve, while any one who preferred -might clear himself by giving the king riddles which he could not guess. -There was a man named Gestr, and surnamed the Blind, a very bad and -troublesome fellow, who had withheld from Heiðrekr tribute that was due. -The king sent him word to come to him and submit to the judgment of the -twelve: if he did not, the case would be tried with arms. Neither of -these courses pleased Gestr, who was conscious of being very guilty: he -took the resolution of making offerings to Odin for help. One night -there was a knock. Gestr went to the door, and saw a man, who announced -his name as Gestr. After mutual inquiries about the news, the stranger -asked whether Gestr the Blind was not in trouble about something. Gestr -the Blind explained his plight fully, and the stranger said, "I will go -to the king and try what I can effect: we will exchange looks and -clothes." The stranger, in the guise of Gestr, entered the king's hall, -and said, Sire, I am come to make my peace. "Will you abide by the -judgment of my men of law?" asked the king. "Are there not other ways?" -inquired Gestr. "Yes: you shall give me riddles which I cannot guess, -and so purchase your peace." Gestr assented, with feigned hesitation; -chairs were brought, and everybody looked to hear something fine. Gestr -gave, and Heiðrekr promptly answered, some thirty riddles.[381] Then -said Gestr: Tell thou me this only, since thou thinkest to be wiser than -all kings: What said Odin in Balder's ear before he was borne to the -pile? "Shame and cowardice," exclaimed Heiðrekr, "and all manner of -poltroonery, jugglery, goblinry! no one knows those words of thine save -thou thyself, evil and wretched wight!" So saying, Heiðrekr drew -Tyrfing, that never was bared but somebody must fall, to cut down Gestr. -The disguised Odin changed to a hawk, and made for the window, but did -not escape before Heiðrekr's sword had docked the bird's tail. For -breaking his own truce Odin said Heiðrekr should die by the hand of a -slave, which came to pass. Fornaldar Sögur, Rafn, I, 462 ff. - -The same story has come down in a Färöe ballad, 'Gátu ríma,' -Hammershaimb, Færöiske Kvæder, No 4, p. 26 (and previously published in -the Antiquarisk Tidsskrift, 1849-51, pp 75-78), translated by Dr Prior, -I, 336 ff. Gest promises Odin twelve gold marks to take his place. The -riddles are announced as thirteen in number, but the ballad is slightly -defective, and among others the last question, What were Odin's words to -Balder? is lost. Odin flies off in the shape of a falcon; Hejdrek and -all his men are burned up. - -A tale presenting the essential traits of our ballad is cited in Vincent -of Beauvais's Speculum Morale, i, 4, 10, at the end. We read, he says, -of a king, who, seeking a handle for wrenching money out of a wealthy -and wise man, put him three questions, apparently insoluble, intending -to make him pay a large sum for not answering them: 1, Where is the -middle point of the earth? 2, How much water is there in the sea? 3, How -great is the mercy of God? On the appointed day, having been brought -from prison into the presence to ransom himself if he could, the -respondent, by the _advice of a certain philosopher_, proceeded thus. He -planted his staff where he stood, and said, Here is the centre; disprove -it if you can. If you wish me to measure the sea, stop the rivers, so -that nothing may flow in till I have done; then I will give you the -contents. To answer your third question, I must borrow your robes and -your throne. Then mounting the throne, clothed with the royal insignia, -"Behold," said he, "the height of the mercy of God: but now I was a -slave, now I am a king; but now poor, and now rich; but now in prison -and in chains, and now at liberty," etc. - -Of the same stamp is a story in the English Gesta Romanorum, Madden, p. -55, No 19. A knight was accused to the emperor by his enemies, but not -so as to give a plausible ground for steps against him. The emperor -could hit upon no way but to put him questions, on pain of life and -death. The questions were seven; the third and the sixth will suffice: -How many gallons of salt water been in the sea? Answer: Let all the -outpassings of fresh water be stopped, and I shall tell thee. How many -days' journey beth in the circle of the world? Answer: Only the space of -one day. - -Much nearer to the ballad, and earlier than either of the preceding, is -the Stricker's tale of Âmîs and the Bishop, in the Pfaffe Âmîs, dated at -about 1236. Âmîs, a learned and bountiful priest in England, excited the -envy of his bishop, who sent for him, told him that he lived in better -style than his superior, and demanded a subvention. The priest flatly -refused to give the bishop anything but a good dinner. "Then you shall -lose your church," said the bishop in wrath. But the priest, strong in a -good conscience, felt small concern about that: he said the bishop might -test his fitness with any examination he pleased. That I will do, said -the bishop, and gave him five questions. "How much is there in the sea?" -"One tun," answered Âmîs; "and if you think I am not right, stop all the -rivers that flow in, and I will measure it and convince you." "Let the -rivers run," said the bishop. "How many days from Adam to our time?" -"Seven," said the parson; "for as soon as seven are gone, they begin -again." The bishop, fast losing his temper, next demanded "What is the -exact middle of the earth? Tell me, or lose your church." "Why, my -church stands on it," replied Âmîs. "Let your men measure, and take the -church if it prove not so." The bishop declined the task, and asked once -more: How far is it from earth to sky? and then: What is the width of -the sky? to which Âmîs replied after the same fashion. - -In this tale of the Stricker the parson answers for himself, and not by -deputy, and none of the questions are those of our ballad. But in a tale -of Franco Sacchetti,[382] given in two forms, Novella iv^a, we have both -the abbot and his humble representative, and an agreement as to one of -the questions. Bernabò Visconti ([+] 1385) was offended with a rich -abbot, who had neglected some dogs that had been entrusted to his care, -and was minded to make the abbot pay him a fine; but so far yielded to -the abbot's protest as to promise to release him from all penalties if -he could answer four questions: How far is it from here to heaven? How -much water is there in the sea? What is going on in hell? What is the -value of my person? A day was given to get up the answers. The abbot -went home, in the depths of melancholy, and met on the way one of his -millers, who inquired what was the matter, and, after receiving an -explanation, offered to take the abbot's place, disguising himself as -well as he could. The answers to the two first questions are not the -usual ones: huge numbers are given, and the seigneur is told to measure -for himself, if not willing to accept them. The answer to the fourth is -twenty-nine deniers; for our Lord was sold for thirty, and you must be -worth one less than he. Messer Bernabò said the miller should be abbot, -and the abbot miller, from that time forth. Sacchetti says that others -tell the story of a pope and an abbot, adding one question. The gardener -of the monastery presents the abbot, makes the usual answer to the -second question as to the water in the sea, and prizes Christ's vicar at -twenty-eight deniers. - -The excellent old farce, "Ein Spil von einem Kaiser und eim Apt," -Fastnachtspiele aus dem 15^n Jahrhundert, I, 199, No 22, obliges the -abbot to answer three questions, or pay for all the damages done in the -course of a calamitous invasion. The abbot has a week's grace allowed -him. The questions are three: How much water in the sea? How much is the -emperor worth? Whose luck came quickest? The miller answers for the -abbot: Three tubs, if they are big enough; eight and twenty pence; and -_he_ is the man whose luck came quickest, for just before he was a -miller, now he is an abbot. The emperor says that, since the miller has -acted for the abbot, abbot he shall be. - -Very like this, as to the form of the story, is the anecdote in Pauli's -Schimpf und Ernst, LV, p. 46, ed. Oesterley (c. 1522). A nobleman, who -is seeking an occasion to quarrel with an abbot, tells him that he must -answer these questions in three days, or be deposed: What do you value -me at? Where is the middle of the world? How far apart are good and bad -luck? A swineherd answers for him: Since Christ was sold for thirty -pence, I rate the emperor at twenty-nine and you at twenty-eight; my -church is the mid-point of the world, and, if you will not believe me, -measure for yourself; good and bad luck are but one night apart, for -yesterday I was a swineherd, to-day I am an abbot. Then, says the -nobleman, an abbot shall you stay. With this agrees, say the Grimms, the -tale in Eyring's Proverbiorum Copia (1601), I, 165-168, III, 23-25. - -Waldis, Esopus (1548), B. 3, Fabel 92, Kurz, I, 382, agrees in general -with Pauli: but in place of the first two questions has these three: How -far is to heaven? How deep is the sea? How many tubs will hold all the -sea-water? The answers are: A short day's journey, for Christ ascended -in the morning and was in heaven before night; a stone's cast; one tub, -if large enough. - -Teofilo Folengo (1491-1544), as pointed out by Köhler, has the story in -the 8th canto of his Orlandino; and here we find the third question of -our ballad. There are three besides: How far from earth to heaven? From -the east to the west?--a modification of the second question in the -ballad; How many drops of water in the seas about Italy? The abbot's -cook, Marcolf, answers to the first, One leap, as proved by Satan's -fall; to the second, One day's journey, if the sun is to be trusted; and -insists that, for a correct count under the third, all the rivers shall -first be stopped. To the fourth he makes the never-stale reply, You -_think_ I am the abbot, but I am the cook. Rainero says he shall remain -abbot, and the abbot the cook. (Stanzas 38, 39, 64-69, pp 186 f, 195 ff, -London edition of 1775.) - -A capital Spanish story, 'Gramatica Parda, Trueba, Cuentos Populares, p. -287, has all three of the questions asked and answered as in our ballad. -There is a curate who sets up to know everything, and the king, "el rey -que rabió," has found him out, and gives him a month to make his three -answers, with a premium and a penalty. The curate is forced to call in a -despised goatherd, who also had all along seen through the shallowness -of the priest. The king makes the goatherd "archipámpano" of Seville, -and condemns the curate to wear the herdsman's garb and tend his goats -for a month.[383] - -The first and third questions of the ballad are found in the -thirty-eighth tale of Le Grand Parangon des Nouvelles Nouvelles of -Nicolas de Troyes, 1536 (ed. Mabille, p. 155 ff); in the Patrañuelo of -Juan de Timoneda, 1576, Pat. 14, Novelistas anteriores á Cervantes, in -the Rivadeneyra Biblioteca, p. 154 f; and in the Herzog Heinrich Julius -von Braunschweig's comedy, Von einem Edelman welcher einem Abt drey -Fragen auffgegeben, 1594, ed. Holland, p. 500 ff. The other question is -as to the centre of the earth, and the usual answers are given by the -abbot's miller, cook, servant, except that in Timoneda the cook is so -rational as to say that the centre must be under the king's feet, seeing -that the world is as round as a ball.[384] The question Where is the -middle of the earth? is replaced by How many stars are there in the sky? -the other two remaining, in Balthasar Schupp, Schriften, Franckfurt, -1701, I, 91 f (Köhler), and in Gottlieb Cober ([+] 1717), -Cabinet-prediger, 2^r Theil, No 65, p. 323 (Gräter, Idunna u. Hermode, -1814, No 33, p. 131, and p. 87). The abbot's miller gives a huge number, -and bids the king (of France) verify it, if he wishes. This last is no -doubt the version of the story referred to by the Grimms in their note -to K. u. H. märchen, No 152. - -We encounter a slight variation, not for the better, in L'Élite des -Contes du Sieur d'Ouville ([+] 1656 or 1657), Rouen, 1699, I, 241; à la -Haye, 1703, I, 296; ed. Ristelhuber, 1876, p. 46 (Köhler); Nouveaux -Contes à Rire, Cologne, 1709, p. 266; Contes à Rire, Paris, 1781, I, -184. An ignorant and violent nobleman threatens a parson, who plumes -himself on a little astrology, that he will expose him as an impostor if -he does not answer four questions: Where is the middle of the world? -What am I worth? What am I thinking? What do I believe? The village -miller answers for the curé. The reply to the third question is, You are -thinking more of your own interest than of mine; the others as before. -This story is retold, after tradition, by Cénac Moncaut, Contes -populaires de la Gascogne, p. 50, of a marquis, archiprêtre, and miller. -The query, What am I thinking of? with the answer, More of your interest -than of mine (which is not exactly in the popular manner), is replaced -by a logical puzzle, not found elsewhere: Quel est le nombre qui se -trouve renfermé dans deux [oeufs]? - -The King and the Abbot is preserved, in modern German tradition, in this -form. An emperor, riding by a cloister, reads the inscription, We are -two farthings poorer than the emperor, and live free of cares. Wait a -bit, says the emperor, and I will give you some cares. He sends for the -abbot, and says, Answer these three questions in three days, or I will -depose you. The questions are, How deep is the sea? How many stars in -the sky? How far from good luck to bad? The shepherd of the monastery -gives the answers, and is told, as in several cases before, If you are -the abbot, abbot you shall be. J. W. Wolf, Hessische Sagen, p. 166, No -262, II. 'Gustav Adolf und der Abt von Benediktbeuern,' in Sepp's -Altbayerischer Sagenschatz, p. 554, No 153, is another form of the same -story, with a substitution of How far is it to heaven? for the first -question, and the answers are given by a kitchie-boy.[385] In 'Hans ohne -Sorgen,' Meier, Deutsche Volksmärchen aus Schwaben, p. 305, the -questions are, How far is it to heaven? How deep is the sea? How many -leaves has a linden? and the shepherd again undertakes the -answers.[386] 'Der Müller ohne Sorgen,' Müllenhoff, p. 153, 208, is a -mutilated variation of these. The abbot disappears, and the questions -are put to the miller, who answers for himself. The second question is -How much does the moon weigh? and the answer, Four quarters; if you -don't believe it, you must weigh for yourself. - -We meet the miller _sans souci_ again in a Danish tale, which otherwise -agrees entirely with our ballad. The questions are answered by the rich -miller's herdsman: Grundtvig, Gamle danske Minder, 1854, p. 112, No 111. - -A Croatian version of the story is given by Valyavets, 'Frater i turski -car,' p. 262. The Turkish tsar is disposed to expel all monks from his -dominions, but determines first to send for an abbot to try his calibre. -The abbot is too much frightened to go, and his cook, as in Foligno and -Timoneda, takes his place. The questions are, Where is the centre of the -world? What is God doing now? What am I thinking? The first and third -are disposed of in the usual way. When called to answer the second, the -cook said, You can't see through the ceiling: we must go out into the -field. When they came to the field, the cook said again, How can I see -when I am on such a small ass? Let me have your horse. The sultan -consented to exchange beasts, and then the cook said, God is wondering -that a sultan should be sitting on an ass and a monk on a horse. The -sultan was pleased with the answers, and reasoning, If the cook is so -clever, what must the abbot be, decided to let the monks alone. -Afanasief, who cites this story from Valyavets (Narodnuiya russkiya -Skazki, VIII, 460), says that he heard in the government of Voroneje a -story of a soldier who dressed himself as a monk and presented himself -before a tsar who was in the habit of puzzling people with riddles. The -questions are, How many drops in the sea? How many stars in the sky? -What do I think? And the answer to the last is, Thou thinkest, gosudar, -that I am a monk, but I am merely a soldier.[387] - -A few tales, out of many remaining, may be now briefly mentioned, on -account of variations in the setting. - -A prisoner is to be released if he can tell a queen how much she is -worth, the centre of the world, and what she thinks. A peasant changes -clothes with the prisoner, and answers _pro more_. Kurtzweiliger -Zeitvertreiber durch C. A. M. von W., 1668, p. 70 f, in Köhler, Orient -u. Occident, I, 43. - -A scholar has done learning. His master says he must now answer three -questions, or have his head taken off. The master's brother, a miller, -comes to his aid. The questions are, How many ladders would reach to the -sky? Where is the middle of the world? What is the world worth? Or, -according to another tradition, the two last are, How long will it take -to go round the world? What is my thought? Campbell, Popular Tales of -the West Highlands, II, 391 f. - -Eulenspiegel went to Prague, and advertised himself on the doors of the -churches and lecture-rooms as a great master, capable of answering -questions that nobody else could solve. To put him down, the rector and -his colleagues summoned Eulenspiegel to an examination before the -university. Five questions were given him: How much water is there in -the sea? How many days from Adam to now? Where is the middle of the -world? How far from earth to heaven? What is the breadth of the sky? -Lappenberg, Dr Thomas Murners Ulenspiegel, p. 38, No 28; Howleglas, ed. -Ouvry, p. 28. - -A herdboy had a great fame for his shrewd answers. The king did not -believe in him, but sent for him, and said, If you can answer three -questions that I shall put, I will regard you as my own child, and you -shall live in my palace. The questions are, How many drops of water are -there in the ocean? How many stars in the sky? How many seconds in -eternity? The Grimms, K. u. H. märchen, No 152, 'Das Hirtenbüblein.' - -Three questions are put to a counsellor of the king's, of which the -first two are, Where does the sun rise? How far from heaven to earth? -The answers, by a shepherd, are extraordinarily feeble. Jüdisches -Maasäbuch, cap. 126, cited from Helwigs Jüdische Historien, No 39, in -the Grimms' note to Das Hirtenbüblein. - -Three monks, who know everything, in the course of their travels come to -a sultan's dominions, and he invites them to turn Mussulmans. This they -agree to do if he will answer their questions. All the sultan's doctors -are convened, but can do nothing with the monks' questions. The hodja -(the court-fool) is sent for. The first question, Where is the middle of -the earth? is answered as usual. The second monk asks, How many stars -are there in the sky? The answer is, As many as there are hairs on my -ass. Have you counted? ask the monks. Have _you_ counted? rejoins the -fool. Answer me this, says the same monk, and we shall see if your -number is right: How many hairs are there in my beard? "As many as in my -ass's tail." "Prove it." "My dear man, if you don't believe me, count -yourself; or we will pull all the hairs out of both, count them, and -settle the matter." The monks submit, and become Mussulmans. Les -plaisanteries de Nasr-eddin Hodja, traduites du turc par J. A. -Decourdemanche, No 70, p. 59 ff. - -The Turkish emperor sends word to Kaiser Leopold that unless the emperor -can answer three questions he shall come down upon him with all his -Turks. The counsellors are summoned, but there is no help in them. The -court-fool offers to get his master out of the difficulty, if he may -have the loan of crown and sceptre. When the fool comes to -Constantinople, there lies the sultan in the window, and calls out, Are -you the emperor, and will you answer my questions? Where does the world -end? "Here, where my horse is standing." How far is it to heaven? "One -day's journey, and no inn on the road." What is God thinking of now? "He -is thinking that I am one fool and you another." J. W. Wolf, Hessische -Sagen, p. 165, No 262I.[388] - -For the literature, see especially the Grimms' Kinder und Hausmärchen, -notes to No 152; R. Köhler in Orient und Occident, I, 439-41; -Oesterley's note to Pauli's Schimpf und Ernst, No 55, p. 479. - - * * * * * - -Translated, after Percy's Reliques, II, 302, 1765, by Bodmer, II, III; -by Doenniges, p. 152; by Ritter, Archiv für das Studium der neueren -Sprachen, XXII, 222. Retold by Bürger, 'Der Kaiser und der Abt,' -Göttinger Musenalmanach für 1785, p. 177. - - -A - - Percy MS., p. 184. Hales and Furnivall, I, 508. - - 1 - Off an ancient story Ile tell you anon, - Of a notable prince _tha_t was called K_in_g Iohn, - In England was borne, with maine and with might; - Hee did much wrong and mainteined litle right. - - 2 - This noble prince was vexed in veretye, - For he was angry w_i_th the Bishopp of Canterbury; - Ffor his house-keeping and his good cheere, - Thé rode post for him, as you shall heare. - - 3 - They rode post for him verry hastilye; - The k_in_g sayd the bishopp kept a better house then hee: - A hundred men euen, as I [have heard] say, - The bishopp kept in his house eu_er_ye day, - And fifty gold chaines, w_i_thout any doubt, - In veluett coates waited the bishopp about. - - 4 - The bishopp, he came to the court anon, - Before his prince _tha_t was called K_ing_ Iohn. - As soone as the bishopp the k_ing_ did see, - 'O,' q_uo_th the k_ing_, 'bishopp, thow art welcome to mee. - There is noe man soe welcome to towne - As thou _tha_t workes treason against my crowne.' - - 5 - 'My leege,' q_uo_th the bishopp, 'I wold it were knowne - I spend, yo_u_r grace, nothing but _tha_t _tha_t's my owne; - I trust yo_u_r grace will doe me noe deare - For spending my owne trew gotten geere.' - - 6 - 'Yes,' q_uo_th the k_ing_, 'bishopp, thou must needs dye, - Eccept thou can answere mee questions three; - Thy head shalbe smitten quite from thy bodye, - And all thy liuing remayne vnto mee. - - 7 - 'First,' q_uo_th the k_ing_, 'tell me in this steade, - W_i_th this crowne of gold heere vpon my head, - Amongst my nobilitye, w_i_th ioy and much mirth, - Lett me know w_i_thin one pennye what I am worth. - - 8 - 'Secondlye, tell me without any dowbt - How soone I may goe the whole world about; - And thirdly, tell mee or eu_er_ I stinte, - What is the thing, bishopp, _tha_t I doe thinke. - Twenty dayes pardon thoust haue trulye, - And come againe and answere mee.' - - 9 - The bishopp bade the k_ing_ god night att a word; - He rode betwixt Cambridge and Oxenford, - But neu_er_ a doctor there was soe wise - Cold shew him these questions or enterprise. - - 10 - Wherew_i_th the bishopp was nothing gladd, - But in his hart was heauy and sadd, - And hyed him home to a house in the countrye, - To ease some p_ar_t of his melanchollye. - - 11 - His halfe-brother dwelt there, was feirce and fell, - Noe better but a shepard to the bishoppe himsell; - The shepard came to the bishopp anon, - Saying, My Lord, you are welcome home! - - 12 - 'What ayles you,' q_uo_th the shepard,' _tha_t you are soe sadd, - And had wonte to haue beene soe merry and gladd?' - 'Nothing,' q_uo_th the bishopp, 'I ayle att this time; - Will not thee availe to know, brother mine.' - - 13 - 'Brother,' q_uo_th the shepeard, 'you haue heard itt, - _Tha_t a ffoole may teach a wisemane witt; - Say me therfore whatsoeu_er_ you will, - And if I doe you noe good, Ile doe you noe ill.' - - 14 - Q_uo_th the bishop: I haue beene att the court anon, - Before my prince is called K_ing_ Iohn, - And there he hath charged mee - Against his crowne with traitorye. - - 15 - If I cannott answer his misterye, - Three questions hee hath p_ro_pounded to mee, - He will haue my land soe faire and free, - And alsoe the head from my bodye. - - 16 - The first question was, to tell him in _tha_t stead, - W_i_th the crowne of gold vpon his head, - Amongst his nobilitye, w_i_th ioy and much mirth, - To lett him know w_i_thin one penye what hee is worth. - - 17 - And secondlye, to tell him w_i_th-out any doubt - How soone he may goe the whole world about; - And thirdlye, to tell him, or ere I stint, - What is the thinge _tha_t he does thinke. - - 18 - 'Brother,' q_uo_th the shepard, 'you are a man of learninge; - What neede you stand in doubt of soe small a thinge? - Lend me,' q_uo_th the shepard, 'yo_u_r ministers apparrell, - Ile ryde to the court and answere yo_u_r quarrell. - - 19 - 'Lend me yo_u_r serving men, say me not nay, - W_i_th all yo_u_r best horsses _tha_t ryd on the way; - Ile to the court, this matter to stay; - Ile speake w_i_th K_ing_ Iohn and heare what heele say.' - - 20 - The bishopp w_i_th speed p_re_pared then - To sett forth the shepard with horsse and man; - The shepard was liuely w_i_thout any doubt; - I wott a royall companye came to the court. - - 21 - The shepard hee came to the court anon - Before [his] prince _tha_t was called K_ing_ Iohn. - As soone as the k_ing_ the shepard did see, - 'O,' q_uo_th the king, 'bishopp, thou art welcome to me.' - The shepard was soe like the bishopp his brother, - The k_ing_ cold not know the one from the other. - - 22 - Q_uo_th the k_ing_, Bishopp, thou art welcome to me - If thou can answer me my questions three. - Said the shepeard, If it please yo_u_r grace, - Show mee what the first quest[i]on was. - - 23 - 'First,' q_uo_th the k_ing_, 'tell mee in this stead, - W_i_th the crowne of gold vpon my head, - Amongst my nobilitye, w_i_th ioy and much mirth, - W_i_thin one pennye what I am worth.' - - 24 - Q_uo_th the shepard, To make yo_u_r grace noe offence, - I thinke you are worth nine and twenty pence; - For our L_ord_ Iesus, _tha_t bought vs all, - For thirty pence was sold into thrall - Amongst the cursed Iewes, as I to you doe showe; - But I know Christ was one penye better then you. - - 25 - Then the k_ing_ laught, and swore by St Andrew - He was not thought to bee of such a small value. - 'Secondlye, tell mee w_i_th-out any doubt - How soone I may goe the world round about.' - - 26 - Saies the shepard, It is noe time with yo_u_r grace to scorne, - But rise betime w_i_th the sun in the morne, - And follow his course till his vprising, - And then you may know w_i_thout any leasing. - - 27 - And this [to] yo_u_r grace shall proue the same, - You are come to the same place from whence you came; - [In] twenty-four houres, w_i_th-out any doubt, - Yo_u_r grace may the world goe round about; - The world round about, euen as I doe say, - If w_i_th the sun you can goe the next way. - - 28 - 'And thirdlye tell me or eu_er_ I stint, - What is the thing, bishoppe, _tha_t I doe thinke.' - '_Tha_t shall I doe,' q_uo_th the shepeard; 'for veretye, - You thinke I am the bishopp of Canterburye.' - - 29 - 'Why, art not thou? the truth tell to me; - For I doe thinke soe,' q_uo_th the k_ing_, 'by St Marye.' - 'Not soe,' q_uo_th the shepeard; 'the truth shalbe knowne, - I am his poore shepeard; my brother is att home.' - - 30 - 'Why,' q_uo_th the k_ing_, 'if itt soe bee, - Ile make thee bishopp here to mee.' - 'Noe, Sir,' q_uo_th the shepard, 'I pray you be still, - For Ile not bee bishop but against my will; - For I am not fitt for any such deede, - For I can neither write nor reede.' - - 31 - 'Why then,' q_uo_th the k_ing_, 'Ile giue thee cleere - A pattent of three hundred pound a yeere; - _Tha_t I will giue thee franke and free; - Take thee _tha_t, shepard, for coming to me. - - 32 - 'Free p_ar_don Ile giue,' the k_ing_s grace said, - 'To saue the bishopp, his land and his head; - W_i_th him nor thee Ile be nothing wrath; - Here is the p_ar_don for him and thee both.' - - 33 - Then the shepard he had noe more to say, - But tooke the p_ar_don and rode his way: - When he came to the bishopps place, - The bishopp asket anon how all things was. - - 34 - 'Brother,' q_uo_th the shepard, 'I haue well sped, - For I haue saued both yo_u_r land and yo_u_r head; - The k_ing_ with you is nothing wrath, - For heere is the p_ar_don for you and mee both.' - - 35 - Then the bishopes hart was of a merry cheere: - 'Brother, thy paines Ile quitt them cleare; - For I will giue thee a patent to thee and to thine - Of fifty pound a yeere, land good and fine.' - - 36 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - 'I will to thee noe longer croche nor creepe, - Nor Ile serue thee noe more to keepe thy sheepe.' - - 37 - Whereeu_er_ wist you shepard before, - _Tha_t had in his head witt such store - To pleasure a bishopp in such a like case, - To answer three questions to the k_ing_s grace? - Whereeu_er_ wist you shepard gett cleare - Three hundred and fifty pound a yeere? - - 38 - I neu_er_ hard of his fellow before, - Nor I neu_er_ shall: now I need to say noe more. - I neu_er_ knew shepeard _tha_t gott such a liuinge - But David, the shepeard, _tha_t was a k_ing_. - - -B - - Broadside, printed for P. Brooksby, at the Golden Ball in - Pye-corner (1672-95). - - 1 - I'll tell you a story, a story anon, - Of a noble prince, and his name was King John; - For he was a prince, and a prince of great might, - He held up great wrongs, he put down great right. - Derry down, down hey, derry down - - 2 - I'll tell you a story, a story so merry, - Concerning the Abbot of Canterbury, - And of his house-keeping and high renown, - Which made him resort to fair London town. - - 3 - 'How now, father abbot? 'T is told unto me - That thou keepest a far better house than I; - And for [thy] house-keeping and high renown, - I fear thou has treason against my crown.' - - 4 - 'I hope, my liege, that you owe me no grudge - For spending of my true-gotten goods:' - 'If thou dost not answer me questions three, - Thy head shall be taken from thy body. - - 5 - 'When I am set so high on my steed, - With my crown of gold upon my head, - Amongst all my nobility, with joy and much mirth, - Thou must tell me to one penny what I am worth. - - 6 - 'And the next question you must not flout, - How long I shall be riding the world about; - And the third question thou must not shrink, - But tell to me truly what I do think.' - - 7 - 'O these are hard questions for my shallow wit, - For I cannot answer your grace as yet; - But if you will give me but three days space, - I'll do my endeavor to answer your grace.' - - 8 - 'O three days space I will thee give, - For that is the longest day thou hast to live. - And if thou dost not answer these questions right, - Thy head shall be taken from thy body quite.' - - 9 - And as the shepherd was going to his fold, - He spy'd the old abbot come riding along: - 'How now, master abbot? You'r welcome home; - What news have you brought from good King John?' - - 10 - 'Sad news, sad news I have thee to give, - For I have but three days space for to live; - If I do not answer him questions three, - My head will be taken from my body. - - 11 - 'When he is set so high on his steed, - With his crown of gold upon his head, - Amongst all his nobility, with joy and much mirth, - I must tell him to one penny what he is worth. - - 12 - 'And the next question I must not flout, - How long he shall be riding the world about; - And the third question I must not shrink, - But tell him truly what he does think.' - - 13 - 'O master, did you never hear it yet, - That a fool may learn a wiseman wit? - Lend me but your horse and your apparel, - I'll ride to fair London and answer the quarrel.' - - 14 - 'Now I am set so high on my steed, - With my crown of gold upon my head, - Amongst all my nobility, with joy and much mirth, - Now tell me to one penny what I am worth.' - - 15 - 'For thirty pence our Saviour was sold, - Amongst the false Jews, as you have been told, - And nine and twenty's the worth of thee, - For I think thou are one penny worser than he.' - - 16 - 'And the next question thou mayst not flout; - How long I shall be riding the world about.' - 'You must rise with the sun, and ride with the same, - Until the next morning he rises again, - And then I am sure you will make no doubt - But in twenty-four hours you'l ride it about.' - - 17 - 'And the third question you must not shrink, - But tell me truly what I do think.' - 'All that I can do, and 't will make you merry; - For you think I'm the Abbot of Canterbury, - But I'm his poor shepherd, as you may see, - And am come to beg pardon for he and for me.' - - 18 - The king he turned him about and did smile, - Saying, Thou shalt be the abbot the other while: - 'O no, my grace, there is no such need, - For I can neither write nor read.' - - 19 - 'Then four pounds a week will I give unto thee - For this merry jest thou hast told unto me; - And tell the old abbot, when thou comest home, - Thou hast brought him a pardon from good King John.' - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - _Not divided into stanzas in the MS._ - - 3^3, 3^5, 6^2, 8^5, 15^2, 22^2, 24^4, 27^3, 31^2, 37^4. - _Arabic numerals are expressed in letters._ - - 14^1. thy court. - - 24^2. worth 29 pence. - - 31^2. patten. - - 31^4. caming. - - 35^4. 50_{:}^11. - - 37^6. 350_{:}^11. - -#B.# - - 5^1, 11^1, 14^1. on my [his] steed so high. - - 7^1. my sh ow. - - 11^1. sat. - - 12^3. thou must. - - 19^4. K. John. - - -[376] A New Ballad of King John and the Abbot of Canterbury. To the Tune -of The King and the Lord Abbot. With allowance. Ro. L'Estrange. Printed -for P. Brooksby at the Golden Ball in Pye-corner. - -[377] The King and the Bishop, or, - - Unlearned Men hard matters out can find - When Learned Bishops Princes eyes do blind. - -To the Tune of Chievy Chase. Printed for F. Coles, T. Vere, and J. -Wright (1655-80). Printed for J. Wright, Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. -Passenver. - -The Old Abbot and King Olfrey. To the tune of the Shaking of the Sheets. -Printed by and for A. M., and sold by the booksellers of London. - -J. Wright's date is 1650-82, T. Passinger's, 1670-82. Chappell. - -[378] Printed by J. M. for C. D., at the Stationers Armes within -Aldgate. C. D. is, no doubt, C. Dennison, who published 1685-89. See -Chappell, The Roxburghe Ballads, I, xix. - -[379] Among these, St Bittel for St Andrew of #A# 26, with the note, -"meaning probably St Botolph:" why "probably"? - -[380] This story serves as a gloss on 2 Chronicles, ii, 13, 14, where -Hiram sends Solomon a cunning Tyrian, skilful to find out every device -which shall be put to him by the cunning men of Jerusalem. The Queen of -Sheba's hard questions to Solomon, not specified in 1 Kings, x, 1-13, -were, according to tradition, of the same general character as the -Indian ones spoken of at p. 12. See Hertz, Die Rätsel der Königin von -Saba, Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum, XXVII, 1 ff. - -[381] These are proper riddles, and of a kind still current in popular -tradition. See, e. g., Svend Vonved, Grundtvig, I, 237 f. There are -thirty-five, before the last, in the oldest text, given, with a -translation, by Vigfusson and Powell, Corpus Poeticum Boreale, 'King -Heidrek's Riddles,' I, 86 ff. - -[382] Sacchetti's life extended beyond 1400, or perhaps beyond 1410. - -[383] The form of the third question is slightly varied at first ¿Cuál -es el error en que yo estoy pensando? But when put to the herdsman the -question is simply ¿En qué estoy yo pensando? I was pointed to this -story by Seidemann, in Archiv für Litteraturgeschichte, IX, 423. -Trueba's C. P. forms vol. 19 of Brockhaus's Coleccion de Autores -Españoles. - -[384] The editor of the Grand Parangon, at p. xiii, cites from an older -source an anecdote of a king insisting upon being told how much he ought -to bring if offered for sale. While his courtiers are giving flattering -replies, a fool leaps forward and says, Twenty-nine deniers, and no -more; for if you were worth thirty, that would be autant que le -tout-puissant Dieu valut, quant il fut vendu. The king took this answer -to heart, and repented of his vanities. So an emperor is converted by -this reply from a man-at-arms, Van den verwenden Keyser, Jan van -Hollant, c. 1400, Willems, Belgisch Museum, X, 57; Thijm, p. 145. The -like question and answer, as a riddle, in a German MS. of the fifteenth -century, and in Questions énigmatiques, Lyon, 1619; Köhler, in -Weimarisches Jahrbuch, V, 354 ff. - -[385] In Prussia Frederick the Great plays the part of Gustavus. Sepp, -p. 558. - -[386] Another Swabian story, in Meier, No 28, p. 99, is a mixed form. -The Duke of Swabia reads "Hans sans cares" over a miller's house-door, -and says, "Bide a wee: if you have no cares, I will give you some." The -duke, to give the miller a taste of what care is, says he must solve -this riddle or lose his mill: Come to me neither by day nor by night, -neither naked nor clothed, neither on foot nor on horseback. The miller -promises his man his daughter in marriage and the mill in succession, if -he will help him out of his dilemma. The man at once says, Go on -Mid-week, for Mid-week is no day (Mitt-woch ist ja gar kein Tag, wie -Sonn-tag, Mon-tag), neither is it night; and if you are to be neither -clothed nor bare, put on a fishing-net; and if you are to go neither on -foot nor on horseback, ride to him on an ass. All but the beginning of -this is derived from the cycle of 'The Clever Wench:' see No 2. -Haltrich, Deutsche Volksmärchen in Siebenbürgen, No 45, which is also of -this cycle, has taken up a little of 'Hans ohne Sorgen.' A church has an -inscription, Wir leben ohne Sorgen. This vexes the king, who says as -before, Just wait, and I will give you reason for cares, p. 244, ed. -1856. - -[387] These two stories were communicated to me by Mr Ralston. - -[388] In the beginning there is a clear trace of the Oriental tales of -'The Clever Lass' cycle. - - - - -46 - -CAPTAIN WEDDERBURN'S COURTSHIP - - #A. a.# 'I'll no ly neist the wa,' Herd's MS., I, 161. - #b.# 'She'll no ly neist [the] wa,' the same, II, 100. - - #B. a.# 'The Earl of Rosslyn's Daughter,' Kinloch MSS, I, - 83. #b.# 'Lord Roslin's Daughter,' Lord Roslin's - Daughter's Garland, p. 4. #c.# 'Lord Roslin's Daughter,' - Buchan's MSS, II, 34. #d.# 'Captain Wedderburn's - Courtship,' Jamieson's Popular Ballads, II, 159. #e.# - Harris MS., fol. 19 b, No 14. #f.# Notes and Queries, 2d - S., IV, 170. - - #C.# 'The Laird of Roslin's Daughter,' Sheldon's - Minstrelsy of the English Border, p. 232. - - -A copy of this ballad was printed in The New British Songster, a -Collection of Songs, Scots and English, with Toasts and Sentiments for -the Bottle, Falkirk, 1785: see Motherwell, p. lxxiv.[389] Few were more -popular, says Motherwell, and Jamieson remarks that 'Captain -Wedderburn' was equally in vogue in the north and the south of Scotland. - -Jamieson writes to the Scots Magazine, 1803, p. 701: "Of this ballad I -have got one whole copy and part of another, and I remember a good deal -of it as I have heard it sung in Morayshire when I was a child." In his -Popular Ballads, II, 154, 1806, he says that the copy which he prints -was furnished him from Mr Herd's MS. by the editor of the Border -Minstrelsy, and that he had himself supplied a few readings of small -importance from his own recollection. There is some inaccuracy here. The -version given by Jamieson is rather #B#, with readings from #A#. - -We have had of the questions six, #A# 11, 12, What is greener than the -grass? in No 1, #A# 15, #C# 13, #D# 5; What's higher than the tree? in -#C# 9, #D# 1; What's war than a woman's wiss? ("than a woman _was_") #A# -15, #C# 13, #D# 5; What's deeper than the sea? #A# 13, #B# 8, #C# 9, #D# -1. Of the three dishes, #A# 8, 9, we have the bird without a gall in Ein -Spil von den Freiheit, Fastnachtspiele aus dem 15^n Jhdt, II, 558, v. -23,[390] and the two others in the following song, from a manuscript -assigned to the fifteenth century, and also preserved in several forms -by oral tradition:[391] Sloane MS., No 2593, British Museum; Wright's -Songs and Carols, 1836, No 8; as printed for the Warton Club, No xxix, -p. 33. - - I have a [gh]ong suster fer be[gh]ondyn the se, - Many be the drowryis that che sente me. - - Che sente me the cherye, withoutyn ony ston, - And so che dede [the] dowe, withoutyn ony bon. - - Sche sente me the brere, withoutyn ony rynde, - Sche bad me love my lemman withoute longgyng. - - How xuld ony cherye be withoute ston? - And how xuld ony dowe ben withoute bon? - - How xuld any brere ben withoute rynde? - How xuld y love myn lemman without longyng? - - Quan the cherye was a flour, than hadde it non ston; - Quan the dowe was an ey, than hadde it non bon. - - Quan the brere was onbred, than hadde it non rynd; - Quan the mayden ha[gh]t that che lovit, che is without longyng. - -'Captain Wedderburn's Courtship,' or 'Lord Roslin's Daughter,'[392] is a -counterpart of the ballad in which a maid wins a husband by guessing -riddles. (See Nos 1 and 2, and also the following ballad, for a lady who -_gives_ riddles.) The ingenious suitor, though not so favorite a -subject as the clever maid, may boast that he is of an old and -celebrated family. We find him in the Gesta Romanorum, No 70; Oesterley, -p. 383, Madden's English Versions, No 35, p. 384. A king had a beautiful -daughter, whom he wished to dispose of in marriage; but she had made a -vow that she would accept no husband who had not achieved three tasks: -to tell her how many feet long, broad, and deep were the four elements; -to change the wind from the north; to take fire into his bosom, next the -flesh, without harm. The king issued a proclamation in accordance with -these terms. Many tried and failed, but at last there came a soldier who -succeeded. To answer the first question he made his servant lie down, -and measured him from head to foot. Every living being is composed of -the four elements, he said, and I find not more than seven feet in them. -A very easy way was hit on for performing the second task: the soldier -simply turned his horse's head to the east, and, since wind is the life -of every animal, maintained that he had changed the wind. The king was -evidently not inclined to be strict, and said, Clear enough. Let us go -on to the third. Then, by the aid of a stone which he always carried -about him, the soldier put handfuls of burning coals into his bosom -without injury. The king gave his daughter to the soldier. - -An extraordinary ballad in Sakellarios's [Gk: _Kypriaka_] III, 15, No 6, -'The Hundred Sayings,' subjects a lover to a severe probation of -riddles. (Liebrecht has given a full abstract of the story in Gosche's -Archiv, II, 29.) A youth is madly enamored of a king's daughter, but, -though his devotion knows no bound, cannot for a long time get a word -from her mouth, and then only disdain. She shuts herself up in a tower. -He prays for a heat that may force her to come to the window, and that -she may drop her spindle, and he be the only one to bring it to her. The -heavens are kind: all this comes to pass, and she is fain to beg him to -bring her the spindle. She asks, Can you do what I say? Shoulder a -tower? make a stack of eggs? trim a date-tree, standing in a great -river?[393] All this he can do. She sends him away once and again to -learn various things; last of all, the hundred sayings that lovers use. -He presents himself for examination. "One?" "There is one only God: may -he help me!" "Two?" "Two doves with silver wings are sporting together: -I saw how they kissed," etc. "Three?" "Holy Trinity, help me to love the -maid!" "Four?" "There is a four-pointed cross on thy smock, and it -implores God I may be thy mate:" and so he is catechised through all the -units and tens.[394] Then the lady suddenly turns about, concedes -everything, and proposes that they shall go to church: but the man says, -If I am to marry all my loves, I have one in every town, and wife and -children in Constantinople. They part with reciprocal scurrilities. - -Usually when the hand of a princess is to be won by the performance of -tasks, whether requiring wit, courage, the overcoming of magic arts, or -what not, the loss of your head is the penalty of failure. (See the -preface to the following ballad.) Apollonius of Tyre, of Greek original, -but first found in a Latin form, is perhaps the oldest riddle-story of -this description. Though its age has not been determined, the tale has -been carried back even to the end of the third or the beginning of the -fourth century, was a great favorite with the Middle Ages, and is kept -only too familiar by the play of Pericles. - -More deserving of perpetuation is the charming Persian story of Prince -Calaf, in Pétis de La Croix's 1001 Days (45^e-82^e jour), upon which -Carlo Gozzi founded his play of "La Turandot," now best known through -Schiller's translation. Tourandocte's riddles are such as we should call -legitimate, and are three in number. "What is the being that is found in -every land, is dear to all the world, and cannot endure a fellow?" Calaf -answers, The sun. "What mother swallows the children she has given birth -to, as soon as they have attained their growth?" The sea, says Calaf, -for the rivers that flow into it all came from it. "What is the tree -that has all its leaves white on one side and black on the other?" This -tree, Calaf answers, is the year, which is made up of days and -nights.[395] - -A third example of this hazardous wooing is the story of The Fair One of -the Castle, the fourth in the Persian poem of The Seven Figures (or -Beauties), by Nisami of Gendsch ([+] 1180). A Russian princess is shut -up in a castle made inaccessible by a talisman, and every suitor must -satisfy four conditions: he must be a man of honor, vanquish the -enchanted guards, take away the talisman, and obtain the consent of her -father. Many had essayed their fortune, and their heads were now arrayed -on the pinnacles of the castle.[396] A young prince had fulfilled the -first three conditions, but the father would not approve his suit until -he had solved the princess's riddles. These are expressed symbolically, -and answered in the same way. The princess sends the prince two pearls -from her earring: he at once takes her meaning,--life is like two drops -of water,--and returns the pearls with three diamonds, to signify that -joy--faith, hope, and love--can prolong life. The princess now sends him -three jewels in a box, with sugar. The prince seizes the idea,--life is -blended with sensuous desire,--and pours milk on the sugar, to intimate -that as milk dissolves sugar, so sensuous desire is quenched by true -love. After four such interchanges, the princess seals her consent with -a device not less elegant than the others.[397] - -A popular tale of this class is current in Russia, with this variation: -that the hard-hearted princess requires her lovers to give her riddles, -and those who cannot pose her lose their heads. Foolish Iván, the -youngest of three brothers, adventures after many have failed. On his -way to the trial he sees a horse in a cornfield and drives it out with a -whip, and further on kills a snake with a lance, saying in each case, -Here's a riddle! Confronted with the princess, he says to her, As I came -to you, I saw by the roadside what was good; and in the good was good; -so I set to work, and with what was good I drove the good from the good. -The good fled from the good out of the good. The princess pleads a -headache, and puts off her answer till the next day, when Iván gives her -his second enigma: As I came to you, I saw on the way what was bad, and -I struck the bad with a bad thing, and of what was bad the bad died. The -princess, unable to solve these puzzles, is obliged to accept foolish -Iván. (Afanasief, Skazki, II, 225 ff, No 20, in Ralston's Songs of the -Russian People, p. 354 f.) Closely related to this tale, and still -nearer to one another, are the Grimms' No 22, 'Das Räthsel' (see, also, -the note in their third volume), and the West Highland story, 'The -Ridere (Knight) of Riddles,' Campbell, No 22, II, 27. In the former, as -in the Russian tale, it is the princess that must be puzzled before she -will yield her hand; in the latter, an unmatchable beauty is to be had -by no man who does not put a question which her father cannot solve. - -Here may be put three drolleries, all clearly of the same origin, in -which a fool wins a princess by nonplussing her: 'The Three Questions,' -Halliwell's Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales, p. 32; a "schwank" of the -fourteenth century, by Heinz der Kellner, von der Hagen's -Gesammtabenteuer, No 63, III, 179 (there very improperly called -Turandot); 'Spurningen,' Asbjørnson og Moe, Norske Folkeeventyr, No 4, -Dasent, Popular Tales from the Norse, p. 148. According to the first of -these, the king of the East Angles promises his clever daughter to any -one who can answer three of her questions (in the other versions, more -correctly, _silence_ her). Three brothers, one of them a natural, set -out for the court, and, on the way, Jack finds successively an egg, a -crooked hazel-stick, and a nut, and each time explodes with laughter. -When they are ushered into the presence, Jack bawls out, What a troop of -fair ladies! "Yes," says the princess, "we are fair ladies, for we carry -fire in our bosoms." "Then roast me an egg," says Jack, pulling out the -egg from his pocket. "How will you get it out again?" asks the princess? -"With a crooked stick," says Jack, producing the same. "Where did that -come from?" says the princess. "From a nut," answers Jack, pulling out -the nut. And so, as the princess is silenced, the fool gets her in -marriage.[398] - -Even nowadays riddles play a noteworthy part in the marriages of Russian -peasants. In the government Pskof, as we are informed by Khudyakof, the -bridegroom's party is not admitted into the bride's house until all the -riddles given by the party of the bride have been answered; whence the -saying or proverb, to the behoof of bridegrooms, Choose comrades that -can guess riddles. In the village of Davshina, in the Yaroslav -government, the bridegroom's best man presents himself at the bride's -house on the wedding-day, and finding a man, called the bride-seller, -sitting by the bride, asks him to surrender the bride and vacate his -place. "Fair and softly," answers the seller; "you will not get the -bride for nothing; make us a bid, if you will. And how will you trade? -will you pay in riddles or in gold?" If the best man is prepared for the -emergency, as we must suppose he always would be, he answers, I will pay -in riddles. Half a dozen or more riddles are now put by the seller, of -which these are favorable specimens: Give me the sea, full to the brim, -and with a bottom of silver. The best man makes no answer in words, but -fills a bowl with beer and lays a coin at the bottom. Tell me the thing, -naked itself, which has a shift over its bosom. The best man hands the -seller a candle. Finally the seller says, Give me something which the -master of this house lacks. The best man then brings in the bridegroom. -The seller gives up his seat, and hands the best man a plate, saying, -Put in this what all pretty girls like. The best man puts in what money -he thinks proper, the bridesmaids take it and quit the house, and the -bridegroom's friends carry off the bride. - -So, apparently in some ballad, a maid gives riddles, and will marry only -the man who will guess them. - - By day like a hoop, - By night like a snake; - Who reads my riddle, - I take him for mate. (A belt.) - - No 1103 of Khudyakof.[399] - -In Radloff's Songs and Tales of the Turkish tribes in East Siberia, I, -60, a father, wanting a wife for his son, applies to another man, who -has a marriageable daughter. The latter will not make a match unless the -young man's father will come to him with pelt and sans pelt, by the road -and not by the road, on a horse and yet not on a horse: see 8 ff of this -volume. The young man gives his father proper instructions, and wins his -wife. - -A Lithuanian mother sends her daughter to the wood to fetch "winter May -and summer snow." She meets a herdsman, and asks where she can find -these. The herdsman offers to teach her these riddles in return for her -love, and she complying with these terms, gives her the answers: The -evergreen tree is winter May, and sea-foam is summer snow. Beiträge zur -Kunde Preussens, I, 515 (Rhesa), and Ausland, 1839, p. 1230. - -The European tales, excepting the three drolleries (and even they are -perhaps to be regarded only as parodies of the others), must be of -Oriental derivation; but the far north presents us with a similar story -in the lay of Alvíss, in the elder Edda. The dwarf Alvíss comes to claim -Freya for his bride by virtue of a promise from the gods. Thor[400] says -that the bride is in his charge, and that he was from home when the -promise was made: at any rate, Alvíss shall not have the maid unless he -can answer all the questions that shall be put him. Thor then requires -Alvíss to give him the names of earth, heaven, moon, sun, etc., ending -with barley and the poor creature small beer, in all the worlds; that -is, in the dialect of the gods, of mankind, giants, elves, dwarfs, etc. -Alvíss does this with such completeness as to extort Thor's admiration, -but is craftily detained in so doing till after sunrise, when Thor -cries, You are taken in! Above ground at dawn! and the dwarf turns to -stone. - - * * * * * - -Translated, in part, after Aytoun, by Knortz, Schottische Balladen, p. -107. - - -A - - #a.# Herd's MS., I, 161. #b.# The same, II, 100. - - 1 - The laird of Bristoll's daughter was in the woods walking, - And by came Captain Wetherbourn, a servant to the king; - And he said to his livery man, Wer 't not against the law, - I would tak her to mine ain bed, and lay her neist the wa. - - 2 - 'I'm into my father's woods, amongst my father's trees, - O kind sir, let mee walk alane, O kind sir, if you please; - The butler's bell it will be rung, and I'll be mist awa; - I'll lye into mine ain bed, neither at stock nor wa.' - - 3 - 'O my bonny lady, the bed it's not be mine, - For I'll command my servants for to call it thine; - The hangings are silk satin, the sheets are holland sma, - And we's baith lye in ae bed, but you's lye neist the wa. - - 4 - 'And so, my bonny lady,--I do not know your name,-- - But my name's Captain Wetherburn, and I'm a man of fame; - Tho your father and a' his men were here, I would na stand in awe - To tak you to mine ain bed, and lay you neist the wa. - - 5 - 'Oh my bonny, bonny lady, if you'll gie me your hand, - You shall hae drums and trumpets to sound at your command; - Wi fifty men to guard you, sae weel their swords can dra, - And wee's baith lye in ae bed, but you's lye neist the wa.' - - 6 - He's mounted her upon a steid, behind his gentleman, - And he himself did walk afoot, to had his lady on, - With his hand about her midle sae jimp, for fear that she should fa; - She man lye in his bed, but she'll not lye neist the wa. - - 7 - He's taen her into Edinburgh, his landlady cam ben: - 'And monny bonny ladys in Edinburgh hae I seen, - But the like of this fine creature my eyes they never sa;' - 'O dame bring ben a down-bed, for she's lye neist the wa.' - - 8 - 'Hold your tongue, young man,' she said, 'and dinna trouble me, - Unless you get to my supper, and that is dishes three; - Dishes three to my supper, tho I eat nane at a', - Before I lye in your bed, but I winna lye neist the wa. - - 9 - 'You maun get to my supper a cherry but a stane, - And you man get to my supper a capon but a bane, - And you man get a gentle bird that flies wanting the ga, - Before I lye in your bed, but I'll not lye neist the wa.' - - 10 - 'A cherry whan in blossom is a cherry but a stane; - A capon when he's in the egg canna hae a bane; - The dow it is a gentle bird that flies wanting the ga; - And ye man lye in my bed, between me and the wa.' - - 11 - 'Hold your tongue, young man,' she said, 'and dinna me perplex, - Unless you tell me questions, and that is questions six; - Tell me them as I shall ask them, and that is twa by twa, - Before I lye in your bed, but I'll not lye neist the wa. - - 12 - 'What is greener than the grass, what's higher than the tree? - What's war than a woman's wiss, what's deeper than the sea? - What bird sings first, and whereupon the dew down first does fa? - Before I lye in your bed, but I'll not lye neist the wa.' - - 13 - 'Virgus is greener than the grass, heaven's higher than the tree; - The deil's war than a woman's wish, hell's deeper than the sea; - The cock sings first, on the Sugar Loaf the dew down first does fa; - And ye man lye in my bed, betweest me and the wa.' - - 14 - 'Hold your tongue, young man,' she said, 'I pray you give it oer, - Unless you tell me questions, and that is questions four; - Tell me them as I shall ask them, and that is twa by twa, - Before I lye in your bed, but I winna lye neist the wa. - - 15 - 'You man get to me a plumb that does in winter grow; - And likewise a silk mantle that never waft gaed thro; - A sparrow's horn, a priest unborn, this night to join us twa, - Before I lye in your bed, but I winna lye neist the wa.' - - 16 - 'There is a plumb in my father's yeard that does in winter grow; - Likewise he has a silk mantle that never waft gaed thro; - A sparrow's horn, it may be found, there's ane in every tae, - There's ane upo the mouth of him, perhaps there may be twa. - - 17 - 'The priest is standing at the door, just ready to come in; - Nae man could sae that he was born, to lie it is a sin; - For a wild boar bored his mother's side, he out of it did fa; - And you man lye in my bed, between me and the wa.' - - 18 - Little kent Grizey Sinclair, that morning when she raise, - 'T was to be the hindermost of a' her single days; - For now she's Captain Wetherburn's wife, a man she never saw, - And she man lye in his bed, but she'll not lye neist the wa. - - -B - - #a.# Kinloch MSS, I, 83, from Mary Barr's recitation. #b.# - Lord Roslin's Daughter's Garland. #c.# Buchan's MSS, II, - 34. #d.# Jamieson's Popular Ballads, II, 159. #e.# Harris - MS., fol. 19 b, No 14, from Mrs Harris's recitation. #f.# - Notes and Queries, 2d S., IV, 170, "as sung among the - peasantry of the Mearns," 1857. - - 1 - The Lord of Rosslyn's daughter gaed through the wud her lane, - And there she met Captain Wedderburn, a servant to the king. - He said unto his livery-man, Were 't na agen the law, - I wad tak her to my ain bed, and lay her at the wa. - - 2 - 'I'm walking here my lane,' she says, 'amang my father's trees; - And ye may lat me walk my lane, kind sir, now gin ye please. - The supper-bell it will be rung, and I'll be missd awa; - Sae I'll na lie in your bed, at neither stock nor wa.' - - 3 - He said, My pretty lady, I pray lend me your hand, - And ye'll hae drums and trumpets always at your command; - And fifty men to guard ye wi, that weel their swords can draw; - Sae we'll baith lie in ae bed, and ye'll lie at the wa. - - 4 - 'Haud awa frae me, kind sir, I pray let go my hand; - The supper-bell it will be rung, nae langer maun I stand. - My father he'll na supper tak, gif I be missd awa; - Sae I'll na lie in your bed, at neither stock nor wa.' - - 5 - 'O my name is Captain Wedderburn, my name I'll neer deny, - And I command ten thousand men, upo yon mountains high. - Tho your father and his men were here, of them I'd stand na awe, - But should tak ye to my ain bed, and lay ye neist the wa.' - - 6 - Then he lap aff his milk-white steed, and set the lady on, - And a' the way he walkd on foot, he held her by the hand; - He held her by the middle jimp, for fear that she should fa; - Saying, I'll tak ye to my ain bed, and lay thee at the wa. - - 7 - He took her to his quartering-house, his landlady looked ben, - Saying, Monie a pretty ladie in Edinbruch I've seen; - But sic 'na pretty ladie is not into it a': - Gae, mak for her a fine down-bed, and lay her at the wa. - - 8 - 'O haud awa frae me, kind sir, I pray ye lat me be, - For I'll na lie in your bed till I get dishes three; - Dishes three maun be dressd for me, gif I should eat them a', - Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa. - - 9 - ''T is I maun hae to my supper a chicken without a bane; - And I maun hae to my supper a cherry without a stane; - And I maun hae to my supper a bird without a gaw, - Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.' - - 10 - 'Whan the chicken's in the shell, I am sure it has na bane; - And whan the cherry's in the bloom, I wat it has na stane; - The dove she is a genty bird, she flees without a gaw; - Sae we'll baith lie in ae bed, and ye'll be at the wa.' - - 11 - 'O haud awa frae me, kind sir, I pray ye give me owre, - For I'll na lie in your bed, till I get presents four; - Presents four ye maun gie me, and that is twa and twa, - Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa. - - 12 - ''T is I maun hae some winter fruit that in December grew; - And I maun hae a silk mantil that waft gaed never through; - A sparrow's horn, a priest unborn, this nicht to join us twa, - Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.' - - 13 - 'My father has some winter fruit that in December grew; - My mither has a silk mantil the waft gaed never through; - A sparrow's horn ye soon may find, there's ane on evry claw, - And twa upo the gab o it, and ye shall get them a'. - - 14 - 'The priest he stands without the yett, just ready to come in; - Nae man can say he eer was born, nae man without he sin; - He was haill cut frae his mither's side, and frae the same let fa; - Sae we'll baith lie in ae bed, and ye'se lie at the wa.' - - 15 - 'O haud awa frae me, kind sir, I pray don't me perplex, - For I'll na lie in your bed till ye answer questions six: - Questions six ye maun answer me, and that is four and twa, - Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa. - - 16 - 'O what is greener than the gress, what's higher than thae trees? - O what is worse than women's wish, what's deeper than the seas? - What bird craws first, what tree buds first, what first does on them - fa? - Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.' - - 17 - 'Death is greener than the gress, heaven higher than thae trees; - The devil's waur than women's wish, hell's deeper than the seas; - The cock craws first, the cedar buds first, dew first on them does fa; - Sae we'll baith lie in ae bed, and ye'se lie at the wa.' - - 18 - Little did this lady think, that morning whan she raise, - That this was for to be the last o a' her maiden days. - But there's na into the king's realm to be found a blither twa, - And now she's Mrs. Wedderburn, and she lies at the wa. - - -C - - Sheldon's Minstrelsy of the English Border, p. 232, as - recited "by a lady of Berwick on Tweed, who used to sing - it in her childhood, and had learnt it from her nurse." - - 1 - The laird of Roslin's daughter walked thro the wood her lane, - And by came Captain Wedderburn, a servant to the Queen; - He said unto his serving man, Wer 't not agaynst the law, - I would tak her to my ain house as lady o my ha. - - 2 - He said, My pretty ladye, I pray give me your hand; - You shall have drums and trumpets always at your command; - With fifty men to guard you, that well their swords can draw, - And I'll tak ye to my ain bed, and lay you next the wa. - - 3 - 'I'm walking in my feyther's shaws:' quo he, My charming maid, - I am much better than I look, so be you not afraid; - For I serve the queen of a' Scotland, and a gentil dame is she; - So we'se be married ere the morn, gin ye can fancy me. - - 4 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - 'The sparrow shall toot on his horn, gif naething us befa, - And I'll mak you up a down-bed, and lay you next the wa. - - 5 - 'Now hold away from me, kind sir, I pray you let me be; - I wont be lady of your ha till you answer questions three: - Questions three you must answer me, and that is one and twa, - Before I gae to Woodland's house, and be lady o your ha. - - 6 - 'You must get me to my supper a chicken without a bone; - You must get me to my supper a cherry without a stone; - You must get me to my supper a bird without a ga, - Before I go to Woodland's house and be lady of your ha.' - - 7 - 'When the cherry is in the bloom, I'm sure it has no stone; - When the chicken's in the shell, I'm sure it has nae bone; - The dove she is a gentil bird, and flies without a ga; - So I've answered you your questions three, and you're lady of my ha.' - - * * * * * * * - - 8 - 'Questions three you must answer me: What's higher than the trees? - And what is worse than woman's voice? What's deeper than the seas?' - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 9 - He answered then so readily: Heaven's higher than the trees; - The devil's worse than woman's voice; hell's deeper than the seas; - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 10 - 'One question still you must answer me, or you I laugh to scorn; - Go seek me out an English priest, of woman never born;' - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 11 - 'Oh then,' quo he, 'my young brother from mother's side was torn, - And he's a gentil English priest, of woman never born;' - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 12 - Little did his lady think, that morning when she raise, - It was to be the very last of all her mayden days; - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - * * * * * - - -#A. a.# - - 2^4. I lye. - - 4^{3,4} _and 5^{3,4} have been interchanged_. - - 5^4. lye you. - - #b.# lay. - - 7^1. teen. - - 17^1. priest was. - - 17^2. it was. - - 17^3. boned (?) - - _#b# has ~bored~._ - - _#b# is a copy of #a#, but with the long lines broken up - into two, and some slight variations._ - - #b.# - - 3^4. And we'll. - - 5^1. _Omits_ if. - - 6^3. _Omits_ sae jimp. - - 11^2. and they are questions. - - 12^2. wish. - - 13^4. betwixt. - -#B.# - - _In stanzas of four short lines._ - - #a.# - - 16^2, 17^2. _Var._ women's vice. - - 17^1. _Var._ Poison is greener. - - 17^2. _Var._ There's nathing waur. - - #b.# - - Lord Roslin's Daughter's Garland. Containing three - excellent new songs. - - I. The Drunkard Reformed. - II. The Devil and the Grinder. - III. Lord Roslin's Daughter. - - Licensed and entered according to order. - - 1^1, walks throw. - - 1^2. And by came. - - 1^3, servant man. - - 1^4, 3^4, 6^4, 7^4, 10^4, 14^4, 18^4. next the wa. - - 17^4. neist. - - 2^3, 4^3. missd you know. - - 3^4. And we'll ... and thou's ly next. - - 4^2. will I. - - 4^4. So I not. - - 5^{1,2}. - Then said the pretty lady, I pray tell me your name. - My name is Captain Wedderburn, a servant to the king. - - 5^3. of him I'd not stand in aw. - - 6^1. He lighted off. - - 6^2. And held her by the milk-white hand even as they rode - along. - - 6^3. so jimp. - - 6^4. So I'll take. - - 7^1. lodging house. - - 7^3. But such a pretty face as thine in it I never saw. - - 7^4. make her up a down-bed. - - 8^2. will not go to your bed till you dress me. - - 8^3. three you must do to me. - - 9^1. O I must have ... a cherry without a stone. - - 9^2. a chicken without a bone. - - 10^{1,2}. - When the cherry is into the bloom I am sure it hath no stone, - And when the chicken's in the shell I'm sure it hath no bone. - - 10^3. it is a gentle. - - 11^2. I will not go till ... till you answer me questions. - - 11^3. Questions four you must tell me. - - 12^1. You must get to me. - - 12^2. That the wraft was neer ca'd. - - 12^{3,4} _and 16^{3,4} (and consequently 13^{3,4}, - 17^{3,4}) are wrongly interchanged in #b#, mixing up - ferlies and questions._ - - #a# 12^{3,4}, 13^{3,4}, 14, 15, 16^{1,2}, 16^{3,4}, - 17^{1,2}, 17^{3,4}==#b# 15^{3,4}, 16^{3,4}, 17, 14, - 15^{1,2}, 12^{3,4}, 16^{1,2}, 13^{3,4}. - - 13^2. the wraft was neer ca'd throw. - - 13^{3,4}. A sparrow's horn you well may get, there's one - on ilka pa. - - 14^1. standing at the door. - - 14^3. A hole cut in his mother's side, he from the same - did fa. - - 16^2. And what ... women's voice. - - 16^3. What bird sings best, and wood buds first, that dew - does on them fa. - - 17^1. sky is higher. - - 17^2. worse than women's voice. - - 17^3. the dew does on them fa. - - 18^2. the last night. - - 18^3. now they both lie in one bed. - - _#c# closely resembling #b#, the variations from #b# are - given._ - - #c.# - - 1. came _omitted_, _v._ 2; unto, _v._ 3. - - 2. into your bed, _v._ 4. - - 3. guard you ... who well, _v._ 3; into ... thou'lt, _v._ - 4. - - 5^{1,2}. Then says, _v._ 1. - - 6. lighted from ... this lady, _v._ 1; middle jimp, _v._ - 3. - - 7. pretty fair, _v._ 2; as this, _v._ 3. - - 8. dress me, _v._ 3. - - 9. unto, _vv_ 1,2; O I must, _v._ 2. - - 10. in the bloom, _v._ 1; we both shall ly in, _v._ 4. - - 11. will give oer, _v._ 1; to your ... you tell me, _v._ - 2. - - 12. You must get to me ... that waft, _v._ 2; bird sings - first ... on them does, _v._ 3. - - 13. sings first, _v._ 3. - - 14. in your ... you tell me, _v._ 2; I'll ly in, _v._ 4. - - 15. What is ... woman's, _v._ 2; I'll ly in, _v._ 4. - - 16. - - Death's greener than the grass, hell's deeper than the seas, - The devil's worse than woman's voice, sky's higher than the - trees, _vv_ 1,2; every paw, _v._ 3; thou shalt, _v._ 4. - - 18. the lady ... rose, _v._ 1; It was to be the very last, - _v._ 2; they ly in ae, _v._ 4. - - #d.# - - _Follows the broadside (#b#, #c#) through the first nine - stanzas, with changes from Jamieson's "~own - recollection,~" or invention, and one from #A#. 10 has - certainly arbitrary alterations. The remaining eight - stanzas are the corresponding ones of #A# treated freely. - The comparison here is with #b#, readings from #A# in - 11-18 not being noticed._ - - 1^3, serving men. - - 2^3. _~mist awa~, from #A#; so in 4^3, a stanza not in - #A#._ - - 5^3. I'd have nae awe. - - 6^1. He lighted aff ... this lady. - - 6^3. middle jimp. - - 6^4. To tak her to his ain. - - 7^3. sic a lovely face as thine. - - 7^4. Gae mak her down. - - 8^3. maun dress to me. - - 9^1. It's ye maun get. - - 9^{2,3}. And ye maun get. - - 10^1. It's whan the cherry is in the flirry. - - 10^2. in the egg. - - 10^3. And sin the flood o Noah the dow she had nae ga. - - #A, B d#, 11, 12^{1,2}, 13^{1,2}, 14, 15^{1,2}, - 16^{1,2}==#B b, c#, 14, 15^{1,2}, 16^{1,2}, 11, 12^{1,2}, - 13^{1,2}. - - 11^1. and gie your fleechin oer. - - 11^2. Unless you'll find me ferlies, and that is ferlies - four. - - 11^3. Ferlies four ye maun find me. - - 11^4. Or I'll never lie. - - 12^2. And get to me. - - 12^3. doth first down. - - 12^4. Ye sall tell afore I lay me down between you and the - wa. - - 13^2. has an Indian gown that waft. - - 13^3. on cedar top the dew. - - 14^2. that gait me perplex. - - 14^3. three times twa. - - 15^1. the greenest grass. - - 15^2. war nor an ill woman's wish. - - 16^3. horn is quickly found ... on every claw. - - 16^4. There's ane upon the neb of him. - - 17^3. A wild bore tore his mither's side. - - 18^3. now there's nae within the realm, I think. - - #e# - - _has stanzas 1, 5 (?), 9, 12, 10, 13, 14 of #a#, the first - two imperfect. The last line of each stanza is changed, no - doubt for delicacy's sake, to ~I will tak you wi me, I - tell you, aye or na~, or the like_. - - 1. - The Earl o Roslin's dochter gaed out to tak the air; - She met a gallant gentleman, as hame she did repair; - . . . . . . . - I will tak you wi me, I tell you, aye or no. - - 5(?). - I am Captain Wedderburn, a servant to the king. - . . . . . . . - I will tak you wi me, I tell you, aye or no. - - 9^1. I maun hae to my supper a bird without a bone. - - 9^3. An I maun hae a gentle bird that flies. - - 9^4. Before that I gae with you, I tell you, aye or na. - - 10^1. When the bird is in the egg. - - 10^2. in the bud ... I'm sure. - - 10^3. it is a gentle bird. - - 12^2, 13^2. a gey mantle ... neer ca'ed. - - 13^3. sune sall get. - - 14^1. is standing at. - - 14^2. say that he was ... a sin. - - #f.# - - _Stanzas 9, 10 only._ - - 9^1. 'T is I maun hae to my supper a bird without a bone. - - 9^2. withouten stone. - - 9^3. withouten ga. - - 10^1. When the bird is in the shell, I'm sure. - - 10^2. I'm sure. - - 10^3. a gentle ... withouten ga. - -#C.# - - _Printed in stanzas of four short lines._ - - -[389] This book has been pursued by me for years, with the coöperation -of many friends and agents, but in vain. - -[390] Followed by Virgil's riddle, Ecl. iii, 104-5, Where is the sky but -three spans broad? - -[391] Halliwell's Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales, p. 150; Halliwell's -Nursery Rhymes, No 375; Notes and Queries, 3d Ser., IX, 401; 4th Ser., -III, 501, 604; Macmillan's Magazine, V, 248, by T. Hughes. The first of -these runs: - - I have four sisters beyond the sea, - Para-mara, dictum, domine - And they did send four presents to me. - Partum, quartum, paradise, tempum, - Para-mara, dictum, domine - - The first it was a bird without eer a bone, - The second was a cherry without eer a stone. - - The third it was a blanket without eer a thread, - The fourth it was a book which no man could read. - - How can there be a bird without eer a bone? - How can there be a cherry without eer a stone? - - How can there be a blanket without eer a thread? - How can there be a book which no man can read? - - When the bird's in the shell, there is no bone; - When the cherry's in the bud, there is no stone. - - When the blanket's in the fleece, there is no thread; - When the book's in the press, no man can read. - -The Minnesinger dames went far beyond our laird's daughter in the way of -requiring "ferlies" from their lovers. Der Tanhuser and Boppe represent -that their ladies would be satisfied with nothing short of their turning -the course of rivers; bringing them the salamander, the basilisk, the -graal, Paris's apple; giving them a sight of Enoch and Elijah in the -body, a hearing of the sirens, etc. Von der Hagen, Minnesinger, II, 91 -f, 385 f. - -[392] There were, no doubt, Grissels enough in the very distinguished -family of the Sinclairs of Roslin to furnish one for this ballad. I see -two mentioned among the Sinclairs of Herdmanstoun. Even a Wedderburn -connection, as I am informed, is not absolutely lacking. George Home of -Wedderburn ([+] 1497), married the eldest daughter of John Sinclair of -Herdmanstoun: Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, ed. Wood, 1813, II, 174. - -[393] The difficulty here is the want of a [Gk: _pou stô_], from which -to climb the tree. - -[394] These number-riddles or songs are known to every nation of Europe. -E. g., Chambers' Popular Rhymes of Scotland, p. 44, ed. 1870, from -Buchan's MSS, I, 280: - - O what will be our ane, boys? - O what will be our ane, boys? - My only ane, she walks alane, - And evermair has dune, boys, etc. - -See Köhler in Orient u. Occident, II, 558-9. A dragon, in Hahn's -Griechische u. Albanesische Märchen, II, 210, gives Penteklimas ten of -these number-riddles: if he answers them he is to have a fine castle; if -not, he is to be eaten. An old woman answers for him: "One is God, two -are the righteous, etc.; ten is your own word, and now burst, dragon!" -The dragon bursts, and Penteklimas inherits his possessions. - -[395] Gozzi retains the first and third riddles, Schiller only the -third. By a happy idea, new riddles were introduced at the successive -performances of Schiller's play. Turandot appears as a traditional tale -in Schneller's Märchen u. Sagen aus Wälschtirol, No 49, p. 132, "I tre -Indovinelli." - -[396] The castle with walls and gate thus equipped, or a palisade of -stakes each crowned with a head, is all but a commonplace in such -adventures. This grim stroke of fancy is best in 'La mule sanz frain,' -where there are four hundred stakes, _all but one_ surmounted with a -bloody head: Méon, Nouveau Recueil, 1, 15, vv 429-37. For these parlous -princesses, of all sorts, see Grundtvig, 'Den farlige Jomfru,' IV, 43 -ff, No 184. - -[397] Von Hammer, Geschichte der schönen Redekünste Persiens, p. 116, -previously cited by von der Hagen, Gesammtabenteuer, III, lxii. - -[398] The German schwank affixes the forfeit of the head to failure. In -the Norwegian the unsuccessful brothers get off with a thrashing. The -fire in the English, found also in the German, recalls the third task in -the Gesta Romanorum. - -[399] Khudyakof, in the Ethnographical Collection of the Russian -Geographical Society, Etnografitcheskiy Sbornik, etc., VI, 9, 10, 8. -Ralston, The Songs of the Russian People, p. 353. - -[400] Vigfusson objects to Thor being the interlocutor, though that is -the name in the MS., because cunning does not suit Thor's blunt -character, and proposes Odin instead. "May be the dwarf first met Thor -(Wingthor), whereupon Woden (Wingi) came up." Corpus Poeticum Boreale, -I, 81. - - - - -47 - -PROUD LADY MARGARET - - #A.# 'Proud Lady Margaret,' Scott's Minstrelsy, III, 275, - ed. 1803. - - #B. a.# 'The Courteous Knight,' Buchan's Ballads of the - North of Scotland, I, 91; Motherwell's MS., p. 591. #b.# - Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. lxxxi. - - #C.# 'The Jolly Hind Squire,' Buchan's MSS, II, 95. - - #D.# 'The Knicht o Archerdale,' Harris MS., fol. 7, No 3. - - #E.# 'Fair Margret,' A. Laing, Ancient Ballads and Songs, - MS., 1829, p. 6. - - -#A# was communicated to Scott "by Mr Hamilton, music-seller, Edinburgh, -with whose mother it had been a favorite." Two stanzas and one line were -wanting, and were supplied by Scott "from a different ballad, having a -plot somewhat similar." The stanzas were 6 and 9. #C# was printed from -the MS., with a few changes, under the title of 'The Bonny Hind Squire,' -by Dixon, in Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads, p. 42, -and from Dixon in Bell's Early Ballads, p. 183. Christie, Traditional -Ballad Airs, I, 28, says the ballad was called 'Jolly Janet' by the old -people in Aberdeenshire. - -#A-D# are plainly compounded of two ballads, the conclusion being -derived from #E#. The lady's looking oer her castle wa, her putting -riddles, and her having gard so mony die, make the supposition far from -incredible that the Proud Lady Margaret of the first part of the ballad -may originally have been one of the cruel princesses spoken of in the -preface to 'Captain Wedderburn's Courtship,' p. 417. But the corrupt -condition of the texts of #A-D# forbids any confident opinion. - -A dead mistress similarly admonishes her lover, in a ballad from -Brittany, given in Ampère, Instructions relatives aux Poésies populaires -de la France, p. 36. - - "Non, je ne dors ni ne soumeille, - Je sis dans l'enfer à brûler. - - "Auprès de moi reste une place, - C'est pour vous, Piar', qu'on l'a gardée." - - "Ha! dites-moi plustot, ma Jeanne, - Comment fair' pour n'y point aller?" - - "Il faut aller à la grand-messe, - Et aux vêpres, sans y manquer. - - "Faut point aller aux fileries, - Comm' vous aviez d'accoutumé. - - "Ne faut point embrasser les filles - Sur l' bout du coffre au pied du lect." - -So Beaurepaire, Étude, p. 53; Puymaigre, 'La Damnée,' Chants populaires, -I, 115; V. Smith, Chants du Velay et du Forez, Romania, IV, 449 f, 'La -Concubine;' and Luzel, "Celui qui alla voir sa maitresse en enfer," I, -44, 45. In this last, a lover, whose mistress has died, goes into a -monastery, where he prays continually that he may see her again. The -devil presents himself in the likeness of a young man, and on condition -of being something gently considered takes him to hell. He sees his -mistress sitting in a fiery chair (cf. #B#, 30, 31), devoured by -serpents night and day, and is informed that fasts and masses on his -part will only make things worse. Like Dives, she sends word to her -sister not to do as she has done. Some of these traits are found also in -one or another of the French versions. - - * * * * * - -Translated by Doenniges, p. 6, after Scott, and by Knortz, Schottische -Balladen, No 1, after Aytoun, II, 62. - - -A - - Scott's Minstrelsy, III, 275, ed. 1803. Communicated "by - Mr Hamilton, music-seller, Edinburgh, with whose mother it - had been a favorite." - - 1 - 'T was on a night, an evening bright, - When the dew began to fa, - Lady Margaret was walking up and down, - Looking oer her castle wa. - - 2 - She looked east and she looked west, - To see what she could spy, - When a gallant knight came in her sight, - And to the gate drew nigh. - - 3 - 'You seem to be no gentleman, - You wear your boots so wide; - But you seem to be some cunning hunter, - You wear the horn so syde.' - - 4 - 'I am no cunning hunter,' he said, - 'Nor neer intend to be; - But I am come to this castle - To seek the love of thee. - And if you do not grant me love, - This night for thee I'll die.' - - 5 - 'If you should die for me, sir knight, - There's few for you will meane; - For mony a better has died for me, - Whose graves are growing green. - - 6 - ['But ye maun read my riddle,' she said, - 'And answer my questions three; - And but ye read them right,' she said, - 'Gae stretch ye out and die.] - - 7 - 'Now what is the flower, the ae first flower, - Springs either on moor or dale? - And what is the bird, the bonnie bonnie bird, - Sings on the evening gale?' - - 8 - 'The primrose is the ae first flower - Springs either on moor or dale, - And the thristlecock is the bonniest bird - Sings on the evening gale.' - - 9 - ['But what's the little coin,' she said, - 'Wald buy my castle bound? - And what's the little boat,' she said, - 'Can sail the world all round?'] - - 10 - 'O hey, how mony small pennies - Make thrice three thousand pound? - Or hey, how mony salt fishes - Swim a' the salt sea round?' - - 11 - 'I think you maun be my match,' she said, - 'My match and something mair; - You are the first eer got the grant - Of love frae my father's heir. - - 12 - 'My father was lord of nine castles, - My mother lady of three; - My father was lord of nine castles, - And there's nane to heir but me. - - 13 - 'And round about a' thae castles - You may baith plow and saw, - And on the fifteenth day of May - The meadows they will maw.' - - 14 - 'O hald your tongue, Lady Margaret,' he said, - 'For loud I hear you lie; - Your father was lord of nine castles, - Your mother was lady of three; - Your father was lord of nine castles, - But ye fa heir to but three. - - 15 - 'And round about a' thae castles - You may baith plow and saw, - But on the fifteenth day of May - The meadows will not maw. - - 16 - 'I am your brother Willie,' he said, - 'I trow ye ken na me; - I came to humble your haughty heart, - Has gard sae mony die.' - - 17 - 'If ye be my brother Willie,' she said, - 'As I trow weel ye be, - This night I'll neither eat nor drink, - But gae alang wi thee.' - - 18 - 'O hold your tongue, Lady Margaret,' he said, - 'Again I hear you lie; - For ye've unwashen hands and ye've unwashen feet, - To gae to clay wi me. - - 19 - 'For the wee worms are my bedfellows, - And cauld clay is my sheets, - And when the stormy winds do blow, - My body lies and sleeps.' - - -B - - #a.# Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, 1, 91; - Motherwell's MS., p. 591. #b.# Motherwell's Minstrelsy, - Introduction, p. lxxxi. - - 1 - There was a knight, in a summer's night, - Appeard in a lady's hall, - As she was walking up and down, - Looking oer her castle wall. - - 2 - 'God make you safe and free, fair maid, - God make you safe and free!' - 'O sae fa you, ye courteous knight, - What are your wills wi me?' - - 3 - 'My wills wi you are not sma, lady, - My wills wi you nae sma, - And since there's nane your bower within, - Ye'se hae my secrets a'. - - 4 - 'For here am I a courtier, - A courtier come to thee, - And if ye winna grant your love, - All for your sake I'll dee.' - - 5 - 'If that ye dee for me, sir knight, - Few for you will make meen; - For mony gude lord's done the same, - Their graves are growing green.' - - 6 - 'O winna ye pity me, fair maid, - O winna ye pity me? - O winna ye pity a courteous knight, - Whose love is laid on thee?' - - 7 - 'Ye say ye are a courteous knight, - But I think ye are nane; - I think ye're but a millar bred, - By the colour o your claithing. - - 8 - 'You seem to be some false young man, - You wear your hat sae wide; - You seem to be some false young man, - You wear your boots sae side.' - - 9 - 'Indeed I am a courteous knight, - And of great pedigree; - Nae knight did mair for a lady bright - Than I will do for thee. - - 10 - 'O I'll put smiths in your smithy, - To shoe for you a steed, - And I'll put tailors in your bower, - To make for you a weed. - - 11 - 'I will put cooks in your kitchen, - And butlers in your ha, - And on the tap o your father's castle - I'll big gude corn and saw.' - - 12 - 'If ye be a courteous knight, - As I trust not ye be, - Ye'll answer some o the sma questions - That I will ask at thee. - - 13 - 'What is the fairest flower, tell me, - That grows in mire or dale? - Likewise, which is the sweetest bird - Sings next the nightingale? - Or what's the finest thing,' she says, - 'That king or queen can wile?' - - 14 - 'The primrose is the fairest flower - That grows in mire or dale; - The mavis is the sweetest bird - Next to the nightingale; - And yellow gowd's the finest thing - That king or queen can wale. - - 15 - 'Ye hae asked many questions, lady, - I've you as many told;' - 'But how many pennies round - Make a hundred pounds in gold? - - 16 - 'How many of the small fishes - Do swim the salt seas round? - Or what's the seemliest sight you'll see - Into a May morning?' - - * * * * * * * - - 17 - 'Berry-brown ale and a birken speal, - And wine in a horn green; - A milk-white lace in a fair maid's dress - Looks gay in a May morning.' - - 18 - 'Mony's the questions I've askd at thee, - And ye've answerd them a'; - Ye are mine, and I am thine, - Amo the sheets sae sma. - - 19 - 'You may be my match, kind sir, - You may be my match and more; - There neer was ane came sic a length - Wi my father's heir before. - - 20 - 'My father's lord o nine castles, - My mother she's lady ower three, - And there is nane to heir them all, - No never a ane but me; - Unless it be Willie, my ae brother, - But he's far ayont the sea.' - - 21 - 'If your father's laird o nine castles, - Your mother lady ower three, - I am Willie your ae brother, - Was far beyond the sea.' - - 22 - 'If ye be Willie, my ae brother, - As I doubt sair ye be, - But if it's true ye tell me now, - This night I'll gang wi thee.' - - 23 - 'Ye've ower ill washen feet, Janet, - And ower ill washen hands, - And ower coarse robes on your body, - Alang wi me to gang. - - 24 - 'The worms they are my bed-fellows, - And the cauld clay my sheet, - And the higher that the wind does blaw, - The sounder I do sleep. - - 25 - 'My body's buried in Dumfermline, - And far beyond the sea, - But day nor night nae rest coud get, - All for the pride o thee. - - 26 - 'Leave aff your pride, jelly Janet,' he says, - 'Use it not ony mair; - Or when ye come where I hae been - You will repent it sair. - - 27 - 'Cast aff, cast aff, sister,' he says, - 'The gowd lace frae your crown; - For if ye gang where I hae been, - Ye'll wear it laigher down. - - 28 - 'When ye're in the gude church set, - The gowd pins in your hair, - Ye take mair delight in your feckless dress - Than ye do in your morning prayer. - - 29 - 'And when ye walk in the church-yard, - And in your dress are seen, - There is nae lady that sees your face - But wishes your grave were green. - - 30 - 'You're straight and tall, handsome withall, - But your pride owergoes your wit, - But if ye do not your ways refrain, - In Pirie's chair ye'll sit. - - 31 - 'In Pirie's chair you'll sit, I say, - The lowest seat o hell; - If ye do not amend your ways, - It's there that ye must dwell.' - - 32 - Wi that he vanishd frae her sight, - Wi the twinkling o an eye; - Naething mair the lady saw - But the gloomy clouds and sky. - - -C - - Buchan's MSS, II, 95. - - 1 - Once there was a jolly hind squire - Appeard in a lady's ha, - And aye she walked up and down, - Looking oer her castle wa. - - 2 - 'What is your wills wi me, kind sir? - What is your wills wi me?' - 'My wills are [not] sma wi thee, lady, - My wills are [not] sma wi thee. - - 3 - 'For here I stand a courtier, - And a courtier come to thee, - And if ye will not grant me your love, - For your sake I will die.' - - 4 - 'If you die for my sake,' she says, - 'Few for you will make moan; - Many better's died for my sake, - Their graves are growing green. - - 5 - 'You appear to be some false young man, - You wear your hat so wide; - You appear to be some false young man, - You wear your boots so side. - - 6 - 'An asking, asking, sir,' she said, - 'An asking ye'll grant me:' - 'Ask on, ask on, lady,' he said, - 'What may your asking be?' - - 7 - 'What's the first thing in flower,' she said, - 'That springs in mire or dale? - What's the next bird that sings,' she says, - 'Unto the nightingale? - Or what is the finest thing,' she says, - 'That king or queen can wile?' - - 8 - 'The primrose is the first in flower - That springs in mire or dale; - The thristle-throat is the next that sings - Unto the nightingale; - And yellow gold is the finest thing - That king or queen can wile. - - 9 - 'You have asked many questions, lady, - I've you as many told;' - 'But how many pennies round - Make a hundred pounds in gold? - - 10 - 'How many small fishes - Do swim the salt seas round? - Or what's the seemliest sight you'll see - Into a May morning? - - * * * * * * * - - 11 - 'There's ale into the birken scale, - Wine in the horn green; - There's gold in the king's banner - When he is fighting keen.' - - 12 - 'You may be my match, kind sir,' she said, - 'You may be my match and more; - There neer was one came such a length - With my father's heir before. - - 13 - 'My father's lord of nine castles, - No body heir but me.' - 'Your father's lord of nine castles, - Your mother's lady of three; - - 14 - 'Your father's heir of nine castles, - And you are heir to three; - For I am William, thy ae brother, - That died beyond the sea.' - - 15 - 'If ye be William, my ae brother, - This night, O well is me! - If ye be William, my ae brother, - This night I'll go with thee.' - - 16 - 'For no, for no, jelly Janet,' he says, - 'For no, that cannot be; - You've oer foul feet and ill washen hands - To be in my company. - - 17 - 'For the wee wee worms are my bedfellows, - And the cold clay is my sheet, - And the higher that the winds do blow, - The sounder I do sleep. - - 18 - 'Leave off your pride, jelly Janet,' he says, - 'Use it not any more; - Or when you come where I have been - You will repent it sore. - - 19 - 'When you go in at yon church door, - The red gold on your hair, - More will look at your yellow locks - Than look on the Lord's prayer. - - 20 - 'When you go in at yon church door, - The red gold on your crown; - When you come where I have been, - You'll wear it laigher down.' - - 21 - The jolly hind squire, he went away - In the twinkling of an eye, - Left the lady sorrowful behind, - With many bitter cry. - - -D - - Harris's MS., fol. 7, No 3. From Mrs Harris's recitation. - - 1 - There cam a knicht to Archerdale, - His steed was winder sma, - An there he spied a lady bricht, - Luikin owre her castle wa. - - 2 - 'Ye dinna seem a gentle knicht, - Though on horseback ye do ride; - Ye seem to be some sutor's son, - Your butes they are sae wide.' - - 3 - 'Ye dinna seem a lady gay, - Though ye be bound wi pride; - Else I'd gane bye your father's gate - But either taunt or gibe.' - - 4 - He turned aboot his hie horse head, - An awa he was boun to ride, - But neatly wi her mouth she spak: - Oh bide, fine squire, oh bide. - - 5 - 'Bide, oh bide, ye hindy squire, - Tell me mair o your tale; - Tell me some o that wondrous lied - Ye've learnt in Archerdale. - - 6 - 'What gaes in a speal?' she said, - 'What in a horn green? - An what gaes on a lady's head, - Whan it is washen clean?' - - 7 - 'Ale gaes in a speal,' he said, - 'Wine in a horn green; - An silk gaes on a lady's head, - Whan it is washen clean.' - - 8 - Aboot he turned his hie horse head, - An awa he was boun to ride, - When neatly wi her mouth she spak: - Oh bide, fine squire, oh bide. - - 9 - 'Bide, oh bide, ye hindy squire, - Tell me mair o your tale; - Tell me some o that unco lied - You've learnt in Archerdale. - - 10 - 'Ye are as like my ae brither - As ever I did see; - But he's been buried in yon kirkyaird - It's mair than years is three.' - - 11 - 'I am as like your ae brither - As ever ye did see; - But I canna get peace into my grave, - A' for the pride o thee. - - 12 - 'Leave pride, Janet, leave pride, Janet, - Leave pride an vanitie; - If ye come the roads that I hae come, - Sair warned will ye be. - - 13 - 'Ye come in by yonder kirk - Wi the goud preens in your sleeve; - When you're bracht hame to yon kirkyaird, - You'll gie them a' thier leave. - - 14 - 'Ye come in to yonder kirk - Wi the goud plaits in your hair; - When you're bracht hame to yon kirkyaird, - You will them a' forbear.' - - 15 - He got her in her mither's bour, - Puttin goud plaits in her hair; - He left her in her father's gairden, - Mournin her sins sae sair. - - -E - - Alex. Laing, Ancient Ballads and Songs, etc., etc., from - the recitation of old people. Never published. 1829. P. 6. - - 1 - Fair Margret was a young ladye, - An come of high degree; - Fair Margret was a young ladye, - An proud as proud coud be. - - 2 - Fair Margret was a rich ladye, - The king's cousin was she; - Fair Margaret was a rich ladye, - An vain as vain coud be. - - 3 - She war'd her wealth on the gay cleedin - That comes frae yont the sea, - She spent her time frae morning till night - Adorning her fair bodye. - - 4 - Ae night she sate in her stately ha, - Kaimin her yellow hair, - When in there cum like a gentle knight, - An a white scarf he did wear. - - 5 - 'O what's your will wi me, sir knight, - O what's your will wi me? - You're the likest to my ae brother - That ever I did see. - - 6 - 'You're the likest to my ae brother - That ever I hae seen, - But he's buried in Dunfermline kirk, - A month an mair bygane.' - - 7 - 'I'm the likest to your ae brother - That ever ye did see, - But I canna get rest into my grave, - A' for the pride of thee. - - 8 - 'Leave pride, Margret, leave pride, Margret, - Leave pride an vanity; - Ere ye see the sights that I hae seen, - Sair altered ye maun be. - - 9 - 'O ye come in at the kirk-door - Wi the gowd plaits in your hair; - But wud ye see what I hae seen, - Ye maun them a' forbear. - - 10 - 'O ye come in at the kirk-door - Wi the gowd prins i your sleeve; - But wad ye see what I hae seen, - Ye maun gie them a' their leave. - - 11 - 'Leave pride, Margret, leave pride, Margret, - Leave pride an vanity; - Ere ye see the sights that I hae seen, - Sair altered ye maun be.' - - 12 - He got her in her stately ha, - Kaimin her yellow hair, - He left her on her sick sick bed, - Sheding the saut saut tear. - - * * * * * - -#B# - - _15^{3,4}, 16^{1,2}, #C# 9^{3,4}, 10^{1,2} are rightly - answers, not questions: cf. #A# 9, 10. #D# 6 furnishes the - question answered in #B# 17._ - -#B. b.# - - _Motherwell begins at st. 25._ - - 27^2. gowd band. - - 28^1, 29^1. kirk. - - 30^2. owergangs. - - 32^2. In the. - - 32^3. And naething. - -#C.# - - _~Kind Squire~ in the title, and ~kind~ in 1^1, 21^1; I - suppose by mistake of my copyist._ - - 16^3. You're (?). - - 17^2. the clay cold. - -#E.# - - 8^3, 11^3. E'er. - - - - -48 - -YOUNG ANDREW - - Percy MS., p. 292. Hales and Furnivall, II, 328. - - -'Young Andrew' is known only from the Percy manuscript. The story -recalls both 'Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight,' No 4, and 'The Fair -Flower of Northumberland,' No 9. The lady, Helen, 25^3, is bidden to -take, and does take, gold with her in stanzas 5-7, as in No 4, English -#E# 2, 3, #D# 7, Danish #A# 12, #E# 7, 9, #I# 5, #L# 5, 6, and nearly -all the Polish copies, and again in No 9, #A# 14. She is stripped of her -clothes and head-gear in 8-17, as in No 4, English #C-E#, German #G#, -#H#, and many of the Polish versions. These are destined by Young Andrew -for his lady ("that dwells so far in a strange country") in 10, 12, 14, -as by Ulinger for his sister, and by Adelger for his mother, in German -#G# 18, #H# 15. In 15 the lady entreats Young Andrew to leave her her -smock; so in No 4, Polish #L# 8, "You brought me from home in a green -gown; take me back in a shift of tow," and #R# 13, "You took me away in -red satin; let me go back at least in a smock." 18 has the choice -between dying and going home again which is presented in 'Lady Isabel,' -Polish #AA# 4, #H# 10, #R# 11, and implied in 'The Fair Flower of -Northumberland,' #D# 2-5; in #A# 25 of this last the choice is between -dying and being a paramour. In 20, 21, the lady says, "If my father ever -catches you, you're sure to flower a gallows-tree," etc.; in No 4, -Polish #J# 5, "If God would grant me to reach the other bank, you know, -wretch, what death you would die." The father is unrelenting in this -ballad, v. 26, and receives his daughter with severity in 'The Fair -Flower of Northumberland,' #B# 13, #C# 13. The conclusion of 'Young -Andrew' is mutilated and hard to make out. He seems to have been pursued -and caught, as John is in the Polish ballads, #O#, #P#, #T#, etc., of No -4. Why he was not promptly disposed of, and how the wolf comes into the -story, will probably never be known. - - - 1 - As I was cast in my ffirst sleepe, - A dreadffull draught in my mind I drew, - Ffor I was dreamed of a yong man, - Some men called him yonge Andrew. - - 2 - The moone shone bright, and itt cast a ffayre light, - Sayes shee, Welcome, my honey, my hart, and my sweete! - For I haue loued thee this seuen long yeere, - And our chance itt was wee cold neuer meete. - - 3 - Then he tooke her in his armes two, - And kissed her both cheeke and chin, - And twise or thrise he pleased this may - Before they tow did p_ar_t in twinn. - - 4 - Saies, Now, good s_i_r, you haue had yo_u_r will, - You can demand no more of mee; - Good s_i_r, remember what you said before, - And goe to the church and marry mee. - - 5 - 'Ffaire maid, I cannott doe as I wold; - . . . . . . . - Goe home and fett thy fathers redd gold, - And I'le goe to the church and marry thee. - - 6 - This ladye is gone to her ffathers hall, - And well she knew where his red gold lay, - And counted fforth five hundred pound, - Besides all other iuells and chaines: - - 7 - And brought itt all to younge Andrew, - Itt was well counted vpon his knee; - Then he tooke her by the lillye white hand, - And led her vp to an hill soe hye. - - 8 - Shee had vpon a gowne of blacke veluett, - (A pittyffull sight after yee shall see:) - 'Put of thy clothes, bonny wenche,' he sayes, - 'For noe ffoote further thoust gang w_i_th mee.' - - 9 - But then shee put of her gowne of veluett, - W_i_th many a salt teare from her eye, - And in a kirtle of ffine breaden silke - Shee stood beffore young Andrews eye. - - 10 - Sais, O put off thy kirtle of silke, - Ffor some and all shall goe with mee; - And to my owne lady I must itt beare, - Who I must needs loue better then thee. - - 11 - Then shee put of her kirtle of silke, - W_i_th many a salt teare still ffrom her eye; - In a peticoate of scarlett redd - Shee stood before young Andrewes eye. - - 12 - Saies, O put of thy peticoate, - For some and all of itt shall goe w_i_th mee; - And to my owne lady I will itt beare, - W_hi_ch dwells soe ffarr in a strange countrye. - - 13 - But then shee put of her peticoate, - W_i_th many a salt teare still from her eye, - And in a smocke of braue white silke - Shee stood before young Andrews eye. - - 14 - Saies, O put of thy smocke of silke, - For some and all shall goe w_i_th mee; - Vnto my owne ladye I will itt beare, - _Tha_t dwells soe ffarr in a strange countrye. - - 15 - Sayes, O remember, young Andrew, - Once of a woman you were borne; - And ffor _tha_t birth _tha_t Marye bore, - I pray you let my smocke be vpon! - - 16 - 'Yes, ffayre ladye, I know itt well, - Once of a woman I was borne; - Yett ffor noe birth _tha_t Mary bore, - Thy smocke shall not be left here vpon.' - - 17 - But then shee put of her head-geere ffine; - Shee hadd billaments worth a hundred pound; - The hayre _tha_t was vpon this bony wench head - Couered her bodye downe to the ground. - - 18 - Then he pulled forth a Scottish brand, - And held itt there in his owne right hand; - Saies, Whether wilt thou dye vpon my swords point, ladye, - Or thow wilt goe naked home againe? - - 19 - 'Liffe is sweet,' then, 's_i_r,' said shee, - 'Therfore I pray you leaue mee w_i_th mine; - Before I wold dye on yo_u_r swords point, - I had rather goe naked home againe. - - 20 - 'My ffather,' shee sayes, 'is a right good erle - As any remaines in his countrye; - If euer he doe yo_u_r body take, - Yo_u_'r sure to fflower a gallow tree. - - 21 - 'And I haue seuen brethren,' shee sayes, - 'And they are all hardy men and bold; - Giff euer thé doe yo_u_r body take, - You must neuer gang quicke ou_er_ the mold.' - - 22 - 'If yo_u_r ffather be a right good erle - As any remaines in his owne countrye, - Tush! he shall neuer my body take, - I'le gang soe ffast ouer the sea. - - 23 - 'If you haue seuen brethren,' he sayes, - 'If they be neu_er_ soe hardy or bold, - Tush! they shall neu_er_ my body take, - I'le gang soe ffast into the Scottish mold.' - - 24 - Now this ladye is gone to her fathers hall, - When euery body their rest did take; - But the Erle w_hi_ch was her ffather - Lay waken for his deere daughters sake. - - 25 - 'But who is _tha_t,' her ffather can say, - '_Tha_t soe priuilye knowes the pinn?' - 'It's Hellen, yo_u_r owne deere daughter, ffather, - I pray you rise and lett me in.' - - 26 - . . . . . . . - 'Noe, by my hood!' q_uo_th her ffather then, - 'My [house] thoust neuer come w_i_thin, - W_i_thout I had my red gold againe.' - - 27 - 'Nay, yo_u_r gold is gone, ffather!' said shee, - . . . . . . . - 'Then naked thou came into this world, - And naked thou shalt returne againe.' - - 28 - 'Nay! God fforgaue his death, father,' shee sayes, - 'And soe I hope you will doe mee;' - 'Away, away, thou cursed woman, - I pray God an ill death thou may dye!' - - 29 - Shee stood soe long quacking on the ground - Till her hart itt burst in three; - And then shee ffell dead downe in a swoond, - And this was the end of this bonny ladye. - - 30 - Ithe morning, when her ffather gott vpp, - A pittyffull sight there he might see; - His owne deere daughter was dead, w_i_thout clothes, - The teares they trickeled fast ffrom his eye. - - 31 - . . . . . . . - Sais, Fye of gold, and ffye of ffee! - For I sett soe much by my red gold - _Tha_t now itt hath lost both my daughter and mee!' - - 32 - . . . . . . . - But after this time he neere dought good day, - But as flowers doth fade in the frost, - Soe he did wast and weare away. - - 33 - But let vs leaue talking of this ladye, - And talke some more of young Andrew; - Ffor ffalse he was to this bonny ladye, - More pitty _tha_t he had not beene true. - - 34 - He was not gone a mile into the wild forrest, - Or halfe a mile into the hart of Wales, - But there they cought him by such a braue wyle - _Tha_t hee must come to tell noe more tales. - - * * * * * * * - - - 35 - . . . . . . . - Ffull soone a wolfe did of him smell, - And shee came roaring like a beare, - And gaping like a ffeend of hell. - - 36 - Soe they ffought together like two lyons, - And fire betweene them two glashet out; - Thé raught eche other such a great rappe, - _Tha_t there young Andrew was slaine, well I wott. - - 37 - But now young Andrew he is dead, - But he was neuer buryed vnder mold, - For ther as the wolfe devoured him, - There lyes all this great erles gold. - - * * * * * - - 1^3. of one. - - 3^3. 2.^{se}, 3.^{se}. - - 7^4. to one. 17^2. 100_{:}^li. - - 19^1. My liffe. - - 25^2. _tha_t pinn. - - 30^3. _~any~ follows ~without~, but is crossed out_. - - 30^4. they teares. - - 33^4. itt had. - - _Arabic numbers are in several cases expressed in - letters._ - - - - -49 - -THE TWA BROTHERS - - #A.# Sharpe's Ballad Book, p. 56, No 19. - - #B.# 'The Cruel Brother,' Motherwell's MS., p. 259. From - the recitation of Mrs McCormick. - - #C.# 'The Twa Brithers,' Motherwell's MS., p. 649. From - the recitation of Mrs Cunningham. - - #D.# 'The Twa Brothers, or, The Wood o Warslin,' - Jamieson's Popular Ballads, I, 59. From the recitation of - Mrs Arrott. - - #E.# 'The Twa Brothers,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 60. - - #F.# 'The Two Brothers,' Buchan's MSS, I, 57; Motherwell's - MS., p. 662. - - #G. a.# 'John and William,' taken down from the singing of - little girls in South Boston. #b.# From a child in New - York. Both communicated by Mr W. W. Newell. - - -All the Scottish versions were obtained within the first third of this -century, and since then no others have been heard of. It is interesting -to find the ballad still in the mouths of children in American -cities,--in the mouths of the poorest, whose heritage these old things -are.[401] The American versions, though greatly damaged, preserve the -names John and William, which all the other copies have. - -#B# and #C# are considerably corrupted. It need hardly be mentioned that -the age of the boys in the first two stanzas of #B# does not suit the -story. According to #C# 8, 15, the mother had cursed John, before he -left home, with a wish that he might never return; and in #C# 9, John -sends word to his true-love that he is in his grave for her dear sake -alone. These points seem to have been taken from some copy of 'Willie -and May Margaret,' or 'The Drowned Lovers.' The conclusion of both #B# -and #C# belongs to 'Sweet William's Ghost.' #C# 18 may be corrected by -#B# 10, though there is an absurd jumble of pipes and harp in the -latter. The harp, in a deft hand, effects like wonders in many a ballad: -e. g., 'Harpens Kraft,' Grundtvig, II, 65, No 40; even a pipe in #C# -14-16 of the same. - -#D#, #E#, #F#, #G# supplement the story with more or less of the ballad -of 'Edward:' see p. 168. - -Jamieson inquires for this ballad in the Scots Magazine for October, -1803, p. 701, at which time he had only the first stanza and the first -half of the third. He fills out the imperfect stanza nearly as in the -copy which he afterwards printed: - - But out an Willie's taen his knife, - And did his brother slay. - -Of the five other Scottish versions, all except #B# make the deadly -wound to be the result of accident, and this is, in Motherwell's view, a -point essential. The other reading, he says, is at variance with the -rest of the story, and "sweeps away the deep impression this simple -ballad would otherwise have made upon the feelings: for it is almost -unnecessary to mention that its touching interest is made to centre in -the boundless sorrow and cureless remorse of him who had been the -unintentional cause of his brother's death, and in the solicitude which -that high-minded and generous spirit expresses, even in the last agonies -of nature, for the safety and fortunes of the truly wretched and unhappy -survivor." But the generosity of the dying man is plainly greater if his -brother has killed him in an outburst of passion; and what is gained -this way will fully offset the loss, if any, which comes from the -fratricide having cause for "cureless remorse" as well as boundless -sorrow. Motherwell's criticism, in fact, is not quite intelligible. -(Minstrelsy, p. 61.) - -The variation in the story is the same as that between the English -'Cruel Brother' and the German 'Graf Friedrich:' in the former the bride -is killed by her offended brother; in the latter it is the bridegroom's -sword slipping from its sheath that inflicts the mortal hurt. - -Motherwell was inclined to believe, and Kirkpatrick Sharpe was -convinced, that this ballad was founded upon an event that happened near -Edinburgh as late as 1589, that of one of the Somervilles having been -killed by his brother's pistol accidentally going off. Sharpe afterward -found a case of a boy of thirteen killing a young brother in anger at -having his hair pulled. This most melancholy story, the particulars of -which are given in the last edition of the Ballad Book, p. 130, note -xix, dates nearly a hundred years later, 1682. Only the briefest mention -need be made of these unusually gratuitous surmises. - -Kirkland, in #D#, was probably suggested by the kirkyard of other -versions, assisted, possibly, by a reminiscence of the Kirkley in 'Robin -Hood's Death and Burial;' for it will be observed that stanzas 8, 9 of -#D# come pretty near to those in which Robin Hood gives direction for -his grave; #F# 9, 10, #B# 5, 6 less near.[402] - -Cunningham has entitled a romance of his, upon the theme of 'The Two -Brothers' (which, once more, he ventures to print nearly in the state in -which he once had the pleasure of hearing it sung), 'Fair Annie of -Kirkland:' Songs of Scotland, II, 16. - -The very pathetic passage in which the dying youth directs that father, -mother, and sister shall be kept in ignorance of his death, and then, -feeling how vain the attempt to conceal the fact from his true-love will -be, bids that she be informed that he is in his grave and will never -come back, is too truly a touch of nature to be found only here. -Something similar occurs in 'Mary Hamilton,' where, however, the -circumstances are very different: - - 'And here's to the jolly sailor lad - That sails upon the faeme! - And let not my father nor mother get wit - But that I shall come again. - - 'And here's to the jolly sailor lad - That sails upon the sea! - But let not my father nor mother get wit - O the death that I maun dee.' - -In a fine Norse ballad (see 'Brown Robyn's Confession,' further on) a -man who is to be thrown overboard to save a ship takes his leave of the -world with these words: - - 'If any of you should get back to land, - And my foster-mother ask for me, - Tell her I'm serving in the king's court, - And living right merrily. - - 'If any of you should get back to land, - And my true-love ask for me, - Bid her to marry another man, - For I am under the sea.' - -A baron, who has been mortally wounded in a duel, gives this charge to -his servant: - - 'Faites mes compliments à ma femme, - Mais ne lui dites pas que j'ai été tué; - Mais dites lui que je serai allé à Paris, - Pour saluer le roi Louis. - - 'Dites que je serai allé à Paris, - Pour saluer le roi Louis, - Et que j'ai acheté un nouveau cheval, - Le petit c[oe]ur de mon cheval était trop gai.' - - (Le Seigneur de Rosmadec, Luzel, I, 368/369, 374/375.) - -In like manner a dying klepht: "If our comrades ask about me, tell them -not that I have died: say only that I have married in strange lands; -have taken the flat stone for mother-in-law, the black earth for my -wife, the black worms for brothers-in-law." Zambelios, p. 606, No 11, -Fauriel, I, 51, Passow, p. 118, No 152; and again, Zambelios, p. 672, No -94, Passow, p. 113, No 146. In the Danish 'Elveskud,' Grundtvig, II, -115, No 47, B* 18, Ole would simply have the tragic truth kept from his -bride: - - 'Hearken, Sir Ole, of mickle pride, - How shall I answer thy young bride?' - - 'You must say I am gone to the wood, - To prove horse and hounds, if they be good.' - -Such questions and answers as we have in #D# 20, #E# 17, #F# 24, are of -the commonest occurrence in popular poetry, and not unknown to the -poetry of art. Ballads of the 'Edward' class end generally or always in -this way: see p. 168. We have again the particular question and answer -which occur here in 'Lizie Wan' and in one version of 'The Trooper and -Fair Maid,' Jamieson's Popular Ballads, II, 158. The question may be: -When will you come back? When shall you cease to love me? When shall we -be married? etc.; and the answer: When apple-trees grow in the seas; -when fishes fly and seas gang dry; when all streams run together; when -all swift streams are still; when it snows roses and rains wine; when -all grass is rue; when the nightingale sings on the sea and the cuckoo -is heard in winter; when poplars bear cherries and oaks roses; when -feathers sink and stones swim; when sand sown on a stone germinates, -etc., etc. See Virgil, Ecl. i, 59-63; Ovid, Met. xiii, 324-27; Wolf, -Ueber die Lais, p. 433; 'Svend Vonved,' Grundtvig, I, 240, No 18, #A#, -#D#; Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, 'Lord Jamie Douglas,' I, -232 f, Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. vii, Kinloch, Finlay, etc.; -Pills to Purge Melancholy, V, 37; 'Der verwundete Knabe,' 'Die -verwundete Dame,' Mittler, Nos 49-53, Erk's Liederhort, pp 111-115, -Wunderhorn, IV, 358-63, Longard, p. 39, No 18, Pröhle, Welt. u. geist. -Volkslieder, p. 12, No 6; Meinert, pp 28, 60, 73; Uhland, p. 127, No 65; -Wunderhorn (1857), II, 223, Reifferscheid, p. 23, Liederhort, p. 345, -Erk, Neue Sammlung, ii, 39, Kretzschmer, I, 143; Zuccalmaglio, pp 103, -153, 595; Peter, Volksthümliches aus Öst.-schlesien, I, 274; Ditfurth, -II, 9, No 10; Fiedler, p. 187; Des Turcken Vassnachtspiel, Tieck's -Deutsches Theater, I, 8; Uhland, Zur Geschichte der Dichtung, III, 216 -ff; Tigri, Canti popolari toscani (1860), pp 230-242, Nos 820, 822, 823, -832, 836-40, 857, 858, 862, 868; Visconti, Saggio dei Canti p. della -Provincia di Marritima e Campagna, p. 21, No 18; Nino, Saggio di Canti -p. sabinesi, p. 28 f, p. 30 f; Pitrè, Saggi di Critica letteraria, p. -25; Braga, Cantos p. do Archipelago açoriano, p. 220; Möckesch, -Romänische Dichtungen, p. 6 f, No 2; Passow, p. 273 f, Nos 387, 388; B. -Schmidt, Griechische Märchen, etc., p. 154, No 10, and note, p. 253; -Morosi, Studi sui Dialetti greci della Terra d'Otranto, p. 30, lxxv, p. -32, lxxix; Pellegrini, Canti p. dei Greci di Cargese, p. 21; De Rada, -Rapsodie d'un Poema albanese, p. 29; Haupt u. Schmaler, Volkslieder der -Wenden, I, 76, No 47, I, 182, No 158, I, 299, No 300; Altmann, -Balalaika, Russische Volkslieder, p. 233, No 184; Golovatsky, Narodnyya -Piesni galitzskoy i ugorskoy Rusi, II, 585, No 18, III, i, 12, No 9; -Maximovitch, Sbornik ukrainskikh Pyesen, p. 7, No 1, p. 107, No 30; -Dozon, Chansons p. bulgares, p. 283, No 57; Bodenstedt, Die poetische -Ukraine, p. 46, No 14; Jordan, Ueber kleinrussische Volkspoesie, Blätter -für lit. Unterhaltung, 1840, No 252, p. 1014 (Uhland); Rhesa, Ueber -litthauische Volkspoesie, in Beiträge zur Kunde Preussens, I, 523; -Aigner, Ungarische Volksdichtungen, pp 147, 149: etc. - - * * * * * - -#A# is translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, p. 168; -Afzelius, III, 7; Grimm, Drei altschottische Lieder, p. 5; Talvi, -Charakteristik, p. 567; Rosa Warrens, Schottische V. L. der Vorzeit, p. -91. Knortz, Schottische Balladen, No 4, translates Aytoun, I, 193. - - -A - - Sharpe's Ballad Book, p. 56, No 19. - - 1 - There were twa brethren in the north, - They went to the school thegither; - The one unto the other said, - Will you try a warsle afore? - - 2 - They warsled up, they warsled down, - Till Sir John fell to the ground, - And there was a knife in Sir Willie's pouch, - Gied him a deadlie wound. - - 3 - 'Oh brither dear, take me on your back, - Carry me to yon burn clear, - And wash the blood from off my wound, - And it will bleed nae mair.' - - 4 - He took him up upon his back, - Carried him to yon burn clear, - And washd the blood from off his wound, - But aye it bled the mair. - - 5 - 'Oh brither dear, take me on your back, - Carry me to yon kirk-yard, - And dig a grave baith wide and deep, - And lay my body there.' - - 6 - He's taen him up upon his back, - Carried him to yon kirk-yard, - And dug a grave baith deep and wide, - And laid his body there. - - 7 - 'But what will I say to my father dear, - Gin he chance to say, Willie, whar's John?' - 'Oh say that he's to England gone, - To buy him a cask of wine.' - - 8 - 'And what will I say to my mother dear, - Gin she chance to say, Willie, whar's John?' - 'Oh say that he's to England gone, - To buy her a new silk gown.' - - 9 - 'And what will I say to my sister dear, - Gin she chance to say, Willie, whar's John?' - 'Oh say that he's to England gone, - To buy her a wedding ring.' - - 10 - 'But what will I say to her you loe dear, - Gin she cry, Why tarries my John?' - 'Oh tell her I lie in Kirk-land fair, - And home again will never come.' - - -B - - Motherwell's MS., p. 259. From Widow McCormick, January - 19, 1825. - - 1 - There was two little boys going to the school, - And twa little boys they be, - They met three brothers playing at the ba, - And ladies dansing hey. - - 2 - 'It's whether will ye play at the ba, brither, - Or else throw at the stone?' - 'I am too little, I am too young, - O brother let me alone.' - - 3 - He pulled out a little penknife, - That was baith sharp and sma, - He gave his brother a deadly wound - That was deep, long and sair. - - 4 - He took the holland sark off his back, - He tore it frae breast to gare, - He laid it to the bloody wound, - That still bled mair and mair. - - 5 - 'It's take me on your back, brother,' he says, - 'And carry me to yon kirk-yard, - And make me there a very fine grave, - That will be long and large. - - 6 - 'Lay my bible at my head,' he says, - 'My chaunter at my feet, - My bow and arrows by my side, - And soundly I will sleep. - - 7 - 'When you go home, brother,' he says, - 'My father will ask for me; - You may tell him I am in Saussif town, - Learning my lesson free. - - 8 - 'When you go home, brother,' he says, - 'My mother will ask for me; - You may tell her I am in Sausaf town, - And I'll come home merrily. - - 9 - 'When you go home, brother,' he says, - 'Lady Margaret will ask for me; - You may tell her I'm dead and in grave laid, - And buried in Sausaff toun.' - - 10 - She put the small pipes to her mouth, - And she harped both far and near, - Till she harped the small birds off the briers, - And her true love out of the grave. - - 11 - 'What's this? what's this, lady Margaret?' he says, - 'What's this you want of me?' - 'One sweet kiss of your ruby lips, - That's all I want of thee.' - - 12 - 'My lips they are so bitter,' he says, - 'My breath it is so strong, - If you get one kiss of my ruby lips, - Your days will not be long.' - - -C - - Motherwell's MS., p. 649. From the recitation of Mrs - Cunningham, Ayr. - - 1 - There were twa brithers at ae scule; - As they were coming hame, - Then said the ane until the other - 'John, will ye throw the stane?' - - 2 - 'I will not throw the stane, brither, - I will not play at the ba; - But gin ye come to yonder wood - I'll warsle you a fa.' - - 3 - The firsten fa young Johnie got, - It brought him to the ground; - The wee pen-knife in Willie's pocket - Gied him a deadly wound. - - 4 - 'Tak aff, tak aff my holland sark, - And rive it frae gore to gore, - And stap it in my bleeding wounds, - They'll aiblins bleed noe more.' - - 5 - He pouit aff his holland sark, - And rave it frae gore to gore, - And stapt it in his bleeding wounds, - But ay they bled the more. - - 6 - 'O brither, tak me on your back, - And bear me hence away, - And carry me to Chester kirk, - And lay me in the clay.' - - 7 - 'What will I say to your father, - This night when I return?' - 'Tell him I'm gane to Chester scule, - And tell him no to murn.' - - 8 - 'What will I say to your mother, - This nicht whan I gae hame?' - 'She wishd afore I cam awa - That I might neer gae hame.' - - 9 - 'What will I say to your true-love, - This nicht when I gae hame?' - 'Tell her I'm dead and in my grave, - For her dear sake alane.' - - 10 - He took him upon his back - And bore him hence away, - And carried him to Chester kirk, - And laid him in the clay. - - 11 - He laid him in the cauld cauld clay, - And he cuirt him wi a stane, - And he's awa to his fathers ha, - Sae dowilie alane. - - 12 - 'You're welcome, dear son,' he said, - 'You're welcome hame to me; - But what's come o your brither John, - That gade awa wi thee?' - - 13 - 'Oh he's awa to Chester scule, - A scholar he'll return; - He bade me tell his father dear - About him no to murn.' - - 14 - 'You're welcome hame, dear son,' she said, - 'You're welcome hame to me; - But what's come o your brither John, - That gade awa wi thee?' - - 15 - 'He bade me tell his mother dear, - This nicht when I cam hame, - Ye wisht before he gade awa, - That he might neer return.' - - 16 - Then next came up his true-love dear, - And heavy was her moan; - 'You're welcome hame, dear Will,' she said, - 'But whare's your brither John?' - - 17 - 'O lady, cease your trouble now, - O cease your heavy moan; - He's dead and in the cauld cauld clay, - For your dear sake alone.' - - 18 - She ran distraught, she wept, she sicht, - She wept the sma brids frae the tree, - She wept the starns adoun frae the lift, - She wept the fish out o the sea. - - 19 - 'O cease your weeping, my ain true-love, - Ye but disturb my rest;' - 'Is that my ain true lover John, - The man that I loe best?' - - 20 - ''T is naething but my ghaist,' he said, - 'That's sent to comfort thee; - O cease your weeping, my true-love, - And 't will gie peace to me.' - - -D - - Jamieson's Popular Ballads, I, 59. From the recitation of - Mrs W. Arrott, of Aberbrothick. - - 1 - 'O will ye gae to the school, brother? - Or will ye gae to the ba? - Or will ye gae to the wood a-warslin, - To see whilk o's maun fa?' - - 2 - 'It's I winna gae to the school, brother, - Nor will I gae to the ba; - But I will gae to the wood a-warslin, - And it is you maun fa.' - - 3 - They warstled up, they warstled down, - The lee-lang simmer's day; - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 4 - 'O lift me up upon your back, - Tak me to yon wall fair; - You'll wash my bluidy wounds oer and oer, - And syne they'll bleed nae mair. - - 5 - 'And ye'll tak aff my hollin sark, - And riv 't frae gair to gair; - Ye'll stap it in my bluidy wounds, - And syne they'll bleed nae mair.' - - 6 - He's liftit his brother upon his back, - Taen him to yon wall fair; - He's washed his bluidy wounds oer and oer, - But ay they bled mair and mair. - - 7 - And he's taen aff his hollin sark, - And riven 't frae gair to gair; - He's stappit it in his bluidy wounds, - But ay they bled mair and mair. - - 8 - 'Ye'll lift me up upon your back, - Tak me to Kirkland fair; - Ye'll mak my greaf baith braid and lang, - And lay my body there. - - 9 - 'Ye'll lay my arrows at my head, - My bent bow at my feet, - My sword and buckler at my side, - As I was wont to sleep. - - 10 - 'Whan ye gae hame to your father, - He'll speer for his son John: - Say, ye left him into Kirkland fair, - Learning the school alone. - - 11 - 'When ye gae hame to my sister, - She'll speer for her brother John: - Ye'll say, ye left him in Kirkland fair, - The green grass growin aboon. - - 12 - 'Whan ye gae hame to my true-love, - She'll speer for her lord John: - Ye'll say, ye left him in Kirkland fair, - But hame ye fear he'll never come.' - - 13 - He's gane hame to his father; - He speered for his son John: - 'It's I left him into Kirkland fair, - Learning the school alone.' - - 14 - And whan he gaed hame to his sister, - She speered for her brother John: - 'It's I left him into Kirkland fair, - The green grass growin aboon.' - - 15 - And whan he gaed home to his true-love, - She speerd for her lord John: - 'It's I left him into Kirkland fair, - And hame I fear he'll never come.' - - 16 - 'But whaten bluid's that on your sword, Willie? - Sweet Willie, tell to me;' - 'O it is the bluid o my grey hounds, - They wadna rin for me.' - - 17 - 'It's nae the bluid o your hounds, Willie, - Their bluid was never so red; - But it is the bluid o my true-love, - That ye hae slain indeed.' - - 18 - That fair may wept, that fair may mournd, - That fair may mournd and pin'd: - 'When every lady looks for her love, - I neer need look for mine.' - - 19 - 'O whaten a death will ye die, Willie? - Now, Willie, tell to me;' - 'Ye'll put me in a bottomless boat, - And I'll gae sail the sea.' - - 20 - 'Whan will ye come hame again, Willie? - Now, Willie, tell to me;' - 'Whan the sun and moon dances on the green, - And that will never be.' - - -E - - Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 60. - - 1 - There were twa brothers at the scule, - And when they got awa, - 'It's will ye play at the stane-chucking, - Or will ye play at the ba, - Or will ye gae up to yon hill head, - And there we'll warsel a fa?' - - 2 - 'I winna play at the stane-chucking, - Nor will I play at the ba; - But I'll gae up to yon bonnie green hill, - And there we'll warsel a fa.' - - 3 - They warsled up, they warsled down, - Till John fell to the ground; - A dirk fell out of William's pouch, - And gave John a deadly wound. - - 4 - 'O lift me upon your back, - Take me to yon well fair, - And wash my bluidy wounds oer and oer, - And they'll neer bleed nae mair.' - - 5 - He's lifted his brother upon his back, - Taen him to yon well fair; - He's wash'd his bluidy wounds oer and oer, - But they bleed ay mair and mair. - - 6 - 'Tak ye aff my holland sark, - And rive it gair by gair, - And row it in my bluidy wounds, - And they'll neer bleed nae mair.' - - 7 - He's taken aff his holland sark, - And torn it gair by gair; - He's rowit it in his bluidy wounds, - But they bleed ay mair and mair. - - 8 - 'Tak now aff my green cleiding, - And row me saftly in, - And tak me up to yon kirk-style, - Whare the grass grows fair and green.' - - 9 - He's taken aff the green cleiding, - And rowed him saftly in; - He's laid him down by yon kirk-style, - Whare the grass grows fair and green. - - 10 - 'What will ye say to your father dear, - When ye gae hame at een?' - 'I'll say ye're lying at yon kirk-style, - Whare the grass grows fair and green.' - - 11 - 'O no, O no, my brother dear, - O you must not say so; - But say that I'm gane to a foreign land, - Whare nae man does me know.' - - 12 - When he sat in his father's chair, - He grew baith pale and wan: - 'O what blude's that upon your brow? - O dear son, tell to me;' - 'It is the blude o my gude gray steed, - He wadna ride wi me.' - - 13 - 'O thy steed's blude was neer sae red, - Nor eer sae dear to me: - O what blude's this upon your cheek? - O dear son, tell to me;' - 'It is the blude of my greyhound, - He wadna hunt for me.' - - 14 - 'O thy hound's blude was neer sae red, - Nor eer sae dear to me: - O what blude's this upon your hand? - O dear son, tell to me;' - 'It is the blude of my gay goss-hawk, - He wadna flee for me.' - - 15 - 'O thy hawk's blude was neer sae red, - Nor eer sae dear to me: - O what blude's this upon your dirk? - Dear Willie, tell to me;' - 'It is the blude of my ae brother, - O dule and wae is me!' - - 16 - 'O what will ye say to your father? - Dear Willie, tell to me;' - 'I'll saddle my steed, and awa I'll ride, - To dwell in some far countrie.' - - 17 - 'O when will ye come hame again? - Dear Willie, tell to me;' - 'When sun and mune leap on yon hill, - And that will never be.' - - 18 - She turnd hersel right round about, - And her heart burst into three: - 'My ae best son is deid and gane, - And my tother ane I'll neer see.' - - -F - - Buchan's MSS, I, 57; Motherwell's MS., p. 662. - - 1 - There were twa brothers in the east, - Went to the school o Ayr; - The one unto the other did say, - Come let us wrestle here. - - 2 - They wrestled up and wrestled down, - Till John fell to the ground; - There being a knife in Willie's pocket, - Gae John his deadly wound. - - 3 - 'O is it for my gold, brother? - Or for my white monie? - Or is it for my lands sae braid, - That ye hae killed me?' - - 4 - 'It is not for your gold,' he said, - 'Nor for your white monie; - It is by the hand o accident - That I hae killed thee.' - - 5 - 'Ye'll take the shirt that's on my back, - Rive it frae gair to gair, - And try to stop my bloody wounds, - For they bleed wonderous sair.' - - 6 - He's taen the shirt was on his back, - Reave it frae gare to gare, - And tried to stop his bleeding wounds, - But still they bled the mair. - - 7 - 'Ye'll take me up upon your back, - Carry me to yon water clear, - And try to stop my bloody wounds, - For they run wonderous sair.' - - 8 - He's taen him up upon his back, - Carried him to yon water clear, - And tried to stop his bleeding wounds, - But still they bled the mair. - - 9 - 'Ye'll take me up upon your back, - Carry me to yon church-yard; - Ye'll dig a grave baith wide and deep, - And then ye'll lay me there. - - 10 - 'Ye'll put a head-stane at my head, - Another at my feet, - Likewise a sod on my breast-bane, - The souner I may sleep. - - 11 - 'Whenever my father asks of thee, - Saying, What's become of John? - Ye'll tell frae me, I'm ower the sea, - For a cargo of good wine. - - 12 - 'And when my sweetheart asks of thee, - Saying, What's become of John? - Ye'll tell frae me, I'm ower the sea, - To buy a wedding gown. - - 13 - 'And when my sister asks of thee, - Saying, William, where is John? - Ye'll tell frae me, I'm ower the sea, - To learn some merry sang. - - 14 - 'And when my mother asks of thee, - Saying, William, where is John? - Tell her I'm buried in green Fordland, - The grass growing ower my tomb.' - - 15 - He's taen him up upon his back, - Carried him to yon church-yard, - And dug a grave baith wide and deep, - And he was buried there. - - 16 - He laid a head-stane at his head, - Another at his feet, - And laid a green sod on his breast, - The souner he might sleep. - - 17 - His father asked when he came hame, - Saying, 'William, where is John?' - Then John said, 'He is ower the sea, - To bring you hame some wine.' - - 18 - 'What blood is this upon you, William, - And looks sae red on thee?' - 'It is the blood o my grey-hound, - He woudna run for me.' - - 19 - 'O that's nae like your grey-hound's blude, - William, that I do see; - I fear it is your own brother's blood - That looks sae red on thee.' - - 20 - 'That is not my own brother's blude, - Father, that ye do see; - It is the blood o my good grey steed, - He woudna carry me.' - - 21 - 'O that is nae your grey steed's blude, - William, that I do see; - It is the blood o your brother John, - That looks sae red on thee.' - - 22 - 'It's nae the blood o my brother John, - Father, that ye do see; - It is the blude o my good grey hawk, - Because he woudna flee.' - - 23 - 'O that is nae your grey hawk's blood, - William, that I do see:' - 'Well, it's the blude o my brother, - This country I maun flee.' - - 24 - 'O when will ye come back again, - My dear son, tell to me?' - 'When sun and moon gae three times round, - And this will never be.' - - 25 - 'Ohon, alas! now William, my son, - This is bad news to me; - Your brother's death I'll aye bewail, - And the absence o thee.' - - -G - - #a.# Taken down lately from the singing of little girls in - South Boston. #b.# Two stanzas, from a child in New York, - 1880. Communicated by Mr W. W. Newell. - - 1 - As John and William were coming home one day, - One Saturday afternoon, - Says John to William, Come and try a fight, - Or will you throw a stone? - Or will you come down to yonder, yonder town - Where the maids are all playing ball, ball, ball, - Where the maids are all playing ball? - - 2 - Says William to John, I will not try a fight, - Nor will I throw a stone, - Nor will I come down to yonder town, - Where the maids are all playing ball. - - 3 - So John took out of his pocket - A knife both long and sharp, - And stuck it through his brother's heart, - And the blood came pouring down. - - 4 - Says John to William, Take off thy shirt, - And tear it from gore to gore, - And wrap it round your bleeding heart, - And the blood will pour no more.' - - 5 - So John took off his shirt, - And tore it from gore to gore, - And wrapped it round his bleeding heart, - And the blood came pouring more. - - 6 - 'What shall I tell your dear father, - When I go home to-night?' - 'You'll tell him I'm dead and in my grave, - For the truth must be told.' - - 7 - 'What shall I tell your dear mother, - When I go home to-night?' - 'You'll tell her I'm dead and in my grave, - For the truth must be told.' - - 8 - 'How came this blood upon your knife? - My son, come tell to me;' - 'It is the blood of a rabbit I have killed, - O mother, pardon me.' - - 9 - 'The blood of a rabbit couldnt be so pure, - My son, come tell to me:' - 'It is the blood of a squirrel I have killed, - O mother, pardon me.' - - 10 - 'The blood of a squirrel couldnt be so pure, - My son, come tell to me:' - 'It is the blood of a brother I have killed, - O mother, pardon me.' - - * * * * * - -#A.# - - 1^2. _Var._ to the chase. - - 10^3. "As to Kirk-land, my copy has only kirk-yard, till - the last verse, where land has been added from - conjecture." _Sharpe's Ballad-Book, p. 56._ - -#D.# - - 1^3, 2^3. o Warslin. - -#F.# - - 13^3. tell me free. - - _Motherwell has Scotticised the spelling._ - - 9^4. _Motherwell has_ leave. - - 11^1, 12^1, 13^1, 14^1. _Motherwell_, speirs at thee. - - 23^3. _Motherwell has_ my ae brother. - -#G. b.# - - 1. - Jack and William was gone to school, - One fine afternoon; - Jack says to William, Will you try a fight? - Do not throw no stones. - - 2. - Jack took out his little penknife, - The end of it was sharp, - He stuck it through his brother's heart, - And the blood was teeming down. - - -[401] Mr Newell says: "I have heard it sung at a picnic, by a whole -carful of little girls. The melody is pretty. These children were of the -poorest class." - -[402] "The house of Inchmurry, formerly called Kirkland, was built of -old by the abbot of Holyrood-house for his accommodation when he came to -that country, and was formerly the minister's manse." Statistical -Account of Scotland, XIII, 506, cited by Jamieson, I, 62. There are -still three or four Kirklands in Scotland and the north of England. - - - - -50 - -THE BONNY HIND - - 'The Bonny Hyn,' Herd's MSS, I, 224; II, fol. 65, fol. 83. - - -This piece is transcribed three times in Herd's manuscripts, with a note -prefixed in each instance that it was copied from the mouth of a -milkmaid in 1771. An endorsement to the same effect on the last -transcript gives the date as 1787, no doubt by mistake. Scott had only -MS. I in his hands, which accidentally omits two stanzas (13, 14), and -he printed this defective copy with the omission of still another (4): -Minstrelsy, II, 298, ed. 1802; III, 309, ed. 1833. Motherwell supplies -these omitted stanzas, almost in Herd's very words, in the Introduction -to his collection, p. lxxxiv, note 99. He remarks, p. 189, that tales of -this kind abound in the traditionary poetry of Scotland. The two ballads -which follow, Nos 51, 52, are of the same general description. - -In the first half of the story 'The Bonny Hind' comes very near to the -fine Scandinavian ballad of 'Margaret,' as yet known to be preserved -only in Färöe and Icelandic. The conclusions differ altogether. Margaret -in the Färöe ballad, 'Margretu kvæði,' Færöiske Kvæder, Hammershaimb, No -18, is the only daughter of the Norwegian king Magnus, and has been put -in a convent. After two or three months she longs to see her father's -house again. On her way thither she is assaulted by a young noble with -extreme violence: to whom she says, - - Now you have torn off all my clothes, and done me sin and shame, - I beg you, before God most high, tell me what is your name. - -Magnus, he answers, is his father, and Gertrude his mother, and he -himself is Olaf, and was brought up in the woods. By this she recognizes -that he is her own brother. Olaf begs her to go back to the convent, -and say nothing, bearing her sorrow as she may. This she does. But every -autumn the king makes a feast, and invites to it all the nuns in the -cloister. Margaret is missed, and asked for. Is she sick or dead? Why -does she not come to the feast, like other merry dames? The wicked -abbess answers, Your daughter is neither sick nor dead; she goes with -child, like other merry dames. The king rides off to the cloister, -encounters his daughter, and demands who is the father of her child. She -replies that she will sooner die than tell. The king leaves her in -wrath, but returns presently, resolved to burn the convent, and Margaret -in it, Olaf comes from the wood, tired and weary, sees the cloister -burning, and quenches the flames with his heart's blood. - -The Icelandic ballad, 'Margrètar kvæði,' Íslenzk Fornkvæði, Grundtvig -and Sigurðsson, No 14, has the same story. It is, however, the man who -brings on the discovery by asking the woman's parentage. The editors -inform us that the same subject is treated in an unprinted Icelandic -ballad, less popular as to style and stanza, in the Arne Magnussen -collection, 154. - -The story of Kullervo, incorporated in what is called the national epic -of the Finns, the Kalevala, has striking resemblances with the ballads -of the Bonny Hind class. While returning home in his sledge from a -somewhat distant errand, Kullervo met three times a girl who was -travelling on snow-shoes, and invited her to get in with him. She -rejected his invitation with fierceness, and the third time he pulled -her into the sledge by force. She angrily bade him let her go, or she -would dash the sledge to pieces; but he won her over by showing her rich -things. The next morning she asked what was his race and family; for it -seemed to her that he must come of a great line. "No," he said, "neither -of great nor small. I am Kalervo's unhappy son. Tell me of what stock -art thou." "Of neither great nor small," she answered. "I am Kalervo's -unhappy daughter." She was, in fact, a long-lost sister of Kullervo's, -who, when a child, had gone to the wood for berries, and had never found -her way home. She had wept the first day and the second; the third and -fourth, the fifth and sixth, she had tried every way to kill herself. -She broke out in heart-piercing lamentations: - - 'O that I had died then, wretched! - O that I had perished, weak one! - Had not lived to hear these horrors, - Had not lived this shame to suffer!' - -So saying she sprang from the sledge into the river, and found relief -under the waters. - -Kullervo, mad with anguish, went home to his mother, and told her what -had happened. He asked only how he might die,--by wolf or bear, by whale -or sea-pike. His mother vainly sought to soothe him. He consented to -live only till the wrongs of his parents had been revenged. His mother -tried to dissuade him even from seeking a hero's death in fight. - - 'If thou die in battle, tell me, - What protection shall remain then - For the old age of thy father?' - 'Let him die in any alley, - Lay his life down in the house-yard.' - 'What protection shall remain then - For the old age of thy mother?' - 'Let her die on any straw-truss; - Let her stifle in the stable.' - 'Who shall then be left thy brother, - Who stand by him in mischances?' - 'Let him pine away in the forest, - Let him drop down on the common.' - 'Who shall then be left thy sister, - Who stand by her in mischances?' - 'When she goes to the well for water, - Or to the washing, let her stumble.' - -Kullervo had his fill of revenge. Meanwhile father, brother, sister, and -mother died, and he came back to his home to find it empty and cold. A -voice from his mother's grave seemed to direct him to go to the wood for -food: obeying it, he came again to the polluted spot, where grass or -flowers would not grow any more. He asked his sword would it like to -feed on guilty flesh and drink wicked blood. The sword said, Why should -I not like to feed on guilty flesh and drink wicked blood, I that feed -on the flesh of the good and drink the blood of the sinless? Kullervo -set the sword hilt in the earth, and threw himself on the point. -(Kalewala, übertragen von Schiefner, runes 35, 36.) - -The dialogue between Kullervo and his mother is very like a passage in -another Finnish rune, 'Werinen Pojka,' 'The Bloody Son,' Schröter, -Finnische Runen, 124, ed. 1819; 150, ed. 1834. This last is a form of -the ballad known in Scottish as 'Edward,' No 13, or of 'The Twa -Brothers,' No 49. Something similar is found in 'Lizie Wan,' No 51. - -The passage 5-7 is a commonplace that may be expected to recur under the -same or analogous circumstances, as it does in 'Tam Lin,' #D#, 'The -Knight and Shepherd's Daughter,' 'The Maid and the Magpie,' and in one -version of 'The Broom of Cowdenknows.' These are much less serious -ballads, and the tone of stanza 5, which so ill befits the distressful -situation, is perhaps owing to that stanza's having been transferred -from some copy of one of these. It might well change places with this, -from 'The Knight and Shepherd's Daughter,' #A#: - - Sith you have had your will of me, - And put me to open shame, - Now, if you are a courteous knight, - Tell me what is your name. - -Much better with the solemn adjuration in the Färöe 'Margaret,' or even -this in 'Ebbe Galt,' Danske Viser, No 63, 8: - - Now you have had your will of me, - To both of us small gain, - By the God that is above all things, - I beg you tell your name. - - - Herd's MSS, II, fol. 65. "Copied from the mouth of a - milkmaid, by W. L. in 1771." - - 1 - O may she comes, and may she goes, - Down by yon gardens green, - And there she spied a gallant squire - As squire had ever been. - - 2 - And may she comes, and may she goes, - Down by yon hollin tree, - And there she spied a brisk young squire, - And a brisk young squire was he. - - 3 - 'Give me your green manteel, fair maid, - Give me your maidenhead; - Gif ye winna gie me your green manteel, - Gi me your maidenhead.' - - 4 - He has taen her by the milk-white hand, - And softly laid her down, - And when he's lifted her up again - Given her a silver kaim. - - 5 - 'Perhaps there may be bairns, kind sir, - Perhaps there may be nane; - But if you be a courtier, - You'll tell to me your name.' - - 6 - 'I am nae courtier, fair maid, - But new come frae the sea; - I am nae courtier, fair maid, - But when I court 'ith thee. - - 7 - 'They call me Jack when I'm abroad, - Sometimes they call me John; - But when I'm in my father's bower - Jock Randal is my name.' - - 8 - 'Ye lee, ye lee, ye bonny lad, - Sae loud's I hear ye lee! - Ffor I'm Lord Randal's yae daughter, - He has nae mair nor me.' - - 9 - 'Ye lee, ye lee, ye bonny may, - Sae loud's I hear ye lee! - For I'm Lord Randal's yae yae son, - Just now come oer the sea.' - - 10 - She's putten her hand down by her spare, - And out she's taen a knife, - And she has putn't in her heart's bluid, - And taen away her life. - - 11 - And he's taen up his bonny sister, - With the big tear in his een, - And he has buried his bonny sister - Amang the hollins green. - - 12 - And syne he's hyed him oer the dale, - His father dear to see: - 'Sing O and O for my bonny hind, - Beneath yon hollin tree!' - - 13 - 'What needs you care for your bonny hyn? - For it you needna care; - There's aught score hyns in yonder park, - And five score hyns to spare. - - 14 - 'Four score of them are siller-shod, - Of thae ye may get three;' - 'But O and O for my bonny hyn, - Beneath yon hollin tree!' - - 15 - 'What needs you care for your bonny hyn? - For it you need na care; - Take you the best, gi me the warst, - Since plenty is to spare.' - - 16 - 'I care na for your hyns, my lord, - I care na for your fee; - But O and O for my bonny hyn, - Beneath the hollin tree!' - - 17 - 'O were ye at your sister's bower, - Your sister fair to see, - Ye'll think na mair o your bonny hyn - Beneath the hollin tree.' - - * * * * * * * - - - * * * * * - - 'The Bonny Heyn,' I, 224. - - 3^2. _Should be ~It's not for you a weed~. Motherwell._ - - 4^3. _The third copy omits ~when~._ - - 4^{3, 4}. he lifted, He gae her. _Motherwell._ - - 5^{1, 2}. _The second copy has ~they~._ - - 6^4. _All have ~courteth~. Scott prints ~wi' thee, with - thee~._ - - 7^3. _The third copy has ~tower~._ - - 10^{3, 4}. - She's soakt it in her red heart's blood, - And twin'd herself of life. _Motherwell._ - - 13, 14. _The first copy omits these stanzas._ - - - - -51 - -LIZIE WAN - - #A. a.# 'Lizie Wan,' Herd's MSS, I, 151; II, 78. #b.# - Herd's Scottish Songs, 1776, I, 91. - - #B.# 'Rosie Ann,' Motherwell's MS., p. 398. - - -#A#, first printed in Herd's Scottish Songs, ed. 1776, is here given -from his manuscript copy. #B# is now printed for the first time. - -#A# is translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og Skotske Folkeviser, No 50, -who subjoins a Danish ballad, 'Liden Ellen og hendes Broder,' of similar -character. Of this the editor had three versions, differing but little, -and all of slight poetical value, and he prints one which was committed -to writing some sixty or seventy years ago, with some readings from the -others. Liden Jensen, having killed Liden Ellen in a wood, pretends to -his mother that she has gone off with some knights. He is betrayed by -blood on his clothes, confesses the truth, and is condemned to be -burned. 'Herr Axel,' Arwidsson's Swedish collection, No 46, I, 308, -under similar circumstances, kills Stolts Kirstin's two children, is -asked by his mother why his hands are bloody, pretends to have slain a -hind in the wood, and has his head struck off by order of his father. - -'Herr Peder og hans Söster,' an unpublished Danish ballad, of which -Grundtvig obtained a single traditional version, has also a slight -resemblance to 'Lizie Wan.' Kirsten invites Sir Peter to her bed. He -declines for various reasons, which she refutes. She discovers him to be -her brother by her needle-work in his shirt. He draws his knife and -stabs her. "This was also a pitiful sight, the twin children playing in -the mother's bosom." Compare Kristensen, II, No 74 #A#, #D#, #E#, at the -end. - -The conclusion, #A# 11-12, #B# 10-17, resembles that of 'The Twa -Brothers,' No 49, but is poetically much inferior. - - -A - - Herd's MSS, I, 151; stanzas 1-6, II, p. 78. Herd's - Scottish Songs, 1776, I, 91. - - 1 - Lizie Wan sits at her father's bower-door, - Weeping and making a mane, - And by there came her father dear: - 'What ails thee, Lizie Wan?' - - 2 - 'I ail, and I ail, dear father,' she said, - 'And I'll tell you a reason for why; - There is a child between my twa sides, - Between my dear billy and I.' - - 3 - Now Lizie Wan sits at her father's bower-door, - Sighing and making a mane, - And by there came her brother dear: - 'What ails thee, Lizie Wan?' - - 4 - 'I ail, I ail, dear brither,' she said, - 'And I'll tell you a reason for why; - There is a child between my twa sides, - Between you, dear billy, and I.' - - 5 - 'And hast thou tald father and mother o that? - And hast thou tald sae o me?' - And he has drawn his gude braid sword, - That hang down by his knee. - - 6 - And he has cutted aff Lizie Wan's head, - And her fair body in three, - And he's awa to his mothers bower, - And sair aghast was he. - - 7 - 'What ails thee, what ails thee, Geordy Wan? - What ails thee sae fast to rin? - For I see by thy ill colour - Some fallow's deed thou hast done.' - - 8 - 'Some fallow's deed I have done, mother, - And I pray you pardon me; - For I've cutted aff my greyhound's head; - He wadna rin for me.' - - 9 - 'Thy greyhound's bluid was never sae red, - O my son Geordy Wan! - For I see by thy ill colour - Some fallow's deed thou hast done.' - - 10 - 'Some fallow's deed I hae done, mother, - And I pray you pardon me; - For I hae cutted aff Lizie Wan's head - And her fair body in three.' - - 11 - 'O what wilt thou do when thy father comes hame, - O my son Geordy Wan?' - 'I'll set my foot in a bottomless boat, - And swim to the sea-ground.' - - 12 - 'And when will thou come hame again, - O my son Geordy Wan?' - 'The sun and the moon shall dance on the green - That night when I come hame.' - - -B - - Motherwell's MS., p. 398. From the recitation of Mrs - Storie, Lochwinnich. - - 1 - Rosie she sat in her simmer bower, - Greitin and making grit mane, - When down by cam her father, saying, - What ails thee Rosie Ann? - - 2 - 'A deal, a deal, dear father,' she said, - 'Great reason hae I to mane, - For there lyes a little babe in my side, - Between me and my brither John.' - - 3 - Rosie she sat in her simmer bower, - Weeping and making great mane, - And wha cam doun but her mither dear, - Saying, What ails thee, Rosie Ann? - - 4 - 'A deal, a deal, dear mither,' she said, - 'Great reason hae I to mane, - For there lyes a little babe in my side, - Between me and my brither John.' - - 5 - Rosie she sat in her simmer bower, - Greiting and making great mane, - And wha came doun but her sister dear, - Saying, What ails thee, Rosie Ann? - - 6 - 'A deal, a deal, dear sister,' she said, - 'Great reason hae I to mane, - For there lyes a little babe in my side, - Between me and my brither John.' - - 7 - Rosie she sat in her simmer bower, - Weeping and making great mane, - And wha cam doun but her fause, fause brither, - Saying, What ails thee, Rosie Ann? - - 8 - 'A deal, a deal, dear brither,' she said, - 'Great reason hae I to cry, - For there lyes a little babe in my side, - Between yoursell and I.' - - 9 - 'Weel ye hae tauld father, and ye hae tauld mither, - And ye hae tauld sister, a' three;' - Syne he pulled out his wee penknife, - And he cut her fair bodie in three. - - 10 - 'O what blude is that on the point o your knife, - Dear son, come tell to me?' - 'It is my horse's, that I did kill, - Dear mother and fair ladie.' - - 11 - 'The blude o your horse was neer sae red, - Dear son, come tell to me:' - 'It is my grandfather's, that I hae killed, - Dear mother and fair ladie.' - - 12 - 'The blude o your grandfather was neer sae fresh, - Dear son, come tell to me:' - 'It is my sister's, that I did kill, - Dear mother and fair ladie.' - - 13 - 'What will ye do when your father comes hame, - Dear son, come tell to me?' - 'I'll set my foot on yon shipboard, - And I hope she'll sail wi me.' - - 14 - 'What will ye do wi your bonny bonny young wife, - Dear son, come tell to me?' - 'I'll set her foot on some other ship, - And I hope she'll follow me.' - - 15 - 'And what will ye do wi your wee son, - Dear son, come tell to me?' - 'I'll leave him wi you, my dear mother, - To keep in remembrance of me.' - - 16 - 'What will ye do wi your houses and lands, - Dear son, come tell to me?' - 'I'll leave them wi you, my dear mother, - To keep my own babie.' - - 17 - 'And whan will you return again, - Dear son, come tell to me?' - 'When the sun and the mune meet on yon hill, - And I hope that'll neer be.' - - * * * * * - -#B.# - - _Written without division into stanzas._ - - - - -52 - -THE KING'S DOCHTER LADY JEAN - - #A. a.# 'The King's Dochter Lady Jean,' Motherwell's MS., - p. 657. #b.# 'Lady Jean,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, - Appendix, p. xxi. - - #B.# Motherwell's MS., p. 275; the first six lines in - Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 189 f. - - #C.# 'Castle Ha's Daughter,' Buchan's Ballads of the North - of Scotland, I, 241. - - #D.# 'Bold Burnet's Daughter.' #a.# Buchan's MSS, I, 120. - #b.# The same, II, 141. - - -#B# is the ballad referred to, and partly cited, in Motherwell's preface -to 'The Broom blooms bonnie and says it is fair,' Minstrelsy, p. 189. -This copy has been extremely injured by tradition; so much so as not to -be intelligible in places except by comparison with #A#. The act -described in stanza 9 should be done by the king's daughter's own hand; -stanza 12 should be addressed by her to her sister; stanza 13 is -composed of fragments of two. #C# and #D# have suffered worse, for they -have been corrupted and vulgarized. - -At the beginning there is resemblance to 'Tam Lin' and to 'Hind Etin.' - - -A - - #a.# Motherwell's MS., p. 657. From the recitation of Mrs - Storie, Lochwinnich. #b.# Motherwell's Minstrelsy, - Appendix, p. xxi, No XXIII, one stanza. - - 1 - The king's young dochter was sitting in her window, - Sewing at her silken seam; - She lookt out o the bow-window, - And she saw the leaves growing green, my luve, - And she saw the leaves growing green. - - 2 - She stuck her needle into her sleeve, - Her seam down by her tae, - And she is awa to the merrie green-wood, - To pu the nit and slae. - - 3 - She hadna pu't a nit at a', - A nit but scarcely three, - Till out and spak a braw young man, - Saying, How daur ye bow the tree? - - 4 - 'It's I will pu the nit,' she said, - 'And I will bow the tree, - And I will come to the merrie green wud, - And na ax leive o thee.' - - 5 - He took her by the middle sae sma, - And laid her on the gerss sae green, - And he has taen his will o her, - And he loot her up agen. - - 6 - 'Now syn ye hae got your will o me, - Pray tell to me your name; - For I am the king's young dochter,' she said, - 'And this nicht I daurna gang hame.' - - 7 - 'Gif ye be the king's young dochter,' he said, - 'I am his auldest son; - I wish I had died on some frem isle, - And never had come hame! - - 8 - 'The first time I came hame, Jeanie, - Thou was na here nor born; - I wish my pretty ship had sunk, - And I had been forlorn! - - 9 - 'The neist time I came hame, Jeanie, - Thou was sittin on the nourice knee; - And I wish my pretty ship had sunk, - And I had never seen thee! - - 10 - 'And the neist time I came hame, Jeanie, - I met thee here alane; - I wish my pretty ship had sunk, - And I had neer come hame!' - - 11 - She put her hand down by her side, - And doun into her spare, - And she pou't out a wee pen-knife, - And she wounded hersell fu sair. - - 12 - Hooly, hooly rase she up, - And hooly she gade hame, - Until she came to her father's parlour, - And there she did sick and mane. - - 13 - 'O sister, sister, mak my bed, - O the clean sheets and strae, - O sister, sister, mak my bed, - Down in the parlour below.' - - 14 - Her father he came tripping down the stair, - His steps they were fu slow; - 'I think, I think, Lady Jean,' he said, - 'Ye're lying far ower low.' - - 15 - 'O late yestreen, as I came hame, - Down by yon castil wa, - O heavy, heavy was the stane - That on my briest did fa!' - - 16 - Her mother she came tripping doun the stair, - Her steps they were fu slow; - 'I think, I think, Lady Jean,' she said, - 'Ye're lying far ower low.' - - 17 - 'O late yestreen, as I cam hame, - Down by yon castil wa, - O heavy, heavy was the stane - That on my breast did fa!' - - 18 - Her sister came tripping doun the stair, - Her steps they were fu slow; - 'I think, I think, Lady Jean,' she said, - 'Ye're lying far ower low.' - - 19 - 'O late yestreen, as I cam hame, - Doun by yon castil wa, - O heavy, heavy was the stane - That on my breast did fa!' - - 20 - Her brither he cam trippin doun the stair, - His steps they were fu slow; - He sank into his sister's arms, - And they died as white as snaw. - - -B - - Motherwell's MS., p. 275; the first six lines in - Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 189. From Margery Johnston. - - 1 - Lady Margaret sits in her bow-window, - Sewing her silken seam; - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 2 - She's drapt the thimble at her tae, - And her scissars at her heel, - And she's awa to the merry green-wood, - To see the leaves grow green. - - 3 - She had scarsely bowed a branch, - Or plucked a nut frae the tree, - Till up and starts a fair young man, - And a fair young man was he. - - 4 - 'How dare ye shake the leaves?' he said, - 'How dare ye break the tree? - How dare ye pluck the nuts,' he said, - 'Without the leave of me?' - - 5 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - 'Oh I know the merry green wood's my ain, - And I'll ask the leave of nane.' - - 6 - He gript her by the middle sae sma, - He gently sat her down, - While the grass grew up on every side, - And the apple trees hang down. - - 7 - She says, Young man, what is your name? - For ye've brought me to meikle shame; - For I am the king's youngest daughter, - And how shall I gae hame? - - 8 - 'If you're the king's youngest daughter, - It's I'm his auldest son, - And heavy heavy is the deed, sister, - That you and I have done.' - - 9 - He had a penknife in his hand, - Hang low down by his gair, - And between the long rib and the short one - He woundit her deep and sair. - - 10 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - And fast and fast her ruddy bright blood - Fell drapping on the ground. - - 11 - She took the glove off her right hand, - And slowly slipt it in the wound, - And slowly has she risen up, - And slowly slipped home. - - * * * * * * * - - 12 - 'O sister dear, when thou gaes hame - Unto thy father's ha, - It's make my bed baith braid and lang, - Wi the sheets as white as snaw.' - - * * * * * * * - - 13 - 'When I came by the high church-yard - Heavy was the stain that bruised my heel, - ... that bruised my heart, - I'm afraid it shall neer heal.' - - * * * * * * * - - - -C - - Buchan's Ballads and Songs of the North of Scotland, I, - 241. - - 1 - As Annie sat into her bower, - A thought came in her head, - That she would gang to gude greenwood, - Across the flowery mead. - - 2 - She hadna pu'd a flower, a flower, - Nor broken a branch but twa, - Till by it came a gentle squire, - Says, Lady, come awa. - - 3 - There's nane that comes to gude greenwood - But pays to me a tein, - And I maun hae your maidenhead, - Or than your mantle green. - - 4 - 'My mantle's o the finest silk, - Anither I can spin; - But gin you take my maidenhead, - The like I'll never fin.' - - 5 - He's taen her by the milk-white hand, - And by the grass-green sleeve, - There laid her low in gude greenwood, - And at her spierd nae leave. - - 6 - When he had got his wills o her, - His wills as he had taen, - She said, If you rightly knew my birth, - Ye'd better letten alane. - - 7 - 'Is your father a lord o might? - Or baron o high degree? - Or what race are ye sprung frae, - That I should lat ye be?' - - 8 - 'O I am Castle Ha's daughter, - O birth and high degree, - And if he knows what ye hae done, - He'll hang you on a tree.' - - 9 - 'If ye be Castle Ha's daughter, - This day I am undone; - If ye be Castle Ha's daughter, - I am his only son.' - - 10 - 'Ye lie, ye lie, ye jelly hind squire, - Sae loud as I hear you lie, - Castle Ha, he has but ae dear son, - And he is far beyond the sea.' - - 11 - 'O I am Castle Ha's dear son, - A word I dinna lie; - Yes, I am Castle Ha's dear son, - And new come oer the sea. - - 12 - ''Twas yesterday, that fatal day, - That I did cross the faem; - I wish my bonny ship had sunk, - And I had neer come hame.' - - 13 - Then dowie, dowie, raise she up, - And dowie came she hame, - And stripped aff her silk mantle, - And then to bed she's gane. - - 14 - Then in it came her mother dear, - And she steps in the fleer: - 'Win up, win up, now fair Annie, - What makes your lying here?' - - 15 - 'This morning fair, as I went out, - Near by yon castle wa, - Great and heavy was the stane - That on my foot did fa.' - - 16 - 'Hae I nae ha's, hae I nae bowers, - Towers, or mony a town? - Will not these cure your bonny foot, - Gar you gae hale and soun?' - - 17 - 'Ye hae ha's, and ye hae bowers, - And towers, and mony a town, - But nought will cure my bonny foot, - Gar me gang hale and soun.' - - 18 - Then in it came her father dear, - And he trips in the fleer: - 'Win up, win up, now fair Annie, - What makes your lying here?' - - 19 - 'This morning fair, as I went out, - Near by yon castle wa, - Great and heavy was the stane - That on my foot did fa.' - - 20 - 'Hae I nae ha's, hae I nae bowers, - And towers, and mony a town? - Will not these cure your bonny foot, - Gar you gang hale and soun?' - - 21 - 'O ye hae ha's, and ye hae bowers, - And towers, and mony a town, - But nought will cure my bonny foot, - Gar me gang hale and soun.' - - 22 - Then in it came her sister Grace; - As she steps in the fleer, - 'Win up, win up, now fair Annie, - What makes your lying here? - - 23 - 'Win up, and see your ae brother, - That's new come ower the sea;' - 'Ohon, alas!' says fair Annie, - 'He spake ower soon wi me.' - - 24 - To her room her brother's gane, - Stroked back her yellow hair, - To her lips his ain did press, - But words spake never mair. - - -D - - #a.# Buchan's MSS, I, 120. #b.# The same, II, 141. - - 1 - The lady's taen her mantle her middle about, - Into the woods she's gane, - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 2 - She hadna poud a flower o gude green-wood, - O never a flower but ane, - Till by he comes, an by he gangs, - Says, Lady, lat alane. - - 3 - For I am forester o this wood, - And I hae power to pine - Your mantle or your maidenhead, - Which o the twa ye'll twine. - - 4 - 'My mantle is o gude green silk, - Another I can card an spin; - But gin ye tak my maidenhead, - The like I'll never fin.' - - 5 - He's taen her by the milk-white hand, - And by the grass-green sleeve, - And laid her low at the foot o a tree, - At her high kin spierd nae leave. - - 6 - 'I am bold Burnet's ae daughter, - You might hae lat me be:' - 'And I'm bold Burnet's ae dear son, - Then dear! how can this dee?' - - 7 - 'Ye lie, ye lie, ye jolly hind squire, - So loud's I hear you lie! - Bold Burnet has but ae dear son, - He's sailing on the sea.' - - 8 - 'Yesterday, about this same time, - My bonny ship came to land; - I wish she'd sunken in the sea, - And never seen the strand! - - 9 - 'Heal well this deed on me, lady, - Heal well this deed on me!' - 'Although I would heal it neer sae well, - Our God above does see.' - - 10 - She's taen her mantle her middle about, - And mourning went she hame, - And a' the way she sighd full sair, - Crying, Am I to blame! - - 11 - Ben it came her father dear, - Stout stepping on the flear: - 'Win up, win up, my daughter Janet, - And welcome your brother here.' - - 12 - Up she's taen her milk-white hand, - Streakd by his yellow hair, - Then turnd about her bonny face, - And word spake never mair. - - * * * * * - -#A. b.# - - 1^2. fine silken. - - 1^3. She luikit out at her braw bower window. - -#B.# - - 1^{1,2} _and 2 are joined in the MS._ - - 5^{1,4} _joined with 4. 5^4. ~no leave of thee~, an - emendation by Motherwell, for rhyme._ - - 9^4. He struck: _an emendation_. - - 10^{3,4} _are joined with 9._ - - 13^3. That bruised by heart. - - _After 13 is written_ A stanza wanting. - -#D.# - - _The first three stanzas are not properly divided in #a#, - and in #b# the first fourteen lines not divided at all._ - - #a.# - - 11^2. An stepping. - - 7^1. _~kind squire~ in both copies._ - - #b.# - - 5^4. kin's. - - 9^1. Heal well, heal well on me, Lady Janet. - - 11^2. Stout stepping. - - 12^3. She turned. - - - - -53 - -YOUNG BEICHAN - - #A.# 'Young Bicham,' Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. 13, c. 1783. - - #B.# 'Young Brechin,' Glenriddell MSS, XI, 80, 1791. - - #C.# 'Young Bekie.' #a.# Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. 11, c. - 1783. #b.# Jamieson's Popular Ballads, II, 127. - - #D.# 'Young Beachen,' Skene MSS, p. 70, 1802-1803. - - #E.# 'Young Beichan and Susie Pye,' Jamieson's Popular - Ballads, II, 117. - - #F.# 'Susan Pye and Lord Beichan,' Pitcairn's MSS, III, - 159. - - #G.# Communicated by Mr Alex. Laing, of Newburgh-on-Tay. - - #H.# 'Lord Beichan and Susie Pye,' Kinloch's Ancient - Scottish Ballads, p. 260. - - #I.# Communicated by Mr David Loudon, Morham, Haddington. - - #J.# Dr Joseph Robertson's Note-Book, 'Adversaria,' p. 85. - - #K.# Communicated by Mr David Loudon. - - #L.# The Loving Ballad of Lord Bateman. Illustrated by - George Cruikshank, 1839. - - #M.# 'Young Bondwell,' Buchan's MSS, I, 18. J. H. Dixon, - Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads, p. 1. - - #N.# 'Susan Py, or Young Bichen's Garland.' #a.# Falkirk, - printed by T. Johnston, 1815. #b.# Stirling, M. Randall. - - -#A#, #B#, #D#, #F#, and the fragment #G# now appear for the first time -in print, and the same is true of #I#, #J#, #K#, which are of less -account. #C a# is here given according to the manuscript, without -Jamieson's "collations." Of #E# and #C b# Jamieson says: This ballad and -that which succeeds it are given from copies taken from Mrs Brown's -recitation,[403] collated with two other copies procured from Scotland; -one in MS.; another, very good, one printed for the stalls; a third, in -the possession of the late Reverend Jonathan Boucher, of Epsom, taken -from recitation in the north of England; and a fourth, about one third -as long as the others, which the editor picked off an old wall in -Piccadilly. #L#, the only English copy, was derived from the singing of -a London vagrant. It is, says Dixon, the common English broadsheet -"turned into the dialect of Cockaigne."[404] #M# was probably a -broadside or stall copy, and is certainly of that quality, but preserves -a very ancient traditional feature. - -#D# and #M#, besides the name Linne, have in common a repetition of the -song, a trait which we also find in one version of 'The Heir of -Linne;'[405] see Dixon's Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient -Ballads, p. 30, stanzas 2-6, Percy Society, vol. XVII. - -In Bell's Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England, -p. 68, it is remarked that #L#, "the only ancient form in which the -ballad has existed in print," is one of the publications mentioned in -one of Thackeray's catalogues of broadsides. The 'Bateman,' in -Thackeray's list, is the title of an entirely different ballad, 'A -Warning for Maidens, or Young Bateman,' reprinted from the Roxburghe -collection by W. Chappell, III, 193. - -"Young Beichan" is a favorite ballad, and most deservedly. There are -beautiful repetitions of the story in the ballads of other nations, and -it has secondary affinities with the extensive cycle of 'Hind Horn,' the -parts of the principal actors in the one being inverted in the other. - -The hero's name is mostly Beichan, with slight modifications like Bekie, -#C#, Bicham, #A#, Brechin, #B#; in #L#, Bateman; in #M#, Bondwell. The -heroine is Susan Pye in ten of the fourteen versions; Isbel in #C#; -Essels, evidently a variety of Isbel, in #M#, which has peculiar -relations with #C#; Sophia in #K#, #L#. - -Beichan is London born in #A#, #D#, [#E#], #H#, #I#, #N#, English born -in #B#; London city is his own, #A# 6, #B# 7, #F# 7, or he has a hall -there, #I# 7, #N# 27 f.; half Northumberland belongs to him, #L#; he is -lord of the towers of Line, #D# 9, #C# 5, #M# 5, which are in London, -#D# 15 f, but are transferred by reciters to the water of Tay, #M# 29, -and to Glasgow, or the vicinity, #H# 20. #H#, though it starts with -calling him London born, speaks of him thereafter as a Scottish lord, -12, 18, 31.[406] - -Beichan has an Englishman's desire strange countries for to see, #A#, -#D#, [#E#], #I#, #L#, #N#. In #C#, #M# he goes abroad, Quentin Durward -fashion, not to gratify his taste for travel, but to serve for meat and -fee. #F# makes him go to the Holy Land, without specifying his motive, -but we may fairly suppose it religious. #C# sends him no further than -France, and #M# to an unnamed foreign land. He becomes the slave of a -Moor or Turk, #A#, #B#, #D#, #H#, #I#, #L#, #N#, or a "Prudent," #F#, -who treats him cruelly. They bore his shoulders and put in a "tree," and -make him draw carts, like horse or ox, #A#, #B#, #D#, [#E#], #H#; draw -plough and harrow, #F#, plough and cart, #N#; or tread the wine-press, -#I#. This is because he is a staunch Christian, and would never bend a -knee to Mahound or Termagant, #E#, or onie of their stocks, #H#, or -gods, #I#. They cast him into a dungeon, where he can neither hear nor -see, and he is nigh perishing with hunger. This, also, is done in #H# 5, -on account of his perseverance in Christianity; but in #C#, #M# he is -imprisoned for falling in love with the king's daughter, or other lovely -may. - -From his prison Beichan makes his moan (not to a stock or a stone, but -to the Queen of Heaven, #D# 4). His hounds go masterless, his hawks flee -from tree to tree, his younger brother will heir his lands, and he shall -never see home again, #E#, #H#. If a lady [earl] would borrow him, he -would run at her stirrup; if a widow [auld wife] would borrow him, he -would become her son; and if a maid would borrow him, he would wed her -with a ring, #C#, #D#, #M#, #B#.[407] The only daughter of the Moor, -Turk, or king (of a 'Savoyen,' #B# 5, perhaps a corruption of Saracen), -already interested in the captive, or immediately becoming so upon -hearing Beichan's song, asks him if he has lands and means at home to -maintain a lady that should set him free, and is told that he has ample -estates, all of which he would bestow on such a lady, #A#, #B#, #E#, -#F#, #H#, #L#, #N#. She steals the keys and delivers the prisoner, #C#, -#D#, #E#, #I#, #J#, #L#, #M#, #N#; refreshes him with bread and wine -[wine], #A#, #D#, #E#, #F#, #J# 4, #K# 3, #B#, #H#, #L#; supplies him -with money, #C# 9, #H# 15, #M# 12, #N# 14, and with a ship, #F# 9, #H# -18, #L# 9; to which #C#, #M# add a horse and hounds [and hawks, #M#]. -She bids him mind on the lady's love that freed him out of pine, #A# 8, -#D# 12, [#E# 13], #M# 14, #N# 15, and in #E# 16 breaks a ring from her -finger, and gives half of it to Beichan to assist his memory. There is a -solemn vow, or at least a clear understanding, that they are to marry -within seven years, #A# 9, #B# 9, #E# 12 f., #H# 17, 19, #L# 8, #N# 11 -[three years, #C# 11]. - -When seven years are at an end, or even before, Susan Pye feels a -longing, or a misgiving, which impels her to go in search of the object -of her affections, and she sets her foot on good shipboard, and turns -her back on her own country, #A# 10, #B# 10, #D# 15, #L# 10, #N# -23.[408] #C# and #M# preserve here a highly important feature which is -wanting in the other versions. Isbel, or Essels, is roused from her -sleep by the Billy Blin, #C# 14, by a woman in green, a fairy, #M# 15, -who makes known to her that that very day, or the morn, is Bekie's -[Bondwell's] wedding day. She is directed to attire herself and her -maids very splendidly, and go to the strand; a vessel will come sailing -to her, and they are to go on board. The Billy Blin will row her over -the sea, #C# 19; she will stroke the ship with a wand, and take God to -be her pilot, #M# 19. Thus, by miraculous intervention, she arrives at -the nick of time. - -Beichan's fickleness is not accounted for in most of the versions. He -soon forgot his deliverer and courted another, he was young, and thought -not upon Susan Pye, say #H#, #N#. #C#, on the contrary, tells us that -Beichan had not been a twelvemonth in his own country, when he was -forced to marry a duke's daughter or lose all his land. #E# and #K# -intimate that he acts under constraint; the wedding has lasted three and -thirty days, and he will not bed with his bride for love of one beyond -the sea, #E# 21, #K# 1.[409] - -On landing, Susan Pye falls in with a shepherd feeding his flock, #E#, -#K# [a boy watering his steeds, #M#]. She asks, Whose are these sheep, -these kye, these castles? and is told they are Lord Beichan's, #G#. She -asks the news, and is informed that there is a wedding in yonder hall -that has lasted thirty days and three, #E#, #K#, or that there is to be -a wedding on the morn, #M#; it seems to be a matter generally known, -#N#. In other versions she comes directly to Young Beichan's hall, and -is first informed by the porter, #A#, #B#, #F#, #H#, #L#, or the fact is -confirmed by the porter, #E#, #M#, #N#; she hears the music within, and -divines, #C#. She bribes the porter to bid the bridegroom come and -speak to her, #A#, #B#, #C#, #D#, #J#, #N#; send her down bread and -wine, and not forget the lady who brought him out of prison, #B#, #F#, -#H#, #J#, #K#, #L#. In #E# 26 she sends up her half ring to the -bridegroom [a ring in #N# 40, but not till Beichan has declined to come -down]. - -The porter falls on his knee and informs his master that the fairest and -richest lady that eyes ever saw is at the gate [ladies, #C#, #M#]. The -bride, or the bride's mother more commonly, reproves the porter for his -graceless speech; he might have excepted the bride, or her mother, or -both: "Gin she be braw without, we's be as braw within." But the porter -is compelled by truth to persist in his allegation; fair as they may be, -they were never to compare with yon lady, #B#, #D#, #E#, #H#, #M#. -Beichan takes the table with his foot and makes the cups and cans to -flee, #B# 18, #D# 23, #F# 28, #G# 3, #H# 47, #J# 5, #N# 42;[410] he -exclaims that it can be none but Susie Pye, #A#, #B#, #D#, #G#, #H#, #I# -[Burd Isbel, #C#], and clears the stair, fifteen steps, thirty steps, in -three bounds, #A# 19, #D# 24, #N# 43. His old love reproaches him for -his forgetfulness, #A#, #C#, #D#, #M#, #N#;[411] she asks back her faith -and troth, #B# 21. Beichan bids the forenoon bride's mother take back -her daughter: he will double her dowry, #A# 22, #D# 27, #E# 39; she came -on horseback, she shall go back in chariots, coaches, three, #B# 22, #D# -27[412] [#H# 49, in chariot free]. He marries Susie Pye, having her -baptized by the name of Lady Jean, #A#, #B#, #D#, [#E#], #F#, #I#, -#J#.[413] - -This story of Beichan, or Bekie, agrees in the general outline, and also -in some details, with a well-known legend about Gilbert Beket, father of -St Thomas. The earlier and more authentic biographies lack this -particular bit of romance, but the legend nevertheless goes back to a -date not much later than a century after the death of the saint, being -found in a poetical narrative preserved in a manuscript of about -1300.[414] - -We learn from this legend that Gilbert Beket, in his youth, assumed the -cross and went to the Holy Land, accompanied only by one Richard, his -servant. They "did their pilgrimage" in holy places, and at last, with -other Christians, were made captive by the Saracens and put in strong -prison. They suffered great hardship and ignominy in the service of the -Saracen prince Admiraud. But Gilbert found more grace than the rest; he -was promoted to serve the prince at meat (in his chains), and the prince -often would ask him about England and the English faith. Admiraud's only -daughter fell in love with Gilbert, and when she saw her time, in turn -asked him the like questions. Gilbert told her that he was born in -London; told her of the belief of Christians, and of the endless bliss -that should be their meed. The maid asked him if he was ready to die -for his Lord's love, and Gilbert declared that he would, joyfully. When -the maid saw that he was so steadfast, she stood long in thought, and -then said, I will quit all for love of thee, and become Christian, if -thou wilt marry me. Gilbert feared that this might be a wile; he replied -that he was at her disposition, but he must bethink himself. She went on -loving him, the longer the more. After this Gilbert and the rest broke -prison and made their way to the Christians. The prince's daughter, -reduced to desperation by love and grief, left her heritage and her kin, -sparing for no sorrow, peril, or contempt that might come to her, not -knowing whither to go or whether he would marry her when found, and went -in quest of Gilbert. She asked the way to England, and when she had come -there had no word but London to assist her further. She roamed through -the streets, followed by a noisy and jeering crowd of wild boys and what -not, until one day by chance she stopped by the house in which Gilbert -lived. The man Richard, hearing a tumult, came out to see what was the -matter, recognized the princess, and ran to tell his master.[415] -Gilbert bade Richard take the lady to the house of a respectable woman -near by, and presently went to see her. She swooned when she saw him. -Gilbert was nothing if not discreet: he "held him still," as if he had -nothing in mind. But there was a conference of six bishops just then at -St. Paul's, and he went and told them his story and asked advice. One of -the six prophetically saw a divine indication that the two were meant to -be married, and all finally recommended this if the lady would become -Christian. Brought before the bishops, she said, Most gladly, if he will -espouse me; else I had not left my kin. She was baptized[416] with great -ceremony, and the marriage followed. - -The very day after the wedding Gilbert was seized with such an -overmastering desire to go back to the Holy Land that he wist not what -to do. But his wife was thoroughly converted, and after a struggle with -herself she consented, on condition that Beket should leave with her the -man Richard, who knew her language. Gilbert was gone three years and a -half, and when he came back Thomas was a fine boy. - -That our ballad has been _affected_ by the legend of Gilbert Beket is -altogether likely. The name Bekie is very close to Beket, and several -versions, #A#, #D#, #H#, #I#, #N#, set out rather formally with the -announcement that Bekie was London born, like the Latin biographies and -the versified one of Garnier de Pont Sainte Maxence. Our ballad, also, -in some versions, has the Moor's daughter baptized, a point which of -course could not fail in the legend. More important still is it that the -hero of the English ballad goes home and forgets the woman he has left -in a foreign land, instead of going away from home and forgetting the -love he has left there. But the ballad, for all that, is not derived -from the legend. Stories and ballads of the general cast of 'Young -Beichan' are extremely frequent.[417] The legend lacks some of the main -points of these stories, and the ballad, in one version or another, has -them, as will be seen by referring to what has been said under 'Hind -Horn,' pp 194 ff. Bekie and Beket go to the East, like Henry and -Reinfrit of Brunswick, the Noble Moringer, the good Gerhard, Messer -Torello, the Sire de Créqui, Alexander of Metz, and others. Like the -larger part of these, they are made prisoners by the Saracens. He will -not bow the knee to Mahound; neither will the Sire de Créqui, though he -die for it.[418] Beichan is made to draw cart, plough, harrow, like a -beast. So Henry of Brunswick in a Swedish and a Danish ballad,[419] and -Alexander von Metz, or the Graf von Rom, in his most beautiful and -touching story.[420] Henry of Brunswick is set free by a "heathen" lady -in the Danish ballad. In one version of Beichan, #E#, the lady on -parting with her love breaks her ring and gives him one half, as Henry, -or his wife, Reinfrit, Gerhard, Créqui, and others do. At this point in -the story the woman pursues the man, and parts are inverted. Susan Pye -is warned that Beichan is to be married the next day, in #C# by a -Billy-Blin, in #M# by a woman in green, or fairy, and is conveyed to -Beichan's castle or hall with miraculous despatch, just as Henry and -others are warned, and are transported to their homes by devil, angel, -or necromancer. In #E# and #N# the old love is identified by a half ring -or ring, as in so many of the stories of the class of Henry the Lion. - -Norse, Spanish, and Italian ballads preserve a story essentially the -same as that of 'Young Beichan.' - -#Scandinavian.# - -#Danish.# 'Stolt Ellensborg,' Grundtvig, IV, 238, No 218, nine versions, -#A-G#, from manuscripts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, #H#, -#I#, from recent tradition. #B# is previously printed (with alterations) -in Levninger, 'Jomfrue Ellensborg,' I, 66, No 12, Danske Viser, III, -268, No 213; I, 'Stalt Ellen henter sin Fæstemand' is in Kristensen, I, -89, No 36. Of the older texts, #A#, #B#, #C# are absolutely pure and -true to tradition, #D-G# retouched or made over. - -#Icelandic#, of the seventeenth century, Grundtvig, as above, p. 259, -#M#. - -#Swedish#, from Cavallius and Stephens' collection, Grundtvig, p. 255, -#K#. - -#Färöe#, taken down in 1827, Grundtvig, p. 256, #L#. - -#Norwegian#, 'Herre Per i Riki,' Landstad, p. 596, No 76, #N#. - -The variations of these twelve versions are insignificant. The names -Herr Peder den Rige and Ellensborg [Ellen] are found in nearly all. It -comes into Sir Peter's mind that he ought to go to Jerusalem to expiate -his sins, and he asks his betrothed, Ellensborg, how long she will wait -for him. She will wait eight years, and marry no other, though the king -should woo her [seven, #L#; nine, #M#, "If I do not come then, break the -engagement;" eight, and not more, #N#]. The time passes and Peter does -not come back. Ellensborg goes to the strand. Traders come steering in, -and she is asked to buy of their ware,--sendal, linen, and silk green as -leek. She cares not for these things; have they not seen her sister's -son [brother], for whom she is grieving to death? They know nothing of -her sister's son, but well they know Sir Peter the rich: he has -betrothed a lady in the Øster-king's realm;[421] a heathen woman, "and -you never came into his mind," #E# 13; he is to be married to-morrow, -#K# 6. A wee swain tells her, #M# 14, 16, that he sits in Austurríki -drinking the ale of forgetfulness, and will never come home; he shall -not drink long, says she. Ellensborg asks her brother to undertake a -voyage for her; he will go with her if she will wait till summer; rather -than wait till summer she will go alone, #A#, #D#, #G#. She asks -fraternal advice about going in search of her lover, #A#, #E#, the -advice of her uncles, #I#; asks the loan of a ship, #B#, #C#, #F#, #H#, -#N#. She is told that such a thing would be a shame; she had better take -another lover; the object is not worth the trouble; the voyage is bad -for a man and worse for a woman. Her maids give her advice that is more -to her mind, #E#, but are as prudent as the rest in the later #I#. She -attires herself like a knight, clips her maids' hair, #B#, #H#, #I#, -#L#, #M#, and puts them into men's clothes, #D#, #L#; sets herself to -steer and the maids to row, #A-G#, #L#.[422] - -The voyage is less than two months, #B#, #C#, #E#; less than three -months, #I#; quite three months, #L#. It is the first day of the bridal -when she lands, #B# 22, #E# 24, #N# 14; in #B# Ellensborg learns this -from a boy who is walking on the sand. Sword at side, she enters the -hall where Peter is drinking his bridal. Peter, can in hand, rises and -says, Bless your eyes, my sister's son; welcome to this strange land. In -#B# he asks, How are my father and mother? and she tells him that his -father lies dead on his bier, his mother in sick-bed. In #L#, waiting -for no greeting, she says, Well you sit at the board with your wife! Are -all lords wont thus to keep their faith? The bride's mother, #D#, #G#, -the heathen bride, #E#, an unnamed person, probably the bride, #A#, #B#, -#F#, #N#, says, That is not your sister's son, but much more like a -woman; her hair is like spun gold, and braided up under a silk cap. - -#A# tells us, and so #F#, #G#, that it was two months before Ellensborg -could speak to Peter privately. Then, on a Yule day, when he was going -to church, she said, It does not occur to you that you gave me your -troth. Sir Peter stood as if women had shorn his hair, and recollected -all as if it had been yesterday. In #B-E#, #H#, #I#, #L#, #M#, #N#, this -incident has, perhaps, dropped out. In these immediately, as in #A#, -#F#, #G#, after this interview, Sir Peter, recalled to his senses or to -his fidelity, conceives the purpose of flying with Ellensborg. Good -people, he says, knights and swains, ladies and maids, follow my bride -to bed, while I take my sister's son over the meads, through the wood, -#B-E#, #H#, #I#, #N#. In #A#, #F#, Sir Peter asks the bride how long she -will bide while he takes his nephew across the kingdom; in #G# begs the -boon that, since his sister's son is going, he may ride with him, just -accompany him to the strand and take leave of him; in #L#, #M#, hopes -she will not be angry if he convoys his nephew three days on his way. -(It is at this point in #C#, #H#, #I#, #L#, that the bride says it is no -sister's son, but a woman.) The bride remarks that there are knights and -swains enow to escort his sister's son, and that he might more fitly -stay where he is, but Sir Peter persists that he will see his nephew off -in person. - -Sir Peter and Ellensborg go aboard the ship, he crying, You will see me -no more! When they are at sea Ellensborg lets out her hair, #A#, #B#, -#C#, #H#; she wishes that the abandoned bride may now feel the grief -which she herself had borne for years. The proceeding is less covert in -#I#, #L#, #M# than in the other versions. - -As Ellensborg and Peter are making for the ship in #D# 30, 31 (and #G# -36, 37, borrowed from #D#), she says, Tell me, Sir Peter, why would you -deceive me so? Sir Peter answers that he never meant to deceive her; it -was the lady of Østerland that did it; she had changed his mind. A -magical change is meant. This agrees with what is said in #A# 24, 25 -(also #F#, #G#), that when Ellensborg got Peter alone to herself, and -said, You do not remember that you plighted your troth to me, everything -came back to him as if it had happened yesterday. And again in the Färöe -copy, #L# 49, Ellensborg, from the prow, cries to Ingibjörg on the -strand, Farewell to thee with thy _elf-ways_, við títt elvargangi! I -have taken to myself my true love that I lent thee so long; implying -that Sir Peter had been detained by Circean arts, by a sleepy drench of -óminnis öl, or ale of forgetfulness, Icelandic #M# 14, which, in the -light of the other ballads, is to be understood literally, and not -figuratively. The feature of a man being made, by magical or other -means, to forget a first love who had done and suffered much for him, -and being suddenly restored to consciousness and his original -predilection, is of the commonest occurrence in traditional tales.[423] - -Our English ballad affords no other positive trace of external -interference with the hero's will than the far-fetched allegation in #C# -that the choice before him was to accept a duke's daughter or forfeit -his lands. The explanation of his inconstancy in #H#, #N#, that young -men ever were fickle found, is vulgar, and also insufficient, for -Beichan returns to his old love _per saltum_, like one from whose eyes -scales have fallen and from whose back a weight has been taken, not -tamely, like a facile youth that has swerved. #E# and #K#, as already -said, distinctly recognize that Beichan was not acting with free mind, -and, for myself, I have little doubt that, if we could go back far -enough, we should find that he had all along been faithful at heart. - -#Spanish.# #A.# 'El Conde Sol,' Duran, Romancero, I, 180, No 327, from -tradition in Andalusia, by the editor; Wolf and Hofmann, Primavera, II, -48, No 135. In this most beautiful romance the County Sol, named general -in great wars between Spain and Portugal, and leaving a young wife -dissolved in tears, tells her that she is free to marry if he does not -come back in six years. Six pass, and eight, and more than ten, yet the -county does not return, nor does there come news of him. His wife -implores and obtains leave of her father to go in search of her husband. -She traverses France and Italy, land and sea, and is on the point of -giving up hope, when one day she sees a herdsman pasturing cows. Whose -are these cows? she asks. The County Sol's, is the answer. And whose -these wheat-fields, these ewes, these gardens, and that palace? whose -the horses I hear neigh? The County Sol's, is the answer in each -case.[424] And who that lady that a man folds in his arms? The lady is -betrothed to him and the county is to marry her. The countess changes -her silken robe for the herdsman's sackcloth, and goes to ask an alms at -the county's gate. Beyond all hope, the county comes out himself to -bring it. "Whence comest thou, pilgrim?" he asks. She was born in Spain. -"How didst thou make thy way hither?" She came to seek her husband, -footing the thorns by land, risking the perils of the sea; and when she -found him he was about to marry, he had forgotten his faithful wife. -"Pilgrim, thou art surely the devil, come to try me." "No devil," she -said, "but thy wife indeed, and therefore come to seek thee." Upon this, -without a moment's tarrying, the county ordered his horse, took up his -wife, and made his best speed to his native castle. The bride he would -have taken remained unmarried, for those that put on others' robes are -sure to be stripped naked. - -#B.# 'Gerineldo,' taken down in Asturias by Amador de los Rios, Jahrbuch -für romanische u. englische Literatur, III, 290, 1861, and the same year -(Nigra) in Revista Iberica, I, 51; a version far inferior to #A#, and -differing in no important respect as to the story. - -#C.# 'La boda interrumpida,' Milá, Romancerillo Catalan, p. 221, No 244, -seven copies, A-G, none good. A, which is about one third Castilian, -relates that war is declared between France and Portugal, and the son of -Conde Burgos made general. The countess his wife does nothing but weep. -The husband tells her to marry again if he does not come back in seven -years. More than seven years are gone, and the lady's father asks why -she does not marry. "How can I," she replies, "if the count is living? -Give me your blessing, and let me go in search of him." She goes a -hundred leagues on foot, in the disguise of a pilgrim. Arrived at a -palace she sees pages pass, and asks them for whom a horse is intended. -It is for Count Burgos's son, who marries that night. She asks to be -directed to the young count, is told that she will find him in the hall, -enters, and begs an alms, as coming from Italy and without a penny. The -young man says, If you come from Italy, what is the news? Is Conde -Bueso's wife living? The pilgrim desires some description of the lady. -It seems that she wore a very costly petticoat on her wedding-day. The -pilgrim takes off _her glove_ and shows her ring; she also takes off and -shows the expensive petticoat. There is great weeping in that palace, -for first wives never can be forgotten. Don Bueso and the pilgrim clap -hands and go home. - -#Italian: Piedmontese.# #A.# 'Moran d'Inghilterra,' communicated to -Rivista Contemporanea, XXXI, 3, 1862, by Nigra, who gives the variations -of four other versions. The daughter of the sultan is so handsome that -they know not whom to give her to, but decide upon Moran of England. The -first day of his marriage he did nothing but kiss her, the second he -wished to leave her, and the third he went off to the war. "When shall -you return?" asked his wife. "If not in seven years, marry." She waited -seven years, but Moran did not come. His wife went all over England on -horseback, and came upon a cowherd. "Whose cows are these?" she asked. -They were Moran's. "Has Moran a wife?" This is the day when he is to -marry, and if she makes haste she will be in time for the wedding. She -spurs her horse, and arrives in season. They offer her to drink in a -gold cup. She will drink from no cup that is not her own; she will not -drink while another woman is there; she will not drink till she is -mistress. Moran throws his arms round her neck, saying, Mistress you -ever have been and still shall be. - -#B.# 'Morando,' Ferraro, Canti popolari monferrini, p. 42, No 32, from -Alessandria. Murando d'Inghilterra, of the king's household, fell in -love with the princess, for which the king sent him off. The lady -knocked at his door, and asked when he would come back. In seven years, -was the answer, and if not she was to marry. The princess stole a -hundred scudi from her father, frizzled her hair French fashion, bought -a fashionable suit, and rode three days and nights without touching -ground, eating, or drinking. She came upon a laundryman, and asked who -was in command there. Murando. She knocked at the door, and Murando -asked, Have you come to our wedding? She would come to the dance. At the -dance she was recognized by the servants. Murando asked, How came you -here? "I rode three days and three nights without touching ground, -eating, or drinking." This is my wife, said Murando; and the other lady -he bade return to her father. - -It is possible that this ballad may formerly have been known in France. -Nothing is left and known that shows this conclusively, but there is an -approach to the Norse form in a fragment which occurs in several widely -separated localities. A lover goes off in November, promising his love -to return in December, but does not. A messenger comes to bid the lady, -in his name, seek another lover, for he has another love. "Is she fairer -than I, or more powerful?" She is not fairer, but more powerful: she -makes rosemary flower on the edge of her sleeve, changes the sea into -wine and fish into flesh. Bujeaud, I, 203. In 'La Femme Abandonnée,' -Puymaigre, I, 72, the lover is married to a Fleming: - - Elle fait venir le soleil - A minuit dans sa chambre, - Elle fait bouiller la marmite - Sans feu et sans rente. - -In a Canadian version, 'Entre Paris et Saint-Denis,' Gagnon, p. 303, the -deserted woman is a king's daughter, and the new love, - - Ell' fait neiger, ell' fait grêler, - Ell' fait le vent qui vente. - Ell' fait reluire le soleil - A minuit dans sa chambre. - Ell' fait pousser le romarin - Sur le bord de la manche. - -Puymaigre notes that there is a version very near to the Canadian in the -sixth volume of Poésies populaires de la France, cinquième recueil, -Ardennes, No 2.[425] - -A broadside ballad, 'The Turkish Lady,' 'The Turkish Lady and the -English Slave,' printed in Logan's Pedlar's Pack, p. 16, Christie, I, -247, from singing, and preserved also in the Kinloch MSS, V, 53, I, 263, -from Elizabeth Beattie's recitation, simply relates how a Turkish -pirate's daughter fell in love with an Englishman, her slave, offered to -release him if he would turn Turk, but chose the better part of flying -with him to Bristol, and becoming herself a Christian brave. - -Sir William Stanley, passing through Constantinople, is condemned to die -for his religion. A lady, walking under the prison walls, hears his -lament, and begs his life of the Turk. She would make him her husband, -and bring him to adore Mahomet. She offers to set the prisoner free if -he will marry her, but he has a wife and children on English ground. The -lady is sorry, but generously gives Stanley five hundred pounds to carry -him to his own country. Sir William Stanley's Garland, Halliwell's -Palatine Anthology, pp 277 f. - -Two Magyars have been shut up in a dungeon by the sultan, and have not -seen sun, moon, or stars for seven years. The sultan's daughter hears -their moan, and offers to free them if they will take her to Hungary. -This they promise to do. She gets the keys, takes money, opens the -doors, and the three make off. They are followed; one of the Magyars -kills all the pursuers but one, who is left to carry back the news. It -is now proposed that there shall be a duel to determine who shall have -the lady. She begs them rather to cut off her head than to fight about -her. Szilágyi Niklas says he has a love at home, and leaves the sultan's -daughter to his comrade, Hagymási László. Aigner, Ungarische -Volksdichtungen, p. 93: see p. 107 of this volume. - - * * * * * - -#C b# is translated by Loève-Veimars, p. 330; #E# by Cesare Cantù, -Documenti alla Storia Universale, Torino, 1858, Tomo V^o, Parte III^a, -p. 796; #E#, as retouched by Allingham, by Knortz, L. u. R. -Alt-Englands, p. 18. - - -A - - Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. 13. - - 1 - In London city was Bicham born, - He longd strange countries for to see, - But he was taen by a savage Moor, - Who handld him right cruely. - - 2 - For thro his shoulder he put a bore, - An thro the bore has pitten a tree, - An he's gard him draw the carts o wine, - Where horse and oxen had wont to be. - - 3 - He's casten [him] in a dungeon deep, - Where he coud neither hear nor see; - He's shut him up in a prison strong, - An he's handld him right cruely. - - 4 - O this Moor he had but ae daughter, - I wot her name was Shusy Pye; - She's doen her to the prison-house, - And she's calld Young Bicham one word by. - - 5 - 'O hae ye ony lands or rents, - Or citys in your ain country, - Coud free you out of prison strong, - An coud mantain a lady free?' - - 6 - 'O London city is my own, - An other citys twa or three, - Coud loose me out o prison strong, - An coud mantain a lady free.' - - 7 - O she has bribed her father's men - Wi meikle goud and white money, - She's gotten the key o the prison doors, - An she has set Young Bicham free. - - 8 - She's gi'n him a loaf o good white bread, - But an a flask o Spanish wine, - An she bad him mind on the ladie's love - That sae kindly freed him out o pine. - - 9 - 'Go set your foot on good ship-board, - An haste you back to your ain country, - An before that seven years has an end, - Come back again, love, and marry me.' - - 10 - It was long or seven years had an end - She longd fu sair her love to see; - She's set her foot on good ship-board, - An turnd her back on her ain country. - - 11 - She's saild up, so has she doun, - Till she came to the other side; - She's landed at Young Bicham's gates, - An I hop this day she sal be his bride. - - 12 - 'Is this Young Bicham's gates?' says she, - 'Or is that noble prince within?' - 'He's up the stairs wi his bonny bride, - An monny a lord and lady wi him.' - - 13 - 'O has he taen a bonny bride, - An has he clean forgotten me!' - An sighing said that gay lady, - I wish I were in my ain country! - - 14 - But she's pitten her han in her pocket, - An gin the porter guineas three; - Says, Take ye that, ye proud porter, - An bid the bridegroom speak to me. - - 15 - O whan the porter came up the stair, - He's fa'n low down upon his knee: - 'Won up, won up, ye proud porter, - An what makes a' this courtesy?' - - 16 - 'O I've been porter at your gates - This mair nor seven years an three, - But there is a lady at them now - The like of whom I never did see. - - 17 - 'For on every finger she has a ring, - An on the mid-finger she has three, - An there's as meikle goud aboon her brow - As woud buy an earldome o lan to me.' - - 18 - Then up it started Young Bicham, - An sware so loud by Our Lady, - 'It can be nane but Shusy Pye, - That has come oer the sea to me.' - - 19 - O quickly ran he down the stair, - O fifteen steps he has made but three; - He's tane his bonny love in his arms, - An a wot he kissd her tenderly. - - 20 - 'O hae you tane a bonny bride? - An hae you quite forsaken me? - An hae ye quite forgotten her - That gae you life an liberty?' - - 21 - She's lookit oer her left shoulder - To hide the tears stood in her ee; - 'Now fare thee well, Young Bicham,' she says, - 'I'll strive to think nae mair on thee.' - - 22 - 'Take back your daughter, madam,' he says, - 'An a double dowry I'll gi her wi; - For I maun marry my first true love, - That's done and suffered so much for me.' - - 23 - He's take his bonny love by the han, - And led her to yon fountain stane; - He's changd her name frae Shusy Pye, - An he's cald her his bonny love, Lady Jane. - - -B - - Glenriddell MSS, XI, 80. - - 1 - In England was Young Brechin born, - Of parents of a high degree; - The selld him to the savage Moor, - Where they abused him maist cruellie. - - 2 - Thro evry shoulder they bord a bore, - And thro evry bore they pat a tree; - They made him draw the carts o wine, - Which horse and owsn were wont to drie. - - 3 - The pat him into prison strong, - Where he could neither hear nor see; - They pat him in a dark dungeon, - Where he was sick and like to die. - - 4 - 'Is there neer an auld wife in this town - That'll borrow me to be her son? - Is there neer a young maid in this town - Will take me for her chiefest one?' - - 5 - A Savoyen has an only daughter, - I wat she's called Young Brichen by; - 'O sleepst thou, wakest thou, Brichen?' she says, - 'Or who is't that does on me cry? - - 6 - 'O hast thou any house or lands, - Or hast thou any castles free, - That thou wadst gi to a lady fair - That out o prison wad bring thee?' - - 7 - 'O lady, Lundin it is mine, - And other castles twa or three; - These I wad gie to a lady fair - That out of prison wad set me free.' - - 8 - She's taen him by the milk-white hand, - And led him to a towr sae hie, - She's made him drink the wine sae reid, - And sung to him like a mavosie. - - 9 - O these two luvers made a bond, - For seven years, and that is lang, - That he was to marry no other wife, - And she's to marry no other man. - - 10 - When seven years were past and gane, - This young lady began to lang, - And she's awa to Lundin gane, - To see if Brechin's got safe to land. - - 11 - When she came to Young Brechin's yett, - She chappit gently at the gin; - 'Is this Young Brechin's yett?' she says, - 'Or is this lusty lord within?' - 'O yes, this is Lord Brechin's yett, - And I wat this be his bridal een.' - - 12 - She's put her hand in her pocket, - And thrawin the porter guineas three; - 'Gang up the stair, young man,' she says, - 'And bid your master come down to me. - - 13 - 'Bid him bring a bite o his ae best bread, - And a bottle o his ae best wine, - And neer forget that lady fair - That did him out o prison bring.' - - 14 - The porter tripped up the stair, - And fell low down upon his knee: - 'Rise up, rise up, ye proud porter, - What mean you by this courtesie?' - - 15 - 'O I hae been porter at your yett - This thirty years and a' but three; - There stands the fairest lady thereat - That ever my twa een did see. - - 16 - 'On evry finger she has a ring, - On her mid-finger she has three; - She's as much gold on her horse's neck - As wad by a earldom o land to me. - - 17 - 'She bids you send o your ae best bread, - And a bottle o your ae best wine, - And neer forget the lady fair - That out o prison did you bring.' - - 18 - He's taen the table wi his foot, - And made the cups and cans to flee: - 'I'll wager a' the lands I hae - That Susan Pye's come oer the sea.' - - * * * * * * * - - 19 - Then up and spak the bride's mother: - 'And O an ill deid may ye die! - If ye didna except the bonny bride, - Ye might hae ay excepted me.' - - 20 - 'O ye are fair, and fair, madam, - And ay the fairer may ye be! - But the fairest day that eer ye saw, - Ye were neer sae fair as yon lady.' - - 21 - O when these lovers two did meet, - The tear it blinded baith their ee; - 'Gie me my faith and troth,' she says, - 'For now fain hame wad I be.' - - 22 - 'Tak hame your daughter, madam,' he says, - 'She's neer a bit the war o me; - Except a kiss o her bonny lips, - Of her body I am free; - She came to me on a single horse, - Now I'll send her hame in chariots three. - - 23 - He's taen her by the milk-white hand, - And he's led her to a yard o stane; - He's changed her name frae Susan Pye, - And calld her lusty Lady Jane. - - -C - - #a.# Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. II. #b.# Jamieson's Popular - Ballads, II, 127. - - 1 - Young Bekie was as brave a knight - As ever saild the sea; - An he's doen him to the court of France, - To serve for meat and fee. - - 2 - He had nae been i the court of France - A twelvemonth nor sae long, - Til he fell in love with the king's daughter, - An was thrown in prison strong. - - 3 - The king he had but ae daughter, - Burd Isbel was her name; - An she has to the prison-house gane, - To hear the prisoner's mane. - - 4 - 'O gin a lady woud borrow me, - At her stirrup-foot I woud rin; - Or gin a widow wad borrow me, - I woud swear to be her son. - - 5 - 'Or gin a virgin woud borrow me, - I woud wed her wi a ring; - I'd gi her ha's, I'd gie her bowers, - The bonny towrs o Linne.' - - 6 - O barefoot, barefoot gaed she but, - An barefoot came she ben; - It was no for want o hose an shoone, - Nor time to put them on. - - 7 - But a' for fear that her father dear - Had heard her making din: - She's stown the keys o the prison-house dor - An latten the prisoner gang. - - 8 - O whan she saw him, Young Bekie, - Her heart was wondrous sair! - For the mice but an the bold rottons - Had eaten his yallow hair. - - 9 - She's gien him a shaver for his beard, - A comber till his hair, - Five hunder pound in his pocket, - To spen, an nae to spair. - - 10 - She's gien him a steed was good in need, - An a saddle o royal bone, - A leash o hounds o ae litter, - An Hector called one. - - 11 - Atween this twa a vow was made, - 'Twas made full solemnly, - That or three years was come an gane, - Well married they shoud be. - - 12 - He had nae been in 's ain country - A twelvemonth till an end, - Till he's forcd to marry a duke's daughter, - Or than lose a' his land. - - 13 - 'Ohon, alas!' says Young Beckie, - 'I know not what to dee; - For I canno win to Burd Isbel, - And she kensnae to come to me.' - - 14 - O it fell once upon a day - Burd Isbel fell asleep, - An up it starts the Belly Blin, - An stood at her bed-feet. - - 15 - 'O waken, waken, Burd Isbel, - How [can] you sleep so soun, - Whan this is Bekie's wedding day, - An the marriage gain on? - - 16 - 'Ye do ye to your mither's bowr, - Think neither sin nor shame; - An ye tak twa o your mither's marys, - To keep ye frae thinking lang. - - 17 - 'Ye dress yoursel in the red scarlet, - An your marys in dainty green, - An ye pit girdles about your middles - Woud buy an earldome. - - 18 - 'O ye gang down by yon sea-side, - An down by yon sea-stran; - Sae bonny will the Hollans boats - Come rowin till your han. - - 19 - 'Ye set your milk-white foot abord, - Cry, Hail ye, Domine! - An I shal be the steerer o 't, - To row you oer the sea.' - - 20 - She's tane her till her mither's bowr, - Thought neither sin nor shame, - An she took twa o her mither's marys, - To keep her frae thinking lang. - - 21 - She dressd hersel i the red scarlet, - Her marys i dainty green, - And they pat girdles about their middles - Woud buy an earldome. - - 22 - An they gid down by yon sea-side, - An down by yon sea-stran; - Sae bonny did the Hollan boats - Come rowin to their han. - - 23 - She set her milk-white foot on board, - Cried, Hail ye, Domine! - An the Belly Blin was the steerer o 't, - To row her oer the sea. - - 24 - Whan she came to Young Bekie's gate, - She heard the music play; - Sae well she kent frae a' she heard, - It was his wedding day. - - 25 - She's pitten her han in her pocket, - Gin the porter guineas three; - 'Hae, tak ye that, ye proud porter, - Bid the bride-groom speake to me.' - - 26 - O whan that he cam up the stair, - He fell low down on his knee: - He haild the king, an he haild the queen, - An he haild him, Young Bekie. - - 27 - 'O I've been porter at your gates - This thirty years an three; - But there's three ladies at them now, - Their like I never did see. - - 28 - 'There's ane o them dressd in red scarlet, - And twa in dainty green, - An they hae girdles about their middles - Woud buy an earldome.' - - 29 - Then out it spake the bierly bride, - Was a' goud to the chin; - 'Gin she be braw without,' she says, - 'We's be as braw within.' - - 30 - Then up it starts him, Young Bekie, - An the tears was in his ee: - 'I'll lay my life it's Burd Isbel, - Come oer the sea to me.' - - 31 - O quickly ran he down the stair, - An whan he saw 't was shee, - He kindly took her in his arms, - And kissd her tenderly. - - 32 - 'O hae ye forgotten, Young Bekie, - The vow ye made to me, - Whan I took you out o the prison strong, - Whan ye was condemnd to die? - - 33 - 'I gae you a steed was good in need, - An a saddle o royal bone, - A leash o hounds o ae litter, - An Hector called one.' - - 34 - It was well kent what the lady said, - That it wasnae a lee, - For at ilka word the lady spake, - The hound fell at her knee. - - 35 - 'Tak hame, tak hame your daughter dear, - A blessing gae her wi, - For I maun marry my Burd Isbel, - That's come oer the sea to me.' - - 36 - 'Is this the custom o your house, - Or the fashion o your lan, - To marry a maid in a May mornin, - An send her back at even?' - - -D - - Skene MSS, p. 70. North of Scotland, 1802-3. - - 1 - Young Beachen was born in fair London, - And foreign lands he langed to see; - He was taen by the savage Moor, - An the used him most cruellie. - - 2 - Through his showlder they pat a bore, - And through the bore the pat a tree; - They made him trail their ousen carts, - And they used him most cruellie. - - 3 - The savage Moor had ae daughter, - I wat her name was Susan Pay; - An she is to the prison house, - To hear the prisoner's moan. - - 4 - He made na his moan to a stocke, - He made na it to a stone, - But it was to the Queen of Heaven - That he made his moan. - - 5 - 'Gin a lady wad borrow me, - I at her foot wad run; - An a widdow wad borrow me, - I wad become her son. - - 6 - 'But an a maid wad borrow me, - I wad wed her wi a ring; - I wad make her lady of haas and bowers, - An of the high towers of Line.' - - 7 - 'Sing oer yer sang, Young Beachen,' she says, - 'Sing oer yer sang to me;' - 'I never sang that sang, lady, - But I wad sing to thee. - - 8 - 'Gin a lady wad borrow me, - I at her foot wad run; - An a widdow wad borrow me, - I wad become her son. - - 9 - 'But an a maid wad borrow me, - I wad wed her wi a ring; - I wad make her lady of haas and bowers, - An of the high towers of Line.' - - 10 - Saftly, [saftly] gaed she but, - An saftlly gaed she ben, - It was na for want of hose nor shoon, - Nor time to pet them on. - - 11 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - An she has staen the keys of the prison, - An latten Young Beachen gang. - - 12 - She gae him a leaf of her white bread, - An a bottle of her wine, - She bad him mind on the lady's love - That freed him out of pine. - - 13 - She gae him a steed was guid in need, - A saddle of the bane, - Five hundred pown in his pocket, - Bad him gae speeding hame. - - 14 - An a leash of guid grayhounds, - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 15 - Whan seven lang years were come and gane, - Shusie Pay thought lang, - An she is on to fair London, - As fast as she could gang. - - 16 - Whan she cam to Young Beachen's gate, - . . . . . . . - 'Is Young Beachan at hame, - Or is he in this countrie?' - - 17 - 'He is at hame, is hear,' they said, - . . . . . . . - An sighan says her Susie Pay, - Has he quite forgotten me? - - 18 - On every finger she had a ring, - On the middle finger three; - She gae the porter ane of them: - 'Get a word o your lord to me.' - - 19 - He gaed up the stair, - Fell low down on his knee: - 'Win up, my proud porter, - What is your will wi me?' - - 20 - 'I hae been porter at yer gate - This thirty year and three; - The fairst lady is at yer gate - Mine eyes did ever see.' - - 21 - Out spak the bride's mither, - An a haghty woman was she: - 'If ye had na eccepted the bonny bride, - Ye might well ha eccepted me.' - - 22 - 'No disparagement to you, madam, - Nor none unto her Grace; - The sole of your lady's foot - Is fairer than her face.' - - 23 - He's gaen the table wi his foot, - And couped it wi his knee: - 'I wad my head and a' my land - 'T is Susie Pay, come oer the sea.' - - 24 - The stair was thirty steps, - I wat he made them three; - He took her in his arms twa: - 'Susie Pay, ye'r welcome to me.' - - 25 - 'Gie me a shive of your white bread, - An a bottle of your wine; - Dinna ye mind on the lady's love - That freed ye out of pine?' - - 26 - He took her ... - Down to yon garden green, - An changed her name fra Susie Pay, - An called her bonny Lady Jean. - - 27 - 'Yer daughter came here on high horse-back, - She sal gae hame in coaches three, - An I sall double her tocher our, - She's nane the war o me.' - - 28 - 'It's na the fashion o our countrie, - Nor yet o yer nane, - To wed a maid in the morning, - An send her hame at een.' - - 29 - 'It's na the fashion o my countrie, - Nor is it of my nane, - But I man mind on the lady's love - That freed me out of pine.' - - -E - - Jamieson's Popular Ballads, II, 117, compounded from #A#, - a manuscript and a stall copy from Scotland, a recited - copy from the north of England, and a short version picked - off a wall in London. (The parts which repeat #A# are in - smaller type.) - - | 1 - | In London was Young Beichan born, - | He longed strange countries for to see, - | But he was taen by a savage Moor, - | Who handled him right cruellie. - - 2 - For he viewed the fashions of that land, - Their way of worship viewed he, - But to Mahound or Termagant - Would Beichan never bend a knee. - - | 3 - | So in every shoulder they've putten a bore, - | In every bore they've putten a tree, - | And they have made him trail the wine - | And spices on his fair bodie. - - | 4 - | They've casten him in a dungeon deep, - | Where he could neither hear nor see, - | For seven years they kept him there, - | Till he for hunger's like to die. - - | 5 - | This Moor he had but ae daughter, - | Her name was called Susie Pye, - | And every day as she took the air, - | Near Beichan's prison she passed by. - - 6 - O so it fell upon a day - She heard Young Beichan sadly sing: - 'My hounds they all go masterless, - My hawks they flee from tree to tree, - My younger brother will heir my land, - Fair England again I'll never see!' - - 7 - All night long no rest she got, - Young Beichan's song for thinking on; - She's stown the keys from her father's head, - And to the prison strong is gone. - - 8 - And she has opend the prison doors, - I wot she opend two or three, - Ere she could come Young Beichan at, - He was locked up so curiouslie. - - 9 - But when she came Young Beichan before, - Sore wonderd he that may to see; - He took her for some fair captive: - 'Fair Lady, I pray, of what countrie?' - - 10 - 'O have ye any lands,' she said, - 'Or castles in your own countrie, - That ye could give to a lady fair, - From prison strong to set you free?' - - 11 - 'Near London town I have a hall, - With other castles two or three; - I'll give them all to the lady fair - That out of prison will set me free.' - - 12 - 'Give me the truth of your right hand, - The truth of it give unto me, - That for seven years ye'll no lady wed, - Unless it be along with me.' - - 13 - 'I'll give thee the truth of my right hand, - The truth of it I'll freely gie, - That for seven years I'll stay unwed, - For the kindness thou dost show to me.' - - | 14 - | And she has brib'd the proud warder - | Wi mickle gold and white monie, - | She's gotten the keys of the prison strong, - | And she has set Young Beichan free. - - | 15 - | She's gien him to eat the good spice-cake, - | She's gien him to drink the blood-red wine, - | She's bidden him sometimes think on her, - | That sae kindly freed him out of pine. - - 16 - She's broken a ring from her finger, - And to Beichan half of it gave she: - 'Keep it, to mind you of that love - The lady bore that set you free. - - | 17 - | 'And set your foot on good ship-board, - | And haste ye back to your own countrie, - | And before that seven years have an end, - | Come back again, love, and marry me.' - - | 18 - | But long ere seven years had an end, - | She longd full sore her love to see, - For ever a voice within her breast - Said, 'Beichan has broke his vow to thee:' - | So she's set her foot on good ship-board, - | And turnd her back on her own countrie. - - 19 - She sailed east, she sailed west, - Till to fair England's shore she came, - Where a bonny shepherd she espied, - Feeding his sheep upon the plain. - - 20 - 'What news, what news, thou bonny shepherd? - What news hast thou to tell to me?' - 'Such news I hear, ladie,' he says, - 'The like was never in this countrie. - - 21 - 'There is a wedding in yonder hall, - Has lasted these thirty days and three; - Young Beichan will not bed with his bride, - For love of one that's yond the sea.' - - 22 - She's put her hand in her pocket, - Gien him the gold and white monie: - 'Hae, take ye that, my bonny boy, - For the good news thou tellst to me.' - - 23 - When she came to Young Beichan's gate, - She tirled softly at the pin; - So ready was the proud porter - To open and let this lady in. - - | 24 - | 'Is this Young Beichan's hall,' she said, - | 'Or is that noble lord within?' - | 'Yea, he's in the hall among them all, - | And this is the day o his weddin.' - - | 25 - | 'And has he wed anither love? - | And has he clean forgotten me?' - | And sighin said that gay ladie, - | I wish I were in my own countrie! - - | 26 - | And she has taen her gay gold ring, - | That with her love she brake so free; - | Says, Gie him that, ye proud porter, - | And bid the bridegroom speak to me. - - | 27 - | When the porter came his lord before, - | He kneeled down low on his knee: - | 'What aileth thee, my proud porter, - | Thou art so full of courtesie?' - - | 28 - | 'I've been porter at your gates, - | It's thirty long years now and three; - | But there stands a lady at them now, - | The like o her did I never see. - - | 29 - | 'For on every finger she has a ring, - | And on her mid-finger she has three, - | And as meickle gold aboon her brow - | As would buy an earldom to me.' - - 30 - It's out then spak the bride's mother, - Aye and an angry woman was shee: - 'Ye might have excepted our bonny bride, - And twa or three of our companie.' - - 31 - 'O hold your tongue, thou bride's mother, - Of all your folly let me be; - She's ten times fairer nor the bride, - And all that's in your companie. - - 32 - 'She begs one sheave of your white bread, - But and a cup of your red wine, - And to remember the lady's love - That last relievd you out of pine.' - - 33 - 'O well-a-day!' said Beichan then, - 'That I so soon have married thee! - | For it can be none but Susie Pye, - | That sailed the sea for love of me.' - - | 34 - | And quickly hied he down the stair; - | Of fifteen steps he made but three; - | He's taen his bonny love in his arms, - | And kist and kist her tenderlie. - - | 35 - | 'O hae ye taen anither bride? - | And hae ye quite forgotten me? - | And hae ye quite forgotten her - | That gave you life and libertie?' - - 36 - She looked oer her left shoulder, - To hide the tears stood in her ee: - 'Now fare thee well, Young Beichan,' she says, - 'I'll try to think no more on thee.' - - 37 - 'O never, never, Susie Pye, - For surely this can never be, - Nor ever shall I wed but her - That's done and dreed so much for me.' - - 38 - Then out and spak the forenoon bride: - 'My lord, your love it changeth soon; - This morning I was made your bride, - And another chose ere it be noon.' - - 39 - O hold thy tongue, thou forenoon bride, - Ye're neer a whit the worse for me, - And whan ye return to your own countrie, - A double dower I'll send with thee.' - - 40 - He's taen Susie Pye by the white hand, - And gently led her up and down, - And ay as he kist her red rosy lips, - 'Ye're welcome, jewel, to your own.' - - | 41 - | He's taen her by the milk-white hand, - | And led her to yon fountain stane; - | He's changed her name from Susie Pye, - | And he's call'd her his bonny love, Lady Jane. - - -F - - Pitcairn's MSS, III, 159, 1817-25. From the recitation of - Widow Stevenson, aged seventy-three: "East Country." - - 1 - In the lands where Lord Beichan was born, - Amang the stately steps of stane, - He wore the goud at his left shoulder, - But to the Holy Land he's gane. - - 2 - He was na lang in the Holy Land, - Amang the Prudents that was black, - He was na lang in the Holy Land, - Till the Prudent did Lord Beichan tak. - - 3 - The gard him draw baith pleugh and harrow, - And horse and oxen twa or three; - They cast him in a dark dungeon, - Whare he coud neither hear nor see. - - 4 - The Prudent had a fair daughter, - I wot they ca'd her Susy Pye, - And all the keys in that city - Hang at that lady by and bye. - - 5 - It once fell out upon a day - That into the prison she did gae, - And whan she cam to the prison door, - She kneeled low down on her knee. - - 6 - 'O hae ye ony lands, Beichan, - Or hae ye ony castles hie, - Whar ye wad tak a young thing to, - If out of prison I wad let thee?' - - 7 - 'Fair London's mine, dear lady,' he said, - 'And other places twa or three, - Whar I wad tak a young thing to, - If out of prison ye wad let me.' - - 8 - O she has opened the prison door, - And other places twa or three, - And gien him bread, and wine to drink, - In her own chamber privately. - - 9 - O then she built a bonny ship, - And she has set it on the main, - And she has built a bonny ship, - It's for to tak Lord Beichan hame. - - 10 - O she's gaen murning up and down, - And she's gaen murnin to the sea, - Then to her father she has gane in, - Wha spak to her right angrily. - - 11 - 'O do ye mourn for the goud, daughter, - Or do ye mourn for the whyte monie? - Or do ye mourn for the English squire? - I wat I will gar hang him hie.' - - 12 - 'I neither mourn for the goud, father, - Nor do I for the whyte monie, - Nor do I for the English squire; - And I care na tho ye hang him hie. - - 13 - 'But I hae promised an errand to go, - Seven lang miles ayont the sea, - And blythe and merry I never will be - Untill that errand you let me.' - - 14 - 'That errand, daughter, you may gang, - Seven long miles beyond the sea, - Since blythe and merry you'll neer be - Untill that errand I'll let thee.' - - 15 - O she has built a bonny ship, - And she has set it in the sea, - And she has built a bonny ship, - It's all for to tak her a long journie. - - 16 - And she's sailed a' the summer day, - I wat the wind blew wondrous fair; - In sight of fair London she has come, - And till Lord Beichan's yett she walked. - - 17 - Whan she cam till Lord Beichan's yett, - She rappit loudly at the pin: - 'Is Beichan lord of this bonny place? - I pray ye open and let me in. - - 18 - 'And O is this Lord Beichan's yett, - And is the noble lord within?' - 'O yes, it is Lord Beichan's yett, - He's wi his bride and mony a ane.' - - 19 - 'If you'll gang up to Lord Beichan, - Tell him the words that I tell thee; - It will put him in mind of Susy Pye, - And the Holy Land, whareer he be. - - 20 - 'Tell him to send one bite of bread, - It's and a glass of his gude red wine, - Nor to forget the lady's love - That loosed him out of prison strong.' - - * * * * * * * - - 21 - 'I hae been porter at your yett, - I'm sure this therty lang years and three, - But the fairest lady stands thereat - That evir my twa eyes did see. - - 22 - 'On ilka finger she has a ring, - And on the foremost she has three; - As muckle goud is on her head - As wad buy an earldom of land to thee. - - 23 - 'She bids you send a bite of bread, - It's and a glass of your gude red wine, - Nor to forget the lady's love - That let you out of prison strong.' - - 24 - It's up and spak the bride's mother, - A weight of goud hung at her chin: - 'There is no one so fair without - But there are, I wat, as fair within.' - - 25 - It's up and spak the bride hersel, - As she sat by the gude lord's knee: - 'Awa, awa, ye proud porter, - This day ye might hae excepted me.' - - * * * * * * * - - 26 - 'Tak hence, tak hence your fair daughter, - Tak hame your daughter fair frae me; - For saving one kiss of her bonny lips, - I'm sure of her body I am free. - - 27 - 'Awa, awa, ye proud mither, - It's tak your daughter fair frae me; - For I brought her home with chariots six, - And I'll send her back wi coaches three.' - - 28 - It's he's taen the table wi his fit, - And syne he took it wi his knee; - He gard the glasses and wine so red, - He gard them all in flinders flee. - - 29 - O he's gane down the steps of stairs, - And a' the stately steps of stane, - Until he cam to Susy Pye; - I wat the tears blinded baith their eyne. - - 30 - He led her up the steps of stairs, - And a' the stately steps of stane, - And changed her name from Susy Pye, - And ca'd her lusty Lady Jane. - - 31 - 'O fye, gar cooks mak ready meat, - O fye, gar cooks the pots supply, - That it may be talked of in fair London, - I've been twice married in ae day.' - - -G - - Communicated by Mr Alexander Laing, of Newburg-on-Tay, as - derived from the recitation of Miss Walker. - - - * * * * * * * - - 1 - 'O wha's aught a' yon flock o sheep, - An wha's aught a' yon flock o kye? - An wha's aught a' yon pretty castles, - That you sae often do pass bye?' - - 2 - 'They're a' Lord Beekin's sheep, - They're a' Lord Beekin's kye; - They're a' Lord Beekin's castles, - That you sae often do pass bye.' - - * * * * * * * - - 3 - He's tane [the] table wi his feet, - Made cups an candlesticks to flee: - 'I'll lay my life 't is Susy Pie, - Come owr the seas to marry me.' - - -H - - Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 260. - - 1 - Young Beichan was in London born, - He was a man of hie degree; - He past thro monie kingdoms great, - Until he cam unto Grand Turkie. - - 2 - He viewd the fashions of that land, - Their way of worship viewed he, - But unto onie of their stocks - He wadna sae much as bow a knee: - - 3 - Which made him to be taken straight, - And brought afore their hie jurie; - The savage Moor did speak upricht, - And made him meikle ill to dree. - - 4 - In ilka shoulder they've bord a hole, - And in ilka hole they've put a tree; - They've made him to draw carts and wains, - Till he was sick and like to dee. - - 5 - But Young Beichan was a Christian born, - And still a Christian was he; - Which made them put him in prison strang, - And cauld and hunger sair to dree, - And fed on nocht but bread and water, - Until the day that he mot dee. - - 6 - In this prison there grew a tree, - And it was unco stout and strang, - Where he was chained by the middle, - Until his life was almaist gane. - - 7 - The savage Moor had but ae dochter, - And her name it was Susie Pye, - And ilka day as she took the air, - The prison door she passed bye. - - 8 - But it fell ance upon a day, - As she was walking, she heard him sing; - She listend to his tale of woe, - A happy day for Young Beichan! - - 9 - 'My hounds they all go masterless, - My hawks they flee frae tree to tree, - My youngest brother will heir my lands, - My native land I'll never see.' - - 10 - 'O were I but the prison-keeper, - As I'm a ladie o hie degree, - I soon wad set this youth at large, - And send him to his ain countrie.' - - 11 - She went away into her chamber, - All nicht she never closd her ee; - And when the morning begoud to dawn, - At the prison door alane was she. - - 12 - She gied the keeper a piece of gowd, - And monie pieces o white monie, - To tak her thro the bolts and bars, - The lord frae Scotland she langd to see; - She saw young Beichan at the stake, - Which made her weep maist bitterlie. - - 13 - 'O hae ye got onie lands,' she says, - 'Or castles in your ain countrie? - It's what wad ye gie to the ladie fair - Wha out o prison wad set you free?' - - 14 - 'It's I hae houses, and I hae lands, - Wi monie castles fair to see, - And I wad gie a' to that ladie gay, - Wha out o prison wad set me free.' - - 15 - The keeper syne brak aff his chains, - And set Lord Beichan at libertie; - She filld his pockets baith wi gowd, - To tak him till his ain countrie. - - 16 - She took him frae her father's prison, - And gied to him the best o wine, - And a brave health she drank to him: - 'I wish, Lord Beichan, ye were mine! - - 17 - 'It's seven lang years I'll mak a vow, - And seven lang years I'll keep it true; - If ye'll wed wi na ither woman, - It's I will wed na man but you.' - - 18 - She's tane him to her father's port, - And gien to him a ship o fame: - 'Farewell, farewell, my Scottish lord, - I fear I'll neer see you again.' - - 19 - Lord Beichan turnd him round about, - And lowly, lowly loutit he: - 'Ere seven lang years come to an end, - I'll tak you to mine ain countrie.' - - * * * * * * * - - - 20 - Then whan he cam to Glasgow town, - A happy, happy man was he; - The ladies a' around him thrangd, - To see him come frae slaverie. - - 21 - His mother she had died o sorrow, - And a' his brothers were dead but he; - His lands they a' were lying waste, - In ruins were his castles free. - - 22 - Na porter there stood at his yett, - Na human creature he could see, - Except the screeching owls and bats, - Had he to bear him companie. - - 23 - But gowd will gar the castles grow, - And he had gowd and jewels free, - And soon the pages around him thrangd, - To serve him on their bended knee. - - 24 - His hall was hung wi silk and satin, - His table rung wi mirth and glee, - He soon forgot the lady fair - That lowsd him out o slaverie. - - 25 - Lord Beichan courted a lady gay, - To heir wi him his lands sae free, - Neer thinking that a lady fair - Was on her way frae Grand Turkie. - - 26 - For Susie Pye could get na rest, - Nor day nor nicht could happy be, - Still thinking on the Scottish lord, - Till she was sick and like to dee. - - 27 - But she has builded a bonnie ship, - Weel mannd wi seamen o hie degree, - And secretly she stept on board, - And bid adieu to her ain countrie. - - 28 - But whan she cam to the Scottish shore, - The bells were ringing sae merrilie; - It was Lord Beichan's wedding day, - Wi a lady fair o hie degree. - - 29 - But sic a vessel was never seen; - The very masts were tappd wi gold, - Her sails were made o the satin fine, - Maist beautiful for to behold. - - 30 - But whan the lady cam on shore, - Attended wi her pages three, - Her shoon were of the beaten gowd, - And she a lady of great beautie. - - 31 - Then to the skipper she did say, - 'Can ye this answer gie to me? - Where are Lord Beichan's lands sae braid? - He surely lives in this countrie.' - - 32 - Then up bespak the skipper bold, - For he could speak the Turkish tongue: - 'Lord Beichan lives not far away; - This is the day of his wedding.' - - 33 - 'If ye will guide me to Beichan's yetts, - I will ye well reward,' said she; - Then she and all her pages went, - A very gallant companie. - - 34 - When she cam to Lord Beichan's yetts, - She tirld gently at the pin; - Sae ready was the proud porter - To let the wedding guests come in. - - 35 - 'Is this Lord Beichan's house,' she says, - 'Or is that noble lord within?' - 'Yes, he is gane into the hall, - With his brave bride and monie ane.' - - 36 - 'Ye'll bid him send me a piece of bread, - Bot and a cup of his best wine; - And bid him mind the lady's love - That ance did lowse him out o pyne.' - - 37 - Then in and cam the porter bold, - I wat he gae three shouts and three: - 'The fairest lady stands at your yetts - That ever my twa een did see.' - - 38 - Then up bespak the bride's mither, - I wat an angry woman was she: - 'You micht hae excepted our bonnie bride, - Tho she'd been three times as fair as she.' - - 39 - 'My dame, your daughter's fair enough, - And aye the fairer mot she be! - But the fairest time that eer she was, - She'll na compare wi this ladie. - - 40 - 'She has a gowd ring on ilka finger, - And on her mid-finger she has three; - She has as meikle gowd upon her head - As wad buy an earldom o land to thee. - - 41 - 'My lord, she begs some o your bread, - Bot and a cup o your best wine, - And bids you mind the lady's love - That ance did lowse ye out o pyne.' - - 42 - Then up and started Lord Beichan, - I wat he made the table flee: - 'I wad gie a' my yearlie rent - 'T were Susie Pye come owre the sea.' - - 43 - Syne up bespak the bride's mother, - She was never heard to speak sae free: - 'Ye'll no forsake my ae dochter, - Tho Susie Pye has crossd the sea?' - - 44 - 'Tak hame, tak hame, your dochter, madam, - For she is neer the waur o me; - She cam to me on horseback riding, - And she sall gang hame in chariot free.' - - 45 - He's tane Susie Pye by the milk-white hand, - And led her thro his halls sae hie: - 'Ye're now Lord Beichan's lawful wife, - And thrice ye're welcome unto me.' - - 46 - Lord Beichan prepard for another wedding, - Wi baith their hearts sae fu o glee; - Says, 'I'll range na mair in foreign lands, - Sin Susie Pye has crossd the sea. - - 47 - 'Fy! gar a' our cooks mak ready, - And fy! gar a' our pipers play, - And fy! gar trumpets gae thro the toun, - That Lord Beichan's wedded twice in a day!' - - -I - - Communicated by Mr David Louden, as recited by Mrs Dodds, - Morham, Haddington, the reciter being above seventy in - 1873. - - 1 - In London was Young Bechin born, - Foreign nations he longed to see; - He passed through many kingdoms great, - At length he came unto Turkie. - - 2 - He viewed the fashions of that land, - The ways of worship viewed he, - But unto any of their gods - He would not so much as bow the knee. - - 3 - On every shoulder they made a bore, - In every bore they put a tree, - Then they made him the winepress tread, - And all in spite of his fair bodie. - - 4 - They put him into a deep dungeon, - Where he could neither hear nor see, - And for seven years they kept him there, - Till for hunger he was like to die. - - 5 - Stephen, their king, had a daughter fair, - Yet never a man to her came nigh; - And every day she took the air, - Near to his prison she passed by. - - 6 - One day she heard Young Bechin sing - A song that pleased her so well, - No rest she got till she came to him, - All in his lonely prison cell. - - 7 - 'I have a hall in London town, - With other buildings two or three, - And I'll give them all to the ladye fair - That from this dungeon shall set me free.' - - 8 - She stole the keys from her dad's head, - And if she oped one door ay she opened three, - Till she Young Bechin could find out, - He was locked up so curiouslie. - - * * * * * * * - - 9 - 'I've been a porter at your gate - This thirty years now, ay and three; - There stands a ladye at your gate, - The like of her I neer did see. - - 10 - 'On every finger she has a ring, - On the mid-finger she has three; - She's as much gold about her brow - As would an earldom buy to me.' - - * * * * * * * - - 11 - He's taen her by the milk-white hand, - He gently led her through the green; - He changed her name from Susie Pie, - An he's called her lovely Ladye Jean. - - -J - - Dr Joseph Robertson's Note-Book, "Adversaria," p. 85. From - tradition. - - * * * * * * * - - 1 - She's taen the keys frae her fadder's coffer, - Tho he keeps them most sacredlie, - And she has opend the prison strong, - And set Young Beichan at libertie. - - * * * * * * * - - 2 - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - 'Gae up the countrie, my chile,' she says, - 'Till your fadder's wrath be turned from thee.' - - * * * * * * * - - 3 - She's put her han intill her purse, - And gave the porter guineas three; - Says, 'Tak ye that, ye proud porter, - And tell your master to speak wi me. - - 4 - 'Ye'll bid him bring a shower o his best love, - But and a bottle o his wine, - And do to me as I did to him in time past, - And brought him out o muckle pine.' - - 5 - He's taen the table wi his foot, - And he has keppit it wi his knee: - 'I'll wager my life and a' my lan, - It's Susan Pie come ower the sea. - - 6 - 'Rise up, rise up, my bonnie bride, - Ye're neither better nor waur for me; - Ye cam to me on a horse and saddle, - But ye may gang back in a coach and three.' - - -K - - Communicated by Mr David Louden, as obtained from Mrs - Dickson, Rentonhall. - - * * * * * * * - - 1 - 'There is a marriage in yonder hall, - Has lasted thirty days and three; - The bridegroom winna bed the bride, - For the sake of one that's owre the sea.' - - * * * * * * * - - 2 - 'What news, what news, my brave young porter? - What news, what news have ye for me?' - 'As beautiful a ladye stands at your gate - As eer my two eyes yet did see.' - - 3 - 'A slice of bread to her get ready, - And a bottle of the best of wine; - Not to forget that fair young ladye - Who did release thee out of close confine.' - - 4 - Lord Bechin in a passion flew, - And rent himself like a sword in three, - Saying, 'I would give all my father's riches - If my Sophia was 'cross the sea.' - - 5 - Up spoke the young bride's mother, - Who never was heard to speak so free, - Saying, 'I hope you'll not forget my only daughter, - Though your Sophia be 'cross the sea.' - - 6 - 'I own a bride I've wed your daughter, - She's nothing else the worse of me; - She came to me on a horse and saddle, - She may go back in a coach and three.' - - -L - - The Loving Ballad of Lord Bateman. Illustrated by George - Cruikshank. 1839. - - 1 - Lord Bateman was a noble lord, - A noble lord of high degree; - He shipped himself all aboard of a ship, - Some foreign country for to see. - - 2 - He sailed east, he sailed west, - Until he came to famed Turkey, - Where he was taken and put to prison, - Until his life was quite weary. - - 3 - All in this prison there grew a tree, - O there it grew so stout and strong! - Where he was chained all by the middle, - Until his life was almost gone. - - 4 - This Turk he had one only daughter, - The fairest my two eyes eer see; - She steel the keys of her father's prison, - And swore Lord Bateman she would let go free. - - 5 - O she took him to her father's cellar, - And gave to him the best of wine; - And every health she drank unto him - Was, 'I wish, Lord Bateman, as you was mine.' - - 6 - 'O have you got houses, have you got land, - And does Northumberland belong to thee? - And what would you give to the fair young lady - As out of prison would let you go free?' - - 7 - 'O I've got houses and I've got land, - And half Northumberland belongs to me; - And I will give it all to the fair young lady - As out of prison would let me go free.' - - 8 - 'O in seven long years, I'll make a vow - For seven long years, and keep it strong, - That if you'll wed no other woman, - O I will wed no other man.' - - 9 - O she took him to her father's harbor, - And gave to him a ship of fame, - Saying, Farewell, farewell to you, Lord Bateman, - I fear I never shall see you again. - - 10 - Now seven long years is gone and past, - And fourteen days, well known to me; - She packed up all her gay clothing, - And swore Lord Bateman she would go see. - - 11 - O when she arrived at Lord Bateman's castle, - How boldly then she rang the bell! - 'Who's there? who's there?' cries the proud young porter, - 'O come unto me pray quickly tell.' - - 12 - 'O is this here Lord Bateman's castle, - And is his lordship here within?' - 'O yes, O yes,' cries the proud young porter, - 'He's just now taking his young bride in.' - - 13 - 'O bid him to send me a slice of bread, - And a bottle of the very best wine, - And not forgetting the fair young lady - As did release him when close confine.' - - 14 - O away and away went this proud young porter, - O away and away and away went he, - Until he come to Lord Bateman's chamber, - When he went down on his bended knee. - - 15 - 'What news, what news, my proud young porter? - What news, what news? Come tell to me:' - 'O there is the fairest young lady - As ever my two eyes did see. - - 16 - 'She has got rings on every finger, - And on one finger she has got three; - With as much gay gold about her middle - As would buy half Northumberlee. - - 17 - 'O she bids you to send her a slice of bread, - And a bottle of the very best wine, - And not forgetting the fair young lady - As did release you when close confine.' - - 18 - Lord Bateman then in passion flew, - And broke his sword in splinters three, - Saying, I will give half of my father's land, - If so be as Sophia has crossed the sea. - - 19 - Then up and spoke this young bride's mother, - Who never was heard to speak so free; - Saying, You'll not forget my only daughter, - If so be as Sophia has crossed the sea. - - 20 - 'O it's true I made a bride of your daughter, - But she's neither the better nor the worse for me; - She came to me with a horse and saddle, - But she may go home in a coach and three.' - - 21 - Lord Bateman then prepared another marriage, - With both their hearts so full of glee, - Saying, I will roam no more to foreign countries, - Now that Sophia has crossed the sea. - - -M - - Buchan's MSS, I, 18. J.H. Dixon, Scottish Traditional - Versions of Ancient Ballads, p. 1. - - | 1 - | Young Bonwell was a squire's ae son, - | And a squire's ae son was he; - | He went abroad to a foreign - | land, To serve for meat and fee. - - | 2 - | He hadna been in that country - | A twalmonth and a day, - | Till he was cast in prison strong, - | For the sake of a lovely may. - - | 3 - | 'O if my father get word of this, - | At hame in his ain country, - | He'll send red gowd for my relief, - | And a bag o white money. - - | 4 - | 'O gin an earl woud borrow me, - | At his bridle I woud rin; - | Or gin a widow woud borrow me, - | I'd swear to be her son. - - | 5 - | 'Or gin a may woud borrow me, - | I'd wed her wi a ring, - | Infeft her wi the ha's and bowers - | O the bonny towers o Linne.' - - | 6 - | But it fell ance upon a day - | Dame Essels she thought lang, - | And she is to the jail-house door, - | To hear Young Bondwell's sang. - - | 7 - | 'Sing on, sing on, my bonny Bondwell, - | The sang ye sang just now:' - | 'I never sang the sang, lady, - | But I woud war 't on you. - - | 8 - | 'O gin my father get word o this, - | At hame in his ain country, - | He'll send red gowd for my relief, - | And a bag o white money. - - | 9 - | 'O gin an earl woud borrow me, - | At his bridle I woud rin; - | Or gin a widow would borrow me, - | I'd swear to be her son. - - | 10 - | 'Or gin a may woud borrow me, - | I woud wed her wi a ring, - | Infeft her wi the ha's and bowers - | O the bonny towers o Linne.' - - | 11 - | She's stole the keys o the jail-house door, - | Where under the bed they lay; - | She's opend to him the jail-house door, - | And set Young Bondwell free. - - | 12 - | She gae 'm a steed was swift in need, - | A saddle o royal ben, - | A hunder pund o pennies round, - | Bade him gae roav an spend. - - | 13 - | A couple o hounds o ae litter, - | And Cain they ca'd the one; - | Twa gay gos-hawks she gae likeways, - | To keep him onthought lang. - - | 14 - | When mony days were past and gane, - | Dame Essels thought fell lang, - | And she is to her lonely bower, - | To shorten her wi a sang. - - | 15 - | The sang had such a melody, - | It lulld her fast asleep; - | Up starts a woman, clad in green, - | And stood at her bed-feet. - - | 16 - | 'Win up, win up, Dame Essels,' she says, - | 'This day ye sleep ower lang; - | The morn is the squire's wedding day, - | In the bonny towers o Linne. - - | 17 - | 'Ye'll dress yoursell in the robes o green, - | Your maids in robes sae fair, - | And ye'll put girdles about their middles, - | Sae costly, rich and rare. - - | 18 - | 'Ye'll take your maries alang wi you, - | Till ye come to yon strand; - | There ye'll see a ship, wi sails all up, - | Come sailing to dry land. - - | 19 - | 'Ye'll take a wand into your hand, - | Ye'll stroke her round about, - | And ye'll take God your pilot to be, - | To drown ye'll take nae doubt.' - - | 20 - | Then up it raise her Dame Essels, - | Sought water to wash her hands, - | But aye the faster that she washd, - | The tears they trickling ran. - - | 21 - | Then in it came her father dear, - | And in the floor steps he: - | 'What ails Dame Essels, my daughter dear, - | Ye weep sae bitterlie? - - | 22 - | 'Want ye a small fish frae the flood, - | Or turtle frae the sea? - | Or is there man in a' my realm - | This day has offended thee?' - - | 23 - | 'I want nae small fish frae the flood, - | Nor turtle frae the sea; - | But Young Bondwell, your ain prisoner, - | This day has offended me.' - - | 24 - | Her father turnd him round about, - | A solemn oath sware he: - | 'If this be true ye tell me now - | High hanged he shall be. - - | 25 - | 'To-morrow morning he shall be - | Hung high upon a tree:' - | Dame Essels whisperd to hersel, - | 'Father, ye've made a lie.' - - | 26 - | She dressd hersel in robes o green, - | Her maids in robes sae fair, - | Wi gowden girdles round their middles, - | Sae costly, rich and rare. - - | 27 - | She's taen her mantle her about, - | A maiden in every hand; - | They saw a ship, wi sails a' up, - | Come sailing to dry land. - - | 28 - | She's taen a wand intill her hand, - | And stroked her round about, - | And she's taen God her pilot to be, - | To drown she took nae doubt. - - | 29 - | So they saild on, and further on, - | Till to the water o Tay; - | There they spied a bonny little boy, - | Was watering his steeds sae gay. - - | 30 - | 'What news, what news, my little boy, - | What news hae ye to me? - | Are there any weddings in this place, - | Or any gaun to be?' - - | 31 - | 'There is a wedding in this place, - | A wedding very soon; - | The morn's the young squire's wedding day, - | In the bonny towers of Linne.' - - | 32 - | O then she walked alang the way - | To see what coud be seen, - | And there she saw the proud porter, - | Drest in a mantle green. - - | 33 - | 'What news, what news, porter?' she said, - | 'What news hae ye to me? - | Are there any weddings in this place, - | Or any gaun to be?' - - | 34 - | 'There is a wedding in this place, - | A wedding very soon; - | The morn is Young Bondwell's wedding day, - | The bonny squire o Linne.' - - | 35 - | 'Gae to your master, porter,' she said, - | 'Gae ye right speedilie; - | Bid him come and speak wi a maid - | That wishes his face to see.' - - | 36 - | The porter's up to his master gane, - | Fell low down on his knee; - | 'Win up, win up, my porter,' he said, - | 'Why bow ye low to me?' - - | 37 - | 'I hae been porter at your yetts - | These thirty years and three, - | But fairer maids than's at them now - | My eyes did never see. - - | 38 - | 'The foremost she is drest in green, - | The rest in fine attire, - | Wi gowden girdles round their middles, - | Well worth a sheriff's hire.' - - | 39 - | Then out it speaks Bondwell's own bride, - | Was a' gowd to the chin; - | 'They canno be fairer thereout,' she says, - | 'Than we that are therein.' - - | 40 - | 'There is a difference, my dame,' he said, - | ''Tween that ladye's colour and yours; - | As much difference as you were a stock, - | She o the lily flowers.' - - | 41 - | Then out it speaks him Young Bondwell, - | An angry man was he: - | 'Cast up the yetts baith wide an braid, - | These ladies I may see.' - - | 42 - | Quickly up stairs Dame Essel's gane, - | Her maidens next her wi; - | Then said the bride, This lady's face - | Shows the porter's tauld nae lie. - - | 43 - | The lady unto Bondwell spake, - | These words pronounced she: - | O hearken, hearken, fause Bondwell, - | These words that I tell thee. - - | 44 - | Is this the way ye keep your vows - | That ye did make to me, - | When your feet were in iron fetters, - | Ae foot ye coudna flee? - - | 45 - | I stole the keys o the jail-house door - | Frae under the bed they lay, - | And opend up the jail-house door, - | Set you at liberty. - - | 46 - | Gae you a steed was swift in need, - | A saddle o royal ben, - | A hunder pund o pennies round, - | Bade you gae rove an spend. - - | 47 - | A couple o hounds o ae litter, - | Cain they ca'ed the ane, - | Twa gay gos-hawks as swift's eer flew, - | To keep you onthought lang. - - | 48 - | But since this day ye've broke your vow, - | For which ye're sair to blame, - | And since nae mair I'll get o you, - | O Cain, will ye gae hame? - - | 49 - | 'O Cain! O Cain!' the lady cried, - | And Cain did her ken; - | They baith flappd round the lady's knee, - | Like a couple o armed men. - - | 50 - | He's to his bride wi hat in hand, - | And haild her courteouslie: - | 'Sit down by me, my bonny Bondwell, - | What makes this courtesie?' - - | 51 - | 'An asking, asking, fair lady, - | An asking ye'll grant me;' - | 'Ask on, ask on, my bonny Bondwell, - | What may your askings be?' - - | 52 - | 'Five hundred pounds to you I'll gie, - | Of gowd an white monie, - | If ye'll wed John, my ain cousin; - | He looks as fair as me.' - - | 53 - | 'Keep well your monie, Bondwell,' she said, - | 'Nae monie I ask o thee; - | Your cousin John was my first love, - | My husband now he's be.' - - | 54 - | Bondwell was married at morning ear, - | John in the afternoon; - | Dame Essels is lady ower a' the bowers - | And the high towers o Linne. - - -N - - #a.# Falkirk, printed by T. Johnston, 1815. #b.# Stirling, - M. Randall. - - | 1 - | In London was Young Bichen born, - | He longd strange lands to see; - | He set his foot on good ship-board, - | And he sailed over the sea. - - | 2 - | He had not been in a foreign land - | A day but only three, - | Till he was taken by a savage Moor, - | And they used him most cruelly. - - | 3 - | In every shoulder they put a pin, - | To every pin they put a tree; - | They made him draw the plow and cart, - | Like horse and oxen in his country. - - | 4 - | He had not servd the savage Moor - | A week, nay scarcely but only three, - | Till he has casten him in prison strong, - | Till he with hunger was like to die. - - | 5 - | It fell out once upon a day - | That Young Bichen he made his moan, - | As he lay bound in irons strong, - | In a dark and deep dungeon. - - | 6 - | 'An I were again in fair England, - | As many merry day I have been, - | Then I would curb my roving youth - | No more to see a strange land. - - | 7 - | 'O an I were free again now, - | And my feet well set on the sea, - | I would live in peace in my own country, - | And a foreign land I no more would see.' - - | 8 - | The savage Moor had but one daughter, - | I wot her name was Susan Py; - | She heard Young Bichen make his moan, - | At the prison-door as she past by. - - | 9 - | 'O have ye any lands,' she said, - | 'Or have you any money free, - | Or have you any revenues, - | To maintain a lady like me?' - - | 10 - | 'O I have land in fair England, - | And I have estates two or three, - | And likewise I have revenues, - | To maintain a lady like thee.' - - | 11 - | 'O will you promise, Young Bichen,' she says, - | 'And keep your vow faithful to me, - | That at the end of seven years - | In fair England you'll marry me? - - | 12 - | 'I'll steal the keys from my father dear, - | Tho he keeps them most secretly; - | I'll risk my life for to save thine, - | And set thee safe upon the sea.' - - | 13 - | She's stolen the keys from her father, - | From under the bed where they lay; - | She opened the prison strong - | And set Young Bichen at liberty. - - | 14 - | She's gone to her father's coffer, - | Where the gold was red and fair to see; - | She filled his pockets with good red gold, - | And she set him far upon the sea. - - | 15 - | 'O mind you well, Young Bichen,' she says, - | 'The vows and oaths you made to me; - | When you are come to your native land, - | O then remember Susan Py!' - - | 16 - | But when her father he came home - | He missd the keys there where they lay; - | He went into the prison strong, - | But he saw Young Bichen was away. - - | 17 - | 'Go bring your daughter, madam,' he says, - | 'And bring her here unto me; - | Altho I have no more but her, - | Tomorrow I'll gar hang her high.' - - | 18 - | The lady calld on the maiden fair - | To come to her most speedily; - | 'Go up the country, my child,' she says, - | 'Stay with my brother two years or three. - - | 19 - | 'I have a brother, he lives in the isles, - | He will keep thee most courteously - | And stay with him, my child,' she says, - | 'Till thy father's wrath be turnd from thee.' - - | 20 - | Now will we leave young Susan Py - | A while in her own country, - | And will return to Young Bichen, - | Who is safe arrived in fair England. - - | 21 - | He had not been in fair England - | Above years scarcely three, - | Till he has courted another maid, - | And so forgot his Susan Py. - - | 22 - | The youth being young and in his prime, - | Of Susan Py thought not upon, - | But his love was laid on another maid, - | And the marriage-day it did draw on. - - | 23 - | But eer the seven years were run, - | Susan Py she thought full long; - | She set her foot on good ship-board, - | And she has saild for fair England. - - | 24 - | On every finger she put a ring, - | On her mid-finger she put three; - | She filld her pockets with good red gold, - | And she has sailed oer the sea. - - | 25 - | She had not been in fair England - | A day, a day, but only three, - | Till she heard Young Bichen was a bridegroom, - | And the morrow to be the wedding-day. - - | 26 - | 'Since it is so,' said young Susan, - | 'That he has provd so false to me, - | I'll hie me to Young Bichen's gates, - | And see if he minds Susan Py.' - - | 27 - | She has gone up thro London town, - | Where many a lady she there did spy; - | There was not a lady in all London - | Young Susan that could outvie. - - | 28 - | She has calld upon a waiting-man, - | A waiting-man who stood near by: - | 'Convey me to Young Bichen's gates, - | And well rewarded shals thou be.' - - | 29 - | When she came to Young Bichen's gate - | She chapped loudly at the pin, - | Till down there came the proud porter; - | 'Who's there,' he says, 'that would be in?' - - | 30 - | 'Open the gates, porter,' she says, - | 'Open them to a lady gay, - | And tell your master, porter,' she says, - | 'To speak a word or two with me.' - - | 31 - | The porter he has opend the gates; - | His eyes were dazzled to see - | A lady dressd in gold and jewels; - | No page nor waiting-man had she. - - | 32 - | 'O pardon me, madam,' he cried, - | 'This day it is his wedding-day; - | He's up the stairs with his lovely bride, - | And a sight of him you cannot see.' - - | 33 - | She put her hand in her pocket, - | And therefrom took out guineas three, - | And gave to him, saying, Please, kind sir, - | Bring down your master straight to me. - - | 34 - | The porter up again has gone, - | And he fell low down on his knee, - | Saying, Master, you will please come down - | To a lady who wants you to see. - - | 35 - | A lady gay stands at your gates, - | The like of her I neer did see; - | She has more gold above her eye - | Nor would buy a baron's land to me. - - | 36 - | Out then spake the bride's mother, - | I'm sure an angry woman was she: - | 'You're impudent and insolent, - | For ye might excepted the bride and me.' - - | 37 - | 'Ye lie, ye lie, ye proud woman, - | I'm sure sae loud as I hear you lie; - | She has more gold on her body - | Than would buy the lands, the bride, and thee!' - - | 38 - | 'Go down, go down, porter,' he says, - | 'And tell the lady gay from me - | That I'm up-stairs wi my lovely bride, - | And a sight of her I cannot see.' - - | 39 - | The porter he goes down again, - | The lady waited patiently: - | 'My master's with his lovely bride, - | And he'll not win down my dame to see.' - - | 40 - | From off her finger she's taen a ring; - | 'Give that your master,' she says, 'from me, - | And tell him now, young man,' she says, - | 'To send down a cup of wine to me.' - - | 41 - | 'Here's a ring for you, master,' he says, - | 'On her mid-finger she has three, - | And you are desird, my lord,' he says, - | 'To send down a cup of wine with me.' - - | 42 - | He hit the table with his foot, - | He kepd it with his right knee: - | 'I'll wed my life and all my land - | That is Susan Py, come o'er the sea!' - - | 43 - | He has gone unto the stair-head, - | A step he took but barely three; - | He opend the gates most speedily, - | And Susan Py he there could see. - - | 44 - | 'Is this the way, Young Bichen,' she says, - | 'Is this the way you've guided me? - | I relieved you from prison strong, - | And ill have you rewarded me. - - | 45 - | 'O mind ye, Young Bichen,' she says, - | 'The vows and oaths that ye made to me, - | When ye lay bound in prison strong, - | In a deep dungeon of misery?' - - | 46 - | He took her by the milk-white hand, - | And led her into the palace fine; - | There was not a lady in all the palace - | But Susan Py did all outshine. - - | 47 - | The day concluded with joy and mirth, - | On every side there might you see; - | There was great joy in all England - | For the wedding-day of Susan Py. - - * * * * * - -#B.# - - 17^1. bids me. - - 22^{5, 6}. _Connected with 23 in MS._ - - 22^6. send he. - -#C. a.# - - 15^2. How y you. - - #b.# - - 3^3. _omits_ house. - - 4^2. _omits_ foot. - - 7^1. _omits_ dear. - - 7^3. For she's ... of the prison. - - 7^4. And gane the dungeon within. - - 8^1. And when. - - 8^2. Wow but her heart was sair. - - 9^1. She's gotten. - - 11^1. thir twa. - - 13^2. I kenna. - - 13^4. kensnae. - - 14^1. fell out. - - 15^2. How y you. - - 16^1. till. - - 16^2. As fast as ye can gang. - - 16^3. tak three. - - 16^4. To haud ye unthocht lang. - - 18^1. Syne ye. - - 18^3. And bonny. - - 19^3. And I will. - - 20^2. As fast as she could gang. - - 20^3. she's taen. - - 20^4. To haud her unthocht lang. - - 22^3. And sae bonny did. - - 22^4. till. - - 24^3. And her mind misgae by. - - 24^4. That 't was. - - 25^2. markis three. - - 25^4. Bid your master. - - 27^4. did never. - - 29^1. and spak. - - 29^3. be fine. - - 29^4. as fine. - - 32^3. out of. - - 34^3. at the first. - - 35^2. gang. - - 36^4. Send her back a maid. - -#D.# - - _Written throughout without division into stanzas._ - - 7. _A like repetition occurs again in the Skene MSS: see - No 36, p. 316._ - - 10^{1, 2}. _One line in the MS. The metre, in several - places where it is incomplete, was doubtless made full by - repetition: see 19^{1, 3}._ - - 14^1. _This line thus: (~an a Leash of guid gray hounds~). - The reciter evidently could remember only this point in - the stanza._ - - 16, 17. - Whan she cam to Young Beachens gate - Is Young Beachen at hame - Or is he in this countrie - He is at hame is hearly (?) said - Him an sigh an says her Susie Pay - Has he quite forgotten me - - 19^{1, 3}. _Probably sung_, the stair, the stair; win up, - win up. - - 22^{3, 4}. _The latter half of the stanza must be supposed - to be addressed to ~Young Beachen~._ - - 26^{1, 2}. He took her down to yon gouden green. - - 27^4. Sh's. - - 29^2. my name. - - _After 29 a stanza belonging apparently to some other - ballad:_ - - Courtess kind, an generous mind, - An winna ye answer me? - An whan the hard their lady's word, - Well answered was she. - -#E.# - - _6^{4-6} was introduced, with other metrical passages, - into a long tale of '~Young Beichan and Susy Pye~,' which - Motherwell had heard related, and of which he gives a - specimen at p. xv. of his Introduction_: "Well, ye must - know that in the Moor's castle there was a massymore, - which is a dark dungeon for keeping prisoners. It was - twenty feet below the ground, and into this hole they - closed poor Beichan. There he stood, night and day, up to - his waist in puddle water; but night or day it was all one - to him, for no ae styme of light ever got in. So he lay - there a lang and weary while, and thinking on his heavy - weird, he made a murnfu sang to pass the time, and this - was the sang that he made, and grat when he sang it, for - he never thought of ever escaping from the massymore, or - of seeing his ain country again: - - 'My hounds they all run masterless, - My hawks they flee from tree to tree; - My youngest brother will heir my lands, - And fair England again I'll never see. - - 'Oh were I free as I hae been, - And my ship swimming once more on sea, - I'd turn my face to fair England, - And sail no more to a strange countrie.' - - "Now the cruel Moor had a beautiful daughter, called Susy - Pye, who was accustomed to take a walk every morning in - her garden, and as she was walking ae day she heard the - sough o Beichan's sang, coming as it were from below the - ground," etc., etc. - -#F.# - - 3^3. dungeon (donjon). - - 6^1. only lands. - - 6^2. only castles. - - 8^1. Oh. - - 10^3. ha she has gane in: _originally_ has she gane in. - - 13^2. _~Many~, with ~Seven~ written over: ~Seven~ in - 14^2._ - - 20. _After this stanza_: Then the porter gaed up the stair - and said. - - 25. _After this stanza_: Then Lord Beichan gat up, and was - in a great wrath, and said. - - 31. _~ae~: indistinct, but seems to have been ~one~ - changed to ~ae~ or #a#._ - -#H.# - - 4^3. _~carts and wains~ for ~carts o wine~ of #A# 2^3, #B# - 2^3. We have ~wine~ in #H# 4^3, #I# 3^3, and ~wine~ is in - all likelihood original._ - - _Christie, #I#, 31, abridges this version, making "~a few - slight alterations from the way he had heard it sung~:" - these, and one or two more._ - - 2^4. wadna bend nor bow. - - 7^1. The Moor he had. - - 25^1. But Beichan courted. - -#I.# - - 1^1. _~Bechin~ was pronounced ~Beekin~._ - -#K.# - - 1. _Before this, as gloss, or remnant of a preceding - stanza_: She came to a shepherd, and he replied. - - 2. _After this, in explanation_: She gave Lord Bechin a - slice of bread and a bottle of wine when she released him - from prison, hence the following. - - 3^1. to him. - - 4. _After this_: He had married another lady, not having - heard from his Sophia for seven long years. - -#L.# - - "This affecting legend is given ... precisely as I have - frequently heard it sung on Saturday nights, outside a - house of general refreshment (familiarly termed a - wine-vaults) at Battle-bridge. The singer is a young - gentleman who can scarcely have numbered nineteen - summers.... I have taken down the words from his own mouth - at different periods, and have been careful to preserve - his pronunciation." [_Attributed to Charles Dickens._] _As - there is no reason for indicating pronunciation here, in - this more than in other cases, the phonetic spelling is - replaced by common orthography. Forms of speech have, - however, been preserved, excepting two, with regard to - which I may have been too nice._ - - 1^3. his-self. - - 5^2, 9^2. guv. - -#M.# - - 10^3. _~in~ for ~wi~ (?): ~wi~ in 5^3._ - - 12^2, 46^2. bend. _Possibly, however, understood to be - ~bend==leather~, instead of ~ben==bane, bone~._ - - 13^4, 47^4. on thought. - -#N. a.# - - Susan Py, or Young Bichens Garland. Shewing how he went to - a far country, and was taken by a savage Moor and cast - into prison, and delivered by the Moor's daughter, on - promise of marriage; and how he came to England, and was - going to be wedded to another bride; with the happy - arrival of Susan Py on the wedding day. Falkirk, Printed - by T. Johnston, 1815. - - #b.# - - 3^4. his own. - - 4^2. A week, a week, but only. - - 7^3. own land. - - 7^4. And foreign lands no more. - - 11^1. young man. - - 13^2. he lay. - - 24^3. her trunks. - - 25^4. was the. - - 28^2. that stood hard by. - - 28^4. thou shalt. - - 29^2. She knocked. - - 31^4. waiting-maid. - - 32^2. For this is his. - - 34^1. up the stairs. - - 34^3. will you. - - 36^4. Ye might. - - 37^2. Sae loud as I hear ye lie. - - 39^4. And a sight of him you cannot see. - - 40^4. To bring. - - 42^3. I'll lay. - - 44^2. way that you've used me. - - 47^4. wedding of. - - -[403] Mr Macmath has ascertained that Mrs Brown was born in 1747. She -learned most of her ballads before she was twelve years old, or before -1759. 1783, or a little earlier, is the date when these copies were -taken down from her singing or recitation. - -[404] The Borderer's Table Book, VII, 21. Dixon says, a little before, -that the Stirling broadside of 'Lord Bateman' varies but slightly from -the English printed by Hoggett, Durham, and Pitts, Catnach, and others, -London. This is not true of the Stirling broadside of 'Young Bichen:' -see #N b#. I did not notice, until too late, that I had not furnished -myself with the broadside 'Lord Bateman,' and have been obliged to turn -back the Cruikshank copy into ordinary orthography. - -[405] We have this repetition in two other ballads of the Skene MSS -besides #D#; see p. 316 of this volume, sts 1-9; also in 'The Lord of -Learne,' Percy MS., Hales and Furnivall, I, 192 f, vv 269-304. - -[406] "An old woman who died in Errol, Carse of Gowrie, about twenty -years ago, aged nearly ninety years, was wont invariably to sing this -ballad: 'Young Lundie was in Brechin born.' Lundie is an estate now -belonging to the Earl of Camperdoun, north from Dundee." A. Laing, note -to #G#. That is to say, the old woman's world was Forfarshire. - -Mr Logan had heard in Scotland a version in which the hero was called -Lord Bangol: A Pedlar's Pack, p. 15. - -[407] Cf. 'The Fair Flower of Northumberland,' #B# 2, #E# 2, pp 115 f. - -[408] She does not get away without exciting the solicitude or wrath of -her father, #F#, #M#, #J#, #N#, and in the first two has to use -artifice. - -[409] A point borrowed, it well may be, from 'Hind Horn,' #E# 5 f, #A# -10. - -[410] So Torello's wife upsets the table, in Boccaccio's story: see p. -198. One of her Slavic kinswomen jumps over four tables and lights on a -fifth. - -[411] In #C# 34, #M# 49, she is recognized by one of the hounds which -she had given him. So Bos, seigneur de Bénac, who breaks a ring with his -wife, goes to the East, and is prisoner among the Saracens seven years, -on coming back is recognized only by his greyhound: Magasin Pittoresque, -VI, 56 b. It is scarcely necessary to scent the Odyssey here. - -[412] Ridiculously changed in #J# 6, #K# 6, #L# 20, to a coach _and_ -three, reminding us of that master-stroke in Thackeray's ballad of -'Little Billee,' "a captain of a seventy-three." 'Little Billee,' by the -way, is really like an old ballad, fallen on evil days and evil tongues; -whereas the serious imitations of traditional ballads are not the least -like, and yet, in their way, are often not less ludicrous. - -[413] In #M#, to make everything pleasant, Bondwell offers the bride -five hundred pounds to marry his cousin John. She says, Keep your money; -John was my first love. So Bondwell is married at early morn, and John -in the afternoon. - -[414] Harleian MS. 2277, from which the life of Beket, in long couplets, -was printed by Mr W. H. Black for the Percy Society, in 1845. The story -of Gilbert Beket is contained in the first 150 vv. The style of this -composition entirely resembles that of Robert of Gloucester, and -portions of the life of Beket are identical with the Chronicle; whence -Mr Black plausibly argues that both are by the same hand. The account of -Beket's parentage is interpolated into Edward Grim's Life, in Cotton MS. -Vitellius, C, XII, from which it is printed by Robertson, Materials for -the History of Thomas Becket, II, 453 ff. It is found in Bromton's -Chronicle, Twysden, Scriptores X, columns 1052-55, and in the First -Quadrilogus, Paris, 1495, from which it is reprinted by Migne, -Patrologiæ Cursus Completus, CXC, cols 346 ff. The tale has been -accepted by many writers who would have been better historians for a -little reading of romances. Angustin Thierry sees in Thomas Beket a -Saxon contending in high place, for the interests and with the natural -hatred of his race, against Norman Henry, just as he finds in the yeoman -Robin Hood a leader of Saxon serfs engaged in irregular war with Norman -Richard. But both of St Thomas's parents were Norman; the father of -Rouen, the mother of Caen. The legend was introduced by Lawrence Wade, -following John of Exeter, into a metrical life of Beket of about the -year 1500: see the poem in Englische Studien, III, 417, edited by -Horstmann. - -[415] Richard, the proud porter of the ballads, is perhaps most like -himself in #M# 32 ff. - -[416] Neither her old name nor her Christian name is told us in this -legend. Gilbert Beket's wife was Matilda, according to most authorities, -but Roësa according to one: see Robertson, as above, IV, 81; Migne, cols -278 f. Fox has made Roësa into Rose, Acts and Monuments, I, 267, ed. -1641. - -Gilbert and Rose (but Roësa is not Rose) recall to Hippeau, Vie de St -Thomas par Garnier de Pont Sainte Maxence, p. xxiii, Elie de Saint Gille -and Rosamonde, whose adventures have thus much resemblance with those of -Beket and of Bekie. Elie de Saint Gille, after performing astounding -feats of valor in fight with a horde of Saracens who have made a descent -on Brittany, is carried off to their land. The amiral Macabré requires -Elie to adore Mahomet; Elie refuses in the most insolent terms, and is -condemned to the gallows. He effects his escape, and finds himself -before Macabré's castle. Here, in another fight, he is desperately -wounded, but is restored by the skill of Rosamonde, the amiral's -daughter, who is Christian at heart, and loves the Frank. To save her -from being forced to marry the king of Bagdad, Elie fights as her -champion. In the end she is baptized, as a preparation for her union -with Elie, but he, having been present at the ceremony, is adjudged by -the archbishop to be gossip to her, and Elie and Rosamonde are otherwise -disposed of. So the French romance, but in the Norse, which, as Kölbing -maintains, is likely to preserve the original story here, there is no -such splitting of cumin, and hero and heroine are united. - -[417] There is one in the Gesta Romanorum, cap. 5, Österley, p. 278, of -about the same age as the Beket legend. It is not particularly -important. A young man is captured by a pirate, and his father will not -send his ransom. The pirate's daughter often visits the captive, who -appeals to her to exert herself for his liberation. She promises to -effect his freedom if he will marry her. This he agrees to. She releases -him from his chains without her father's knowledge, and flies with him -to his native land. - -[418] Nor Guarinos in the Spanish ballad, Duran, No 402, I, 265; Wolf -and Hofmann, Primavera, II, 321. Guarinos is very cruelly treated, but -it is his horse, not he, that has to draw carts. For the Sire de Créqui -see also Dinaux, Trouvères, III, 161 ff (Köhler). - -[419] And in 'Der Herr von Falkenstein,' a variety of the story, Meier, -Deutsche Sagen aus Schwaben, p. 319, No 362. A Christian undergoes the -same hardship in Schöppner, Sagenbuch, III, 127, No 1076. For other -cases of the wonderful deliverance of captive knights, not previously -mentioned by me, see Hocker, in Wolf's Zeitschrift für deutsche -Mythologie, I, 306. - -[420] A meisterlied of Alexander von Metz, of the second half of the -fifteenth century, Körner, Historische Volkslieder, p. 49; the ballad -'Der Graf von Rom,' or 'Der Graf im Pfluge,' Uhland, p. 784, No 299, -printed as early as 1493; De Historie van Florentina, Huysvrouwe van -Alexander van Mets, 1621, van den Bergh, De nederlandsche Volksromans, -p. 52. And see Goedeke, Deutsche Dichtung im Mittelalter, pp 569, 574; -Uhland, Schriften zur Geschichte der Dichtung, IV, 297-309; Danske -Viser, V, 67. - -[421] Øster-kongens rige, Østerige, Østerland, Austrríki, understood by -Grundtvig as Garðaríki, the Scandinavian-Russian kingdom of the tenth -and eleventh centuries. Austrríki is used vaguely, but especially of the -east of Europe, Russia, Austria, sometimes including Turkey (Vigfusson). - -[422] In Swedish #K#, as she pushes off from land, she exclaims: - - 'Gud Fader i Himmelens rike - Skall vara min styresman!' - -Cf. #M# 28: - - And she's tuen God her pilot to be. - -[423] See 'The Red Bull of Norroway,' Chambers, Popular Rhymes of -Scotland, 1870, p. 99; 'Mestermø,' Asbjørnsen og Moe, No 46; 'Hass-Fru,' -Cavallius och Stephens, No 14; Powell, Icelandic Legends, Second Series, -p. 377; the Grimms, Nos 56, 113, 186, 193; Pentamerone, II, 7, III, 9; -Gonzenbach, Nos 14, 54, 55, and Köhler's note; Hahn, Griechische u. -Albanesische Märchen, No 54; Carleton, Traits and Stories of the Irish -Peasantry, 10th ed., I, 23; Campbell, West Highland Tales, I, 25, No 2, -and Köhler's notes in Orient u. Occident, II, 103-114, etc., etc. - -[424] This passage leads the editors of Primavera to remark, II, 52, -that 'El Conde Sol' shows distinct traits of 'Le Chat Botté.' Similar -questions are asked in English #G#, the other Spanish versions, and the -Italian, and in nearly all the Greek ballads referred to on pp 199, 200; -always under the same circumstances, and to bring about the discovery -which gives the turn to the story. The questions in 'Le Chat Botté' are -introduced for an entirely different purpose, and cannot rationally -suggest a borrowing on either side. The hasty note would certainly have -been erased by the very distinguished editors upon a moment's -consideration. - -[425] Puymaigre finds also some resemblance in his 'Petite Rosalie,' I, -74: see his note. - - - - -ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS - - -1. Riddles Wisely Expounded. - -P. 1 b. #A.# Add: Mündel, Elsässische Volkslieder, p. 27, No 24. Second -line from the bottom, for seven read ten. - -2 a. Add: #H.# J. H. Schmitz, Sitten u. s. w. des Eifler Volkes, I, 159; -five pairs of riddles and no conclusion. (Köhler.) #I.# Alfred Müller, -Volkslieder aus dem Erzgebirge, p. 69; four pairs of riddles, and no -conclusion. #J.# Lemke, Volksthümliches in Ostpreussen, p. 152; seven -riddles guessed, "nun bin ich Deine Frau." - -2 b. (The Russian riddle-ballad.) So a Kosak: "I give thee this riddle: -if thou guess it, thou shalt be mine; if thou guess it not, ill shall it -go with thee." The riddle, seven-fold, is guessed. Metlinskiy, Narodnyya -yuzhnorusskiya Pyesni, pp 363 f. Cf. Snegiref, Russkie prostonarodnye -Prazdniki, II, 101 f. - -2 b, note. For Kaden substitute Casetti e Imbriani, C. p. delle -Provincie meridionali, I, 197 f. (Köhler.) - - -2. The Elfin Knight. - -#P.# 6 b. #J.# Read: Central New York; and again in #J#, p. 19 a. Add: -#M.# Notes and Queries, 4th Series, III, 605. - -7 a, note. Another ballad with a burden-stem is a version of -'Klosterrovet,' #C#, MSS of 1610, and later, communicated to me by Svend -Grundtvig. - -7 b. Add: #O.# 'Ehestandsaussichten' [Norrenberg], Des Dülkener Fiedlers -Liederbuch, 1875, p. 88, No 99. (Köhler.) - -8-12. Jagi[/c], in Archiv für slavische Philologie, 'Aus dem -südslavischen Märchenschatz,' V, 47-50, adds five Slavic stories of the -wench whose ready wit helps her to a good marriage, and Köhler, in notes -to Jagi[/c], pp 50 ff, cites, in addition to nearly all those which I -have mentioned, one Slavic, one German, five Italian, one French, one -Irish, one Norwegian, besides very numerous tales in which there is a -partial agreement. Wollner, in Leskien and Brugman's Litauische -Volkslieder und Märchen, p. 573, cites Slavic parallels to No 34, of -which the following, not previously noted, and no doubt others, are -apposite to this ballad: Afanasief, VI, 177, No 42, a, b; Trudy, II, -611-614, No 84, 614-616, No 85; Dragomanof, p. 347, No 29; Sadok Baracz, -p. 33; Kolberg, Lud, VIII, 206; Kulda, II, 68. - -14 a, line 4. The Baba-Yaga, a malignant female spirit, has the ways of -the Rusalka and the Vila, and so the Wendish P[vs]ezpolnica, the -'Mittagsfrau,' and the Serpolnica: Afanasief, II, 333; Veckenstedt, -Wendische Sagen, p. 107, No 14, p. 108 f, No 19, p. 109 f, No 4. The Red -Etin puts questions, too, in the Scottish tale, Chambers, Popular -Rhymes, 1870, p. 92. There is certainly no occasion to scruple about elf -or elf-knight. Line 16 f. The same in Snegiref, IV. 8. - -14 b. For the legend of St Andrew, etc., see, further, Gering, Íslendzk -Æventyri, I, 95, No 24, 'Af biskupi ok puka,' and Köhler's references, -II, 80 f. (Köhler.) - -15 a. #A, B.# Dr Davidson informs me that the introductory stanza, or -burden-stem, exists in the form: - - Her plaidie awa, her plaidie awa, - The win blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa. - -16 a. #C.# This version is in Kinloch MSS, VII, 163. _3 is wanting._ - - 6. - Married ye sall never get nane - Till ye mak a shirt without a seam. - - 7. - And ye maun sew it seamless, - And ye maun do it wi needle, threedless. - -10. _wanting._ - -12^1. I hae a bit o land to be corn. - -_14 is wanting._ - -16. loof--glove. - -17 _is wanting_. - -3, 10, 14, 17, are evidently supplied from some form of #B#. - -20. - - -M - - Similar to #F-H#: Notes and Queries, 4th Series, III, 605, - communicated by W. F., Glasgow, from a manuscript - collection. - - 1 - As I went up to the top o yon hill, - Every rose springs merry in' t' time - I met a fair maid, an her name it was Nell. - An she langed to be a true lover o mine - - 2 - 'Ye'll get to me a cambric sark, - An sew it all over without thread or needle. - Before that ye be, etc. - - 3 - 'Ye'll wash it doun in yonder well, - Where water neer ran an dew never fell. - - 4 - 'Ye'll bleach it doun by yonder green, - Where grass never grew an wind never blew. - - 5 - 'Ye'll dry it doun on yonder thorn, - That never bore blossom sin Adam was born.' - - 6 - 'Four questions ye have asked at me, - An as mony mair ye'll answer me. - - 7 - 'Ye'll get to me an acre o land - Atween the saut water an the sea sand. - - 8 - 'Ye'll plow it wi a ram's horn, - An sow it all over wi one peppercorn. - - 9 - 'Ye'll shear it wi a peacock's feather, - An bind it all up wi the sting o an adder. - - 10 - 'Ye'll stook it in yonder saut sea, - An bring the dry sheaves a' back to me. - - 11 - 'An when ye've done and finished your wark, - Ye'll come to me, an ye'se get your sark.' - An then shall ye be true lover o mine - - -3. The Fause Knight upon the Road. - -#P.# 20 a. Add: #C.# 'The False Knight,' communicated by Mr Macmath, of -Edinburgh. - -For the fool getting the last word of the princess, see, further, -Köhler, Germania, XIV, 271; Leskien u. Brugman, Litauische Volkslieder -u. Märchen, p. 469, No 33, and Wollner's note, p. 573. - -21, note. I must retract the doubly hasty remark that the Shetland -belief that witches may be baffled by fliting with them is a modern -misunderstanding. - -Mr George Lyman Kittredge has called my attention to Apollonius of -Tyana's encounter with an _empusa_ between the Caucasus and the Indus. -Knowing what the spectre was, Apollonius began to revile it, and told -his attendants to do the same, for that was the resource, in such cases, -against an attack. The empusa went off with a shriek. Philostratus's -Life of Apollonius, II, 4. Mr Kittredge referred me later to what is -said by Col. Yule (who also cites Philostratus), Marco Polo, I, 183, -that the wise, according to Mas'udi, revile ghúls, and the ghúls vanish. -Mr Kittredge also cites Luther's experience: how, when he could not be -rid of the Devil by the use of holy writ and serious words, "so hätte er -ihn oft mit spitzigen Worten und lächerlichen Possen vertrieben; ... -quia est superbus spiritus, et non potest ferre contemptum sui." -Tischreden, in Auswahl, Berlin, 1877, pp 152-154. - -Sprites of the more respectable orders will quit the company of men if -scolded: Walter Mapes, De Nugis Curialium, ed. Wright, p. 81, Alpenburg, -Deutsche Alpensagen, p. 312, No 330. So Thetis, according to Sophocles, -left Peleus when he reviled her: Scholia in Apollonii Argonautica, IV, -816. (Mannhardt, Wald- und Feldkulte, II, 60, 68.) 22. - - -C - - Obtained by Mr Macmath from the recitation of his aunt, - Miss Jane Webster, formerly of Airds of Kells, Stewartry - of Kirkcudbright, Galloway, who learned it many years ago - from the wife of Peter McGuire, then cotman at Airds. - - 1 - 'O whare are ye gaun?' - Says the false knight upon the road: - 'I am gaun to the schule,' - Says the wee boy, and still he stood. - - 2 - 'Wha's aught the sheep on yonder hill?' - 'They are my papa's and mine.' - - 3 - 'How many of them's mine?' - 'A' them that has blue tails.' - - 4 - 'I wish you were in yonder well:' - 'And you were down in hell.' - - -4. Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight. - -#P.# 22 b. #D.# Add: #d.# 'The historical ballad of May Culzean,' an -undated stall-copy. - -26 b. Another Dutch version (Frisian), spirited, but with gaps, is given -by Dykstra and van der Meulen, In Doaze fol alde Snypsnaren, Frjentsjer, -1882, p. 118, 'Jan Alberts,' 66 vv. (Köhler.) - -#D.# Jan Alberts sings a song, and those that hear it know it not. It is -heard by a king's daughter, who asks her mother's leave to go out for a -walk, and is told that it is all one where she goes or stays, if she -keeps her honor. Her father says the same, when she applies for his -leave. She goes to her bedroom and dresses herself finely, dons a gold -crown, puts her head out of the window, and cries, Now am I Jan Alberts' -bride. Jan Alberts takes her on his horse; they ride fast and long, with -nothing to eat or drink for three days. She then asks Jan why he gives -her nothing, and he answers that he shall ride to the high tree where -hang fourteen fair maids. Arrived there, he gives her the choice of -tree, sword, or water. She chooses the sword, bids him spare his coat, -for a pure maid's blood goes far, and before his coat is half off his -head lies behind him. The head cries, Behind the bush is a pot of -grease; smear my neck with it. She will not smear from a murderer's pot, -nor blow in a murderer's horn. She mounts his horse, and rides far and -long. Jan Alberts' mother comes to meet her, and asks after him. She -says he is not far off, and is sporting with fourteen maids. Had you -told me this before, I would have laid you in the water, says the -mother. The maid rides on till she comes to her father's gate. Then she -cries to her father to open, for his youngest daughter is without. The -father not bestirring himself, she swims the moat, and, the door not -being open, goes through the glass. The next day she dries her clothes. - -30 a, 37 a. There is a Low German version of the first class, #A-F#, in -Spee, Volksthümliches vom Niederrhein, Köln, 1875, Zweites Heft, p. 3, -'Schöndili,' 50 vv. (Köhler.) - -#AA.# Schöndili's parents died when she was a child. Schön-Albert, -knowing this, rides to her. She attires herself in silk, with a gold -crown on her hair, and he swings her on to his horse. They ride three -days and nights, with nothing to eat or drink. She asks whether it is -not meal-time; he replies that they are coming to a linden, where they -will eat and drink. Seven women are hanging on the tree. He gives her -the wale of tree, river, and sword. She chooses the sword; would be -loath to spot his coat; whips off his head before the coat is half off. -The head says there is a pipe in the saddle; she thinks no good can come -of playing a murderer's pipe. She meets first the father, then the -mother; they think that must be Schön-Albert's horse. That may be, she -says; I have not seen him since yesterday. She sets the pipe to her -mouth, when she reaches her father's gate, and the murderers come like -hares on the wind. - -#BB.# Alfred Müller, Volkslieder aus dem Erzgebirge, p. 92, 'Schön -Ulrich' [und Trautendelein], 36 vv. (Köhler.) Like #T#, without the -song. - -#CC.# A. Schlosser, Deutsche Volkslieder aus Steiermark, 1881, p. 338, -No 309, 'Der Ritter und die Maid.' (Köhler: not yet seen by me.) - -#DD.# Curt Mündel, Elsässische Volkslieder, p. 12, No 10, a fragment of -fifteen verses. As Anna sits by the Rhine combing her hair, Heinrich -comes along on his horse, sees her weep, and asks why. It is not for -gold and not for goods, but because she is to die that day. Heinrich -draws his sword, runs her through, and rides home. He is asked why his -sword is red, and says he has killed two doves. They say the dove must -be Anna. - -32 b. #H#, line 10. Read: umbrunnen. - -39 a, line 1. Read: contributed by Hoffmann. - -39 a, third paragraph. Kozlowski, Lud, p. 54, No 15, furnishes a second -and inferior but still important form of #A# (Masovian). - -#A b.# Ligar (afterwards Jasia, Golo) bids Kasia take all she has. She -has already done this, and is ready to range the world with him. -Suddenly she asks, after they have been some time on their way, What is -that yonder so green? Jasia replies, Our house, to which we are going. -They go on further, and Kasia again inquires abruptly, What is that -yonder so white? "That is my eight wives, and you shall be the ninth: -you are to die, and will be the tenth." "Where is the gold, the maidens' -gold?" "In the linden, Kasia, in the linden; plenty of it." "Let me not -die so wretchedly; let me draw your sword for once." She drew the sword, -and with one stroke Jasia's head was off. - -39 b. To the Polish versions are further to be added: #NN#, Piosnki -wie[/s]niacze znad Dzwiny, p. 41, No 51; #OO#, Roger, p. 78, No 138; -#PP#, Roger, p. 69, No 125; #QQ#, ib., p. 79, No 140; #RR#, p. 81, No -142; #SS#, p. 79, No 139. The last three are imperfect, and #QQ#, #RR#, -have a beginning which belongs elsewhere. Jasia suggests to Kasia to get -the key of the new room from her mother by pretending headache, and bids -her take gold enough, #NN#, #OO#. They go off while her mother thinks -that Kasia is sleeping, #NN#, #OO#, #QQ#. They come to a wood, #NN#, -#PP# (which is corrupt here), #SS#; first or last, to a deep stream, -#NN#, #OO#, #QQ#, #SS#; it is red sea in #RR#, as in #J#. Jasia bids -Kasia return to her mother, #NN# (twice), #RR#; bids her take off her -rich clothes, #OO#, to which she answers that she has not come here for -that. John throws her into the water, #NN#, #OO#, #QQ#, #SS#, from a -bridge in the second and third. Her apron catches on a stake or post; -she begs John for help, and gets for answer, "I did not throw you in to -help you: you may go to the bottom," #OO#. She swims to a stake, to -which she clings, and John hews her in three, #QQ#. Fishermen draw out -the body, and carry it to the church, #NN#, #OO#. She apostrophizes her -hair in #QQ#, #SS#, as in #G#, #I#, #J#, and in the same absurd terms in -#QQ# as in #J#. John is pursued and cut to pieces in #OO#, _also_ broken -on the wheel. #PP# closely resembles German ballads of the third class. -Katie shouts three times: at her first cry the grass curls up; at the -second the river overflows; the third wakes her mother, who rouses her -sons, saying, Katie is calling in the wood. They find John with a bloody -sword; he says he has killed a dove. They answer, No dove, but our -sister, and maltreat him till he tells what he has done with his victim: -"I have hidden her under the yew-bush; now put me on the wheel." - -39 b, line 13 of the middle paragraph. Read Piosnki for Piesni, and omit -the quotation marks in this and the line before. - -40 b, line 2 (the girl's adding her hair to lengthen the cord). In the -tale of the Sea-horse, Schiefner, Awarische Texte, Memoirs of the St -Petersburg Academy, vol. XIX, No 6, p. 11 f, a sixty-ell rope being -required to rescue a prince from a well into which he had been thrown, -and no rope forthcoming, the daughter of a sea-king makes a rope of the -required length with her hair, and with this the prince is drawn out. Dr -Reinhold Köhler, who pointed out this incident to me, refers in his -notes to the texts, at p. vii f, to the song of Südäi Märgän, Radloff, -II, 627-31, where Südäi Märgän's wife, having to rescue her husband from -a pit, tries first his horse's tail, and finds it too short, then her -hair, which proves also a little short. A maid is then found whose hair -is a hundred fathoms long, and her hair being tied on to the horse's -tail, and horse, wife, and maid pulling together, the hero is drawn out. -For climbing up by a maid's hair, see, further, Köhler's note to -Gonzenbach, No 53, II, 236. - -40 b, line 7. A message is sent to a father by a daughter in the same -way, in Chodzko, Les Chants historiques de l'Ukraine, p. 75; cf. p. 92, -of the same. Tristram sends messages to Isonde by linden shavings -inscribed with runes: Sir Tristrem, ed. Kölbing, p. 56, st. 187; -Tristrams Saga, cap. 54, p. 68, ed. Kölbing; Gottfried von Strassburg, -vv 14427-441. - -40 b, line 36. For #G#, #I#, read #G#, #J#. - -40, note [61]. In a Ruthenian ballad a girl who runs away from her -mother with a lover tells her brothers, who have come in search of her, -I did not leave home to go back again with you: Golovatsky, Part I, p. -77, No 32; Part III, I, p. 17, No 4, p. 18, No 5. So, "I have not -poisoned you to help you," Part I, p. 206, No 32, p. 207, No 33. - -41 a, second paragraph. Golovatsky, at I, 116, No 29, has a ballad, -found elsewhere without the feature here to be noticed, in which a -Cossack, who is watering his horse while a maid is drawing water, -describes his home as a Wonderland, like John in Polish #Q#. "Come to -the Ukraine with the Cossacks," he says. "Our land is not like this: -with us the mountains are golden, the water is mead, the grass is silk; -with us the willows bear pears and the girls go in gold." She yields; -they go over one mountain and another, and when they have crossed the -third the Cossack lets his horse graze. The maid falls to weeping, and -asks the Cossack, Where are your golden mountains, where the water that -is mead, the grass that is silk? He answers, No girl of sense and reason -engages herself to a young Cossack. So in Zegota Pauli, P. l. ruskiego, -p. 29, No 26==Golovatsky, I, 117, No 30, where the maid rejoins to the -glowing description, I have ranged the world: golden mountains I never -saw; everywhere mountains are of stone, and everywhere rivers are of -water; very like the girl in Grundtvig, 82 #B#, st. 7; 183 #A# 6, #E# 5, -6. - -41 b, last paragraph. Several Bohemian versions are to be added to the -single example cited from Waldau's Böhmische Granaten. This version, -which is presumed to have been taken down by Waldau himself, may be -distinguished as #A#. #B#, Su[vs]il, Moravské Národní Písn[ve], No 189, -p. 191, 'Vrah,' 'The Murderer,' is very like #A#. #C#, Su[vs]il, p. 193. -#D#, Erben, Prostonárodni [vc]eské Písn[ve] a [vR]íkadla, p. 480, No 16, -'Zabité d[ve]v[vc]e,' 'The Murdered Maid.' #E#, p. 479, No 15, 'Zabitá -sestra,' 'The Murdered Sister.' #B# has a double set of names, beginning -with Black George,--not the Servian, but "king of Hungary,"--and ending -with Indriasch. The maid is once called Annie, otherwise Katie. At her -first call the grass becomes green; at the second the mountain bows; the -third the mother hears. #C# has marvels of its own. Anna entreats John -to allow her to call to her mother. "Call, call," he says, "you will not -reach her with your call; in this dark wood, even the birds will not -hear you." At her first call a pine-tree in the forest breaks; at the -second the river overflows; at the third her mother rises from the -grave. She calls to her sons to go to Anna's rescue, and _they_ rise -from their graves. The miscreant John confesses that he has buried their -sister in the wood. They strike off his head, and put a bat on the head, -with an inscription in gold letters, to inform people what his offence -has been. There is a gap after the seventh stanza of #D#, which leaves -the two following stanzas unintelligible by themselves: 8, Choose one of -the two, and trust nobody; 9, She made her choice, and shouted three -times towards the mountains. At the first cry the mountain became green; -at the second the mountain bowed backwards; the third the mother heard. -She sent her sons off; they found their neighbor John, who had cut off -their sister's head. The law-abiding, and therefore modern, young men -say that John shall go to prison and never come out alive. In #E# the -man, a young hunter, says, Call _five_ times; not even a wood-bird will -hear you. Nothing is said of the first call; the second is heard by the -younger brother, who tells the elder that their sister must be in -trouble. The hunter has a bloody rifle in his hand: how he is disposed -of we are not told. All these ballads but #C# begin with the maid -cutting grass, and all of them have the dove that is "no dove, but our -sister." - -Fragments of this ballad are found, #F#, in Su[vs]il, p. 112, No 113, -'Nev[ve]sta ne[vs]t' astnice,' 'The Unhappy Bride;' #G#, p. 171, No 171, -'Zbojce,' 'The Murderer;' and there is a variation from #B# at p. 192, -note 3, which is worth remarking, #H#. #F#, sts 11-14: "Get together -what belongs to you; we will go to a foreign land;" and when they came -to the turf, "Look my head through."[426] Every hair she laid aside she -wet with a tear. And when they came into the dark of the wood he cut her -into nine [three] pieces. #G.# Katie meets John in a meadow; they sit -down on the grass. "Look my head through." She weeps, for she says there -is a black fate impending over her; "a black one for me, a red one for -thee." He gets angry, cuts off her head, and throws her into the river, -for which he is hanged. #H.# He sprang from his horse, robbed the maid, -and laughed. He set her on the grass, and bade her look his head -through. Every hair she examined she dropped a tear for. "Why do you -weep, Katie? Is it for your crants?" "I am _not_ weeping for my crants, -nor am I afraid of your sword. Let me call three times, that my father -and mother may hear." Compare German #H# 10, 11; #Q# 8-10, etc., etc. - -42 a. These Ruthenian ballads belong with the other Slavic parallels to -No 4: #A#, Zegota Pauli, P. l. ruskiego, p. 21==Golovatsky, III, I, 149, -No 21; #B#, Golovatsky, III, I, 172, No 46. #A.# A man induces a girl to -go off with him in the night. They wander over one land and another, and -then feel need of rest. Why does your head ache? he asks of her. Are you -homesick? "My head does not ache; I am not homesick." He takes her by -the white sides and throws her into the deep Donau, saying, Swim with -the stream; we shall not live together. She swims over the yellow sand, -crying, Was I not fair, or was it my fate? and he dryly answers, Fair; -it was thy fate. In #B# it is a Jew's daughter that is wiled away. They -go in one wagon; another is laden with boxes [of valuables?] and -pillows, a third with gold pennies. She asks, Where is your house? Over -those hills, he answers. He takes her over a high bridge, and throws her -into the Donau, with, Swim, since you were not acquainted with our way, -our faith! - -42 a. #A#, line 2. Read: Puymaigre. - -43 a. #D.# Add: Poésies populaires de la France, IV, fol. 332, Chanson -de l'Aunis, Charente Inférieur; but even more of the story is lost. - -44 a. A ballad in Casetti e Imbriani, C. p. delle Provincie meridionali, -II, 1, begins like 'La Contadina alla Fonte' (see p. 393 a), and ends -like 'La Monferrina Incontaminata.' Of the same class as the last is, I -suppose, Nannarelli, Studio comparativo sui Canti popolari di Arlena, p. -51, No 50 (Köhler), which I regret not yet to have seen. - -45 a. Portuguese #C, D#, in Alvaro Rodrigues de Azevedo, Romanceiro do -Archipelago da Madeira, p. 57, 'Estoria do Bravo-Franco,' p. 60, -'Gallo-frango.' - -47. A story from Neumünster about one Görtmicheel, a famous robber, in -Müllenhoff, p. 37, No 2, blends features of 'Hind Etin,' or 'The Maid -and the Dwarf-King,' No 41, with others found in the Magyar ballad, p. -45 f. A handsome wench, who had been lost seven years, suddenly -reappeared at the home of her parents. She said that she was not at -liberty to explain where she had been, but her mother induced her to -reveal this to a stone near the side-door, and taking up her station -behind the door heard all. She had been carried off by a robber; had -lived with him seven years, and borne him seven children. The robber, -who had otherwise treated her well, had refused to let her visit her -home, but finally had granted her this permission upon her promising to -say nothing about him. When the time arrived for her daughter to go -back, the mother gave her a bag of peas, which she was to drop one by -one along the way. She was kindly received, but presently the robber -thought there was something strange in her ways. He laid his head in her -lap, inviting her to perform the service so common in like cases. While -she was doing this, she could not but think how the robber had loved her -and how he was about to be betrayed by her, and her remorseful tears -dropped on his face. "So you have told of me!" cried the astute robber, -springing up. He cut off the children's heads and strung them on a -willow-twig before her eyes, and was now coming to her, when people -arrived, under the mother's conduct, who put a stop to his further -revenge, and took their own. See the note, Müllenhoff, p. 592 f. - -57 a. #D.# Insert: #d.# A stall-copy lent me by Mrs Alexander Forbes, -Liberton, Edinburgh. (See p. 23, note §.) - -62 b. Insert after #c#: - -#d.# - - 1^{1,2}. - Have ye not heard of fause Sir John, - Wha livd in the west country? - -_After 2 a stanza nearly as in #b.#_ - -5 _wanting._ - -6^1. But he's taen a charm frae aff his arm. - -6^3. follow him. - -7^2. five hundred. - -7^3. the bravest horse. - -8^1. So merrily. - -8^4. Which is called Benan Bay. - -9, 11, _wanting._ - -12^1. Cast aff, cast aff. - -12^4. To sink. - -13. _Nearly as in #b.#_ - - 14. - 'Cast aff thy coats and gay mantle, - And smock o Holland lawn, - For thei'r owre costly and owre guid - To rot in the sea san.' - - 15. - 'Then turn thee round, I pray, Sir John, - See the leaf flee owre the tree, - For it never befitted a book-learned man - A naked lady to see.' - -_Sir John being a Dominican friar, according to the historical preface._ - - 16. - As fause Sir John did turn him round, - To see the leaf flee owre the [tree], - She grasped him in her arms sma, - And flung him in the sea. - - 17. - 'Now lie ye there, ye wild Sir John, - Whar ye thought to lay me; - Ye wad hae drownd me as naked 's I was born, - But ye's get your claes frae me!' - - 18. - Her jewels, costly, rich and rare, - She straight puts on again; - She lightly springs upon her horse, - And leads his by the rein. - -21^3. O that's a foundling. - - 22. - Then out and spake the green parrot, - He says, Fair May Culzean, - O what hae ye done wi yon brave knight? - - 23. - 'Haud your tongue, my pretty parrot, - An I'se be kind to thee; - For where ye got ae handfu o groats, - My parrot shall get three.' - - 25. - 'There came a cat into my cage, - Had nearly worried me, - And I was calling on May Culzean - To come and set me free.' - -27 _wanting_. - -28^3. Carleton sands. - -29^2. Was dashed. - -29^3. The golden ring. - - -5. Gil Brenton. - -#P.# 62 a, last three lines. Read: said by Lockhart to be Miss Christian -Rutherford, his mother's half-sister. - -66 b, lines 2, 3. Read: 37 #G#, 38 #A#, #D#, and other versions of both. - -66 b, line 4. 'Bitte Mette,' Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, V, 57, No 7, -affords another version. - -66 b, last line. For other cases of this substitution see Legrand, -Recueil de Contes populaires grecs, p. 257, 'La Princesse et sa -Nourrice;' Köhler, Romania, XI, 581-84, 'Le conte de la reine qui tua -son sénéchal;' Neh-Manzer, ou Les Neuf Loges, conte, traduit du persan -par M. Lescallier, Gènes, 1808, p. 55, 'Histoire du devin Afezzell.' -(Köhler.) The last I have not seen. - -67 a, note [99], line 37. Read: a Scotch name. - -84 b. The same artifice is tried, and succeeds, in a case of birth -delayed by a man's clasping his hands round his knees, in Asbjørnsen, -Norske Huldre-Eventyr, I, 20, 2d ed. - -85 a, first paragraph. A story closely resembling Heywood's is told in -the Zimmerische Chronik, ed. Barack, IV, 262-64, 1882, of Heinrich von -Dierstein; Liebrecht in Germania XIV, 404. (Köhler.) As the author of -the chronicle remarks, the tale (Heywood's) is in the Malleus -Maleficarum (1620, I, 158 f). - -85 a, third paragraph. Other cases resembling Gonzenbach, No 54, in -Pitré, Fiabe, Novelle, etc., I, 173, No 18; Comparetti, Novelline -popolari, No 33, p. 139. (Köhler.) - -85, note. Add: (Köhler.) - -85 b. Birth is sought to be maliciously impeded in Swabia by crooking -together the little fingers. Lammert, Volksmedizin in Bayern, etc., p. -165. (Köhler.) - - -7. Earl Brand. - -#P.# 88. Add: - -#G.# 'Gude Earl Brand and Auld Carle Hude,' the Paisley Magazine, 1828, -p. 321, communicated by W. Motherwell. - -#H.# 'Auld Carle Hood, or, Earl Brand,' Campbell MSS, II, 32. - -#I.# 'The Douglas Tragedy,' 'Lord Douglas' Tragedy,' from an old-looking -stall-copy, without place or date. - -This ballad was, therefore, not first given to the world by Mr Robert -Bell, in 1857, but nearly thirty years earlier by Motherwell, in the -single volume of the Paisley Magazine, a now somewhat scarce book. I am -indebted for the information and for a transcript to Mr Murdoch, of -Glasgow, and for a second copy to Mr Macmath, of Edinburgh. - -92 a. Add: #I.# 'Hildebrand,' Wigström, Folkdiktning, II, 13. #J.# -'Fröken Gyllenborg,' the same, p. 24. - -96 a. Böðvar Bjarki, fighting with great effect as a huge bear for -Hrólfr Kraki, is obliged to return to his ordinary shape in consequence -of Hjalti, who misses the hero from the fight, mentioning his name: Saga -Hrólfs Kraka, c. 50, Fornaldar Sögur, I, 101 ff. In Hjálmtèrs ok Ölvers -Saga, c. 20, F. S. III, 506 f, Hörðr bids his comrades not call him by -name while he is fighting, in form of a sword-fish, with a walrus, else -he shall die. A prince, under the form of an ox, fighting with a -six-headed giant, loses much of his strength, and is nigh being -conquered, because a lad has, contrary to his prohibition, called him by -name. Asbjørnsen og Moe, Norske Folkeeventyr, 2d ed., p. 419. All these -are cited by Moe, in Nordisk Tidskrift, 1879, p. 286 f. Certain kindly -domestic spirits renounce relations with men, even matrimonial, if their -name becomes known: Mannhardt, Wald- und Feldkulte, I, 103. - -97 b. Insert: #Spanish.# Milá, Romancerillo Catalan, 2d ed., No 206, -#D#, p. 164: olivera y oliverá, which, when grown tall, join. - -#Servian.# Add: Karadshitch, I, 345, vv 225 ff, two pines, which -intertwine. In #I# 309, No 421, they plant a rose over the maid, a vine -over the man, which embrace as if they were Jani and Milenko. The ballad -has features of the Earl Brand class. (I, 239, No 341==Talvj, II, 85.) - -#Russian.# Hilferding, Onezhskya Byliny, col. 154, No 31, laburnum (?) -over Basil, and cypress over Sophia, which intertwine; col. 696, No 134, -cypress and willow; col. 1242, No 285, willow and cypress. - -Little Russian (Carpathian Russians in Hungary), Golovatsky, II, 710, No -13: John on one side of the church, Annie on the other; rosemary on his -grave, a lily on hers, growing so high as to meet over the church. -Annie's mother cuts them down. John speaks from the grave: Wicked -mother, thou wouldst not let us _live_ together; let us rest together. -Golovatsky, I, 186, No 8: a maple from the man's grave, white birch from -the woman's, which mingle their leaves. - -#Slovenian.# [vS]túr, O národnich Písních a Pov[ve]stech Plemen -slovanských, p. 51: the lovers are buried east and west, a rose springs -from the man's grave, a lily from the maid's, which mingle their growth. - -#Wend.# Add: Haupt and Schmaler, II, 310, No 81. - -#Breton.# Add: Villemarqué, Barzaz Breiz, 'Le Seigneur Nann et La Fée,' -see p. 379, note §, of this volume. - -98 a. #Armenian.# The ashes of two lovers who have been literally -consumed by a mutual passion are deposited by sympathetic hands in one -grave. Two rose bushes rise from the grave and seek to intertwine, but a -thorn interposes and makes the union forever impossible. (The thorn is -_creed_. The young man was a Tatar, and his religion had been an -insuperable obstacle in the eyes of the maid's father.) Baron von -Haxthausen, Transkaukasia, I, 315 f. (Köhler.) - -A Middle High German poem from a MS. of the end of the 14th century, -printed in Haupt's Zeitschrift, VI, makes a vine rise from the common -grave of Pyramus and Thisbe and descend into it again: p. 517. (Köhler.) - -J. Grimm notes several instances of this marvel (not from ballads), -Ueber Frauennamen aus Blumen, Kleinere Schriften, II, 379 f, note **. - -104. - - -G - - The Paisley Magazine, June 2, 1828, p. 321, communicated - by William Motherwell. "Sung to a long, drawling, - monotonous tune." - - * * * * * * * - - 1 - 'Gude Earl Brand, I long to see - Faldee faldee fal deediddle a dee - All your grey hounds running over the lea.' - And the brave knights in the valley - - 2 - 'Gude lady fair, I have not a steed but one, - But you shall ride and I shall run.' - - 3 - They're ower moss and they're ower mure, - And they saw neither rich nor pure. - - 4 - Until that they came to auld Karl Hude; - He's aye for ill and never for gude. - - 5 - 'Gude Earl Brand, if ye love me, - Kill auld Karl Hude, and gar him die.' - - 6 - 'O fair ladie, we'll do better than sae: - Gie him a penny, and let him gae.' - - 7 - 'Gude Earl Brand, whare hae ye been, - Or whare hae ye stown this lady sheen?' - - 8 - 'She's not my lady, but my sick sister, - And she's been at the wells of Meen.' - - 9 - 'If she was sick, and very sair, - She wadna wear the red gold on her hair. - - 10 - 'Or if she were sick, and like to be dead, - She wadna wear the ribbons red.' - - 11 - He cam till he cam to her father's gate, - And he has rappit furious thereat. - - 12 - 'Where is the lady o this hall?' - 'She's out wi her maidens, playing at the ball.' - - 13 - 'If you'll get me fyfteen wale wight men, - Sae fast as I'll fetch her back again.' - - 14 - She's lookit ower her left collar-bane: - 'O gude Earl Brand, we baith are taen,' - - 15 - 'Light down, light down, and hold my steed; - Change never your cheer till ye see me dead. - - 16 - 'If they come on me man by man, - I'll be very laith for to be taen. - - 17 - 'But if they come on me one and all, - The sooner you will see me fall.' - - 18 - O he has killd them all but one, - And wha was that but auld Karl Hude. - - 19 - And he has come on him behind, - And put in him the deadly wound. - - 20 - O he has set his lady on, - And he's come whistling all along. - - 21 - 'Gude Earl Brand, I see blood:' - 'It's but the shade o my scarlet robe.' - - 22 - They cam till they cam to the water aflood; - He's lighted down and he's wushen aff the blood. - - 23 - His mother walks the floor alone: - 'O yonder does come my poor son. - - 24 - 'He is both murderd and undone, - And all for the sake o an English loon.' - - 25 - 'Say not sae, my dearest mother, - Marry her on my eldest brother.' - - 26 - She set her fit up to the wa, - Faldee faldee fal deediddle adee - She's fallen down dead amang them a'. - And the brave knights o the valley - - -H - - Campbell MSS, II, 32. - - 1 - Did you ever hear of good Earl Brand, - Aye lally an lilly lally - And the king's daughter of fair Scotland? - And the braw knights o Airly - - 2 - She was scarce fifteen years of age - When she came to Earl Brand's bed. - Wi the braw knights o Airly - - 3 - 'O Earl Brand, I fain wad see - Our grey hounds run over the lea.' - Mang the braw bents o Airly - - 4 - 'O,' says Earl Brand, 'I've nae steads but one, - And you shall ride and I shall run.' - Oer the braw heights o Airly - - 5 - 'O,' says the lady, 'I hae three, - And ye shall hae yeer choice for me.' - Of the braw steeds o Airly - - 6 - So they lap on, and on they rade, - Till they came to auld Carle Hood. - Oer the braw hills o Airly - - 7 - Carl Hood's aye for ill, and he's no for good, - He's aye for ill, and he's no for good. - Mang the braw hills o Airly - - 8 - 'Where hae ye been hunting a' day, - And where have ye stolen this fair may?' - I' the braw nights sae airly - - 9 - 'She is my sick sister dear, - New comd home from another sister.' - I the braw nights sae early - - 10 - 'O,' says the lady, 'if ye love me, - Gie him a penny fee and let him gae.' - I the braw nights sae early - - 11 - He's gane home to her father's bower, - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 12 - 'Where is the lady o this ha?' - 'She's out wi the young maids, playing at the ba.' - I the braw nights so early - - 13 - 'No,' says another, 'she's riding oer the moor, - And a' to be Earl Brand's whore.' - I the braw nights so early - - 14 - The king mounted fifteen weel armed men, - A' to get Earl Brand taen. - I the braw hills so early - - 15 - The lady looked over her white horse mane: - 'O Earl Brand, we will be taen.' - In the braw hills so early - - 16 - He says, If they come one by one, - Ye'll no see me so soon taen. - In the braw hills so early - - 17 - So they came every one but one, - And he has killd them a' but ane. - In the braw hills so early - - 18 - And that one came behind his back, - And gave Earl Brand a deadly stroke. - In the braw hills of Airly - - 19 - For as sair wounded as he was, - He lifted the lady on her horse. - In the braw nights so early - - 20 - 'O Earl Brand, I see thy heart's bluid!' - 'It's but the shadow of my scarlet robe.' - I the braw nights so early - - 21 - He came to his mother's home; - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 22 - She looked out and cryd her son was gone, - And a' for the sake [of] an English loon. - . . . . . . . - - 23 - 'What will I do wi your lady fair?' - 'Marry her to my eldest brother.' - The brawest knight i Airly - -21^1. to her. - -21^1, 22 _are written as one stanza_. - - -I - - A stall-copy lent me by Mrs Alexander Forbes, Liberton, - Edinburgh. - - 1 - 'Rise up, rise up, Lord Douglas,' she said, - 'And draw to your arms so bright; - Let it never be said a daughter of yours - Shall go with a lord or a knight. - - 2 - 'Rise up, rise up, my seven bold sons, - And draw to your armour so bright; - Let it never be said a sister of yours - Shall go with a lord or a knight.' - - 3 - He looked over his left shoulder, - To see what he could see, - And there he spy'd her seven brethren bold, - And her father that lov'd her tenderly. - - 4 - 'Light down, light down, Lady Margret,' he said, - 'And hold my steed in thy hand, - That I may go fight with your seven brethren bold, - And your father who's just at hand.' - - 5 - O there she stood, and bitter she stood, - And never did shed a tear, - Till once she saw her seven brethren slain, - And her father she lovd so dear. - - 6 - 'Hold, hold your hand, William,' she said, - 'For thy strokes are wondrous sore; - For sweethearts I may get many a one, - But a father I neer will get more.' - - 7 - She took out a handkerchief of holland so fine - And wip'd her father's bloody wound, - Which ran more clear than the red wine, - And forked on the cold ground. - - 8 - 'O chuse you, chuse you, Margret,' he said, - 'Whether you will go or bide!' - 'I must go with you, Lord William,' she said, - 'Since you've left me no other guide.' - - 9 - He lifted her on a milk-white steed, - And himself on a dapple grey, - With a blue gilded horn hanging by his side, - And they slowly both rode away. - - 10 - Away they rode, and better they rode, - Till they came to yonder sand, - Till once they came to yon river side, - And there they lighted down. - - 11 - They lighted down to take a drink - Of the spring that ran so clear, - And there she spy'd his bonny heart's blood, - A running down the stream. - - 12 - 'Hold up, hold up, Lord William,' she says, - 'For I fear that you are slain;' - ''T is nought but the shade of my scarlet clothes, - That is sparkling down the stream.' - - 13 - He lifted her on a milk-white steed, - And himself on a dapple grey, - With a blue gilded horn hanging by his side, - And slowly they rode away. - - 14 - Ay they rode, and better they rode, - Till they came to his mother's bower; - Till once they came to his mother's bower, - And down they lighted there. - - 15 - 'O mother, mother, make my bed, - And make it saft and fine, - And lay my lady close at my back, - That I may sleep most sound.' - - 16 - Lord William he died eer middle o the night, - Lady Margret long before the morrow; - Lord William he died for pure true love, - And Lady Margret died for sorrow. - - 17 - Lord William was bury'd in Lady Mary's kirk, - The other in Saint Mary's quire; - Out of William's grave sprang a red rose, - And out of Margret's a briar. - - 18 - And ay they grew, and ay they threw, - As they wad fain been near; - And by this you may ken right well - They were twa lovers dear. - -105 b. #D.# 10. For Kinlock (twice) read Kinloch; and read I, 330. - -The stanza cited is found in Kinloch MSS, VII, 95 and 255. - -107 b. There is possibly a souvenir of Walter in Su[vs]il, p. 105, No -107. A man and woman are riding on one horse in the mountains. He asks -her to sing. Her song is heard by robbers, who come, intending to kill -him and carry her off. He bids her go under a maple-tree, kills twelve, -and spares one, to carry the booty home. - - -#9. The Fair Flower of Northumberland.# - -P. 111 a. #B b#, as prepared by Kinloch for printing, is found in -Kinloch MSS, VII, 105. - -Add: #F.# 'The Fair Flower of Northumberland,' Gibb MS., No 8. - -117. - - -F - - Gibb MS., No 8: 'The Fair Flower o Northumberland,' from - Jeannie Stirling, a young girl, as learned from her - grandmother. - - * * * * * * * - - 1 - She stole the keys from her father's bed-head, - O but her love it was easy won! - She opened the gates, she opened them wide, - She let him out o the prison strong. - - 2 - She went into her father's stable, - O but her love it was easy won! - She stole a steed that was both stout and strong, - To carry him hame frae Northumberland. - - * * * * * * * - - 3 - 'I'll be cook in your kitchen, - Noo sure my love has been easy won! - I'll serve your own lady with hat an with hand, - For I daurna gae back to Northumberland.' - - 4 - 'I need nae cook in my kitchin, - O but your love it was easy won! - Ye'll serve not my lady with hat or with hand, - For ye maun gae back to Northumberland.' - - 5 - When she gaed hame, how her father did ban! - 'O but your love it was easy won! - A fair Scottish girl, not sixteen years old, - Was once the fair flower o Northumberland!' - - -10. The Twa Sisters. - -Page 118 b. #K# is found in Kinloch MSS, VII, 256. - -Add: #V.# 'Benorie,' Campbell MSS, II, 88. - -#W.# 'Norham, down by Norham,' communicated by Mr Thomas Lugton, of -Kelso. - -#X.# 'Binnorie,' Dr Joseph Robertson's Note-Book, January 1, 1830, p. 7, -one stanza. - -#Y.# Communicated to Percy by Rev. P. Parsons, April 7, 1770. - -119 a. Note [127], first line. Read: I, 315. - -120 a, first paragraph. "A very rare but very stupid modern adaptation, -founded on the tradition as told in Småland, appeared in Götheborg, -1836, small 8vo, pp 32: Antiquiteter i Thorskinge. Fornminnet eller -Kummel-Runan, tolkande Systersveket Bröllopps-dagen." The author was C. -G. Lindblom, a Swedish priest. The first line is: - - "En Näskonung bodde på Illvedens fjäll." - - Professor George Stephens. - -120 a. Note [129], lines 3, 4. Read: and in 14, 15, calls the drowned girl -"the bonnie miller's lass o Binorie," meaning the bonnie miller o -Binorie's lass. - -124 a, last paragraph. A drowned girl grows up on the sea-strand as a -linden with nine branches: from the ninth her brother carves a harp. -"Sweet the tone," he says, as he plays. The mother calls out through her -tears, So sang my youngest daughter. G. Tillemann, in Livona, ein -historisch-poetisches Taschenbuch, Riga u. Dorpat, 1812, p. 187, Ueber -die Volkslieder der Letten. Dr R. Köhler points out to me a version of -this ballad given with a translation by Bishop Carl Chr. Ulmann in the -Dorpater Jahrbücher, II, 404, 1834, 'Die Lindenharfe,' and another by -Pastor Karl Ulmann in his Lettische Volkslieder, übertragen, 1874, p. -199, No 18, 'Das Lied von der Jüngsten.' In the former of these the -brother says, Sweet sounds my linden harp! The mother, weeping, It is -not the linden harp; it is thy sister's soul that has swum through the -water to us; it is the voice of my youngest daughter. - -124 b, first paragraph. In Bohemian, 'Zakletá dcera,' 'The Daughter -Cursed,' Erben, 1864, p. 466 (with other references); Moravian, -Su[vs]il, p. 143, No 146. Dr R. Köhler further refers to Peter, -Volksthümliches aus Österreichisch-Schlesien, I, 209, 'Die drei -Spielleute;' Meinert, p. 122, 'Die Erle;' Vernaleken, Alpensagen, p. -289, No 207, 'Der Ahornbaum.' - -125 b. Add to the citations: 'Le Sifflet enchanté,' E. Cosquin, Contes -populaires lorrains, No 26, Romania, VI, 565, with annotations, pp 567 -f; Köhler's Nachträge in Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie, II, 350 -f; Engelien u. Lahn, Der Volksmund in der Mark Brandenburg, I, 105, 'Diä -3 Brüöder;' Sébillot, Littérature orale de la Haute-Bretagne, p. 220, -Les Trois Frères, p. 226, 'Le Sifflet qui parle.' (Köhler.) - -132. #I.# 10^2. Read: for water. - -#K.# Say: Kinloch MSS, VII, 256. - -1^2. And I'll gie the hail o my father's land. - -2. The first tune that the bonnie fiddle playd, 'Hang my sister Alison,' -it said. - -3. 'I wad gie you.' - -136 a. #R b.# Read: Lanarkshire. - - -V - - Campbell MS., II, 88. - - 1 - There dwelt twa sisters in a bower, - Benorie, O Benorie - The youngest o them was the fairest flower. - In the merry milldams o Benorie - - 2 - There cam a wooer them to woo, - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 3 - He's gien the eldest o them a broach and a real, - Because that she loved her sister weel. - At etc. - - 4 - He's gien the eldest a gay penknife, - He loved the youngest as dear as his life. - At etc. - - 5 - 'O sister, O sister, will ye go oer yon glen, - And see my father's ships coming in?' - At etc. - - 6 - 'O sister dear, I darena gang, - Because I'm feard ye throw me in.' - The etc. - - 7 - 'O set your foot on yon sea stane, - And was yeer hands in the sea foam.' - At etc. - - 8 - She set her foot on yon sea stane, - To wash her hands in the sea foam. - At etc. - - 9 - . . . . . . . - But the eldest has thrown the youngest in. - The etc. - - 10 - 'O sister, O sister, lend me your hand, - And ye'se get William and a' his land.' - At etc. - - 11 - The miller's daughter cam out clad in red, - Seeking water to bake her bread. - At etc. - - 12 - 'O father, O father, gae fish yeer mill-dam, - There's either a lady or a milk-[white] swan.' - In etc. - - 13 - The miller cam out wi his lang cleek, - And he cleekit the lady out by the feet. - From the bonny milldam, etc. - - 14 - Ye wadna kend her pretty feet, - The American leather was sae neat. - In etc. - - 15 - Ye wadna kend her pretty legs, - The silken stockings were so neat tied. - In etc. - - 16 - Ye wadna kend her pretty waist, - The silken stays were sae neatly laced. - In etc. - - 17 - Ye wadna kend her pretty face, - It was sae prettily preend oer wi lace. - In etc. - - 18 - Ye wadna kend her yellow hair, - It was sae besmeared wi dust and glar. - In etc. - - 19 - By cam her father's fiddler fine, - And that lady's spirit spake to him. - From etc. - - 20 - She bad him take three taits o her hair, - And make them three strings to his fiddle sae rare. - At etc. - - 21 - 'Take two of my fingers, sae lang and sae white, - And make them pins to your fiddle sae neat.' - At etc. - - 22 - The ae first spring that the fiddle played - Was, Cursed be Sir John, my ain true-love. - At etc. - - 23 - The next spring that the fiddle playd - Was, Burn burd Hellen, she threw me in. - The etc. - -2, 3. _In the MS. thus_: - - There came ... - Benorie ... - He's gien ... - At the merry ... - Because that ... - At the merry ... - -8, 9. _In the MS. thus_: - - She set ... - Benorie ... - To wash ... - At the ... - But the eldest ... - The bonny ... - -_From 18 on, the burden is_ - - O Benorie, O Benorie. - - -W - - Communicated by Mr Thomas Lugton, of Kelso, as sung by an - old cotter-woman fifty years ago; learned by her from her - grandfather. - - 1 - Ther were three ladies playing at the ba, - Norham, down by Norham - And there cam a knight to view them a'. - By the bonnie mill-dams o Norham - - 2 - He courted the aldest wi diamonds and rings, - But he loved the youngest abune a' things. - - * * * * * * * - - 3 - 'Oh sister, oh sister, lend me your hand, - And pull my poor body unto dry land. - - 4 - 'Oh sister, oh sister, lend me your glove, - And you shall have my own true love!' - - 5 - Oot cam the miller's daughter upon Tweed, - To carry in water to bake her bread. - - 6 - 'Oh father, oh father, there's a fish in your dam; - It either is a lady or a milk-white swan.' - - 7 - Oot cam the miller's man upon Tweed, - And there he spied a lady lying dead. - - 8 - He could not catch her by the waist, - For her silken stays they were tight laced. - - 9 - But he did catch her by the hand, - And pulled her poor body unto dry land. - - 10 - He took three taets o her bonnie yellow hair, - To make harp strings they were so rare. - - 11 - The very first tune that the bonnie harp played - Was The aldest has cuisten the youngest away. - - -X - - Dr Joseph Robertson's Note-Book, January 1, 1830, p. 7. - - I see a lady in the dam, - Binnorie, oh Binnorie - She shenes as sweet as ony swan. - I the bonny milldams o Binnorie - - -Y - - Communicated to Percy, April 7, 1770, and April 19, 1775, - by the Rev. P. Parsons, of Wye, near Ashford, Kent: "taken - down from the mouth of the spinning-wheel, if I may be - allowed the expression." - - 1 - There was a king lived in the North Country, - Hey down down dery down - There was a king lived in the North Country, - And the bough it was bent to me - There was a king lived in the North Country, - And he had daughters one, two, three. - I'll prove true to my love, - If my love will prove true to me. - - * * * * * * * - - 2 - He gave the eldest a gay gold ring, - But he gave the younger a better thing. - - 3 - He bought the younger a beaver hat; - The eldest she thought much of that. - - 4 - 'Oh sister, oh sister, let us go run, - To see the ships come sailing along!' - - 5 - And when they got to the sea-side brim, - The eldest pushed the younger in. - - 6 - 'Oh sister, oh sister, lend me your hand, - I'll make you heir of my house and land.' - - 7 - 'I'll neither lend you my hand nor my glove, - Unless you grant me your true-love.' - - 8 - Then down she sunk and away she swam, - Untill she came to the miller's mill-dam. - - 9 - The miller's daughter sat at the mill-door, - As fair as never was seen before. - - 10 - 'Oh father, oh father, there swims a swan, - Or else the body of a dead woman.' - - 11 - The miller he ran with his fishing hook, - To pull the fair maid out o the brook. - - 12 - 'Wee'll hang the miller upon the mill-gate, - For drowning of my sister Kate.' - -139a. #K.# _~I wad give you~, is the beginning of a new stanza (as seen -above)._ - -141b. #S.# Read: 1^3. _MS._, Orless. - - -11. The Cruel Brother. - -P. 141. #B, I.# Insert the title,'The Cruel Brother.' - -Add: #L.# 'The King of Fairies,' Campbell MSS, II, 19. - -#M.# 'The Roses grow sweet aye,' Campbell MSS, II, 26. - -#N.# 'The Bride's Testamen,' Dr Joseph Robertson's Note-Book, January 1, -1830, one stanza. - -142 b, second paragraph, lines 5, 6. Say: on the way kisses her arm, -neck, and mouth. - -Add, as varieties of 'Rizzardo bello:' - -#B.# 'Luggieri,' Contado aretino, communicated by Giulio Salvatori to -the Rassegna Settimanale, Rome, 1879, June 22, No 77, p. 485; reprinted -in Romania, XI, 391, note. - -#C.# 'Rizzôl d'Amor,' Guerrini, Alcuni Canti p. romagnoli, p. 3, 1880. - -#D.# 'La Canzóne de 'Nucénzie,' Pitré e Salomone-Marino, Archivio per -Tradizioni popolari, I, 213, 1882. - -143. Slavic ballads resembling 'Graf Friedrich.' - -Moravian, Su[vs]il, 'Ne[vs]t'astna svatba,' 'The Unhappy Wedding,' No -89, c, d, pp 85 f. A bridegroom is bringing home his bride; his sword -slips from the sheath and wounds the bride in the side. He binds up the -wound, and begs her to hold out till she comes to the house. The bride -can eat nothing, and dies in the night. Her mother comes in the morning -with loads of cloth and feathers, is put off when she asks for her -daughter, reproaches the bridegroom for having killed her; he pleads his -innocence. - -Servian. Karadshitch, I, 309, No 421, 'Jani and Milenko,' belongs to -this class, though mixed with portions of at least one other ballad -('Earl Brand'). Milenko wooes the fair Jani, and is favored by her -mother and by all her brothers but the youngest. This brother goes -hunting, and bids Jani open to nobody while he is away, but Milenko -carries her off on his horse. As they are riding over a green hill, a -branch of a tree catches in Jani's dress. Milenko attempts to cut the -branch off with his knife, but in so doing wounds Jani in the head. Jani -binds up the wound, and they go on, and presently meet the youngest -brother, who hails Milenko, asks where he got the fair maid, discovers -the maid to be his sister, but bids her Godspeed. On reaching his -mother's house, Milenko asks that a bed may be prepared for Jani, who is -in need of repose. Jani dies in the night, Milenko in the morning. They -are buried in one grave; a rose is planted over her, a grape-vine over -him, and these intertwine, "as it were Jani with Milenko." - -143 b, after the first paragraph. A pallikar, who is bringing home his -bride, is detained on the way in consequence of his whole train leaving -him to go after a stag. The young man, who has never seen his bride's -face, reaches over his horse to give her a kiss; his knife disengages -itself and wounds her. She begs him to staunch the blood with his -handkerchief, praying only to live to see her bridegroom's house. This -wish is allowed her; she withdraws the handkerchief from the wound and -expires. Dozon, Chansons p. bulgares, 'Le baiser fatal,' p. 270, No 49. - -143 b, sixth line of the third paragraph. Read: 'Lord Randal.' - -144 a, line 4. 'Catarina de Lió;' in Milá, Romancerillo Catalan, 2d ed., -No 307, p. 291, 'Trato feroz,' seven versions. - -Line 15. Cf. Bladé, Poésies p. de la Gascogne, II, 51. - -144 b, first paragraph. A mother, not liking her son's wife, puts before -him a glass of mead, and poison before the wife. God exchanges them, and -the son drinks the poison. The son makes his will. To his brother he -leaves four black horses, to his sister four cows and four calves, to -his wife a house. "And to me?" the mother asks. "To you that big stone -and the deep Danube, because you have poisoned me and parted me from my -beloved." Su[vs]il,' Matka travi[vc]ka,' pp 154, 155, No 157, two -versions. - -144 b, second paragraph. 'El testamento de Amelia,' No 220, p. 185, of -the second edition of Romancerillo Catalan, with readings of eleven -other copies, #A-F#, #A_{1}-F_{1}#. In #B_{1}# only have we an ill -bequest to the mother. After leaving her mother a rosary, upon the -mother's asking again, What for me? the dying lady says, I will leave -you my chopines, clogs, so that when you come downstairs they may break -your neck. - -There are testaments in good will also in 'Elveskud,' Grundtvig, No 47, -IV, 836 ff, #L# 14, 15, #M# 17, #O# 17-19. - -151. - - -L - - Campbell MSS, II, 19. - - 1 - There were three ladies playing at the ba, - With a hey and a lilly gay - When the King o Fairies rode by them a'. - And the roses they grow sweetlie - - 2 - The foremost one was clad in blue; - He askd at her if she'd be his doo. - - 3 - The second of them was clad in red; - He askd at her if she'd be his bride. - - 4 - The next of them was clad in green; - He askd at her if she'd be his queen. - - 5 - 'Go you ask at my father then, - And you may ask at my mother then. - - 6 - 'You may ask at my sister Ann, - And not forget my brother John.' - - 7 - 'O I have askd at your father then, - And I have askd at your mother then. - - 8 - 'And I have askd at your sister Ann, - But I've quite forgot your brother John.' - - 9 - Her father led her down the stair, - Her mother combd down her yellow hair. - - 10 - Her sister Ann led her to the cross, - And her brother John set her on her horse. - - 11 - 'Now you are high and I am low, - Give me a kiss before ye go.' - - 12 - She's lootit down to gie him a kiss, - He gave her a deep wound and didna miss. - - 13 - And with a penknife as sharp as a dart, - And he has stabbit her to the heart. - - 14 - 'Ride up, ride up,' says the foremost man, - 'I think our bride looks pale an wan.' - - 15 - 'Ride up, ride up,' says the middle man, - 'I see her heart's blude trinkling down.' - - 16 - 'Ride on, ride,' says the Fairy King, - 'She will be dead lang ere we win hame.' - - 17 - 'O I wish I was at yonder cross, - Where my brother John put me on my horse. - - 18 - 'I wish I was at yonder thorn, - I wad curse the day that ere I was born. - - 19 - 'I wish I was at yon green hill, - Then I wad sit and bleed my fill.' - - 20 - 'What will you leave your father then? ' - 'The milk-white steed that I ride on.' - - 21 - 'What will you leave your mother then?' - 'My silver Bible and my golden fan.' - - 22 - 'What will ye leave your sister Ann?' - 'My good lord, to be married on.' - - 23 - 'What will ye leave your sister Pegg?' - 'The world wide to go and beg.' - - 24 - 'What will you leave your brother John? ' - 'The gallows-tree to hang him on.' - - 25 - 'What will you leave your brother's wife?' - 'Grief and sorrow to end her life.' - -_Burden in all but 1, 2, 13, ~lilly hey~; in 16, 17, 18, ~spring -sweetlie~; in 22, ~smell sweetlie~._ - - -M - - Campbell MSS, II, 26. - - 1 - There was three ladies playing at the ba, - With a hay and a lilly gay - A gentleman cam amang them a'. - And the roses grow sweet aye - - 2 - The first of them was clad in yellow, - And he askd at her gin she'd be his marrow. - - 3 - The next o them was clad in green; - He askd at her gin she'd be his queen. - - 4 - The last o them [was] clad in red; - He askd at her gin she'd be his bride. - - 5 - 'Have ye asked at my father dear? - Or have ye asked my mother dear? - - 6 - 'Have ye asked my sister Ann? - Or have ye asked my brother John?' - - 7 - 'I have asked yer father dear, - And I have asked yer mother dear. - - 8 - 'I have asked yer sister Ann, - But I've quite forgot your brother John.' - - 9 - Her father dear led her thro them a', - Her mother dear led her thro the ha. - - 10 - Her sister Ann led her thro the closs, - And her brother John stabbed her on her horse. - - 11 - 'Ride up, ride up,' says the foremost man, - 'I think our bride looks pale and wan.' - - 12 - 'Ride up,' cries the bonny bridegroom, - 'I think the bride be bleeding.' - - 13 - 'This is the bludy month of May, - Me and my horse bleeds night and day. - - 14 - 'O an I were at yon green hill, - I wad ly down and bleed a while. - - 15 - 'O gin I was at yon red cross, - I wad light down and corn my horse. - - 16 - 'O an I were at yon kirk-style, - I wad lye down and soon be weel.' - - 17 - When she cam to yon green hill, - Then she lay down and bled a while. - - 18 - And when she cam to yon red cross, - Then she lighted and corned her horse. - - 19 - 'What will ye leave your father dear?' - 'My milk-white steed, which cost me dear.' - - 20 - 'What will ye leave your mother dear?' - 'The bludy clothes that I do wear.' - - 21 - 'What will ye leave your sister Ann?' - 'My silver bridle and my golden fan.' - - 22 - 'What will ye leave your brother John?' - 'The gallows-tree to hang him on.' - - 23 - 'What will ye leave to your sister Pegg?' - 'The wide world for to go and beg.' - - 24 - When she came to yon kirk-style, - Then she lay down, and soon was weel. - -15^1. green cross. - -17^2. bleed. - - -N - - Dr Joseph Robertson's Note-Book, January 1, 1830, No 4. - - Then out bespak the foremost priest: - Wi a heigh ho and a lilly gay - I think she's bleedin at the breast. - The flowers they spring so sweetly - - -12. Lord Randal. - -P. 151. - -#B.# Add: Kinloch MSS, VII, 89. - -#D.# Read: #a.# 'Lord Randal,' Minstrelsy, etc. #b.# 'Lord Rannal,' -Campbell MSS, II, 269. - -#I.# Add: #h.# Communicated by Mr George M. Richardson. #i.# -Communicated by Mr George L. Kittredge. - -#K. b.# Insert after Popular Rhymes: 1826, p. 295. Add: #d.# 'The -Crowdin Dou,' Kinloch MSS, I, 184. - -Add: #P.# 'Lord Ronald, my son,' communicated by Mr Macmath, of -Edinburgh. - -#Q.# 'Lord Randal,' Pitcairn's MSS, III, 19. - -#R.# 'Little wee toorin dow,' Pitcairn's MSS, III, 13, from tradition. - -153 a. I failed to mention, though I had duly noted them, three versions -of 'L'Avvelenato,' which are cited by Professor D'Ancona in his Poesia -popolare Italiana, pp 106 ff. - -#D.# The Canon Lorenzo Panciatichi refers to the ballad in a 'Cicalata -in lode della Padella e della Frittura,' recited at the Crusca, -September 24, 1656, and in such manner as shows that it was well known. -He quotes the first question of the mother, "Dove andastù a cena," etc. -To this the son answered, he says, that he had been poisoned with a -roast eel: and the mother asking what the lady had cooked it in, the -reply was, In the oil pot. - -#E.# A version obtained by D'Ancona from the singing of a young fellow -from near Pisa, of which the first four stanzas are given. Some verses -after these are lost, for the testament is said to supervene -immediately. - -#F.# A version from Lecco, which has the title, derived from its burden, -'De lu cavalieri e figliu de re,' A. Trifone Nutricati Briganti, Intorno -ai Canti e Racconti popolari del Leccese p. 17. The first four stanzas -are cited, and it appears from these that the prince had cooked the eel -himself, and, appropriately, in a gold pan. - -154 a, first paragraph. #F# is given by Meltzl, Acta Comparationis, -1880, columns 143 f, in another dialect. - -154 b. #Magyar.# The original of this ballad, 'A megétett János,' -'Poisoned John' (as would appear, in the Szekler idiom), was discovered -by the Unitarian bishop Kriza, of Klausenburg, and was published by him -in J. Arany's 'Koszoru,' in 1864. It is more exactly translated by -Meltzl in the Acta Comparationis Litterarum Universarum, 1880, VII, -columns 30 f, the original immediately preceding. Aigner has omitted the -second stanza, and made the third into two, in his translation. The -Szekler has ten two-line stanzas, with the burden, Ah, my bowels are on -fire! Ah, make ready my bed! In the second stanza John says he has eaten -a four-footed crab; in the sixth he leaves his elder brother his yoke of -oxen; in the seventh he leaves his team of four horses to his younger -brother. Also translated in Ungarische Revue, 1883, p. 139, by G. -Heinrich. - -#B#, another Szekler version, taken down by Meltzl from the mouth of a -girl, is in seven two-line stanzas, with the burden, Make my bed, sweet -mother! 'János,' Acta, cols 140 f, with a German translation. John has -been at his sister-in-law's, and had a stuffed chicken and a big cake. -At his elder sister's they gave him the back of the axe, bloody stripes. -He bequeaths to his elder sister remorse and sickness; to his -sister-in-law six oxen and his wagon; to his father illness and poverty; -to his mother kindness and beggary. - -156 b, second paragraph. Polish: add Roger, p. 66, No 119. Add further: -Little Russian, Golovatsky, Part I, pp 206, 207, 209, Nos 32, 33, 35. -Masovian, Kozlowski, No 14, p. 52, p. 53. (Sacharof, IV, -7==[vC]elakovský, III, 108.) - -157 a, second paragraph. Kaden translates Nannarelli, p. 52. (Köhler.) - -157 b. Italian #A# is translated by Evelyn Carrington in The Antiquary, -III, 156 f. #D# also by Freiligrath, II, 226, ed. Stuttgart, 1877. - -158 a. #B.# Found in Kinloch MSS, VII, 89. The sixth stanza is not -there, and was probably taken from Scott, #D#. - -160 a. #D.# Read: #a.# Minstrelsy, etc. #b.# Campbell MSS, II, 269. - -163 a. #I.# Add: #h.# By Mr George M. Richardson, as learned by a lady -in Southern New Hampshire, about fifty years ago, from an aged aunt. -#i.# By Mr George L. Kittredge, obtained from a lady in Exeter, N. H. - -164 a. #K.# Insert under #b#, after Scotland: 1826, p. 295. Add: #d.# -Kinloch MSS, I, 184. - -164 b. #K# 6^2. Read: head and his feet. - -165. - - -P - - Communicated by Mr Macmath, of Edinburgh, as derived from - his aunt, Miss Jane Webster, formerly of Airds of Kells, - now (January, 1883) of Dalry, Kirkcudbrightshire, who - learned it more than fifty years ago from Mary Williamson, - then a nurse-maid at Airds. - - 1 - 'Where hae ye been a' day, Lord Ronald, my son? - Where hae ye been a' day, my handsome young one?' - 'I've been in the wood hunting; mother, make my bed soon, - For I am weary, weary hunting, and fain would lie doun.' - - 2 - 'O where did you dine, Lord Ronald, my son? - O where did you dine, my handsome young one?' - 'I dined with my sweetheart; mother, make my bed soon, - For I am weary, weary hunting, and fain would lie doun.' - - 3 - 'What got you to dine on, Lord Ronald, my son? - What got you to dine on, my handsome young one?' - 'I got eels boiled in water that in heather doth run, - And I am weary, weary hunting, and fain would lie doun.' - - 4 - 'What did she wi the broo o them, Lord Ronald, my son? - What did she wi the broo o them, my handsome young one?' - 'She gave it to my hounds for to live upon, - And I am weary, weary hunting, and fain would lie doun.' - - 5 - 'Where are your hounds now, Lord Ronald, my son? - Where are your hounds now, my handsome young one?' - 'They are a' swelled and bursted, and sae will I soon, - And I am weary, weary hunting, and fain would lie doun.' - - 6 - 'What will you leave your father, Lord Ronald, my son? - What will you leave your father, my handsome young one?' - 'I'll leave him my lands for to live upon, - And I am weary, weary hunting, and fain would lie doun.' - - 7 - 'What will you leave your brother, Lord Ronald, my son? - What will you leave your brother, my handsome young one?' - 'I'll leave him my gallant steed for to ride upon, - And I am weary, weary hunting, and fain would lie doun.' - - 8 - 'What will you leave your sister, Lord Ronald, my son? - What will you leave your sister, my handsome young one?' - 'I'll leave her my gold watch for to look upon, - And I am weary, weary hunting, and fain would lie doun.' - - 9 - 'What will you leave your mother, Lord Ronald, my son? - What will you leave your mother, my handsome young one?' - 'I'll leave her my Bible for to read upon, - And I am weary, weary hunting, and fain would lie doun.' - - 10 - 'What will you leave your sweetheart, Lord Ronald, my son? - What will you leave your sweetheart, my handsome young one?' - 'I'll leave her the gallows-tree for to hang upon, - It was her that poisoned me;' and so he fell doun. - - -Q - - Pitcairn's MSS, III, 19. "This was communicated to me by - my friend Patrick Robertson, Esq., Advocate,[427] who - heard it sung by an old lady in the North Country; and - though by no means enthusiastic about popular poetry, it - struck him so forcibly that he requested her to repeat it - slowly, so as he might write it down." Stanzas 2-5 "were - very much similar to the set in Scott's Minstrelsy," and - were not taken down. - - 1 - 'O whare hae ye been, Lord Randal, my son? - O whare hae ye been, my handsome young man?' - 'Oer the peat moss mang the heather, mother, mak my bed soon, - For I'm weary, weary hunting, and fain wad lie down.' - - 6 - 'What leave ye to your father, Lord Randal, my son? - What leave ye to your father, my handsome young man?' - 'I leave my houses and land, mother, mak my bed soon, - For I'm weary, weary hunting, and fain wad lie down.' - - 7 - 'What leave ye to your brother, Lord Randal, my son? - What leave ye to your brother, my handsome young man?' - 'O the guid milk-white steed that I rode upon, - For I'm weary, weary hunting, and fain wad lie down.' - - 8 - 'What leave ye to your true-love, Lord Randal, my son? - What leave ye to your true-love, my handsome young man?' - 'O a high, high gallows, to hang her upon, - For I'm weary, weary hunting, and fain wad lie down.' - - -R - - Pitcairn's MSS, III, 11. "From tradition: widow - Stevenson." - - 1 - 'Whare hae ye been a' day, my little wee toorin dow?' - 'It's I've been at my grandmammy's; mak my bed, mammy, now.' - - 2 - 'And what did ye get frae your grandmammy, my little wee toorin dow?' - 'It's I got a wee bit fishy to eat; mak my bed, mammy, now.' - - 3 - 'An what did ye do wi the banes o it, my little wee toorin dow?' - 'I gied it to my black doggy to eat; mak my bed, mammy, now.' - - 4 - 'An what did your little black doggy do syne, my little wee toorin - dow?' - 'He shot out his head, and his feet, and he died; as I do, mammy, now.' - - -S - - Communicated to Percy by Rev. P. Parsons, of Wye, near - Ashford, Kent, April 19, 1775: taken down by a friend of - Mr Parsons "from the spinning-wheel, in Suffolk." - - 1 - 'Where have you been today, Randall, my son? - Where have you been today, my only man?' - 'I have been a hunting, mother, make my bed soon, - For I'm sick at the heart, fain woud lie down. - Dear sister, hold my head, dear mother, make my bed, - I am sick at the heart, fain woud lie down.' - - 2 - 'What have you eat today, Randal, my son? - What have you eat today, my only man?' - 'I have eat an eel; mother, make,' etc. - - 3 - 'What was the colour of it, Randal, my son? - What was the colour of it, my only man?' - 'It was neither green, grey, blue nor black, - But speckled on the back; make,' etc. - - 4 - 'Who gave you eels today, Randal, my son? - Who gave you eels today, my only man?' - 'My own sweetheart; mother, make,' etc. - - 5 - 'Where shall I make your bed, Randal, my son? - Where shall I make your bed, my only man?' - 'In the churchyard; mother, make,' etc. - - 6 - 'What will you leave her then, Randall, my son? - What will you leave her then, my only man?' - 'A halter to hang herself; make,' etc. - -166 #a.# Insert after #C#: - -#D. b.# _Disordered: #b# 1==#a# 1; #b# 2==#a# 4; #b# 3==#a# 5^{1,2} + -#a# 2^{3,4}; #b# 4==#a# 3; #a# 2^{1,2}, 5^{3,4}, are wanting._ - -#b.# 1^3, been at the hunting. - -3^2. I fear ye've drunk poison. - -3^3==#a# 2^3. I supd wi my auntie. - -4^{1,2}==#a# 3^{1,2}. your supper. - -_This copy may be an imperfect recollection of #a.#_ - -166 b. - -#I. h.# _Four stanzas only, 1, 2, 6, 7._ - -1^2. my own little one. - -1^4. at the heart ... and fain. - -6^1. will you leave mother. - -7^1. will you leave grandma. - -7^3. a rope. - -#k.# _Seven stanzas_. - -1^3. to see grandmother. - -1^4. sick at heart, and fain. - -2^3. Stripëd eels fried. - -3==#a# 6, #d# 5, #h# 3. - -3^{1,2}. Your grandmother has poisoned you. - -3^3. I know it, I know it. - -4==#a# 6. 4^{1,2}. would you leave mother. - -5==#a# 8, #b# 9, #h# 7. - -5^{1,2}. would you leave sister. - -5^3. A box full of jewels. - -6==#a# 7; 7==#a# 8. - -6^{1,2}. would you leave grandmother. - -6^3. A rope for to hang her. - -7^{1,2}. O where shall I make it. - -#K.# _Add after #c#:_ - -#d.# 1^1, my bonnie wee crowdin, _and always_. - -2^1. frae your stepmither. - -2^2. She gied me a bonnie wee fish, it was baith black and blue. - -5^1. my ain wee dog. - -6^1. And whare is your ain wee dog. - - 6^2. - It laid down its wee headie and deed, - And sae maun I do nou. - -#Q.# "The second, third, fourth, and fifth stanzas were very much -similar to the set Lord Ronald, in Scott's Border Minstrelsy, and as Mr -Robertson was hurried he did not take down the precise words." MS., p. -21. - -_~Ronald~ is changed to ~Randal~ in 6, 7, but is left in 8._ - -#R.# _Written in four-line stanzas._ - - -13. Edward. - -P. 168 a, first paragraph. Add: Swedish #E#, Aminson, Bidrag till -Södermanlands Kulturhistoria, III, 37, eight stanzas. Nine stanzas of -Finnish #B# are translated by Schott, Acta Comparationis, 1878, IV, cols -132, 133. The murder here is for wife-seduction, a peculiar and -assuredly not original variation. - -168 b. #B# is translated by Adolph von Marées, p. 27; by Graf von -Platen, II, 329, Stuttgart, 1847; after Herder into Magyar, by Dr Karl -von Szász. - - -14. Babylon; or, The Bonnie Banks o Fordie. - -P. 172 a. #Swedish.# Professor George Stephens points me to two -localized prose outlines of the story, one from Småland, the other from -Skåne; 'Truls och hans barn,' in the Svenska Fornminnesföreningens -Tidskrift, II, 77 f. - - -15. Leesome Brand. - -P. 179 #a.# Swedish. II. Add: #I#, 'Risa lill,' Wigström, Folkdiktning, -II, 28. - -180 a, lines 25, 26. Read: #A#, #G#, #M#, #X#. - -181 a. #German.# Add: #D#, 'Der Ritter und seine Geliebte,' Ditfurth, -Deutsche Volks- und Gesellschaftslieder des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts, p. -14, No 13. (Köhler.) - -181 b. #French.# #C.# A still more corrupted copy in Poésies populaires -de la France, III, fol. 143, 'La fausse morte.' #D.# Fol. 215 of the -same volume, a very pretty ballad from Périgord, which has lost most of -the characteristic incidents, but not the tragic conclusion. - -182 b, first paragraph. A similar scene, ending happily, in I -Complementi della Chanson d'Huon de Bordeaux, pubblicati da A. Graf, pp -26 ff. (Köhler.) - -183 b, stanzas 27, 28. Compare: - - Modhreu lärde sonnenn sinn: - 'Skiuter tu diur och skiuter tu råå; - - 'Skiuter tu diur och skiuter tu råå, - Then salige hindenn lätt tu gå!' - -'Den förtrollade Jungfrun,' Arwidsson, II, 260, No 136, #A# I, 2. - - -17. Hind Horn. - -P. 187. #F.# Insert the title 'Young Hyndhorn.' - -#G.# Insert: Kinloch MSS, VII, 117. - -192. Dr Davidson informs me that many years ago he heard a version of -'Hind Horn,' in four-line stanzas, in which, as in 'Horn et Rymenhild' -and 'Horn Childe and Maiden Rimnild,' Horn took part in a joust at the -king's court, - - An young Hind Horn was abune them a'. - -He remembers further only these stanzas: - - 'O got ye this o the sea sailin, - Or got ye 't o the lan? - Or got ye 't o the bloody shores o Spain, - On a droont man's han?' - - 'I got na 't o the sea sailin, - I got na 't o the lan, - Nor yet upo the bloody shores o Spain, - On a droont man's han.' - -193 b (2). Add: 'Herr Lovmand,' Kristensen, I, 136, No 52. - -194. A corrupt fragment of a ballad, 'Der Bettler,' in Schröer's Ausflug -nach Gottschee, p. 210 f (Köhler), retains features like 'Hind Horn.' -The beggar comes to a wedding, and sits by the stove. The bride kindly -says, Nobody is thinking of the beggar, and hands him a glass of wine. -He says, Thanks, fair bride; thou wast my first wife. Upon this the -_bridegroom_ jumps over the table, crying, Bachelor I came, and bachelor -will go. - -The Epirots and Albanians have a custom of betrothing or marrying, -commonly in early youth, and of then parting for a long period. A woman -was lately (1875) buried at Iannina who, as the archbishop boasted in -the funeral discourse, had preserved her fidelity to a husband who had -been separated from her thirty years. This unhappy usage has given rise -to a distinct class of songs. Dozon, Chansons populaires bulgares, p. -294, note. - -195 b (5). The German popular rhymed tale of Henry the Lion is now known -to have been composed by the painter Heinrich Götting, Dresden, 1585. -Germania, XXVI, 453, No 527. - -198 a, to first paragraph. For the marvellous transportation in these -stories, see a note by Liebrecht in Jahrbücher für rom. u. eng. -Literatur, III, 147. In the same, IV, 110, Liebrecht refers to the -legend of Hugh of Halton, recounted by Dugdale in his Antiquities of -Warwickshire, II, 646, ed. of 1730, and Monasticon Anglicanum, IV, 90 f, -ed. 1823 (and perhaps in Dugdale's Baronage of England, but I have not -found it there). Hugo is another Gerard: the two half-rings miraculously -unite. (Köhler.) See, also, Landau on Torello, 'Der Wunderritt,' Quellen -des Dekameron 1884, pp 193-218. - -198 b, third paragraph. Other versions of 'Le Retour du Mari:' Fleury, -Littérature Orale de la Basse-Normandie, p. 268; E. Legrand, Romania, X, -374, also from Normandy. - -A ballad of the nature of 'Le Retour du Mari' is very popular in Poland: -Kolberg, No 22, pp 224 ff, some dozen copies; Wojcicki, I, 287; -Wojcicki, II, 311==Kolberg's #c#; Lipinski, p. 159==Kolberg's i; -Konopka, p. 121, No 20; Koz[/l]owski, No 5, p. 35, p. 36, two copies. In -Moravian, 'První milej[vs]í,' 'The First Love,' Su[vs]il, No 135, p. -131. The general course of the story is that a young man has to go to -the war the day of his wedding or the day after. He commits his bride to -her mother, saying, Keep her for me seven years; and if I do not then -come back, give her to whom you please. He is gone seven years, and, -returning then, asks for his wife. She has just been given to another. -He asks for a fiddle [pipe], and says he will go to the wedding. They -advise him to stay away, for there will be a disturbance. No, he will -only stand at the door and play. The bride jumps over four tables, and -makes a courtesy to him on a fifth, welcomes him and dismisses the new -bridegroom. - -199 a, end of the first paragraph. I forgot to mention the version of -Costantino, agreeing closely with Camarda's, in De Rada, Rapsodie d'un -poema albanese raccolte nelle colonie del Napoletano, pp 61-64. - -200. A maid, parting from her lover for three years, divides her ring -with him. He forgets, and prepares to marry another woman. She comes to -the nuptials, and is not known. She throws the half ring into a cup, -drinks, and hands the cup to him. He sees the half ring, and joins it to -his own. This is my wife, he says. She delivered me from death. He -annuls his marriage, and espouses the right woman. Miklosisch, Ueber -die Mundarten der Zigeuner, IV, Märchen u. Lieder, 15th Tale, pp 52-55, -at the end of a story of the class referred to at p. 401 f. (Köhler.) - -A personage appeared at Magdeburg in 1348 in the disguise of a pilgrim, -asked for a cup of wine from the archbishop's table, and, in drinking, -dropped into the cup from his mouth the seal ring of the margrave -Waldemar, supposed to have been long dead, but whom he confessed or -avowed himself to be. Klöden, Diplomatische Geschichte des für falsch -erklärten Markgrafen Waldemar, p. 189 f. (Köhler.) - -A wife who long pursues her husband, lost to her through spells, drops a -ring into his broth at the feast for his second marriage, is recognized, -and they are happily reunited: The Tale of the Hoodie, Campbell, West -Highland Tales, I, 63-66. - -In a pretty Portuguese ballad, which has numerous parallels in other -languages, a long-absent husband, after tormenting his wife by telling -her that she is a widow, legitimates himself by saying, Where is your -half of the ring which we parted? Here is mine: 'Bella Infanta,' -Almeida-Garrett, II, 11, 14, Braga, Cantos p. do Archipelago Açoriano, -p. 300; 'Dona Infanta,' 'Dona Catherina,' Braga, Romanceiro Geral, pp 3 -f, 7. - -See, further, for ring stories, Wesselofsky, Neue Beiträge zur -Geschichte der Salomonsage, in Archiv für Slavische Philologie, VI, 397 -f; Hahn, Neugriechische Märchen, No 25. - -The cases in which a simple ring is the means of recognition or -confirmation need, of course, not be multiplied. - -200 a, line twenty-four. For Alesha read Alyosha. - -205. #G.# In Kinloch MSS, VII, 117. After "from the recitation of my -niece, M. Kinnear, 23 August, 1826," is written in pencil "Christy -Smith," who may have been the person from whom Miss Kinnear derived the -ballad, or another reciter. Changes are made in pencil, some of which -are written over in ink, some not. The printed copy, as usual with -Kinloch, differs in some slight respects from the manuscript. - - -I - - #a.# From the recitation of Miss Jane Webster, formerly of - Airds of Kells, now of Dalry, both in the Stewartry of - Kirkcudbright, December 12, 1882. #b.# From Miss Jessie - Jane Macmath and Miss Agnes Macmath, nieces of Miss - Webster, December 11, 1882: originally derived from an old - nurse. Communicated by Mr Macmath, of Edinburgh. - - * * * * * * * - - 1 - She gave him a gay gold ring, - Hey lillelu and how lo lan - But he gave her a far better thing. - With my hey down and a hey diddle downie - - 2 - He gave her a silver wan, - With nine bright laverocks thereupon. - - * * * * * * * - - 3 - Young Hynd Horn is come to the lan, - There he met a beggar man. - - 4 - 'What news, what news do ye betide?' - 'Na news but Jeanie's the prince's bride.' - - 5 - 'Wilt thou give me thy begging weed? - And I'll give thee my good grey steed. - - 6 - 'Wilt thou give me thy auld grey hair? - And I'll give ye mine that is thrice as fair.' - - 7 - The beggar he got on for to ride, - But young Hynd Horn is bound for the bride. - - 8 - First the news came to the ha, - Then to the room mang the gentles a'. - - 9 - 'There stands a beggar at our gate, - Asking a drink for young Hynd Horn's sake.' - - 10 - 'I'll ga through nine fires hot - To give him a drink for young Hynd Horn's sake.' - - 11 - She gave him the drink, and he dropt in the ring; - The lady turned baith pale an wan. - - 12 - 'Oh got ye it by sea, or got ye it by lan? - Or got ye it off some dead man's han?' - - 13 - 'I got it not by sea, nor I got it not by lan, - But I got it off thy milk-white han.' - - 14 - 'I'll cast off my dress of red, - And I'll go with thee and beg my bread. - - 15 - I'll cast off my dress of brown, - And follow you from city to town. - - 16 - 'I'll cast off my dress of green, - For I am not ashamed with you to be seen.' - - 17 - 'You need not cast off your dress of red, - For I can support thee on both wine and bread. - - 18 - 'You need not cast off your dress of brown, - For I can keep you a lady in any town. - - 19 - 'You need not cast off your dress of green, - For I can maintain you as gay as a queen.' - -207 b. Add: #F#. 1^3, 7^1, 9^1, 13^2, Hyndhorn. - -208. #I.# b. 1-3, 6, 8, 10, 14, 16-19, _wanting_. - -_Burden_ 2: Wi my hey-dey an my hey deedle downie. - -5^1. O gie to me your aul beggar weed. - - 11. - She gave him the cup, and he dropped in the ring: - O but she turned pale an wan! - -_Between 11 and 12_: - - O whaur got e that gay gold ring? - . . . . . . . - -13^2. your ain fair han. - - 15. - O bring to me my dress o broun, - An I'll beg wi you frae toun tae toun. - -216 a. Sir Orfeo has been lately edited by Dr Oscar Zielke: Sir Orfeo, -ein englisches Feenmärchen aus dem Mittelalter, mit Einleitung und -Anmerkungen, Breslau, 1880. - - -20. The Cruel Mother. - -P. 218. #D. b.# Kinloch MSS, VII, 23. Insert again at p. 221. - -#F. a.# Also in Motherwell's MS., p. 514. Insert again at p. 222. - -#I. a.# Also in Motherwell's MS., p. 475. Insert again at p. 223. - -Add: #N.# 'The Loch o the Loanie,' Campbell MSS, II, 264. - -219 b. Add to the German versions of 'The Cruel Mother:' #M.# Pater -Amand Baumgarten, Aus der volksmässigen Ueberlieferung der Heimat: IX, -Geburt, Heirat, Tod, mit einem Anhang von Liedern, p. 140. ['Das -ausgesetzte Kind.'] #N.# A. Schlosser, Deutsche Volkslieder aus -Steiermark, p. 336, No 306, 'Der alte Halter und das Kind' (not yet seen -by me). (Köhler.) - -220 a. A ballad of Slavic origin in Nesselmann's Littauische -Volkslieder, No 380, p. 322, resembles the German and Wendish versions -of 'The Cruel Mother,' with a touch of 'The Maid and the Palmer.' (G. L. -Kittredge.) - -220 b, line 7. Read: Hausschatz. - -225. - - -N - - Campbell MSS, II, 264. - - 1 - As I lookit oer my father's castle wa, - All alone and alone O - I saw two pretty babes playing at the ba. - Down by yon green-wood sidie - - 2 - 'O pretty babes, gin ye were mine,' - Hey the loch o the Loanie - 'I would clead ye o the silk sae fine.' - Down by that green-wood sidie - - 3 - 'O sweet darlings, gin ye were mine,' - Hey the loch o the Loanie - 'I would feed ye on the morning's milk.' - Down by that green-wood sidie - - 4 - 'O mither dear, when we were thine,' - By the loch o the Loanie - 'Ye neither dressd us wi silk nor twine.' - Down by this green-wood sidie - - 5 - 'But ye tuke out your little pen-knife,' - By, etc. - 'And there ye tuke yer little babes' life.' - Down by the, etc. - - 6 - 'O mither dear, when this ye had done,' - Alone by, etc. - 'Ye unkirtled yersel, and ye wrapt us in 't.' - Down by the, etc. - - 7 - 'Neist ye houkit a hole fornent the seen.' - All alone and alone O - 'And tearless ye stappit your little babes in' - Down by the, etc. - - 8 - 'But we are in the heavens high,' - And far frae the loch o the Loanie - 'But ye hae the pains o hell to d[r]ie.' - Before ye leave the green-wood sidie - -226 a. #C.# Cunningham, as Mr Macmath has reminded me, has made this -stanza a part of another ballad, in Cromek's Remains, p. 223. - -231. #Catalan.# The Romancerillo Catalan, in the new edition, p. 10, No -12, 'Magdalena,' gives another version, with the variations of eight -more copies, that of the Observaciones being now #C#. - -232. Add: #Italian.# Ive, Canti popolari istriani, p. 366, No 14, 'S. -Maria Maddalena.' Mary's father, dying, left her a castle of gold and -silver, from which one day she saw Jesus pass. She wept a fountain of -tears to wash his feet, and dried his feet with her tresses. Then she -asked for a penance. She wished to go into a cave without door or -windows, sleep on the bare ground, eat raw herbs, and drink a _little_ -salt water; and this she did. In 'La Maddalena,' Guerrini, Alcuni C. p. -romagnoli, p. 7, there is no penance. - - -22. St Stephen and Herod. - -P. 236 a. #Spanish.# Milá's new edition, Romancerillo Catalan, No 31, -'El romero acusado de robo,' pp 36-38, adds six copies, not differing in -anything important. In #C#, the youth, un estudiant, n'era ros com un -fil d'or, blanch com Santa Catarina. - -I may note that Thomas Becket stands by his votaries when brought to the -gallows as effectually as St James. See Robertson, Materials, etc., I, -369, 471, 515, 524. - -238. Note [195] should have been credited to R. Köhler. - -238 b, second paragraph. Professor George Stephens informs me that the -miracle of the cock is depicted, among scenes from the life of Jesus, on -an _antependium_ of an altar, derived from an old church in Slesvig, and -now in the Danish Museum. Behind a large table sits a crowned woman, and -at her left stands a crowned man, who points to a dish from which a cock -has started up, with beak wide open. At the queen's right stands an old -woman, simply clad and leaning on a staff. This picture comes between -the Magi announcing Christ's Birth and the Massacre of the Innocents, -and the crowned figures are judged by Professor Stephens to be Herod and -Herodias. Who the old woman should be it is not easy to say, but there -can be no connection with St James. The work is assigned to the last -part of the fourteenth century. - -239. Most of the literature on the topic of the restoration of the -roasted cock to life is collected by Dr R. Köhler and by Ferdinand Wolf, -in Jahrbücher für romanische u. englische Literatur, III, 58 ff, 67 f. -Dr Köhler now adds these notes: The miracle of St James, in Hermann von -Fritslar's Heiligenleben, Pfeiffer's Deutsche Mystiker des vierzehnten -Jahrhunderts, I, 168 f; Hahn, Das alte Passional (from the Golden -Legend), p. 223, v. 47-p. 225, v. 85; Lütolf, Sagen, Bräuche und -Legenden aus Lucern, u. s. w., p. 367, No 334; von Alpenburg, Deutsche -Alpensagen, p. 137, No 135; Sepp, Altbayerischer Sagenschatz, pp 652 ff, -656 f. - -239 b. Three stone partridges on a buttress of a church at Mühlhausen -are thus accounted for. In the early days of the Reformation a couple of -orthodox divines, while waiting dinner, were discussing the prospect of -the infection spreading to their good city. One of them, growing warm, -declared that there was as much chance of that as of the three -partridges that were roasting in the kitchen taking flight from the -spit. Immediately there was heard a fluttering and a cooing in the -region of the kitchen, the three birds winged their way from the house, -and, lighting on the buttress of Mary Kirk, were instantly turned to -stone, and there they are. Thüringen und der Harz, mit ihren -Merkwürdigkeiten, u. s. w., VI, 20 f. (Köhler.) - -240 a. The monk Andrius has the scene between Judas and his mother as in -Cursor Mundi, and attributes to Greek writers the opinion that the -roasted cock was the same that caused Peter's compunction. Mussafia, -Sulla legenda del legno della Croce, Sitz. Ber. der phil.-hist. Classe -der Wiener Akad., LXIII, 206, note. (Köhler.) - -"About the year 1850 I was on a visit to the rector of Kilmeen, near -Clonakilty, in the county of Cork. My friend brought me to visit the -ruins of an old castle. Over the open fireplace, in the great hall there -was a stone, about two or three feet square, carved in the rudest -fashion, and evidently representing our Lord's sufferings. There were -the cross, the nails, the hammer, the scourge; but there was one piece -of sculpture which I could not understand. It was a sort of rude -semi-circle, the curve below and the diameter above, and at the junction -a figure intended to represent a bird. My friend asked me what it meant. -I confessed my ignorance. 'That,' said he, 'is the cock. The servants -were boiling him for supper, but when the moment came to convict the -_apostle_ he started up, perched on the side of the pot, and astonished -the assembly by his salutation of the morning.'" Notes and Queries, 5th -series, IX, 412 a. (Köhler.) - -A heathen in West Gothland (Vestrogothia) had killed his herdsman, -Torsten, a Christian, and was reproached for it by Torsten's wife. -Pointing to an ox that had been slaughtered, the heathen answered: Tam -Torstenum tuum, quem sanctum et in c[oe]lis vivere existimas, plane ita -vivum credo prout hunc bovem quem in frusta cædendum conspicis. Mirum -dictu, vix verba finiverat, cum e vestigio bos in pedes se erexit vivus, -stupore omnibus qui adstabant attonitis. Quare sacellum in loco eodem -erectum, multaque miracula, præsertim in pecorum curatione, patrata. -Ioannis Vastovii Vitis Aquilonia, sive Vitæ Sanctorum regni -Sveo-gothici, emend. et illustr. Er. Benzelius filius, Upsaliæ, 1708, p. -59. (Köhler.) - -240 b. Man begegnet auf alten Holzschnitten einer Abbildung von Christi -Geburt, welche durch die dabei stehenden Thiere erklärt werden soll. Der -Hahn auf der Stange krähet da: _Christus natus est!_ der Ochse brüllt -mit überschnappender Stimme drein: _Ubi?_ und das Lammlein bläheret die -Antwort: _Bethlehem!_ Rochholz, Alemannisches Kinderlied und Kinderspiel -aus der Schweiz, p. 69 f. (Köhler.) - -241 a. Wer sind die ersten Vorbothen Gottes? Der Hahn, weil er kräht, -"Christ ist geboren." Der Tauber, weil er ruft, "Wo?" Und der -Ziegenbock, weil er schreit, "Z' Bethlehem." Pater Amand Baumgarten, Aus -der volksmässigen Ueberlieferung der Heimat, I, Zur volksthümlichen -Naturkunde, p. 94. (Köhler.) - -Hahn: Kikeriki! Gott der Herr lebt! - -Ochs: Wo? Wo? - -Geiss: Mäh! zu Bethlehem! - -Simrock, Das deutsche Kinderbuch, 2d ed., p. 173, No 719; 3d ed., p. -192, No 787. (Köhler.) - -Quando Christo nasceu disse o gallo: _Jesus-Christo e ná ... á ... á ... -do_ (nádo). J. Leite de Vasconcellos, Tradiçôes populares de Portugal, -p. 148, No 285 b. - -242. Note. Add: W. Creizenach, Judas Ischarioth in Legende und Sage des -Mittelalters, in Paul and Braune's Beiträge, II, 177 ff. - - -25. Willie's Lyke-Wake. - -P. 247 b. Add: #E.# 'Willie's Lyke-Wake.' #a.# Buchan's Ballads of the -North of Scotland, II, 51. #b.# Christie, Traditional Ballad Airs, I, -122. - -249 b. #Swedish.# Add: #D.# Aminson, Bidrag till Södermanlands -Kulturhistoria, II, 18. - -#French.# 'Le Soldat au Convent,' Victor Smith, Vielles Chansons -recueillies en Velay et en Forez, p. 24, No 21, or Romania, VII, 73; -Fleury, Littérature Orale de la Basse Normandie, p. 310, 'La -Religieuse;' Poésies populaires de la France, III, fol. 289, fol. 297. A -soldier who has been absent some years in the wars returns to find his -mistress in a convent; obtains permission to see her for a last time, -puts a ring on her finger, and then "falls dead." His love insists on -conducting his funeral; the lover returns to life and carries her off. - -249 b. #A. Magyar#. The ballad of 'Handsome Tony' is also translated by -G. Heinrich, in Ungarische Revue, 1883, p. 155. - -The same story, perverted to tragedy at the end, in Golovatsky, II, 710, -No 13, a ballad of the Carpathian Russians in Hungary. - -250. Dr R. Köhler points out to me a German copy of #A#, #B#, #C#, which -I had overlooked, in Schröer, Ein Ausflug nach Gottschee, p. 266 ff, -'Hansel june.' The mother builds a mill and a church, and then the young -man feigns death, as before. But a very cheap tragic turn is given to -the conclusion when the young man springs up and kisses his love. She -falls dead with fright, and he declares that since she has died for him -he will die for her. So they are buried severally at one and the other -side of the church, and two lily stocks are planted, which embrace "like -two real married people;" or, a vine grows from one and a flower from -the other. - -252. This is the other form referred to at p. 247 a. - - -E - - #a.# Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 51. - #b.# Christie, Traditional Ballad Airs, I, 122. - - 1 - 'If my love loves me, she lets me not know, - That is a dowie chance; - I wish that I the same could do, - Tho my love were in France, France, - Tho my love were in France. - - 2 - 'O lang think I, and very lang, - And lang think I, I true; - But lang and langer will I think - Or my love o me rue. - - 3 - 'I will write a broad letter, - And write it sae perfite, - That an she winna o me rue, - I'll bid her come to my lyke.' - - 4 - Then he has written a broad letter, - And seald it wi his hand, - And sent it on to his true love, - As fast as boy could gang. - - 5 - When she looked the letter upon, - A light laugh then gae she; - But ere she read it to an end, - The tear blinded her ee. - - 6 - 'O saddle to me a steed, father, - O saddle to me a steed; - For word is come to me this night, - That my true love is dead.' - - 7 - 'The steeds are in the stable, daughter, - The keys are casten by; - Ye cannot won to-night, daughter, - To-morrow ye'se won away.' - - 8 - She has cut aff her yellow locks, - A little aboon her ee, - And she is on to Willie's lyke, - As fast as gang could she. - - 9 - As she gaed ower yon high hill head, - She saw a dowie light; - It was the candles at Willie's lyke, - And torches burning bright. - - 10 - Three o Willie's eldest brothers - Were making for him a bier; - One half o it was gude red gowd, - The other siller clear. - - 11 - Three o Willie's eldest sisters - Were making for him a sark; - The one half o it was cambric fine, - The other needle wark. - - 12 - Out spake the youngest o his sisters, - As she stood on the fleer: - How happy would our brother been, - If ye'd been sooner here! - - 13 - She lifted up the green covering, - And gae him kisses three; - Then he lookd up into her face, - The blythe blink in his ee. - - 14 - O then he started to his feet, - And thus to her said he: - Fair Annie, since we're met again, - Parted nae mair we'se be. - -#b.# "Given with some changes from the way the editor has heard it -sung." - -2^2. I trow. - -3^1. But I. - -3^3. That gin. - -7^3. the night. - - -28. Burd Ellen and Young Tamlane. - -P. 256. This ballad is in Pitcairn's MSS, III, 49. It was from the -tradition of Mrs Gammel. The last word of the burden is Machey, not -May-hay, as in Maidment. - - -29. The Boy and the Mantle. - -P. 270 b. If a girl takes a pot of boiling water off the fire, and the -pot ceases to boil, this is a sign of lost modesty. Lammert, -Volksmedizin und medizinischer Aberglaube in Bayern, u.s.w., p. 146. - - -30. King Arthur and King Cornwall. - -P. 274. A Galien in verse has been found in the library of Sir Thomas -Phillipps, at Cheltenham. Romania, XII, 5. - - -31. The Marriage of Sir Gawain. - -P. 292 b, last paragraph but one. Add: 'Gorvömb,' Arnason, II, 375, -Powell, Icelandic Legends, Second Series, 366, 'The Paunch.' Gorvömb, a -monstrous creature, in reward for great services, asks to have the -king's brother for husband, and in bed turns into a beautiful princess. -She had been suffering under the spells of a step-mother. - - -39. Tam Lin. - -P. 335. Add: #J.# 'Young Tamlane,' Kinloch MSS, V, 391. - -335 a. The stanzas introduced into #I a# were from "Mr Beattie of -Meikledale's Tamlane," as appears from a letter of Scott to Laidlaw, -January 21, 1803. (W. Macmath.) - -336 b, third paragraph. Add: Aminson, Bidrag, etc., IV, 6, No 27. - -Fourth paragraph, line 9. Read: in it which. - -338 a. An old woman is rejuvenated by being burnt to bones, and the -bones being thrown into a tub of milk: Ralston, Russian Folk-Tales, p. -59, 'The Smith and the Demon;' Afanasief, Legendui, No 31, from Dahl's -manuscript collection. - -356. The following is perhaps the version referred to by Dr Joseph -Robertson: see p. 335. - - -J - - "A fragment of Young Tamlane," Kinloch MSS, V, 391. In Dr - John Hill Burton's handwriting, and perhaps from the - recitation of Mrs Robertson (Christian Leslie), mother of - Dr Joseph Robertson. - - * * * * * * * - - 1 - 'The night, the night is Halloween, - Tomorrow's Hallowday, - . . . . . . . - . . . . . . . - - 2 - 'The night, the night is Halloween, - Our seely court maun ride, - Thro England and thro Ireland both, - And a' the warld wide. - - * * * * * * * - - 3 - 'The firsten court that comes ye bye, - You'll lout, and let them gae; - The seconden court that comes you bye, - You'll hail them reverently. - - 4 - 'The thirden court that comes you by, - Sae weel's ye will me ken, - For some will be on a black, a black, - And some will be on a brown, - But I will be on a bluid-red steed, - And will ride neist the queen. - - 5 - 'The thirden court that comes you bye, - Sae weel's ye will me ken, - For I'll be on a bluid-red steed, - Wi three stars on his crown. - - 6 - 'Ye'll tak the horse head in yer hand, - And grip the bridle fast; - The Queen o Elfin will gie a cry, - "True Tamas is stown awa!" - - 7 - 'And I will grow in your twa hands - An adder and an eel; - But the grip ye get ye'll hold it fast, - I'll be father to yer chiel. - - 8 - 'I will wax in your twa hans - As hot as any coal; - But if you love me as you say, - You'll think of me and thole. - - 9 - 'O I will grow in your twa hands - An adder and a snake; - The grip ye get now hold it fast, - And I'll be your world's mait. - - 10 - 'O I'll gae in at your gown sleeve, - And out at your gown hem, - And I'll stand up before thee then - A freely naked man. - - 11 - 'O I'll gae in at your gown sleeve, - And out at your gown hem, - And I'll stand before you then, - But claithing I'll hae nane. - - 12 - 'Ye'll do you down to Carden's Ha, - And down to Carden's stream, - And there you'll see our seely court, - As they come riding hame.' - - * * * * * * * - - 13 - 'It's nae wonder, my daughter Janet, - True Tammas ye thought on; - An he were a woman as he's a man, - My bedfellow he should be.' - - * * * * * - - 1 - The night, the night is Halloween, - Tomorrow's Hallowday, our seely court maun ride, - Thro England and thro Ireland both, - And a' the warld wide. - -Cf. #A# 25, 26; #D# 16; #G# 30; #I# 33, 34. - -8^4. think and of me thole. - - -41. Hind Etin. - -P. 363, note. Compare, for style, the beginning of 'Hind Horn' #G#, #H#, -pp 205, 206. - - -43. The Broomfield Hill. - -P. 393 a, first paragraph. In Gongu-Rólvs kvæði, Hammershaimb, Færöiske -Kvæder, No 16, p. 140, sts 99-105, Lindin remains a maid for two nights, -and loses the name the third, but the sleep-rune or thorn which should -explain this does not occur. - -393 b, third paragraph. Add: 'Kurz gefasst,' Alfred Müller, Volkslieder -aus dem Erzgebirge, p. 90. - - -45. King John and the Bishop. - -P. 410. Translated after Percy's Reliques also by von Marées, p. 7, No -2. - -503 a, fifth paragraph (ring stories). Add: W. Freiherr von Tettau, -Ueber einige bis jetzt unbekannte Erfurter Drucke, u. s. w., Jahrbücher -der königlichen Akademie zu Erfurt, Neue Folge, Heft VI, S. 291, at the -end of an excellent article on Ritter Morgeners Wallfahrt. (Köhler.) - - -[426] "Cette action, si peu séante pour nous, est accomplie dans maint -conte grec, allemand, etc., par des jeunes filles sur leurs amants, sur -des dragons par les princesses qu'ils ont enlevées, et, même dans une -légende bulgare en vers, saint Georges reçoit le même service de la -demoiselle exposée au dragon, dont il va la délivrer." Dozon, Contes -albanais, p. 27, note. In the Bulgarian legend referred to, Bulgarski -narodni p[ve]sni, by the brothers Miladinov, p. 31, the saint having -dozed off during the operation, the young maid sheds tears, and a -burning drop falls on the face of George, and wakes him. This recalls -the Magyar ballad, Molnár Anna, see p. 46. A Cretan legend of St George -has the same trait: Jeannaraki, p. 2, v. 41. Even a dead lover recalled -to the earth by his mistress, in ballads of the Lenore class, asks the -same service: Golovatsky, II, 708, No 12; Su[vs]il, p. 111, No 112, -'Umrlec,' 'The Dead Man.' - -[427] Afterwards a judge, with the name of Lord Robertson, but -universally known as Peter Robertson, celebrated for his wit and good -fellowship as well as his law, friend of Scott, Christopher North, and -Lockhart; "the Paper Lord, Lord Peter, who broke the laws of God, of -man, and metre." Mr Macmath's note. - - * * * * * - - -Transcriber's Notes - -This section lists changes that have been made to the text. Minor -changes to format and punctuation have not been listed. - -Page xi, Contents: changed volume reference "I" to "II" under Additions -and Corrections to Ballad 11 "THE CRUEL BROTHER" (Additions and -Corrections: I, 496; II, 498; III, 499;...) - -Page xi, Contents: deleted erroneous page reference "170," under -Additions and Corrections to Ballad 14 "BABYLON". - -Page 4, version B, stanza 6: added missing close single quotation mark -(And what is sharper than a thorn?') - -Page 16, stanza 20: added missing close single quotation mark (Let the -elphin knight do what he will.') - -Page 18, version G, stanza 3: added missing close single quotation mark -(Which never bore blossom since Adam was born?') - -Page 37: changed "Bokendorf" to "Bökendorf" (Reifferscheid, No 18, p. -36, from Bökendorf.) - -Page 39, first paragraph: "cod by ffman" interpreted as "co[llecte]d by -[Ho]ffman". - -Page 84: changed "Fornminnesforeningens" to "Fornminnesföreningens" -(Svenska Fornminnesföreningens Tidskrift) - -Page 98: changed "Busching" to "Büsching" (Büsching u. von der Hagen, -Buch der Liebe, c. 60) - -Page 99: changed comma to semi-colon (Wolff, Halle, I, 76; Hausschatz) - -Page 102, stanza 11, line 2: removed trailing single quote mark ('I am -afraid ye are slain;) - -Page 103, version E, stanza 2, line 2: added missing opening single -quote mark ('O hold my horse by the bonnie bridle rein,) - -Page 138, note on version B: bracketed vertical alignment of words "it" -and "he" presented in line (in Plain Text versions) ("~he did it play, -{it/he} playd~;") - -Page 188: "Hyn-horn" (hyphenated at line break) changed to "Hynhorn", in - - But I'll give him a drink for Young Hynhorn's sake,' #B# 16, - -but note that in version B, stanza 16, the name appears as two words -"Hyn Horn". that - -Page 211, stanzas 19 and 39: a line of stars following the first line of -each stanza has been interpreted as a missing line and rendered as the -more usual line of dots. - -Page 226: added missing closing quotation mark - - "At this moment a hunter came-- ... - - The cradle will rock alone.'" - -Page 265, footnote [236]: added missing letter "c" (but no one can drink -s'il n'est preudom) - -Page 318: changed ("gyff ... sayes,) to ('gyff ... sayes,') in ('gyff it -be als the storye sayes', v. 83) - -Page 374: changed "Islenzk" to "Íslenzk" (These in Íslenzk fornkvæði, pp -4-10, ...) - -Page 392: changed "esterley" to "Oesterley" (Iohannis de Alta Silva -Dolopathos, ed. Oesterley) - -Page 400: changed "[vC]elakovsky" to "[vC]elakovský" ([vC]elakovský, p. -75, No 6, Wenzig, Slawische Volkslieder) - -Page 425, footnote [390]: changed "he" to "the" (Where is the sky but -three spans broad?) - -Pae 422, stanza 13: changed "a" to "a'" (and ye shall get them a'.) - -Page 451, ballad version A: two stanzas were numbered 18; changed second -"18" to "19" and changed "19" to "20". - -Page 488, footnote [426]: added missing closing quotation mark ("Cette -action, ... dont il va la délivrer.") - -Page 487: substituted reference to footnote [61] for double dagger -symbol (40, note [61]. In a Ruthenian ballad ...) - -Page 488: changed stanza number "18" to "16" - -Page 489: changed "Hjalmters" to "Hjálmtèrs" (Hjálmtèrs ok Ölvers Saga) - - 16. - As fause Sir John did turn him round, - To see the leaf flee owre the [tree], - ... - -Page 489: substituted reference to footnote [99] for asterisk symbol -(67 a, note [99], line 37. Read: a Scotch name.) - -Page 493: substituted reference to footnote [127] for asterisk symbol -(119 a. Note [127], ...) - -Page 505: substituted reference to footnote [195] for double dagger -symbol (238. Note [195] should have been credited to ...) - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The English and Scottish Popular -Ballads (Volume I of 5), by Various - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ENGLISH, SCOTTISH BALLADS, VOL I *** - -***** This file should be named 44969-8.txt or 44969-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/4/9/6/44969/ - -Produced by Simon Gardner, Katherine Ward, Alicia Williams, -David T. 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