Chapter XXXII: Appendix (8)

13
Up then spake the second of them,
And he spake ay right bousterously;
‘Yield me thy life or thy lady bright,
And thou shalt walk these woods within.’

14
‘My wife, she is my warld’s meed,
My life it lies me very near;
But if you’ll be man of your manheed,
I’ll serve you till my days be near.’

15
He’s lighted of his milk-white steed,
He’s given his lady him by the head:
‘And see ye dinna change your cheer
Till you do see my body bleed.’

16
O he has killd these fifteen lords,
And he has killd them a’ but ane,
And he has left that old aged knight,
And a’ to carry the tidings hame.

17
O he’s gane to his lady again,
And a wait he has kist her, baith cheek and chin:
‘Thou art my ain love, I have thee bought,
And thou shalt walk these woods within.’

5. wake _should be_ wane _and_ wan wake, _as in #A#._

10. The Twa Sisters.

P. 119 a. #Danish.# ‘De talende Strenge,’ Kristensen, Jyske
Folkeminder, X, 68, 375, No 19, #A-E#.

119 b. #Swedish.# ‘De två systrarna,’ Lagus, Nyländska Folkvisor, I,
27, No 7, _a_, _b_; the latter imperfect.

124 b. Bohemian, Waldau, Böhmische Granaten, II, 97, No 137 (with
the usual variations).

125 b, 493 b; II, 498 b; III, 499 a. Add: ‘Les roseaux qui
chantent,’ Revue des Traditions Populaires, IV, 463, V, 178; ‘La
rose de Pimperlé,’ Meyrac, Traditions, etc., des Ardennes, p. 486
ff.; ‘L’os qui chante,’ seven Walloon versions, E. Monseur, Bulletin
de Folklore Wallon, I, 39 ff.

128. #C.# ‘The Cruel Sister,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border
Minstrelsy,” No 16; communicated to Scott by Major Henry Hutton,
Royal Artillery, December 24, 1802 (Letters, I, No 77), as
recollected by his father “and the family.”

1
There were twa sisters in a bowr,
Binnorie, O Binnorie
The eldest was black and the youngest fair.
By the bonny milldams o Binnorie

After 13 (or as 14):
Your rosie cheeks and white hause-bane
Garrd me bide lang maiden at hame.

After 15:
The miller’s daughter went out wi speed
To fetch some water to make her bread.

After 17:
He coud not see her fingers sma,
For the goud rings they glistend a’.
He coud na see her yellow hair
For pearlin and jewels that were so rare.

And when he saw her white hause-bane
Round it hung a gouden chain.

He stretched her owt-our the bra
And moanëd her wi mekle wa.

“Then, at the end, introduce the following” (which, however, are not traditional).

The last tune the harp did sing,
‘And yonder stands my false sister Alison.

‘O listen, listen, all my kin,
’Twas she wha drownd me in the lin.’

And when the harp this song had done
It brast a’ o pieces oer the stane.

“Alison. The writer of these additional stanzas understands the name was Alison, and not Helen.” Alison occurs in #D#, #K#.

Pp. 133, 139. #L.# Anna Seward to Walter Scott, April 25–29, 1802: Letters addressed to Sir Walter Scott, I, No 54, Abbotsford. “The Binnorie of endless repetition has nothing truly pathetic, and the ludicrous use made of the drowned sister’s body is well burlesqued in a ridiculous ballad, which I first heard sung, with farcial grimace, in my infancy [born 1747], thus:”

1
And O was it a pheasant cock,
Or eke a pheasant hen?
Or was it and a gay lady,
Came swimming down the stream?

2
O it was not a pheasant cock,
Or eke a pheasant hen,
But it was and a gay lady,
Came swimming down the stream.

3
And when she came to the mill-dam
The miller he took her body,
And with it he made him a fiddling thing,
To make him sweet melody.

4
And what did he do with her fingers small?
He made of them pegs to his vial.

5
And what did he do with her nose-ridge?
Why to his fiddle he made it a bridge.
Sing, O the damnd mill-dam, O

6
And what did he do with her veins so blue?
Why he made him strings his fiddle unto.

7
And what did he do with her two shins?
Why to his vial they dancd Moll Sims.

8
And what did he do with her two sides?
Why he made of them sides to his fiddle besides.

9
And what did he do with her great toes?
Why what he did with them that nobody knows.
Sing, O the damnd mill-dam, O

For 4, 5, 6, 7, see #A# 8, 9, 10, 13.

P. 137. MS. of Thomas Wilkie, p. 1, in “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 32; taken down “from a Miss Nancy Brockie, Bemerside.” 1813.

1
There were twa sisters sat in a bower,
By Nera and by Nora
The youngest was the fairest flower.
Of all the mill-dams of Bennora

2
It happened upon a bonnie summer’s day
The eldest to the youngest did say:
In the bonnie mill-dams of Bennora

3
‘We must go and we shall go
To see our brother’s ships come to land.’
In, etc. (_and throughout_).

4
‘I winna go and I downa go,
For weeting the corks o my coal-black shoes.’

5
She set her foot into a rash-bush,
To see how tightly she was dressd.

6
But the youngest sat upon a stone,
But the eldest threw the youngest in.

7
‘O sister, oh sister, come lend me your hand,
And draw my life into dry land!’

8
‘You shall not have one bit o my hand;
Nor will I draw you to dry land.’

9
‘O sister, O sister, come lend me your hand,
And you shall have Sir John and all his land.’

10
‘You shall not have one bit o my hand,
And I’ll have Sir John and all his land.

11
The miller’s daughter, clad in red,
Came for some water to bake her bread.

12
‘O father, O father, go fish your mill-dams,
For there either a swan or a drownd woman.’

13
You wad not have seen one bit o her waist,
The body was swelld, and the stays strait laced.

14
You wad not have seen one bit o her neck,
The chains of gold they hang so thick.

15
He has taen a tait of her bonnie yellow hair,
He’s tied it to his fiddle-strings there.

16
The verry first spring that that fiddle playd
Was, Blest be [the] queen, my mother! [it] has said.

17
The verry next spring that that fiddle playd
Was, Blest be Sir John, my own true-love!

18
The very next spring that that fiddle playd
Was, Burn my sister for her sins!

4^2. _Written at first_ my black heeld shoes.

12^2. swain.

17^2. thy own.

11. The Cruel Brother.

#P.# 142 b, 496 a, III, 499 a. #B# was repeated by Salvadori in Giornale di Filologia Romanza, II, 197; and #E# was first published by Mazzatinti in IV, 69, of the same.

142 f. A variety of ‘Graf Friedrich’ in Hruschka u. Toischer, Deutsche Volkslieder aus Böhmen, p. 101, No 25.

143 b. III, 499. Testament. ‘Hr. Adelbrand,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, #X#, 227, 232, No 54, #A#, 20 ff., #F#, 10 ff.==‘Herr Radibrand och lilla Lena,’ ‘Skön Helena och riddaren Hildebrand,’ Lagus, Nyländska Folkvisor, I, 89, No 25, _a_,_ b_.

‘Adelbrand’ is No 311 of Danmarks gamle Folkeviser, V, II, 297, ed. Olrik, of which the versions that have been cited in this book are #B#, #K e#, #G e#, #F#, #K b#, #I#. There is a testament in other copies of the same. Also in No 320, not yet published.

145 ff. “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 22 a. In the handwriting of William Laidlaw; “from Jean Scott.”

There was three ladies playd at the ba,
With a hey hey an a lilly gay

Bye cam three lords an woo’d them a’.
Whan the roses smelld sae sweetly

The first o them was clad in yellow:
‘O fair may, will ye be my marrow?’
Whan the roses smell, etc.

The niest o them was clad i ried:
‘O fair may, will ye be my bride?’

The thrid o them was clad i green:
He said, O fair may, will ye be my queen?

12. Lord Randal.

Pp. 152 b, 498 b, III, 499 b. #Italian.# Add #L#, ‘'U Cavalieru Traditu;’ communicated to La Calabria, October 15, 1888, p. 5, ‘Storie popolari Acresi,’ by Antonio Julia.

_154_ a. #Danish.# ‘Den forgivne Søster’ (with testament), Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 358, No 92.

156 b. Vuk, I, No _302_, is translated by Bowring, p. 143.

157 ff., 499 ff. “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 22 g, in the handwriting of William Laidlaw.

1
‘Where ha ye been, Lord Randal, my son?’
‘I been at the huntin, mother, mak my bed soon;
I’m weariet wi huntin, I fain wad lie down.’

2
‘What gat ye to yer supper, Lord Randal, my son?’
‘An eel boild i broo, mother, mak my bed soon;
I’m,’ etc.

3
‘What gat yer dogs, Earl Randal, my son?’
‘The broo o the eel, mother,’ etc.

4
‘What leave [ye] yer false love, Lord Randal, my son?’
‘My goud silken garters, to hang hersel on;
I’m,’ etc.

4^1. leave year.

* * * * *

U

Letters addressed to Sir Walter Scott, XX, No 77, Abbotsford; from
Joseph Jamieson Archibald, Largs, 18th February, 1830.

“By the bye! How does your copy of ‘Willie Doo’ go? Or is it the same as our ‘Auld Nursery Lilt,’ better known by the name of ‘My Wee Croodling Doo’? To give you every justice, I shall copy a stanza or two.”

1
‘Whare were ye the lea lang day,
My wee crooding doo, doo?’
‘I hae been at my step-dame’s;
Mammy, mak my bed noo, noo!’

2
‘Whare gat she the wee, wee fish?’
‘She gat it neist the edder-flowe.’

3
‘What did she wi the fishie’s banes?’
‘The wee black dog gat them to eat.’

4
‘What did the wee black doggie then?’
‘He shot out his fittie an deed;
An sae maun I now too, too.’ Etc.

“The wee crooding doo next received a fatal drink, and syne a lullaby, when his bed was made ‘baith saft an fine,’ while his lang fareweel and dying lamentation was certainly both trying and afflicting to the loving parents.” _The drink after the fish was a senseless interpolation_; _the_ ‘lang fareweel’ _was probably the testament of the longer ballad_.

500. The title of #Q# in the MS. is ‘Lord Randal;’ of #R#, ‘Little wee toorin dow.’

14. Babylon, or, The Bonnie Banks o Fordie.

P. 171 a. #Danish.# ‘Herr Tures Døtre,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 294, No 72.

15. Leesome Brand.

P. 178 a. ‘Jomfru i Hindeham,’ D. g. F. No 58, Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 14, No 7.

179 a, III, 500 b. #Danish#, II, ‘Barnefødsel i Lunden,’ six copies and a fragment, in Kristensen’s Skattegraveren, X, 145 ff., Nos 416–22, 1888. (‘Sadlen for trang, vejen for lang,’ 416, 17, 20; man’s help, 416, 419; children buried alive, 417, 18, 22; sister and brother, 418; lilies from grave, 416, 17.) ‘Skjøn Medler,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 182, No 46, #A-H#. (Saddle, way, #A#; man’s help, #A#, #B#, #E#, #F#, #H#; children buried alive, #A#, #B#, #C#, #E#, #F#.)

#Swedish.# ‘Herr Riddervall,’ Lagus, Nyländska Folkvisor, I, 75, No 20.

16. Sheath and Knife.

P. 186. #D# is in or from T. Lyle’s Ancient Ballads and Songs, 1827, p. 241. Scott, as Lyle says, has nearly the same burden in a stanza (of his own?) which he makes E. Deans sing, in The Heart of Mid-Lothian.

17. Hind Horn.

P. 193 b (2). ‘Hr. Lovmand,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 252, No 62, #A-D#.

194 ff., 502 f.; II, 499 b; III, 501 b. Ring stories. Cf. MacInnes, Folk and Hero Tales (Argyllshire), 1890, p. 157. (G. L. K.)

Bulgarian ballad.—Stojan is married on Sunday; on Monday he is ordered to join the army. His wife gives him a posy, which will remain fresh until she marries another man. He serves nine years; the tenth the queen discovers from his talk that he has a wife, and gives him permission to go home. He arrives the very day on which his wife is to be remarried, goes to the wedding, and asks her to kiss his hand and accept a gift from him. She recognizes him by the ring on his hand, sends off the guests, and goes home with him. Collection of the Ministry of Instruction, I, 39. In a variant, Verković, p. 329, No 301, the man is gone three years, and arrives just as the wedding procession comes for the bride. (W. W.)

198 b. ‘Le Retour du Mari.’ ‘Un Retour de Guerre’ (cards), Daymard, pp. 203, 4.

202 a, III, 501 b. For more of these curiosities (in Salman u. Morolf, Orendel, Virginal, Laurin, etc.), see Vogt’s note, p. 181 (248 ff.), to Salman u. Morolf.

206. #H.# I have received from Mr Walker, of Aberdeen, author of ‘The Bards of Bonaccord,’ a copy of ‘Hind Horn’ which was taken down by a correspondent of his on lower Deeside about 1880. It closely resembles #G# and #H#. Collated with #H#, the more note-worthy variations are as follows:

1^1. Hey how, bound, lovie, hey how, free.

6^2. An the glintin o ‘t was aboon.

10. An when he looked the ring upon, O but it was pale an wan!

13^2. What news, what news is in this lan?

19.
Ye’ll ging up to yon high hill,
An ye’ll blaw yer trumpet loud an shrill.

20.
Doun at yon gate ye will enter in,
And at yon stair ye will stan still.

21.
Ye’ll seek meat frae ane, ye’ll seek meat frae twa,
Ye’ll seek meat fra the highest to the lowest o them a’.

22.
But it’s out o their hans an ye will tak nane
Till it comes out o the bride’s ain han.

26^2. Wi the links o the yellow gowd in her hair.

_After 27_: An when she looked the ring upon, O but she grew pale
an wan!

_After 28_: Or got ye it frae ane that is far, far away, To gie
unto me upon my weddin-day?

30. But I got it frae you when I gaed away, To gie unto you on
your weddin-day.

32. It’s I’ll gang wi you for evermore, An beg my bread frae door
to door.

502 a. There can hardly be a doubt that the two stanzas cited belonged to ‘The Kitchie-Boy,’ ‘Bonny Foot-Boy,’ No 252. Cf. #A# 34, 35, #B# 47, #D# 7, 8, of that ballad.

18. Sir Lionel.

P. 209 b. ‘Blow thy horne, hunter.’ Found, with slight variations, in Add. MS. 31922, British Museum, 39, b (Henry VIII): Ewald, in Anglia, XII, 238.

19. King Orfeo.

P. 215. The relations of the Danish ‘Harpens Kraft,’ and incidentally those of this ballad, to the English romance are discussed, with his usual acuteness, by Professor Sophus Bugge in Arkiv för nordisk Filologi, VII, 97 ff., 1891. See II, 137, of this collection.

20. The Cruel Mother.

P. 218 b, III, 502 a. ‘Barnemordersken,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 356, No 90, #A#, #B#.

219 b, 504 a, II, 500 a, III, 502 b. Add: #Q#, #R#, Hruschka u. Toischer, Deutsche Volkslieder aus Böhmen, p. 129, No 40 a, b.

220 ff. #a.# MS. of Thomas Wilkie, p. 4, in “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 33. “Taken down from Mrs Hislope, Gattonside. The air is plaintive and very wild.” 1813. #b.# “Scotch Ballads, Materials,” etc., No 113; in the hand of T. Wilkie.

1
As I looked over my father’s castle-wa,
All alone and alone, O
I saw two pretty babes playing at the ba.
Down by yone greenwood side, O

2
‘O pretty babes, if ye were mine,’
All alone, etc.,
‘I would clead you o the silk so fine.’
Alone by the, etc.

3
‘O mother dear, when we were thine,
Ye houket a hole fornent the sun,’
And laid yer two babes in, O

4
‘O pretty babes, if ye were mine,
I would feed you wi the morning’s milk.’
Alone by, etc.

5
‘O mother dear, when we were thine,
Ye houket a hole fornent the sun.
And laid yer two babes in, O.

6
‘But we are in the heavens high,
And ye hae the pains of hell to dri.’
Alone by, etc.

7
‘O pretty babes, pray weel for me!’
‘Aye, mother, as ye did for we.’
Down by, etc.

* * * * *

#a.#

3^1. when that ye had done _is written above_ we were thine.

#b.#

1. _Burden, second line_, by the.

2^2. with the.

_After 2_:

‘O mother dear, when we were thine,
Ye stabd us wi your little penknife.’
Down by the, etc.

3^1. when that ye had done.

4, 5. _Wanting._

6. _Burden, second line_, Down by the, etc.

The copy at II, 500 b (Pepys, V, 4, No 2), is also in the Crawford collection, No 1127, and in that from the Osterley Park library, British Museum, C. 39. k. 6 (60). It is dated 1688–95 in the Crawford catalogue, and 1690? in the Museum catalogue.

The text printed II, 500 is here corrected according to the Museum copy.

2^1. lovd.

3^2. for her heaviness.

6^2. pritty.

8^1. long and sharp.

12^2. other as naked as.

13^2. would.

14^2. dress us.

21^1, 22^1. O mother, O mother.

23^1. Alass! said.

_After_ 10, _etc._: hair and.

_Title_: Infants whom.

_Imprint_: London: Printed, _etc._: Guiltspur.

(9^2, 19^2. _have_ into, _wrongly_.)

21. The Maid and the Palmer.

P. 228, III, 502. ‘Synderinden,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 71, No 20.

Swedish #K# is repeated in Lagus, Nyländska Folkvisor, I, 105, No 32.

230 b. A Bohemian ballad, to the same effect, in Waldau’s Böhmische Granaten, II, 210, No 299.

231, III, 502 b. #French.# #A# has been printed by Rolland, Chansons Populaires, VI, 22, _o_ (it is folio 60 of the MS.). Two other before unprinted versions _p, q,_ at pp. 25, 26, of Rolland.

232, 504 b. ‘Maria Maddalena,’ three stanzas only, Archivio, VIII, 323, Canti Parmigiani, No 2.

22. St Stephen and Herod.

P. 236 a. #French.# ‘Trois Pelerins de Dieu,’ Meyrac, Traditions, etc., des Ardennes, p. 280.

240 f., 505 f., II, 501 b. Add:

Cantou il gatsu:
¡Cristu naciú!
Dixu il buey:
¿Agú?
Dixu la ubecha:
¡En Bilén!
Dixu la cabra:
¡Catsa, cascarra,
Que nació en Grenada!

Munthe, Folkpoesi från Asturien, III, No 24, cited by Pitrè in Archivio, VIII, 141.

“Quando Christo nasceu, disse o gallo: Jesus-Christo é ná ... á ... á ... do.” Leite de Vasconcellos, Tradições pop. de Portugal, p. 148, No 285 _b_.

241. Greek ballad, The Taking of Constantinople. There is a Bulgarian version. A roasted cock crows, fried fish come to life: Sbornik of the Ministry of Public Instruction, II, 82. In other ballads the same incident is transferred to the downfall of Bulgaria: Kačanofskij, p. 235, No 116; Sbornik, II, 129, 2, and II, 131, 2. (W. W.)

24. Bonnie Annie.

P. 245 ff. The Rev. S. Baring-Gould has recently found this ballad in South Devon.

#a.# Taken down from a man of above eighty years at Bradstone. #b.# From a young man at Dartmoor. #c.# From an old man at Holne.

1
‘T was of a sea-captain came oer the salt billow,
He courted a maiden down by the green willow:
‘O take of your father his gold and his treasure,
O take of your mother her fee without measure.’

2
‘I’ll take of my father his gold and his treasure,
I’ll take of my mother her fee without measure:’
She has come with the captain unto the sea-side, O,
‘We’ll sail to lands foreign upon the blue tide, O!’

3
And when she had sailed today and tomorrow,
She was beating her hands, she was crying in sorrow;
And when she had sailed the days were not many,
The sails were outspread, but of miles made not any.

4
And when she had sailed today and tomorrow,
She was beating her hands, she was crying in sorrow;
And when she had sailed not many a mile, O,
The maid was delivered of a beautiful child, O.

5
. . . . . . . . .

6
‘O take a white napkin, about my head bind it!
O take a white napkin, about my feet wind it!
Alack! I must sink, both me and my baby,
Alack! I must sink in the deep salten water.

7
‘O captain, O captain, here’s fifty gold crown, O,
I pray thee to bear me and turn the ship round, O;
O captain, O captain, here’s fifty gold pound, O,
If thou wilt but set me upon the green ground, O.’

8
‘O never, O never! the wind it blows stronger,
O never, O never! the time it grows longer;
And better it were that thy baby and thou, O,
Should drown than the crew of the vessel, I vow, O.’

9
‘O get me a boat that is narrow and thin, O,
And set me and my little baby therein, O:’
‘O no, it were better that thy baby and thou, O,
Should drown than the crew of the vessel, I vow, O.’

10
They got a white napkin, about her head bound it,
They got a white napkin, about her feet wound it;
They cast her then overboard, baby and she, O,
Together to sink in the cruel salt sea, O.

11
The moon it was shining, the tide it was running;
O what in the wake of the vessel was swimming?
‘O see, boys! O see how she floats on the water!
O see, boys! O see! the undutiful daughter!

12
‘Why swim in the moonlight, upon the sea swaying?
O what art thou seeking? for what art thou praying?’
‘O captain, O captain, I float on the water;
For the sea giveth up the undutiful daughter.

13
‘O take of my father the gold and the treasure,
O take of my mother her fee without measure;
O make me a coffin of gold that is yellow,
And bury me under the banks of green willow!’

14
‘I will make thee a coffin of gold that is yellow,
I’ll bury thee under the banks of green willow;
I’ll bury thee there as becometh a lady,
I’ll bury thee there, both thou and thy baby.’

15
The sails they were spread, and the wind it was blowing,
The sea was so salt, and the tide it was flowing;
They steered for the land, and they reachd the shore, O,
But the corpse of the maiden had reachd there before, O.

#b.#

1^{1,2}.
There was a sea-captain came to the sea-side, O,
He courted a damsel and got her in trouble.

13^3. coffin of the deepest stoll yellow.

15^4. But the mother and baby had got there before, O.

#c.#

1
’Tis of a sea-captain, down by the green willow,
He courted a damsel and brought her in trouble;
When gone her mother’s good will and all her father’s money,
She fled across the wide sea along with her Johnny.

2
They had not been sailing the miles they were many
Before she was delivered of a beautiful baby:
‘O tie up my head! O and tie it up easy,
And throw me overboard, both me and my baby!’

3
She floated on the waves, and she floated so easy,
That they took her on board again, both she and her baby.

(_The rest forgotten._)

25. Willie’s Lyke-Wake.

Pp. 247 ff., 506. ‘The Blue Flowers and the Yellow,’ Greenock, printed by W. Scott [1810].

1
‘This seven long years I’ve courted a maid,’
As the sun shines over the valley
‘And she neer would consent for to be my bride.’
Among the blue flowers and the yellow

2
‘O Jamie, O Jamie, I’ll learn you the way
How your innocent love you’ll betray.

3
‘If you will give to the bell-man a groat,
And he’ll toll you down a merry night-wake.’

4
Now he has given the bell-man a groat,
And he has tolld him down a merry night-wake.

5
‘It’s I must go to my true-love’s wake,
For late last night I heard he was dead.’

6
‘Take with you your horse and boy,
And give your true lover his last convoy.’

7
‘I’ll have neither horse nor boy,
But I’ll go alone, and I’ll mourn and cry.’

8
When that she came to her true-love’s hall,
Then the tears they did down fall.

9
She lifted up the sheets so small,
He took her in his arms and he threw her to the wa.

10
‘It’s let me go a maid, young Jamie,’ she said,
‘And I will be your bride, and to-morrow we’ll be wed.’

11
‘If all your friends were in this bower,
You should not be a maid one quarter of an hour.

12
‘You came here a maid meek and mild,
But you shall go home both marryd and with child.’

13
He gave to her a gay gold ring,
And the next day they had a gay wedding.

The unfortunate Weaver. To which are added The Farmer’s Daughter and The Blue Flowers and the Yellow. Greenock. Printed by W. Scott. [1810.] British Museum, 11621. b. 7 (43).

248 a (#C#), III, 503 a. ‘Hr. Mortens Klosterrov,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 264, No 64.

249 b, 506 a, III, 503 a. #Swedish.# ‘Herr Karl,’ Lagus, Nyländska Folkvisor, I, 51, No 12.

26. The Three Ravens.

P. 253. J. Haslewood made an entry in his copy of Ritson’s Scotish Song of a MS. Lute-Book (presented to Dr C. Burney by Dr Skene, of Marischal College, in 1781), which contained airs “noted and collected by Robert Gordon, at Aberdeen, in the year of our Lord 1627.” Among some ninety titles of tunes mentioned, there occur ‘Ther wer three ravens,’ and ‘God be with the, Geordie.’ (W. Macmath.)

“The song of ‘The Twa Corbies’ was given to me by Miss Erskine of Alva (now Mrs Kerr), who, I think, said that she had written it down from the recitation of an old woman at Alva.” C. K. Sharpe to Scott, August 8, 1802, Letters, I, 70, Abbotsford; printed in Sharpe’s Letters, ed. Allardyce, I, 136.

29. The Boy and the Mantle.

P. 268 a. #Flowers.# 2. A garland, Kathá Sarit Ságara, Tawney’s translation, II, 601.

269 b. The chaste Sítá clears herself of unjust suspicion by passing safely over a certain lake: Kathá Sarit Ságara, Tawney’s translation, I, 486 f.

A chessboard that can be “mated” only by one that has never been false in love: English Prose Merlin, ed. Wheatley, ch. 21, vol. i, part II, p. 363. (G. L. K.)

31. The Marriage of Sir Gawain.

P. 289, II, 502 b. On the loathly damsel in the Perceval of Chrestien de Troyes, see The Academy, October 19, 1889, p. 255. (G. L. K.)

290, note †. One shape by day, another by night: Curtin, Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland, 1890, pp. 51, 68, 69, 71, 136.

32. King Henry.

P. 298 b. Second paragraph. Prince as lindworm restored by maid’s lying in bed with him one night: ‘Lindormen,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 20, No 9, Lagus, Nyländske Folkvisor, I, 97, No 29, _a, b_. (Lindworm asks for a kiss in _a_ 4, _b_ 2.)

34. Kemp Owyne.

P. 307 b. Second paragraph. ‘Jomfruen i Linden,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 22, No 10.

37. Thomas Rymer.

P. 323 ff. “Thomas the Rhymer. Variations. J. Ormiston, Kelso.” “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 96, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of John Leyden.

Her horse was o the dapple-gray,
And in her hands she held bells nine:
‘Harp and carp, Thomas,’ she said,
‘For a’ thae bonny bells shall be thine.’

It was a night without delight,

And they rade on and on, I wiss, (amiss)
Till they came to a garden green;
He reached his hand to pu an apple,
For lack o fruit he was like to tyne.

‘Now had your hand, Thomas,’ she said,
‘Had your hand, and go wi me;
That is the evil fruit o hell,
Beguiled man and women in your countrie.

‘O see you not that road, Thomas,
That lies down by that little hill?
Curst is the man has that road to gang,
For it takes him to the lowest hell.

‘O see you not that road, Thomas,
That lies across yon lily lea?
Blest is the man has that road to gang,
For it takes him to the heavens hie.

‘When ye come to my father’s ha,
To see what a learned man you be
They will you question, one and a’,
But you must answer none but me,
And I will answer them again
I gat you at the Eildon tree.’

And when, etc.
He answered none but that gay ladie.

‘Harp and carp, gin ye gang wi me,
It shall be seven year and day
Or ye return to your countrie.

‘Wherever ye gang, or wherever ye be,
Ye’se bear the tongue that can never lie.

‘Gin ere ye want to see me again,
Gang to the bonny banks o Farnalie.’

‘Thomas the Rhymer,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border
Minstrelsy,” No 97, Abbotsford; communicated to Sir Walter Scott by
Mrs Christiana Greenwood, London, May 27, 1806 (Letters, I, 189),
from the recitation of her mother and of her aunt, both then above
sixty, who learned it in their childhood from Kirstan Scot, a very
old woman, at Longnewton, near Jedburgh.

1
Thomas lay on the Huntlie bank,
A spying ferlies wi his eee,
And he did spy a lady gay,
Come riding down by the lang lee.

2
Her steed was o the dapple grey,
And at its mane there hung bells nine;
He thought he heard that lady say,
‘They gowden bells sall a’ be thine.’

3
Her mantle was o velvet green,
And a’ set round wi jewels fine;
Her hawk and hounds were at her side,
And her bugle-horn in gowd did shine.

4
Thomas took aff baith cloak and cap,
For to salute this gay lady:
‘O save ye, save ye, fair Queen o Heavn,
And ay weel met ye save and see!’

5
‘I’m no the Queen o Heavn, Thomas;
I never carried my head sae hee;
For I am but a lady gay,
Come out to hunt in my follee.

6
‘Now gin ye kiss my mouth, Thomas,
Ye mauna miss my fair bodee;
Then ye may een gang hame and tell
That ye’ve lain wi a gay ladee.’

7
‘O gin I loe a lady fair,
Nae ill tales o her wad I tell,
And it’s wi thee I fain wad gae,
Tho it were een to heavn or hell.’

8
‘Then harp and carp, Thomas,’ she said,
‘Then harp and carp alang wi me;
But it will be seven years and a day
Till ye win back to yere ain countrie.’

9
The lady rade, True Thomas ran,
Untill they cam to a water wan;
O it was night, and nae delight,
And Thomas wade aboon the knee.

10
It was dark night, and nae starn-light,
And on they waded lang days three,
And they heard the roaring o a flood,
And Thomas a waefou man was he.

11
Then they rade on, and farther on,
Untill they came to a garden green;
To pu an apple he put up his hand,
For the lack o food he was like to tyne.

12
‘O haud yere hand, Thomas,’ she cried,
‘And let that green flourishing be;
For it’s the very fruit o hell,
Beguiles baith man and woman o yere countrie.

13
‘But look afore ye, True Thomas,
And I shall show ye ferlies three;
Yon is the gate leads to our land,
Where thou and I sae soon shall be.

14
‘And dinna ye see yon road, Thomas,
That lies out-owr yon lilly lee?
Weel is the man yon gate may gang,
For it leads him straight to the heavens hie.

15
‘But do you see yon road, Thomas,
That lies out-owr yon frosty fell?
Ill is the man yon gate may gang,
For it leads him straight to the pit o hell.

16
‘Now when ye come to our court, Thomas,
See that a weel-learnd man ye be;
For they will ask ye, one and all,
But ye maun answer nane but me.

17
‘And when nae answer they obtain,
Then will they come and question me,
And I will answer them again
That I gat yere aith at the Eildon tree.

* * * * * *

18
‘Ilka seven years, Thomas,
We pay our teindings unto hell,
And ye’re sae leesome and sae strang
That I fear, Thomas, it will be yeresell.’

* * * * *

1^4. the Lang-lee.

12^2. flour is hing.

39. Tam Lin.

P. 335. #D a#, excepting the title and the first stanza, is in a hand not Motherwell’s.

#I a# first appeared in the second edition of the Minstrelsy, 1803, II, 245. The “gentleman residing near Langholm,” from whom Scott derived the stanzas of a modern cast, was a Mr Beattie, of Meikledale, and Scott suspected that they might be the work of some poetical clergyman or schoolmaster: letter to W. Laidlaw, January 21, 1803, cited by Carruthers, Abbotsford Notanda, appended to R. Chambers’s Life of Scott, 1871, p. 121 f.

336 b. ‘Den förtrollade prinsessan,’ Lagus, Nyländska Folkvisor, I, 67, No 17.

356 b. Add: #D c#, 12^2. aft.

340 a, II, 505 b, III, 505 b. Sleeping under an apple-tree. See also st. 14 of the version immediately following.

So Lancelot goes to sleep about noon under an apple-tree, and is enchanted by Morgan the Fay. Malory’s Morte Darthur, bk. vi, ch. 1, ch. 3, ed. Sommer, I, 183, 186. (G. L. K.)

* * * * *

K

Communicated to Scott November 11, 1812, by Hugh Irvine, Drum, Aberdeenshire, as procured from the recitation of an old woman in Buchan: Letters, V, No 137, Abbotsford. (Not in Irvine’s hand.)

1
Leady Margat stands in her boor-door,
Clead in the robs of green;
She longed to go to Charters Woods,
To pull the flowers her lean.

2
She had not puld a rose, a rose,
O not a rose but one,
Till up it starts True Thomas,
Said, Leady, let alone.

3
‘Why pull ye the rose, Marget?
Or why break ye the tree?
Or why come ye to Charters Woods
Without the leave of me?’

4
‘I will pull the rose,’ she said,
‘And I will break the tree,
For Charters Woods is all my own,
And I’l ask no leave of the.’

5
He’s tean her by the milk-white hand,
And by the grass-green sleeve,
And laid her lo at the foot of the tree,
At her he askt no leave.

6
It fell once upon a day
They wer a pleaying at the ba,
And every one was reed and whyte,
Leady Marget’s culler was all awa.

7
Out it speaks an elder man,
As he stood in the gate,
‘Our king’s daughter she gos we bern,
And we will get the wait.’

8
‘If I be we bern,’ she said,
‘My own self beer the blame!
There is not a man in my father’s court
Will get my bern’s name.’

9
‘There grows a flower in Charters Woods,
It grows on gravel greay,
It ould destroy the boney young bern
That ye got in your pley.’

10
She’s tean her mantle her about,
Her green glove on her hand,
And she’s awa to Charters Woods,
As fest as she could gang.

11
She had no puld a pile, a pile,
O not a pile but one,
Up it startid True Thomas,
Said, Leady, lat alean.

12
‘Why pull ye the pile, Marget,
That grows on gravel green,
For to destroy the boney young bern
That we got us between?’

13
‘If it were to an earthly man,
As [it is] to an elphan knight,
I ould walk for my true-love’s sake
All the long winter’s night.’

14
‘When I was a boy of eleven years old,
And much was made of me,
I went out to my father’s garden,
Fell asleep at yon aple tree:
The queen of Elphan [she] came by,
And laid on her hands on me.

15
‘Elphan it’s a boney place,
In it fain wid I dwall;
But ey at every seven years end
We pay the teene to hell:
I’m so full of flesh and blood
I’m sear feart for mysel.

16
‘The morn’s Hallow Even’s night,
When a’ our courts do ride,
Through England and through Irland,
Through a’ the world wide:
And she that would her true-love borrow
At Miles Corse she may bide.

17
‘The first an court that ye come till,
Ye let them a’ pass by;
The next an court that ye come till,
Ye hile them reverendly.

18
‘The next an court that ye come till,
An therein rides the queen,
Me upon a milk-whyte steed,
And a gold star in my croun;
Because I am a erle’s soon,
I get that for my renoun.

19
‘Ye take me in your armes,
Give me a right sear fa;
The queen of Elphan she’l cry out,
True Thomas is awa!

20
‘First I’l be in your armes
The fire burning so bold;
Ye hold me fast, let me no pass
Till I be like iron cold.

21
‘Next I’l be in your armes
The fire burning so wild;
Ye hold me fast, let me no pass,
I’m the father of your child.’

22
The first court that came her till,
She let them a’ pass by;
The nex an court that came her till,
She helt them reverendly.

23
The nex an court that came her till,
And therein read the queen,
True Thomas on a milk-whyte steed,
A gold star in his croun;
Because he was a earl’s soon,
He got that for his renoun.

24
She’s tean him in her arms,
Geen him a right sore fa;
The queen of Elphan she cried out,
True Thomas is awa!

25
He was into her arms
The fire burning so bold;
She held him fast, let him no pass
Till he was like iron cold.

26
He was into her arms
The fire burning so wild;
She held him fast, let him no pass,
He was the father of her child.

27
The queen of Elphan she cried out,
An angry woman was she,
‘Let Leady Marget an her true-love be,
She’s bought him dearer than me.’

* * * * *

3^2. breat.

15^4. tune (?).

16^1. Thee.

27^2. woman _is struck out_.

The following fragment does not appear to have been among the “several recitals from tradition” used by Scott in making up his ballad. Some lines which it might be supposed to have furnished occur in the edition of 1802, issued before Scott’s acquaintance with Laidlaw began.

* * * * *

L

“Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 27,
Abbotsford; in the handwriting of William Laidlaw.

1
I charge ye, a’ ye ladies fair,
That wear goud in your hair,
To come an gang bye Carterhaugh,
For young Tam Lien is there.

* * * * * *

2
Then Janet kiltit her green cleadin
A wee aboon her knee,
An she’s gane away to Carterhaugh,
As fast as she can dree.

3
When Janet cam to Carterhaugh,
Tam Lien was at the wall,
An there he left his steed stannin,
But away he gaed his sell.

4
She had na pu’d a red, red rose,
A rose but only thre,
Till up then startit young Tam Lien,
Just at young Jenet’s knee.

5
‘What gars ye pu the rose, Janet,
Briek branches frae the tree,
An come an gang by Carterhaugh,
An speir nae leave of me?’

6
‘What need I speir leave o thee, Tam?
What need I speir leave o thee,
When Carterhaugh is a’ mine ain,
My father gae it me?’

* * * * * *

7
She’s kiltit up her green cleadin
A wee aboon her knee,
An she’s away to her ain bower-door,
As fast as she can dree.

* * * * * *

8
There war four-an-twentie fair ladies
A’ dancin in a chess,
An some war blue an some war green,
But Janet was like the gress.

9
There war four-an-twentie fair ladies
A’ playin at the ba,
An some war red an som wer white,
But Jennet was like the snaw.

* * * * *

1^3. To _is doubtful_; _almost bound in_.

6^4. gae _written over_ left _struck out._

8^2, 9^2. A’ _in the MS._

* * * * *

M

“Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 15. Communicated to Scott by Major Henry Hutton, Royal Artillery, 24th December, 1802, as recollected by his father “and the family:” Letters I, No 77. Major Hutton intimates that stanzas 46–49 of the first edition of ‘Tamlane’ (‘Roxburgh was my grandfather,’ ff., corresponding to #I# 28–32) should be struck out, and his verses inserted. But 4–12 of Hutton’s stanzas belong to ‘Thomas Rymer.’

1
My father was a noble knight,
And was much gi’n to play,
And I myself a bonny boy,
And followed him away.

2
He rowd me in his hunting-coat
And layd me down to sleep,
And by the queen of fairies came,
And took me up to keep.

3
She set me on a milk-white steed;
’Twas o the elfin kind;
His feet were shot wi beaten goud,
And fleeter than the wind.

4
Then we raid on and on’ard mair,
Oer mountain, hill and lee,
Till we came to a hie, hie wa,
Upon a mountain’s bree.

5
The apples hung like stars of goud
Out-our that wa sa fine;
I put my hand to pu down ane,
For want of food I thought to tine.

6
‘O had your hand, Tamas!’ she said,
‘O let that evil fruit now be!
It was that apple ye see there
Beguil’d man and woman in your country.

7
‘O dinna ye see yon road, Tamas,
Down by yon lilie lee?
Blessd is the man who yon gate gaes,
It leads him to the heavens hie.

8
‘And dinna ye see yon road, Tamas,
Down by yon frosty fell?
Curst is the man that yon gate gaes,
For it leads to the gates of hell.

9
‘O dinna ye see yon castle, Tamas,
That’s biggit between the twa,
And theekit wi the beaten goud?
O that’s the fairies’ ha.

10
‘O when ye come to the ha, Tamas,
See that a weel-learnd boy ye be;
They’ll ask ye questions ane and a’,
But see ye answer nane but me.

11
‘If ye speak to ain but me, Tamas,
A fairie ye maun ever bide;
But if ye speak to nane but me, Tamas,
Ye may come to be your country’s pride.’

12
And when he came to Fairie Ha,
I wot a weel-learnd boy was he;
They askd him questions ane and a’,
But he answerd nane but his ladie.

13
There was four-and-twenty gude knights’-sons
In fairie land obliged to bide,
And of a’ the pages that were there
Fair Tamas was his ladie’s pride.

14
There was four-and-twenty earthly boys,
Wha all played at the ba,
But Tamas was the bonniest boy,
And playd the best amang them a’.

15
There was four-and-twenty earthly maids,
Wha a’ playd at the chess,
Their colour rosy-red and white,
Their gowns were green as grass.

16
‘And pleasant are our fairie sports,
We flie o’er hill and dale;
But at the end of seven years
They pay the teen to hell.

17
‘And now’s the time, at Hallowmess,
Late on the morrow’s even,
And if ye miss me then, Janet,
I’m lost for yearis seven.’

* * * * *

N

‘Tamlane,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 96
a; in the handwriting of John Leyden.

‘Gowd rings I can buy, Thomas,
Green mantles I can spin,
But gin ye take my maidenheid
I’ll neer get that again.’

Out and spak the queen o fairies,
Out o a shot o wheat,
‘She that has gotten young Tamlane
Has gotten my heart’s delight.’

40. The Queen of Elfan’s Nourice.

P. 358, II, 505 b, III, 505 b. More cases in ‘Fairy Births and Human Midwives,’ E. S. Hartland, The Archæological Review, IV, 328 ff.

The elf-woman’s daughter has lain on the floor nineteen days in travail, for she cannot be delivered unless a mortal man lay hands upon her. Hrólfr is lured to the elf-woman’s hall for this purpose. Göngu-Hrólfs Saga, c. 15, Rafn, Fornaldar Sögur, III, 276, Ásmundarson, Fornaldarsögur Norðrlanda, III, 174, 175. (G. L. K.)

41. Hind Etin.

P. 361 b, III, 506 a. #Danish.# #X#, ‘Agnete i Bjærget,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 3, No 2.

364 a, III, 506 a. #Danish.# #M-O#, ‘Agnete i Havet,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 6, No 3, #A-C#.

365 a, II, 506 a. #German.# #J.# ‘Die schöne Dorothea,’ Gadde-Gloddow, V. 1. aus Hinterpommern, Zeitschrift für Volkskunde, III, 227.

42. Clerk Colvill.

P. 374 b. #Danish.# ‘Elvedansen,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 10, 372, No 5, A, B, C.

380, II, 506 a, III, 506 a. #PP#, #QQ#, ‘Arnaud,’ Quercy, Daymard, p. 167 f., 34 verses, 26 verses. #RR#, ‘Lou Counte Arnaud,’ Bas-Quercy, Soleville, Chants p. du Bas-Quercy, 1889, p. 13, 10 stanzas. #SS,# version limousine, La Tradition, V, 184.

384, III, 506 a. #Spanish.# ‘Don Pedro,’ El Folk-Lore Frexnense y Bético-Extremeño, Fregenal, 1883–84; (1) p. 129 (and 180), Zafra, Badajoz, D. Sergio Hernandez; (2) p. 182, Badajoz; (3) p. 183, Montanchez, provincia de Cácares; (4) Constantina, provincia de Sevilla, D. Antonio Machado y Alvarez.

386 a. #Bohemian.# #A a# also==Wenzig, Slawische V. 1., 1830, p. 47.

43. The Broomfield Hill.

P. 392 b, III, 506. Sleep-thorn, sleep-pin. Add: Curtin, Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland, 1890, pp. 40, 130 ff., 200; Hyde, Beside the Fire, Irish-Gaelic Folk-Stories, p. 43; MacInnes, Folk and Hero Tales, 1890, p. 141 (cf. p. 459).

Sleep-pin, Wlisłocki, M. u. S. der transylvanischen Zigeuner, p. 46. Compare the wand in J. H. Knowles’s Folk-Tales of Kashmir, p. 199. (G. L. K.)

393, III, 506 b. #Italian.# ‘La bella Brunetta,’ Ferrari, C. p. in San Pietro Capofiume; ‘La Bevanda sonnifera,’ Giannini, Canzoni del Contado di Massa Lunense, Archivio, VII, 109, No 11, 279, No 7.

44. The Twa Magicians.

P. 400 a, II, 506 b, III, 506 b. #French.# #W#, ‘J’ai fait une maîtresse,’ Daymard, p. 51, Quercy. #X#, ‘Margarideto,’ Soleville, Chants p. du Bas-Quercy, p. 94.

#Italian.# Add to Tigri’s _rispetto_: Vigo, Canti p. siciliani, 1870–74, No 1711, Pitrè, Studj di Poesia pop., p. 76; Casetti e Imbriani, C. p. delle Provincie meridionali, p. 187: all cited by d’Ancona, Poesia pop., p. 341.

400 b. #Bohemian.# Waldau, Böhmische Granaten, II, 75, No 107, dove, gun; fish, hook; hare, dog.

401 b. Tale in Curtin’s Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland, pp. 152–6.

Cf. also Notes and Queries, 7th Series, IX, 101, 295; Clouston, Popular Tales and Fictions, I, 413 ff. (G. L. K.)

45. King John and the Bishop.

P. 403 f. Roxburghe, III, 883, is #B#. Roxburghe, III, 494 was printed and sold by John White, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, “circa 1777:” Ebsworth, Roxburghe Ballads, VI, 749. ‘The King and the Bishop,’ Roxburghe, III, 170, is printed in the same volume, p. 751, and ‘The Old Abbot and King Olfrey,’ Pepys, II, 127, at p. 753.

405 b, II, 507. An Armenian, a Slovak, and a Hungarian version, by H. v. Wlisłocki, Zs. f. vergleichende Litteraturgeschichte, u. s. w., N. F., IV, 106 ff., 1891.

404 b, 2d paragraph. Of this kind is the Russian tale, How Fraud made entrance into Russia. Ivan the Terrible demands tribute of neighboring princes. They propose to him three riddles: if he guesses them, they are to pay twelve casks of gold and tribute; if he fails, they take his kingdom. A marvellous old man helps the Tsar out. He has been promised a cask of gold, but the Tsar fills one of the casks two thirds with sand, and offers that. The old man tells him that he, the Tsar, has brought Fraud into the land, never to be eradicated. Ivan begs him to take one of the other casks, but in vain. The old man vanishes; it was God. Rybnikof, II, 232, No 39. (W. W.)

46. Captain Wedderburn’s Courtship.

P. 417 a, II, 507 b, III, 507 a. Heads on spikes; only one spike without a head: Curtin, Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland, 1890, pp. 37, 114 f, 193; Mac Innes, Folk and Hero Tales, Folk-Lore Society, 1890, pp. 79, 453.

47. Proud Lady Margaret.

P. 426. #A.# Two stanzas (6, 9) and a line were wanting in the copy supplied by Hamilton. March 23, 1803, Hamilton sent to Scott the following verses, “to come in at the first break.” There were still four lines, which should come before these, that Hamilton could not recollect. “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 117. See #B# 17, #C# 11, where also there is defect, and #D# 6, 7.

‘O wherein leems the beer?’ she said,
‘Or wherein leems the wine?
O wherein leems the gold?’ she said,
‘Or wherein leems the twine?’

‘The beer is put in a drinking-horn,
The wine in glasses fine,
There’s gold in store between two kings,
When they are fighting keen,
And the twine is between a lady’s two hands
When they are washen clean.’

49. The Twa Brothers.

P. 436, II, 14, III, 381 b. ‘Tell my mother I am married,’ etc.: so in the beautiful Roumanian ‘Miorita,’ Alecsandri, p. 3.

438. #A b.# ‘The Two Brothers,’ Walks near Edinburgh, by Margaret Warrender, 1890, p. 60. Given to Lady John Scott many years ago by Campbell Riddell, brother of Sir James Riddell of Ardnamurchan.

1
There were two brothers in the north,
Lord William and Lord John,
And they would try a wrestling match,
So to the fields they’ve gone, gone, gone,
So to the fields they’ve gone.

2
They wrestled up, they wrestled down,
Till Lord John fell on the ground.
And a knife into Lord William’s pocket
Gave him a deadly wound.

3
‘Oh take me on your back, dear William,’ he said,
‘And carry me to the burnie clear,
And wash my wound sae deep and dark,
Maybe’t will bleed nae mair.’

4
He took him up upon his back,
An carried him to the burnie clear,
But aye the mair he washed his wound
It aye did bleed the mair.

5
‘Oh take me on your back, dear William,’ he said,
‘And carry me to the kirkyard fair,
And dig a grave sae deep and dark,
And lay my body there.’

6
‘But what shall I say to my father dear
When he says, Willie, what’s become of John?’
‘Oh tell him I am gone to Greenock town,
To buy him a puncheon of rum.’

7
‘And what shall I say to my sister dear
When she says, Willie, what’s become of John?’
‘Oh tell her I’ve gone to London town
To buy her a marriage-gown.’

8
‘But what shall I say to my grandmother dear
When she says, Willie, what’s become of John?’
‘Oh tell her I’m in the kirkyard dark,
And that I’m dead and gone.’

53. Young Beichan.

P. 459 a. #Danish.# ‘Ellen henter sin Fæstemand,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 125, No 34, #A#, #B#.

462 a, III, 507 b. ‘Gerineldo,’ again, in Munthe, Folkpoesie från Asturien, No 2, second part, p. 112 b (Upsala Universitets Årsskrift); but imperfect.

462 b, 463 a, II, 508 a. Another version of the French ballad (‘Tout au milieu de Paris’) in Meyrac, Traditions, etc., des Ardennes, p. 238.

463 ff. ‘Earl Bichet,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 83, Abbotsford. Communicated to Scott by Mrs Christiana Greenwood, London, May 27, 1806 (Letters, I, No 189), as heard by her in her youth at Longnewton, near Jedburgh, “where most of the old women could sing it.”

1
Earl Bichet’s sworn a mighty aith,
And a solemn vow made he,
That he wad to the Holy Land,
To the Holy Land wad he gae.

2
When he came to the Holy Land,
Amang the Infidels sae black,
They hae consulted them amang
The Earl Bichet for to take.

3
And when they basely him betrayd
They put him into fetters strang,
And threw him in a dungeon dark,
To spend the weary night sae lang.

4
Then in ilka shoulder they bored a hole,
In his right shoulder they bored three,
And they gard him draw the coops o wine,
Till he was sick and like to dee.

5
Then they took him out o their carts and wains,
And put him in a castle of stone;
When the stars shone bright, and the moon gave light,
The sad Earl Bichet he saw none.

6
The king had only ae daughter,
And it was orderd sae to be
That, as she walked up and down,
By the strong-prison-door cam she.

7
Then she heard Earl Bichet sad
Making his pityful mane,
In doolfu sounds and moving sighs
Wad melt a heart o stane.

8
‘When I was in my ain countrie,
I drank the wine sae clear;
But now I canna get bare bread;
O I wis I had neer come here!