Chapter IV (2)

The remark in 16.2 appears to be untrue: the party that accompanied Buccleuch certainly contained several Armstrongs, including four sons of Kinmont Willie, and 'Dickie of Dryhope' (24.3) was also of that ilk; as well as two Elliots, though not Sir Gilbert, and four Bells. 'Red Rowan' was probably a Forster.

The tune blown on the Warden's trumpets (31.3,4) is said to be a favourite song in Liddesdale. See Chambers's _Book of Days_, i. 200.

KINMONT WILLIE

1.
O have ye na heard o' the fause Sakelde?
O have ye na heard o' the keen Lord Scroop?
How they hae taen bauld Kinmont Willie,
On Hairibee to hang him up?

2.
Had Willie had but twenty men,
But twenty men as stout as he,
Fause Sakelde had never the Kinmont taen,
Wi' eight score in his companie.

3.
They band his legs beneath the steed,
They tied his hands behind his back;
They guarded him, fivesome on each side,
And they brought him ower the Liddel-rack.

4.
They led him thro' the Liddel-rack,
And also thro' the Carlisle sands;
They brought him to Carlisle castell,
To be at my Lord Scroop's commands.

5.
'My hands are tied, but my tongue is free,
And whae will dare this deed avow?
Or answer by the Border law?
Or answer to the bauld Buccleuch!'

6.
'Now haud thy tongue, thou rank reiver!
There's never a Scot shall set ye free;
Before ye cross my castle-yate,
I trow ye shall take farewell o' me.'

7.
'Fear na ye that, my lord,' quo' Willie;
'By the faith o' my body, Lord Scroop,' he said,
'I never yet lodged in a hostelrie,
But I paid my lawing before I gaed.'

8.
Now word is gane to the bauld Keeper,
In Branksome Ha' where that he lay,
That Lord Scroop has taen the Kinmont Willie,
Between the hours of night and day.

9.
He has taen the table wi' his hand,
He garr'd the red wine spring on hie;
'Now Christ's curse on my head,' he said,
'But avenged of Lord Scroop I'll be!

10.
'O is my basnet a widow's curch,
Or my lance a wand of the willow-tree,
Or my arm a ladye's lilye hand,
That an English lord should lightly me?

11.
'And have they taen him, Kinmont Willie,
Against the truce of Border tide,
And forgotten that the bauld Buccleuch
Is keeper here on the Scottish side?

12.
'And have they e'en taen him, Kinmont Willie,
Withouten either dread or fear,
And forgotten that the bauld Buccleuch
Can back a steed, or shake a spear?

13.
'O were there war between the lands,
As well I wot that there is none,
I would slight Carlisle castell high,
Tho' it were builded of marble stone.

14.
'I would set that castell in a low,
And sloken it with English blood;
There's nevir a man in Cumberland
Should ken where Carlisle castell stood.

15.
'But since nae war's between the lands,
And there is peace, and peace should be,
I'll neither harm English lad or lass,
And yet the Kinmont freed shall be!'

16.
He has call'd him forty marchmen bauld,
I trow they were of his ain name,
Except Sir Gilbert Elliot, call'd
The Laird of Stobs, I mean the same.

17.
He has call'd him forty marchmen bauld,
Were kinsmen to the bauld Buccleuch,
With spur on heel, and splent on spauld,
And gleuves of green, and feathers blue.

18.
They were five and five before them a',
Wi' hunting-horns and bugles bright;
And five and five came wi' Buccleuch,
Like Warden's men, arrayed for fight.

19.
And five and five like a mason-gang,
That carried the ladders lang and hie;
And five and five like broken men;
And so they reached the Woodhouselee.

20.
And as we cross'd the Bateable Land,
When to the English side we held,
The first o' men that we met wi',
Whae should it be but fause Sakelde!

21.
'Where be ye gaun, ye hunters keen?'
Quo' fause Sakelde; 'come tell to me!'
'We go to hunt an English stag,
Has trespass'd on the Scots countrie.'

22.
'Where be ye gaun, ye marshal-men?'
Quo' fause Sakelde; 'come tell me true!'
'We go to catch a rank reiver,
Has broken faith wi' the bauld Buccleuch.

23.
'Where are ye gaun, ye mason-lads,
Wi' a' your ladders lang and hie?'
'We gang to herry a corbie's nest,
That wons not far frae Woodhouselee.'

24.
'Where be ye gaun, ye broken men?'
Quo' fause Sakelde; 'come tell to me!'
Now Dickie of Dryhope led that band,
And the nevir a word o' lear had he.

25.
'Why trespass ye on the English side?
Row-footed outlaws, stand!' quo' he;
The neer a word had Dickie to say,
Sae he thrust the lance thro' his fause bodie.

26.
Then on we held for Carlisle toun,
And at Staneshaw-bank the Eden we cross'd;
The water was great, and meikle of spait,
But the nevir a horse nor man we lost.

27.
And when we reach'd the Staneshaw-bank,
The wind was rising loud and hie;
And there the laird garr'd leave our steeds,
For fear that they should stamp and nie.

28.
And when we left the Staneshaw-bank,
The wind began full loud to blaw;
But 'twas wind and weet, and fire and sleet,
When we came beneath the castel-wa'.

29.
We crept on knees, and held our breath,
Till we placed the ladders against the wa';
And sae ready was Buccleuch himsell
To mount the first before us a'.

30.
He has taen the watchman by the throat,
He flung him down upon the lead:
'Had there not been peace between our lands,
Upon the other side thou hadst gaed.

31.
'Now sound out, trumpets!' quo' Buccleuch;
'Let's waken Lord Scroop right merrilie!'
Then loud the Warden's trumpets blew
'Oh whae dare meddle wi' me?'

32.
Then speedilie to wark we gaed,
And raised the slogan ane and a',
And cut a hole thro' a sheet of lead,
And so we wan to the castel-ha'.

33.
They thought King James and a' his men
Had won the house wi' bow and spear;
It was but twenty Scots and ten,
That put a thousand in sic a stear!

34.
Wi' coulters and wi' forehammers,
We garr'd the bars bang merrilie,
Untill we came to the inner prison,
Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie.

35.
And when we cam to the lower prison,
Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie:
'O sleep ye, wake ye, Kinmont Willie,
Upon the morn that thou's to die?'

36.
'O I sleep saft, and I wake aft,
It's lang since sleeping was fleyed frae me;
Gie my service back to my wyfe and bairns,
And a' gude fellows that speer for me.'

37.
Then Red Rowan has hente him up,
The starkest man in Teviotdale:
'Abide, abide now, Red Rowan,
Till of my Lord Scroop I take farewell.

38.
'Farewell, farewell, my gude Lord Scroop!
My gude Lord Scroop, farewell!' he cried;
'I'll pay you for my lodging-maill
When first we meet on the border-side.'

39.
Then shoulder high, with shout and cry,
We bore him down the ladder lang;
At every stride Red Rowan made,
I wot the Kinmont's airns play'd clang.

40.
'O mony a time,' quo' Kinmont Willie,
'I have ridden horse baith wild and wood;
But a rougher beast than Red Rowan
I ween my legs have ne'er bestrode.

41.
'And mony a time,' quo' Kinmont Willie,
'I've pricked a horse out oure the furs;
But since the day I backed a steed,
I never wore sic cumbrous spurs.'

42.
We scarce had won the Staneshaw-bank,
When a' the Carlisle bells were rung,
And a thousand men, in horse and foot,
Cam' wi' the keen Lord Scroop along.

43.
Buccleuch has turned to Eden Water,
Even where it flow'd frae bank to brim,
And he has plunged in wi' a' his band,
And safely swam them thro' the stream.

44.
He turned him on the other side,
And at Lord Scroop his glove flung he:
'If ye like na my visit in merry England,
In fair Scotland come visit me!'

45.
All sore astonished stood Lord Scroop,
He stood as still as rock of stane;
He scarcely dared to trew his eyes,
When thro' the water they had gane.

46.
'He is either himsell a devil frae hell,
Or else his mother a witch maun be;
I wad na have ridden that wan water
For a' the gowd in Christentie.'

[Annotations:
6.1: 'haud,' hold: 'reiver,' robber.
7.4: 'lawing,' reckoning.
10.1: 'basnet,' helmet: 'curch,' kerchief.
10.4: 'lightly,' insult.
13.3: 'slight,' destroy.
14.1: 'low,' fire.
17.3: 'splent on spauld,' plate-armour on their shoulders.
19.3: 'broken men,' outlaws.
24.4: 'lear,' information.
25.2: 'Row,' rough.
26.3: 'spait,' flood.
33.4: 'stear,' stir, disturbance.
34.1: 'forehammers,' sledge-hammers.
38.3: 'maill,' rent.
45.3: 'trew,' believe.]

THE LAIRD O' LOGIE

+The Text+ is that of Scott's _Minstrelsy,_ which was repeated in Motherwell's collection, with the insertion of one stanza, obtained from tradition, between Scott's 2 and 3.

+The Story+ as told in this variant of the ballad is remarkably true to the historical facts.

The Laird was John Wemyss, younger of Logie, a gentleman-in-waiting to King James VI. of Scotland, and an adherent of the notorious Francis Stuart, Earl of Bothwell. After the failure of the two rash attempts of Bothwell upon the King's person--the former at Holyrood House in 1591 and the second at Falkland in 1592--the Earl persuaded the Laird of Logie and the Laird of Burleigh to join him in a third attempt, which was fixed for the 7th or 9th of August 1592; but the King got wind of the affair, and the two Lairds were seized by the Duke of Lennox and 'committed to ward within Dalkeith.'

The heroine of the ballad was a Danish maid-of-honour to James's Queen; her name is variously recorded as Margaret Vinstar, Weiksterne, Twynstoun, or Twinslace. 'Carmichael' was Sir John Carmichael, appointed captain of the King's guard in 1588.

The ballad stops short at the escape of the lovers by ship. But history relates that the young couple were befriended by the Queen, who refused to comply with the King's demand that May Margaret should be dismissed. Eventually both were received into favour again, though the Laird of Logie was constantly in political trouble. He died in 1599. (See a paper by A. Francis Steuart in _The Scots Magazine_ for October 1899, p. 387.)

THE LAIRD O' LOGIE

1.
I will sing, if ye will hearken,
If ye will hearken unto me;
The king has ta'en a poor prisoner,
The wanton laird o' young Logie.

2.
Young Logie's laid in Edinburgh chapel,
Carmichael's the keeper o' the key;
And May Margaret's lamenting sair,
A' for the love of Young Logie.

3.
'Lament, lament na, May Margaret,
And of your weeping let me be,
For ye maun to the king himsell,
To seek the life of Young Logie.'

4.
May Margaret has kilted her green cleiding,
And she has curl'd back her yellow hair;
'If I canna get Young Logie's life,
Farewell to Scotland for evermair!'

5.
When she came before the king,
She knelit lowly on her knee;
'O what's the matter, May Margaret?
And what needs a' this courtesie?'

6.
'A boon, a boon, my noble liege,
A boon, a boon, I beg o' thee!
And the first boon that I come to crave,
Is to grant me the life o' Young Logie.'

7.
'O na, O na, May Margaret,
Forsooth, and so it mauna be;
For a' the gowd o' fair Scotland
Shall not save the life o' Young Logie.'

8.
But she has stown the king's redding-kaim,
Likewise the queen her wedding knife;
And sent the tokens to Carmichael,
To cause Young Logie get his life.

9.
She sent him a purse o' the red gowd,
Another o' the white monie;
She sent him a pistol for each hand,
And bade him shoot when he gat free.

10.
When he came to the Tolbooth stair,
There he let his volley flee;
It made the king in his chamber start,
E'en in the bed where he might be.

11.
'Gae out, gae out, my merrymen a',
And bid Carmichael come speak to me,
For I'll lay my life the pledge o' that,
That yon's the shot o' Young Logie.'

12.
When Carmichael came before the king,
He fell low down upon his knee;
The very first word that the king spake,
Was 'Where's the laird of Young Logie?'

13.
Carmichael turn'd him round about,
I wat the tear blinded his eye;
'There came a token frae your grace,
Has ta'en away the laird frae me.'

14.
'Hast thou play'd me that, Carmichael?
And hast thou play'd me that?' quoth he;
'The morn the Justice Court's to stand,
And Logie's place ye maun supplie.'

15.
Carmichael's awa to Margaret's bower,
Even as fast as he may dree;
'O if Young Logie be within,
Tell him to come and speak with me.'

16.
May Margaret turn'd her round about,
I wat a loud laugh laughed she;
'The egg is chipp'd, the bird is flown,
Ye'll see nae mair of Young Logie.'

17.
The tane is shipped at the pier of Leith,
The tother at the Queen's Ferrie;
And she's gotten a father to her bairn,
The wanton laird of Young Logie.

[Annotations:
8.1: 'redding-kaim,' dressing-comb.]

CAPTAIN CAR

+The Text+ is from a Cottonian MS. of the sixteenth century in the British Museum (Vesp. A. xxv. fol. 178). It is carelessly written, and words are here and there deleted and altered. I have allowed myself the liberty of choosing readings from several alternatives or possibilities.

+The Story.+--There seems to be no doubt that this ballad is founded upon an historical incident of 1571. The Scottish variants are mostly called _Edom o' Gordon_, _i.e._ Adam Gordon, who was brother to George Gordon, Earl of Huntly. Adam was a bold soldier; and, his clan being at variance with the Forbeses--on religious grounds,--he encountered them twice in the autumn of 1571, and inflicted severe defeat on them at the battles of Tuiliangus and Crabstane. In November he approached the castle of Towie, a stronghold of the Forbes clan; but the lady occupying it obstinately refused to yield it up, and it was burnt to the ground.

It is not clear whether the responsibility of giving the order to fire the castle attaches to Adam Gordon or to Captain Car or Ker, who was Adam's right-hand man. But when all is said on either side, it is irrational, as Child points out, to apply modern standards of morality or expediency to sixteenth-century warfare. It is curious that this text, almost contemporary with the occurrence which gave rise to the ballad, should be wholly concerned with Captain Car and make no mention of Adam Gordon.

For the burden, see Chappell _Popular Music of the Olden Time_, i. 226.

CAPTAIN CAR

1.
It befell at Martynmas,
When wether waxed colde,
Captaine Care said to his men,
'We must go take a holde.'

_Syck, sicke, and to-towe sike,
And sicke and like to die;
The sikest nighte that ever I abode,
God lord have mercy on me!_

2.
'Haille, master, and wether you will,
And wether ye like it best;'
'To the castle of Crecrynbroghe,
And there we will take our reste.'

3.
'I knowe wher is a gay castle,
Is builded of lyme and stone;
Within their is a gay ladie,
Her lord is riden and gone.'

4.
The ladie she lend on her castle-walle,
She loked upp and downe;
There was she ware of an host of men,
Come riding to the towne.

5.
'Se yow, my meri men all,
And se yow what I see?
Yonder I see an host of men,
I muse who they bee.'

6.
She thought he had ben her wed lord,
As he com'd riding home;
Then was it traitur Captaine Care
The lord of Ester-towne.

7.
They wer no soner at supper sett,
Then after said the grace,
Or Captaine Care and all his men
Wer lighte aboute the place.

8.
'Gyve over thi howsse, thou lady gay,
And I will make the a bande;
To-nighte thou shall ly within my armes,
To-morrowe thou shall ere my lande.'

9.
Then bespacke the eldest sonne,
That was both whitt and redde:
'O mother dere, geve over your howsse,
Or elles we shalbe deade.'

10.
'I will not geve over my hous,' she saithe,
'Not for feare of my lyffe;
It shalbe talked throughout the land,
The slaughter of a wyffe.'

11.
'Fetch me my pestilett,
And charge me my gonne,
That I may shott at yonder bloddy butcher,
The lord of Easter-towne.'

12.
Styfly upon her wall she stode,
And lett the pellettes flee;
But then she myst the blody bucher,
And she slew other three.

13.
['I will] not geve over my hous,' she saithe,
'Netheir for lord nor lowne;
Nor yet for traitour Captain Care,
The lord of Easter-towne.

14.
'I desire of Captine Care
And all his bloddye band,
That he would save my eldest sonne,
The eare of all my lande.'

15.
'Lap him in a shete,' he sayth,
'And let him downe to me,
And I shall take him in my armes,
His waran shall I be.'

16.
The captayne sayd unto him selfe:
Wyth sped, before the rest,
He cut his tonge out of his head,
His hart out of his breast.

17.
He lapt them in a handkerchef,
And knet it of knotes three,
And cast them over the castell-wall,
At that gay ladye.

18.
'Fye upon the, Captayne Care,
And all thy bloddy band!
For thou hast slayne my eldest sonne,
The ayre of all my land.'

19.
Then bespake the yongest sonne,
That sat on the nurse's knee,
Sayth, 'Mother gay, geve over your house;
It smoldereth me.'

20.
'I wold geve my gold,' she saith,
'And so I wolde my ffee,
For a blaste of the westryn wind,
To dryve the smoke from thee.

21.
'Fy upon the, John Hamleton,
That ever I paid the hyre!
For thou hast broken my castle-wall,
And kyndled in the ffyre.'

22.
The lady gate to her close parler,
The fire fell aboute her head;
She toke up her children thre,
Seth, 'Babes, we are all dead.'

23.
Then bespake the hye steward,
That is of hye degree;
Saith, 'Ladie gay, you are in close,
Wether ye fighte or flee.'

24.
Lord Hamleton drem'd in his dream,
In Carvall where he laye,
His halle were all of fyre,
His ladie slayne or daye.

25.
'Busk and bowne, my mery men all,
Even and go ye with me;
For I drem'd that my hall was on fyre,
My lady slayne or day.'

26.
He buskt him and bown'd hym,
And like a worthi knighte;
And when he saw his hall burning,
His harte was no dele lighte.

27.
He sett a trumpett till his mouth,
He blew as it ples'd his grace;
Twenty score of Hamlentons
Was light aboute the place.

28.
'Had I knowne as much yesternighte
As I do to-daye,
Captaine Care and all his men
Should not have gone so quite.

29.
'Fye upon the, Captaine Care,
And all thy blody bande!
Thou haste slayne my lady gay,
More wurth then all thy lande.

30.
'If thou had ought eny ill will,' he saith,
'Thou shoulde have taken my lyffe,
And have saved my children thre,
All and my lovesome wyffe.'

[Annotations:
Burden.1: 'to-towe' = too-too.
8.2: 'bande,' bond, compact.
8.4: 'ere,' plough.
11.1: 'pestilett,' pistolet.
14.4: 'eare,' and 18.4 'ayre,' both = heir.
25.1: 'Busk and bowne,' make ready.
26.4:'no dele,' in no way. Cf. _somedele_, etc.
28.4: 'quite,' acquitted, unpunished.
30.1: 'ought,' owed.]

SIR PATRICK SPENCE

+The Text+ is taken from Percy's _Reliques_ (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar ballad, which substitutes a Sir Andrew Wood for the hero. The version of this ballad printed in most collections is that of Scott's _Minstrelsy_, Sir Patrick Spens being the spelling adopted.[1] Scott compounded his ballad of two manuscript copies and a few verses from recitation, but the result is of unnecessary length.

[Footnote 1: Coleridge, however, wrote of the 'grand old ballad of
Sir Patrick Spence.']

+The Story.+--Much labour has been expended upon the question whether this ballad has an historical basis or not. From Percy's ballad--the present text--we can gather that Sir Patrick Spence was chosen by the king to convey something of value to a certain destination; and later versions tell us that the ship is bound for Norway, the object of the voyage being either to bring home the king of Norway's daughter, or the Scottish king's daughter, or to take out the Scottish king's daughter to be queen in Norway. The last variation can be supported by history, Margaret, daughter of Alexander III. of Scotland, being married in 1281 to Erik, king of Norway. Many of the knights and nobles who accompanied her to Norway were drowned on the voyage home.

However, we need not elaborate our researches in the attempt to prove that the ballad is historical. It is certainly of English and Scottish origin, and has no parallels in the ballads of other lands. 'Haf owre to Aberdour,' _i.e._ halfway between Aberdour in Buchan and the coast of Norway, lies the island of Papa Stronsay, on which there is a tumulus called 'the Earl's Knowe' (knoll); but the tradition, that this marks the grave of Sir Patrick Spence, is in all probability a modern invention.

SIR PATRICK SPENCE

1.
The king sits in Dumferling toune,
Drinking the blude-reid wine:
'O whar will I get [a] guid sailor,
To sail this schip of mine?'

2.
Up and spak an eldern knicht,
Sat at the king's richt kne:
'Sir Patrick Spence is the best sailor
That sails upon the se.'

3.
The king has written a braid letter,
And sign'd it wi' his hand,
And sent it to Sir Patrick Spence,
Was walking on the sand.

4.
The first line that Sir Patrick red,
A loud lauch lauched he;
The next line that Sir Patrick red,
The teir blinded his ee.

5.
'O wha is this has done this deid,
This ill deid don to me,
To send me out this time o' the yeir,
To sail upon the se!

6.
'Mak haste, mak haste, my mirry men all,
Our guid schip sails the morne:'
'O say na sae, my master deir,
Fir I feir a deadlie storme.

7.
'Late, late yestreen I saw the new moone
Wi' the auld moone in hir arme,
And I feir, I feir, my deir master,
That we will cum to harme.'

8.
O our Scots nobles wer richt laith
To weet their cork-heil'd schoone;
Bot lang owre a' the play wer play'd,
Thair hats they swam aboone.

9.
O lang, lang may their ladies sit
Wi' thair fans into their hand
Or eir they se Sir Patrick Spence
Cum sailing to the land.

10.
O lang, lang may the ladies stand,
Wi' thair gold kerns in their hair,
Waiting for thair ain deir lords,
For they'll se thame na mair.

11.
Haf owre, haf owre to Aberdour,
It's fiftie fadom deip,
And thair lies guid Sir Patrick Spence,
Wi' the Scots lords at his feit.

[Annotations:
1.1: 'Dumferling,' _i.e._ Dunfermline, on the north side of the
Firth of Forth.]

FLODDEN FIELD

+The Text+ is from Thomas Deloney's _Pleasant History of John Winchcomb_,[1] the eighth edition of which, in 1619, is the earliest known. 'In disgrace of the Soots,' says Deloney, 'and in remembrance of the famous atchieved historie, the commons of England made this song, which to this day is not forgotten of many.' I suspect it was Deloney himself rather than the commons of England who made this song. A variant is found in Additional MS. 32,380 in the British Museum--a statement which might be of interest if it were not qualified by the addition 'formerly in the possession of J. Payne Collier.' That egregious antiquary took the pains to fill the blank leaves of a sixteenth-century manuscript with ballads either copied from their original sources, as this from Deloney, or forged by Collier himself; he then made a transcript in his own handwriting (Add. MS. 32,381), and finally printed selections. In the present ballad he has inserted two or three verses of his own; otherwise the changes from Deloney's ballad are slight.

[Footnote 1: Reprinted from the ninth edition of 1633 by J. O.
Halliwell [-Phillipps], 1859, where the ballad appears on pp. 48-9.
Deloney's book was licensed in 1597.]

A very long ballad on the same subject is in the Percy Folio, and similar copies in Harleian MSS. 293 and 367. Another is 'Scotish Field,' also in the Percy Folio.

+The Story.+--Lesley says in his History, 'This battle was called the Field of Flodden by the Scotsmen and Brankston [Bramstone, 8.3] by the Englishmen, because it was stricken on the hills of Flodden beside a town called Brankston; and was stricken the ninth day of September, 1513.'

The ballad follows history closely. 'Lord Thomas Howard' (6.1), uncle to the queen, escorted her to Scotland in 1503: 'This is ground enough,' says Child, 'for the ballad's making him her chamberlain ten years later.'

'Jack with a feather' (12.1) is a contemptuous phrase directed at King James's rashness.

FLODDEN FIELD

1.
King Jamie hath made a vow,
Keep it well if he may!
That he will be at lovely London
Upon Saint James his day.

2.
'Upon Saint James his day at noon,
At fair London will I be,
And all the lords in merry Scotland,
They shall dine there with me.'

3.
Then bespake good Queen Margaret,
The tears fell from her eye:
'Leave off these wars, most noble king,
Keep your fidelity.

4.
'The water runs swift and wondrous deep,
From bottom unto the brim;
My brother Henry hath men good enough;
England is hard to win.'

5.
'Away,' quoth he, 'with this silly fool!
In prison fast let her lie:
For she is come of the English blood,
And for those words she shall die.'

6.
With that bespake Lord Thomas Howard,
The queen's chamberlain that day:
'If that you put Queen Margaret to death,
Scotland shall rue it alway.'

7.
Then in a rage King James did say,
'Away with this foolish mome!
He shall be hanged, and the other be burned,
So soon as I come home.'

8.
At Flodden Field the Scots came in,
Which made our English men fain;
At Bramstone Green this battle was seen,
There was King Jamie slain.

9.
Then presently the Scots did fly,
Their cannons they left behind;
Their ensigns gay were won all away,
Our soldiers did beat them blind.

10.
To tell you plain, twelve thousand were slain
That to the fight did stand,
And many prisoners took that day,
The best in all Scotland.

11.
That day made many [a] fatherless child,
And many a widow poor,
And many a Scottish gay lady
Sat weeping in her bower.

12.
Jack with a feather was lapt all in leather,
His boastings were all in vain;
He had such a chance, with a new morrice dance,
He never went home again.

[Annotations:
7.2: 'Mome,' dolt.]

DICK O' THE COW

+The Text+ is a combination of three, but mainly from a text which seems to have been sent to Percy in 1775. The other two are from Scottish tradition of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. I have made a few changes in spelling only. The ballad was certainly known before the end of the sixteenth century, as Thomas Nashe refers to it in 1596:--'_Dick of the Cow_, that mad Demilance Northren Borderer, who plaid his prizes with the Lord _Iockey_ so brauely' (Nashe 's _Works_, ed. R. B. McKerrow, iii. p. 5). _Dick at the Caw_ occurs in a list of 'penny merriments' printed for, and sold by, Philip Brooksby, about 1685.

+The Story+ is yet another of the Border ballads of the Armstrongs and Liddesdale, and tells itself in an admirable way.

The 'Cow,' of course, cannot refer to cattle, as the word would be 'Kye': possibly it means 'broom,' or the hut in which he lived. See Murray's _Dictionary_, and cp. 9.3

'Billie' means 'brother'; hence the quaint 'billie Willie.' It is the same word as 'bully,' used of Bottom the Weaver, which also occurs in the ballad of _Bewick and Grahame_, 5.2 (see p. 102 of this volume).

DICK O' THE COW

1.
Now Liddisdale has long lain in,
_Fa la_
There is no rideing there at a';
_Fa la_
Their horse is growing so lidder and fatt
That are lazie in the sta'.
_Fa la la didle_

2.
Then Johnë Armstrang to Willie can say,
'Billie, a rideing then will we;
England and us has been long at a feed;
Perhaps we may hitt of some bootie.

3.
Then they're com'd on to Hutton Hall,
They rade that proper place about;
But the laird he was the wiser man,
For he had left nae gear without.

4.
Then he had left nae gear to steal,
Except six sheep upon a lee;
Says Johnie, 'I'de rather in England die,
Before their six sheep goed to Liddisdale with me.

5.
'But how cal'd they the man we last with mett,
Billie, as we came over the know?'
'That same he is an innocent fool,
And some men calls him Dick o' the Cow.'

6.
'That fool has three as good kyne of his own
As is in a' Cumberland, billie,' quoth he;
'Betide my life, betide my death,
These three kyne shal go to Liddisdaile with me.'

7.
Then they're com'd on to the poor fool's house,
And they have broken his wals so wide;
They have loos'd out Dick o' the Cow's kyne three,
And tane three co'erlets off his wife's bed.

8.
Then on the morn, when the day grew light,
The shouts and crys rose loud and high;
'Hold thy tongue, my wife,' he says,
'And of thy crying let me bee.

9.
'Hald thy tongue, my wife,' he says,
'And of thy crying let me bee,
And ay that where thou wants a kow,
Good sooth that I shal bring thee three.'

10.
Then Dick's com'd on to lord and master,
And I wat a drerie fool was he;
'Hald thy tongue, my fool,' he says,
'For I may not stand to jest with thee.'

11.
'Shame speed a' your jesting, my lord,' quo' Dickie,
'For nae such jesting 'grees with me;
Liddesdaile has been in my house this last night,
And they have tane my three kyne from me.'

12.
'But I may nae langer in Cumberland dwel,
To be your poor fool and your leel,
Unless ye give me leave, my lord,
To go to Liddisdale and steal.'

13.
'To give thee leave, my fool,' he says,
'Thou speaks against mine honour and me;
Unless thou give me thy troth and thy right hand,
Thou'l steal frae nane but them that sta' from thee.'

14.
'There is my trouth and my right hand;
My head shal hing on Hairibie,
I'le never crose Carlele sands again,
If I steal frae a man but them that sta' frae me.'

15.
Dickie has tane leave at lord and master,
And I wat a merrie fool was he;
He has bought a bridle and a pair of new spurs,
And has packed them up in his breek-thigh.

16.
Then Dickie's come on for Puddinburn,
Even as fast as he may drie;
Dickie's come on for Puddinburn,
Where there was thirty Armstrongs and three.

17.
'What's this com'd on me!' quo' Dickë,
'What meakle wae's this happen'd on me,' quo' he,
'Where here is but an innocent fool,
And there is thirty Armstrongs and three!'

18.
Yet he's com'd up to the hall among them all;
So wel he became his courtisie;
'Well may ye be, my good Laird's Jock,
But the deil bless all your companie!

19.
'I'm come to plain of your man Fair Johnie Armstrong,
And syne his billie Willie,' quo' he;
'How they have been in my house this last night,
And they have tane my three ky frae me.'

20.
Quo' Johnie Armstrong, 'We'll him hang;'
'Nay,' then quo' Willie, 'we'll him slae;'
But up bespake another young man,
'We'le nit him in a four-nooked sheet,
Give him his burden of batts, and lett him gae.'

21.
Then up bespake the good Laird's Jock,
The best falla in the companie;
'Sitt thy way down a little while, Dickë,
And a peice of thine own cow's hough I'l give to thee.'

22.
But Dickie's heart it grew so great
That never a bitt of it he dought to eat;
But Dickie was warr of ane auld peat-house,
Where there al the night he thought for to sleep.

23.
Then Dickie was warr of that auld peat-house,
Where there al the night he thought for to ly;
And a' the prayers the poor fool pray'd was,
'I wish I had a mense for my own three kye!'

24.
Then it was the use of Puddinburn,
And the house of Mangertoun, all haile!
These that came not at the first call
They gott no more meat till the next meall.

25.
The lads, that hungry and aevery was,
Above the door-head they flang the key.
Dickie took good notice to that;
Says, 'There's a bootie younder for me.'

26.
Then Dickie's gane into the stable,
Where there stood thirty horse and three;
He has ty'd them a' with St. Mary knot,
All these horse but barely three.

27.
He has ty'd them a' with St. Mary knot,
All these horse but barely three;
He has loupen on one, taken another in his hand,
And out at the door and gane is Dickie.

28.
Then on the morn, when the day grew light,
The shouts and cryes rose loud and high;
'What's that theife?' quo' the good Laird's Jock,
'Tel me the truth and the verity.

29.
'What's that theife?' quo' the good Laird's Jock,
'See unto me ye do not lie.
Dick o' the Cow has been in the stable this last nicht,
And has my brother's horse and mine frae me.'

30.
'Ye wad never be tel'd it,' quo' the Laird's Jock,
'Have ye not found my tales fu' leel?
Ye wad never out of England bide,
Till crooked and blind and a' wad steal.'

31.
'But will thou lend me thy bay?' Fair Johnë Armstrong can say,
'There's nae mae horse loose in the stable but he;
And I'le either bring ye Dick o' the Kow again.
Or the day is come that he must die.'

32.
'To lend thee my bay,' the Laird's Jock can say,
'He's both worth gold and good monie;
Dick o' the Kow has away twa horse,
I wish no thou should make him three.'

33.
He has tane the Laird's jack on his back,
The twa-handed sword that hang leugh by his thigh;
He has tane the steel cap on his head,
And on is he to follow Dickie.

34.
Then Dickie was not a mile off the town,
I wat a mile but barely three,
Till John Armstrong has o'ertane Dick o' the Kow,
Hand for hand on Cannobie lee.

35.
'Abide thee, bide now, Dickie than,
The day is come that thou must die.'
Dickie looked o'er his left shoulder,
'Johnie, has thou any mo in thy company?

36.
'There is a preacher in our chapell,
And a' the lee-lang day teaches he;
When day is gane, and night is come,
There's never a word I mark but three.

37.
'The first and second's Faith and Conscience,
The third is, Johnie, Take head of thee!
But what faith and conscience had thou, traitor,
When thou took my three kye frae me?

38.
'And when thou had tane my three kye,
Thou thought in thy heart thou was no wel sped;
But thou sent thy billie Willie o'er the know,
And he took three co'erlets off my wife's bed.'

39.
Then Johnë lett a spear fa' leugh by his thigh,
Thought well to run the innocent through,
But the powers above was more than his,
He ran but the poor fool's jerkin through.

40.
Together they ran or ever they blan;
This was Dickie the fool, and hee;
Dickie could not win to him with the blade of the sword,
But he fel'd him with the plummet under the eye.

41.
Now Dickie has fel'd Fair Johnë Armstrong,
The prettiest man in the south countrey;
'Gramercie,' then can Dickie say,
'I had twa horse, thou has made me three.'

42.
He has tane the laird's jack of his back,
The twa-handed sword that hang leugh by his thigh;
He has tane the steel cap off his head;
'Johnie, I'le tel my master I met with thee.'

43.
When Johnë waken'd out of his dream,
I wat a drery man was he;
'Is thou gane now, Dickie, than?
The shame gae in thy company!

44.
'Is thou gane now, Dickie, than?
The shame go in thy companie!
For if I should live this hundred year,
I shal never fight with a fool after thee.'

45.
Then Dickie comed home to lord and master,
Even as fast as he may drie.
'Now, Dickie, I shal neither eat meat nor drink
Till high hanged that thou shall be!'

46.
'The shame speed the liars, my lord!' quo' Dickie,
'That was no the promise ye made to me;
For I'd never gane to Liddesdale to steal
Till that I sought my leave at thee.'

47.
'But what gart thou steal the Laird's Jock's horse?
And, limmer, what gart thou steal him?' quo' he;
'For lang might thou in Cumberland dwelt
Or the Laird's Jock had stoln ought frae thee.'

48.
'Indeed I wat ye lee'd, my lord,
And even so loud as I hear ye lie;
I wan him frae his man, Fair Johnë Armstrong,
Hand for hand on Cannobie lee.

49.
'There's the jack was on his back,
The twa-handed sword that hung leugh by his thigh;
There's the steel cap was on his head;
I have a' these takens to lett you see.'

50.
'If that be true thou to me tels
(I trow thou dare not tel a lie),
I'le give thee twenty pound for the good horse,
Wel tel'd in thy cloke-lap shall be.

51.
'And I'le give thee one of my best milk-kye
To maintain thy wife and children three;
And that may be as good, I think,
As ony twa o' thine might be.'

52.
'The shame speed the liars, my lord!' quo' Dickie;
'Trow ye ay to make a fool of me?
I'le either have thirty pound for the good horse,
Or else he's gae to Mattan fair wi' me.'

53.
Then he has given him thirty pound for the good horse,
All in gold and good monie:
He has given him one of his best milk-kye
To maintain his wife and children three.

54.
Then Dickie's come down through Carlile town,
Even as fast as he may drie.
The first of men that he with mett
Was my lord's brother, Bailife Glazenberrie.

55.
'Well may ye be, my good Ralph Scrupe!'
'Welcome, my brother's fool!' quo' he;
'Where did thou gett Fair Johnie Armstrong's horse?'
'Where did I get him but steal him,' quo' he.

56.
'But will thou sell me Fair Johnie Armstrong's horse?
And, billie, will thou sell him to me?' quo' he;
'Ay, and [thou] tel me the monie on my cloke-lap,
For there's not one farthing I'le trust thee.'

57.
'I'le give thee fifteen pound for the good horse,
Wel told on thy cloke-lap shal be;
And I'le give thee one of my best milk-kye
To maintain thy wife and thy children three.'

58.
'The shame speed the liars, my lord!' quo' Dickë,
'Trow ye ay to make a fool of me?' quo' he;
'I'le either have thirty pound for the good horse.
Or else he's to Mattan Fair with me.'

59.
He has given him thirty pound for the good horse,
All in gold and good monie;
He has given him one of his best milk-kye
To maintain his wife and children three.

60.
Then Dickie lap a loup on high,
And I wat a loud laughter leugh he;
'I wish the neck of the third horse were browken,
For I have a better of my own, and onie better can be.'

61.
Then Dickie com'd hame to his wife again.
Judge ye how the poor fool he sped!
He has given her three score of English pounds
For the three auld co'erlets was tane off her bed.

62.
'Hae, take thee there twa as good kye,
I trow, as all thy three might be;
And yet here is a white-footed naigg,
I think he'le carry both thee and me.

63.
'But I may no langer in Cumberland dwell;
The Armstrongs they'le hang me high.'
But Dickie has tane leave at lord and master,
And Burgh under Stanemuir there dwels Dickie.

[Annotations:
1.3: 'lidder,' lazy.
2.2: 'billie,' brother.
2.3: 'feed,' feud.
5.2: 'know,' hillock.
20.5: 'burden of batts,' all the blows he can bear.
22.2: 'dought,' was able.
25.1: 'aevery,' ravenous.
26.3: 'St. Mary knot,' a triple knot.
32.4: The copy reads 'should no make.'
33.1: 'jack,' jerkin.
40.1: 'blan,' stopped.
47.2: 'limmer,' rascal.
56.3: I have inserted 'thou' to complete the sense; 'and,' here and
below, 60.4, meaning 'if.']

SIR HUGH IN THE GRIME'S DOWNFALL

+The Text+ given here is comparatively a late one, from the Roxburghe collection (iii. 456). An earlier broadside, in the same and other collections, gives a longer but curiously corrupted version, exhibiting such perversions as 'Screw' for 'Scroop,' and 'Garlard' for 'Carlisle.'

+The Story+ in its full form relates that Sir Hugh in the Grime (Hughie Graeme or Graham) stole a mare from the Bishop of Carlisle, by way of retaliation for the Bishop's seduction of his wife. He was pursued by Lord Scroop, taken, and conveyed to Carlisle and hanged.

Scott suggested that Hugh Graham may have been one of four hundred Borderers accused to the Bishop of Carlisle of various murders and thefts about 1548.

SIR HUGH IN THE GRIME'S DOWNFALL

1.
Good Lord John is a hunting gone,
Over the hills and dales so far,
For to take Sir Hugh in the Grime,
For stealing of the bishop's mare.
_He derry derry down_

2.
Hugh in the Grime was taken then
And carried to Carlisle town;
The merry women came out amain,
Saying, 'The name of Grime shall never go down.'

3.
O then a jury of women was brought,
Of the best that could be found;
Eleven of them spoke all at once,
Saying 'The name of Grime shall never go down.'

4.
And then a jury of men was brought,
More the pity for to be!
Eleven of them spoke all at once,
Saying 'Hugh in the Grime, you are guilty.'

5.
Hugh in the Grime was cast to be hang'd,
Many of his friends did for him lack;
For fifteen foot in the prisin he did jump,
With his hands tyed fast behind his back.

6.
Then bespoke our good Lady Ward,
As she set on the bench so high;
'A peck of white pennys I'll give to my lord,
If he'll grant Hugh Grime to me.

7.
'And if it be not full enough,
I'll stroke it up with my silver fan;
And if it be not full enough,
I'll heap it up with my own hand.'

8.
'Hold your tongue now, Lady Ward,
And of your talkitive let it be!
There is never a Grime came in this court
That at thy bidding shall saved be.'

9.
Then bespoke our good Lady Moor,
As she sat on the bench so high;
'A yoke of fat oxen I'll give to my lord,
If he'll grant Hugh Grime to me.'

10.
'Hold your tongue now, good Lady Moor,
And of your talkitive let it be!
There is never a Grime came to this court
That at thy bidding saved shall be.'

11.
Sir Hugh in the Grime look'd out of the door,
With his hand out of the bar;
There he spy'd his father dear,
Tearing of his golden hair.

12.
'Hold your tongue, good father dear,
And of your weeping let it be!
For if they bereave me of my life,
They cannot bereave me of the heavens so high.'

13.
Sir Hugh in the Grime look'd out at the door;
Oh, what a sorry heart had he!
There he spy'd his mother dear,
Weeping and wailing 'Oh, woe is me!'

14.
'Hold your tongue now, mother dear,
And of your weeping let it be!
For if they bereave me of my life,
They cannot bereave me of heaven's fee.

15.
'I'll leave my sword to Johnny Armstrong,
That is made of mettal so fine,
That when he comes to the border-side
He may think of Hugh in the Grime.'

THE DEATH OF PARCY REED

+The Text.+--There are two texts available for this ballad, of which the second one, here given, was said to have been taken down from the singing of an old woman by James Telfer of Liddesdale, and was so printed in Richardson's _Borderers' Table Book_ (1846). It preserves almost the whole of the other version, taken from Robert White's papers, who recorded it in 1829; but it obviously bears marks of having been tampered with by Telfer. However, it contains certain stanzas which Child says may be regarded as traditional, and it is therefore preferred here.

+The Story.+--Percival or Parcy Reed was warden of the district round Troughend, a high tract of land in Redesdale. In the discharge of his duties he incurred the enmity of the family of Hall of Girsonsfield (two miles east of Troughend) and of some moss-troopers named Crosier. As the ballad shows, the treachery of the Halls delivered Parcy Reed into the Crosiers' hands at a hut in Batinghope, a glen westward of the Whitelee stream. Local tradition adds to the details narrated in the ballad that Parcy's wife had been warned by a dream of her husband's danger, and that on the following morning his loaf of bread happened to be turned upside down--a very bad omen.

Further, we learn from the same source, the Crosiers' barbarous treatment of Parcy's corpse aroused the indignation of the neighbourhood, and they and the treacherous Halls were driven away.

Girsonsfield has belonged to no one of the name of Hall as far back as Elizabeth, whence it is argued that the ballad is not later than the sixteenth century.

THE DEATH OF PARCY REED

1.
God send the land deliverance
Frae every reaving, riding Scot!
We'll sune hae neither cow nor ewe,
We'll sune hae neither staig nor stot.

2.
The outlaws come frae Liddesdale,
They herry Redesdale far and near;
The rich man's gelding it maun gang,
They canna pass the puir man's mear.

3.
Sure it were weel, had ilka thief
Around his neck a halter strang;
And curses heavy may they light
On traitors vile oursels amang.

4.
Now Parcy Reed has Crosier taen,
He has delivered him to the law;
But Crosier says he'll do waur than that,
He'll make the tower o' Troughend fa'.

5.
And Crosier says he will do waur,
He will do waur if waur can be;
He'll make the bairns a' fatherless;
And then the land it may lie lee.

6.
'To the hunting, ho!' cried Parcy Reed,
'The morning sun is on the dew;
The cauler breeze frae off the fells
Will lead the dogs to the quarry true.

7.
'To the hunting, ho!' cried Parcy Reed,
And to the hunting he has gane;
And the three fause Ha's o' Girsonsfield
Alang wi' him he has them ta'en.

8.
They hunted high, they hunted low,
By heathery hill and birken shaw;
They raised a buck on Rooken Edge,
And blew the mort at fair Ealylawe.

9.
They hunted high, they hunted low,
They made the echoes ring amain;
With music sweet o' horn and hound,
They merry made fair Redesdale glen.

10.
They hunted high, they hunted low,
They hunted up, they hunted down,
Until the day was past the prime,
And it grew late in the afternoon.

11.
They hunted high in Batinghope,
When as the sun was sinking low.
Says Parcy then, 'Ca' off the dogs,
We'll bait our steeds and homeward go.'

12.
They lighted high in Batinghope,
Atween the brown and benty ground;
They had but rested a little while,
Till Parcy Reed was sleeping sound.

13.
There's nane may lean on a rotten staff,
But him that risks to get a fa';
There's nane may in a traitor trust,
And traitors black were every Ha'.

14.
They've stown the bridle off his steed,
And they've put water in his lang gun;
They've fixed his sword within the sheath,
That out again it winna come.

15.
'Awaken ye, waken ye, Parcy Reed,
Or by your enemies be taen;
For yonder are the five Crosiers
A-coming owre the Hingin-stane.'

16.
'If they be five, and we be four,
Sae that ye stand alang wi' me,
Then every man ye will take one,
And only leave but two to me.
We will them meet as brave men ought,
And make them either fight or flee.'

17.
'We mayna stand, we canna stand,
We daurna stand alang wi' thee;
The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,
And they wad kill baith thee and we.'

18.
'O, turn thee, turn thee, Johnnie Ha',
O, turn thee, man, and fight wi' me;
When ye come to Troughend again,
My gude black naig I will gie thee;
He cost full twenty pound o' gowd,
Atween my brother John and me

19.
'I mayna turn, I canna turn,
I daurna turn and fight wi' thee;
The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,
And they wad kill baith thee and me.'

20.
'O, turn thee, turn thee, Willie Ha',
O, turn thee, man, and fight wi' me;
When ye come to Troughend again,
A yoke o' owsen I'll gie thee.'

21.
'I mayna turn, I canna turn,
I daurna turn and fight wi' thee;
The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,
And they wad kill baith thee and me.'

22.
'O, turn thee, turn thee, Tommy Ha',
O, turn now, man, and fight wi' me;
If ever we come to Troughend again,
My daughter Jean I'll gie to thee.'

23.
'I mayna turn, I canna turn,
I daurna turn, and fight wi' thee;
The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,
And they wad kill baith thee and me.'

24.
'O, shame upon ye, traitors a'!
I wish your hames ye may never see;
Ye've stown the bridle off my naig,
And I can neither fight nor flee.

25.
'Ye've stown the bridle off my naig,
And ye've put water i' my lang gun;
Ye've fixed my sword within the sheath,
That out again it winna come.'

26.
He had but time to cross himsel',
A prayer he hadna time to say,
Till round him came the Crosiers keen,
All riding graithed, and in array.

27.
'Weel met, weel met, now, Parcy Reed,
Thou art the very man we sought;
Owre lang hae we been in your debt,
Now will we pay you as we ought.

28.
'We'll pay thee at the nearest tree,
Where we shall hang thee like a hound;'
Brave Parcy rais'd his fankit sword,
And fell'd the foremost to the ground.

29.
Alake, and wae for Parcy Reed,
Alake, he was an unarmed man;
Four weapons pierced him all at once,
As they assailed him there and than.

30.
They fell upon him all at once,
They mangled him most cruellie;
The slightest wound might caused his deid,
And they hae gi'en him thirty-three:
They hacket off his hands and feet,
And left him lying on the lee.

31.
'Now, Parcy Reed, we've paid our debt,
Ye canna weel dispute the tale,'
The Crosiers said, and off they rade;
They rade the airt o' Liddesdale.

32.
It was the hour o' gloaming gray,
When herds come in frae fauld and pen;
A herd he saw a huntsman lie,
Says he, 'Can this be Laird Troughen'?'

33.
'There's some will ca' me Parcy Reed,
And some will ca' me Laird Troughen';
It's little matter what they ca' me,
My faes hae made me ill to ken.

34.
'There's some will ca' me Parcy Reed,
And speak my praise in tower and town
It's little matter what they do now,
My life-blood rudds the heather brown.

35.
'There's some will ca' me Parcy Reed,
And a' my virtues say and sing;
I would much rather have just now
A draught o' water frae the spring.'

36.
The herd flung aff his clouted shoon,
And to the nearest fountain ran;
He made his bonnet serve a cup,
And wan the blessing o' the dying man.

37.
'Now, honest herd, you maun do mair,--
Ye maun do mair as I you tell;
You maun bear tidings to Troughend,
And bear likewise my last farewell.

38.
'A farewell to my wedded wife,
A farewell to my brother John,
Wha sits into the Troughend tower,
Wi' heart as black as any stone.

39.
'A farewell to my daughter Jean,
A farewell to my young sons five;
Had they been at their father's hand,
I had this night been man alive.