Chapter IV (3)

40.
'A farewell to my followers a',
And a' my neighbours gude at need;
Bid them think how the treacherous Ha's
Betrayed the life o' Parcy Reed.

41.
'The laird o' Clennel bears my bow,
The laird o' Brandon bears my brand;
Whene'er they ride i' the Border side,
They'll mind the fate o' the laird Troughend.'

[Annotations:
1.2: 'reaving,' robbing.
1.4: 'staig,' horse; 'stot,' ox.
26.4: 'graithed,' accoutred.
28.3: 'fankit,' entangled.
31.4: 'the airt o',' _i.e._ in the direction of.]

BEWICK AND GRAHAME

+The Text+ is from several broadsides and chap-books, but mainly depends on a stall-copy entitled _The Song of Bewick and Grahame_, approximately dated 1740. Sir Walter Scott considered this ballad 'remarkable, as containing probably the very latest allusion to the institution of brotherhood in arms' (see 14.4, and the use of the word 'bully'); but Child strongly suspects there was an older and better copy than those extant, none of which is earlier than the eighteenth century.

+The Story+ is concerned with two fathers, who boast about their sons, and cause the two lads to fight. Christy Graham is faced with the dilemma of fighting either his father or his brother-in-arms, and decides to meet the latter; but, should he kill his friend, he determines not to return alive. Young Bewick takes a similar vow. They fight two hours, and at last an 'ackward' stroke kills Bewick, and Christy falls on his sword. The two fathers lament, and the ballad-singer finishes by putting the blame on them.

BEWICK AND GRAHAME

1.
Old Grahame he is to Carlisle gone,
Where Sir Robert Bewick there met he;
In arms to the wine they are gone,
And drank till they were both merry.

2.
Old Grahame he took up the cup,
And said, 'Brother Bewick, here's to thee,
And here's to our two sons at home,
For they live best in our country.'

3.
'Nay, were thy son as good as mine,
And of some books he could but read,
With sword and buckler by his side,
To see how he could save his head.

4.
'They might have been call'd two bold brethren
Where ever they did go or ride;
They might have been call'd two bold brethren,
They might have crack'd the Border-side.

5.
Thy son is bad, and is but a lad,
And bully to my son cannot be;
For my son Bewick can both write and read,
And sure I am that cannot he.'

6.
'I put him to school, but he would not learn,
I bought him books but he would not read;
But my blessing he's never have
Till I see how his hand can save his head.'

7.
Old Grahame called for an account,
And he ask'd what was for to pay;
There he paid a crown, so it went round,
Which was all for good wine and hay.

8.
Old Grahame is into the stable gone,
Where stood thirty good steeds and three;
He's taken his own steed by the head,
And home rode he right wantonly.

9.
When he came home, there did he espy
A loving sight to spy or see,
There did he espy his own three sons,
Young Christy Grahame, the foremost was he.

10.
There did he espy his own three sons,
Young Christy Grahame, the foremost was he;
'Where have you been all day, father,
That no counsel you would take by me?'

11.
'Nay, I have been in Carlisle town,
Where Sir Robert Bewick there met me;
He said thou was bad, and call'd thee a lad,
And a baffled man by thou I be.

12.
'He said thou was bad, and call'd thee a lad,
And bully to his son cannot be;
For his son Bewick can both write and read,
And sure I am that cannot thee.

13.
'I put thee to school, but thou would not learn,
I bought thee books, but thou would not read;
But my blessing thou's never have
Till I see with Bewick thou can save thy head.'

14.
'Oh, pray forbear, my father dear;
That ever such a thing should be!
Shall I venture my body in field to fight
With a man that's faith and troth to me?'

15.
'What's that thou sayst, thou limmer loon?
Or how dare thou stand to speak to me?
If thou do not end this quarrel soon,
Here is my glove, thou shalt fight me.'

16.
Christy stoop'd low unto the ground,
Unto the ground, as you'll understand;
'O father, put on your glove again,
The wind hath blown it from your hand.'

17.
'What's that thou sayst, thou limmer loon?
Or how dare thou stand to speak to me?
If thou do not end this quarrel soon,
Here is my hand, thou shalt fight me.'

18.
Christy Grahame is to his chamber gone,
And for to study, as well might be,
Whether to fight with his father dear,
Or with his bully Bewick he.

19.
'If it be my fortune my bully to kill,
As you shall boldly understand,
In every town that I ride through,
They'll say, There rides a brotherless man!

20.
'Nay, for to kill my bully dear,
I think it will be a deadly sin;
And for to kill my father dear,
The blessing of heaven I ne'er shall win.

21.
'O give me your blessing, father,' he said,
'And pray well for me for to thrive;
If it be my fortune my bully to kill,
I swear I'll ne'er come home alive.'

22.
He put on his back a good plate-jack,
And on his head a cap of steel,
With sword and buckler by his side;
O gin he did not become them well!

23.
'O fare thee well, my father dear!
And fare thee well, thou Carlisle town!
If it be my fortune my bully to kill,
I swear I'll ne'er eat bread again.'

24.
Now we'll leave talking of Christy Grahame,
And talk of him again belive;
But we will talk of bonny Bewick,
Where he was teaching his scholars five.

25.
Now when he had learn'd them well to fence,
To handle their swords without any doubt,
He's taken his own sword under his arm,
And walk'd his father's close about.

26.
He look'd between him and the sun,
To see what farleys he could see;
There he spy'd a man with armour on,
As he came riding over the lee.

27.
'I wonder much what man yon be
That so boldly this way does come;
I think it is my nighest friend,
I think it is my bully Grahame.

28.
'O welcome, O welcome, bully Grahame!
O man, thou art my dear, welcome!
O man, thou art my dear, welcome!
For I love thee best in Christendom.'

29.
'Away, away, O bully Bewick,
And of thy bullyship let me be!
The day is come I never thought on;
Bully, I'm come here to fight with thee.'

30.
'O no! not so, O bully Grahame!
That e'er such a word should spoken be!
I was thy master, thou was my scholar;
So well as I have learned thee.'

31.
'My father he was in Carlisle town,
Where thy father Bewick there met he;
He said I was bad, and he call'd me a lad,
And a baffled man by thou I be.'

32.
'Away, away, O bully Grahame,
And of all that talk, man, let us be!
We'll take three men of either side
To see if we can our fathers agree.'

33.
'Away, away, O bully Bewick,
And of thy bullyship let me be!
But if thou be a man, as I trow thou art,
Come over this ditch and fight with me.'

34.
'O no, not so, my bully Grahame!
That e'er such a word should spoken be!
Shall I venture my body in field to fight
With a man that's faith and troth to me?'

35.
'Away, away, O bully Bewick,
And of all that care, man, let us be!
If thou be a man, as I trow thou art,
Come over this ditch and fight with me.'

36.
'Now, if it be my fortune thee, Grahame, to kill,
As God's will's, man, it all must be:
But if it be my fortune thee, Grahame, to kill,
'Tis home again I'll never gae.'

37.
'Thou art then of my mind, bully Bewick,
And sworn-brethren will we be;
If thou be a man, as I trow thou art,
Come over this ditch and fight with me.'

38.
He flang his cloak from off his shoulders,
His psalm-book out of his hand flung he,
He clap'd his hand upon the hedge,
And o'er lap he right wantonly.

39.
When Grahame did see his bully come,
The salt tear stood long in his eye;
'Now needs must I say that thou art a man,
That dare venture thy body to fight with me.

40.
'Now I have a harness on my back;
I know that thou hath none on thine;
But as little as thou hath on thy back,
Sure as little shall there be on mine.'

41.
He flang his jack from off his back,
His steel cap from his head flang he;
He's taken his sword into his hand,
He's tyed his horse unto a tree.

42.
Now they fell to it with two broad swords,
For two long hours fought Bewick and he;
Much sweat was to be seen on them both,
But never a drop of blood to see.

43.
Now Grahame gave Bewick an ackward stroke,
An ackward stroke surely struck he;
He struck him now under the left breast,
Then down to the ground as dead fell he.

44.
'Arise, arise, O bully Bewick,
Arise, and speak three words to me!
Whether this be thy deadly wound,
Or God and good surgeons will mend thee.'

45.
'O horse, O horse, O bully Grahame,
And pray do get thee far from me!
Thy sword is sharp, it hath wounded my heart,
And so no further can I gae.

46.
'O horse, O horse, O bully Grahame,
And get thee far from me with speed!
And get thee out of this country quite!
That none may know who's done the deed.'

47.
'O if this be true, my bully dear,
The words that thou dost tell to me,
The vow I made, and the vow I'll keep;
I swear I'll be the first to die.'

48.
Then he stuck his sword in a moudie-hill,
Where he lap thirty good foot and three;
First he bequeathed his soul to God,
And upon his own sword-point lap he.

49.
Now Grahame he was the first that died,
And then came Robin Bewick to see;
'Arise, arise, O son,' he said,
'For I see thou's won the victory.

50.
'Arise, arise, O son,' he said,
'For I see thou's won the victory;'
'Father, could ye not drunk your wine at home,
And letten me and my brother be?

51.
'Nay, dig a grave both low and wide,
And in it us two pray bury;
But bury my bully Grahame on the sun-side,
For I'm sure he's won the victory.'

52.
Now we'll leave talking of these two brethren,
In Carlisle town where they lie slain,
And talk of these two good old men,
Where they were making a pitiful moan.

53.
With that bespoke now Robin Bewick;
'O man, was I not much to blame?
I have lost one of the liveliest lads
That ever was bred unto my name.'

54.
With that bespoke my good lord Grahame;
'O man, I have lost the better block;
I have lost my comfort and my joy,
I have lost my key, I have lost my lock.

55.
'Had I gone through all Ladderdale,
And forty horse had set on me,
Had Christy Grahame been at my back,
So well as he would guarded me.'

56.
I have no more of my song to sing,
But two or three words to you I'll name;
But 'twill be talk'd in Carlisle town
That these two old men were all the blame.

[Annotations:
5.2: 'bully,' = billie, brother. See page 75.
24.2: 'belive,' soon.
26.2: 'farleys,' wonders, novelties.
48.1: 'moudie-hill,' mole-hill.]

THE FIRE OF FRENDRAUGHT

+The Text+ is from Motherwell's _Minstrelsy_. He received the ballad from Charles Kirkpatrick Sharp. In Maidment's _North Countrie Garland_ there is a similar version with a number of small verbal differences.

+The Story.+--Frendraught in Aberdeenshire, and Rothiemay in Banffshire, lie on opposite sides of the Deveron, which separates the counties. A feud began (as the result of a dispute over fishing rights) between Crichton of Frendraught and Gordon of Rothiemay, and in a fight on the first day of the year 1630, Rothiemay and others were killed. Kinsmen of both parties were involved; and though the broil was temporarily settled, another soon sprang up. The Lord John of the ballad was Viscount Melgum, the second son of the Marquis of Huntly, who was appealed to as a peacemaker between the factions of Leslie and Crichton. Lord John and Rothiemay were sent by the Marquis to escort Frendraught to his home, a precaution rendered necessary by the knowledge that the Leslies were in ambuscade. Arrived at Frendraught, the laird and lady entreated the two young men to remain the night, and eventually prevailed on them to do so.

However (though it was long disputed whether the fire was an accident or not), it seems that the ancient grudge against Rothiemay moved Frendraught to sacrifice 'a great quantity of silver, both coined and uncoined,' in the firing of his house for the sake of burning Rothiemay.

Sophia Hay (25.1) was the daughter of the Earl of Erroll, and Viscount Melgum's wife. The last two lines of the ballad are not easily explained, as the lady is recorded to have been deeply attached to her husband; but it is possible that they have been inserted from a similar stanza in some other ballad.

THE FIRE OF FRENDRAUGHT

1.
The eighteenth of October,
A dismal tale to hear
How good Lord John and Rothiemay
Was both burnt in the fire.

2.
When steeds was saddled and well bridled,
And ready for to ride,
Then out it came her false Frendraught,
Inviting them to bide.

3.
Said, 'Stay this night untill we sup,
The morn untill we dine;
'Twill be a token of good 'greement
'Twixt your good Lord and mine.'

4.
'We'll turn again,' said good Lord John;
'But no,' said Rothiemay,
'My steed's trapan'd, my bridle's broken,
I fear the day I'm fey.'

5.
When mass was sung, and bells was rung,
And all men bound for bed,
Then good Lord John and Rothiemay
In one chamber was laid.

6.
They had not long cast off their cloaths,
And were but now asleep,
When the weary smoke began to rise,
Likewise the scorching heat.

7.
'O waken, waken, Rothiemay!
O waken, brother dear!
And turn you to our Saviour;
There is strong treason here.'

8.
When they were dressed in their cloaths,
And ready for to boun,
The doors and windows was all secured,
The roof-tree burning down.

9.
He did him to the wire-window
As fast as he could gang;
Says 'Wae to the hands put in the stancheons!
For out we'll never win.'

10.
When he stood at the wire-window,
Most doleful to be seen,
He did espy her Lady Frendraught,
Who stood upon the green.

11.
Cried 'Mercy, mercy, Lady Frendraught,
Will ye not sink with sin?
For first your husband killed my father,
And now you burn his son.'

12.
O then out spoke her Lady Frendraught,
And loudly did she cry;
'It were great pity for good Lord John,
But none for Rothiemay;
But the keys are casten in the deep draw well,
Ye cannot get away.'

13.
While he stood in this dreadful plight,
Most piteous to be seen,
There called out his servant Gordon,
As he had frantic been.

14.
'O loup, O loup, my dear master!
O loup and come to me!
I'll catch you in my arms two,
One foot I will not flee.

15.
'O loup, O loup, my dear master!
O loup and come away!
I'll catch you in my arms two,
But Rothiemay may lie.'

16.
'The fish shall never swim in the flood,
Nor corn grow through the clay,
Nor the fiercest fire that was ever kindled
Twin me and Rothiemay.

17.
'But I cannot loup, I cannot come,
I cannot win to thee;
My head's fast in the wire-window,
My feet burning from me.

18.
'My eyes are seething in my head,
My flesh roasting also,
My bowels are boiling with my blood;
Is not that a woeful woe?

19.
'Take here the rings from my white fingers,
That are so long and small,
And give them to my lady fair,
Where she sits in her hall.

20.
'So I cannot loup, I cannot come,
I cannot loup to thee;
My earthly part is all consumed,
My spirit but speaks to thee.'

21.
Wringing her hands, tearing her hair,
His lady she was seen,
And thus addressed his servant Gordon,
Where he stood on the green.

22.
'O wae be to you, George Gordon!
An ill death may you die!
So safe and sound as you stand there
And my lord bereaved from me.'

23.
'I bad him loup, I bad him come,
I bad him loup to me;
I'd catch him in my arms two,
A foot I should not flee.

24.
'He threw me the rings from his white fingers,
Which were so long and small,
To give to you, his lady fair,
Where you sat in your hall.'

25.
Sophia Hay, Sophia Hay,
O bonny Sophia was her name,
Her waiting-maid put on her cloaths,
But I wot she tore them off again.

26.
And aft she cried, 'Ohon! alas! alas!
A sair heart's ill to win;
I wan a sair heart when I married him,
And the day it's well return'd again.'

[Annotations:
16.4: 'twin,' part.]

GEORDIE

+The Text+ is from Johnson's _Museum_, communicated by Robert Burns.

+The Story.+--Some editors have identified the hero of the ballad with George Gordon, fourth earl of Huntly, but upon what grounds it is difficult to see.

There are two English broadside ballads, of the first and second halves respectively of the seventeenth century, which are either the originals of, or copies from, the Scottish ballad, which exists in many variants. The earlier is concerned with 'the death of a worthy gentleman named George Stoole,' 'to a delicate Scottish tune,' and the second is called 'The Life and Death of George of Oxford. To a pleasant tune, called Poor Georgy.' One of the Scottish versions has a burden resembling that of 'George Stoole.'

The 'battle in the north' and Sir Charles Hay are not identified.

GEORDIE

1.
There was a battle in the north,
And nobles there was many,
And they hae killed Sir Charlie Hay,
And they laid the wyte on Geordie.

2.
O he has written a lang letter,
He sent it to his lady:
'Ye maun cum up to Enbrugh town,
To see what word's o' Geordie.'

3.
When first she look'd the letter on,
She was both red and rosy;
But she had na read a word but twa
Till she wallowt like a lily.

4.
'Gar get to me ray gude grey steed;
My menyie a' gae wi' me;
For I shall neither eat nor drink
Till Enbrugh town shall see me.'

5.
And she has mountit her gude grey steed,
Her menyie a' gaed wi' her,
And she did neither eat nor drink
Till Enbrugh town did see her,

6.
And first appear'd the fatal block,
And syne the aix to head him,
And Geordie cumin' down the stair,
And bands o' airn upon him.

7.
But tho' he was chain'd in fetters strang,
O' airn and steel sae heavy,
There was na ane in a' the court
Sae bra' a man as Geordie.

8.
O she's down on her bended knee;
I wat she's pale and weary:
'O pardon, pardon, noble king,
And gie me back my dearie!

9.
'I hae born seven sons to my Geordie dear,
The seventh ne'er saw his daddie,
O pardon, pardon, noble king,
Pity a waefu' lady!'

10.
'Gar bid the headin'-man mak haste,'
Our king reply'd fu' lordly:
'O noble king, tak a' that's mine,
But gie me back my Geordie!'

11.
The Gordons cam, the Gordons ran,
And they were stark and steady,
And ay the word amang them a'
Was 'Gordons, keep you ready!'

12.
An aged lord at the king's right hand
Says 'Noble king, but hear me;
Gar her tell down five thousand pound,
And gie her back her dearie.'

13.
Some gae her marks, some gae her crowns,
Some gae her dollars many,
And she's tell'd down five thousand pound,
And she's gotten again her dearie.

14.
She blinkit blythe in her Geordie's face,
Says 'Dear I've bought thee, Geordie;
But there sud been bluidy bouks on the green
Or I had tint my laddie.'

15.
He claspit her by the middle sma',
And he kist her lips sae rosy:
'The fairest flower o' woman-kind
Is my sweet bonnie lady!'

[Annotations:
1.4: 'wyte,' blame.
3.4: 'wallowt,' drooped.
4.2: 'menyie,' attendants.
14.3: 'bouk,' body.
14.4: 'Or,' ere; 'tint,' lost.]

THE BARON OF BRACKLEY

+The Text+ is from Alexander Laing's _Scarce Ancient Ballads_ (1822). A similar version occurs in Buchan's _Gleanings_ (1825). Professor Gummere, in printing the first text, omits six stanzas, on the assumption that they represent part of a second ballad imperfectly incorporated. But I think the ballad can be read as it stands below, though doubtless 'his ladie's' remark, st. 11, is out of place.

+The Story+ seems to be a combination of at least two. An old Baron of Brackley, 'an honest aged man,' was slain in 1592 by 'caterans' or freebooters who had been entertained hospitably by him. In 1666 John Gordon of Brackley began a feud with John Farquharson of Inverey by seizing some cattle or horses--accounts differ--by way of fines due for taking fish out of season. This eventually led to the slaying of Brackley and certain of his adherents.

Professor Child suspects a commixture of the two episodes in the one ballad, or more probably, a grafting of a later ballad on to an earlier one. The character of the Baron as revealed in the ballad more closely resembles that of the 1592 episode, while the details of the fray are in keeping with the later story.

'Peggy,' the Baron's wife, was Margaret Burnet, cousin to Gilbert, Bishop of Salisbury. After Brackley's death she married again, but not her husband's murderer, as the end of our ballad scandalously suggests.

Brackley is near Ballater, about forty miles west of Aberdeen.

THE BARON OF BRACKLEY

1.
Inverey cam doun Deeside, whistlin' and playin',
He was at brave Braikley's yett ere it was dawin'.

2.
He rappit fu' loudly an' wi' a great roar,
Cried, 'Cum doun, cum doun, Braikley, and open the door.

3.
'Are ye sleepin', Baronne, or are ye wakin'?
Ther's sharpe swords at your yett, will gar your blood spin.

4.
'Open the yett, Braikley, and lat us within,
Till we on the green turf gar your bluid rin.'

5.
Out spak the brave baronne, owre the castell-wa';
'Are ye cum to spulyie and plunder mi ha'?

6.
'But gin ye be gentlemen, licht and cum in:
Gin ye drink o' my wine, ye'll nae gar my bluid spin.

7.
'Gin ye be hir'd widifu's, ye may gang by,
Ye may gang to the lowlands and steal their fat ky.

8.
'Ther spulyie like rievers o' wyld ketterin clan,
Who plunder unsparing baith houses and lan'.

9.
'Gin ye be gentlemen, licht and cum [in],
Ther's meat and drink i' my ha' for every man.

10.
'Gin ye be hired widifu's, ye may gang by,
Gang doun to the lowlands, and steal horse and ky.'

11.
Up spak his ladie, at his bak where she lay,
'Get up, get up, Braikley, an be not afraid;
The'r but young hir'd widifu's wi' belted plaids.'

12.
'Cum kiss me, mi Peggy, I'le nae langer stay,
For I will go out and meet Inverey.

13.
'But haud your tongue, Peggy, and mak nae sic din,
For yon same hir'd widifu's will prove themselves men.'

14.
She called on her marys, they cam to her hand;
Cries, 'Bring me your rocks, lassies, we will them command.

15.
'Get up, get up, Braikley, and turn bak your ky,
Or me and mi women will them defy.

16.
'Cum forth then, mi maidens, and show them some play;
We'll ficht them, and shortly the cowards will fly.

17.
'Gin I had a husband, whereas I hae nane,
He woud nae ly i' his bed and see his ky taen.

18.
'Ther's four-and-twenty milk-whit calves, twal o' them ky,
In the woods o' Glentanner, it's ther thei a' ly.

19.
'Ther's goat i' the Etnach, and sheep o' the brae,
An a' will be plunder'd by young Inverey.'

20.
'Now haud your tongue, Peggy, and gie me a gun,
Ye'll see me gae furth, but I'll never cum in.

21.
'Call mi brother William, mi unkl also,
Mi cousin James Gordon; we'll mount and we'll go.'

22.
When Braikley was ready and stood i' the closs,
He was the bravest baronne that e'er mounted horse.

23.
Whan all wer assembled o' the castell green,
No man like brave Braikley was ther to be seen.

24.
... ... ...
'Turn bak, brother William, ye are a bridegroom;

25.
'Wi' bonnie Jean Gordon, the maid o' the mill;
O' sichin' and sobbin' she'll soon get her fill.'

26.
'I'm no coward, brother, 'tis ken'd I'm a man;
I'll ficht i' your quarral as lang's I can stand.

27.
'I'll ficht, my dear brother, wi' heart and gudewill,
And so will young Harry that lives at the mill.

28.
'But turn, mi dear brother, and nae langer stay:
What'll cum o' your ladie, gin Braikley thei slay?

29.
'What'll cum o' your ladie and bonnie young son?
O what'll cum o' them when Braikley is gone?'

30.
'I never will turn: do you think I will fly?
But here I will ficht, and here I will die.'

31.
'Strik, dogs,' crys Inverey, 'and ficht till ye're slayn,
For we are four hundred, ye are but four men.

32.
'Strik, strik, ye proud boaster, your honour is gone,
Your lands we will plunder, your castell we'll burn.'

33.
At the head o' the Etnach the battel began,
At Little Auchoilzie thei kill'd the first man.

34.
First thei kill'd ane, and soon they kill'd twa,
Thei kill'd gallant Braikley, the flour o' them a'.

35.
Thei kill'd William Gordon, and James o' the Knox,
And brave Alexander, the flour o' Glenmuick.

36.
What sichin' and moaning was heard i' the glen,
For the Baronne o' Braikley, who basely was slayn!

37.
'Cam ye bi the castell, and was ye in there?
Saw ye pretty Peggy tearing her hair?'

38.
'Yes, I cam by Braikley, and I gaed in there,
And there saw his ladie braiding her hair.

39.
'She was rantin', and dancin', and singin' for joy,
And vowin' that nicht she woud feest Inverey.

40.
'She eat wi' him, drank wi' him, welcom'd him in,
Was kind to the man that had slain her baronne.'

41.
Up spake the son on the nourice's knee,
'Gin I live to be a man, revenged I'll be.'

42.
Ther's dool i' the kitchin, and mirth i' the ha',
The Baronne o' Braikley is dead and awa'.

[Annotations:
1.2: 'yett,' gate.
5.2: 'spulyie,' spoil.
7.1: 'widifu's,' gallows-birds (lit. 'halter-fulls').
8.1: 'rievers,' robbers; 'ketterin' = cateran, marauder freebooter.
14.2: 'rocks,' distaffs.]

THE GIPSY LADDIE

+The Text+ is from Motherwell's MS., a copy from tradition in Renfrewshire in 1825. The ballad exists both in English and Scottish, and though the English ballad is probably derived from the Scottish, it was the first in print. It is also called _Johnnie Faa_. Motherwell, in printing an elaborated version of the following text (_Minstrelsy_, 1827, p. 360), called it _Gypsie Davy_.

+The Story.+--Singers--presumably gipsies--entice Lady Cassillis down to hear them, and cast glamour on her. She follows their chief, Gipsy Davy, but finds (stt. 5 and 6) that the conditions are changed. Her lord misses her, seeks her 'thro' nations many,' and finds her drinking with the gipsy chief. He asks her to return home with him. At this point the present version becomes difficult, and the bearing of st. 12 is not apparent. We may gather that the lady returned home with her husband, as he proceeded to hang sixteen of the gipsies.

This version calls the lady 'Jeanie Faw,' but the majority call the gipsy chief Johnnie Faa, which is a well-known name amongst gipsies, and occurs as early as 1540 as the name of the 'lord and earl of Little Egypt.' Gipsies being expelled from Scotland by Act of Parliament in 1609, a Captain Johnnë Faa and seven others were hanged in 1624 for disobeying the ordinance, and this execution is sufficient to account for the introduction of the name into a ballad of this kind.

The ballad has no certain connection with the Cassillis family, and it has been suggested that the word is simply a corruption of 'castle,' the original beginning of the ballad being

'The gipsies came to the castle-gate.'

If this be so, the present form of the ballad illustrates admirably two methods of corruption by tradition.

THE GIPSY LADDIE

1.
There cam singers to Earl Cassillis' gates,
And oh, but they sang bonnie!
They sang sae sweet and sae complete,
Till down cam the earl's lady.

2.
She cam tripping down the stair,
And all her maids before her;
As soon as they saw her weel-faur'd face
They coost their glamourye owre her.

3.
They gave her o' the gude sweet-meats,
The nutmeg and the ginger,
And she gied them a far better thing,
Ten gold rings aff her finger.

4.
'Tak from me my silken cloak,
And bring me down my plaidie;
For it is good eneuch,' she said,
'To follow a Gipsy Davy.

5.
'Yestreen I rode this water deep,
And my gude lord beside me;
But this nicht I maun set in my pretty fit and wade,
A wheen blackguards wading wi' me,

6.
'Yestreen I lay in a fine feather-bed,
And my gude lord beyond me;
But this nicht I maun lie in some cauld tenant's-barn,
A wheen blackguards waiting on me.'

7.
'Come to thy bed, my bonny Jeanie Faw,
Come to thy bed, my dearie,
For I do swear by the top o' my spear,
Thy gude lord'll nae mair come near thee.'

8.
When her gude lord cam hame at nicht,
It was asking for his fair ladye;
One spak slow, and another whisper'd out,
'She's awa' wi' Gipsey Davy!'

9.
'Come saddle to me my horse,' he said;
'Come saddle and mak him readie!
For I'll neither sleep, eat, nor drink,
Till I find out my lady.'

10.
They socht her up, they socht her doun,
They socht her thro' nations many,
Till at length they found her out in Abbey dale,
Drinking wi' Gipsey Davy.

11.
'Rise, oh, rise! my bonny Jeanie Faw;
Oh, rise, and do not tarry!
Is this the thing ye promised to me
When at first I did thee marry?'

12.
They drank her cloak, so did they her goun,
They drank her stockings and her shoon,
And they drank the coat that was nigh to her smock,
And they pawned her pearled apron.

13.
They were sixteen clever men,
Suppose they were na bonnie;
They are a' to be hang'd on ae tree,
For the stealing o' Earl Cassilis' lady.

14.
'We are sixteen clever men,
One woman was a' our mother;
We are a' to be hanged on ae day,
For the stealing of a wanton lady.'

[Annotations:
2.3: 'weel-faur'd,' well-favoured.
5.4:'a wheen,' a pack [of].]

BESSY BELL AND MARY GRAY

+The Text+ is from Sharpe's _Ballad Book_. A parody of this ballad, concerning an episode of the end of the seventeenth century, shows it to have been popular not long after its making. In England it has become a nursery rhyme (see Halliwell's _Nursery Rhymes_, p. 246).

+The Story.+--In 1781 a Major Barry, then owner of Lednock, recorded the following tradition. Mary Gray was the daughter of the Laird of Lednock, near Perth, and Bessy Bell was the daughter of the Laird of Kinvaid, a neighbouring place. Both were handsome, and the two were intimate friends. Bessy Bell being come on a visit to Mary Gray, they retired, in order to avoid an outbreak of the plague, to a bower built by themselves in a romantic spot called Burnbraes, on the side of Branchie-burn, three-quarters of a mile from Lednock House. The ballad does not say _how_ the 'pest cam,' but tradition finds a cause for their deaths by inventing a young man, in love with both, who visited them and brought the infection. They died in the bower, and were buried in the Dranoch-haugh ('Stronach haugh,' 3.3), near the bank of the river Almond. The grave is still visited by pious pilgrims.

Major Barry mentions 1666 as the year, but the plague did not reach Scotland in that year. Probably the year in question was 1645, when the district was ravaged with the pestilence.

BESSY BELL AND MARY GRAY

1.
O Bessie Bell and Mary Gray,
They war twa bonnie lasses;
They bigget a bower on yon burn-brae,
And theekit it o'er wi' rashes.

2.
They theekit it o'er wi' rashes green,
They theekit it o'er wi' heather;
But the pest cam frae the burrows-town,
And slew them baith thegither.

3.
They thought to lie in Methven kirk-yard,
Amang their noble kin;
But they maun lye in Stronach haugh,
To biek forenent the sin.

4.
And Bessy Bell and Mary Gray,
They war twa bonnie lasses;
They bigget a bower on yon burn-brae,
And theekit it o'er wi' rashes.

[Annotations:
1.3: 'bigget,' built.
1.4: 'theekit,' thatched.
3.4: _i.e._ to bask beneath the sun.]

SIR JAMES THE ROSE

+The Text+ is from Motherwell's _Minstrelsy_ (1827). It is based on a stall-copy, presumably similar to one preserved by Sir Walter Scott at Abbotsford, combined with a version from recitation, which Child none the less calls 'well remembered from print.'

+The Story+ has no historical foundation, as far as can be discovered; and for once we have a traditional tale inculcating a moral, though we do not understand why the 'nourice' betrays Sir James to his enemies.

Michael Bruce wrote a version of the story of this ballad, which seems to have become more popular than the ballad itself. It may be seen in A. B. Grosart's edition of his works (1865), p. 197.

SIR JAMES THE ROSE

1.
O heard ye of Sir James the Rose,
The young heir of Buleighan?
For he has killed a gallant squire,
And his friends are out to take him.

2.
Now he's gone to the house of Marr,
Where the Nourice was his leman;
To seek his dear he did repair,
Thinking she would befriend him.

3.
'Where are you going, Sir James?' she says,
'Or where now are you riding?'
'Oh, I am bound to a foreign land,
For now I'm under hiding.

4.
'Where shall I go? where shall I run?
Where shall I go to hide me?
For I have killed a gallant squire,
And they're seeking to slay me.'

5.
'O go ye down to yon ale-house,
And I'll there pay your lawin';
And if I be a maiden true,
I'll meet you in the dawin'.'

6.
'I'll no go down to yon ale-house,
For you to pay my lawin';
There's forty shillings for one supper,
I'll stay in't till the dawin'.'

7.
He's turned him richt and round about,
And rowed him in his brechan;
And he has gone to take his sleep,
In the lowlands of Buleighan.

8.
He had not weel gone out o' sicht,
Nor was he past Millstrethen,
Till four-and-twenty belted knights,
Came riding owre the Lethan.

9.
'O have ye seen Sir James the Rose,
The young heir of Buleighan?
For he has killed a gallant squire,
And we're sent out to take him.'

10.
'O I have seen Sir James,' she says,
'For he passed here on Monday;
If the steed be swift that he rides on,
He's past the gates o' London.'

11.
As they rode on man after man,
Then she cried out behind them,
'If you do seek Sir James the Rose,
I'll tell you where you'll find him.'

12.
'Seek ye the bank abune the mill,
In the lowlands of Buleighan;
And there you'll find Sir James the Rose,
Lying sleeping in his brechan.

13.
'You must not wake him out of sleep,
Nor yet must you affright him,
Till you drive a dart quite through his heart,
And through his body pierce him.'

14.
They sought the bank abune the mill,
In the lowlands of Buleighan,
And there they found Sir James the Rose,
Lying sleeping in his brechan.

15.
Up then spake Sir John the Graeme
Who had the charge a-keeping,
'It shall ne'er be said, dear gentlemen,
We killed a man when a-sleeping.

16.
They seized his broad sword and his targe,
And closely him surrounded;
And when he waked out of his sleep,
His senses were confounded.

17.
'O pardon, pardon, gentlemen,
Have mercy now upon me.'
'Such as you gave, such you shall have,
And so we fall upon thee.'

18.
'Donald, my man, wait me upon,
And I'll gie you my brechan;
And if you stay here till I die,
You'll get my trews of tartan.

19.
'There is fifty pounds in my pocket,
Besides my trews and brechan,
Ye'll get my watch and diamond ring,
And take me to Loch-Largan.'

20.
Now they've ta'en out his bleeding heart,
And stuck it on a spear,
Then took it to the House of Marr,
And gave it to his dear.

21.
But when she saw his bleeding heart,
She was like one distracted,
She wrung her hands and tore her hair,
Crying, 'Oh! what have I acted.

22.
'It's for your sake, Sir James the Rose,
That my poor heart's a-breaking;
Cursed be the day I did thee betray,
Thou brave knight o' Buleighan.'

23.
Then up she rose, and forth she goes,
And in that fatal hour
She bodily was borne away,
And never was seen more.

24.
But where she went was never kent;
And so, to end the matter,
A traitor's end you may depend
Can never be no better.

[Annotations:
7.2: 'brechan,' plaid.]

CLYDE'S WATER

+The Text+ is from the Skene MS., but I have omitted the three final lines, which do not make a complete stanza, and, when compared with Scott's 'Old Lady's' version, are obviously corrupt. The last verse should signify that the mothers of Willie and Meggie went up and down the bank saying, 'Clyde's water has done us wrong!'

The ballad is better known as _Willie and May Margaret_.

+The Story.+--Willie refuses his mother's request to stay at home, as he wishes to visit his true-love. The mother puts her malison, or curse, upon him, but he rides off. Clyde is roaring, but Willie says, 'Drown me as I come back, but spare me as I go,' which is Martial's

'Parcite dum propero, mergite cum redeo,'

and occurs in other English broadsides. Meggie will not admit Willie, and he rides away. Meggie awakes, and learns that she has dismissed her true-love in her sleep. Our ballad is deficient here, but it is obvious from st. 19 that both lovers are drowned. We must understand, therefore, that Meggie follows Willie across Clyde. A variant of the ballad explains that she found him 'in the deepest pot' in all Clyde's water, and drowned herself.

Child notes that there is a very popular Italian ballad of much the same story, except that the mother's curse is on the girl and not the man.

There is a curious change in the style of spelling from stanza 15 to the end.

CLYDE'S WATER

1.
'Ye gie corn unto my horse,
An' meat unto my man,
For I will gae to my true-love's gates
This night, gin that I can.'

2.
'O stay at hame this ae night, Willie,
This ae bare night wi' me;
The best bed in a' my house
Sall be well made to thee.'

3.
'I carena for your beds, mither,
I carena ae pin,
For I'll gae to my love's gates
This night, gin I can win.'

4.
'O stay, my son Willie, this night,
This ae night wi' me;
The best hen in a' my roost
Sall be well made ready for thee.'

5.
'I carena for your hens, mither,
I carena ae pin;
I sall gae to my love's gates
This night, gin I can win.'

6.
'Gin ye winna stay, my son Willie,
This ae bare night wi' me,
Gin Clyde's water be deep and fu' o' flood,
My malisen drown ye!'

7.
He rode up yon high hill,
An' down yon dowie glen;
The roaring o' Clyde's water
Wad hae fleyt ten thousand men.

8.
'O spare me, Clyde's water,
O spare me as I gae!
Mak me your wrack as I come back,
But spare me as I gae!'

9.
He rade in, and farther in,
Till he came to the chin;
And he rade in, and farther in,
Till he came to dry lan'.

10.
And whan he came to his love's gates,
He tirled at the pin.
'Open your gates, Meggie,
Open your gates to me,
For my beets are fu' o' Clyde's water,
And the rain rains oure my chin.'

11.
'I hae nae lovers therout,' she says,
'I hae nae love within;
My true-love is in my arms twa,
An' nane will I lat in.'

12.
'Open your gates, Meggie, this ae night,
Open your gates to me;
For Clyde's water is fu' o' flood,
An' my mither's malison'll drown me.'

13.
'Ane o' my chamers is fu' o' corn,' she says,
'An' ane is fu' o' hay;
Anither is fu' o' gentlemen,
An' they winna move till day.'

14.
Out waked her May Meggie,
Out o' her drousy dream:
'I dreamed a dream sin the yestreen,
(God read a' dreams to guid!)
That my true-love Willie
Was standing at my bed-feet.'

15.
'Now lay ye still, my ae dochter,
An' keep my back fra the call',
For it's na the space of hafe an hour
Sen he gad fra yer hall'.'

16.
'An' hey, Willie, an' hoa, Willie,
Winne ye turn agen?'
But ay the louder that she crayed
He rod agenst the wind.

17.
He rod up yon high hill,
An' doun yon douey den;
The roring that was in Clide's water
Wad ha' flayed ten thousand men.

18.
He road in, an' farder in,
Till he came to the chine;
An' he road in, an' farder in,
Bat never mare was seen.

... ... ...

19.
Ther was na mare seen of that guid lord
Bat his hat frae his head;
There was na mare seen of that lady
Bat her comb an' her sneed.

... ... ...

[Annotations:
6.4: 'malisen,' curse.
7.4: 'fleyt,' frightened.
14.4: 'read,' interpret.
14.6: 'standing,' _staring_ in manuscript.
19.4: 'sneed,' snood, fillet.]

KATHARINE JAFFRAY

+The Text+ is from Herd's MSS., two copies showing a difference of one word and a few spellings. Stt. 3 and 5 are interchanged for the sake of the sense.

Many copies of this ballad exist (Child prints a dozen), but this one is both the shortest and simplest.

+The Story.+--In _The Cruel Brother_ (First Series, p. 76) it was shown that a lover must 'speak to the brother' of his lady. Here the lesson, it seems, is that he must 'tell the lass herself' before her wedding-day. Katharine, however, not only proves her faith to her first lover (her 'grass-green' dress, 10.2, shows an ill-omened marriage), but prefers the Scot to the Southron. This lesson the ballad drives home in the last two verses.

Presumably Scott founded _Young Lochinvar_ on the story of this ballad, as in six versions the Scots laird bears that name.

KATHARINE JAFFRAY

1.
There liv'd a lass in yonder dale,
And doun in yonder glen, O,
And Kath'rine Jaffray was her name,
Well known by many men, O.

2.
Out came the Laird of Lauderdale,
Out frae the South Countrie,
All for to court this pretty maid,
Her bridegroom for to be.

3.
He has teld her father and mither baith,
And a' the rest o' her kin,
And has teld the lass hersell,
And her consent has win.

4.
Then came the Laird of Lochinton,
Out frae the English border,
All for to court this pretty maid,
Well mounted in good order.

5.
He's teld her father and mither baith,
As I hear sindry say,
But he has nae teld the lass hersell,
Till on her wedding day.

6.
When day was set, and friends were met,
And married to be,
Lord Lauderdale came to the place,
The bridal for to see.

7.
'O are you come for sport, young man?
Or are you come for play?
Or are you come for a sight o' our bride,
Just on her wedding day?'

8.
'I'm nouther come for sport,' he says,
'Nor am I come for play;
But if I had one sight o' your bride,
I'll mount and ride away.'

9.
There was a glass of the red wine
Fill'd up them atween,
And ay she drank to Lauderdale,
Wha her true-love had been.

10.
Then he took her by the milk-white hand,
And by the grass-green sleeve,
And he mounted her high behind him there,
At the bridegroom he askt nae leive.

11.
Then the blude run down by Cowden Banks,
And down by Cowden Braes,
And ay she gard the trumpet sound,
'O this is foul, foul play!'

12.
Now a' ye that in England are,
Or are in England born,
Come nere to Scotland to court a lass,
Or else ye'l get the scorn.

13.
They haik ye up and settle ye by,
Till on your wedding day,
And gie ye frogs instead o' fish,
And play ye foul, foul play.

[Annotations:
13.1: 'haik ye up,' kidnap (_Jamieson_), but ? delude, or keep in
suspense.]

LIZIE LINDSAY

+The Text+ is from Kinloch's MSS. He obtained it from Mearnsshire, and remarks that according to the tradition of that district the heroine was said to have been a daughter of Lindsay of Edzell, though he had searched in vain for genealogical confirmation of the tradition.

+The Story.+--'Ballads of this description,' says Professor Child, 'are peculiarly liable to interpolation and debasement.' In this version the most offending stanza is the tenth; and the extra two lines in stt. 22 and 24 also appear to be unnecessary. The anapaestic metre of this version should be noted.

The ballad was and is a great favourite with singers, and the tune may be found in several of the collections of Scottish songs.

LIZIE LINDSAY

1.
It's of a young lord o' the Hielands,
A bonnie braw castle had he,
And he says to his lady mither,
'My boon ye will grant to me:
Sall I gae to Edinbruch city,
And fesh hame a lady wi' me?'

2.
'Ye may gae to Edinbruch city,
And fesh hame a lady wi' thee,
But see that ye bring her but flatt'rie,
And court her in grit povertie.'

3.
'My coat, mither, sall be o' the plaiden,
A tartan kilt oure my knee,
Wi' hosens and brogues and the bonnet;
I'll court her wi' nae flatt'rie.'

4.
Whan he cam to Edinbruch city,
He play'd at the ring and the ba',
And saw monie a bonnie young ladie,
But Lizie Lindsay was first o' them a'.

5.
Syne, dress'd in his Hieland grey plaiden,
His bonnet abune his e'e-bree,
He called on fair Lizie Lindsay;
Says, 'Lizie, will ye fancy me?

6.
'And gae to the Hielands, my lassie,
And gae, gae wi' me?
O gae to the Hielands, Lizie Lindsay,
I'll feed ye on curds and green whey.

7.
'And ye'se get a bed o' green bracken;
My plaidie will hap thee and me;
Ye'se lie in my arms, bonnie Lizie,
If ye'll gae to the Hielands wi' me.'

8.
'O how can I gae to the Hielands
Or how can I gae wi' thee,
Whan I dinna ken whare I'm gaing,
Nor wha I hae to gae wi'?'

9.
'My father, he is an auld shepherd,
My mither, she is an auld dey;
My name it is Donald Macdonald,
My name I'll never deny.'

10.
'O Donald, I'll gie ye five guineas
To sit ae hour in my room,
Till I tak aff your ruddy picture;
Whan I hae 't, I'll never think lang.'

11.
'I dinna care for your five guineas;
It's ye that's the jewel to me;
I've plenty o' kye in the Hielands,
To feed ye wi' curds and green whey.

12.
'And ye'se get a bonnie blue plaidie,
Wi' red and green strips thro' it a';
And I'll be the lord o' your dwalling,
And that's the best picture ava'.

13.
'And I am laird o' a' my possessions;
The king canna boast o' na mair;
And ye'se hae my true heart in keeping,
There'll be na ither e'en hae a share.

14.
'Sae gae to the Hielands, my lassie,
O gae awa' happy wi' me;
O gae to the Hielands, Lizie Lindsay.
And hird the wee lammies wi' me.'

15.
'O how can I gae wi' a stranger,
Oure hills and oure glens frae my hame?'
'I tell ye I am Donald Macdonald;
I'll ever be proud o' my name.'

16.
Doun cam Lizie Lindsay's ain father,
A knicht o' a noble degree;
Says, 'If ye do steal my dear daughter,
It's hangit ye quickly sall be.'

17.
On his heel he turn'd round wi' a bouncie,
And a licht lauch he did gie;
'There's nae law in Edinbruch city
This day that can dare to hang me.'

18.
Then up bespak Lizie's best woman,
And a bonnie young lass was she;
'Had I but a mark in my pouchie,
It's Donald that I wad gae wi'.'

19.
'O Helen, wad ye leave your coffer,
And a' your silk kirtles sae braw,
And gang wi' a bare-hough'd puir laddie,
And leave father, mither, and a'?

20.
'But I think he's a witch or a warlock,
Or something o' that fell degree,
For I'll gae awa' wi' young Donald,
Whatever my fortune may be.'

21.
Then Lizie laid doun her silk mantle,
And put on her waiting-maid's goun,
And aff and awa' to the Hielands
She's gane wi' this young shepherd loun.

22.
Thro' glens and oure mountains they wander'd,
Till Lizie had scantlie a shoe;
'Alas and ohone!' says fair Lizie,
'Sad was the first day I saw you!
I wish I war in Edinbruch city;
Fu' sair, sair this pastime I rue.'

23.
'O haud your tongue now, bonnie Lizie,
For yonder's the shieling, my hame,
And there's my guid auld honest mither,
That's coming to meet ye her lane.'

24.
'O ye're welcome, ye're welcome, Sir Donald,
Ye're welcome hame to your ain.'
'O ca' me na young Sir Donald,
But ca' me Donald my son.'
And this they hae spoken in Erse,
That Lizie micht not understand.

25.
The day being weetie and daggie,
They lay till 'twas lang o' the day.
'Win up, win up, bonnie Lizie,
And help at the milking the kye.'

26.
O slowly raise up Lizie Lindsay,
The saut tear blindit her e'e.
'O war I in Edinbruch city,
The Hielands shoud never see me!'

27.
He led her up to a hie mountain,
And bade her look out far and wide.
'I'm lord o' thae isles and thae mountains,
And ye're now my beautiful bride.

28.
'Sae rue na ye've come to the Hielands,
Sae rue na ye've come aff wi' me,
For ye're great Macdonald's braw lady,
And will be to the day that ye dee.'

[Annotations:
9.2: 'dey,' dairy-woman.
19.3: 'bare-hough'd,' with bare thighs.
20.1: 'warlock,' wizard.
23.2: 'shieling,' hut.
25.1: 'daggie,' drizzling.]

THE GARDENER

+The Text+ of this pretty little song is taken from Kinloch's MSS., where it is in James Beattie's handwriting. In _Five Excellent New Songs_, printed at Edinburgh in 1766, there is an older but much corrupted version of this song, confused with two other songs, a 'Thyme' song and the favourite 'I sowed the seeds of love.' It is printed as two songs, _The New Lover's Garland_ and _The Young Maid's Answer_, both with the following refrain:--

'Brave sailing here, my dear,
And better sailing there,
And brave sailing in my love's arms,
O if I were there!'

+The Story+ is so slight that the song can scarcely be counted as a narrative. But it is one of the lyrical dialogues covered by the word 'ballad,' and was not ruled out by Professor Child. There seems to be a loss of half a verse in 7, which should doubtless be two stanzas.

THE GARDENER

1.
The gardener stands in his bower-door,
With a primrose in his hand,
And by there came a leal maiden,
As jimp's a willow wand.
_And by_, etc.

2.
'O lady, can you fancy me,
For to be my bride?
You'll get a' the flowers in my garden
To be to you a weed.