Chapter XIII: Part THE SECOND (2)

"ffor Merchandyes and Manhood,
the like is nott to be ffound;
the sight of these wold doe you good,
ffor you haue not the Like in your English ground." 292
but when hee heard tell that they were come,
full royally hee welcomed them home:
Sir Andrews shipp was the Kings New yeeres guifft;
A brauer shipp you neuer saw none. 296

Now hath our King Sir Andrews shipp
besett with pearles and precyous stones;
Now hath England 2 shipps of warr,
2 shipps of warr, before but one. 300
"who holpe to this?" sayes King Henerye,
"that I may reward him ffor his paine,"
"Harry Hunt and Peeter Simon,
William Horseleay, & I the same." 304

"Harry Hunt shall haue his whistle & chaine,
& all his Iewells, whatsoeuer they bee,
& other rich giffts that I will not name,
for his good service he hath done mee. 308
Horslay, right thoust be a Knight;
Lands and liuings thou shalt haue store.
Howard shalbe Erle of Nottingham,
& soe was neuer Haward before. 312

"Now Peeter Simon, thou art old,
I will maintaine thee & thy sonne,
thou shalt haue 500^{li}. all in gold
ffor the good service that thou hast done." 316
then King Henerye shiffted his roome;
in came the Queene & ladyes bright;
other arrands they had none
but to see Sir Andrew Bartton, Knight. 320

but when they see his deadly fface,
his eyes were hollow in his head,
"I wold giue a 100^{li}." sais King Henerye,
"the man were aliue as hee is dead! 324
yett ffor the manfull part that hee hath playd
both heere & beyond the sea
his men shall haue halfe a crowne a day
to bring them to my brother King Iamye." 328

ffinis.]

FOOTNOTES:

[580] [Copied literally from Lord Herbert's (of Cherbury) _History of Henry VIII._, p. 116.]

[581] Thomas Howard, afterwards created Duke of Norfolk.

[582] Called by old historians lord Howard, afterwards created earl of Surrey in his father's lifetime. He was father of the poetical earl of Surrey.

[583] From the pr. copy.

[584] Ver. 15, 83. robber, MS.

[585] Ver. 29. lord Charles Howard, MS.

[586] An old Eng. word for breadth.

[587] Pr. copy.

[588] Mr. Lambe, in his notes to the poem on the _Battle of Flodden Field_, contends that this expert bowman's name was not Horseley, but Hustler, of a family long seated near Stockton, in Cleveland, Yorkshire. Vid. p. 5.

[589] Ver. 70. Journey, MS.

[590] Ver. 91. The MS. has here Archborde, but in pt. ii. ver. 5 Hachebord: [= ship or side of the ship.]

[591] [richly fitted out.]

[592] It should seem from hence, that before our marine artillery was brought to its present perfection, some naval commanders had recourse to instruments or machines, similar in use, though perhaps unlike in construction, to the heavy dolphins made of lead or iron used by the ancient Greeks; which they suspended from beams or yards fastened to the masts, and which they precipitately let fall on the enemies ships, in order to sink them, by beating holes through the bottoms of their undecked triremes, or otherwise damaging them. These are mentioned by Thucydides, lib. vii. p. 256, ed. 1564, folio, and are more fully explained in _Schefferi de Militiâ Navali_, lib. ii. cap. v. p. 136, ed. 1653, 4to.

N.B. It everywhere in the MS. seems to be written "beanes."

[593] Ver. 5. "hached with gold," MS.

[594] [flags.]

[595] _i.e._ did not salute.

[596] Ver. 35. _i.e._ discharged chain-shot.

[597] Ver. 67. 84 pounds, MS.

[598] [climbed.]

[599] V. 75. bearinge, sc. that carries well, &c.

[600] [shoulder.]

[601] [For a reference to whistles used by naval commanders, see Statute of apparel, 24 Hen. VIII. c. 13 (Anstis's _Order of the Garter_, vol. ii. p. 121.)]

[602] Ver. 175, 6.... Erle of Nottingham, And soe was never, &c., MS.

XIII.

LADY ANNE BOTHWELL'S LAMENT.

A SCOTTISH SONG.

The subject of this pathetic ballad the Editor once thought might possibly relate to the Earl of Bothwell, and his desertion of his wife Lady Jean Gordon, to make room for his marriage with the Queen of Scots.

But this opinion he now believes to be groundless; indeed Earl Bothwell's age, who was upwards of 60 at the time of that marriage, renders it unlikely that he should be the object of so warm a passion as this elegy supposes. He has been since informed, that it entirely refers to a private story: A young lady of the name of _Bothwell_, or rather _Boswell_, having been, together with her child, deserted by her husband or lover, composed these affecting lines herself; which here are given from a copy in the Editor's folio MS. corrected by another in Allan Ramsay's _Miscellany_.

* * * * *

[The young lady alluded to above has since been set aside for the
Hon. Anne Bothwell, daughter of Adam Bothwell, Bishop of Orkney.
Mr. James Maidment, in his elegant edition of _Scottish Ballads
and Songs_ (vol. ii. 1868), writes: "The late Charles Kirkpatrick
Sharpe, Esquire, whose knowledge of antiquated scandal was
extraordinary, found in a MS. history of the family of Bothwell by
Father Hay, that Adam Bothwell, Bishop of Orkney, had a daughter
named 'Anne, who fell with child to a son of the Earl of Marre.'"
Anne was the sister of the first Lord Holyroodhouse (created in
1607), and her seducer was Alexander, third son of John, seventh
Earl of Mar, a cousin of her own, considered one of the handsomest
men of his day. This is all very well for conjecture, but it is
nothing more. The ballad does not appear to have been associated
with a Bothwell, or in fact with any named person, until more than
a century after it was written. In the Folio MS. it is simply
called _Balowe_, and Percy therefore might well have hesitated
before he gave it the heading he has, and before he Scotticised all
the English words. The four earliest versions are in the following
books: 1. Richard Brome's Comedy of the _Northern Lass, or the
Nest of Fools_, printed in 1632, but acted somewhat earlier; 2.
Percy Folio; 3. Pinkerton's MS. (1625-49), in the possession of
David Laing; 4. John Gamble's MS., 1649; 5. Elizabeth Rogers' MS.,
1658. Mr. Chappell drew up the following very valuable note for
the edition of the Percy Folio (vol. iii. p. 518), which puts the
matter very clearly:--

"Baloo is a sixteenth-century ballad, not a seventeenth. It is
alluded to by several of our early dramatists, and the tune is to
be found in an early Elizabethan MS. known as William Ballet's
Lute Book, as well as in Morley's _Consort Lessons_, printed in
1599. The words and tune are together in John Gamble's Music Book,
a MS. in the possession of Dr. Rimbault, (date 1649,) and in
Elizabeth Rogers's Virginal Book, in the library of the British
Museum (Addit. MS. 10,337). The last is dated 1658, but the copy
may have been taken some few years after. Baloo was so popular a
subject that it was printed as a street ballad, with additional
stanzas, just as 'My lodging it is on the cold ground' and other
popular songs were lengthened for the same purpose. It has been
reprinted in that form by Evans, in his _Old Ballads, Historical
and Narrative_, edit. 1810, vol. i. p. 259. The title is 'The New
Balow; or A Wenches Lamentation for the loss of her Sweetheart:
he having left her a babe to play with, being the fruits of her
folly.' The particular honour of having been the 'wench' in
question was first claimed for 'Lady Anne Bothwell' in Part iii. of
_Comic and Serious Scots Poems_, published by Watson in Edinburgh
in 1711. Since that date Scotch antiquaries have been very busy in
searching into the scandalous history of the Bothwell family, to
find out which of the Lady Annes might have been halla-balooing.

"May we not release the whole race from this imputation? The sole
authority for the charge is Watson's _Collection_! the same book
that ascribes to the unfortunate Montrose the song of 'My dear and
only love, take heed,' and tacks it as a second part to his 'My
dear and only love, I pray.' Shade of Montrose! how must you be
ashamed of your over-zealous advocate! Let us examine whether the
spirit of 'Lady Anne Bothwel' has more reason to be grateful. Among
the stanzas ascribed to her by Watson are the two following, which
are not to be found in any English copy:--

'I take my fate from best to worse
That I must needs now be a nurse,
And lull my young son in my lap.
From me, sweet orphan, take the pap:
Balow, my boy, thy mother mild
Shall sing, as from all bliss exil'd.'

"In the second we find the inducement supposed to have been offered
by Lady Anne's lover:

'I was too credulous at the first
To grant thee that a maiden durst,
And in thy bravery thou didst vaunt
That I no maintenance should want:(!)
Thou swear thou lov'd, thy mind is moved,
Which since no otherwise has proved.'

"Comment is unnecessary. Can any one believe that such lines were
written by or for any lady of rank? Yet they were copied as Lady
Anne's by Allan Ramsay, and polished in his usual style. They have
been polished and repolished by subsequent editors, but to little
avail, for they remain great blots upon a good English ballad.
There is not a Scotch word, nor even one peculiar to the North of
England, in the whole of Watson's version."

This attempt to dispute the Scottish origin of the ballad is
strongly resented by the editor of the _Ballad Minstrelsy of
Scotland_, Glasgow, 1871. At all events the fact remains that the
title "Lady Anne Bothwell's Balow" cannot be traced farther back
than Watson's _Collection_, published in 1711.]

* * * * *

Balow,[603] my babe, lye still and sleipe!
It grieves me sair to see thee weipe:
If thoust be silent, Ise be glad,
Thy maining[604] maks my heart ful sad.
Balow, my boy, thy mothers joy, 5
Thy father breides me great annoy.
Balow, my babe, ly stil and sleipe,
It grieves me sair to see thee weepe.

Whan he began to court my luve,
And with his sugred wordes[605] to muve, 10
His faynings fals, and flattering cheire
To me that time did not appeire:
But now I see, most cruell hee
Cares neither for my babe nor mee.
Balow, &c. 15

Lye still, my darling, sleipe a while,
And when thou wakest, sweitly smile:
But smile not, as thy father did,
To cozen maids: nay God forbid!
Bot yett I feire, thou wilt gae neire 20
Thy fatheris hart, and face to beire.
Balow, &c.

I cannae chuse, but ever will
Be luving to thy father still:
Whair-eir he gae, whair-eir he ryde, 25
My luve with him doth still abyde:
In weil or wae, whair-eir he gae,
Mine hart can neire depart him frae.
Balow, &c.

Bot doe not, doe not, prettie mine, 30
To faynings fals thine hart incline:
Be loyal to thy luver trew,
And nevir change hir for a new:
If gude or faire, of hir have care,
For womens banning's[606] wonderous sair. 35
Balow, &c.

Bairne, sin thy cruel father is gane,
Thy winsome smiles maun eise my paine;
My babe and I'll together live,
He'll comfort me when cares doe grieve: 40
My babe and I right saft will ly,
And quite forgeit man's cruelty.
Balow, &c.

Fareweil, fareweil, thou falsest youth,
That evir kist a womans mouth! 45
I wish all maides be warnd by mee
Nevir to trust mans curtesy;
For if we doe bot chance to bow,
They'le use us then they care not how.
Balow, my babe, ly stil, and sleipe, 50
It grives me sair to see thee weipe.

FOOTNOTES:

[603] [hush.]

[604] [moaning.]

[605] When _sugar_ was first imported into Europe, it was a very great dainty; and therefore the epithet _sugred_ is used by all our old writers metaphorically to express extreme and delicate sweetness. (See above, No. XI. v. 10.) _Sugar_ at present is cheap and common; and therefore suggests now a coarse and vulgar idea.

[606] [cursing.]

XIV.

THE MURDER OF THE KING OF SCOTS.

The catastrophe of Henry Stewart, lord Darnley, the unfortunate husband of Mary Q. of Scots, is the subject of this ballad. It is here related in that partial, imperfect manner in which such an event would naturally strike the subjects of another kingdom, of which he was a native. Henry appears to have been a vain, capricious, worthless young man, of weak understanding, and dissolute morals. But the beauty of his person, and the inexperience of his youth, would dispose mankind to treat him with an indulgence, which the cruelty of his murder would afterwards convert into the most tender pity and regret: and then imagination would not fail to adorn his memory with all those virtues he ought to have possessed. This will account for the extravagant elogium bestowed upon him in the first stanza, &c.

Henry lord Darnley was eldest son of the earl of Lennox, by the lady Margaret Douglas, niece of Henry VIII. and daughter of Margaret queen of Scotland by the earl of Angus, whom that princess married after the death of James IV.--Darnley, who had been born and educated in England, was but in his 21st year, when he was murdered, Feb. 9, 1567-8. This crime was perpetrated by the E. of Bothwell, not out of respect to the memory of Riccio, but in order to pave the way for his own marriage with the queen.

This ballad (printed, with a few corrections, from the Editor's folio MS.) seems to have been written soon after Mary's escape into England in 1568, see v. 65.--It will be remembered at v. 5, that this princess was Q. dowager of France, having been first married to Francis II. who died Dec. 4, 1560.

* * * * *

[In the above note Percy takes the ordinary unfavourable view
of Darnley's character, which is not entirely borne out by
contemporary evidence. Darnley was unfortunate both in having all
Mary's friends as his enemies and in having no supporters among
her opponents because he was a Roman Catholic. It is not fair to
dispose of such a ballad as the present with the inference that
the writer could know nothing of Darnley's character. It does not
stand alone, and it appears from the broadsides that circulated
through the country after his murder that the people had a real
liking for him although he had been amongst them only a couple of
years. Robert Lekprevik, the most celebrated Edinburgh printer
of his time, printed in 1567, _The Testament and Tragedie of
umquhile King Henrie Stewart of gude memorie_, a powerful poem,
which discovers clearly the popular feeling against Mary. Mr.
Froude also found one of these ballads among the Scottish State
Papers, in which curses are heaped upon Mary, who is called Dalila,
Clytemnestra and Semiramis for her murder of "ane bonny boy." One
of the verses is as follows:--

"At ten houris on Sunday late at een,
When Dalila and Bothwell bade good night,
Off her finger false she threw ane ring,
And said, My Lord ane token you I plight."

If the circumstances of the English ballad are related in a partial
and imperfect manner, what shall we say of the much more severe
tone of those written in Scotland. Mr. Maidment[607] has gathered
together a few facts that show how much may be said in favour of
the unfortunate prince. It appears from Colville's _Historie and
Life of King James the sext_, that Secretary Maitland inflamed
Darnley's mind with the insinuation that Rizzio was too intimate
with the queen. The criminal familiarity of her majesty with
Rizzio appears to have been generally suspected, so that Darnley's
conduct was that of a jealous husband who was fascinated with his
wife. Colville gives the following portrait of him:--"He was a
cumlie Prince, of a fayre and large stature of bodie, pleasant in
countenance and affable to all men and devote, weill excercesit in
martiall pastymis uponn horsback as ony prince of that age, bot was
sa facile as he could concele no secreit although it myght tend to
his awin weill."[608]

He was certainly accomplished and had been carefully educated.
He wrote a little tale called _Utopia Nova_ when he was between
eight and nine years of age, which he presented to his cousin, Mary
Tudor. The queen in return presented him with a gold chain, which
he acknowledged in a letter remarkable for the extreme beauty of
its caligraphy. He also completed a translation into English of
Valerius Maximus. Mr. Froude severely condemns the character of
Darnley in the following terms: "He was at once meddlesome and
incapable, weak and cowardly, yet insolent and unmanageable,"
and adds that Randolph described him as "a conceited, arrogant,
intolerant fool." Nevertheless "the death of the husband of the
Queen of Scots belongs to that rare class of incidents which, like
the murder of Cæsar, have touched the interests of the entire
educated world. Perhaps there is no single recorded act, arising
merely out of private or personal passions, of which the public
consequences have been so considerable."[609]

Darnley was the second son of the Earl and Countess of Lennox, and
not, as stated above, by Percy, the eldest. Their first-born died
on the 28th of November, 1545, nine months after his birth.

The following ballad is entitled _Earle Bodwell_ in the Folio MS.
(ed. Hales and Furnivall, vol. ii. p. 260). In the first three
editions of the _Reliques_ there were more alterations from the MS.
than in the fourth, for in the latter Percy restored several of the
old readings. The retained alterations are judicious, and no more
than the Editor might well feel himself justified in making.]

* * * * *

Woe worth, woe worth thee, false Scotlànde![610]
For thou hast ever wrought by sleight;[611]
The worthyest prince that ever was borne,[612]
You hanged under a cloud by night.

The queene of France a letter wrote, 5
And sealed itt with harte and ringe;
And bade him come Scotland within,
And shee wold marry and crowne him kinge.[613]

To be a king is a pleasant thing,[614]
To bee a prince unto a peere: 10
But you have heard, and soe have I too,
A man may well buy gold too deare.

There was an Italyan in that place,
Was as well beloved as ever was hee,
Lord David was his name,[615] 15
Chamberlaine to the queene was hee.[616]

If the king had risen forth of his place,[617]
He wold have sate him downe in the cheare,[618]
And tho itt beseemed him not so well,
Altho the kinge had beene present there. 20

Some lords in Scotlande waxed wroth,[619]
And quarrelled with him for the nonce;
I shall you tell how it befell,
Twelve daggers were in him att once.[620]

When the queene saw her chamberlaine was slaine,[621] 25
For him her faire cheeks shee did weete,[622]
And made a vowe for a yeare and a day[623]
The king and shee wold not come in one sheete.

Then some of the lords they waxed wrothe,[624]
And made their vow all vehementlye; 30
For the death of the queenes chamberlaine,
The king himselfe, how he shall dye.[625]

With gun-powder they strewed his roome,[626]
And layd greene rushes in his way;
For the traitors thought that very night[627] 35
This worthye king for to betray.[628]

To bedd the king he made him bowne;[629][630]
To take his rest was his desire;[631]
He was noe sooner cast on sleepe,
But his chamber was on a biasing fire. 40

Up he lope,[632] and the window brake;[633]
And hee had thirtye foote to fall:[634]
Lord Bodwell kept a privy watch,
Underneath his castle wall.

Who have wee here? lord Bodwell sayd:[635] 45
Now answer me, that I may know.[636]
"King Henry the eighth my uncle was;
For his sweete sake some pitty show."[637]

Who have we here? lord Bodwell sayd,[638]
Now answer me when I doe speake.[638] 50
"Ah, lord Bodwell, I know thee well;
Some pitty on me I pray thee take."

Ile pitty thee as much, he sayd,
And as much favor show to thee,[639]
As thou didst to the queenes chamberlaine,[640] 55
That day thou deemedst[641] him to die.[642]

Through halls and towers the king they ledd,[643]
Through towers and castles that were nye,[644]
Through an arbor into an orchàrd,
There on a peare-tree hanged him hye.[645] 60

When the governor of Scotland heard[646]
How that the worthye king was slaine;[647]
He persued the queen so bitterlye,
That in Scotland shee dare not remaine.[648]

But she is fledd into merry England, 65
And here her residence hath taine;[649]
And through the queene of Englands grace,[650]
In England now shee doth remaine.[651]

FOOTNOTES:

[607] James Maidment's _Scottish Ballads and Songs_, 1868, vol. ii. p. 12.

[608] Quoted in Maidment's _Ballads_, 1868, vol. ii. p. 8.

[609] [Froude's _History of England_ (Elizabeth), vol. iii. pp. 1-2.]

[610] [Ver. 1. woe worth thee, woe worth thee, MS.]

[611] [V. 2. by a sleight.]

[612] [V. 3. for the worthyest.]

[613] [V. 8. wold marry him.]

[614] [Ver. 9. it is a pleasant.]

[615] V. 15. _sic_ MS.

[616] [V. 16. chamberlaine unto.]

[617] [V. 17. ffor if the king.]

[618] [V. 18. have sitt him.]

[619] [V. 21. wonderous wroth.]

[620] [V. 24. all att once.]

[621] [V. 25. when this queen see the chamberlaine.]

[622] [V. 26. her cheeks.]

[623] [V. 27. vow for a 12 month.]

[624] [V. 29. Lords of Scottland waxed.]

[625] [V. 32. the king himselfe he shall dye.]

[626] [V. 33. they strowed his chamber over with gun-powder.]

[627] [V. 35. that night.]

[628] [V. 36. the worthye.]

[629] [ready.]

[630] [Ver. 37. the worthy king made.]

[631] [V. 38. that was his desire.]

[632] [leapt.]

[633] [V. 41. and a glasse window broke.]

[634] [V. 42. he had 30 foote for to ffall.]

[635] [V. 45. sayd Lord Bodwell.]

[636] [V. 46. answer me, now I doe call.]

[637] [V. 48. some pitty show for his sweet sake.]

[638] [V. 49, 50. these two lines are not in the MS., but are here introduced to equalize the stanzas.]

[639] [V. 54. Ile show to thee.]

[640] [V. 55. As thou had on the.]

[641] [doomedst.]

[642] Pronounced after the northern manner dee.

[643] [V. 57. this king.]

[644] [V. 58. through castles and towers that were hye.]

[645] [V. 60. and there hanged him in a peare tree.]

[646] [Ver. 61. Scottland he heard tell.]

[647] [V. 62. that the worthye king he was slaine.]

[648] [V. 64. he hath banished the queene.]

[649] [V. 66. and Scottland to aside hath laine.]

[650] [V. 67. good grace.]

[651] [V. 68. now in England, MS.]

XV.

A SONNET BY Q. ELIZABETH.

The following lines, if they display no rich vein of poetry, are yet so strongly characteristic of their great and spirited authoress, that the insertion of them will be pardoned. They are preserved in Puttenham's _Arte of English Poesie_; a book in which are many sly addresses to the queen's foible of shining as a poetess. The extraordinary manner in which these verses are introduced shews what kind of homage was exacted from the courtly writers of that age, viz.

"I find," says this antiquated critic, "none example in English metre, so well maintaining this figure [_Exargasia_, or the Gorgeous, Lat. _Expolitio_] as that dittie of her majesties owne making, passing sweete and harmonicall; which figure beyng as his very originall name purporteth the most bewtifull and gorgious of all others, it asketh in reason to be reserved for a last complement, and desciphred by a ladies penne herselfe beyng the most bewtifull, or rather bewtìe of queenes.[652] And this was the occasion: our soveraigne lady perceiving how the Scottish queenes residence within this realme at so great libertie and ease (as were skarce meete for so great and dangerous a prysoner) bred secret factions among her people, and made many of the nobilitie incline to favour her partie: some of them desirous of innovation in the state: others aspiring to greater fortunes by her libertie and life. The queene our soveraigne ladie to declare that she was nothing ignorant of those secret practizes, though she had long with great wisdome and pacience dissembled it, writeth this dittie most sweete and sententious, not hiding from all such aspiring minds the daunger of their ambition and disloyaltie: which afterward fell out most truly by th' exemplary chastisement of sundry persons, who in fauour of the said Sc. Q. declining from her Maiestie, sought to interrupt the quiet of the Realme by many euill and vndutiful practizes." (p. 207.)

This sonnet was probably written in 1584, not long before Hen. Percy 8th E. of Northumberland was imprisoned on suspicion of plotting with F. Throckmorton, Tho. Lord Paget, and the Guises, for invading England, and liberating the Q. of Scots, &c. (See Collins's _Peerage_, 1779, ii. 405.) The original is written in long lines or alexandrines, each of which is here, on account of the narrowness of the page, subdivided into two: but her majesty's orthography, or at least that of her copyist, is exactly followed.

In the first edition of Harrington's _Nugæ Antiquæ_, 1st vol. 1769, 12mo. p. 58, is a copy of this poem, with great variations, the best of which are noted below. It is there accompanied with a very curious letter, in which this sonnet is said to be "of her Highness own enditing ... My Lady Willoughby did covertly get it on her Majesties tablet, and had much hazard in so doing; for the Queen did find out the thief, and chid for spreading evil bruit of her writing such toyes, when other matters did so occupy her employment at this time; and was fearful of being thought too lightly of for so doing." ***

* * * * *

The doubt of future foes,[653]
Exiles my present ioy,
And wit me warnes to shun such snares
As threaten mine annoy.

For falshood now doth flow, 5
And subiect faith doth ebbe,[654]
Which would not be, if reason rul'd[655]
Or wisdome weu'd the webbe.[656]

But clowdes of iois vntried,[657]
Do cloake aspiring mindes, 10
Which turne to raine of late repent,[658]
By course of changed windes.

The toppe of hope supposed,
The roote of ruthe wil be,
And frutelesse all their graffed guiles, 15
As shortly ye shall see.

Then dazeld eyes with pride,
Which great ambition blinds,
Shalbe vnseeld by worthy wights,
Whose foresight falshood finds. 20

The daughter of debate,[659]
That eke discord doth sowe,[660]
Shal reap no gaine where former rule[661]
Hath taught stil peace to growe.

No forreine bannisht wight 25
Shall ancre in this port,
Our realme it brookes no strangers force,[662]
Let them elsewhere resort.

Our rusty sworde with rest,
Shall first his edge employ, 30
To polle their toppes, that seeke such change
And gape for 'such like' ioy.[663]

* * * * *

[+±+] I cannot help subjoining to the above sonnet another distich
of Elizabeth's preserved by Puttenham (p. 197) "which (says he) our
soveraigne lady wrote in defiance of fortune."

"Never thinke you, Fortune can beare the sway,
Where Vertue's force can cause her to obay."

The slightest effusion of such a mind deserves attention.

FOOTNOTES:

[652] She was at this time near three-score.

[653] Ver. 1. dread, Harrington's ed.

[654] V. 6. subjects, Har.

[655] V. 7. should, Har.

[656] V. 8. wove, Har.

[657] Ver. 9. joys, Har.

[658] V. 11. raigne, Puttenham.

[659] _Scil._ the Queen of Scots.

[660] V. 22. That discorde aye, Har.

[661] V. 23. formor, Put.

[662] V. 27. realme brookes no seditious Sects, Har.

[663] V. 32. "such like" is supplied from Harrington's ed., in which are other variations, that seem meer mistakes of the transcriber or printer.

XVI.

KING OF SCOTS AND ANDREW BROWNE.

This ballad is a proof of the little intercourse that subsisted between the Scots and English, before the accession of James I. to the crown of England. The tale which is here so circumstantially related does not appear to have had the least foundation in history, but was probably built upon some confused hearsay report of the tumults in Scotland during the minority of that prince, and of the conspiracies formed by different factions to get possession of his person. It should seem from ver. 97 to have been written during the regency, or at least before the death, of the earl of Morton, who was condemned and executed June 2, 1581; when James was in his 15th year.

The original copy (preserved in the archives of the Antiquarian Society, London) is intitled, _A new Ballad, declaring the great treason conspired against the young king of Scots, and how one Andrew Browne an Englishman, which was the king's chamberlaine, prevented the same. To the tune of Milfield, or els to Green-sleeves._ At the end is subjoined the name of the author "W. Elderton. Imprinted at London for Yarathe James, dwelling in Newgate Market, over against Ch. Church," in black-letter, folio.

This _Elderton_, who had been originally an attorney in the sheriffs' courts of London, and afterwards (if we may believe Oldys) a comedian, was a facetious fuddling companion, whose tippling and rhymes rendered him famous among his contemporaries. He was author of many popular songs and ballads: and probably other pieces in these volumes, besides the following, are of his composing. He is believed to have fallen a victim to his bottle before the year 1592. His epitaph has been recorded by Camden, and translated by Oldys:--

"Hic situs est sitiens, atque ebrius Eldertonus,
Quid dico hic situs est? hic potius sitis est,"

"Dead drunk here Elderton doth lie;
Dead as he is, he still is dry:
So of him it may well be said,
Here he, but not his thirst, is laid."

See Stow's _Lond._ [_Guild Hall_].--_Biog. Brit._ [_Drayton_, by Oldys Note B.] Ath. Ox.--Camden's _Remains_.--_The Exale-tation of Ale_, among Beaumont's _Poems_, 8vo. 1653.

* * * * *

[This ballad was licensed to Y. James on the 30th of May, 1581.
Percy does not mention in the above note the fact that the ballad
is included in the Folio MS., where it is entitled _Bishoppe and_
_Browne_ (ed. Hales and Furnivall, vol. ii. p. 265). It only
consists of ten stanzas in place of fifteen, and two of them are
incomplete. There is a sort of second part, probably also by
Elderton, called _King James and Brown_, in the MS. (vol. i. p.
135), the villain of which is the same Douglas who is warned in the
98th verse of the present ballad to "take heede you do not offend
the king."]

* * * * *

Out alas!' what a griefe is this
That princes subjects cannot be true,
But still the devill hath some of his,
Will play their parts whatsoever ensue;
Forgetting what a grievous thing 5
It is to offend the anointed king?
Alas for woe, why should it be so,
This makes a sorrowful heigh ho.

In Scotland is a bonnie kinge,
As proper a youth as neede to be, 10
Well given to every happy thing,
That can be in a kinge to see:
Yet that unluckie country still,
Hath people given to craftie will.
Alas for woe, &c. 15

On Whitsun eve it so befell,
A posset was made to give the king,
Whereof his ladie nurse hard tell,
And that it was a poysoned thing:
She cryed, and called piteouslie; 20
Now help, or els the king shall die!
Alas for woe, &c.

One Browne, that was an English man,
And hard the ladies piteous crye,
Out with his sword, and bestir'd him than, 25
Out of the doores in haste to flie;
But all the doores were made so fast,
Out of a window he got at last
Alas for woe, &c.

He met the bishop coming fast, 30
Having the posset in his hande:
The sight of Browne made him aghast,
Who bad him stoutly staie and stand.
With him were two that ranne awa,
For feare that Browne would make a fray. 35
Alas for woe, &c.

Bishop, quoth Browne, what hast thou there?
Nothing at all, my friend, sayde he;
But a posset to make the king good cheere.
Is it so? sayd Browne, that will I see, 40
First I will have thyself begin,
Before thou go any further in;
Be it weale or woe, it shall be so,
This makes a sorrowful heigh ho.

The bishop sayde, Browne I doo know, 45
Thou art a young man poore and bare;
Livings on thee I will bestowe:
Let me go on, take thou no care.
No, no, quoth Browne, I will not be
A traitour for all Christiantie: 50
Happe well or woe, it shall be so,
Drink now with a sorrowfull, &c.

The bishop dranke, and by and by
His belly burst and he fell downe:
A just rewarde for his traitery. 55
This was a posset indeed, quoth Brown!
He serched the bishop, and found the keyes,
To come to the kinge when he did please.
Alas for woe, &c.

As soon as the king got word of this, 60
He humbly fell uppon his knee,
And praysed God that he did misse
To tast of that extremity:
For that he did perceive and know,
His clergie would betray him so: 65
Alas for woe, &c.

Alas, he said, unhappie realme,[664]
My father, and grandfather slaine:
My mother banished, O extreame!
Unhappy fate, and bitter bayne! 70
And now like treason wrought for me,
What more unhappie realme can be!
Alas for woe, &c.

The king did call his nurse to his grace,
And gave her twenty poundes a yeere; 75
And trustie Browne too in like case,
He knighted him with gallant geere;
And gave him 'lands and' livings great,
For dooing such a manly feat,
As he did showe, to the bishop's woe, 80
Which made, &c.

When all this treason done and past,
Tooke not effect of traytery;
Another treason at the last,
They sought against his majestie: 85
How they might make their kinge away,
By a privie banket[665] on a daye.
Alas for woe, &c.

'Another time' to sell the king
Beyonde the seas they had decreede: 90
Three noble Earles heard of this thing.
And did prevent the same with speede.
For a letter came, with such a charme,
That they should doo their king no harme:
For further woe, if they did soe, 95
Would make a sorrowful heigh hoe.

The Earle Mourton told the Douglas then,
Take heede you do not offend the king;
But shew yourselves like honest men
Obediently in every thing: 100
For his godmother[666] will not see
Her noble childe misus'd to be
With any woe; for if it be so,
She will make, &c.

God graunt all subjects may be true, 105
In England, Scotland, every where:
That no such daunger may ensue,
To put the prince or state in feare:
That God the highest king may see
Obedience as it ought to be, 110
In wealth or woe, God graunt it be so
To avoide the sorrowful heigh ho.

FOOTNOTES:

[664] Ver. 67. His father was Henry Lord Darnley. His grandfather the old Earl of Lenox, regent of Scotland, and father of Lord Darnley, was murdered at Stirling, Sept. 5, 1571.

[665] [banquet.]

[666] Q. Elizabeth.

XVII.

THE BONNY EARL OF MURRAY.

A SCOTTISH SONG.

In December, 1591, Francis Stewart, Earl of Bothwell, had made an attempt to seize on the person of his sovereign James VI., but being disappointed, had retired towards the north. The king unadvisedly gave a commission to George Gordon Earl of Huntley, to pursue Bothwell and his followers with fire and sword. Huntley, under cover of executing that commission, took occasion to revenge a private quarrel he had against James Stewart Earl of Murray, a relation of Bothwell's. In the night of Feb. 7, 1592, he beset Murray's house, burnt it to the ground, and slew Murray himself; a young nobleman of the most promising virtues, and the very darling of the people. See Robertson's _Hist._

The present Lord Murray hath now in his possession a picture of his ancestor naked and covered with wounds, which had been carried about, according to the custom of that age, in order to inflame the populace to revenge his death. If this picture did not flatter, he well deserved the name of the _bonny Earl_, for he is there represented as a tall and comely personage. It is a tradition in the family, that Gordon of Bucky gave him a wound in the face: Murray half expiring, said, "You hae spilt a better face than your awin." Upon this, Bucky pointing his dagger at Huntley's breast, swore, "You shall be as deep as I;" and forced him to pierce the poor defenceless body.

K. James, who took no care to punish the murtherers, is said by some to have privately countenanced and abetted them, being stimulated by jealousy for some indiscreet praises which his Queen had too lavishly bestowed on this unfortunate youth. See the preface to the next ballad. See also Mr. Walpole's _Catalogue of Royal Auth._ vol. i. p. 42.

* * * * *

[James Stewart, son of Sir James Stewart of Doune, acquired the
earldom of Murray by his marriage with Elizabeth, eldest daughter
and heiress of the Regent Murray. The earl was only twenty-one
years of age at the time of his murder, which was perpetrated at
Dinnibrissel, the seat of his mother, where he was on a visit.
Doune Castle in Menteith is now in ruins, but it is still the
property of the family, and gives the title of Viscount to the
eldest son of the Earl of Murray. The Earl of Huntley, instead of
being punished for his crime, was created a marquis, and King James
made the young earl of Murray marry the eldest daughter of his
father's murderer.

There is another version of this ballad given in Finlay's
_Scottish Ballads_ (ii. 21), which commences--

"Open the gates
And let him come in;
He is my brother Huntly,
He'll do me nae harm."

The author of this seems to have supposed that Murray married a
sister of Huntley.]

* * * * *

Ye highlands, and ye lawlands,
Oh! quhair hae ye been?
They hae slaine the Earl of Murray,
And hae laid him on the green.

Now wae be to thee, Huntley! 5
And quhairfore did you sae!
I bade you bring him wi' you,
But forbade you him to slay.

He was a braw gallant,
And he rid at the ring; 10
And the bonny Earl of Murray,
Oh! he might hae been a king.

He was a braw gallant,
And he playd at the ba';
And the bonny Earl of Murray 15
Was the flower among them a'.

He was a braw gallant,
And he playd at the gluve;
And the bonny Earl of Murray,
Oh! he was the Queenes luve. 20

Oh! lang will his lady
Luke owre the castle downe,[667]
Ere she see the Earl of Murray
Cum sounding throw the towne.

FOOTNOTES:

[667] _Castle downe_ here has been thought to mean the _Castle of Downe_, a seat belonging to the family of Murray.

XVIII.

YOUNG WATERS.

A SCOTTISH BALLAD.

It has been suggested to the Editor, that this ballad covertly alludes to the indiscreet partiality, which Q. Anne of Denmark is said to have shewn for the _bonny Earl of Murray_; and which is supposed to have influenced the fate of that unhappy nobleman. Let the reader judge for himself.

The following account of the murder is given by a contemporary writer, and a person of credit, Sir James Balfour, knight, Lyon King of Arms, whose MS. of the Annals of Scotland is in the Advocates library at Edinburgh.

"The seventh of Febry, this yeire, 1592, the Earle of Murray was cruelly murthered by the Earle of Huntley at his house in Dunibrissel in Fyffe-shyre, and with him Dumbar, shriffe of Murray. It [was] given out and publickly talked, that the Earle of Huntley was only the instrument of perpetrating this facte, to satisfie the King's jealousie of Murray, quhum the Queine more rashely than wyslie, some few dayes before had commendit in the King's heiringe, with too many epithets of a proper and gallant man. The reasons of these surmises proceidit from proclamatione of the Kings, the 18 of Marche following; inhibiting the younge Earle of Murray to persue the Earle of Huntley, for his father's slaughter, in respect he being wardit [imprisoned] in the castell of Blacknesse for the same murther, was willing to abide his tryall, averring that he had done nothing bot by the King's majesties commissione; and was neither airt nor part of the murther."[668]

The following ballad is here given from a copy printed not long since at Glasgow, in one sheet 8vo. The world was indebted for its publication to the lady Jean Hume, sister to the Earl of Hume, who died at Gibraltar [in 1761].

* * * * *

[Buchan, who printed a longer version of this ballad in thirty-nine
stanzas, believed young Waters to have been David Graham of
Fintray, who was found guilty of being concerned in a Popish plot,
and beheaded on the 16th of February, 1592. Chambers supposed that
the fate of some one of the Scottish nobles executed by James I.
after his return from captivity in England is alluded to. The
various conflicting conjectures are none of them very probable, and
there is nothing in the ballad that would conclusively connect it
with authentic Scottish history. Percy's suggestion is peculiarly
unfortunate, as young Waters was publicly executed at Stirling. Mr.
Maidment points out (_Scottish Ballads and Songs_, vol. i. p. 62)
that the first edition appeared under the following title, _Young_
_Waters, an Ancient Scotish Poem, never before printed. Glasgow:_
_printed and sold by Robert and Andrew Foulis, MDCCLV._ sm. 4to.
pp. 8; and he suggests that Lord Hailes was the editor of it.]

* * * * *

About Yule, quhen the wind blew cule,
And the round tables began,
A'! there is cum to our kings court
Mony a well-favourd man.

The queen luikt owre the castle wa, 5
Beheld baith dale and down,
And then she saw young Waters
Cum riding to the town.

His footmen they did rin before,
His horsemen rade behind, 10
Ane mantel of the burning gowd
Did keip him frae the wind.

Gowden graith'd[669] his horse before
And siller shod behind,
The horse yong Waters rade upon 15
Was fleeter than the wind.

But then spake a wylie lord,
Unto the queen said he,
O tell me quha's the fairest face
Rides in the company. 20

I've sene lord, and I've sene laird,
And knights of high degree;
Bot a fairer face than young Watèrs
Mine eyne did never see.

Out then spack the jealous king, 25
(And an angry man was he)
O, if he had been twice as fair,
You micht have excepted me.

You're neither laird nor lord, she says,
Bot the king that wears the crown; 30
Ther is not a knight in fair Scotland
Bot to thee maun bow down.

For a' that she could do or say,
Appeasd he wad nae bee;
Bot for the words which she had said 35
Young Waters he maun dee.

They hae taen young Waters, and
Put fetters to his feet;
They hae taen young Waters, and
Thrown him in dungeon deep. 40

Aft I have ridden thro' Stirling town
In the wind both and the weit;
Bot I neir rade thro' Stirling town
Wi fetters at my feet.

Aft have I ridden thro' Stirling town 45
In the wind both and the rain;
Bot I neir rade thro' Stirling town
Neir to return again.

They hae taen to the heiding-hill[670]
His young son in his craddle, 50
And they hae taen to the heiding-hill,
His horse both and his saddle.

They hae taen to the heiding-hill
His lady fair to see.
And for the words the Queen had spoke, 55
Young Waters he did dee.

FOOTNOTES:

[668] [Vol. i. Edin. 1824.]

[669] [caparisoned with golden accoutrements.]

[670] _Heiding-hill_; _i.e._ heading [beheading] hill. The place of execution was anciently an artificial hillock.

XIX.

MARY AMBREE.

In the year 1584, the Spaniards, under the command of Alexander Farnese, prince of Parma, began to gain great advantages in Flanders and Brabant, by recovering many strong holds and cities from the Hollanders, as Ghent, (called then by the English _Gaunt_,) Antwerp, Mechlin, &c. See Stow's _Annals_, p. 711. Some attempt made with the assistance of English volunteers to retrieve the former of those places probably gave occasion to this ballad. I can find no mention of our heroine in history, but the following rhymes rendered her famous among our poets. Ben Jonson often mentions her, and calls any remarkable virago by her name. See his _Epic[oe]ne_, first acted in 1609, act iv. sc. 2. His _Tale of a Tub_, act i. sc. 2. And his masque intitled the _Fortunate Isles_, 1626, where he quotes the very words of the ballad,

----"_Mary Ambree_,
(Who marched so free
To the siege of Gaunt,
And death could not daunt,
As the ballad doth vaunt)
Were a braver wight, &c."

She is also mentioned in Fletcher's _Scornful Lady_, act v. _sub finem_.

----"My large gentlewoman, my _Mary Ambree_, had I but seen into you, you should have had another bed-fellow."----

It is likewise evident, that she is the virago intended by Butler in _Hudibras_ (p. i. c. iii. v. 365), by her being coupled with _Joan d'Arc_, the celebrated _Pucelle d'Orleans_.

"A bold virago stout and tall
As _Joan_ of France, or English _Mall_."

This ballad is printed from a black letter copy in the Pepys Collection, improved from the Editor's folio MS. and by conjecture. The full title is, _The valorous acts performed at Gaunt by the brave bonnie lass Mary Ambree, who in revenge of her lovers death did play her part most gallantly_. The tune is, _The blind beggar, &c._

* * * * *

[The copy from the MS., which is printed at the end, will be found
to differ considerably from the following version.]

* * * * *

When captain's couragious, whom death cold not daunte,
Did march to the siege of the citty of Gaunt,
They mustred their souldiers by two and by three,
And the formost in battle was Mary Ambree.

When brave Sir John Major[671] was slaine in her sight, 5
Who was her true lover, her joy, and delight,
Because he was slaine most treacherouslie,
Then vowd to revenge him Mary Ambree.

She clothed herselfe from the top to the toe
In buffe of the bravest, most seemelye to showe; 10
A faire shirt of male[672] then slipped on shee;
Was not this a brave bonny lass, Mary Ambree?

A helmett of proofe shee strait did provide,
A strong arminge sword shee girt by her side,
On her hand a goodly faire gauntlett put shee; 15
Was not this a brave bonny lass, Mary Ambree?

Then tooke shee her sworde and her targett in hand,
Bidding all such, as wold, bee of her band;
To wayte on her person came thousand and three:
Was not this a brave bonny lass, Mary Ambree? 20

My soldiers, she saith, soe valiant and bold,
Nowe followe your captaine, whom you doe beholde;
Still foremost in battel myselfe will I bee:
Was not this a brave bonny lasse, Mary Ambree?

Then cryed out her souldiers, and loude they did say, 25
Soe well thou becomest this gallant array,
Thy harte and thy weapons soe well do agree,
There was none ever like Mary Ambree.

Shee cheared her souldiers, that foughten for life,
With ancyent and standard, with drum and with fyfe, 30
With brave clanging trumpetts, that sounded so free;
Was not this a brave bonny lasse, Mary Ambree?

Before I will see the worst of you all
To come into danger of death, or of thrall,
This hand and this life I will venture so free: 35
Was not this a brave bonny lasse, Mary Ambree?

Shee led upp her souldiers in battaile array,
Gainst three times theyr number by breake of the daye;
Seven howers in skirmish continued shee:
Was not this a brave bonny lasse, Mary Ambree? 40

She filled the skyes with the smoke of her shott,
And her enemyes bodyes with bullets soe hott;
For one of her owne men a score killed shee:
Was not this a brave bonny lasse, Mary Ambree?

And when her false gunner, to spoyle her intent, 45
Away all her pellets and powder had sent,
Straight with her keen weapon shee slasht him in three:
Was not this a brave bonny lasse, Mary Ambree?

Being falselye betrayed for lucre of hyre,
At length she was forced to make a retyre; 50
Then her souldiers into a strong castle drew shee:
Was not this a brave bonny lasse, Mary Ambree?

Her foes they besett her on everye side,
As thinking close siege shee cold never abide;
To beate down the walles they all did decree: 55
But stoutlye deffyd them brave Mary Ambree.

Then tooke shee her sword and her targett in hand,
And mounting the walls all undaunted did stand,
There daring their captaines to match any three:
O what a brave captaine was Mary Ambree! 60

Now saye, English captaine, what woldest thou give
To ransome thy selfe, which else must not live?
Come yield thy selfe quicklye, or slaine thou must bee.
Then smiled sweetlye brave Mary Ambree.

Ye captaines couragious, of valour so bold, 65
Whom thinke you before you now you doe behold?
A knight, sir, of England, and captaine soe free,
Who shortelye with us a prisoner must bee.

No captaine of England; behold in your sight
Two brests in my bosome, and therfore no knight: 70
Noe knight, sirs, of England, nor captaine you see,
But a poor simple lass, called Mary Ambree.

But art thou a woman, as thou dost declare,
Whose valor hath provd so undaunted in warre?
If England doth yield such brave lasses as thee, 75
Full well may they conquer, faire Mary Ambree.

The prince of Great Parma heard of her renowne,
Who long had advanced for Englands faire crowne;
Hee wooed her and sued her his mistress to bee,
And offerd rich presents to Mary Ambree. 80

But this virtuous mayden despised them all,
Ile nere sell my honour for purple nor pall:
A mayden of England, sir, never will bee
The whore of a monarcke, quoth Mary Ambree.

Then to her owne country shee backe did returne, 85
Still holding the foes of faire England in scorne:
Therfore English captaines of every degree
Sing forth the brave valours of Mary Ambree.

[The following version is reprinted from Hales and Furnivall's
edition of the folio MS. vol. i. p. 516.

Captaine couragious, whome death cold daunte,
beseeged the Citye brauelye, the citty of Gaunt!
they mustered their soliders by 2 & by 3:
& the fformost in Battele was Mary Aumbree! 4

When braue Sir Iohn Maior was slaine in that fight,
that was her true louer, her Ioy & delight,
shee swore his death vnreuenged shold not bee;
was not this a braue, bonye lasse, Mary Aumbree? 8

The death of her trueloue shee meant to requite
with fire & ffamine [&] sword shining bright,
which lately was slaine most villanouslye;
was not this a braue, bonnye Lasse, Mary Aumbree? 12

Shee cladd her selfe from the top to the toe
in buffe of the brauest most seemlye to show,
& a faire shirt of Male slipped on shee;
was not this a braue, bonye lasse, Mary Aumbree? 16

A helmett of proofe shee tooke on her head,
& a strong arminge sword shee wore by her side;
a goodly fayre gauntlett on her hand put shee;
was not this a braue, bonye lasse, Mary Aumbree? 20

Shee tooke her sword & her targett in hand,
bidding all such as wold, wayte on her band.
to waite on her person there came 1000^{ds} 3:
was not this a braue, bonye lasse, Mary Aumbree? 24

"My soldiers," shee saith, "soe valiant and bold,
now ffollow your Captain which you doe beholde;
in the fight formost my selfe will I bee!"
was not this a braue, bonye lasse, Mary Aumbree? 28

Then cryed out her souldiers, & loude thé did say,
"soe well thou becomes this gallant array,
thy hands & thy weapons doe well soe agree,
there was neuer none like to Mary Aumbree!" 32

Shee cheared her good souldiers that foughten for life,
with the cominge of Ancyents, with drum & with fife,
that braue sonding trumpetts with ingines soe free,
att last thé made mention of Mary Aumbree. 36

"Before that I doe see the worst of you all
come in the danger of your enemyes thrall,
this hand & this sword shall first sett him free;"
was not this a braue bonye lasse, Mary Aumbree? 40

Shee forward went on in Battaile array,
& straight shee did make her foes flye away;
7 houres in sckirmish continued shee;
was not this a braue bonye lasse, Mary Aumbree? 44