Chapter XLVI: Part I

“O I forbid ye, maidens a’,
That wear gowd on your hair,
To come or gae by Carterhaugh,
For young Tamlane is there.”

But up then spake her, fair Janet,
The fairest o’ a’ her kin;
“I’ll cum and gang to Carterhaugh,
And ask nae leave o’ him.”

Janet has kilted her green kirtle,
A little abune her knee;
And she has braided her yellow hair,
A little abune her bree.

And when she came to Carterhaugh,
She gaed beside the well;
And there she fand his steed standing,
But awa was himsell.

She hadna pu’d a red red rose,
A rose but barely three;
Till up and starts a wee wee man,
At lady Janet’s knee.

Says--“Why pu’ ye the rose, Janet?
What gars ye break the tree?
Or why come ye to Carterhaugh,
Withouten leave o’ me?”--

Says--“Carterhaugh it is mine ain;
My daddie gave it me:
I’ll come and gang to Carterhaugh,
And ask nae leave o’ thee.

“The truth ye’ll tell to me, Tamlane:
A word ye mauna lie;
Gin e’er ye was in haly chapel,
Or sained in Christentie?”--

“The truth I’ll tell to thee, Janet,
A word I winna lee:
My father’s a knight, a lady me bore,
As well as they did thee.

“Randolph, earl Murray, was my sire,
Dunbar, earl March, is thine;
We loved when we were children small,
Which yet you well may mind.

“When I was a boy just turn’d of nine,
My uncle sent for me,
To hunt, and hawk, and ride with him,
And keep him cumpanie.

“There came a wind out of the north,
A sharp wind and a snell;
And a dead sleep came over me,
And frae my horse I fell.

“The Queen of Fairies keppit me
In yon green hill to dwell;
And I’m a fairy, lyth and limb;
Fair ladye, view me well.

“But we, that live in Fairy-land,
No sickness know nor pain,
I quit my body when I will,
And take to it again.

“I quit my body when I please,
Or unto it repair;
We can inhabit at our ease,
In either earth or air.

“Our shapes and size we can convert
To either large or small;
An old nut-shell’s the same to us
As is the lofty hall.

“We sleep in rose-buds soft and sweet,
We revel in the stream;
We wanton lightly on the wind,
Or glide on a sunbeam.

“And all our wants are well supplied
From every rich man’s store,
Who thankless sins the gifts he gets,
And vainly grasps for more.

“Then I would never tire, Janet,
In Elfish land to dwell;
But aye, at every seven years,
They pay the teind to hell;
And I am sae fat and fair of flesh,
I fear’t will be mysell.

“This night is Hallowe’en, Janet,
The morn is Hallowday;
And, gin ye dare your true love win,
Ye na hae time to stay.

“The night it is good Hallowe’en,
When fairy folk will ride;
And they that wad their true love win
At Miles Cross they maun bide.”--

“But how shall I thee ken, Tamlane?
Or how shall I thee knaw,
Amang so many unearthly knights,
The like I never saw?”--

“The first company that passes by,
Say na, and let them gae;
The next company that passes by,
Say na, and do right sae;
The third company that passes by,
Then I’ll be ane o’ thae.

“First let pass the black, Janet,
And syne let pass the brown;
But grip ye to the milk-white steed,
And pu’ the rider down.

“For I ride on the milk-white steed,
And aye nearest the town;
Because I was a christen’d knight,
They gave me that renown.

“My right hand will be gloved, Janet,
My left hand will be bare;
And these the tokens I gie thee,
Nae doubt I will be there.

“They’ll turn me in your arms, Janet,
An adder and a snake;
But haud me fast, let me not pass,
Gin ye wad be my maik.

“They’ll turn me in your arms, Janet,
An adder and an ask;
They’ll turn me in your arms, Janet,
A bale that burns fast.

“They’ll turn me in your arms, Janet,
A red-hot gad o’ airn;
But haud me fast, let me not pass,
For I’ll do you no harm.

“And, next, they’ll shape me in your arms,
A tod, but and an eel;
But haud me fast, nor let me gang,
As you do love me weel.

“They’ll shape me in your arms, Janet,
A dove, but and a swan;
And, last, they’ll shape me in your arms
A mother-naked man:
Cast your green mantle over me--
I’ll be myself again.”--