Chapter XXXII: Appendix (9)

Kinloch's MSS, V, 20, in the handwriting of Mr James
Beattie, 1820, and from the recitation of one of the Miss
Beatties, his aunts, native in The Mearns: also Kinloch
MS., VII, 61, and Kinloch's Scottish Ballads, p. 25.

1
There was a shepherd's daughter,
Kept sheep on yonder hill;
There came a knight o courage bright,
And he wad have his will. Diddle, &c.

2
He's taen her by the milk-white hand,
Gien her a gown o green;
'O take you that, fair may,' he says,
'There's nae mair o me to be seen.'

3
'Since ye have taen your wills o me,
Your wills o me you've taen,
Since ye have taen your wills o me,
Pray tell to me your name.'

4
'O some they call me Jack, lady,
And others call me John;
But when I'm in the king's court,
Sweet William is my name.'

5
She's kilted up her green clothing
A little below her knee,
And she is to the king's court,
As fast as she could gae.

6
And when she came unto the king,
She knelt low on her knee:
'There is a man into your court
This day has robbed me.'

7
'Has he robbd you of your gold,' he says,
'Or of your white monie?
Or robbd you of the flowery branch,
The flower of your bodie?'

8
'He has not robbd me of my gold,' she says,
'Nor of my white monie,
But he's robbd me of the flowery branch,
The flower of my bodie.'

9
'O if he be a bond-man,
High hanged shall he be;
But if he be a free man,
He'se well provide for thee.'

10
The king's called on his nobles all,
By thirty and by three;
Sweet William should have been the foremost man,
But the hindmost man was he.

11
'Do you not mind yon shepherd's daughter,
You met on yonder hill?
When a' her flocks were feeding round,
Of her you took your will.'

12
And he's taen out a purse o gold,
And tied up in a glove;
'Take you that, fair may,' he says,
'And choice for you a love.'

13
O he's taen out three hundred pounds,
Tied up in a purse;
'See, take you that, fair may,' he says,
'And that will pay the nurse.'

14
'I'll neither have your gold,' she says,
'Nor yet your white monie,
But I will have the king's grant,
That he has granted me.'

15
Then he's taen her on a milk-white steed,
Himsell upon another,
And to his castle they have rode,
Like sister and like brother.

16
O ilka nettle that they came to,
'O well mote you grow!
For mony a day's my minny and me
Pilkit at your pow.'

17
O ilka mill that they came to,
'O well mote you clack!
For monie a day's my minnie and me
Buckled up our lap.'

* * * * * * *

18
'You're the king of England's ae brother,
I trust well that you be;
I'm the Earl of Stampford's ae daughter,
And he has nae mair but me.'

19
O saw you eer such a near marriage,
Between the one and the other,
The Earl of Stampford's ae daughter,
And the King of England's brother!

I

Communicated by Dr Thomas Davidson, from his own
recollection; Aberdeenshire.

1
There was a shepherd's daughter,
Kept flocks on yonder hill,
And by there cam a courteous knight,
Wud fain and hae his will.

* * * * * * *

2
'Some do ca me Jock,' he said,
'And some do ca me John,
But when I do ride i the king's high court,
Gulelmus is my name.'

* * * * * * *

3
And when she came to the kinges court
She tirled at the pin,
And wha was there but the king himsel,
To lat this fair maid in!

4
'Now Christ you save, my lord,' she said,
'Now Christ you save and see;
There is a knicht into your court
This day has robbed me.

5
'He's na robbed me o my silken purse,
Nor o my white money,
But he's robbed me o my maidenheid,
The flower o my bodie.'

6
'O gin he be a single man,
Weel married sall ye be,
But an he be a married man,
He's hang upon a tree.'

7
Then he called up his merry men a',
By one, by two, and by three,
And William should a been the first,
But the hindmost man was he.

8
And he cam hirplin on a stick,
And blin upon an ee,
But sighand said that gay ladie,
That same man robbed me.

* * * * * * *

9
'Gin I had drunk the wan water,
When I did drink the wine,
A cairdman's daughter
Should never be a true-love o mine.'

10
'Maybe I'm a cairdman's daughter,
And maybe I am nane;
But when ye did come to good green wood,
Ye sud hae latten me alane.'

11
She set upon a milk-white steed,
An himsel on a dapple grey,
An she had as much lan in fair Scotlan
'S ye cud ride in a lang simmer's day.

J

Dr Joseph Robertson's Journal of Excursions, No 7. Taken
down from a man in the parish of Leochel, Aberdeenshire,
February 12, 1829.

* * * * * * *

1
'Some ca'ss me James, some ca'as me John,
I carena what they ca me,
But when I [am] at hame in my ain country,
It's Lispcock that they ca me.'

2
The lassie being well beuk-learned,
She spelled it ower again;
Says, Lispcock in a Latin beuk
Spells Erl Richard in plain.

3
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
The lassie kilted up her green claithing,
And fast, fast followed on.

4
Till they cam till a wide water,
. . . . . . .
He's turned his hie horse head about,
Says, Lassie will ye ride?

5
'I learned it in my mother's bower,
I wish I'd learned it better,
Whanever I cam to any wide water,
To soum like ony otter.'

6
The laird he chused the ford to ride,
The ladie the pot to swim,
And or the laird was half water,
The ladie was on dry lan.

7
O he rade on to yon hie castell,
He rade it richt and roun about;
The laird gaed in at ae back-door,
But the ladie beet to knock.

8
O out it cam the proud porter,
Wi his hat into his han,
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .

9
She's pitten her hand in her pocket,
Pulld out guineas three,
And that she's given to the proud porter,
To cause her to get entrance there.

10
The proud porter ran up the stair,
O fifteen steps he made but three:
'The prettiest lady stands at yer yetts
That ever my een did see.'

11
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
'Goe doun, goe doun, you proud porter,
Cause her to cum up to me.'

12
When she gaed in before the queen,
She fell low down on her knee:
'There is a man into your courts
This day has robbed me.'

13
'Has he robbed you o your fine clothing,
Or o your white monie?
Or taen frae you your maidenhead,
The flower o your bodie?'

14
'He hasna robbed me o my fine clothing,
Nor o my white monie,
But he's taen frae me my maidenhead,
The flower o my bodie.'

15
'O gin he be a married man,
High hanged sall he be;
And gin he be a batchelere,
Well wedded shall ye be.'

16
O she has called in her merry young men,
By thirties and by threes;
Earl Richard should hae been the foremost man,
But the hindmost man was he.

17
He cam limpin on a staff,
And blinkin on an ee,
And sichand says that gay ladie,
That samen man is he.

* * * * * * *

K

Motherwell's MS., p. 226. From the recitation of Widow
McCormick, Westbrae, Paisley, 1825; learned of an old
woman in Dumbarton, thirty or forty years before.

1
There was a shepherd's daughter,
Kept sheep on yonder hill;
O by comes a courtier,
And fain wud hae his will.
We'll go no more a roving,
A roving in the night,
We'll go no more a roving,
Let the moon shine neer so bright.
O we'll go [no] more a roving.

2
He took her by the middle so small,
And by the grass-green sleeve;
He bended her body unto the ground,
And of her parents he askd no leave.

3
'Now since you've got your will o me.
And brought my fair bodie to shame,
All the request I ask of you is,
Pray tell me what's your name.'

4
'O some do call me Jack,' he says,
'And some do call me John,
But when I am in the king's court,
My name is Sweet William.'

5
She took her petticoats by the band,
Her mantle oer her arm,
And she's awa to the king's court,
As fast as she could run.

6
When she came to the king's court,
She tinkled at the ring;
Who was so ready as the king himsel
To let this fair maid in!

7
And when she came before the king,
She kneeled low by his knee;
'What's this? what's this, fair maid,' he says,
'What's this you ask of me?'

8
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
'There is a knight into your court
This day has robbed me.'

9
'If he robbed you of your gold,' he said,
'It's hanged he must be;
If he's robbed you of your maidenhead,
His body I grant to thee.'

10
'He's not robbed me of my gold,' she said,
'Nor of my white money,
But he's robbed me of my maidenhead,
The flower of my bodie.'

11
He's called down his merry men all,
By one, by two, by three;
John used to be the foremost man,
But the hindmost man was he.

12
He took a long purse of gold
And wrapped it in a glove:
'Here's to thee, my dearest dear,
Go seek some other love.'

13
'I'll have none of your gold,' she says,
'Nor any of your white money,
But I'll just have your own bodie
The king has granted to me.'

14
'I wish I was drinking the well-water
When I drank of the ale,
Before a shepherd's daughter
Would tell me such a tale.'

15
He got her on a milk-white steed,
Himself upon a grey,
Then on a day ...
This couple rode away.

16
It's when they were coming by the nettle-bush,
She said, So well may you grow!
For many a day my mammy and me
Hae pickled at your pow.

17
When they cam by the mill-door, she said,
So well may you clatter!
For many a day my mammy and me
Pickled at your happer.

18
When they came to the king's court,
They reckoned up their kin;
She was a king's one dochter,
And he but a blacksmith's son.

L

Motherwell's Note-Book, p. 1, recited by Miss Brown, of
Glasgow, after a blind aunt.

* * * * * * *

1
'I learned it in my father's bower,
And I learned it for the better,
That every water I coudna wade,
I swam it like an otter.
With my low silver ee.

2
'I learned it in my father's bower,
And I learned it for my weel,
That every water I coudna wade,
I swam it like an eel.'

* * * * * * *

3
And he cam hirpling on a stick,
And leaning on a tree:
'Be he cripple, or be he blind,
The same man is he.'

* * * * *

#A. a.#

The beautifull Shepherdesse of Arcadia. A new pastorell
Song of a courteous young Knight and a supposed
Shepheard's Daughter. To a gallant tune, called the
Shepheards Delight... London, Printed for William
Gilbertson. _Gilbertson published 1640-63: Chappell.
Dated 1655 in the Museum Catalogue._

4, 6. _Burden_ Trang dang.

7^3. abeut.

10^1. cour.

12^4. fingets.

18^4. faults.

24^2. rights.

27^1. _Perhaps_ to linked.

_Some trivial errors of the press have been corrected._

#b.#

The Beautiful Shepherdess of Arcadia: A new Pastoral Song
of a courteous young Knight and a supposed Shepherd's
Daughter of Arcadia, in Peloponnesus. To the Tune of The
Shepherd's Daughter, &c. London: Printed for A. M., W.
O., and T. Thackeray, at the sign of the Angel in Duck
[Lane]. _Dated 1680? in the Catalogue._

3^3. yong _wanting_.

4^1. about the middle.

4^2. down _wanting_.

4^3. had got.

5^1. kind sir.

5^2. thus _wanting_.

6^1. men _wanting_.

6^3. fair court.

7^1. into the.

7^2. he did.

7^3. her girdle.

9^3. was never.

10^1. But _wanting_.

11^1. save you.

11^3. got _wanting_.

12^1. of, sweet-heart.

12^4. finger.

13^2. or of.

13^4. most of.

15^3. was _wanting_.

16^2. within.

18^3. to thee.

18^4. fault.

19. not thy.

22. _wanting, in my transcript._

24^2. rites was.

25^2. will be.

25^4. make thee.

26^3. should a.

27^1. being linked so.

27^2. joyned.

#B.#

23^3. tak he.

#C.#

_#C# _and_ #D# _were derived from the recitation of Jenny
Watson of Lanark and Mrs Charles of Torry, but which
from which we are not distinctly told. An incidental
expression of Kinloch's, MSS, VII, 59, may warrant the
assigning of_ #C# _to Mrs Charles._ #C# _is written on
the right hand of the MS. and_ #D# _on the left, except
that the last two stanzas of_ #D# _are written on the
right, and a few readings of_ #D# _are written above
those of_ #C#. (_The ink of_ #D# _is blacker._)_

6. _omitted by_ Kinloch _in printing._

7^4. wade _altered to_ wyde, _according to the
pronunciation._

8^4, 21^4. na _is wanting_.

14^1. Kinloch _prints_ your fause love: _in MS._ [fause].

25. _inserted at p. 23 of_ Kinloch's _interleaved copy of
his_ Ancient Scottish Ballads.

#D#

1^3. frae the king's court.

3^4. Earl Richard is my name.

11^1. anie.

14^4. _Altered to_ At midday and.

16^3. cried the.

17^1. He powd out a hundred punds.

17^2. Weel lockit in a glove.

27^1. Hoch! had I drank the wan water.

27^3. That... a mill-capon.

#E. a.#

6^4. for me: _see_ 4^4, 8^4.

16^4. Oh.

34. _wanting, supplied from the MS._

44^{3, 4}, 50^{3, 4}. _unless_ hide _is for_ heed, _read_
heed, _as in_ #b#.

#b.#

1^1. on a.

13^3. ye shall be.

18^4. does.

22^1. wand she had in.

22^4. on the.

22^6. help does not lye.

23^1. omits it.

23^2. is there that has.

23^3. to a.

24^3. came.

25^6. will I.

26^2. _omits_ it.

30^4. samen.

31^1. men all.

31^4. _omits_ man.

34. _omitted in_ #a#.

43^2. we be.

44^{3, 4}.
When you heed so little of yourself,
I'm sure ye'll heed far less nor me.

47^{3, 4}.
If the auld carle and his bags were here,
I wot he would get meat his fill.

48^1, 49^1. last night.

50.
Away, away, you evil woman,
How sore your vile words grieve me!
When you heed so little on yourself,
I know you will heed less on me.

52^4. as ye.

53^1. you are.

55^1. was rung.

55^3. the ladye.

55^4. In one.

56^1. face to.

56^4. thir twa.

57^1. Great was the mirth.

57^2. into.

57^4. And wiping.

60^4. at thee.

_The variations in #b# are probably Motherwell's
improvements. He does not adopt all of them in printing,
but makes still other slight changes._

#F. b.#

"An epitome (_eleven eight-line stanzas_) of Buchan's
version, with some slight alterations from the way the
editor has heard the ballad sung."

15^1. The lady to the queen's court gaed.

15^3. And ready was.

16^2. And gae him gowd sae free.

19^2. He lout doun.

23^2. She lout doun.

30^2. And blind.

33^1, 37^1. I will not hae your purse o gowd.

33^4. And other.

39^2. Nor will I hae.

41^3. And when they came to St. Mary's kirk.

62^3. My husband.

#I.#

1^2. _Var._ Kept hogs.

8^3. sigh and.

#J.#

3^3. in, _perhaps, for_ on.

3, 4; 8, 9; 11, 12. _Written without division in the MS._

17^3. sich &.

#K.#

4^1. Oh.

17^4. Hae _added later_; pickled _altered from_ pircled.

[172] And Douce, says Mr Chappell. A Tewkesbury copy, not dated, is mentioned by Halliwell, Notes on Fugitive Tracts, etc., Percy Society, vol. xxix, p. 16, No 9.

[173]

There was a shepherd's daughter
Came triping on the way,
And there she met a courteous knight,
Which caused her to stay.
Sing trang dil do lee

[174]

He called down his merry men all,
By one, by two, by three;
William would fain have been the first,
But now the last is he.