B
Buchan’s Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 61.
1
O we were seven bonny sisters,
As fair women as fair could be,
And some got lairds, and some got lords,
And some got knights o high degree:
When I was married to Earl Crawford,
This was the fate befell to me.
2
When we had been married for some time,
We walked in our garden green,
And aye he clappd his young son’s head,
And aye he made sae much o him.
3
I turnd me right and round about,
And aye the blythe blink in my ee:
‘Ye think as much o your young son
As ye do o my fair body.
4
‘What need ye clap your young son’s head?
What need ye make so much o him?
What need ye clap your young son’s head?
I’m sure ye gotna him your lane.’
5
‘O if I gotna him my lane,
Show here the man that helpëd me;
And for these words your ain mouth spoke
Heir o my land he neer shall be.’
6
He calld upon his stable-groom
To come to him right speedilie:
‘Gae saddle a steed to Lady Crawford,
Be sure ye do it hastilie.
7
‘His bridle gilt wi gude red gowd,
That it may glitter in her ee;
And send her on to bonny Stobha,
All her relations for to see.’
8
Her mother lay oer the castle wa,
And she beheld baith dale and down,
And she beheld her Lady Crawford,
As she came riding to the town.
9
‘Come here, come here, my husband dear,
This day ye see not what I see;
For here there comes her Lady Crawford,
Riding alane upon the lee.’
10
When she came to her father’s yates,
She tirled gently at the pin:
‘If ye sleep, awake, my mother dear,
Ye’ll rise lat Lady Crawford in.’
11
‘What news, what news, ye Lady Crawford,
That ye come here so hastilie?’
‘Bad news, bad news, my mother dear,
For my gude lord’s forsaken me.’
12
‘O wae’s me for you, Lady Crawford,
This is a dowie tale to me;
Alas! you were too young married
To thole sic cross and misery.’
13
‘O had your tongue, my mother dear,
And ye’ll lat a’ your folly be;
It was a word my merry mouth spake
That sinderd my gude lord and me.’
14
Out it spake her brither then,
Aye as he stept ben the floor:
‘My sister Lillie was but eighteen years
When Earl Crawford ca’ed her a whore.
15
‘But had your tongue, my sister dear,
And ye’ll lat a’ your mourning bee;
I’ll wed you to as fine a knight,
That is nine times as rich as hee.’
16
‘O had your tongue, my brither dear,
And ye’ll lat a’ your folly bee;
I’d rather yae kiss o Crawford’s mouth
Than a’ his gowd and white monie.
17
‘But saddle to me my riding-steed,
And see him saddled speedilie,
And I will on to Earl Crawford’s,
And see if he will pity me.’
18
Earl Crawford lay o’er castle wa,
And he beheld baith dale and down,
And he beheld her Lady Crawford,
As she came riding to the town.
19
He called ane o his livery men
To come to him right speedilie:
‘Gae shut my yates, gae steek my doors,
Keep Lady Crawford out frae me.’
20
When she came to Earl Crawford’s yates,
She tirled gently at the pin:
‘O sleep ye, wake ye, Earl Crawford,
Ye’ll open, lat Lady Crawford in.
21
‘Come down, come down, O Earl Crawford,
And speak some comfort unto me;
And if ye winna come yoursell,
Ye’ll send your gentleman to me.’
22
‘Indeed I winna come mysell,
Nor send my gentleman to thee;
For I tauld you when we did part
Nae mair my spouse ye’d ever bee.’
23
She laid her mouth then to the yates,
And aye the tears drapt frae her ee;
Says, Fare ye well, Earl Crawford’s yates,
You again I’ll nae mair see.
24
Earl Crawford calld on his stable-groom
To come to him right speedilie,
And sae did he his waiting-man,
That did attend his fair bodie.
25
‘Ye will gae saddle for me my steed,
And see and saddle him speedilie,
And I’ll gang to the Lady Crawford,
And see if she will pity me.’
26
Lady Crawford lay oer castle-wa,
And she beheld baith dale and down,
And she beheld him Earl Crawford,
As he came riding to the town.
27
Then she has calld ane o her maids
To come to her right speedilie:
‘Gae shut my yates, gae steek my doors,
Keep Earl Crawford out frae me.’
28
When he came to Lady Crawford’s yates,
He tirled gently at the pin:
‘Sleep ye, wake ye, Lady Crawford,
Ye’ll rise and lat Earl Crawford in.
29
‘Come down, come down, O Lady Crawford,
Come down, come down, and speak wi me;
And gin ye winna come yoursell,
Ye’ll send your waiting-maid to me.’
30
‘Indeed I winna come mysell,
Nor send my waiting-maid to thee;
Sae take your ain words hame again
At Crawford castle ye tauld me.
31
‘O mother dear, gae make my bed,
And ye will make it saft and soun,
And turn my face unto the west,
That I nae mair may see the sun.’
32
Her mother she did make her bed,
And she did make it saft and soun;
True were the words fair Lillie spake,
Her lovely eyes neer saw the sun.
33
The Earl Crawford mounted his steed,
Wi sorrows great he did ride hame;
But ere the morning sun appeard
This fine lord was dead and gane.
34
Then on ae night this couple died,
And baith were buried in ae tomb:
Let this a warning be to all,
Their pride may not bring them low down.
A. a.
44, 5, 6. Omitted; supplied from b. Dean Christie notes that the lines omitted will be found in a copy which, with other things of the kind, he had destined for use in this collection. Unfortunately, and quite unaccountably, these pieces never came to hand.
192. put on the black.
b.
Of b, which was obtained some twenty years after a was written down, Mrs Thomson says: Enclosed is the whole of the ballad, as I had it from my mother.... She never sang those two verses to us [5, 6]. She only repeated them to me when Dean Christie wanted the ballad. We may, perhaps, infer from these last words that the ballad was originally taken down by the daughter from her mother’s recitation, and not by Dean Christie. It is to be observed that the mother was still living in 1890, but when b was committed to paper is not said.
a
83, 4, 91, 2, are wanting in b; b has a stanza, an inevitable one, which a lacks, in answer to 13.
11. It’s we were sisters and.
13. Some got dukes.
14. got men.
15. But I: Earl Crawford.
16. a meet.
21. Fifteen years that.
22. And sixteen years I.
23. that a tender age.
32. We were walking in yon.
33. There was nae body walking there.
34. But the earl himself and.
41. you, Earl.
42. You mak sae much o your.
43. I wonder at you, Earl Crawford.
44, 5, 6. Inserted in a.
72. little son he set her.
73. gee on to your father’s bowers.
82. down on her knee.
83, 4, 91, 2, wanting.
93. Hoo’s a’, hoo’s a.
94. thee wi.
101. now wanting.
102. And a’ my folly lat it.
103. For one: mouth.
111. my Lady.
112. And I’ll lat a’ your folly.
113. portion oer again.
114. I’ll provide for.
121. now wanting.
122. And speak nae mair o this to me.
123. For I wad nae.
124. ye could.
133. That will: Crawford’s.
134. see gin’s hairt be faen tae.
After 13:
‘O here am I, a bonny boy,
That’s willin to win meat and fee,
That will go on to Earl Crawford’s,
And see an’s hairt be faen to thee.’
141. to Earl Crawford’s gates.
142. He lighted low down on a stane.
143. Says, I wonder at you, E. C.
144. You’r nae gaun to tak.
151. tell to Lady.
152. Ye may neither.
153. stay weel in.
154. she’ll never.
161. came to her father’s bowers.
171. tell to Lady.
173. You’r bidden stay well in your.
174. For yu’ll never enter his.
181. lily-white.
183. to the Earl himsell.
184. And wi that her bonny hairt did brack.
191. Dowie, dowie raise up her father.
192. And wanting: the black put on.
193. And wanting: his steed he mounted.
201. When he came to Earl Crawford’s gates.
202. They were all going to dine.
203. And were all drest in robes of white.
211. He says, You may put aff the robes o white.
213. And ye’ll put on the dowie black.
221. Earl Crawford took his hat in’s hand.
223. Says, If this be true that L[ady] L[illie’s].
224. sin shall never shine.
230
THE SLAUGHTER OF THE LAIRD OF MELLERSTAIN
In a folio volume with the title “Miscellanies,” the last piece in the volume, Abbotsford.
Birrel’s Diary has this entry under date of January 3, 1603: “The 3 of Januar Johne Hai[t]lie of Millstanes slaine at the Salt Tron be Williame Home hes guidfather. This William of Ball[int]a wes of the hous of Cowdenknowis.” P. 57. In a proclamation of the Privy Council against reset of criminals, 20th January, 1603, the list of cases begins with “the reset of the persons who lately most shamefully and barbarously slew the Laird of Mellestanes.” Register, VI, 525 f. There is nothing to show that these persons were ever brought to justice, and the efforts made by the public authorities to stop hostilities between the families concerned were, as usual, not readily successful. April 28, 1608, the parties to the “feud between James Haitlie, now of Mellirstanes [son of John], and Mr James Home of Eccles, on account of the slaughter of John Haitlie of Mellirstanes,” are ordered to appear before the Council on the 12th of May following, to be reconciled and to chop hands together. Register, VIII, 81 f.
An entry of the 4th of December, 1599, censures Sir George Home, sheriff of Berwick, for not proceeding against “William Home, younger, called of Coldenknowis and now of Ballinta, who slew within the said shire Mr Alexander Dicksoun,” and was denounced therefor 29th December, 1596. This William we may presume to have been the undegenerate son of the William whom Birrel calls Mellerstain’s “guidfather.” Register, VI, 57.
The lady of st. 1 was Marion Lumsden (otherwise Mariot, Margaret), “Lady Mellirstanes,” “relicta Joannis Haitlie de Mellerstanes.” Register P. C., VIII, 101; 366, Register of the Great Seal, VI, 722. Mellerstain stands on a rising ground near the right bank of the Eden, 12. Cowdenknows in 31 may have been Sir John Home of Cowdenknows, named as one of the curators of James Haitlie (a minor in 1607). Earlstoun is not determinate. Bemerside is an alternative reading for Earlstoun. The laird of Bemerside at the date of the slaughter was the turbulent James Haig. The lady in st. 4 is looking in several directions for the arrival of her husband’s body. (I have not found Fieldiesha and Yirdandstane.) The Salt Tron is a locality of much note in the history of Edinburgh: see Wilson’s Memorials, p. 249.
This fragment appears to have come into Sir Walter Scott’s hands through Mr W. Yellowlees, who filled out two of the defective stanzas, and appended some remarks under the date of 29th October, 1828.[[129]]
1
. . . . . . .
As they came in by the Eden side,
They heard a lady lamenting sair,
Bewailing the time she was a bride.
2
. . . . . . .
A stately youth of blude and lane,
. . . . . . .
John Hately, the laird of Mellerstain.
3
‘Cowdenknows, had ye nae lack?
And Earlstoun, had ye nae shame?
Ye took him away beside my back,
But ye never saw to bring him hame.’
4
And she has lookit to Fieldiesha,
So has she through Yirdandstane;
She lookit to Earlstoun, and she saw the Fans,
But he’s coming hame by West Gordon.
5
And she staggerd and she stood,
6
’ . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . wude;
How can I keep in my wits,
When I look on my husband’s blood?’
7
‘Had we been men as we are women,
And been at his back when he was slain,
It should a been tauld for mony a lang year,
The slaughter o the laird of Mellerstain.’
24 [James/John]Hately
32 [Earlstoun/Bemerside] had.
Between 3 and 4 are two half stanzas which belong to ‘James Hatley,’ No. 241, and are there given.
41. Fieldies ha.
42. yird and stane.
231
THE EARL OF ERROL
A. a. ‘Kate Carnegie,’ Campbell MSS, II, 94. b. The Edinburgh Magazine, or Literary Miscellany, June, 1803, p. 458.
B. Skene MS., p. 113.
C. ‘The Countess of Erroll,’ Buchan’s Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 176.
D. a. ‘Lord and Lady Errol,’ Buchan’s Gleanings, p. 158. b. ‘Errol’s Place,’ Maidment’s North Countrie Garland, p. 31. c. ‘Earl of Errol,’ Kinloch’s Ballad Book, p. 31.
E. Letters from and to Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, edited by Alexander Allardyce, I, 180; Sharpe’s Ballad Book, p. 89, No. 31.
F. ‘The Earl of Erroll,’ Kinloch MSS, III, 133.
Sir Gilbert Hay, tenth Earl of Errol, was married to Lady Catherine Carnegy, younger daughter of James, second Earl of Southesk, January 7, 1658, and had no children by her. He died in 1674. The ballad, says the person who communicated A b to the Edinburgh Miscellany, was “founded, it would seem, on some attempt to withhold from the Earl of Errol his consort’s portion.” It will be observed that the father proposes a beguiling to his daughter, and that she is ready to assent, in A, 12, 13.
It appears from a letter cited by Sharpe in his Ballad Book that the matters treated in the ballad were agitating, and had even “come to public hearing,” in February, 1659.
Sir John Hay of Killour, as the nearest male heir, became the eleventh Earl of Errol. His wife was Lady Anne Drummond, only daughter of James, third Earl of Perth, so that the Earl of Perth might seem to have an interest in this affair of Errol’s. She, however, was not born till January, 1656. Perth is actually made the other party in legal proceedings in A a 1, but in A b seems to espouse Errol’s side.
Carnegy’s other daughter, who in most of the versions censures her sister’s conduct, is called Jean in A 5, D a 7, F 10, Anne in D b c. These are stock ballad-names, and we need not suppose that Anne comes from Lady Anne Drummond. The older daughter’s name was Elizabeth.
Errol is in the Carse of Gowrie, a tract noted for its fertility; which accounts for B 2, D a 1, D c 1, F 2.
E, F go the length of imputing to Lady Errol an attempt to poison her husband with wine which she offers him. A page, of Errol’s kin, exposes her in E; in F Errol gives the drink to a greyhound, and the dog bursts.
The last stanza of A b, C, D c has reference to “the ancient separate maintenance of a lady dissatisfied with or apart from her husband.” (Edinburgh Magazine, as above.)
E is introduced in Sharpe’s letter by some pages of mild pleasantry in the form of a preface to “a specimen of the fourth volume of the Border Minstrelsy, speedily to be published.”