VOL. IV.
190. Jamie Telfer of the Fair Dodhead.
P. 4. I am now able to give the unprinted copy, referred to in the Border Minstrelsy, in which the Elliots take the place assigned in the other version to the Scotts. This I do by the assistance of Mr Macmath, the present possessor of the manuscript, which was formerly among the papers of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe. The hand “is a good and careful one of about the beginning of this century, with a slight shake in it, and probably that of a person advanced in life.” Be it observed that the title, in this case, is ‘Jamie Telfer in the Fair Dodhead,’ signifying, according to Scottish usage, that Telfer was tenant simply, whereas ‘of’ would make him proprietor.
Hogg, writing to Sir W. Scott (Letters, vol. i, No 44), says that ‘Jamie Telfer,’ as printed in the Minstrelsy, differs in many particulars from his mother’s way of giving it. Mrs Hogg’s version may very likely have been a third copy.
In this version, Telfer, after the loosing of his nolt and the ranshakling of his house, runs eight miles to Branxholm, to seek aid of Buccleugh, who refers him to Martin Elliot, to whom, and not to himself, Buccleugh affirms, Telfer has paid blackmail. Telfer, as in the other version, runs up the water-gate to Coultart Cleugh, and invokes the help of Jock Grieve, who sets him on a bonny black to take the fray to Catlock Hill, as in the other version again. Catlock Hill Mr R. B. Armstrong considers to be probably Catlie Hill, marked in Blaeu’s map as near Braidlie. It was occupied by an Elliot in 1541. At Catlock Hill Martin’s Hab sets Telfer on a bonny black to take the fray to Prickenhaugh, a place which, Mr Armstrong observes, is put in Blaeu’s map near Larriston. Auld Martin Elliot is at Prickenhaugh, and he orders Simmy, his son, to be summoned, and the water-side to be warned, including the Currers and Willie o Gorrenberry, who in the other version, st. 27, are warned as owing fealty to Scott; but an Archibald Elliot is described as “in Gorrenberrie” in 1541,[121] and Will Elliot of Gorrombye was concerned in the rescue of Kinmont Willie in 1596, Sim Elliot takes the lead in the pursuit of the marauders which Willie Scott has in the other version, and like him is killed. Martin Elliot of Braidley had among his sons, in 1580, a Sym, an Arche, and a Hob,[121] and was, during a portion of the second half of the sixteenth century, says Mr Armstrong, perhaps the most important person of his name.[122] This Martin Elliot would fit very well into our ballad, but that he should be described as of Prickenhaugh, not of Braidley, raises a difficulty. Braidley, at the junction of the Braidley burn with the Hermitage water, is well placed for our purposes; Prickenhaugh, down by the Liddel water, seems rather remote.
5, 582. See more as to Dodhead in The Saturday Review, May 20, 1893, p. 543.
Jamie Telfer in the Fair Dodhead.
1
It fell about the Martinmas,
When steads were fed wi corn and hay,
The Captain of Bewcastle said to his lads,
We’ll into Tiviotdale and seek a prey.
2
The first ae guide that they met with
Was high up in Hardhaugh swire,
The second guide that they met with
Was laigh down in Borthick water.
3
‘What tidings, what tidings, my bonny guide?’
‘Nae tidings, nae tidings I hae to thee;
But if ye’ll gae to the Fair Dodhead
Mony a cow’s calf I’ll let ye see.’
4
When they came to the Fair Dodhead,
Right hastily they clam the peel,
They loosd the nolt out, ane and a’,
And ranshakled the house right weel.
5
Now Jamie’s heart it was right sair,
The tear ay rowing in his eye;
He pled wi the Captain to hae his gear,
Or else revengëd he would be.
6
Bat the Captain turnd himsel about,
Said, Man, there’s naething in thy house
But an auld sword without a scabbard,
That scarcely now would fell a mouse.
7
The moon was up and the sun was down,
’Twas the gryming of a new-fa’n snaw;
Jamie Telfer has run eight miles barefoot
Between Dodhead and Branxholm Ha.
8
And when he came to Branxholm Ha
He shouted loud and cry’d well he,
Till up bespake then auld Buccleugh,
‘Whae’s this that brings the fray to me?’
9
‘It’s I, Jamie Telfer i the Fair Dodhead,
And a harried man I think I be;
There’s naething left i the Fair Dodhead
But only wife and children three.’
10
‘Gae seek your succour frae Martin Elliot,
For succour ye’s get nane frae me;
Gae seek your succour where ye paid blackmail,
For, man, ye never paid money to me.’
11
Jamie he’s turnd him round about,
And ay the tear blinded his eye:
‘I’se never pay mail to Scott again,
Nor the Fair Dodhead I’ll ever see.’
12
Now Jamie is up the water-gate,
Een as fast as he can drie,
Till he came to the Coultart Cleugh,
And there he shouted and cry’d weel he.
13
Then up bespake him auld Jock Grieve,
‘Whae’s this that bring the fray to me?’
‘It’s I, Jamie Telfer i the Fair Dodhead,
And a harried man I think I be.
14
‘There’s naething left i the Fair Dodhead
But only wife and children three,
And sax poor calves stand i the sta,
A’ routing loud for their minnie.’
15
‘Alack, wae’s me!’ co auld Jock Grieve,
‘Alack, alack, and wae is me!
For ye was married t’ the auld sister,
And I t’ the younges[t] o the three.’
16
Then he’s taen out a bonny black,
It was weel fed wi corn and hay,
And set Jamie Telfer on his back,
To the Catlock hill to take the fray.
17
When he came to the Catlock hill,
He shouted loud and cry’d weel he;
‘Whae’s that, whae’s that?’ co Martin’s Hab,
‘Whae’s this that brings the fray to me?’
18
‘It’s I, Jamie Telfer i the Fair Dodhead,
And a harried man I think I be;
There’s neathing left i the Fair Dodhead
But only wife and children three.’
19
‘Alack, wae’s me!’ co Martin’s Hab,
‘Alack, awae, my heart is sair!
I never came bye the Fair Dodhead
That ever I faund thy basket bare.’
20
Then he’s taen out a bonny black,
It was weel fed wi corn and hay,
And set Jamie Telfer on his back
To the Pricken haugh to take the fray.
21
When he came to the Pricken haugh,
He shouted loud and cry’d weel he;
Up then bespake auld Martin Elliot,
‘Whae’s this that brings the fray to me?’
22
‘It’s I, Jamie Telfer i the Fair Dodhead,
And a harried man I think I be;
There’s naething left i the Fair Dodhead
But only wife and children three.’
23
‘Ever alack!’ can Martin say,
‘And ay my heart is sair for thee!
But fy, gar ca on Simmy my son,
And see that he come hastily.
24
‘Fy, gar warn the water-side,
Gar warn it soon and hastily;
Them that winna ride for Telfer’s kye,
Let them never look i the face o me.
25
‘Gar warn the water, braid and wide,
And warn the Currers i the shaw;
When ye come in at the Hermitage slack,
Warn doughty Willie o Gorrenberry.’
26
The gear was driven the Frostily up,
From the Frostily into the plain;
When Simmie lookëd him afore,
He saw the kye right fast driving.
27
‘Whae drives the kye,’ then Simmy can say,
‘To make an outspeckle o me?’
‘It’s I, the Captain o Bewcastle, Simmy,
I winna lain my name frae thee.’
28
‘O will ye let the gear gae back?
Or will ye do ony thing for me?’
‘I winna let the gear gae back,
Nor naething, Simmy, I’ll do for the[e].
29
‘But I’ll drive Jamie Telfer’s kye
In spite o Jamie Telfer’s teeth and thee;’
‘Then by my sooth,’ can Simmy say,
‘I’ll ware my dame’s calfskin on thee.
30
‘Fa on them, lads!’ can Simmy say,
‘Fy, fa on them cruelly!
For or they win to the Ritter ford
Mony toom saddle there shall be.’
31
But Simmy was striken oer the head,
And thro the napskape it is gane,
And Moscrop made a dolefull rage
When Simmy on the ground lay slain.
32
‘Fy, lay on them!’ co Martin Elliot,
‘Fy, lay on them cruelly!
For ere they win to the Kershop ford
Mony toom saddle there shall be.’
33
John o Biggam he was slain,
And John o Barlow, as I heard say,
And fifteen o the Captain’s men
Lay bleeding on the ground that day.
34
The Captain was shot through the head,
And also through the left ba-stane;
Tho he had livd this hundred years,
He’d neer been loed by woman again.
35
The word is gane unto his bride,
Een in the bower where she lay,
That her good lord was in ’s enemy’s land
Since into Tiviotdale he led the way.
36
‘I loord a had a winding sheed
And helpd to put it oer his head,
Or he’d been taen in ’s enemy’s lands,
Since he oer Liddle his men did lead.’
37
There was a man in our company,
And his name was Willie Wudëspurs:
‘There is a house in the Stanegarside,
If any man will ride with us.’
38
When they came to the Stanegarside,
They bangd wi trees and brake the door,
They loosd the kye out, ane and a’,
And set them furth our lads before.
39
There was an auld wif ayont the fire,
A wee bit o the Captain’s kin:
‘Whae looes out the Captain’s kye,
And sae mony o the Captain’s men wi[t]hin?’
40
‘I, Willie Wudëspurs, let out the kye,
I winna lain my name frae thee,
And I’ll loose out the Captain’s kye
In spite o the Captain’s teeth and thee.’
41
Now on they came to the Fair Dodhead,
They were a welcome sight to see,
And instead of his ain ten milk-kye
Jamie Telfer’s gotten thirty and three.
162. feel fed: cf. 202.
195. Lord Maxwell’s Last Goodnight.
P. 34 b, 525 a. B. The ballad has no title in the Glenriddell MS. The table of contents was the work of a copyist.
196. The Fire of Frendraught.
P. 39 b. Thirteen stanzas of C are given, in the course of an article on The Burning of the House of Frendraucht, in the Aberdeen Magazine, 1832, II, 561.
P. 44. A a. Collation with Sharpe’s MS. and with another copy of the same pieces in “North Country Ballads,” Miscellanea Curiosa, Abbotsford Library.
41. Well, turn.
125. were.
154. Let Rothiemay may ly, may ly. But Rothiemay lie, written under, probably as an emendation by Sharpe (not in Scott).
164. Turn in Scott, an easy misreading of Twin.
261. Ahon. With a few slight differences of spelling.
we in 92 is a misprint for he.
IV, 522 a. The Satyr begins:
O world of woes, O grief of griefs, to see
This damned den wher sure brave sp’rits did dye.
197. James Grant.
These verses occur in a manuscript collection of C. K. Sharpe’s (“second collection”), with slight verbal differences. They are written in long lines not divided into stanzas. Sir W. Scott remarks, Sharpe’s Ballad Book, 1880, p. 145, “I conceive Ballindalloch, being admitted by Grant, set upon him, and that there should be asterisks between the fourth line [the second stanza] and those which follow.”
11. Away, away now, James the Grant.
12. You’ll.
13. For Ballendalloch is at your gate.
21,4. Badendalloch.
22. Nor I.
23. Set up my gat both.
24. And let.
31. James the.
34. no get so.
43. he get but one mile in the highland hill.
44. defy the.
198. Bonny John Seton.
P. 52. A. Found in a MS. of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, and in “North Country Ballads,” Miscellanea Curiosa, Abbotsford Library (another copy of the same pieces), with the following variations.
Sharpe. 13. The Southeron lords to.
21. And bonny: Pitmedden, and always.
22. bald.
24. And the.
34. Sat on.
52. Cried, Brave soldiers.
55. my steed back.
56. But let me never see thee.
63. And his.
74. That dang Pitmedden’s middle in three.
81,2. rade.
83. But bonny John Seton of Pitmedden.
91. Then up it came a.
92. from Drimmorow.
93. Says, There thou lies.
94. ride thee thorow.
101. Craigyvar (always): man.
102. your fiddle.
103. land.
121. They’ve taken.
144. ring.
151. For cannons roars: summer’s.
152. Like thunder.
154. cannons fair.
Scott (also).—31. lands.
None of the readings in Aytoun given in the notes at p. 53 were derived from Sharpe’s copy except A 83, and all of them may now be dropped.
199. The Bonnie House o Airlie.
P. 56. In a small MS. volume with the title “Songs” on the cover, entirely in Sharpe’s handwriting. A a is found at p. 24 (with some variations, undoubtedly arbitrary) prefaced with these words: “This song [referring to a copy presently to be given], like most others, would suffer amendment: here follows a copy somewhat improved. I have availed myself of a fragment in a former page of this work, and introduced a stanza [9] marked *, picked up in Perthshire.” Had A a been known to be an “improved” copy, it would not have been made so prominent.
The fragment (of slight value) was “from the recitation of Miss Oliphant of Gask, now Mrs Nairn” (afterwards Lady Nairne). It is (p. 21)—disregarding things misunderstood or avowedly added:
‘Come down, come down, my lady Ogilvie,
Come down, and tell us your dower:’
‘It’s east and west yon wan water side,
And it’s down by the banks of the Airly.
‘Had my lord Ogilvie been at hame,
As he was wi King Charlie,
There durst nae a Campbel in a’ Argyle
Avowd to the plundering o Airly.’
‘Come down, come down, ye lady fair,
Come down, and kiss me fairly:’
‘I wunna come down, ye fause Argyle,
If ye sudna leave a standing stane in Airly.
The unimproved copy, p. 22, is as follows.
1
It fell on a day, and a bonny summer day,
When corn grew green and yellow,
That there fell out a great dispute
Between Argyll and Airly.
2
Argyll has raisd an hundred men,
An hundred men, and so many,
And he is away by the back of Dunkeld
For to plunder the bonny house of Airly.
3
Lady Margaret looks oer her bower-window,
And O but she looks weary!
And there she spied the great Argyll,
Coming to plunder the bonny house of Airly.
4
‘Come down, come down, Lady Margret,’ he said,
‘Come down, and kiss me fairly:’
‘O I will not kiss the great Argyll,
If he should not leave a standing stone in Airly.’
5
He hath taken her by the left shoulder,
Says, Lady, where lyes thy dowry?
‘It’s up and it’s down by the bonny bank-side,
Amongst the planting of Airly.’
6
They have sought it up, they have sought it down,
They have sought it both late and early,
And they have found it in the bonny plumb-tree
That shines on the bowling-green of Airly.
7
He hath taken her by the middle so small,
And O but she lookd weary!
He hath laid her down by the bonny burn-side
Till he hath plunderd the bonny house of Airly.
8
‘If my good lord were at home this night,
As he is with Prince Charly,
Nouther you nor no Scottish lord
Durst have set a foot on the bowling-green of Airly.
9
‘Ten bonny sons I have born unto him,
And the eleventh neer saw his daddy;
Although I had an hundred more,
I would give them all to Prince Charly.’
58 c. This is one of the pieces contained in “The Old Lady’s Collection,” No 1. The differences from Skene (save spelling) are as follows:
31. ore castell-waa.
33. an his three hundred men.
41,2. Come doun the stare, Lady Airly, he says, an kiss me fairly.
44. Altho ye live no.
52. An tell fare layes yer.
72. An he leed.
102 (72). his.
103 (73). An tho.
104 (74). I wad gie them a’.
200. The Gypsy Laddie.
P. 66. B a. A copy of this version in C. K. Sharpe’s papers, “written from recitation in Nithisdale, November, 1814,” shows that improvements had been introduced by two hands, one of them Sharpe’s, neither of them the writer’s. The changes are of no radical importance; simply of the familiar kind which almost every editor has, for some reason, felt himself called upon to make. It may be thought that they are no more worth indicating than they were worth making, but it has been an object in this book to give things exactly as they were delivered. The original readings are as follows.
11. C for Cassilis throughout.
13, so.
14. Till.
24. cast.
31. to wanting.
32,3, give.
34. rings of her fingers.
41,2. you.
43. hilt of.
44, 94, 164. no more.
61,3. Jackie.
73, 83. farmer’s barn.
83, 113. most.
84. crae.
91,2. O wanting.
103, 111, 143. on water.
111. Many a time have.
174. mother bore me.
183. And wanting.
73.