LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNIE.
"Its narrow, narrow, make your bed,
"And learn to lie your lane;
"For I'm ga'n o'er the sea, Fair Annie,
"A braw bride to bring hame.
"Wi' her I will get gowd and gear;
"Wi' you I ne'er got nane.
"But wha will bake my bridal bread,
"Or brew my bridal ale?
"And wha will welcome my brisk bride,
"That I bring o'er the dale?"
"Its I will bake your bridal bread,
"And brew your bridal ale;
"And I will welcome your brisk bride,
"That you bring o'er the dale."
"But she that welcomes my brisk bride,
"Maun gang like maiden fair;
"She maun lace on her robe sae jimp,
"And braid her yellow hair."
"But how can I gang maiden-like,
"When maiden I am nane?
"Have I not borne seven sons to thee,
"And am with child again?"
She's ta'en her young son in her arms,
Another in her hand;
And she's up to the highest tower,
To see him come to land.
"Come up, come up, my eldest son,
"And look o'er yon sea-strand,
"And see your father's new-come bride,
"Before she come to land."
"Come down, come down, my mother dear!
"Come frae the castle-wa'!
"I fear, if langer ye stand there,
"Ye'll let yoursell down fa'."
And she gaed down, and farther down,
Her love's ship for to see;
And the top-mast and the main-mast
Shone like the silver free.
And she's gane down, and farther down,
The bride's ship to behold;
And the top-mast and the main-mast
They shone just like the gold.
She's ta'en her seven sons in her hand;
I wot she didna fail!
She met Lord Thomas and his bride,
As they cam o'er the dale.
"You're welcome to your house, Lord Thomas;
"You're welcome to your land;
"You're welcome, with your fair ladye,
"That you lead by the hand.
"You're welcome to your ha's, ladye;
"You're welcome to your bowers;
"You're welcome to your hame, ladye:
"For a' that's here is yours."
"I thank thee, Annie; I thank thee, Annie;
"Sae dearly as I thank thee;
"You're the likest to my sister, Annie,
"That ever I did see.
"There came a knight out o'er the sea,
"And steal'd my sister away;
"The shame scoup[9] in his company,
"And land where'er he gae!"
She hang ae napkin at the door,
Another in the ha';
And a' to wipe the trickling tears,
Sae fast as they did fa'.
And aye she served the lang tables,
With white bread and with wine;
And aye she drank the wan water,
To had her colour fine.[10]
And aye she served the lang tables,
With white bread and with brown;
And aye she turned her round about,
Sae fast the tears fall down.
And he's ta'en down the silk napkin,
Hung on a silver pin;
And aye he wipes the tear trickling
Adown her cheik and chin.
And aye he turned him round about,
And smil'd amang his men:
Says—"Like ye best the old ladye,
"Or her that's new come hame?"
When bells were rung, and mass was sung,
And a' men bound to bed,
Lord Thomas and his new-come bride,
To their chamber they were gaed.
Annie made her bed a little forebye,
To hear what they might say;
"And ever alas!" fair Annie cried,
"That I should see this day!
"Gin my seven sons were seven young rats,
"Running on the castle-wa',
"And I were a grey cat mysell!
"I soon would worry them a'.
"Gin my seven sons were seven young hares,
"Running o'er yon lilly lee,
"And I were a grew hound mysell!
"Soon worried they a' should be."
And wae and sad fair Annie sat,
And drearie was her sang;
And ever, as she sobb'd and grat,
"Wae to the man that did the wrang!"
"My gown is on," said the new-come bride,
"My shoes are on my feet,
"And I will to fair Annie's chamber,
"And see what gars her greet.
"What ails ye, what ails ye, Fair Annie,
"That ye make sic a moan?
"Has your wine barrels cast the girds,
"Or is your white bread gone?
"O wha was't was your father, Annie,
"Or wha was't was your mother?
"And had ye ony sister, Annie,
"Or had ye ony brother?"
"The Earl of Wemyss was my father,
"The Countess of Wemyss my mother;
"And a' the folk about the house,
"To me were sister and brother."
"If the Earl of Wemyss was your father,
"I wot sae was he mine;
"And it shall not be for lack o' gowd,
"That ye your love sall tyne.
"For I have seven ships o' mine ain,
"A' loaded to the brim;
"And I will gie them a' to thee,
"Wi' four to thine eldest son.
"But thanks to a' the powers in heaven,
"That I gae maiden hame!"
FOOTNOTES:
[9] Scoup—Go, or rather fly.
[10] To keep her from changing countenance.
[THE WIFE OF USHER'S WELL.]
A FRAGMENT.
NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.
There lived a wife at Usher's Well,
And a wealthy wife was she;
She had three stout and stalwart sons,
And sent them o'er the sea.
They hadna been a week from her,
A week but barely ane,
Whan word came to the carline wife,
That her three sons were gane.
They hadna been a week from her,
A week but barely three,
Whan word came to the carline wife,
That her sons she'd never see.
"I wish the wind may never cease,
"Nor fishes in the flood,
"Till my three sons come hame to me,
"In earthly flesh and blood!"
It fell about the Martinmass,
Whan nights are lang and mirk,
The carline wife's three sons came hame,
And their hats were o' the birk.
It neither grew in syke nor ditch,
Nor yet in ony sheugh;
But at the gates o' Paradise,
That birk grew fair eneugh.
"Blow up the fire, my maidens!
"Bring water from the well!
"For a' my house shall feast this night,
"Since my three sons are well."
And she has made to them a bed,
She's made it large and wide;
And she's ta'en her mantle her about,
Sat down at the bed-side.
then crew the red red cock,
And up and crew the gray;
The eldest to the youngest said,
"'Tis time we were away."
The cock he hadna craw'd but once,
And clapp'd his wings at a',
Whan the youngest to the eldest said,
"Brother, we must awa.
"The cock doth craw, the day doth daw,
"The channerin'[11] worm doth chide;
"Gin we be mist out o' our place,
"A sair pain we maun bide.
"Fare ye weel, my mother dear!
"Fareweel to barn and byre!
"And fare ye weel, the bonny lass,
"That kindles my mother's fire."
NOTES
ON
THE WIFE OF USHER'S WELL.
I wish the wind may never cease, &c.—P. [46]. v. 2.
The sense of this verse is obscure, owing, probably, to corruption by reciters. It would appear, that the mother had sinned in the same degree with the celebrated Lenoré.
And their hats were o' the birk.—P. [46]. v. 3.
The notion, that the souls of the blessed wear garlands, seems to be of Jewish origin. At least, in the Maase-book, there is a Rabbinical tradition, to the following effect:—
"It fell out, that a Jew, whose name was Ponim, an ancient man, whose business was altogether about the dead, coming to the door of the school, saw one standing there, who had a garland upon his head. Then was Rabbi Ponim afraid, imagining it was a spirit. Whereupon he, whom the Rabbi saw, called out to him, saying, 'Be not afraid, but pass forward. Dost thou not know me?' Then said Rabbi Ponim, 'Art not thou he whom I buried yesterday?' And he was answered, 'Yea, I am he.' Upon which Rabbi Ponim said, 'Why comest thou hither? How fareth it with thee in the other world?' And the apparition made answer, 'It goeth well with me, and I am in high esteem in paradise.' Then said the Rabbi, 'Thou wert but looked upon in the world as an insignificant Jew. What good work didst thou do, that thou art thus esteemed?' The apparition answered, 'I will tell thee: the reason of the esteem I am in, is, that I rose every morning early, and with fervency uttered my prayer, and offered the grace from the bottom of my heart: for which reason I now pronounce grace in paradise, and am well respected. If thou doubtest whether I am the person, I will show thee a token that shall convince thee of it. Yesterday, when thou didst clothe me in my funeral attire, thou didst tear my sleeve.' Then asked Rabbi Ponim, 'What is the meaning of that garland?' The apparition answered, 'I wear it, to the end the wind of the world may not have power over me; for it consists of excellent herbs of paradise.' Then did Rabbi Ponim mend the sleeve of the deceased: for the deceased had said, that if it was not mended, he should be ashamed to be seen amongst others, whose apparel was whole. And then the apparition vanished. Wherefore, let every one utter his prayer with fervency; for then it shall go well with him in the other world. And let care be taken that no rent, nor tearing, be left in the apparel in which the deceased are interred."—Jewish Traditions, abridged from Buxtorf, London, 1732, Vol. II. p. 19.
Gin we be mist out o' our place,
A sair pain we maun bide.—P. [48]. v. 1.
This will remind the German reader of the comic adieu of a heavenly apparition:—
Doch sieh! man schliesst die himmels thür
Adieu! der himmlische Portier
Ist streng und hält auf ordnung.
Blumauer.
FOOTNOTES:
[11] Channerin'—Fretting.
[COSPATRICK.]
NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.
A copy of this Ballad, materially different from that which follows, appeared in "Scottish Songs," 2 vols. Edinburgh, 1792, under the title of Lord Bothwell. Some stanzas have been transferred from thence to the present copy, which is taken down from the recitation of a Lady, nearly related to the Editor. Some readings have been also adopted from a third copy, in Mrs Brown's MS., under the title of Child Brenton. Cospatrick (Comes Patricius) was the designation of the Earl of Dunbar, in the days of Wallace and Bruce.
Cospatrick has sent o'er the faem;
Cospatrick brought his ladye hame;
And fourscore ships have come her wi',
The ladye by the grene-wood tree.
There were twal' and twal' wi' baken bread,
And twal' and twal' wi' gowd sae reid,
And twal' and twal' wi' bouted flour,
And twal' and twal' wi' the paramour.
Sweet Willy was a widow's son,
And at her stirrup he did run;
And she was clad in the finest pall,
But aye she let the tears down fall.
"O is your saddle set awrye?
"Or rides your steed for you owre high?
"Or are you mourning, in your tide,
"That you suld be Cospatrick's bride?"
"I am not mourning, at this tide,
"That I suld be Cospatrick's bride;
"But I am sorrowing, in my mood,
"That I suld leave my mother good.
"But, gentle boy, come tell to me,
"What is the custom of thy countrie?"
"The custom thereof, my dame," he says,
"Will ill a gentle ladye please.
"Seven king's daughters has our lord wedded,
"And seven king's daughters has our lord bedded;
"But he's cutted their breasts frae their breast-bane,
"And sent them mourning hame again.
"Yet, gin you're sure that you're a maid,
"Ye may gae safely to his bed;
"But gif o' that ye be na sure,
"Then hire some damsell o' your bour."
The ladye's called her bour maiden,
That waiting was into her train;
"Five thousand merks I'll gie to thee,
"To sleep this night with my lord for me."
When bells were rung, and mass was sayne,
And a' men unto bed were gane,
Cospatrick and the bonny maid,
Into ae chamber they were laid.
"Now, speak to me, blankets, and speak to me, bed,
"And speak, thou sheet, enchanted web;
"And speak up, my bonny brown sword, that winna lie,
"Is this a true maiden that lies by me?"
"It is not a maid that you hae wedded,
"But it is a maid that you hae bedded;
"It is a leal maiden that lies by thee,
"But not the maiden that it should be."
O wrathful he left the bed,
And wrathfully his claiths on did;
And he has ta'en him through the ha',
And on his mother he did ca'.
"I am the most unhappy man,
"That ever was in christen land!
"I courted a maiden, meik and mild,
"And I hae gotten naething but a woman wi' child."
"O stay, my son, into this ha',
"And sport ye wi' your merrymen a';
"And I will to the secret bour,
"To see how it fares wi' your paramour."
The carline she was stark and sture,
She aff the hinges dang the dure;
"O is your bairn to laird or loun,
"Or is it to your father's groom?"
"O! hear me, mother, on my knee,
"Till my sad story I tell thee:
"O we were sisters, sisters seven,
"We were the fairest under heaven.
"It fell on a summer's afternoon,
"When a' our toilsome task was done,
"We cast the kevils us amang,
"To see which suld to the grene-wood gang.
"O hon! alas, for I was youngest,
"And aye my weird it was the hardest!
"The kevil it on me did fa',
"Whilk was the cause of a' my woe,
"For to the grene-wood I maun gae,
"To pu' the red rose and the slae;
"To pu' the red rose and the thyme,
"To deck my mother's bour and mine.
"I hadna pu'd a flower but ane,
"When by there came a gallant hende,
"Wi' high coll'd hose and laigh coll'd shoon,
"And he seemed to be sum king's son.
"And be I maid, or be I nae,
"He kept me there till the close o' day;
"And be I maid, or be I nane,
"He kept me there till the day was done.
"He gae me a lock o' his yellow hair,
"And bade me keep it ever mair;
"He gae me a carknet[12] o' bonny beads,
"And bade me keep it against my needs.
"He gae to me a gay gold ring,
"And bade me keep it abune a' thing."
"What did ye wi' the tokens rare,
"That ye gat frae that gallant there?"
"O bring that coffer unto me,
"And a' the tokens ye sall see."
"Now stay, daughter, your bour within,
"While I gae parley wi' my son."
O she has ta'en her thro' the ha',
And on her son began to ca';
"What did you wi' the bonny beads,
"I bade ye keep against your needs?
"What did you wi' the gay gold ring,
"I bade ye keep abune a' thing?"
"I gae them to a ladye gay,
"I met in grene-wood on a day.
"But I wad gie a' my halls and tours,
"I had that ladye within my bours;
"But I wad gie my very life,
"I had that ladye to my wife."
"Now keep, my son, your ha's and tours;
"Ye have that bright burd in your bours:
"And keep, my son, your very life;
"Ye have that lady to your wife."
Now, or a month was cum and gane,
The ladye bore a bonny son;
And 'twas weel written on his breast bane,
"Cospatrick is my father's name."
O row my ladye in satin and silk,
And wash my son in the morning milk.
FOOTNOTES:
[12] Carknet—A necklace. Thus:
"She threw away her rings and carknet cleen."—Harrison's Translation of Orlando Furioso—Notes on book 37th.
[PRINCE ROBERT,]
NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.
FROM THE RECITATION OF A LADY, NEARLY RELATED TO THE EDITOR.
Prince Robert has wedded a gay ladye,
He has wedded her with a ring;
Prince Robert has wedded a gay ladye,
But he darna bring her hame.
"Your blessing, your blessing, my mother dear!
"Your blessing now grant to me!"
"Instead of a blessing ye sall have my curse,
"And you'll get nae blessing frae me."
She has called upon her waiting maid,
To fill a glass of wine;
She has called upon her fause steward,
To put rank poison in.
She has put it to her roudes[13] lip,
And to her roudes chin;
She has put it to her fause fause mouth,
But the never a drap gaed in.
He has put it to his bonny mouth,
And to his bonny chin,
He's put it to his cherry lip,
And sae fast the rank poison ran in.
"O ye hae poisoned your ae son, mother,
"Your ae son and your heir;
O ye hae poisoned your ae son, mother,
"And sons you'll never hae mair.
"O where will I get a little boy,
"That will win hose and shoon,
To run sae fast to Darlinton,
"And bid fair Eleanor come?"
Then up and spake a little boy,
That wad win hose and shoon,—
"O I'll away to Darlinton,
"And bid fair Eleanor come."
O he has run to Darlinton,
And tirled at the pin;
And wha was sae ready as Eleanor's sell
To let the bonny boy in.
"Your gude-mother has made ye a rare dinour,
"She's made it baith gude and fine;
"Your gude-mother has made ye a gay dinour,
"And ye maun cum till her and dine."
Its twenty lang miles to Sillertoun town,
The langest that ever were gane;
But the steed it was wight, and the ladye was light,
And she cam linkin'[14] in.
But when she cam to Sillertoun town,
And into Sillertoun ha',
The torches were burning, the ladies were mourning,
And they were weeping a'.
"O where is now my wedded lord,
"And where now can he be?
"O where is now my wedded lord?
"For him I canna see."
"Your wedded lord is dead," she says,
"And just gane to be laid in the clay;
"Your wedded lord is dead," she says,
"And just gane to be buried the day.
"Ye'se get nane o' his gowd, ye'se get nane o' his gear,
"Ye'se get nae thing frae me;
"Ye'se no get an inch o' his gude broad land,
"Tho' your heart suld burst in three."
"I want nane o' his gowd, I want nane o' his gear,
"I want nae land frae thee;
"But I'll hae the ring that's on his finger,
"For them he did promise to me."
"Ye'se no get the ring that's on his finger,
"Ye'se no get them frae me;
"Ye'se no get the ring that's on his finger,
"An' your heart suld burst in three."
She's turned her back unto the wa',
And her face unto a rock;
And there, before the mother's face,
Her very heart it broke.
The tane was buried in Mary's kirk,
The tother in Marie's quair;
And out o' the tane there sprang a birk,
And out o' the tother a brier.
And thae twa met, and thae twa plat,
The birk but and the brier;
And by that ye may very weel ken
They were twa lovers dear.[15]
FOOTNOTES:
[13] Roudes—Haggard.
[14] Linkin'—Riding briskly.
[15] The last two verses are common to many ballads, and are probably derived from some old metrical romance, since we find the idea occur in the conclusion of the voluminous history of Sir Tristrem. "Ores veitil que de la tumbe Tristan yssoit une belle ronce verte et feuilleue, qui alloit par la chapelle, et descendoit le bout de la ronce sur la tumbe d'Ysseult et entroit dedans." This marvellous plant was three times cut down; but, continues Rusticien de Puise, "Le lendemain estoit aussi belle comme elle avoit cy-devant ètè, et ce miracle ètoit sur Tristan et sur Ysseult a tout jamais advenir."
[KING HENRIE.]
THE ANCIENT COPY.
This ballad is edited from the MS. of Mrs Brown, corrected by a recited fragment. A modernized copy has been published, under the title of "Courteous King Jamie."—Tales of Wonder, Vol. II. p. 451.
The legend will remind the reader of the "Marriage of Sir Gawain," in the Reliques of Ancient Poetry, and of the "Wife of Bath's Tale," in Father Chaucer. But the original, as appears from the following quotation from Torfœus, is to be found in an Icelandic Saga:
"Hellgius, Rex Daniæ, mœrore ob amissam conjugem vexatus, solus agebat, et subducens se hominum commercio, segregem domum, omnis famulitii impatiens, incolebat. Accidit autem, ut nocte concubia, lamentabilis cujusdam ante fores ejulantis sonus auribus ejus obreperet. Expergefactus igitur, recluso ostio, informe quoddam mulieris simulacrum, "habitu corporis fœdum, veste squalore obsita, pallore, macie frigorisque tyrannide prope modum peremptum, deprehendit; quod precibus obsecratus, ut qui jam miserorum ærumnas ex propria calamitate pensare didicisset, in domum intromisit; ipse lectum petit. At mulier, ne hac quidem benignitate contenta, thori consortium obnixè flagitabat, addens id tanti referre, ut nisi impetraret, omnino sibi moriendum esset. Quod, ea lege, ne ipsum attingeret, concessum est. Ideo nec complexu eam dignatus rex, avertit sese. Cum autem prima luce forte oculos ultro citroque converteret, eximiæ formæ virginem lecto receptam animadvertit; quæ statim ipsi placere cœpit: causam igitur tam repentinæ mutationis curiosius indaganti, respondit virgo, se unam e subterraneorum hominum genere diris novercalibus devotam, tam tetra et execrabili specie, quali primo comparuit, damnatam, quoad thori cujusdam principis socia fieret, multos reges hac de re sollicitasse. Jam actis pro præstito beneficio gratiis, discessum maturans, a rege formæ ejus illecebris capto comprimitur. Deinde petit, si prolem ex hoc congressu progigni contigerit, sequente hyeme, eodem anni tempore, ante fores positam in ædes reciperet, seque ejus patrem profiteri non gravaretur, secus non leve infortunium insecuturum prædixit: a quo præcepto cum rex postea exorbitasset, nec præ foribus jacentem infantem pro suo agnoscere voluisset, ad eum iterum, sed corrugata fronte, accessit, obque violatam fidem acrius objurgatum ab imminente periculo, præstiti olim beneficii gratia, exempturam pollicebatur, ita tamen ut tota ultionis rabies in filium ejus "effusa graves aliquando levitatis illius pænas exigeret. Ex hac tam dissimilium naturarum commixtione, Skulda, versuti et versatilis animi mulier, nata fuisse memoratur; quæ utramque naturam participans prodigiosorum operum effectrix perhibetur."—Hrolffi Krakii, Hist. p. 49, Hafn. 1715.