‘Ye need na burst your gude white steed
Wi’ racing o’er the howm;
Nae bird flies faster through the wood,
Than she fled through the broom.’
WILLIE’S FATAL VISIT
The Text is taken from Buchan’s Ballads of the North of Scotland. It consists largely of familiar fragments. Stanzas 9-11 can be found in The Grey Cock.
The Story is a trivial piece in Buchan’s usual style; but the smiling ghost, which is female (17.1), is a delightful novelty. She assumes the position of guardian of Willie’s morals, then tears him in pieces, and hangs a piece on every seat in the church, and his head over Meggie’s pew!
WILLIE’S FATAL VISIT
1.