Northumberland Yesterday and To-day

by Jean F. Terry

CHEVY CHASE I.

It fell about the Lammas tide,
When muir-men win their hay,
The doughty Douglas bound him to ride
Into England to drive a prey.
He chose the Gordons and the Graemes,
With them the Lindsays, light and gay;
But the Jardines would not with them ride,
And they rue it to this day.
And he has burned the dales o’ Tyne,
And part o’ Bamburghshire;
And three good towers on Reidswire fells
He left them all on fire.
And he marched up to New Castel,
And rode it round about;
“O wha’s the lord of this castel?
Or wha’s the lady o’t?”
And up spake proud Lord Percy then,
And O! but he spake hie!
“O I’m the lord of this castel,
My wife’s the lady gay.”
“If thou art the lord of this castel,
Sae weel it pleases me!
For ere I cross the Border fells,
The tane of us sall die.”
He took a lang spere in his hand
Shod wi’ the metal free,
And for to meet the Douglas there
He rode right furiouslie!
But oh! how pale his lady looked
Frae off the castle wa’,
When down before the Scottish speare
She saw proud Percy fa’!
“Had we twa been upon the green,
And never an eye to see,
I wad hae had you, flesh and fell,
But your sword shall gae wi’ me.”
“But gae ye up to Otterbourne
And wait there dayis three,
And if I come not ere three dayis end,
A fause knight ca’ ye me.”
“The Otterbourne’s a bonnie burn,
’Tis pleasant there to be;
But there is naught at Otterbourne
To feed my men and me.
“The deer rins wild on hill and dale,
The birds fly wild frae tree to tree,
But there is neither bread nor kale
To feed my men and me.
“Yet I will stay at Otterbourne
Where you sall welcome be;
And if ye come not at three dayis end
A fause lord I’ll call thee.”
“Thither will I come,” proud Percy said,
“By the might of Our Ladye!”
“Thither will I bide thee,” said the Douglas,
“My troth I plight to thee.”
They lighted high on Otterbourne,
Upon the bent sae brown;
They lighted high on Otterbourne
And threw their pallions down.
And he that had a bonnie boy,
Sent out his horse to grass;
And he that had not a bonnie boy,
His ain servant he was.
And up then spake a little foot-page,
Before the peep o’ dawn—
“O waken, waken ye, my good lord,
The Percy is hard at hand!”
“Ye lee, ye lee, ye leear loud!
Sae loud I hear ye lee!
For Percy had not men yestreen
To dight my men and me!”
“But I hae dreamed a dreary dream,
Beyond the Isle of Skye;
I saw a dead man win a fight,
An’ I think that man was I.”
He belted on his gude braid-sword,
And to the field he ran;
But he forgot his helmet good,
That should have kept his brain.
When Percy wi’ the Douglas met
I wat he was fu’ fain!
They swakked their swords till sair they swat,
The blude ran down like rain.
But Percy, with his gude braid-sword,
That could sae sharply wound,
Has stricken Douglas on the brow,
Till he fell to the ground.
Then he called on his little foot-page
And said, “Run speedilie,
And fetch my ain dear sister’s son,
Sir Hugh Montgomerie.”
“My nephew good,” the Douglas said,
“What recks the death of ane?
Last night I dreamed a dreary dream,
And I ken the day’s thy ain.
“My wound is deep, I fain wad sleep;
Take thou the vanguard of the three,
And hide me by the bracken bush
That grows on yonder lilye lea.
“O bury me by the bracken bush,
Beneath the bloomin’ brier;
Let never a living mortal ken
That ever a kindly Scot lies here.”
He lifted up that noble lord,
Wi’ the saut tear in his e’e;
He hid him in the bracken bush
That his merrie men might not see.
The moon was clear, the day drew near,
The speres in flinders flew,
And mony a gallant Englishman
Ere day the Scotsmen slew.
The Gordons gude, in English blude
They steeped their hose and shoon;
The Lindsays flew like fire about
Till a’ the fray was dune.
The Percy and Montgomerie met,
And either of other was fain;
They swakkèd swords, and sair they swat,
And the blude ran doun like rain.
“Now yield thee, yield thee, Percy!” he cried;
“Or else will I lay thee low.”
“To whom sall I yield?” quoth Erle Percy,
“Sin I see it maun be so.”
“Thou shalt not yield to lord or loon,
Nor yet shalt thou yield to me,
But thou shalt yield to the bracken bush
That grows on yon lilye lea.”
“I will not yield to a bracken bush;
Nor yet will I yield to a brier;
But I would yield to Erle Douglas,
Or Hugh Montgomerie if he were here.”
As soon as he knew it was Montgomerie
He stuck his sword’s-point in the gronde;
The Montgomerie was a courteous knight,
And quickly took him by the honde.
This deed was done at the Otterbourne,
About the breaking of the day;
Erle Douglas was buried at the bracken bush.
And the Percy led captive away.

JOCK O’ THE SIDE.
Now Liddesdale has ridden a raid,
But I wat they had better hae staid at hame;
For Michael o’ Winfield he is dead,
And Jock o’ the Side is prisoner ta’en.
For Mangerton house Lady Downie has gane,
Her coats she has kilted up to her knee;
And down the water wi’ speed she rins,
While tears in spates fa’ fast frae her e’e.
Then up and spoke our guid auld laird—
“What news, what news, sister Downie, to me?”
“Bad news, bad news, for Michael is killed,
And they hae taken my son Johnnie.”
“Ne’er fear, sister Downie,” quo’ Mangerton,
“I have yokes of owsen, twenty and three,
My barns, my byres, and my faulds a’ weel filled,
I’ll part wi’ them a’ ere Johnnie shall dee.
“Three men I’ll send to set him free,
A’ harnessed wi’ the best o’ steel;
The English loons may hear, and drie
The weight o’ their braid-swords to feel.
“The Laird’s Jock ane, the Laird’s Wat twa,
O Hobbie Noble, thou ane maun be!
Thy coat is blue, thou has been true
Since England banished thee to me.”
Now Hobbie was an English man,
In Bewcastle dale was bred and born;
But his misdeeds they were so great,
They banished him ne’er to return.
Laird Mangerton them orders gave,
“Your horses the wrang way maun be shod;
Like gentlemen ye maunna seem,
But look like corn-cadgers ga’en the road.
“Your armour gude ye maunna show,
Nor yet appear like men of weir;
As country lads be a’ array’d,
Wi’ branks and brecham on each mare.”
Sae their horses are the wrang way shod,
And Hobbie has mounted his gray sae fine;
Jock his lively bay, Wat’s on his white horse behind.
And on they rode for the water of Tyne.
At the Cholerford they a’ light doun,
And there wi’ the help o’ the light o’ the moon,
A tree they cut, wi’ fifteen nogs on each side,
To climb up the wa’ of Newcastle toun,

But when they cam’ to Newcastle toun,
And were alighted at the wa’
They fand their tree three ells ower laigh,
They fand their stick baith short and sma’.
Then up and spak the Laird’s ain Jock,
“There’s naething for’t; the gates we maun force.”
But when they cam’ the gate untill,
A proud porter withstood baith men and horse.
His neck in twa the Armstrangs wrung;
With fute or hand he ne’er played pa!
His life and his keys at once they hae ta’en,
And cast the body ahint the wa’.
Now sune they reach Newcastle jail,
And to the prisoner thus they call:
“Sleeps thou, or wakes thou, Jock o’ the Side,
Or art thou weary of thy thrall?”
Jock answered thus, wi’ doleful tone,
“Aft, aft I wake—I seldom sleep;
But wha’s this kens my name sae weel,
And thus to ease my wae does seek.”
Then out and spake the gude Laird’s Jock,
“Now fear ye na’, my billie,” quo’ he;
“For here are the Laird’s Jock, the Laird’s Wat,
And Hobbie Noble, come to set thee free.”
“Now haud thy tongue, my gude Laird’s Jock,
For ever, alas! this canna be;
For if a’ Liddesdale were here the night,
The morn’s the day that I maun dee.”
“Full fifteen stane o’ Spanish iron
They hae laid a’ right sair or me;
Wi’ locks and keys I am fast bound
Into this dungeon dark and dreirie!”
“Fear ye nae that,” quo’ the Laird’s Jock;
“A faint heart ne’er won a fair ladie;
Work thou within, we’ll work without,
And I’ll be sworn we’ll set thee free.”
The first strong door that they cam’ at,
They loosed it without a key;
The next chain’d door that they cam’ at
They gar’d it a’ to flinders flee.
The prisoner now upon his back
The Laird’s Jock has gotten up fu’ hie;
And down the stair, him, irons and a’,
Wi’ nae sma’ speid and joy brings he.
“Now Jock, my man,” quo Hobbie Noble,
“Some o’ his weight ye may lay on me.”
“I wat weel no,” quo’ the Laird’s ain Jock;
“I count him lighter than a flee.”
Sae out at the gates they a’ are gane,
The prisoner’s set on horseback hie;
And now wi’ speed they’re ta’en the gate,
While ilk ane jokes fu’ wantonlie.
“O Jock! sae winsomely ’s ye ride,
Wi’ baith your feet upon ae side;
Sae weel ye’re harnessed, and sae trig,
In troth ye sit like ony bride!”
The night, tho’ wat, they didna mind,
But hied them on fu’ merrilie
Until they cam’ to Cholerford brae,
Where the water ran baith deep and hie.
But when they came to Cholerford,
There they met with an auld man,
Says, “Honest man, will the water ride?
Tell us in haste, if that ye can.”
“I wat weel no,” quo’ the gude auld man;
“I hae lived here thirty years and three,
And I ne’er yet saw the Tyne sae big,
Nor running anes sae like a sea.”
Then out and spake the Laird’s Saft Wat,
The greatest coward in the companie;
“Now halt, now halt, we needna try’t,
The day is come we a’ maun dee.”
“Puir faint-hearted thief!” cried the Laird’s ain Jock,
“There’ll nae man die but him that’s fey;
I’ll guide ye a’ right safely thro’,
Lift ye the prisoner on ahint me.”
Wi’ that the water they hae ta’en;
By anes and twas they a’ swam thro’;
“Here we are a’ safe,” quo’ the Laird’s Jock,
“And puir faint Wat, what think ye now?”
They scarce the other brae had won
When twenty men they saw pursue;
Frae Newcastle toun they had been sent,
A’ English lads baith stout and true.
But when the land-serjeant the water saw,
“It winna ride, my lads,” says he;
Then cried aloud—“The prisoner take,
But leave the fetters, I pray, to me.”
“I wat weel no,” quo’ the Laird’s Jock;
“I’ll keep them a’; shoon to my mare they’ll be.
My gude bay mare—for I am sure
She has bought them a’ right dear frae thee.”
Sae now they are on to Liddesdale,
E’en as fast as they could them hie;
The prisoner is brought to his ain fireside,
And there o’ his airns they mak’ him free.
“Now, Jock, ma billie,” quo’ a’ the three,
“The day is com’d thou was to dee.
But thou’s as weel at thy ain ingle-side,
Now sitting, I think ’twixt thou and me.”

BARTHRAM’S DIRGE.
They shot him dead at the Nine-stane Rig,
Beside the Headless Cross,
And they left him lying in his blood,
Upon the moor and moss.
They made a bier of the broken bough
The sauch and the aspin grey,
And they bore him to the Lady Chapel,
And waked him there all day.
A lady came to that lonely bower,
And threw her robes aside;
She tore her ling lang yellow hair,
And knelt at Barthram’s side.
She bathed him in the Lady-Well,
His wounds sae deep and sair;
And she plaited a garland for his breast,
And a garland for his hair.
They rowed him in a lily sheet
And bare him to his earth;
And the Grey Friars sung the dead man’s mass
As they passed the Chapel garth.
They buried him at the mirk midnight,
When the dew fell cold and still,
When the aspin grey forgot to play,
And the mist clung to the hill.
They dug his grave but a bare foot deep,
By the edge of the Nine-stane Burn,
And they covered him o’er with the heather-flower,
The moss and the lady-fern.
A Grey Friar staid upon the grave,
And sang till the morning tide;
And a friar shall sing for Barthram’s soul
While the Headless Cross shall bide.

THE FAIR FLOWER OF NORTHUMBERLAND
It was a knight in Scotland born,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
Was taken pris’ner and left forlorn,
Even by the good Earl of Northumberland.
Then was he cast in prison strong,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
Where he could not walk nor lie along,
Even by the good Earl of Northumberland.
And as in sorrow thus he lay,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
The Earl’s sweet daughter passed that way,
And she the fair flower of Northumberland.
And passing by, like an angel bright,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
The prisoner had of her a sight,
And she the fair flower of Northumberland.
And aloud to her this knight did cry,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
The salt tears standing in her eye,
And she the fair flower of Northumberland.
“Fair lady,” he said, “take pity on me,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
And let me not in prison dee,
And you the fair flower of Northumberland.”
“Fair sir, how should I take pity on thee,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
Thou being a foe to our countrie,
And I the fair flower of Northumberland?”
“Fair lady, I am no foe,” he said,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
“Through thy sweet love here was I stayed,
And thou the fair flower of Northumberland.”
“Why shouldst thou come here for love of me,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
Having wife and bairns in thy own countrie,
And I the fair flower of Northumberland?”
“I swear by the Blessed Trinity,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
That neither wife nor bairns have I,
And thou the fair flower of Northumberland.”
“If courteously thou wilt set me free,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
I vow that I will marry thee,
And thou the fair flower of Northumberland.
“Thou shalt be lady of castles and towers,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
And sit like a queen in princely bowers,
Even thou the fair flower of Northumberland.”
Then parted hence this lady gay,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
And got her father’s ring away,
And she the fair flower of Northumberland.
Likewise much gold got she by sleight,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
And all to help this forlorn knight,
And she the fair flower of Northumberland.
Two gallant steeds both good and able,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand),
She likewise took out of the stable,
And she the fair flower of Northumberland.
And to the goaler she sent the ring,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
Who the knight from prison forth did bring,
To meet the fair flower of Northumberland.
This token set the prisoner free,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
Who straight went to this fair ladye,
And she the fair flower of Northumberland.
A gallant steed he did bestride,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
And with the lady away did ride,
And she the fair flower of Northumberland.
They rode till they came to a water clear,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
“Good sir, how shall I follow you here,
And I the fair flower of Northumberland?
“The water is rough and wonderful deep,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
And on my saddle I shall not keep,
And I the fair flower of Northumberland?
“Fear not the ford, fair lady,” quoth he,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
“For long I cannot stay for thee,
Even thou the fair flower of Northumberland.”
The lady prickt her gallant steed,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
And over the water swam with speed,
Even she the fair flower of Northumberland.
From top to toe all wet was she,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
“This have I done for love of thee,
Even I the fair flower of Northumberland.”
Thus rode she all one winter’s night.
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
Till Edenborough they saw in sight,
The fairest town in all Scotland.
“Now I have a wife and children five,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
In Edenborough they be alive,
And thou the fair flower of Northumberland.
“And if thou wilt not give thy hand,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
Then get thee home to fair England,
And thou the fair flower of Northumberland
“This favour thou shalt have, to boot,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
I’ll have thy horse; go thou on foot,
Even thou the fair flower of Northumberland.”
“O false and faithless knight,” quoth she;
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
“And canst thou deal so bad with me,
Even I the fair flower of Northumberland?”
He took her from her stately steed,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
And left her there in extreme need,
And she the fair flower of Northumberland.
Then she sat down full heavily,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
At length two knights came riding by,
And she the fair flower of Northumberland.
Two gallant knights of fair England,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
And there they found her on the strand,
Even she the fair flower of Northumberland.
She fell down humbly on her knee,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
Crying, “Courteous knights, take pity on me,
Even I the fair flower of Northumberland.
“I have offended my father dear,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
For a false knight that brought me here,
Even I the fair flower of Northumberland.”
They took her up beside them then,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
And brought her to her father again,
And she the fair flower of Northumberland.
Now all you fair maids, be warned by me,
(Follow, my love, come over the strand)
Scots never were true, nor ever will be,
To lord, nor lady, nor fair England.

WHITTINGHAM FAIR.
Are you going to Whittingham Fair
(Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme),
Remember me to one that lives there,
For once she was a true lover of mine.
Tell her to make me a cambric shirt,
(Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme),
Without any seam or needlework,
Then she shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell her to wash it in yonder well,
(Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme),
Where never spring water or rain ever fell,
And she shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn,
(Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme),
Which never bore blossom since Adam was born.
Then she shall be a true lover of mine.
Now he has asked me questions three,
(Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme),
I hope he’ll answer as many for me,
Before he shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell him to buy me an acre of land,
(Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme),
Betwixt the salt water and the sea sand,
Then he shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell him to plough it with a ram’s horn.
(Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme),
And sow it all over with one pepper corn.
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell him to shear’t with a sickle of leather,
(Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme),
And bind it up with a peacock feather,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.
Tell him to thrash it on yonder wall,
(Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme),
And never let one corn of it fall,
Then he shall be a true lover of mine.
When he has done and finished his work,
(Parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme),
O tell him to come and he’ll have his shirt,
And he shall be a true lover of mine.

O THE OAK AND THE ASH.

A North country mayde up to London had strayed,
Although with her nature it did not agree.
Which made her repent, and often lament,
Still wishing again in the North for to be.
“O the Oak and the Ash and the bonny Ivy tree,
They are all growing green in my North Countrie!”
“O fain wad I be in the North Countrie
Where the lads and the lasses are all making hay;
O there wad I see what is pleasant to me,—
A mischief ’light on them enticed me away!
O the Oak and the Ash and the bonny Ivy tree,
They are all growing green in my North Countrie!”
“Then farewell my father, and farewell my mother,
Until I do see you I nothing but mourn;
Remembering my brothers, my sisters, and others—
In less than a year I hope to return.
O the Oak and the Ash and the bonny Ivy tree.
They are all growing green in my North Countrie!”

SAIR FEYL’D, HINNY!