appearing to the editor, as will be seen in the text, to be a mistake for a-wrestling, he took the liberty of altering it accordingly. After all, perhaps, the title may be right; and the wood may afterwards have obtained its denomination from the tragical event here celebrated. A very few lines inserted by the editor to fill up chasms, [some of which have been omitted,] are inclosed in brackets; the text, in other respects, is given genuine, as it was taken down from the recitation of Mrs. Arrott." Jamieson.
[C] The stanza mentioned by Motherwell, as occurring in Werner's Twenty Fourth of February, (Scene i.) is apparently only a quotation from memory of Herder's translation of Edward. When Motherwell became aware that a similar tradition was common to the Northern nations of Europe, he could no longer have thought it possible that an occurrence in the family history of the Somervilles gave rise to The Twa Brothers.
"O will ye gae to the school, brother?
Or will ye gae to the ba'?
Or will ye gae to the wood a-warslin,
To see whilk o's maun fa'?"
"It's I winna gae to the school, brother;5
Nor will I gae to the ba'?
But I will gae to the wood a-warslin;
And it is you maun fa'."
They warstled up, they warstled down,
The lee-lang simmer's day;10
[And nane was near to part the strife,
That raise atween them tway,
Till out and Willie's drawn his sword,
And did his brother slay.]
"O lift me up upon your back;15
Tak me to yon wall fair;
You'll wash my bluidy wounds o'er and o'er,
And syne they'll bleed nae mair.
"And ye'll tak aff my Hollin sark,
And riv't frae gair to gair;20
Ye'll stap it in my bluidy wounds,
And syne they'll bleed nae mair."
He's liftit his brother upon his back;
Ta'en him to yon wall fair;
He's washed his bluidy wounds o'er and o'er,25
But ay they bled mair and mair.
And he's ta'en aff his Hollin sark,
And riven't frae gair to gair;
He's stappit it in his bluidy wounds;
But ay they bled mair and mair.30