"I hae twa swords in ae scabbert,
They are baith sharp and clear;
Take ye the best, and I the warst,
And we'll end the matter here.
"But up, and arm thee, young Musgrave,85
We'll try it han' to han';
It's ne'er be said o' lord Barnaby,
He strack at a naked man."
The first straik that young Musgrave got,
It was baith deep and sair;90
And down he fell at Barnaby's feet,
And word spak never mair.
* * * * * * *
"A grave, a grave!" lord Barnaby cried,
"A grave to lay them in;
My lady shall lie on the sunny side,95
Because of her noble kin."
But oh, how sorry was that good lord,
For a' his angry mood,
Whan he beheld his ain young son
All welt'ring in his blood!100
[26]. For slack'd read bent. J.
Note. [In [v. 31]] the term "braid bow" has been altered by the editor into "brent bow," i. e. straight, or unbent bow. In most of the old ballads, where a page is employed as the bearer of a message, we are told, that,
"When he came to wan water,
He bent his bow and swam;"
And