And they twa met, and they twa plat,
And fain they wad be near;
And a' the warld might ken right weel,75
They were twa lovers dear.
But bye and rade the Black Douglas,
And wow but he was rough!
For he pull'd up the bonny brier,
And flang't in St. Marie's Loch.80
[69-80]. This miracle is frequently witnessed over the graves of faithful lovers.—King Mark, according to the German romance, planted a rose on Tristan's grave, and a vine on that of Isold. The roots struck down into the very hearts of the dead lovers, and the stems twined lovingly together. The French account is somewhat different. An eglantine sprung from the tomb of Tristan, and twisted itself round the monument of Isold. It was cut down three times, but grew up every morning fresher than before, so that it was allowed to stand. Other examples are, in this volume,
Fair Janet, Lord Thomas and Fair Annet; in the third volume, Prince Robert, &c. The same phenomenon is exhibited in the Swedish ballads of Hertig Fröjdenborg och Fröken Adelin, Lilla Rosa, Hilla Lilla, Hertig Nils, (Svenska Folk-Visor, i. 95, 116, Arwidsson, ii. 8, 21, 24,) in the Danish ballad of Herr Sallemand, (Danske Viser, iii. 348,) in the Breton ballad of Lord Nann and the Korrigan, translated in Keightley's Fairy Mythology, p. 433, in a Servian tale cited by Talvi, Versuch, &c., p. 139, and in the Afghan poem of Audam and Doorkhaunee, described by Elphinstone, Account of the Kingdom of Caubul, i. 295,—which last reference we owe to Talvi.—In the case of the Danish ballad it is certain, and in some of the other cases probable, that the idea was derived from the romance of Tristan.
LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ELLINOR.
The four pieces which follow have all the same subject. Lord Thomas and Fair Ellinor, is given from the Collection of Old Ballads, 1723, vol. i. p. 249, where it is entitled, A Tragical Ballad on the unfortunate Love of Lord Thomas and Fair Ellinor, together with the Downfal of the Brown Girl. The text differs but slightly from that of Percy, (iii. 121,) and Ritson, Ancient Songs, ii. 89.
Lord Thomas he was a bold forrester,
And a chaser of the king's deer;
Fair Ellinor was a fine woman,
And Lord Thomas he loved her dear.
"Come riddle my riddle, dear mother," he said,5
"And riddle us both as one;
Whether I shall marry with fair Ellinor,
And let the brown girl alone?"