CATHERINE JOHNSTONE.
Obtained from recitation, in the West of Scotland. Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 225.
There was a lass, as I heard say,
Liv'd low doun in a glen;
Her name was Catherine Johnstone,
Weel known to many men.
Doun came the laird o' Lamington,5
Doun from the South Countrie;
And he is for this bonnie lass,
Her bridegroom for to be.
He's ask'd her father and mother,
The chief of a' her kin;10
And then he ask'd the bonnie lass,
And did her favour win.
Doun came an English gentleman,
Doun from the English border;
He is for this bonnie lass,15
To keep his house in order.
He ask'd her father and mother,
As I do hear them say;
But he never ask'd the lass hersell,
Till on her wedding day.20
But she has wrote a long letter,
And sealed it with her hand;
And sent it to Lord Lamington,
To let him understand.