"Come haud thy peace, thou foolish lass,65
The moon's but glancing in thy ee,
I'll wad my haill fee 'gainst a groat,
It's bigger than e'er our foal will be."
The neighbours too that heard the noise
Cried to the wife to put her in;70
"By my sooth," then quoth the wife,
"She's better than ever he rade on."
But on the morn at fair day light,
When they had ended a' their chear,
King Henry's Wanton Brown was stawn,75
And eke the poor old Harper's mare.
"Alace! alace!" says the silly blind Harper,
"Alace! alace! that I came here,
In Scotland I've tint a braw cowte foal,
In England they've stawn my guid grey mare."
"Come had thy tongue, thou silly blind Harper,81
And of thy alacing let me be,
For thou shall get a better mare,
And weel paid shall thy cowte foal be."
LOCHMABEN HARPER.
Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, i. 422.
O heard ye na o' the silly blind Harper,
How long he lived in Lochmaben town?
And how he wad gang to fair England,
To steal the Lord Warden's Wanton Brown?