Thou must tell me, lord Howard said,
Now who thou art and what's thy name,
And show me where thy dwelling is,
And whither bound, and whence thou came.
My name is Henry Hunt, quoth he
With a heavy heart, and a careful mind;
I and my ship do both belong
To the Newcastle that stands upon Tyne.
Hast thou not heard, now, Henry Hunt,
As thou hast sailed by day and by night,
Of a Scottish rover on the seas;
Men call him sir Andrew Barton, knight?
Then ever he sighed, and said alas!
With a grieved mind, and well away!
But over-well I know that wight,
I was his prisoner yesterday.
As I was sailing upon the sea,
A Bordeaux voyage for to fare;
To his hatchboard[116] he clasped me,
And robbed me of all my merchant ware:
And mickle debts, God wot, I owe,
And every man will have his own,
And I am now to London bound,
Of our gracious king to beg a boon.
Thou shalt not need, lord Howard says;
Let me but once that robber see,
For every penny ta'en thee fro'
It shall be doubled shillings three.
Now God forefend, the merchant said,
That you should seek so far amiss!
God keep you out of that traitor's hands!
Full little ye wot what a man he is.
He is brass within, and steel without,
With beams on his topcastle strong;
And eighteen pieces of ordinance
He carries on each side along:
And he hath a pinnace dearly dight,[117]
St. Andrew's cross that is his guide;
His pinnace beareth ninescore men,
And fifteen cannons on each side.
Were ye twenty ships, and he but one,
I swear by kirk, and bower, and hall,
He would overcome them every one,
If once his beams they do down fall.
This is cold comfort, says my lord,
To welcome a stranger thus to the sea:
Yet I'll bring him and his ship to shore,
Or to Scotland he shall carry me.
Then a noble gunner you must have,
And he must aim well with his ee,
And sink his pinnace into the sea,
Or else he ne'er o'ercome will be:
And if you chance his ship to board,
This counsel I must give withal,
Let no man to his topcastle go
To strive to let his beams down fall.
And seven pieces of ordinance,
I pray your honour lend to me,
On each side of my ship along,
And I will lead you on the sea.
A glass I'll set, that may be seen,
Whether you sail by day or night;
And to-morrow, I swear, by nine of the clock
You shall meet with Sir Andrew Barton, knight.
PART THE SECOND.
