15
There she met with an outlyer bold,
Lies many long nights in the woods so cold.
16
'Istow a maid, or istow a wife?
Wiltow twinn with thy maidenhead, or thy sweet life?'
17
'If my three brethren they were here,
Such questions as these thou durst nae speer.'
18
'Pray, what may thy three brethren be,
That I durst na mak so bold with thee? '
19
'The eldest o them is a minister bred,
He teaches the people from evil to good.
20
'The second o them is a ploughman good,
He ploughs the land for his livelihood.
21
'The youngest of them is an outlyer bold,
Lies many a long night in the woods so cold.'
22
He stuck his knife then into the ground,
He took a long race, let himself fall on.
E.
Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 212. From Mearnsshire.