19
'For the wee worms are my bedfellows,
And cauld clay is my sheets,
And when the stormy winds do blow,
My body lies and sleeps.'
B.
a. Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, 1, 91; Motherwell's MS., p. 591. b. Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. lxxxi.
1
There was a knight, in a summer's night,
Appeard in a lady's hall,
As she was walking up and down,
Looking oer her castle wall.
2
'God make you safe and free, fair maid,
God make you safe and free!'
'O sae fa you, ye courteous knight,
What are your wills wi me?'
3
'My wills wi you are not sma, lady,
My wills wi you nae sma,
And since there's nane your bower within,
Ye'se hae my secrets a'.
4
'For here am I a courtier,
A courtier come to thee,
And if ye winna grant your love,
All for your sake I'll dee.'
5
'If that ye dee for me, sir knight,
Few for you will make meen;
For mony gude lord's done the same,
Their graves are growing green.'
6
'O winna ye pity me, fair maid,
O winna ye pity me?
O winna ye pity a courteous knight,
Whose love is laid on thee?'
7
'Ye say ye are a courteous knight,
But I think ye are nane;
I think ye're but a millar bred,
By the colour o your claithing.