12 'Ye'll put to the gate a chain o gold,
A rose garland gar make,
And ye'll put that in Bondsey's head,
A' for your sister's sake.'
[87]
PRINCE ROBERT
[A]. 'Prince Robert,' Scott's Minstrelsy, II, 124, ed. 1802; III, 269, ed. 1833.
[B]. 'Earl Robert,' Motherwell's MS., p. 149; Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 200.
[C]. 'Lord Robert and Mary Florence,' Motherwell's MS., p. 321.
[D]. 'Prince Robert,' Harris MS., fol. 29.
Prince Robert's mother poisons him because he has married against her will. He sends for his bride to come, but she is in time only for the funeral. The mother will give her nothing of her son's, not even the ring on his finger, all that she asks for. The bride's heart breaks before the mother's face.
There are other ballad-stories of a mother's poisoning because of displeasure at a son's match, but I know of none which demands comparison with this very slender tale.