‘Weel met, weel met, now, Parcy Reed,
Thou art the very man we sought;
Owre lang hae we been in your debt,
Now will we pay you as we ought.
XXVIII
‘We’ll pay thee at the nearest tree,
Where we shall hang thee like a hound.’—
Brave Parcy rais’d his fankit[1271] sword,
And fell’d the foremost to the ground.
XXIX
Alake, and wae for Parcy Reed!
Alake, he was an unarmed man!
Four weapons pierced him all at once,
As they assail’d him there and than.
XXX
They fell upon him all at once,
They mangled him most cruellie;
The slightest wound might caused his deid,
And they hae gi’en him thirty-three;
They hackit off his hands and feet,
And left him lying on the lee.
XXXI
‘Now, Parcy Reed, we’ve paid our debt,
Ye canna weel dispute the tale,’
The Crosiers said, and off they rade;
They rade the airt[1272] o’ Liddesdale.