XXV
‘There came a wind out o’ the north,
A sharp wind an’ a snell[17],
A dead sleep it came over me
And frae my horse I fell;
And the Queen o’ Fairies she took me
In yon green hill to dwell.
XXVI
‘And pleasant is the fairy land
For those that in it dwell,
But ay at end of seven years
They pay a teind[18] to hell;
I am sae fair and fu’ o’ flesh
I’m fear’d ’twill be mysell.
XXVII
‘But the night is Hallowe’en, Janet,
The morn is Hallowday;
Then win me, win me, an ye will,
For weel I wat ye may.
XXVIII
‘The night it is gude Hallowe’en,
The fairy folk do ride,
And they that wad their true-love win,
At Miles Cross they maun bide.’—
XXIX
‘But how should I you ken, Tam Lin,
How should I borrow[19] you,
Amang a pack of uncouth[20] knights
The like I never saw?’—