Part 60

28 She’s put her hand into her purse And taen out fifty merks and three: ‘If this be the Earl Bichet’s castle, Tell him to speak three words wi me.

29 ‘Tell him to send me a bit o his bread But an a bottle o his wine, And no forget the lady’s love That freed him out o prison strong.’

30 The porter he gaed up the stair, And mony bow and binge gae he; ‘What means, what means,’ cried Earl Bichet, ‘O what means a’ this courtesie?’

31 ‘O I hae been porter at yere yett These four-and-twenty years and three; But the fairest lady now stands thereat That ever my two eyes did see.

32 ‘She has a ring on her foremost finger, And on her middle-finger three; She has as much gowd about her waist As wad buy earldoms o land for thee.

33 ‘She wants to speak three words wi thee, And a little o yere bread and wine, And not to forget the lady’s love That freed ye out o prison strong.’

34 ‘I’ll lay my life,’ cried Earl Bichet, ‘It’s my true love come oer the sea!’ Then up and spake the bride’s mother, ‘It’s a bonny time to speak wi thee!’

35 ‘O your doughter came here on a horse’s back, But I’ll set her hame in a chariot free; For, except a kiss o her bonny mouth, Of her fair body I am free.’

36 There war thirty cups on the table set, He gard them a’ in flinders flee; There war thirty steps into the stair, And he has louped them a’ but three.

37 Then he took her saftly in his arms, And kissed her right tenderlie: ‘Ye’re welcome here, my ain true love, Sae dearly welcome ye’re to me!’

* * * * * *

* * * * *

7^3. doolfu: l _struck out_.

_At the end_: “Some verses are wanting at the conclusion.”

The following stanza, entered by Scott in the quarto volume “Scottish Songs,” 1795, fol. 29 back, Abbotsford library, N. 3, is much too good to be lost:

Young Bechin was in Scotland born, He longed far countries for to see, And he bound himself to a savage Moor, Who used him but indifferently.

VOL. II.

55. The Carnal and the Crane.

P. 7, 509 b, III, 507 b. The Sower. Add: Legeay, Noëls Anciens, Première Série, 1875, ‘Saint Joseph avec Marie,’ No 34, p. 68; Daymard, Vieux Chants p. rec. en Quercy, ‘La Fuite en Egypte,’ p. 333; Soleville, Ch. p. du Bas-Quercy, ‘Lou Bouiaje,’ p. 126; La Tradition, IV, 139.

56. Dives and Lazarus.

P. 10, III, 507 b. ‘Le mauvais riche,’ Daymard, Vieux Chants p. rec. en Quercy, p. 282.

57. Brown Robyn’s Confession.

P. 13. #Swedish.# ‘Herr Päders Sjöresa,’ Lagus, Nyländska Folkvisor, I, 56, No 14, _a_, _b_.

#Danish.# ‘Jon Rimaardsens Sejlads,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 296, No 73, #A-D#.

13 ff., II, 510, also No 20, I, 244. While Prince Lundarasena is on a voyage, a great hurricane arises. An offering of jewels is made to the sea, but does not quiet it. Lundarasena says: “It is through my demerits in former births that this day of doom has suddenly come upon you.” He flings himself into the water; the wind falls immediately and the sea becomes calm. (He is not drowned.) Kathá Sarit Ságara, Tawney’s translation, II, 375.

A ship stopped. Cf. the story told by Henry of Huntingdon, viii, 22, of one Reiner, a follower of Geoffrey Mandeville (Gaufridus de Magna Villa).

“Princeps autem peditum suorum, Reinerus nomine, cujus officium fuerat ecclesias frangere vel incendere, dum mare cum uxore sua transiret, ut multi perhibuerunt, navis immobilis facta est. Quod monstrum nautis stupentibus, sorte data rei causam inquirentibus, sors cecidit super Reinerum. Quod cum ille nimirum totis contradiceret nisibus, secundo et tertio sors jacta in eum devenit. Positus igitur in scapha est, et uxor ejus, et pecunia scelestissime adquisita, et statim navis cursu velocissimo ut prius fecerat pelagus sulcat, scapha vero cum nequissimis subita voragine circumducta in æternum absorpta est.” This was in the year 1144. Henrici Archidiaconi Huntendunensis Historia Anglorum, ed. Arnold, Rolls Series, 1879, p. 278. (G. L. K.)

“Audivi a fratre Galtero de Leus quod, cum quedam mulier, mare transiens, pulcritudine sua omnes qui erant in navi ita attraxisset ut omnes qui erant ibi fere cum ea peccassent vel per actum aut consensum, et non evitaret patrem aut filium, sed indifferenter omnibus, licet occulte, se exponeret, facta in mari tempestate et navi periclitante, cepit clamare coram omnibus omnia peccata sua et confiteri ea, credens quod alii propter ea deberent periclitari. Tunc, aliis confitentibus, cessavit mare a furore suo. Facta tranquillitate, nullus potuit scire que esset illa mulier aut cognoscere eam.” Anecdotes historiques, Légendes et Apologues tirés du Recueil inédit d’Étienne de Bourbon, ed. Lecoy de la Marche, 1877, p. 160. (G. L. K.)

A merchant is making a voyage to Mount Athos with a cargo of wax and incense. St Nicolas freezes the ship in, and will not thaw it out until the master makes a vow to present the cargo to the monastery there. #Bulgarian#, Miladinof, p. 56, No 50. A ship in which Milica is captive is stopped by her tears and plaints until she and her brother are released. #Servian#, Karadžić, I, 556, No 729. (W. W.)

16. ‘Captain Glen.’ Christie’s Traditional Ballad Airs, I, 241, from recitation. As Christie remarks, some verses of the ballad are introduced into Scott’s Pirate, ch. 36.

59. Sir Aldingar.

P. 33 f. The child champion in #A#. (Compare also the notes to No 90, II, 513 b, III, 515 b.) Children who distinguish themselves by valorous exploits, and even get the better of heroes, are especially common in Bulgarian epos. A child of three days kills a monster that stops the way of a marriage-train, and then requires the guests to come to its baptism: Miladinof, p. 79, No 59. Marko Kraljević is vanquished by one of these, seven years old: Miladinof, p. 173, No 121; Kačanofskij, pp. 341–55, Nos 151–55. In Kačanofskij, p. 355, No 156, the child is but seven months old. More of this extravagance in Miladinof, p. 266, No 173; Sbornik of the Ministry of Instruction, I, 59, No 4. (W. W.)

35, note. In The Order of Combats for Life in Scotland, Spalding Club Misc., II, 387 (of uncertain date), the second oath to be proposed to the parties is, that they have not brought into the lists other armor or weapons than was allowed, neither any engine, charm, herb, or enchantment, etc.

60. King Estmere.

P. 50 b, the last paragraph. It might have been remarked that ‘King Estmere’ resembles in a general way a series of German poems of adventure, in which a young king (or his guardians) is nice about a wife, and the princess proposed to him is won only with great difficulty: König Rother (ed. Rückert, v. 13 ff.); Ortnit (Ortnit und die Wolfdietriche, ed. Amelung und Jänicke, I, 4, st. 8 ff.); Hugdietrich (the same, p. 168, st. 9 ff.); Oswald (Sant Oswaldes Leben, ed. Ettmüller, p. 6, v. 140 ff); Orendel (ed. Berger, p. 8, v. 192 ff.); Dietwart (Dietrichs Flucht, ed. Martin, Heldenbuch, II^r Teil, p. 68, v. 785 ff.). To which may be added Fore, in Salman und Marolf (ed. Vogt, p. 5, str. 24 ff.), and Tsar Vasily, in Russian _byliny_ (see Vogt, p. XLII).

61. Sir Cawline.

P. 60, III, 508 b. Cucúlin pulls liver and lights out of the throats of two lions: Curtin, Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland, p. 317.

62. Fair Annie.

P. 65 a. #Swedish.# ‘Skön Anna,’ ‘Skön Anna och Herr Peder,’ Lagus, Nyländska Folkvisor, I, 13, No 4, _a, b_. The bride throws down one half of a gold ring, Fair Annie the other; the parts run together: _a_ 23, _b_ 16.

67. The romance of Galerent follows the story of Marie’s _lai_, and is thought to be founded on it: Le Roman de Galerent, Comte de Bretagne, par le trouvère Renaut, A. Boucherie, 1888. (G. L. K.)

68, note. The story is in Coryat’s Crudities, 1611, p. 646 f.; III, 81 f., of the ed. of 1776. (G. L. K.)

63. Child Waters.

P. 84 b, III, 508 b. Add: Skattegraveren, 1888, II, 135, Nos 408–11.

64. Fair Janet.

P. 101 b. #Danish.# ‘Kong Valdemar og hans Søster,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 75, 378, No 23.

102 b. #Breton# ballad. After Luzel, II, 6–15, add 558, the page of the third ballad.

Quellien, Chansons et Danses des Bretons, p. 73, is a fourth version. This ballad, says Quellien, is widely spread, and has various titles, one of which is ‘Le Comte de Poitou.’

103 ff. “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” Abbotsford, No 25. In the handwriting of William Laidlaw; “from Jean Scott.”

1 Young Janet sits in her garden, Makin a heavie maen, Whan by cam her father dear, Walkin himself alane.

2 ‘It’s telld me in my bower, Janet, It’s telld me in my bed, That ye’re in love wi Sweet Willie; But a French lord ye maun wed.’

3 ‘In it be telld ye in yer bower, father, In it be telld ye in your bed, That me an Willie bears a love, Yet a French lord I maun wed, But here I mak a leel, leel vow He’s neer come in my bed.

4 ‘An for to please my father dear A French lord I will wed; But I hae sworn a solemn oth He’s neer come in my bed.’

5 Y_oung_ Janet’s away to her bower-door, As fast as she can hie, An Willie he has followd her, He’s followd speedilie.

6 An whan he cam to her bowr-door He tirlt at the pin: ‘O open, open, Janet love, Open an let me in.’

7 ‘It was never my mother’s custm, Willie, It never sal be mine, For a man to come the bower within When a woman’s travelin.

8 ‘Gae yer ways to my sisters’ bower, Crie, Meg, Marion an Jean, Ye maun come to yer sister Janet, For fear that she be gane.’

9 Sae he gaed to her sisters’ bower, Cry’d, Meg, Marion an Jean, Ye maun come to yer sister Janet, For fear that she be gane.

10 Some drew to their silk stokins, An some drew to their shoon, An some drew to their silk cleadin, For fear she had been gane.

11 When they cam to her bower-door They tirlt at the pin; For as sick a woman as she was, She raise an loot them in.

12 They had na the babie weel buskit, Nor her laid in her bed, Untill her cruel father cam, Cried, Fye, gar busk the bride!

13 ‘There a sair pain in my back, father, There a sair pain in my head, An sair, sair is my sidies to; This day I downa ride.’

14 ‘But I hae sorn a solemn oath, Afore a companie, That ye sal ride this day, Janet, This day an ye soud die.

15 ‘Whae’ll horse ye to the kirk, Janet? An whae will horse ye best?’ ‘Whae but Willie, my true-love? He kens my mister best.’

16 ‘Whae’ll horse ye to the kirk, Janet? An whae will horse ye there?’ ‘Whae but Willie, my true-love? He neer will doo ‘d nae maer.

17 ‘Ye may saddle a steed, Willie, An see that ye saddle ‘t soft; Ye may saddle a steed, Willie, For ye winna saddle ‘t oft.

18 ‘Ye may saddle a steed, Willie, An see that ye saddle ‘t side; Ye may saddle a steed, Willie; But I thought to have been yer bride.’

19 When they war a’ on horse-back set, On horse-back set sae hie, Then up spak the bold bridegroom, An he spak boustresslie.

20 Up then spak the bold bridegroom, An he spak loud an thrawn; ‘I think the bride she be wi bairn, She looks sae pale an wan.’

21 Then she took out her bible-book, Swoor by her fingers five That she was neither wi lad nor lass To no man was alive.

22 Then she took out her bible-book, Swoor by her fingers ten An ever she had born a bairn in her days She had born ‘d sin yestreen: Then a’ the ladies round about Said, That’s a loud leesin.

23 Atween the kitchin an the kirk It was a weel-met mile; It was a stra’d i the red roses, But than the camomile.

24 When the war a’ at dener set, Drinkin at the wine, Janet could neither eat nor drink But the water that ran so fine.

25 Up spak the bride’s father, Said, Bride, will ye dance wi me? ‘Away, away, my cruel father! There nae dancin wi me.’

26 Up then spak the bride’s mother, Said, Bride, will ye dance wi me? ‘Away, away, my mother dear! There nae dancin wi me.’

27 Up then spak the bride’s sisters, etc.

28 Up then spak the bride’s brother, etc.

29 Then up spak the bold bridegroom, [etc.]

30 Up then spak the Sweet Willie, An he spak wi a vance; ‘An ye’ll draw of my boots, Janet, I’ll gie a’ yer lassies a dance.’

31 ‘I seen ‘t other ways, Willie, An sae has mae than me, When ye wad hae danced wi my fair body, An leten a’ my maidens be.’

32 He took her by the milk-white hand, An led her wi mickle care, But she drapit down just at his feet, And word spak little mair.

33 ‘Ye may gae hire a nurse, Willie, An take yer young son hame; Ye may gae hire a nurse, Willie, For bairn’s nurse I’ll be nane.’

34 She’s pu’d out the keys o her coffer, Hung leugh down by her gair; She said, Gie thae to my young son, Thrae me he’ll neer get mair.’

35 Up then spak the bold bridegroom, An he spak bousterouslie; ‘I’ve gien you the skaeth, Willie, But ye’ve gien me the scorn; Sae there’s no a bell i St Mary’s kirk Sall ring for her the morn.’

36 ‘Ye’ve gien me the skaeth, bridegroom, But I’ll gee you the scorn; For there’s no a bell i St Marie’s kirk But sal ring for her the morn.

37 ‘Gar deal, gar deal at my love’s burial The wheat-bread an the wine, For or the morn at ten o clock Ye’ll deal ‘d as fast at mine.’

38 Then he’s drawn out a nut-brown sword, Hang leugh down by his gair, He’s thrust it in just at his heart, An word spak never mair.

39 The taen was buried i St Mary’s kirk, The tother i St Mary’s queer, An throw the taen there sprang a birk, Throw the tother a bonnie brier.

40 Thae twae met, an thae twae plaet, An ay they knitit near, An ilka ane that cam thereby Said, There lies twa lovers dear.

41 Till by there came an ill French lord, An ill death may he die! For he pu’d up the bonnie brier, . . . . . . . .

5^1. Away _struck out, and_ on _written over._

9^1. An _at the beginning struck out._

10^{1,2,3}. drew to them their? Cf. #A# 10.

11^4. _The fourth verse is written as the second_ (it _for_ in), _but struck out_.

12^1. bukit.

13^3. _Changed, by striking out, to_ An sair, sair my side. An sair, sair is my side _should probably be the second line._

_Cf._ #A# 17, #C# 12.

15^2. An whae I will.

16^4. He’ll neer will.

18^4. But _struck out._

23^4. But an?

30^1. he Sweet Willie?

34^2. Hang? Cf. 38^2.

39^2. _MS._ queer Choir.

40^4. twa _struck out._

65. Lady Maisry.

P. 112 b. #I.# “Mrs Baird says that this ballad was printed in the Saltmarket [Glasgow] by the Robertsons about seventy years ago.” Note by Motherwell in a copy of his Minstrelsy.

113, note §. ‘Galancina’ also in Munthe, Folkpoesi från Asturien, No 3, Upsala Universitets Årsskrift, 1887.

* * * * *

J

‘Lady Margery,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 71, MS. of Thomas Wilkie, p. 71, Abbotsford. “From the recitation of Janet Scott, Bowden, who sung a dysmal air, as she called it, to the words.”

This version resembles #D#. 12, 13, may be caught from ‘Lord Derwentwater:’ see No 208, #E# 8, 9, #F# 9, 10. Omens are not in place after the positive information given in 11.

1 Lady Margery was the king’s ae daughter, But an the prince’s heir; O She’s away to Strawberry Castle, To learn some English lair. O

2 She had not been in Strawberry Castle A twelvemonth and a day Till she’s even as big wi child As ever a lady could gae.

3 Her father’s to the cutting o the birks, Her mother to the broom, And a’ for to get a bundle o sticks To burn that fair lady in.

4 ‘O hold your hand now, father dear, O hold a little while, For if my true-love be yet alive I’ll hear his bridle ring.

5 ‘Where will I get a bonny boy, That will win hoes and shoon, That will run to Strawberry Castle And tell my love to come?’

6 She’s called on her waiting-maid To bring out bread and wine: ‘Now eat and drink, my bonny boy, Ye’ll neer eat mair o mine.’

7 Away that bonny boy he’s gaen, As fast as he could rin; When he cam where grass grew green Set down his feet and ran.

8 And when he cam where brigs were broken He bent his bow and swam; . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

9 When he came to Strawberry Castle, He lighted on the green; Who was so ready as the noble lord To rise and let the boy in!

10 ‘What news? what news, my pretty page? What tydings do ye bring? Is my lady lighter yet Of a daughter or a son?’

11 ‘Bad news, bad news, my noble lord, Bad tydings have I brung; The fairest lady in a’ Scotland This day for you does burn.’

12 He has mounted a stately steed And he was bound to ride; The silver buttons flew off his coat And his nose began to bleed.

13 The second steed that lord mounted Stumbled at a stone; ‘Alass! alass!’ he cried with grief, ‘My lady will be gone.’

14 When he came from Strawberry Castle He lighted boots and a’; He thought to have goten a kiss from her, But her body fell in twa.

15 For the sake o Lady Margery He’s cursed her father and mother, For the sake o Lady Margery He’s cursed her sister and brother.

16 And for the sake o Lady Margery He’s cursed all her kin; He cried, Scotland is the ae warst place That ever my fit was in!

O, _added in singing to the second and fourth lines of each stanza, is sometimes not written in the MS._

9 _is written as the third and fourth lines of_ 8.

15 _and_ 16 _are written as one stanza of four long lines_.

* * * * *

K

“Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 22 f; in the handwriting of William Laidlaw. “From Jean Scott.” This version resembles #E#.

1 Marjorie was her father’s dear, Her mother’s only heir, An she’s away to Strawberry Castle, To learn some unco lear.

2 She had na been i Strawberry Castle A year but barely three Till Marjorie turnd big wi child, As big as big could be.

* * * * * *

3 ‘Will ye hae that old, old man To be yer daily mate, Or will ye burn in fire strong For your true lover’s sake?’

4 ‘I winna marry that old, old man To be my daily mate; I’ll rather burn i fire strong For my true lover’s sake.

* * * * * *

5 ‘O where will I get a bonnie boy That will win hose an shoon An will gae rin to Strawberry Castle, To gar my good lord come soon?’

6 ‘Here am I, a bonnie boy That will win hose an shoon, An I’ll gae rin to Strawberry Castle, And gar your lord come soon.’

7 ‘Should ye come to a brocken brig, Than bend your bow an swim; An whan ye com to garse growin Set down yer feet an rin.’

8 When eer he came to brigs broken, He bent his bow an swam, And whan he cam to grass growin He set down his feet an ran.

7 When eer he cam to Strawberry Castle He tirlt at the pin; There was nane sae ready as that young lord To open an let him in.

8 ‘Is there ony o my brigs broken? Or ony o my castles win? Or is my lady brought to bed Of a daughter or a son?’

9 ‘There’s nane o a’ yer brigs broken, Ther’s nane of your castles win; But the fairest lady in a’ your land This day for you will burn.’

10 ‘Gar saddle me the black, black horse, Gar saddle me the brown, Gar saddle me the swiftest stead That eer carried man to town.’

11 He’s burstit the black unto the slack, The grey unto the brae, An ay the page that ran afore Cried, Ride, sir, an ye may.

12 Her father kindlet the bale-fire, Her brother set the stake, Her mother sat an saw her burn, An never cried Alack!

13 ‘Beet on, beet [on], my cruel father, For you I cound nae friend; But for fifteen well mete mile I’ll hear my love’s bridle ring.’

14 When he cam to the bonnie Dundee, He lightit wi a glent; Wi jet-black boots an glittrin spurs Through that bale-fire he went.

15 He thought his love wad hae datit him, But she was dead an gane; He was na sae wae for that lady As he was for her yong son.

16 ‘But I’ll gar burn for you, Marjorie, Yer father an yer mother, An I’ll gar burn for you, Marjorie, Your sister an your brother.

17 ‘An I will burn for you, Marjorie, The town that ye’r brunt in, An monie ane’s be fatherless That has but little sin.’

4^3. But _at the beginning struck out._

10. grey _is written over brown in the second line (perhaps because of_ grey _in 11^2), and_ to town _is struck out in the fourth line, but nothing supplied._

67. Glasgerion.

P. 136. “Glen Kindy, or rather Glen Skeeny, I have heard, and there is a ballad in Percy’s collection that is very much the same.” Mrs Brown, in a letter to Jamieson, June 18, 1801, Jamieson-Brown MS., Appendix, p. x.

137 a, second paragraph. ‘Riddaren och torpar-drängen,’ Lagus, Nyländska Folkvisor, I, 133, No 43.

68. Young Hunting.

P. 142 b. The four additional stanzas in #J# first appeared in the second edition of the Minstrelsy, 1803, II, 44.

143 b, 512 a, III, 509 a. Discovery of drowned bodies. Add: La Tradition, IV, 236.

143 b, second paragraph. Many cases in Pitcairn’s Criminal Trials, III, 182–99.

69. Clerk Saunders.

P. 157 f. Scandinavian ballads. See Danmarks gamle Folkeviser, now edited by Axel Olrik, V, II, 210, No 304, ‘De hurtige Svar.’ There are two Färöe versions, #A a#, #A b#, #B#, now No 124 of the MS. Føroyjakvæði. Hammershaimb’s ballad is a compound of #A a#, #B#. There is a Norwegian copy, which I failed to note, in Danske Viser, IV, 363 f, and there are others in the hands of Professor Bugge. There are two Swedish unprinted copies in Arwidsson’s collection, and others are referred to by Afzelius. #Danish#, #A-D# : #A a# and #B c# are the copies referred to at p. 158, #C, D# were published in 1889, in Kristensen’s Jyske Folkeminder, X, 210 ff., No 51. For the Icelandic ballads see Olrik, No 294, p. 69 ff. A tendency to the comic is to be remarked in the Swedish and Danish group, in which (with one exception) a brother takes the place of the father.

158 a, III, 509 a. #Spanish#, add: ‘Mañanita, mañanita,’ El Folk-Lore Frexnense y Bético-Extremeño, Fregenal, 1883–84, p. 171.

158 ff. ‘Clerk Sandy,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 22 c; in the handwriting of Richard Heber.

1 Clerk Sandy an his true-love Came oer the bent so brown, There was never sic a word between them tua Till the bells rang in the toun.

2 ‘Ye maun take out your pocket-napkin An put it on my een, That safely I may say the morn I saw na yow yestreen.

3 ‘Take me on your back, lady, An carry me to your bed, That safely I may say the morn Yere bouer’s floor I never tread.’

4 She’s taen him in her armeys tua, An carried him to her bed, That safely he may say the morn Her bouer’s floor he never tread.

5 ‘I have seven brethren,’ she says, ‘An bold young men they be; If they see me an you thegether, Yere butcher they will be.’

6 They had na sutten as lang, as lang As other lovers when they meet, Till Clerk Sandy an his true-love They fell baith sound asleep.

7 In an came her seven brethren, An bold young men they’ve been: ‘We have only ae sister in a’ the world, An wi Clerk Sandy she’s lein.’

8 Out an spake her second brother: ‘I’m sure it’s nae injury; If there was na another man in a’ the world. His butcher I will be.’