Part 67

That Mary Hamilton’s born a bairn An murderd it at the wa.

3^1, 11^3. _Edge bound in._

8^1. caimd _written_, _but struck out_.

8^3. & I the.

* * * * *

W

“Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 85, Abbotsford.

1 There lived a man in the North Countree And he had doghters three; The youngest o them’s to Edinbourgh gaen, Ane o the queen’s Marys to be.

2 Queen Mary’s bread it was sae white, And her wine it ran sae clear, It shewed her the way to the butler’s bed, And I wait she’s bought dear.

3 For Mary’s to the garden gaen, To eat o the saven tree, And a’ ‘s to pit her young son back, But back he wad na be.

4 So Mary’s to her chamber gaen, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5 Queen Mary she came down the stair, And a’ her maids afore her: ‘Oh, Mary Miles, where is the child That I have heard greet sae sore O?’

6 ‘There is no child with me, madam, There is no child with me; It was only a bit of a cholick I took, And I thought I was gawen to dee.’

7 So they looked up, and they looked down, And they looked beneath the bed-foot, And there they saw a bonnie boy, Lying weltering in his blood.

8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘Since that you have killed your own dear child, The same death you shall dee.’

9 When Mary came afore the court, A loud laugh laughed she; But when she came to the [gallows-]fit The tear blinded her ee.

* * * * * *

10 ‘O wha will comb Queen Mary’s heed? Or wha will brade her hair? And wha will lace her middle sae jimp Whan [I] am nae langer there?

11 ‘Yestreen the queen [had] four Maries, The night she’ll hae but three; There was Mary Seaten, and Mary Beaten, And Mary Carmichal, and me.

* * * * * *

12 ‘I’ll not put on my robes of black, Nor yet my robes of brown, But I’ll put on a shining braw garb, That will shine thro Edinbourgh town.’

* * * * * *

13 Oh, whan she came to the Cannongate, The Cannongate sae hee, There mony a lord and belted knight Was grieved for her beautee.

* * * * * *

14 And whan she came to [the] Hee Town, The Hee Town sae hee,

* * * * * *

10^1. Oh.

11^{1,2}. _Added in a different hand._

12^3. shinning.

* * * * *

X

‘The Queen’s Maries,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 91, Abbotsford.

1 There livd a lord in the West Country, And he had daughters three; The youngest o them’s to the queen’s court, To learn some courtesy.

2 She hadna been at the queen’s court A year but and a day Till she has fa’n as big wi child, As big as she coud gae.

3 She’s gane into the garden To pu the sycamore tree, And taen the bony bairn in her arms And thrown it in the sea.

4 She rowd it in her apron And threw it in the sea: ‘Gae sink or soom, my bony sweet babe, Ye’ll never get mair o me.’

5 Then in an came Queen Mary, Wi gowd rings on her hair: ‘O Mary mild, where is the child That I heard greet sae sair?’

6 ‘It wasna a babe, my royal liege, Last night that troubled me, But it was a fit o sair sickness, And I was lyken to dee.’

7 ‘O hold yere tongue, Mary Hamilton, Sae loud as I hear ye lee! For I’ll send you to Enbro town, The verity to see.’

8 She wadna put on the ribbons o black, Nor yet wad she the brown, But she wad put on the ribbons o gowd, To gae glittring through Enbro town.

9 As she rade up the Sands o Leith, Riding on a white horse, O little did she think that day To die at Enbro Corss!

10 As she rade up the Cannongate, She leugh loud laughters three, And mony a lord and lady said, ‘Alas for that lady!’

11 ‘Ye needna say Oh, ye needna cry Eh, Alas for that lady! Ye’ll neer see grace in a graceless face, As little ye’ll see in me.’

12 When she came to the Netherbow Port, She leugh loud laughters three, But ere she came to the gallows-foot The tear blinded her eie; Saying, Tye a white napkin owr my face, For that gibbet I downa see.

13 ‘O hold yere hand, Lord Justice! O hold it a little while! I think I see my ain true-love Come wandring mony a mile.

14 ‘O have ye brought me ony o my gowd? Or ony o my weel-won fee? Or are ye come to see me hangd, Upon this gallows-tree?’

15 ‘O I hae brought ye nane o yere gowd, Nor nane o yere weel-won fee, But I am come to see ye hangd, And hangit ye shall be.’

16 ‘O all ye men and mariners, That sail for wealth or fame, Let never my father or mother get wit But what I’m coming hame.

17 ‘O all ye men and mariners, That sail upon the sea, Let never my father or mother get wit The death that I maun dee.

18 ‘Yestreen the queen had four Maries, The night she’ll hae but three; There was Mary Seaton, and Mary Beaton, And Mary Carmichael, and me.’

* * * * *

Y

‘The Queen’s Marys,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 144, Abbotsford.

1 ‘Yestreen the queen had four Marys, The night she’ll hae but three; She had Mary Beaton, and Mary Seaton, And Mary Carmichael, and me.

2 ‘My feather was the Duke of York, My mother a gay lady, And I mysell a bonnie young may, And the king fell in love we me.

3 ‘The king’s kisses they were so sweet, And his wine it was so strong, That I became a mother Before fifteen years old.’

4 ‘O tell the truth now, Mary, And sett this matter right; What hae ye made o the babey Was greeting yesternight?’

5 ‘O I will tell you, madam the queen, I winna tell a lie; I put it in a bottomless boat And bad it sail the sea.’

6 ‘Ye lie, ye lie now, Mary, Sae loud’s I hear you lie! You wasnae out o the palace, So that coud never be.’

7 ‘Weel I will tell you, madam, Though it should gar me weep; I stabbd it we my little pen-knife, And bad it take a sleep.’

8 When she came up the Netherbow, She geed loud laughters three; But when she came out o the Parliament Close The tear blinded her ee.

9 ‘O little does my feather ken The death I am to die, Or muckel wad be the red, red gould Wad be payed doun for me.

10 ‘O little does my mother think The death that I am to die, Or monie wad be the saut, saut tears That she wad shed for me.

11 ‘O never lett my brothers ken The death that I am to die, For muckel wad be the red, red blood That wad be shed for me.

12 ‘Aft hae I washd the king’s bonnie face, Kaimd doun his yellow hair, And this is a’ the reward he’s geen me, The gallows to be my share.’

* * * * *

Z

‘The Queen’s Marie,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 90 a, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of John Leyden.

1 ‘Buss ye, bonny Marie Hamilton, Buss and gae wi me, For ye maun gae to Edinborough, A great wedding to see.’

2 ‘Ride hooly, hooly, gentlemen, Ride hooly now wi me, For never, I’m sure, a wearier bride Rode in your cumpany.’

3 Little wist Marie Hamilton, When she rode on the brown, That she was gawn to Edinborough, And a’ to be put down.

4 When she came to the Council stairs, She ga loud laughters three; But or that she came down again She was condemmd to dee.

5 ‘O ye mariners, mariners, mariners, When ye sail oer the faem, Let never my father nor mother to wit But I’m just coming hame.

6 ‘Let never my father nor mother to wit, Nor my bauld brether[en] three, Or meckle wad be the red, red gowd This day be gien for me.

7 ‘Let never my father or mother to wit, Nor my bauld brethren three, Or meckle war the red, red blude This day wad fa for me.’

AA

“Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 142, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of James Hogg.

‘Oft hae I kaimd Queen Mary’s head, An oft hae I curld her hair, An now I hae gotten for my reward A gallows to be heir.’

178. Captain Car, or, Edom o Gordon.

P. 426, note *. This history borrows from Sir Robert Gordon. See what he says, p. 166 f., and also previously, p. 164 ff.

428 a. #F#, #G#. “I have a manuscript where the whole scene is transferred to Ayrshire, and the incendiary is called Johnnie Faa.” Note of Sir W. Scott in Sharpe’s Ballad Book, ed. 1880, p. 142.

This copy has not as yet been recovered, but there is another at Abbotsford, a fine fragment, in which Lady Campbell is the heroine. As to Adam McGordon, the c of Mac is often dropped, so that Adam MaGordon and Adam o Gordon are of pretty much the same sound (a remark of Mr Macmath). The Andrew Watty of 13^3 is noted on the last page of the MS. to be “a riding man.”

* * * * *

H

“Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 75, Abbotsford. Communicated to Scott November 6, 1803, by Brace Campbell, Sornbeg, Galston, Ayrshire, through David Boyle, Advocate, afterwards Lord Justice General of Scotland.

1 It fell about the Martinmass time, When the wind blew shill and cald, That Adam McGordon said to his men, Where will we get a hall?

2 ‘There is a hall here near by, Well built with lime and stone; There is a lady there within As white as the . . bone.’

3 ‘Seven year and more this lord and I Has had a deadly feud, And now, since her good lord’s frae hame, His place to me she’ll yield.’

4 She looked oer her castle-wall, And so she looked down, And saw Adam McGordon and his men Approaching the wood-end.

5 ‘Steik up, steik up my yett,’ she says, ‘And let my draw-bridge fall; There is meickle treachery Walking about my wall.’

6 She had not the sentence past, Nor yet the word well said, When Adam McGordon and his men About the walls were laid.

7 She looked out at her window, And then she looked down, And then she saw Jack, her own man, Lifting the pavement-stane.

8 ‘Awa, awa, Jack my man! Seven year I paid you meat and fee, And now you lift the pavement-stane To let in the low to me.’

9 ‘I yield, I yield, O lady fair, Seven year ye paid me meat and fee; But now I am Adam McGordon’s man, I must either do or die.’

10 ‘If ye be Adam McGordon’s man, As I true well ye be, Prove true unto your own master, And work your will to me.’

11 ‘Come down, come down, my lady Campbell, Come down into my hand; Ye shall lye all night by my side, And the morn at my command.’

12 ‘I winna come down,’ this lady says, ‘For neither laird nor lown, Nor to no bloody butcher’s son, The Laird of Auchindown.

13 ‘I wald give all my kine,’ she says, ‘So wald I fifty pound, That Andrew Watty he were here; He would charge me my gun.

14 ‘He would charge me my gun, And put in bullets three, That I might shoot that cruel traitor That works his wills on me.’

15 He shot in, and [s]he shot out, The value of an hour, Until the hall Craigie North Was like to be blawn in the air.

16 He fired in, and she fired out, The value of houris three, Until the hall Craigie North The reik went to the sea.

17 ‘O the frost, and ae the frost, The frost that freezes fell! I cannot stay within my bower, The powder it blaws sae bald.’

18 But then spake her oldest son, He was both white and red; ‘O mither dear, yield up your house! We’ll all be burnt to deed.’

19 Out then spake the second son, He was both red and fair; ‘O brother dear, would you yield up your house, And you your father’s heir!’

20 Out then spake the little babe, Stood at the nurse’s knee; ‘O mither dear, yield up your house! The reik will worry me.’

21 Out then speaks the little nurse, The babe upon her knee; ‘O lady, take from me your child! I’ll never crave my fee.’

22 ‘Hold thy tongue, thou little nurse, Of thy prating let me bee; For be it death or be it life, Thou shall take share with me.

23 ‘I wald give a’ my sheep,’ she says, ‘T[hat] . . yon . . s[ha], I had a drink of that wan water That runs down by my wa.’

2^1. hall there.

2^4. _An illegible word ending seemingly in_ hie.

3^1. this lord and I _begins the second line_.

3^3. has good: has _caught from the line above_.

3^4. shall _altered to_ she’ll; _but_ she shall _is clearly meant_.

7^4, 11^4, 15^4, 16^3, 21^1. y^e.

14^1. would: wald, _perhaps_.

16^2. valuue, _or_, valaue, _or_, valuae.

16^3. _A preposition seems to be wanting._ Hall _here and in_ 15^3 _is troublesome. Perhaps the reading should be in_ 15^3 _that all, in_ 16^3 that through all.

23^2. _The paper is folded here, and the line has been so much rubbed as to be illegible._

“An old ballad upon the burning of an old castle of Loudoun by the Kennedys of Auchruglan.” Bruce Campbell.

181. The Bonny Earl of Murray.

P. 447. Add to the citation from Spottiswood: History of the Church of Scotland, 1655, p. 387.

182. The Laird o Logie.

P. 449. #A# was first published in the second edition of Scott’s Minstrelsy, 1803, I, 243.

#B# was repeated in the first edition of Scott’s Minstrelsy, I, 220, 1802, ‘The Laird of Ochiltree.’

452. The following is the original, unimproved copy of #A#. There is a transcript of this, in William Laidlaw’s hand, “Scotch Ballads,” etc., No 23, which is somewhat retouched, but by no means with the freedom exercised by the editor of the Minstrelsy. Some of Laidlaw’s changes were adopted by Scott.

* * * * *

A

‘The Laird of Logie,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 3 a, Abbotsford. Sent Scott September 11, 1802, by William Laidlaw; received by him from Mr Bartram of Biggar.

1 I will sing, if ye will harken, An ye wad listen unto me; I’ll tell ye of a merry passage Of the wanton laird of Young Logie.

2 Young Logie’s laid in Edin_borough_ chapel, Carmichaell’s keeper of the key; I heard a may lamenting sair, All for the laird of Young Logie.

3 ‘Lament, lament na, May Margret, And o your weeping let me be; For ye maun to the king y_ou_r sell, And ask the life of Young Logie.’

4 May Margaret has kilted her green cleeding, And she’s currld back her yellow hair, And she’s away to the king hersell, And adieu to Scotland for ever mair!

5 When she came before the king, She fell low down on her knee: ‘It’s what’s your will wi me, May Margret, And what makes all this courtesey?’ ‘Naething, naething, my sovreign liege, But grant me the life of Young Logie.’

6 ‘O no, O no, May Margret, No, in sooth it maun na be; For the morn, or I taste meat or drink, Hee hanged shall Young Logie be.’

7 She has stolen the king’s reeding-comb, But an the queen her wedding-knife, And she has sent it to Carmichaell, To cause Young Logie come by life.

8 She sent him a purse of the red gold, Another of the white money, And sent him a pistol into each hand, And bade him shoot when he got fra.

9 When he came to the Tolbooth stair, There he loot his volley flee, Wh_ich_ made the king in his chamber start, Even in the chamber where he lay.

10 ‘Gae out, gae out, my merrie men, And gar Carmichael come speake wi me, For I’ll lay my life the pledge of that, That yon’s the volley of Young Logie.’

11 When Carmichael came before the king, He fell low down on his knee; The very first word that the king spake, ‘How dois the laird o Young Logie?’

12 Carmichael turnd him round about, A wait the salt tear blint his eye: ‘There came a tacken frae the king Has tean the laird awa frae me.’

13 ‘Hast thou playd me that, Carmichael? Hast thou playd me that?’ quo he; ‘The morn the Justice Court’s to stand, And Logie’s place ye maun supply.’

14 Carmichal’s awa to May Margr[e]t’s bower, Een as fast as he may dree: ‘It’s if Young Logie be within, Tell him to come speak to me.’

15 May Margret’s turnd her round about, A wait a loud laughter gae she: ‘The egg is cheeped and the bird is flown, And seek ye the laird of Young Logie.’

16 The one is sheppd at the pier o Leith, The other at the Queen’s Ferry, And she has gotten a father to her bairn, The wanton laird of Young [Logie].

4^2. yer _for_ her.

6^4. Yea _for_ Hee. Hie _in Laidlaw’s transcript. Taking into account the apparent_ yer _for_ her _in 4^2, it looks as if_ hea, _her were intended._

8^4. free?

12^2. blint _may be_ blent.

453. #B.# ‘The Winsome Laird of Young Logie,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 137 a, “sung by Lady A. Lindsay,” closely resembles Herd’s version, but in one passage approaches #C#, and Young Logie displaces Ochiltrie. This copy will be treated as #B b#.

* * * * *

#b.#

1^1. O _wanting_.

1^2. To the tale I tell.

1^8. How the.

1^4. The winsom laird of Young Logie.

2^1. Whan the queen did hear the same.

2^8. Alas for poor Lady Margaret.

3^2, 8^2. as _wanting_.

3^4. Or never kend.

4^1. Fye, oh no, said: that maunna be _wanting_.

4^2. Fy, O no, thus (_partly altered to_ this).

4^3. find out some cunning way.

4^4. To loose and let Young Logie free.

_Between 5^2 and 5^3_: The king he’s risen and taen her up, Says, What means a’ this curtesy. (_As_ 5^{3,4}.)

When you took me to be your queen, You promisd me favours twa or three. (_As_ 6^{1,2}.)[152]

5^{3,4}: The first ane that I ask of yow Is to loose and let Young Logie free. (_As_ 6^{3,4}.)

6^1. O _wanting_: of me.

6^2. would hae granted.

6^4, 7^4. Winna save.

7^1. queen than she came.

7^2. And she came down.

8^{3–4}: I wish that I had neer been born, Or never kend Young Logie’s name. (_As in_ 3.)

9^1. Fye, oh no, said.

9^2. Fye, O no, this maun ne.

9^3. I ‘ll find out some other.

9^4. To save the life o.

10^1. she triped.

11^1. She gae to.

11^3. And twa.

11^4. And bade him shoot as he gaed by.

12^1. And _wanting_.

12^3. O peace: our gudely.

13^1. O _wanting_.

14^1. Gae bring to.

14^2. Gae bring them.

14^3. Before the: by ten.

14^4. they each ane.

15. _Wanting._

16^1. Fye, O no, said.

16^2. Fye, O no, this maun ne.

16^3. hang at a’.

17^1. Lady Marg took shiping.

17^2. Young Logie at.

17^8. the lass: her lad. Tune of Logan Water.

183. Willie Macintosh.

P. 456. The account in ‘The History of the Feuds’ is taken from Sir Robert Gordon’s History of Sutherland, p. 217.

Jamieson, writing to Scott, in November, 1804, says: “I have heard a scrap of the rude ballad on the burning of Achindoun, ‘Bonny Willie Mackintosh—You’ve tint a feather frae your cap—By the day dawing,’ etc., or something of this kind, from the Rev^d John Grant of Elgin. The Duchess of Gordon applied to him about it some years ago, but he could never recover it.” (Letters addressed to Sir W. Scott, I, No 117, Abbotsford.)

186. Kinmont Willie.

P. 470 b, at the end of the first paragraph. Strike out 1639. Spottiswood’s account begins at the same page, 413, in the edition of 1655.

188. Archie o Cawfield.

P. 484. #B b# was first printed in the second edition of the Minstrelsy, 1803, I, 195.

The following is the copy from which Scott derived the stanzas introduced into this later edition of the ballad. It will be observed that ‘luve of Teviotdale’ is the reading of 4^2, and not a correction of Scott’s, as suggested at 486 b.

‘Archie o Ca’field, Variations,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 90, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of John Leyden.

1 The one unto the other did say, ‘Blythe and merry how can we be, When the night is billie Archie’s lyke-wake, The morn the day that he maun die?’

2 ‘An ye wad be blythe an ye wad be sad, What better wad billie Archie be, Unless I had thirty men to mysell, And a’ to ride in our companie?

3 ‘Ten to had the horses’ heads, And other ten to walk alee, And ten to break up the strang prisoun Where billie Archie he does lie.’

4 Up bespak him mettled John Hall, The luve o Teviotdale ay was he; ‘An I had eleven men to mysell, It’s ay the twalt man I wad be.’

5 Up bespak him coarse Ca’field, I wat and little gude worth was he; ‘Thirty men is few enow, And a’ to ride in our cumpanie.’

6 Then a’ the night thae twal men rade, And ay untill they were a’ wearie, Till they came to the strang prisoun Where billie Archie he did lie.

7 ‘Sleeps thou, wakes thou, billie?’ he said, ‘Or did ye hear whan I did cry? The night it is your lyke-wake night, The morn it is your day to die.’

8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ‘Work ye within and I without, And soon a loose man shall you be.’

9 Dickie pu’d the prisoner on o his back, And down the stair cam merrilie; ‘Now by my sooth,’ quo mettled John Hall, ‘Ye may let a leg o him lean to me.’

10 ‘I have my billie upon my back, I count him lighter than a flee; Gin I were at my little black mare, At Ca’field soon I trust to be.’

11 Then a’ the night these twelve men rade, And aye untill they were a’ wearie, Untill they came to the wan water, And it was gawn like ony see.

12 ‘There lives a smith on the water-side, Sae has he done thirty years and three: . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13 ‘O I have a crown in my pocket, And I’ll give it every groat to thee . . . . . . . Gin thou shoe my little black mare for me.’

14 ‘The night is mirk, and vera pit-mirk, And wi candle-light I canna weel see; The night it is mirk, and vera pit-mirk, And there’ll never a nail ca right for me.’

15 ‘Shame fa you and your trade baith, Canna beet a gude fallow by your mysterie! But lees me on thee, my little black mare, Thou’s worth thy weight o gowd to me.’

16 Then thay lay down to take a sleep, But ay’ on fit stood noble Dickie, And he’s looked oer his left shoulder, And a’ to see what he could see.

17 ‘Get up, get up, ye drowsy sleepers! Ye dinna see what I do see; For yonder comes the land-lieutenant, Two hunder men in his cumpanie.

18 ‘This night an they lay hands on us, This night, as I think weel it will be, This night sall be our lyke-wake night, The morn like as mony dogs we’ll die.’

19 ‘My mare is young, and vera young, And in o the weel she will drown me;’ ‘But ye’ll take mine, and I’ll take thine, And soon thro the water we sall be.’

20 Then up bespak him coarse Ca’field, I wate and little gude worth was he; ‘We had better lose ane than lose a’ the lave, We’ll leave the prisoner, we’ll gae free.’

21 ‘Shame fa you and your lands baith, Wad ye een your lands to your born billie? But hey! bear up, my little black mare, And yet thro the water we sall be.’

* * * * * *

22 ‘Come thro, come thro now,’ Dickie he said, ‘Come thro, come thro and drink wi me; There’s no be a Saturday in a’ the year But changed sall your garments be.

* * * * * *

23 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . While a bit o your iron hads thegether, Barefit sall she never be.’

12^1. _Var._ other side o the water.

12, 13 _are written as one stanza_.

VOL. IV.

190. Jamie Telfer of the Fair Dodhead.