{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_12742/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_12742","id":"gutenberg_12742","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/12742","summary":null,"tags":["Ballads, Scots -- Scotland -- Scottish Borders -- Texts","Category: History - British","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Poetry","Scottish Borders (England and Scotland) -- Poetry","Scottish Borders (England and Scotland) -- Songs and music","Scottish Borders (Scotland) -- Poetry","Scottish Borders (Scotland) -- Songs and music"],"text":"MINISTRELSY\n\nOF THE\n\nSCOTTISH BORDER:\n\nCONSISTING OF\n\nHISTORICAL AND ROMANTIC BALLADS,\n\nCOLLECTED\n\nIN THE SOUTHERN COUNTIES OF SCOTLAND; WITH A FEW\nOF MODERN DATE, FOUNDED UPON\nLOCAL TRADITION.\n\n\nIN THREE VOLUMES.\n\n\n\nVOL. I\n\n  The songs, to savage virtue dear,\n  That won of yore the public ear,\n  Ere Polity, sedate and sage,\n  Had quench'd the fires of feudal rage.--WARTON.\n\n1806.\n\n\n\n\nTO\n\nHIS GRACE,\n\nHENRY,\n\n_DUKE OF BUCCLEUCH_, &c.&c.&c.\n\nTHESE TALES,\n\nWHICH\n\nIN ELDER TIMES HAVE CELEBRATED THE PROWESS,\n\nAND\n\nCHEERED THE HALLS,\n\nOF\n\n_HIS GALLANT ANCESTORS_,\n\nARE RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED\n\nBY\n\nHIS GRACE'S MUCH OBLIGED\n\nAND\n\nMOST HUMBLE SERVANT,\n\nWALTER SCOTT.\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\nTO\nTHE FIRST VOLUME.\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\nPART FIRST.\n\n_HISTORICAL BALLADS_.\n\nSir Patrick Spens,\n\nAuld Maitland,\n\nBattle of Otterbourne,\n\nThe Sang of the Outlaw Murray,\n\nJohnie Armstrang,\n\nThe Lochmaben Harper,\n\nJamie Telfer of the Fair Dodhead,\n\nThe Raid of the Reidswire,\n\nKinmont Willie,\n\nDick o'the Cow,\n\nJock o'the Side,\n\nHobbie Noble,\n\nArchie of Ca'field,\n\nArmstrong's Goodnight,\n\nThe Fray of Suport,\n\nLord Maxwell's Goodnight,\n\nThe Lads of Wamphray,\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nFrom the remote period; when the Roman province was contracted by the\nramparts of Severus, until the union of the kingdoms, the borders\nof Scotland formed the stage, upon which were presented the most\nmemorable conflicts of two gallant nations. The inhabitants, at the\ncommencement of this aera, formed the first wave of the torrent which\nassaulted, and finally overwhelmed, the barriers of the Roman power\nin Britain. The subsequent events, in which they were engaged, tended\nlittle to diminish their military hardihood, or to reconcile them to\na more civilized state of society. We have no occasion to trace the\nstate of the borders during the long and obscure period of Scottish\nhistory, which preceded the accession of the Stuart family. To\nillustrate a few ballads, the earliest of which is hardly coeval with\nJames V. such an enquiry would be equally difficult and vain. If we\nmay trust the Welch bards, in their account of the wars betwixt the\nSaxons and Danes of Deira and the Cumraig, imagination can hardly\nform [Sidenote: 570] any idea of conflicts more desperate, than were\nmaintained, on the borders, between the ancient British and their\nTeutonic invaders. Thus, the Gododin describes the waste and\ndevastation of mutual havoc, in colours so glowing, as strongly to\nrecall the words of Tacitus; \"_Et ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem\nappellant_[1].\"\n\n[Footnote 1: In the spirited translation of this poem, by Jones, the\nfollowing verses are highly descriptive of the exhausted state of the\nvictor army.\n\n  At Madoc's tent the clarion sounds,\n  With rapid clangour hurried far:\n  Each echoing dell the note resounds--\n  But when return the sons of war!\n  Thou, born of stern necessity,\n  Dull peace! the desert yields to thee,\n  And owns thy melancholy sway.\n\nAt a later period, the Saxon families, who fled from the exterminating\nsword of the Conqueror, with many of the Normans themselves, whom\ndiscontent and intestine feuds had driven into exile, began to rise\ninto eminence upon the Scottish borders. They brought with them\narts, both of peace and of war, unknown in Scotland; and, among their\ndescendants, we soon number the most powerful border chiefs. Such,\nduring the reign of the [Sidenote: 1249] last Alexander, were Patrick,\nearl of March, and Lord Soulis, renowned in tradition; and such were,\nalso, the powerful Comyns, who early acquired the principal sway upon\nthe Scottish marches. [Sidenote: 1300] In the civil wars betwixt Bruce\nand Baliol, all those powerful chieftains espoused the unsuccessful\nparty. They were forfeited and exiled; and upon their ruins was\nfounded the formidable house of Douglas. The borders, from sea to\nsea, were now at the devotion of a succession of mighty chiefs, whose\nexorbitant power threatened to place a new dynasty upon the Scottish\nthrone. It is not my intention to trace the dazzling career of this\nrace of heroes, whose exploits were alike formidable to the English,\nand to their sovereign.\n\nThe sun of Douglas set in blood. The murders of the sixth earl, and\nhis brother, in the castle of Edinburgh, were followed by that of\ntheir successor, poignarded at Stirling by the hand of his prince. His\nbrother, Earl James, appears neither to have possessed the abilities\nnor the ambition of his ancestors. He drew, indeed, against his\nprince, the formidable sword of Douglas, but with a timid and\nhesitating hand. Procrastination ruined his cause; and he was\ndeserted, at Abercorn, by the knight of Cadyow, chief of the\nHamiltons, and by his most active adherents, after they had\nineffectually exhorted him to commit [Sidenote: 1453] his fate to the\nissue of a battle. The border chiefs, who longed for independence,\nshewed little [Sidenote: 1455] inclination to follow the declining\nfortunes of Douglas. On the contrary, the most powerful clans engaged\nand defeated him, at Arkinholme, in Annandale, when, after a short\nresidence in England, he again endeavoured to gain a footing in his\nnative country[2]. The spoils of Douglas were liberally distributed\namong his conquerors, and royal grants of his forfeited domains\neffectually interested them in excluding his return. An [Sidenote:\n1457] attempt, on the east borders, by \"_the Percy and the Douglas,\nboth together_,\" was equally unsuccessful. The earl, grown old in\nexile, longed once more to see his native country, and vowed, that,\n[Sidenote: 1483] upon Saint Magdalen's day, he would deposit his\noffering on the high altar at Lochmaben.--Accompanied by the banished\nearl of Albany, with his usual ill fortune, he entered Scotland.--The\nborderers assembled to oppose him, and he suffered a final defeat at\nBurnswark, in Dumfries-shire. The aged earl was taken in the fight, by\na son of Kirkpatrick of Closeburn, one of his own vassals. A grant of\nlands had been offered for his person: \"Carry me to the king!\" said\nDouglas to Kirkpatrick: \"thou art well entitled to profit by my\nmisfortune; for thou wast true to me, while I was true to myself.\"\nThe young man wept bitterly, and offered to fly with the earl into\nEngland. But Douglas, weary of exile, refused his proffered liberty,\nand only requested, that Kirkpatrick would not deliver him to the\nking, till he had secured his own reward[3]. Kirkpatrick did more:\nhe stipulated for the personal safety of his old master. His generous\nintercession prevailed; and the last of the Douglasses was permitted\nto die, in monastic seclusion, in the abbey of Lindores.\n\n[Footnote 2: At the battle of Arkinholme, the Earl of Angus, a near\nkinsman of Douglas, commanded the royal forces; and the difference of\ntheir complexion occasioned the saying, \"that the _Black Douglas_ had\nput down the _Red_.\" The Maxwells, the Johnstones, and the Scotts,\ncomposed his army. Archibald, earl of Murray, brother to Douglas, was\nslain in the action; and Hugh, Earl of Ormond, his second brother,\nwas taken and executed. His captors, Lord Carlisle, and the Baron of\nJohnstone, were rewarded with a grant of the lands of Pittinane, upon\nClyde.--_Godscroft_, Vol. I. p. 375.--_Balfour's MS. in the Advocates'\nLibrary, Edinburgh_.--_Abercrombie's Achievements_, Vol. II. p. 361.\n_folio Ed_.--The other chiefs were also distinguished by royal favour.\nBy a charter, upon record, dated 25th February, 1458, the king grants\nto Walter Scott of Kirkurd, ancestor of the house of Buccleuch, the\nlands of Abingtown, Phareholm, and Glentonan craig, in Lanarkshire.\n\n    \"_Pro suo fideli servitio nobis impenso et pro quod interfuit\n    in conflictu de Arkenholme in occisione et captione nostrorum\n    rebellium quondam Archibaldi et Hugonis de Douglas olim\n    comitum Moraviae et de Ormond et aliorum rebellium nostrorum\n    in eorum comitiva existen: ibidem captorum et interfectorum_.\"\n\nSimilar grants of land were made to Finnart and Arran, the two\nbranches of the house of Hamilton; to the chiefs of the Battisons;\nbut, above all, to the Earl of Angus who obtained from royal favour a\ndonation of the Lordship of Douglas, and many other lands, now held\nby Lord Douglas, as his representative. There appears, however, to be\nsome doubt, whether, in this division, the Earl of Angus received more\nthan his natural right. Our historians, indeed, say, that William I.\nEarl of Douglas, had three sons; 1. James, the 2d Earl, who died\nin the field of Otterburn; 2. Archibald, the Grim, 3d Earl; and 3.\nGeorge, in right of his mother, earl of Angus. Whether, however, this\nArchibald was actually the son of William, seems very doubtful; and\nSir David Dalrymple has strenuously maintained the contrary. Now, if\nArchibald, the Grim, intruded into the earldom of Douglas, without\nbeing a son of that family, it follows that the house of Angus, being\nkept out of their just rights for more than a century, were only\nrestored to them after the battle of Arkinholme. Perhaps, this may\nhelp to account for the eager interest taken by the earl of Angus\nagainst his kinsman.--_Remarks on History of Scotland_, Edinburgh,\n1773. p. 121.]\n\n[Footnote 3: A grant of the king, dated 2d October, 1484, bestowed\nupon Kirkpatrick, for this acceptable service, the lands of\nKirkmichael.]\n\nAfter the fall of the house of Douglas, no one chieftain appears to\nhave enjoyed the same extensive supremacy over the Scottish borders.\nThe various barons, who had partaken of the spoil, combined in\nresisting a succession of uncontrouled domination. The earl of Angus\nalone seems to have taken rapid steps in the same course of ambition\nwhich had been pursued by his kinsmen and rivals, the earls of\nDouglas. Archibald, sixth earl of Angus, called _Bell-the-Cat_, was,\nat once, warden of the east and middle marches, Lord of Liddisdale\nand Jedwood forest, and possessed of the strong castles of Douglas,\nHermitage, and Tantallon. Highly esteemed by the ancient nobility,\na faction which he headed shook the throne of the feeble James\nIII., whose person they restrained, and whose minions they led to\nan ignominious death. The king failed not to shew his sense of these\ninsults, though unable effectually to avenge them. This hastened his\nfate: and the field of Bannockburn, once the scene of a more glorious\nconflict, beheld the combined chieftains of the border counties\narrayed against their sovereign, under the banners of his own son.\nThe king was supported by almost all the barons of the north; but the\ntumultuous ranks of the Highlanders were ill able to endure the steady\nand rapid charge of the men of Annandale and Liddisdale, who\nbare spears, two ells longer than were used by the rest of their\ncountrymen. The yells, with which they accompanied their onset,\ncaused the heart of James to quail within him. He deserted his host,\n[Sidenote: 1488] and fled towards Stirling; but, falling from his\nhorse, he was murdered by the pursuers.\n\nJames IV., a monarch of a vigorous and energetic character, was well\naware of the danger which his ancestors had experienced, from the\npreponderance of one overgrown family. He is supposed to have smiled\ninternally, when the border and highland champions bled and died in\nthe savage sports of chivalry, by which his nuptials were solemnized.\nUpon the waxing power of Angus he kept a wary eye; and, embracing the\noccasion of a casual slaughter, he compelled that earl, and his son,\nto exchange the lordship of Liddisdale and the castle of Hermitage,\nfor the castle and lordship of Bothwell[4]. By this policy, he\nprevented the house of Angus, mighty as it was, from rising to the\nheight, whence the elder branch of their family had been hurled.\n\n[Footnote 4: Spens of Kilspindie, a renowned cavalier, had been\npresent in court, when the Earl of Angus was highly praised for\nstrength and valour. \"It may be,\" answered Spens, \"if all be good that\nis upcome;\" insinuating, that the courage of the earl might not answer\nthe promise of his person. Shortly after, Angus, while hawking near\nBorthwick, with a single attendant, met Kilspindie. \"What reason had\nye,\" said the earl, \"for making question of my manhood? thou art a\ntall fellow, and so am I; and by St. Bride of Douglas, one of us shall\npay for it!\"--\"Since it may be no better,\" answered Kilspindie, \"I\nwill defend myself against the best earl in Scotland.\" With these\nwords they encountered fiercely, till Angus, with one blow, severed\nthe thigh of his antagonist, who died upon the spot. The earl then\naddressed the attendant of Kilspindie: \"Go thy way: tell my gossip,\nthe king, that here was nothing but fair play. I know my gossip will\nbe offended; but I will get me into Liddisdale, and remain in my\ncastle of the Hermitage till his anger be abated.\"--_Godscroft_,\nVol. II. p. 59. The price of the earl's pardon seems to have been the\nexchange mentioned in the text. Bothwell is now the residence of Lord\nDouglas. The sword, with which Archibald, _Bell-the-Cat_, slew Spens,\nwas, by his descendant, the famous Earl of Morton, presented to Lord\nLindsay of the Byres, when, about to engage in single combat with\nBothwell, at Carberry-hill--_Godscroft_, Vol. II. p. 175.]\n\nNor did James fail in affording his subjects on the marches marks\nof his royal justice and protection. [Sidenote: 1510] The clan of\nTurnbull having been guilty of unbounded excesses, the king came\nsuddenly to Jedburgh, by a night march, and executed the most rigid\njustice upon the astonished offenders. Their submission was made with\nsingular solemnity. Two hundred of the tribe met the king, at the\nwater of Rule, holding in their hands the naked swords, with which\nthey had perpetrated their crimes, and having each around his neck the\nhalter which he had well merited. A few were capitally punished, many\nimprisoned, and the rest dismissed, after they had given hostages for\ntheir future peaceable demeanour.--_Holinshed's Chronicle, Lesly_.\n\nThe hopes of Scotland, excited by the prudent and spirited conduct\nof James, were doomed to a sudden and fatal reverse. Why should\nwe recapitulate the painful tale of the defeat and death of a\nhigh-spirited prince? Prudence, policy, the prodigies of superstition,\nand the advice of his most experienced counsellors, were alike unable\nto subdue in James the blazing zeal of romantic chivalry. The monarch,\nand the flower of his nobles, [Sidenote: 1513] precipitately rushed to\nthe fatal field of Flodden, whence they were never to return.\n\nThe minority of James V. presents a melancholy scene. Scotland,\nthrough all its extent, felt the truth of the adage, \"that the country\nis hapless, whose prince is a child.\" But the border counties, exposed\nfrom their situation to the incursions of the English, deprived of\nmany of their most gallant chiefs, and harassed by the intestine\nstruggles of the survivors, were reduced to a wilderness, inhabited\nonly by the beasts of the field, and by a few more brutal warriors.\nLord Home, the chamberlain and favourite of James IV., leagued with\nthe Earl of Angus, who married the widow of his sovereign, held, for\na time, the chief sway upon the east border. Albany, the regent of the\nkingdom, bred in the French court, and more accustomed to wield the\npen than the sword, feebly endeavoured to controul a lawless nobility,\nto whom his manners appeared strange, and his person [Sidenote:\n1516] despicable. It was in vain that he inveigled the Lord Home to\nEdinburgh, where he was tried and executed. This example of justice,\nor severity, only irritated the kinsmen and followers of the deceased\nbaron: for though, in other respects, not more sanguinary than the\nrest of a barbarous nation, the borderers never dismissed from their\nmemory a deadly feud, till blood for blood had been exacted, to the\nuttermost drachm[5]. Of this, the fate of Anthony d'Arcey, Seigneur de\nla Bastie, affords a melancholy example. This gallant French cavalier\nwas appointed warden of the east marches by Albany, at his first\ndisgraceful retreat to France. Though De la Bastie was an able\nstatesman, and a true son of chivalry, the choice of the regent was\nnevertheless unhappy. The new warden was a foreigner, placed in the\noffice of Lord Home, as [Sidenote: 1517] the delegate of the very man,\nwho had brought that baron to the scaffold. A stratagem, contrived by\nHome of Wedderburn, who burned to avenge the death of his chief, drew\nDe la Bastie towards Langton, in the Merse. Here he found himself\nsurrounded by his enemies. In attempting, by the speed of his horse,\nto gain the castle of Dunbar, the warden plunged into a morass, where\nhe was overtaken and cruelly butchered. Wedderburn himself cut off his\nhead; and, in savage triumph, knitted it to his saddle-bow by the\nlong flowing hair, which had been admired by the dames of\nFrance.--_Pitscottie, Edit_. 1728, p. 130. _Pinkerton's History of\nScotland_, Vol. II. p. 169 [6].\n\n[Footnote 5: The statute 1594, cap. 231, ascribes the disorders on the\nborder in a great measure to the \"counselles, directions, receipt,\nand partaking, of chieftains principalles of the branches, and\nhousehalders of the saides surnames, and clannes, quhilkis bears\nquarrel, and seeks revenge for the least hurting or slauchter of ony\nane of their unhappy race, although it were ardour of justice, or in\nrescuing and following of trew mens geares stollen or reft.\"]\n\n[Footnote 6: This tragedy, or, perhaps, the preceding execution of\nLord Home, must have been the subject of the song, the first two lines\nof which are preserved in the _Complaynt of Scotland_;\n\n  God sen' the Duc hed byddin in France,\n  And de la Baut\u00e9 had never come hame.\n\nP, 100, Edin. 1801.]\n\nThe Earl of Arran, head of the house of Hamilton was appointed to\nsucceed De la Bastie in his perilous office. But the Douglasses, the\nHomes, and the Kerrs, proved too strong for him upon the [Sidenote:\n1520] border. He was routed by these clans, at Kelso, and afterwards\nin a sharp skirmish, fought betwixt his faction and that of Angus, in\nthe high-street of the metropolis[7].\n\n[Footnote 7: The particulars of this encounter are interesting. The\nHamiltons were the most numerous party, drawn chiefly from the western\ncounties. Their leaders met in the palace of Archbishop Beaton, and\nresolved to apprehend Angus, who was come to the city to attend the\nconvention of estates. Gawain Douglas, bishop of Dunkeld, a near\nrelation of Angus, in vain endeavoured to mediate betwixt the\nfactions. He appealed to Beaton, and invoked his assistance to prevent\nbloodshed. \"On my conscience,\" answered the archbishop, \"I cannot\nhelp what is to happen.\" As he laid his hand upon his breast, at this\nsolemn declaration, the hauberk, concealed by his rocket, was heard\nto clatter: \"Ah! my lord!\" retorted Douglas, \"your conscience sounds\nhollow.\" He then expostulated with the secular leaders, and\nSir Patrick Hamilton, brother to Arran, was convinced by his\nremonstrances; but Sir James, the natural son of the earl, upbraided\nhis uncle with reluctance to fight. \"False bastard!\" answered Sir\nPatrick, \"I will fight to day where thou darest not be seen.\" With\nthese words they rushed tumultuously towards the high-street, where\nAngus, with the prior of Coldinghame, and the redoubted Wedderburn,\nwaited their assault, at the head of 400 spearmen, the flower of the\neast marches, who, having broke down the gate of the Netherbow, had\narrived just in time to the earl's assistance. The advantage of the\nground, and the disorder of the Hamiltons, soon gave the day to Angus.\nSir Patrick Hamilton, and the master of Montgomery, were slain. Arran,\nand Sir James Hamilton, escaped with difficulty; and with no less\ndifficulty was the military prelate of Glasgow rescued from the\nferocious borderers, by the generous interposition of Gawain Douglas.\nThe skirmish was long remembered in Edinburgh, by the name of \"Cleanse\nthe Causeway.\"--_Pinkerton's History_, Vol. II. p. 181.--_Pitscottie\nEdit._ 1728. p. 120.--_Life of Gawain Douglas, prefixed to his\nVirgil_.]\n\nThe return of the regent was followed by the banishment of Angus,\nand by a desultory warfare with England, carried on with mutual\nincursions. Two gallant armies, levied by Albany, were dismissed\nwithout any exploit worthy notice, while Surrey, at the head of ten\nthousand cavalry, burned Jedburgh, and laid waste all Tiviotdale. This\ngeneral pays a splendid tribute to the gallantry of the border chiefs.\nHe terms them \"the boldest [Sidenote: 1523] men, and the hottest, that\never I saw any nation[8].\"\n\n[Footnote 8: A curious letter from Surrey to the king is printed in\nthe Appendix, No. I.]\n\nDisgraced and detested, Albany bade adieu to Scotland for ever. The\nqueen-mother, and the Earl of Arran, for some time swayed the kingdom.\nBut their power was despised on the borders, where Angus, though\nbanished, had many friends. Scot of Buccleuch even appropriated to\nhimself domains, belonging to the queen, worth 4000 merks yearly;\nbeing probably the castle of Newark and her jointure lands in Ettrick\nforest[9].--\n\n[Footnote 9: In a letter to the Duke of Norfolk, October 1524, Queen\nMargaret says, \"Sen that the Lard of Sessford and the Lard of Baclw\nvas put in the castell of Edinbrouh, the Erl of Lenness hath past hyz\nvay vythout lycyens, and in despyt; and thynkyth to make the brek that\nhe may, and to solyst other lordis to tak hyz part; for the said lard\nof Bavkl wvas hyz man, and dyd the gretyst ewelyz that myght be dwn,\nand twk part playnly vyth theasyz as is well known.\"--_Cot. MSS.\nCalig._ B.I.]\n\nThis chief, with Kerr of Cessford, was committed to ward, from which\nthey escaped, to join [Sidenote: 1525] the party of the exiled Angus.\nLeagued with these, and other border chiefs, Angus effected his return\nto Scotland, where he shortly after acquired possession of the supreme\npower, and of the person of the youthful king. \"The ancient power of\nthe Douglasses,\" says the accurate historian, whom I have so often\nreferred to, \"seemed to have revived; and, after a slumber of near\na century, again to threaten destruction to the Scottish\nmonarchy.\"--_Pinkerton_, Vol. 11, p. 277.\n\nIn fact, the time now returned, when no one durst strive with a\nDouglas, or with his follower. For, although Angus used the outward\npageant of conducting the king around the country, for punishing\nthieves and traitors, \"yet,\" says Pitscottie, \"none were found greater\nthan were in his own company.\" The high spirit of the young king was\ngalled by the ignominious restraint under which he found himself; and,\nin a progress to the border for repressing the Armstrongs, he probably\ngave such signs of dissatisfaction, as excited the [Sidenote: 1526]\nlaird of Buccleuch to attempt his rescue.\n\nThis powerful baron was the chief of a hardy clan, inhabiting Ettrick\nforest, Eskdale, Ewsdale, the higher part of Tiviotdale, and a portion\nof Liddesdale. In this warlike district he easily levied a thousand\nhorse, comprehending a large body of Elliots, Armstrongs, and other\nbroken clans, over whom the laird of Buccleuch exercised an extensive\nauthority; being termed, by Lord Dacre, \"chief maintainer of all\nmisguided men on the borders of Scotland.\"--_Letter to Wolsey_, July\n18. 1528. The Earl of Angus, with his reluctant ward, had slept at\nMelrose; and the clans of Home and Kerr, under the Lord Home, and\nthe barons of Cessford, and Fairnihirst, had taken their leave of\nthe king, when, in the gray of the morning, Buccleuch and his band\nof cavalry were discovered, hanging, like a thunder-cloud, upon the\nneighbouring hill of Haliden[10]. A herald was sent to demand his\npurpose, and to charge him to retire. To the first point he answered,\nthat he came to shew his clan to the king, according to the custom of\nthe borders; to the second, that he knew the king's mind better than\nAngus.--When this haughty answer was reported to the earl, \"Sir,\" said\nhe to the king, \"yonder is Buccleuch, with the thieves of Annandale\nand Liddesdale, to bar your grace's passage. I vow to God they shall\neither fight or flee. Your grace shall tarry on this hillock, with my\nbrother George; and I will either clear your road of yonder banditti,\nor die in the attempt.\" The earl, with these words, alighted, and\nhastened to the charge; while the Earl of Lennox (at whose instigation\nBuccleuch made the attempt), remained with the king, an inactive\nspectator. Buccleuch and his followers likewise dismounted, and\nreceived the assailants with a dreadful shout, and a shower of lances.\nThe encounter was fierce and obstinate; but the Homes and Kerrs,\nreturning at the noise of battle, bore down and dispersed the left\nwing of Buccleuch's little army. The hired banditti fled on all sides;\nbut the chief himself, surrounded by his clan, fought desperately\nin the retreat. The laird of Cessford, chief of the Roxburgh Kerrs,\npursued the chace fiercely; till, at the bottom of a steep path,\nElliot of Stobs, a follower of Buccleuch, turned, and slew him with a\nstroke of his lance. When Cessford fell, the pursuit ceased. But his\ndeath, with those of Buccleuch's friends, who fell in the action, to\nthe number of eighty, occasioned a deadly feud betwixt the names\nof Scott and Kerr, which cost much blood upon the marches[11].--See\n_Pitscottie_, _Lesly_, and _Godscroft_.\n\n[Footnote 10: Near Darnick. By a corruption from Skirmish field, the\nspot is still called the Skinnerfield. Two lines of an old ballad on\nthe subject are still preserved:\n\n  \"There were sick belts and blows,\n  The Mattous burn ran blood.\"\n\n[Footnote 11: Buccleuch contrived to escape forfeiture, a doom\npronounced against those nobles, who assisted the Earl of Lennox, in\na subsequent attempt to deliver the king, by force of arms. \"The laird\nof Bukcleugh has a respecte, and is not forfeited; and will get his\npece, and was in Leithquo, both Sondaye, Mondaye, and Tewisday last,\nwhich is grete displeasure to the Carres.\"--_Letter from Sir C. Dacre\nto Lord Dacre, 2d December_, 1526.]\n\n\n[Sidenote: 1528] Stratagem at length effected what force had been\nunable to accomplish; and the king, emancipated from the iron tutelage\nof Angus, made the first use of his authority, by banishing from\nthe kingdom his late lieutenant, and the whole race of Douglas. This\ncommand was not enforced without difficulty; for the power of Angus\nwas strongly rooted in the east border, where he possessed the castle\nof Tantallon, and the hearts of the Homes and Kerrs. The former, whose\nstrength was proverbial[12], defied a royal army; and the latter, at\nthe Pass of Pease, baffled the Earl of Argyle's attempts to enter the\nMerse, as lieutenant of his sovereign. On this occasion, the borderers\nregarded with wonder and contempt the barbarous array, and rude\nequipage, of their northern countrymen Godscroft has preserved the\nbeginning of a scoffing rhyme, made upon this occasion:\n\n  The Earl of Argyle is bound to ride\n  From the border of Edgebucklin brae[13];\n  And all his habergeons him beside,\n  Each man upon a sonk of strae.\n\n  They made their vow that they would slay--\n\n_Godscroft_, v. 2. p. 104. Ed. 1743.\n\n[Footnote 12: \"To ding down Tantallon, and make a bridge to the Bass,\"\nwas an adage expressive of impossibility. The shattered ruins of this\ncelebrated fortress still overhang a tremendous rock on the coast of\nEast Lothian.]\n\n[Footnote 13: Edgebucklin, near Musselburgh.]\n\nThe pertinacious opposition of Angus to his doom irritated to the\nextreme the fiery temper of James, and he swore, in his wrath, that a\nDouglas should never serve him; an oath which he kept in circumstances\nunder which the spirit of chivalry, which he worshipped[14], should\nhave taught him other feelings.\n\n[Footnote 14: I allude to the affecting story of Douglas of\nKilspindie, uncle to the Earl of Angus. This gentleman had been placed\nby Angus about the king's person, who, when a boy, loved him much, on\naccount of his singular activity of body, and was wont to call him his\n_Graysteil_, after a champion of chivalry, in the romance of _Sir Eger\nand Sir Grime_. He shared, however, the fate of his chief, and, for\nmany years, served in France. Weary, at length, of exile, the aged\nwarrior, recollecting the king's personal attachment to him, resolved\nto throw himself on his clemency. As James returned from hunting in\nthe park at Stirling, he saw a person at a distance, and, turning\nto his nobles, exclaimed, \"Yonder is my _Graysteil_, Archibald of\nKilspindie!\" As he approached, Douglas threw himself on his knees, and\nimplored permission to lead an obscure life in his native land. But\nthe name of Douglas was an amulet, which steeled the king's heart\nagainst the influence of compassion and juvenile recollection. He\npassed the suppliant without an answer, and rode briskly up the steep\nhill, towards the castle. Kilspindie, though loaded with a hauberk\nunder his cloaths, kept pace with the horse, in vain endeavouring to\ncatch a glance from the implacable monarch. He sat down at the gate,\nweary and exhausted, and asked for a draught of water. Even this was\nrefused by the royal attendants. The king afterwards blamed their\ndiscourtesy; but Kilspindie was obliged to return to France, where he\ndied of a broken heart; the same disease which afterwards brought to\nthe grave his unrelenting sovereign. Even the stern Henry VIII. blamed\nhis nephew's conduct, quoting the generous saying \"A king's face\nshould give grace.\"--_Godscroft_, Vol. II. P. 107.]\n\nWhile these transactions, by which the fate of Scotland was\ninfluenced, were passing upon the eastern border, the Lord\nMaxwell seems to have exercised a most uncontrouled domination in\nDumfries-shire. Even the power of the Earl of Angus was exerted in\nvain, against the banditti of Liddesdale, protected and bucklered\nby this mighty chief. Repeated complaints are made by the English\nresidents, of the devastation occasioned by the depredations of the\nElliots, Scotts, and Armstrongs, connived at, and encouraged, by\nMaxwell, [Sidenote: 1528] Buccleuch, and Fairnihirst. At a convention\nof border commissioners, it was agreed, that the king of England,\nin case the excesses of the Liddesdale freebooters were not duly\nredressed, should be at liberty to issue letters of reprisal to his\ninjured subjects, granting \"power to invade the said inhabitants of\nLiddesdale, to their slaughters, burning, heirships, robbing, reifing,\ndespoiling and destruction, and so to continue the same at his grace's\npleasure,\" till the attempts of the inhabitants were fully atoned\nfor. This impolitic expedient, by which the Scottish prince, unable\nto execute justice on his turbulent subjects, committed to a rival\nsovereign the power of unlimited chastisement, was a principal cause\nof the savage state of the borders. For the inhabitants, finding\nthat the sword of revenge was substituted for that of justice, were\nloosened from their attachment to Scotland, and boldly threatened to\ncarry on their depredations, in spite of the efforts of both kingdoms.\n\nJames V., however, was not backward in using more honourable\nexpedients to quell the banditti [Sidenote: 1529] on the borders. The\nimprisonment of their chiefs, and a noted expedition, in which many of\nthe principal thieves were executed (see introduction to the ballad,\ncalled _Johnie Armstrong_), produced such good effects, that,\naccording to an ancient picturesque history, \"thereafter there was\ngreat peace and rest a long time, where through the king had great\nprofit; for he had ten thousand sheep going in the Ettrick forest, in\nkeeping by Andrew Bell, who made the king so good count of them, as\nthey had gone in the hounds of Fife.\" _Pitscottie_, p. 153.\n\nA breach with England interrupted the tranquillity [Sidenote: 1532]\nof the borders. The Earl of Northumberland, a formidable name to\nScotland, ravaged the middle marches, and burned Branxholm, the abode\nof Buccleuch, the hereditary enemy of the English name. Buccleuch,\nwith the barons of Cessford and Fairnihirst, retaliated by a raid into\nEngland, [Sidenote: 1533] where they acquired much spoil. On the east\nmarch, Fowberry was destroyed by the Scots, and Dunglass castle by\nD'Arcey, and the banished Angus.\n\nA short peace was quickly followed by another war, which proved fatal\nto Scotland, and to her king. In the battle of Haddenrig, the English,\nand the exiled Douglasses, were defeated by the Lords Huntly and Home;\nbut this was a transient gleam of success. Kelso was burned, and the\nborders [Sidenote: 1542] ravaged, by the Duke of Norfolk; and finally,\nthe rout of Solway moss, in which ten thousand men, the flower of the\nScottish army, were dispersed and defeated by a band of five hundred\nEnglish cavalry, or rather by their own dissentions, broke the proud\nheart of James; a death, more painful a hundred fold than was met by\nhis father in the field of Flodden.\n\nWhen the strength of the Scottish army had sunk, without wounds,\nand without renown, the principal chiefs were led captive into\nEngland.--Among these was the Lord Maxwell, who was compelled, by the\nmenaces of Henry, to swear allegiance to the English monarch. There is\nstill in existence the spirited instrument of vindication, by which\nhe renounces his connection with England, and the honours and estates\nwhich had been proffered him, as the price of treason to his infant\nsovereign. From various bonds of manrent, it appears, that all\nthe western marches were swayed [Sidenote: 1543] by this powerful\nchieftain. With Maxwell, and the other captives, returned to Scotland\nthe banished Earl of Angus, and his brother, Sir George Douglas, after\na banishment of fifteen years. This powerful family regained at least\na part of their influence upon the borders; and, grateful to the\nkingdom which had afforded them protection during their exile, became\nchiefs of the English faction in Scotland, whose object it was to urge\na contract of marriage betwixt the young queen and the heir apparent\nof England. The impetuosity of Henry, the ancient hatred betwixt the\nnations, and the wavering temper of the governor, Arran, prevented\nthe success of this measure. The wrath of the disappointed monarch\ndischarged itself in a wide-wasting and furious invasion of the\neast marches, conducted by the Earl of Hertford. Seton, Home,\nand Buccleuch, hanging on the mountains of Lammermoor, saw, with\nineffectual regret, the fertile plains of Merse and Lothian, and the\nmetropolis itself, reduced to a smoking desert. Hertford had scarcely\nretreated with the main army, when Evers and Latoun laid waste the\nwhole vale of Tiviot, with a ferocity of devastation, hitherto unheard\nof[15]. The same \"lion mode of wooing,\" being pursued during the\nminority of Edward VI., totally alienated the affections even of those\nScots who were most attached to the English interest. The Earl of\nAngus, in particular, united himself to the governor, and gave the\nEnglish a sharp defeat at Ancram moor, [Sidenote: 1545] a particular\naccount of which action is subjoined to the ballad, entituled, \"_The\nEve of St. John_.\" Even the fatal defeat at Pinky, which at once\nrenewed the carnage of Flodden, and the disgrace of Solway, served to\nprejudice the cause of the victors. The borders saw, with dread and\ndetestation, the ruinous fortress of Roxburgh once more receive an\nEnglish garrison, and the widow of Lord Home driven from his baronial\ncastle, to [Sidenote: 1547] make room for the \"_Southern Reivers_.\"\nMany of the barons made a reluctant submission to Somerset; but those\nof the higher part of the marches remained among their mountains,\nmeditating revenge. A similar incursion was made on the west borders\nby Lord Wharton, who, with five thousand men, ravaged and overran\nAnnandale, Nithsdale, and Galloway, compelling the inhabitants to\nreceive the yoke of England[16].\n\n[Footnote 15: In Haynes' State Papers, from p. 43 to p. 64, is an\naccount of these destructive forays. One list of the places burned and\ndestroyed enumerates--\n\n    Monasteries and Freehouses .... 7\n    Castles, towres, and piles .... 16\n    Market townes ................. 5\n    Villages ...................... 243\n    Mylnes ........................ 13\n    Spytells and hospitals ........ 3\n\nSee also official accounts of these expeditions, in _Dalyell's\nFragments_.]\n\n[Footnote 16: Patten gives us a list of those east border chiefs who\ndid homage to the Duke of Somerset, on the 24th of September, 1547;\nnamely, the lairds of Cessfoorth, Fernyherst, Grenehed, Hunthill,\nHundely, Makerstone, Bymerside, Bounjedworth, Ormeston, Mellestains,\nWarmesay, Synton, Egerston, Merton, Mowe, Rydell, Beamerside. Of\ngentlemen, he enumerates George Tromboul, Jhon Haliburton, Robert Car,\nRobert Car of Greyden, Adam Kirton, Andrew Mether, Saunders Purvose of\nErleston, Mark Car of Littledean, George Car of Faldenside, Alexander\nMackdowal, Charles Rutherford, Thomas Car of the Yere, Jhon Car of\nMeynthorn (Nenthorn), Walter Holiburton, Richard Hangansyde, Andrew\nCar, James Douglas of Cavers, James Car of Mersington, George\nHoppringle, William Ormeston of Edmerden, John Grymslowe.--_Patten_,\nin _Dalyell's Fragments_, p. 87.\n\nOn the west border, the following barons and clans submitted and gave\npledges to Lord Wharton, that they would serve the king of England,\nwith the number of followers annexed to their names.\n\n          ANNERDALE.                     NITHSDALE.\n\nLaird of Kirkmighel .......... 222   Mr Maxwell and more ........ 1000\n         Rose ................ 165   Laird of Closeburn .........  403\n         Hempsfield .......... 163            Lag ...............  202\n         Home Ends ........... 162            Cransfield ........   27\n         Wamfrey ............. 102   Mr Ed. Creighton ...........   10\n         Dunwoddy ............  44   Laird of Cowhill ...........   91\n Laird of Newby and Gratney .. 122   Maxwells of Brackenside,\n         Tinnel (Tinwald) .... 102    and vicar of Carlaverick ..  310\n Patrick Murray .............. 203   ANNERDALE AND GALWAY.\n Christie Urwin (Irving) of          Lord Carlisle ..............  101\n        Coveshawe ............ 102   ANNERDALE AND CLIDSDALE\n Cuthbert Urwen of Robbgill ..  34   Laird of Applegirth ........  242\n Urwens of Sennersack ......... 40   LIDDESDALE AND DEBATEABLE\n Wat Urwen .................... 20   LAND.\n Jeffrey Urwen ................ 93   Armstrongs .................  300\n T. Johnston of Crackburn ....  64   Elwoods (Elliots) ..........   74\n James Johnston of Coites .... 162   Nixons .....................   32\n Johnstons of Graggyland .....  37             GALLOWAY\n Johnstons of Driesdell ......  46   Laird of Dawbaylie .........   41\n Johnstons of Malinshaw ......  65   Orcherton ..................  111\n Gawen Johnston ..............  31   Carlisle ...................  206\n Will Johnston, the laird's          Loughenwar .................   45\n   brother ................... 110   Tutor of Bumbie ............  140\nRobin Johnston of                    Abbot of Newabbey ..........  141\n   Lochmaben .................. 67   Town of Dumfries ...........  201\nLard of Gillersbie ............ 30   Town of Kircubrie ..........   36\nMoffits ....................... 24            TIVIDALE.\nBells of Tostints ............ 142   Laird of Drumlire ..........  364\nBells of Tindills ............ 222   Caruthers ..................   71\nSir John Lawson ............... 32   Trumbells ..................   12\nTown of Annan ................  33             ESKDALE.\nRoomes of Tordephe ...........  32   Battisons and Thomsons .....  166\n\n                   Total 7008 men under English assurance.\n\n_Nicolson, from Bell's MS. Introduction to History of Cumberland_, p.\n65.]\n\n\n\nThe arrival of French auxiliaries, and of French gold, rendered vain\nthe splendid successes of the English. One by one, the fortresses\nwhich they occupied were recovered by force, or by stratagem; and the\nvindictive cruelty of the Scottish borderers made dreadful retaliation\nfor the, injuries they had sustained. An idea may be conceived of\nthis horrible warfare, from the memoirs of Beaug\u00e9, a French officer,\nserving in Scotland.\n\nThe castle of Fairnihirst, situated about three miles above Jedburgh,\nhad been taken and garrisoned by the English. The commander and his\nfollowers are accused of such excesses of lust and cruelty \"as would,\"\nsays Beaug\u00e9, \"have made to tremble the most savage moor in Africa.\" A\nband of Frenchmen, with the laird of Fairnihirst, and [Sidenote: 1549]\nhis borderers, assaulted this fortress. The English archers showered\ntheir arrows down the steep ascent, leading to the castle, and from\nthe outer wall by which it was surrounded. A vigorous escalade,\nhowever, gained the base court, and the sharp fire of the French\narquebusiers drove the bowmen into the square keep, or dungeon, of the\nfortress. Here the English defended themselves, till a breach in the\nwall was made by mining. Through this hole the commandant creeped\nforth; and, surrendering himself to De la Mothe-rouge, implored\nprotection from the vengeance of the borderers. But a Scottish\nmarc-hman, eyeing in the captive the ravisher of his wife, approached\nhim ere the French officer could guess his intention, and, at one\nblow, carried his head four paces from the trunk. Above a hundred\nScots rushed to wash their hands in the blood of their oppressor,\nbandied about the severed head, and expressed their joy in such\nshouts, as if they had stormed the city of London. The prisoners, who\nfell into their merciless hands, were put to death, after their eyes\nhad been torn out; the victors contending who should display the\ngreatest address in severing their legs and arms, before inflicting a\nmortal wound. When their own prisoners were slain, the Scottish, with\nan unextinguishable thirst for blood, purchased those of the French;\nparting willingly with their very arms, in exchange for an English\ncaptive. \"I myself,\" says Beaug\u00e9, with military sang-froid, \"I myself\nsold them a prisoner for a small horse. They laid him down upon the\nground, galloped over him with their lances in rest, and wounded him\nas they passed. When slain, they cut his body in pieces, and bore the\nmangled gobbets, in triumph, on the points of their spears. I cannot\ngreatly praise the Scottish for this practice. But the truth is, that\nthe English tyrannized over the borders in a most barbarous manner;\nand I think it was but fair to repay them, according to the proverb,\nin their own coin.\"--\n\n_Campagnes de Beaug\u00e9_.\n\nA peace, in 1551, put an end to this war; the most destructive which,\nfor a length of time, had ravaged Scotland. Some attention was paid by\nthe governor and queen-mother, to the administration of justice on the\nborder; and the chieftains, who had distinguished themselves during\nthe late troubles, received the honour of knighthood[17]. [Sidenote:\n1522] At this time, also, the Debateable Land, a tract of country,\nsituated betwixt the Esk and Sarke, claimed by both kingdoms, was\ndivided by royal commissioners, appointed by the two crowns.--By their\naward, this land of contention was separated by a line, drawn from\neast to west, betwixt the rivers. The upper half was adjudged to\nScotland, and the more eastern part to England. Yet the Debateable\nLand continued long after to be the residence of the thieves\nand banditti, to whom its dubious state had afforded a desirable\nrefuge[18].\n\n[Footnote 17: These were the lairds of Buccleuch, Cessford, and\nFairnihirst, Littleden, Grenehed, and Coldingknows. Buccleuch, whose\ngallant exploits we have noticed, did not long enjoy his new honours.\nHe was murdered, in the streets of Edinburgh, by his hereditary\nenemies, the Kerrs, anno 1552.]\n\n[Footnote 18: The jest of James VI. is well known, who, when a\nfavourite cow had found her way from London, back to her native\ncountry of Fife, observed, \"that nothing surprised him so much as her\npassing uninterrupted through the Debateable Land!\"]\n\nIn 1557, a new war broke out, in which rencounters on the borders\nwere, as usual, numerous, and with varied success. In some of these,\nthe too famous Bothwell is said to have given proofs of his courage,\nwhich was at other times very questionable[19]. About this time the\nScottish borderers seem to have acquired some ascendency over their\nsouthern neighbours.--_Strype_, Vol. III. p. 437--In 1559, peace was\nagain restored.\n\n[Footnote 19: He was lord of Liddesdale, and keeper of the Hermitage\ncastle. But he had little effective power over that country, and was\ntwice defeated by the Armstrongs, its lawless inhabitants.--_Border\nHistory_, p. 584. Yet the unfortunate Mary, in her famous Apology,\nsays, \"that in the weiris againis Ingland, he gaif proof of his\nvailyentnes, courage, and gude conduct;\" and praises him especially\nfor subjugating \"the rebellious subjectis inhabiting the cuntreis\nlying ewest the marches of Ingland.\"--_Keith_, p. 388. He appears\nactually to have defeated Sir Henry Percy, in a skirmish, called the\nRaid of Haltweilswire.]\n\nThe flame of reformation, long stifled in Scotland, now burst forth,\nwith the violence of a volcanic eruption. The siege of Leith was\ncommenced, by the combined forces of the Congregation and of England.\nThe borderers cared little about speculative points of religion; but\nthey shewed themselves much interested in the treasures which passed\nthrough their country, for payment of the English forces at Edinburgh.\nMuch alarm was excited, lest the marchers should intercept these\nweighty protestant arguments; and it was, probably, by voluntarily\nimparting a share in them to Lord Home, that he became a sudden\nconvert to the new faith[20].\n\n[Footnote 20: This nobleman had, shortly before, threatened to spoil\nthe English east march; \"but,\" says the Duke of Norfolk, \"we have\nprovided such sauce for him, that I think he will not deal in such\nmatter; but, if he do fire but one hay-goff, he shall not go to Home\nagain without torch-light, and, peradventure, may find a lanthorn at\nhis own house.\"]\n\nUpon the arrival of the ill-fated Mary in her native country, she\nfound the borders in a state of great disorder. The exertions of her\nnatural brother (afterwards the famous regent, Murray) were necessary\nto restore some degree of tranquillity. He marched to Jedburgh,\nexecuted twenty or thirty of the transgressors, burned many houses,\nand brought a number of prisoners to Edinburgh. The chieftains of the\nprincipal clans were also obliged to grant pledges for their future\nobedience. A noted convention (for the particulars of which, see\n_Border Laws_, p. 84.) adopted various regulations, which were\nattended with great advantage to the marches[21].\n\n[Footnote 21: The commissioners on the English side were, the elder\nLord Scroope of Bolton, Sir John Foster, Sir Thomas Gargrave, and Dr.\nRookby. On the Scottish side appeared, Sir John Maxwell of Terreagles,\nand Sir John Ballenden.]\n\nThe unhappy match, betwixt Henry Darnley and his sovereign, led to new\ndissentions on the border. The Homes, Kerrs, and other east marchers,\nhastened to support the queen, against Murray, Chatelherault, and\nother nobles, whom her marriage had offended. For the same purpose\nthe Johnstones, Jardines, and clans of Annandale entered into bonds of\nconfederacy. But Liddesdale was under the influence of England; in so\nmuch, that Randolph, the English minister, proposed to hire a band of\n_strapping Elliots_, to find Home business at home, in looking after\nhis corn and cattle.--_Keith_, p. 265. _App_. 133.\n\nThis storm was hardly overblown, when Bothwell received the commission\nof lieutenant upon the borders; but, as void of parts as of principle,\nhe could not even recover to the queen's allegiance his own domains\nin Liddesdale.--_Keith, App_. 165. The queen herself advanced to the\nborders, to remedy this evil, and to hold courts at Jedburgh. Bothwell\nwas already in Liddesdale, where he had been severely wounded, in an\nattempt to seize John Elliot, of the Parke, a desperate freebooter;\nand happy had it been for Mary, had the dagger of the moss-trooper\nstruck more home. Bothwell being transported to his castle of\nHermitage, the queen, upon hearing the tidings, hastened thither, A\ndangerous morass, still called the _Queen's Mire_[22], is pointed out\nby tradition as the spot where the lovely Mary, and her white palfrey,\nwere in danger of perishing. The distance betwixt Hermitage and\nJedburgh, by the way of Hawick, is nearly twenty-four English miles.\nThe queen went and returned the same day. Whether she visited a\nwounded subject, or a lover in danger, has been warmly disputed in our\nlatter days.\n\n[Footnote 22: The _Queen's Mire_ is still a pass of danger,\nexhibiting, in many places, the bones of the horses which have been\nentangled in it. For what reason the queen chose to enter Liddesdale\nby the circuitous route of Hawick, does not appear. There are two\nother passes from Jedburgh to Hermitage castle; the one by the _Note\nof the Gate_, the other over the mountain, called Winburgh. Either of\nthese, but especially the latter, is several miles shorter than that\nby Hawick, and the Queen's Mire. But, by the circuitous way of Hawick,\nthe queen could traverse the districts of more friendly clans, than by\ngoing directly into the disorderly province of Liddesdale.]\n\nTo the death of Henry Darnley, it is said, some of the border lords\nwere privy. But the subsequent marriage, betwixt the queen and\nBothwell, alienated from her the affections of the chieftains of the\nmarches, most of whom aided the association of the insurgent barons.\nA few gentlemen of the Merse, however, joined the army which Mary\nbrought to Carberry-hill. But no one was willing to fight for the\ndetested Bothwell, nor did Bothwell himself shew any inclination\nto put his person in jeopardy. The result to Mary was a rigorous\ncaptivity in Lochleven castle; and the name of Bothwell scarcely again\npollutes the page of Scottish history.\n\nThe distress of a beautiful and afflicted princess softened the hearts\nof her subjects; and, when she escaped from her severe captivity, the\nmost powerful barons in Scotland crowded around her standard. Among\nthese were many of the west border men, under the lords Maxwell\nand Herries[23]. But the defeat at Langside was a death-blow to her\ninterest in Scotland.\n\n[Footnote 23: The followers of these barons are said to have stolen\nthe horses of their friends, while they were engaged in the battle.]\n\nThe death of the regent Murray, in 1569, excited the party of Mary to\nhope and to exertion. It seems, that the design of Bothwelhaugh, who\nslew him, was well known upon the borders; for, the very day on which\nthe slaughter happened, Buccleuch and Fairnihirst, with their clans,\nbroke into England, and spread devastation along the frontiers, with\nunusual ferocity. It is probable they well knew that the controuling\nhand of the regent was that day palsied by death. Buchanan exclaims\nloudly against this breach of truce with Elizabeth, charging Queen\nMary's party with having \"houndit furth proude and uncircumspecte\nyoung men, to hery, burne, and slay, and tak prisoneris, in her\nrealme, and use all misordour and crueltie, not only usit in weir, but\ndetestabil to all barbar and wild Tartaris, in slaying of prisoneris,\nand contrair to all humanitie and justice, keeping na promeis to\nmiserabil catives resavit anis to thair mercy \"--_Admonitioun to the\ntrew lordis, Striveling_, 1571. He numbers, among these insurgents,\nhighlanders as well as borderers, Buccleuch and Fairnihirst, the\nJohnstons and Armstrongs, the Grants, and the clan Chattan. Besides\nthese powerful clans, Mary numbered among her adherents, the Maxwells,\nand almost all the west border leaders, excepting Drumlanrig, and\nJardine of Applegirth. On the eastern border, the faction of the\ninfant king was more powerful; for, although deserted by Lord Home,\nthe greater part of his clan, under the influence of Wedderburn,\nremained attached to that party. The laird of Cessford wished them\nwell, and the Earl of Angus naturally followed the steps of his uncle\nMorton. A sharp and bloody invasion of the middle march, under the\ncommand of the Earl of Sussex, avenged with interest the raids of\nBuccleuch and Fairnihirst. The domains of these chiefs were laid\nwaste, their castles burned and destroyed. The narrow vales of\nBeaumont and Kale, belonging to Buccleuch, were treated with peculiar\nseverity; and the forrays of Hertford were equalled by that of Sussex.\nIn vain did the chiefs request assistance from the government to\ndefend their fortresses. Through the predominating interest of\nElizabeth in the Scottish councils, this was refused to all but Home,\nwhose castle, nevertheless, again received an English garrison; while\nBuccleuch and Fairnihirst complained bitterly that those, who had\ninstigated their invasion, durst not even come so far as Lauder, to\nshew countenance to their defence against the English. The bickerings,\nwhich followed, distracted the whole kingdom. One celebrated exploit\nmay be selected, as an illustration of the border fashion of war.\n\nThe Earl of Lennox, who had succeeded Murray in the regency, held a\nparliament at Stirling, in 1571. The young king was exhibited to\nthe great council of his nation. He had been tutored to repeat a set\nspeech, composed for the occasion; but, observing that the roof of\nthe building was a little decayed, he interrupted his recitation,\nand exclaimed, with childish levity, \"that there was a hole in the\nparliament,\"--words which, in these days, were held to presage the\ndeadly breach shortly to be made in that body, by the death of him in\nwhose name it was convoked.\n\nAmid the most undisturbed security of confidence, the lords, who\ncomposed this parliament, were roused at day-break, by the shouts of\ntheir enemies in the heart of the town. _God and the Queen_! resounded\nfrom every quarter, and, in a few minutes, the regent, with the\nastonished nobles of his party, were prisoners to a band of two\nhundred border cavalry, led by Scott of Buccleuch, and to the\nLord Claud Hamilton, at the head of three hundred infantry. These\nenterprising chiefs, by a rapid and well concerted manoeuvre, had\nreached Stirling in a night march from Edinburgh, and, without so much\nas being bayed at by a watch-dog had seized the principal street of\nthe town.--The fortunate obstinacy of Morton saved his party. Stubborn\nand undaunted, he defended his house till the assailants set it in\nflames, and then yielded with reluctance to his kinsman, Buccleuch.\nBut the time, which he had gained, effectually served his cause. The\nborderers had dispersed to plunder the stables of the nobility; the\ninfantry thronged tumultuously together on the main street, when the\nEarl of Mar, issuing from the castle, placed one or two small pieces\nof ordnance in his own half-built house[24], which commands the market\nplace. Hardly had the artillery begun to scour the street, when the\nassailants, surprised in their turn, fled with precipitation. Their\nalarm was increased by the townsmen thronging to arms. Those, who had\nbeen so lately triumphant, were now, in many instances, asking the\nprotection of their own prisoners. In all probability, not a man would\nhave escaped death, or captivity, but for the characteristic rapacity\nof Buccleuch's marauders, who, having seized and carried off all the\nhorses in the town, left the victors no means of following the chace.\nThe regent was slain by an officer, named Caulder, in order to prevent\nhis being rescued. Spens of Ormeston, to whom he had surrendered, lost\nhis life in a generous attempt to protect him[25]. Hardly does our\nhistory present another enterprise, so well planned, so happily\ncommenced, and so strangely disconcerted. To the licence of the\nmarchmen the failure was attributed; but the same cause ensured a safe\nretreat.--_Spottiswoode, Godscroft, Robertson, Melville_.\n\n[Footnote 24: This building still remains, in the unfinished state\nwhich it then presented.]\n\n[Footnote 25: Birrel says, that \"the regent was shot by an\nunhappy fellow, while sitting on horseback behind the laird of\nBuccleuch.\"--The following curious account of the whole transaction is\nextracted from a journal of principal events, in the years 1570, 1571,\n1572, and part of 1573, kept by Richard Bannatyne, amanuensis to John\nKnox. The fourt of September, they of Edinburgh, horsemen and futmen\n(and, as was reported, the most part of Clidisdaill, that perteinit to\nthe Hamiltons), come to Striveling, the number of iii or iiii c men,\nin hors bak, guydit be ane George Bell, their hacbutteris being all\nhorsed, enterit in Striveling, be fyve houris in the morning (whair\nthair was never one to mak watche), crying this slogane, 'God and\nthe quene! ane Hamiltoun think on the bishop of St. Androis, all\nis owres;' and so a certaine come to everie grit manis ludgene, and\napprehendit the Lordis Mortoun and Glencarne; but Mortounis hous they\nset on fyre, wha randerit him to the laird of Balcleuch. Wormestoun\nbeing appointed to the regentes hous, desyred him to cum furth, which\nhe had no will to doe, yet, be perswasione of Garleys and otheris,\nwith him, tho't it best to come in will, nor to byde the extremitie,\nbecaus they supposed there was no resistance, and swa the regent come\nfurth, and was randered to Wormestoun, under promeis to save his lyfe.\nCaptane Crawfurde, being in the town, gat sum men out of the castell,\nand uther gentlemen being in the town, come as they my't best to the\ngeat, chased them out of the town. The regent was schot be ane Captain\nCader, wha confessed, that he did it at comande of George Bell, wha\nwas comandit so to doe be the Lord Huntlie and Claud Hamilton. Some\nsayis, that Wormestoun was schot by the same schot that slew the\nregent, but alwayis he was slane, notwithstanding the regent cryed to\nsave him, but it culd not be, the furie was so grit of the presewaris,\nwho, following so fast, the lord of Mortone said to Balcleuch, 'I sall\nsave you as ye savit me,' and so he was tane. Garleys, and sindrie\notheris, war slane at the port, in the persute of thame. Thair war ten\nor twelve gentlemen slane of the kingis folk, and als mony of theiris,\nor mea, as was said, and a dosone or xvi tane. Twa especiall servantis\nof the Lord Argyle's were slane also. This Cader, that schot the\nregent, was once turned bak off the toune, and was send again (as is\nsaid), be the Lord Huntlie, to cause Wormistoun retire; but, before he\ncome agane, he was dispatched, and had gottin deidis woundis.\n\nThe regent being schot (as said is), was brought to the castell, whair\nhe callit for ane phisitione, one for his soule, ane uther for\nhis bodie. But all hope of life was past, for he was schot in his\nentreallis; and swa, after sumthingis spokin to the lordis, which I\nknow not, he departed, in the feare of God, and made a blessed end;\nwhilk the rest of the lordis, that tho't thame to his hiert, and lytle\nreguardit him, shall not mak so blised ane end, unles they mend thair\nmaneris.\n\nThis curious manuscript has been lately published, under the\ninspection of John Graham Dalyell, Esq.]\n\nThe wily Earl of Morton, who, after the short intervening regency\nof Mar, succeeded to the supreme authority, contrived, by force or\nartifice, to render the party of the king every where superior. Even\non the middle borders, he had the address to engage in his cause\nthe powerful, though savage and licentious, clans of Rutherford and\nTurnbull, as well as the citizens of Jedburgh. He was thus enabled\nto counterpoise his powerful opponents, Buccleuch and Fairnihirst,\nin their own country; and, after an unsuccessful attempt to surprise\nJedburgh even these warm adherents of Mary relinquished her cause in\ndespair.\n\nWhile Morton swayed the state, his attachment to Elizabeth, and the\nhumiliation which many of the border chiefs had undergone, contributed\nto maintain good order on the marches, till James VI. himself assumed\nthe reigns of government.--The intervening skirmish of the Reidswire\n(see the ballad under that title) was but a sudden explosion of the\nrivalry and suppressed hatred of the borderers of both kingdoms. In\ntruth, the stern rule of Morton, and of his delegates, men unconnected\nwith the borders by birth, maintained in that country more strict\ndiscipline than had ever been there exercised. Perhaps this hastened\nhis fall.\n\nThe unpopularity of Morton, acquired partly by the strict\nadministration of justice, and partly by avarice and severity, forced\nhim from the regency. In 1578, he retired, apparently, from state\naffairs, to his castle of Dalkeith; which the populace, emphatically\nexpressing their awe and dread of his person, termed the _Lion's Den_.\nBut Morton could not live in retirement; and, early in the same year,\nthe aged lion again rushed from his cavern. By a mixture of policy and\nviolence, he possessed himself of the fortress of Stirling, and of\nthe person of James. His nephew, Angus, hastened to his assistance.\nAgainst him appeared his follower Cessford, with many of the Homes,\nand the citizens of Edinburgh. Alluding to the restraint of the king's\nperson, they bore his effigy on their banners, with a rude rhyme,\ndemanding liberty or death.--_Birrel's Diary, ad annum_, 1578. The\nEarl of Morton marched against his foes as far as Falkirk, and a\ndesperate action must have ensued, but for the persuasions of Bowes,\nthe English ambassador. The only blood, then spilt, was in a duel\nbetwixt Tait, a follower of Cessford, and Johnstone, a west border\nman, attending upon Angus. They fought with lances, and on horseback,\naccording to the fashion of the borders.--The former was unhorsed and\nslain, the latter desperately wounded.--_Godscroft_, Vol. II. p. 261.\nThe prudence of the late regent appears to have abandoned him, when he\nwas decoyed into a treaty upon this occasion. It was not long before\nMorton the veteran warrior, and the crafty statesman, was forced bend\nhis neck to an engine of death[26], the use of which he himself had\nintroduced into Scotland.\n\n[Footnote 26: A rude sort of guillotine, called the _maiden_.\nThe implement is now in possession of the Society of Scottish\nAntiquaries.]\n\nReleased from the thraldom of Morton, the king, with more than\nyouthful levity, threw his supreme power into the hands of Lennox and\nArran. The religion of the first, and the infamous character of the\nsecond favourite, excited the hatred of the commons, while their\nexclusive and engrossing power awakened the jealousy of the other\nnobles. James, doomed to be the sport of contending factions was\nseized at Stirling by the nobles, confederated in what was termed the\nRaid of Ruthven. But the conspirators soon suffered their prize to\nescape, and were rewarded for their enterprize by exile or death.\n\nIn 1585, an affray took place at a border meeting in which Lord\nRussel, the Earl of Bedford's eldest son, chanced to be slain. Queen\nElizabeth imputed the guilt of this slaughter to Thomas Kerr of\nFairnihirst, instigated by Arran. Upon the imperious demand of the\nEnglish ambassador, both were committed to prison; but the minion,\nArran, was soon restored to liberty and favour; while Fairnihirst, the\ndread of the English borderers and the gallant defender of Queen Mary,\ndied in his confinement, of a broken heart.--_Spottiswoode_ p. 341.\n\nThe tyranny of Arran becoming daily more insupportable the exiled\nlords, joined by Maxwell, Home, Bothwell, and other border chieftains,\nseized the town of Stirling, which was pillaged by their disorderly\nfollowers, invested the castle, which surrendered at discretion, and\ndrove the favourite from the king's council[27].\n\n[Footnote 27: The associated nobles seem to have owed their success\nchiefly to the border spearmen; for, though they had a band of\nmercenaries, who used fire arms, yet they were such bad masters of\ntheir craft, their captain was heard to observe, \"that those, who knew\nhis soldiers as well as he did, would hardly chuse to _march before\nthem_.\"--_Godscroft_, v. ii. p. 368.]\n\nThe king, perceiving the Earl of Bothwell among the armed barons,\nto whom he surrendered his person addressed him in these prophetic\nwords:-- \"Francis, Francis, what moved thee to come in arms against\nthy prince, who never wronged thee? I wish thee a more quiet spirit,\nelse I foresee thy destruction.\"--_Spottiswoode_, p. 343.\n\nIn fact, the extraordinary enterprizes of this nobleman disturbed the\nnext ten years of James's reign. Francis Stuart, son to a bastard of\nJames V., had been invested with the titles and estates belonging\nto his maternal uncle, James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell, upon the\nforfeiture of that infamous man; and consequently became lord of\nLiddesdale, and of the castle of Hermitage.--This acquisition of power\nupon the borders, where he could easily levy followers, willing to\nundertake the most desperate enterprize, joined to the man's native\ndaring and violent spirit, rendered Bothwell the most turbulent\ninsurgent, that ever disturbed the tranquillity of a kingdom. During\nthe king's absence in Denmark, Bothwell, swayed by the superstition of\nhis age, had tampered with certain soothsayers and witches, by whose\npretended art he hoped to atchieve the death of his monarch. In one\nof the courts of inquisition, which James delighted to hold upon the\nprofessors of the occult sciences, some of his cousin's proceedings\nwere brought to light, for which he was put in ward in the castle of\nEdinburgh. Burning with revenge, he broke from his confinement,\nand lurked for some time upon the borders, where he hoped for the\ncountenance of his son-in-law, Buccleuch. Undeterred by the absence\nof that chief, who, in obedience to the royal command, had prudently\nretired to France, Bothwell attempted the desperate enterprize of\nseizing the person of the king, while residing in his metropolis. At\nthe dead of night, followed by a band of borderers, he occupied the\ncourt of the palace of Holyrood, and began to burst open the doors\nof the royal apartments. The nobility, distrustful of each other, and\nignorant of the extent of the conspiracy, only endeavoured to\nmake good the defence of their separate lodgings; but darkness and\nconfusion prevented the assailants from profiting by their disunion.\nMelville, who was present, gives a lively picture of the scene of\ndisorder, transiently illuminated by the glare of passing torches;\nwhile the report of fire arms, the clatter of armour, the din of\nhammers thundering on the gates, mingled wildly with the war-cry of\nthe borderers, who shouted incessantly, \"Justice! Justice! A Bothwell!\nA Bothwell!\" The citizens of Edinburgh at length began to assemble for\nthe defence of their sovereign; and Bothwell was compelled to retreat,\nwhich he did without considerable loss.--_Melville_, p. 356. A similar\nattempt on the person of James, while residing at Faulkland, also\nmisgave; but the credit which Bothwell obtained on the borders, by\nthese bold and desperate enterprizes, was incredible \"All Tiviotdale,\"\nsays Spottiswoode, \"ran after him;\" so that he finally obtained\nhis object; and, at Edinburgh, in 1593, he stood before James, an\nunexpected apparition, with his naked sword in his hand. \"Strike!\"\nsaid James, with royal dignity--\"Strike, and end thy work! I will not\nsurvive my dishonour.\" But Bothwell with unexpected moderation, only\nstipulated for remission of his forfeiture, and did not even insist\non remaining at court, whence his party was shortly expelled, by\nthe return of the Lord Home, and his other enemies. Incensed at this\nreverse, Bothwell levied a body of four hundred cavalry, and\nattacked the king's guard in broad day, upon the Borough Moor, near\nEdinburgh.--The ready succour of the citizens saved James from falling\nonce more into the hands of his turbulent subject[28]. On a subsequent\nday, Bothwell met the laird of Cessford, riding near Edinburgh, with\nwhom he fought a single combat, which lasted for two hours[29]. But\nhis credit was now fallen; he retreated to England, whence he was\ndriven by Elizabeth, and then wandered to Spain and Italy, where he\nsubsisted, in indigence and obscurity, on the bread which he earned by\napostatizing to the faith of Rome. So fell this agitator of domestic\nbroils, whose name passed into a proverb, denoting a powerful and\nturbulent demagogue[30].\n\n[Footnote 28: Spottiswoode says, the king awaited this charge with\nfirmness; but Birrell avers, that he fled upon the gallop. The same\nauthor, instead of the firm deportment of James, when seized by\nBothwell, describes \"the king's majestie as flying down the back\nstair, with his breeches in his hand, in great fear.\"--_Birrell, apud\nDalyell_, p. 30. Such is the difference betwixt the narrative of\nthe courtly archbishop, and that of the presbyterian burgess of\nEdinburgh.]\n\n[Footnote 29: This rencounter took place at Humbie, in East Lothian.\nBothwell was attended by a servant, called Gibson, and Cessford by one\nof the Rutherfords, who was hurt in the cheek. The combatant parted\nfrom pure fatigue.]\n\n[Footnote 30: Sir Walter Raleigh, in writing of Essex, then in prison,\nsays, \"Let the queen hold _Bothwell_ while she hath him.\"--_Murdin_,\nVol. II. p. 812. It appears, from _Crichton's Memoirs_, that\nBothwell's grandson, though so nearly related to the royal family,\nactually rode a private in the Scottish horse guards, in the reign of\nCharles II.--_Edinburgh_, 1731, p. 43.]\n\nWhile these scenes were passing in the metropolis the borders were\nfuriously agitated by civil discord. The families of Cessford and\nFairnihirst disputed their right to the wardenry of the middle\nmarches, and to the provostry of Jedburgh; and William Kerr of Ancram,\na follower of the latter, was murdered by the young chief of Cessford,\nat the instigation of his mother.--_Spottiswoode_, p. 383. But\nthis was trifling, compared to the civil war, waged on the western\nfrontier, between the Johnstones and Maxwells, of which there is\na minute account in the introduction to the ballad, entitled,\n\"_Maxwell's Goodnight_.\" Prefixed to that termed \"_Kinmont Willie_\"\nthe reader will find an account of the last warden raids performed\nupon the border.\n\nMy sketch of border history now draws to a close. The accession of\nJames to the English crown converted the extremity into the centre of\nhis kingdom.\n\nThe east marches of Scotland were, at this momentous period, in a\nstate of comparative civilization. The rich soil of Berwickshire soon\ninvited the inhabitants to the arts of agriculture.--Even in the days\nof Lesley, the nobles and barons of the Merse differed in manners\nfrom the other borderers, administered justice with regularity, and\nabstained from plunder and depredation.--_De moribus Scotorum_, p.\n7. But, on the middle and western marches, the inhabitants were\nunrestrained moss-troopers and cattle drivers, knowing no measure of\nlaw, says Camden, but the length of their swords. The sterility of\nthe mountainous country, which they inhabited, offered little\nencouragement to industry; and, for the long series of centuries,\nwhich we have hastily reviewed, the hands of rapine were never there\nfolded in inactivity, nor the sword of violence returned to the\nscabbard. Various proclamations were in vain issued for interdicting\nthe use of horses and arms upon the west border of England and\nScotland[31].\n\n[Footnote 31: \"Proclamation shall be made, that all inhabiting within\nTynedale and Riddesdale, in Northumberland, Bewcastledale, Willgavey,\nthe north part of Gilsland, Esk, and Leven, in Cumberland; east\nand west Tividale, Liddesdale, Eskdale, Ewsdale, and Annesdale, in\nScotland (saving noblemen Footnote: and gentlemen unsuspected of\nfelony and theft, and not being of broken clans, and their household\nservants, dwelling within those several places, before recited), shall\nput away all armour and weapons, as well offensive as defensive,\nas jacks, spears, lances, swords, daggers, steel-caps, hack-buts,\npistols, plate sleeves, and such like; and shall not keep any horse,\ngelding, or mare, above the value of fifty shillings sterling,\nor thirty pounds Scots, upon the like paid of\nimprisonment.\"--_Proceedings of the Border Commissioners_,\n1505.--_Introduction to History of Cumberland_, p. 127.]\n\nThe evil was found to require the radical cure of extirpation.\nBuccleuch collected under his banners the most desperate of the border\nwarriors, of whom he formed a legion, for the service of the states of\nHolland; who had as much reason to rejoice on their arrival upon the\ncontinent, as Britain to congratulate herself upon their departure. It\nmay be presumed, that few of this corps ever returned to their native\ncountry. The clan of Graeme, a hardy and ferocious set of freebooters\ninhabiting chiefly the Debateable Land, by a very summary exertion\nof authority, was transported to Ireland, and their return prohibited\nunder pain of death. Against other offenders, measures, equally\narbitrary, were without hesitation pursued. Numbers of border riders\nwere executed, without even the formality of a trial; and it is even\nsaid, that, in mockery of justice, assizes were held upon them after\nthey had suffered. For these acts of tyranny, see _Johnston_, p. 374,\n414, 39, 93. The memory of Dunbar's legal proceedings at Jedburgh,\nare preserved in the proverbial phrase, _Jeddart Justice_, which\nsignifies, trial after execution. By this rigour though sternly and\nunconscientiously exercised the border marauders were, in the course\nof years, either reclaimed or exterminated; though nearly a century\nelapsed ere their manners were altogether assimilated to those of\ntheir countrymen[32].\n\n[Footnote 32: See the acts 18 Cha. II. 6.3. and 80 Cha. II. ch. 2.\nagainst the border moss-troopers; to which we may add the following\ncurious extracts from _Mercurius Politicus_, a newspaper, published\nduring the usurpation.\n\n\"_Thursday, November 11, 1662_.\n\n\"Edinburgh.--The Scotts and moss-troopers have again revived their\nold custom, of robbing and murdering the English, whether soldiers or\nother, upon all opportunities, within these three weeks. We have had\nnotice of several robberies and murders, committed by them. Among\nthe rest, a lieutenant, and one other of Col. Overton's regiment,\nreturning from England, were robbed not far from Dunbarr. A\nlieutenant, lately master of the customs at Kirkcudbright, was killed\nabout twenty miles from this place; and four foot soldiers of Colonel\nOverton's were killed, going to their quarters, by some mossers, who,\nafter they had given them quarter, tied their hands behind them, and\nthen threw them down a steep hill, or rock, as it was related by a\nScotchman, who was with them, but escaped.\"\n\n_Ibidem.--\"October_ 13, 1663.--The Parliament, October 21, past an\nact, declaring, any person that shall discover any felon, or felons\n(commonly called, or known, by the name of moss-troopers), residing\nupon the borders of England and Scotland, shall have a reward of ten\npound upon their conviction.\"]\n\nIn these hasty sketches of border history, I have endeavoured to\nselect, such incidents, as may introduce to the reader the character\nof the marchmen, more briefly and better than a formal essay upon\ntheir manners. If I have been successful in the attempt, he is already\nacquainted with the mixture of courage and rapacity by which they were\ndistinguished; and has reviewed some of the scenes in which they acted\na principal part. It is, therefore only necessary to notice, more\nminutely, some of their peculiar customs and modes of life.\n\nTheir morality was of a singular kind. The ranpine, by which they\nsubsisted, they accounted lawful and honourable. Ever liable to lose\ntheir whole substance, by an incursion of the English, on a sudden\nbreach of truce, they cared little to waste their time in cultivating\ncrops, to be reaped by their foes. Their cattle was, therefore,\ntheir chief property; and these were nightly exposed to the southern\nborderers, as rapacious and active as themselves. Hence, robbery\nassumed the appearance of fair reprisal. The fatal privilege of\npursuing the marauders into their own country, for recovery of stolen\ngoods, led to continual skirmishes The warden also, himself frequently\nthe chieftain of a border horde, when redress was not instantly\ngranted by the opposite officer, for depredations sustained by his\ndistrict, was entitled to retaliate upon England by a warden raid.\nIn such cases, the moss-troopers, who crowded to his standard, found\nthemselves pursuing their craft under legal authority, and became the\nfavourites and followers of the military magistrate, whose duty it\nwas to have checked and suppressed them. See the curious history of\n_Geordie Bourne, App. No. II_. Equally unable and unwilling to make\nnice distinctions, they were not to be convinced, that what was to-day\nfair booty, was to-morrow a subject of theft. National animosity\nusually gave an additional stimulus to their rapacity; although it\nmust be owned, that their depredations extended also to the more\ncultivated parts of their own country[33].\n\n[Footnote 33: The armorial bearings, adopted by many of the border\ntribes, shew how little they were ashamed of their trade of rapine.\nLike _Falstaff_, they were \"Gentlemen of the night, minions of\nthe moon,\" under whose countenance they committed their\ndepredations.--Hence, the emblematic moons and stars, so frequently\ncharged in the arms of border families. Their mottoes, also, bear\nallusion to their profession.--\"_Reparabit cornua Phaebe_,\" i.e.\n\"We'll have moon-light again,\" is that of the family of Harden. \"Ye\nshall want, ere I want,\" that of Cranstoun, &c.]\n\nSatchells, who lived when the old border ideas of _meum_ and _tuum_\nwere still in some force, endeavours to draw a very nice distinction\nbetwixt a freebooter and a thief; and thus sings he of the Armstrongs:\n\n  On that border was the Armstrongs, able men;\n  Somewhat unruly, and very ill to tame.\n  I would have none think that I call them thieves,\n  For, if I did, it would be arrant lies.\n\n  Near a border frontier, in the time of war,\n  There's ne'er a man but he's a freebooter.\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n  Because to all men it may appear,\n  The freebooter he is a volunteer;\n  In the muster rolls he has no desire to stay;\n  He lives by purchase, he gets no pay.\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n  It's most clear a freebooter doth live in hazard's train;\n  A freebooter's a cavalier that ventures life for gain:\n  But, since King James the Sixth to England went,\n  Ther has been no cause of grief;\n  And he that hath transgress'd since then,\n  Is no _Freebooter_, but a _Thief_.\n\n  _History of the name of Scott_.\n\nThe inhabitants of the inland counties did not understand these subtle\ndistinctions. Sir David Lindsay, in the curious drama, published by\nMr Pinkerton, introduces, as one of his _dramatis personae, Common\nThift_, a borderer, who is supposed to come to Fife to steal the Earl\nof Rothes' best hackney, and Lord Lindsay's brown jennet. _Oppression_\nalso (another personage there introduced), seems to be connected with\nthe borders; for, finding himself in danger, he exclaims,--\n\n  War God that I were sound and haill,\n  Now liftit into Liddesdail;\n  The Mers sowld fynd me beiff and caill,\n  What rack of breid?\n\n  War I thair lyftit with my lyfe,\n  The devill sowld styk me with a knyffe,\n  An' ever I cum agane in Fyfe,\n  Till I were deid.--\n\n_Pinkerton's Scotish Poems_, Vol. II p. 180.\n\nAgain, when _Common Thift_ is brought to condign punishment, he\nremembers his border friends in his dying speech:\n\n  The widdefow wardanis tuik my geir,\n  And left me nowthir horse nor meir,\n  Nor erdly gud that me belangit;\n  Now, walloway! I mon be hangit.\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n  Adew! my bruthir Annan thieves,\n  That holpit me in my mischevis:\n  Adew! Grossars, Niksonis, and Bells,\n  Oft have we fairne owthreuch the fells:\n  Adew! Robsons, Howis, and Pylis,\n  That in our craft hes mony wilis:\n  Littlis, Trumbells, and Armestranges;\n  Adew! all theeves, that me belangis;\n  Baileowes, Erewynis, and Elwandis,\n  Speedy of flicht, and slicht of handis:\n  The Scotts of Eisdale, and the Gramis,\n  I half na time to tell your namis.\n\n_Ib_. p. 156.\n\n  When _Common Thift_ is executed (which is performed\n  upon the stage), _Falset_ (Falsehood), who is\n  also brought forth for punishment, pronounces\n  over him the following eulogy:\n\n  Waes me for thee, gude Common Thift!\n  Was never man made more honest chift,\n  His living for to win:\n  Thair wes not, in all Liddesdail,\n  That ky mair craftelly could steil,\n  Whar thou hingis on that pin!\n\n_Ib_. p. 194.\n\nSir Richard Maitland, incensed at the boldness and impunity of\nthe thieves of Liddesdale in his time, has attacked them with keen\niambicks. His satire, which, I suppose, had very little effect at the\ntime, forms No. III, of the appendix to this introduction.\n\nThe borderers had, in fact, little reason to regard the inland Scots\nas their fellow subjects, or to respect the power of the crown.\nThey were frequently resigned, by express compact, to the bloody\nretaliation of the English, without experiencing any assistance from\ntheir prince, and his more immediate subjects. If they beheld him, it\nwas more frequently in the character of an avenging judge, than of a\nprotecting sovereign. They were, in truth, during the time of peace,\na kind of outcasts, against whom the united powers of England and\nScotland were often employed. Hence, the men of the borders had little\nattachment to the monarchs, whom they termed, in derision, the kings\nof Fife and Lothian; provinces which they were not legally entitled\nto inhabit[34], and which, therefore, they pillaged with as little\nremorse as if they had belonged to a foreign country. This strange,\nprecarious, and adventurous mode of life, led by the borderers, was\nnot without its pleasures, and seems, in all probability, hardly so\ndisagreeable to us, as the monotony of regulated society must have\nbeen to those, who had been long accustomed to a state of rapine. Well\nhas it been remarked, by the eloquent Burke, that the shifting tides\nof fear and hope, the flight and pursuit, the peril and escape,\nalternate famine and feast, of the savage and the robber, after a time\nrender all course of slow, steady, progressive, unvaried occupation\nand the prospect only of a limited mediocrity at the end of long\nlabour, to the last degree tame, languid, and insipid. The interesting\nnature of their exploits may be conceived from the account of Camden.\n\n[Footnote 34: By act 1587, c. 96, borderers are expelled from the\ninland counties, unless they can find security for their quiet\ndeportment.]\n\n\"What manner of cattle stealers they are, that inhabit these valleys\nin the marches of both kingdoms, John Lesley, a Scotchman himself, and\nbishop of Ross, will inform you. They sally out of their own borders,\nin the night, in troops, through unfrequented bye-ways, and many\nintricate windings. All the day-time, they refresh themselves and\ntheir horses in lurking holes they had pitched upon before, till they\narrive in the dark at those places they have a design upon. As soon as\nthey have seized upon the booty, they, in like manner, return home in\nthe night, through blind ways, and fetching many a compass. The more\nskilful any captain is to pass through those wild deserts, crooked\nturnings, and deep precipices, in the thickest mists and darkness,\nhis reputation is the greater, and he is looked upon as a man of an\nexcellent head.--And they are so very cunning, that they seldom have\ntheir booty taken from them, unless sometimes, when, by the help of\nblood-hounds following them exactly upon the tract, they may chance to\nfall into the hands of their adversaries. When being taken, they have\nso much persuasive eloquence, and so many smooth insinuating words at\ncommand, that if they do not move their judges, nay, and even their\nadversaries (notwithstanding the severity of their natures), to have\nmercy, yet they incite them to admiration and compassion.\"--_Camden's\nBritannia._ The reader is requested to compare this curious account,\ngiven by Lesley, with the ballad, called _Hobble Noble_[35].\n\n[Footnote 35: The following tradition is also illustrative of Lesley's\naccount. Veitch of Dawyk, a man of great strength and bravery who\nflourished in the 16th century, was upon bad terms with a neighbouring\nproprietor, Tweedie of Drummelziar. By some accident, a flock of\nDawyk's sheep had strayed over into Drummelziar's grounds, at the time\nwhen _Dickie of the Den_, a Liddesdale outlaw, was making his rounds\nin Tweeddale. Seeing this flock of sheep; he drove them off without\nceremony. Next morning, Veitch, perceiving his loss, summoned his\nservants and retainers, laid a blood-hound upon the traces of the\nrobber, by whom they were guided for many miles, till, on the banks of\nLiddel, he staid upon a very large hay-stack. The pursuers were a good\ndeal surprised at the obstinate pause of the blood-hound, till Dawyk\npulled down some of the hay, and discovered a large excavation,\ncontaining the robbers and their spoil. He instantly flew upon Dickie,\nand was about to poniard him, when the marauder, with the address\nnoticed by Lesley, protested that he would never have touched a\n_cloot_ (hoof) of them, had he not taken them for Drummelziar's\nproperty. This dexterous appeal to Veitch's passions saved the life of\nthe freebooter.]\n\nThe inroads of the marchers, when stimulated only by the desire\nof plunder, were never marked with cruelty, and seldom even with\nbloodshed, unless in the case of opposition. They held, that property\nwas common to all who stood in want of it; but they abhorred and\navoided the crime of unnecessary homicide.--_Lesley_, p. 63. This was,\nperhaps, partly owing to the habits of intimacy betwixt the borderers\nof both kingdoms, notwithstanding their mutual hostility, and\nreciprocal depredations. A natural intercourse took place between\nthe English and Scottish marchers, at border meetings, and during the\nshort intervals of peace. They met frequently at parties of the chace\nand foot-ball; and it required many and strict regulations, on\nboth sides, to prevent them from forming intermarriages, and from\ncultivating too close a degree of intimacy.--_Scottish Acts_, 1587,\nc. 105; _Wharton's Regulations, 6th Edward VI._ The custom, also, of\npaying black-mail, or protection-rent, introduced a connection betwixt\nthe countries; for, a Scottish borderer, taking black-mail from\nan English inhabitant, was not only himself bound to abstain from\ninjuring such person, but also to maintain his quarrel, and recover\nhis property, if carried off by others. Hence, an union arose betwixt\nthe parties, founded upon mutual interest, which counteracted, in many\ninstances, the effects of national prejudice. The similarity of\ntheir manners may be inferred from that of their language. In an\nold mystery, imprinted at London, 1654, a mendicant borderer is\nintroduced, soliciting alms of a citizen and his wife. To a question\nof the latter he replies, \"Savying your honour, good maistress, I\nwas born in Redesdale, in Northomberlande, and come of a wight riding\nsirname, call'd the Robsons: gude honeste men, and true, savyng a\nlittle shiftynge for theyr livyng; God help them, silly pure men.\" The\nwife answers, \"What doest thou here, in this countrie? me thinke thou\nart a Scot by thy tongue.\" _Beggar_--\"Trowe me never mair then, good\ndeam; I had rather be hanged in a withie of a cow-taile, for thei are\never fare and fase.\"--_Appendix to Johnstone's Sad Shepherd_, 1783. p.\n188. From the wife's observation, as well as from the dialect of the\nbeggar, we may infer, that there was little difference between the\nNorthumbrian and the border Scottish; a circumstance interesting in\nitself, and decisive of the occasional friendly intercourse among the\nmarchmen. From all those combining circumstances arose the lenity of\nthe borderers in their incursions and the equivocal moderation which\nthey sometimes observed towards each other, in open war[36].\n\n[Footnote 36: This practice of the marchmen was observed and\nreprobated by Patten. \"Anoother maner have they (_the English\nborderers_) amoong them, of wearyng handkerchers roll'd about their\narmes, and letters brouder'd (_embroidered_) upon their cappes: they\nsaid themselves, the use thearof was that ech of them might knowe\nhis fellowe, and thearbye the sooner assemble, or in nede to ayd one\nanother, and such lyke respectes; howbeit, thear wear of the army\namoong us (sum suspicious men perchaunce), that thought thei used them\nfor collusion, and rather bycaus thei might be knowen to the enemie,\nas the enemies are knowen to them (for thei have their markes too),\nand so in conflict either ech to spare oother, or gently eche to take\noother. Indede men have been mooved the rather to thinke so, bycaus\nsum of their crosses (_the English red cross_) were so narrowe, and\nso singly set on, that a puff of wynde might blowed them from their\nbreastes, and that thei wear found right often talking with the\nSkottish prikkers within less than their gad's (_spears_) length\nasunder; and when thei perceived thei had been espied, thei have begun\none to run at anoother, but so apparently perlassent (_in parley_), as\nthe lookers on resembled their chasyng lyke the running at base in an\nuplondish toun, whear the match is made for a quart of good ale,\nor like the play in Robin Cookes scole (_a fencing school_), whear,\nbycaus the punies may lerne, thei strike fewe strokes but by assent\nand appointment. I hard sum men say, it did mooch augment their\nsuspicion that wey, bycaus at the battail they sawe these prikkers so\nbadly demean them, more intending the taking of prisoners, than the\nsurety of victorye; for while oother men fought, thei fell to their\nprey; that as thear wear but fewe of them but brought home his\nprisoner, so wear thear many that had six or seven.\"--_Patten's\nAccount of Somerset's Expedition, apud Dalyell's Fragments_, p. 76.\n\nIt is singular that, about this very period, the same circumstances\nare severely animadverted upon by the strenuous Scottishman, who wrote\nthe _Complaynt of Scotland_, as well as by the English author above\nquoted. \"There is nothing that is occasione of your adhering to\nthe opinion of Ingland contrair your natife cuntr\u00e9, bot the grit\nfamiliarite that Inglis men and Scottes hes had on baitht the\nboirdours, ilk are witht utheris, in merchandeis, in selling and\nbuying hors and nolt, and scheip, outfang and infang, ilk are amang\nutheris, the whilk familiarite is express contrar the lauis and\nconsuetudis bayth of Ingland and Scotland. In auld tymis it was\ndetermit in the artiklis of the pace, be the twa wardanis of the\nboirdours of Ingland and Scotland, that there suld be na familiarite\nbetwix Scottis men and Inglis men, nor marriage to be contrakit betwix\nthem, nor conventions on holydais at gammis and plays, nor merchandres\nto be maid amang them, nor Scottis men till enter on Inglis grond,\nwitht out the king of Ingland's save conduct, nor Inglis men til\nenter on Scottis grond witht out the King of Scotland's save conduct,\nhowbeit that ther war sure pace betwix the twa realmes. Bot thir sevyn\nyeir bygane, thai statutis and artiklis of the pace are adnullit,\nfor ther hes been as grit familiarite, and conventions, and makyng of\nmerchandreis, on the boirdours, this lang tyme betwix Inglis men and\nScottis men, baytht in pace and weir, as Scottismen usis amang theme\nselfis witht in the realme of Scotland: and sic familiarite has bene\nthe cause that the kyng of Ingland gat intelligence witht divers\ngentlemen of Scotland.\"\n\n_Complaynt of Scotland_, _Edin_. 1801, p. 164.]\n\nThis humanity and moderation was, on certain occasions, entirely laid\naside by the borderers. In the case of deadly feud, either against an\nEnglishman, or against any neighbouring tribe, the whole force of the\noffended clan was bent to avenge the death of any of their number.\nTheir vengeance not only vented itself upon the homicide and his\nfamily, but upon all his kindred, on his whole tribe; on every one, in\nfine, whose death or ruin could affect him with regret.--_Lesley_, p.\n63; _Border Laws_, _passim_; _Scottish Acts_, 1594, c. 231. The\nreader will find, in the following collection, many allusions to\nthis infernal custom, which always overcame the marcher's general\nreluctance to shed human, blood, and rendered him remorselessly\nsavage.\n\nFor fidelity to their word, Lesley ascribes high praise to the\ninhabitants of the Scottish frontier. When an instance happened to\nthe contrary, the injured person, at the first border meeting, rode\nthrough the field, displaying a glove (the pledge of faith) upon the\npoint of his lance, and proclaiming the perfidy of the person, who had\nbroken his word. So great was the indignation of the assembly against\nthe perjured criminal, that he was often slain by his own clan, to\nwipe out the disgrace he had brought on them. In the same spirit\nof confidence, it was not unusual to behold the victors, after an\nengagement, dismiss their prisoners upon parole, who never failed\neither to transmit the stipulated ransom, or to surrender themselves\nto bondage, if unable to do so. But the virtues of a barbarous\npeople, being founded not upon moral principle, but upon the dreams of\nsuperstition, or the capricious dictates of antient custom, can seldom\nbe uniformly relied on. We must not, therefore, be surprised to find\nthese very men, so true to their word in general, using, upon other\noccasions, various resources of cunning and chicane, against which the\nborder laws were in vain directed.\n\nThe immediate rulers of the borders were the chiefs of the different\nclans, who exercised over their respective septs a dominion, partly\npatriarchal, and partly feudal. The latter bond of adherence was,\nhowever, the more slender; for, in the acts regulating the borders,\nwe find repeated mention of \"Clannes having captaines and chieftaines,\nwhom on they depend, oft-times against the willes of their\nlandeslordes.\"--_Stat._ 1587, c. 95, _and the Roll thereto annexed_.\nOf course, these laws looked less to the feudal superior, than to the\nchieftain of the name, for the restraint of the disorderly tribes; and\nit is repeatedly enacted, that the head of the clan should be first\ncalled upon to deliver those of his sept, who should commit any\ntrespass, and that, on his failure to do so, he should be liable to\nthe injured party in full redress. _Ibidem_, and _Stat._ 1594, c. 231.\nBy the same statutes, the chieftains and landlords, presiding over\nborder clans, were obliged to find caution, and to grant hostages,\nthat they would subject themselves to the due course of law. Such\nclans, as had no chieftain of sufficient note to enter bail for their\nquiet conduct, became broken men, outlawed to both nations.\n\nFrom these enactments, the power of the border chieftains may be\nconceived; for it had been hard and useless to have punished them\nfor the trespasses of their tribes, unless they possessed over them\nunlimited authority. The abode of these petty princes by no means\ncorresponded to the extent of their power. We do not find, on the\nScottish borders, the splendid and extensive baronial castles, which\ngraced and defended the opposite frontier. The gothic grandeur of\nAlnwick, of Raby, and of Naworth, marks the wealthier and more secure\nstate of the English nobles. The Scottish chieftain, however extensive\nhis domains, derived no advantage, save from such parts as he could\nhimself cultivate or occupy. Payment of rent was hardly known on the\nborders, till after the union[37]. All that the landlord could gain,\nfrom those residing upon his estate, was their personal service in\nbattle, their assistance in labouring the land retained in his natural\npossession, some petty quit-rents, of a nature resembling the feudal\ncasualties, and perhaps a share in the spoil which they acquired by\nrapine[38]. This, with his herds of cattle and of sheep, and with the\n_black mail_, which he exacted from his neighbours, constituted the\nrevenue of the chieftain; and, from funds so precarious, he could\nrarely spare sums to expend in strengthening or decorating his\nhabitation. Another reason is found in the Scottish mode of warfare.\nIt was early discovered, that the English surpassed their neighbours\nin the arts of assaulting or defending fortified places. The policy of\nthe Scottish, therefore, deterred them from erecting upon the borders\nbuildings of such extent and strength, as, being once taken by the\nfoe, would have been capable of receiving a permanent garrison[39]. To\nthemselves, the woods and hills of their country were pointed out,\nby the great Bruce, as their safest bulwarks; and the maxim of the\nDouglasses, that \"it was better to hear the lark sing, than the mouse\ncheep,\" was adopted by every border chief. For these combined\nreasons, the residence of the chieftain was commonly a large square\nbattlemented[40] tower, called a _keep_, or _peel_; placed on a\nprecipice, or on the banks of a torrent, and, if the ground would\npermit, surrounded by a moat. In short, the situation of a border\nhouse, surrounded by woods, and rendered almost inaccessible by\ntorrents, by rocks, or by morasses, sufficiently indicated the\npursuits and apprehensions of its inhabitant.--\"_Locus horroris\net vastae solitudinis, aptus ad praedam, habilis ad rapinam,\nhabitatoribus suis lapis erat offensiones et petra scandali, utpote\nqui stipendiis suis minime contenti totum de alieno parum de suo\npossidebant--totius provinciae spolium_.\" No wonder, therefore, that\nJames V., on approaching the castle of Lochwood, the antient seat of\nthe Johnstones, is said to have exclaimed, \"that he who built it\nmust have been a knave in his heart.\" An outer wall, with some slight\nfortifications, served as a protection for the cattle at night. The\nwalls of these fortresses were of an immense thickness, and they could\neasily be defended against any small force; more especially, as, the\nrooms being vaulted, each story formed a separate lodgement, capable\nof being held out for a considerable time. On such occasions, the\nusual mode, adopted by the assailants, was to expel the defenders,\nby setting fire to wet straw in the lower apartments. But the border\nchieftains seldom chose to abide in person a siege of this nature; and\nI have not observed a single instance of a distinguished baron made\nprisoner in his own house[41].--_Patten's Expedition_, p. 35. The\ncommon people resided in paltry huts, about the safety of which\nthey were little anxious, as they contained nothing of value. On the\napproach of a superior force, they unthatched them, to prevent\ntheir being burned, and then abandoned them to the foe.--_Stowe's\nChronicle_, p. 665. Their only treasures were, a fleet and active\nhorse, with the ornaments which their rapine had procured for the\nfemales of their family, of whose gay appearance the borderers were\nvain.\n\n[Footnote 37: Stowe, in detailing the happy consequences of the union\nof the crowns, observes, \"that the northerne borders became as safe,\nand peaceable, as any part of the entire kingdome, so as in the fourth\nyeare of the king's raigne, as well gentlemen as others, inhabiting\nthe places aforesayde, finding the auncient wast ground to be very\ngood and fruitefull, began to contende in lawe about their bounds,\nchallenging then, that for their hereditarie right, which formerly\nthey disavowed, only to avoyde charge of common defence.\"]\n\n[Footnote 38: \"As for the humours of the people (_i.e._ of\nTiviotdale), they were both strong and warlike, as being inured to\nwar, and daily incursions, and the most part of the heritors of\nthe country gave out all their lands to their tenants, for military\nattendance upon rentals, and reserved only some few manses for their\nown sustenance, which were laboured by their tenants, besides their\nservice. They paid an entry, a herauld, and a small rental-duty; for\nthere were no rents raised here that were considerable, till King\nJames went into England; yea, all along the border.\"--_Account of\nRoxburghshire, by Sir William Scott of Harden, and Kerr of Sunlaws,\napud Macfarlane's MSS._]\n\n[Footnote 39: The royal castles of Roxburgh, Hermitage, Lochmaben,\n&c. form a class of exceptions to this rule, being extensive and well\nfortified. Perhaps we ought also to except the baronial castle\nof Home. Yet, in 1455, the following petty garrisons were thought\nsufficient for the protection of the border; two hundred spearmen,\nand as many archers, upon the east and middle marches; and one hundred\nspears, with a like number of bowmen, upon the western marches.\nBut then the same statute provides, \"They that are neare hand the\nbordoure, are ordained to have gud househaldes, and abuilzed men as\neffeiris: and to be reddie at their principal place, and to pass, with\nthe wardanes, quhen and quhair they sail be charged.\"--_Acts of James\nII._, cap. 55, _Of garisonnes to be laid upon the borderes_.--Hence\nBuchanan has justly described, as an attribute of the Scottish nation,\n\n  \"_Nec fossis, nee muris, patriam sed Marte tueri_.\"\n\n[Footnote 40: I have observed a difference in architecture betwixt the\nEnglish and Scottish towers. The latter usually have upon the top\na projecting battlement, with interstices, anciently called\n_machicoules_, betwixt the parapet and the wall, through which\nstones or darts might be hurled upon the assailants. This kind of\nfortification is less common on the south border.]\n\n[Footnote 41: I ought to except the famous Dand Ker, who was made\nprisoner in his castle of Fairnihirst, after defending it bravely\nagainst Lord Dacres, 24th September, 1523.]\n\nSome rude monuments occur upon the borders, the memorial of ancient\nvalour. Such is the cross at Milholm, on the banks of the Liddel,\nsaid to have been erected in memory of the chief of the Armstrongs,\nmurdered treacherously by Lord Soulis, while feasting in Hermitage\ncastle. Such also, a rude stone, now broken, and very much defaced,\nplaced upon a mount on the lands of Haughhead, near the junction\nof the Kale and Teviot. The inscription records the defence made by\nHobbie Hall, a man of great strength and courage against an attempt\nby the powerful family of Ker, to possess themselves of his small\nestate[42].\n\n[Footnote 42: The rude strains of the inscription little correspond\nwith the gallantry of a\n\n  --village Hampden, who, with dauntless breast,\n  The little tyrant of his fields withstood.\n\nIt is in these words:\n\n  Here Hobbie Hall boldly maintained his right,\n  'Gainst reif, plain force, armed wi' awles might.\n  Full thirty pleughs, harnes'd in all their gear,\n  Could not his valiant noble heart make fear:\n  But wi' his sword, he cut the foremost's soam\n  In two; and drove baith pleughs and pleughmen home.\n  1620.\n\n_Soam_ means the iron links, which fasten a yoke of oxen to the\nplough.]\n\nThe same simplicity marked their dress and arms. Patten observes,\nthat in battle the laird could not be distinguished from the serf: all\nwearing the same coat armour, called a jack, and the baron being\nonly distinguished by his sleeves of mail, and his head-piece. The\nborderers, in general, acted as light cavalry; riding horses of a\nsmall size, but astonishingly nimble, and trained to move, by short\nbounds, through the morasses with which Scotland abounds. Their\noffensive weapons were, a lance of uncommon length; a sword, either\ntwo-handed, or of the modern light size; sometimes a species of\nbattle-axe, called a Jedburgh-staff; and, latterly, dags, or pistols.\nAlthough so much accustomed to act on horseback, that they held it\neven mean to appear otherwise, the marchmen occasionally acted as\ninfantry; nor were they inferior to the rest of Scotland in forming\nthat impenetrable phalanx of spears, whereof it is said, by an English\nhistorian, that \"sooner shall a bare finger pierce through the skin of\nan angry hedge-hog, than any one encounter the brunt of their pikes.\"\nAt the battle of Melrose, for example, Buccleuch's army fought upon\nfoot. But the habits of the borderers fitted them particularly\nto distinguish themselves as light cavalry; and hence the name of\n_prickers and hobylers_, so frequently applied to them. At the\nblaze of their beacon fires, they were wont to assemble ten thousand\nhorsemen in the course of a single day. Thus rapid in their warlike\npreparations, they were alike ready for attack and defence. Each\nindividual carried his own provisions, consisting of a small bag of\noatmeal, and trusted to plunder, or the chace, for ekeing out his\nprecarious meal. Beaug\u00e9 remarks, that nothing surprised the Scottish\ncavalry so much as to see their French auxiliaries encumbered with\nbaggage-waggons, and attended by commissaries. Before joining battle,\nit seems to have been the Scottish practice to set fire to the litter\nof their camp, while, under cover of the smoke, the _hobylers_, or\nborder cavalry, executed their manoeuvres.--There is a curious account\nof the battle of Mitton, fought in the year 1319, in a valuable MS.\n_Chronicle of England_, in the collection of the Marquis of Douglas,\nfrom which this stratagem seems to have decided the engagement.\n\"In meyn time, while the wer thus lastyd, the kynge went agane into\nSkotlonde, that hitte was wonder for to wette, and bysechyd the towne\nof Barwick; but the Skottes went over the water of Sold, that was iii\nmyle from the hoste, and prively they stole awaye be nyghte, and come\ninto England, and robbed and destroyed all that they myght, and\nspared no manner thing til that they come to Yorke. And, whan the\nEnglischemen, that wer left att home, herd this tiding, all tho that\nmyght well travell, so well monkys and priestis, and freres, and\nchanouns, and seculars, come and met with the Skottes at Mytone of\nSwale, the xii day of October. Allas, for sorow for the Englischemen!\nhousbondmen, that could nothing in wer, ther were quelled and\ndrenchyd in an arm of the see. And hyr chyftaines, Sir William Milton,\nersch-biishop of Yorke, and the abbot of Selby, with her stedes, fled\nand com into Yorke; and that was her owne folye that they had that\nmischaunce; for the passyd the water of Swale, and the Skottes set on\nfiir three stalkes of hey, and the smoke thereof was so huge, that the\nEnglischemen might nott se the Scottes; and whan the Englischemen were\ngon over the water, tho cam the Skottes, with hir wyng, in maner of\na sheld, and come toward the Englischemen in ordour. And the\nEnglischemen fled for unnethe they had any use of armes, for the\nkyng had hem al almost lost att the sege of Barwick. And the Scotsmen\n_hobylers_ went betwene the brigge and the Englischemen; and when the\ngret hoste them met, the Englischemen fled between the _hobylers_ and\nthe gret hoste; and the Englischemen were ther quelled, and he that\nmyght wend over the water were saved, but many were drowned. Alas! for\nthere were slayn many men of religion, and seculars, and pristis, and\nclerks, and with much sorwe the erschbischope scaped from the Skottes;\nand, therefore, the Skottes called that battell the _White Battell_\"\n\nFor smaller predatory expeditions, the borderers had signals, and\nplaces of rendezvous, peculiar to each tribe. If the party set forward\nbefore all the members had joined, a mark, cut in the turf, or on the\nbark of a tree, pointed out to the stragglers the direction which the\nmain body had pursued[43].\n\n[Footnote 43: In the parish of Linton, in Roxburghshire, there is\na circle of stones, surrounding a smooth plot of turf, called the\n_Tryst_, or place of appointment, which tradition avers to have been\nthe rendezvous of the neighbouring warriors. The name of the leader\nwas cut in the turf, and the arrangement of the letters announced to\nhis followers the course which he had taken. See _Statistical Account\nof the Parish of Linton_.]\n\nTheir warlike convocations were, also, frequently disguised, under\npretence of meetings for the purpose of sport. The game of foot-ball,\nin particular which was anciently, and still continues to be, a\nfavourite border sport, was the means of collecting together large\nbodies of moss-troopers, previous to any military exploit. When Sir\nRobert Carey was warden of the east marches, the knowledge that there\nwas a great match of foot-ball at Kelso, to be frequented by the\nprincipal Scottish riders, was sufficient to excite his vigilance\nand his apprehension[44]. Previous also to the murder of Sir John\nCarmichael (see Notes on the _Raid of the Reidswire_,) it appeared\nat the trial of the perpetrators that they had assisted at a grand\nfoot-ball meeting, where the crime was concerted.\n\n[Footnote 44: See Appendix.]\n\nUpon the religion of the borderers there can very little be said.\nWe have already noticed, that they remained attached to the Roman\nCatholic faith rather longer than the rest of Scotland. This probably\narose from a total indifference upon the subject; for, we no where\nfind in their character the respect for the church, which is a marked\nfeature of that religion. In 1528, Lord Dacre complains heavily to\nCardinal Wolsey, that, having taken a notorious freebooter, called\nDyk Irwen, the brother and friends of the outlaw had, in retaliation,\nseized a man of some property, and a relation of Lord Dacre, called\nJeffrey Middleton, as he returned from a pilgrimage to St. Ninian's,\nin Galloway; and that, notwithstanding the sanctity of his character,\nas a _true pilgrim_, and the Scottish monarch's safe conduct, they\ncontinued to detain him in their fastnesses, until he should redeem\nthe said arrant thief, Dyk Irwen. The abbeys, which were planted upon\nthe border, neither seem to have been much respected by the English,\nnor by the Scottish barons. They were repeatedly burned by the former,\nin the course of the border wars, and by the latter they seem to have\nbeen regarded chiefly as the means of endowing a needy relation, or\nthe subject of occasional plunder. Thus, Andrew Home of Fastcastle,\nabout 1488, attempted to procure a perpetual feu of certain\npossessions belonging to the abbey of Coldinghame; and being baffled,\nby the king bestowing that opulent benefice upon the royal chapel at\nStirling, the Humes and Hepburns started into rebellion; asserting,\nthat the priory should be conferred upon some younger son of their\nfamilies, according to ancient custom. After the fatal battle\nof Flodden, one of the Kerrs testified his contempt for clerical\nimmunities and privileges, by expelling from his house the abbot of\nKelso. These bickerings betwixt the clergy and the barons were usually\nexcited by disputes about their temporal interest. It was common for\nthe churchmen to grant lands in feu to the neighbouring gentlemen,\nwho, becoming their vassals, were bound to assist and protect\nthem[45]. But, as the possessions and revenues of the benefices became\nthus intermixed with those of the laity, any attempts rigidly to\nenforce the claims of the church were usually attended by the most\nscandalous disputes. A petty warfare was carried on for years, betwixt\nJames, abbot of Dryburgh, and the family of Halliburton of Mertoun, or\nNewmains, who held some lands from that abbey. These possessions were,\nunder various pretexts, seized and laid waste by both parties; and\nsome bloodshed took place in the contest, betwixt the lay vassals\nand their spiritual superior. The matter was, at length, thought of\nsufficient importance to be terminated by a reference to his majesty;\nwhose decree arbitral, dated at Stirling, the 8th of May, 1535,\nproceeds thus: \"Whereas we, having been advised and knowing the said\ngentlemen, the Halliburtons, to be leal and true honest men, long\nservants unto the saide abbeye, for the saide landis, stout men at\narmes, and goode borderers against Ingland; and doe therefore decree\nand ordaine, that they sail be re-possess'd, and bruik and enjoy the\nlandis and steedings they had of the said abbeye, paying the use and\nwonte: and that they sall be goode servants to the said venerabil\nfather, like as they and their predecessours were to the said\nvenerabil father, and his predecessours, and he a good master to\nthem[46].\" It is unnecessary to detain the reader with other instances\nof the discord, which prevailed anciently upon the borders, betwixt\nthe spiritual shepherd and his untractable flock.\n\n[Footnote 45: These vassals resembled, in some degree, the Vidames in\nFrance, and the Vogten, or Vizedomen, of the German abbeys; but the\nsystem was never carried regularly into effect in Britain, and this\ncircumstance facilitated the dissolution of the religious houses.]\n\n[Footnote 46: This decree was followed by a marriage betwixt the\nabbot's daughter, Elizabeth Stewart, and Walter Halliburton, one of\nthe family of Newmains. But even this alliance did not secure peace\nbetween the venerable father and his vassals. The offspring of the\nmarriage was an only daughter, named Elizabeth Halliburton. As this\nyoung lady was her father's heir, the Halliburtons resolved that she\nshould marry one of her cousins, to keep her property in the clan. But\nas this did not suit the views of the abbot, he carried off by\nforce the intended bride, and married her, at Stirling, to Alexander\nErskine, a brother of the laird of Balgony, a relation and follower\nof his own. From this marriage sprung the Erskines of Shielfield.\nThis exploit of the abbot revived the feud betwixt him and\nthe Halliburtons, which only ended with the dissolution of the\nabbey.--_MS. History of Halliburton Family, penes editorem_.]\n\nThe reformation was late of finding its way into the border wilds;\nfor, while the religious and civil dissentions were at the height in\n1568, Drury writes to Cecil,--\"Our trusty neighbours of Teviotdale are\nholden occupied only to attend to the pleasure and calling of their\nown heads, to make some diversion in this matter.\" The influence of\nthe reformed preachers, among the borders, seems also to have been but\nsmall; for, upon all occasions of dispute with the kirk, James VI. was\nwont to call in their assistance. _Calderwood_, p. 129.\n\nWe learn from a curious passage in the life of Richard Cameron,\na fanatical preacher during the time of what is called \"the\npersecution,\" that some of the borderers retained to a late period\ntheir indifference about religious matters. After having been licensed\nat Haughhead, in Teviotdale, he was, according to his biographer, sent\nfirst to preach in Annandale. \"He said, 'how can I go there? I know\nwhat sort of people they are.' 'But,' Mr. Welch said, 'go your way,\nRitchie, and set the fire of hell to their tails.' He went; and, the\nfirst day, he preached upon that text, _Home shall I put thee among\nthe children, &c_. In the application he said, 'Put you among the\nchildren! the offspring of thieves and robbers! we have all heard of\nAnnandale thieves.' Some of them got a merciful cast that day,\nand told afterwards, that it was the first field meeting they ever\nattended, and that they went out of mere curiosity, to see a minister\npreach in a tent, and people sit on the ground.\" _Life of Richard\nCameron_[47].\n\n[Footnote 47: This man was chaplain in the family of Sir Walter Scott\nof Harden, who attended the meetings of the indulged presbyterians;\nbut Cameron, considering this conduct as a compromise with the foul\nfiend Episcopacy, was dismissed from the family. He was slain in a\nskirmish at Airdsmoss, bequeathing his name to the sect of fanatics,\nstill called Cameronians.]\n\nCleland, an enthusiastic Cameronian, lieutenant-colonel of the\nregiment levied after the Revolution from among that wild and\nfanatical sect, claims to the wandering preachers of his tribe\nthe merit of converting the borderers. He introduces a cavalier,\nharanguing the Highlanders, and ironically thus guarding them against\nthe fanatic divines:\n\n  If their doctrine there get rooting,\n  Then, farewell theift, the best of booting,\n  And this ye see is very clear,\n  Dayly experience makes it appear;\n  For instance, lately on the borders,\n  Where there was nought but theft and murders,\n  Rapine, cheating, and resetting,\n  Slight of hand, fortunes getting,\n  Their designation, as ye ken,\n  Was all along the _Tacking Men_.\n  Now, rebels more prevails with words,\n  Then drawgoons does with guns and swords,\n  So that their bare preaching now\n  Makes the rush-bush keep the cow;\n  Better than Scots or English kings,\n  Could do by kilting them with strings.\n  Yea, those that were the greatest rogues,\n  Follows them over hills and bogues,\n  Crying for mercy and for preaching,\n  For they'll now hear no others teaching.\"\n\n_Cleland's Poems_, 1697, p. 30.\n\nThe poet of the whigs might exaggerate the success of their teachers;\nyet, it must be owned, that their doctrine of insubordination, joined\nto their vagrant and lawless habits, was calculated strongly to\nconciliate their border hearers.\n\nBut, though the church, in the border counties, attracted little\nveneration, no part of Scotland teemed with superstitious fears and\nobservances more than they did. \"The Dalesmen[48],\" says Lesley,\n\"never count their beads with such earnestness as when they set out\nupon a predatory expedition.\" Penances, the composition betwixt guilt\nand conscience, were also frequent upon the borders. Of this we have\na record in many bequests to the church, and in some more lasting\nmonuments; such as the Tower of Repentance in Dumfries-shire,\nand, according to vulgar tradition, the church of Linton[49], in\nRoxburghshire. In the appendix to this introduction. No. IV., the\nreader will find a curious league, or treaty of peace, betwixt two\nhostile clans, by which the heads of each became bound to make the\nfour pilgrimages of Scotland, for the benefit of the souls of those\nof the opposite clan, who had fallen in the feud. These were\nsuperstitions, flowing immediately from the nature of the Catholic\nreligion: but there was, upon the border, no lack of others of a more\ngeneral nature. Such was the universal belief in spells, of which some\ntraces may yet remain in the wild parts of the country. These were\ncommon in the time of the learned Bishop Nicolson, who derives\nthem from the time of the Pagan Danes. \"This conceit was the more\nheightened, by reflecting upon the natural superstition of our\nborderers at this day, who were much better acquainted with, and\ndo more firmly believe, their old legendary stories, of fairies and\nwitches, than the articles of their creed. And to convince me, yet\nfarther, that they are not utter strangers to the black art of their\nforefathers, I met with a gentleman in the neighbourhood, who shewed\nme a book of spells, and magical receipts, taken, two or three days\nbefore, in the pocket of one of our moss-troopers; wherein, among many\nother conjuring feats, was prescribed, a certain remedy for an ague,\nby applying a few barbarous characters to the body of the party\ndistempered. These, methought, were very near a-kin to Wormius's _Ram\nRuner_, which, he says, differed wholly in figure and shape from the\ncommon _runae_. For, though he tells us, that these _Ram Runer_ were\nso called, _Eo quod molestias, dolores, morbosque hisce infligere\ninimicis soliti sunt magi_; yet his great friend, Arng. Jonas, more\nto our purpose, says, that--_His etiam usi sunt ad benefaciendum,\njuvandum, medicandum tam animi quam corporis morbis; atque ad ipsos\ncacodaemones pellendos et fugandos_. I shall not trouble you with a\ndraught of this spell, because I have not yet had an opportunity of\nlearning whether it may not be an ordinary one, and to be met\nwith, among others of the same nature, in Paracelsus, or Cornelius\nAgrippa.\"--_Letter from Bishop Nicolson to Mr. Walker; vide Camden's\nBritannia, Cumberland_. Even in the editor's younger days, he can\nremember the currency of certain spells, for curing sprains, burns,\nor dislocations, to which popular credulity ascribed unfailing\nefficacy[50]. Charms, however, against spiritual enemies, were yet\nmore common than those intended to cure corporeal complaints. This\nis not surprising, as a fantastic remedy well suited an imaginary\ndisease.\n\n[Footnote 48: This small church is founded upon a little hill of sand,\nin which no stone of the size of an egg is said to have been found,\nalthough the neighbouring soil is sharp and gravelly. Tradition\naccounts for this, by informing us, that the foundresses were two\nsisters, upon whose account much blood had been spilt in that spot;\nand that the penance, imposed on the fair causers of the slaughter,\nwas an order from the pope to sift the sand of the hill, upon which\ntheir church was to be erected. This story may, perhaps, have some\nfoundation; for, in the church-yard was discovered a single grave,\ncontaining no fewer than fifty skulls, most of which bore the marks of\nhaving been cleft by violence.]\n\n[Footnote 49: An epithet bestowed upon the borderers, from the names\nof their various districts; as Tiviotdale, Liddesdale, Eskdale,\nEwsdale, Annandale, &c. Hence, an old ballad distinguishes the north\nas the country,\n\n  \"Where every river gives name to a dale,\"\n\n_Ex-ale-tation of Ale_.]\n\n[Footnote 50: Among these may be reckoned the supposed influence\nof Irish earth, in curing the poison of adders, or other venomous\nreptiles.--This virtue is extended by popular credulity to the\nnatives, and even to the animals, of Hibernia. A gentleman, bitten by\nsome reptile, so as to occasion a great swelling, seriously assured\nthe editor, that he ascribed his cure to putting the affected finger\ninto the mouth of an Irish mare!]\n\nThere were, upon the borders, many consecrated wells, for resorting\nto which the people's credulity is severely censured, by a worthy\nphysician of the seventeenth century; who himself believed in a\nshower of living herrings having fallen near Dumfries. \"Many run\nsuperstitiously to other wells, and there obtain, as they imagine,\nhealth and advantage; and there they offer bread and cheese, or money,\nby throwing them into the well.\" In another part of the MS. occurs the\nfollowing passage. \"In the bounds of the lands of Eccles, belonging to\na lyneage of the name of Maitland, there is a loch called the Dowloch,\nof old resorted to with much superstition, as medicinal both for men\nand beasts, and that with such ceremonies, as are _shrewdly_ suspected\nto have been begun with witchcraft, and increased afterward by magical\ndirections: For, burying of a cloth, or somewhat that did relate to\nthe bodies of men and women, and a shackle, or teather, belonging to\ncow or horse; and these being cast into the loch, if they did float,\nit was taken for a good omen of recovery, and a part of the water\ncarried to the patient, though to remote places, without saluting\nor speaking to any they met by the way; but, if they did sink, the\nrecovery of the party was hopeless. This custom was of late much\ncurbed and restrained; but since the discovery of many medicinal\nfountains near to the place, the vulgar, holding that it may be as\nmedicinal as these are, at this time begin to re-assume their former\npractice.\"--_Account of Presbytery of Penpont, in Macfarlane's MSS._\n\nThe idea, that the spirits of the deceased return to haunt the place,\nwhere on earth they have suffered or have rejoiced, is, as Dr. Johnson\nhas observed, common to the popular creed of all nations The just and\nnoble sentiment, implanted in our bosoms by the Deity, teaches us,\nthat we shall not slumber for ever, as the beasts that perish.--Human\nvanity, or credulity, chequers, with its own inferior and base\ncolours, the noble prospect, which is alike held out to us by\nphilosophy and by religion. We feel, according to the ardent\nexpression of the poet, that we shall not wholly die; but from hence\nwe vainly and weakly argue, that the same scenes, the same passions,\nshall delight and actuate the disembodied spirit, which affected it\nwhile in its tenement of clay. Hence the popular belief, that the\nsoul haunts the spot where the murdered body is interred; that its\nappearances are directed to bring down vengeance on its murderers; or\nthat, having left its terrestrial form in a distant clime, it glides\nbefore its former friends, a pale spectre, to warn them of its\ndecease. Such tales, the foundation of which is an argument from our\npresent feelings to those of the spiritual world, form the broad\nand universal basis of the popular superstition regarding departed\nspirits; against which reason has striven in vain, and universal\nexperience has offered a disregarded testimony. These legends are\npeculiarly acceptable to barbarous tribes; and, on the borders,\nthey were received with most unbounded faith. It is true, that these\nsupernatural adversaries were no longer opposed by the sword and\nbattle-axe, as among the unconverted Scandinavians. Prayers, spells,\nand exorcisms, particularly in the Greek and Hebrew languages, were\nthe weapons of the borderers, or rather of their priests and cunning\nmen, against their a\u00ebrial enemy[51]. The belief in ghosts, which has\nbeen well termed the last lingering phantom of superstition, still\nmaintains its ground upon the borders.\n\n[Footnote 51: One of the most noted apparitions is supposed to haunt\nSpedlin's castle, near Lochmaben, the ancient baronial residence\nof the Jardines of Applegirth. It is said, that, in exercise of his\nterritorial jurisdiction, one of the ancient lairds had imprisoned, in\nthe _Massy More_, or dungeon of the castle, a person named Porteous.\nBeing called suddenly to Edinburgh, the laird discovered, as he\nentered the West Port, that he had brought along with him the key of\nthe dungeon. Struck with the utmost horror, he sent back his servant\nto relieve the prisoner; but it was too late. The wretched being was\nfound lying upon the steps descending from the door of the vault,\nstarved to death. In the agonies of hunger, he had gnawed the flesh\nfrom one of his arms. That his spectre should haunt the castle was a\nnatural consequence of such a tragedy. Indeed, its visits became so\nfrequent, that a clergyman of eminence was employed to exorcise it.\nAfter a contest of twenty-four hours, the man of art prevailed so far\nas to confine the goblin to the _Massy More_ of the castle, where its\nshrieks and cries are still heard. A part, at least, of the spell,\ndepends upon the preservation of the ancient black-lettered bible,\nemployed by the exorcist. It was some years ago thought necessary\nto have this bible re-bound; but, as soon as it was removed from the\ncastle, the spectre commenced his nocturnal orgies, with ten-fold\nnoise; and it is verily believed that he would have burst from his\nconfinement, had not the sacred volume been speedily replaced.\n\nA Mass John Scott, minister of Peebles, is reported to have been the\nlast renowned exorciser, and to have lost his life in a contest with\nan obstinate spirit. This was owing to the conceited rashness of a\nyoung clergyman, who commenced the ceremony of laying the ghost before\nthe arrival of Mass John. It is the nature, it seems, of spirits\ndisembodied, as well as embodied, to increase in strength and\npresumption, in proportion to the advantages which they may gain over\nthe opponent. The young clergyman losing courage, the horrors of the\nscene were increased to such a degree, that, as Mass John approached\nthe house in which it passed, he beheld the slates and tiles flying\nfrom the roof, as if dispersed by a whirlwind. At his entry, he\nperceived all the wax-tapers (the most essential instruments of\nconjuration) extinguished, except one, which already burned blue in\nthe socket. The arrival of the experienced sage changed the scene: he\nbrought the spirit to reason; but, unfortunately, while addressing a\nword of advice or censure to his rash brother, he permitted the ghost\nto obtain the _last word_; a circumstance which, in all colloquies of\nthis nature, is strictly to be guarded against. This fatal oversight\noccasioned his falling into a lingering disorder, of which he never\nrecovered.\n\nA curious poem, upon the laying of a ghost, forms article No. V. of\nthe Appendix.]\n\n\nIt is unnecessary to mention the superstitious belief in witchcraft,\nwhich gave rise to so much cruelty and persecution during the\nseventeenth century. There were several executions upon the borders\nfor this imaginary crime, which was usually tried, not by the ordinary\njudges, but by a set of country gentlemen, acting under commission\nfrom the privy council[52].\n\n[Footnote 52: I have seen, _penes_ Hugh Scott, Esq. of Harden, the\nrecord of the trial of a witch, who was burned at Ducove. She was\ntried in the manner above mentioned.]\n\nBesides these grand articles of superstitious belief, the creed of\nthe borderers admitted the existence of sundry classes of subordinate\nspirits, to whom were assigned peculiar employments. The chief of\nthese were the Fairies, concerning whom the reader will find a long\ndissertation, in Volume Second. The Brownie formed a class of beings,\ndistinct in habit and disposition from the freakish and mischievous\nelves. He was meagre, shaggy, and wild in his appearance. Thus,\nCleland, in his satire against the Highlanders, compares them to\n\n  \"Faunes, or _Brownies_, if ye will,\n  Or satyres come from Atlas hill.\"\n\nIn the day time, he lurked in remote recesses of the old houses which\nhe delighted to haunt; and, in the night, sedulously employed himself\nin discharging any laborious task which he thought might be acceptable\nto the family, to whose service he had devoted himself. His name is\nprobably derived from the _Portuni_, whom Gervase of Tilbury describes\nthus: \"_Ecce enim in Anglia daemones quosdam habent, daemones, inquam,\nnescio dixerim, an secretae et ignotae generationis effigies, quos\nGalli Neptunos, Angli Portunos nominant. Istis insitum est quod\nsimplicitatem fortunatonum_ _colonorum amplectuntur, et cum nocturnas\npropter domesticas operas agunt vigilias, subito clausis januis ad\nignem califiunt, et ranunculus ex sinu projectas, prunis impositas\nconcedunt, senili vultu, facie corrugata, statura pusilli, dimidium\npollicis non habentes. Panniculis consertis induuntur, et si quid\ngestandum in domo fuerit, aut onerosi opens agendum, ad operandum se\njungunt citius humana facilitate expediunt. Id illis insitum est, ut\nobsequi possint et obesse non possint_.\"--Otia. Imp. p. 980. In every\nrespect, saving only the feeding upon frogs, which was probably\nan attribute of the Gallic spirits alone, the above description\ncorresponds with that of the Scottish Brownie. But the latter,\nalthough, like Milton's lubbar fiend, he loves to stretch himself\nby the fire[53], does not drudge from the hope of recompence. On the\ncontrary, so delicate is his attachment, that the offer of reward,\nbut particularly of food, infallibly occasions his disappearance for\never[54]. We learn from Olaus Magnus, that spirits, somewhat similar\nin their operations to the Brownie, were supposed to haunt the Swedish\nmines. The passage, in the translation of 1658, runs thus: \"This\nis collected in briefe, that in northerne kingdomes there are great\narmies of devils, that have their services, which they perform with\nthe inhabitants of these countries: but they are most frequent in\nrocks and mines, where they break, cleave, and make them hollow: which\nalso thrust in pitchers and buckets, and carefully fit wheels and\nscrews, whereby they are drawn upwards; and they shew themselves to\nthe labourers, when they list, like phantasms and ghosts.\" It seems no\nimprobable conjecture, that the Brownie is a legitimate descendant of\nthe _Lar Familiaris_ of the ancients.\n\n[Footnote 53:\n\n  --how the drudging goblin swet,\n  To earn the cream-bowl, duly set;\n  When, in one night, ere glimpse of morn,\n  His shadowy flail had thresh'd the corn,\n  That ten day-lab'rers could not end;\n  Then lies him down the lubbar fiend,\n  And, stretch'd out all the chimney's length,\n  Basks at the fire his hairy strength;\n  And, crop-full, out of doors he flings,\n  E'er the first cock his matin rings.\n\n_L'Allegro_.\n\nWhen the menials in a Scottish family protracted their vigils around\nthe kitchen fire, Brownie, weary of being excluded from the midnight\nhearth, sometimes appeared at the door, seemed to watch their\ndeparture, and thus admonished them--\"Gang a' to your beds, sirs, and\ndinna put out the wee _grieshoch_ (embers).\"]\n\n[Footnote 54: It is told of a Brownie, who haunted a border family,\nnow extinct, that the lady having fallen unexpectedly in labour, and\nthe servant, who was ordered to ride to Jedburgh for the _sage femme_,\nshewing no great alertness in setting out, the familiar spirit slipt\non the great-coat of the lingering domestic, rode to the town on the\nlaird's best horse, and returned with the mid-wife _en croupe_. Daring\nthe short space of his absence, the Tweed, which they must necessarily\nford, rose to a dangerous height. Brownie, who transported his charge\nwith all the rapidity of the ghostly lover of _Lenor\u00e9_, was not to be\nstopped by this obstacle. He plunged in with the terrified old lady,\nand landed her in safety where her services were wanted. Having put\nthe horse into the stable (where it was afterwards found in a woeful\nplight), he proceeded to the room of the servant, whose duty he had\ndischarged; and, finding him just in the act of drawing on his\nboots, he administered to him a most merciless drubbing with his own\nhorse-whip. Such an important service excited the gratitude of the\nlaird; who, understanding that Brownie had been heard to express a\nwish to have a green coat, ordered a vestment of that colour to be\nmade, and left in his haunts. Brownie took away the green coat, but\nnever was seen more. We may suppose, that, tired of his domestic\ndrudgery, he went in his new livery to join the fairies.--_See\nAppendix_, No. VI.\n\nThe last Brownie, known in Ettrick forest, resided in Bodsbeck, a wild\nand solitary spot, where he exercised his functions undisturbed, till\nthe scrupulous devotion of an old lady induced her to _hire him away_,\nas it was termed, by placing in his haunt a porringer of milk and a\npiece of money. After receiving this hint to depart, he was heard the\nwhole night to howl and cry, \"Farewell to bonny Bodsbeck!\" which he\nwas compelled to abandon for ever.]\n\nA being, totally distinct from those hitherto mentioned, is the Bogle,\nor Goblin; a freakish spirit, who delights rather to perplex and\nfrighten mankind; than either to serve, or seriously to hurt, them.\nThis is the _Esprit Follet_ of the French; and _Puck_, or _Robin\nGoodfellow_, though enlisted by Shakespeare among the fairy band of\n_Oberon_, properly belongs to this class of phantoms. _Shellycoat_,\na spirit, who resides in the waters, and has given his name to many a\nrock and stone upon the Scottish coast, belongs also to the class\nof bogles[55]. When he appeared, he seemed to be decked with marine\nproductions, and, in particular with shells, whose clattering\nannounced his approach. From this circumstance he derived his name. He\nmay, perhaps, be identified with the goblin of the northern English,\nwhich, in the towns and cities, Durham and Newcastle for example\nhad the name of _Barquest_; but, in the country villages, was more\nfrequently termed _Brag_. He usually ended his mischievous frolics\nwith a horse-laugh.\n\n[Footnote 55: One of his pranks is thus narrated: Two men, in a very\ndark night, approaching the banks of the Ettrick, heard a doleful\nvoice from its waves repeatedly exclaim--\"Lost! lost!\"--They followed\nthe sound, which seemed to be the voice of a drowning person, and, to\ntheir infinite astonishment, they found that it ascended the river.\nStill they continued, during a long and tempestuous night, to follow\nthe cry of the malicious sprite; and arriving, before morning's dawn,\nat the very sources of the river, the voice was now heard descending\nthe opposite side of the mountain in which they arise. The fatigued\nand deluded travellers now relinquished the pursuit; and had no sooner\ndone so, than they heard Shellycoat applauding, in loud bursts of\nlaughter, his successful roguery. The spirit was supposed particularly\nto haunt the old house of Gorrinberry, situated on the river\nHermitage, in Liddesdale.]\n\n_Shellycoat_ must not be confounded with _Kelpy_, a water spirit also,\nbut of a much more powerful and malignant nature. His attributes have\nbeen the subject of a poem in Lowland Scottish, by the learned\nDr. Jamieson of Edinburgh, which adorns the third volume of this\ncollection. Of _Kelpy_, therefore, it is unnecessary to say any thing\nat present.\n\nOf all these classes of spirits it may be, in general observed, that\ntheir attachment was supposed to be local, and not personal. They\nhaunted the rock, the stream, the ruined castle, without regard to\nthe persons or families to whom the property belonged. Hence, they\ndiffered entirely from that species of spirits, to whom, in the\nHighlands, is ascribed the guardianship, or superintendance of a\nparticular clan, or family of distinction; and who, perhaps yet more\nthan the Brownie, resemble the classic household gods. Thus, in an\nMS. history of Moray, we are informed, that the family of Gurlinbeg\nis haunted by a spirit, called _Garlin Bodacher_; that of the baron of\nKinchardin, by _Lamhdearg_[56], or Red-hand, a spectre, one of whose\nhands is as red as blood; that of Tullochgorm, by _May Moulach_, a\nfemale figure, whose left hand and arm were covered with hair, who is\nalso mentioned in _Aubrey's Miscellanies_, pp. 211, 212, as a familiar\nattendant upon the elan Grant. These superstitions were so ingrafted\nin the popular creed, that the clerical synods and presbyteries were\nwont to take cognizance of them[57].\n\n[Footnote 56: The following notice of Lamhdearg occurs in another\naccount of Strathspey, _apud_ Macfarlane's MSS.:--\"There is much talke\nof a spirit called _Ly-erg_, who frequents the Glenmore. He appears\nwith a red hand, in the habit of a souldier, and challenges men to\nfight with him; as lately as 1669, he fought with three brothers, one\nafter another, who immediately died thereafter.\"]\n\n[Footnote 57: There is current, in some parts of Germany, a fanciful\nsuperstition concerning the _Stille Volke_, or silent people. These\nthey suppose to be attached to houses of eminence, and to consist of\na number, corresponding to that of the mortal family, each person of\nwhich has thus his representative amongst these domestic spirits. When\nthe lady of the family has a child, the queen of the silent people\nis delivered in the same moment. They endeavour to give warning\nwhen danger approaches the family, assist in warding it off, and\nare sometimes seen to weep and wring their hands, before inevitable\ncalamity.]\n\nVarious other superstitions, regarding magicians, spells, prophecies,\n&c., will claim our attention in the progress of this work. For the\npresent, therefore taking the advice of an old Scottish rhymer, let us\n\n  \"Leave bogles, brownies, gyre carlinges, and ghaists[58].\"\n\n[Footnote 58: So generally were these tales of _diablerie_ believed,\nthat one William Lithgow, a _bon vivant_, who appears to have been\na native, or occasional inhabitant, of Melrose, is celebrated by the\npot-companion who composed his elegy, because\n\n  He was good company at jeists.\n  And wanton when he came to feists,\n  He scorn'd the converse of great beasts,\n  O'er a sheep's head;\n  _He laugh'd at stones about ghaists_;\n  Blythe Willie's dead!\n\n_Watson's Scotish Poems_, Edin. 1706.]\n\n\n_Flyting of Polwart and Montgomery_.\n\nThe domestic economy of the borderers next engages our attention. That\nthe revenue of the chieftain should be expended in rude hospitality,\nwas the natural result of his situation. His wealth consisted chiefly\nin herds of cattle, which were consumed by the kinsmen, vassals, and\nfollowers, who aided him to acquire and to protect them[59]. We\nlearn from Lesley, that the borderers were temperate in the use of\nintoxicating liquors, and we are therefore left to conjecture how they\noccupied the time, when winter, or when accident, confined them to\ntheir habitations. The little learning, which existed in the middle\nages, glimmered a dim and a dying flame in the religious houses;\nand even in the sixteenth century, when its beams became more widely\ndiffused, they were far from penetrating the recesses of the border\nmountains. The tales of tradition, the song, with the pipe or harp of\nthe minstrel, were probably the sole resources against _ennui_, during\nthe short intervals of repose from military adventure.\n\n[Footnote 59: We may form some idea of the stile of life maintained\nby the border warriors, from the anecdotes, handed down by tradition,\nconcerning Walter Scott of Harden, who flourished towards the\nmiddle of the sixteenth century. This ancient laird was a renowned\nfreebooter, and used to ride with a numerous band of followers. The\nspoil, which they carried off from England, or from their neighbours,\nwas concealed in a deep and impervious glen, on the brink of which the\nold tower of Harden was situated. From thence the cattle were brought\nout, one by one, as they were wanted, to supply the rude and plentiful\ntable of the laird. When the last bullock was killed and devoured, it\nwas the lady's custom to place on the table a dish, which, on being\nuncovered, was found to contain a pair of clean spurs; a hint to the\nriders, that they must shift for their next meal. Upon one occasion,\nwhen the village herd was driving out the cattle to pasture, the old\nlaird heard him call loudly _to drive out Harden's cow_. \"_Harden's\ncow!_\" echoed the affronted chief--\"Is it come to that pass? by my\nfaith they shall sune say Harden's _kye_ (cows).\" Accordingly, he\nsounded his bugle, mounted his horse, set out with his followers,\nand returned next day with \"_a bow of kye, and a bussen'd_ (brindled)\n_bull_.\" On his return with this gallant prey, he passed a very large\nhay-stack. It occurred to the provident laird, that this would be\nextremely convenient to fodder his new stock of cattle; but as no\nmeans of transporting it occurred, he was fain to take leave of it\nwith this apostrophe, now proverbial: \"By my soul, had ye but four\nfeet, ye should not stand lang there.\" In short, as Froissard says of\na similar class of feudal robbers, nothing came amiss to them, that\nwas not _too heavy, or too hot_. The same mode of house-keeping\ncharacterized most border families on both sides. An MS. quoted in\n_History of Cumberland_, p. 466, concerning the Graemes of Netherby,\nand others of that clan, runs thus: \"They were all stark moss-troopers\nand arrant thieves: both to England and Scotland outlawed: yet\nsometimes connived at, because they gave intelligence forth of\nScotland, and would raise 400 horse at any time, upon a raid of the\nEnglish into Scotland.\" A saying is recorded of a mother to her son\n(which is now become proverbial), \"_Ride Rouly_ (Rowland), _hough's\ni' the pot_;\" that is, the last piece of beef was in the pot, and\ntherefore it was high time for him to go and fetch more. To such men\nmight with justice be applied the poet's description of the Cretan\nwarrior; translated by my friend, Dr. Leyden.\n\n  My sword, my spear, my shaggy shield,\n  With these I till, with these I sow;\n  With these I reap my harvest field,\n  The only wealth the Gods bestow.\n  With these I plant the purple vine,\n  With these I press the luscious wine.\n\n  My sword, my spear, my shaggy shield,\n  They make me lord of all below;\n  For he who dreads the lance to wield,\n  Before my shaggy shield must bow.\n  His lands, his vineyards, must resign;\n  And all that cowards have is mine.\n\n_Hybrias (ap. Athenaeum)_.]\n\nThis brings us to the more immediate subject of the present\npublication.\n\nLesley, who dedicates to the description of border manners a chapter,\nwhich we have already often quoted, notices particularly the taste of\nthe marchmen for music and ballad poetry. \"_Placent admodum sibi sua\nmusica, et rythmicis suis cantionibus, quas de majorum suorum gestis,\naut ingeniosis predandi precandive stratagematis ipsi confingunt_.\n\"--Leslaeus, _in capitulo de moribus eorum, qui Scotiae limites\nAngliam versus incolunt_. The more rude and wild the state of society,\nthe more general and violent is the impulse received from poetry and\nmusic. The muse, whose effusions are the amusement of a very small\npart of a polished nation, records, in the lays of inspiration, the\nhistory the laws, the very religion, of savages.--Where the pen and\nthe press are wanting, the low of numbers impresses upon the memory\nof posterity, the deeds and sentiments of their forefathers. Verse is\nnaturally connected with music; and, among a rude people, the union\nis seldom broken. By this natural alliance, the lays, \"steeped in\nthe stream of harmony,\" are more easily retained by the reciter, and\nproduce upon his audience a more impressive effect. Hence, there\nhas hardly been found to exist a nation so brutishly rude, as not to\nlisten with enthusiasm to the songs of their bards, recounting\nthe exploits of their forefathers, recording their laws and moral\nprecepts, or hymning the praises of their deities. But, where the\nfeelings are frequently stretched to the highest pitch, by the\nvicissitudes of a life of danger and military adventure, this\npredisposition of a savage people, to admire their own rude poetry and\nmusic, is heightened, and its tone becomes peculiarly determined. It\nis not the peaceful Hindu at his loom, it is not the timid Esquimaux\nin his canoe, whom we must expect to glow at the war song of Tyrtaeus.\nThe music and the poetry of each country must keep pace with their\nusual tone of mind, as well as with the state of society.\n\nThe morality of their compositions is determined by the same\ncircumstances. Those themes are necessarily chosen by the bard, which\nregard the favourite exploits of the hearers; and he celebrates only\nthose virtues, which from infancy he has been taught to admire. Hence,\nas remarked by Lesley, the music and songs of the borders were of\na military nature, and celebrated the valour and success of their\npredatory expeditions. Razing, like Shakespeare's pirate, the eighth\ncommandment from the decalogue, the minstrels praised their chieftains\nfor the very exploits, against which the laws of the country denounced\na capital doom.--An outlawed freebooter was to them a more interesting\nperson, than the King of Scotland exerting his power to punish his\ndepredations; and, when the characters are contrasted, the latter is\nalways represented as a ruthless and sanguinary tyrant.--Spenser's\ndescription of the bards of Ireland applies in some degree, to our\nancient border poets. \"There is, among the Irish, a certain kinde\nof people, called bardes, which are to them instead of poets; whose\nprofession is to set forth the praises or dispraises of men, in their\npoems or rhymes; the which are had in such high regard or esteem\namongst them, that none dare displease them, for fear of running into\nreproach through their offence, and to be made infamous in the mouths\nof all men; for their verses are taken up with a general applause,\nand usually sung at all feasts and meetings, by certain other persons,\nwhose proper function that is, who also receive, for the same, great\nrewardes and reputation amongst them.\" Spenser, having bestowed due\npraise upon the poets, who sung the praises of the good and virtuous,\ninforms us, that the bards, on the contrary, \"seldom use to chuse unto\nthemselves the doings of good men for the arguments of their poems;\nbut whomsoever they finde to be most licentious of life, most bold and\nlawless in his doings, most dangerous and desperate in all parts of\ndisobedience, and rebellious disposition, him they set up and glorify\nin their rhythmes; him they praise to the people, and to young men\nmake an example to follow.\"--_Eudoxus_--\"I marvail what kind of\nspeeches they can find, or what faces they can put on, to praise such\nbad persons, as live so lawlessly and licentiously upon stealths and\nspoyles, as most of them do; or how they can think, that any good\nmind will applaud or approve the same.\" In answer to this question,\n_Irenaeus_, after remarking the giddy and restless disposition of the\nill educated youth of Ireland, which made them prompt to receive evil\ncounsel, adds, that such a person, \"if he shall find any to praise\nhim, and to give him any encouragement, as those bards and rhythmers\ndo, for little reward, or a share of a stolen cow[60], then waxeth he\nmost insolent, and half-mad, with the love of himself and his own lewd\ndeeds. And as for words to set forth such lewdness, it is not hard for\nthem to give a goodly and painted show thereunto, borrowed even from\nthe praises which are proper to virtue itself. As of a most notorious\nthief, and wicked outlaw, which had lived all his life-time of spoils\nand robberies, one of their bardes, in his praise, will say, 'that he\nwas none of the idle milk-sops that was brought up by the fire-side,\nbut that most of his days he spent in arms and valiant enterprizes;\nthat he never did eat his meat, before he had won it with his sword;\nthat he lay not all night slugging in his cabin under his mantle, but\nused commonly to keep others waking to defend their lives, and did\nlight his candle at the flames of their houses to lead him in the\ndarkness; that the day was his night, and the night his day; that he\nloved not to be long wooing of wenches to yield to him; but, where\nhe came, he took by force the spoil of other men's love, and left but\nlamentations to their lovers; that his music was not the harp, nor\nlays of love, but the cries of people, and clashing of armour; and,\nfinally, that he died, not bewailed of many, but made many wail when\nhe died, that dearly bought his death.' Do not you think, Eudoxus,\nthat many of these praises might be applied to men of best deserts?\nYet, are they all yielded to a most notable traitor, and amongst some\nof the Irish not smally accounted of.\"--_State of Ireland_. The same\nconcurrence of circumstances, so well pointed out by Spenser, as\ndictating the topics of the Irish bards, tuned the border harps to the\npraise of an outlawed Armstrong, or Murray.\n\n[Footnote 60: The reward of the Welch bards, and perhaps of those upon\nthe border, was very similar. It was enacted by Howel Dha, that if\nthe king's bard played before a body of warriors, upon a predatory\nexcursion, be should receive, in recompence, the best cow which the\nparty carried off.--_Leges Walliae_, I. 1. cap. 19.]\n\nFor similar reasons, flowing from the state of society, the reader\nmust not expect to find, in the border ballads, refined sentiment,\nand, far less, elegant expression; although the stile of such\ncompositions has, in modern hands, been found highly susceptible of\nboth. But passages might be pointed out, in which the rude minstrel\nhas melted in natural pathos, or risen into rude energy. Even\nwhere these graces are totally wanting, the interest of the stories\nthemselves, and the curious picture of manners, which they frequently\npresent, authorise them to claim some respect from the public. But\nit is not the editor's present intention to enter upon a history of\nborder poetry; a subject of great difficulty, and which the extent\nof his information does not as yet permit him to engage in. He\nwill, therefore, now lay before the reader the plan of the present\npublication; pointing out the authorities from which his materials are\nderived and slightly noticing the nature of the different classes into\nwhich he has arranged them.\n\n\nThe MINSTRELSY of the SCOTTISH BORDER contains Three Classes of Poems:\n\n    I. HISTORICAL BALLADS. II. ROMANTIC. III. IMITATIONS OF THESE\n    COMPOSITIONS BY MODERN AUTHORS.\n\nThe Historical Ballad relates events, which we either know actually\nto have taken place, or which, at least, making due allowance for the\nexaggerations of poetical tradition, we may readily conceive to have\nhad some foundation in history. For reasons already mentioned, such\nballads were early current upon the border. Barbour informs us, that\nhe thinks it unnecessary to rehearse the account of a victory, gained\nin Eskdale over the English, because\n\n  --Whasa liks, thai may her\n  Young women, when thai will play,\n  Syng it among thaim ilk day.--\n\n_The Bruce_, Book XVI.\n\nGodscroft also, in his History of the House of Douglas, written in the\nreign of James VI., alludes more than once to the ballads current upon\nthe border, in which the exploits of those heroes were celebrated.\nSuch is the passage, relating to the death of William Douglas, Lord of\nLiddesdale, slain by the Earl of Douglas, his kinsman, his godson,\nand his chief[61]. Similar strains of lamentation were poured by the\nborder poets over the tomb of the Hero of Otterbourne; and over the\nunfortunate youths, who were dragged to an ignominious death, from\nthe very table at which they partook of the hospitality of their\nsovereign. The only stanza, preserved of this last ballad, is\nuncommonly animated--\n\n  Edinburgh castle, towne and toure,\n  God grant thou sink for sinne!\n  And that even for the black dinoure,\n  Erl Douglas gat therein.\n\nWho will not regret, with the editor, that compositions of such\ninterest and antiquity should be now irrecoverable? But it is the\nnature of popular poetry, as of popular applause, perpetually to shift\nwith the objects of the time; and it is the frail chance of recovering\nsome old manuscript, which can alone gratify our curiosity regarding\nthe earlier efforts of the border muse. Some of her later strains,\ncomposed during the sixteenth century, have survived even to the\npresent day; but the recollection of them has, of late years, become\nlike that of \"a tale which was told.\" In the sixteenth century, these\nnorthern tales appear to have been popular even in London; for the\nlearned Mr. Ritson has obligingly pointed out to me the following\npassages, respecting the noted ballad of _Dick o' the Cow_ (p. 157);\n\"Dick o' the Cow, that mad demi-lance northern borderer, who plaid his\nprizes with the lord Jockey so bravely.\"--Nashe's _Have with you to\nSaffren-Walden, or Gabriell Harvey's Hunt is up_.--1596, 4to. _Epistle\nDedicatorie_, _sig._ A. 2. 6. And in a list of books, printed for, and\nsold by, P. Brocksby (1688), occurs \"Dick-a-the-Cow, containing north\ncountry songs[62].\" Could this collection have been found, it would\nprobably have thrown much light on the present publication: but\nthe editor has been obliged to draw his materials chiefly from oral\ntradition.\n\n[Footnote 61: \"The Lord of Liddisdale being at his pastime, hunting in\nEttrick forest, is beset by William, Earl of Douglas, and such as he\nhad ordained for the purpose, and there asailed, wounded, and slain,\nbeside Galsewood, in the year 1353, upon a jealousy that the earl had\nconceived of him with his lady, as the report goeth; for so sayeth the\nold song,\n\n  \"The countess of Douglas out of her bower she came,\n  And loudly there that she did call--\n  It is for the Lord of Liddisdale,\n  That I let all these tears down fall.\"\n\n\"The song also declareth, how she did write her love-letters to\nLiddisdale, to dissuade him from that hunting. It tells likewise the\nmanner of the taking of his men, and his own killing at Galsewood;\nand how he was carried the first night to Linden kirk, a mile from\nSelkirk, and was buried in the abbey of Melrose.\"--_Godscroft_, Vol.\nI. p. 144, Ed. 1743.\n\nSome fragments of this ballad are still current, and will be found in\nthe ensuing work.]\n\n[Footnote 62: The Selkirkshire ballad of _Tamlane_ seems also to\nhave been well known in England. Among the popular heroes of romance,\nenumerated in the introduction to the history of \"_Tom Thumbe_,\"\n(London, 1621, bl. letter), occurs \"Tom a Lin, the devil's supposed\nbastard.\" There is a parody upon the same ballad in the \"_Pinder of\nWakefield_\" (London, 1621).]\n\nSomething may be still found in the border cottages resembling the\nscene described by Pennycuik.\n\n  On a winter's night, my grannam spinning,\n  To mak a web of good Scots linnen;\n  Her stool being placed next to the chimley,\n  (For she was auld, and saw right dimly,)\n  My lucky dad, an honest whig,\n  Was telling tales of Bothwell-brigg;\n  He could not miss to mind the attempt,\n  For he was sitting pu'ing hemp;\n  My aunt, whom' nane dare say has no grace,\n  Was reading on the Pilgrim's Progress;\n  The meikle tasker, Davie Dallas,\n  Was telling blads of William Wallace;\n  My mither bade her second son say,\n  What he'd by heart of Davie Lindsay;\n  Our herd, whom all folks hate that knows him,\n  Was busy hunting in his bosom;\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n  The bairns, and oyes, were all within doors;}\n  The youngest of us chewing cinders,}\n  And all the auld anes telling wonders.}\n\n_Pennycuik's Poems_, p. 7.\n\nThe causes of the preservation of these songs have either entirely\nceased, or are gradually decaying Whether they were originally the\ncomposition of minstrels, professing the joint arts of poetry\nand music; or whether they were the occasional effusions of some\nself-taught bard; is a question into which I do not here mean to\nenquire. But it is certain, that, till a very late period, the pipers,\nof whom there was one attached to each border town of note, and whose\noffice was often hereditary, were the great depositaries of oral,\nand particularly of poetical, tradition. About spring time, and after\nharvest, it was the custom of these musicians to make a progress\nthrough a particular district of the country. The music and the tale\nrepaid their lodging, and they were usually gratified with a donation\nof seed corn[63]. This order of minstrels is alluded to in the comic\nsong of _Maggy Lauder_, who thus addresses a piper--\n\n  \"Live ye upo' the border?\"\n\nBy means of these men, much traditional poetry was preserved,\nwhich must otherwise have perished. Other itinerants, not professed\nmusicians, found their welcome to their night's quarters readily\ninsured by their knowledge in legendary lore. John Graeme, of Sowport,\nin Cumberland, commonly called _The Long Quaker_[64], a person of this\nlatter description, was very lately alive; and several of the songs,\nnow published, have been taken down from his recitation. The shepherds\nalso, and aged persons, in the recesses of the border mountains,\nfrequently remember and repeat the warlike songs of their fathers.\nThis is more especially the case in what are called the South\nHighlands, where, in many instances, the same families have occupied\nthe same possessions for centuries.\n\n[Footnote 63: These town pipers, an institution of great antiquity\nupon the borders, were certainly the last remains of the minstrel\nrace. Robin Hastie, town-piper of Jedburgh, perhaps the last of the\norder, died nine or ten years ago: his family was supposed to have\nheld the office for about three centuries. Old age had rendered Robin\na wretched performer; but he knew several old songs and tunes, which\nhave probably died along with him. The town-pipers received a livery\nand salary from the community to which they belonged; and, in some\nburghs, they had a small allotment of land, called the Piper's Croft.\nFor further particulars regarding them, see _Introduction to Complaynt\nof Scotland_, Edinburgh, 1801, p. 142.]\n\n[Footnote 64: This person, perhaps the last of our professed ballad\nreciters, died since the publication of the first edition of this\nwork. He was by profession an itinerant cleaner of clocks and watches;\nbut, a stentorian voice, and tenacious memory, qualified him eminently\nfor remembering accurately, and reciting with energy, the border\ngathering songs and tales of war. His memory was latterly much\nimpaired; yet, the number of verses which he could pour forth, and\nthe animation of his tone and gestures, formed a most extraordinary\ncontrast to his extreme feebleness of person, and dotage of mind.]\n\nIt is chiefly from this latter source that the editor has drawn his\nmaterials, most of which were collected, many years ago, during his\nearly youth. But he has been enabled, in many instances, to supply\nand correct the deficiencies of his own copies, from a collection of\nborder songs, frequently referred to in the work, under the title of\n_Glenriddell's MS_. This was compiled, from various sources, by the\nlate Mr. Riddell, of Glenriddel, a sedulous border antiquary, and,\nsince his death, has become the property of Mr. Jollie, bookseller\nat Carlisle; to whose liberality the editor owes the use of it, while\npreparing this work for the press. No liberties have been taken,\neither with the recited or written copies of these ballads, farther\nthan that, where they disagreed, which is by no means unusual, the\neditor, in justice to the author, has uniformly preserved what seemed\nto him the best, or most poetical, reading of the passage. Such\ndiscrepancies must very frequently occur, wherever poetry is preserved\nby oral tradition; for the reciter, making it a uniform principle to\nproceed at all hazards, is very often, when his memory fails him, apt\nto substitute large portions from some other tale, altogether distinct\nfrom that which he has commenced. Besides, the prejudices of clans\nand of districts have occasioned variations in the mode of telling\nthe same story. Some arrangement was also occasionally necessary, to\nrecover the rhyme, which was often, by the ignorance of the reciters,\ntransposed, or thrown into the middle of the line. With these\nfreedoms, which were essentially necessary to remove obvious\ncorruptions, and fit the ballads for the press, the editor presents\nthem to the public, under the complete assurance, that they carry with\nthem the most indisputable marks of their authenticity.\n\nThe same observations apply to the Second Class, here termed ROMANTIC\nBALLADS; intended to comprehend such legends as are current upon the\nborder, relating to fictitious and marvellous adventures Such were\nthe tales, with which the friends of Spenser strove to beguile his\nindisposition:\n\n  \"Some told of ladies, and their paramours;\n  Some of brave knights, and their renowned squires;\n  Some of the fairies, and their strange attires,\n  And some of giants, hard to be believed.\"\n\nThese, carrying with them a general, and not merely a local, interest,\nare much more extensively known among the peasantry of Scotland than\nthe border-raid ballads, the fame of which is in general confined to\nthe mountains where they were originally composed. Hence, it has been\neasy to collect these tales of romance, to a number much greater than\nthe editor has chosen to insert in this publication[65]. With this\nclass are now intermingled some lyric pieces, and some ballads, which,\nthough narrating real events, have no direct reference to border\nhistory or manners. To the politeness and liberality of Mr. Herd, of\nEdinburgh, the editor of the first classical collection of Scottish\nsongs and ballads (Edinburgh, 1774, 2 vols.), the editor is indebted\nfor the use of his MSS., containing songs and ballads, published and\nunpublished, to the number of ninety and upwards. To this collection\nfrequent references are made, in the course of the following pages.\nTwo books of ballads, in MS., have also been communicated to me, by my\nlearned and respected friend, Alexander Fraser Tytler, Esq[66]. I take\nthe liberty of transcribing Mr. Tytler's memorandum respecting the\nmanner in which they came into his hands. \"My father[67] got the\nfollowing songs from an old friend, Mr. Thomas Gordon, professor\nof philosophy, King's College, Aberdeen. The following extract of a\nletter of the professor to me, explains how he came by them:--\"An\naunt of my children, Mrs Farquhar, now dead, who was married to the\nproprietor of a small estate, near the sources of the Dee, in Braemar,\na good old woman, who spent the best part of her life among flocks\nand herds, resided in her latter days in the town of Aberdeen. She was\npossest of a most tenacious memory, which retained all the songs she\nhad heard from nurses and country-women in that sequestered part of\nthe country. Being maternally fond of my children, when young, she had\nthem much about her, and delighted them with her songs, and tales of\nchivalry. My youngest daughter, Mrs Brown, at Falkland, is blest with\na memory as good as her aunt, and has almost the whole of her songs\nby heart. In conversation I mentioned them to your father, at whose\nrequest, my grandson, Mr Scott, wrote down a parcel of them, as his\naunt sung them. Being then but a mere novice in music, he added, in\nthe copy, such musical notes, as, he supposed, might give your father\nsome notion of the airs, or rather lilts, to which they were sung.\"\n\n[Footnote 65: Mr. Jamieson of Macclesfield, a gentleman of literary\nand poetical accomplishment, has for some years been employed in a\ncompilation of Scottish ballad poetry, which is now in the press, and\nwill probably be soon given to the public. I have, therefore, as far\nas the nature of my work permitted, sedulously avoided anticipating\nany of his materials; as I am very certain he himself will do our\ncommon cause the most ample justice.]\n\n[Footnote 66: Now a senator of the College of Justice, by the title of\nLord Woodhouselee.]\n\n[Footnote 67: William Tytler, Esq. the ingenious defender of Queen\nMary, and author of a _Dissertation upon Scotish Music_, which does\nhonour to his memory.]\n\nFrom this curious and valuable collection, the editor has procured\nvery material assistance. At the same time, it contains many beautiful\nlegendary poems, of which he could not avail himself, as they seemed\nto be the exclusive property of the bards of Angus and Aberdeenshire.\nBut the copies of such, as were known on the borders, have furnished\nhim with various readings, and with supplementary stanzas, which he\nhas frequent opportunities to acknowledge. The MSS. are cited under\nthe name of Mrs. Brown of Falkland, the ingenious lady, to whose taste\nand memory the world is indebted for the preservation of the tales\nwhich they contain. The other authorities, which occur during\nthe work, are particularly referred to. Much information has been\ncommunicated to the editor, from various quarters, since the work\nwas first published of which he has availed himself, to correct and\nenlarge the present edition.\n\nIn publishing both classes of ancient ballads, the editor has excluded\nthose which are to be found in the common collections of this nature,\nunless in one or two instances, where he conceived it possible to give\nsome novelty, by historical or critical illustration.\n\nIt would have been easy for the editor to have given these songs\nan appearance of more indisputable antiquity, by adopting the rude\northography of the period, to which he is inclined to refer them. But\nthis (unless when MSS. of antiquity can be referred to) seemed too\narbitrary an exertion of the privileges of a publisher, and must,\nbesides, have unnecessarily increased the difficulties of many\nreaders. On the other hand, the utmost care has been taken, never\nto reject a word or phrase, used by a reciter, however uncouth or\nantiquated. Such barbarisms, which stamp upon the tales their age and\ntheir nation, should be respected by an editor, as the hardy emblem of\nhis country was venerated by the Poet of Scotland:\n\n  The rough bur-thistle spreading wide\n  Amang the bearded bear,\n  I turn'd the weeder-clips aside,\n  And spared the symbol dear.\n\nBURNS.\n\nThe meaning of such obsolete words is usually given at the bottom\nof the page. For explanation of the more common peculiarities of the\nScottish dialect, the English reader is referred to the excellent\nglossary annexed to the last edition of Burns' works.\n\nThe Third Class of Ballads are announced to the public, as MODERN\nIMITATIONS of the Ancient Style of composition, in that department of\npoetry; and they are founded upon such traditions as we may suppose in\nthe elder times would have employed the harps of the minstrels. This\nkind of poetry has been supposed capable of uniting the vigorous\nnumbers and wild fiction, which occasionally charm us in the ancient\nballad, with a greater equality of versification, and elegance of\nsentiment, than we can expect to find in the works of a rude age. But,\nupon my ideas of the nature and difficulty of such imitations, I ought\nin prudence to be silent; lest I resemble the dwarf, who brought with\nhim a standard to measure his own stature. I may, however, hint at the\ndifference, not always attended to, betwixt legendary poems and real\nimitations of the old ballad; the reader will find specimens of both\nin the modern part of this collection. The legendary poem, called\n_Glenfinlas_, and the ballad, entituled the _Eve of St. John_, were\ndesigned as examples of the difference betwixt these two kinds of\ncomposition.\n\nIt would have the appearance of personal vanity, were the editor to\ndetail the assistance and encouragement which he has received, during\nhis undertaking, from some of the first literary characters of our\nage. The names of Stuart, Mackenzie, Ellis, Currie, and Ritson, with\nmany others, are talismans too powerful to be used, for bespeaking the\nworld's favour to a collection of old songs; even although a veteran\nbard has remarked, \"that both the great poet of Italian rhyme,\nPetrarch, and our Chaucer, and other of the upper house of the muses,\nhave thought their canzons honoured in the title of a ballad.\" To my\ningenious friend, Dr. John Leyden, my readers will at once perceive\nthat I lie under extensive obligations, for the poetical pieces, with\nwhich he has permitted me to decorate my compilation; but I am yet\nfarther indebted to him for his uniform assistance, in collecting and\narranging materials for the work.\n\nIn the notes, and occasional dissertations, it has been my object\nto throw together, perhaps without sufficient attention to method,\na variety of remarks, regarding popular superstitions, and legendary\nhistory, which, if not now collected, must soon have been totally\nforgotten. By such efforts, feeble as they are, I may contribute\nsomewhat to the history of my native country; the peculiar features\nof whose manners and character are daily melting and dissolving into\nthose of her sister and ally. And, trivial as may appear such an\noffering, to the manes of a kingdom, once proud and independent, I\nhang it upon her altar with a mixture of feelings, which I shall not\nattempt to describe.\n\n  \"--Hail, land of spearmen! seed of those who scorn'd\n  To stoop the proud crest to Imperial Rome!\n  Hail! dearest half of Albion, sea-wall'd!\n  Hail! state unconquer'd by the fire of war,\n  Red war, that twenty ages round thee blaz'd!\n  To thee, for whom my purest raptures flow,\n  Kneeling with filial homage, I devote\n  My life, my strength, my first and latest song.\"\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX. No. I.\n\nLETTER FROM THE EARL OF SURREY, TO HENRY VIII.\nGIVING AN ACCOUNT OF THE STORM OF JEDBURGH.\n\n_Cott. MSS. Calig_. B. III. fol. 29.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\"Pleisith it your grace to be advertised, that upon Fridaye, at x a\nclok at nyght, I retourned to this towne, and all the garnysons to\ntheir places assigned, the bushopricke men, my Lorde of Westmoreland,\nand my Lord Dacre, in likewise evry man home with their companys,\nwithout los of any men, thanked be God; saving viii or x slayne, and\ndyvers hurt, at skyrmyshis and saults of the town of Gedwurth, and the\nforteressis, which towne is soo suerly brent, that no garnysons ner\nnone other shal bee lodged there, unto the tyme it bee newe buylded;\nthe brennyng whereof I comytted to twoo sure men, Sir William Bulmer,\nand Thomas Tempeste. The towne was moche bettir then I went (_i.e._\nween'd) it had been, for there was twoo tymys moo houses therein\nthen in Berwike, and well buylded, with many honest and faire houses\ntherein, sufficiente to have lodged M horsemen in garnyson, and six\ngood towres therein; whiche towne and towres be clenely distroyed,\nbrent, and throwen downe. Undoubtedly there was noo journey made into\nScotland, in noo manys day leving, with soo fewe a nombre that is\nrecownted to be soo high an enterprice as this, bothe with thies\ncontremen, and Scottishmen, nor of truthe so moche hurt doon. But in\nth' ende a great mysfortune ded fall, onely by foly, that such ordre,\nas was commaunded by me to be kepte, was not observed, the maner\nwhereof hereaftir shall ensue. Bifore myn entre into Scotland, I\nappointed Sir William Bulmer and Sir William Evers too be marshallis\nof th' army; Sir William Bulmer for the vangard, and Sir William Evers\nfor the reregard. In the vangard I appointed my Lord of Westmoreland,\nas chief, with all the bushopricke, Sir William Bulmer, Sir William\nEvers, my Lord Dacre, with all his company; and with me remayned\nall the rest of the garnysons, and the Northumberland men. I was of\ncounsaill with the marshallis at th' ordering of our lodgingg, and our\ncampe was soo well envirowned with ordynance, carts, and dikes, that\nhard it was to entre or issue, but at certain places appointed for\nthat purpos, and assigned the mooste commodious place of the saide\ncampe for my Lord Dacre company, next the water, and next my Lord of\nWestmoreland. And at suche tyme as my Lord Dacre came into the fald,\nI being at the sault of th' abby, whiche contynued unto twoo houres\nwithin nyght, my seid Lord Dacre wold in nowise bee contente to ly\nwithin the campe, whiche was made right sure, but lodged himself\nwithout, wherewith, at my retourne, I was not contente, but then it\nwas to late to remove; the next daye I sente my seid Lorde Dacre to a\nstrong hold, called Fernherst, the lorde whereof was his mortal enemy;\nand with hym, Sir Arthur Darcy, Sir Marmaduke Constable, with viii c.\nof their men, one cortoute, and dyvers other good peces of ordynance\nfor the feld (the seid Fernherste stode marvelous strongly, within a\ngrete woode); the seid twoo knights with the moost parte of their men,\nand Strickland, your grace servaunte, with my Kendall men, went into\nthe woode on fote, with th' ordynance, where the said Kendall men were\nsoo handled, that they found hardy men, that went noo foote back for\ntheym; the other two knightes were alsoo soo sharply assayled, that\nthey were enforced to call for moo of their men; and yet could not\nbring the ordynance to the forteresse, unto the tyme my Lord Dacre,\nwith part of his horsemen, lighted on fote; and marvelously hardly\nhandled himself, and fynally, with long skirmyshing, and moche\ndifficultie, gat forthe th' ordynance within the howse and threwe\ndowne the same. At which skyrmyshe, my seid Lord Dacre, and his\nbrother, Sir Cristofer, Sir Arthure, and Sir Marmaduke, and many other\ngentilmen, did marvellously hardly; and found the best resistence\nthat hath been seen with my comyng to their parties, and above xxxii\nScottis sleyne, and not passing iiij Englishmen, but above lx hurt.\nAftir that, my seid lord retournyng to the campe, wold in nowise bee\nlodged in the same, but where he laye the furst nyght. And he being\nwith me at souper, about viij a clok, the horses of his company brak\nlowse, and sodenly ran out of his feld, in such nombre, that it caused\na marvellous alarome in our feld; and our standing watche being set,\nthe horses cam ronnyng along the campe, at whome were shot above one\nhundred shief of arrowes, and dyvers gonnys, thinking they had been\nScotts, that wold have saulted the campe; fynally the horses were soo\nmadde, that they ran like wild dere into the feld; above xv c. at the\nleest, in dyvers companys, and, in one place, above I felle downe\na gret rok, and slewe theymself, and above ij c. ran into the towne\nbeing on fire, and by the women taken, and carried awaye right evill\nbrent, and many were taken agayne. But, fynally, by that I can esteme\nby the nombre of theym that I sawe goo on foote the next daye, I think\nthare is lost above viij c. horses, and all with foly for lak of\nnot lying within the camp. I dare not write the wondres that my Lord\nDacre, and all his company, doo saye they sawe that nyght, vj. tymys\nof spirits and fereful sights. And unyversally all their company\nsaye playnly, the devill was that nyght among theym vi tymys; whiche\nmysfortune hath blemyshed the best journey that was made in Scotland\nmany yeres. I assure your grace I found the Scottes, at this tyme, the\nboldest men, and the hotest, that ever I sawe any nation, and all\nthe journey, upon all parts of th' army, kepte us with soo contynuall\nskyrmyshe, that I never sawe the like. If they myght assemble xl M as\ngood men as I nowe sawe, xv c or ij M, it wold bee a hard encountre to\nmete theym. Pitie it is of my Lord Dacres losse of the horses of his\ncompany; he brought with hym above iiij M. men, and came and lodged\none night in Scotland, in his moost mortal enemy's centre. There is\nnoo herdyer, ner bettir knyght, but often tyme he doth not use the\nmost sure order, which he hath nowe payed derely for. Written at\nBerwike the xxvij of September.\n\nYour most bownden,\n\nT. SURREY.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX, No. II.\n\nHISTORY OF GEORDIE BOURNE.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nIn the following passages, extracted from the memoirs of Sir Robert\nCarey, then deputy of his father, Lord Hunsdon, warden of the east\nmarches, afterwards Earl of Monmouth, the reader will find a lively\nillustration of the sketch given of border manners in the preceding\nIntroduction.\n\n\"Having thus ended with my brother, I then beganne to thinke of the\ncharge I had taken upon mee, which was the government of the east\nmarch, in my father's absence. I wrote to Sir Robert Kerr[68], who was\nmy opposite warden, a brave active young man, and desired him that hee\nwould appoint a day, when hee and myselfe might privately meet in\nsome part of the border, to take some good order for the quieting the\nborders, till my retourne from London, which journey I was shortly of\nnecessity to take. Hee stayed my man all night, and wrote to mee back,\nthat hee was glad to have the happinesse to be acquainted with mee,\nand did not doubt but the country would be better governed by our good\nagreements. I wrote to him on the Monday, and the Thursday after hee\nappointed the place and hour of meeting.\n\n[Footnote 68: Sir Robert Kerr of Cessford, warden of the middle\nmarches, and ancestor of the house of Roxburghe.]\n\n\"After hee had filled my man with drinke, and putt him to bed, hee,\nand some halfe a score with him, gott to horse, and came into England\nto a little village. There hee broke up a house, and tooke out a poore\nfellow, who (hee pretended) had done him some wrong, and before the\ndoore cruelly murthered him, and so came quietly home, and went to\nbed. The next morning hee delivered my man a letter in answer to mine,\nand retourned him to mee. It pleased mee well at the reading of his\nkinde letter; but when I heard what a _brave_ hee had put upon mee, I\nquickly resolved what to do, which was, never to have to do with him,\ntill I was righted for the greate wrong hee had done mee. Upon this\nresolution, the day I should have mett with him I tooke post, and with\nall the haste I could, rode to London, leaving him to attend my coming\nto him as was appointed. There hee stayed from one till five, but\nheard no news of mee. Finding by this that I had neglected him, hee\nretourned home to his house, and so things rested (with greate dislike\nthe one of the other) till I came back, which was with all the speede\nI could, my businesse being ended. The first thing I did after my\nretourne, was to ask justice for the wrong hee had done mee; but I\ncould gett none. The borderers, seeing our disagreement, they thought\nthe time wished for of them was come. The winter being beganne, their\nwas roades made out of Scotland into the east march, and goods were\ntaken three or foure times a weeke. I had no other meanes left to\nquiet them, but still sent out of the garrison horsemen of Berwick, to\nwatch in the fittest places for them, and it was their good hap many\ntimes to light upon them, with the stolen goods driving before them.\nThey were no sooner brought before mee, but a jury went upon them,\nand, being found guilty, they were frequently hanged: a course which\nhath been seldom used, but I had no way to keep the country quiet but\nto do so; for, when the Scotch theeves found what a sharp course I\ntooke with them, that were found with the bloody hand, I had in a\nshort time the country more quiet. All this while wee were but in jest\nas it were, but now beganne the greate quarrell betweene us.\n\n\"There was a favorite of his, a greate theife, called Geordie Bourne.\nThis gallant, with some of his associates would, in a bravery,\ncome and take goods in the east march. I had that night some of the\ngarrison abroad. They met with this Geordie and his fellowes, driving\nof cattle before them. The garrison set upon them, and with a shott\nkilled Geordie Bourne's unckle, and hee himselfe bravely resisting\ntill he was sore hurt in the head, was taken. After hee was taken, his\npride was such, as hee asked, who it was that durst avow that nightes\nworke? but when hee heard it was the garrison, he was then more\nquiet. But so powerfull and awfull was this Sir Robert Kerr, and his\nfavourites, as there was not a gentleman in all the east march that\ndurst offend them. Presently after hee was taken, I had most of the\ngentlemen of the march come to mee, and told mee, that now I had the\nball at my foote, and might bring Sir Robert Kerr to what conditions I\npleased; for that this man's life was so neere and deare unto him, as\nI should have all that my heart could desire, for the good and quiet\nof the country and myselfe, if upon any condition I would give him his\nlife. I heard them and their reasons; notwithstanding, I called a jury\nthe next morning, and hee was found guilty of MARCH TREASON. Then they\nfeared that I would cause him to be executed that afternoone, which\nmade them come flocking to mee, humbly entreating mee, that I would\nspare his life till the next day, and if Sir Robert Kerr came not\nhimselfe to mee, and made mee not such proffers, as I could not but\naccept, that then I should do with him what I pleased. And further,\nthey told mee plainly, that if I should execute him, before I had\nheard from Sir Robert Kerr, they must be forced to quitt their houses\nand fly the country; for his fury would be such, against mee and the\nmarch I commanded, as hee would use all his power and strength to the\nutter destruction of the east march. They were so earnest with mee,\nthat I gave them my word hee should not dye that day. There was\npost upon post sent to Sir Robert Kerr, and some of them rode to him\nthemselves, to advertise him in what danger Geordie Bourne was; how he\nwas condemned, and should have been executed that afternoone, but, by\ntheir humble suite, I gave them my word, that he should not dye that\nday; and therefore besought him, that hee would send to mee, with all\nthe speede hee could, to let mee know, that hee would be the next day\nwith mee to offer mee good conditions for the safety of his life. When\nall things were quiet, and the watch set at night, after supper, about\nten of the clock, I tooke one of my men's liveryes, and putt it about\nmee, and tooke two other of my servants with mee in their liveryes,\nand we three, as the warden's men, came to the provost marshall's,\nwhere Bourne was, and were lett into his chamber. Wee sate down by\nhim, and told him, that wee were desirous to see him, because wee\nheard hee was stoute and valiant, and true to his friend; and that\nwee were sorry our master could not be moved to save his life. He\nvoluntarily of himselfe said, that hee had lived long enough to do\nso many villainies as hee had done; and withal told us, that hee had\nlayne with about forty men's wives, what in England, what in Scotland;\nand that hee had killed seven Englishmen with his own hands, cruelly\nmurthering them: that hee had spent his whole time in whoreing,\ndrinking, stealing, and taking deep revenge for slight offences.\nHee seemed to be very penitent, and much desired a minister for the\ncomfort of his soule. Wee promised him to lett our master know his\ndesire, who, wee knew, would presently grant it. Wee tooke our leaves\nof him, and presently I tooke order, that Mr. Selby, a very worthy\nhonest preacher, should go to him, and not stirre from him till his\nexecution the next morning; for, after I had heard his own confession,\nI was resolved no conditions should save his life: and so tooke order,\nthat at the gates opening the next morning, hee should be carried to\nexecution, which accordingly was performed. The next morning I had one\nfrom Sir Robert Kerr for a parley, who was within two miles staying\nfor mee. I sent him word, \"I would meet him where hee pleased, but I\nwould first know upon what termes and conditions.\" Before his man was\nretourned, hee had heard, that in the morning, very early, Geordie\nBourne had been executed. Many vowes hee made of cruell revenge,\nand retourned home full of griefe and disdaine, and, from that time\nforward still plotted revenge. Hee knew the gentlemen of the country\nwere altogether sacklesse, and to make open road upon the march would\nbut shew his malice, and lay him open to the punishment due to such\noffences. But his practice was how to be revenged on mee, or some of\nmine.\n\n\"It was not long after that my brother and I had intelligence, that\nthere was a great match made at footeball and the chiefe ryders were\nto be there. The place they were to meet at was Kelsy, and that day,\nwee heard it, was the day for the meeting. Wee presently called a\ncounsaile, and after much dispute it was concluded, that the likeliest\nplace hee was to come to, was to kill the scoutes. And it was the more\nsuspected, for that my brother, before my coming to the office, for\nthe cattaile stolne out of the bounds, and as it were from under the\nwalles of Barwicke, being refused justice (upon his complaint,) or at\nleast delaid, sent off the garrison into Liddisdale, and killed there\nthe chiefe offender, which had done the wrong.\n\n\"Upon this conclusion, there was order taken, that both horse and\nfoote should lye in ambush, in diverse parts of the boundes, to defend\nthe scoutes, and to give a sound blow to Sir Robert and his company.\nBefore the horse and foote were sett out with directions what to\ndo, it was almost darke night, and the gates ready to be lockt. Wee\nparted, and as I was by myselfe comeing to my house, God put it into\nmy mind, that it might well be, hee meant destruction to my men,\nthat I had sent out to gather tithes for mee at Norham, and their\nrendezvous was every night to lye and sup at an ale-house in Norham.\nI presently caused my page to take horse, and to ride as fast as his\nhorse could carry him, and to command my servants (which were in all\neight) that, presently upon his coming to them, they should all change\ntheir lodging, and go streight to the castle, there to lye that night\nin strawe and hay. Some of them were unwilling thereto, but durst\nnot disobey; so altogether left their ale-house, and retired to the\ncastle. They had not well settled themeselves to sleep, but they\nheard in the town a great alarm; for Sir Robert and his company came\nstreight to the ale-house, broke open the doors, and made enquiry for\nmy servants. They were answered, that by my command they were all in\nthe castle. After they had searched all the house, and found none,\nthey feared they were betrayed, and, with all the speede they could,\nmade haste homewards again. Thus God blessed me from this bloody\ntragedy.\n\n\"All the whole march expected nightly some hurt to be done; but God so\nblessed mee and the government I held, as, for all his fury, hee never\ndrew drop of blood in all my march, neither durst his theeves trouble\nit much with stealing, for fear of hanging, if they were taken. Thus\nwee continued a yeare, and then God sent a meanes to bring thinges to\nbetter quiet by this occasion.\n\n\"There had been commissioners in Barwicke, chosen by the queene and\nking of Scottes, for the better quieting of our borders. By their\nindustry they found a great number of malefactors guilty, both in\nEngland and Scotland; and they tooke order, that the officers of\nScotland should deliver such offenders, as were found guilty in their\njurisdictions, to the opposite officers in England, to be detained\nprisoners, till they had made satisfaction for the goods they had\ntaken out of England. The like order was taken with the wardens of\nEngland, and days prefixed for the delivery of them all. And in case\nany of the officers, on either side, should omit their duties, in not\ndelivering the prisoners at the dayes and places appointed, that then\nthere should a course be taken by the soveraignes, that what chiefe\nofficer soever should offend herein, he himself should be delivered\nand detained, till he had made good what the commissioners had agreed\nupon.\n\n\"The English officers did punctually, at the day and place, deliver\ntheir prisoners, and so did most of the officers of Scotland; only\nthe Lord of Bocleuch and Sir Robert Kerr were faultie. They were\ncomplained of, and new dayes appointed for the delivery of their\nprisoners. Bocleuch was the first, that should deliver; and hee\nfailing entered himselfe prisoner into Barwicke, there to remaine till\nthose officers under his charge were delivered to free him. He\nchose for his guardian Sir William Selby, master of the ordinance at\nBarwicke. When Sir Robert Kerr's day of delivery came, he failed too,\nand my Lord Hume, by the king's command, was to deliver him prisoner\ninto Barwicke upon the like termes, which was performed. Sir Robert\nKerr (contrary to all men's expectation) chose mee for his guardian,\nand home I brought him to my own house, after hee was delivered to\nmee. I lodged him as well as I could, and tooke order for his diet,\nand men to attend on him, and sent him word, that (although by his\nharsh carriage towards mee, ever since I had that charge, he could\nnot expect any favour, yet) hearing so much goodness of him, that hee\nnever broke his word, if hee should give mee his hand and credit to be\na true prisoner, hee would have no guard sett upon him, but have free\nliberty for his friends in Scotland to have ingresse and regresse to\nhim as oft as hee pleased. He tooke this very kindly at my handes,\naccepted of my offer, and sent me thankes.\n\n\"Some four dayes passed; all which time his friends came into him, and\nhee kept his chamber. Then hee sent to mee, and desired mee, I would\ncome and speake with him, which I did; and after long discourse,\ncharging and re-charging one another with wrong and injuries, at\nlast, before our parting, wee became good friends, with greate\nprotestations, on his side, never to give mee occasion of unkindnesse\nagain. After our reconciliation hee kept his chamber no longer, but\ndined and supt with mee. I tooke him abroad with mee at the least\nthrice a weeke, a hunting, and every day wee grew better friends.\nBocleuch, in a few dayes after, had his pledges delivered, and was\nset at liberty. But Sir Robert Kerr could not get his, so that I was\ncommanded to carry him to Yorke, and there to deliver him prisoner to\nthe archbishop, which accordingly I did. At our parting, he professed\ngreate love unto mee for the kinde usage I had shewn him, and that I\nwould find the effects of it upon his delivery, which hee hoped would\nbe shortly.\n\n\"Thus wee parted; and, not long after, his pledges were gott, and\nbrought to Yorke, and hee sett at liberty. After his retourne home,\nI found him as good as his word. Wee met oft at dayes of truce, and I\nhad as good justice as I could desire; and so wee continued very kinde\nand good friends, all the time that I stayed in that march, which was\nnot long.\"\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX, No. III.\n\nMAITLAND'S COMPLAYNT AGANIS THE THIEVIS OF LIDDISDAIL,\nFROM PINKERTON'S EDITION, COLLATED WITH A MS. OF MAITLAND'S POEMS, IN\nTHE LIBRARY OF EDINBURGH COLLEGE.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  Of Liddisdail the commoun theifis\n  Sa peartlie steillis now and reifis,\n  That nane may keip\n  Horse, nolt, nor scheip,\n  Nor yett dar sleip\n  For their mischeifis.\n\n  Thay plainly throw the country rydis,\n  I trow the mekil devil thame gydis!\n  Quhair they onsett,\n  Ay in thair gaitt,\n  Thair is na yet\n  Nor dor, thame bydis.\n\n  Thay leif rich nocht, quhair ever thay ga;\n  Thair can na thing be hid thame fra;\n  For gif men wald\n  Thair housis hald,\n  Than waxe thay bald,\n  To burne and slay.\n\n  Thay thiefs have neirhand herreit hail,\n  Ettricke forest and Lawderdaill;\n  Now are they gane,\n  In Lawthiane;\n  And spairis nane\n  That thay will waill.\n\n  Thay landis ar with stouth sa socht,\n  To extreame povertye ar broucht,\n  Thay wicked schrowis\n  Has laid the plowis,\n  That nane or few is\n  That are left oucht.\n\n  Bot commoun taking of blak mail,\n  Thay that had flesche, and breid and aill,\n  Now are sa wrakit,\n  Made bair and nakit,\n  Fane to be slaikit\n  With watter caill.\n\n  Thay theifs that steillis and tursis hame,\n  Ilk ane of them has ane to-name[69];\n  Will of the Lawis,\n  Hab of the Schawis:\n  To mak bair wawis\n  Thay thinke na schame.\n\n  Thay spuilye puir men of their pakis,\n  Thay leif them nocht on bed nor bakis;\n  Baith hen and cok,\n  With reil and rok,\n  The Lairdis Jok,\n  All with him takis.\n\n  Thay leif not spindell, spoone, nor speit;\n  Bed, boster, blanket, sark, nor scheit;\n  Johne of the Parke\n  Ryps kist and ark;\n  For all sic wark\n  He is richt meit.\n\n  He is weil kend, John of the Syde;\n  A greater theif did never ryde.\n  He never tyris\n  For to brek byris:\n  Ouir muir and myris\n  Ouir gude ane gyde.\n\n  Thair is ane, callet Clement's Hob,\n  Fra ilk puir wyfe reifis the wob,\n  And all the lave,\n  Quhatever they haife,\n  The devil recave\n  Thairfoir his gob.\n\n  To sic grit stouth quha eir wald trow it,\n  Bot gif some great man it allowit\n  Rycht sair I trow\n  Thocht it be rew:\n  Thair is sa few\n  That dar avow it.\n\n  Of sum great men they have sic gait,\n  That redy are thame to debait,\n  And will up weir\n  Thair stolen geir;\n  That nane dare steir\n  Thame air nor late.\n\n  Quhat causis theifis us ourgang,\n  Bot want of justice us amang?\n  Nane takis cair,\n  Thocht all for fear;\n  Na man will spair\n  Now to do wrang.\n\n  Of stouth thocht now thay come gude speid,\n  That nother of men nor God has dreid;\n  Yet, or I die,\n  Sum sail thame sie,\n  Hing on a trie\n  Quhill thay be deid--\n\n_Quo_' Sir R.M. _of_ Lethington, _knicht_.\n\n[Footnote 69: Owing to the marchmen being divided into large clans,\nbearing the same sirname, individuals were usually distinguished\nby some epithet, derived from their place of residence, personal\nqualities, or descent. Thus, every distinguished moss-trooper had,\nwhat is here called, a _to-name_, or _nom de guerre_, in addition to\nhis family name.]\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX, No. IV.\n\n\nBOND OF ALLIANCE, OR FEUD STAUNCHING,\nBETWIXT THE CLANS OF SCOTT AND KER.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nThe battle of Melrose (see Introduction, p. xvii.) occasioned a deadly\nfeud betwixt the name of Scott and Ker. The following indenture was\ndesigned to reconcile their quarrel. But the alliance, if it ever took\neffect, was not of long duration; for the feud again broke out about\n1553, when Sir Walter Scott was slain by the Kers, in the streets of\nEdinburgh.\n\n\"Thir indentures, made at Ancrum the 16th of March, 1529 years,\ncontains, proports, and bears leil and suithfast witnessing. That it\nis appointed, agreed, and finally accorded betwixt honourable men;\nthat is to say, Walter Ker of Cessford, Andrew Ker of Fairnieherst,\nMark Ker of Dolphinston, George Kerr, tutor of Cessford, and Andrew\nKer of Primesideloch, for themselves, kin, friends, mentenants,\nassisters, allies, adherents, and partakers, on the one part; and\nWalter Scot of Branxholm, knight, Robert Scot of Allanhaugh, Robert\nScot, tutor of Howpaisly, John Scot of Roberton, and Walter Scot of\nStirkshaws, for themselves, their kin, friends, mentenants, servants,\nassisters, and adherents, on the other part; in manner, form, and\neffect, as after follows: For staunching all discord and variance\nbetwixt them, and for furth-bearing of the king's authority, and\npunishing trespasses, and for amending all slaughters, heritages, and\nsteedings, and all other pleas concerning thereto, either of these\nparties to others, and for unit\u00e9, friendship, and concord, to be had\nin time coming 'twixt them, of our sovereign lord's special command:\nthat is to say, either of the said parties, be the tenor hereof,\nremits and forgives to others the rancour, hatred, and malice of their\nhearts; and the said Walter Scot of Branxholm shall gang, or cause\ngang, at the will of the party, to the four head pilgrimages of\nScotland, and shall say a mass for the souls of umquhile Andrew Ker\nof Cessford, and them that were slain in his company, in the field\nof Melrose; and, upon his expence, shall cause a chaplain say a mass\ndaily, when he is disposed, in what place the said Walter Ker and his\nfriends pleases, for the well of the said souls, for the space of five\nyears next to come.--Mark Ker of Dolphinston, Andrew Kerr of Graden,\nshall gang, at the will of the party, to the four head pilgrimages\nof Scotland, and shall gar say a mass for the souls of umquhile James\nScot of Eskirk, and other Scots, their friends, slain in the field\nof Melrose; and, upon their expence, shall gar a chaplain say a mass\ndaily, when he is disposed, for the heal of their souls, where the\nsaid Walter Scot and his friends pleases, for the space of three years\nnext to come: and the said Walter Scot of Branxholm shall marry his\nson and heir upon one of the said Walter Ker his sisters; he paying,\ntherefor, a competent portion to the said Walter Ker and his heir, at\nthe sight of the friends of baith parties. And also, baith the saids\nparties bind and oblige them, be the faith and truth of their bodies,\nthat they abide at the decreet and deliverance of the six men chosen\narbiters, anent all other matters, quarrels, actiones, and debates,\nwhilk either of them likes to propone against others betwixt the saids\nparties: and also the six arbiters are bound and obliged to decreet\nand deliver, and give forth their deliverance thereuntil, within\nyear and day after the date hereof.--And attour, either of the saids\nparties bind and oblige them, be the faith and truth of their bodies,\nilk ane to others, that they shall be leil and true to others, and\nneither of them will another's skaith, but they shall let it at their\npower, and give to others their best counsel, and it be asked; and\nshall take leil and aeffald part ilk ane with others, with their kin,\nfriends, servants, allies, and partakers, in all and sundry their\nactions, quarrels, and debates, against all that live and die (may the\nallegiance of our sovereign lord the king allenarly be excepted).--And\nfor the obliging and keeping all thir premises above written, baith\nthe saids parties are bound and obliged, ilk ane to others, be the\nfaith and truth of their bodies, but fraud or guile, under the pain\nof perjury, men-swearing, defalcation, and breaking of the bond of\ndeadly. And, in witness of the whilk, ilk ane to the procuratory of\nthis indenture remain with the said Walter Scot and his friends, the\nsaid Walter Ker of Cessford has affixed his proper seal, with his\nsubscription manual, and with the subscription of the said Andrew\nKer of Fairnieherst, Mark Ker of Dolphinston, George Ker, tutor of\nCessford, and Andrew Ker of Primesideloch, before these witnesses, Mr.\nAndrew Drurie, abbot of Melrose, and George Douglas of Boonjedward,\nJohn Riddel of that ilk, and William Stewart.\n\n_Sic Subscribitur_,\n\nWALTER KER of Cessford.\n\nANDREW KER of Fairnieherst.\n\nMARK KER.\n\nGEORGE KER.\n\nANDREW KER of Primesideloch.\"\n\nN.B. The four pilgrimages are Scoon, Dundee, Paisley, and Melrose.\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX, No. V.\n\nANE INTERLUDE OF THE LAYING OF A GAIST.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nThis burlesque poem is preserved in the Bannatyne MSS. It is in the\nsame strain with the verses concerning the _Gyre Carline_ (Vol. II.)\nAs the mention of _Bettokis Bowr_ occurs in both pieces, and as the\nscene of both is laid in East Lothian, they are perhaps composed by\nthe same author. The humour of these fragments seems to have been\ndirected against the superstitions of Rome; but it is now become very\nobscure. Nevertheless, the verses are worthy of preservation, for the\nsake of the ancient language and allusions.\n\n  Listen lordis, I sall you tell,\n  Off ane very grit marvell,\n  Off Lord Fergussis gaist,\n  How meikle Sir Andro it chest,\n  Unto Beittokis bour,\n  The silly sawle to succour:\n  And he hes writtin unto me,\n  Auld storeis for to se,\n  Gif it appinis him to meit,\n  How he sall conjure the spreit:\n  And I haif red mony quars,\n  Bath the Donet, and Dominus que pars,\n  Ryme maid, and als redene,\n  Baith Inglis and Latene:\n  And ane story haif I to reid,\n  Passes Bonitatem in the creid.\n  To conjure the litill gaist he mon haif\n  Of tod's tails ten thraif,\n  And kast the grit holy water\n  With pater noster, pitter patter;\n  And ye man sit in a compas,\n  And cry, Harbert tuthless,\n  Drag thow, and ye's draw,\n  And sit thair quhill cok craw.\n  The compas mon hallowit be\n  With aspergis me Domine;\n  The haly writ schawis als\n  Thair man be hung about your bals\n  Pricket in ane woll poik\n  Of neis powder ane grit loik.\n  Thir thingis mon ye beir,\n  Brynt in ane doggis eir,\n  Ane pluck, ane pindill, and ane palme cors,\n  Thre tuskis of ane awld hors,\n  And of ane yallow wob the warp,\n  The boddome of ane awld herp,\n  The held of ane cuttit reill,\n  The band of an awld quheill,\n  The taill of ane yeild sow,\n  And ane bait of blew wow,\n  Ane botene, and ane brechame,\n  And ane quhorle made of lame,\n  To luke out at the litill boir,\n  And cry, Crystis crosse, you befoir:\n  And quhen ye see the litill gaist,\n  Cumand to you in all haist,\n  Cry loud, Cryste eleisone,\n  And speir quhat law it levis on?\n  And gif it sayis on Godis ley,\n  Than to the litill gaist ye say,\n  With braid benedicite;\n  --\"Litill gaist, I conjure the,\n  With lierie and larie,\n  Bayth fra God, and Sanct Marie,\n  First with ane fischis mouth,\n  And syne with ane sowlis towth,\n  With ten pertane tais,\n  And nyne knokis of windil strais,\n  With thre heidis of curle doddy.\"--\n  And bid the gaist turn in a boddy.\n  Then efter this conjuratioun,\n  The litill gaist will fall in soun,\n  And thair efter down ly,\n  Cryand mercy petously;\n  Than with your left heil sane,\n  And it will nevir cum agane,\n  As meikle as a mige amaist.[70]\n\n  He had a litill we leg,\n  And it wes cant as any cleg,\n  It wes wynd in ane wynden schet,\n  Baythe the handis and the feit:\n  Suppose this gaist wes litill\n  Yit it stal Godis quhitell;\n  It stal fra peteous Abrahame,\n  Ane quhorle and ane quhim quhame;\n  It stal fra ye carle of ye mone\n  Ane payr of awld yin schone;\n  It rane to Pencatelane,\n  And wirreit ane awld chaplane;\n  This litill gaist did na mair ill\n  Bot clok lyk a corn mill;\n  And it wald play and hop,\n  About the heid ane stre strop;\n  And it wald sing and it wald dance,\n  Oure fute, and Orliance.\n  Quha conjurit the litill gaist say ye?\n  Nane bot the litill Spenzie fle,\n  That with hir wit and her ingyne,\n  Gart the gaist leif agane;\n  And sune mareit the gaist the fle,\n  And croun'd him King of Kandelie;\n  And they gat them betwene,\n  Orpheus king, and Elpha quene.[71]\n  To reid quha will this gentill geist,\n  Ye hard it not at Cockilby's feist.[72]\n\n[Footnote 70: Apparently some lines are here omitted.]\n\n[Footnote 71: This seems to allude to the old romance of _Orfeo and\nHeurodis_, from which the reader will find some extracts, Vol. II.\nThe wife of _Orpheus_ is here called _Elpha_, probably from her having\nbeen extracted by the elves, or fairies.]\n\n[Footnote 72: Alluding to a strange unintelligible poem in the\nBannatyne MSS., called _Cockelby's sow_.]\n\n\n\n\nAPPENDIX, No. VI.\n\nSUPPLEMENTAL STANZAS TO COLLINS'S ODE ON\nTHE SUPERSTITIONS OF THE HIGHLANDS.\n\nBY\n\nWILLIAM ERSKINE, ESQ.\nADVOCATE.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe editor embraces this opportunity of presenting the reader with\nthe following stanzas, intended to commemorate some striking Scottish\nsuperstitions, omitted by Collins in his ode upon that subject; and\nwhich, if the editor can judge with impartiality of the production\nof a valued friend, will be found worthy of the sublime original.\nThe reader must observe, that these verses form a continuation of\nthe address, by Collins, to the author of _Douglas_, exhorting him to\ncelebrate the traditions of Scotland. They were first published in the\n_Edinburgh Magazine_, for April, 1788.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n  Thy muse may tell, how, when at evening's close,\n  To meet her love beneath the twilight shade,\n  O'er many a broom-clad brae and heathy glade,\n  In merry mood the village maiden goes;\n  There, on a streamlet's margin as she lies,\n  Chaunting some carol till her swain appears,\n  With visage deadly pale, in pensive guise,\n  Beneath a wither'd fir his form he rears![73]\n  Shrieking and sad, she bends her irie flight,\n  When, mid dire heaths, where flits the taper blue,\n  The whilst the moon sheds dim a sickly light,\n  The airy funeral meets her blasted view!\n  When, trembling, weak, she gains her cottage low,\n  Where magpies scatter notes of presage wide,\n  Some one shall tell, while tears in torrents flow,\n  That, just when twilight dimm'd the green hill's side,\n  Far in his lonely sheil her hapless shepherd died.\n\n[Footnote 73: The _wraith_, or spectral appearance, of a person\nshortly to die, is a firm article in the creed of Scottish\nsuperstition. Nor is it unknown in our sister kingdom. See the story\nof the beautiful lady Diana Rich.--_Aubrey's Miscellanies_, p, 89.]\n\n  Let these sad strains to lighter sounds give place!\n  Bid thy brisk viol warble measures gay!\n  For see! recall'd by thy resistless lay,\n  Once more the Brownie shews his honest face.\n  Hail, from thy wanderings long, my much lov'd sprite!\n  Thou friend, thou lover of the lowly, hail!\n  Tell, in what realms thou sport'st thy merry night,\n  Trail'st the long mop, or whirl'st the mimic flail.\n  Where dost thou deck the much-disordered hall,\n  While the tired damsel in Elysium sleeps,\n  With early voice to drowsy workman call,\n  Or lull the dame, while mirth his vigils keeps?\n  'Twas thus in Caledonia's domes, 'tis said,\n  Thou ply'dst the kindly task in years of yore:\n  At last, in luckless hour, some erring maid\n  Spread in thy nightly cell of viands store:\n  Ne'er was thy form beheld among their mountains more.[74]\n\n  [Footnote 74: See Introduction, p. ci.]\n\n  Then wake (for well thou can'st) that wond'rous lay,\n  How, while around the thoughtless matrons sleep,\n  Soft o'er the floor the treacherous fairies creep,\n  And bear the smiling infant far away:\n  How starts the nurse, when, for her lovely child,\n  She sees at dawn a gaping idiot stare!\n  O snatch the innocent from demons vilde,\n  And save the parents fond from fell despair!\n  In a deep cave the trusty menials wait,\n  When from their hilly dens, at midnight's hour,\n  Forth rush the airy elves in mimic state,\n  And o'er the moon-light heath with swiftness scour:\n  In glittering arms the little horsemen shine;\n  Last, on a milk-white steed, with targe of gold,\n  A fay of might appears, whose arms entwine\n  The lost, lamented child! the shepherds bold[75]\n  The unconscious infant tear from his unhallowed hold.\n\n[Footnote 75: For an account of the Fairy superstition, see\n_Introduction to the Tale of Tamlane_.]\n\n\n\n\nMINSTRELSY\nOF THE\nSCOTTISH BORDER.\n\n\nPART FIRST.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n_HISTORICAL BALLADS_.\n\n\n\nSIR PATRICK SPENS.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nOne edition of the present ballad is well known; having appeared in\nthe _Reliques of Ancient Poetry_, and having been inserted in almost\nevery subsequent collection of Scottish songs. But it seems to have\noccurred to no editor, that a more complete copy of the song might be\nprocured. That, with which the public is now presented, is taken\nfrom two MS. copies,[76] collated with several verses recited by the\neditor's friend, Robert Hamilton, Esq. advocate, being the 16th, and\nthe four which follow. But, even with the assistance of the common\ncopy, the ballad seems still to be a fragment. The cause of Sir\nPatrick Spens' voyage is, however, pointed out distinctly; and it\nshews, that the song has claim to high antiquity, as referring to a\nvery remote period in Scottish history.\n\n[Footnote 76: That the public might possess this carious fragment as\nentire as possible, the editor gave one of these copies, which seems\nthe most perfect, to Mr. Robert Jamieson, to be inserted in his\nCollection.]\n\nAlexander III. of Scotland died in 1285; and, for the misfortune\nof his country, as well as his own, he had been bereaved of all his\nchildren before his decease. The crown of Scotland descended upon\nhis grand-daughter, Margaret, termed, by our historians, the _Maid of\nNorway_. She was the only offspring of a marriage betwixt Eric, king\nof Norway, and Margaret, daughter of Alexander III. The kingdom had\nbeen secured to her by the parliament of Scotland, held at Scone,\nthe year preceding her grandfather's death. The regency of Scotland\nentered into a congress with the ministers of the king of Norway and\nwith those of England, for the establishment of good order in\nthe kingdom of the infant princess. Shortly afterwards, Edward I.\nconceived the idea of matching his eldest son, Edward, Prince of\nWales, with the young queen of Scotland. The plan was eagerly embraced\nby the Scottish nobles; for, at that time, there was little of the\nnational animosity, which afterwards blazed betwixt the countries,\nand they patriotically looked forward to the important advantage, of\nuniting the island of Britain into one kingdom. But Eric of Norway\nseems to have been unwilling to deliver up his daughter; and, while\nthe negociations were thus protracted, the death of the Maid of Norway\neffectually crushed a scheme, the consequences of which might have\nbeen, that the distinction betwixt England and Scotland would, in our\nday, have been as obscure and uninteresting as that of the realms of\nthe heptarchy.--_Hailes' Annals. Fordun, &c._\n\nThe unfortunate voyage of Sir Patrick Spens may really have taken\nplace, for the purpose of bringing back the Maid of Norway to her own\nkingdom; a purpose, which was probably defeated by the jealousy of the\nNorwegians, and the reluctance of King Eric. I find no traces of\nthe disaster in Scottish history; but, when we consider the meagre\nmaterials, whence Scottish history is drawn, this is no conclusive\nargument against the truth of the tradition. That a Scottish vessel,\nsent upon such an embassy, must, as represented in the ballad, have\nbeen freighted with the noblest youth in the kingdom, is sufficiently\nprobable; and, having been delayed in Norway, till the tempestuous\nseason was come on, its fate can be no matter of surprise. The\nambassadors, finally sent by the Scottish nation to receive their\nqueen, were Sir David Wemyss, of Wemyss, and Sir Michael Scot of\nBalwearie; the same, whose knowledge, surpassing that of his age,\nprocured him the reputation of a wizard. But, perhaps, the expedition\nof Sir Patrick Spens was previous to their embassy. The introduction\nof the king into the ballad seems a deviation from history; unless\nwe suppose, that Alexander was, before his death, desirous to see his\ngrand-child and heir.\n\nThe Scottish monarchs were much addicted to \"sit in Dumfermline town,\"\nprevious to the accession of the Bruce dynasty. It was a favourite\nabode of Alexander himself, who was killed by a fall from his horse,\nin the vicinity, and was buried in the abbey of Dumfermline.\n\nThere is a beautiful German translation of this ballad, as it appeared\nin the _Reliques_, in the Volk-Lieder of Professor Herder; an elegant\nwork, in which it is only to be regretted, that the actual popular\nsongs of the Germans form so trifling a proportion.\n\nThe tune of Mr. Hamilton's copy of _Sir Patrick Spens_ is different\nfrom that, to which the words are commonly sung; being less plaintive,\nand having a bold nautical turn in the close.\n\n\n\n\nSIR PATRICK SPENS.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  The king sits in Dumfermline town,\n  Drinking the blude-red wine;\n  \"O[77] whare will I get a skeely skippe[78],\n  \"To sail this new ship of mine?\"\n\n  O up and spake an eldern knight,\n  Sat at the king's right knee,--\n  \"Sir Patrick Spens is the best sailor,\n  \"That ever sail'd the sea.\"\n\n  Our king has written a braid letter.\n  And seal'd it with his hand,\n  And sent it to Sir Patrick Spens,\n  Was walking on the strand.\n\n  \"To Noroway, to Noroway,\n  \"To Noroway o'er the faem;\n  \"The king's daughter of Noroway,\n  \"'Tis thou maun bring her hame.\"\n\n  The first word that Sir Patrick read,\n  Sae loud loud laughed he;\n  The neist word that Sir Patrick read,\n  The tear blinded his e'e.\n\n  \"O wha is this has done this deed,\n  \"And tauld the king o' me,\n  \"To send us out, at this time of the year,\n  \"To sail upon the sea?\n\n  \"Be it wind, be it weet, be it hail, be it sleet,\n  \"Our ship must sail the faem;\n  \"The king's daughter of Noroway,\n  \"'Tis we must fetch her hame,\"\n\n  They hoysed their sails on Monenday morn,\n  Wi' a' the speed they may;\n  They hae landed in Noroway,\n  Upon a Wodensday.\n\n  They hadna been a week, a week,\n  In Noroway, but twae,\n  When that the lords o' Noroway\n  Began aloud to say,--\n\n  \"Ye Scottishmen spend a' our king's goud,\n  \"And a' our queenis fee.\"\n  \"Ye lie, ye lie, ye liars loud!\n  \"Fu' loud I hear ye lie.\"\n\n  \"For I brought as much white monie,\n  \"As gane[79] my men and me,\n  \"And I brought a half-fou[80] o' gude red goud,\n  \"Out o'er the sea wi' me.\"\n\n  \"Make ready, make ready, my merrymen a'!\n  \"Our gude ship sails the morn.\"\n  \"Now, ever alake, my master dear,\n  \"I fear a deadly storm!\n\n  \"I saw the new moon, late yestreen,\n  \"Wi' the auld moon in her arm;\n  \"And if we gang to sea, master,\n  \"I fear we'll come to harm.\"\n\n  They hadna sailed a league, a league,\n  A league but barely three,\n  When the lift grew dark, and the wind blew loud,\n  And gurly grew the sea.\n\n  The ankers brak, and the topmasts lap,[81]\n  It was sik a deadly storm;\n  And the waves came o'er the broken ship,\n  Till a' her sides were torn.\n\n  \"O where will I get a gude sailor,\n  \"To take my helm in hand,\n  \"Till I get up to the tall top-mast,\n  \"To see if I can spy land?\"\n\n  \"O here am I, a sailor gude,\n  \"To take the helm in hand,\n  \"Till you go up to the tall top-mast;\n  \"But I fear you'll ne'er spy land.\"\n\n  He hadna' gane a step, a step,\n  A step, but barely ane,\n  When a bout flew out of our goodly ship,\n  And the salt sea it came in.\n\n  \"Gae, fetch a web o' the silken claith,\n  \"Another o' the twine,\n  \"And wap them into our ship's side,\n  \"And let na the sea come in.\"\n\n  They fetched a web o' the silken claith,\n  Another of the twine,\n  And they wapped them round that gude ship's side,\n  But still the sea came in.\n\n  O laith, laith, were our gude Scots lords\n  To weet their cork-heel'd shoon!\n  But lang or a' the play was play'd,\n  They wat their hats aboon.\n\n  And mony was the feather-bed,\n  That flattered[82] on the faem;\n  And mony was the gude lord's son,\n  That never mair cam hame.\n\n  The ladyes wrang their fingers white,\n  The maidens tore their hair,\n  A' for the sake of their true loves;\n  For them they'll see na mair.\n\n  O lang, lang, may the ladyes sit,\n  Wi' their fans into their hand,\n  Before they see Sir Patrick Spens\n  Come sailing to the strand!\n\n  And lang, lang, may the maidens sit,\n  Wi' their goud kaims in their hair,\n  A' waiting for their ain dear loves!\n  For them they'll see na mair.\n\n  O forty miles off Aberdeen,\n  'Tis fifty fathom deep,\n  And there lies gude Sir Patrick Spens,\n  Wi' the Scots lords at his feet.\n\n[Footnote 77: In singing, the interjection, O, is added to the second\nand fourth lines.]\n\n[Footnote 78: _Skeely skipper_--Skilful mariner.]\n\n[Footnote 79: _Gane_--Suffice.]\n\n[Footnote 80: _Half-fou_--the eighth part of a peck.]\n\n[Footnote 81: _Lap_--Sprang.]\n\n[Footnote 82: _Flattered_--Fluttered, or rather floated, on the foam.]\n\n\n\n\nNOTES ON SIR PATRICK SPENS.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  _To send us out at this time of the year_,\n  _To sail upon the sea_?--P. 8, v. 3.\n\nBy a Scottish act of parliament, it was enacted, that no ship should\nbe fraughted out of the kingdom, with any staple goods, betwixt\nthe feast of St. Simon's day and Jude and Candelmas.--_James III.\nParliament 2d, chap._ 15. Such was the terror entertained for\nnavigating the north seas in winter.\n\n  _When a bout flew out of our goodly ship_.--P. 10. v. 5.\n\nI believe a modern seaman would say, a plank had started, which must\nhave been a frequent incident during the infancy of ship-building. The\nremedy applied seems to be that mentioned in _Cook's Voyages_, when,\nupon some occasion, to stop a leak, which could not be got at in the\ninside, a quilted sail was brought under the vessel, which, being\ndrawn into the leak by the suction, prevented the entry of more water.\nChaucer says,\n\n\"There n'is no new guise that it na'as old.\"\n\n  _O forty miles off Aberdeen_,--P. 11. v. 3.\n\nThis concluding verse differs in the three copies of the ballad, which\nI have collated. The printed edition bears,\n\n  \"Have owre, have owre to Aberdour;\"\n\nAnd one of the MSS. reads,\n\n  \"At the back of auld St. Johnstowne Dykes.\"\n\nBut, in a voyage from Norway, a shipwreck on the north coast seems\nas probable as either in the Firth of Forth, or Tay; and the ballad\nstates the disaster to have taken place out of sight of land.\n\n\n\n\nAULD MAITLAND.\n\nNEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nThis ballad, notwithstanding its present appearance, has a claim\nto very high antiquity. It has been preserved by tradition; and is,\nperhaps, the most authentic instance of a long and very old poem,\nexclusively thus preserved. It is only known to a few old people, upon\nthe sequestered banks of the Ettrick; and is published, as written\ndown from the recitation of the mother of Mr. James Hogg[83], who\nsings, or rather chaunts it, with great animation. She learned the\nballad from a blind man, who died at the advanced age of ninety,\nand is said to have been possessed of much traditionary knowledge.\nAlthough the language of this poem is much modernised, yet many words,\nwhich the reciters have retained, without understanding them, still\npreserve traces of its antiquity. Such are the words _Springals_\n(corruptly pronounced _Springwalls_), _sowies_, _portcullize_, and\nmany other appropriate terms of war and chivalry, which could never\nhave been introduced by a modern ballad-maker. The incidents are\nstriking and well-managed; and they are in strict conformity with\nthe manners of the age, in which they are placed. The editor has,\ntherefore, been induced to illustrate them, at considerable length, by\nparallel passages from Froissard, and other historians of the period\nto which the events refer.\n\n[Footnote 83: This old woman is still alive, and at present resides at\nCraig of Douglas, in Selkirkshire.]\n\nThe date of the ballad cannot be ascertained with any degree of\naccuracy. Sir Richard Maitland, the hero of the poem, seems to have\nbeen in possession of his estate about 1250; so that, as he survived\nthe commencement of the wars betwixt England and Scotland, in 1296,\nhis prowess against the English, in defence of his castle of Lauder,\nor Thirlestane, must have been exerted during his extreme old age. He\nseems to have been distinguished for devotion, as well as valour; for,\nA.D. 1249, Dominus Ricardus de Mautlant gave to the abbey of Dryburgh,\n\"_Terras suas de Haubentside, in territorio suo de Thirlestane,\npro salute animae suae, et sponsae suae, antecessorum suorum et\nsuccessorum suorum, in perpetuum_[84].\" He also gave, to the same\nconvent, \"_Omnes terras, quas Walterus de Giling tenuit in feodo suo\nde Thirlestane, et pastura incommuni de Thirlestane, ad quadraginta\noves, sexaginta vaccas, et ad viginti equos_.\"--Cartulary of Dryburgh\nAbbey, in the Advocates' Library.\n\n[Footnote 84: There exists also an indenture, or bond, entered into by\nPatrick, abbot of Kelsau, and his convent, referring to an engagement\nbetwixt them and Sir Richard Maitland, and Sir William, his eldest\nson, concerning the lands of Hedderwicke, and the pasturages of\nThirlestane and Blythe. This Patrick was abbot of Kelso, betwixt 1258\nand 1260.]\n\nFrom the following ballad, and from the family traditions referred to\nin the Maitland MSS., Auld Maitland appears to have had three sons;\nbut we learn, from the latter authority, that only one survived\nhim, who was thence surnamed _Burd alane_, which signifies either\n_unequalled_, or _solitary_. A _Consolation_, addressed to Sir Richard\nMaitland of Lethington, a poet and scholar who flourished about the\nmiddle of the sixteenth century, and who gives name to the Maitland\nMSS., draws the following parallel betwixt his domestic misfortunes\nand those of the first Sir Richard, his great ancestor:\n\n  Sic destanie and derfe devoring deid\n  Oft his own hous in hazard put of auld;\n  Bot your forbeiris, frovard fortounes steid\n  And bitter blastes, ay buir with breistis bauld;\n  Luit wanweirdis work and walter ay they wald,\n  Thair hardie hairtis hawtie and heroik,\n  For fortounes feid or force wald never fauld;\n  Bot stormis withstand with stomak stoat and stoik.\n\n  Renowned Richert of your race record,\n  Quhais prais and prowis cannot be exprest;\n  Mair lustie lynyage nevir haid ane lord,\n  For he begat the bauldest bairnis and best,\n  Maist manful men, and madinis maist modest,\n  That ever wes syn Pyramus tym of Troy,\n  But piteouslie thai peirles perles apest.\n  Bereft him all hot Buird-allane, a boy.\n\n  Himselfe was aiget, his hous hang be a har,\n  Duill and distres almaist to deid him draife;\n  Yet Burd-allane, his only son and air,\n  As wretched, vyiss, and valient, as the laive,\n  His hous uphail'd, quhilk ye with honor haive.\n  So nature that the lyk invyand name,\n  [85]In kindlie cair dois kindly courage craif,\n  To follow him in fortoune and in fame.\n\n  Richerd he wes, Richerd ye are also,\n  And Maitland als, and magnanime as he;\n  In als great age, als wrappit are in wo,\n  Sewin sons[86] ye haid might contravaill his thrie,\n  Bot Burd-allane ye haive behind as he:\n  The lord his linage so inlarge in lyne,\n  And mony hundreith nepotis grie and grie[87]\n  Sen Richert wes as hundreth yeiris are hyne.\n\n_An Consolator Ballad to the Richt Honorabill Sir Richert Maitland of\nLethingtoune.--Maitland MSS. in Library of Edinburgh University_.\n\n[Footnote 85: _i.e._ Similar family distress demands the same family\ncourage.]\n\n[Footnote 86: _Sewin sons_--This must include sons-in-law; for the\nlast Sir Richard, like his predecessor, had only three sons, namely,\nI. William, the famous secretary of Queen Mary; II. Sir John, who\nalone survived him, and is the _Burd-allane_ of the consolation; III.\nThomas, a youth of great hopes, who died in Italy. But he had four\ndaughters, married to gentlemen of fortune.--_Pinkerton's List of\nScottish Poets_, p. 114.]\n\n[Footnote 87: _Grie and grie_--In regular descent; from _gre_,\nFrench.]\n\nSir William Mautlant, or Maitland, the eldest and sole surviving son\nof Sir Richard, ratified and confirmed, to the monks of Dryburgh,\n\"_Omnes terras quas Dominus Ricardus de Mautlant pater suus fecit\ndictis monachis_ _in territorio suo de Thirlestane,\" Sir William is\nsupposed to have died about 1315.--Crawford's Peerage_.\n\nSuch were the heroes of the ballad. The castle of Thirlestane is\nsituated upon the Leader, near the town of Lauder. Whether the present\nbuilding, which was erected by Chancellor Maitland, and improved by\nthe Duke of Lauderdale, occupies the site of the ancient castle, I do\nnot know; but it still merits the epithet of a \"_darksome house_.\"\nI find no notice of the siege in history; but there is nothing\nimprobable in supposing, that the castle, during the stormy period of\nthe Baliol wars, may have held out against the English. The creation\nof a nephew of Edward I., for the pleasure of slaying him by the hand\nof young Maitland, is a poetical licence[88]; and may induce us to\nplace the date of the composition about the reign of David II., or of\nhis successor, when the real exploits of Maitland, and his sons, were\nin some degree obscured, as well as magnified, by the lapse of time.\nThe inveterate hatred against the English, founded upon the usurpation\nof Edward I., glows in every line of the ballad.\n\n[Footnote 88: Such liberties with the genealogy of monarchs were\ncommon to romancers. Henry the Minstrel makes Wallace slay more than\none of King Edward's nephews; and Johnie Armstrong claims the merit of\nslaying a sister's son of Henry VIII.]\n\nAuld Maitland is placed, by Gawain Douglas, bishop of Dunkeld,\namong the popular heroes of romance, in his allegorical Palice of\nHonour[89]:\n\n\n[Footnote 89: It is impossible to pass over this curious list of\nScottish romances without a note; to do any justice to the subject\nwould require an essay.--_Raf Coilyear_ is said to have been printed\nby Lekprevik, in 1572; but no copy of the edition is known to exist,\nand the hero is forgotten, even by popular tradition.\n\n_John the Reif_, as well as the former personage, is mentioned by\nDunbar, in one of his poems, where he stiles mean persons,\n\n  Kyne of Rauf Colyard, and Johne the Reif.\n\nThey seem to have been robbers: Lord Hailes conjectured John the Reif\nto be the same with Johnie Armstrong; but, surely, not with his usual\naccuracy; for the _Palice of Honour_ was printed twenty-eight years\nbefore Johnie's execution. John the Reif is mentioned by Lindesay, in\nhis tragedy of _Cardinal Beatoun_.\n\n  --disagysit, like John the Raif, he geid.--\n\n_Cowkilbeis Sow_ is a strange legend in the Bannatyne MSS.--See\n_Complaynt of Scotland_, p. 131.\n\n_How the wren came out of Ailsay_.--The wren, I know not why, is often\ncelebrated in Scottish song. The testament of the wren is still sung\nby the children, beginning,\n\n  The wren she lies in care's nest,\n  Wi' meikle dole and pyne.\n\nThis may be a modification of the ballad in the text.]\n\n  I Saw Raf Coilyear with his thrawin brow,\n  Crabit John the Reif, and auld Cowkilbeis Sow;\n  And how the wran cam out of Ailsay,\n  And Peirs Plowman[90], that meid his workmen few;\n  Gret Gowmacmorne, and Fyn MacCowl, and how\n  They suld be goddis in Ireland, as they say.\n  _Thair saw I Maitland upon auld beird gray_,\n  Robine Hude, and Gilbert with the quhite hand,\n  How Hay of Nauchton flew in Madin land.\n\nIn this curious verse, the most noted romances, or popular histories,\nof the poet's day, seem to be noticed. The preceding stanza describes\nthe sports of the field; and that, which follows, refers to the tricks\nof \"jugailrie;\" so that the three verses comprehend the whole pastimes\nof the middle ages, which are aptly represented as the furniture of\ndame Venus's chamber. The verse, referring to Maitland, is obviously\ncorrupted; the true reading was, probably, \"_with his_ auld beird\ngray.\" Indeed the whole verse is full of errors and corruptions; which\nis the greater pity, as it conveys information, to be found no where\nelse.\n\n[Footnote 90: _Peirs Plowman_ is well known. Under the uncouth names\nof Gow Mac Morn, and of Fyn MacCowl, the admirers of Ossian are to\nrecognise Gaul, the son of Morni, and Fingal himself; _heu quantum\nmutatus ab illo_!\n\nTo illustrate the familiar character of _Robin Hood_, would be an\ninsult to my readers. But they may be less acquainted with _Gilbert\nwith the White Hand_, one of his brave followers. He is mentioned in\nthe oldest legend of that outlaw; Ritson's _Robin Hood_, p. 52.\n\n  Thryes Robin shot about,\n  And alway he slist the wand,\n  And so dyde good _Gylberte\n  With the White Hand_.\n\n_Hay of Nachton_ I take to be the knight, mentioned by Wintown, whose\nfeats of war and travel may have become the subject of a romance, or\nballad. He fought, in Flanders, under Alexander, Earl of Mar, in 1408,\nand is thus described;\n\n  Lord of the Nachtane, schire William,\n  Ane honest knycht, and of gud fame,\n  A travalit knycht lang before than.\n\nAnd again, before an engagement,\n\n  The lord of Nachtane, schire William\n  The Hay, a knycht than of gud fame,\n  Mad schire Gilberte the Hay, knycht.\n\n_Cronykil_, B. IX. c. 27.\n\nI apprehend we should read \"How Hay of Nachton _slew_ in Madin Land.\"\nPerhaps Madin is a corruption for Maylin, or Milan Land.]\n\nThe descendant of Auld Maitland, Sir Richard of Lethington, seems to\nhave been frequently complimented on the popular renown of his great\nancestor. We have already seen one instance; and in an elegant copy\nof verses in the Maitland MSS., in praise of Sir Richard's seat of\nLethingtoun, which he had built, or greatly improved, this obvious\ntopic of flattery does not escape the poet. From the terms of his\npanegyric we learn, that the exploits of auld Sir Richard with the\ngray beard, and of his three sons, were \"sung in many far countrie,\nalbeit in rural rhyme;\" from which we may infer, that they were\nnarrated rather in the shape of a popular ballad, than in a _romance\nof price_. If this be the case, the song, now published, may have\nundergone little variation since the date of the Maitland MSS.; for,\ndivesting the poem, in praise of Lethington, of its antique spelling,\nit would run as smoothly, and appear as modern, as any verse in the\nfollowing ballad. The lines alluded to, are addressed to the castle of\nLethington:\n\n  And happie art thou sic a place,\n  That few thy mak ar sene:\n  But yit mair happie far that race\n  To quhome thou dois pertene.\n  Quha dais not knaw the Maitland bluid,\n  The best in all this land?\n  In quhilk sumtyme the honour stuid\n  And worship of Scotland.\n\n  Of auld Sir Richard, of that name,\n  We have hard sing and say;\n  Of his triumphant nobill fame,\n  And of his auld baird gray.\n  And of his nobill sonnis three,\n  Quhilk that tyme had no maik;\n  Quhilk maid Scotland renounit be,\n  And all England to quaik.\n\n  Quhais luifing praysis, maid trewlie,\n  Efter that simple tyme,\n  Ar sung in monie far countrie,\n  Albeit in rural rhyme.\n  And, gif I dar the treuth declair,\n  And nane me fleitschour call,\n  I can to him find a compair,\n  And till his barnis all.\n\nIt is a curious circumstance, that this interesting tale, so often\nreferred to by ancient authors, should be now recovered in so perfect\na state; and many readers may be pleased to see the following sensible\nobservations, made by a person, born in Ettrick Forest, in the humble\nsituation of a shepherd. \"I am surprised to hear, that this song is\nsuspected by some to be a modern forgery; the contrary will be best\nproved, by most of the old people, hereabouts, having a great part\nof it by heart. Many, indeed, are not aware of the manners of this\ncountry; till this present age, the poor illiterate people, in these\nglens, knew of no other entertainment, in the long winter nights, than\nrepeating, and listening to, the feats of their ancestors, recorded in\nsongs, which I believe to be handed down, from father to son, for many\ngenerations; although, no doubt, had a copy been taken, at the end of\nevery fifty years, there must have been some difference, occasioned\nby the gradual change of language. I believe it is thus that many\nvery ancient songs have been gradually modernised, to the common\near; while, to the connoisseur, they present marks of their genuine\nantiquity.\"--_Letter to the Editor from Mr. James Hogg_. To the\nobservations of my ingenious correspondent I have nothing to add,\nbut that, in this, and a thousand other instances, they accurately\ncoincide with my personal knowledge.\n\n\n\n\nAULD MAITLAND.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  There lived a king in southern land,\n  King Edward hight his name;\n  Unwordily he wore the crown,\n  Till fifty years were gane.\n\n  He had a sister's son o's ain,\n  Was large of blood and bane;\n  And afterward, when he came up,\n  Young Edward hight his name.\n\n  One day he came before the king,\n  And kneel'd low on his knee--\n  \"A boon, a boon, my good uncle,\n  \"I crave to ask of thee!\n\n  \"At our lang wars, in fair Scotland,\n  \"I fain hae wished to be;\n  \"If fifteen hundred waled[90] wight men\n  \"You'll grant to ride wi' me.\"\n\n  \"Thou sail hae thae, thou sail hae mae;\n  \"I say it sickerlie;\n  \"And I mysell, an auld gray man,\n  \"Array'd your host sall see.\"\n\n  King Edward rade, King Edward ran--\n  I wish him dool and pyne!\n  Till he had fifteen hundred men\n  Assembled on the Tyne.\n\n  And thrice as many at Berwicke[91]\n  Were all for battle bound,\n  _Who, marching forth with false Dunbar,\n  A ready welcome found_.\n\n  They lighted on the banks of Tweed,\n  And blew their coals sae het,\n  And fired the Merse and Teviotdale,\n  All in an evening late.\n\n  As they fared up o'er Lammermore,\n  They burned baith up and down,\n  Until they came to a darksome house;\n  Some call it Leader-Town.\n\n  \"Wha hauds this house?\" young Edward cry'd,\n  \"Or wha gies't ower to me?\"\n  A gray-hair'd knight set up his head,\n  And crackit right crousely:\n\n  \"Of Scotland's king I haud my house;\n  \"He pays me meat and fee;\n  \"And I will keep my gude auld house,\n  \"While my house will keep me.\"\n\n  They laid their sowies to the wall,\n  Wi' mony a heavy peal;\n  But he threw ower to them agen\n  Baith pitch and tar barrel.\n\n  With springalds, stanes, and gads of airn,\n  Amang them fast he threw;\n  Till mony of the Englishmen\n  About the wall he slew.\n\n  Full fifteen days that braid host lay,\n  Sieging Auld Maitland keen,\n  Syne they hae left him, hail and fair,\n  Within his strength of stane.\n\n  Then fifteen barks, all gaily good,\n  Met them upon a day,\n  Which they did lade with as much spoil\n  As they could bear away.\n\n  \"England's our ain by heritage;\n  \"And what can us withstand,\n  \"Now we hae conquer'd fair Scotland,\n  \"With buckler, bow, and brand?\"\n\n  Then they are on to the land o' France,\n  Where auld King Edward lay,\n  Burning baith castle, tower, and town,\n  That he met in his way,\n\n  Untill he came unto that town,\n  Which some call Billop-Grace;\n  There were Auld Maitland's sons, a' three,\n  Learning at school, alas!\n\n  The eldest to the youngest said,\n  \"O see ye what I see?\n  \"Gin a' be trew yon standard says[92],\n  \"We're fatherlesse a' three.\n\n  \"For Scotland's conquer'd, up and down;\n  \"Landmen we'll never be:\n  \"Now, will ye go, my brethren two,\n  \"And try some jeopardy?\"\n\n  Then they hae saddled twa black horse,\n  Twa black horse, and a grey;\n  And they are on to King Edward's host,\n  Before the dawn of day.\n\n  When they arriv'd before the host,\n  They hover'd on the lay--\n  \"Wilt thou lend me our king's standard,\n  \"To bear a little way?\"\n\n  \"Where was thou bred? where was thou born?\n  \"Where, or in what countrie?\"\n  \"In north of England I was born:\n  (It needed him to lie.)\n\n  \"A knight me gat, a lady bore,\n  \"I'm a squire of high renowne;\n  I well may bear't to any king,\n  \"That ever yet wore crowne.\"\n\n  \"He ne'er came of an Englishman,\n  \"Had sic an e'e or bree;\n  \"But thou art the likest Auld Maitland,\n  \"That ever I did see.\n\n  \"But sick a gloom, on ae brow-head,\n  \"Grant I ne'er see agane!\n  \"For mony of our men he slew,\n  \"And mony put to pain.\"\n\n  When Maitland heard his father's name,\n  An angry man was he!\n  Then, lifting up a gilt dagger,\n  Hung low down by his knee,\n\n  He stabb'd the knight, the standard bore,\n  He stabb'd him cruellie;\n  Then caught the standard by the neuk,\n  And fast away rode he.\n\n  \"Now, is't na time, brothers,\" he cried,\n  \"Now, is't na time to flee?\"\n  \"Aye, by my sooth!\" they baith replied,\n  \"We'll bear you company.\"\n\n  The youngest turn'd him in a path,\n  And drew a burnished brand,\n  And fifteen of the foremost slew,\n  Till back the lave did stand.\n\n  He spurr'd the gray into the path,\n  Till baith his sides they bled--\n  \"Gray! thou maun carry me away,\n  \"Or my life lies in wad!\"\n\n  The captain lookit ower the wa',\n  About the break o' day;\n  There he beheld the three Scots lads,\n  Pursued along the way.\n\n  \"Pull up portcullize! down draw-brigg!\n  \"My nephews are at hand;\n  And they sall lodge wi' me to-night,\n  \"In spite of all England.\"\n\n  Whene'er they came within the yate,\n  They thrust their horse them frae,\n  And took three lang spears in their hands,\n  Saying, \"Here sall come nae mae!\".\n\n  And they shot out, and they shot in,\n  Till it was fairly day;\n  When mony of the Englishmen\n  About the draw-brigg lay.\n\n  Then they hae yoked carts and wains,\n  To ca' their dead away,\n  And shot auld dykes aboon the lave,\n  In gutters where they lay.\n\n  The king, at his pavilion door,\n  Was heard aloud to say,\n  \"Last night, three o' the lads o' France\n  \"My standard stole away.\n\n  \"Wi' a fause tale, disguised, they came,\n  \"And wi' a fauser trayne;\n  \"And to regain my gaye standard,\n  \"These men were a' down slayne.\"\n\n  \"It ill befits,\" the youngest said,\n  \"A crowned king to lie;\n  \"But, or that I taste meat and drink,\n  \"Reproved sall he be.\"\n\n  He went before King Edward strait,\n  And kneel'd low on his knee;\n  \"I wad hae leave, my lord,\" he said,\n  \"To speak a word wi' thee.\"\n\n  The king he turned him round about,\n  And wistna what to say--\n  Quo' he, \"Man, thou's hae leave to speak,\n  Tho' thou should speak a' day.\"\n\n  \"Ye said, that three young lads o' France\n  \"Your standard stole away,\n  \"Wi' a fause tale, and fauser trayne,\n  \"And mony men did slay:\n\n  \"But we are nane the lads o' France,\n  \"Nor e'er pretend to be;\n  \"We are three lads o' fair Scotland,\n  \"Auld Maitland's sons are we;\n\n  \"Nor is there men, in a' your host,\n  \"Daur fight us, three to three.\"\n  \"Now, by my sooth,\" young Edward said,\n  \"Weel fitted ye sall be!\n\n  \"Piercy sall wi' the eldest fight,\n  \"And Ethert Lunn wi' thee;\n  \"William of Lancaster the third,\n  \"And bring your fourth to me!\"\n\n  \"_Remember, Piercy, aft the Scot[93]\n  \"Has cow'rd beneath thy hand_:\n  \"For every drap of Maitland blood,\n  \"I'll gie a rigg of land.\"\n\n  He clanked Piercy ower the head,\n  A deep wound and a sair,\n  Till the best blood o' his bodie\n  Cam rinning down his hair.\n\n  \"Now, I've slayne ane; slay ye the twa;\n  \"And that's gude companye;\n  \"And if the twa suld slay you baith,\n  \"Ye'se get na help frae me.\"\n\n  But Ethert Lunn, a baited bear,\n  Had many battles seen;\n  He set the youngest wonder sair,\n  Till the eldest he grew keen--\n\n  \"I am nae king, nor nae sic thing:\n  \"My word it shanna stand!\n  \"For Ethert sail a buffet bide,\n  \"Come he beneath my brand.\"\n\n  He clanked Ethert ower the head,\n  A deep wound and a sair,\n  Till the best blood of his bodie\n  Cam rinning ower his hair.\n\n  \"Now I've slayne twa; slay ye the ane;\n  \"Is na that gude companye?\n  \"And tho' the ane suld slay ye baith,\n  \"Ye'se get na help o' me.\"\n\n  The twa-some they hae slayne the ane;\n  They maul'd him cruellie;\n  Then hung them over the draw-brigg,\n  That all the host might see.\n\n  They rade their horse, they ran their horse,\n  Then hovered on the lee;\n  \"We be three lads o' fair Scotland,\n  \"That fain wad fighting see.\"\n\n  This boasting, when young Edward heard.\n  An angry man was he!\n  \"I'll take yon lad, I'll bind yon lad,\n  \"And bring him bound to thee!\"\n\n  \"Now, God forbid,\" King Edward said,\n  \"That ever thou suld try!\n  \"Three worthy leaders we hae lost,\n  \"And thou the fourth wad lie.\n\n  \"If thou should'st hang on yon draw-brigg,\n  \"Blythe wad I never be!\"\n  But, wi' the poll-axe in his hand,\n  Upon the brigg sprang he.\n\n  The first stroke that young Edward gae,\n  He struck wi' might and mayn;\n  He clove the Maitlan's helmet stout,\n  And bit right nigh the brayn.\n\n  When Maitland saw his ain blood fa',\n  An angry man was he!\n  He let his weapon frae him fa',\n  And at his throat did flee.\n\n  And thrice about he did him swing,\n  Till on the grund he light,\n  Where he has halden young Edward,\n  Tho' he was great in might.\n\n  \"Now, let him up,\" King Edward cried,\n  \"And let him come to me!\n  \"And, for the deed that thou hast done,\n  \"Thou shalt hae erldomes three!\"\n\n  \"Its ne'er be said in France, nor e'er\n  In Scotland, when I'm hame,\n  That Edward once lay under me,\n  And e'er gat up again!\"\n\n  He pierced him through and through the heart;\n  He maul'd him cruellie;\n  Then hung him ower the draw-brigg,\n  Beside the other three.\n\n  \"Now, take frae me that feather-bed!\n  \"Mak me a bed o' strae!\n  \"I wish I had na lived this day,\n  \"To mak my heart sae wae.\n\n  \"If I were ance at London tower,\n  \"Where I was wont to be,\n  \"I never mair suld gang frae hame,\n  \"Till borne on a bier-tree.\"\n\n[Footnote 90: _Waled_--Chosen.]\n\n[Footnote 91: North-Berwick, according to some reciters.]\n\n[Footnote 92: Edward had quartered the arms of Scotland with his own.]\n\n[Footnote 93: The two first lines are modern, to supply an imperfect\nstanza.]\n\n\n\n\nNOTES ON AULD MAITLAND.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  _Young Edward hight his name_.--P, 25. v. 2.\n\nWere it possible to find an authority for calling this personage\n_Edmund_, we should be a step nearer history; for a brother, though\nnot a nephew of Edward I., so named, died in Gascony during an\nunsuccessful campaign against the French.--_Knighton_, Lib. III. cap.\n8.\n\n  _I wish him dool and pyne_.--P. 26. v. 3.\n\nThus, Spenser, in _Mother Huberd's tale_--\n\n  Thus is this ape become a shepherd swain,\n  And the false fox his dog, God give them pain!\n\n  _Who, marching forth with false Dunbar,\n  A ready welcome found_.--P. 26. v. 4.\n\nThese two lines are modern, and inserted to complete the verse.\nDunbar, the fortress of Patrick, Earl of March, was too often opened\nto the English, by the treachery of that baron, during the reign of\nEdward I.\n\n  _They laid their sowies to the wall_,\n  _Wi' many a heavy peal_.--P. 27. v. 4.\n\nIn this and the following verse, the attack and defence of a\nfortress, during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, is described\naccurately and concisely. The sow was a military engine, resembling\nthe Roman _testudo_. It was framed of wood, covered with hides, and\nmounted on wheels, so that, being rolled forwards to the foot of the\nbesieged wall, it served as a shed, or cover, to defend the miners, or\nthose who wrought the battering ram, from the stones and arrows of the\ngarrison. In the course of the famous defence, made by Black Agnes,\nCountess of March, of her husband's castle of Dunbar, Montague, Earl\nof Salisbury, who commanded the besiegers, caused one of these engines\nto be wheeled up to the wall. The countess, who, with her damsels,\nkept her station on the battlements, and affected to wipe off with her\nhandkerchief the dust raised by the stones, hurled from the English\nmachines, awaited the approach of this new engine of assault. \"Beware,\nMontague,\" she exclaimed, while the fragment of a rock was discharged\nfrom the wall--\"Beware, Montague! for farrow shall thy sow!\"[94] Their\ncover being dashed to pieces, the assailants, with great loss and\ndifficulty, scrambled back to their trenches. \"By the regard of suche\na ladye,\" would Froissart have said, \"and by her comforting, a man\nought to be worth two men, at need.\" The sow was called by the French\n_Truie_.--See _Hailes' Annals_, Vol. II. p. 89. _Wintown's Cronykil_,\nBook VIII. _William of Malmesbury_, Lib. IV.\n\nThe memory of the _sow_ is preserved in Scotland by two trifling\ncircumstances. The name given to an oblong hay-stack, is a _hay-sow_;\nand this may give us a good idea of the form of the machine. Children\nalso play at a game with cherry stones, placing a small heap on the\nground, which they term a _sowie_, endeavouring to hit it, by throwing\nsingle cherry-stones, as the sow was formerly battered from the\nwalls of the besieged fortress. My companions, at the High School of\nEdinburgh, will remember what was meant by _berrying a sowie_. It is\nstrange to find traces of military antiquities in the occupation of\nthe husbandman, and the sports of children.\n\n[Footnote 94: This sort of bravade seems to have been fashionable in\nthose times: \"Et avec drapeaux, et leurs chaperons, ils torchoient\nles murs \u00e0 l'endroit, ou les pierres venoient frapper.\"--_Notice des\nManuscrits de la Bibliotheque Nationale_.]\n\nThe pitch and tar-barrels of Maitland were intended to consume the\nformidable machines of the English. Thus, at a fabulous siege of York,\nby Sir William Wallace, the same mode of defence is adopted:\n\n  The Englishmen, that cruel were and kene,\n  Keeped their town, and fended there full fast;\n  Faggots of fire among the host they cast,\n  Up _pitch and tar_ on feil _sowis_ they lent;\n  Many were hurt ere they from the walls went;\n  _Stones on Springalds they did cast out so fast,\n  And goads of iron made many grome agast_.\n\nHenry the Minstrel's History of Wallace.--B. 8. c. 5.\n\nA more authentic illustration may be derived from Barbour's Account of\nthe Siege of Berwick, by Edward II., in 1319, when a _sow_ was brought\non to the attack by the English, and burned by the combustibles hurled\ndown upon it, through the device of John Crab, a Flemish engineer, in\nthe Scottish service.\n\n  And thai, that at the sege lay,\n  Or it was passyt the fyft day,\n  Had made thaim syndry apparall,\n  To gang eft sonys till assaill.\n  Off gret gests a _sow_ thai maid,\n  That stalwart heildyne aboyne it haid;\n  With armyt men inew tharin,\n  And instruments for to myne.\n\n  Syndry scaffalds thai maid withall,\n  That war wele heyar than the wall,\n  And ordanyt als that, be the se,\n  The town suld weill assaillyt be.\n\n  Thai within, that saw thaim swa,\n  Swa gret apparaill schap to ma,\n  Throw Craby's cunsaill, that wes sley,\n  A crane thai haiff gert dress up hey,\n  Rynnand on quheills, that thai micht bryng\n  It quhar that nede war off helping.\n  And pyk, and ter, als haiff thai tane;\n  And lynt, and herds, and brymstane;\n  And dry treyis that wele wald brin,\n  And mellyt aythir other in:\n  And gret fagalds thairoff thai maid,\n  Gyrdyt with irne bands braid.\n  The fagalds weill mycht mesuryt be,\n  Till a gret towrys quantite.\n  The fagalds bryning in a ball,\n  With thair cran thoucht till awaill;\n  And giff the sow come to the wall,\n  To lat it brynand on her fall;\n  And with stark chenyeis hald it thar,\n  Quhill all war brynt up that thar war.\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n  Upon sic maner gan thai fycht,\n  Quhill it wes ner none off the day,\n  That thai without, on gret aray,\n  Pryssyt thair _sow_ towart the wall;\n  And thai within sune gert call\n  The engynour, that takyn was,\n  And gret manance till hym mais,\n  And swour that he suld dey, bot he\n  Prowyt on the sow sic sutelt\u00e9\n  That he to fruschyt ilk dele,\n  And he, that hath persawyt wele\n  That the dede wes wele ner hym till,\n  Bot giff he mycht fulfil thair will\n  Thoucht that he at hys mycht wald do.\n\n  Bendyt in gret by then wes sche,\n  That till the sow wes ewyn set.\n  In hy he gert draw the cleket;\n  And smertly swappyt owt a stane,\n  Ewyn our the sow the stane is gane,\n  And behind it a litill way\n  It fell: and then they cryt, \"Hey!\"\n  That war in hyr, \"furth to the wall,\n  For dredles it is ours all!\"\n\n  The gynour than deleuerly\n  Gert bend the gyn in full gret hy;\n  And the stane smertly swappyt out.\n  It flaw out quethyr, and with a rout,\n  And fell rycht ewyn befor the sow.\n  Thair harts than begouth to grow.\n  Bot yhet than, with thair mychts all\n  Thai pressyt the sow towart the wall;\n  And has hyr set tharto gentilly.\n  The gynour than gert bend in hy\n  The gyne, and wappyt owt the stane,\n  That ewyn towart the lyft is gane,\n  And with gret wycht syne duschyt doun,\n  Rycht be the wall in a randoun;\n  And hyt the sow in sic maner,\n  That it that wes the maist sowar,\n  And starkast for to stynt a strak,\n  In sundre with that dusche it brak.\n  The men than owt in full gret hy,\n  And on the wallis thai gan cry,\n  That thair sow wes feryt thar.\n  Jhon Crab, that had hys geer all yar\n  In hys fagalds has set the fyr,\n  And our the wall syne gan thai wyr,\n  And brynt the sow till brands bar.\n\n_The Bruce_, Book XVII\n\n\nThe _springalds_, used in defence of the castle of Lauder, were\n_balistae_, or large cross-bows, wrought by machinery, and capable of\nthrowing stones, beams, and huge darts. They were numbered among the\nheavy artillery of the age; \"Than the kynge made all his navy to\ndraw along, by the cost of the Downes, every ship well garnished\nwith bombardes, crosbowes, archers, _springalls_, and other\nartillarie.\"--_Froissart_.\n\nGoads, or sharpened bars of iron, were an obvious and formidable\nmissile weapon. Thus, at the assault of Rochemiglion \"They within\ncast out great barres of iron, and pots with lyme, wherewith they\nhurt divers Englishmen, such as adventured themselves too\nfar.\"--_Froissart_, Vol. I. cap. 108.\n\nFrom what has been noticed, the attack and defence of Lauder castle\nwill be found strictly conformable to the manners of the age; a\ncircumstance of great importance, in judging of the antiquity of the\nballad. There is no mention of guns, though these became so common in\nthe latter part of the reign of Edward III., that, at the siege of St.\nMaloes, \"the English had well a four hondred gonnes, who shot day and\nnight into the fortresse, and agaynst it.\"--_Froissart_, Vol. I. cap.\n336. Barbour informs us, that guns, or \"crakis of wer,\" as he calls\nthem, and crests for helmets, were first seen by the Scottish, in\ntheir skirmishes with Edward the Third's host, in Northumberland A.D.\n1327.\n\n  _Which some call Billop-Grace_.--P. 28. v. 5.\n\nIf this be a Flemish, or Scottish, corruption for Ville de Grace, in\nNormandy, that town was never besieged by Edward I., whose wars in\nFrance were confined to the province of Gascony. The rapid change of\nscene, from Scotland to France, excites a suspicion, that some verses\nmay have been lost in this place. The retreat of the English\nhost, however, may remind us of a passage, in Wintown, when, after\nmentioning that the Earl of Salisbury raised the siege of Dunbar, to\njoin King Edward in France, he observes,\n\n  \"It was to Scotland a gud chance,\n  \"That thai made thaim to werray in France;\n  \"For had thai halyly thaim tane\n  \"For to werray in Scotland allane.\n\n  Eftyr the gret mischeffis twa,\n  Duplyn and Hallydowne war tha,\n  Thai suld have skaithit it to gretly.\n  Bot fortowne thoucht scho fald fekilly\n  Will noucht at anis myscheffis fall;\n  Thare-fore scho set thare hartis all,\n  To werray Fraunce richit to be,\n  That Scottis live in grettar l\u00e9.\n\n_Cronykil_, B. VIII. cap. 34.\n\n  _Now, will ye go, my brethren two,\n  And try some jeopardie_?--P. 29. v. 2.\n\nThe romantic custom of atchieving, or attempting, some desperate and\nperilous adventure, without either necessity or cause, was a peculiar,\nand perhaps the most prominent, feature of chivalry. It was not merely\nthe duty, but the pride and delight, of a true knight, to perform such\nexploits, as no one but a madman would have undertaken. I think it is\nin the old French romance of _Erec and Eneide_, that an adventure, the\naccess to which lay through an avenue of stakes, garnished with the\nbloody heads of the knights who had attempted and failed to atchieve\nit, is called by the inviting title of _La joie de la Cour_. To be\nfirst in advancing, or last in retreating; to strike upon the gate of\na certain fortress of the enemy; to fight blindfold, or with one\narm tied up; to carry off a banner, or to defend one; were often the\nsubjects of a particular vow, among the sons of chivalry. Until some\ndistinguishing exploit of this nature, a young knight was not said\nto have _won his spurs_; and, upon some occasions, he was obliged to\nbear, as a mark of thraldom, a chain upon his arm, which was removed,\nwith great ceremony, when his merit became conspicuous. These chains\nare noticed in the romance of _Jehan de Saintr\u00e9_. In the language of\nGerman chivalry, they were called _Ketten des Gelubdes_ (fetters of\nduty). Lord Herbert of Cherbury informs us, that the knights of the\nBath were obliged to wear certain strings, of silk and gold, upon\ntheir left arm, until they had atchieved some noble deed of arms. When\nEdward III. commenced his French wars, many of the young bachelors\nof England bound up one of their eyes with a silk ribband, and swore,\nbefore the peacock and the ladies, that they would not see with\nboth eyes until they had accomplished certain deeds of arms in\nFrance.--_Froissart_, cap. 28.\n\nA remarkable instance of this chivalrous frenzy occurred during\nthe expedition of Sir Robert Knowles, who, in 1370, marched through\nFrance, and laid waste the country, up to the very gates of Paris.\n\"There was a knighte, in their companye, had made a vowe, the day\nbefore, that he wolde ryde to the walles or gates of Parys, and stryke\nat the barryers with his speare. And, for the fournyshing of his vowe,\nhe departed fro his companye, his spear in his fyst, his shelde\nabout his neck, armed at all pecesse, on a good horsse, his squyer on\nanother, behinde him, with his bassenet. And whan he approached neare\nto Parys, he toke and dyde on his helme, and left his squyer behind\nhym, and dashed his spurres to his horsse, and came gallopynge to\nthe barryers, the whiche as then were opyn; and the lordes, that were\nthere, had wened he wolde have entred into the towne; but that was\nnot his mynde; for, when he hadde stryken at the barryers, as he\nhad before avowed, he towrned his reyne, and drue back agayne, and\ndeparted. Than the knightes of France, that sawe hym depart, sayd to\nhym, 'Go your waye; you have ryghte well acquitted yourself.' I can\nnat tell you what was thys knyghtes name, nor of what contre; but the\nblazure of his armes was, goules, two fusses sable, a border sable.\nHowbeit, in the subbarbes, he had a sore encontre; for, as he passed\non the pavement, he founde before hym a bocher, a bigge man, who had\nwell sene this knighte pass by. And he helde in his handes a sharpe\nhevy axe, with a longe poynt; and, as the knyght returned agayne, and\ntoke no hede, this bocher came on his side, and gave the knyghte suche\na stroke, betwene the neck and the shulders, that he reversed forwarde\nheedlynge, to the neck of his horsse, and yet he recovered agayne. And\nthan the bocher strake hym agayne, so that the axe entered into his\nbody, so that, for payne, the knyghte fell to the erthe, and his\nhorsse ran away, and came to the squyer, who abode for his mayster\nat the stretes ende. And so, the squyer toke the horsse, and had gret\nmarveyle what was become of his mayster; for he had well sene him\nryde to the barryers, and stryke therat with his glayve, and retourne\nagayne. Thanne he rode a lytell forthe, thyderwarde, and anone he sawe\nwhere his master layn upon the erthe, bytwene foure men, layenge on\nhim strokes, as they wolde have stryken on a stethey _(anvil)_; and\nthan the squyer was so affreyed, that he durst go no farther; for he\nsawe well he could nat helpe his mayster. Therefore he retourned\nas fast as he myght: so there the sayd knyghte was slayne. And the\nknyghtes, that were at the gate, caused hym to be buried in holy\nground.\"--_Froissart_, ch. 281.\n\nA similar instance of a military jeopardy occurs in the same author,\nch. 364. It happened before the gates of Troyes. \"There was an\nEnglyshe squyre, borne in the bishopryke of Lincolne, an expert man\nof armes; I can nat say whyder he could se or nat; but he spurred his\nhorse, his speare in his hande, and his targe about his necke; his\nhorse came rushyng downe the waye, and lept clene over the barres of\nthe baryers, and so galoped to the gate, where as the duke of Burgoyne\nand the other lords of France were, who reputed that dede for a great\nenterprise. The squyer thoughte to have returned, but he could nat;\nfor his horse was stryken with speares, and beaten downe, and\nthe squyer slayn; wherewith the Duke of Burgoyne was right sore\ndispleased.\"\n\n  _Wilt thou lend me our king's standard,\n  To bear a little way_?--P. 29. v. 4.\n\nIn all ages, and in almost all countries, the military standards have\nbeen objects of respect to the soldiery, whose duty it is to range\nbeneath them, and, if necessary, to die in their defence. In the ages\nof chivalry, these ensigns were distinguished by their shape, and by\nthe various names of banners, pennons, penoncelles, &c., according to\nthe number of men, who were to fight under them. They were displayed,\non the day of battle, with singular solemnity, and consigned to the\ncharge only of such as were thought willing and able to defend them to\nthe uttermost. When the army of Edward, the Black Prince, was drawn\nup against that of Henry the Bastard, king of Castile, \"Than Sir Johan\nChandos brought his baner, rolled up togyder, to the prince, and said,\n'Sir, behold, here is my baner. I requyre you display it abrode, and\ngive me leave, this daye, to raise it; for, sir, I thanke God and you,\nI have land and heritage suffyciente to maynteyne it withal.' Than the\nprince, and King Dampeter (Don Pedro), toke the baner betwene their\nhandes, and spred it abrode, the which was of sylver, a sharp pyle\ngaules, and delyvered it to hym, and said, 'Sir Johan, behold here\nyoure baner; God sende you joye and honour thereof!' Than Sir Johan\nChandos bare his baner to his owne company, and sayde, 'Sirs, beholde\nhere my baner, and yours; kepe it as your owne.' And they toke it, and\nwere right joyful therof, and sayd, that, by the pleasure of God,\nand Saint George, they wold kepe and defend it to the best of their\npowers. And so the baner abode in the handes of a good Englishe\nsquyer, called William Alery, who bare it that day, and acquaytted\nhimself right nobly.\"--_Froissart_, Vol. I. ch. 237. The loss of a\nbanner was not only great dishonour, but an infinite disadvantage. At\nthe battle of Cocherel, in Normandy, the flower of the combatants, on\neach side, were engaged in the attack and defence of the banner of the\ncaptall of Buche, the English leader. It was planted amid a bush of\nthorns, and guarded by sixty men at arms, who defended it gallantly.\n\"There were many rescues, and many a one hurt and cast to the earth,\nand many feats of armes done, and many gret strokes given, with good\naxes of steel, that it was wonder to behold.\" The battle did not cease\nuntil the captall's standard was taken and torn to pieces.\n\nWe learn, from the following passage in _Stowe's Chronicle_, that the\nstandard of Edward I. was a golden dragon. \"The king entred Wales\nwith an army, appointing the footmen to occupie the enemies in fight,\nwhiles his horsemen, in a wing, set on the rere battell: himselfe,\nwith a power, kept his place, where he pight his golden dragon, unto\nwhiche, as to a castle, the wounded and wearied might repair.\"\n\n  \"_Where was thou bred? where was thou born?\n  Where, or in what countrie?\"\n  \"In north of England I was born:\n  (It needed him to lie_.)--P. 29. v. 5.\n\nStratagems, such as that of Maitland, were frequently practised with\nsuccess, in consequence of the complete armour worn by the knights of\nthe middle ages. In 1359, Edward III. entered France, to improve the\nsuccess of the battle of Poictiers. Two French knights, Sir Galahaut\nof Rybamont, and Sir Roger of Cologne, rode forth, with their\nfollowers, to survey the English host, and, in short, to seek\nadventures. It chanced that they met a foraging party of Germans,\nretained in King Edward's service, under the command of Reynold of\nBoulant, a knight of that nation. By the counsel of a squire of his\nretinue, Sir Galahaut joined company with the German knight, under the\nassumed character of Bartholomew de Bonne, Reynold's countryman, and\nfellow soldier in the English service. The French knights \"were a 70\nmen of armes, and Sir Renolde had not past a 30; and, whan Sir Renolde\nsaw theym, he displayed his baner befor hym, and came softely rydynge\ntowarde theym, wenyng to hym that they had been Englyshemen. Whan he\napproched, he lyft up hys vyser, saluted Sir Galahaut, in the name of\nSir Bartylmewe de Bonnes. Sir Galahaut helde hymselfe styll secrete,\nand answered but fayntly, and sayd, 'let us ryde forth;' and so rode\non, and hys men, on the one syde, and the Almaygnes on the other. Whan\nSir Renolde of Boulant sawe theyr maner, and howe Sir Galahaut rode\nsometyme by hym, and spake no word, than he began to suspecte. And\nhe had not so ryden, the space of a quarter of an hour, but he stode\nstyll, under his baner, among hys men, and sayd, 'Sir, I have dout\nwhat knyght ye be. I thynke ye be nat Sir Bartylmewe, for I knowe hym\nwell; and I see well that yt ys nat you. I woll ye telle me your name,\nor I ryde any farter in your company.' Therwith Sir Galahaut lyft\nup hys vyser, and rode towardes the knyght to have taken hym by the\nraygne of hys brydell, and cryed, '_Our Ladye of Rybamont_!' than Sir\nRoger of Coloyne sayd, '_Coloyne to the rescue_!'[95] Whan Sir Renolde\nof Boulant sawe what case he was in, he was nat gretly afrayed, but\ndrewe out his sworde; and, as Sir Galahaut wolde have taken hym by the\nbrydell, Sir Renolde put his sworde clene through hym, and drue agayne\nhys sworde out of hym, and toke his horse, with the spurres, and left\nSir Galahaut sore hurt. And, whan Sir Galahautes men sawe theyr master\nin that case, they were sore dyspleased, and set on Sir Renolde's\nmen; there were many cast to the yerth, but as sone as Sir Renolde had\ngyven Sir Galahaut that stroke, he strak hys horse with the spurres,\nand toke the feldes. Than certayne of Galahaut's squyers chasyd hym,\nand, whan he sawe that they folowed hym so nere, that he muste other\ntourne agayne, or els be shamed, lyke a hardy knyght he tourned, and\nabode the foremost, and gave hym such a stroke, that he had no more\nlyste to folwe him. And thus, as he rode on, he served three of theym,\nthat folowed hym, and wounded theym sore: if a goode axe had been in\nhys hand, at every stroke he had slayne a man. He dyd so muche, that\nhe was out of danger of the Frenchmen, and saved hymselfe withoute any\nhurte; the whyche hys enemyes reputed for a grete prowess, and so dyd\nall other that harde thereof; but hys men were nere slayne or taken,\nbut few that were saved. And Sir Galahaut was caryed from thence sore\nhurt to Perone; of that hurt he was never after perfectly hole; for\nhe was a knyght of suche courage, that, for all his hurte, he wold not\nspare hymselfe; wherefore he lyved not long after.\"--_Froissart_, Vol.\nI. Chap. 207.\n\n[Footnote 95: The war-cries of their family.]\n\n  _The youngest turn'd him in a path,\n  And drew a burnished brand, &c._--P. 31. v. 2.\n\nThus, Sir Walter Mauny, retreating into the fortress of Hanyboute,\nafter a successful sally, was pursued by the besiegers, who ranne\nafter them, lyke madde men; than Sir Gualtier saide, \"Let me never\nbe beloved wyth my lady, without I have a course wyth one of these\nfolowers!\" and turning, with his lance in the rest, he overthrew\nseveral of his pursuers, before he condescended to continue his\nretreat.\n\n  _Whene'er they came within the yate,\n  They thrust their horse them frae, &c._--P. 32. v. 1.\n\n\"The Lord of Hangest (pursued by the English) came so to the barryers\n(of Vandonne) that were open, as his happe was, and so entred in\ntherat, and than toke his speare, and turned him to defence, right\nvaliantly.\"--_Froissart_, Vol. I. Chap. 367.\n\n  _They rade their horse, they ran their horse,\n  Then hovered on the lee, &c._--P. 36. v. 1.\n\nThe sieges, during the middle ages, frequently afforded opportunity\nfor single combat, of which the scene was usually the draw-bridge,\nor barriers, of the town. The former, as the more desperate place of\nbattle, was frequently chosen by knights, who chose to break a lance\nfor honour, and their ladies' love. In 1387, Sir William Douglas,\nlord of Nithisdale, upon the draw-bridge of the town of Carlisle,\nconsisting of two beams, hardly two feet in breadth, encountered and\nslew, first, a single champion of England, and afterwards two, who\nattacked him together.--_Forduni Scotichronicon_, Lib. XIV. cap. 51.\n\n  He brynt the surburbys of Carlele,\n  And at the bareris he faucht sa wele,\n  That on thare bryg he slw a man,\n  The wychtast that in the town wes than:\n  Quhare, on a plank of twa feet brade,\n  He stude, and twa gude payment made,\n  That he feld twa stout fechteris,\n  And but skath went till his feres.\n\n_Wintown's Cronykil_, Book IX. Chap. 8.\n\nThese combats at the barriers, or palisades, which formed the outer\nfortification of a town, were so frequent, that the mode of attack and\ndefence was early taught to the future knight, and continued long\nto be practised in the games of chivalry. The custom, therefore, of\ndefying the inhabitants of a besieged town to this sort of contest,\nwas highly fashionable in the middle ages; and an army could hardly\nappear before a place, without giving rise to a variety of combats\nat the barriers, which were, in general, conducted without any unfair\nadvantage being taken on either part.\n\nThe following striking example of this romantic custom occurs in\nFroissart. During the French wars of Edward the Black Prince, and in\nthe year 1370, a body of English, and of adventurers retained in\nhis service, approached the city of Noyon, then occupied by a French\ngarrison, and arrayed themselves, with displayed banners, before\nthe town, defying the defenders to battle. \"There was a Scottysh\nknyghte[96] dyde there a goodly feate of armes, for he departed fro\nhis companye, hys speare in hys hand, and mounted on a good horse, hys\npage behynde hyme, and so came before the barryers. Thys knyghte was\ncalled Sir Johan Assueton,[97] a hardy man and a couragyous. Whan he\nwas before the barryers of Noyon, he lyghted a-fote, and sayd to hys\npage, 'Holde, kepe my horse, and departe nat hens;' and so wente to\nthe barryers. And wythyn the barryers, there were good knyghtes; as,\nSir John of Roy, Sir Lancelat of Loutys, and a x or xii other, who\nhad grete marveyle what thys sayde knyghte wolde do. Than he sayde to\nthem, 'Sirs, I am come hyder to se you. I se well, ye wyll nat issue\nout of your barryers; therefore I will entre, and I can, and wyll\nprove my knyghthode agaynst yours; wyn me and ye can.' And therewyth\nhe layde on, round about hym, and they at hym. And thus, he alone\nfought agaynst them, more than an houre; and dyd hurte two or three\nof them; so that they of the towne, on the walles and garrettes,\nstode still, and behelde them, and had great pleasure to regarde his\nvalyauntness, and dyd him no hurte; the whiche they myght have done,\nif they hadde list to have shotte, or cast stones at hym. And also\nthe French knyghtes charged them to let hym and them alone togyder. So\nlong they foughte, that, at last, his page came near to the barryers,\nand spake in his langage, and sayd, 'Sir, come awaye; it is time for\nyou to departe, for your cumpanye is departyng hens.' The knyghte\nharde hym well, and than gave a two or three strokes about him, and\nso, armed as he was, he lepte out of the barryers, and lepte upon\nhis horse, without any hurte, behynde his page; and sayd to the\nFrenchemen, 'Adue, sirs! I thank you;' and so rode forthe to his\nowne company. The whiche dede was moche praysed of many\nfolkes.\"--_Froissart_, cap. 278.\n\n[Footnote 96: By the terms of the peace betwixt England and Scotland,\nthe Scottish were left at liberty to take service either with France\nor England, at their pleasure. Sir Robert Knolles, therefore, who\ncommanded the expedition, referred to in the text, had under his\ncommand a hundred Scottish spears.]\n\n[Footnote 97: _Assueton_ is a corruption for Swinton. Sir John\nSwinton, of Swinton, was a Scottish champion, noted for his courage\nand gigantic stature.]\n\nThe barriers, so often alluded to, are described, by the same\nadmirable historian, to be grated pallisades, the grates being\nabout half a foot wide. In a skirmish before Honycourt, Sir Henry\nof Flanders ventured to thrust his sword so far through one of those\nspaces, that a sturdy abbot, who was within, seized his sword-arm,\nand drew it through the harriers, up to the shoulder. In this aukward\nsituation he remained for some time, being unwilling to dishonour\nhimself by quitting his weapon. He was at length rescued, but lost his\nsword; which Froissart afterwards saw preserved, as a relique, in the\nmonastery of Honycourt.--Vol. I. chap. 39. For instances of single\ncombats, at the barriers, see the same author, _passim_.\n\n  _And if the twa suld slay ye baith,\n  Ye'se get na help frae me_.--P. 34. v. 5.\n\nAccording to the laws of chivalry, laws, which were also for a long\ntime observed in duels, when two or more persons were engaged on\neach side, he, who first conquered his immediate antagonist, was at\nliberty, if he pleased, to come to the assistance of his companions.\nThe play of the \"_Little French Lawyer_\" turns entirely upon this\ncircumstance; and it may be remarked throughout the poems of Boiardo\nand Ariosto; particularly in the combat of three Christian and three\nPagan champions, in the 42d canto of _Orlando Furioso_. But doubtless\na gallant knight was often unwilling, like young Maitland, to avail\nhimself of this advantage. Something of this kind seems to have\nhappened in the celebrated combat, fought in the presence of James II.\nat Stirling, in 1449, between three French, or Flemish, warriors, and\nthree noble Scottishmen, two of whom were of the house of Douglas.\nThe reader will find a literal translation of Olivier de la Marche's\naccount of this celebrated tourney, in _Pinkerton's History_, Vol. I.\np. 428.\n\n  _I am nae king, nor nae sic thing:\n  My word it shanna stand_!--P. 35. v. 2.\n\nMaitland's apology for retracting his promise to stand neuter, is as\ncurious as his doing so is natural. The unfortunate John of France was\nwont to say, that, if truth and faith were banished from all the rest\nof the universe, they should still reside in the breast and the mouth\nof kings.\n\n  _They maul'd him cruellie_.--P. 35. v. 5.\n\nThis has a vulgar sound, but is actually a phrase of romance. _Tant\nfrappent et_ maillent _lex deux vassaux l'un sur l'autre, que leurs\nheaumes, et leurs hauberts, sont tous cassez et rompus_.--La fleur des\nBattailes.\n\n  _But, wi' the poll-axe in his hand,\n  Upon the brigg sprang he_.--P. 36. v. 4.\n\nThe battle-axe, of which there are many kinds, was a knightly weapon,\nmuch used in the middle ages, as well in single combat as in battle.\n\"And also there was a younge bachelor, called Bertrande of Glesguyne,\nwho duryng the seige, fought wyth an Englyshman, called Sir Nycholas\nDagerne; and that batayle was takene thre courses wyth a speare,\nthre strokes wyth an axe, and thre wyth a dagger. And eche of these\nknyghtes bare themselves so valyantly, that they departed fro the\nfelde wythout any damage, and they were well regarded, bothe of theyme\nwythyn, and they wythout.\" This happened at the siege of Rennes, by\nthe Duke of Lancaster, in 1357.--_Froissart_, Vol. I. c. 175. With the\nsame weapon Godfrey of Harcourt long defended himself, when surprised\nand defeated by the French. \"And Sir Godfraye's men kepte no goode\narray, nor dyd nat as they had promysed; moost part of theyme fledde:\nwhan Sir Godfraye sawe that, he sayde to hymselfe, howe he had rather\nthere be slayne than be taken by the Frenchmen; there he toke hys axe\nin hys handes, and set fast the one legge before the other, to stonde\nthe more surely; for hys one legge was a lytell crooked, but he was\nstrong in the armes. Ther he fought valyantly and long: none durste\nwell abyde hys strokes; than two Frenchmen mounted on theyr horses,\nand ranne both with their speares at ones at hym, and so bare hym to\nthe yerth: than other, that were a-fote, came wyth theyr swerdes,\nand strake hym into the body, under his barneys, so that ther he was\nslayne.\"--_Ibid_, chap. 172. The historian throws Sir Godfrey into a\nstriking attitude of desperation.\n\n  _When Maitland saw his ain blude fa',\n  An angry man was he_,--P. 37, v. 1.\n\nThere is a saying, that a Scottishman fights best after seeing his own\nblood. Camerarius has contrived to hitch this foolish proverb into\na national compliment; for he quotes it as an instance of the\npersevering gallantry of his countrymen. \"_Si in pugna proprium\neffundi sanguinem vidissent, non statim prostrato animo concedebant,\nsed irato potius in hostes velut furentes omnibus viribus\nincurrebant_.\"\n\n  _That Edward once lay under me,\n  And e'er gat up again_.--P. 37. v. 4.\n\nSome reciters repeat it thus:\n\n  \"That _Englishman_ lay under me,\"\n\nwhich is in the true spirit of Blind Harry, who makes Wallace say,\n\n  \"I like better to see the southeron die,\n  \"Than gold or land, that they can gie to me.\"\n\nIn slaying Edward, Maitland acts pitilessly, but not contrary to\nthe laws of arms, which did not enjoin a knight to shew mercy to his\nantagonist, until he yielded him, \"_rescue or no rescue_.\" Thus, the\nseigneur de Languerant came before the walls of an English garrison,\nin Gascony, and defied any of the defenders to run a course with a\nspear: his challenge being accepted by Bertrand Courant, the governor\nof the place, they couched their spears, like good knights, and dashed\non their horses. Their spears were broke to pieces, and Languerant was\noverthrown, and lost his helmet among the horses' feet. His attendants\nwere coming up; but Bernard drew his dagger, and said, \"Sir, yield\nye my prisoner, rescue or no rescue; else ye are but dead.\" The\ndismounted champion spoke not a word; on which, Bertrand, entering\ninto fervent ire, dashed his dagger into his skull. Besides, the\nbattle was not always finished by one warrior obtaining this advantage\nover the other. In the battle of Nejara, the famous Sir John Chandos\nwas overthrown, and held down, by a gigantic Spanish cavalier, named\nMartino Fernandez. \"Then Sir Johan Chandos remembred of a knyfe, that\nhe had in his bosome, and drew it out, and struck this Martyne so in\nthe backe, and in the sydes, that he wounded him to dethe, as he laye\nupon hym.\" The dagger, which the knights employed in these close and\ndesperate struggles, was called the _poniard of mercy_.\n\n\n\n\nBATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE.\n\nTHE SCOTTISH EDITION.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nThe following edition of the Battle of Otterbourne, being essentially\ndifferent from that which is published in the _Reliques of Ancient\nPoetry_, Vol. I. and being obviously of Scottish composition, claims a\nplace in the present collection. The particulars of that noted action\nare related by Froissard, with the highest encomium upon the valour of\nthe combatants on each side. James, Earl of Douglas, with his brother,\nthe Earl of Murray, in 1387 invaded Northumberland, at the head of\n3000 men; while the Earls of Fife and Strathern, sons to the king of\nScotland, ravaged the western borders of England, with a still more\nnumerous army. Douglas penetrated as far as Newcastle, where the\nrenowned Hotspur lay in garrison. In a skirmish before the walls,\nPercy's lance, with the pennon, or guidon, attached to it, was taken\nby Douglas, as most authors affirm, in a personal encounter betwixt\nthe two heroes. The earl shook the pennon aloft, and swore he would\ncarry it as his spoil into Scotland, and plant it upon his castle of\nDalkeith. \"That,\" answered Percy, \"shalt thou never!\"--Accordingly,\nhaving collected the forces of the marches, to a number equal, or\n(according to the Scottish historians) much superior, to the army\nof Douglas, Hotspur made a night attack upon the Scottish camp, at\nOtterbourne, about thirty-two miles from Newcastle. An action took\nplace, fought, by moon-light, with uncommon gallantry and desperation.\nAt length, Douglas, armed with an iron mace, which few but he could\nwield, rushed into the thickest of the English battalions, followed\nonly by his chaplain, and two squires of his body.[98] Before his\nfollowers could come up, their brave leader was stretched on the\nground, with three mortal wounds: his squires lay dead by his side;\nthe priest alone, armed with a lance, was protecting his master from\nfarther injury. \"I die like my forefathers,\" said the expiring hero,\n\"in a field of battle, and not on a bed of sickness. Conceal my death,\ndefend my standard,[99] and avenge my fall! It is an old prophecy,\nthat a dead man shall gain a field,[100] and I hope it will be\naccomplished this night.\"--_Godscroft_.--With these words he expired;\nand the fight was renewed with double obstinacy around his body. When\nmorning appeared, however, victory began to incline to the Scottish\nside. Ralph Percy, brother to Hotspur, was made prisoner by the earl\nMarischal, and, shortly after, Harry Percy[101] himself was taken by\nLord Montgomery. The number of captives, according to Wyntoun, nearly\nequalled that of the victors. Upon this the English retired, and left\nthe Scots masters of the dear-bought honours of the field. But the\nbishop of Durham approaching, at the head of a body of fresh forces,\nnot only checked the pursuit of the victors, but made prisoners some\nof the stragglers, who had urged the chase too far. The battle was\nnot, however, renewed, as the bishop of Durham did not venture\nto attempt the rescue of Percy. The field was fought 15th August,\n1388.--_Fordun, Froissard, Hollinshed, Godscroft_.\n\n[Footnote 98: Their names were Robert Hart and Simon Glendinning.\nThe chaplain was Richard Lundie, afterwards archdean of\nAberdeen.--_Godscroft_. Hart, according to Wintown, was a knight. That\nhistorian says, no one knew how Douglas fell.]\n\n[Footnote 99: The banner of Douglas, upon this memorable occasion, was\nborne by his natural son, Archibald Douglas, ancestor of the family of\nCavers, hereditary sheriffs of Teviotdale, amongst whose archives this\nglorious relique is still preserved. The earl, at his onset, is said\nto have charged his son to defend it to the last drop of his blood.]\n\n[Footnote 100: This prophecy occurs in the ballad as an ominous\ndream.]\n\n[Footnote 101: Hotspur, for his ransom, built the castle of Penoon,\nin Ayrshire, belonging to the family of Montgomery, now earls of\nEglintoun.]\n\nThe ground, on which this memorable engagement took place, is now the\nproperty of John Davidson, Esq. of Newcastle, and still retains the\nname of Battle Cross. A cross, erroneously termed _Percy's Cross_,\nhas been erected upon the spot where the gallant Earl of Douglas is\nsupposed to have fallen. These particulars were communicated to the\neditor, in the most obliging manner, by the present proprietor of\nOtterbourne.\n\nThe ballad, published in the _Reliques_, is avowedly an English\nproduction; and the author, with a natural partiality, leans to\nthe side of his countrymen; yet, that ballad, or some one similar,\nmodified probably by national prejudice, must have been current in\nScotland during the reign of James VI.: for Godscroft, in treating of\nthis battle, mentions its having been the subject of popular song,\nand proceeds thus: But that, which is commonly sung of the _Hunting of\nChiviot_, seemeth indeed poetical, and a mere fiction, perhaps to stir\nup virtue; yet a fiction whereof there is no mention, either in the\nScottish or English Chronicle. Neither are the songs, that are made of\nthem, both one; for the _Scots song made of Otterbourne_, telleth\nthe time, about Lammas; and also the occasion, to take preys out of\nEngland; also the dividing the armies betwixt the earls of Fife\nand Douglas, and their several journeys, almost as in the authentic\nhistory. It beginneth thus;\n\n  \"It fell about the Lammas tide,\n  \"When yeomen win their hay,\n  \"The doughty Douglas 'gan to ride,\n  \"In England to take a prey.\"--\n\nGODSCROFT, _ed. Edin_. 1743. Vol. I. p. 195.\n\nI cannot venture to assert, that the stanzas, here published, belong\nto the ballad alluded to by Godscroft; but they come much nearer to\nhis description than the copy published in the first edition, which\nrepresented Douglas as falling by the poignard of a faithless\npage. Yet we learn, from the same author, that the story of the\nassassination was not without foundation in tradition.--\"There are\nthat say, that he (Douglas) was not slain by the enemy, but by one of\nhis own men, a groom of his chamber, whom he had struck the day before\nwith a truncheon, in ordering of the battle, because he saw him make\nsomewhat slowly to. And they name this man John Bickerton of Luffness,\nwho left a part of his armour behind, unfastened, and when he was in\nthe greatest conflict, this servant of his came behind his back, and\nslew him thereat.\"--_Godscroft, ut supra_.--\"But this narration,\" adds\nthe historian, \"is not so probable.\"[102] Indeed, it seems to have\nno foundation, but the common desire of assigning some remote and\nextraordinary cause for the death of a great man. The following ballad\nis also inaccurate in many other particulars, and is much shorter, and\nmore indistinct, than that printed in the _Reliques_, although many\nverses are almost the same. Hotspur, for instance, is called _Earl\nPercy_, a title he never enjoyed; neither was Douglas buried on the\nfield of battle, but in Melrose Abbey, where his tomb is still shown.\n\n[Footnote 102: Wintown assigns another cause for Douglas being\ncarelessly armed.\n\n  \"The erle Jamys was sa besy,\n  For til ordane his cumpany;\n  And on his Fays for to pas,\n  That reckles he of his armyng was;\n  The Erle of Mwrrawys Bassenet,\n  Thai sayd, at that tyme was feryhete.\"\n\nBook VIII. Chap 7.\n\nThe circumstance of Douglas' omitting to put on his helmet, occurs in\nthe ballad.]\n\nThis song was first published from Mr. Herd's _Collection of Scottish\nSongs and Ballads_, Edin. 1774: 2 vols. octavo; but two recited copies\nhave fortunately been obtained from the recitation of old persons\nresiding at the head of Ettrick Forest, by which the story is brought\nout, and completed, in a manner much more correspondent to the true\nhistory.\n\nI cannot dismiss the subject of the Battle of Otterbourne, without\nstating (with all the deference due to the father of this species of\nliterature) a doubt, which occurs to me, as to the account given of\n\"Sir John of Agurstone,\" one of the Scottish warriors, in the learned\nand excellent notes subjoined to the ballad, in the _Reliques of\nAncient Poetry_. This personage is there supposed to have been one of\nthe Haggerstons of Haggerston, a Northumbrian family, who, according\nto the fate of war, were sometimes subjects of Scotland. I cannot,\nhowever, think, that at this period, while the English were in\npossession both of Berwick and Roxburgh, with the intermediate\nfortresses of Wark, Cornwall, and Norham, the Scots possessed any\npart of Northumberland, much less a manor which lay within that strong\nchain of castles. I should presume the person alluded to rather to\nhave been one of the Rutherfords, barons of Edgerstane, or Adgerston,\na warlike family, which has long flourished on the Scottish borders,\nand who were, at this very period, retainers of the house of Douglas.\nThe same notes contain an account of the other Scottish warriors of\ndistinction, who were present at the battle. These were, the earls\nof Monteith, Buchan, and Huntley; the barons of Maxwell and Johnston;\nSwinton of that ilk, an ancient family which, about that period,\nproduced several distinguished warriors; Sir David (or rather, as the\nlearned editor well remarks, Sir Walter) Scott of Buccleuch, Stewart\nof Garlies, and Murray of Cockpool.\n\n  _Regibus et legibus Scotici constantes,\n  Vos clypeis et gladiis pro patria pugnantes,\n  Vestra est victoria, vestra est et gloria,\n  In cantu et historia, perpes est memoria_!\n\n\n\n\nBATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  It fell about the Lammas tide,\n  When the muir-men win their hay,\n  The doughty earl of Douglas rode\n  Into England, to catch a prey.\n\n  He chose the Gordons and the Graemes,\n  With them the Lindesays, light and gay;\n  But the Jardines wald not with him ride,\n  And they rue it to this day.\n\n  And he has burn'd the dales of Tyne,\n  And part of Bambrough shire;\n  And three good towers on Roxburgh fells,\n  He left them all on fire.\n\n  And he march'd up to Newcastle,\n  And rode it round about;\n  \"O wha's the lord of this castle,\n  \"Or wha's the lady o't?\"\n\n  But up spake proud Lord Percy, then,\n  And O but he spake hie!\n  \"I am the lord of this castle,\n  \"My wife's the lady gay.\"\n\n  \"If thou'rt the lord of this castle,\n  \"Sae weel it pleases me!\n  \"For, ere I cross the border fells,\n  \"The tane of us shall die.\"\n\n  He took a lang spear in his hand.\n  Shod with the metal free,\n  And for to meet the Douglas there,\n  He rode right furiouslie.\n\n  But O how pale his lady look'd,\n  Frae aff the castle wa',\n  When down, before the Scottish spear,\n  She saw proud Percy fa',\n\n  \"Had we twa been upon the green,\n  \"And never an eye to see,\n  I wad hae had you, flesh and fell[103];\n  \"But your sword sall gae wi' me.\"\n\n  \"But gae ye up to Otterbourne,\n  \"And wait there dayis three;\n  And, if I come not ere three dayis end,\n  \"A fause knight ca' ye me.\"\n\n  \"The Otterbourne's a bonnie burn;\n  \"'Tis pleasant there to be;\n  \"But there is nought at Otterbourne,\n  \"To feed my men and me.\n\n  \"The deer rins wild on hill and dale,\n  \"The birds fly wild from tree to tree;\n  \"But there is neither bread nor kale,\n  \"To fend[104] my men and me.\n\n  \"Yet I will stay at Otterbourne,\n  \"Where you shall welcome be;\n  \"And, if ye come not at three dayis end,\n  \"A fause lord I'll ca' thee.\"\n\n  \"Thither will I come,\" proud Percy said,\n  \"By the might of Our Ladye!\"--\n  \"There will I bide thee,\" said the Douglas,\n  \"My trowth I plight to thee.\"\n\n  They lighted high on Otterbourne,\n  Upon the bent sae brown;\n  They lighted high on Otterbourne,\n  And threw their pallions down.\n\n  And he that had a bonnie boy,\n  Sent out his horse to grass;\n  And he that had not a bonnie boy,\n  His ain servant he was.\n\n  But up then spake a little page,\n  Before the peep of dawn--\n  \"O waken ye, waken ye, my good lord,\n  \"For Percy's hard at hand.\"\n\n  \"Ye lie, ye lie, ye liar loud!\n  \"Sae loud I hear ye lie:\n  For Percy had not men yestreen,\n  \"To dight my men and me.\"\n\n  \"But I hae dream'd a dreary dream,\n  \"Beyond the Isle of Sky;\n  \"I saw a dead man win a fight,\n  \"And I think that man was I.\"\n\n  He belted on his good braid sword,\n  And to the field he ran;\n  But he forgot the helmet good,\n  That should have kept his brain.\n\n  When Percy wi' the Douglas met,\n  I wat he was fu' fain!\n  They swakked their swords, till sair they swat,\n  And the blood ran down like rain.\n\n  But Percy, with his good broad sword,\n  That could so sharply wound,\n  Has wounded Douglas on the brow,\n  Till he fell to the ground.\n\n  Then he call'd on his little foot-page.\n  And said--\"Run speedilie,\n  \"And fetch my ain dear sister's son,\n  \"Sir Hugh Montgomery.\"\n\n  \"My nephew good,\" the Douglas said,\n  \"What recks the death of ane!\n  \"Last night I dream'd a dreary dream,\n  \"And I ken the day's thy ain,\n\n  \"My wound is deep; I fain would sleep;\n  \"Take thou the vanguard of the three,\n  \"And hide me by the braken bush,\n  \"That grows on yonder lilye lee,\n\n  \"O bury me by the braken bush,\n  \"Beneath the blooming briar;\n  \"Let never living mortal ken,\n  \"That ere a kindly Scot lies here.\"\n\n  He lifted up that noble lord,\n  Wi' the saut tear in his e'e;\n  He hid him in the braken bush,\n  That his merrie men might not see.\n\n  The moon was clear, the day drew near,\n  The spears in flinders flew,\n  But mony a gallant Englishman,\n  Ere day the Scotsmen slew.\n\n  The Gordons good, in English blood,\n  They steep'd their hose and shoon;\n  The Lindsays flew like fire about,\n  Till all the fray was done.\n\n  The Percy and Montgomery met,\n  That either of other were fain;\n  They swapped swords, and they twa swat,\n  And aye the blude ran down between.\n\n  \"Yield thee, O yield thee, Percy!\" he said,\n  \"Or else I vow I'll lay thee low!\"\n  \"Whom to shall I yield,\" said Earl Percy,\n  \"Now that I see it must be so?\"\n\n  \"Thou shalt not yield to lord nor loun,\n  \"Nor yet shalt thou yield to me;\n  \"But yield thee to the braken bush,[105]\n  \"That grows upon yon lilye lee!\"\n\n  \"I will not yield to a braken bush,\n  \"Nor yet will I yield to a briar;\n  But I would yield to Earl Douglas,\n  \"Or Sir Hugh the Montgomery, if he were here.\"\n\n  As soon as he knew it was Montgomery,\n  He stuck his sword's point in the gronde;\n  And the Montgomery was a courteous knight,\n  And quickly took him by the honde.\n\n  This deed was done at Otterbourne,\n  About the breaking of the day;\n  Earl Douglas was buried at the braken bush,\n  And the Percy led captive away.\n\n[Footnote 103: _Fell_.--Hide. Douglas insinuates, that Percy was\nrescued by his soldiers.]\n\n[Footnote 104: _Fend_.--Support.]\n\n[Footnote 105: _Braken_.--Fern.]\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nNOTES ON THE BATTLE OF OTTERBOURNE.\n\n\n_He chose the Gordons and the Graemes_.--P. 64. v. 2.\n\nThe illustrious family of Gordon was originally settled upon the lands\nof Gordon and Huntly, in the shire of Berwick, and are, therefore, of\nborder extraction. The steps, by which they removed from thence to the\nshires of Aberdeen and Inverness, are worthy notice. In 1300, Adam\nde Gordon was warden of the marches.--_Rymer_, Vol. II. p. 870. He\nobtained, from Robert the Bruce, a grant of the forfeited estate of\nDavid de Strathbolgie, Earl of Athol; but no possession followed,\nthe earl having returned to his allegiance.--John de Gordon, his\ngreat-grandson, obtained, from Robert II., a new charter of the lands\nof Strathbolgie, which had been once more and finally forfeited, by\nDavid, Earl of Athol, slaine in the battle of Kilblene. This grant is\ndated 13th July, 1376. John de Gordon who was destined to transfer,\nfrom the borders of England to those of the Highlands, a powerful\nand martial race, was himself a redoubted warrior, and many of his\nexploits occur in the annals of that turbulent period. In 1371-2, the\nEnglish borderers invaded and plundered the lands of Gordon, on the\nScottish east march. Sir John of Gordon retaliated, by an incursion\non Northumberland, where he collected much spoil. But, as he returned\nwith his booty, he was attacked, at unawares, by Sir John Lillburne,\na Northumbrian, who, with a superior force, lay near Carham in ambush,\nto intercept him. Gordon harangued and cheered his followers, charged\nthe English gallantly, and, after having himself been five times in\ngreat peril, gained a complete victory; slaying many southerns, and\ntaking their leader and his brother captive. According to the prior of\nLochlevin, he was desperately wounded; but\n\n  \"Thare rays a welle gret renowne,\n  \"And gretly prysyd wes gud Gordown.\"\n\nShortly after this exploit, Sir John of Gordon encountered and\nrouted Sir Thomas Musgrave, a renowned English marc-hman whom he made\nprisoner. The lord of Johnstone had, about the same time, gained a\ngreat advantage on the west border; and hence, says Wynton,\n\n  He and the Lord of Gordowne\n  Had a soverane gud renown,\n  Of ony that war of thare degr\u00e9,\n  For full thai war of gret bount\u00e9.\n\nUpon another occasion, John of Gordon is said to have partially\nsucceeded in the surprisal of the town of Berwick, although the\nsuperiority of the garrison obliged him to relinquish his enterprise.\n\nThe ballad is accurate, in introducing this warrior, with his clan,\ninto the host of Douglas at Otterbourne. Perhaps, as he was in\npossession of his extensive northern domains, he brought to the\nfield the northern broad-swords, as well as the lances of his eastern\nborderers. With his gallant leader, he lost his life in the deadly\nconflict. The English ballad commemorates his valour and prudence;\n\n  \"The Erle of Huntley, cawte and kene.\"\n\nBut the title is a premature designation. The earldom of Huntly was\nfirst conferred on Alexander Seaton, who married the grand-daughter\nof the hero of Otterbourne, and assumed his title from Huntly, in the\nnorth. Besides his eldest son Adam, who carried on the line of the\nfamily, Sir John de Gordon left two sons, known, in tradition, by the\nfamiliar names of _Jock_ and _Tam_. The former was the ancestor of\nthe Gordons of Pitlurg; the latter of those of Lesmoir, and of\nCraig-Gordon. This last family is now represented by James Gordon,\nEsq. of Craig, being the eleventh, in direct descent, from Sir John de\nGordon.\n\n\n_The Graemes_.\n\nThe clan of Graeme, always numerous and powerful upon the border, were\nof Scottish origin, and deduce the descent of their chieftain, Graeme\nof Netherby, from John _with the bright sword_, a son of Malice\nGraeme, Earl of Menteith, who flourished in the fourteenth century.\nLatterly, they _became Englishmen_, as the phrase went, and settled\nupon the Debateable Land, whence they were transported to Ireland,\nby James VI., with the exception of a very few respectable families;\n\"because,\" said his majesty in a proclamation, \"they do all (but\nespecially the Graemes) confess themselves to be no meet persons to\nlive in these countries; and also, to the intent their lands may be\ninhabited by others, of good and honest conversation.\" But, in the\nreign of Henry IV., the Graemes of the border still adhered to the\nScottish allegiance, as appears from the tower of Graeme in Annandale,\nGraemes Walls in Tweeddale, and other castles within Scotland, to\nwhich they have given their name. The reader is, however, at liberty\nto suppose, that the Graemes of the Lennox and Menteith, always ready\nto shed their blood in the cause of their country, on this occasion\njoined Douglas.\n\n  _With them the Lindsays light and gay_.--p. 64. v. 2.\n\nThe chief of this ancient family, at the date of the battle of\nOtterbourne, was David Liudissay, lord of Glenesk, afterwards created\nEarl of Crawford. He was, after the manner of the times, a most\naccomplished knight. He survived the battle of Otterbourne, and the\nsucceeding carnage of Homildon. In May, 1390, he went to England, to\nseek adventures of chivalry; and justed, upon London Bridge, against\nthe lord of Wells, an English knight, with so much skill and success,\nas to excite, among the spectators, a suspicion that he was tied\nto his saddle; which he removed, by riding up to the royal chair,\nvaulting out of his saddle, and resuming his seat without assistance,\nalthough loaded with complete armour. In 1392, Lindsay was nearly\nslain in a strange manner. A band of Catterans, or wild Highlanders,\nhad broken down from the Grampian Hills, and were engaged in\nplundering the county of Angus. Walter Ogilvy, the sheriff, with\nSir Patrick Gray, marched against them, and were joined by Sir\nDavid Lindsay. Their whole retinue did not exceed sixty men, and the\nHighlanders were above three hundred. Nevertheless, trusting to\nthe superiority of arms and discipline, the knights rushed on the\ninvaders, at Gasclune, in the Stormont. The issue was unfortunate.\nOgilvy, his brother, and many of his kindred, were overpowered and\nslain. Lindsay, armed at all points, made great slaughter among the\nnaked Catterans; but, as he pinned one of them to the earth with\nhis lance, the dying mountaineer writhed upwards and, collecting\nhis force, fetched a blow with his broad-sword which cut through the\nknight's stirrup-leather and steel-boot and nearly severed his leg.\nThe Highlander expired, and Lindsay was with difficulty borne out of\nthe field by his followers--_Wyntown_. Lindsay is also noted for\na retort, made to the famous Hotspur. At a march-meeting, at\nHaldane-Stank, he happened to observe, that Percy was sheathed in\ncomplete armour. \"It is for fear of the English horsemen,\" said\nPercy, in explanation; for he was already meditating the insurrection,\nimmortalised by Shakespeare. \"Ah! Sir Harry,\" answered Lindsay, \"I\nhave seen you more sorely bestad by Scottish footmen than by English\nhorse.\"--_Wyntown_. Such was the leader of the \"_Lindsays light and\nguy_.\"\n\nAccording to Froissard, there were three Lindsays in the battle of\nOtterbourne, whom he calls Sir William, Sir James, and Sir Alexander.\nTo Sir James Lindsay there fell \"a strange chance of war,\" which I\ngive in the words of the old historian. \"I shall shewe you of Sir\nMathewe Reedman (an English warrior, and governor of Berwick), who\nwas on horsebacke, to save himselfe, for he alone coude nat remedy the\nmater. At his departynge, Sir James Limsay was nere him, and sawe Sir\nMathewe departed. And this Sir James, to wyn honour, followed in chase\nSir Mathewe Reedman, and came so nere him, that he myght have stryken\nhym with hys speare, if he had lyst. Than he said, 'Ah! Sir knyght,\ntourne! it is a shame thus to fly! I am James of Lindsay. If ye\nwill nat tourne, I shall strike you on the back with my speare.' Sir\nMathewe spoke no worde, but struke his hors with his spurres sorer\nthan he did before. In this maner he chased hym more than three myles.\nAnd at last Sir Mathewe Reedman's hors foundered, and fell under hym.\nThan he stept forthe on the erthe, and drewe oute his swerde, and toke\ncorage to defend himselfe. And the Scotte thoughte to have stryken hym\non the brest, but Sir Mathewe Reedman swerved fro the stroke, and the\nspeare point entred into the erthe. Than Sir Mathewe strake asonder\nthe speare wyth his swerde. And whan Sir James Limsay sawe howe he had\nlost his speare, he cast away the tronchon, and lyghted a-fote, and\ntoke a lytell battell-axe, that he carryed at his backe, and handled\nit with his one hand, quickly and delyverly, in the whyche feate\nScottes be well experte. And than he set at Sir Mathewe, and he\ndefended himselfe properly. Thus they journeyed toguyder, one with an\naxe, and the other with a swerde, a longe season, and no man to lette\nthem. Fynally, Sir James Limsay gave the knyght such strokes, and\nhelde him so shorte, that he was putte out of brethe in such wyse,\nthat he yelded himselfe, and sayde,--'Sir James Limsay, I yeld me to\nyou.'--'Well,' quod he; 'and I receyve you, rescue or no rescue.'--'I\nam content,' quod Reedman, 'so ye dele wyth me like a good\ncompanyon.'--'I shall not fayle that,' quod Limsay, and so put up his\nswerde. 'Well,' said Reedman, 'what will ye nowe that I shall do? I\nam your prisoner; ye have conquered me; I wolde gladly go agayn\nto Newcastell, and, within fiftene dayes, I shall come to you into\nScotlande, where as ye shall assigne me.'--'I am content,' quod\nLimsay; 'ye shall promyse, by your faythe, to present yourselfe,\nwithin these foure wekes, at Edinborowe; and wheresoever ye go,\nto repute yourselfe my prisoner.' All this Sir Mathewe sware, and\npromised to fulfil.\"\n\nThe warriors parted upon these liberal terms, and Reedman returned\nto Newcastle. But Lindsay had scarcely ridden a mile, when he met the\nbishop of Durham, with 500 horse, whom he rode towards, believing them\nto be Scottish, until he was too near them to escape. The bysshoppe\nstepte to him, and sayde, 'Limsay, ye are taken; yelde ye to\nme.'--'Who be you?' quod Limsay. 'I am,' quod he, 'the bysshoppe of\nDurham.'--'And fro whens come you, sir?' quod Limsay. 'I come fro the\nbattell,' quod the bysshoppe, 'but I strucke never a stroke there. I\ngo backe to Newcastell for this night, and ye shal go with me.'--'I\nmay not chuse,' quod Limsay, 'sith ye will have it so. I have taken,\nand I am taken; suche is the adventures of armes.' Lindsay was\naccordingly conveyed to the bishop's lodgings in Newcastle, and here\nhe was met by his prisoner, Sir Matthew Reedman; who founde hym in a\nstudye, lying in a windowe, and sayde, 'What! Sir James Lindsay, what\nmake you here?' Than Sir James came forth of the study to him, and\nsaydc, 'By my fayth, Sir Mathewe, fortune hath brought me hyder; for,\nas soon as I was departed fro you, I mete by chaunce the bisshoppe of\nDurham, to whom I am prisoner, as ye be to me. I beleve ye shall\nnot nede to come to Edenborowe to me to mak your fynaunce. I thynk,\nrather, we shall make an exchange one for another, if the bysshoppe\nbe also contente.'--'Well, sir,' quod Reedman, 'we shall accord ryghte\nwell toguyder; ye shall dine this day with me: the bysshoppe and our\nmen be gone forth to fyght with your men. I can nat tell what we\nshall know at their retourne.'--'I am content to dyne with you,'\nquod Limsay.\"--_Froissart's Chronicle_, translated by Bourchier, Lord\nBerners, Vol. I, chap. 146.\n\n  _O gran bont\u00e0 de' cavalieri antiqui!\n  Eran rivali, eran di f\u00e8 diversi;\n  E si sentian, de gli aspri colpi iniqui,\n  Per tutta la persona anco dolersi;\n  E pur per selve oscure, e calle inqui\n  Insieme van senza sospetto aversi._\n  L'Orlando.\n\n_But the Jardines wald not with him ride_.--P. 64. v. 2.\n\nThe Jardines were a clan of hardy west-border men. Their chief\nwas Jardine of Applegirth. Their refusal to ride with Douglas was,\nprobably, the result of one of those perpetual feuds, which usually\nrent to pieces a Scottish army.\n\n  _And he that had a bonny boy,\n  Sent out his horse to grass_.--P. 67. v, 4.\n\nFroissard describes a Scottish host, of the same period, as consisting\nof \"IIII. M. men of armes, knightis, and squires, mounted on good\nhorses; and other X.M. men of warre armed, after their gyse, right\nhardy and firse, mounted on lytle hackneys, the whiche were never\ntyed, nor kept at hard meat, but lette go to pasture in the fieldis\nand bushes.\"--_Cronykle of Froissart_, translated by Lord Berners,\nChap. xvii.\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTHE SANG OF THE OUTLAW MURRAY.\n\n\nThis ballad appears to have been composed about the reign of James V.\nIt commemorates a transaction, supposed to have taken place betwixt a\nScottish monarch, and an ancestor of the ancient family of Murray of\nPhiliphaugh in Selkirkshire. The editor is unable to ascertain the\nhistorical foundation of the tale; nor is it probable that any light\ncan be thrown upon the subject, without an accurate examination of\nthe family charter chest. It is certain, that, during the civil wars\nbetwixt Bruce and Baliol, the family of Philiphaugh existed, and was\npowerful; for their ancestor, Archibald de Moravia, subscribes the\noath of fealty to Edward I.A.D. 1296. It is, therefore, not unlikely,\nthat, residing in a wild and frontier country, they may have, at one\nperiod or other, during these commotions, refused allegiance to the\nfeeble monarch of the day, and thus extorted from him some grant of\nterritory or jurisdiction. It is also certain, that, by a charter\nfrom James IV., dated November 30, 1509, John Murray of Philiphaugh\nis vested with the dignity of heritable sheriff of Ettrick Forest,\nan office held by his descendants till the final abolition of such\njurisdictions by 28th George II. cap. 23. But it seems difficult to\nbelieve that the circumstances, mentioned in the ballad, could occur\nunder the reign of so vigorous a monarch as James IV. It is true, that\nthe _Dramatis Personae_ introduced seem to refer to the end of the\nfifteenth, or beginning of the sixteenth, century; but from this it\ncan only be argued, that the author himself lived soon after that\nperiod. It may, therefore, be supposed (unless farther evidence can\nbe produced, tending to invalidate the conclusion), that the bard,\nwilling to pay his court to the family, has connected the grant of the\nsheriffship by James IV. with some further dispute betwixt the Murrays\nof Philiphaugh and their sovereign, occurring, either while they were\nengaged upon the side of Baliol, or in the subsequent reigns of David\nII. and Robert II. and III., when the English possessed great part\nof the Scottish frontier, and the rest was in so lawless a state as\nhardly to acknowledge any superior. At the same time, this reasoning\nis not absolutely conclusive. James IV. had particular reasons for\ndesiring that Ettrick Forest, which actually formed part of the\njointure lands of Margaret, his queen, should be kept in a state of\ntranquillity.--_Rymer_, Vol. XIII. p. 66. In order to accomplish\nthis object, it was natural for him, according to the policy of his\npredecessors to invest one great family with the power of keeping\norder among the rest. It is even probable, that the Philiphaugh family\nmay have had claims upon part of the lordship of Ettrick Forest, which\nlay intermingled with their own extensive possessions; and, in the\ncourse of arranging, not indeed the feudal superiority, but the\nproperty, of these lands, a dispute may have arisen, of sufficient\nimportance to be the ground-work of a ballad.--It is farther probable,\nthat the Murrays, like other border clans, were in a very lawless\nstate, and held their lands merely by occupancy, without any feudal\nright. Indeed, the lands of the various proprietors in Ettrick Forest\n(being a royal demesne) were held by the possessors, not in property,\nbut as the kindly tenants, or rentallers, of the crown; and it is only\nabout 150 years since they obtained charters, striking the feu-duty of\neach proprietor, at the rate of the quit-rent, which he formerly paid.\nThis state of possession naturally led to a confusion of rights and\nclaims. The kings of Scotland were often reduced to the humiliating\nnecessity of compromising such matters with their rebellious subjects,\nand James himself even entered into a sort of league with Johnie Faa,\nthe king of the gypsies.--Perhaps, therefore, the tradition, handed\ndown in this song, may have had more foundation than it would at\npresent be proper positively to assert.\n\nThe merit of this beautiful old tale, it is thought, will be fully\nacknowledged. It has been, for ages, a popular song in Selkirkshire.\nThe scene is, by the common people, supposed to have been the castle\nof Newark, upon Yarrow. This is highly improbable, because Newark was\nalways a royal fortress. Indeed, the late excellent antiquarian Mr.\nPlummer, sheriff-depute of Selkirkshire, has assured the editor, that\nhe remembered the _insignia_ of the unicorns, &c. so often mentioned\nin the ballad, in existence upon the old tower at Hangingshaw, the\nseat of the Philiphaugh family; although, upon first perusing a copy\nof the ballad, he was inclined to subscribe to the popular opinion.\nThe tower of Hangingshaw has been demolished for many years. It stood\nin a romantic and solitary situation, on the classical banks of the\nYarrow. When the mountains around Hangingshaw were covered with\nthe wild copse which constituted a Scottish forest, a more secure\nstrong-hold for an outlawed baron can hardly be imagined.\n\nThe tradition of Ettrick Forest bears, that the Outlaw was a man of\nprodigious strength, possessing a batton or club, with which he laid\n_lee_ (i.e. waste) the country for many miles round; and that he was\nat length slain by Buccleuch, or some of his clan, at a little mount,\ncovered with fir-trees, adjoining to Newark castle, and said to have\nbeen a part of the garden. A varying tradition bears the place of\nhis death to have been near to the house of the Duke of Buccleuch's\ngame-keeper, beneath the castle; and, that the fatal arrow was shot by\nScot of Haining, from the ruins of a cottage on the opposite side of\nthe Yarrow. There was extant, within these twenty years, some verses\nof a song on his death. The feud betwixt the Outlaw and the Scotts may\nserve to explain the asperity, with which the chieftain of that clan\nis handled in the ballad.\n\nIn publishing the following ballad, the copy principally resorted to\nis one, apparently of considerable antiquity, which was found among\nthe papers of the late Mrs. Cockburn, of Edinburgh, a lady whose\nmemory will be long honoured by all who knew her. Another copy, much\nmore imperfect, is to be found in Glenriddel's MSS. The names are in\nthis last miserably mangled, as is always the case when ballads are\ntaken down from the recitation of persons living at a distance from\nthe scenes in which they are laid. Mr. Plummer also gave the editor a\nfew additional verses, not contained in either copy, which are thrown\ninto what seemed their proper place. There is yet another copy, in Mr.\nHerd's MSS., which has been occasionally made use of. Two verses are\nrestored in the present edition, from the recitation of Mr. Mungo\nPark, whose toils, during his patient and intrepid travels in Africa,\nhave not eradicated from his recollection the legendary lore of his\nnative country.\n\nThe arms of the Philiphaugh family are said by tradition to allude\nto their outlawed state. They are indeed those of a huntsman, and are\nblazoned thus; Argent, a hunting horn sable, stringed and garnished\ngules, on a chief azure, three stars of the first. Crest, a Demi\nForester, winding his horn, proper. Motto, _Hinc usque superna\nvenabor_.\n\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTHE SANG OF THE OUTLAW MURRAY.\n\n\n  Ettricke Foreste is a feir foreste,\n  In it grows manie a semelie trie;\n  There's hart and hynd, and dae and rae,\n  And of a' wilde beastes grete plentie.\n\n  There's a feir castelle, bigged wi' lyme and stane;\n  O! gin it stands not pleasauntlie!\n  In the forefront o' that castelle feir,\n  Twa unicorns are bra' to see;\n  There's the picture of a knight, and a ladye bright,\n  And the grene hollin abune their brie.[106]\n\n  There an Outlaw keeps five hundred men;\n  He keepis a royalle cumpanie!\n\n  His merryemen are a' in ae liverye clad,\n  O' the Liukome grene saye gaye to see;\n  He and his ladye in purple clad,\n  O! gin they lived not royallie!\n\n  Word is gane to our nobil king,\n  In Edinburgh, where that he lay,\n  That there was an Outlaw in Ettricke Foreste,\n  Counted him nought, nor a' his courtrie gay.\n\n  \"I make a vowe,\" then the gude king said,\n  Unto the man that deir bought me,\n  \"I'se either be king of Ettricke Foreste,\n  Or king of Scotlonde that Outlaw sail be!\"\n\n  Then spak the lord, hight Hamilton,\n  And to the nobil king said he,\n  \"My sovereign prince, sum counsell take,\n  First at your nobilis, syne at me.\n\n  \"I redd ye, send yon braw Outlaw till,\n  And see gif your man cum will he:\n  Desyre him cum and be your man,\n  And hald of you yon Foreste frie.\n\n  \"Gif he refuses to do that,\n  We'll conquess baith his landis and he!\n  Or else, we'll throw his castell down,\n  And make a widowe o' his gay ladye.\"\n\n  The king then call'd a gentleman,\n  James Boyd, (the Earl of Arran his brother was he)\n  When James he cam befor the king,\n  He knelit befor him on his kn\u00e9.\n\n  \"Wellcum, James Boyd!\" said our nobil king;\n  \"A message ye maun gang for me;\n  Ye maun hye to Ettricke Foreste,\n  To yon Outlaw, where bydeth he:\n\n  \"Ask him of whom he haldis his landis,\n  Or man, wha may his master be,\n  And desyre him cum, and be my man,\n  And hald of me yon Foreste frie.\n\n  \"To Edinburgh to cum and gang,\n  His safe warrant I sall gie;\n  And gif he refuses to do that,\n  We'll conquess baith his landis and he.\n\n  \"Thou may'st vow I'll cast his castell down,\n  And mak a widowe o' his gay ladye;\n  I'll hang his merryemen, payr by payr,\n  In ony frith where I may them see.\"\n\n  James Boyd tuik his leave o' the nobil king,\n  To Ettricke Foreste feir cam he;\n  Down Birkendale Brae when that he cam,\n  He saw the feir Foreste wi' his e'e.\n\n  Baithe dae and rae, and hart and hinde,\n  And of a' wilde beastis great plentie;\n  He heard the bows that bauldly ring,\n  And arrows whidderan' hym near bi.\n\n  Of that feir castell he got a sight;\n  The like he neir saw wi' his e'e!\n  On the fore front o' that castell feir,\n  Twa unicorns were gaye to see;\n  The picture of a knight, and a ladye bright,\n  And the grene hollin abune their brie.\n\n  Thereat he spyed five hundred men,\n  Shuting with bows on Newark Lee;\n\n  They were a' in ae livery clad,\n  O' the Lincome grene sae gaye to see.\n\n  His men were a' clad in the grene,\n  The knight was armed capapie,\n  With a bended bow, on a milk-white steed;\n  And I wot they ranked right bonilie.\n\n  Thereby Boyd kend he was master man,\n  And serv'd him in his ain degr\u00e9.\n  \"God mot thee save, brave Outlaw Murray!\n  Thy ladye, and all thy chyvalrie!\"\n  \"Marry, thou's wellcum, gentelman,\n  Some king's messenger thou seemis to be.\"\n\n  \"The king of Scotlonde sent me here,\n  And, gude Outlaw, I am sent to thee;\n  I wad wot of whom ye hald your landis,\n  Or man, wha may thy master be?\"\n\n  \"Thir landis are MINE!\" the Outlaw said;\n  \"I ken nae king in Christentie;\n  Frae Soudron[107] I this Foreste wan,\n  When the king nor his knightis were not to see.\"\n\n  \"He desyres you'l cum to Edinburgh,\n  And hauld of him this Foreste frie;\n  And, gif ye refuse to do this,\n  He'll conquess baith thy landis and thee.\n  He hath vow'd to cast thy castell down,\n  And mak a widowe o' thy gaye ladye;\n\n  \"He'll hang thy merryemen, payr by payr,\n  In ony frith where he may them finde.\"\n  \"Aye, by my troth!\" the Outlaw said,\n  \"Than wald I think me far behinde.\n\n  \"E'er the king my feir countrie get,\n  This land that's nativest to me!\n  Mony o' his nobilis sall be cauld,\n  Their ladyes sall be right wearie.\"\n\n  Then spak his ladye, feir of face,\n  She seyd, \"Without consent of me,\n  That an Outlaw suld cum befor a King;\n  I am right rad[108] of treasonrie.\n  Bid him be gude to his lordis at hame,\n  For Edinburgh my lord sall nevir see.\"\n\n  James Boyd tuik his leave o' the Outlaw kene,\n  To Edinburgh boun is he;\n  When James he cam befor the king,\n  He knelit lowlie on his kn\u00e9.\n\n  \"Wellcum, James Boyd!\" seyd our nobil king;\n  \"What Foreste is Ettricke Foreste frie?\"\n  \"Ettricke Foreste is the feirest foreste\n  That evir man saw wi' his e'e.\n\n  \"There's the dae, the rae, the hart, the hynde,\n  And of a' wild beastis grete plentie;\n  There's a pretty castell of lyme and stane;\n  O gif it stands not pleasauntlie!\n\n  \"There's in the forefront o' that castell,\n  Twa unicorns, sae bra' to see;\n  There's the picture of a knight, and a ladye bright,\n  Wi' the grene hollin abune their brie.\n\n  \"There the Outlaw keepis five hundred men;\n  He keepis a royalle cumpanie!\n  His merrymen in ae livery clad,\n  O' the Linkome grene sae gaye to see:\n\n  \"He and his ladye in purple clad;\n  O! gin they live not royallie!\n\n  \"He says, yon Foreste is his awin;\n  He wan it frae the Southronie;\n  Sae as he wan it, sae will he keep it,\n  Contrair all kingis in Christentie.\"\n\n  \"Gar warn me Perthshire, and Angus baith;\n  Fife up and down, and the Louthians three,\n  And graith my horse!\" said the nobil king,\n  \"For to Ettricke Foreste hie will I me.\"\n\n  Then word is gane the Outlaw till,\n  In Ettricke Foreste, where dwelleth he,\n  That the king was cuming to his cuntrie,\n  To conquess baith his landis and he.\n\n  \"I mak a vow,\" the Outlaw said,\n  \"I mak a vow, and that trulie,\n  Were there but three men to tak my pairt;\n  Yon king's cuming full deir suld be!\"\n\n  Then messengers he called forth,\n  And bade them hie them speedilye--\n  \"Ane of ye gae to Halliday,\n  The laird of the Corhead is he.\n\n  \"He certain is my sister's son;\n  Bid him cum quick and succour me!\n  The king cums on for Ettricke Foreste,\n  And landless men we a' will be.\"\n\n  \"What news? What news?\" said Halliday,\n  \"Man, frae thy master unto me?\"\n  \"Not as ye wad; seeking your aide;\n  The king's his mortal enemie.\"\n\n  \"Aye, by my troth!\" said Halliday,\n  \"Even for that it repenteth me;\n  For gif he lose feir Ettricke Foreste,\n  He'll tak feir Moffatdale frae me.\n\n  \"I'll meet him wi' five hundred men,\n  And surely mair, if mae may be;\n  And before he gets the Foreste feir,\n  We a' will die on Newark Lee!\"\n\n  The Outlaw call'd a messenger,\n  And bid him hie him speedilye,\n  To Andrew Murray of Cockpool--\n  \"That man's a deir cousin to me;\n  Desyre him cum, and mak me ayd,\n  With a' the power that he may be.\"\n\n  \"It stands me hard,\" Andrew Murray said,\n  Judge gif it stands na hard wi' me;\n  To enter against a king wi' crown,\n  And set my landis in jeopardie!\n  Yet, if I cum not on the day,\n  Surely at night he sall me see.\"\n\n  To Sir James Murray of Traquair,\n  A message cam right speedilye--\n  \"What news? What news?\" James Murray said,\n  \"Man, frae thy master unto me?\"\n\n  \"What neids I tell? for weell ye ken,\n  The king's his mortal enemie;\n  And now he is cuming to Ettricke Foreste,\n  And landless men ye a' will be.\"\n\n  \"And, by my trothe,\" James Murray said,\n  \"Wi' that Outlaw will I live and die;\n  The king has gifted my landis lang syne--\n  It cannot be nae warse wi' me.\"\n\n  The king was cuming thro' Caddon Ford[109],\n  And full five thousand men was he;\n  They saw the derke Foreste them before,\n  They thought it awsome for to see.\n\n  Then spak the lord, hight Hamilton,\n  And to the nobil king said he,\n  \"My sovereign liege, sum council tak,\n  First at your nobilis, syne at me.\n\n  \"Desyre him mete thee at Permanscore,\n  And bring four in his cumpanie;\n  Five erles sall gang yoursell befor,\n  Gude cause that you suld honour'd be.\n\n  \"And, gif he refuses to do that,\n  We'll conquess baith his landis and he;\n  \"There sall nevir a Murray, after him,\n  Hald land in Ettricke Foreste frie.\"\n\n  Then spak the kene laird of Buckscleuth,\n  A stalworthye man, and sterne was he--\n  \"For a king to gang an Outlaw till,\n  Is beneath his state and his dignitie.\n\n  \"The man that wons yon Foreste intill,\n  He lives by reif and felonie!\n  Wherefore, brayd on, my sovereign liege!\n  Wi' fire and sword we'll follow thee;\n  Or, gif your courtrie lords fa' back,\n  Our borderers sall the onset gie.\"\n\n  Then out and spak the nobil king,\n  And round him cast a wilie e'e--\n  \"Now haud thy tongue, Sir Walter Scott,\n  Nor speik of reif nor felonie:\n  For, had everye honeste man his awin kye,\n  A right puir clan thy name wad be!\"\n\n  The king then call'd a gentleman,\n  Royal banner bearer there was he;\n\n  James Hop Pringle of Torsonse, by name;\n  He cam and knelit upon his kn\u00e9.\n\n  \"Wellcum, James Pringle of Torsonse!\n  A message ye maun gang for me;\n  Ye maun gae to yon Outlaw Murray,\n  Surely where bauldly bideth he.\n\n  \"Bid him mete me at Permanscore,\n  And bring four in his cumpanie;\n  Five erles sall cum wi' mysell\n  Gude reason I suld honour'd be.\n\n  \"And, gif he refuses to do that,\n  Bid him luke for nae good o' me!\n  Ther sall nevir a Murray, after him,\n  Have land in Ettricke Foreste frie.\"\n\n  James cam befor the Outlaw kene,\n  And serv'd him in his ain degr\u00e9--\n  \"Wellcum, James Pringle of Torsonse!\n  What message frae the king to me?\"\n\n  \"He bidds ye mete him at Permanscore,\n  And bring four in your cumpanie;\n  Five erles sall gang himsell befor,\n  Nae mair in number will he be.\n\n  \"And, gif you refuse to do that,\n  (I freely here upgive wi' thee)\n  He'll cast yon bonny castle down,\n  And mak a widowe o' that gaye ladye.\n\n  \"He'll loose yon bluidhound borderers,\n  Wi' fire and sword to follow thee;\n  There will nevir a Murray, after thysell,\n  Have land in Ettricke Foreste frie.\"\n\n  \"It stands me hard,\" the Outlaw said;\n  \"Judge gif it stands na hard wi' me!\n  Wha reck not losing of mysell,\n  But a' my offspring after me.\n\n  \"My merryemen's lives, my widowe's teirs--\n  There lies the pang that pinches me!\n  When I am straught in bluidie eard,\n  Yon castell will be right dreirie.\n\n  \"Auld Halliday, young Halliday,\n  Ye sall be twa to gang wi' me;\n  Andrew Murray, and Sir James Murray,\n  We'll be nae mae in cumpanie.\"\n\n  When that they cam befor the king,\n  They fell befor him on their kn\u00e9--\n  \"Grant mercie, mercie, nobil king!\n  E'en for his sake that dyed on trie.\"\n\n  \"Sicken like mercie sall ye have;\n  On gallows ye sall hangit be!\"\n  \"Over God's forbode,\" quoth the Outlaw then,\n  \"I hope your grace will bettir be!\n  Else, ere ye come to Edinburgh port,\n  I trow thin guarded sall ye be:\n\n  \"Thir landis of Ettricke Foreste feir,\n  I wan them from the enemie;\n  Like as I wan them, sae will I keep them,\n  Contrair a' kingis in Christentie.\"\n\n  All the nobilis the king about,\n  Said pitie it were to see him die--\n  \"Yet graunt me mercie, sovereign prince!\n  Extend your favour unto me!\n\n  \"I'll give thee the keys of my castell,\n  Wi' the blessing o' my gaye ladye,\n  Gin thoul't mak me sheriffe of this Foreste,\n  And a' my offspring after me.\"\n\n  \"Wilt thou give me the keys of thy castell,\n  Wi' the blessing of thy gaye ladye?\n  I'se mak thee sheriffe of Ettricke Foreste,\n  Surely while upwards grows the trie;\n  If you be not traitour to the king,\n  Forfaulted sall thou nevir be.\"\n\n  \"But, prince, what sall cum o' my men?\n  When I gae back, traitour they'll ca' me.\n  I had rather lose my life and land,\n  E'er my merryemen rebuked me.\"\n\n  \"Will your merryemen amend their lives?\n  And a' their pardons I graunt thee--\n  Now, name thy landis where'er they lie,\n  And here I RENDER them to thee.\"\n\n  \"Fair Philiphaugh is mine by right,\n  And Lewinshope still mine shall be;\n  Newark, Foulshiells, and Tinnies baith,\n  My bow and arrow purchased me.\n\n  \"And I have native steads to me,\n  The Newark Lee and Hangingshaw;\n  I have mony steads in the Foreste shaw,\n  But them by name I dinna knaw.\"\n\n  The keys o' the castell he gave the king,\n  Wi' the blessing o' his feir ladye;\n  He was made sheriffe of Ettricke Foreste,\n  Surely while upwards grows the trie;\n  And if he was na traitour to the king,\n  Forfaulted he suld nevir be.\n\n  Wha ever heard, in ony times,\n  Sicken an Outlaw in his degr\u00e9,\n  Sick favour get befor a king,\n  As did the OUTLAW MURRAY of the Foreste frie?\n\n[Footnote 106: Brow.]\n\n[Footnote 107: Southern, or English.]\n\n[Footnote 108: Afraid.]\n\n[Footnote 109: A ford on the Tweed, at the mouth of the Caddon Burn,\nnear Yair.]\n\n\n\n\nNOTES ON THE SANG OF THE OUTLAW MURRAY.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n_Then spak the Lord, hight Hamilton_.--P. 86. v. 4.\n\nThis is, in most copies, the _earl_ hight Hamilton, which must be a\nmistake of the reciters, as the family did not enjoy that title till\n1503.\n\n\n_James Boyd (the Earl of Arran his brother), &c._--P. 87. v. 2.\n\nThomas Boyd, Earl of Arran, was forfeited, with his father and uncle,\nin 1469, for an attempt on the person of James III. He had a son,\nJames, who was restored, and in favour with James IV. about 1482. If\nthis be the person here meant, we should read \"The Earl of Arran his\n_son_ was he.\" Glenriddel's copy reads, \"A highland laird I'm sure was\nhe.\" Reciters sometimes call the messenger, the laird of Skene.\n\n  _Down Birkendale Brae when that he cam_.--P. 88, v. 2.\n\nBirkendale Brae, now commonly called _Birkendailly_, is a steep\ndescent on the south side of Minch-Moor, which separates Tweeddale\nfrom Ettrick Forest; and from the top of which you have the first view\nof the woods of Hangingshaw, the castle of Newark, and the romantic\ndale of Yarrow.\n\n  _The laird of the Corehead, &c._--P. 93. v. 1.\n\nThis is a place at the head of Moffat-water, possessed of old by the\nfamily of Halliday.\n\n  _To Andrew Murray of Cockpool_.--P. 94. v. 1.\n\nThis family were ancestors of the Murrays, earls of Annandale; but the\nname of the representative, in the time of James IV. was William, not\nAndrew. Glenriddel's MS. reads, \"the country-keeper.\"\n\n  _To Sir James Murray of Traquair_.--P. 94. v. 3.\n\nBefore the barony of Traquair became the property of the Stewarts, it\nbelonged to a family of Murrays, afterwards Murrays of Black-barony,\nand ancestors of Lord Elibank. The old castle was situated on the\nTweed. The lands of Traquair were forfeited by Willielmus de Moravia,\nprevious to 1464; for, in that year, a charter, proceeding upon his\nforfeiture, was granted by the crown \"Willielmo Douglas de Cluny.\" Sir\nJames was, perhaps, the heir of William Murray. It would farther seem,\nthat the grant in 1464 was not made effectual by Douglas; for, another\ncharter from the crown, dated the 3d February, 1478, conveys the\nestate of Traquair to James Stewart, Earl of Buchan, son to the\nblack knight of Lorne, and maternal uncle to James III., from whom\nis descended the present Earl of Traquair. The first royal grant not\nbeing followed by possession, it is very possible that the Murrays may\nhave continued to occupy Traquair long after the date of that charter.\nHence, Sir James might have reason to say, as in the ballad, \"The king\nhas gifted my lands lang syne.\"\n\n  _James Hop Pringle of Torsonse_.--P. 97. v. 1.\n\nThe honourable name of Pringle, or Hoppringle, is of great antiquity\nin Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire. The old tower of Torsonse is\nsituated upon the banks of the Gala. I believe the Pringles of\nTorsonse are now represented by Sir James Pringle of Stitchell. There\nare three other ancient and distinguished families of this name; those\nof Whitebank, Clifton, and Torwoodlee.\n\n  _He bids ye mete him at Permanscore_.--P. 98. v. 1.\n\nPermanscore is a hollow on the top of a high ridge of hills,\ndividing the vales of Tweed and Yarrow, a little to the east-ward of\nMinch-Moor. It is the outermost point of the lands of Broadmeadows.\nThe Glenriddel MS., which, in this instance, is extremely inaccurate\nas to names, calls the place of rendezvous \"_The Poor Man's house_,\"\nand hints, that the Outlaw was surprised by the treachery of the\nking:--\n\n  \"Then he was aware of the king's coming,\n  With hundreds three in company,\n  I wot the muckle deel * * * * *\n  He learned kings to lie!\n  For to fetch me here frae amang my men,\n  Here like a dog for to die.\"\n\nI believe the reader will think, with me, that the catastrophe is\nbetter, as now printed from Mrs. Cockburn's copy. The deceit supposed\nto be practised on the Outlaw, is unworthy of the military monarch,\nas he is painted in the ballad; especially if we admit him to be King\nJames IV.\n\n  _Fair Philiphaugh is mine by right_.--P. 101. v. 1.\n\nIn this and the following verse, the ceremony of feudal investiture is\nsupposed to be gone through, by the Outlaw resigning his possessions\ninto the hands of the king, and receiving them back, to be held of\nhim as superior. The lands of Philiphaugh are still possessed by the\nOutlaw's representative. Hangingshaw and Lewinshope were sold of\nlate years. Newark, Foulshiels and Tinnies, have long belonged to the\nfamily of Buccleuch.\n\n\n\n\nJOHNIE ARMSTRANG.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nThere will be such frequent occasion, in the course of this volume, to\nmention the clan, or sept, of the Armstrongs, that the editor finds\nit necessary to prefix, to this ballad, some general account of that\ntribe.\n\nThe Armstrongs appear to have been, at an early period, in possession\nof great part of Liddesdale, and of the Debateable Land. Their\nimmediate neighbourhood to England, rendered them the most lawless of\nthe Border depredators; and, as much of the country possessed by them\nwas claimed by both kingdoms, the inhabitants, protected from justice\nby the one nation, in opposition to the other, securely preyed upon\nboth.[110] The chief was Armstrong of Mangertoun; but, at a later\nperiod, they are declared a broken clan, i.e. one which had no lawful\nhead, to become surety for their good behaviour. The rapacity of this\nclan, and of their allies, the Elliots, occasioned the popular saying,\n\"Elliots and Armstrongs ride thieves all.\"--But to what Border-family\nof note, in former days, would not such an adage have been equally\napplicable? All along the river Liddel may still be discovered the\nruins of towers, possessed by this numerous clan. They did not,\nhowever, entirely trust to these fastnesses; but, when attacked by a\nsuperior force, abandoned entirely their dwellings, and retired into\nmorasses, accessible by paths known to themselves alone. One of\ntheir most noted places of refuge was the Tarras Moss, a desolate and\nhorrible marsh, through which a small river takes its course. Upon its\nbanks are found some dry spots, which were occupied by these outlaws,\nand their families, in cases of emergency. The stream runs furiously\namong huge rocks, which has occasioned a popular saying--\n\n  Was ne'er are drown'd in Tarras, nor yet in doubt,\n  For e'er the head can win down, the harns (brains) are out.\n\nThe morass itself is so deep, that, according to an old historian, two\nspears tied together would not reach the bottom. In this retreat, the\nArmstrongs, _anno_ 1588, baffled the Earl of Angus, when lieutenant\non the Border, although he reckoned himself so skilful in winding a\nthief, that he declared, \"he had the same pleasure in it, as others in\na hunting a hare.\" On this occasion he was totally unsuccessful, and\nnearly lost his relation, Douglas of Ively, whom the freebooters made\nprisoner.--_Godscroft_ Vol. II. p. 411.\n\n[Footnote 110: In illustration of this position, the reader is\nreferred to a long correspondence betwixt Lord Dacre and the Privy\nCouncil of England, in 1550, concerning one Sandye Armstrang, a\npartizan of England, and an inhabitant of the Debateable Land, who\nhad threatened to become a Scottishman, if he was not protected by\nthe English warden against the Lord Maxwell.--See _Introduction to\nNicholson and Burn's History of Cumberland and Westmoreland_.]\n\nUpon another occasion the Armstrongs were less fortunate. They had,\nin one of their incursions, plundered the town of Haltwhistle, on the\nborders of Cumberland. Sir Robert Carey, warden of the west marches,\ndemanded satisfaction from the king of Scotland, and received for\nanswer, that the offenders were no subjects of his, and that he\nmight take his own revenge. The English warden, accordingly entered\nLlddesdale, and ravaged the lands of the outlaws; on which occasion,\n_Sim of the Cat-hill_ (an Armstrong) was killed by one of the Ridleys\nof Haltwhistle. This incident procured Haltwhistle another visit from\nthe Armstrongs, in which they burnt great part of the town, but not\nwithout losing one of their leaders, by a shot from a window.\n\n\"The death of this young man (says Sir Robert Carey) wrote (wrought)\nso deep an impression upon them (the outlaws), as many vowes were\nmade, that, before the end of next winter, they would lay the whole\nBorder waste. This (the murder) was done about the end of May (1598).\nThe chiefe of all these outlaws was _old Sim of Whittram_.[111] He had\nfive or six sonnes, as able men as the Borders had. This old man and\nhis sonnes had not so few as two hundred at their commands, that were\never ready to ride with them to all actions, at their beck.\n\n[Footnote 111: Whittram is a place in Liddesdale. It is mistaken\nby the noble editor for Whithern, in Galloway, as is Hartwesel\n(Haltwhistle, on the borders of Cumberland) for Twisel, a village on\nthe English side of the Tweed, near Wark.]\n\nThe high parts of the marsh (march) towards Scotland were put in a\nmighty fear, and the chiefe of them, for themselves and the rest,\npetitioned to mee, and did assure mee, that, unless I did take some\ncourse with them, by the end of that summer, there was none of the\ninhabitants durst, or would, stay in their dwellings the next winter,\nbut they would fley the countrey, and leave their houses and lands to\nthe fury of the outlawes. Upon this complaint, I called the gentlemen\nof the countrey together, and acquainted them with the misery that the\nhighest parts of the marsh towards Scotland were likely to endure, if\nthere were not timely prevention to avoid it, and desired them to\ngive mee their best advice what course were fitt to be taken. They all\nshowed themselves willing to give mee their best counsailles, and most\nof them were of opinion, that I was not well advised to refuse the\nhundred horse that my Lord Euers had; and that now my best way was\nspeedily to acquaint the quene and counsaile with the necessity of\nhaving more soldiers, and that there could not be less than a hundred\nhorse sent downe for the defence of the countrey, besides the forty I\nhad already in pay, and that there was nothing but force of soldiers\ncould keep them in awe: and to let the counsaile plainly understand,\nthat the marsh, of themselves, were not able to subsist, whenever the\nwinter and long nights came in, unlesse present cure and remedy were\nprovided for them. I desired them to advise better of it, and to see\nif they could find out any other meanes to prevent their mischievous\nintentions, without putting the quene and countrey to any further\ncharge. They all resolved that there was no second meanes. Then I told\nthem my intention what I meant to do, which was, that myselfe, with my\ntwo deputies, and the forty horse that I was allowed, would, with what\nspeede wee could, make ourselves ready to go up to the Wastes, and\nthere wee would entrench ourselves, and lye as near as wee could to\nthe outlawes; and, if there were any brave spirits among them, that\nwould go with us, they should be very wellcome, and fare and lye as\nwell as myselfe: and I did not doubte before the summer ended, to do\nsomething that should abate the pride of these outlawes. Those, that\nwere unwilling to hazard themselves, liked not this motion. They said,\nthat, in so doing, I might keep the countrey quiet the time I lay\nthere; but, when the winter approached, I could stay there no longer,\nand that was the theeves' time to do all their mischiefe. But there\nwere divers young gentlemen, that offered to go with mee, some with\nthree, some with four horses, and to stay with mee as long as I would\nthere continue. I took a list of those that offered to go with mee,\nand found, that, with myself, my officers, the gentlemen, and our\nservants, wee should be about two hundred good men and horse; a\ncompetent number, as I thought, for such a service.\n\nThe day and place was appointed for our meeting in the Wastes, and,\nby the help of the foot of Liddisdale[112] and Risdale, wee had soone\nbuilt a pretty fort, and within it wee had all cabines made to lye in,\nand every one brought beds or matresses to lye on. There wee stayed,\nfrom the middest of June, till almost the end of August. We were\nbetweene fifty and sixty gentlemen, besides their servants and my\nhorsemen; so that wee were not so few as two hundred horse. Wee wanted\nno provisions for ourselves nor our horses, for the countrey people\nwere well payed for any thing they brought us; so that wee had a good\nmarket every day, before our fort, to buy what we lacked. The chiefe\noutlawes, at our coming, fled their houses where they dwelt, and\nbetooke themselves to a large and great forest (with all their\ngoodes), which was called the Tarras. It was of that strength, and\nso surrounded with bogges and marish grounds, and thicke bushes\nand shrubbes, as they feared not the force nor power of England nor\nScotland, so long as they were there. They sent me word, that I was\nlike the first puffe of a haggasse,[113] hottest at the first, and\nbade me stay there as long as the weather would give me leave. They\nwould stay in the Tarras Wood till I was weary of lying in the Waste;\nand when I had had my time, and they no whit the worse, they would\nplay their parts, which should keep mee waking the next winter. Those\ngentlemen of the countrey that came not with mee, were of the same\nminde; for they knew (or thought at least), that my force was not\nsufficient to withstand the furey of the outlawes. The time I stayed\nat the fort I was not idle, but cast, by all meanes I could, how to\ntake them in the great strength they were in. I found a meanes to send\na hundred and fifty horsemen into Scotland (conveighed by a muffled\nman,[114] not known to any of the company), thirty miles within\nScotland, and the businesse was carried so, that none in the countrey\ntooke any alarm at this passage. They were quietly brought to\nthe back-side of the Tarras, to Scotland-ward. There they divided\nthemselves into three parts, and tooke up three passages which the\noutlawes made themselves secure of, if from England side they should\nat any time be put at.\n\n[Footnote 112: The foot of Liddisdale were the garrison of King James,\nin the castle of Hermitage, who assisted Carey on this occasion, as\nthe Armstrongs were outlaws to both nations.]\n\n[Footnote 113: A haggis, (according to Burns, \"the chieftain of the\npudding-race,\") is an olio, composed of the liver, heart, &c. of a\nsheep, minced down with oatmeal, onions, and spices, and boiled in\nthe stomach of the animal, by way of bag. When the bag is cut, the\ncontents, (if this savoury dish be well made) should spout out with\nthe heated air. This will explain the allusion.]\n\n[Footnote 114: A Muffled Man means a person in disguise; a very\nnecessary precaution for the guide's safety; for, could the outlaws\nhave learned who played them this trick, beyond all doubt it must have\ncost him dear.]\n\nThey had their scoutes on the tops of hills, on the English side,\nto give them warning if at any time any power of men should come to\nsurprise them. The three ambushes were safely laid, without being\ndiscovered, and, about four o'clock in the morning, there were three\nhundred horse, and a thousand foote,[115] that came directly to the\nplace where the scoutes lay. They gave the alarm; our men brake down\nas fast as they could into the wood. The outlawes thought themselves\nsafe, assuring themselves at any time to escape; but they were so\nstrongly set upon, on the English side, as they were forced to\nleave their goodes, and betake themselves to their passages towards\nScotland. There was presently five taken of the principall of them.\nThe rest, seeing themselves, as they thought, betrayed, retired into\nthe thicke woodes and bogges,[116] that our men durst not follow them\nfor fear of loosing themselves. The principall of the five, that were\ntaken, were two of the eldest sonnes of _Sim of Whitram_. These five\nthey brought to mee to the fort, and a number of goodes, both of sheep\nand kine, which satisfied most part of the countrey, that they had\nstolen them from.\n\n[Footnote 115: From this it would appear, that Carey, although his\nconstant attendants in his fort consisted only of 200 horse, had, upon\nthis occasion by the assistance, probably, of the English and Scottish\nroyal garrisons, collected a much greater force.]\n\n[Footnote 116: There are now no trees in Liddesdale, except on the\nbanks of the rivers, where they are protected from the sheep. But the\nstumps and fallen timber, which are every where found in the morasses,\nattest how well the country must have been wooded in former days.]\n\n\"The five, that were taken, were of great worth and value amongst\nthem; insomuch, that, for their liberty, I should have what conditions\nI should demand or desire. First, all English prisoners were set at\nliberty. Then had I themselves, and most part of the gentlemen of the\nScottish side, so strictly bound in bondes to enter to mee, in fifteen\ndayes warning, any offendour, that they durst not, for their\nlives, break any covenant that I made with them; and so, upon these\nconditions, I set them at liberty, and was never after troubled with\nthese kind of people. Thus God blessed me in bringing this great\ntrouble to so quiet an end; wee brake up our fort, and every man\nretired to his owne house.\"--_Carey's Memoirs_, p. 151.\n\nThe people of Liddesdale have retained, by tradition, the remembrance\nof _Carey's Raid_, as they call it. They tell, that, while he was\nbesieging the outlaws in the Tarras they contrived, by ways known\nonly to themselves, to send a party into England, who plundered the\nwarden's lands. On their return, they sent Carey one of his own cows,\ntelling him, that, fearing he might fall short of provision during his\nvisit to Scotland, they had taken the precaution of sending him some\nEnglish beef. The anecdote is too characteristic to be suppressed.\n\nFrom this narrative, the power and strength of the Armstrongs, at\nthis late period, appear to have been very considerable. Even upon the\ndeath of Queen Elizabeth, this clan, associated with other banditti of\nthe west marches to the number of two or three hundred horse, entered\nEngland in a hostile manner, and extended their ravages as far as\nPenrith. James VI., then at Berwick, upon his journey to his new\ncapital, detached a large force, under Sir William Selby, captain of\nBerwick, to bring these depredators to order. Their raid, remarkable\nfor being the last of any note occurring in history, was avenged in an\nexemplary manner. Most of the strong-holds upon the Liddel were razed\nto the foundation, and several of the principal leaders executed at\nCarlisle; after which we find little mention of the Armstrongs in\nhistory. The precautions, adopted by the Earl of Dunbar, to preserve\npeace on the borders, bore peculiarly hard upon a body of men, long\naccustomed to the most ungoverned licence. They appear, in a\ngreat measure, to have fallen victims to the strictness of the new\nenactments.--_Ridpath_, p. 703.--_Stow_, 819.--_Laing_, Vol. I. The\nlands, possessed by them in former days, have chiefly come into the\nhands of the Buccleuch family, and of the Elliots; so that, with one\nor two exceptions, we may say, that, in the country which this warlike\nclan once occupied, there is hardly left a land-holder of the name.\nOne of the last border reivers was, however, of this family, and lived\nwithin the beginning of the last century. After having made himself\ndreaded over the whole country, he at last came to the following end:\nOne--, a man of large property, having lost twelve cows in one\nnight, raised the country of Tiviotdale, and traced the robbers into\nLiddesdale, as far as the house of this Armstrong, commonly called\n_Willie of Westburnflat_, from the place of his residence, on the\nbanks of the Hermitage water. Fortunately for the pursuers he was\nthen asleep; so that he was secured, along with nine of his friends,\nwithout much resistance. He was brought to trial at Selkirk; and,\nalthough no precise evidence was adduced to convict him of the special\nfact (the cattle never having been recovered), yet the jury brought\nhim in _guilty_ on his general character, or, as it is called in our\nlaw, on habite and repute. When sentence was pronounced, Willie arose;\nand, seizing the oaken chair in which he was placed, broke it into\npieces by main strength, and offered to his companions, who were\ninvolved in the same doom, that, if they would stand behind him, he\nwould fight his way out of Selkirk with these weapons. But they held\nhis hands, and besought him to let them _die like Christians_. They\nwere accordingly executed in form of law. This was the last trial at\nSelkirk. The people of Liddesdale, who (perhaps not erroneously) still\nconsider the sentence as iniquitous, remarked, that--, the prosecutor,\nnever throve afterwards, but came to beggary and ruin, with his whole\nfamily.\n\nJohnie Armstrong, of Gilnockie, the hero of the following ballad, is a\nnoted personage, both in history and tradition. He was, it would seem\nfrom the ballad, a brother of the laird of Mangertoun, chief of\nthe name. His place of residence (now a roofless tower) was at the\nHollows, a few miles from Langholm, where its ruins still serve to\nadorn a scene, which, in natural beauty, has few equals in Scotland.\nAt the head of a desperate band of freebooters, this Armstrong is said\nto have spread the terror of his name almost as far as Newcastle, and\nto have levied _black mail_, or _protection and forbearance money_,\nfor many miles around. James V., of whom it was long remembered by\nhis grateful people, that he made the \"rush-bush keep the cow,\" about\n1529, undertook an expedition through the border counties, to suppress\nthe turbulent spirit of the marchmen. But, before setting out upon his\njourney, he took the precaution of imprisoning the different border\nchieftains, who were the chief protectors of the marauders. The Earl\nof Bothwell was forfeited, and confined in Edinburgh castle. The\nlords of Home and Maxwell, the lairds of Buccleuch, Fairniherst, and\nJohnston, with many others, were also committed to ward. Cockburn\nof Henderland, and Adam Scott of Tushielaw, called the King of the\nBorder, were publicly executed.--_Lesley_, p. 430. The king then\nmarched rapidly forward, at the head of a flying army of ten thousand\nmen, through Ettrick Forest, and Ewsdale. The evil genius of our\nJohnie Armstrong, or, as others say, the private advice of some\ncourtiers, prompted him to present himself before James, at the head\nof thirty-six horse, arrayed in all the pomp of border chivalry,\nPitscottie uses nearly the words of the ballad, in describing the\nsplendour of his equipment, and his high expectations of favour\nfrom the king. \"But James, looking upon him sternly, said to his\nattendants, 'What wants that knave that a king should have?' and\nordered him and his followers to instant execution.\"--\"But John\nArmstrong,\" continues this minute historian, \"made great offers to the\nking. That he should sustain himself, with forty gentlemen, ever ready\nat his service, on their own cost, without wronging any Scottishman:\nSecondly, that there was not a subject in England, duke, earl, or\nbaron, but, within a certain day, he should bring him to his majesty,\neither quick or dead.[117] At length he, seeing no hope of favour,\nsaid very proudly, 'It is folly to seek grace at a graceless face;\nbut,' said he, 'had I known this, I should have lived upon the borders\nin despite of King Harry and you both; for I know King Harry would\n_down-weigh my best horse with gold_, to know that I were condemned to\ndie this day.'--_Pitscottie's History_, p. 145. Johnie, with all his\nretinue, was accordingly hanged upon growing trees, at a place called\nCarlenrig chapel, about ten miles above Hawick, on the high road to\nLangholm. The country people believe, that, to manifest the injustice\nof the execution, the trees withered away. Armstrong and his followers\nwere buried in a deserted church-yard, where their graves are still\nshewn.\n\n[Footnote 117: The borderers, from their habits of life, were capable\nof most extraordinary exploits of this nature. In the year 1511, Sir\nRobert Ker of Cessford, warden of the middle marches of Scotland,\nwas murdered at a border-meeting, by the bastard Heron, Starhead,\nand Lilburn. The English monarch delivered up Lilburn to justice\nin Scotland, but Heron and Starhead escaped. The latter chose his\nresidence in the very centre of England, to baffle the vengeance of\nKer's clan and followers. Two dependants of the deceased, called Tait,\nwere deputed by Andrew Ker of Cessford to revenge his father's\nmurder. They travelled through England in various disguises till they\ndiscovered the place of Starhead's retreat, murdered him in his bed,\nand brought his head in triumph to Edinburgh, where Ker caused it to\nbe exposed at the cross. The bastard Heron would have shared the same\nfate, had he not spread abroad a report of his having died of the\nplague, and caused his funeral obsequies to be performed.--_Ridpath's\nHistory_, p. 481.--_See also Metrical Account of the Battle of\nFlodden, published by the Rev. Mr. Lambe_.]\n\nAs this border hero was a person of great note in his way, he is\nfrequently alluded to by the writers of the time. Sir David Lindsay\nof the Mount, in the curious play published by Mr. Pinkerton, from the\nBannatyne MS., introduces a pardoner, or knavish dealer in reliques,\nwho produces, among his holy rarities--\n\n  --The cordis, baith grit and lang,\n  Quhilt hangit Johnnie Armistrang,\n  Of gude hempt, soft and sound,\n  Gude haly pepill, I stand ford,\n  Wha'evir beis hangit in this cord,\n  Neidis nevir to be drowned!\n\n_Pinkerton's Scottish Poems_, Vol. II. p. 69.\n\nIn _The Complaynt of Scotland_, John Armistrangis's dance, mentioned\nas a popular tune, has probably some reference to our hero.\n\nThe common people of the high parts of Tiviotdale, Liddesdale, and\nthe country adjacent, hold the memory of Johnie Armstrong in very high\nrespect. They affirm also, that one of his attendants broke through\nthe king's guard, and carried to Gilnockie Tower the news of the\nbloody catastrophe.\n\nThis song was first published by Allan Ramsay, in his _Evergreen_, who\nsays, he copied it from the mouth of a gentleman, called Armstrong,\nwho was in the sixth generation from this John. The reciter assured\nhim, that this was the genuine old ballad; the common one false. By\nthe common one, Ramsay means an English ballad upon the same subject,\nbut differing in various particulars, which is published in Mr.\nRitson's _English Songs_, Vol. II. It is fortunate for the admirers of\nthe old ballad, that it did not fall into Ramsay's hands, when he\nwas equipping with new sets of words the old Scottish tunes in his\n_Tea-Table Miscellany_. Since his time it has been often reprinted.\n\n\n\n\nJOHNIE ARMSTRANG\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  Sum speikis of lords, sum speikis of lairds,\n  And sick lyke men of hie degrie;\n  Of a gentleman I sing a sang,\n  Sum tyme called laird of Gilnockie.\n\n  The king he wrytes a luving letter,\n  With his ain hand sae tenderly,\n  And he hath sent it to Johnie Armstrang,\n  To cum and speik with him speedily.\n\n  The Eliots and Armstrangs did convene;\n  They were a gallant cumpanie--\n  \"We'll ride and meit our lawful king,\n  And bring him safe to Gilnockie.\"\n\n  \"Make kinnen[118] and capon ready then,\n  And venison in great plentie;\n  We'll wellcum here our royal king;\n  I hope he'll dine at Gilnockie!\"\n\n  They ran their horse on the Langhome howm,\n  And brak their speirs wi' mickle main;\n  The ladies lukit frae their loft windows--\n  \"God bring our men weel back agen!\"\n\n  When Johnie cam before the king,\n  Wi' a' his men sae brave to see,\n  The king he movit his bonnet to him;\n  He ween'd he was a king as well as he.\n\n  \"May I find grace, my sovereign liege,\n  Grace for my loyal men and me?\n  For my name it is Johnie Armstrang,\n  And subject of your's, my liege,\" said he.\n\n  \"Away, away, thou traitor strang!\n  Out o' my sight soon may'st thou be!\n  I grantit nevir a traitor's life,\n  And now I'll not begin wi' thee.\"\n\n  \"Grant me my life, my liege, my king!\n  \"And a bonny gift I'll gie to thee--\n  \"Full four and twenty milk-white steids,\n  \"Were a' foaled in ae yeir to me.\n\n  \"I'll gie thee a' these milk-white steids,\n  \"That prance and nicker[119] at a speir;\n  \"And as mickle gude Inglish gilt[120],\n  \"As four of their braid backs dow[121] bear.\"\n\n  \"Away, away, thou traitor strang!\n  \"Out o' my sight soon may'st thou be!\n  \"I grantit never a traitor's life,\n  \"And now I'll not begin wi' thee!\"\n\n  \"Grant me my life, my liege, my king!\n  \"And a bonny gift I'll gie to thee--\n  \"Gude four and twenty ganging[122] mills,\n  \"That gang thro' a' the yeir to me.\n\n  \"These four and twenty mills complete,\n  \"Sall gang for thee thro' a' the yeir;\n  \"And as mickle of gude reid wheit,\n  \"As a' their happers dow to bear.\"\n\n  \"Away, away, thou traitor strang!\n  \"Out o' my sight soon may'st thou be!\n  \"I grantit nevir a traitor's life,\n  \"And now I'll not begin wi' thee.\"\n\n  \"Grant me my life, my liege, my king!\n  \"And a great gift I'll gie to thee--\n  \"Bauld four and twenty sister's sons,\n  \"Sall for thee fecht, tho' a' should flee!\"\n\n  \"Away, away, thou traitor strang!\n  \"Out o' my sight soon may'st thou be!\n  \"I grantit nevir a traitor's life,\n  \"And now I'll not begin wi' thee.\"\n\n  \"Grant me my life, my liege, my king!\n  \"And a brave gift I'll gie to thee--\n  \"All between heir and Newcastle town\n  \"Sall pay their yeirly rent to thee.\"\n\n  \"Away, away, thou traitor strang!\n  \"Out o' my sight soon may'st thou be!\n  \"I grantit nevir a traitor's life,\n  \"And now I'll not begin wi' thee.\"\n\n  \"Ye lied[123], ye lied, now king,\" he says.\n  \"Altho' a king and prince ye be!\n  For I've luved naething in my life,\n  \"I weel dare say it, but honesty--\n\n  \"Save a fat horse,\" and a fair woman,\n  \"Twa bonny dogs to kill a deir;\n  \"But England suld have found me meal and mault,\n  \"Gif I had lived this hundred yeir!\n\n  \"Sche suld have found me meal and mault,\n  \"And beif and mutton in a' plentie;\n  \"But nevir a Scots wyfe could have said,\n  \"That e'er I skaithed her a pure flee.\n\n  \"To seik het water beneith cauld ice,\n  \"Surely it is a greit folie--\n  \"I have asked grace at a graceless face,\n  \"But there is mine for my men and me!\n\n  \"But, had I kenn'd ere I cam frae hame,\n  \"How thou unkind wadst been to me!\n  \"I wad have keepit the border side,\n  \"In spite of al thy force and thee.\n\n  \"Wist England's king that I was ta'en,\n  \"O gin a blythe man he wad be!\n  \"For anes I slew his sister's son,\n  \"And on his breist bane brake a trie.\"\n\n  John wore a girdle about his middle,\n  Imbroidered ower wi' burning gold,\n  Bespangled wi' the same metal;\n  Maist beautiful was to behold.\n\n  There hang nine targats[124] at Johnie's hat,\n  And ilk are worth three hundred pound--\n  \"What wants that knave that a king suld have,\n  But the sword of honour and the crown!\n\n  \"O whair got thou these targats, Johnie,\n  \"That blink[125] sae brawly abune thy brie?\"\n  \"I gat them in the field fechting,\n  \"Where, cruel king, thou durst not be.\n\n  \"Had I my horse, and harness gude,\n  \"And riding as I wont to be,\n  \"It suld have been tald this hundred yeir,\n  \"The meeting of my king and me!\n\n  \"God be with thee, Kirsty,[126] my brother!\n  \"Lang live thou laird of Mangertoun!\n  \"Lang may'st thou live on the border syde,\n  \"Ere thou see thy brother ride up and down!\n\n  \"And God be with thee, Kirsty, my son,\n  \"Where thou sits on thy nurse's knee!\n  \"But and thou live this hundred yeir,\n  \"Thy father's better thou'lt nevir be.\n\n  \"Farewell! my bonny Gilnock hall,\n  \"Where on Esk side thou stand est stout!\n  \"Gif I had lived but seven yeirs mair,\n  \"I wad hae gilt thee round about.\"\n\n  John murdered was at Carlinrigg,\n  And all his gallant cumpanie;\n  But Scotland's heart was ne'er sae wae,\n  To see sae mony brave men die--\n\n  Because they saved their countrey deir,\n  Frae Englishmen! Nane were sae bauld,\n  Whyle Johnie lived on the border syde,\n  Nane of them durst cum neir his hauld.\n\n[Footnote 118: _Kinnen_--Rabbits.]\n\n[Footnote 119: _Nicker_--Neigh.]\n\n[Footnote 120: _Gilt--Gold_.]\n\n[Footnote 121: _Dow_--Able to.]\n\n[Footnote 122: _Ganging_--Going.]\n\n[Footnote 123: _Lied_--Lye.]\n\n[Footnote 124: _Targats_--Tassels.]\n\n[Footnote 125: _Blink sae brawly_--Glance so bravely.]\n\n[Footnote 126: Christopher.]\n\n\n\n\nSUPPLEMENT TO THE BALLAD OF JOHNIE ARMSTRANG.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nThe editor believes, his readers will not be displeased to see a Bond\nof Manrent, granted by this border freebooter to the Scottish warden\nof the west marches, in return for the gift of a feudal casualty of\ncertain lauds particularized. It is extracted from _Syme's Collection\nof Old Writings, MS. penes_ Dr. Robert Anderson, of Edinburgh.\n\n\nBOND OF MANRENT.\n\nBe it kend till all men, be thir present letters, me, Johne\nArmistrang, for to be bound and oblist, and be the tenor of thir\npresent letters, and faith and trewth in my body, lelie and trewlie,\nbindis and oblissis me and myn airis, to are nobil and michtie lord,\nRobert Lord Maxwell, wardane of the west marches of Scotland, that,\nforasmikle as my said lord has given and grantit to me, and mine airis\nperpetuallie, the nonentries of all and hail the landis underwritten,\nthat is to say, the landis of Dalbetht, Shield, Dalblane,\nStapil-Gortown, Langholme, and--with their pertindis, lyand in the\nlordship of Eskdale, as his gift, maid to me, therupon beris in\nthe self: and that for all the tyme of the nonentres of the samyn.\nTheirfor, I, the said Johne Armistrang, bindis and oblissis me and\nmyne airis, in manrent and service to the said Robert Lord Maxwell,\nand his airis, for evermair, first and befor all uthirs, myne\nallegiance to our soverane lord, the king, allanerly except; and to be\ntrewe, gude, and lele servant to my said lord, and be ready to do\nhim service, baith in pece and weir, with all my kyn, friends, and\nservants, that I may and dowe to raise, and be and to my said lord's\nairis for evermair. And sall tak his true and plane part in all maner\nof actions at myn outer power, and sall nouther wit, hear, nor se my\nsaid lordis skaith, lak, nor dishonestie, but we sall stop and lett\nthe samyn, and geif we dowe not lett the samyn, we sall warn him\nthereof in all possible haist; and geif it happenis me, the said Johne\nArmistrang, or myne airis, to fail in our said service and manrent,\nany maner of way, to our said lord (as God forbid we do), than, and\nin that caiss, the gift and nonentres maid be him to us, of the said\nlandis of Dalbetht, Schield, Dalblane, Stapil-Gortown, Langholme,\nand--with the pertinentis to be of no avale, force, nor effect; but\nthe said lord and his airis to have free regress and ingress to the\nnonentres of the samyn, but ony pley or impediment. To the keeping and\nfulfilling of all and sundry the premisses, in form above writtin, I\nbind and obliss me and my airis foresaids, to the said lord and his\nairis for evermare, be the faithis treuthis in our bodies, but fraud\nor gile. In witness of the whilk thing, to thir letters of manrent\nsubscrievit, with my hand at the pen, my sele is hangin, at Drumfries,\nthe secund day of November, the yeir of God, Jaiv and XXV. yeiris.\n\n  JOHNE ARMISTRANG, with my hand\n  at the pen.\n\nThe lands, here mentioned, were the possessions of Armstrong himself,\nthe investitures of which not having been regularly renewed, the\nfeudal casualty of non-entry had been incurred by the vassal. The\nbrother of Johnie Armstrang is said to have founded, or rather\nrepaired, Langholm castle, before which, as mentioned in the ballad,\nverse 5th, they \"ran their horse,\" and \"brake their spears,\" in the\nexercise of border chivalry.--_Account of the Parish of Langholm, apud\nMacfarlane's MSS_. The lands of Langholm and Staplegorton continued\nin Armstrong's family; for there is, in the same MS. collection, a\nsimilar bond of manrent, granted by \"Christofer Armistrang, calit\n_Johne's Pope_,\" on 24th January, 1557, to Lord Johne Lord Maxwell,\nand to Sir Johne Maxwell of Terreglis, knight, his tutor and governor,\nin return for the gift of \"the males of all and haill the landis whilk\nare conteint in ane bond made by umquhile Johne Armistrang, my father,\nto umquhile Robert, Lord Maxwell, gudshore to the said Johne, now Lord\nMaxwell.\" It would therefore appear, that the bond of manrent, granted\nby John Armstrong, had been the price of his release from the feudal\npenalty arising from his having neglected to procure a regular\ninvestiture from his superior. As Johnie only touched the pen, it\nappears that he could not write.\n\nChristopher Armstrong, above-mentioned, is the person alluded to in\nthe conclusion of the ballad--\"God be with thee, Kirsty, my son.\"\nHe was the father, or grandfather, of William Armstrong, called\n_Christie's Will_, a renowned freebooter, some of whose exploits the\nreader will find recorded in the third volume of this work.\n\n\n\n\nTHE LOCHMABEN HARPER\n\nNOW FIRST PUBLISHED.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n_The castle of Lochmaben was formerly a noble building, situated upon\na peninsula, projecting into one of the four lakes which are in\nthe neighbourhood of the royal burgh, and is said to have been the\nresidence of Robert Bruce, while lord of Annandale. Accordingly,\nit was always held to be a royal fortress, the keeping of which,\naccording to the custom of the times, was granted to some powerful\nlord, with an allotment of lands and fishings, for the defence and\nmaintenance of the place. There is extant a grant, dated 16th March,\n1511, to Robert Lauder of the Bass, of the office of captain and\nkeeper of Lochmaben castle, for seven years, with many perquisites.\nAmong others, the_ \"land, stolen frae the king,\" _is bestowed upon the\ncaptain, as his proper lands.--What shall we say of a country, where\nthe very ground was the subject of theft_?\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n  O heard ye na o' the silly blind Harper,\n  How lang he lived in Lochmaben town?\n  And how he wad gang to fair England,\n  To steal the Lord Warden's Wanton Brown!\n\n  But first he gaed to his gude wyfe,\n  Wi' a' the haste that he could thole--\n  \"This wark,\" quo' he, \"will ne'er gae weel,\n  Without a mare that has a foal.\"\n\n  Quo' she--\"Thou hast a gude gray mare,\n  That can baith lance o'er laigh and hie;\n  Sae set thee on the gray mare's back,\n  And leave the foal at hame wi' me.\"\n\n  So he is up to England gane,\n  And even as fast as he may drie;\n  And when he cam to Carlisle gate,\n  O whae was there but the Warden, he?\n\n  \"Come into my hall, thou silly blind Harper,\n  And of thy harping let me hear!\"\n  \"O by my sooth,\" quo' the silly blind Harper,\n  I wad rather hae stabling for my mare.\"\n\n  The Warden look'd ower his left shoulder,\n  And said unto his stable groom--\n  \"Gae take the silly blind Harper's mare,\n  And tie her beside my Wanton Brown.\"\n\n  Then aye he harped, and aye he carped[127],\n  Till a' the lordlings footed the floor;\n  But an' the music was sae sweet,\n  The groom had nae mind of the stable door.\n\n  And aye he harped, and aye he carped,\n  Till a' the nobles were fast asleep;\n  Then quickly he took aff his shoon,\n  And saftly down the stair did creep.\n\n  Syne to the stable door he hied,\n  Wi' tread as light as light could be;\n  And when he opened and gaed in,\n  There he fand thirty steeds and three.\n\n  He took a cowt halter[128] frae his hose,\n  And o' his purpose he did na fail;\n  He slipt it ower the Wanton's nose,\n  And tied it to his gray mare's tail.\n\n  He turned them loose at the castle gate,\n  Ower muir and moss and ilka dale;\n  And she ne'er let the Wanton bait,\n  But kept him a-galloping hame to her foal.\n\n  The mare she was right swift o' foot,\n  She did na fail to find the way;\n  For she was at Lochmaben gate,\n  A lang three hours before the day.\n\n  When she cam to the Harper's door,\n  There she gave mony a nicker and sneer--[129]\n  \"Rise up,\" quo' the wife, \"thou lazy lass;\n  Let in thy master and his mare.\"\n\n  Then up she rose, put on her clothes,\n  And keekit through at the lock-hole--\n  \"O! by my sooth,\" then cried the lass,\n  Our mare has gotten a braw brown foal!\"\n\n  \"Come, haud thy tongue, thou silly wench!\n  The morn's but glancing in your e'e.\"--\n  I'll[130] wad my hail fee against a groat,\n  He's bigger than e'er our foal will be.\"\n\n  Now all this while, in merry Carlisle,\n  The Harper harped to hie and law;\n  And the[131] fiend thing dought they do but listen him to,\n  Until that the day began to daw.\n\n  But on the morn, at fair day light,\n  When they had ended a' their cheer,\n  Behold the Wanton Brown was gane,\n  And eke the poor blind Harper's mare!\n\n  \"Allace! allace!\" quo' the cunning auld Harper,\n  \"And ever allace that I cam here!\n  In Scotland I lost a braw cowt foal,\n  In England they've stown my gude gray mare!\"\n\n  \"Come! cease thy allacing, thou silly blind Harper,\n  And again of thy harping let us hear;\n  And weel payd sall thy cowt-foal be,\n  And thou sall have a far better mare.\"\n\n  Then aye he harped, and aye he carped;\n  Sae sweet were the harpings he let them hear!\n  He was paid for the foal he had never lost,\n  And three times ower for the gude GRAY MARE.\n\n[Footnote 127: _Carped_--Sung.]\n\n[Footnote 128: _Cowt halter_--Colt's halter.]\n\n[Footnote 129: _Nicker and sneer_--Neigh and snort.]\n\n[Footnote 130: _Wad my hail fee_--Bet my whole wages.]\n\n[Footnote 131: _Fiend thing dought_--Nothing could they do.]\n\n\n\n\nNOTES ON THE LOCHMABEN HARPER.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nThe only remark which offers itself on the foregoing ballad seems\nto be, that it is the most modern in which the harp, as a border\ninstrument of music, is found to occur.\n\nI cannot dismiss the subject of Lochmaben, without noticing an\nextraordinary and anomalous class of landed proprietors, who dwell\nin the neighbourhood of that burgh. These are the inhabitants of four\nsmall villages, near the ancient castle, called the Four Towns of\nLochmaben. They themselves are termed the King's Rentallers, or kindly\ntenants; under which denomination each of them has a right, of an\nallodial nature, to a small piece of ground. It is said, that these\npeople are the descendants of Robert Bruce's menials, to whom he\nassigned, in reward of their faithful service, these portions of land,\nburdened only with the payment of certain quit-rents, and grassums or\nfines, upon the entry of a new tenant. The right of the rentallers is,\nin essence, a right of property, but, in form, only a right of lease;\nof which they appeal for the foundation on the rent-rolls of the lord\nof the castle and manor. This possession, by rental, or by simple\nentry upon the rent-roll, was anciently a common, and peculiarly\nsacred, species of property, granted by a chief to his faithful\nfollowers; the connection of landlord and tenant being esteemed of\na nature too formal to be necessary, where there was honour upon\none side, and gratitude upon the other. But, in the case of subjects\ngranting a right of this kind, it was held to expire with the life\nof the granter, unless his heir chose to renew it; and also upon\nthe death of the rentaller himself, unless especially granted to his\nheirs, by which term only his first heir was understood. Hence, in\nmodern days, the _kindly tenants_ have entirely disappeared from the\nland. Fortunately for the inhabitants of the Four Towns of Lochmaben,\nthe maxim, that the king can never die, prevents their right of\nproperty from reverting to the crown. The viscount of Stormonth, as\nroyal keeper of the castle, did, indeed, about the beginning of\nlast century, make an attempt to remove the rentallers from their\npossessions, or at least to procure judgment, finding them obliged to\ntake out feudal investitures, and subject themselves to the casualties\nthereto annexed. But the rentallers united in their common defence;\nand, having stated their immemorial possession, together with some\nfavourable clauses in certain old acts of parliament, enacting, that\nthe king's _poor kindly tenants_ of Lochmaben should not be hurt, they\nfinally prevailed in an action before the Court of Session. From the\npeculiar state of their right of property, it follows, that there is\nno occasion for feudal investitures, or the formal entry of an heir;\nand, of course, when they chuse to convey their lands, it is done by a\nsimple deed of conveyance, without charter or sasine.\n\nThe kindly tenants of Lochmaben live (or at least lived till lately)\nmuch sequestered from their neighbours, marry among themselves, and\nare distinguished from each other by _soubriquets_, according to\nthe ancient border custom, repeatedly noticed You meet, among their\nwritings, with such names as _John Out-bye, Will In-bye, White-fish,\nRed-fish_, &c. They are tenaciously obstinate in defence of their\nprivileges of commonty, &c. which are numerous. Their lands are,\nin general, neatly inclosed, and well cultivated, and they form a\ncontented and industrious little community.\n\nMany of these particulars are extracted from the MSS. of Mr. Syme,\nwriter to the signet. Those, who are desirous of more information, may\nconsult _Craig de Feudis_, Lib. II. dig. 9. sec. 24. It is hoped the\nreader will excuse this digression, though somewhat professional;\nespecially as there can be little doubt, that this diminutive republic\nmust soon share the fate of mightier states; for, in consequence of\nthe increase of commerce, lands possessed under this singular tenure,\nbeing now often brought to sale, and purchased by the neighbouring\nproprietors, will, in process of time, be included in their\ninvestitures, and the right of rentallage be entirely forgotten.\n\n\n\n\nJAMIE TELFER OF THE FAIR DODHEAD.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n_There is another ballad, under the same title as the following, in\nwhich nearly the same incidents are narrated, with little difference,\nexcept that the honour of rescuing the cattle is attributed to the\nLiddesdale Elliots, headed by a chief, there called Martin Elliot of\nthe Preakin Tower, whose son, Simon, is said to have fallen in the\naction. It is very possible, that both the Tiviotdale Scotts, and the\nElliots were engaged in the affair, and that each claimed the honour\nof the victory_.\n\n_The editor presumes, that the Willie Scott, here mentioned must have\nbeen a natural son of the laird of Buccleuch_.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n  It fell about the Martinmas tyde,\n  When our border steeds get corn and hay,\n  The captain, of Bewcastle hath bound him to ryde,\n  And he's ower to Tividale to drive a prey.\n\n  The first ae guide that they met wi',\n  It was high up in Hardhaughswire;\n  The second guide that they met wi',\n  It was laigh down in Borthwick water.\n\n  \"What tidings, what tidings, my trusty guide?\"\n  \"Nae tidings, nae tidings, I hae to thee;\n  But, gin ye'll gae to the fair Dodhead,\n  Mony a cow's cauf I'll let thee see.\"\n\n  And whan they cam to the fair Dodhead,\n  Right hastily they clam the peel;\n  They loosed the kye out, are and a',\n  And ranshackled[132] the house right weel.\n\n  Now Jamie Telfer's heart was sair,\n  The tear aye rowing in his e'e;\n  He pled wi' the captain to hae his gear,\n  Or else revenged he wad be.\n\n  The captain turned him round, and leugh;\n  Said--\"Man, there's naething in thy house,\n  But ae auld sword without a sheath,\n  That hardly now wad fell a mouse!\"\n\n  The sun was na up, but the moon was down,\n  It was the gryming[133] of a new fa'n snaw,\n  Jamie Telfer has run ten myles a-foot,\n  Between the Dodhead and the Stobs's Ha'.\n\n  And whan he cam to the fair tower yate,\n  He shouted loud, and cried weel hie,\n  Till out bespak auld Gibby Elliot--\n  \"Whae's this that brings the fraye to me?\"\n\n  \"Its I, Jamie Telfer o' the fair Dodhead,\n  And a harried man I think I be!\n  There's naething left at the fair Dodhead,\n  But a waefu' wife and bairnies three.\"\n\n  \"Gar seek your succour at Branksome Ha',\n  For succour ye'se get nane frae me!\n  Gae seek your succour where ye paid black mail,\n  For, man! ye ne'er paid money to me.\"\n\n  Jamie has turned him round about,\n  I wat the tear blinded his e'e--\n  \"I'll ne'er pay mail to Elliot again,\n  And the fair Dodhead I'll never see!\n\n  \"My hounds may a' rin masterless,\n  My hawks may fly frae tree to tree,\n  My lord may grip my vassal lands,\n  For there again maun I never be!\"\n\n  He has turned him to the Tiviot side,\n  E'en as fast as he could drie,\n  Till he cam to the Coultart Cleugh,\n  And there he shouted baith loud and hie.\n\n  Then up bespak him auld Jock Grieve--\n  \"Whae's this that bring's the fray to me?\"\n  \"It's I, Jamie Telfer o' the fair Dodhead,\n  A harried man I trew I be.\n\n  \"There's naething left in the fair Dodhead,\n  But a greeting wife and bairnies three,\n  And sax poor ca's[134] stand in the sta',\n  A' routing loud for their minnie.\"[135]\n\n  \"Alack a wae!\" quo' auld Jock Grieve,\n  \"Alack! my heart is sair for thee!\n  For I was married on the elder sister,\n  And you on the youngest of a' the three,\"\n\n  Then he has ta'en out a bonny black,\n  Was right weel fed wi' corn and hay,\n  And he's set Jamie Telfer on his back,\n  To the Catslockhill to tak the fraye.\n\n  And whan he cam to the Catslockhill,\n  He shouted loud, and cried weel hie,\n  Till out and spak him William's Wat--\n  \"O whae's this brings the fraye to me?\"\n\n  \"Its I, Jamie Telfer of the fair Dodhead,\n  A harried man I think I be!\n  The captain of Bewcastle has driven my gear;\n  For God's sake rise, and succour me!\"\n\n  \"Alas for wae!\" quo' William's Wat,\n  Alack, for thee my heart is sair!\n  I never cam bye the fair Dodhead,\n  That ever I fand thy basket bare.\"\n\n  He's set his twa sons on coal-black steeds,\n  Himsel' upon a freckled gray,\n  And they are on wi' Jamie Telfer,\n  To Branksome Ha' to tak the fraye.\n\n  And whan they cam to Branksome Ha',\n  They shouted a' baith loud and hie,\n  Till up and spak him auld Buccleuch,\n  Said--\"Whae's this brings the fraye to me?\"\n\n  \"It's I, Jamie Telfer o' the fair Dodhead,\n  And a harried man I think I be!\n  There's nought left in the fair Dodhead,\n  But a greeting wife, and bairnies three.\"\n\n  \"Alack for wae!\" quoth the gude auld lord,\n  \"And ever my heart is wae for thee!\n  But fye gar cry on Willie, my son,\n  And see that he come to me speedilie!\n\n  \"Gar warn the water, braid and wide,\n  Gar warn it sune and hastilie!\n  They that winna ride for Telfer's kye,\n  Let them never look in the face o' me!\n\n  \"Warn Wat o' Harden, and his sons,\n  Wi' them will Borthwick water ride;\n  Warn Gaudilands, and Allanhaugh,\n  And Gilmanscleugh, and Commonside.\n\n  \"Ride by the gate at Priesthaughswire,\n  And warn the Currors o' the Lee;\n  As ye cum down the Hermitage Slack,\n  Warn doughty Willie o' Gorrinberry.\"\n\n  The Scots they rade, the Scots they ran,\n  Sae starkly and sae steadilie!\n  And aye the ower-word o' the thrang\n  Was--\"Rise for Branksome readilie!\"\n\n  The gear was driven the Frostylee up,\n  Frae the Frostylee unto the plain,\n  Whan Willie has looked his men before,\n  And saw the kye right fast driving.\n\n  \"Whae drives thir kye?\" can Willie say,\n  To mak an outspeckle[136] o' me?\"\n  \"Its I, the captain o' Bewcastle, Willie;\n  I winna layne my name for thee.\"\n\n  \"O will ye let Telfer's kye gae back?\n  Or will ye do aught for regard o' me?\n  Or, by the faith of my body,\" quo' Willie Scott,\n  \"I'se ware my dame's cauf's skin on thee!\"\n\n  \"I winna let the kye gae back,\n  Neither for thy love, nor yet thy fear;\n  But I will drive Jamie Telfer's kye,\n  In spite of every Scot that's here.\"\n\n  \"Set on them, lads!\" quo' Willie than;\n  Fye, lads, set on them cruellie!\n  For ere they win to the Ritterford,\n  Mony a toom[137] saddle there sall be!\"\n\n  Then till't they gaed, wi' heart and hand;\n  The blows fell thick as bickering hail;\n  And mony a horse ran masterless,\n  And mony a comely cheek was pale!\n\n  But Willie was stricken ower the head,\n  And thro' the knapscap[138] the sword has gane;\n  And Harden grat for very rage,\n  Whan Willie on the grund lay slane.\n\n  But he's tane aff his gude steel cap,\n  And thrice he's wav'd it in the air--\n  The Dinlay[139] snaw was ne'er mair white,\n  Nor the lyart locks of Harden's hair.\n\n  \"Revenge! revenge!\" auld Wat can cry;\n  \"Fye, lads, lay on them cruellie!\n  We'll ne'er see Tiviotside again,\n  Or Willie's death revenged sall be.\"\n\n  O mony a horse ran masterless,\n  The splintered lances flew on hie;\n  But or they wan to the Kershope ford,\n  The Scots had gotten the victory.\n\n  John o' Brigham there was slane,\n  And John o' Barlow, as I hear say;\n  And thirty mae o' the captain's men,\n  Lay bleeding on the grund that day.\n\n  The captain was run thro' the thick of the thigh,\n  And broken was his right leg bane;\n  If he had lived this hundred years,\n  He had never been loved by woman again.\n\n  \"Hae back thy kye!\" the captain said;\n  \"Dear kye, I trow, to some they be!\n  For gin I suld live a hundred years,\n  There will ne'er fair lady smile on me.\"\n\n  Then word is gane to the captain's bride,\n  Even in the bower where that she lay,\n  That her lord was prisoner in enemy's land,\n  Since into Tividale he had led the way.\n\n  \"I wad lourd[140] have had a winding-sheet,\n  And helped to put it ower his head,\n  Ere he had been disgraced by the _border Scot_,\n  Whan he ower Liddel his men did lead!\"\n\n  There was a wild gallant amang us a',\n  His name was Watty wi' the Wudspurs,[141]\n  Cried--\"On for his house in Stanegirthside,\n  If ony man will ride with us!\"\n\n  When they cam to the Stanegirthside,\n  They dang wi' trees, and burst the door;\n  They loosed out a' the captain's kye,\n  And set them forth our lads before.\n\n  There was an auld wyfe ayont the fire,\n  A wee bit o' the captain's kin--\n  \"Whae dar loose out the captain's kye,\n  Or answer to him and his men?\"\n\n  \"Its I, Watty Wudspurs, loose the kye!\n  I winna layne my name frae thee!\n  And I will loose out the captain's kye,\n  In scorn of a' his men and he.\"\n\n  When they cam to the fair Dodhead,\n  They were a wellcum sight to see!\n  For instead of his ain ten milk kye,\n  Jamie Telfer has gotten thirty and three.\n\n  And he has paid the rescue shot,\n  Baith wi' goud, and white monie;\n  And at the burial o' Willie Scott,\n  I wat was mony a weeping e'e.\n\n[Footnote 132: _Ranshackled_--Ransacked.]\n\n[Footnote 133: _Gryming_--Sprinkling.]\n\n[Footnote 134: _Ca's_--Calves.]\n\n[Footnote 135: _Minnie_--Mother.]\n\n[Footnote 136: _Outspeckle_.--Laughing-stock.]\n\n[Footnote 137: _Toom_--Empty.]\n\n[Footnote 138: _Knapscap_--Headpiece.]\n\n[Footnote 139: _The Dinlay_--is a mountain in Liddesdale.]\n\n[Footnote 140: _Lourd_--Rather.]\n\n[Footnote 141: _Wudspurs_--Hotspur, or Madspur.]\n\n\n\n\nNOTES ON JAMIE TELFER OF THE FAIR DODHEAD.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  _It was high up in Hardhaughswire_.--P. 140. v. 1.\n\nHardhaughswire is the pass from Liddesdale to the head of Tiviotdale.\n\n  _It was laigh down in Borthwick water_.--P. 140. v. 1.\n\nBorthwick water is a stream, which falls into the Tiviot, three miles\nabove Hawick.\n\n  _But, gin ye'll gae to the fair Dodhead_.--P. 140. v. 2.\n\nThe Dodhead, in Selkirkshire, near Singlee, where there are still the\nvestiges of an old tower.\n\n  _Now Jamie Telfer's heart was sair_.--P. 140. v. 4.\n\nThere is still a family of Telfers, residing near Langholm, who\npretend to derive their descent from the Telfers of the Dodhead.\n\n  _Between the Dodhead and the Stobs's Ha'_.--P. 141. v. 1.\n\nStobs Hall, upon Slitterick. Jamie Telfer made his first application\nhere because he seems to have paid the proprietor of that castle\n_black-mail_, or protection-money.\n\n  _Gar seek your succour at Branksome Ha'_.--P. 141. v. 4.\n\nThe ancient family-seat of the lairds of Buccleuch, near Hawick.\n\n  _Till he cam to the Coultart Cleugh_.--P. 142. v. 2.\n\nThe Coultart Cleugh is nearly opposite to Carlinrig, on the road\nbetween Hawick and Mosspaul.\n\n  _Gar warn the water, braid and wide_.--P. 144. v. 4.\n\nThe water, in the mountainous districts of Scotland, is often used to\nexpress the banks of the river, which are the only inhabitable parts\nof the country. _To raise the water_, therefore, was to alarm those\nwho lived along its side.\n\n  _Warn Wat o' Harden, and his sons_, &c.--P. 144. v. 5.\n\nThe estates, mentioned in this verse, belonged to families of the name\nof Scott, residing upon the waters of Borthwick and Tiviot, near the\ncastle of their chief.\n\n  _Ride by the gate at Priesthaughswire_.--P. 145. v. 1.\n\nThe pursuers seem to have taken the road through the hills of\nLiddesdale, in order to collect forces, and intercept the foragers\nat the passage of the Liddel, on their return to Bewcastle. The\nRitterford and Kershope-ford, after mentioned, are noted fords on the\nriver Liddel.\n\n  _The gear was driven the Frostylee up_.--P. 145. v. 3.\n\nThe Frostylee is a brook, which joins the Tiviot, near Mosspaul.\n\n  _And Harden grat for very rage_.--P. 146. v. 4.\n\nOf this border laird, commonly called _Auld Wat of Harden_, tradition\nhas preserved many anecdotes. He was married to Mary Scott,\ncelebrated in song by the title of the Flower of Yarrow. By their\nmarriage-contract, the father-in-law, Philip Scott of Dryhope, was to\nfind Harden in horse meat, and man's meat, at his tower of Dryhope,\nfor a year and a day; but five barons pledge themselves, that, at\nthe expiry of that period, the son-in-law should remove, without\nattempting to continue in possession by force! A notary-public signed\nfor all the parties to the deed, none of whom could write their names.\nThe original is still in the charter-room of the present Mr. Scott of\nHarden. By the Flower of Yarrow the laird of Harden had six sons;\nfive of whom survived him, and founded the families of Harden (now\nextinct), Highchesters (now representing Harden), Reaburn, Wool, and\nSynton. The sixth son was slain at a fray, in a hunting-match, by the\nScotts of Gilmanscleugh. His brothers flew to arms; but the old laird\nsecured them in the dungeon of his tower, hurried to Edinburgh, stated\nthe crime, and obtained a gift of the lands of the offenders from the\ncrown. He returned to Harden with equal speed, released his sons, and\nshewed them the charter. \"To horse, lads!\" cried the savage warrior,\n\"and let us take possession! the lands of Gilmanscleuch are well worth\na dead son.\" The property, thus obtained, continued in the family\ntill the beginning of last century, when it was sold, by John Scott of\nHarden, to Anne, Duchess of Buccleuch.\n\n  _John o' Brigham there was slane_.--P. 147. v. 3.\n\nPerhaps one of the ancient family of Brougham, in Cumberland. The\neditor has used some freedom with the original in the subsequent\nverse. The account of the captain's disaster _(tests laeva vulnerata_)\nis rather too _naive_ for literal publication.\n\n  _Cried--\"On for his house in Stanegirthside_.--P. 148. v. 3.\n\nA house belonging to the Foresters, situated on the English side of\nthe Liddel.\n\nAn article in the list of attempts upon England, fouled by the\ncommissioners ar Berwick, in the year 1587, may relate to the subject\nof the foregoing ballad.\n\n    October, 1582.\n\n    Thomas Musgrave, deputy {Walter Scott, laird } 200 kine and\n    of Bewcastle, and {of Buckluth, and his} oxen,300 gait the\n    tenants, against {complices; for } and sheep.\n\n_Introduction, to History of Westmoreland and Cumberland_, p. 31.\n\n\n\n\nTHE RAID OF THE REIDSWIRE.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nThis poem is published from a copy in the Bannatyne MS. in the\nhand-writing of the Hon. Mr. Carmichael, advocate. It first appeared\nin _Allan Ramsay's Evergreen_, but some liberties have been taken by\nhim in transcribing it; and, what is altogether unpardonable, the MS.,\nwhich is itself rather inaccurate, has been interpolated to favour his\nreadings; of which there remain obvious marks.\n\nThe skirmish of the Reidswire happened upon the 7th of June, 1575,\nat one of the meetings, held by the wardens of the marches, for\narrangements necessary upon the border. Sir John Carmichael, ancestor\nof the present Earl of Hyndford, was the Scottish warden, and Sir John\nForster held that office on the English middle march.--In the course\nof the day, which was employed, as usual, in redressing wrongs, a\nbill, or indictment, at the instance of a Scottish complainer, was\nfouled (_i.e._ found a true bill) against one Farnstein, a notorious\nEnglish freebooter. Forster alleged that he had fled from justice:\nCarmichael considering this as a pretext to avoid making compensation\nfor the felony, bade him \"play fair!\" to which the haughty English\nwarden retorted, by some injurious expressions respecting Carmichael's\nfamily, and gave other open signs of resentment. His retinue, chiefly\nmen of Reesdale and Tynedale, the most ferocious of the English\nborderers, glad of any pretext for a quarrel, discharged a flight of\narrows among the Scots. A warm conflict ensued, in which, Carmichael\nbeing beat down and made prisoner, success seemed at first to incline\nto the English side; till the Tynedale men, throwing themselves too\ngreedily upon the plunder, fell into disorder; and a body of Jedburgh\ncitizens arriving at that instant, the skirmish terminated in a\ncomplete victory on the part of the Scots, who took prisoners, the\nEnglish warden, James Ogle, Cuthbert Collingwood, Francis Russel,\nson to the Earl of Bedford, and son-in-law to Forster, some of the\nFenwicks, and several other border chiefs. They were sent to the Earl\nof Morton, then regent, who detained them at Dalkeith for some days,\ntill the heat of their resentment was abated; which prudent precaution\nprevented a war betwixt the two kingdoms. He then dismissed them with\ngreat expressions of regard; and, to satisfy Queen Elizabeth,[142]\nsent up Carmichael to York, whence he was soon after honourably\ndismissed. The field of battle, called the Reidswire, is a part of\nthe Carter Mountain, about ten miles from Jedburgh.--See, for these\nparticulars, _Godscroft, Spottiswoode_, and _Johnstone's History_.\n\n[Footnote 142: Her ambassador at Edinburgh refused to lie in a bed of\nstate which had been provided for him, till this \"_oudious fact_\" had\nbeen enquired into.--_Murden's State Papers_, Vol. II, p. 282.]\n\nThe editor has adopted the modern spelling of the word Reidswire, to\nprevent the mistake in pronunciation which might be occasioned by the\nuse of the Scottish _qu_ for _w_. The MS. reads _Reidsquair. Swair_,\nor _Swire_, signifies the descent of a hill; and the epithet _Red_\nis derived from the colour of the heath, or, perhaps, from the\nReid-water, which rises at no great distance.\n\n\n\n\nTHE RAID OF THE REIDSWIRE.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  The seventh of July, the suith to say,\n  At the Reidswire the tryst was set;\n  Our wardens they affixed the day,\n  And, as they promised, so they met.\n  Alas! that day I'll ne'er forgett!\n  Was sure sae feard, and then sae faine--\n  They came theare justice for to gett,\n  Will never green[143] to come again.\n\n  Carmichael was our Warden then,\n  He caused the country to conveen;\n  And the Laird's Wat, that worthie man,\n  Brought in that sirname weil beseen[144]:\n\n  The Armestranges, that aye hae been\n  A hardie house, but not a hail,\n  The Elliot's honours to maintaine,\n  Brought down the lave[145] o' Liddesdale.\n\n  Then Tividale came to wi' speid;\n  The sheriffe brought the Douglas down,\n  Wi' Cranstane, Gladstain, good at need,\n  Baith Rewle water, and Hawick town.\n  Beanjeddart bauldly made him boun,\n  Wi' a' the Trumbills, stronge and stout;\n  The Rutherfoords, with grit renown,\n  Convoyed the town of Jedbrugh out.\n\n  Of other clans I cannot tell,\n  Because our warning was not wide.--\n  Be this our folks hae taen the fell,\n  And planted down palliones[146] there to bide.\n  We looked down the other side,\n  And saw come breasting ower the brae,\n  Wi' Sir John Forster for their guyde,\n  Full fifteen hundred men and mae.\n\n  It grieved him sair, that day, I trow,\n  Wi' Sir George Hearoune of Schipsydehouse;\n  Because we were not men enow,\n  They counted us not worth a louse.\n  Sir George was gentle, meek, and douse,\n  But _he_ was hail and het as fire;\n  And yet, for all his cracking crouse[147],\n  He rewd the raid o' the Reidswire.\n\n  To deal with proud men is but pain;\n  For either must ye fight or flee,\n  Or else no answer make again,\n  But play the beast, and let them be.\n  It was na wonder he was hie,\n  Had Tindaill, Reedsdaill, at his hand,\n  Wi' Cukdaill, Gladsdaill on the lee,\n  And Hebsrime, and Northumberland.\n\n  Yett was our meeting meek enough,\n  Begun wi' merriement and mowes,\n  And at the brae, aboon the heugh,\n  The clark sate down to call the rowes.[148]\n  And some for kyne, and some for ewes,\n  Called in of Dandrie, Hob, and Jock--\n  We saw, come marching ower the knows,\n  Five hundred Fennicks in a flock.\n\n  With jack and speir, and bows all bent,\n  And warlike weapons at their will:\n  Although we were na weel content,\n  Yet, be my trouth, we feard no ill.\n  Some gaed to drink, and some stude still,\n  And some to cairds and dice them sped;\n  Till on ane Farnstein they fyled a bill,\n  And he was fugitive and fled.\n\n  Carmichael bade them speik out plainlie,\n  And cloke no cause for ill nor good;\n  The other, answering him as vainlie,\n  Began to reckon kin and blood:\n  He raise, and raxed[149] him where he stood,\n  And bade him match him with his marrows,\n  Then Tindaill heard them reasun rude,\n  And they loot off a flight of arrows.\n\n  Then was there nought but bow and speir,\n  And every man pulled out a brand;\n  \"A Schaftan and a Fenwick\" thare:\n  Gude Symington was slain frae hand.\n  The Scotsmen cried on other to stand,\n  Frae time they saw John Robson slain--\n  What should they cry? the king's command\n  Could cause no cowards turn again.\n\n  Up rose the laird to red the cumber,[150]\n  Which would not be for all his boast;--\n  What could we doe with sic a number?\n  Fyve thousand men into a host.\n  Then Henry Purdie proved his cost,[151]\n  And very narrowlie had mischiefed him,\n  And there we had our warden lost,\n  Wert not the grit God he relieved him.\n\n  Another throw the breiks him bair,\n  Whill flatlies to the ground he fell:\n  Than thought I weel we had lost him there,\n  Into my stomach it struck a knell!\n  Yet up he raise, the treuth to tell ye,\n  And laid about him dints full dour;\n  His horsemen they raid sturdilie,\n  And stude about him in the stoure.\n\n  Then raise[152] the slogan with ane shout--\n  \"Fy Tindaill, to it! Jedbrugh's here!\"\n  I trow he was not half sae stout,\n  But[153] anis his stomach was asteir.\n\n  With gun and genzie,[154] bow and speir,\n  Men might see monie a cracked crown!\n  But up amang the merchant geir,\n  They were as busie as we were down.\n\n  The swallow taill frae tackles flew,\n  Five hundreth flain[155] into a flight,\n  But we had pestelets enow,\n  And shot amang them as we might.\n  With help of God the game gaed right,\n  Frae time the foremost of them fell;\n  Then ower the know without goodnight,\n  They ran, with mony a shout and yell.\n\n  But after they had turned backs,\n  Yet Tindaill men they turned again;\n  And had not been the merchant packs,\n  There had been mae of Scotland slain.\n  But, Jesu! if the folks were fain\n  To put the bussing on their thies;\n  And so they fled, wi' a' their main,\n  Down ower the brae, like clogged bees.\n\n  Sir Francis Russel ta'en was there,\n  And hurt, as we hear men rehearse;\n  Proud Wallinton was wounded sair,\n  Albeit he be a Fennick fierce.\n  But if ye wald a souldier search,\n  Among them a' were ta'en that night,\n  Was nane sae wordie to put in verse,\n  As Collingwood, that courteous knight.\n\n  Young Henry Schafton, he is hurt;\n  A souldier shot him with a bow:\n  Scotland has cause to mak great sturt,\n  For laiming of the laird of Mow.\n  The Laird's Wat did weel, indeed;\n  His friends stood stoutlie by himsel',\n  With little Gladstain, gude in need,\n  For Gretein kend na gude be ill.\n\n  The Sheriffe wanted not gude will,\n  Howbeit he might not fight so fast;\n  Beanjeddart, Hundlie, and Hunthill,\n  Three, on they laid weel at the last.\n  Except the horsemen of the guard,\n  If I could put men to availe,\n  None stoutlier stood out for their laird.\n  For did the lads of Liddesdail.\n\n  But little harness had we there;\n  But auld Badreule had on a jack,\n  And did right weel, I you declare,\n  With all his Trumbills at his back.\n  Gude Ederstane was not to lack,\n  Nor Kirktoun, Newtoun, noble men!\n  Thirs[156] all the specials I of speake,\n  By[157] others that I could not ken.\n\n  Who did invent that day of play,\n  We need not fear to find him soon;\n  For Sir John Forster, I dare well say,\n  Made us this noisome afternoon.\n  Not that I speak preceislie out,\n  That he supposed it would be perril;\n  But pride, and breaking out of feuid,\n  Garr'd Tindaill lads begin the quarrel.\n\n[Footnote 143: _Green_--Long.]\n\n[Footnote 144: _Weil beseen_--Well appointed. The word occurs in Morte\nArthur: \"And when Sir Percival saw this, he hied him thither, \"and\nfound the ship covered with silke, more blacker than any beare;\nand therein was a gentlewoman, of great beautie, and she was richly\n_beseene_, that none might be better.\"]\n\n[Footnote 145: _Lave_--Remainder.]\n\n[Footnote 146: _Palliones_--Tents.]\n\n[Footnote 147: _Cracking crouse_--Talking big.]\n\n[Footnote 148: _Rowes_--Rolls.]\n\n[Footnote 149: _Raxed him_--Stretched himself up.]\n\n[Footnote 150: _Red the cumber_--Quell the tumult.]\n\n[Footnote 151: _Cost_--Signifies loss or risk.]\n\n[Footnote 152: _Raise_--Rose.]\n\n[Footnote 153: _But, &c_.--Till once his anger was up.]\n\n[Footnote 154: _Genzie_--Engine of war.]\n\n[Footnote 155: _Flain_--Arrows; hitherto absurdly printed _slain_.]\n\n[Footnote 156: _Thirs_--These are.]\n\n[Footnote 157: _By_--Besides.]\n\n\n\n\nNOTES ON THE RAID OF THE REIDSWIRE.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  _Carmichael was our warden then_.--P. 157. v. 2.\n\nSir John Carmichael was a favourite of the resent Morton, by whom\nhe was appointed warden of the middle marches, in preference to the\nborder chieftains. With the like policy, the regent married Archibald\nCarmichael, the warden's brother, to the heiress of Edrom, in the\nMerse, much contrary to the inclination of the lady and her friends.\nIn like manner, he compelled another heiress, Jane Sleigh, of Cumlege,\nto marry Archibald, brother to Auchinleck of Auchiuleck, one of his\ndependants. By such arbitrary practices, Morton meant to strengthen\nhis authority on the borders; instead of which, he hastened his fall,\nby giving disgust to his kinsman the Earl of Angus, and his\nother friends, who had been established in the country for\nages.--_Godscroft_, Vol. II. Pages 238. 246. Sir John Carmichael, the\nwarden, was murdered 16th June, 1600, by a party of borderers, at a\nplace called Raesknows, near Lochmaben, whither he was going to hold\na court of justice. Two of the ring-leaders in the slaughter, Thomas\nArmstrong, called _Ringan's Tarn_, and Adam Scott, called _the\nPecket_, were tried at Edinburgh, at the instance of Carmichael of\nEdrom. They were condemned to have their right hands struck off,\nthereafter to be hanged, and their bodies gibbeted on the Borough\nMoor; which sentence was executed, 14th November, 1601. \"This\n_Pecket_, (saith Birrel in his _Diary_), was ane of the maist notalrie\nthieftes that ever raid:\" he calls his name Steill, which appears,\nfrom the record, to be a mistake. Four years afterwards, an Armstrong,\ncalled _Sandy of Rowanburn_, and several others of that tribe, were\nexecuted for this and other excesses.--_Books of Adjournal of these\ndates_.\n\n  _And the Laird's Wat, that worthie man_.--P. 157. v. 2.\n\nThe chief, who led out the sirname of Scott upon this occasion, was\n(saith Satchells) Walter Scott of Ancrum, a natural son of Walter of\nBuccleuch. The laird of Buccleuch was then a minor. The ballad seems\nto have been popular in Satchells' days, for he quotes it literally.\nHe must, however, have been mistaken in this particular; for the\nfamily of Scott of Ancrum, in all our books of genealogy, deduce their\ndescent from the Scotts of Balwearie in Fife, whom they represent. The\nfirst of this family, settled in Roxburghshire, is stated in _Douglas'\nBaronage_ to have been Patrick Scott, who purchased the lands of\nAncrum, in the reign of James VI. He therefore could not be the\n_Laird's Wat_ of the ballad; indeed, from the list of border families\nin 1597, Ker appears to have been proprietor of Ancrum at the date of\nthe ballad. It is plainly written in the MS. the _Laird's Wat_, i.e.,\nthe Laird's son Wat; notwithstanding which, it has always hitherto\nbeen printed the _Laird Wat_. If Douglas be accurate in his genealogy,\nthe person meant must be the young laird of Buccleuch, afterwards\ndistinguished for his surprise of Carlisle Castle.--See _Kinmont\nWillie_. I am the more confirmed in this opinion, because Kerr\nof Ancrum was at this time a fugitive, for slaying one of the\nRutherfords, and the tower of Ancrum given in keeping to the\nTurnbulls, his hereditary enemies. His mother, however, a daughter of\nHome of Wedderburn, contrived to turn out the Turnbulls, and possess\nherself of the place by surprise.--_Godscroft_, Vol. II. p. 250.\n\n  _The Armestranges, that aye hae been_.--P. 158. v. 1.\n\nThis clan are here mentioned as not being hail, or whole, because\nthey were outlawed or broken men. Indeed, many of them had become\nEnglishmen, as the phrase then went. Accordingly, we find, from Paton,\nthat forty of them, under the laird of Mangertoun, joined Somerset\nupon his expedition into Scotland.--_Paton, in Dalyell's Fragments_,\np. 1. There was an old alliance betwixt the Elliots and Armstrongs,\nhere alluded to. For the enterprises of the Armstrongs, against their\nnative country, when under English assurance, see _Murdin's State\nPapers_, Vol. I. p. 43. From which it appears, that, by command of\nSir Ralph Evers, this clan ravaged almost the whole west border of\nScotland.\n\n  _The sheriffe brought the Douglas down_.--P. 158. v. 2,\n\nDouglas of Cavers, hereditary sheriff of Teviotdale, descended from\nBlack Archibald, who carried the standard of his father, the Earl of\nDouglas, at the battle of Otterbourne.--_See the Ballad of that name_.\n\n  _Wi' Cranstane, Gladstain, good at need_.--P. 158. v. 2.\n\nCranstoun of that ilk, ancestor to Lord Cranstoun; and Gladstain of\nGladstains.\n\n  _Wi a' the Trumbills, stronge and stout;\n  The Rutherfoords, with grit renown_.--P. 158. v. 2.\n\nThese were ancient and powerful border clans, residing chiefly upon\nthe river Jed. Hence, they naturally convoyed the town of Jedburgh\nout. Although notorious freebooters, they were specially patronised by\nMorton, who, by their means, endeavoured to counterpoise the power\nof Buccleuch and Ferniherst, during the civil wars attached to the\nqueen's faction.\n\nThe following fragment of an old ballad is quoted in a letter from\nan aged gentleman of this name, residing at New-York, to a friend in\nScotland:\n\n    \"Bauld Rutherfurd, he was fow stout, Wi' a' his nine sons\n    him round about; He led the town o' Jedburgh out, All bravely\n    fought that day.\"\n\n  _Wi' Sir John Forster for their guyde_.--P. 158. v. 3.\n\nThis gentleman is called, erroneously, in some copies of this ballad,\n_Sir George_. He was warden of the mid-marches of England.\n\n  _Wi' Sir George Henroune of Schipsydehouse_.--P. 159. v. 1.\n\nSir George Heron of Chipchase-house, whose character is contrasted\nwith that of the English warden.\n\n  _Had Tindaill, Reedsdaill at his hand_.--P. 159. v. 2.\n\nThese are districts, or dales, on the English border. Hebsrime seems\nto be an error in the MS. for Hebburn upon the Till.\n\n  _Five hundred Fennicks in a flock_.--P. 159. v. 3.\n\nThe Fenwicks; a powerful and numerous Northumberland clan.\n\n  _Then raise the slogan with ane shout_.--P. 161. v. 3.\n\nThe gathering word, peculiar to a certain name, or set of people, was\ntermed _slogan_, or _slughorn_, and was always repeated at an onset,\nas well as on many other occasions, as appears from the following\npassage of an old author, whom this custom seems much to have\noffended--for he complains,\n\n\"That whereas alweys, both in al tounes of war, and in al campes of\narmies, quietnes and stilnes without nois is principally in the night,\nafter the watch is set, observed (I need not reason why.) Yet,\nour northern prikkers, the borderers, notwithstanding, with great\nenormitie, (as thought me) and not unlyke (to be playn) unto a\nmasterless hounde houyling in a hie wey, when he hath lost him he\nwayted upon, sum hoopyng, sum whistelyng, and most with crying,\na _Berwyke_! a _Berwyke_! a _Fenwyke_! a _Fenwyke_! a _Bulmer_! a\n_Bulmer_! or so ootherwise as theyr captein's names wear, never linnde\nthose troublous and daungerous noyses all the night long. They\nsayd they did it to fynd out their captein and fellowes; but if the\nsoldiours of our oother countries and sheres had used the same maner,\nin that case we shoold have oftymes had the state of our campe more\nlyke the outrage of a dissolute huntyng, than the quiet of a wel\nordred army.\"--\n\n_Patten's Account of Somerset's Expedition_, p. 76.--_Apud Dalyell's\nFragments_.\n\nHonest Patten proceeds, with great prolixity, to prove, that this was\na custom more honoured in the breach than in the observance; and, like\nFluellen, declares, \"that such idle pribble prabbles were contrary to\nall the good customs and disciplines of war.\" Nevertheless, the custom\nof crying the _slogan_ or _ensenzie_, is often alluded to in all our\nancient histories and poems. It was usually the name of the clan, or\nplace of rendezvous, or leader. In 1335, the English, led by Thomas\nof Rosslyne, and William Moubray, assaulted Aberdeen. The former was\nmortally wounded in the onset; and, as his followers were pressing\nforward, shouting _Rosslyne! Rosslyne_! \"Cry _Moubray_,\" said the\nexpiring chieftain; \"_Rosslyne_ is gone!\" The Highland clans had also\ntheir appropriate slogans. The Macdonalds cried _Frich_, (heather);\nthe Macphersons _Craig-Ubh_; the Grants _Craig-Elachie_; and the\nMacfarlanes _Lock-Sloy_.\n\n  _The swallow taill frae tackles flew_.--P. 162. v. 2.\n\nThe Scots, on this occasion, seem to have had chiefly fire-arms; the\nEnglish retaining still their partiality for their ancient weapon,\nthe long-bow. It also appears, by a letter from the Duke of Norfolk to\nCecil, that the English borderers were unskilful in fire-arms, or,\nas he says, \"our countrymen be not so commyng with shots as I woolde\nwishe.\"--See _Murdin's State Papers_, Vol. I. p. 319.\n\n  _And had not been the merchant packs_.--P. 162. v. 3.\n\nThe ballad-maker here ascribes the victory to the real cause; for,\nthe English borderers, dispersing to plunder the merchandise, gave the\nopposite party time to recover from their surprise It seems to\nhave been usual for travelling merchants to attend border-meetings,\nalthough one would have thought the kind of company, usually assembled\nthere, might have deterred them.\n\n  _Sir Francis Russel ta'en was there_.--P, 163. v. 1.\n\nThis gentleman was son to the Earl of Bedford. He was afterwards\nkilled in a fray of a similar nature, at a border-meeting, between the\nsame Sir John Forster (father-in-law to Russell), and Thomas Ker of\nFairnihurst, A.D. 1585.\n\n  _Proud Wallinton was wounded sair_.--P. 163. v. 1.\n\nFenwick of Wallinton, a powerful Northumbrian chief.\n\n  _As Collingwood, that courteous knight_.--P. 163. v. 1.\n\nSir Cuthbert Collingwood. Besides these gentlemen, James Ogle, and\nmany other Northumbrians of note, were made prisoners. Sir George\nHeron, of Chipchase and Ford, was slain, to the great regret of both\nparties, being a man highly esteemed by the Scots, as well as the\nEnglish. When the prisoners were brought to Morton, at Dalkeith, and,\namong other presents, received from him some Scottish falcons, one of\nhis train observed, that the English were nobly treated, since they\ngot live _hawks_ for dead _herons_.--_Godscroft_.\n\n  _Young Henry Schufton_,--P. 163. v. 2.\n\nThe name of this gentleman does not appear in the MS. in the\nAdvocates' Library, but is restored from a copy in single sheet,\nprinted early in the last century.\n\n  _For laiming of the laird of Mow_.--P. 163. v. 2.\n\nAn ancient family on the borders. The lands of Mowe are situated upon\nthe river Bowmont, in Roxburghshire. The family is now represented by\nWilliam Molle, Esq. of Mains, who has restored the ancient spelling of\nthe name. The laird of Mowe, here mentioned, was the only gentleman of\nnote killed in the skirmish on the Scottish side.\n\n  _For Gretein kend net gude be ill_.--P. 163. v. 2;\n\nGraden, a family of Kerrs.\n\n  _Beanjeddart, Hundlie, and Hunthill_.--P. 163. v. 3.\n\nDouglas of Beanjeddart, an ancient branch of the house of Cavers,\npossessing property near the junction of the Jed and Tiviot.\n\n_Hundlie_,--Rutherford of Hundlie, or Hundalee, situated on the Jed,\nabove Jedhurgh.\n\n_Hunthill_.--The old tower of Hunthill was situated about a mile above\nJedburgh. It was the patrimony of an ancient family of Rutherfords.\nI suppose the person, here meant, to be the same who is renowned\nin tradition by the name of the _Cock of Hunthill_. His sons were\nexecuted for march-treason, or border-theft, along with the lairds of\nCorbet, Greenhead, and Overton, A.D. 1588.--_Johnston's History_, p.\n129.\n\n  _But auld Badreule had on a jack_.--P. 164. v. 1.\n\nSir Andrew Turnbull of Bedrule, upon Rule Water. This old laird was so\nnotorious a thief, that the principal gentlemen of the clans of Hume\nand Kerr refused to sign a bond of alliance, to which he, with the\nTurnbulls and Rutherfords, was a party; alleging, that their proposed\nallies had stolen Hume of Wedderburn's cattle. The authority of\nMorton, however, compelled them to digest the affront. The debate (and\na curious one it is) may be seen at length in _Godscroft_, Vol. I. p.\n221. The Rutherfords became more lawless after having been deprived\nof the countenance of the court, for slaying the nephew of Forman,\narchbishop of St. Andrews, who had attempted to carry off the heiress\nof Rutherford. This lady was afterwards married to James Stuart of\nTraquair, son to James, Earl of Buchan, according to a papal bull,\ndated 9th November, 1504. By this lady a great estate in Tiviotdale\nfell to the family of Traquair, which was sold by James, Earl of\nTraquair, lord-high-treasurer of Scotland, in consequence of the\npecuniary difficulties to which he was reduced, by his loyal exertions\nin favour of Charles I.\n\n  _Gude Ederstane was not to lack_.--P. 164. v. 1.\n\nAn ancient family of Rutherfords; I believe, indeed, the most\nancient now extant. The family is represented by Major Rutherford of\nEdgerstane. His seat is about three miles distant from the field of\nbattle.\n\n  _Nor Kirktoun, Newtoun, noble men_!--P. 164. v. 1.\n\nThe parish of Kirktoun belonged, I believe, about this time, to a\nbranch of the Cavers family; but Kirkton of Stewartfield is mentioned\nin the list of border clans in 1597.\n\n_Newtoun_.--This is probably Grinyslaw of Little Newtoun, mentioned in\nthe said roll of border clans.\n\n\n\n\nKINMONT WILLIE\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nIn the following rude strains, our forefathers commemorated one of the\nlast, and most gallant atchievements, performed upon the border. The\nreader will find, in the subjoined extract from Spottiswoode, a minute\nhistorical account of the exploit; which is less different from that\ncontained in the ballad than might perhaps have been expected.\n\n_Anno, 1596_.--\"The next year began with a trouble in the borders,\nwhich was like to have destroyed the peace betwixt the two realms, and\narose upon this occasion. The Lord Scroop being the warden of the west\nmarches of England, and the laird of Bacleuch having the charge of\nLiddesdale, they sent their deputies to keep a day of truce, for\nredress of some ordinary matters.--The place of meeting was at\nthe Dayholme of Kershop, where a small brook divideth England from\nScotland, and Liddesdale from Bawcastle. There met, as deputy for the\nlaird of Bacleuch, Robert Scott of Hayninge; and for the Lord Scroop,\na gentleman within the west wardenry, called Mr. Salkeld. These two,\nafter truce taken and proclaimed, as the custom was, by sound of\ntrumpet, met friendly, and, upon mutual redress of such wrongs as were\nthen complained of, parted in good terms, each of them taking his\nway homewards. Meanwhile it happened, one William Armstrong, commonly\ncalled _Will of Kinmonth_, to be in company with the Scottish deputy,\nagainst whom the English had a quarrel, for many wrongs he had\ncommitted, as he was indeed a notorious thief. This man, having taken\nhis leave of the Scots deputy, and riding down the river of Liddel on\nthe Scottish side, towards his own house, was pursued by the English,\nwho espied him from the other side of the river, and, after a chase of\nthree or four miles, taken prisoner, and brought back to the English\ndeputy, who carried him away to the castle of Carlisle.\n\n\"The laird of Bacleuch complaining of the breach of truce (which\nwas always taken from the time of meeting, unto the next day at\nsun-rising), wrote to Mr. Salkeld, and craved redress. He excused\nhimself by the absence of the Lord Scroop. Whereupon Bacleuch sent\nto the Lord Scroop, and desired the prisoner might be set at liberty,\nwithout any bond or condition, seeing he was unlawfully taken.\nScroop answered, that he could do nothing in the matter, it having so\nhappened, without a direction from the queen and council of England,\nconsidering the man was such a malefactor.--Bacleuch, loth to inform\nthe king of what was done, lest it might have bred some misliking\nbetwixt the princes, dealt with Mr. Bowes, the resident ambassador of\nEngland, for the prisoner's liberty; who wrote very seriously to the\nLord Scroop in that business, advising him to set the man free,\nand not to bring the matter to a farther hearing. But no answer was\nreturned: the matter thereupon was imparted to the king, and the queen\nof England solicited by letters to give direction for his liberty; yet\nnothing was obtained; which Bacleuch perceiving, and apprehending both\nthe king, and himself as the king's officer, to be touched in honour,\nhe resolved to work the prisoner's relief, by the best means he could.\n\n\"And, upon intelligence that the castle of Carlisle, wherein the\nprisoner was kept, was surprisable, he employed some trusty persons to\ntake a view of the postern gate, and measure the height of the wall,\nwhich he meant to scale by ladders, and, if those failed, to break\nthrough the wall with some iron instruments, and force the gates. This\ndone, so closely as he could, he drew together some two hundred horse,\nassigning the place of meeting at the tower of Morton, some ten miles\nfrom Carlisle, an hour before sun-set. With this company, passing the\nwater of Esk, about the falling, two hours before day, he crossed Eden\nbeneath Carlisle bridge (the water, through the rain that had fallen,\nbeing thick), and came to the Sacery, a plain under the castle. There\nmaking a little halt, at the side of a small bourn, which they call\nCadage, he caused eighty of the company to light from their horses,\nand take the ladders, and other instruments which he had prepared,\nwith them. He himself, accompanying them to the foot of the wall,\ncaused the ladders to be set to it, which proving too short, he gave\norder to use the other instruments for opening the wall nigh the\npostern; and, finding the business likely to succeed, retired to the\nrest whom he had left on horseback, for assuring those that entered\nupon the castle against any eruption from the town. With some little\nlabor a breach was made for single men to enter, and they who first\nwent in, broke open the postern for the rest. The watchmen, and some\nfew the noise awaked, made a little restraint, but they were quickly\nrepressed, and taken captive. After which, they passed to the chamber\nwherein the prisoner was kept; and, having brought him forth, sounded\na trumpet, which was a signal to them without that the enterprize was\nperformed. My Lord Scroope and Mr. Salkeld were both within the house,\nand to them the prisoner cried \"a good night!\" The captives taken in\nthe first encounter were brought to Bacleuch, who presently returned\nthem to their master, and would not suffer any spoil, or booty, as\nthey term it, to be carried away; he had straitly forbidden to break\nopen any door, but that where the prisoner was kept, though he might\nhave made prey of all the goods within the castle, and taken the\nwarden himself captive; for he would have it seen, that he did intend\nnothing but the reparation of his majesty's honor. By this time, the\nprisoner was brought forth, the town had taken the alarm, the drums\nwere beating, the bells ringing, and a beacon put on the top of the\ncastle, to give warning to the country. Whereupon Bacleuch commanded\nthose that entered the castle, and the prisoner, to horse; and\nmarching again by the Sacery, made to the river at the Stony-bank, on\nthe other side, whereof certain were assembled to stop his passage;\nbut he, causing to sound the trumpet, took the river, day being then\nbroken, and they choosing to give him way, he retired in order\nthrough the Grahams of Esk (men at that time of great power, and\nhis un-friends), and came back into Scottish ground two hours after\nsun-rising, and so homewards.\n\n\"This fell out the 13th of April, _1596_. The queen of England, having\nnotice sent her of what was done, stormed not a little. One of her\nchief castles surprised, a prisoner taken forth of the hands of the\nwarden, and carried away, so far within England, she esteemed a great\naffront. The lieger, Mr. Bowes, in a frequent convention kept at\nEdinburgh, the 22d of May, did, as he was charged, in a long oration,\naggravate the heinousness of the fact, concluding that peace could not\nlonger continue betwixt the two realms, unless Bacleuch were\ndelivered in England, to be punished at the queen's pleasure. Bacleuch\ncompearing, and charged with the fact, made answer--'That he went not\ninto England with intention to assault any of the queen's houses, or\nto do wrong to any of her subjects, but only to relieve a subject of\nScotland unlawfully taken, and more unlawfully detained; that, in the\ntime of a general assurance, in a day of truce, he was taken prisoner\nagainst all order, neither did he attempt his relief till redress\nwas refused; and that he had carried the business in such a moderate\nmanner, as no hostility was committed, nor the least wrong offered to\nany within the castle; yet was he content, according to the ancient\ntreaties observed betwixt the two realms, when as mutual injuries were\nalleged, to be tried by the commissioners that it should please their\nmajesties to appoint, and submit himself to that which they should\ndecern.'--The convention, esteeming the answer reasonable, did\nacquaint the ambassador therewith, and offered to send commissioners\nto the borders, with all diligence, to treat with such as the queen\nshould be pleased to appoint for her part.\n\n\"But she, not satisfied with the answer, refused to appoint any\ncommissioners; whereupon the council of England did renew the\ncomplaint in July thereafter; and the business being of new agitated,\nit was resolved of as before, and that the same should be remitted to\nthe trial of commissioners: the king protesting, 'that he might,\nwith great reason, crave the delivery of Lord Scroope, for the injury\ncommitted by his deputy, it being less favourable to take a prisoner,\nthan relieve him that is unlawfully taken; yet, for the continuing of\npeace, he would forbear to do it, and omit nothing, on his part,\nthat could be desired, either in equity, or by the laws of\nfriendship.'--The borders, in the mean time, making daily incursions\none upon another, filled all their parts with trouble, the English\nbeing continually put to the worse; neither were they made quiet,\ntill, for satisfying the queen, the laird of Bacleuch was first\ncommitted in St. Andrews, and afterwards entered in England, where\nhe remained not long[158].\"--_Spottiswood's History of the Church of\nScotland_, p. 414, 416, _Ed. 1677_.\n\nScott of Satchells, in the extraordinary poetical performance, which\nhe has been pleased to entitle _A History of the Name of Scott_\n(published 1688), dwells, with great pleasure, upon this gallant\nachievement, at which, it would seem, his father had been present. He\nalso mentions, that the laird of Buccleuch employed the services of\nthe younger sons and brothers only of his clan, lest the name should\nhave been weakened by the landed men incurring forfeiture. But he\nadds, that three gentlemen of estate insisted upon attending their\nchief, notwithstanding this prohibition. These were, the lairds\nof Harden and Commonside, and Sir Gilbert Elliot of the Stobbs, a\nrelation of the laird of Buccleuch, and ancestor to the present Sir\nWilliam Elliot, Bart. In many things Satchells agrees with the ballads\ncurrent in his time, from which, in all probability, he derived most\nof his information as to past events, and from which he sometimes\npirates whole verses, as noticed in the annotations upon the _Raid of\nthe Reidswire_. In the present instance, he mentions the prisoner's\n_large spurs_ (alluding to the fetters), and some other little\nincidents noticed in the ballad, which was, therefore, probably well\nknown in his days.\n\n[Footnote 158: The bishop is, in this last particular, rather\ninaccurate. Buccleuch was indeed delivered into England, but this was\ndone in consequence of the judgment of commissioners of both nations,\nwho met at Berwick this same year. And his delivery took place, less\non account of the raid of Carlisle, than of a second exploit of the\nsame nature, to be noticed hereafter.]\n\nAll contemporary historians unite in extolling the deed itself as\nthe most daring and well-conducted atchievement of that age. \"_Audax\nfacinus cum modica manu, in urbe maenibus et multitudine\noppidanorum munita, et callidae: audaciae, vix ullo obsisti modo\npotuit_.\"--_Johnstoni Historia, Ed. Amstael. p_. 215. Birrel, in his\ngossipping way, says, the exploit was performed \"with shouting and\ncrying, and sound of trumpet, puttand the said toun and countrie in\nsic ane fray, that the like of sic ane wassaladge wes nevir done since\nthe memory of man, no not in Wallace dayis.\"--_Birrel's Diary_, April\n6, 1596. This good old citizen of Edinburgh also mentions another\nincident which I think proper to insert here, both as relating to the\npersonages mentioned in the following ballad, and as tending to shew\nthe light in which the men of the border were regarded, even at this\nlate period, by their fellow subjects. The author is talking of the\nking's return to Edinburgh, after the disgrace which he had sustained\nthere, during the riot excited by the seditious ministers, on December\n17, 1596. Proclamation had been made, that the Earl of Mar should keep\nthe West Port, Lord Seton the Nether-Bow, and Buccleuch, with sundry\nothers, the High Gate. \"Upon the morn, at this time, and befoir this\nday, thair wes ane grate rumour and word among the tounesmen, that\nthe kinges M. sould send in _Will Kinmond, the common thieffe_, and\nso many southland men as sould spulye the toun of Edinburgh. Upon the\nwhilk, the haill merchants tuik thair haill gear out of their buiths\nor chops, and transportit the same to the strongest hous that wes in\nthe toune, and remained in the said hous, thair, with thameselfis,\nthair servants, and luiking for nothing bot that thai sould have\nbeen all spulyeit. Sic lyke the hail craftsmen and comons convenit\nthemselfis, thair best guides, as it wer ten or twelve householdes\nin are, whilk wes the strongest hous, and might be best kepit from\nspuilyeing or burning, with hagbut, pistolet, and other sic armour,\nas might best defend thameselfis. Judge, gentill reider, giff this wes\nplaying.\" The fear of the borderers being thus before the eyes of the\ncontumacious citizens of Edinburgh, James obtained a quiet hearing for\none of his favourite orisones, or harangues, and was finally enabled\nto prescribe terms to his fanatic metropolis. Good discipline was,\nhowever, maintained by the chiefs upon this occasion; although the\nfears of the inhabitants were but too well grounded, considering what\nhad happened in Stirling ten years before, when the Earl of Angus,\nattended by Home, Buccleuch, and other border chieftains, marched\nthither to remove the Earl of Arran from the king's councils: the town\nwas miserably pillaged by the borderers, particularly by a party of\nArmstrongs, under this very Kinmont Willie, who not only made prey\nof horses and cattle, but even of the very iron grating of the\nwindows.--_Johnstoni Historia_, p. 102. _Ed. Amstael_.--_Moyse's\nMemoirs_, p. 100.\n\nThe renown of Kinmont Willie is not surprising, since, in 1588, the\napprehending that freebooter, and Robert Maxwell, natural-brother to\nthe Lord Maxwell, was the main, but unaccomplished, object of a royal\nexpedition to Dumfries. \"_Rex ... Robertum Maxvallium ... et Gulielmum\nArmstrangum Kinmonthum latrociniis intestinis externisque famosum,\nconquiri jubet. Missi e ministerio regio, qui per aspera loca\nvitabundos persequuntur, magnoque incommodo afficiunt. At illi\nlatebris aut silvis se eripiunt.\"--Johnstoni Historia_, p. 138. About\nthis time, it is possible that Kinmont Willie may have held some\nconnection with the Maxwells, though afterwards a retainer to\nBuccleuch, the enemy of that tribe. At least, the editor finds,\nthat, in a bond of manrent, granted by Simon Elliot of Whytheuch,\nin Liddesdale, to Lord Maxwell, styled therein Earl of Morton, dated\nFebruary 28, 1599, William Armstrang, called _Will of Kinmond_,\nappears as a witness.--_Syme's MSS_. According to Satchells, this\nfreebooter was descended of Johnie Armstrong of Gilnockie (See\n_Ballad, p. 105, of this volume_.)--_Est in juvencis, est et in equis,\npatrum virtus_. In fact, his rapacity made his very name proverbial.\nMas James Melvine, in urging reasons against subscribing the act of\nsupremacy, in 1584, asks ironically, \"Who shall take order with vice\nand wickedness? The court and bishops? As well as Martine Elliot, and\nWill of Kinmont, with stealing upon the borders!\"--_Calderwood_, p.\n168.\n\nThis affair of Kinmont Willie was not the only occasion upon which the\nundaunted keeper of Liddesdale gave offence to the haughty Elizabeth.\nFor, even before this business was settled, certain of the English\nborderers having invaded Liddesdale, and wasted the country, the laird\nof Buccleuch retaliated the injury by a _raid_ into England, in which\nhe not only brought off much spoil, but apprehended thirty-six of the\nTynedale thieves, all of whom he put to death.--_Spottiswoode_, p.\n450. How highly the Queen of England's resentment blazed on this\noccasion, may be judged from the preface to her letter to Bowes, then\nher ambassador in Scotland. \"I wonder how base-minded that king thinks\nme, that, with patience, I can digest this dishonourable ********.\nLet him know, therefore, that I will have satisfaction, or else\n*********.\" These broken words of ire are inserted betwixt the\nsubscription and the address of the letter.--_Rymer_, Vol. XVI. p.\n318. Indeed, so deadly was the resentment of the English, on account\nof the affronts put upon them by this formidable chieftain, that there\nseems at one time to have been a plan formed (not, as was alleged,\nwithout Elizabeth's privity,) to assassinate Buccleuch.--_Rymer_, Vol.\nXVI. p. 107. The matter was at length arranged by the commissioners of\nboth nations in Berwick, by whom it was agreed that delinquents should\nbe delivered up on both sides, and that the chiefs themselves should\nenter into ward in the opposite countries, till these were given up,\nand pledges granted for the future maintenance of the quiet of the\nborders. Buccleuch, and Sir Robert Ker of Cessford (ancestor of the\nDuke of Roxburgh), appear to have struggled hard against complying\nwith this regulation; so much so, that it required all James's\nauthority to bring to order these two powerful chiefs.--_Rymer_, Vol.\nXVI. p. 322.--_Spottiswoode_, p. 448.--_Carey's Memoirs_, p, 131. _et\nsequen_.--When at length they appeared, for the purpose of delivering\nthemselves up to be warded at Berwick, an incident took place,\nwhich nearly occasioned a revival of the deadly feud which formerly\nsubsisted between the Scots and the Kers. Buccleuch had chosen, for\nhis guardian, during his residence in England, Sir William Selby,\nmaster of the ordnance at Berwick, and accordingly gave himself into\nhis hands. Sir Robert Ker was about to do the same, when a pistol was\ndischarged by one of his retinue, and the cry of treason was raised.\nHad not the Earl of Home been present, with a party of Merse men, to\npreserve order, a dreadful tumult would probably have ensued. As it\nwas, the English commissioners returned in dismay to Berwick, much\ndisposed to wreak their displeasure on Buccleuch; and he, on his side,\nmortally offended with Cessford, by whose means, as he conceived, he\nhad been placed in circumstances of so much danger. Sir Robert Ker,\nhowever, appeased all parties, by delivering himself up to ward in\nEngland; on which occasion, he magnanimously chose for his guardian\nSir Robert Carey, deputy-warden of the east marches, notwithstanding\nvarious causes of animosity which existed betwixt them. The\nhospitality of Carey equalled the generous confidence of Cessford, and\na firm friendship was the consequence[159].\n\n[Footnote 159: Such traits of generosity illuminate the dark period of\nwhich we treat. Carey's conduct, on this occasion, almost atones\nfor the cold and unfeeling policy with which he watched the closing\nmoments of his benefactress, Elizabeth, impatient till remorse and\nsorrow should extort her last sigh, that he might lay the foundation\nof his future favour with her successor, by carrying him the first\ntidings of her death.--_Carey's Memoirs_, p. 172. _et sequen_. It\nwould appear that Sir Robert Ker was soon afterwards committed to the\ncustody of the archbishop of York; for there is extant a letter from\nthat prelate to the lord-treasurer, desiring instructions about the\nmode of keeping this noble hostage. \"I understand,\" saith he, \"that\nthe gentleman is wise and valiant, but somewhat haughty here, and\nresolute. I would pray your lordship, that I may have directions\nwhether he may not go with his keeper in my company, to sermons;\nand whether he may not sometimes dine with the council, as the last\nhostages did; and, thirdly, whether he may sometimes be brought to\nsitting to the common-hall, where he may see how careful her majesty\nis that the poorest subject in her kingdom may have their right, and\nthat her people seek remedy by law, and not by avenging themselves.\nPerhaps it may do him good as long as he liveth.\"--_Strype's Annals,\nad annum, 1597_. It would appear, from this letter, that the treatment\nof the hostages was liberal; though one can hardly suppress a smile\nat the zeal of the good bishop for the conversion of the Scottish\nchieftain to a more christian mode of thinking than was common among\nthe borderers of that day. The date is February 25. 1597, which is\nsomewhat difficult to reconcile with those given by the Scottish\nhistorians--Another letter follows, stating, that Sir Robert, having\nbeen used to open air, prayed for more liberty for his health's sake,\n\"offering his word, which it is said he doth chiefly regard, that he\nwould be true prisoner.\"--_Strype, Ibid._]\n\nBuccleuch appears to have remained in England from October, 1597,\ntill February, 1598.--_Johnstoni Historia_, p. 231,--_Spottiswoode, ut\nsupra_. According to ancient family tradition, Buccleuch was presented\nto Elizabeth, who, with her usual rough and peremptory address,\ndemanded of him, \"how he dared to undertake an enterprize so desperate\nand presumptuous.\" \"What is it,\" answered the undaunted chieftain,\n\"What is it that a man dares not do!\" Elizabeth, struck with the\nreply, turned to a lord in waiting; \"With ten thousand such men,\"\nsaid she, \"our brother of Scotland might shake the firmest throne of\nEurope.\" Luckily, perhaps, for the murtheress of Queen Mary, James's\ntalents did not lie that way.\n\nThe articles, settled by the commissioners at Berwick, were highly\nfavourable to the peace of the border. They may be seen at large in\nthe _Border Laws_, p. 103. By article sixth, all wardens and keepers\nare discharged from seeking reparation of injuries, in the ancient\nhostile mode of riding, or causing to ride, in warlike manner,\nagainst the opposite march; and that under the highest penalty, unless\nauthorized by a warrant under the hand of their sovereign. The\nmention of the word _keeper_, alludes obviously to the above-mentioned\nreprisals, made by Buccleuch in the capacity of keeper of Liddesdale.\n\nThis ballad is preserved, by tradition, on the west borders, but much\nmangled by reciters; so that some conjectural emendations have been\nabsolutely necessary to render it intelligible. In particular, the\n_Eden_ has been substituted for the _Eske_, p. 193, the latter name\nbeing inconsistent with geography.\n\n\n\n\nKINMONT WILLIE.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  O have ye na heard o' the fause Sakelde?\n  O have ye na heard o' the keen Lord Scroop?\n  How they hae ta'en bauld Kinmont Willie,\n  On Hairibee to hang him up?\n\n  Had Willie had but twenty men,\n  But twenty men as stout as he,\n  Fause Sakelde had never the Kinmont ta'en,\n  Wi' eight score in his cumpanie.\n\n  They band his legs beneath the steed,\n  They tied his hands behind his back;\n  They guarded him, fivesome on each side,\n  And they brought him ower the Liddel-rack.\n\n  They led him thro' the Liddel-rack,\n  And also thro' the Carlisle sands;\n  They brought him to Carlisle castell,\n  To be at my Lord Scroop's commands.\n\n  \"My hands are tied, but my tongue is free!\n  And whae will dare this deed avow?\n  Or answer by the border law?\n  Or answer to the bauld Buccleuch!\"\n\n  \"Now haud thy tongue, thou rank reiver!\n  There's never a Scot shall set ye free:\n  Before ye cross my castle yate,\n  I trow ye shall take farewell o' me.\"\n\n  \"Fear na ye that, my lord,\" quo' Willie:\n  \"By the faith o' my body, Lord Scroop,\" he said,\n  \"I never yet lodged in a hostelrie,[160]\n  But I paid my lawing[161] before I gaed.\"\n\n  Now word is gane to the bauld Keeper,\n  In Branksome Ha', where that he lay,\n  That Lord Scroop has ta'en the Kinmont Willie,\n  Between the hours of night and day.\n\n  He has ta'en the table wi' his hand,\n  He garr'd the red wine spring on hie--\n  \"Now Christ's curse on my head,\" he said,\n  \"But avenged of Lord Scroop I'll be!\n\n  \"O is my basnet[162] a widow's curc[163]\n  Or my lance a wand of the willow tree?\n  Or my arm a ladye's lilye hand,\n  That an English lord should lightly[164] me!\n\n  \"And have they ta'en him, Kinmont Willie,\n  Against the truce of border tide?\n  And forgotten that the bauld Buccleuch\n  Is Keeper here on the Scottish side?\n\n  \"And have they e'en ta'en him, Kinmont Willie,\n  Withouten either dread or fear?\n  And forgotten that the bauld Buccleuch\n  Can back a steed, or shake a spear?\n\n  \"O were there war between the lands,\n  As well I wot that there is none,\n  I would slight Carlisle castell high,\n  Tho' it were builded of marble stone.\n\n  \"I would set that castell in a low,[165]\n  And sloken it with English blood!\n  There's nevir a man in Cumberland,\n  Should ken where Carlisle castell stood.\n\n  \"But since nae war's between the lands,\n  And there is peace, and peace should be;\n  I'll neither harm English lad or lass,\n  And yet the Kinmont freed shall be!\"\n\n  He has call'd him forty marchmen bauld,\n  I trow they were of his ain name,\n  Except Sir Gilbert Elliot, call'd\n  The laird of Stobs, I mean the same.\n\n  He has call'd him forty marchmen bauld,\n  Were kinsmen to the bauld Buccleuch;\n  With spur on heel, and splent on spauld,[166]\n  And gleuves of green, and feathers blue.\n\n  There were five and five before them a',\n  Wi' hunting horns and bugles bright;\n  And five and five came wi' Buccleuch,\n  Like warden's men, arrayed for fight:\n\n  And five and five, like a mason gang,\n  That carried the ladders lang and hie;\n  And five and five, like broken men;\n  And so they reached the Woodhouselee.\n\n  And as we cross'd the Bateable Land,\n  When to the English side we held,\n  The first o' men that we met wi',\n  Whae sould it be but fause Sakelde?\n\n  \"Where be ye gaun, ye hunters keen?\"\n  Quo' fause Sakelde; \"come tell to me!\"\n  \"We go to hunt an English stag,\n  Has trespassed on the Scots countrie.\"\n\n  \"Where be ye gaun, ye marshal men?\"\n  Quo' fause Sakelde; \"come tell me true!\"'\n  \"We go to catch a rank reiver,\n  Has broken faith wi' the bauld Buccleuch.\"\n\n  \"Where are ye gaun, ye mason lads,\n  Wi' a' your ladders, lang and hie?\"\n  \"We gang to herry a corbie's nest,\n  That wons not far frae Woodhouselee.\"\n\n  \"Where be ye gaun, ye broken men?\"\n  Quo' fause Sakelde; \"come tell to me!\"\n  Now Dickie of Dryhope led that band,\n  And the never a word o' lear had he.\n\n  \"Why trespass ye on the English side?\n  Row-footed outlaws, stand!\" quo' he;\n  The never a word had Dickie to say,\n  Sae he thrust the lance thro' his fause bodie.\n\n  Then on we held for Carlisle toun,\n  And at Staneshaw-bank the Eden we cross'd;\n  The water was great and meikle of spait,\n  But the nevir a horse nor man we lost.\n\n  And when we reached the Staneshaw-bank,\n  The wind was rising loud and hie;\n  And there the laird garr'd leave our steeds,\n  For fear that they should stamp and nie.\n\n  And when we left the Staneshaw-bank,\n  The wind began full loud to blaw;\n  But 'twas wind and weet, and fire and sleet,\n  When we came beneath the castle wa'.\n\n  We crept on knees, and held our breath,\n  Till we placed the ladders against the wa';\n  And sae ready was Buccleuch himsell\n  To mount the first, before us a'.\n\n  He has ta'en the watchman by the throat,\n  He flung him down upon the lead--\n  \"Had there not been peace between our land,\n  Upon the other side thou hadst gaed!--\n\n  \"Now sound out, trumpets!\" quo' Buccleuch;\n  \"Let's waken Lord Scroop, right merrilie!\"\n  Then loud the warden's trumpet blew--\n  \"_O whae dare meddle wi' me_?\"[167]\n\n  Then speedilie to work we gaed,\n  And raised the slogan ane and a'.\n  And cut a hole thro' a sheet of lead,\n  And so we wan to the castle ha'.\n\n  They thought King James and a' his men\n  Had won the house wi' bow and spear;\n  It was but twenty Scots and ten,\n  That put a thousand in sic a stear![168]\n\n  Wi' coulters and wi' fore-hammers,\n  We garr'd the bars bang merrilie,\n  Untill we cam to the inner prison,\n  Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie.\n\n  And when we cam to the lower prison,\n  Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie--\n  \"O sleep ye, wake ye, Kinmont Willie,\n  Upon the morn that thou's to die?\"\n\n  \"O I sleep saft,[169] and I wake aft;\n  Its lang since sleeping was fleyed[170] frae me!\n  Gie my service back to my wife and bairns,\n  And a' gude fellows that speer for me.\"\n\n  Then Red Rowan has hente him up,\n  The starkest man in Teviotdale--\n  \"Abide, abide now, Red Rowan,\n  Till of my Lord Scroope I take farewell.\n\n  \"Farewell, farewell, my gude Lord Scroope!\n  My gude Lord Scroope, farewell!\" he cried--\n  \"I'll pay you for my lodging maill,[171]\n  When first we meet on the border side.\"\n\n  Then shoulder high, with shout and cry,\n  We bore him down the ladder lang;\n  At every stride Red Rowan made,\n  I wot the Kinmont's aims played clang!\n\n  \"O mony a time,\" quo' Kinmont Willie,\n  \"I have ridden horse baith wild and wood;\n  But a rougher beast than Red Rowan,\n  I ween my legs have ne'er bestrode.\n\n  \"And mony a time,\" quo' Kinmont Willie,\n  \"I've pricked a horse out oure the furs;[172]\n  But since the day I backed a steed,\n  I never wore sic cumbrous spurs!\"\n\n  We scarce had won the Staneshaw-bank,\n  When a' the Carlisle bells were rung,\n  And a thousand men, in horse and foot,\n  Cam wi' the keen Lord Scroope along.\n\n  Buccleuch has turned to Eden water,\n  Even where it flow'd frae bank to brim,\n  And he has plunged in wi' a' his band,\n  And safely swam them thro' the stream.\n\n  He turned him on the other side,\n  And at Lord Scroope his glove flung he--\n  \"If ye like na my visit in merry England,\n  In fair Scotland come visit me!\"\n\n  All sore astonished stood Lord Scroope,\n  He stood as still as rock of stane;\n  He scarcely dared to trew his eyes,\n  When thro' the water they had gane.\n\n  \"He is either himsell a devil frae hell,\n  Or else his mother a witch maun be;\n  I wad na have ridden that wan water,\n  For a' the gowd in Christentie.\"\n\n[Footnote 160: _Hostelrie_--Inn.]\n\n[Footnote 161: _Lawing_--Reckoning.]\n\n[Footnote 162: _Basnet_--Helmet.]\n\n[Footnote 163: _Curch_--Coif.]\n\n[Footnote 164: _Lightly_--Set light by.]\n\n[Footnote 165: _Low_--Flame.]\n\n[Footnote 166: _Splent on spauld_--Armour on shoulder.]\n\n[Footnote 167: The name of a border tune.]\n\n[Footnote 168: _Stear_--Stir.]\n\n[Footnote 169: _Soft_--Light.]\n\n[Footnote 170: _Fleyed_--Frightened.]\n\n[Footnote 171: _Maill_--Rent.]\n\n[Footnote 172: _Furs_--Furrows.]\n\n\n\n\nNOTES ON KINMONT WILLIE.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  _On Hairibee to hang him up_?--P. 188. v. 1.\n\nHairibee is the place of execution at Carlisle.\n\n  _And they brought him ower the Liddel-rack_.--P. 188. v. 3.\n\nThe Liddel-rack is a ford on the Liddel.\n\n  _And so they reached the Woodhouselee_.--P. 192. v. 1.\n\nWoodhouselee; a house on the border, belonging to Buccleuch.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe Salkeldes, or Sakeldes, were a powerful family in Cumberland,\npossessing, among other manors, that of Corby, before it came into\nthe possession of the Howards, in the beginning of the seventeenth\ncentury. A strange stratagem was practised by an outlaw, called Jock\nGrame of the Peartree, upon Mr. Salkelde, sheriff of Cumberland; who\nis probably the person alluded to in the ballad, as the fact is\nstated to have happened late in Elizabeth's time. The brother of this\nfreebooter was lying in Carlisle jail for execution, when Jock of the\nPeartree came riding past the gate of Corby castle. A child of the\nsheriff was playing before the door, to whom the outlaw gave an apple,\nsaying, \"Master, will you ride?\" The boy willingly consenting, Grame\ntook him up before him, carried him into Scotland, and would never\npart with him, till he had his brother safe from the gallows. There is\nno historical ground for supposing, either that Salkelde, or any one\nelse, lost his life in the raid of Carlisle.\n\nIn the list of border clans, 1597, Will of Kinmonth, with Kyrstie\nArmestrange, and John Skynbanke, are mentioned as leaders of a band of\nArmstrongs, called _Sandies Barnes_, inhabiting the Debateable Land.\nThe ballad itself has never before been published.\n\n\n\n\nDICK O' THE COW.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nThis ballad, and the two which immediately follow it in the\ncollection, were published, 1784, in the _Hawick Museum_, a provincial\nmiscellany, to which they were communicated by John Elliot, Esq. of\nReidheugh, a gentleman well skilled in the antiquities of the western\nborder, and to whose friendly assistance the editor is indebted for\nmany valuable communications.\n\nThese ballads are connected with each other, and appear to have been\ncomposed by the same author. The actors seem to have flourished, while\nThomas, Lord Scroope, of Bolton, was warden of the west marches of\nEngland, and governor of Carlisle castle; which offices he acquired\nupon the death of his father, about 1590; and retained it till the\nunion of the crowns.\n\n_Dick of the Cow_, from the privileged insolence which he assumes,\nseems to have been Lord Scroope's jester. In the preliminary\ndissertation, the reader will find the border custom of assuming _noms\nde guerre_ particularly noticed. It is exemplified in the following\nballad, where one Armstrong is called the _Laird's Jock_ (i.e. the\nlaird's son Jock), another _Fair Johnie_, a third _Billie Willie_\n(brother Willie), &c. The _Laird's Jock_, son to the laird of\nMangerton, appears, as one of the men of name in Liddesdale, in the\nlist of border clans, _1597_.\n\n_Dick of the Cow_ is erroneously supposed to have been the same with\none Ricardus Coldall, de Plumpton, a knight and celebrated warrior,\nwho died in 1462, as appears from his epitaph in the church of\nPenrith.--_Nicolson's History of Westmoreland and Cumberland_, Vol.\nII. p. 408.\n\nThis ballad is very popular in Liddesdale; and the reciter always\nadds, at the conclusion, that poor Dickie's cautious removal to Burgh\nunder Stanemore, did not save him from the clutches of the Armstrongs;\nfor that, having fallen into their power several years after this\nexploit, he was put to an inhuman death. The ballad was well known\nin England, so early as 1556. An allusion to it likewise occurs in\n_Parrot's Laquei Ridiculosi_, or _Springes for Woodcocks_; London,\n1613.\n\n  Owenus wondreth, since he came to Wales,\n  What the description of this isle should be,\n  That nere had seen but mountains, hills, and dales.\n  Yet would he boast, and stand on pedigree,\n  From Rice ap Richard, sprung from Dick a Cow,\n  Be cod, was right gud gentleman, looke ye now!\n\n_Epigr. 76_.\n\n\n\n\nDICK O' THE COW.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n  Now Liddesdale has layen lang in,\n  There is na riding there at a';\n  The horses are grown sae lither fat,\n  They downa stur out o' the sta.'\n\n  Fair Johnie Armstrang to Willie did say--\n  \"Billie, a riding we will gae;\n  England and us have been lang at feid;\n  Ablins we'll light on some bootie.\"\n\n  Then they are come on to Hutton Ha';\n  They rade that proper place about;\n  But the laird he was the wiser man,\n  For he had left nae gear without.\n\n  For he had left nae gear to steal,\n  Except sax sheep upon a lee:\n  Quo' Johnie--\"I'd rather in England die,\n  \"Ere thir sax sheep gae to Liddesdale wi' me.\"\n\n  \"But how ca' they the men we last met,\n  Billie, as we cam owre the know?\"\n  \"That same he is an innocent fule,\n  And men they call him Dick o' the Cow,\"\n\n  \"That fule has three as good kye o' his ain,\n  As there are in a' Cumberland, billie,\" quo he:\n  \"Betide me life, betide me death,\n  These kye shall go to Liddesdale wi' me.\"\n\n  Then they have come on to the pure fule's house,\n  And they hae broken his wa's sae wide;\n  They have loosed out Dick o' the Cow's three ky,\n  And ta'en three co'erlets frae his wife's bed.\n\n  Then on the morn when the day was light,\n  The shouts and cries rase loud and hie:\n  \"O haud thy tongue, my wife,\" he says,\n  \"And o' thy crying let me be!\n\n  \"O had thy tongue, my wife,\" he says,\n  \"And o' thy crying let me be;\n  And ay where thou hast lost ae cow,\n  In gude suith I shall bring thee three.\"\n\n  Now Dickie's gane to the gude Lord Scroope,\n  And I wat a dreirie fule was he;\n  \"Now hand thy tongue, my fule,\" he says,\n  \"For I may not stand to jest wi' thee.\"\n\n  \"Shame fa' your jesting, my lord!\" quo' Dickie,\n  \"For nae sic jesting grees wi' me;\n  Liddesdale's been in my house last night,\n  And they hae awa my three kye frae me.\n\n  \"But I may nae langer in Cumberland dwell,\n  To be your puir fule and your leal,\n  Unless you gi' me leave, my lord,\n  To gae to Liddesdale and steal.\"\n\n  \"I gie thee leave, my fule!\" he says;\n  \"Thou speakest against my honour and me,\n  Unless thou gie me thy trowth and thy hand,\n  Thou'lt steal frae nane but whae sta' frae thee.\"\n\n  \"There is my trowth, and my right hand!\n  My head shall hang on Hairibee;\n  I'll ne'er cross Carlisle sands again,\n  If I steal frae a man but whae sta' frae me.\"\n\n  Dickie's ta'en leave o' lord and master;\n  I wat a merry fule was he!\n  He's bought a bridle and a pair of new spurs,\n  And pack'd them up in his breek thie.\n\n  Then Dickie's come on to Pudding-burn house,\n  E'en as fast as he might drie;\n  Then Dickie's come on to Pudding-burn,\n  Where there were thirty Armstrangs and three.\n\n  \"O what's this come o' me now?\" quo' Dickie;\n  \"What mickle wae is this?\" quo' he;\n  \"For here is but ae innocent fule,\n  And there are thirty Armstrangs and three!\"\n\n  Yet he has come up to the fair ha' board,\n  Sae weil he's become his courtesie!\n  \"Weil may ye be, my gude Laird's Jock!\n  But the deil bless a' your cumpanie.\n\n  \"I'm come to plain o' your man, fair Johnie Armstrang\n  And syne o' his billie Willie,\" quo he;\n  \"How they've been in my house last night,\n  And they hae ta'en my three kye frae me.\"\n\n  \"Ha!\" quo' fair Johnie Armstrang, \"we will him hang.\"\n  \"Na,\" quo' Willie, \"we'll him slae.\"\n  Then up and spak another young Armstrang,\n  \"We'll gie him his batts,[173] and let him gae.\"\n\n  But up and spak the gude Laird's Jock,\n  The best falla in a' the cumpanie:\n  \"Sit down thy ways a little while, Dickie,\n  And a piece o' thy ain cow's hough I'll gie ye.\"\n\n  But Dickie's heart it grew sae grit,\n  That the ne'er a bit o't he dought to eat--\n  Then was he aware of an auld peat-house,\n  Where a' the night he thought for to sleep.\n\n  Then Dickie was aware of an auld peat-house,\n  Where a' the night he thought for to lye--\n  And a' the prayers the pure fule prayed\n  Were, \"I wish I had amends for my gude three kye!\"\n\n  It was then the use of Pudding-burn house,\n  And the house of Mangerton, all hail,\n  Them that cam na at the first ca',\n  Gat nae mair meat till the neist meal.\n\n  The lads, that hungry and weary were,\n  Abune the door-head they threw the key;\n  Dickie he took gude notice o' that,\n  Says--\"There will be a bootie for me.\"\n\n  Then Dickie has into the stable gane,\n  Where there stood thirty horses and three;\n  He has tied them a' wi' St. Mary's knot,\n  A' these horses but barely three.\n\n  He has tied them a' wi' St. Mary's knot,\n  A' these horses but barely three;\n  He's loupen on ane, ta'en another in hand,\n  And away as fast as he can hie.\n\n  But on the morn, when the day grew light,\n  The shouts and cries raise loud and hie--\n  \"Ah! whae has done this?\" quo' the gude Laird's Jock,\n  \"Tell me the truth and the verity!\"\n\n  \"Whae has done this deed?\" quo' the gude Laird's Jock;\n  \"See that to me ye dinna lie!\"\n  Dickie has been in the stable last night,\n  And has ta'en my brother's horse and mine frae me.\"\n\n  \"Ye wad ne'er be tald,\" quo' the gude Laird's Jock;\n  \"Have ye not found my tales fu' leil?\n  Ye ne'er wad out o' England bide,\n  Till crooked, and blind, and a' would steal.\"\n\n  \"But lend me thy bay,\" fair Johnie can say;\n  \"There's nae horse loose in the stable save he;\n  And I'll either fetch Dick o' the Cow again,\n  Or the day is come that he shall die.\"\n\n  \"To lend thee my bay!\" the Laird's Jock can say,\n  \"He's baith worth gowd and gude monie;\n  Dick o' the Cow has awa twa horse;\n  I wish na thou may make him three.\"\n\n  He has ta'en the laird's jack on his back,\n  A twa-handed sword to hang by his thie;\n  He has ta'en a steil cap on his head,\n  And gallopped on to follow Dickie.\n\n  Dickie was na a mile frae aff the town,\n  I wat a mile but barely three,\n  When he was o'erta'en by fair Johnie Armstrang,\n  Hand for hand, on Cannobie lee.\n\n  \"Abide, abide, thou traitour thief!\n  The day is come that thou maun die.\"\n  Then Dickie look't owre his left shoulder,\n  Said--\"Johnie, hast thou nae mae in cumpanie?\n\n  \"There is a preacher in our chapell,\n  And a' the live lang day teaches he:\n  When day is gane, and night is come,\n  There's ne'er ae word I mark but three.\n\n  \"The first and second is--Faith and Conscience;\n  The third--Ne'er let a traitour free:\n  But, Johnie, what faith and conscience was thine,\n  When thou took awa my three ky frae me?\n\n  \"And when thou had ta'en awa my three ky,\n  Thou thought in thy heart thou wast not weil sped,\n  Till thou sent thy billie Willie ower the know,\n  To take thrie coverlets off my wife's bed!\"\n\n  Then Johnie let a speir fa' laigh by his thie,\n  Thought well to hae slain the innocent, I trow;\n  But the powers above were mair than he,\n  For he ran but the puir fule's jerkin through.\n\n  Together they ran, or ever they blan;\n  This was Dickie the fule and he!\n  Dickie could na win at him wi' the blade o' the sword,\n  But fell'd him wi' the plummet under the e'e.\n\n  Thus Dickie has fell'd fair Johnie Armstrang,\n  The prettiest man in the south country---\n  \"Gramercy!\" then can Dickie say,\n  \"I had but twa horse, thou hast made me thrie!\"\n\n  He's ta'en the steil jack aff Johnie's back,\n  The twa-handed sword that hang low by his thie;\n  He's ta'en the steil cap aff his head--\n  \"Johnie, I'll tell my master I met wi' thee.\"\n\n  When Johnie wakened out o' his dream,\n  I wat a dreirie man was he:\n  \"And is thou gane? Now, Dickie, than\n  The shame and dule is left wi' me.\n\n  \"And is thou gane? Now, Dickie, than\n  The deil gae in thy cumpanie!\n  For if I should live these hundred years,\n  I ne'er shall fight wi' a fule after thee.\"--\n\n  Then Dickie's come hame to the gude Lord Scroope,\n  E'en as fast as he might his;\n  \"Now, Dickie, I'll neither eat nor drink,\n  Till hie hanged thou shalt be.\"\n\n  \"The shame speed the liars, my lord!\" quo' Dickie;\n  \"This was na the promise ye made to me!\n  For I'd ne'er gane to Liddesdale to steal,\n  Had I not got my leave frae thee.\"\n\n  \"But what garr'd thee steal the Laird's Jock's horse?\n  And, limmer, what garr'd ye steal him?\" quo' he;\n  \"For lang thou mightst in Cumberland dwelt,\n  Ere the Laird's Jock had stown frae thee.\"\n\n  \"Indeed I wat ye lied, my lord!\n  And e'en sae loud as I hear ye lie!\n  I wan the horse frae fair Johnie Armstrong,\n  Hand to hand, on Cannobie lee.\n\n  \"There is the jack was on his back;\n  This twa-handed sword hang laigh by his thie,\n  And there's the steil cap was on his head;\n  I brought a' these tokens to let thee see.\"\n\n  \"If that be true thou to me tells,\n  (And I think thou dares na tell a lie,)\n  I'll gie thee fifteen punds for the horse,\n  Weil tald on thy cloak lap shall be.\n\n  \"I'll gie thee are o' my best milk ky,\n  To maintain thy wife and children thrie;\n  And that may be as gude, I think,\n  As ony twa o' thine wad be.\"\n\n  \"The shame speed the liars, my lord!\" quo' Dickie;\n  \"Trow ye aye to make a fule o' me?\n  I'll either hae twenty punds for the gude horse,\n  Or he's gae to Mortan fair wi' me.\"\n\n  He's gien him twenty punds for the gude horse,\n  A' in goud and gude monie;\n  He's gien him ane o' his best milk ky,\n  To maintain his wife and children thrie.\n\n  Then Dickie's come down thro' Carlisle toun,\n  E'en as fast as he could drie;\n  The first o' men that he met wi'\n  Was my lord's brother, bailiff Glozenburrie.\n\n  \"Weil be ye met, my gude Ralph Scroope!\"\n  \"Welcome, my brother's fule!\" quo' he:\n  \"Where didst thou get fair Johnie Armstrong's horse?\"\n  \"Where did I get him? but steal him,\" quo' he.\n\n  \"But wilt thou sell me the bonny horse?\n  And, billie, wilt thou sell him to me?\" quo' he:\n  \"Aye; if thoul't tell me the monie on my cloak lap:\n  \"For there's never ae penny I'll trust thee.\"\n\n  \"I'll gie thee ten punds for the gude horse,\n  Weil tald on thy cloak lap they shall be;\n  And I'll gie thee ane o' the best milk ky,\n  To maintain thy wife and children thrie.\"\n\n  \"The shame speid the liars, my lord!\" quo' Dickie;\n  \"Trow ye ay to make a fule o' me!\n  I'll either hae twenty punds for the gude horse,\n  Or he's gae to Mortan fair wi' me.\"\n\n  He's gien him twenty punds for the gude horse,\n  Baith in goud and gude monie;\n  He's gien him ane o' his best milk ky,\n  To maintain his wife and children thrie.\n\n  Then Dickie lap a loup fu' hie,\n  And I wat a loud laugh laughed he--\n  \"I wish the neck o' the third horse were broken,\n  If ony of the twa were better than he!\"\n\n  Then Dickie's come hame to his wife again;\n  Judge ye how the poor fule had sped!\n  He has gien her twa score English punds,\n  For the thrie auld coverlets ta'en aff her bed.\n\n  \"And tak thee these twa as gude ky,\n  I trow, as a' thy thrie might be;\n  And yet here is a white-footed nagie,\n  I trow he'll carry baith thee and me.\n\n  \"But I may nae langer in Cumberland bide;\n  The Armstrongs they would hang me hie.\"\n  So Dickie's ta'en leave at lord and master,\n  And at Burgh under Stanmuir there dwells he.\n\n[Footnote 173: _Gie him his batts_--Dismiss him with a beating.]\n\n\n\n\nNOTES ON DICK O' THE COW.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  _Then Dickie's come on to Pudding-burn house_.--P. 205. v, 3.\n\nThis was a house of strength, held by the Armstrongs. The ruins at\npresent form a sheep-fold, on the farm of Reidsmoss, belonging to the\nDuke of Buccleuch.\n\n  _He has tied them a' wi' St. Mary's knot_.--P. 207. v. 4.\n\nHamstringing a horse is termed, in the border dialect, _tying him\nwith St. Mary's Knot_. Dickie used this cruel expedient to prevent a\npursuit. It appears from the narration, that the horses, left unhurt,\nbelonged to Fair Johnie Armstrang, his brother Willie, and the Laird's\nJock, of which Dickie carried off two, and left that of the Laird's\nJock, probably out of gratitude for the protection he had afforded him\non his arrival.\n\n  _Hand for hand, on Cannobie lee_.--P. 209. v. 1.\n\nA rising-ground on Cannobie, on the borders of Liddesdale.\n\n  _Ere the Laird's Jock had stown frae thee_.--P. 211. v. 4.\n\nThe commendation of the Laird's Jock's honesty seems but indifferently\nfounded; for, in July 1586, a bill was fouled against him, Dick of\nDryup, and others, by the deputy of Bewcastle, at a warden-meeting,\nfor 400 head of cattle taken in open forray from the Drysike in\nBewcastle: and, in September 1587, another complaint appears at the\ninstance of one Andrew Rutledge of the Nook, against the Laird's Jock,\nand his accomplices, for 50 kine and oxen, besides furniture, to\nthe amount of 100 merks sterling. See Bell's MSS., as quoted in the\n_History of Cumberland and Westmoreland_. In Sir Richard Maitland's\npoem against the thieves of Liddesdale, he thus commemorates the\nLaird's Jock:\n\n  They spuilye puir men of thair pakis,\n  They leif them nocht on bed nor bakis;\n  Baith hen and cok,\n  With reil and rok,\n  The _Lairdis Jock_\n  All with him takis.\n\nThose, who plundered Dick, had been bred up under an expert teacher.\n\n\n\n\nJOCK O' THE SIDE.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nThe subject of this ballad, being a common event in those troublesome\nand disorderly times, became a favourite theme of the ballad-makers.\nThere are, in this collection, no fewer than three poems on the rescue\nof prisoners, the incidents in which nearly resemble each other;\nthough the poetical description is so different, that the editor did\nnot think himself at liberty to reject any one of them, as borrowed\nfrom the others. As, however, there are several verses, which, in\nrecitation, are common to all these three songs, the editor, to\nprevent unnecessary and disagreeable repetition, has used the freedom\nof appropriating them to that, in which they seem to have the best\npoetic effect.\n\nThe reality of this story rests solely upon the foundation of\ntradition. Jock o' the side seems to have been nephew to the laird\nof Mangertoun, cousin to the Laird's Jock, one of his deliverers, and\nprobably brother to Chrystie of the Syde, mentioned in the list of\nborder clans 1597. Like the Laird's Jock, he also is commemorated by\nSir Richard Maitland.--See the _Introduction_.\n\n  He is weil kend, Johne of the Syde,\n  A greater theif did never ryde;\n  He never tyris\n  For to brek byris.\n  Our muir and myris\n  Ouir gude ane guide.\n\nThe land-serjeant, mentioned in this ballad, and also in that of\n_Hobble Noble_, was an officer under the warden, to whom was committed\nthe apprehending of delinquents, and the care of the public peace.\n\n\n\n\nJOCK O' THE SIDE.\n\n\n  Now Liddesdale has ridden a raid,\n  But I wat they had better hae staid at hame;\n  For Michael o' Winfield he is dead,\n  And Jock o' the Side is prisoner ta'en.\n\n  For Mangerton house Lady Downie has gane,\n  Her coats she has kilted up to her knee;\n  And down the water wi' speed she rins,\n  While tears in spaits[174] fa' fast frae her e'e.\n\n  Then up and spoke our gude auld lord--\n  \"What news, what news, sister Downie, to me?\"\n  \"Bad news, bad news, my Lord Mangerton;\n  \"Michael is killed, and they hae ta'en my son Johnie.\"\n\n  \"Ne'er fear, sister Downie,\" quo' Mangerton;\n  \"I have yokes of ousen, eighty and three;\n  \"My barns, my byres, and my faulds a' weil fill'd,\n  And I'll part wi' them a' ere Johnie shall die.\n\n  \"Three men I'll send to set him free,\n  A' harneist wi' the best o' steil;\n  The English louns may hear, and drie\n  The weight o' their braid-swords to feel.\n\n  \"The Laird's Jock ane, the Laird's Wat twa,\n  O Hobbie Noble, thou ane maun be!\n  Thy coat is blue, thou hast been true,\n  Since England banish'd thee to me.\"\n\n  Now Hobbie was an English man,\n  In Bewcastle dale was bred and born:\n  But his misdeeds they were sae great,\n  They banish'd him ne'er to return.\n\n  Lord Mangerton them orders gave,\n  \"Your horses the wrang way maun be shod;\n  Like gentlemen ye mauna seim,\n  But look like corn-caugers[175] ga'en the road.\n\n  \"Your armour gude ye mauna shaw,\n  Nor yet appear like men o' weir;\n  As country lads be a' array'd,\n  Wi' branks and brecham[176] on each mare.\"\n\n  Sae now their horses are the wrang way shod.\n  And Hobbie has mounted his grey sae fine;\n  Jock his lively bay, Wat's on his white horse, behind,\n  And on they rode for the water of Tyne\n\n  At the Cholerford they all light down,\n  And there, wi' the help of the light o' the moon,\n  A tree they cut, wi' fifteen nogs on each side,\n  To climb up the wa' of Newcastle toun.\n\n  But when they cam to Newcastle toun,\n  And were alighted at the wa',\n  They fand their tree three ells ower laigh,\n  They fand their stick baith short and sma'.\n\n  Then up and spak the Laird's ain Jock;\n  \"There's naething for't; the gates we maun force.\"\n  But when they cam the gate untill,\n  A proud porter withstood baith men and horse.\n\n  His neck in twa the Armstrangs wrang;\n  Wi' fute or hand he ne'er play'd pa!\n  His life and his keys at anes they hae ta'en,\n  And cast the body ahind the wa'.\n\n  Now sune they reach Newcastle jail,\n  And to the prisoner thus they call;\n  \"Sleeps thou, wakes thou, Jock o' the Side,\n  Or art thou weary of thy thrall?\"\n\n  Jock answers thus, wi' dulefu' tone;\n  \"Aft, aft, I wake--I seldom sleep:\n  But whae's this kens my name sae well,\n  And thus to mese[177] my waes does seik?\"\n\n  Then out and spak the gude Laird's Jock,\n  \"Now fear ye na, my billie,\" quo' he;\n  \"For here are the Laird's Jock, the Laird's Wat,\n  And Hobbie Noble, come to set thee free.\"\n\n  \"Now hand thy tongue, my gude Laird's Jock;\n  For ever, alas! this canna be;\n  For if a' Liddesdale was here the night,\n  The morn's the day that I maun die.\n\n  \"Full fifteen stane o' Spanish iron,\n  They hae laid a' right sair on me;\n  Wi' locks and keys I am fast bound\n  Into this dungeon dark and dreirie.\"\n\n  \"Fear ye na' that,\" quo' the Laird's Jock;\n  \"A faint heart ne'er wan a fair ladie;\n  Work thou within, we'll work without,\n  And I'll be sworn we'll set thee free.\"\n\n  The first strong door that they cam at,\n  They loosed it without a key;\n  The next chain'd door that they cam at,\n  They garr'd it a' to flinders flee.\n\n  The prisoner now upon his back,\n  The Laird's Jock has gotten up fu' hie;\n  And down the stair, him, irons and a',\n  Wi' nae sma' speid and joy, brings he.\n\n  \"Now, Jock, my man,\" quo' Hobbie Noble,\n  \"Some o' his weight ye may lay on me.\"\n  \"I wat weil no!\" quo' the Laird's ain Jock,\n  \"I count him lighter than a flee.\"\n\n  Sae out at the gates they a' are gane,\n  The prisoner's set on horseback hie;\n  And now wi' speid they've ta'en the gate,\n  While ilk ane jokes fu' wantonlie:\n\n  \"O Jock! sae winsomely's ye ride,\n  Wi' baith your feet upon ae side;\n  Sae weel ye're harneist, and sae trig,\n  In troth ye sit like ony bride!\"\n\n  The night, tho' wat, they did na mind,\n  But hied them on fu' merrilie,\n  Until they cam to Cholerford brae,[178]\n  Where the water ran like mountains hie.\n\n  But when they cam to Cholerford,\n  There they'met with an auld man;\n  Says--\"Honest man, will the water ride?\n  Tell us in haste, if that ye can.\"\n\n  \"I wat weel no,\" quo' the gude auld man;\n  \"I hae lived here threty years and thrie,\n  And I ne'er yet saw the Tyne sae big,\n  Nor running anes sae like a sea.\"\n\n  Then out and spak the Laird's saft Wat,\n  The greatest coward in the cumpanie;\n  \"Now halt, now halt! we need na try't;\n  The day is come we a' maun die!\"\n\n  \"Puir faint-hearted thief!\" cried the Laird's ain Jock,\n  \"There'l nae man die but him that's fie;[179]\n  I'll guide ye a' right safely thro';\n  Lift ye the pris'ner on ahint me.\"\n\n  Wi' that the water they hae ta'en,\n  By ane's and twa's they a' swam thro';\n  \"Here are we a' safe,\" quo' the Laird's Jock,\n  \"And, puir faint Wat, what think ye now?\"\n\n  They scarce the other brae had won,\n  When twenty men they saw pursue;\n  Frae Newcastle toun they had been sent,\n  A' English lads baith stout and true.\n\n  But when the land-serjeant the water saw,\n  \"It winna ride, my lads,\" says he;\n  Then cried aloud--\"The prisoner take,\n  But leave the fetters, I pray, to me.\"\n\n  \"I wat weil no,\" quo' the Laird's Jock;\n  \"I'll keep them a'; shoon to my mare they'll be,\n  My gude bay mare--for I am sure,\n  She has bought them a' right dear frae thee.\"\n\n  Sae now they are on to Liddesdale,\n  E'en as fast as they could them hie;\n  The prisoner is brought to's ain fire side,\n  And there o's airns they mak him free.\n\n  \"Now, Jock, my billie,\" quo' a' the three,\n  \"The day is com'd thou was to die;\n  But thou's as weil at thy ain ingle side,\n  Now sitting, I think, 'twixt thee and me.\"\n\n[Footnote 174: _Spaits_--Torrents.]\n\n[Footnote 175: _Caugers_--Carriers.]\n\n[Footnote 176: _Branks and brecham_--Halter and cart-collar.]\n\n[Footnote 177: _Mese_--Soothe.]\n\n[Footnote 178: _Cholerford brae_--A ford upon the Tyne, above Hexham.]\n\n[Footnote 179: _Fie_--Predestined.]\n\n\n\n\nHOBBIE NOBLE.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nWe have seen the hero of this ballad act a distinguished part in the\ndeliverance of Jock o' the Side, and are now to learn the ungrateful\nreturn which the Armstrongs made him for his faithful services.[180]\nHalbert, or Hobbie Noble, appears to have been one of those numerous\nEnglish outlaws, who, being forced to fly their own country, had\nestablished themselves on the Scottish borders. As Hobbie continued\nhis depredations upon the English, they bribed some of his hosts, the\nArmstrongs, to decoy him into England, under pretence of a predatory\nexpedition. He was there delivered, by his treacherous companions,\ninto the hands of the officers of justice, by whom he was conducted to\nCarlisle, and executed next morning. The laird of Mangerton, with whom\nHobbie was in high favour, is said to have taken a severe revenge upon\nthe traitors who betrayed him. The principal contriver of the scheme,\ncalled here Sim o' the Maynes, fled into England from the resentment\nof his chief; but experienced there the common fate of a traitor,\nbeing himself executed at Carlisle, about two months after Hobbie's\ndeath. Such is, at least, the tradition of Liddesdale. Sim o' the\nMaynes appears among the Armstrongs of Whitauch, in Liddesdale, in the\nlist of clans so often alluded to.\n\n[Footnote 180: The original editor of the _Reliques of Ancient Poetry_\nhas noticed the perfidy of this clan in another instance; the delivery\nof the banished Earl of Northumberland into the hands of the Scottish\nregent, by Hector of Harelaw, an Armstrong, with whom he had taken\nrefuge.--_Reliques of Ancient Poetry_, Vol. I. p. 283. This Hector of\nHarelaw seems to have been an Englishman, or under English assurance;\nfor he is one of those, against whom bills were exhibited, by the\nScottish commissioners, to the lord-bishop of Carlisle.--_Introduction\nto the History of Westmoreland and Cumberland_, p. 81. In the list\nof borderers, 1597, Hector of Harelaw, with the Griefs and Cuts of\nHarelaw, also figures as an inhabitant of the Debateable Land. It\nwould appear, from a spirited invective in the Maitland MSS. against\nthe regent, and those who delivered up the unfortunate earl to\nElizabeth, that Hector had been guilty of this treachery, to\nredeem the pledge which had been exacted from him for his peaceable\ndemeanour. The poet says, that the perfidy of Morton and Lochlevin was\nworse than even that of--\n\n  --the traitour Eckie of Harelaw,\n  That says he sould him to redeem his pledge;\n  Your deed is war, as all the world does know--\n  You nothing can but covatice alledge.\n\n_Pinkerton's Maitland Poems_, Vol. II. p. 290.\n\nEckie is the contraction of Hector among the vulgar.\n\nThese little memoranda may serve still farther to illustrate the\nbeautiful ballads, upon that subject, published in the _Reliques_.]\n\nKershope-burn, where Hobbie met his treacherous companions, falls\ninto the Liddel, from the English side, at a place called Turnersholm,\nwhere, according to tradition, turneys and games of chivalry were\noften solemnized. The Mains was anciently a border-keep, near\nCastletoun, on the north side of the Liddel, but is now totally\ndemolished.\n\nAskerton is an old castle, now ruinous, situated in the wilds of\nCumberland, about seventeen miles north-east of Carlisle, amidst that\nmountainous and desolate tract of country, bordering upon Liddesdale,\nemphatically termed the Waste of Bewcastle. Conscouthart Green, and\nRodric-haugh, and the Foulbogshiel, are the names of places in the\nsame wilds, through which the Scottish plunderers generally made their\nraids upon England; as appears from the following passage in a\nletter from William, Lord Dacre, to Cardinal Wolsey, 18th July, 1528;\n_Appendix to Pinkerton's Scotland_, v. 12, No. XIX. \"Like it also\nyour grace, seeing the disordour within Scotlaund, and that all the\nmysguyded men, borderers of the same, inhabiting within Eskdale,\nEwsdale, Walghopedale, Liddesdale, and a part of Tividale, foranempt\nBewcastelldale, and a part of the middle marches of this the\nking's bordours, entres not this west and middle marches, to do any\nattemptate to the king our said soveraine's subjects: but thaye come\nthrorow Bewcastelldale, and retornes, for the most part, the same waye\nagayne.\"\n\nWilleva and Speir Edom are small districts in Bewcastledale, through\nwhich also the Hartlie-burn takes its course.\n\nOf the castle of Mangertoun, so often mentioned in these ballads,\nthere are very few vestiges. It was situated on the banks of the\nLiddel, below Castletoun. In the wall of a neighbouring mill, which\nhas been entirely built from the ruins of the tower, there is a\nremarkable stone, bearing the arms of the lairds of Mangertoun, and\na long broad-sword, with the figures 1583; probably the date of\nbuilding, or repairing, the castle. On each side of the shield are\nthe letters S.A. and E.E. standing probably for Simon Armstrong,\nand Elizabeth Elliot. Such is the only memorial of the laird of\nMangertoun, except those rude ballads, which the editor now offers to\nthe public.\n\n\n\n\nHOBBIE NOBLE.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  Foul fa' the breast first treason bred in!\n  That Liddesdale may safely say:\n  For in it there was baith meat and drink,\n  And corn unto our geldings gay.\n\n  And we were a' stout-hearted men,\n  As England she might often say;\n  But now we may turn our backs and flee,\n  Since brave Noble is sold away.\n\n  Now Hobbie was an English man,\n  And born into Bewcastle dale;\n  But his misdeeds they were sae great,\n  They banish'd him to Liddesdale.\n\n  At Kershope foot the tryst was set,\n  Kershope of the lilye lee;\n  And there was traitor Sim o' the Mains,\n  And with him a private companie.\n\n  Then Hobbie has graithed his body fair,\n  Baith wi' the iron and wi' the steil;\n  And he has ta'en out his fringed grey,\n  And there, brave Hobbie, he rade him weel.\n\n  Then Hobbie is down the water gane,\n  E'en as fast as he could his;\n  Tho' a' should hae bursten and broken their hearts,\n  Frae that riding tryst he wad na be.\n\n  \"Weel be ye met, my feres[181] five!\n  And now, what is your will wi' me?\"\n  Then they cried a', wi ae consent,\n  \"Thou'rt welcome here, brave Noble, to me.\n\n  \"Wilt thou with us into England ride,\n  And thy safe warrand we will be?\n  If we get a horse, worth a hundred pound,\n  Upon his back thou sune shalt be.\"\n\n  \"I dare not by day into England ride;\n  The land-serjeant has me at feid:\n  \"And I know not what evil may betide,\n  For Peter of Whitfield, his brother, is dead.\n\n  \"And Anton Shiel he loves not me,\n  For I gat twa drifts o' his sheep;\n  The great Earl of Whitfield[182] loves me not,\n  For nae geer frae me he e'er could keep.\n\n  \"But will ye stay till the day gae down,\n  Untill the night come o'er the grund,\n  And I'll be a guide worth ony twa,\n  That may in Liddesdale be found.\n\n  \"Tho' the night be black as pick and tar,\n  I'll guide ye o'er yon hill sae hie;\n  And bring ye a' in safety back,\n  If ye'll be true, and follow me.\"\n\n  He has guided them o'er moss and muir,\n  O'er hill and hope, and mony a down;\n  Until they came to the Foulbogshiel,\n  And there, brave Noble, he lighted down.\n\n  But word is gane to the land-serjeant,\n  In Askerton where that he lay--\n  \"The deer, that ye hae hunted sae lang,\n  Is seen into the Waste this day.\"\n\n  \"Then Hobbie Noble is that deer!\n  I wat he carries the style fu' hie;\n  Aft has he driven our bluidhounds back,\n  And set ourselves at little lee.\n\n  \"Gar warn the bows of Hartlie-burn;\n  See they sharp their arrows on the wa':\n  Warn Willeva, and Speir Edom,\n  And see the morn they meet me a'.\n\n  \"Gar meet me on the Rodric-haugh,\n  And see it be by break o' day;\n  And we will on to Conscouthart-green,\n  For there, I think, we'll get our prey.\"\n\n  Then Hobbie Noble has dreimt a dreim,\n  In the Foulbogshiel, where that he lay;\n  He dreimt his horse was aneath him shot,\n  And he himself got hard away.\n\n  The cocks could craw, the day could daw,\n  And I wot sae even fell down the rain;\n  Had Hobble na wakened at that time,\n  In the Foulbogshiel he had been ta'en or slain.\n\n  \"Awake, awake, my feres five!\n  I trow here makes a fu' ill day;\n  Yet the worst cloak o' this company,\n  I hope, shall cross the Waste this day.\"\n\n  Now Hobbie thought the gates were clear;\n  But, ever alas! it was na sae:\n  They were beset by cruel men and keen,\n  That away brave Hobbie might na gae.\n\n  \"Yet follow me, my feres five,\n  And see ye kelp of me guid ray;\n  And the worst cloak o' this company\n  Even yet may cross the Waste this day.\"\n\n  But the land-serjeant's men came Hobbie before,\n  The traitor Sim came Hobbie behin',\n  So had Noble been wight as Wallace was,\n  Away, alas! he might na win.\n\n  Then Hobbie had but a laddie's sword;\n  But he did mair than a laddie's deed;\n  For that sword had clear'd Conscouthart green,\n  Had it not broke o'er Jerswigham's head.\n\n  Then they hae ta'en brave Hobbie Noble,\n  Wi's ain bowstring they band him sae;\n  But his gentle heart was ne'er sae sair,\n  As when his ain five bound him on the brae.\n\n  They hae ta'en him on for west Carlisle;\n  They asked him, if he kend the way?\n  Tho' much he thought, yet little he said;\n  He knew the gate as weel as they.\n\n  They hae ta'en him up the Ricker-gate;\n  The wives they cast their windows wide:\n  And every wife to another can say,\n  \"That's the man loosed Jock o' the Side!\"\n\n  \"Fy on ye, women! why ca' ye me man?\n  For it's nae man that I'm used like;\n  I am but like a forfoughen[183] hound,\n  Has been fighting in a dirty syke.\"[184]\n\n  They hae had him up thro' Carlisle toun,\n  And set him by the chimney fire;\n  They gave brave Noble a loaf to eat,\n  And that was little his desire.\n\n  They gave him a wheaten loaf to eat,\n  And after that a can of beer;\n  And they a' cried, with one consent,\n  \"Eat, brave Noble, and make gude cheir!\n\n  \"Confess my lord's horse, Hobbie,\" they said,\n  \"And to-morrow in Carlisle thou's na die.\"\n  \"How can I confess them,\" Hobbie says,\n  \"When I never saw them with my e'e?\"\n\n  Then Hobbie has sworn a fu' great aith,\n  Bi the day that he was gotten and born,\n  He never had ony thing o' my lord's,\n  That either eat him grass or corn.\n\n  \"Now fare thee weel, sweet Mangerton!\n  For I think again I'll ne'er thee see:\n  I wad hae betrayed nae lad alive,\n  For a' the gowd o' Christentie.\n\n  \"And fare thee weel, sweet Liddesdale!\n  Baith the hie land and the law;\n  Keep ye weel frae the traitor Mains!\n  For goud and gear he'll sell ye a'.\n\n  \"Yet wad I rather be ca'd Hobbie Noble,\n  In Carlisle, where he suffers for his fau't,\n  Than I'd be ca'd the traitor Mains,\n  That eats and drinks o' the meal and maut.\"\n\n[Footnote 181: _Feres_--Companions.]\n\n[Footnote 182: _Earl of Whitfield_--The editor does not know who is\nhere meant.]\n\n[Footnote 183: _Forfoughen_--Quite fatigued.]\n\n[Footnote 184: _Syke_--Ditch.]\n\n\n\n\nNOTES ON HOBBIE NOBLE.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  _Aft has he driven our bluidhounds back_.--P. 234. v. 2.\n\n  \"The russet blood-hound wont, near Annand's stream,\n  \"To trace the sly thief with avenging foot,\n  \"Close as an evil conscience still at hand.\"\n\nOur ancient statutes inform us, that the blood-hound, or sluith-hound\n(so called from its quality of tracing the slot, or track, of men and\nanimals), was early used in the pursuit and detection of marauders.\n_Nullus perturbet, aut impediat canem trassantem, aut homines\ntrassantes cum ipso, ad sequendum latrones.--Regiam Majestatem_,\nLib. 4tus, Cap. 32. And, so late as 1616, there was an order from the\nking's commissioners of the northern counties, that a certain number\nof slough-hounds should be maintained in every district of Cumberland,\nbordering upon Scotland. They were of great value, being sometimes\nsold for a hundred crowns. _Exposition of Bleau's Atlas, voce\nNithsdale_. The breed of this sagacious animal, which could trace the\nhuman footstep with the most unerring accuracy, is now nearly extinct.\n\n\n\n\nARCHIE OF CA'FIELD.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nIt may perhaps be thought, that, from the near resemblance which this\nballad bears to Kinmont Willie, and Jock o' the Side, the editor might\nhave dispensed with inserting it in this collection. But, although\nthe incidents in these three ballads are almost the same, yet there\nis considerable variety in the language; and each contains minute\nparticulars, highly characteristic of border manners, which it is the\nobject of this publication to illustrate. Ca'field, or Calfield, is\na place in Wauchopdale, belonging of old to the Armstrongs. In the\naccount betwixt the English and Scottish marches, Jock and Geordie\nof Ca'field, there called Calfhill, are repeatedly marked as\ndelinquents.--_History of Westmoreland and Cumberland_, Vol.\nI. _Introduction_, p. 33. \"_Mettled John Hall, from the laigh\nTiviotdale_,\" is perhaps John Hall of Newbigging, mentioned in the\nlist of border clans, as one of the chief men of name residing on the\nmiddle marches in 1597. The editor has been enabled to add several\nstanzas to this ballad, since publication of the first edition.\nThey were obtained from recitation; and, as they contrast the brutal\nindifference of the elder brother with the zeal and spirit of his\nassociates, they add considerably to the dramatic effect of the whole.\n\n\n\n\nARCHIE OF CA'FIELD.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  As I was a walking mine alane,\n  It was by the dawning of the day,\n  I heard twa brithers make their mane,\n  And I listened weel to what they did say.\n\n  The youngest to the eldest said,\n  \"Blythe and merrie how can we be?\n  There were three brithren of us born,\n  And ane of us is condemned to die.\"\n\n  \"An' ye wad be merrie, an' ye wad be sad,\n  What the better wad billie Archie be?\n  Unless I had thirty men to mysell,\n  And a' to ride in my cumpanie.\n\n  \"Ten to hald the horses' heads,\n  And other ten the watch to be,\n  And ten to break up the strong prison,\n  Where billy[185] Archie he does lie.\"\n\n  Then up and spak him mettled John Hall,\n  (The luve of Teviotdale aye was he)\n  \"An' I had eleven men to mysell,\n  Its aye the twalt man I wad be.\"\n\n  Then up bespak him coarse Ca'field,\n  (I wot and little gude worth was he)\n  \"Thirty men is few anew,\n  And a' to ride in our cumpanie.\"\n\n  There was horsing, horsing in haste,\n  And there was marching on the lee;\n  Until they cam to Murraywhate,\n  And they lighted there right speedilie.\n\n  \"A smith! a smith!\" Dickie he cries,\n  \"A smith, a smith, right speedilie,\n  To turn back the caukers of our horses' shoon!\n  For its unkensome[186] we wad be.\"\n\n  \"There lives a smith on the water side,\n  Will shoe my little black mare for me;\n  And I've a crown in my pocket,\n  And every groat of it I wad gie.\"\n\n  \"The night is mirk, and its very mirk,\n  And by candle light I canna weel see;\n  The night is mirk, and its very pit mirk,\n  And there will never a nail ca' right for me.\"\n\n  \"Shame fa' you and your trade baith,\n  Canna beet[187] a gude fellow by your myster[188]\n  But leez me on thee, my little black mare,\n  Thou's worth thy weight in gold to me.\"\n\n  There was horsing, horsing in haste,\n  And there was marching upon the lee;\n  Until they cam to Dumfries port,\n  And they lighted there right speedilie.\n\n  \"There's five of us will hold the horse,\n  And other five will watchmen be:\n  But wha's the man, amang ye a',\n  Will gae to the Tolbooth door wi' me?\"\n\n  O up then spak him mettled John Hall,\n  (Frae the laigh Tiviotdale was he)\n  \"If it should cost my life this very night,\n  I'll gae to the Tolbooth door wi' thee.\"\n\n  \"Be of gude cheir, now, Archie, lad!\n  Be of gude cheir, now, dear billie!\n  Work thou within, and we without,\n  And the mom thou'se dine at Ca'field wi' me.\"\n\n  O Jockie Hall stepped to the door,\n  And he bended low back his knee;\n  And he made the bolts, the door hang on,\n  Loup frae the wa' right wantonlie.\n\n  He took the prisoner on his back,\n  And down the Tolbooth stair cam he;\n  The black mare stood ready at the door,\n  I wot a foot ne'er stirred she.\n\n  They laid the links out ower her neck,\n  And that was her gold twist to be;[189]\n  And they cam down thro' Dumfries toun,\n  And wow but they cam speedilie.\n\n  The live long night these twelve men rade,\n  And aye till they were right wearie,\n  Until they cam to the Murraywhate,\n  And they lighted there right speedilie.\n\n  \"A smith! a smith!\" then Dickie he cries;\n  \"A smith, a smith, right speedilie,\n  To file the irons frae my dear brither!\n  For forward, forward we wad be,\"\n\n  They had na filed a shackle of iron,\n  A shackle of iron but barely thrie,\n  When out and spak young Simon brave,\n  \"O dinna ye see what I do see?\n\n  \"Lo! yonder comes Lieutenant Gordon,\n  Wi' a hundred men in his cumpanie;\n  This night will be our lyke-wake night,\n  The morn the day we a' maun die,\"\n\n  O there was mounting, mounting in haste,\n  And there was marching upon the lee;\n  Until they cam to Annan water,\n  And it was flowing like the sea.\n\n  \"My mare is young and very skeigh,[190]\n  And in o' the weil[191] she will drown me;\n  But ye'll take mine, and I'll take thine,\n  And sune through the water we sall be.\"\n\n  Then up and spak him, coarse Ca'field,\n  (I wot and little gude worth was he)\n  \"We had better lose are than lose a' the lave;\n  We'll lose the prisoner, we'll gae free.\"\n\n  \"Shame fa' you and your lands baith!\n  Wad ye e'en[192] your lands to your born billy?\n  But hey! bear up, my bonnie black mare,\n  And yet thro' the water we sall be.\"\n\n  Now they did swim that wan water,\n  And wow but they swam bonilie!\n  Until they cam to the other side,\n  And they wrang their cloathes right drunkily.\n\n  \"Come thro', come thro', Lieutenant Gordon!\n  Come thro' and drink some wine wi' me!\n  For there is an ale-house here hard by,\n  And it shall not cost thee ae penny.\"\n\n  \"Throw me my irons,\" quo' Lieutenant Gordon;\n  \"I wot they cost me dear aneugh.\"\n  \"The shame a ma,\" quo' mettled John Ha',\n  \"They'll be gude shackles to my pleugh.\"\n\n  \"Come thro', come thro', Lieutenant Gordon!\n  Come thro' and drink some wine wi' me!\n  Yestreen I was your prisoner,\n  But now this morning am I free.\"\n\n[Footnote 185: _Billy_--Brother.]\n\n[Footnote 186: _Unkensome_--Unknown.]\n\n[Footnote 187: _Beet_--Abet, aid.]\n\n[Footnote 188: _Mystery_--Trade.--See Shakespeare.]\n\n[Footnote 189: The _Gold Twist_ means the small gilded chains drawn\nacross the chest of a war-horse, as a part of his caparaison.]\n\n[Footnote 190: _Skeigh_--Shy.]\n\n[Footnote 191: _Weil_--Eddy.]\n\n[Footnote 192: _E'en_--Even, put into comparison.]\n\n\n\n\nARMSTRONG'S GOODNIGHT.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n_The followng verses are said to have been composed by one of the_\nARMSTRONGS, _executed for the murder of Sir_ JOHN CARMICHAEL _of\nEdrom, warden of the middle marches, (See_ p. 165.) _The tune is\npopular in Scotland; but whether these are the original words, will\nadmit of a doubt_.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n  This night is my departing night,\n  For here nae langer must I stay;\n  There's neither friend nor foe o' mine,\n  But wishes me away.\n\n  What I have done thro' lack of wit,\n  I never, never, can recall;\n  I hope ye're a' my friends as yet;\n  Goodnight and joy be with you all!\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTHE FRAY OF SUPORT.\n\nAN ANCIENT BORDER GATHERING SONG FROM TRADITION.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nOf all the border ditties, which have fallen into the editor's hands,\nthis is by far the most uncouth and savage. It is usually chaunted in\na sort of wild recitative, except the burden, which swells into a long\nand varied howl, not unlike to a view hollo'. The words, and the\nvery great irregularity of the stanza (if it deserves the name),\nsufficiently point out its intention and origin. An English woman,\nresiding in Suport, near the foot of the Kershope, having been\nplundered in the night by a band of the Scottish moss-troopers, is\nsupposed to convoke her servants and friends for the pursuit, or _Hot\nTrod_; upbraiding them, at the same time, in homely phrase, for their\nnegligence and security. The _Hot Trod_ was followed by the persons\nwho had lost goods, with blood-hounds and horns, to raise the country\nto help. They also used to carry a burning wisp of straw at a spear\nhead, and to raise a cry, similar to the Indian war-whoop. It appears,\nfrom articles made by the wardens of the English marches, September\n12th, in 6th of Edward VI. that all, on this cry being raised, were\nobliged to follow the fray, or chace, under pain of death. With\nthese explanations, the general purport of the ballad may be easily\ndiscovered, though particular passages have become inexplicable,\nprobably through corruptions introduced by reciters. The present copy\nis corrected from four copies, which differed widely from each other.\n\n\n\n\nTHE FRAY OF SUPORT.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  Sleep'ry Sim of the Lamb-hill,\n  And snoring Jock of Suport-mill,\n  Ye are baith right het and fou';--\n  But my wae wakens na you.\n  Last night I saw a sorry sight--\n  Nought left me, o' four-and-twenty gude ousen and ky,\n  My weel-ridden gelding, and a white quey,\n  But a toom byre and a wide,\n  And the twelve nogs[193] on ilka side.\n  Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a',\n  My gear's a' gane.\n\n  Weel may ye ken,\n  Last night I was right scarce o' men:\n  But Toppet Hob o' the Mains had guesten'd in my\n  house by chance;\n  I set him to wear the fore-door wi' the speir, while I\n  kept the back door wi' the lance;\n  But they hae run him thro' the thick o' the thie, and\n  broke his knee-pan,\n  And the mergh[194] o' his shin bane has run down on his\n  spur leather whang:\n  He's lame while he lives, and where'er he may gang.\n  Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a',\n  My gear's a' gane.\n\n  But Peenye, my gude son, is out at the Hagbut-head,\n  His e'en glittering for anger like a fierye gleed;\n  Crying--\"Mak sure the nooks\n  Of Maky's-muir crooks;\n  For the wily Scot takes by nooks, hooks, and crooks.\n  Gin we meet a' together in a head the morn,\n  We'll be merry men.\"\n  Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a'\n  My gear's a' gane.\n\n  There's doughty Cuddy in the Heugh-head,\n  Thou was aye gude at a' need:\n  With thy brock-skin bag at thy belt,\n  Ay ready to mak a puir man help.\n  Thou maun awa' out to the cauf-craigs,\n  (Where anes ye lost your ain twa naigs)\n  And there toom thy brock-skin bag.\n  Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a',\n  My gear's a' taen.\n\n  Doughty Dan o' the Houlet Hirst,\n  Thou was aye gude at a birst:\n  Gude wi' a bow, and better wi' a speir,\n  The bauldest march-man, that e'er followed gear;\n  Come thou here.\n  Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a',\n  My gear's a' gane.\n\n  Rise, ye carle coopers, frae making o' kirns and tubs,\n  In the Nicol forest woods.\n  Your craft has na left the value of an oak rod,\n  But if you had had ony fear o' God,\n  Last night ye had na slept sae sound,\n  And let my gear be a' ta'en.\n  Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a',\n  My gear's a' ta'en.\n\n  Ah! lads, we'll fang them a' in a net!\n  For I hae a' the fords o' Liddel set;\n  The Dunkin, and the Door-loup,\n  The Willie-ford, and the Water-slack,\n  The Black-rack and the Trout-dub o' Liddel;\n  There stands John Forster wi' five men at his back,\n  Wi' bufft coat and cap of steil:\n  Boo! ca' at them e'en, Jock;\n  That ford's sicker, I wat weil.\n  Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a',\n  My gear's a' ta'en.\n\n  Hoo! hoo! gar raise the Reid Souter, and Ringan's Wat,\n  Wi' a broad elshin and a wicker;\n  I wat weil they'll mak a ford sicker.\n  Sae whether they be Elliots or Armstrangs,\n  Or rough riding Scots, or rude Johnstones,\n  Or whether they be frae the Tarras or Ewsdale,\n  They maun turn and fight, or try the deeps o' Liddel.\n  Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a',\n  My gear's a' ta'en.\n\n  \"Ah! but they will play ye another jigg,\n  For they will out at the big rig,\n\n  And thro' at Fargy Grame's gap.\"\n  \"But I hae another wile for that:\n  For I hae little Will, and stalwart Wat,\n  And lang Aicky, in the Souter moor,\n  Wi' his sleuth dog sits in his watch right sure:\n  Shou'd the dog gie a bark,\n  He'll be out in his sark,\n  And die or won.\n  Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a',\n  My gear's a' ta'en.\n\n  Ha! boys--I see a party appearing--wha's yon!\n  Methinks it's the captain of Bewcastle, and Jephtha's\n  John,\n  Coming down by the foul steps of Catlowdie's loan:\n  They'll make a sicker, come which way they will.\n  Ha lads! shout a' a' a' a' a',\n  My gear's a' ta'en.\n\n  Captain Musgrave, and a' his band,\n  Are coming down by the Siller-strand,\n  And the muckle toun-bell o' Carlisle is rung:\n  My gear was a' weel won,\n  And before it's carried o'er the border, mony a man's\n  gae down.\n  Fy lads! shout a' a' a' a' a',\n  My gear's a gane.\n\n[Footnote 193: _Nogs_--Stakes.]\n\n[Footnote 194: _Mergh_--Marrow.]\n\n\n\n\nNOTES ON THE FRAY OF SUPORT.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  _And there, toom thy brock-skin bag_.--P. 254. v. 1.\n\nThe badger-skin pouch was used for carrying ammunition.\n\n  _In the Nicol forest woods_.--P. 254. v. 3.\n\nA wood in Cumberland, in which Suport is situated.\n\n  _For I hae a' the fords o' Liddel set_.--P. 255. v. 1.\n\nWatching fords was a ready mode of intercepting the marauders; the\nnames of the most noted fords upon the Liddel are recited in this\nverse.\n\n  _And thro' at Fargy Grame's gap_.--P. 256. v. 1.\n\nFergus Grame of Sowport, as one of the chief men of that clan, became\nsecurity to Lord Scroope for the good behaviour of his friends\nand dependants, 8th January, 1602.--_Introduction to History of\nWestmoreland and Cumberland_, p. 111.\n\n  _Wi' his sleuth dog sits in his watch right sure_.--P 256. v. 1.\n\nThe centinels, who, by the march laws, were planted upon the border\neach night, had usually sleuth-dogs, or blood-hounds, along with\nthem.--See _Nicolson's Border Laws_, and _Lord Wharton's Regulations,\nin the 6th of Edward VI_.\n\nOf the blood-hound we have said something in the notes on _Hobbie\nNoble_; but we may, in addition, refer to the following poetical\ndescription of the qualities and uses of that singular animal:\n\n  --Upon the banks\n  Of Tweed, slow winding thro' the vale, the seat\n  Of war and rapine once, ere Britons knew\n  The sweets of peace, or Anna's dread commands\n  To lasting leagues the haughty rivals awed,\n  There dwelt a pilfering race; well trained and skill'd\n  In all the mysteries of theft, the spoil\n  Their only substance, feuds and war their sport.\n  Not more expert in every fraudful art\n  The arch felon was of old, who by the tail\n  Drew back his lowing prize: in vain his wiles,\n  In vain the shelter of the covering rock,\n  In vain the sooty cloud, and ruddy flames,\n  That issued from his mouth; for soon he paid\n  His forfeit life: a debt how justly due\n  To wronged Alcides, and avenging Heaven!\n  Veil'd in the shades of night, they ford the stream;\n  Then, prowling far and near, whate'er they seize\n  Becomes their prey; nor flocks nor herds are safe,\n  Nor stalls protect the steer, nor strong barr'd doors\n  Secure the favourite horse. Soon as the morn\n  Reveals his wrongs, with ghastly visage wan\n  The plunder'd owner stands, and from his lips\n  A thousand thronging curses burst their way.\n  He calls his stout allies, and in a line\n  His faithful hound he leads; then, with a voice\n  That utters loud his rage, attentive cheers.\n  Soon the sagacious brute, his curling tail\n  Flourish'd in air, low bending, plies around\n  His busy nose, the steaming vapour snuffs\n  Inquisitive, nor leaves one turf untried;\n\n  Till, conscious of the recent stains, his heart\n  Beats quick, his snuffling nose, his active tail,\n  Attest his joy; then, with deep-opening mouth\n  That makes the welkin tremble, he proclaims\n  The audacious felon; foot by foot he marks\n  His winding way, while all the listening crowd\n  Applaud his reasonings. O'er the watery ford,\n  Dry sandy heaths, and stony barren hills,\n  O'er beaten tracks, with men and beast distain'd,\n  Unerring he pursues; till, at the cot\n  Arrived, and seizing by his guilty throat\n  The caitiff vile, redeems the captive prey:\n  So exquisitely delicate his sense!\n\nSOMERVILLE'S _Chase_.\n\n\n  _Methinks it's the Captain of Newcastle, &c.\n  Coming down by the foul steps of Catlowdie's loan_.--P. 256. v. 2.\n\nAccording to the late Glenriddell's notes on this ballad, the office\nof captain of Bewcastle was held by the chief of the Nixons.\n\nCatlowdie is a small village in Cumberland, near the junction of the\nEsk and Liddel.\n\n  _Captain Musgrave and a' his band_.--P. 256. v. 3.\n\nThis was probably the famous Captain Jack Musgrave, who had charge of\nthe watch along the Cryssop, or Kershope, as appears from the order of\nthe watches appointed by Lord Wharton, when deputy-warden-general, in\n6th Edward VI.\n\n\n\n\nLORD MAXWELL'S GOODNIGHT.\n\nNEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\nThis beautiful ballad is published from a copy in Glenriddel's MSS.,\nwith some slight variations from tradition. It alludes to one of the\nmost remarkable feuds upon the west marches.\n\nA.D. 1585, John, Lord Maxwell, or, as he styled himself, Earl of\nMorton, having quarrelled with the Earl of Arran, reigning favourite\nof James VI., and fallen, of course, under the displeasure of the\ncourt, was denounced rebel. A commission was also given to the laird\nof Johnstone, then warden of the west-marches, to pursue and apprehend\nthe ancient rival and enemy of his house. Two bands of mercenaries,\ncommanded by Captains Cranstoun and Lammie, who were sent from\nEdinburgh to support Johnstone, were attacked and cut to pieces\nat Crawford-muir by Robert Maxwell, natural brother to the\nchieftain;[195] who, following up his advantage, burned Johnstone's\ncastle of Lochwood, observing, with savage glee, that he would\ngive Lady Johnstone light enough by which to \"set her hood.\" In\na subsequent conflict, Johnstone himself was defeated, and made\nprisoner, and is said to have died of grief at the disgrace which\nhe sustained.--See _Spottiswoode_ and _Johnstone's Histories_, and\n_Moyse's Memoirs, ad annum_ 1585.\n\nBy one of the revolutions, common in those days, Maxwell was soon\nafter restored to the king's favour, in his turn, and obtained the\nwardenry of the west marches. A bond of alliance was subscribed by\nhim, and by Sir James Johnstone, and for some time the two clans\nlived in harmony. In the year 1593, however, the hereditary feud was\nrevived, on the following occasion: A band of marauders, of the clan\nJohnstone, drove a prey of cattle from the lands belonging to the\nlairds of Crichton, Sanquhar, and Drumlanrig; and defeated,\nwith slaughter, the pursuers, who attempted to rescue their\nproperty.--[_See the following Ballad and Introduction_.] The injured\nparties, being apprehensive that Maxwell would not cordially\nembrace their cause, on account of his late reconciliation with the\nJohnstones, endeavoured to overcome his reluctance, by ottering\nto enter into bonds of manrent, and so to become his followers\nand liegemen; he, on the other hand, granting to them a bond of\nmaintenance, or protection, by which he bound himself, in usual form,\nto maintain their quarrel against all mortals, saving his loyalty.\nThus, the most powerful and respectable families in Dumfries-shire\nbecame, for a time, the vassals of Lord Maxwell. This secret alliance\nwas discovered to Sir James Johnstone by the laird of Cummertrees,\none of his own clan, though a retainer to Maxwell. Cummertrees\neven contrived to possess himself of the bonds of manrent, which he\ndelivered to his chief. The petty warfare betwixt the rival barons was\ninstantly renewed. Buccleuch, a near relation of Johnstone, came to\nhis assistance with his clan, \"the most renowned freebooters (says\na historian), the fiercest and bravest warriors, among the border\ntribes\"[196] With Buccleuch also came the Elliots, Armstrongs, and\nGraemes. Thus reinforced, Johnstone surprised and cut to pieces a\nparty of the Maxwells, stationed at Lochmaben. On the other hand,\nLord Maxwell, armed with the royal authority, and numbering among his\nfollowers all the barons of Nithesdale, displayed his banner as the\nking's lieutenant, and invaded Annandale, at the head of 2000 men. In\nthose days, however, the royal auspices to have carried as little good\nfortune as effective strength with them. A desperate conflict, still\nrenowned in tradition, took place at the Dryffe sands, not far from\nLockerby, in which Johnstone, although inferior in numbers, partly by\nhis own conduct, partly by the valour of his allies, gained a decisive\nvictory. Lord Maxwell, a tall man, and heavily armed, was struck from\nhis horse in the flight, and cruelly slain, after the hand, which he\nstretched out for quarter, had been severed from his body. Many of\nhis followers were slain in the battle, and many cruelly wounded;\nespecially by slashes in the face, which wound was thence termed\na \"_Lockerby lick_.\" The barons of Lag, Closeburn, and Drumlanrig,\nescaped by the fleetness of their horses; a circumstance alluded to in\nthe following ballad.\n\n[Footnote 195: It is devoutly to be wished, that this Lammie (who was\nkilled in the skirmish) may have been the same miscreant, who, in the\nday of Queen Mary's distress, \"hes ensigne being of quhyt taffitae,\nhad painted one it ye creuell murther of King Henry, and layed down\nbefore her majestie, at quhat time she presented herself as prisoner\nto ye lordis.\"--_Birrel's Diary, June_ 15, 1567. It would be some\nsatisfaction to know, that the grey hairs of this worthy personage did\nnot go down to the grave in peace.]\n\n[Footnote 196: _Inter accolas latrociniis famosos Scotos Buccleuchi\nclientes--fortissimos tributium et ferocissimos_,--JOHNSTONI\n_Historia, ed. Amstael_, p. 182.]\n\nThis fatal battle was followed by a long feud, attended with all the\ncircumstances of horror, proper to a barbarous age. Johnstone, in\nhis diffuse manner, describes it thus: \"_Ab eo die ultro citroque\nin Annandia et Nithia magnis utriusque regionis jacturis certatum.\nCaedes, incendia, rapinae, et nefanda facinora; liberi in maternis\ngremiis trucidati; mariti in conspectu conjugum suarum, incensae\nvillae lamentabiles ubique querimoniae et horribiles armorum\nfremitus_.\" JOHNSTONI _Historia, Ed. Amstael_. p. 182.\n\nJohn, Lord Maxwell, with whose _Goodnight_ the reader is here\npresented, was son to him who fell at the battle of Dryffe Sands,\nand is said to have early vowed the deepest revenge for his father's\ndeath. Such, indeed, was the fiery and untameable spirit of the man,\nthat neither the threats nor entreaties of the king himself could make\nhim lay aside his vindictive purpose; although Johnstone, the object\nof his resentment, had not only reconciled himself to the court, but\neven obtained the wardenry of the middle-marches, in room of Sir John\nCarmichael, murdered by the Armstrongs. Lord Maxwell was therefore\nprohibited to approach the border counties; and having, in contempt of\nthat mandate, excited new disturbances, he was confined in the castle\nof Edinburgh. From this fortress, however, he contrived to make his\nescape; and, having repaired to Dumfries-shire, he sought an amicable\ninterview with Johnstone, under pretence of a wish to accommodate\ntheir differences. Sir Robert Maxwell, of Orchardstane (mentioned\nin the Ballad, verse 1.), who was married to a sister of Sir James\nJohnstone, persuaded his brother-in-law to accede to Maxwell's\nproposal. The two chieftains met, each with a single attendant, at a\nplace called Achmanhill, 6th April, 1608. A quarrel arising betwixt\nthe two gentlemen who attended them (Charles Maxwell, brother to the\nlaird of Kirkhouse, and Johnstone of Lockerby), and a pistol being\ndischarged, Sir James turned his horse to separate the combatants; at\nwhich instant Lord Maxwell shot him through the back with a brace of\nbullets, of which wound he died on the spot, after having for some\ntime gallantly defended himself against Maxwell, who endeavoured to\nstrike him with his sword. \"A fact,\" saith Spottiswoode, \"detested by\nall honest men, and the gentleman's misfortune severely lamented, for\nhe was a man full of wisdom and courage.\"--SPOTTISWOODE, _Edition_\n1677, _pages_ 467, 504. JOHNSTONI _Historia, Ed. Amstael_. pp. 254,\n283, 449.\n\nLord Maxwell, the murderer, made his escape to France; but, having\nventured to return to Scotland, he was apprehended lurking in the\nwilds of Caithness, and brought to trial at Edinburgh. The royal\nauthority was now much strengthened by the union of the crowns, and\nJames employed it in staunching the feuds of the nobility, with a\nfirmness which was no attribute of his general character. But, in the\nbest actions of that monarch, there seems to have been an unfortunate\ntincture of that meanness, so visible on the present occasion.\nLord Maxwell was indicted for the murder of Johnstone; but this was\ncombined with a charge of _fire-raising_, which, according to the\nancient Scottish law, if perpetrated by a landed man, constituted a\nspecies of treason, and inferred forfeiture. Thus, the noble purpose\nof public justice was sullied, by being united with that of enriching\nsome needy favourite. John, Lord Maxwell, was condemned, and beheaded,\n21st May, 1613. Sir Gideon Murray, treasurer-depute, had a great share\nof his forfeiture; but the attainder was afterwards reversed, and\nthe honours and estate were conferred upon the brother of the\ndeceased.--LAING'S _History of Scotland_, Vol. I. p. 62.--JOHNSTONI\n_Historia_, p. 493.\n\nThe lady, mentioned in the ballad, was sister to the Marquis of\nHamilton, and, according to Johnstone the historian, had little reason\nto regret being separated from her husband, whose harsh treatment\nfinally occasioned her death. But Johnstone appears not to be\naltogether untinctured with the prejudices of his clan, and is\nprobably, in this instance, guilty of exaggeration; as the active\nshare, taken by the Marquis of Hamilton in favour of Maxwell, is a\ncircumstance inconsistent with such a report.\n\nThus was finally ended, by a salutary example of severity, the \"foul\ndebate\" betwixt the Maxwells and Johnstones, in the course of which\neach family lost two chieftains; one dying of a broken heart, one in\nthe field of battle, one by assassination, and one by the sword of the\nexecutioner.\n\nIt seems reasonable to believe, that the following ballad must have\nbeen written before the death of Lord Maxwell, in 1613; otherwise\nthere would have been some allusion to that event. It must therefore\nhave been composed betwixt 1608 and that period.\n\n\n\n\nLORD MAXWELL'S GOODNIGHT.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  Adieu, madame, my mother dear,\n  But and my sisters three!\n  Adieu, fair Robert of Orchardstane!\n  My heart is wae for thee.\n  Adieu, the lily and the rose,\n  The primrose fair to see:\n  Adieu, my ladie, and only joy!\n  For I may not stay with thee.\n\n  \"Though I hae slain the Lord Johnstone,\n  What care I for their feid?\n  My noble mind their wrath disdains:\n  He was my father's deid.\n  Both night and day I laboured oft\n  Of him avenged to be;\n  But now I've got what lang I sought,\n  And I may not stay with thee.\n\n  \"Adieu! Drumlanrig, false wert aye,\n  And Closeburn in a Land!\n  The laird of Lag, frae my father that fled,\n  When the Johnston struck aff his hand.\n  They were three brethren in a band--\n  Joy may they never see!\n  Their treacherous art, and cowardly heart,\n  Has twin'd my love and me,\n\n  Adieu! Dumfries, my proper place,\n  But and Carlaverock fair!\n  Adieu! my castle of the Thrieve,\n  Wi' a my buildings there:\n  Adieu! Lochmaben's gates sae fair,\n  The Langholm-holm where birks there be;\n  Adieu! my ladye, and only joy,\n  For, trust me, I may not stay wi' thee,\n\n  \"Adieu! fair Eskdale up and down,\n  Where my puir friends do dwell;\n  The bangisters[197] will ding them down,\n  And will them sair compell.\n  But I'll avenge their feid mysell,\n  When I come o'er the sea;\n  Adieu! my ladye, and only joy,\n  For I may not stay wi' thee.\"\n\n  \"Lord of the land!\"--that ladye said,\n  \"O wad ye go wi' me,\n  Unto my brother's stately tower,\n  Where safest ye may be!\n  There Hamiltons and Douglas baith,\n  Shall rise to succour thee.\"\n  \"Thanks for thy kindness, fair my dame,\n  But I may not stay wi' thee.\"\n\n  Then he tuik aff a gay gold ring,\n  Thereat hang signets three;\n  \"Hae, take thee that, mine ain dear thing,\n  And still hae mind o' me;\n  But, if thou take another lord,\n  Ere I come ower the sea--\n  His life is but a three day's lease,\n  Tho' I may not stay wi' thee.\"\n\n  The wind was fair, the ship was clear,\n  That good lord went away;\n  And most part of his friends were there,\n  To give him a fair convey.\n  They drank the wine, they did na spair,\n  Even in that gude lord's sight--\n  Sae now he's o'er the floods sae gray,\n  And Lord Maxwell has ta'en his Goodnight.\n\n[Footnote 197: _Bangisters_--The prevailing party.]\n\n\n\n\nNOTES ON LORD MAXWELL'S GOODNIGHT.\n\n       *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n  _Adieu! Drumlanrig, &c_.--P. 268. v. 1.\n\nThe reader will perceive, from the Introduction, what connection the\nbond, subscribed by Douglas of Drumlanrig, Kirkpatrick of Closeburn,\nand Grierson of Lagg, had with the death of Lord Maxwell's father. For\nthe satisfaction of those, who may be curious as to the form of\nthese bonds, I have transcribed a letter of manrent,[198] from a MS.\ncollection of upwards of twenty deeds of that nature, copied from the\noriginals by the late John Syme, Esq. writer to the signet; for\nthe use of which, with many other favours of a similar nature, I am\nindebted to Dr. Robert Anderson of Edinburgh. The bond is granted by\nThomas Kirkpatrick of Closeburn, to Robert, Lord Maxwell, father of\nhim who was slain at the battle of the Dryffe Sands.\n\n[Footnote 198: The proper spelling is _manred_. Thus, in the romance\nof _Florice and Blancheflour_--\n\n  \"He wil falle to thi fot,\n  \"And bicom thi man gif be mot;\n  \"His _manred_ thou schalt afonge,\n  \"and the trewthe of his honde.\"\n\n\nBOND OF MANRENT.\n\n\"Be it kend till all men be thir present lettres, me Thomas Kirkpatrik\nof Closburn, to be bundin and oblist, and be the tenor heirof, bindis\nand oblissis me be the faith and treuth of my body, in manrent and\nservice to ane nobil and mychty lord, Robert Lord Maxwell, induring\nall the dayis of my lyfe; and byndis and oblissis me, as said is, to\nbe leill and trew man and servand to the said Robert Lord Maxwell,\nmy master, and sall nowthir heir nor se his skaith, but sall lat the\nsamyn at my uter power, an warn him therof. And I sall conceill it\nthat the said lord schawis to me, and sall gif him agane the best\nleill and trew counsale that I can, quhen he ony askis at me; and that\nI sall ryde with my kin, freyndis, servandis, and allies, that wil do\nfor me, or to gang with the said lord; and do to him aefauld, trew,\nand thankful service, and take aefauld playne part with the said lord,\nmy maister, in all and sindry his actionis, causis, querrellis, leful\nand honest, movit, or to be movit be him, or aganis him, baith in\npeace and weir, contrair or aganis all thae that leiffes or de may\n(my allegeant to owr soveran ladye the quenis grace, her tutor and\ngovernor, allanerly except). And thir my lettres of manrent, for all\nthe dayis of my life foresaid to indure, all dissimulations, fraud,\nor gyle, secludit and away put. In witness, &c.\" The deed is signed at\nEdinburgh, 3d February, 1542.\n\nIn the collection, from which this extract is made, there are bonds\nof a similar nature granted to Lord Maxwell, by Douglas of Drumlanrig,\nancestor of the Duke of Queensberry; by Crichton Lord Sanquhar,\nancestor of the earls of Dumfries, and many of his kindred; by\nStuart of Castlemilk; by Stuart of Garlies, ancestor of the earls\nof Galloway; by Murray of Cockpool, ancestor of the Murrays, lords\nAnnandale; by Grierson of Lagg, Gordon of Lochmaben, and many other of\nthe most ancient and respectable barons in the south-west of Scotland,\nbinding themselves, in the most submissive terms, to become the\nliegemen and the vassals of the house of Maxwell; a circumstance which\nmust highly excite our idea of the power of that family. Nay, even\nthe rival chieftain, Johnstone of Johnstone, seems at one time to\nhave come under a similar obligation to Maxwell, by a bond, dated 11th\nFebruary 1528, in which reference is made to the counter-obligation of\nthe patron, in these words: \"Forasmeikle as the said lord has oblist\nhim to supple, maintene, and defend me, in the peciabill brouking and\njoysing of all my landis, rentis, &c. and to take my aefald, leill and\ntrew part, in all my good actionis, causis, and quarles, leiful and\nhonest, aganes all deedlie, his alledgeance to our soveraigne lord the\nking allanerly excepted, as at mair length is contained in his lettres\nof maintenance maid to me therupon; therfore, &c.\" he proceeds to bind\nhimself as liegeman to the Maxwell.\n\nI cannot dismiss the subject without observing, that, in the dangerous\ntimes of Queen Mary, when most of these bonds are dated, many barons,\nfor the sake of maintaining unanimity and good order, may have chosen\nto enroll themselves among the clients of Lord Maxwell, then warden\nof the border, from which, at a less turbulent period, personal\nconsiderations would have deterred them.\n\n_Adieu! my castle of the Thrieve_.--P. 268. v. 2.\n\nThis fortress is situated in the stewartry of Kirkcudbright, upon an\nisland about two acres in extent, formed by the river Dee. The walls\nare very thick and strong, and bear the marks of great antiquity. It\nwas a royal castle; but the keeping of it, agreeable to the feudal\npractice, was granted by charter, or sometimes by a more temporary and\nprecarious right, to different powerful families, together with lands\nfor their good service in maintaining and defending the place. This\noffice of heritable keeper remained with the Nithesdale family (chief\nof the Maxwells) till their forfeiture, 1715. The garrison seems to\nhave been victualled upon feudal principles; for each parish in the\nstewartry was burdened with the yearly payment of a _lardner mart\ncow_, i.e. a cow fit for being killed and salted at Martinmas, for\nwinter provisions. The right of levying these cattle was retained by\nthe Nithesdale family, when they sold the castle and estate, in\n1704, and they did not cease to exercise it till their\nattainder.--_Fountainhall's Decisions_, Vol. I. p. 688.\n\nThis same castle of the Thrieve was, A.D. 1451-2, the scene of an\noutrageous and cruel insult upon the royal authority. The fortress was\nthen held by William VIII. Earl of Douglas, who, in fact, possessed a\nmore unlimited authority over the southern districts of Scotland,\nthan the reigning monarch. The earl had, on some pretence, seized\nand imprisoned a baron, called Maclellan, tutor of Bombie, whom he\nthreatened to bring to trial, by his power of hereditary jurisdiction.\nThe uncle of this gentleman, Sir Patrick Gray of Foulis, who commanded\nthe body-guard of James II., obtained from that prince a warrant,\nrequiring from Earl Douglas the body of the prisoner. When Gray\nappeared, the earl instantly suspected his errand. \"You have not\ndined,\" said he, without suffering him to open his commission: \"it is\nill talking between a full man and a fasting.\" While Gray was at meat,\nthe unfortunate prisoner was, by Douglas's command, led forth to the\ncourt-yard and beheaded. When the repast was finished, the king's\nletter was presented and opened. \"Sir Patrick,\" says Douglas, leading\nGray to the court, \"right glad had I been to honour the king's\nmessenger; but you have come too late. Yonder lies your sister's son,\nwithout the head: you are welcome to his dead body.\" Gray, having\nmounted his horse, turned to the earl, and expressed his wrath in a\ndeadly oath, that he would requite the injury with Douglas's heart's\nblood.--\"To horse!\" cried the haughty baron, and the messenger of\nhis prince was pursued till within a few miles of Edinburgh. Gray,\nhowever, had an opportunity of keeping his vow; for, being upon guard\nin the king's anti-chamber at Stirling, when James, incensed at the\ninsolence of the earl, struck him with his dagger, Sir Patrick rushed\nin, and dispatched him with a pole-axe. The castle of Thrieve was the\nlast of the fortresses which held out for the house of Douglas, after\ntheir grand rebellion in 1553. James II. writes an account of the\nexile of this potent family, to Charles VII. of France, 8th July,\n1555; and adds, that all their castles had been yielded to him,\n_Excepto duntaxat castro de Trefe, per nostres fideles\nimpraesentiarum obsesso; quod domino concedente in brevi obtinere\nsperamus.--Pinkerton's History, Appendix_, Vol. I. p. 486.--See\n_Pitscottie's History, Godscroft, &c._\n\n_And most part of his friends were, there_,--P. 269. v. 3. The\nancestor of the present Mr. Maxwell of Broomholm is particularly\nmentioned in Glenriddell's MS. as having attended his chieftain in his\ndistress, and as having received a grant of lands, in reward of this\nmanifestation of attachment.\n\n_Sae now he's o'er the floods sae gray_.--P. 269. v. 3.\n\nThis seems to have been a favourite epithet in old romances, Thus in\n_Hornchilde_, and _Maiden Rimuild_,\n\n  Thai sayled ower the _flode so gray_,\n  In Inglond arrived were thay,\n  Ther him levest ware.\n\n\n\n\nTHE LADS OF WAMPHRAY.\n\n\nThe reader will find, prefixed to the foregoing ballad, an account\nof the noted feud betwixt the families of Maxwell and Johnstone.\nThe following song celebrates the skirmish, in 1593, betwixt the\nJohnstones and Crichtons, which led to the revival of the ancient\nquarrel betwixt Johnstone and Maxwell, and finally to the battle of\nDryffe Sands, in which the latter lost his life. Wamphray is the name\nof a parish in Annandale. Lethenhall was the abode of Johnstone of\nWamphray, and continued to be so till of late years. William Johnstone\nof Wamphray, called the _Galliard_, was a noted freebooter. A place,\nnear the head of Tiviotdale, retains the name of the _Galliard's\nFaulds_, (folds) being a valley where he used to secrete and divide\nhis spoil, with his Liddesdale and Eskdale associates. His _nom\nde guerre_ seems to have been derived from the dance called _The\nGalliard_. The word is still used in Scotland, to express an active,\ngay, dissipated character.[199] Willie of the Kirkhill, nephew to the\nGalliard, and his avenger, was also a noted border robber. Previous\nto the battle of Dryffe Sands, so often mentioned, tradition reports,\nthat Maxwell had offered a ten-pound-land to any of his party, who\nshould bring him the head or hand of the laird of Johnstone.\nThis being reported to his antagonist, he answered, he had not a\nten-pound-land to offer, but would give a five-merk-land to the man\nwho should that day cut off the head or hand of Lord Maxwell. Willie\nof the Kirkhill, mounted upon a young gray horse, rushed upon the\nenemy, and earned the reward, by striking down their unfortunate\nchieftain, and cutting off his right hand.\n\nLeverhay, Stefenbiggin, Girth-head, &c. are all situated in the parish\nof Wamphray. The Biddes-burn, where the skirmish took place betwixt\nthe Johnstones and their pursuers, is a rivulet which takes its course\namong the mountains on the confines of Nithesdale and Annandale. The\nWellpath is a pass by which the Johnstones were retreating to their\nfastnesses in Annandale. Ricklaw-holm is a place upon the Evan water,\nwhich falls into the Annan, below Moffat. Wamphray-gate was in these\ndays an ale-house. With these local explanations, it is hoped the\nfollowing ballad will be easily understood.\n\nFrom a pedigree in the appeal case of Sir James Johnstone of Westeraw,\nclaiming the honours and titles of Annandale, it appears that the\nJohnstones of Wamphray were descended from James, sixth son of the\nsixth baron of Johnstone. The male line became extinct in 1657.\n\n[Footnote 199: Cleveland applies the phrase in a very different\nmanner, in treating of the assembly of Divines at Westminster, 1644:\n\n  And Selden is a _Galliard_ by himself.\n  And wel might be; there's more divines in him.\n  Than in all this their Jewish Sanhedrim.\n\nSkelton, in his railing poem against James IV., terms him _Sir Skyr\nGalyard_.]\n\n\n\n\nTHE LADS OF WAMPHRAY.\n\n\n  'Twixt Girth-head and the Langwood end,\n  Lived the Galliard, and the Galliard's men;\n  But and the lads of Leverhay,\n  That drove the Crichtons' gear away.\n\n  It is the lads of Lethenha',\n  The greatest rogues amang them a':\n  But and the lads of Stefenbiggin,\n  They broke the house in at the rigging.\n\n  The lads of Fingland, and Hellbeck-hill,\n  They were never for good, but aye for ill;\n  'Twixt the Staywood-bush and Langside-hill,\n  They stealed the broked cow and the branded bull.\n\n  It is the lads of the Girth-head,\n  The deil's in them for pride and greed;\n  For the Galliard, and the gay Galliard's men,\n  They ne'er saw a horse but they made it their ain.\n\n  The Galliard to Nithside is gane,\n  To steal Sim Crichton's winsome dun;\n  The Galliard is unto the stable gane,\n  But instead of the dun, the blind he has ta'en.\n\n  \"Now Simmy, Simmy of the Side,\n  Come out and see a Johnstone ride!\n  Here's the bonniest horse in a' Nithside,\n  And a gentle Johnstone aboon his hide.\"\n\n  Simmy Crichton's mounted then,\n  And Crichtons has raised mony a ane;\n  The Galliard trowed his horse had been wight,\n  But the Crichtons beat him out o' sight.\n\n  As soon as the Galliard the Crichton saw,\n  Behind the saugh-bush he did draw;\n  And there the Crichtons the Galliard hae ta'en,\n  And nane wi' him but Willie alane.\n\n  \"O Simmy, Simmy, now let me gang,\n  And I'll nevir mair do a Crichton wrang!\n  O Simmy, Simmy, now let me be,\n  And a peck o' gowd I'll give to thee!\n\n  O Simmy, Simmy, now let me gang,\n  And my wife shall heap it with her hand.\"\n  But the Crichtons wad na let the Galliard be,\n  But they hanged him hie upon a tree.\n\n  O think then Willie he was right wae,\n  When he saw his uncle guided sae;\n  \"But if ever I live Wamphray to see,\n  My uncle's death avenged shall be!\"\n\n  Back to Wamphray he is gane,\n  And riders has raised mony a ane;\n  Saying--\"My lads, if ye'll be true,\n  Ye shall a' be clad in the noble blue.\"\n\n  Back to Nithisdale they have gane,\n  And awa' the Crichtons' nowt hae ta'en;\n  But when they cam to the Wellpath-head,\n  The Crichtons bade them 'light and lead.\n\n  And when they cam to the Biddes burn,\n  The Crichtons bade them stand and turn;\n  And when they cam to the Biddess strand,\n  The Crichtons they were hard at hand.\n\n  But when they cam to the Biddes law,\n  The Johnstones bade them stand and draw;\n  \"We've done nae ill, we'll thole nae wrang,\n  \"But back to Wamphray we will gang,\"\n\n  And out spoke Willy o' the Kirkhill,\n  \"Of fighting, lads, ye'se hae your fill.\"\n  And from his horse Willie he lap,\n  And a burnished brand in his hand he gat.\n\n  Out through the Crichtons Willie he ran,\n  And dang them down baith horse and man;\n  O but the Johnstones were wondrous rude,\n  When the Biddes burn ran three days blood.\n\n  \"Now, Sirs, we have done a noble deed;\n  \"We have revenged the Galliard's bleid:\n  \"For every finger of the Galliard's hand,\n  \"I vow this day I've killed a man.\"\n\n  As they cam in at Evan-head,\n  At Ricklaw-holm they spread abread;\n  \"Drive on, my lads! it will be late;\n  We'll hae a pint at Wamphray gate.\n\n  \"For where'er I gang, or e'er I ride,\n  The lads of Wamphray are on my side;\n  And of a' the lads that I do ken,\n  A Wamphray lad's the king of men.\"\n\nTHE END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.","title":"Minstrelsy of the Scottish border, Volume 1","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":87340}