THE LIBRARY 
 
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 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES 
 
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 % Tl&aliaD l&oofc 
 
I: 
 
a JSallati Boofe 
 
 Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, Esq. 
 
 M.DCCC.XXIII. 
 
 REPRINTED 
 
 With Notes and Ballads from the unpublished MSS. 
 
 of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, Esq., 
 
 and Sir Walter Scott, Bart. 
 
 Edited by the late 
 DAVID LAING, LL.D. 
 
 William Blackwood and Sons, 
 edinburgh and london. 
 
 l8 8o. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/balladbookOOshar 
 
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 PREFATORY NOTE. 
 
 THE task of arranging the present book was 
 originally intrusted by Charles Kirkpatrick 
 Sharpe's nephew, the Rev. W. K. R. Bedford, to the 
 late David Laing, with a request that he would have 
 a limited impression of the volume issued; and Mr 
 Laing was engaged upon this task at the time of 
 his lamented death. His failing health had led him 
 to accept the assistance of the Editor by whom 
 this book is now brought out after an unavoidable 
 delay caused by more pressing literary engagements. 
 Whatever value it may possess is due to David 
 Laing's experience and taste \ its shortcomings must 
 be put down to his successor, who has, however, endea- 
 voured to carry out strictly the views of the original 
 Editor. Mr Laing only lived to see the reprint of 
 •' A Ballad Book ' through the press ; but the Intro- 
 duction has been written, and the selections from 
 the Sharpe and Scott MSS. have been made, in accord- 
 ance with the views expressed by him a few weeks 
 before his death. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 TAGE 
 INTRODUCTION, ix 
 
 PART I. 
 
 A BALLAD BOOK, I 
 
 PART II. 
 
 NOTES ON A BALLAD BOOK, 1 27 
 
 PART III. 
 
 NOTES ON BALLADS, BY SIR WALTER SCOTT, . . .135 
 
 THE SKENE BALLADS, 165 
 
 SONGS AND BALLADS FROM C. K. SHARPE'S NOTE-BOOKS, 1 73 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The matter comprised in the present volume has 
 been drawn from several distinct sources, all more or 
 less connected with each other, and all relating to the 
 song and ballad minstrelsy of Scotland. A brief ac- 
 count of the contents of the book forms, therefore, an 
 introduction not unnecessary to the reader. 
 
 The first part of this volume is a reprint of 'A 
 Ballad Book,' printed for private circulation by the late 
 Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe in 1823, and dedicated to 
 Sir Walter Scott. The number of copies printed was 
 very small, and the volume never found its way farther 
 than a few of the Collector's private friends and the 
 -shelves of the Advocates' and Signet Libraries. A 
 reprint of the ' Ballad Book ' has since been included 
 in one of the late Mr Maidment's Collections, but did 
 not in that form obtain the prominence it merited. 
 In the present edition, Mr Sharpe's own annotated 
 
copy, now in the possession of Sir James Gibson-Craig, 
 Bart., has been carefully followed. 
 
 The origin of the ' Ballad Book ' seems to date from 
 the time when Scott, engaged in the preparation of the 
 ' Border Minstrelsy,' found a willing coadjutor in Kirk- 
 patrick Sharpe. In a letter to Sir Walter, dated 1802, 
 the first of a long correspondence that terminated only 
 with the death of the latter, Sharpe thus describes his 
 early love for the country ballads : " From my earliest 
 infancy I have been fond of old ballads, and have sat 
 for days listening to the ' spinsters and the knitters in 
 the sun.' Of course I learnt to repeat a great number, 
 and I still retain in my memory a few entire, with an 
 immense hoard of scraps. The 'Douglas Tragedy' was 
 taught me by a nursery-maid, and was so great a 
 favourite that I committed it to paper the moment I 
 was able to write." Besides the two well-known orig- 
 inal ballads, "The Tower of Repentance" and the 
 " Murder of Caerlaverock," contributed to the ' Min- 
 strelsy,' Sharpe's knowledge of Scottish legendary poetry 
 seems to have been of much assistance to Sir Walter 
 while he was engaged on his second and third volumes. 
 The letters published in the second part of this book 
 clearly show the community of taste which Sir Walter 
 sought and found in Kirkpatrick Sharpe. Every stray 
 ballad that fell into the hands of the one was submitted 
 to the judgment of the other, and discussed either per- 
 sonally or by letter, and criticisms of the frank character 
 
XI 
 
 apparent in the notes to the present volume were inter- 
 changed. 
 
 The ' Ballad Book ' of 1823, then, contains a number 
 of pieces that had not been included in the ' Border 
 Minstrelsy,' but which were worth preserving for either 
 their rarity or their quaintness. The collection bears 
 undoubted marks of the characteristic tastes of the 
 compiler. The ballads of " Lady Errol," " Ritchie 
 Story," and the " Strange Folly " of " Lady Dundonald," 
 chimed in with his passion for noting genealogical 
 scandals ; and the Rabelaisian taste for the grotesque 
 which comes out better in his drawings than in his 
 writings, is marked by the " Haggis of Dunbar," 
 " Kempy Kaye," and a few others of even a broader 
 character. A curious illustration of the freedom of 
 speech and writing which was tolerated in even the 
 best society of the Scottish capital in the middle of 
 last century is presented to us in the verses by Lady 
 Dick of Prestonfield, concerning whom Kirkpatrick 
 Sharpe and Sir Walter Scott both make interesting 
 remarks. Indeed, it will be evident that the compiler, 
 as he was not printing his book virginibus pnerisque, 
 thought much more of offering faithful transcripts of 
 the various ballads, than of toning these into harmony 
 with the more refined tastes that had by his time 
 happily begun to prevail. 
 
 Mr Sharpe's notes to the ' Ballad Book ' which 
 follow the reprint are taken from a copy in the pos- 
 
Xll 
 
 session of Sir James Gibson-Craig, and are here repro- 
 duced verbatim. The first portion of Sir Walter Scott's 
 comments on the ' Ballad Book ' has not been found 
 among Mr Sharpe's papers ; and his notes begin with 
 No. XIV. (Part III.) 
 
 In an old scrap-book Mr Sharpe had been in the habit 
 of pasting the stray notes on ballads and letters relating 
 to them which he received from time to time from Sir 
 Walter Scott. It was Mr Laing's wish that these 
 scraps should be made public, as an illustration of the 
 intercourse that went on between the two collectors. 
 As none of Scott's letters are dated, there has been 
 considerable difficulty in determining the time when 
 they were written ; and all that can be said with cer- 
 tainty is, that they fall within the years from 1813 to 
 when Sharpe settled in Edinburgh, and 1823, the year 
 when the ' Ballad Book ' was issued. 
 
 The ' Notes on Ballads ' by Sir Walter Scott are taken 
 from detached pieces of MS. pasted into a thin quarto 
 scrap-book by C. Kirkpatrick Sharpe, apparently without 
 any order or indication of connection. Many of the 
 rough ballad notes undoubtedly relate to a MS. collec- 
 tion of Ballads which Mr James Skene of Rubislaw, 
 stimulated by Sir Walter Scott's success with the 
 ' Minstrelsy of the Border,' set himself to form for the 
 northern counties. The ' Skene Ballads ' appear to 
 have enabled both Scott and Sharpe to make their first 
 acquaintance with some of the finest of the legendary 
 
Xlll 
 
 poems of the north-east of Scotland at a time when the 
 painstaking labours of Peter Buchan were not yet avail- 
 able. In compliance with Mr Laing's wish, one or two 
 scarce ballads from Mr Skene's MS. have been inserted 
 towards the end of the present volume ; and the variety 
 of readings which the collection affords, makes it well 
 worth the attention of every student of Scottish ballad 
 literature. 
 
 Detached and curt as Sir Walter Scott's notes 
 are, they have yet an interest which does not always 
 attach to the more elaborate disquisitions in the ' Min- 
 strelsy.' They admit us behind the scenes, and show 
 us the rough material out of which some of his fair 
 creations were fashioned ; and in one or two cases 
 we can see the germs of ideas that were ultimately 
 destined to expand into complete fiction. Thus the 
 description of " Coomslie," in the note to the " Whip- 
 pers" of that name (page 155), served afterwards as a 
 foundation of the imaginary Glendearg, the scene of 
 the chief events in the ' Monastery. ' Considerable 
 difficulty has been experienced in identifying in all 
 cases the ballads to which Sir Walter's remarks refer, 
 and the Editor has been careful to distinguish by 
 brackets [ ] all interpolations of his own in explan- 
 ation. 
 
 From a MS. note - book of Charles Kirkpatrick 
 Sharpe, we have selected a few songs and ballads that 
 seemed to be either less well known or better worth 
 
XIV 
 
 preserving than the others. The note -book appears 
 to have been intended originally to contain remarks 
 on the Scottish Dramatists, but with the Shandyan 
 discursiveness which was one of Charles Kirkpatrick 
 Sharpe's most prominent characteristics, the list of 
 dramatists soon gave place to a collection of songs and 
 ballads, most of which, like the * Skene Ballads,' bear 
 indubitable marks of an Aberdeenshire origin. The 
 remarks on the dramatists are so naive and character- 
 istic, that we cannot resist quoting from them here, 
 although the notes are scarcely connected with the 
 subjects to which this volume is properly devoted. 
 
 " I intend to put down here a few of my remarks and notions 
 as to Scottish Plays, Play-makers, and Players — of which I do 
 not pretend to know a great deal more than my neighbours ; and 
 as to my taste respecting the merits of the compositions them- 
 selves, it is very far indeed from being infallible — only I may with 
 truth allege, that as I feel a national partiality to the works of my 
 countrymen, so whenever I censure their effusions, it must be un- 
 willingly, and from the force of very strong conviction." 
 
 "I take it that the most antient traces of Scottish Dramatic 
 entertainments which now remain are the rude rhymes and ruder 
 actions of the Gysards— vide Jamieson. I recollect the group, in 
 former times, consisted of a person who bore a besom, with which 
 he swept the floor at the entrance of the characters ; Sir William 
 Wallace, with sometimes a potatoe-pot on his head for helmet, the 
 
XV 
 
 lid for a shield, and a spit as a sword— at other times, armed only 
 with a claymore ; Bessie, the maiden ; her lover ; and a fool, or 
 Jack-pudding, who was generally well wrapped up, as to legs and 
 body, in straw wisps. Each of the characters made a speech — I 
 don't think there was any dialogue. Sir William began in a 
 rough, slour voice — 
 
 ' I am Sir William Wallace wight, 
 I spent my blude in Scotland's right ;' 
 But o' law, and in o' reason, 
 Here I draw my bludy weapon — 
 
 [Draws the sword or brandishes the spit. 
 My bludy weapon shines so clear.' 
 
 I, or rather my old nurse Jenny, who taught me these lines, 
 remembered no more. The fool told a story, in measured prose 
 at £rst, with a grumbling, hoggish tone — 
 
 ' I gade to the mill to Jenny, 
 An' she was bakin' bannocks. 
 I asked her to gie me some ; 
 But she wad gie me nane. 
 So I whuppit up a scone, 
 But it brunt my tongue. 
 So I ran to the mill dam, 
 An' I drank it dry. 
 So she took up the mill yowther, 
 An' hat me on the showther ; 
 An' I took up the mill hammer, 
 An' gart her a' yammer.' 
 
 There was a good deal more, which concluded thus — 
 
XVI 
 
 ' Then she took up her petticoats and p — d in the mill dam ; 
 An' for seven years thereafter the mill gaid never wrang.' 
 
 A fiddler, or Bagpiper, always attended the characters, and the 
 entertainment concluded by a dance. I am not sure but that 
 Auld Glennae * — vide Cromek— is another relic of our old drama. 
 I never saw the dance performed, nor do I know if the Lady re- 
 sponds in any set phrase to the offers of her antiquated lover. " 
 
 "Sir D. L.'s Play of the 3 Estates, which I believe to be the 
 oldest we have, does not appear to me to possess very particular 
 merit ; in truth, from its now obsolete language, and the laugh- 
 able consideration that this mass of filth and scurrility was pro- 
 nounced and performed before the Court of St James, it must be 
 more amusing to its present readers than it formerly could have 
 been to the judicious : for the mob, I suppose they were delighted 
 with Folly in his hood — the kimmers pulling up their petticoats 
 to wade the water, &c. Sir David, in this piece, makes no dis- 
 tinction as to character in the dialogue : the nuns swear, and call 
 huveron, like the rudest of their companions ; and Folly speaks 
 the same language with the courtiers. Then there is not one poeti- 
 cal passage in the whole Play, though the subject gives scope for 
 many. My opinion of the author, from a perusal of all his poetry 
 (or rather verses), is, that it will be no wrong or affront to this 
 Lord Lion to rank him among the Minor Poets of Scotland : 
 what he wants in humour, he makes up in filth — and where he is 
 deficient in thought, he the more abounds in copiousness." 
 
 * See Cromek's ' Reliques of Burns,' p. 252; and p. 295 for men- 
 tion of "The Wooing of the Maiden." 
 
XV11 
 
 " PhilotUS, a Play written, as some say, by Lord Semple, is a 
 much more ingenious performance. The harmony of the verses is 
 particularly remarkable, and several of the descriptive passages are 
 very striking. It also is humorous — particularly in that scene 
 where Emily's brother, in the dress of a female, chooses to assert 
 his conjugal rights, against his old husband. This may have given 
 to Ben Johnson the hint for his Silent Woman." 
 
 " I remember being obliged to read some of Buchanan's Plays, 
 when I was learning Latin — from one end to the other — and a 
 tedious task it was ; since, I have dipt in, here and there, but 
 could see no beauty. I have often wondered why Scottish boys 
 should have been so long abused, by being made to lose their 
 time in construing cento Latin (as that of G. B. and all moderns 
 must perforce be) when we are so abundant in genuine classics. 
 Was it owing to our national pride, or to our Presbyterian preju- 
 dices?" 
 
 " Jephtha is a subject capable of great practical beauty — yet how 
 has B. failed ! " 
 
 1 ' Seneca's Tragedies, however, are extremely flat — but with 
 some poetical expressions. As to the Latin Comedies, they are 
 very perfect in their way. Terence writes like a gentleman who 
 has wit — Plautus like a blackguard, who has both wit and 
 humour." 
 
 " B. Johnson (properly Johnstone) was by descent a Scotchman, 
 therefore may have a place here — for I cannot think that a resi- 
 dence of a few years in a foreign country alters blood. Had Ben 
 
 b 
 
XV111 
 
 remained at Hawthornden with Drummond, and died there, he 
 would have been described afterwards as a Scotchman, born in 
 England. However, I am none of those who will break an 
 English head about the honour ; for, after a long acquaintance 
 Avith his works, I never cease to wonder how in any age, or 
 under any circumstances, he could ever have been regarded as a 
 rival of Shakespeare ! His tragedies of Catiline and Sejarms are 
 so stiff, so flat, so totally devoid of poetry, nay propriety, that 
 some strange and inexplicable prejudice alone could ever have 
 made them endured. But in several of his comedies there is much 
 wit, though very seldom natural ; his favourite notion of writing 
 from the humours of men, as he called them — that is, peculiarities 
 not very common to the species — having greatly hurt his scenes. 
 Every Man in his Humour is a good Play — and so is Volpone, 
 albeit dull. The 'Alchymist I think can with difficulty be read ; 
 and for Bartholomew Fair, 'tis nothing but a coarse droll for the 
 rabble. The Silent Woman has some very good scenes. Baron 
 and Mrs Otter are exceedingly entertaining indeed ; but then, 
 what can be more absurd than the idea of the Collegiate Ladies ? 
 — though in modern times, some women appear to have made an 
 attempt, from Ben's imagination, to realise that preposterous 
 scheme." 
 
 " Dr Anderson, Physician to K. Chas. the 1st, and inventor 
 of the Pills which still go under his name, is supposed to have 
 written a play in rhyme, called 'A Baron's Court,' which is not 
 devoid of humour. " 
 
 "The Valiant Scot, by J. W. Gent — sic on the Title-page; 
 but the dedication is subscribed by William Bowyer, who states 
 himself to have been ' one amongst your meanest followers in your 
 
XIX 
 
 Lordship's practicall life of a Souldier.' Perhaps the author was 
 fearful to put his name on the title-page of such a play, and might 
 reckon upon suppressing the Preface, should England and the 
 Puritans frown." 
 
 14 The Valiant Scot : 4to, 1637— dedicated to the Marquis of 
 Hamilton ; may have been written by a Scotchman, but I do not 
 think so. 'Tis founded on the story of Sir William Wallace, whose 
 love, Peggy, is the only character who speaks Scotch (and wretched 
 Scotch it is) in the whole piece.* There is one very good comic 
 scene between Sir Jeffrey Wiseacre and Bolt — in the 3d Act — 
 and some genius now and then glimmers in the verses ; for in- 
 stance — Grimsbie, Wallace bound : 
 
 ' Gr. What hath it of conscience, th' art an apparent rebel!. 
 
 Wall. How can he be a rebell was nere subject ? 
 What right has Edward to the crown of Scotland 
 (The word except) more than myself, or Grimsbie ? 
 
 Gr. What greater right than conquest ? 
 
 Wall. Then what came 
 Faster than mine ? respected country-man, 
 Thou hast been nobly valued, and held ranke 
 With best deservers, look upon the wounds 
 And mortall stabs of that distressed breast 
 That gave thee suck : see thy poore brethren slaves, 
 Thy sisters ravisht, and all out-rages 
 That bloody conquest can give licence to, 
 See this, and then ask conscience if the man 
 
 * This absurdity reminds one of Mrs Anastasia Robinson, after- 
 wards Lady Peterborough, who was permitted to sing her part in 
 English, when she appeared on the stage of the Opera House. 
 
XX 
 
 That with his blood seeks generall reformation 
 Deserves the name of Traitor. ' — [Act 2nd. 
 
 Wallace, on finding Selby and Haslerig dead : 
 
 — ' However, both did die 
 (In love or hate), both shall together lie ; 
 The coffin you must sleep in is the cave, 
 Whole heaven your winding sheet, all earth your grave,* 
 The early lark shall sadly ring your knell, 
 Your dirge be sung by mournfull Philomell ; 
 Instead of flowers and strewing herbs take these, 
 And what my charity now fails to do 
 Poor Robin-redbreast shall — my last adue,' &c. 
 
 The scene where the ghosts of the Friar, old Wallace, and Peggie 
 appear, is also not bad. — N.B. Since writing what is above, I 
 perceive that the Friar speaks Scotch as well as Peggie." 
 
 "The Scottish Politick Presbyter, slain by an English Inde- 
 pendent ; or the Independents' Victory over the Presbyterian 
 Party, the rigour of the Scotch government, their conniving and 
 bribing ; the lewdness and debauchery of Elders in secret. A 
 Tragi-Comedy, printed in the year 1647 — and reprinted in the 
 Harleian Miscellany, vol. 7 — short, and extremely dull." 
 
 "Dr Pitcairn's Play called the Assembly, written in ridicule of 
 the Whigs who concurred in the Revolution of 1688, is unworthy 
 
 * ' ' For a winding sheet, a wave 
 
 She had, and all the ocean for her grave." 
 
 — Dryden's ' Conquest of Grenada.' 1 
 
XXI 
 
 of his reputation for wit ; nevertheless, it contains a curious picture 
 of the manners of the time, and some portraits of Scots noblemen, 
 and ministers, which must be very valuable to their descendants. 
 I have seen many MSS. of the Play, so I suppose that, like Col- 
 vill's Whigs Supplication, it was first circulated in that shape." 
 
 " The Mock Marriage, 4to, written by Mr Scott, 1696. I think 
 he was a Scotchman — ex. gra. t ' Prithee doatment thy niece a 
 little better,' p. 4. ' Do you take me for your nurse, Sir Arthur, 
 to mind whether your face is clean every morning,' p. 8. 'They 
 sd. stay long enough if I was you,' p. 25. ' Hussy, go you to 
 the fore-dore, p. 39. The 1st scene of Act 4th is very good, 
 where Clarinda comes in masked ; in Act 3d is Durfy's song — 
 ' 'Twas within a furlong of Edin. town ' — which still passes for 
 Scotch with many." 
 
 "The Unhappy Kindness, or a fruitless Revenge— a Tragedy, 
 written by T. Scott — 4to, 1697. It is altered from an old Play, I 
 daresay for the worse — but much of the original must be left, as 
 the language and ideas are so very superior to Mr Scott's age. 
 The Prologue commences with a Scotticism — 
 
 ' I'm thinking, Sirs, how soon we are undone.' " 
 
 " Sawny the Scot, or the Taming of the Shrew, written by T. 
 Lacey, servant to his Majesty— 4to, 1698. A beastly performance, 
 without a grain of humour : his Sawny is a rascal, such as the 
 playmongers at that time dared to exhibit, when Scotland was at 
 
XX11 
 
 its lowest ebb, and in great discontent, the King caring as little 
 for his northern subjects as they did for him. Lacy wrote another 
 play (indeed Sauny is only a corruption of Shakespeare) called 
 Mons. Ragoo, or the Old Ti-oop, which is extremely witty and 
 entertaining. " 
 
 " David Craufurd, gentleman, has written two Comedies ; Love 
 at First Sight, written during K. William's reign, and acted in 
 Queen Anne's; and Courtship Alamode. In Love at First Sight, 
 the character of Medler, a prying, mischief-making fellow, is very 
 good ; and there are few Scotticisms to be found — demented is one. 
 As to Courtship Alamode, it is duller ; and one of the principal 
 scenes is stolen from Fontaine's 'Cocu batu, et content.'" 
 
 "The Royal Martyr, King Charles I., an Opera, 1705. The 
 Tragedy of the Royal Martyr, King Chas. I. The 2d Edition— 
 by Alexander Fyffe, Writer to the Signet at Edin. 17 12 — both in 
 4to — dedicated to the Queen. The second edition is much altered 
 from the first, and particularly a Lady Buccleugh omitted. Both 
 are wretched, nor can I imagine what could tempt this silly per- 
 son to put forth a 2nd edition of his trash — unless it suited the 
 taste of the Edin. Writers of that day : as indeed it may now, for 
 anything I know." 
 
 "The Disappointed Gallant, or Buckram in Armour ; a new 
 ballad Opera, as it was acted at the new Edin. Theatre ; written 
 by a young Scots gentleman — 8vo, 1738. Sad, low-lived stuff- 
 full of ill-constructed Songs, and other abominable inventions." 
 
XXI 11 
 
 The frontispiece to the present volume is a somewhat 
 exaggerated portrait of C. Kirkpatrick Sharpe, in which 
 the familiar description in the ' Book-Hunter ' will be 
 readily recognised. The frontispiece to the 'Ballad 
 Book' itself is the original etching of a " Lady with her 
 Flirt and a Fool." 
 
 The generation that was contemporary with Mr 
 Sharpe is now rapidly thinning, and there is all the 
 more need that the remains of so original and so 
 thoroughly national a critic should be preserved for 
 posterity. In the " Memoir " which accompanies the 
 beautiful collection of Mr Sharpe's Etchings,* we have 
 many interesting details regarding him; but there must 
 be ample materials for a Biography of one who, not 
 only as one of the last of the old school of Scottish 
 gentlemen, but as the friend of Scott, and the deposi- 
 tory of so many of the inner traditions of old Scottish 
 society, deserves to have his memory preserved. 
 
 * Etchings, by Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, with Photographs from 
 Original Drawings, Poetical and Prose Fragments, and a Prefatory 
 Memoir. Edinburgh and London : William Blackwood & Sons. 
 
TO 
 
 Sir mzlttv Scott, JSart 
 
 THIS TRIFLE, 
 
 WHICH THE EDITOR DEEMS MOST 
 UNWORTHY OF HIS ACCEPTANCE, 
 
 IS, 
 
 BY HIS KIND PERMISSION, 
 
 GRATEFULLY DEDICATED. 
 
Courteous Reader, 
 
 A S this Book, of which only thirty copies 
 are printed, shall cost thee nothing, 
 save a little time thrown away on its per- 
 usal, which most Antiquaries can very well 
 spare, I will make no apology to thee for 
 the compiling of it. The truth is, I was 
 anxious, after this fashion, to preserve a 
 few Songs that afforded me much delight 
 in my early youth, and are not to be found 
 at all, or complete, or in the same shape 
 
VI 
 
 in other Collections. These have been 
 mostly gathered from the mouths of nur- 
 ses, wet and dry, singing to their babes 
 and sucklings, dairy-maids pursuing their 
 vocation in the cow-house, and tenants' 
 daughters, while giving the Lady (as 
 every Laird's wife was once called,) a 
 spinning day, whilom an anniversary tri- 
 bute in Annandale. Several, too, were 
 picked up from tailors, who were wont to 
 reside in my father's castle, while mis- 
 shaping clothes for the children and ser- 
 vants. Though I am sensible that none 
 of these Ballads are of much merit, I re- 
 gret that my memory doth not now serve 
 me as to many more, the outlines of which 
 
Vll 
 
 alone I remember. Some, indeed, I have 
 suppressed on account of their grossness ; 
 confessing, at the same time, that several 
 here printed, are not over delicate ; but 
 little will be found to corrupt the imagi- 
 nation, and nothing to inflame the pas- 
 sions. — Sufficit ! — I have inserted a few 
 from MS. Collections in my possession, 
 and perhaps shall be tempted by and by, 
 to add a second volume from the same 
 sources. — In the mean time, gentle reader, 
 
 Hail ! and Farewell ! 
 
P A R T I. 
 
dfair Sianet 
 
 This Ballad, the Subject of which appears to have 
 been very Popular, is Printed as it was Sung 
 by an Old Woman in Perthshire. — The Air is 
 extremely beautiful. 
 
 " "\7"E maun gang to your Father, Janet, 
 
 X " Ye maun gang to him soon ; 
 " Ye maun gang to your Father, Janet, 
 " In case that his days are dune ! " 
 
 II. 
 
 Janet's awa' to her Father, 
 
 As fast as she could hie ; 
 " O, what's your will wi' me, Father ? 
 
 " O, what's your will wi' me ? " 
 
 A 
 
III. 
 
 " My will wi' you, Fair Janet," he said, 
 " It is both bed and board ; 
 
 " Some say that ye lo'e sweet Willie, 
 " But ye maun wed a French Lord." 
 
 IV. 
 
 " A French Lord maun I wed, Father ? 
 
 " A French Lord maun I wed ? 
 " Then by my sooth," quo' Fair Janet, 
 
 " He's ne'er enter my bed." 
 
 Janet's awa' to her chamber, 
 
 As fast as she could go ; 
 Wha's the first ane that tapped there, 
 
 But sweet Willie, her jo ! 
 
 VI. 
 
 " O we maun part this love, Willie, 
 
 " That has been lang between ; 
 " There's a French Lord coming o'er the sea, 
 
 " To wed me wi' a ring ; 
 " There's a French Lord coming o'er the sea, 
 
 " To wed and tak' me hame." 
 
VII. 
 
 " If we maun part this love, Janet, 
 
 " It causeth mickle woe ; 
 " If we maun part this love, Janet, 
 
 " It makes me into mourning go." 
 
 VIII. 
 
 " But ye maun gang to your three sisters, 
 
 " Meg, Marion, and Jean ; 
 " Tell them to come to Fair Janet, 
 
 " In case that her days are dune." 
 
 IX. 
 
 Willie's awa' to his three sisters, 
 
 Meg, Marion, and Jean ; 
 " O, haste and gang to Fair Janet, 
 
 " I fear that her days are dune." 
 
 X. 
 
 Some drew to them their silken hose, 
 Some drew to them their shoon, 
 
 Some drew to them their silk manteils, 
 Their coverings to put on ; 
 
 And they're awa' to Fair Janet, 
 By the hie light o' the moon, 
 
XI. 
 
 " O, I have born this Babe, Willie, 
 
 "Wi' mickle toil and pain; 
 " Take hame, take hame, your Babe, Willie, 
 
 " For nurse I dare be nane." 
 
 XII. 
 
 He's tane his young Son in his arms, 
 And kiss't him cheek and chin — 
 
 And he's awa' to his Mother's bower, 
 By the hie light o' the moon. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 " O, open, open, Mother," he says, 
 
 " O, open, and let me in ; 
 " The rain rains on my yellow hair, 
 
 " And the dew drops o'er my chin — 
 " And I hae my young Son in my arms, 
 
 " I fear that his days are dune." 
 
XIV. 
 
 With her fingers lang and sma' 
 
 She lifted up the pin ; 
 And with her arms lang and sma', 
 
 Received the baby in. 
 
 XV. 
 
 " Gae back, gae back, now sweet Willie, 
 " And comfort your fair lady ; 
 
 " For where ye had but ae nourice, 
 "Your young Son shall hae three." 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Willie he was scarce awa', 
 
 And the lady put to bed, 
 Whan in and came her Father dear, 
 
 "Make haste, and busk the Bride." 
 
 XVII. 
 
 " There's a sair pain in my head, Father, 
 " There's a sair pain in my side, 
 
 "And ill, O ill, am I, Father, 
 "This day for to be a Bride." 
 
XVIII. 
 
 " O, ye maun busk this bonny bride, 
 
 " And put a gay mantle on ; 
 " For she shall wed this auld French Lord, 
 
 "Gin she should die the morn." 
 
 XIX. 
 
 Some pat on the gay green robes, 
 And some pat on the brown, 
 
 But Janet put on the scarlet robes, 
 To shine foremost throw the town. 
 
 XX. 
 
 And some they mounted the black steed, 
 And some mounted the brown, 
 
 But Janet mounted the milk-white steed, 
 To ride foremost throw the town. 
 
 XXI. 
 
 " O, wha will guide your horse, Janet ? 
 
 " O, wha will guide him best ? " 
 " O, wha but Willie, my true love, 
 
 " He kens I lo'e him best ! " ; 
 
XXII. 
 
 And whan they cam to Marie's kirk, 
 
 To tye the haly ban ; 
 Fair Janet's cheek looked pale and wan, 
 
 And her colour gaed an' cam. 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 When dinner it was past and done, 
 
 And dancing to begin ; 
 " O, we'll go take the Bride's maidens, 
 
 "And we'll go fill the ring." 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 O, ben than came the auld French Lord, 
 Saying, " Bride will ye dance wi' me ? ' ; 
 
 " Awa', awa', ye auld French Lord, 
 " Your face I downa see." 
 
 XXV. 
 
 O, ben than cam' now sweet Willie, 
 He cam' with ane advance ; 
 
 " O, I'll go tak' the Bride's maidens, 
 "And we'll go tak' a dance." 
 
8 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 " I've seen ither days wi' you, Willie, 
 
 " And so has mony mae ; 
 " Ye would hae danced wi' me mysel', 
 
 " Let a' my maidens gae." 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 O, ben than cam' now sweet Willie, 
 Saying, " Bride will ye dance wi' me ? " 
 
 " Aye, by my sooth, and that I will, 
 " Gin my back should break in three." 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 She had nae turned her throw the dance, 
 
 Throw the dance but thrice, 
 Whan she fell doun at Willie's feet, 
 
 And up did never rise ! 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 Willie's taen the key of his coffer, 
 
 And gi'en it to his man, 
 " Gae hame, and tell my Mother dear, 
 
 " My horse he has me slain ; 
 " Bid her be kind to my young Son, 
 
 " For Father he has nane." 
 
9 
 
 XXX. 
 
 The tane was buried in Marie's kirk, 
 And the tither in Marie's quier ; 
 
 Out of the tane there grew a birk, 
 And the tither a bonny brier. 
 
 ii. 
 
 The two following Songs were remembered thirty 
 years ago, by an Old Gentlewoman. — The first 
 seems to be a Satire on the Court Ladies of 
 Edinburgh. 
 
 THE lasses o' the Cannogate, 
 O, they are wond'rous nice, 
 They winna gie a single kiss, 
 But for a double price. 
 
IO 
 
 II. 
 
 Gar hang them, gar hang them, 
 
 Heich upon a tree, 
 For we'll get better up the gate, 
 
 For a bawbee. 
 
 in. 
 
 As Illustrations of the following Song, vide Sir 
 Richard Maitland's poem, beginning, 
 
 " Sum wyfis of the Burroustoun, 
 
 " Sa wonder vane ar, and wantoun, 
 
 " In warld they wait not quhat to weir ; " 
 
 And Sir David Lindsay's supplication against 
 Syde Taillis and Mussalit Faces. 
 
 I. 
 
 I'LL gar our gudeman trow 
 That I'll sell the ladle, 
 If he winna buy to me, 
 A new side saddle, — 
 
II 
 
 To ride to the kirk, and frae the kirk, 
 And round about the toun, — 
 
 Stand about, ye fisher jads, 
 And gie my goun room ! 
 
 II. 
 
 I'll gar our gudeman trow 
 
 That I'll tak' the fling strings, 
 If he winna buy to me 
 
 Twelve bonnie goud rings, — 
 Ane for ilka finger, 
 
 And twa for ilka thoom, — 
 Stand about, ye fisher jads, 
 
 And gie my goun room ! 
 
 III. 
 
 I'll gar our gudeman trow 
 
 That I'll tak' the glengore, 
 If he winna fee to me, 
 
 Three valets, or four, 
 To beir my tail up frae the dirt, 
 
 And ush me throw the toun,- 
 Stand about, ye fisher jads, 
 
 And gie my goun room ! 
 
12 
 
 IV. 
 
 This stupid Ballad, Printed as it was Sung in 
 Annandale, is founded on the well known Story 
 of the Prince of Salerno's Daughter; but with 
 what uncouth change ! Dysmal for Ghismonda, 
 and Guiscardo transformed into a greasy kitchen 
 boy. 
 
 " An ounce of civet, good apothecary, 
 " To sweeten my imagination." 
 
 The reader will immediately remember Hogarth's 
 Picture, and Churchill's exclamation — 
 
 " Poor Sigismunda, what a fate was thine ! " 
 
 THERE was a king, and a glorious king, 
 And a king of mickle fame ; 
 And he had daughters only one, 
 Lady Dysmal was her name. 
 
13 
 
 ii. 
 
 He had a boy, and a kitchen boy, 
 
 A boy of mickle scorn ; 
 And she lov'd him lang, and she loved him aye, 
 
 Till the grass o'ergrew the corn. 
 
 III. 
 
 When twenty weeks were gone and past, 
 
 O, she began to greet ; 
 Her petticoats grew short before, 
 
 And her stays they wadna meet. 
 
 IV. 
 
 It fell upon a winter's night, 
 The king could get nae rest ; 
 
 He cam unto his Daughter dear, 
 Just like a wand'ring ghaist. 
 
 He cam into her bed chalmer, 
 And drew the curtains round, — 
 
 " What aileth thee, my Daughter dear, 
 " I fear you've gotten wrong? " 
 
H 
 
 VI. 
 
 " O, if I have, despise me not, 
 
 " For he is all my joy ; 
 " I will forsake baith Dukes and Earls, 
 
 " And marry your kitchen boy." 
 
 VII. 
 
 " Go call to me, my merry men all, 
 " By thirty and by three ; 
 
 " Go call to me my kitchen boy, 
 " We'll murder him secretlie." 
 
 VIII. 
 
 There was nae din that could be heard, 
 
 And ne'er a word was said, 
 Till they got him baith fast and sure, 
 
 Between twa feather beds. 
 
 IX. 
 
 " Go, cut the heart out of his breast, 
 " And put it in a cup of gold ; 
 
 " And present it to his Dysmal dear, 
 " For she is baith stout and bold." 
 
i5 
 
 x. 
 
 They've cut the heart out of his breast, 
 And put it in a cup of gold ; 
 
 And presented it to his Dysmal dear, 
 Who was baith stout and bold. 
 
 XL 
 
 " O, come to me, my hinney, my heart, 
 
 "O, come to me, my joy; 
 " O, come to me, my hinney, my heart, 
 
 " My Father's kitchen boy." 
 
 XII. 
 
 She's ta'en the cup out of their hands, 
 
 And set it at her bed head ; 
 She wash'd it wi' the tears that fell from her eyes, 
 
 And next morning she was dead. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 " O, where were ye, my merry men all, 
 " Whom I paid meat and wage, 
 
 " Ye didna hold my cruel hand, 
 " Whan I was in my rage ? " 
 
i6 
 
 XIV. 
 
 For gone is a' my heart's delight, 
 " And gone is a' my joy ; 
 
 For my dear Dysmal she is dead, 
 " And so is my kitchen boy." 
 
 v. 
 
 This Song, from some original words of the Air, 
 to which Auld Robin Gray was latterly adapted, 
 appears to have been composed on a similar 
 melancholy event. 
 
 " The bridegroom grat whan the sun gaed down, 
 " The bridegroom grat whan the sun gaed down, 
 " And, ' Och,' quo' he, * It's come o'er soon,' 
 " The bridegroom grat," &c. 
 
 THERE liv'd a man into the west, 
 And O ! but he was cruel ; 
 Upon his waddin' nicht at e'en, 
 He sat up, and grat for gruel. 
 
i7 
 
 ii. 
 
 They brought to him a good sheep's head, 
 
 A napkin, and a towel. — 
 " Gae tak your whim-whams a' frae me, 
 
 " And bring me fast my gruel." 
 
 III. 
 
 The Bride speaks. 
 
 " There is nae meal into the hous, 
 " What shall I do, my jewel ? "— 
 
 " Gae to the pock, and shake a lock, 
 " For I canna want my gruel." 
 
 IV. 
 
 " There is nae milk into the hous, 
 "What shall I do, my jewel?"— 
 
 " Gae to the midden, and milk the soo, 
 " For I wunna want my gruel." 
 
i8 
 
 VI, 
 
 Jftatl* ^amtltom 
 
 In the Border Minstrelsy is a much more refined 
 edition of this Ballad, which is supposed to re- 
 late the misadventure of one of Queen Marie's 
 ladies. It is singular, that during the reign of 
 the Czar Peter, one of his Empress's attend- 
 ants, a Miss Hamilton, was executed for the 
 murder of a natural child, — not her first crime 
 in that way, as was suspected; and the Empe- 
 ror, whose admiration of her beauty did not 
 preserve her life, stood upon the scaffold till her 
 head was struck off, which he lifted by the ear, 
 and kissed on the lips. I cannot help thinking, 
 that the two Stories have been confused in the 
 Ballad, for if Marie Hamilton was executed in 
 Scotland, it is not likely that her relations re- 
 sided beyond seas ; and we have no proof that 
 Hamilton was really the name of the woman 
 who made a slip with the Queen's apothecary. 
 
19 
 
 i. 
 
 WORD'S gane to the kitchen, 
 And word's gane to the ha', 
 That Marie Hamilton gangs wi' bairn, 
 To the hichest Stewart of a'. 
 
 II. 
 
 He's courted her in the kitchen, 
 He's courted her in the ha', 
 
 He's courted her in the laigh cellar, 
 And that was warst of a' ! 
 
 III. 
 
 She's tyed it in her apron, 
 
 And she's thrown it in the sea, 
 Says, " Sink ye, swim ye, bonny wee babe, 
 " You'l ne'er get mair o' me." 
 
 IV. 
 
 Down then cam the auld Queen, 
 Goud tassels tying her hair — 
 
 " O, Marie, where's the bonny wee babe, 
 " That I heard greet sae sair ? " 
 
20 
 
 There was never a babe intill my room, 
 "As little designs to be; 
 It was but a touch o' my sair side, 
 " Come o'er my fair bodie." 
 
 VI. 
 
 " O, Marie, put on your robes o' black, 
 " Or else your robes o' brown, 
 
 " For ye maun gang wi' me the night, 
 " To see fair Edinbro' town." 
 
 VII. 
 
 " I winna put on my robes o' black, 
 " Nor yet my robes o' brown, 
 
 " But I'll put on my robes o' white, 
 " To shine through Edinbro' town." 
 
 VIII. 
 
 When she gaed up the Cannogate, 
 She laugh'd loud laughters three ; 
 
 But whan she cam down the Cannogate, 
 The tear blinded her e'e. 
 
21 
 
 IX. 
 
 When she gaed up the Parliament stair, 
 
 The heel cam aff her shee, 
 And lang or she cam down again, 
 
 She was condemn'd to dee. 
 
 X. 
 
 When she cam down the Cannogate, 
 
 The Cannogate sae free, 
 Mony a ladie look'd o'er her window, 
 
 Weeping for this ladie. 
 
 XI. 
 
 " Ye need nae weep for me," she says, 
 
 " Ye need nae weep for me, 
 " For had I not slain mine own sweet babe, 
 
 This death I wadna dee. 
 
 XII. 
 
 " Bring me a bottle of wine," she says, 
 " The best that e'er ye hae, 
 
 " That I may drink to my weil wishers, 
 " And they may drink to me. 
 
22 
 
 XIII. 
 
 " Here's a health to the jolly sailors, 
 
 " That sail upon the main, 
 " Let them never let on to my father and mother, 
 
 " But what I'm coming hame. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 " Here's a health to the jolly sailors, 
 
 " That sail upon the sea ; 
 " Let them never let on to my father and mother, 
 
 " That I cam here to dee. 
 
 XV. 
 
 Oh, little did my mother think, 
 " The day she cradled me, 
 What lands I was to travel through, 
 " What death I was to dee. 
 
 XVI. 
 
 Oh, little did my father think, 
 
 " The day he held up me, 
 What lands I was to travel through, 
 
 " What death I was to dee. 
 
* 
 
 23 
 
 XVII. 
 
 " Last nicht I wash'd the Queen's feet, 
 
 " And gently laid her down j 
 " And a' the thanks I've gotten the nicht, 
 
 "To be hang'd in Edinbro' town. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 " Last nicht there was four Maries, 
 " The nicht there'l be but three ; 
 
 " There was Marie Seton, and Marie Beton,* 
 "And Marie Carmichael, and me." 
 
 In Balfour House, in Fifeshire, is a full-length 
 portrait of Marie Beaton. 
 
24 
 
 VII, 
 
 EaJJa Uun&ottaI&, 
 
 This strange folly was generally Sung by a man, 
 with a woman's cap on his head, a distaff, and a 
 spindle. The dialogue, of which the subjoined 
 is only a Fragment, was chanted in recitative. 
 Can this Song possibly allude to Elizabeth, 
 Daughter and heiress of William Cochrane of 
 Cochrane, who married Alexander, a younger 
 Son of John Blair of Blair? Her father made 
 a settlement of his estate in her favour 1593. 
 At Gosford, a seat of the Earl of Wemyss, is a 
 full-length portrait of a hideous old woman, 
 with her spinning implements, and a starved 
 cat, said to be the Lady Dundonald of the Bal- 
 lad ; but to me it appears to be the figure of a 
 Flemish peasant. 
 
25 
 
 WEEL it becomes the Lady Dundonald, 
 To sit liltin' at her rock, 
 And weel it becomes the Laird o' Dundonald, 
 To wear his hodden gray frock ! 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Lilty Eery, Lardy Lardy, 
 Lilty Eery, Lardy Lam. 
 
 II. 
 
 Enter Marg'et. 
 
 " My Lady, there is a lass at the door wants 
 "To be feed."— 
 " What fee does she want ? " — 
 " Five punds." — 
 
 " Five punds is o'er mony punds, to be 
 " Drawing out the tail o' a rock." 
 Lilty Eery, &c. 
 
 III. 
 
 " Tell her I will gie her 
 
 " Four punds, and spin a' the 
 
 " Backs mysel'." 
 
 Lilty Eery, &c. 
 
26 
 
 IV. 
 
 Enter Marg'et. 
 
 " My Lady, what will I tell you noo, 
 " Isna our kitchen lass wi' bairn ! " — 
 " Wha may that be till ? 
 " The Laird, I needna speir." 
 Lilty Eery, &c. 
 
 V. 
 
 " He has fifteen at the fire-side else, 
 " And that will mak sixteen, 
 " And sae it will een ; 
 " It was me that made him a Laird ; 
 " But deel speed sic Lairds ! " 
 Lilty Eery, &c. 
 
 VI. 
 
 " Hear, Marg'et ! "— 
 
 " What does my Lady want noo ? " — 
 
 " Bring ben the brandy bottle, your waas, 
 
 " And tak a dram yourseP, 
 
 " And gar me tak twa." 
 
 Lilty Eery, &c. 
 
2/ 
 
 VII. 
 
 " I think we may as weel 
 " Tak our ain geer oursels, 
 " For it is gaein' whether or no." 
 Lilty Eery, &c. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Enter John. 
 
 " My Lady, there is company come." — 
 " Fashious fock, John ; I want nae company. 
 " I am spinning at my rock." 
 Lilty Eery, &c. 
 
 IX. 
 
 " My Lady, the servants is going to their beds, 
 "They want a doup of a candle." — 
 " Tell them to put doups and doups thegither, 
 " And that will gie them licht." 
 Lilty Eery, &c. 
 
28 
 
 VIII. 
 
 JENNY, scho's ta'en a deep surprise, 
 And scho's spew'd a' her crowdie ; 
 Her minnie scho ran to seek her a dram, 
 But scho stude mair need o' the howdie. 
 
 II. 
 
 " Oh, Sandie, dinna ye mind," quo' scho, 
 " Whan ye gart me drink the brandy, 
 
 "Whan ye yerkit me ow'r amang the braume, 
 " And plaid me Houghmagandy ! " 
 
2 9 
 
 IX. 
 
 AND sae ye've treated me, 
 And sae ye've treated me ; 
 I'll never lo'e anither man, 
 Sae weil as I've lo'ed thee. 
 
 II. 
 
 And sae ye've treated me, 
 And sae ye've treated me ; 
 
 The deil pit on your windin' sheet, 
 Three hours before you dee ! 
 
3o 
 
 X. 
 
 ®f)t €b)H &i*tir& 
 
 Various sets of this Song have been Printed; it 
 was popular both in England and Scotland. — 
 The Air is beautiful. 
 
 J. 
 
 THERE liv'd twa sisters in a bower, 
 Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch. 
 There liv'd twa sisters in a bower, 
 
 Stirling for aye : 
 The youngest o' them, O, she was a flower ! 
 Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay. 
 
3i 
 
 II. 
 
 There cam a squire frae the west, 
 
 Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch. 
 There cam a squire frae the west, 
 
 Stirling for aye : 
 He lo'ed them baith, but the youngest best, 
 
 Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay. 
 
 III. 
 
 He gied the eldest a gay gold ring, 
 
 Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch. 
 He gied the eldest a gay gold ring, 
 
 Stirling for aye : 
 But he lo'ed the youngest aboon a' thing, 
 
 Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay. 
 
 IV. 
 
 "Oh, sister, sister, will ye go to the sea? 
 
 " Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch. 
 " Oh, sister, sister, will ye go to the sea ? 
 
 " Stirling for aye : 
 "Our father's ships sail bonnilie, 
 
 H Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay." 
 
32 
 
 V. 
 
 The youngest sat down upon a stane, 
 
 Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch. 
 The youngest sat down upon a stane, 
 
 Stirling for aye : 
 The eldest shot the youngest in, 
 
 Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay. 
 
 VI. 
 
 " Oh, sister, sister, lend me your hand, 
 
 " Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch. 
 " Oh, sister, sister, lend me your hand, 
 
 "Stirling for aye: 
 " And you shall hae my gouden fan, 
 
 "Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay." 
 
 VII. 
 
 " Oh, sister, sister, save my life, 
 
 " Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch. 
 " Oh, sister, sister, save my life, 
 
 " Stirling for aye : 
 " And ye shall be the squire's wife, 
 
 "Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay." 
 
33 
 
 VIII. 
 
 First she sank, and then she swam, 
 
 Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch. 
 First she sank, and then she swam, 
 
 Stirling for aye : 
 Until she cam to Tweed mill dam, 
 
 Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay. 
 
 IX. 
 
 The millar's daughter was baking bread, 
 
 Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch. 
 The millar's daughter was baking bread, 
 
 Stirling for aye : 
 She went for water, as she had need, 
 
 Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay. 
 
 " O, father, father, in our mill dam, 
 
 " Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch. 
 11 0, father, father, in our mill dam, 
 
 " Stirling for aye : 
 " There's either a lady, or a milk-white swan, 
 
 "Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay." 
 c 
 
34 
 
 XI. 
 
 They could nae see her ringers small, 
 
 Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch. 
 They could nae see her ringers small, 
 
 Stirling for aye : 
 Wi' diamond rings they were cover'd all, 
 
 Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay. 
 
 XII. 
 
 They could nae see her yellow hair, 
 
 Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch. 
 They could nae see her yellow hair, 
 
 Stirling for aye : 
 Sae mony knots and platts war there, 
 
 Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 They could nae see her lilly feet, 
 
 Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch. 
 They could nae see her lilly feet, 
 
 Stirling for aye : 
 Her gowden fringes war sae deep, 
 
 Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay. 
 
35 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Bye there cam a fiddler fair, 
 
 Hey Edinbruch, how Edinbruch. 
 Bye there cam a fiddler fair, 
 
 Stirling for aye : 
 And he's ta'en three taits o' her yellow hair, 
 
 Bonny Sanct Johnstoune that stands upon Tay. 
 
 XI. 
 €f)t dFttfflto'0 asmison, 
 
 MY blessing gae wi' ye, Jock Rob, Jock Rob, 
 My blessing gae wi' ye, Jock Rob ; 
 For whan ye come here, ye mak us good cheer, 
 And gar our blythe bottoms play bob ! 
 
36 
 
 XII 
 
 €t)t Soutar antr tftt £oo* 
 
 It is very strange, as well as amusing, to observe 
 how much our Antient Poets detested Soutars; 
 examples are too numerous to be quoted. 
 
 T 
 
 HE Soutar gied the Soo a kiss — 
 
 Grumph," quo' scho, "It's for my briss." 
 
 " And whare gat ye sae sweet a mou ? " 
 Quo' the Soutar to the Soo. 
 
 " Grumph," quo' scho, " And whare gat ye 
 "A tongue sae sleekie and sae slee?" 
 
37 
 
 XIII. 
 
 (Sltttlogtt* 
 
 FOUR and twenty nobles sits in the king's ha', 
 Bonny Glenlogie is the flower among them a' ; 
 
 In came Lady Jean skipping on the floor, 
 
 And she has chosen Glenlogie 'mong a' that was there. 
 
 She turned to his footman, and thus she did say : 
 " Oh, what is his name, and where does he stay ? " — 
 
 " His name is Glenlogie, when he is from home, 
 " He is of the gay Gordons, his name it is John." 
 
 " Glenlogie, Glenlogie, an' you will prove kind, 
 " My love is laid on you, I am telling my mind." 
 
38 
 
 He turned about lightly, as the Gordons does a', 
 
 " I thank you, Lady Jean, my loves is promised awa." 
 
 She called on her maidens her bed for to make, 
 Her rings and her jewels all from her to take. 
 
 In came Jeanie's father, a wae man was he, 
 Says, " I'll wed you to Drumfendrich, he has mair gold 
 than he." 
 
 Her father's own chaplain, being a man of great skill, 
 He wrote him a letter, and indited it well ; 
 
 The first lines he looked at, a light laugh laughed he, 
 But ere he read through it, the tears blinded his e'e. 
 
 Oh, pale and wan looked she when Glenlogie cam in, 
 But even rosy grew she when Glenlogie sat down. 
 
 " Turn round Jeanie Melville, turn round to this side, 
 " And I'll be the bridegroom, and you'll be the bride." 
 
 Oh, 'twas a merry wedding, and the portion down told, 
 Of bonnie Jeanie Melville, who was scarce sixteen years 
 old. 
 
39 
 
 XIV. 
 
 i. 
 
 I WENT to the mill, but the miller was gone, 
 I sat me down, and cried ochone ! 
 To think on the days that are past and gone, 
 Of Dickie Macphalion that's slain. 
 Shoo, shoo, shoolaroo, 
 
 To think on the days that are past and gone, 
 Of Dickie Macphalion that's slain. 
 
 II. 
 
 I sold my rock, I sold my reel, 
 
 And sae hae I my spinning wheel, 
 
 And a' to buy a cap of steel 
 
 For Dickie Macphalion that's slain ! 
 
 Shoo, shoo, shoolaroo, 
 
 And a' to buy a cap of steel 
 
 For Dickie Macphalion that's slain. 
 
4o 
 
 XV. 
 
 AS I cam in by Glasgow town, 
 The Highland troops were a' before me ; 
 And the bonniest lass that e'er I saw, 
 She lives in Glasgow, they ca' her Peggie. 
 
 II. 
 
 I wad gie my bonnie black horse, 
 
 So wad I my gude grey naigie, 
 
 If I were twa hundred miles in the north, 
 
 And nane wi' me but my bonnie Peggie ! 
 
 III. 
 
 Up then spak her father dear, 
 
 Dear wow ! but he was wond'rous sorrie — 
 
 " Weel may ye steal a cow or a yowe, 
 
 " But ye dare nae steal my bonnie Peggie." 
 
4i 
 
 IV. 
 
 Up then spak her mother dear, 
 Dear wow ! but she spak wond'rous sorrie — 
 " Now since I have brought ye up this length, 
 "Wad ye gang awa' wi' a Highland fellow?" 
 
 V. 
 
 He set her on his bonnie black horse, 
 He set himsel' on his gude gray naigie ; 
 And they have ridden o'er hills and dales, 
 And he's awa' wi' his bonnie Peggie. 
 
 VI. 
 
 They have ridden o'er hills and dales, 
 
 They have ridden o'er mountains many, 
 
 Until they cam to a low low glen, 
 
 And there he's lain down wi' his bonnie Peggie. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Up then spak the Earl of Argyle, 
 
 Dear wow ! but he spak wond'rous sorrie — 
 
 " The bonniest lass in a' Scotland, 
 
 " Is off and awa wi' a Highland fellow." 
 
42 
 
 VIII. 
 
 Their bed was of the bonnie green grass, 
 Their blankets war o' the hay sae bonnie ; 
 He folded his philabeg below her head, 
 And he's lain down wi' his bonnie Peggie. 
 
 IX. 
 
 Up then spak the bonny Lowland lass, 
 And wow ! but she spak wond'rous sorrie — 
 " I'se warrant my mither wad hae a gay sair heart, 
 " To see me lien' here wi' you, my Willie." 
 
 X. 
 
 " In my father's house there's feather beds, 
 
 " Feather beds, and blankets mony ; 
 
 " They're a' mine, and they'll sune be thine, 
 
 " And what needs your mither be sae sorrie, Peggie. 
 
 XI. 
 
 " Dinna you see yon nine score o' kye, 
 
 " Feeding on yon hill sae bonnie ? 
 
 11 They're a' mine, and they'll sune be thine, 
 
 " And what needs your mither be sorrie, Peggie." 
 
43 
 
 XII. 
 
 " Dinna ye see yon nine score o' sheep, 
 
 " Feeding on yon brae sae bonnie ? 
 
 " They're a' mine, and they'll sune be thine, 
 
 " And what need's your mither be sorrie for ye. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 " Dinna ye see yon bonnie white house, 
 " Shining on yon brae sae bonnie ? 
 " And I am the Earl of the Isle of Skye, 
 "And surely my Peggie will be ca'd a lady." 
 
44 
 
 XVI. 
 ®am o> tf)t Him 
 
 These Stanzas of a well-known Song have not, I 
 believe, been hitherto Printed. 
 
 I. 
 
 TAM o' Lin's daughter scho sat on the stair, 
 And, "wow," quo scho, "Father, am na I fair? 
 " There's mony ane wed wi an unwhiter skin." 
 "The deil whorl't aff," quo Tarn o' the Lin. 
 
 II. 
 
 Tarn o' Lin's daughter scho sat on the brig, 
 And, "wow," quo scho, " Father, am na I trig? " 
 The brig it brak, and she tummel'd in — 
 "Your tocher's paid," quo Tarn o' the Lin. 
 
45 
 
 XVII. 
 
 JWag etolliti. 
 
 This is a much fuller Set of the Ballad than I 
 ever saw Printed. It is probable that Collin, 
 or Colvin, is a corruption of Colvill; and that 
 Carline Sands means Carlinseugh Sands, on the 
 coast of Forfarshire. Sir John's charm resem- 
 bles that used by Sir John Colquhoun in the year 
 1633, and the Glamour of Faa the Egyptian — 
 touching whose amorous adventure, and tragical 
 end, I may here mention some lines expressive 
 of the powers of the husband's family, which I 
 found among the Macfarlane MSS. 
 
4 6 
 
 'Twixt Wigton and the town of Air, 
 " Portpatrick and the cruives of Cree, 
 " No man needs think for to byde there, 
 " Unless he court with Kennedie." 
 
 I will only add, that May Collin's appropriation 
 of her lover's steed, though unromantic, may 
 be justified by the example of the Princess 
 of Cathay herself. Ariosto informs us that 
 Angelica was never at a loss for a palfrey; 
 when Orlando had seized one, from which she 
 fell, she would steal another. 
 
 " Cerchi pur, ch' altro furto le dia aita, 
 " D'un' altra bestia, come prima ha fatto." 
 
 I. 
 
 OH ! heard ye of a bloody knight, 
 Lived in the south country ? 
 For he has betrayed eight ladies fair, 
 And drowned them in the sea. 
 
47 
 
 ii. 
 
 Then next he went to May Collin, 
 She was her father's heir ; 
 The greatest beauty in the land, 
 I solemnly declare. 
 
 III. 
 
 "lama knight of wealth and might, 
 " Of townlands twenty-three ; 
 " And you'll be lady of them all 
 " If you will go with me." 
 
 IV. 
 
 " Excuse me, then, Sir John," she says, 
 " To wed I am too young — 
 " Without I have my parents' leave, 
 " With you I darena gang." 
 
 V. 
 
 " Your parents' leave you soon shall have, 
 
 " In that they will agree ; 
 
 " For I have made a solemn vow, 
 
 " This night you'll go with me." 
 
4 8 
 
 VI. 
 
 From below his arm he pulled a charm, 
 And stuck it in her sleeve ; 
 And he has made her go with him, 
 Without her parents' leave. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Of gold and silver she has got 
 With her twelve hundred pound ; 
 And the swiftest steed her father had, 
 She has ta'en to ride upon. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 So privily they went along, 
 They made no stop or stay, 
 Till they came to the fatal place, 
 That they call Bunion Bay. 
 
 IX. 
 
 It being in a lonely place, 
 And no house there was nigh, 
 The fatal rocks were long and steep, 
 And none could hear her cry. 
 
49 
 
 x. 
 
 " Light down," he said, " Fair May Collin, 
 " Light down and speak with me, 
 " For here I've drowned eight ladies fair, 
 " And the ninth one you shall be." 
 
 XI. 
 
 11 Is this your bowers and lofty towers, 
 " So beautiful and gay, 
 " Or is it for my gold," she said, 
 " You take my life away ? " 
 
 XII. 
 
 " Strip off," he says, " thy jewels fine, 
 " So costly and so brave, 
 " For they are too costly and too fine, 
 " To throw in the sea wave." 
 
 XIII. 
 
 " Take all I have my life to save, 
 " Oh, good Sir John, I pray, 
 " Let it ne'er be said you killed a maid, 
 " Upon her wedding day." 
 
5o 
 
 XIV. 
 
 " Strip off," he says, " thy Holland smock, 
 " That's bordered with the lawn, 
 " For it's too costly and too fine, 
 " To rot on the sea sand." 
 
 XV. 
 
 " Oh, turn about, Sir John," she said, 
 " Your back about to me, 
 " For it never was comely for a man 
 " A naked woman to see." 
 
 XVI. 
 
 But as he turned him round about, 
 She threw him in the sea, 
 Saying, " Lie you there, you false Sir John, 
 " Where you thought to lay me. 
 
 XVII. 
 
 " Oh, lie you there, you traitor false, 
 " Where you thought to lay me, 
 " For though you stripped me to the skin, 
 " Your clothes you've got with thee." 
 
5i 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Her jewels fine she did put on, 
 
 So costly rich and brave, 
 
 And then with speed she mounts his steed, 
 
 So well she did behave. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 That lady fair being void of fear, 
 Her steed being swift and free, 
 And she has reached her father's gate, 
 Before the clock struck three. 
 
 XX. 
 
 Then first she called the stable groom, 
 He was her waiting man ; 
 Soon as he heard his lady's voice, 
 He stood with cap in hand. 
 
 XXL 
 
 " Where have you been, Fair May Collin, 
 "Who owns this dapple grey?" 
 " It is a found one," she replied, 
 "That I got on the way." 
 
52 
 
 XXII. 
 
 Then out bespoke the wily parrot, 
 Unto fair May Collin — 
 " What have you done with false Sir John, 
 " That went with you yestreen ? " 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 " Oh, hold your tongue my pretty parrot, 
 " And talk no more of me, 
 " And where you had a meal a day, 
 " Oh, now you shall have three ! " 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 Then up bespoke her father dear, 
 From his chamber where he lay— 
 " What aileth thee, my pretty Poll, 
 " That you chat so long or day ? " 
 
 XXV. 
 
 " The cat she came to my cage door, 
 " The thief I could not see, 
 " And I called to Fair May Collin, 
 " To take the cat from me." 
 
53 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 Then first she told her father dear, 
 The deed that she had done, 
 And next she told her mother dear, 
 Concerning false Sir John. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 " If this be true, Fair May Collin, 
 " That you have told to me, 
 " Before I either eat or drink, 
 " This false Sir John I'll see." 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 Away they went with one consent, 
 At dawning of the day ; 
 Until they came to Carline Sands, 
 And there his body lay. 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 His body tall, by that great fall, 
 By the waves tossed to and fro, 
 The diamond ring that he had on, 
 Was broke in pieces two. 
 
54 
 
 XXX. 
 
 And they have taken up his corpse, 
 To yonder pleasant green, 
 And there they have buried false Sir John, 
 For fear he should be seen. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 Tune — " Birks of Abergeldie." 
 
 I. 
 
 MY mither built a wee wee house, 
 A wee wee house, a wee wee house, 
 My mither built a wee wee house, 
 To keep me frae the men, O ! 
 
55 
 
 The wa's fell in, and I fell out, 
 The wa's fell in, and I fell out, 
 The wa's fell in, and I fell out, 
 Amang the merry men, O ! 
 
 II. 
 
 How can I keep my maidenhead, 
 My maidenhead, my maidenhead, 
 How can I keep my maidenhead, 
 Amang sae mony men, O ! 
 Ane auld mouldy maidenhead, 
 Ane auld mouldy maidenhead, 
 Ane auld mouldy maidenhead, 
 Seven years and ten, O ! 
 
 III. 
 
 The Captain bad a guinea for 't, 
 A guinea for 't, a guinea for 't, 
 The Captain bad a guinea for 't, 
 The Colonel he bad ten, O ! 
 The Serjeant he bad nae thing for 't, 
 Bad naething for 't, bad naething for 't, 
 The Serjeant he bad naething for 't, 
 And he cam farrest ben, O ! 
 
56 
 
 XIX. 
 
 In the month of July 1589, at the Drum, near 
 Dalkeith, William master of Somerville acciden- 
 tally killed his brother John, with whom he 
 had ever lived in the most affectionate manner, 
 by the unexpected discharge of his pistol. — 
 (Memorie of the Somervilles, vol. 1. p. 466.) 
 This event, I am convinced, is the origin of the 
 following Ballad, of which a fuller and more 
 correct edition is to be found in Jamieson. As 
 to Kirkland, my copy has only kirk-yard, till the 
 last verse, where Land has been added from 
 conjecture. Kirkland, or Inchmurry, is in 
 Perthshire. — N.B. a similar accident happened 
 in the Stair family, 1682. 
 
 I. 
 
 THERE were twa brethren in the north, 
 They went to the school* thegither; 
 The one unto the other said, 
 " Will you try a warsle afore ? " 
 
 * Chase is sometimes substituted for School. 
 
57 
 
 ii. 
 
 They warsled up, they warsled down, 
 Till Sir John fell to the ground, 
 And there was a knife in Sir Willie's pouch, 
 Gied him a deadlie wound. 
 
 III. 
 
 " Oh, brither dear, take me on your back, 
 " Carry me to yon burn clear, 
 " And wash the blood from off my wound, 
 "And it will bleed nae mair." 
 
 IV. 
 
 He took him up upon his back, 
 Carried him to yon burn clear, 
 And wash'd the blood from off his wound, 
 But aye it bled the mair. 
 
 V. 
 
 " Oh, brither dear, take me on your back, 
 " Carry me to yon kirk-yard, 
 " And dig a grave baith wide and deep, 
 " And lay my body there." 
 
58 
 
 VI. 
 
 He's ta'en him up upon his back, 
 Carried him to yon kirk-yard ; 
 And dug a grave baith deep and wide, 
 And laid his body there. 
 
 VII. 
 
 " But what will I say to my father dear, 
 " Gin he chance to say, Willie whar's John? ;> 
 " Oh, say that he's to England gone, 
 "To buy him a cask of wine." 
 
 VIII. 
 
 " And what will I say to my mother dear, 
 " Gin she chance to say, Willie whar's John ? " 
 " Oh, say that he's to England gone, 
 " To buy her a new silk gown." 
 
 IX. 
 
 " And what will I say to my sister dear, 
 " Gin she chance to say, Willie whar's John? 
 " Oh, say that he's to England gone, 
 " To buy her a wedding ring." 
 
59 
 
 x. 
 
 " But what will I say to her you lo'e dear, 
 "Gin she cry, Why tarries my John?" 
 " Oh, tell her I lie in Kirk-land fair, 
 " And home again will never come." 
 
 xx. 
 
 In the year 1640, Airlie Castle was destroyed by 
 the Marquis of Argyll, — a nobleman never ac- 
 cused of incontinence, as might be supposed 
 from this Ballad, which is erroneous in another 
 point, at least — no Lady Ogilvie had eleven Sons 
 — the first Earl's wife had three, his daughter-in- 
 law, who is probably the heroine of the Song, 
 only one — she herself was a daughter of Lord 
 Banff. 
 
 I. 
 
 IT fell on a day, and a bonny simmer day, 
 When green grew aits and barley, 
 That there fell out a great dispute, 
 Between Argyll and Airlie. 
 
6o 
 
 ii. 
 
 Argyll has raised an hunder men, 
 An hunder harness'd rarely, 
 
 And he's awa by the back of Dunkell, 
 To plunder the Castle of Airlie. 
 
 III. 
 
 Lady Ogilvie looks o'er her bower window, 
 
 And oh, but she looks weary ; 
 And there she spy'd the great Argyll, 
 
 Come to plunder the bonny House of Airlie. 
 
 IV. 
 
 " Come down, come down, my Lady Ogilvie, 
 
 "Come down, and kiss me fairly." 
 " O, I winna kiss the fause Argyll, 
 
 " If he should na leave a standing stane in Airlie." 
 
 V. 
 
 He hath taken her by the left shoulder, 
 Says, " Dame, where lies thy dowry ? " 
 
 " Oh, it's east and west yon wan water side, 
 "And it's down bv the banks of the Airlie.' 
 
6i 
 
 VI. 
 
 They hae sought it up, they hae sought it down, 
 They hae sought it maist severely ; 
 
 Till they fand it in the fair plumb tree, 
 That shines on the bowling green of Airlie. 
 
 VII. 
 
 He hath taken her by the middle sae small, 
 
 And, O, but she grat sairly ! 
 And laid her down by the bonny burn-side, 
 
 Till they plundered the Castle of Airlie. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 " Gif my gude Lord war here this night, 
 
 " As he is with King Charlie, 
 " Neither you, nor ony ither Scottish Lord, 
 
 " Durst awow to the plundering of Airlie. 
 
 IX. 
 
 " Gif my gude Lord war now at hame, 
 
 " As he is with his King, 
 " There durst nae a Campbell in a' Argyll, 
 
 " Set fit on Airlie green. 
 
62 
 
 X. 
 
 " Ten bonny sons I have born unto him, 
 " The eleventh ne'er saw his daddy, 
 
 " But though I had an hundred mair, 
 " I'd gie them a' to King Charlie." 
 
 XXI. 
 
 Bessy Bell and Mary Gray died of the plague, 
 communicated by their Lover, in the year 1645. 
 Their romantic history may be found in Pen- 
 nant's Tour, and in the Statistical Account of 
 Scotland. The more modern words of this Bal- 
 lad were composed by Allan Ramsay. 
 
 I. 
 
 O BESSIE BELL and Mary Gray, 
 They war twa bonnie lasses ! 
 They bigget a bower on yon burn-brae, 
 And theekit it o'er wi' rashes. 
 
63 
 
 They theekit it o'er wi' rashes green, 
 They theekit it o'er wi' heather, 
 
 But the pest cam frae the burrows town, 
 And slew them baith thegither ! 
 
 • II. 
 
 They thought to lye in Methven kirk yard, 
 
 Amang their noble kin, 
 But they maun lye in Stronach Haugh, 
 
 To biek forenent the sin. 
 And Bessy Bell and Mary Gray, 
 
 They war twa bonnie lasses ! 
 They biggit a bower on yon burn-brae, 
 
 And theekit it o'er wi' rashes. 
 
6 4 
 
 XXII. 
 
 OGIN ye war dead, Gudeman, 
 And a green sod on your heid, Gudeman ; 
 Than I wad war my widowhood, 
 Upon a rantin' Highlandman ! 
 There's a sheep's heid in the pat, Gudeman, 
 A sheep's heid in the pat, Gudeman, 
 The broo to me, the horns to thee, 
 An' the flesh to our John Highlandman. 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Sing, round about the fire wi' a rung scho ran, 
 An' round about the fire wi' a rung scho ran, 
 An' round about the fire wi' a rung scho ran, 
 " Had awa' your blue breeks frae me, Gudeman." 
 
65 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 The following Song used to be sung by a gentle- 
 man very eminent at the Scottish Bar, who was 
 born in the year 1680. 
 
 Tune — " Gramachree." 
 
 LAST night I dreamt my Peggy 
 Was in beneath the bed ; 
 And up I got upo' my doup, 
 And oh ! but I was glad. 
 
 I pat my hand beneath the bed 
 
 To tak her be the lug, 
 But instead o* my dear Peggy, 
 
 I gat the water mug ! 
 
 E 
 
66 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 This gross old ditty is founded on a Story in Le 
 Moyen de Parvenir, a book of which the ex- 
 treme wit is at least equalled by its beastliness. 
 
 o 
 
 UR gude wife's wi' bairn, and that's of a lad, 
 And scho's ta'en a greenin' for a fish crab. 
 With my hey jing, &c. 
 
 II. 
 
 Up gat our gude man, and cleekit to his claithes, 
 And he's awa' to the sea-side, trippin' on his taes. 
 With my hey, &c. 
 
 III. 
 
 " Have ye ony crab-fish? — one, two, three." — 
 " Tippence is the price o' them, gin you and I'll agree." 
 With my hey, &c. 
 
6 7 
 
 IV. 
 
 He's pu'd out his purse, and bought the biggest ane, 
 He's put it in his nicht mutch, and he's come toddlin 
 hame. 
 
 With my hey, &c. 
 
 V. 
 
 He wadna pit it on the dresser, for fyling a' the dishes, 
 But he pat it in the chalmer pat, where our gude wife 
 
 With my hey, &c. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Up gat the gude wife, an' for to mak her dam, 
 Up gat the crab-fish, and took her be the wame. 
 With my hey, &c. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Up gat the gude man, to redd the fish's claws, 
 Up gat the crab-fish, and took him by the nose. 
 With my hey, &c. 
 
68 
 
 XXV. 
 &nifr*fo ©at* 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 Hey for Andrew, Andrew, 
 Hey for Andrew Car ! 
 He gaed to bed to the lass, 
 And forgot to bar the door ! 
 
 I. 
 
 ANDREW CAR is cunnhV, 
 And Andrew Car is slee, 
 And Andrew Car is winnin', 
 And Andrew Car for me ! 
 
 Sing hey for Andrew, &c. 
 
6 9 
 
 II. 
 
 O it was Andrew Car, 
 O it was him indeed ; 
 O it was Andrew Car, 
 Wha gat my maidenhead. 
 
 Sing hey for Andrew, &c. 
 
 XXVI. 
 %%* Slaggte o* liuntiar* 
 
 HEY, the Haggis o' Dunbar, 
 Fatharalinkum Feedle ; 
 Mony better, few waur, 
 Fatharalinkum Feedle. 
 
 For to mak this Haggis nice, 
 
 Fatharalinkum, &c. 
 They pat in a peck o' lice, 
 
 Fatharalinkum, &c. 
 
7o 
 
 For to mak this Haggis fat, 
 Fatharalinkum, &c. 
 
 They pat in a scabbit cat, 
 Fatharalinkum Feedle. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 HE'S a bonny bonny lad that's a courting me, 
 He's a bonny bonny lad that's a courting me j 
 He's cripple of a leg, and blind of an ee, 
 He's a bonny bonny lad that's a courting me ! 
 
7i 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 dFair JWargaret of ©rafgnargat. 
 
 Craignargat is a promontory in the Bay of Luce 
 — though almost surrounded by the Barony of 
 Mochrum, it was long possessed by a branch of 
 the family of Macdowall, which was probably 
 our Heroine's surname. — On the head of Fair 
 Margaret's lovers, it may be remarked, that the 
 Agnews of Lochnaw are a very ancient family, 
 and hereditary sheriffs of Wigton. — The Gor- 
 don mentioned was probably Gordon of Craigh- 
 law, whose castle was situated about five miles 
 from Craignargat, in the parish of Kirkcowan, 
 considered so remote before the formation of 
 military roads, that the local proverb says, — 
 "Out of the world, and into Kirkcowan." — 
 The Hays of Park dwelt on the coast, about 
 six miles from Craignargat; but it is singular 
 that the Lady is not complimented with a Dun- 
 bar as her lover, the Place of Mochrum, as the 
 old tower is called, being only two miles from 
 her reputed residence. 
 
7 2 
 
 I. 
 
 FAIR MARG'RET of Craignargat, 
 Was the flow'r of all her kin, 
 And she's fallen in love with a false young man, 
 Her ruin to begin. 
 
 II. 
 
 The more she lov'd, the more it prov'd, 
 
 Her fatal destiny ; 
 And he that sought her overthrow, 
 
 Shar'd of her misery. 
 
 III. 
 
 Before that lady she was born, 
 
 Her mother, as we find, 
 She dreamt she had a daughter fair, 
 
 That was both dumb and blind. 
 
 IV. 
 
 But as she sat in her bow'r door, 
 A viewing of her charms, 
 
 There came a raven from the south, 
 And pluck'd her from her arms. 
 
73 
 
 v. 
 
 Three times on end she dreamt this dream, 
 Which troubled sore her mind, 
 
 That from that very night and hour, 
 She could no comfort find. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Now she has sent for a wise woman, 
 
 Liv'd nigh unto the port, 
 Who being call'd, instantly came, 
 
 That lady to comfort. 
 
 VII. 
 
 To her she told her dreary dream, 
 
 With salt tears in her eye, 
 Hoping that she would read the same, 
 
 Her mind to satisfy. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 " Set not your heart on children young, 
 " Whate'er their fortune be, 
 
 " And if I tell what shall befal, 
 " Lay not the blame on me. 
 
74 
 
 IX. 
 
 " The raven which you dreamed of, 
 
 " He is a false young man, 
 " With subtile heart and flatt'ring tongue, 
 
 " Your daughter to trepan. 
 
 X. 
 
 " Both night and day, 'tis you I pray, 
 " For to be on your guard, 
 
 11 For many are the subtile wyles, 
 " By which youth are ensnar'd." 
 
 XL 
 
 When she had read the dreary dream, 
 It vex'd her more and more, 
 
 For Craignargat of birth and state, 
 Liv'd nigh unto the shore. 
 
 XII. 
 
 But as in age her daughter wax'd, 
 
 Her beauty did excel, 
 All the ladies far and near, 
 
 That in that land did dwell. 
 
75 
 
 XIII. 
 
 The Gordon, Hay, and brave Agnew, 
 Three knights of high degree, 
 
 Unto the dame a courting came, 
 All for her fair beauty. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Which of these men they ask'd her then, 
 That should her husband be ? 
 
 But scornfully she did reply, 
 " I'll wed none of the three." 
 
 XV. 
 
 " Since it is so, where shall we go, 
 " A match for thee to find, 
 
 " That art so fair and beautiful, 
 " That none can suit thy mind ? " 
 
 XVI. 
 
 With scorn and pride she answer made, 
 " You'll ne'er choice one for me, 
 
 " Nor will I wed against my mind, 
 " For all their high degree." 
 
7 6 
 
 XVII. 
 
 The brave Agnew, whose heart was true, 
 
 A solemn vow did make, 
 Never to love a woman more, 
 
 All for that lady's sake. 
 
 XVIII. 
 
 To counsel this lady was deaf, 
 To judgement she was blind, 
 
 Which griev'd her tender parents dear, 
 And troubled sore their mind. 
 
 XIX. 
 
 From the Isle of Man a courter came, 
 And a false young man was he, 
 
 With subtile heart and flatt'ring tongue, 
 To court this fair lady. 
 
 XX. 
 
 This young man was a bold outlaw, 
 
 A robber and a thief, 
 But soon he gain'd this lady's heart, 
 
 Which caused all their grief. 
 
77 
 
 XXI. 
 
 " O will you wed," her mother said, 
 " A man you do not know, 
 
 " For to break your parents' heart, 
 " With shame but and with woe ? " 
 
 XXII. 
 
 " Yes, I will go with him," she said, 
 
 " Either by land or sea, 
 " For he's the man I've pitched on, 
 
 " My husband for to be." 
 
 XXIII. 
 
 " O let her go," her father said, 
 " For she shall have her will, 
 
 " My curse and mallison she's get, 
 " For to pursue her still." 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 " Your curse, father, I dont regard, 
 " Your blessing I'll ne'er crave, 
 
 " To the man I love, I'll constant prove, 
 "And never him deceive." 
 
78 
 
 XXV. 
 
 On board with him fair Marg'ret's gone, 
 
 In hopes his bride to be ; 
 But mark you well, and I shall tell, 
 
 Of their sad destiny. 
 
 XXVI. 
 
 They had not sail'd a league but five, 
 Till the storm began to rise ; 
 
 The swelling seas ran mountains high, 
 And dismal were the skies. 
 
 XXVII. 
 
 In deep despair, that lady fair, 
 
 For help aloud she cries, 
 While crystal tears, like fountains ran, 
 
 Down from her lovely eyes. 
 
 XXVIII. 
 
 O ! I have got my father's curse, 
 
 " My pride for to subdue, 
 With sorrows great my heart will break, 
 
 Alas ! what shall I do ? 
 
79 
 
 XXIX. 
 
 " O ! were I at my father's house, 
 
 11 His blessing to receive, 
 11 Then on my bended knees I'd fall, 
 
 " His pardon for to crave. 
 
 XXX. 
 
 " To aid my grief, there's no relief, 
 
 " To speak it is in vain, 
 " Likewise my loving parents dear, 
 
 " I ne'er shall see again." 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 The wind and waves did both conspire, 
 
 Their lives for to devour, 
 That gallant ship that night was lost, 
 
 And never was seen more. 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 When tidings to Craignargat came, 
 
 Of their sad overthrow, 
 It griev'd her tender parents' heart, 
 
 Afresh began their woe. 
 
8o 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 Of the dreary dream that she had seen, 
 
 And often thought upon, — 
 " O fatal news," her mother cries, 
 
 " My darling she is gone ! 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 " O fair Marg'ret, I little thought, 
 " The seas should be thy grave, 
 
 " When first thou left thy father's house, 
 " Without thy parents' leave." 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 May this tragedy a warning be, 
 
 To children while they live, 
 That they may love their parents dear, 
 
 Their blessing to receive. 
 
8i 
 
 XXIX. 
 lUmpa Hag*- 
 
 This Song my learned readers will perceive to be 
 of Scandinavian origin; and that the wooer's 
 name was probably suggested by Sir Kaye's of 
 the Round Table, whose Lady failed to prove 
 her chastity in the troublesome affair of the 
 
 Mantle. The description of Bengoleer's 
 
 daughter resembles that of the enchanted dam- 
 sel who appeared to courteous King Henrie. — 
 
 N.B. — This, and the following Ballad, should 
 have been placed much earlier in the Series. 
 
 I. 
 
 KEMPY KAYE'S a wooing gane, 
 Far far ayont the sea, 
 An' he has met with an auld auld man, 
 His gudefather to be. 
 
 F 
 
82 
 
 II. 
 
 " Gae scrape yeersel, and gae scart yeersel, 
 " And mak your bruchty face clean, 
 
 " For the wooers are to be here the nicht, 
 "And yeer body's to be seen.* 
 
 III. 
 
 ; ' What's the matter wi' you, my fair maiden, 
 
 " You look so pale and wan ? 
 " I'm sure you was once the fairest maiden, 
 
 "That ever the sun shined on." 
 
 IV. 
 
 Sae they scrapit her, and they scartit her, 
 Like the face of an assy pan ; 
 
 And in cam Kempy Kaye himself, 
 A clever and tall young man. 
 
 Far. — " For Kempy Kaye's to be here the nicht, 
 " Or else the morn at een." 
 
83 
 
 v. 
 
 His teeth they were like tether sticks, 
 His nose was three feet lang j 
 
 Between his shouthers was ells three, 
 Between his een a span. 
 
 VI. 
 
 " I'm coming to court your dochter dear, 
 "An' some pairt of your gear." 
 
 " An' by my sooth," quo' Bengoleer, 
 " She'll sair a man o' weir." 
 
 VII. 
 
 " My dochter she's a thrifty lass, 
 " She span seven year to me, 
 
 " An' if it war weil counted up, 
 " Full ten wobs it would be." 
 
 VIII. 
 
 He led his dochter by the han', 
 His dochter ben brought he ; 
 
 " O, is not she the fairest lass, 
 "That's in great Christendye ? " 
 
8 4 
 
 IX. 
 
 Ilka hair intil her head, 
 Was like a heather cow, 
 
 And ilka louse aninder it, 
 Was like a lintseed bow.* 
 
 She had lauchty teeth, an' kaily lips, 
 
 An' wide lugs fu' o' hair ; 
 Her pouches fu' o' pease meal daigh, 
 
 War hinging down her spare. 
 
 XL 
 
 Ilka ee intil her head, 
 
 Was like a rotten ploom, 
 An' down down browit was the quean, 
 
 An' sairly did she gloom. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Ilka nail upon her hand, 
 Was like an iron rake, 
 
 Var. — Was like a brucket yowe. 
 
85 
 
 An' ilka teeth into her head, 
 Was like a tether stake. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 She gied to him a gay gravat, 
 O' the auld horse's sheet ; 
 
 And he gied her a gay gold ring, 
 O' the auld couple reet.* 
 
 * i.e. Root. 
 
86 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Among the Songs enumerated in the Complainte 
 of Scotland (1549) is, "The frog cam to the 
 myl dur," probably founded on the same legend 
 with this, which has a chorus, "Cuddie alone 
 and I," &c. not worthy of insertion. In Novem- 
 ber 1580, the Stationers licenced to E. White, 
 "A ballad of a most strange wedding of the 
 frogge and the mouse," which has since fre- 
 quently appeared in a more modern shape. — 
 See also in D'Urfey's Pills, vol. 5th, "A ditty 
 on a high amour at St James's, the words by 
 Mr D'Urfey, and set to a comical tune. 
 
 THERE lived a puddy in a well, 
 And a merry mouse in a mill. 
 
87 
 
 Puddy he'd a wooin' ride, 
 Sword and pistol by his side. 
 
 Puddy cam to the mouse's wonne, 
 " Mistress mouse, are you within ?" 
 
 " Yes, kind Sir, I am within, 
 "Saftly do I sit and spin." 
 
 " Madame, I am come to woo, 
 " Marriage I must have of you." 
 
 " Marriage I will grant you nane. 
 "Till uncle rotten he comes name." 
 
 " Uncle rotten's now come hame, 
 " Fye gar busk the bride alang." 
 
 Lord rotten sat at the head o' the table, 
 Because he was baith stout and able. 
 
 Wha is't that sits next the wa', 
 
 But lady mouse baith jimp and sma' ? 
 
 Wha is't that sits next the bride, 
 
 But the sola puddy wi' his yellow side ? * 
 
 * Var.— Wha sat at the table fit, 
 
 Wha but froggy and his lame fit ? 
 
88 
 
 Syne cam the dewk but and the drake, 
 
 The dewk took the puddy and gart him squaik. 
 
 Than cam in the carle cat, 
 
 Wi' a fiddle on his back ; 
 
 " Want ye ony music here ? " * 
 
 The puddy he swam down the brook, 
 The drake he catch'd him in his fluke. 
 
 The cat he pu'd lord rotten down, 
 The kittlens they did claw his crown. 
 
 But lady mouse, baith jimp and sma', 
 Crept into a hole beneath the wa' ; 
 "Squeak," quo' she, "I'm weel awa'." 
 
 * Va?\ — Then in cam the gude grey cat, 
 Wi' a' the kittlens at her back. 
 
89 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 The following extract from a letter addressed by 
 Keith of Benholm to Captain Brown at Paris, 
 explains the subject of this Ballad, which was 
 preserved by the peasantry of Annandale, pro- 
 bably owing to the circumstance of Lord South- 
 esk, Lady Errol's brother, being at one time 
 possessor of Hoddam Castle. — " You may have 
 heard ere this of Glencairne's marriage with 
 the Countess Dowager of Tweddell, mother in 
 lawe to your cousin; and what accessione of 
 French landes Glencairne's son is lyke to bring 
 to his familie, by a cadet of their hous and 
 name, a French marquis, who hath carried my 
 Lord Kilmaurs, and his brother, to France for 
 that effect. — Then the death of your cousin's 
 
90 
 
 lady, my Lady Wigtoune; with that of the 
 Erll of Annandell, Bauvaird by his death be- 
 coming Viscount Stormont and Lord Scoon. — 
 Lastly, the sadd (and not lyke heard of in this 
 land amongst eminent persons) story of the 
 Erll of Errol's impotencie, which is lyke, being 
 cum to publick hearing, to draw deeper betuix 
 him and Southesk, than is alledgit it hath done 
 'twixt him and Southesk's daughter. These are 
 the meane emergents we are taken up with, 
 whilst beyond sea empyres are overturning." — 
 Scoone, 2 2d Feb. 1659. 
 
 I. 
 
 OERROL it's a bonny place, 
 It stands in yonder glen ; 
 The lady lost the rights of it, 
 The first night she gaed hame. 
 
9i 
 
 Chorus. 
 
 A waly, and a waly, 
 According as ye ken ; 
 The thing we ca' the ranting o't, 
 Our Lady lies her lane, O ! 
 
 II. 
 
 " What need I wash my apron, 
 " Or hing it on yon door, 
 " What need I truce my petticoat, 
 " It hangs even down before ! " 
 A waly, &c. 
 
 III. 
 
 Errol's up to Edinburgh gaen, 
 That bonny burrows town ! 
 He has chused the Barber's daughter, 
 The toss of a' that town. 
 A waly, &c. 
 
 IV. 
 
 He's ta'en her by the milk-white hand, 
 He's led her o'er the green, 
 
92 
 
 And twenty times he kist her, 
 Before his Lady's een. 
 A waly, &c. 
 
 V. 
 
 " Look up, look up, now Peggy, 
 " Look up and think nae shame, 
 " For I'll gie thee five hundred pound, 
 " To buy to thee a gown ! " 
 A waly, &c. 
 
 VI. 
 
 " Look up, look up, now Peggy, 
 " Look up and think nae shame ; 
 " For I'll gie thee five hundred pound, 
 " To bear to me a son." 
 A waly, &c. 
 
 VII. 
 
 " Your name is Kate Carnegie, 
 "And I'm Sir Gilbert Hay; 
 " I'll gar your father sell his lands, 
 " Your tocher gude to pay." 
 A waly, &c. 
 
93 
 
 VIII. 
 
 " Now he may take her back again, 
 " Do wi' her what he can, 
 " For Errol canna please her, 
 " Nor ane o' a' his men." 
 A waly, Szc. 
 
 IX. 
 
 " Go fetch to me a pint of wine, 
 " Go fill it to the brim ; 
 " That I may drink my glide Lord's health, 
 "Tho' Errol be his name." 
 A waly, &c. 
 
 X. 
 
 She has taen the glass into her hand, 
 She has putten poison in ; 
 She has sign'd it to her dorty lips, 
 But ne'er a drop went in. 
 A waly, &c. 
 
 XI. 
 
 Up then spak a little Page, 
 He was o' Errol's kin, 
 
94 
 
 " Now fie upon ye, lady gay, 
 " There's poison there within." 
 A waly, &c. 
 
 XII. 
 
 " It's hold your hand, now Kate," he says, 
 " Hold it back again, 
 " For Errol shall not drink on't, 
 " Nor none of all his men." 
 A waly, &c. 
 
 XIII. 
 
 She has taen the sheets into her arms, 
 She has thrown them o'er the wa' ; 
 " Since I maun gae maiden hame again, 
 " Awa' Errol awa'." 
 A waly, &c. 
 
 XIV. 
 
 She's down the back o' the garden, 
 And O ! as she did murne ! 
 " How can a warkman crave his wage, 
 " When he never wrought a turn? " 
 
95 
 
 A waly, and a waly, 
 According as ye ken j 
 The thing we ca' the ranting o't, 
 Our Lady lies her lane, O ! 
 
 XXXII. 
 
 ISUcfiie Storfe, 
 
 Tune— "Braw Lads o' Galla Water." 
 
 John, third Earl of Wigton, had six Sons, and 
 three Daughters. — The second, Lady Lillias 
 Fleming, was so indiscreet as to marry a foot- 
 man, by whom she had issue. — She and her 
 husband assigned her provision to Lieutenant- 
 Colonel John Fleming, who discharged her re- 
 nunciation, dated in October 1673. 
 
9 6 
 
 I. 
 
 THE Erie o' Wigton had three daughters, 
 O braw wallie ! but they were bonnie ; 
 The youngest o' them, and the bonniest too, 
 Has fallen in love wi' Richie Storie. 
 
 II. 
 
 " Here's a letter for ye, madame, 
 " Here's a letter for ye, madame, 
 " The Erie o' Home wad fain presume, 
 " To be a suitor to ye, madame." 
 
 III. 
 
 " I'l hae nane o' your letters, Richie, 
 
 " I'l hae nane o' your letters, Richie, 
 
 " For I've made a vow, and I'l keep it true, 
 
 " That I'l have none but you, Richie." 
 
 IV. 
 
 " O do not say so, madame, 
 
 " O do not say so, madame, 
 
 " For I have neither land nor rent, 
 
 " For to maintain you o', madame." 
 
97 
 
 v. 
 
 " Ribands ye maun wear, madame, 
 " Ribands ye maun wear, madame, 
 " With the bands about your neck, 
 "O' the^oud that shines sae clear, madame." 
 
 VI. 
 
 11 1'l lie ayont a dyke, Richie, 
 
 11 I'l lie ayont a dyke, Richie, 
 
 " And I'l be aye at your command, 
 
 " And bidding whan ye like, Richie. 
 
 VII. 
 
 O, he's gane on the braid braid road, 
 
 And she's gane through the broom sae bonnie, 
 
 Her silken robes down to her heels, 
 
 And she's awa' wi' Richie Storie. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 This lady gade up the Parliament stair, 
 Wi' pendles in her lugs sae bonnie, 
 Mony a lord lifted his hat, 
 But little did they ken she was Richie's lady. 
 
9 8 
 
 IX 
 
 Up then spak the Erie o' Home's lady, 
 " Was na ye richt sorrie, Annie, 
 " To leave the lands o' bonnie Cumbernauld, 
 " And follow Richie Stone, Annie ? " 
 
 " O, what need I be sorrie, madame, 
 " O, what need I be sorrie, madame, 
 " For I've got them that I like best, 
 " And war ordained for me, madame ! " 
 
 XL 
 
 " Cumbernauld is mine, Annie, 1 
 " Cumbernauld is mine, Annie, 
 " And a' that's mine, it shall be thine, 
 " As we sit at the wine, Annie." 
 
99 
 
 XXXIII. 
 
 The following Fragment I cannot illustrate, either 
 from history or tradition. — Sir William Murray, 
 third son of Sir William Murray of Tullibardine, 
 married Margaret Barclay, the heiress of Arn- 
 gosk and Kippo, in the reign of King James 
 IV. ; but it is very unlikely that the Ballad 
 alludes to that match, particularly as it is re- 
 membered to have concluded with the Lady's 
 restoration to her friends, — a finale not uncom- 
 mon in such cases ; with which, by the way, our 
 Scottish annals abound. — Ex. grat a.d. 1336. 
 Allan of Winton forcibly carried off the young 
 heiress of Seton ; this produced a feud in Lo- 
 thian, some favouring the ravisher, while others 
 sought to bring him to punishment. Fordun 
 says, that on this occasion an hundred ploughs 
 
IOO 
 
 in Lothian were laid aside from labour. Master 
 Bowy, in his very curious MS. History of the 
 House of Glenurquhay, informs us, that "John 
 
 Mackrom Macalaster M'Gregor, in anno , 
 
 ravischit Helene Campbell, dochtir to Sir Colene 
 Campbell of Glenurquhay, knicht. This Helene 
 Campbell was widow, and Lady of Lochbuy, and 
 she was ravischit. The foirsaid John was not 
 richteous air to the M'Gregor, but was principal 
 of the Clan Donlogneir." — Sir Colin, " wha de- 
 partit this lyfe in the Tour of Straphillane, 24th 
 Sept. 1480," understanding that his daughter 
 had become reconciled to her forced marriage, 
 waylaid his son-in-law at the hill of Drummond, 
 slew him, and cutting off his head, put it into 
 a basket, and covered it with apples. — This, as 
 an acceptable present, he sent to his daughter, 
 by a messenger, charged not to mention what 
 was concealed at the bottom. — In the pedigree 
 of the Clan Gregor, it is said that Malcolm 
 M'Gregor married the Lady tvith a view to conci- 
 liate the differences between the two families^ and 
 
IOI 
 
 that she composed a mournful song upon his 
 death, which is still preserved : probably the 
 very ditty now attributed to Rob Roy's widow. 
 Bothwell's violence to Queen Marie is well 
 known. In the year 1591, Lord Fountainhall 
 notes from the Criminal Records of Edinburgh, 
 "Dame Jean Ramsay, Lady Warriston, (she 
 was of the house of Dalheusy), and Advocate, 
 contra Robert Carncroce, called Meikle Rob, 
 and others, for ravishing of her in March last, 
 contrare to the acts of Parlament." — 1594, "the 
 14th of August, Christian Johnstoun, ane widow 
 in Edinburgh, revest be Patrick Aikenhead. 
 The towne wes put in ane grate fray be the 
 ringing of the common bell ; the said Christiane 
 wes followit and brocht back fra him, sua that 
 the said Patrick got no advantage of her." — 
 BirrelVs Diary. — In the year 1680, Patrick 
 Carnegie, son to the Earl of Northesk, carried 
 off by force from the house of Pilcoge, Mary 
 Gray, heiress of Ballegerno, a child not quite 
 eleven years of age, — she was recovered by her 
 
102 
 
 friends fifteen days after. — The last case I shall 
 mention is from Fountainhall. — "January 7th, 
 1688, James Boswell in Kinghorn, brother to 
 Balmuto, is pursued by Anna Carmichael, for 
 ravishing her out of her father's house, and 
 wounding her father, and carrying her to the 
 Queensferry, where she was rescued ; and being 
 absent, he is declared fugitive, whereon his 
 escheat falls." — It may be added, that in Foun- 
 tainhalFs MS. is the following curious notice 
 concerning Lord Stormont, descended from the 
 heiress of Arngosk. — "About this tyme (June 
 1668,) was given in a bill to the Lords of 
 Secret Counsell complaining on my Lord Stor- 
 mond, for fraudulent abstracting of Gibson, the 
 Laird of Durie's niece, to whom the custodie 
 of her person in law belongeth ; and for being 
 art and part thereof, by accession either antece- 
 dent, concomitant, or subsequent. — This bill was 
 given in by Durie, and after a long dispute, the 
 wholle resulting on my Lord Stormond's oath, 
 
1 93 
 
 he denied all accession thereto, though it was 
 strongly soupcouned he was not free." 
 
 I. 
 
 / ~T*HE Highlandmen hae a' come down, 
 
 "■■ They've a' come down almost, 
 They've stowen away the bonny lass, 
 The Lady of Arngosk. 
 
 II. 
 
 Behind her back they've tied her hands, 
 An' then they set her on — 
 " I winna gang wi' you," she said, 
 " Nor ony Highland loon." 
 
io4 
 
 XXXIV. 
 
 Malcolm of Balbedie appears to have been a cadet 
 of the Lochor family, whose representative was 
 created a Baronet of Nova Scotia in the year 
 1665. "Keep ye weel frae Sir John Malcolm." 
 I do not know the anecdote on which this frag- 
 ment Was composed. 
 
 BALBEDIE has a second son, 
 They ca' him Michael Malcolm, 
 He gangs about Balgonie dykes, 
 
 Huntin' and hawkin' ; 
 He's stowen awa' the bonnie lass, 
 An' kept the widow wakin'. 
 
io5 
 
 XXXV. 
 
 The two following Songs allude to some political 
 misfortunes of the Duke of Lauderdale, in the 
 year 1675, which are well known to every reader 
 of history. — Gilbert, is Dr Burnet, and Marga- 
 ret, Lady Margaret Kennedy, his wife. 
 
 I. 
 
 I HAVE been at Newburn, I was in the tower, 
 I have been in Scotland with a royal power, 
 I have been with Gilbert, and Marg'ret Kennedy, 
 But such a huffing parliament did I never see ! 
 
 II. 
 
 Thou shalt get a night-cap and a mourning ring, 
 And to kepp thy head, thy friends a cloth shall bring, 
 And in a wooden casement thy head shall be bound, 
 But thy lusty corpse must stink above the ground. 
 
io6 
 
 in. 
 
 Thou shalt be conducted from Thames to Tweedside, 
 Like a malefactor thy feet shall be tyed, 
 And from that scurvy process the lawyers shall be free, 
 Thou thought to catch these men, but we have catcht 
 thee. 
 
 XXXVI. 
 
 I. 
 
 LAUDERDALE, what has become 
 Of all thy former huffing, 
 Has the Commons struck thee dumb 
 
 And sent thee thus a snuffing ? 
 Or is it that the late address 
 For removing thee and Bess, 
 Does vex thee ? &c. 
 
107 
 
 ii. 
 
 Since the kingdoms thou must quit, 
 And seek new habitation, 
 
 Will not thy proud Grace think fit 
 T'erect a new plantation ? — 
 
 And since thou now begins to reel, 
 Pray thee go to Old Brazile, 
 And Lord it, &c. 
 
 XXXVII 
 
 Sir Robert Laurie, first baronet of the Maxwelton 
 family, (created 27th March 1685,) by his second 
 wife, a daughter of Riddell of Minto, had three 
 sons, and four daughters, — of whom Anne was 
 much celebrated for her beauty, and made a 
 conquest of Mr Douglas of Fingland, who is 
 said to have composed the following verses, — 
 under an unlucky star, — for the Lady afterwards 
 married Mr Ferguson of Craigdarroch. 
 
io8 
 
 i. 
 
 MAXWELTON banks are bonnie, 
 Whare early fa's the dew ; 
 Whare me and Annie Laurie, 
 Made up the promise true ; 
 Made up the promise true, 
 And never forget will I, 
 And for bonnie Annie Laurie 
 I'd lay down my head and die. 
 
 II. 
 
 She's backit like a peacock, 
 She's breastit like a swan, 
 She's jimp about the middle, 
 Her waist ye weill may span j 
 Her waist you weill may span, 
 And she has a rolling eye, 
 And for bonnie Annie Laurie 
 I'd lay down my head and die. 
 
io9 
 
 XXXVIII. 
 
 Tune — " How are ye, Kimmer ? 
 
 " 1 |*Y, fy, Marg'ret, are ye in? 
 
 -L "I nae sooner heard it than I did rin, 
 " Down the gate to tell ye, down the gate to tell ye, 
 " Down the gate to tell ye, we'll no be left the skin." 
 
 II. 
 
 " Weel might I kent a' was nae richt, 
 " For I dreamt o' red and green a' the last nicht ; 
 "And twa cats fechtin, and twa cats fechtin, 
 "And twa cats fechtin, I waken'd wi' the fricht." 
 
 III. 
 
 "Fare ye weel, woman, I 'maun rin, — 
 " Trew ye, gif our neighbour Eppie be in, 
 
no 
 
 " And auld Robie Barber, and auld Robie Barber, 
 " And auld Robie Barber, for I maun tell him." 
 
 IV. 
 
 " Bide a wee, woman, and gies't a' out, — 
 
 " They're bringing in black Papary, I doubt, I doubt, 
 
 " And sad reformation, sad reformation, 
 
 "Sad reformation in a' the kirks about." 
 
 " Mickle do they say, and mair do we hear, 
 " The Frenches and Irishes are a' coming here, 
 " And we'll be a' murder'd, murder'd, murder'd, 
 " We'll a' be murder'd before the new year." 
 
I II 
 
 XXXIX. 
 
 % Balla*, firing fbt true cage of Jftrs 
 IStepet, a Hair^s gentUfooman, near 
 iE&ittfmrgi)* 
 
 This and the following Ballad were written by 
 Charles Lord Binning, who died in the life- 
 time of his father, the Earl of Haddington, 
 1733. — See Park's edition of Walpole's Royal 
 and Noble Authors, vol. 5th. 
 
 I. 
 
 LANG hae I lo'ed the blate Mass John, 
 And sair my breast has smarted, 
 I never saw a Dominie 
 Was half sae cruel hearted ! 
 
112 
 
 II. 
 
 With pleasing words I feast his ears, 
 With dainty food I fill him ; 
 
 I would not take the Chamberlain 
 But that did naething till him ! 
 
 III. 
 
 When he was with the tooth-ache fash'd, 
 I bled his gums with leeches, — 
 
 To keep him warm, I sewed mysel', 
 Three buttons on his breeches. 
 
 IV. 
 
 I lo'e him in a lawful way, 
 No lawful love is wicked : 
 
 I ne'er set on the succar pan, 
 But he got aye a lick o't. 
 
 V. 
 
 Whene'er my dearie would come in, 
 The door was never lockit, 
 
 Nor wanted he for a la creesh, 
 And seed-cake in his pocket. 
 
H3 
 
 VI. 
 
 I cut the phlegm with Athole brose, 
 When cauld did quite confound him ; 
 
 I gave him wangrace in his bed, 
 And rovv'd the blankets round him. 
 
 VII. 
 
 With darning his auld coarsest sarks, 
 I scarce have left a thumb on ; 
 
 But sae I should, for chaplains used 
 To love the gentlewoman. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 But tho' he reads the Bible book. 
 It makes but sma' impression ; 
 
 Indeed, he catch'd the cook with Kate, 
 And sent them to the Session. 
 
 IX. 
 
 They did not well in what they did, 
 
 So ill the matter ended ; 
 But lawful love's another thing, 
 
 And ought to be commended. 
 
 H 
 
ii4 
 
 x. 
 
 With comfort meet we should delight, 
 Mankind should not miscarry ; 
 
 But he, for all that I can do, 
 Will neither burn nor marry. 
 
 XL 
 
 Hoot, fye for shame — be brisk Mass John, 
 
 Ye look as ye were sleepin' ; 
 Ye craw not like a stately fowl, 
 
 But cackle like a capon. 
 
 XII. 
 
 Oh, dour Mass John — Oh, dreigh Mass John, 
 
 When I have told ye sae far ! 
 A shame light on your loggerhead, 
 
 Ye doited, donnart, duffar ! 
 
us 
 
 XL. 
 
 Tune — "O London is a Fine Town." 
 
 I. 
 
 AS ever dame in such distress ? 
 My heart is full of care ; 
 Such various plagues torment my mind, 
 That I am in despair. 
 
 w 
 
 II. 
 
 I'm on and off, and off and on, 
 And know not what to do ; 
 
 I have a cook to dress my meat, 
 But I want to get me two. 
 
u6 
 
 in. 
 
 This cook a handy damsel is, 
 
 And dresses very weel ; 
 Her kitchen is as clean's her face, 
 
 And her pewther shines like steel. 
 
 IV. 
 
 But she has no experience, 
 And has so little seen, 
 
 That when I want variety, 
 She kills me with the spleen. 
 
 I have a man cook in my view, 
 
 To help her out a dish, 
 That when she is employ'd with meat, 
 
 The lad may dress the fish. 
 
 VI. 
 
 But then the lad a head cook is, 
 And second will not be ; 
 
 I must pack off the lass, I fear, 
 For I cant afford her fee. 
 
ii7 
 
 VII. 
 
 But then the lass has done no fault,- 
 I'll keep her, I'm resolved, — 
 
 I'll get the man to give her half, 
 And so the doubt is solv'd. 
 
 VIII. 
 
 But what if they should not agree, — 
 They will my victuals spoil ; 
 
 He'll say 'tis her, and she 'tis him, 
 And plague me with turmoil. 
 
 IX. 
 
 I'll not have him, and part with her, 
 And yet I'll have him too ; 
 
 I'll part with her — no, no, I wont, — 
 O Stars, what shall I do ? 
 
u8 
 
 XLI. 
 
 The two following Songs were composed by Anne, 
 daughter of Sir James Mackenzie, Bart., a Sena- 
 tor of the College of Justice, bearing the title 
 of Lord Royston ; she is said to have inherited 
 the wit of her grand-fathers, the first Earl of 
 Cromarty, and Sir George Mackenzie of Rose- 
 haugh, which in some cases overbalanced her 
 discretion, — her lampoons excited as much ha- 
 tred as mirth, — and she met with those spiteful 
 returns which such poetesses must ever expect. 
 This lively Lady had no children by her hus- 
 band, Sir William Dick of Prestonfield, Bart, 
 and died in the year 1741. — Her Phaon, whom 
 she seems to laugh at in these verses, was Sir 
 Patrick Murray of Balmanno. 
 
 OH, wherefor did I cross the Forth, 
 And leave my love behind me, 
 Why did I venture to the north, 
 With one that does not mind me ? 
 
n 9 
 ii. 
 
 Had I but visited Carin ! 
 
 It would have been much better, 
 Than pique the prudes, and make a din, 
 
 For careless, cold, Sir Peter ! 
 
 III. 
 
 I'm sure I've seen a better limb, 
 
 And twenty better faces ; 
 But still my mind it ran on him, 
 
 When I was at the races. 
 
 IV. 
 
 At night, when we went to the ball, 
 Were many there discreeter ; 
 
 The well-bred Duke,* and lively Maule, 
 Panmure behav'd much better. 
 
 V. 
 
 They kindly show'd their courtesy, 
 And look'd on me much sweeter, 
 
 Yet easy could I never be, 
 For thinking on Sir Peter. 
 
 * The Duke of Hamilton. 
 
120 
 
 VI. 
 
 I fain would wear an easy air, 
 But oh ! it look'd affected ; 
 
 And e'en the fine ambassador,* 
 Could see he was neglected. 
 
 VII. 
 
 Tho' Poury left for me the spleen, 
 My temper grew no sweeter, 
 
 I think I'm mad, — what do I mean. 
 To follow cold Sir Peter ! ! ! 
 
 * The Earl of Stair, 
 
121 
 
 XLII. 
 
 Written after a Raffle, in which Sir Patrick gained 
 a Fan and a Snuff Box. — English Margaret was 
 Lady Margaret Montgomerie, daughter to the 
 Earl of Eglintoune, and afterwards the wife of 
 Sir James Macdonald of Slate. — She is termed 
 English, because she was educated at a boarding- 
 school near London. 
 
 WHAT charms can English Margaret boast, 
 To fix thy inconstant mind, 
 And keep the heart that I have lost ? 
 O cruel and unkind ! 
 
122 
 
 II. 
 
 For I can kilt my coats as high, 
 And curl my red toupee — 
 
 And I'll put on the English mutch, 
 If that has charms for thee. 
 
 III. 
 
 Let no nymph toss thy leathern fan, 
 Nor damsel touch thy box ; 
 
 For I'll, Balmanno, have thee all, 
 Even take thee with a * * * ! 
 
 IV. 
 
 Since that's, alas, thy woful case, 
 There's none so fit as I ; 
 
 For ne'er a lass in all the land, 
 Can boast more mercury. 
 
123 
 
 XLIII. 
 JWrs Jttttc&el anil dorian. 
 
 From circumstances I suspect this Song to be the 
 composition of Lady Dick, but am not certain. 
 
 I. 
 
 WHO'S that at my chamber door ? " 
 " It's I, my dear," quo' Borlan,— 
 " Come in," quo' she, " let's chat a while, 
 " You strapping sturdy Norlan ! " 
 
 II. 
 
 Fair Mitchel needed add no more, 
 
 For Borlan straight did enter, 
 And on his knees he vow'd and swore, 
 
 For her he all would venture. 
 
124 
 
 III. 
 
 Fair Mitchel answer'd with a blush, 
 " Your love I dont mistrust, Sir, 
 
 " But should it reach my father's ear, 
 " How would he puff and bluster ! " 
 
 IV. 
 
 " O, let him bluster as he will," 
 Replied the amorous lover, 
 
 " If you'll consent my arms to fill, 
 " Let him go to Hanover." 
 
PART II 
 
I. 
 
 NOTES ON 
 
 "A BALLAD BOOK," 
 
 FROM THE UNPUBLISHED MSS. OF 
 
 CHARLES KIRKPATRICK SHARPE. 
 
 On the fly-leaf is written: — 
 
 To J. Gibson-Craig, Esq., 
 
 THIS RUBBISH IS PRESENTED BY THE 
 
 EDITOR. 
 
 Edinburgh, 1830. 
 On the 7iext leaf:— 
 
 This stuff was printed for me by David Webster,* 
 well known from his numerous publications. ■ He 
 cheated me extremely, as was to be expected from a 
 professed free-thinker. 
 
 The frontispiece was taken from a wooden cut in the 
 folio life of St Bridget ; the other plate from Lord 
 Belhaven's treatise on agriculture. 
 
 [* A printer in the Horse Wynd.] 
 
128 
 
 I. — Page i. 
 
 Miss Boyd, now Lord Balgray's wife, used to sing 
 this song very well. Of late times she squalled so 
 dreadfully that one only thought of Fair Janet in 
 labour. 
 
 II. — Page 9. 
 
 The old gentlewoman was Mrs Campbell of Monzie, 
 the present General Campbell's mother, and my grand- 
 aunt. 
 
 IV. — Page 12. 
 
 Mary Johnston, our dairymaid at Hoddam Castle, 
 used to sing this. It had a very pretty air, and some 
 more verses which I have now forgot. Mary had a 
 good voice, and sang with much more taste than many 
 a fine lady I have heard since. She was always in 
 tune, and never attempted more than she could per- 
 form, so even her cows paid her more attention than I 
 have seen people pay to drawing-room singers. 
 
 V.— Page 16. 
 
 This was sung by my aunts Kirkpatrick and Camp- 
 bell. It has great merit ; and was much admired by 
 Sir Walter Scott. 
 
 Here is a little more of " The Bridegroom grat." 
 
 " The bride bang'd up wi' a sigh and a grane, 
 The bride, &c. 
 
 I thocht I had a man, but I find I hae nane ; 
 The bride bang'd up wi' a sigh and a grane, 
 I thocht I had a man, but I'm sairly mistaen." 
 
129 
 
 VI.— Page 1 8. 
 
 I have, in a little German almanack, a print of Miss 
 Hamilton on the scaffold, with the Czar beside her, 
 very prettily done — the Russian tragedy must be the 
 original. 
 
 Page 23. — This note was added, without consulting 
 me, by the sage David Webster. 
 
 VII.— Page 24. 
 
 I got this song from old Anderson, the picture- 
 dealer ; and I believe he gave the name to the daub 
 at Gosford, which he sold to the late Lord Wemyss. 
 
 VIII.— Page 28. 
 
 This was sung by Mary, our dairymaid ; the last 
 word is not to be found in Jamieson. 
 
 braume, broom. 
 
 IX. — Page 29. 
 From Lady Nairne. 
 
 X.— Page 30. 
 
 My mother used to sing this song ; I thought it very 
 charming when I was a child. 
 
 XIV.— Page 39. 
 From Perthshire. 
 
130 
 
 XVII.— Page 45. 
 
 This ballad appears modern, from a great many ex- 
 pressions, yet I am certain that it is old : the present 
 copy came from the housekeeper at Methven. 
 
 XVIII.— Page 54. 
 
 Nanny Anderson, our nursery-maid in old times, 
 used to sing this very well. It was a prodigious 
 favourite among the nymphs of Annandale. 
 
 XIX.— Page 56. 
 
 "11/A July 1682. 
 
 " James Douglas, son to Mr William Douglas, advo- 
 cate, indicted for the murder of Thomas Lindsey, son 
 to Thomas Lindsay of Evelok, the panel's own brother 
 at evine, by wounding him in the stomach with a 
 knife, and dragging him down a brae, and giving him 
 3 or 4 more wounds ; and bruised his head with a 
 stone, and strangled him with his gravatt, and threw 
 him in a burn, and sat on him. The dittay was found 
 relevant. 
 
 " The panel was a youth of 13, and the defunct his 
 brother, also a young boy. The panel made a con- 
 fession, declaring that it began by their sporting to- 
 gether, and that he was angry at the boy for tickling 
 and pulling his hair ; that before that moment he had 
 ever loved him ; and at the time he was not sensible 
 of this great crime, but now he is very sensible of it. 
 Witnesses were produced and examined, notwithstand- 
 
i3i 
 
 ingof his prejudicial confession ; the Jury brought the 
 boy in guilty, whereupon the Lords sentenced him to 
 be beheaded at the cross of Edinburgh." 
 
 MS. Extracts from the Records of Justiciary. 
 
 XXIX.— Page 81. 
 
 See Illustrations of Northern Antiquities (by R. 
 Jamieson, W. Scott & H. Weber, Edinburgh, 1814), 
 4to, where are some excellent Kemps similar to these. 
 
 XXXI I.— Page 97. 
 
 Additional Verse. 
 
 " Fair Rosewoodie is a' my am, 
 
 My father left it to me so lately, 
 Gin ye'll consent to be my ain, 
 I'll gie ye't a', my Ritchie Storie." 
 
 From the authority of Nannie Blake, an old servant 
 
 at Peebles. — R. C. — (Robert Chambers.) 
 
 XXXVL— Page 107. 
 
 Old Brazile should be O Brazile, a fabulous island, 
 concerning which there is a 4to pamphlet. 
 
 XLI.— Page 118. 
 
 To a note referring to Lady Dick, which need not 
 be quoted, Mr Sharpe adds : — Her picture was at 
 Priestfield, half length, in a white dress — not handsome 
 — the painting execrable. 
 
PART III. 
 
NOTES ON BALLADS 
 
 BY 
 
 SIR WALTER SCOTT. 
 
 [Among the MS. collections made by Mr Sharpe in 
 connection with his ' Ballad Book ' is a quarto note- 
 book into which he had been in the habit of pasting 
 letters and transcripts of letters from Sir Walter Scott 
 relating to Scottish minstrelsy. The following notes 
 are evidently portion of a running commentary on the 
 1 Ballad Book,' but unfortunately they only begin with 
 Ballad XIV., and no trace has been found of Sir 
 Walter's comments on the Ballads that stand first 
 in order, although among the miscellaneous notes 
 that come afterwards we shall find observations bear- 
 ing upon some of them.] 
 
 XIV. 
 
 Miss Sophia Edgeworth sings another set of these 
 words to a very beautiful Irish air. The words of the 
 chorus are Irish. Moumeen di, &c, signifies, "My 
 
136 
 
 darling, God bless you ; " and Shoolagaroo, &c. 
 means, " Walking along wearily." 
 
 " Och, I will tie my petticoat of red, 
 
 And round the world I'll beg my bread. 
 For my parents all they wish that I were dead, &c. 
 Sing Mourneen di ti slaum, slaum, 
 Shoo, shoo, shoolagaroo, 
 Shoo la ga sucaragu shoo la garoo, 
 Thinking of the time that was long enough ago. 
 Sing Mourneen di ti slaum, slaum. 
 
 II. 
 
 'Tis I will climb to yonder hill 
 And there I'll sit and weep my fill, 
 Till every tear shall turn a mill. 
 
 Sing Mourneen di ti slaum, slaum. 
 
 Shoo, shoo, &c. 
 
 in. 
 
 'Tis I will sell my rock and reel, 
 
 And so will I my good spinning-wheel, 
 
 And all to buy my love a sword and shield. 
 
 Sing Mourneen di ti slaum, slaum. 
 
 Shoo, shoo," &c. 
 
 The Irish words are written down as pronounced — 
 that is, so nearly as I could catch the sound. Dickie 
 Macphalion, the subject of the dirge, was probably a 
 Captain of Rapparees. 
 
i37 
 xv. 
 
 " Glasgow Peggie" 
 
 " I have a dirk and a gude claymore, 
 
 My bow is bent, and my arrow ready ; 
 My castle stands in the Isle of Skye, 
 Although I am but a Highland laddie." 
 
 The above stanza, which I got from the late Mi- 
 Hamilton, music-seller in Edinburgh, seems to belong 
 to " Glasgow Peggie." 
 
 XVI. 
 
 The late Mr Drummond of Strageth sung "Tarn 
 o' the Linn" with much humour. Here follows his 
 set ; — 
 
 " Tarn o' the Linn was a Scotsman born, 
 Fa la linkum, feedledum. 
 He had cap of a hunter's horn. 
 
 Fa la linkum, feedledum. 
 The wrong side out, and the right side in, 
 ' A very gude cap,' quo Tam o' the Linn. 
 With my feedledum," &c. 
 
 (Here follow the two printed stanzas.) 
 
 " Tam o' the Linn's gaen doon to the moss, 
 
 Fa la, &c. 
 Seeking a stable to stable his horse, 
 
 Fa la, &c. 
 The night being mirk, the mare fell in, 
 ' Ye' re stall'd for the night,' quo Tam o' the Linn. 
 
138 
 
 Tarn o' the Linn was no very wise, 
 
 Fa la, &c. 
 He had three shillings and bought a grice, 
 
 Fa la, &c. 
 The grice gaed out but she never came in — 
 ' We've lost our grice, ' quo Tarn o' the Linn. 
 
 Tam o' the Linn and his wife's mither, 
 
 Fa la, &c. 
 They fell baith in the fire thegither, 
 
 Fa la, &c. 
 Tam being undermost gat a brunt skin, 
 ' Take turn about, mither,' quo Tam o' the Linn." 
 
 Tam o' the Linn was probably a noted clown or 
 jester, half wit, half fool. 
 
 XXIV. 
 
 A grosser edition of this ballad has the burthen — 
 
 " Room, boys, room, 
 By the light of the moon, 
 And why should every man enjoy his own room ? " 
 
 XXV. 
 
 " And what care I for better, 
 And what care I for waur, 
 And what care I for better, 
 Since I've got Andrew Car ? " 
 
 The Andrew Car of the ballad, or rather the Andrew 
 Karr, is said to have been Karr of Kippilaw, a great 
 Covenanter and commander in the civil wars. 
 
139 
 
 XXX. 
 
 Various renderings of " Frog and Mouse : " — 
 
 " Dirk and pistol by his side, 
 As being a frog of Celtic race." 
 
 Again — 
 
 11 Uncle Rotten lie came home, 
 Riding on a great snail alone. 
 
 His boots were ill, his spurs were waur, 
 For he was all over dirt and glaur. " 
 
 XXXI. 
 
 There are many varieties of this ballad. [Lady 
 Errol.] 
 
 XLI. 
 
 My grandmother, who is said to have had a good 
 deal of talent, took the liberty once, when pressed, 
 to read the fortunes of the company in the grounds of 
 tea or coffee — a practice which in those days gave room 
 for the exercise of some wit — paused when she came to 
 that of Lady Dick, and after describing in the most 
 glowing terms the fair prospect which fortune opened 
 before her, concluded that she saw a dark cloud, 
 which, if not averted by caution and discretion, 
 threatened to overcast all that she saw of brilliant 
 and of beautiful. Lady Dick did not take the hint 
 amiss, but profited nothing, as is usual. 
 
 The Cassandra was the first wife of Dr Ruther- 
 ford, Professor of Medicine. 
 
140 
 
 [At the time when Sir Walter Scott was collecting 
 materials for his ' Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border,' 
 he made the acquaintance of an eccentric Newcastle 
 bookseller of the name of Bell who had a mania for 
 cheap copies of ballads and broadsheets of songs. 
 Sir Walter had frequently found him of use in his 
 labours, and he subsequently became the purchaser of 
 the more valuable part of his ballads and broadsheets. 
 In an undated note to Mr Sharpe, written apparently 
 about the time when he was engaged on the ' Ballad 
 Book,' Sir Walter writes — 
 
 " I have a great number of volumes of stall ballads 
 " collected by an odd fish of a bookseller called Bell, 
 " who lived on the Quayside at Newcastle, and went 
 11 parcel mad with studying Border antiquities, chris- 
 " tening his children Algernon Percy Bell, Spearman 
 " Bell, and so forth. He became bankrupt, as you 
 " may suppose, and I got this very extensive collection 
 " of ballads. I have also a good many of my own 
 " collecting, and I will send them all from Abbotsford 
 " for your use when I go there at Xmas, if I can by 
 " so doing pleasure or amuse you."] 
 
 The following letter to Mr Sharpe was evidently 
 written a good many years anterior to the above 
 note : — 
 
 Sir Walter Scott to Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe. 
 
 1 ■ Thou who for ballads gapest aye, 
 Or printed, sung, or cried ; 
 
Hi 
 
 Thy mouth I'll fill abundantlye, 
 Do thou it open wide. 
 
 " Here comes Bell's Collection, delayed by the 
 dangers of the way, for the roads have been of late un- 
 safe, and our carts await for company, and must be 
 guarded both by real and metaphorical bull-dogs — 
 see " Beau Clincher." I enclose a curious ballad, 
 sung by a gash gude-wife of Tweeddale in the 
 strangest way you ever heard. I will take my chance 
 of finding you at home as I come from the court 
 to-day. — Yours ever, W. S. 
 
 "Castle Street, 
 " Wednesday." 
 
 [After this letter in Mr Sharpe's note-book come 
 the following notes in Sir Walter Scott's hand- 
 writing, which Mr Laing believed to have reference 
 to collections of ballads supplied by John Bell. I 
 have, however, gone over all the Bell volumes in 
 the Abbotsford library, and I have not been able to 
 make out that the following or any other notes among 
 the Sharpe MS. in my hands apply to the paging of 
 any of Bell's volumes.] 
 
 "Johnny Armstrang" — Page i. 
 
 This seems to have been copied from Ramsay's 
 ' Evergreen,' having none of those variations which 
 distinguish recited copies. 
 
142 
 
 " The Stirrup of Northumberland? —Page 7. 
 In a collection — Ritson's — entitled 'Ancient Songs,' 
 where a complete edition of this song is given as 
 one of those with which Henry VIII. was entertained 
 at the celebrated manufacturer, Jack of Newbury's, 
 Deloney's history of said Jack is quoted at the same 
 time. An edition, considerably varied both from 
 Ritson's and the present, I have heard sung by the 
 Miss Tytlers of Woodhouselee. The tune is a very 
 pretty lilt. The present copy is the only one which 
 gives name to the false Scots knight, who is described 
 in general as a "fause Sir John " — a common character 
 in all ages. 
 
 " Edom of Gordon? — Page 10. 
 
 The real story of this ballad is well known, but the 
 editions of the song itself are very numerous. In one 
 of these the name is rightly called Captain Carre of 
 Eastertoune, a great follower of Edom of Gordon, 
 and who is often mentioned in history. But then, 
 to balance this truth with a new fiction, the suf- 
 fering lady is called Hambleton. This is in Ritson's 
 'Ancient Songs,' [1790] a curious book now scarce. I 
 have a manuscript where the whole scene is transferred 
 to Ayrshire, and the incendiary is called Johnnie Faa. 
 The present ballad seems to be word for word that in 
 the ' Reliques.' 
 
 Song — "Sir William Wallace? — Page 18. 
 
 I take this to be old. Robert Jamieson has a copy 
 in his book with some additional verses of his own. 
 It also occurs in Johnstone's ' Scottish Songs.' 
 
143 
 
 Song—" Ballad of Otterbourne." — Page 21. 
 
 This song is current on the Borders, but the present 
 edition varies from any I have seen, and should be 
 published. The discovery of Bickerton's tomb at Luff- 
 ness, compared with the passage in Godscroft where 
 this very song, or some one like it, is quoted, makes 
 the ballad of Otterbourne very interesting. A frag- 
 ment of it may be seen in Herd's collection. 
 
 Song — " Bonnie Annie Livingston? — Page 24. 
 
 See again Jamieson's collection with some addi- 
 tional verses. 
 
 Song — " Our lands are all bari'e7i" £rv. — Page 28. 
 
 I conceive this to apply to the time of the American 
 war, when General Fraser made levies in the Highlands 
 for America. The banishment of the old laird could 
 make little effect on Loch Tay. At the same time I 
 remember an old verse in the same measure which 
 may be part of the same song — 
 
 " It's up in the Hielands along the sweet Tay, 
 Did bonnie James Campbell ride mony a day. 
 Saddled and bridled and bonnie rode he, 
 Hame cam horse, hame cam saddle, but hame cam na he." 
 
 " Agincourt." — Page 29. 
 
 I have often heard this sung at merry-makings, and 
 have at this moment a very diverting recollection of two 
 people going by the ears, and actually righting with- 
 out either their verbal injuries or actual blows inter- 
 
144 
 
 rupting a grey-headed old farmer, who sung Agincourt 
 as a running bass to their less important broil. 
 
 Second Collection. 
 
 " Wot ye how the guise began f n — Page i. 
 
 This is quite local, and seems to have recorded some 
 fray at a presentation. It was nuts, I suppose, to the 
 old Jacobite, Meston. 
 
 [This note refers to the "Guise of Tyrie," which 
 Peter Buchan has printed in his first volume. The 
 presentee, who figures as Bobbing Andrew in the 
 ballad, was Mr Andrew Cant.] 
 
 " Her mither died" &c. — Page 2. 
 The ballad of Kempion in the ' Minstrelsy.' 
 
 " Strathbogie did b / him" — Page 2. 
 
 An uncleanly ballad on the Gordons. I have one 
 or two copies of it ad longum, and one occurs in 
 Hogg's 'Jacobite Reliques.' 
 
 [The reference here is to the ballad on "Sheriff 
 Muir," describing in insulting terms the flight of the 
 Marquis of Huntly, and glorifying the Grants. It 
 has for chorus — 
 
 Hey, as the Marquis rade, 
 And how, as he ran, man ; 
 And hey, as the Marquis rade, 
 
 Coming from Dunblane, man.] 
 
145 
 
 "Awa, awa, now, James the Grant," 6f*c. — Page 2. 
 
 There is much about James Grant and Ballindalloch 
 in Spalding's Memorials, but their feuds are not easily 
 traced out distinctly. The ballad is imperfect. I 
 conceive Ballindalloch being admitted by Grant, set 
 upon him, and that there should be asterisks between 
 the fourth line and those which follow. 
 
 [This ballad is also given by Buchan.] 
 
 " O all you ladies young and gay" &>c. — Page 3. 
 
 A northern copy of Tamlin — " Charteris wood for 
 Carterhaugh," &c. * 
 
 " Ye lassies ofCaron Village" — Page 4. 
 The ditty concerning this frail maiden occurred in 
 some of our late overhaulings. 
 
 " There is a clash in Glasgow loun." — Page 5. 
 Of this also you have a copy. 
 
 " Word has come to Mary Young." — Page 6. 
 I think this ballad is in Herd's folio manuscript. 
 
 " When Redesdalc" &°c. — Page 7. 
 
 I have seen this romantic ballad also ; the number 
 of these legends was very great indeed. One lady that 
 I knew in my youth could sing at least fifty of them, 
 many of them now irrecoverably lost. Ballads on his- 
 torical or local events are rather fewer in number. 
 K 
 
146 
 
 "Banks of Ugie." — Page 8. 
 Seems a modern ditty, but is comical enough. 
 
 " Now, all you Scottish nation." — Page 9. 
 
 This, I think, must be by the author of the fore- 
 going. 
 
 " When Willie came to the Windmill orae." — Page 10. 
 I have heard other words to this Jacobite air. 
 
 "In came her sister" &sc. — Page 10. 
 Seems a very varied edition of Lady Maiserye. 
 
 [The following letters from Sir Walter Scott follow 
 these fragmentary notes. None of them is dated, 
 and there are evidently years between some of them. 
 No. I. was probably written some years previous to 
 1823, at the time when Mr Sharpe was collecting for 
 the ' Ballad Book.' No. III. is apparently the earliest, 
 having been written before the completion of the 
 ' Minstrelsy' in 1802-3. Sir Walter, however, did not 
 carry out his intention to include " Parcie Reed " in 
 the ' Minstrelsy.'] 
 
147 
 
 i. 
 
 " Dear Sharp, — In case I do not find you at home, 
 the enclosed will satisfy you. 1 have not neglected 
 your commission to the best of my power. 
 
 "I am going to look after some scarce Jacobite 
 pamphlets, and shall perhaps call as I come back. — 
 Yours truly, " W. S. 
 
 "Castle Street, 
 ' ' Eleven o'clock. ' ' 
 
 " I entreat you to take into your collection — 
 
 ' In the famous town of Reading 
 Once there was a noble wedding.' " 
 
 II. 
 
 " My dear Charles, — I enclose some memoranda 
 concerning your vocal reliques, which I meant to have 
 sent from Abbotsford, but as the women say dawdled. 
 Will you come and dine here, Sunday first at five 
 o'clock? — Yours ever, " Walter Scott. 
 
 "Castle Street, 
 "Wednesday." 
 
 "A thousand thanks for Dame Tweeddale." 
 
 III. 
 
 " My dear Charles, — I have looked out the old 
 ballads : one I think very pretty — 
 
 'There lived a wife in the wilds of Kent.' 
 
148 
 
 I have seen a copy or rather another version of the 
 same riddle-me-ree, beginning — 
 
 * The Elphin Knight sate on a hill. 
 Ba, ba, lili ba.' 
 
 The tale of the Drum Shepherdess is curious, and I 
 believe true. The tale of Parcie Reed I intend for the 
 Border Minstrelsy, but if you like to print it in the 
 meantime you shall have all the illustrations I can 
 give. It is a tale of Redesdale, and still well remem- 
 bered. — Yours ever, " Walter Scott. 
 
 " Saturday, 
 ' ' Castle Street. 
 
 " I would like to have back the copy of the Wife in 
 the Wilds of Kent, as I want Anne to learn a few of 
 the verses; the tune is very pretty. Child Horn you 
 will recognise as a version of the old romance. 
 Please send back the music at your own good time." 
 
 IV. 
 
 ( Transcript in handwriting of C. Kirkpatrick 
 ' Sharfie, Esq.) 
 
 " Dear Charles, — I send you a few meagre obser- 
 vations on the ballads, and return the originals at the 
 same time. I enclose Irvine's manuscripts, which are, 
 I think, curious. They are at your service for copy- 
 
149 
 
 ing or publishing, or whatever you will. I am off for 
 Abbotsford to-morrow or Wednesday. — Yours ever, 
 
 "W. Scott." 
 
 V. 
 
 (Transcript?) 
 
 " My dear Charles, — I have got a ballad or two 
 for you. Will you dine here on Wednesday at six 
 o'clock, to meet Chantrey the celebrated sculptor, who 
 is a real good cut of John Bull? — Yours ever, 
 
 " Walter Scott. 
 
 "Castle Street, 
 ' ' Sunday, I $th May. " 
 
 [Following these letters in Mr Sharpe's Note-book 
 is a Memorandum in Sir Walter Scott's handwriting, 
 headed :— ] 
 
 Notes on the Written Ballads, beginning 
 with Skene's. I have taken the freedom 
 to number them. 
 
 i. 
 
 " The Bonnie House of Air lie" 
 
 There are many variations of this ballad, which re- 
 fers to the time of the great Earl War. It is said that 
 when Airlie Castle was destroyed, the Lady menaced 
 
i go 
 
 Argyle with her husband and with Montrose's ven- 
 geance, who answered with a Campbell proverb — " It 
 is a far cry to Lochow." But Montrose made the dis- 
 tance a near one, and harried Argyleshire with un- 
 usual rigour. 
 
 2. 
 
 " Maisery? 
 
 This is in Robert Jamieson's ballads ; it seems to 
 have been an old romance. Are w T e literally to under- 
 stand that the Mackerel* is the fish we eat with fennel ? 
 
 3- 
 
 "The Wanton Laddie'' 
 
 Is not uncommon. 
 
 4- 
 
 " The Skippers of Merry Leithen" 
 
 New to me. Where is Leithen? Query, is Leith 
 meant ? 
 
 6. 
 
 "Rob Royfrae the High Highlands" 
 There are many variations of Rob Roy. 
 
 [" For she has made me the Laily worm 
 That lays at the fit of the tree, 
 And my sister Maisery she's made 
 The Machrel of the sea."] 
 
i5i 
 
 7- 
 " Willies fair and Willies rare" &*c. 
 
 A parody on the tragic verses of " Willie's fair, &c." 
 I know not if the following belong to it — the second 
 is perhaps part of another parody — 
 
 " There lived a lass in our gate end, 
 Her skin was like the paper : 
 She wad naither lairds, nor lords, 
 But she wad hae a windy writer." 
 
 Then again, — 
 
 " Willie's fair and Willie's rare," &c. — 
 
 " And Willie's to the hunting gane, 
 He's promised not to tarry, 
 But he's written a letter back again 
 That she was ower young to marry.'' 
 
 8. 
 
 [ Ibid. ] 
 
 Quid hoc ? Where the devil is Gamry and Bridstul ? 
 — corruptions both, I fancy. 
 
 [Gamrie is in Aberdeenshire. Brudestool, as it 
 appears in Skene's MS., is also written " briddal 
 stool" in the same ballad.] 
 
 9- 
 Clyde's Water is in R. Jamieson's. 
 
152 
 
 io. 
 " Queen Elenor." 
 This Ballad exists in a hundred varieties. 
 
 ii. 
 
 " The Marys Lamentation — Queens Maries? 
 Rather common, I think. 
 
 12. 
 
 " Lamikin was as guid a Mason" 
 
 This is a beautiful fragment of Lamikin, and much 
 the better that it is a fragment in Herd's songs. Jamie- 
 son has it ad longum. 
 
 13. 
 " The Laird o" Drum and the Shepherd's Daughter." 
 Drum is quite new to me. 
 
 14. 
 
 " Catherine Jaffery." 
 
 A variety in the Minstrelsy, and I have several 
 others. Lochinvar was founded on this tale. 
 
 15- 
 
 " Here am I, a valia?it Scot" 
 You have seen, I presume, the ballad — 
 
'53 
 
 " My name is Argyle ; you may think it strange 
 To live at the court and never to change." 
 
 The late Lady Douglas believed it to be Duke 
 John's writing, and had seen or was possessed of a 
 copy in his hand. 
 
 1 6. 
 
 [" Huntly, Mar and Marischat."] 
 
 An edition of this in Hogg's ' Jacobite Reliques,' * 
 which fell into very indifferent hands. It is curious 
 as having been written after Sheriffmuir, yet before the 
 game was up. Huntly left Perth not long after the 
 battle. 
 
 17- 
 
 I never saw before. 
 
 " Caniar nad is a very bonny place" 
 
 You have published and withdrawn the veil from 
 the Lady and Story. 
 
 19. 
 " The Lady fair and her father's Kitchen Boy." 
 Encore, poor Sigismunda ! 
 
 20. 
 New to me. 
 
 * [Sir Walter is mistaken. " Huntly, Mar and Marischal" 
 did not find its way into the 'Reliques.'} 
 
154 
 
 21. 
 
 Is in Percy's ' Reliques,' I think. 
 
 22. 
 
 See Jamieson's Collection. I have several varieties 
 and some anecdotes about this song. 
 
 23- 
 " Errol is a bonny place!' 
 This you have published. 
 
 25. 
 
 "Donald Guji" not published. 
 
 How the devil came Dugald Gunn to be identified 
 with the Marquis of Huntly ? I never saw the song 
 before ; it has some spunk in it. 
 
 26. 
 
 " Adam of Gordon" 
 
 Compare Edom of Gordon in Percy's ' Reliques ' 
 with the song of Traitor Captain Carr in Ritson's 
 1 Antient Songs.' Some curious particulars occur about 
 Captain Carr which may be worthy of notice. I have 
 a copy of the ballad in which the whole scene is trans- 
 ferred to Ayrshire, and the hero is called Johnie Faa. 
 
i55 
 
 [Following these remarks are a number of disjointed 
 Notes, which we have omitted, as they do not apply 
 to the Skene Ballads, and are too fragmentary to afford 
 any clue to the pieces to which they relate, and which 
 would be quite unintelligible to the reader.] 
 
 I think I can get most of the following, all of which 
 I partially remember, but as it is useless getting 
 duplicates, I only put down the shorter songs 
 and the first stanzas of the larger ballads. 
 
 I. 
 
 " The VV /uppers of 'Coomslie? 
 Coomslie or Colmslie,* a ruinous tower, stands at the 
 head of a brook which falls into the Tweed near Mel- 
 rose. It is in a singularly lonely situation, but forms 
 a sort of triangle with other two old fortified houses 
 called Hillslap and Langshaw, which seem to have 
 crept together for mutual defence. They are all now 
 ruinous, but the mill and kiln are still in action. 
 " Coomslie stands on Coomslie hill, 
 The water it flows by Coomslie mill ; 
 The mill and the kiln gang bonnilie, 
 And it's up with the Whippers of Coomslie. " 
 
 II. 
 " Captain Ward." 
 A ballad on the subject of a noted pirate in the reign 
 of James I., beginning — 
 
 * [Coomslie, it may be remembered, is in the vicinity of the 
 imaginary Glendearg of the ' Monastery.'] 
 
156 
 
 " Come all ye jolly sailors 
 That live by tuck of drum, 
 I'll tell you of a robber 
 Now on the seas is come," &c. 
 
 This I have in a stall copy, and 
 can give some elucidation. 
 
 III. 
 
 " Captain Glen; a Ghost Story." 
 
 " There was a ship, and a ship of fame, 
 Launched off the stocks, bound to the main, 
 With a hundred and fifty brisk young men, 
 All picked and chosen every one. 
 
 Captain Glen was our captain's name, 
 A very gallant and tall young man, 
 As bould a sailor's e'er went to sea, 
 And we were bound for High Barbaery." 
 
 IV. 
 
 11 Gilderoy" 
 
 I have a copy of this curious ballad in a hand about 
 the period. 
 
 V. 
 
 " Bonnie James Campbell" 
 [Vide Note on p. 142.] 
 ' ' O it's up in the Hielands alang the sweet Tay 
 Did bonnie James Campbell ride many a day, 
 
i57 
 
 Saddled and bridled and bonnic rode he, 
 I lame came horse, hame came saddle, but hamc came 
 na he. 
 
 His hawk and his hounds they are wandered and gane, 
 
 His lady sits dowie and weary her lane, 
 
 His bairns wi' greetin' hae blinded their een, 
 
 His croft is unshorn and his meadow grows green." 
 
 I never heard more of this. 
 
 VI. 
 
 " The Tody 
 
 " Eh, quo' the Tod, it's a braw light night, 
 The wind's in the west, and the moon shines bright, 
 The wind's, &c, 
 
 And I'll awa' to the toun, oh." 
 
 An excellent song of old Soph. Johnstone. 
 
 VII. 
 
 There is or was a curious song with this burthen to 
 the verse — 
 
 " And I the fair maiden of Gowden-ganc." 
 
 Said maiden is, I think, courted by the devil in human 
 shape, but I only recollect imperfectly the concluding 
 stanzas. 
 
158 
 
 ' ' Seven years ye shall be a stone, 
 
 * * (Here a chorus line which I have forgot) 
 For many a poor palmer to rest him upon, 
 And you the fair maiden of Gowden-gane. 
 
 Seven years ye'll be porter of Hell, 
 
 ****** 
 And then I'll take you to mysell, 
 
 And you the fair maiden of Gowden-gane." 
 
 The lady answers in allusion to a former word which 
 I have forgotten — 
 
 " Weel may I be a' the other three, 
 
 ****** 
 But porter of Hell I never will be, 
 
 And I the fair maiden of Gowden-gane." 
 
 VIII. 
 
 I remember something of another ballad of diablerie. 
 A man sells himself to the fause thief for a term of 
 years, and the devil comes to claim his forfeit. He 
 implores for mercy, or at least reprieve, and if granted 
 promises this — 
 
 " And I will show how the lilies grow 
 On the banks of Italy." * 
 
 Satan being no horticulturist, pays no attention to this 
 proffer. 
 
 * [This verse also occurs in the Ballad of "James Herries," 
 printed by Buchan.] 
 
159 
 
 IX. 
 
 I have heard the "Broom blooms bonnie" sung by 
 our poor old nurserymaid as often as I have teeth in 
 my head, but after cudgelling my memory I can make 
 no more than the following stanzas : — 
 
 " Ae lady has whispered the other, 
 
 The broom grows bonnie, the broom grows fair, 
 
 Lady Margaret's wi' bairn to Sir Richard her brother, 
 
 And we daur na gae doun to the broom nae mair. 
 
 And when ye hear me loud, loud cry, 
 
 The broom, &c, 
 O bend your bow, let your arrow fly, 
 
 And I daur na, &c. 
 
 But when ye see me lying still, 
 
 The broom, &c, 
 O then you may come and greet your fill, 
 
 The usual question is asked why he was sad and 
 wept, and he answers — 
 
 "It's I hae broken my little penknife, 
 The broom, &c, 
 That I loe'd dearer than my life, 
 And I daurna," &c. 
 
i6o 
 
 (Another giving a word of comfort.) 
 
 "It's no for the knife that my tears doim run, 
 The broom blooms bonny, &c, 
 But its a' for the case that my knife was kept in. 
 
 X. 
 
 Young Grigofs Ghost. 
 
 A common ballad. I have a stall copy. It is very 
 popular. 
 
 I am sure I once remembered from fifty to a hun- 
 dred songs and ballads which I never saw in print, not 
 reckoning those in the ' Minstrelsy of the Border.' One 
 occurs to me at this moment, perhaps the same with 
 that quoted by the Mad Woman in Beaumont and 
 Fletcher's "Two Noble Kinsmen" — 
 
 " The George-a-Low came down the strait, 
 Hey low and the Lowlands so low, 
 And she will be lost both vessel and freight 
 For the chasing of a French galerie O. " 
 
 The little cabin-boy offers his assistance to destroy 
 the French galerie {galere) on condition that he gets 
 the captain's daughter in marriage : his terms are ac- 
 ceded to, and he gives his instructions, which are 
 rather extraordinary. 
 
i6i 
 
 " Row me in a good bull-skin, 
 Hey low, &c, 
 
 And fling me overboard for to sink or to swim, 
 
 For the sinking of yon French galerie O. 
 They row him," &c. {da capo, changing the mood). 
 
 The cabin-boy in this catamaran expedition bores a 
 hole unobserved in the French galley : apparently 
 they had not cleared for action, for — 
 
 " Some were playing at cards and dice, 
 Hey low, &c, 
 When the sea came gushing in a trice, 
 For the sinking," &c. 
 
 The captain ungratefully refuses the cabin-boy the 
 reward of his services. I forget if he sinks the George- 
 a-Low in revenge, but in justice that should be the 
 conclusion. Beaumont's ballad begins differently, and 
 there is only one verse quoted, which to save trouble 
 I put down : — 
 
 " The George-a-Low came from the east, 
 From the coast of Barbary O, 
 And she has met with brave gallants of war 
 By one, by two, by three O. 
 
 O well be ye met, brave gallants of war, 
 
 Pray tell where you are bound O, 
 And will you bear me company 
 
 Till I have passed the Sound O ? " 
 
 I will not swear to the accuracy of the above. 
 
 L 
 
1 62 
 
 XI. 
 
 There is another fragment — 
 
 "Jenny lup ower the dyke, 
 Cuddy bade her, 
 A' the lang winter night 
 Cuddy claw'd her." 
 
 This anglicised by a singer — 
 
 " Jenny leapt o'er the wall, 
 Cuthbert desired her, 
 All the long winter night 
 Cuthbert scratched her." 
 
 XII. 
 
 " The Linking Laddie." (Another fragment.) * 
 
 The hero was a brother of the celebrated " Boston on 
 the Fourfold State." He was chamberlain of the Duke 
 of Buccleuch's estate in the Forest, and used to boast 
 that when he liked "he could make the auld wives 
 grunt and grane as weel as his brither Jock." Ap- 
 parently his practice lay more among the younger part 
 of the sex. 
 
 ' ' Wae's me that e'er I made your bed, 
 Wae's me that e'er I saw ye, 
 
 [* Another common version of this ballad is known as the 
 "Rantin' Laddie." The hero is Burnett, the Baron of Leys, 
 in Aberdeenshire. A very rough copy is among the Skene 
 Ballads.] 
 
1 63 
 
 For I have born a bairn to you, 
 And I ken na how they ca' ye. 
 
 I hae a name in my ain countree, 
 They ca' me the Linking Laddie, 
 An' ye had na been as willing as mc 
 The deil fa them that bade ye." 
 
 XIII. 
 
 "Peter Fleming". 
 
 This worthy is commemorated in the history of Irish 
 Highwaymen, and I think in Captain Johnston's book 
 on the same subject. The modern heroes of the pad 
 have not, I think, been much commemorated in Scot- 
 tish song, though caterans and cattle-lifters have had 
 their due. 
 
 ; ' My name is Peter Fleming, a brisk young roving soldier, 
 I carry my musquet over my shoulder. 
 When I cock my pistol, when I draw my rapier, 
 I make them stand in awe of me, for I am a taker. 
 
 Mar lady die, mar lady du di, 
 
 Mar lady fal lal di iddle di die. 
 
 If you be Peter Fleming, as we suppose you be, sir, 
 We be three pedlars going on so free, sir, 
 We be three pedlars going on to Dublin 
 With nothing in our pocket to pay for our lodging. 
 Mar lady die, &c. 
 
164 
 
 Peter Fleming sate upon a mountain, 
 Gold and silver he was a-counting, 
 When he received a very private letter (qu. paper), 
 Saying he was prisoner to General Draper. 
 Mar lady die, &c. 
 
 Arrah, Peter Fleming, often have I tould you 
 With guns and pistols they would surround you, 
 Kissing other men's wives both late and early, 
 On the road leading from sweet Londonderry. 
 Mar lady die, &c. 
 
 I once loved a woman, she proved to me a traitor ; 
 When I was asleep, thinking nothing of the matter, 
 She unloaded my pistols and filled them with water, 
 
 Mar lady die, &c. 
 
 I have two brothers, they're both in the army, 
 The one is at Cork, and the other at Killarney. 
 
 ******** 
 
 I had rather they were there than at sweet Londonderry. 
 Mar lady die, &c. 
 
 And when he stood at the top of the ladder (pron. leather), 
 He bouldly cried out for his cap and his feather. 
 Mar lady die," &c. 
 
i6 5 
 
 THE SKENE BALLADS. 
 
 [We take one or two Ballads from the Skene 
 MSS. that are not to be found in the more generally 
 accessible collections. The majority of the Ballads 
 collected by Mr Skene have, however, been given in 
 some form or other by Peter Buchan, and other 
 northern collectors.] 
 
 [This has most probably been published in broad- 
 sheet form, but it seems to have escaped the northern 
 ballad-mongers.] 
 
 Ye heroes all of martial mind, 
 
 Who hate a timorous heart, 
 Hark ! how the dismal tidings came, 
 
 Which pierces like a dart. 
 
 Of all true Protestants 
 
 Who on the earth do dwell, 
 How valiant Keith, that worthy Scot, 
 
 By bloody Austria fell. 
 
1 66 
 
 Brave Keith was Marishal's son — 
 
 Of noble blood was he ; 
 But when the Earl of Mar was beat, 
 
 He fled beyond the sea. 
 
 Then into Spain he fled with speed ; 
 
 There highly was advanced. 
 The Spanish king his favourite was 
 
 These words to him addressed, — 
 How that the Inquisition Court 
 
 That night would him arrest. 
 
 And ever for his principles — 
 
 No other crime at all — 
 With cruel tortures unto death 
 
 The Protestants they gall. 
 
 But Keith he fled by night, 
 
 Before the summons came ; 
 The Spanish king conducted him 
 
 By letters from his hand. 
 
 Then into Russia he came with speed, 
 Was there Field Marshal made ; 
 
 And still his fame it did increase 
 When he the Russians led. 
 
 But being in a bloody fray, 
 Was wounded deep and sore ; 
 
 His sword he sheathed in Russian land. 
 Resolved to fight no more. 
 
j 67 
 
 Then into France, as homeward bound, 
 His wounds felt mortal still, 
 
 By mineral springs and Providence 
 He was restored whole. 
 
 And for to serve a Popish Prince 
 
 His heart it stood in awe ; 
 And for to fight against his native land 
 
 His sword he ne'er would draw. 
 
 Then into Prussia he went with speed, 
 Where a Protestant king did reign ; 
 
 And jointly with his heart and hand 
 His principles did join. 
 
 Upon Keith's quarters they began 
 
 To murder all asleep : 
 Their sentries and their guards 
 
 Who did their trenches keep. 
 
 The hero rose with speed, 
 
 But in short time 
 This hero brave was dead. 
 
 When Prussia heard that Keith was dead, 
 
 He cried, "My father dear ! 
 My effectual friend in time of need, 
 
 Thy counsel still was clear. 
 
1 68 
 
 Thou wast a cabinet of wit ; 
 
 Thou was my rule and plan ; 
 Thou wast the darling of my heart, 
 
 Oh thou brave mortal man. 
 
 Noble Princes, Francis of the blood, 
 
 Lies by thee slain and dead ; 
 But thou, brave Keith, worth thousand ten, 
 
 Wast help in time of need. 
 
 " Oh may each Scotsman wish him well, 
 And bliss in future state, 
 Who spread his fame throughout the world 
 By many a gallant feat. 
 
 [i Oh Daun, I dared thee to the fight, 
 
 But forth thou durst not come, 
 
 Till covered by the cloud of night, 
 
 This cowardly deed hast done. 
 
 But thy sweet life to th' Empress queen, 
 Shall cost her thousands more ; 
 
 If ever I meet that foe in field 
 That laid thee in thy gore. 
 
 For my sword I will not sheath 
 
 Nor e'er lay by, 
 Until that Daun 
 
 Or I shall die." 
 
169 
 
 n. 
 
 I heard a cow low, a bonnie cow low, 
 An' a cow low down in yon glen, 
 
 Lang, lang will my young son greet, 
 Or his mither bid him come ben. 
 
 I heard a cow low, a bonnie cow low, 
 An' a cow low down in yon fauld, 
 
 Lang, lang will my young son greet 
 Or his mither take him frae cauld. 
 
 Waken, Queen of Elfan, 
 
 An' hear your Nourice moan. 
 
 O moan ye for your meat, 
 Or moan ye for your fee, 
 
 Or moan ye for the ither bounties 
 That ladies are wont to jjie ? 
 
 I moan na for my meat, 
 Nor yet for my fee, 
 
 But I mourn for Christened land- 
 It's there I fain would be. 
 
 O nurse my bairn, Nourice, she says, 
 Till he stan' at your knee, 
 
 An' ye's win hame to Christen land, 
 Whar fain it's ye wad be. 
 
170 
 
 O keep my bairn, Nourice, 
 
 Till he gang by the hauld, 
 An' ye's win hame to your young son, 
 
 Ye left in four nights auld. 
 
 O Nourice, lay your head * 
 
 Upo' my knee ; 
 See ye na that narrow road 
 
 Up by yon tree ? 
 
 That's the road the righteous goes, 
 And that's the road to heaven. 
 
 * In the old version of ' ' Thomas the Rhymer," as modernised 
 by Sir Walter Scott in the ' Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, ' 
 we find the following verses near akin to those of the Ballad in 
 the text : — 
 
 " O see you not yon narrow road, 
 
 So thick beset with thorns and briers ; 
 That is the path of righteousness, 
 Though after it but few inquires. 
 
 " And see ye not that braid, braid road, 
 That lies across that lily leven ; 
 That is the path of wickedness 
 
 Though some call it the road to heaven. 
 
 " And see ye not that bonnie road, 
 That winds about the fernie brae ; 
 That is the road to fair Elfland, 
 Where thou and I this night maun gae." 
 
i7i 
 
 An' see na ye that braid road 
 Down by yon sunny fell : 
 
 Yon's the road the wicked gae, 
 An' that's the road to hell. 
 
 [The following Jacobite ballad has not been in- 
 cluded in Hogg's ' Relics,' although there is every 
 reason to believe that he was acquainted with it. It 
 was written, as Sir Walter Scott says, " after Sheriff- 
 muir, but before the game was up."] 
 
 Huntly, Mar, and Marshall, 
 
 Three soldiers in a field, 
 Four-and-twenty noble men, 
 
 Sal die afore they yield. 
 
 The Earl of Seaforth 
 
 Has suppressed the North, 
 An' fra the water of Forth 
 
 Bidden Presbetry begone. 
 
 Wi' sword in hand we marched, 
 
 Most able to endure, 
 An' wi' Argyle, 
 
 Upon Shirramuir. 
 
 They thought us to defeat, boys, 
 But we gar'd them retreat, boys ; 
 
172 
 
 A thousand rebels neat, boys, 
 Lay gasping in their gore. 
 
 We'll no more wi' confusion, 
 Nor will we by delusion, 
 Love both our blood an' Queen. 
 
 But for our King we'll fight, boys, 
 Like Scots in armour bright, boys 
 
 We'll all pass over the muir. 
 
 Come let us drink a health, boys— 
 A health to our King. 
 
 We'll drink na mair in, boys, 
 But gar our glasses ring, 
 
 Since England man surrender, 
 To him they call Pretender, 
 An' James our lawful King. 
 
i73 
 
 [The following Songs and Ballads are from a Note- 
 book of Mr Sharpe, containing versions of several 
 other well-known pieces, evidently obtained through 
 a northern collector, besides a number of Notes on 
 Scottish Plays, Play-makers, and Players.] 
 
 Delvin Side.* 
 
 Will ye gae, my bonny May, 
 
 Will ye gae, my bonny bridie ? 
 Will ye gae, my bonnie May, 
 
 An' breast the braes o' Delvin side ? 
 Forgat ye that, bonny May, 
 
 Forgat ye that, bonnie bridie ? 
 I got her down in Bucharn's how, 
 
 An' brought her up to Delvin sidie. 
 
 O can you play me Delvin side, 
 Or can you play me Delvin diddle ? 
 
 play me up sweet Delvin side, 
 
 Or else I swear I'll brak your fiddle. 
 
 1 can play ye Delvin side, 
 
 I can play ye Delvin diddle, 
 An' I can play ye Delvin side, — 
 
 My bow-string's sweet, and sweet my fiddle. 
 
 * [This song has evidently been designed to give a hasty 
 verbal expression to the music of a very popular strathspey.] 
 
'74 
 
 Oer Bogie. 
 
 As I came by Strathbogie's yetts, 
 Strathbogie's trees were green 
 There I heard the drums to beat, 
 I'll ow'r Bogie wi' him. 
 I'll ow'r Bogie wi' my love, 
 I'll ow'r Bogie wi' him ; 
 He says he's crossing Gawdie side 
 I will awa' wi' him. 
 
 Bonny Meggy Bridie, 
 
 John Burnett, Esquire, was the unsuccessful candi- 
 date for the love of the heroine of this song. She was 
 afterwards married to Sir James Innes of Coxeton. 
 
 Bonny Meggie, braw Meggie, 
 
 Bonny Meggie Bridie, O ; 
 Fan' she gets on her brown gown, 
 
 She looks like ony ledie, O. 
 A new gown to my love, 
 
 A new gown to Meggie, O ; 
 A new gown to my love, 
 
 To bonny Meggie Bridie, O. 
 
 Bonny Meggie, braw Meggie, 
 
 Bonny Meggie Bridie, O ; 
 Will ye gang up Dee side 
 
 An' be gudewife o' Tidie, O ? 
 
i75 
 
 I'll gae up Dee side, 
 
 Says bonnie Meggie Bridie, O ; 
 An' I will gang alang wi' you, 
 
 An' be gudewife o' Tidie, O. 
 
 A bonny bed for my love, ' 
 
 A bonny bed for Meggie, O ; 
 A bonny bed for my love, 
 
 An' me to lye beside thee, O. 
 Be kind till her, kind till her, 
 
 Kind till her, Johnny, man ; 
 Be kind till the bonny lass 
 
 Lyes in the bed beyon' you, man. 
 
 The Wally Hoggie. 
 
 The hoggie, the heroine of the song, was Margaret 
 Brodie, daughter to Brodie of Coxeton, and the ram 
 that came from Deveron side was Sir James Innes, 
 who carried her off. 
 
 Coxeton has but ae hoggie, 
 
 Ae hoggie, ae hoggie ; 
 Coxeton has but ae hoggie, 
 
 O' it he is right vogie. 
 O fat will I dee gin my hoggie die, 
 
 My hoggie die, my hoggie die ; 
 O fat will I dee gin my hoggie die, 
 
 My wanton, wally hoggie ? 
 
176 
 
 The livelong night I've watched the glen, 
 
 I've watched the glen, I've watched the glen 
 The livelong night I've watched the glen, 
 
 Amo' the broom sae scroggy. 
 There's come a ram frae Deveron side, 
 
 Frae Deveron side, frae Deveron side ; 
 There's come a ram frae Deveron side, 
 
 An' stown awa' my hoggie. 
 
 The Ladys Misfortune. 
 
 The old man is said to be one of the Earls of Home, 
 who was married to the heiress of Pittenweem. 
 
 Aft hae I heard o' an auld man, 
 
 But now I'm catched at last ; 
 I wish that death had seized him 
 
 Before the knot was cast. 
 I wish that death had seized him 
 
 An' ta'en him in his maw, 
 That I had gotten a young man 
 
 To row me to the wa'. 
 
 O wae be to my parents baith, 
 
 They did me sair trepan ; 
 They married me till an auld man 
 
 For sake o' siller an' Ian'. 
 Gin they'd gien me to a young man, 
 
 Tho' ne'er a penny at a', 
 He'd hug'd me in his kindly arms, 
 
 An' row'd me to the wa'. 
 
177 
 
 But haud your tongue, clear Jeany, 
 
 Till I gang to the fair, 
 An' I'll buy you a lap-dog 
 
 To lay your chanting care : 
 A pox on you and your lap-dog, 
 
 Your chanting cares an' a'; 
 Gin I had but a kind young man 
 
 To row me to the wa'. 
 
 O haud your tongue, dear Jeany, 
 
 Till I gang to the town, 
 An' I'll buy you a scarlet cloak, 
 
 But an' a damass gown. 
 A pox upon your scarlet cloaks 
 
 An' damass gowns sae braw; 
 Gin I had but a kind young man 
 
 To row me to the wa'. 
 
 Some friends they do advise me sair 
 
 To drown him in a well, 
 But others they again advise 
 
 To grind him in a mill. 
 But I enticed him to the field, 
 
 And tied him to a stick, 
 So be he ape, or be he fairy, 
 
 I wish he brake his neck. 
 
 M 
 
1 7 8 
 
 Grace Hay's Gravity.* 
 
 It was upon Colloden Muir, 
 Fair lads and lasses did appear ; 
 Arao' the rest, a lassie there 
 
 Fa's name sae well's ye ken. 
 She was mild and she was grave, 
 She was gay and she was brave ; 
 An' Gracie finely did behave 
 
 Amo' the Duke's men. 
 
 His Grace unto the lass did say, 
 If ye'll be kind and not deny, 
 But freely unto me comply, 
 
 The same I will conceal. 
 Ye shall have gold and silver bright, 
 And jewels that shine like candle light 
 Then Gracie sat the lee lang night 
 
 Wi' the Duke there himsell. 
 
 The Young Lassie and Auld Ma?i. 
 
 Said to be written by Miss Jean Allardyce of Pitten- 
 weem to her friend, Miss Katherine Gordon of War- 
 dass, 17 14. 
 
 * [This song records a softer side to the character of the iron 
 Duke of Cumberland, and shows that on the eve of Culloden his 
 Grace was pleasantly, if not profitably, employed.] 
 
179 
 
 Kitty, dear Kitty, I'll tell you what grieves me, 
 And for to advise me do all that you can, 
 
 If ye could relieve me a present I'll give you — 
 What can a young lassie do wi' an auld man ? 
 
 1 canna get sleeping for sighing and weeping, 
 What shall I do, Kitty ? Oh, here, take my fan : 
 
 My mind is sae crazy, I'm dull and uneasy, 
 I am sae perplex'd wi' a crazy auld man. 
 
 My mither she teazes me morning and evening, 
 
 My aunty she vexes me a' the day lang 
 To marry the carle because o' his siller — 
 
 But what can a lassie do wi' an auld man ? 
 His heart it is cauld, within dull an' hollow, 
 
 The hale o' his carcase is a' skin an' bane, 
 For him an' his money I carena a penny — 
 
 What can a young lassie do wi' an auld man ? 
 
 My titty, the gypsy, wha wudna misca' her? 
 
 On me takes nae pity, but joins wi' the clan, 
 And says I may never get sic a gude offer — 
 
 But what can a lassie do wi' an auld man ? 
 Sweethearts I've got mony, but she hasna ony, 
 
 Sae well's I can dive in the heart o' her plan, 
 Because she's negleckit, my peace she has wreckit, 
 
 And plagues me to marry a doited auld man. 
 
 They keep me at hame frae the dance and the market, 
 Because I am some years younger than Anne, 
 
 The tawpie ; than Dawty, — an' they, for to please her, 
 Would sell a young lassie unto an auld man. 
 
i8o 
 
 The rose in its splendour shall blaw in December, 
 The corbie an' craw turn white as the swan, 
 
 The owl it shall sing like the linnet in spring, 
 Before that I marry a crazy auld man. 
 
 Macleod's Defeat at Inverury. 
 
 Come, countrymen, and sit a while, 
 And listen to my sang, man ; 
 
 I'll gie my aith 'twill gar ye smile, 
 And winna keep ye lang, man. 
 
 How godless Whigs wi' their intrigues 
 Together did convene, man ; 
 
 At Inverury, on the Riggs, 
 On Thursday afternoon, man. 
 
 Macleod came down frae Inverness 
 
 Wi' a' his clan an' mair, 
 The loyal Gordon to suppress, 
 
 And their hurdies bare. 
 
 The second chieftain of Munro * 
 Came cross the Moray Firth ; 
 
 But ye shall know before ye go, 
 The Gordons marr'd their mirth. 
 
 The loyalists made brisk attack, 
 
 Led on by Arlbert brave, 
 And Major Hall he was no slack — 
 
 He good example gave. 
 
 * Munro of Culcairn. 
 
i8i 
 
 Lord Lewis for the royal cause,* 
 He fought wi' courage keen, man ; 
 
 His clan behaved as in the Raws 
 On Friday afternoon, man. 
 
 Blelak wi' his trusty blade, t 
 
 A heart as stout as steel — 
 He lion-like about him laid, 
 
 And gar'd the rebels reel. 
 
 The Angus hero, Ferrier, $ 
 
 The rebels did oppose ; 
 He proved himsell a warrior 
 
 When he was at Montrose. 
 
 The Triquetts bold the field did grace, 
 Macdermond§ eek'd the slaughter ; 
 
 Had you but seen him take the race 
 You'd rive your chafts wi' laughter. 
 
 Brave Avochy the water wades, || 
 
 While Crighton kept them down, 
 Monaltrie and Stoneywood IT 
 
 Drave them out o' the town. 
 
 * Lord Lewis Gordon, brother to the Duke. After Culloden he 
 was hid in the house of Balbethen eight or ten weeks, and shipped 
 at Peterhead for France. 
 
 f Charles Gordon of Blelak. 
 
 £ Mr Ferrier lived near Montrose, and was very active in taking 
 the Hazard sloop of war. 
 
 § M'Dermond: he commanded some French and Irish at Montrose. 
 
 || Gordon of Avochy. 
 
 If Farquharson of Monaltrie ; Moir of Stoneywood. 
 
1 82 
 
 Macleod that nicht gat sic a fright, 
 
 Rode aff e'er brake o' day ; 
 He lost his bridle in the fight, 
 
 Rode aff \vi' ane o' strae. 
 
 Culcairn, tho' a man o' war, 
 
 Just like his brother coward ; 
 He took his heels an' ran for fear 
 
 When he saw Captain Howard. 
 
 Chalmers, too, the logic scholar,* 
 
 Was there to show his zeal ; 
 But frightened wi' a hempen collar, 
 
 His phiz grew pale. 
 
 Beau Dingwall, eke the scribe, t 
 But Major Hall he did disdain, 
 His forty guineas bribe. 
 
 Them and mair than ten times six 
 
 Were brought to Bon Accord, 
 Which did perplex and greatly vex 
 
 The people of the Lord. 
 
 * Chalmers, Principal of King's College. 
 
 f Beau Dingwall was afterwards a bailie in Aberdeen, a hose 
 merchant. When Lord Ancrum's regiment was in Aberdeen, Ding- 
 wall informed him of a nonjurant clergyman in the Old Town. His 
 Lordship took him up (Mr Murray) a few days after. Dingwall asked 
 his Lordship what would become of Mr Murray ; his Lordship said, 
 "Why, sir, he'll be hanged, and you'll be damned ! " Mr Murray 
 was Dingwall's uncle. 
 
1 8 3 
 
 Sir James Kinloch, he marched them on 
 To Perth that stands on Tay, 
 
 Where I shall leave them to bemoan 
 The day they crossed the Spey. 
 
 The loyalists the baggage got, 
 
 Was tint upon the field : 
 'Mang ither things Macleod forgot 
 
 His luckydady's shield. 
 
 A gude claymore wi' siller hilt 
 
 Was found among the rest ; 
 A Highland dirk, wi' a purse, 
 
 Wi' auld Macleod's (ain) crest. 
 
 Pitrichie hid himsell fu' snug 
 
 Among a heap o' dung, 
 But he was grippit by the lug 
 
 Ere mornin' bell was rung. 
 
 There was a trusty heroine — 
 
 Dumbennun was her seat — 
 Between the Raws an' Aberdeen 
 
 The stragglers she did meet. 
 
 Seven o' them she did disarm 
 
 Wi' her lang jock, 
 And let them gae frae farther harm, 
 
 As mercy they did beg, man. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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