ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS

a.Falkirk, printed by T. Johnston, 1815.b.Stirling, M. Randall.

1In London was Young Bichen born,He longd strange lands to see;He set his foot on good ship-board,And he sailed over the sea.2He had not been in a foreign landA day but only three,Till he was taken by a savage Moor,And they used him most cruelly.3In every shoulder they put a pin,To every pin they put a tree;They made him draw the plow and cart,Like horse and oxen in his country.4He had not servd the savage MoorA week, nay scarcely but only three,Till he has casten him in prison strong,Till he with hunger was like to die.5It fell out once upon a dayThat Young Bichen he made his moan,As he lay bound in irons strong,In a dark and deep dungeon.6'An I were again in fair England,As many merry day I have been,Then I would curb my roving youthNo more to see a strange land.7'O an I were free again now,And my feet well set on the sea,I would live in peace in my own country,And a foreign land I no more would see.'8The savage Moor had but one daughter,I wot her name was Susan Py;She heard Young Bichen make his moan,At the prison-door as she past by.9'O have ye any lands,' she said,'Or have you any money free,Or have you any revenues,To maintain a lady like me?'10'O I have land in fair England,And I have estates two or three,And likewise I have revenues,To maintain a lady like thee.'11'O will you promise, Young Bichen,' she says,'And keep your vow faithful to me,That at the end of seven yearsIn fair England you'll marry me?12'I'll steal the keys from my father dear,Tho he keeps them most secretly;I'll risk my life for to save thine,And set thee safe upon the sea.'13She's stolen the keys from her father,From under the bed where they lay;She opened the prison strongAnd set Young Bichen at liberty.14She's gone to her father's coffer,Where the gold was red and fair to see;She filled his pockets with good red gold,And she set him far upon the sea.15'O mind you well, Young Bichen,' she says,'The vows and oaths you made to me;When you are come to your native land,O then remember Susan Py!'16But when her father he came homeHe missd the keys there where they lay;He went into the prison strong,But he saw Young Bichen was away.17'Go bring your daughter, madam,' he says,'And bring her here unto me;Altho I have no more but her,Tomorrow I'll gar hang her high.'18The lady calld on the maiden fairTo come to her most speedily;'Go up the country, my child,' she says,'Stay with my brother two years or three.19'I have a brother, he lives in the isles,He will keep thee most courteouslyAnd stay with him, my child,' she says,'Till thy father's wrath be turnd from thee.'20Now will we leave young Susan PyA while in her own country,And will return to Young Bichen,Who is safe arrived in fair England.21He had not been in fair EnglandAbove years scarcely three,Till he has courted another maid,And so forgot his Susan Py.22The youth being young and in his prime,Of Susan Py thought not upon,But his love was laid on another maid,And the marriage-day it did draw on.23But eer the seven years were run,Susan Py she thought full long;She set her foot on good ship-board,And she has saild for fair England.24On every finger she put a ring,On her mid-finger she put three;She filld her pockets with good red gold,And she has sailed oer the sea.25She had not been in fair EnglandA day, a day, but only three,Till she heard Young Bichen was a bridegroom,And the morrow to be the wedding-day.26'Since it is so,' said young Susan,'That he has provd so false to me,I'll hie me to Young Bichen's gates,And see if he minds Susan Py.'27She has gone up thro London town,Where many a lady she there did spy;There was not a lady in all LondonYoung Susan that could outvie.28She has calld upon a waiting-man,A waiting-man who stood near by:'Convey me to Young Bichen's gates,And well rewarded shals thou be.'29When she came to Young Bichen's gateShe chapped loudly at the pin,Till down there came the proud porter;'Who's there,' he says, 'that would be in?'30'Open the gates, porter,' she says,'Open them to a lady gay,And tell your master, porter,' she says,'To speak a word or two with me.'31The porter he has opend the gates;His eyes were dazzled to seeA lady dressd in gold and jewels;No page nor waiting-man had she.32'O pardon me, madam,' he cried,'This day it is his wedding-day;He's up the stairs with his lovely bride,And a sight of him you cannot see.'33She put her hand in her pocket,And therefrom took out guineas three,And gave to him, saying, Please, kind sir,Bring down your master straight to me.34The porter up again has gone,And he fell low down on his knee,Saying, Master, you will please come downTo a lady who wants you to see.35A lady gay stands at your gates,The like of her I neer did see;She has more gold above her eyeNor would buy a baron's land to me.36Out then spake the bride's mother,I'm sure an angry woman was she:'You're impudent and insolent,For ye might excepted the bride and me.'37'Ye lie, ye lie, ye proud woman,I'm sure sae loud as I hear you lie;She has more gold on her bodyThan would buy the lands, the bride, and thee!'38'Go down, go down, porter,' he says,'And tell the lady gay from meThat I'm up-stairs wi my lovely bride,And a sight of her I cannot see.'39The porter he goes down again,The lady waited patiently:'My master's with his lovely bride,And he'll not win down my dame to see.'40From off her finger she's taen a ring;'Give that your master,' she says, 'from me,And tell him now, young man,' she says,'To send down a cup of wine to me.'41'Here's a ring for you, master,' he says,'On her mid-finger she has three,And you are desird, my lord,' he says,'To send down a cup of wine with me.'42He hit the table with his foot,He kepd it with his right knee:'I'll wed my life and all my landThat is Susan Py, come o'er the sea!'43He has gone unto the stair-head,A step he took but barely three;He opend the gates most speedily,And Susan Py he there could see.44'Is this the way, Young Bichen,' she says,'Is this the way you've guided me?I relieved you from prison strong,And ill have you rewarded me.45'O mind ye, Young Bichen,' she says,'The vows and oaths that ye made to me,When ye lay bound in prison strong,In a deep dungeon of misery?'46He took her by the milk-white hand,And led her into the palace fine;There was not a lady in all the palaceBut Susan Py did all outshine.47The day concluded with joy and mirth,On every side there might you see;There was great joy in all EnglandFor the wedding-day of Susan Py.

1In London was Young Bichen born,He longd strange lands to see;He set his foot on good ship-board,And he sailed over the sea.

2He had not been in a foreign landA day but only three,Till he was taken by a savage Moor,And they used him most cruelly.

3In every shoulder they put a pin,To every pin they put a tree;They made him draw the plow and cart,Like horse and oxen in his country.

4He had not servd the savage MoorA week, nay scarcely but only three,Till he has casten him in prison strong,Till he with hunger was like to die.

5It fell out once upon a dayThat Young Bichen he made his moan,As he lay bound in irons strong,In a dark and deep dungeon.

6'An I were again in fair England,As many merry day I have been,Then I would curb my roving youthNo more to see a strange land.

7'O an I were free again now,And my feet well set on the sea,I would live in peace in my own country,And a foreign land I no more would see.'

8The savage Moor had but one daughter,I wot her name was Susan Py;She heard Young Bichen make his moan,At the prison-door as she past by.

9'O have ye any lands,' she said,'Or have you any money free,Or have you any revenues,To maintain a lady like me?'

10'O I have land in fair England,And I have estates two or three,And likewise I have revenues,To maintain a lady like thee.'

11'O will you promise, Young Bichen,' she says,'And keep your vow faithful to me,That at the end of seven yearsIn fair England you'll marry me?

12'I'll steal the keys from my father dear,Tho he keeps them most secretly;I'll risk my life for to save thine,And set thee safe upon the sea.'

13She's stolen the keys from her father,From under the bed where they lay;She opened the prison strongAnd set Young Bichen at liberty.

14She's gone to her father's coffer,Where the gold was red and fair to see;She filled his pockets with good red gold,And she set him far upon the sea.

15'O mind you well, Young Bichen,' she says,'The vows and oaths you made to me;When you are come to your native land,O then remember Susan Py!'

16But when her father he came homeHe missd the keys there where they lay;He went into the prison strong,But he saw Young Bichen was away.

17'Go bring your daughter, madam,' he says,'And bring her here unto me;Altho I have no more but her,Tomorrow I'll gar hang her high.'

18The lady calld on the maiden fairTo come to her most speedily;'Go up the country, my child,' she says,'Stay with my brother two years or three.

19'I have a brother, he lives in the isles,He will keep thee most courteouslyAnd stay with him, my child,' she says,'Till thy father's wrath be turnd from thee.'

20Now will we leave young Susan PyA while in her own country,And will return to Young Bichen,Who is safe arrived in fair England.

21He had not been in fair EnglandAbove years scarcely three,Till he has courted another maid,And so forgot his Susan Py.

22The youth being young and in his prime,Of Susan Py thought not upon,But his love was laid on another maid,And the marriage-day it did draw on.

23But eer the seven years were run,Susan Py she thought full long;She set her foot on good ship-board,And she has saild for fair England.

24On every finger she put a ring,On her mid-finger she put three;She filld her pockets with good red gold,And she has sailed oer the sea.

25She had not been in fair EnglandA day, a day, but only three,Till she heard Young Bichen was a bridegroom,And the morrow to be the wedding-day.

26'Since it is so,' said young Susan,'That he has provd so false to me,I'll hie me to Young Bichen's gates,And see if he minds Susan Py.'

27She has gone up thro London town,Where many a lady she there did spy;There was not a lady in all LondonYoung Susan that could outvie.

28She has calld upon a waiting-man,A waiting-man who stood near by:'Convey me to Young Bichen's gates,And well rewarded shals thou be.'

29When she came to Young Bichen's gateShe chapped loudly at the pin,Till down there came the proud porter;'Who's there,' he says, 'that would be in?'

30'Open the gates, porter,' she says,'Open them to a lady gay,And tell your master, porter,' she says,'To speak a word or two with me.'

31The porter he has opend the gates;His eyes were dazzled to seeA lady dressd in gold and jewels;No page nor waiting-man had she.

32'O pardon me, madam,' he cried,'This day it is his wedding-day;He's up the stairs with his lovely bride,And a sight of him you cannot see.'

33She put her hand in her pocket,And therefrom took out guineas three,And gave to him, saying, Please, kind sir,Bring down your master straight to me.

34The porter up again has gone,And he fell low down on his knee,Saying, Master, you will please come downTo a lady who wants you to see.

35A lady gay stands at your gates,The like of her I neer did see;She has more gold above her eyeNor would buy a baron's land to me.

36Out then spake the bride's mother,I'm sure an angry woman was she:'You're impudent and insolent,For ye might excepted the bride and me.'

37'Ye lie, ye lie, ye proud woman,I'm sure sae loud as I hear you lie;She has more gold on her bodyThan would buy the lands, the bride, and thee!'

38'Go down, go down, porter,' he says,'And tell the lady gay from meThat I'm up-stairs wi my lovely bride,And a sight of her I cannot see.'

39The porter he goes down again,The lady waited patiently:'My master's with his lovely bride,And he'll not win down my dame to see.'

40From off her finger she's taen a ring;'Give that your master,' she says, 'from me,And tell him now, young man,' she says,'To send down a cup of wine to me.'

41'Here's a ring for you, master,' he says,'On her mid-finger she has three,And you are desird, my lord,' he says,'To send down a cup of wine with me.'

42He hit the table with his foot,He kepd it with his right knee:'I'll wed my life and all my landThat is Susan Py, come o'er the sea!'

43He has gone unto the stair-head,A step he took but barely three;He opend the gates most speedily,And Susan Py he there could see.

44'Is this the way, Young Bichen,' she says,'Is this the way you've guided me?I relieved you from prison strong,And ill have you rewarded me.

45'O mind ye, Young Bichen,' she says,'The vows and oaths that ye made to me,When ye lay bound in prison strong,In a deep dungeon of misery?'

46He took her by the milk-white hand,And led her into the palace fine;There was not a lady in all the palaceBut Susan Py did all outshine.

47The day concluded with joy and mirth,On every side there might you see;There was great joy in all EnglandFor the wedding-day of Susan Py.

171. bids me.225, 6.Connected with 23 in MS.226. send he.

171. bids me.

225, 6.Connected with 23 in MS.

226. send he.

C. a.

152. How y you.

33.omitshouse.42.omitsfoot.71.omitsdear.73. For she's ... of the prison.74. And gane the dungeon within.81. And when.82. Wow but her heart was sair.91. She's gotten.111. thir twa.132. I kenna.134. kensnae.141. fell out.152. How y you.161. till.162. As fast as ye can gang.163. tak three.164. To haud ye unthocht lang.181. Syne ye.183. And bonny.193. And I will.202. As fast as she could gang.203. she's taen.204. To haud her unthocht lang.223. And sae bonny did.224. till.243. And her mind misgae by.244. That 't was.252. markis three.254. Bid your master.274. did never.291. and spak.293. be fine.294. as fine.323. out of.343. at the first.352. gang.364. Send her back a maid.

33.omitshouse.

42.omitsfoot.

71.omitsdear.

73. For she's ... of the prison.

74. And gane the dungeon within.

81. And when.

82. Wow but her heart was sair.

91. She's gotten.

111. thir twa.

132. I kenna.

134. kensnae.

141. fell out.

152. How y you.

161. till.

162. As fast as ye can gang.

163. tak three.

164. To haud ye unthocht lang.

181. Syne ye.

183. And bonny.

193. And I will.

202. As fast as she could gang.

203. she's taen.

204. To haud her unthocht lang.

223. And sae bonny did.

224. till.

243. And her mind misgae by.

244. That 't was.

252. markis three.

254. Bid your master.

274. did never.

291. and spak.

293. be fine.

294. as fine.

323. out of.

343. at the first.

352. gang.

364. Send her back a maid.

Written throughout without division into stanzas.7.A like repetition occurs again in the Skene MSS: see No 36, p. 316.101, 2.One line in the MS. The metre, in several places where it is incomplete, was doubtless made full by repetition: see 191, 3.141.This line thus: (an a Leash of guid gray hounds). The reciter evidently could remember only this point in the stanza.

Written throughout without division into stanzas.

7.A like repetition occurs again in the Skene MSS: see No 36, p. 316.

101, 2.One line in the MS. The metre, in several places where it is incomplete, was doubtless made full by repetition: see 191, 3.

141.This line thus: (an a Leash of guid gray hounds). The reciter evidently could remember only this point in the stanza.

16, 17.Whan she cam to Young Beachens gateIs Young Beachen at hameOr is he in this countrieHe is at hame is hearly (?) saidHim an sigh an says her Susie PayHas he quite forgotten me

191, 3.Probably sung, the stair, the stair; win up, win up.223, 4.The latter half of the stanza must be supposed to be addressed toYoung Beachen.261, 2. He took her down to yon gouden green.274. Sh's.292. my name.After 29 a stanza belonging apparently to some other ballad:

191, 3.Probably sung, the stair, the stair; win up, win up.

223, 4.The latter half of the stanza must be supposed to be addressed toYoung Beachen.

261, 2. He took her down to yon gouden green.

274. Sh's.

292. my name.

After 29 a stanza belonging apparently to some other ballad:

Courtess kind, an generous mind,An winna ye answer me?An whan the hard their lady's word,Well answered was she.

64-6was introduced, with other metrical passages, into a long tale of 'Young Beichan and Susy Pye,' which Motherwell had heard related, and of which he gives a specimen at p. xv. of his Introduction: "Well, ye must know that in the Moor's castle there was a massymore, which is a dark dungeon for keeping prisoners. It was twenty feet below the ground, and into this hole they closed poor Beichan. There he stood, night and day, up to his waist in puddle water; but night or day it was all one to him, for no ae styme of light ever got in. So he lay there a lang and weary while, and thinking on his heavy weird, he made a murnfu sang to pass the time, and this was the sang that he made, and grat when he sang it, for he never thought of ever escaping from the massymore, or of seeing his ain country again:

'My hounds they all run masterless,My hawks they flee from tree to tree;My youngest brother will heir my lands,And fair England again I'll never see.'Oh were I free as I hae been,And my ship swimming once more on sea,I'd turn my face to fair England,And sail no more to a strange countrie.'

'My hounds they all run masterless,My hawks they flee from tree to tree;My youngest brother will heir my lands,And fair England again I'll never see.

'Oh were I free as I hae been,And my ship swimming once more on sea,I'd turn my face to fair England,And sail no more to a strange countrie.'

"Now the cruel Moor had a beautiful daughter, called Susy Pye, who was accustomed to take a walk every morning in her garden, and as she was walking ae day she heard the sough o Beichan's sang, coming as it were from below the ground," etc., etc.

33. dungeon (donjon).61. only lands.62. only castles.81. Oh.103. ha she has gane in:originallyhas she gane in.132.Many, withSevenwritten over:Sevenin 142.20.After this stanza: Then the porter gaed up the stair and said.25.After this stanza: Then Lord Beichan gat up, and was in a great wrath, and said.31.ae: indistinct, but seems to have beenonechanged toaeora.

33. dungeon (donjon).

61. only lands.

62. only castles.

81. Oh.

103. ha she has gane in:originallyhas she gane in.

132.Many, withSevenwritten over:Sevenin 142.

20.After this stanza: Then the porter gaed up the stair and said.

25.After this stanza: Then Lord Beichan gat up, and was in a great wrath, and said.

31.ae: indistinct, but seems to have beenonechanged toaeora.

43.carts and wainsforcarts o wineofA23,B23. We havewineinH43,I33, andwineis in all likelihood original.Christie,I, 31, abridges this version, making "a few slight alterations from the way he had heard it sung:" these, and one or two more.24. wadna bend nor bow.71. The Moor he had.251. But Beichan courted.

43.carts and wainsforcarts o wineofA23,B23. We havewineinH43,I33, andwineis in all likelihood original.

Christie,I, 31, abridges this version, making "a few slight alterations from the way he had heard it sung:" these, and one or two more.

24. wadna bend nor bow.

71. The Moor he had.

251. But Beichan courted.

11.Bechinwas pronouncedBeekin.

1.Before this, as gloss, or remnant of a preceding stanza: She came to a shepherd, and he replied.2.After this, in explanation: She gave Lord Bechin a slice of bread and a bottle of wine when she released him from prison, hence the following.31. to him.4.After this: He had married another lady, not having heard from his Sophia for seven long years.

1.Before this, as gloss, or remnant of a preceding stanza: She came to a shepherd, and he replied.

2.After this, in explanation: She gave Lord Bechin a slice of bread and a bottle of wine when she released him from prison, hence the following.

31. to him.

4.After this: He had married another lady, not having heard from his Sophia for seven long years.

"This affecting legend is given ... precisely as I have frequently heard it sung on Saturday nights, outside a house of general refreshment (familiarly termed a wine-vaults) at Battle-bridge. The singer is a young gentleman who can scarcely have numbered nineteen summers.... I have taken down the words from his own mouth at different periods, and have been careful to preserve his pronunciation." [Attributed to Charles Dickens.]As there is no reason for indicating pronunciation here, in this more than in other cases, the phonetic spelling is replaced by common orthography. Forms of speech have, however, been preserved, excepting two, with regard to which I may have been too nice.13. his-self.52, 92. guv.

13. his-self.

52, 92. guv.

103.inforwi(?):wiin 53.122, 462. bend.Possibly, however, understood to bebend == leather, instead ofben == bane, bone.134, 474. on thought.

103.inforwi(?):wiin 53.

122, 462. bend.Possibly, however, understood to bebend == leather, instead ofben == bane, bone.

134, 474. on thought.

N. a.

Susan Py, or Young Bichens Garland. Shewing how he went to a far country, and was taken by a savage Moor and cast into prison, and delivered by the Moor's daughter, on promise of marriage; and how he came to England, and was going to be wedded to another bride; with the happy arrival of Susan Py on the wedding day. Falkirk, Printed by T. Johnston, 1815.

34. his own.42. A week, a week, but only.73. own land.74. And foreign lands no more.111. young man.132. he lay.243. her trunks.254. was the.282. that stood hard by.284. thou shalt.292. She knocked.314. waiting-maid.322. For this is his.341. up the stairs.343. will you.364. Ye might.372. Sae loud as I hear ye lie.394. And a sight of him you cannot see.404. To bring.423. I'll lay.442. way that you've used me.474. wedding of.

34. his own.

42. A week, a week, but only.

73. own land.

74. And foreign lands no more.

111. young man.

132. he lay.

243. her trunks.

254. was the.

282. that stood hard by.

284. thou shalt.

292. She knocked.

314. waiting-maid.

322. For this is his.

341. up the stairs.

343. will you.

364. Ye might.

372. Sae loud as I hear ye lie.

394. And a sight of him you cannot see.

404. To bring.

423. I'll lay.

442. way that you've used me.

474. wedding of.

FOOTNOTES:[403]Mr Macmath has ascertained that Mrs Brown was born in 1747. She learned most of her ballads before she was twelve years old, or before 1759. 1783, or a little earlier, is the date when these copies were taken down from her singing or recitation.[404]The Borderer's Table Book, VII, 21. Dixon says, a little before, that the Stirling broadside of 'Lord Bateman' varies but slightly from the English printed by Hoggett, Durham, and Pitts, Catnach, and others, London. This is not true of the Stirling broadside of 'Young Bichen:' seeN b. I did not notice, until too late, that I had not furnished myself with the broadside 'Lord Bateman,' and have been obliged to turn back the Cruikshank copy into ordinary orthography.[405]We have this repetition in two other ballads of the Skene MSS besidesD; see p. 316 of this volume, sts 1-9; also in 'The Lord of Learne,' Percy MS., Hales and Furnivall, I, 192 f, vv 269-304.[406]"An old woman who died in Errol, Carse of Gowrie, about twenty years ago, aged nearly ninety years, was wont invariably to sing this ballad: 'Young Lundie was in Brechin born.' Lundie is an estate now belonging to the Earl of Camperdoun, north from Dundee." A. Laing, note toG. That is to say, the old woman's world was Forfarshire.Mr Logan had heard in Scotland a version in which the hero was called Lord Bangol: A Pedlar's Pack, p. 15.[407]Cf. 'The Fair Flower of Northumberland,'B2,E2, pp 115 f.[408]She does not get away without exciting the solicitude or wrath of her father,F,M,J,N, and in the first two has to use artifice.[409]A point borrowed, it well may be, from 'Hind Horn,'E5 f,A10.[410]So Torello's wife upsets the table, in Boccaccio's story: see p. 198. One of her Slavic kinswomen jumps over four tables and lights on a fifth.[411]InC34,M49, she is recognized by one of the hounds which she had given him. So Bos, seigneur de Bénac, who breaks a ring with his wife, goes to the East, and is prisoner among the Saracens seven years, on coming back is recognized only by his greyhound: Magasin Pittoresque, VI, 56 b. It is scarcely necessary to scent the Odyssey here.[412]Ridiculously changed inJ6,K6,L20, to a coachandthree, reminding us of that master-stroke in Thackeray's ballad of 'Little Billee,' "a captain of a seventy-three." 'Little Billee,' by the way, is really like an old ballad, fallen on evil days and evil tongues; whereas the serious imitations of traditional ballads are not the least like, and yet, in their way, are often not less ludicrous.[413]InM, to make everything pleasant, Bondwell offers the bride five hundred pounds to marry his cousin John. She says, Keep your money; John was my first love. So Bondwell is married at early morn, and John in the afternoon.[414]Harleian MS. 2277, from which the life of Beket, in long couplets, was printed by Mr W. H. Black for the Percy Society, in 1845. The story of Gilbert Beket is contained in the first 150 vv. The style of this composition entirely resembles that of Robert of Gloucester, and portions of the life of Beket are identical with the Chronicle; whence Mr Black plausibly argues that both are by the same hand. The account of Beket's parentage is interpolated into Edward Grim's Life, in Cotton MS. Vitellius, C,XII, from which it is printed by Robertson, Materials for the History of Thomas Becket, II, 453 ff. It is found in Bromton's Chronicle, Twysden, Scriptores X, columns 1052-55, and in the First Quadrilogus, Paris, 1495, from which it is reprinted by Migne, Patrologiæ Cursus Completus, CXC, cols 346 ff. The tale has been accepted by many writers who would have been better historians for a little reading of romances. Angustin Thierry sees in Thomas Beket a Saxon contending in high place, for the interests and with the natural hatred of his race, against Norman Henry, just as he finds in the yeoman Robin Hood a leader of Saxon serfs engaged in irregular war with Norman Richard. But both of St Thomas's parents were Norman; the father of Rouen, the mother of Caen. The legend was introduced by Lawrence Wade, following John of Exeter, into a metrical life of Beket of about the year 1500: see the poem in Englische Studien, III, 417, edited by Horstmann.[415]Richard, the proud porter of the ballads, is perhaps most like himself inM32 ff.[416]Neither her old name nor her Christian name is told us in this legend. Gilbert Beket's wife was Matilda, according to most authorities, but Roësa according to one: see Robertson, as above, IV, 81; Migne, cols 278 f. Fox has made Roësa into Rose, Acts and Monuments, I, 267, ed. 1641.Gilbert and Rose (but Roësa is not Rose) recall to Hippeau, Vie de St Thomas par Garnier de Pont Sainte Maxence, p. xxiii, Elie de Saint Gille and Rosamonde, whose adventures have thus much resemblance with those of Beket and of Bekie. Elie de Saint Gille, after performing astounding feats of valor in fight with a horde of Saracens who have made a descent on Brittany, is carried off to their land. The amiral Macabré requires Elie to adore Mahomet; Elie refuses in the most insolent terms, and is condemned to the gallows. He effects his escape, and finds himself before Macabré's castle. Here, in another fight, he is desperately wounded, but is restored by the skill of Rosamonde, the amiral's daughter, who is Christian at heart, and loves the Frank. To save her from being forced to marry the king of Bagdad, Elie fights as her champion. In the end she is baptized, as a preparation for her union with Elie, but he, having been present at the ceremony, is adjudged by the archbishop to be gossip to her, and Elie and Rosamonde are otherwise disposed of. So the French romance, but in the Norse, which, as Kölbing maintains, is likely to preserve the original story here, there is no such splitting of cumin, and hero and heroine are united.[417]There is one in the Gesta Romanorum, cap. 5, Österley, p. 278, of about the same age as the Beket legend. It is not particularly important. A young man is captured by a pirate, and his father will not send his ransom. The pirate's daughter often visits the captive, who appeals to her to exert herself for his liberation. She promises to effect his freedom if he will marry her. This he agrees to. She releases him from his chains without her father's knowledge, and flies with him to his native land.[418]Nor Guarinos in the Spanish ballad, Duran, No 402, I, 265; Wolf and Hofmann, Primavera, II, 321. Guarinos is very cruelly treated, but it is his horse, not he, that has to draw carts. For the Sire de Créqui see also Dinaux, Trouvères, III, 161 ff (Köhler).[419]And in 'Der Herr von Falkenstein,' a variety of the story, Meier, Deutsche Sagen aus Schwaben, p. 319, No 362. A Christian undergoes the same hardship in Schöppner, Sagenbuch, III, 127, No 1076. For other cases of the wonderful deliverance of captive knights, not previously mentioned by me, see Hocker, in Wolf's Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie, I, 306.[420]A meisterlied of Alexander von Metz, of the second half of the fifteenth century, Körner, Historische Volkslieder, p. 49; the ballad 'Der Graf von Rom,' or 'Der Graf im Pfluge,' Uhland, p. 784, No 299, printed as early as 1493; De Historie van Florentina, Huysvrouwe van Alexander van Mets, 1621, van den Bergh, De nederlandsche Volksromans, p. 52. And see Goedeke, Deutsche Dichtung im Mittelalter, pp 569, 574; Uhland, Schriften zur Geschichte der Dichtung, IV, 297-309; Danske Viser, V, 67.[421]Øster-kongens rige, Østerige, Østerland, Austrríki, understood by Grundtvig as Garðaríki, the Scandinavian-Russian kingdom of the tenth and eleventh centuries. Austrríki is used vaguely, but especially of the east of Europe, Russia, Austria, sometimes including Turkey (Vigfusson).[422]In SwedishK, as she pushes off from land, she exclaims:'Gud Fader i Himmelens rikeSkall vara min styresman!'Cf.M28:And she's tuen God her pilot to be.[423]See 'The Red Bull of Norroway,' Chambers, Popular Rhymes of Scotland, 1870, p. 99; 'Mestermø,' Asbjørnsen og Moe, No 46; 'Hass-Fru,' Cavallius och Stephens, No 14; Powell, Icelandic Legends, Second Series, p. 377; the Grimms, Nos 56, 113, 186, 193; Pentamerone,II, 7,III, 9; Gonzenbach, Nos 14, 54, 55, and Köhler's note; Hahn, Griechische u. Albanesische Märchen, No 54; Carleton, Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry, 10th ed., I, 23; Campbell, West Highland Tales, I, 25, No 2, and Köhler's notes in Orient u. Occident, II, 103-114, etc., etc.[424]This passage leads the editors of Primavera to remark, II, 52, that 'El Conde Sol' shows distinct traits of 'Le Chat Botté.' Similar questions are asked in EnglishG, the other Spanish versions, and the Italian, and in nearly all the Greek ballads referred to on pp 199, 200; always under the same circumstances, and to bring about the discovery which gives the turn to the story. The questions in 'Le Chat Botté' are introduced for an entirely different purpose, and cannot rationally suggest a borrowing on either side. The hasty note would certainly have been erased by the very distinguished editors upon a moment's consideration.[425]Puymaigre finds also some resemblance in his 'Petite Rosalie,' I, 74: see his note.

[403]Mr Macmath has ascertained that Mrs Brown was born in 1747. She learned most of her ballads before she was twelve years old, or before 1759. 1783, or a little earlier, is the date when these copies were taken down from her singing or recitation.

[404]The Borderer's Table Book, VII, 21. Dixon says, a little before, that the Stirling broadside of 'Lord Bateman' varies but slightly from the English printed by Hoggett, Durham, and Pitts, Catnach, and others, London. This is not true of the Stirling broadside of 'Young Bichen:' seeN b. I did not notice, until too late, that I had not furnished myself with the broadside 'Lord Bateman,' and have been obliged to turn back the Cruikshank copy into ordinary orthography.

[405]We have this repetition in two other ballads of the Skene MSS besidesD; see p. 316 of this volume, sts 1-9; also in 'The Lord of Learne,' Percy MS., Hales and Furnivall, I, 192 f, vv 269-304.

[406]"An old woman who died in Errol, Carse of Gowrie, about twenty years ago, aged nearly ninety years, was wont invariably to sing this ballad: 'Young Lundie was in Brechin born.' Lundie is an estate now belonging to the Earl of Camperdoun, north from Dundee." A. Laing, note toG. That is to say, the old woman's world was Forfarshire.Mr Logan had heard in Scotland a version in which the hero was called Lord Bangol: A Pedlar's Pack, p. 15.

Mr Logan had heard in Scotland a version in which the hero was called Lord Bangol: A Pedlar's Pack, p. 15.

[407]Cf. 'The Fair Flower of Northumberland,'B2,E2, pp 115 f.

[408]She does not get away without exciting the solicitude or wrath of her father,F,M,J,N, and in the first two has to use artifice.

[409]A point borrowed, it well may be, from 'Hind Horn,'E5 f,A10.

[410]So Torello's wife upsets the table, in Boccaccio's story: see p. 198. One of her Slavic kinswomen jumps over four tables and lights on a fifth.

[411]InC34,M49, she is recognized by one of the hounds which she had given him. So Bos, seigneur de Bénac, who breaks a ring with his wife, goes to the East, and is prisoner among the Saracens seven years, on coming back is recognized only by his greyhound: Magasin Pittoresque, VI, 56 b. It is scarcely necessary to scent the Odyssey here.

[412]Ridiculously changed inJ6,K6,L20, to a coachandthree, reminding us of that master-stroke in Thackeray's ballad of 'Little Billee,' "a captain of a seventy-three." 'Little Billee,' by the way, is really like an old ballad, fallen on evil days and evil tongues; whereas the serious imitations of traditional ballads are not the least like, and yet, in their way, are often not less ludicrous.

[413]InM, to make everything pleasant, Bondwell offers the bride five hundred pounds to marry his cousin John. She says, Keep your money; John was my first love. So Bondwell is married at early morn, and John in the afternoon.

[414]Harleian MS. 2277, from which the life of Beket, in long couplets, was printed by Mr W. H. Black for the Percy Society, in 1845. The story of Gilbert Beket is contained in the first 150 vv. The style of this composition entirely resembles that of Robert of Gloucester, and portions of the life of Beket are identical with the Chronicle; whence Mr Black plausibly argues that both are by the same hand. The account of Beket's parentage is interpolated into Edward Grim's Life, in Cotton MS. Vitellius, C,XII, from which it is printed by Robertson, Materials for the History of Thomas Becket, II, 453 ff. It is found in Bromton's Chronicle, Twysden, Scriptores X, columns 1052-55, and in the First Quadrilogus, Paris, 1495, from which it is reprinted by Migne, Patrologiæ Cursus Completus, CXC, cols 346 ff. The tale has been accepted by many writers who would have been better historians for a little reading of romances. Angustin Thierry sees in Thomas Beket a Saxon contending in high place, for the interests and with the natural hatred of his race, against Norman Henry, just as he finds in the yeoman Robin Hood a leader of Saxon serfs engaged in irregular war with Norman Richard. But both of St Thomas's parents were Norman; the father of Rouen, the mother of Caen. The legend was introduced by Lawrence Wade, following John of Exeter, into a metrical life of Beket of about the year 1500: see the poem in Englische Studien, III, 417, edited by Horstmann.

[415]Richard, the proud porter of the ballads, is perhaps most like himself inM32 ff.

[416]Neither her old name nor her Christian name is told us in this legend. Gilbert Beket's wife was Matilda, according to most authorities, but Roësa according to one: see Robertson, as above, IV, 81; Migne, cols 278 f. Fox has made Roësa into Rose, Acts and Monuments, I, 267, ed. 1641.Gilbert and Rose (but Roësa is not Rose) recall to Hippeau, Vie de St Thomas par Garnier de Pont Sainte Maxence, p. xxiii, Elie de Saint Gille and Rosamonde, whose adventures have thus much resemblance with those of Beket and of Bekie. Elie de Saint Gille, after performing astounding feats of valor in fight with a horde of Saracens who have made a descent on Brittany, is carried off to their land. The amiral Macabré requires Elie to adore Mahomet; Elie refuses in the most insolent terms, and is condemned to the gallows. He effects his escape, and finds himself before Macabré's castle. Here, in another fight, he is desperately wounded, but is restored by the skill of Rosamonde, the amiral's daughter, who is Christian at heart, and loves the Frank. To save her from being forced to marry the king of Bagdad, Elie fights as her champion. In the end she is baptized, as a preparation for her union with Elie, but he, having been present at the ceremony, is adjudged by the archbishop to be gossip to her, and Elie and Rosamonde are otherwise disposed of. So the French romance, but in the Norse, which, as Kölbing maintains, is likely to preserve the original story here, there is no such splitting of cumin, and hero and heroine are united.

Gilbert and Rose (but Roësa is not Rose) recall to Hippeau, Vie de St Thomas par Garnier de Pont Sainte Maxence, p. xxiii, Elie de Saint Gille and Rosamonde, whose adventures have thus much resemblance with those of Beket and of Bekie. Elie de Saint Gille, after performing astounding feats of valor in fight with a horde of Saracens who have made a descent on Brittany, is carried off to their land. The amiral Macabré requires Elie to adore Mahomet; Elie refuses in the most insolent terms, and is condemned to the gallows. He effects his escape, and finds himself before Macabré's castle. Here, in another fight, he is desperately wounded, but is restored by the skill of Rosamonde, the amiral's daughter, who is Christian at heart, and loves the Frank. To save her from being forced to marry the king of Bagdad, Elie fights as her champion. In the end she is baptized, as a preparation for her union with Elie, but he, having been present at the ceremony, is adjudged by the archbishop to be gossip to her, and Elie and Rosamonde are otherwise disposed of. So the French romance, but in the Norse, which, as Kölbing maintains, is likely to preserve the original story here, there is no such splitting of cumin, and hero and heroine are united.

[417]There is one in the Gesta Romanorum, cap. 5, Österley, p. 278, of about the same age as the Beket legend. It is not particularly important. A young man is captured by a pirate, and his father will not send his ransom. The pirate's daughter often visits the captive, who appeals to her to exert herself for his liberation. She promises to effect his freedom if he will marry her. This he agrees to. She releases him from his chains without her father's knowledge, and flies with him to his native land.

[418]Nor Guarinos in the Spanish ballad, Duran, No 402, I, 265; Wolf and Hofmann, Primavera, II, 321. Guarinos is very cruelly treated, but it is his horse, not he, that has to draw carts. For the Sire de Créqui see also Dinaux, Trouvères, III, 161 ff (Köhler).

[419]And in 'Der Herr von Falkenstein,' a variety of the story, Meier, Deutsche Sagen aus Schwaben, p. 319, No 362. A Christian undergoes the same hardship in Schöppner, Sagenbuch, III, 127, No 1076. For other cases of the wonderful deliverance of captive knights, not previously mentioned by me, see Hocker, in Wolf's Zeitschrift für deutsche Mythologie, I, 306.

[420]A meisterlied of Alexander von Metz, of the second half of the fifteenth century, Körner, Historische Volkslieder, p. 49; the ballad 'Der Graf von Rom,' or 'Der Graf im Pfluge,' Uhland, p. 784, No 299, printed as early as 1493; De Historie van Florentina, Huysvrouwe van Alexander van Mets, 1621, van den Bergh, De nederlandsche Volksromans, p. 52. And see Goedeke, Deutsche Dichtung im Mittelalter, pp 569, 574; Uhland, Schriften zur Geschichte der Dichtung, IV, 297-309; Danske Viser, V, 67.

[421]Øster-kongens rige, Østerige, Østerland, Austrríki, understood by Grundtvig as Garðaríki, the Scandinavian-Russian kingdom of the tenth and eleventh centuries. Austrríki is used vaguely, but especially of the east of Europe, Russia, Austria, sometimes including Turkey (Vigfusson).

[422]In SwedishK, as she pushes off from land, she exclaims:'Gud Fader i Himmelens rikeSkall vara min styresman!'Cf.M28:And she's tuen God her pilot to be.

[422]In SwedishK, as she pushes off from land, she exclaims:

'Gud Fader i Himmelens rikeSkall vara min styresman!'

Cf.M28:

And she's tuen God her pilot to be.

[423]See 'The Red Bull of Norroway,' Chambers, Popular Rhymes of Scotland, 1870, p. 99; 'Mestermø,' Asbjørnsen og Moe, No 46; 'Hass-Fru,' Cavallius och Stephens, No 14; Powell, Icelandic Legends, Second Series, p. 377; the Grimms, Nos 56, 113, 186, 193; Pentamerone,II, 7,III, 9; Gonzenbach, Nos 14, 54, 55, and Köhler's note; Hahn, Griechische u. Albanesische Märchen, No 54; Carleton, Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry, 10th ed., I, 23; Campbell, West Highland Tales, I, 25, No 2, and Köhler's notes in Orient u. Occident, II, 103-114, etc., etc.

[424]This passage leads the editors of Primavera to remark, II, 52, that 'El Conde Sol' shows distinct traits of 'Le Chat Botté.' Similar questions are asked in EnglishG, the other Spanish versions, and the Italian, and in nearly all the Greek ballads referred to on pp 199, 200; always under the same circumstances, and to bring about the discovery which gives the turn to the story. The questions in 'Le Chat Botté' are introduced for an entirely different purpose, and cannot rationally suggest a borrowing on either side. The hasty note would certainly have been erased by the very distinguished editors upon a moment's consideration.

[425]Puymaigre finds also some resemblance in his 'Petite Rosalie,' I, 74: see his note.

P.1b.A.Add: Mündel, Elsässische Volkslieder, p. 27, No 24. Second line from the bottom, for seven read ten.

2a. Add:H.J. H. Schmitz, Sitten u. s. w. des Eifler Volkes, I, 159; five pairs of riddles and no conclusion. (Köhler.)I.Alfred Müller, Volkslieder aus dem Erzgebirge, p. 69; four pairs of riddles, and no conclusion.J.Lemke, Volksthümliches in Ostpreussen, p. 152; seven riddles guessed, "nun bin ich Deine Frau."

2b. (The Russian riddle-ballad.) So a Kosak: "I give thee this riddle: if thou guess it, thou shalt be mine; if thou guess it not, ill shall it go with thee." The riddle, seven-fold, is guessed. Metlinskiy, Narodnyya yuzhnorusskiya Pyesni, pp 363 f. Cf. Snegiref, Russkie prostonarodnye Prazdniki, II, 101 f.

2b,note. For Kaden substitute Casetti e Imbriani, C. p. delle Provincie meridionali, I, 197 f. (Köhler.)

P.6b.J.Read: Central New York; and again inJ, p. 19 a. Add:M.Notes and Queries, 4th Series, III, 605.

7a, note. Another ballad with a burden-stem is a version of 'Klosterrovet,'C, MSS of 1610, and later, communicated to me by Svend Grundtvig.

7b. Add:O.'Ehestandsaussichten' [Norrenberg], Des Dülkener Fiedlers Liederbuch, 1875, p. 88, No 99. (Köhler.)

8-12. Jagić, in Archiv für slavische Philologie, 'Aus dem südslavischen Märchenschatz,' V, 47-50, adds five Slavic stories of the wench whose ready wit helps her to a good marriage, and Köhler, in notes to Jagić, pp 50 ff, cites, in addition to nearly all those which I have mentioned, one Slavic, one German, five Italian, one French, one Irish, one Norwegian, besides very numerous tales in which there is a partial agreement. Wollner, in Leskien and Brugman's Litauische Volkslieder und Märchen, p. 573, cites Slavic parallels to No 34, of which the following, not previously noted, and no doubt others, are apposite to this ballad: Afanasief, VI, 177, No 42, a, b; Trudy, II, 611-614, No 84, 614-616, No 85; Dragomanof, p. 347, No 29; Sadok Baracz, p. 33; Kolberg, Lud, VIII, 206; Kulda, II, 68.

14a, line 4. The Baba-Yaga, a malignant female spirit, has the ways of the Rusalka and the Vila, and so the Wendish Pšezpolnica, the 'Mittagsfrau,' and the Serpolnica: Afanasief, II, 333; Veckenstedt, Wendische Sagen, p. 107, No 14, p. 108 f, No 19, p. 109 f, No 4. The Red Etin puts questions, too, in the Scottish tale, Chambers, Popular Rhymes, 1870, p. 92. There is certainly no occasion to scruple about elf or elf-knight. Line 16 f. The same in Snegiref, IV. 8.

14b. For the legend of St Andrew, etc., see, further, Gering, Íslendzk Æventyri, I, 95, No 24, 'Af biskupi ok puka,' and Köhler's references, II, 80 f. (Köhler.)

15a.A, B.Dr Davidson informs me that the introductory stanza, or burden-stem, exists in the form:

Her plaidie awa, her plaidie awa,The win blew the bonnie lassie's plaidie awa.

16a.C.This version is in Kinloch MSS, VII, 163.3 is wanting.

6.Married ye sall never get naneTill ye mak a shirt without a seam.7.And ye maun sew it seamless,And ye maun do it wi needle, threedless.

6.Married ye sall never get naneTill ye mak a shirt without a seam.

7.And ye maun sew it seamless,And ye maun do it wi needle, threedless.

10.wanting.121. I hae a bit o land to be corn.14 is wanting.16. loof—glove.17is wanting.3, 10, 14, 17, are evidently supplied from some form ofB.

10.wanting.

121. I hae a bit o land to be corn.

14 is wanting.

16. loof—glove.

17is wanting.

3, 10, 14, 17, are evidently supplied from some form ofB.

20.

Similar toF-H: Notes and Queries, 4th Series, III, 605, communicated by W. F., Glasgow, from a manuscript collection.

1As I went up to the top o yon hill,Every rose springs merry in' t' timeI met a fair maid, an her name it was Nell.An she langed to be a true lover o mine2'Ye'll get to me a cambric sark,An sew it all over without thread or needle.Before that ye be, etc.3'Ye'll wash it doun in yonder well,Where water neer ran an dew never fell.4'Ye'll bleach it doun by yonder green,Where grass never grew an wind never blew.5'Ye'll dry it doun on yonder thorn,That never bore blossom sin Adam was born.'6'Four questions ye have asked at me,An as mony mair ye'll answer me.7'Ye'll get to me an acre o landAtween the saut water an the sea sand.8'Ye'll plow it wi a ram's horn,An sow it all over wi one peppercorn.9'Ye'll shear it wi a peacock's feather,An bind it all up wi the sting o an adder.10'Ye'll stook it in yonder saut sea,An bring the dry sheaves a' back to me.11'An when ye've done and finished your wark,Ye'll come to me, an ye'se get your sark.'An then shall ye be true lover o mine

1As I went up to the top o yon hill,Every rose springs merry in' t' timeI met a fair maid, an her name it was Nell.An she langed to be a true lover o mine

2'Ye'll get to me a cambric sark,An sew it all over without thread or needle.Before that ye be, etc.

3'Ye'll wash it doun in yonder well,Where water neer ran an dew never fell.

4'Ye'll bleach it doun by yonder green,Where grass never grew an wind never blew.

5'Ye'll dry it doun on yonder thorn,That never bore blossom sin Adam was born.'

6'Four questions ye have asked at me,An as mony mair ye'll answer me.

7'Ye'll get to me an acre o landAtween the saut water an the sea sand.

8'Ye'll plow it wi a ram's horn,An sow it all over wi one peppercorn.

9'Ye'll shear it wi a peacock's feather,An bind it all up wi the sting o an adder.

10'Ye'll stook it in yonder saut sea,An bring the dry sheaves a' back to me.

11'An when ye've done and finished your wark,Ye'll come to me, an ye'se get your sark.'An then shall ye be true lover o mine

P.20a. Add:C.'The False Knight,' communicated by Mr Macmath, of Edinburgh.

For the fool getting the last word of the princess, see, further, Köhler, Germania, XIV, 271; Leskien u. Brugman, Litauische Volkslieder u. Märchen, p. 469, No 33, and Wollner's note, p. 573.

21, note. I must retract the doubly hasty remark that the Shetland belief that witches may be baffled by fliting with them is a modern misunderstanding.

Mr George Lyman Kittredge has called my attention to Apollonius of Tyana's encounter with anempusabetween the Caucasus and the Indus. Knowing what the spectre was, Apollonius began to revile it, and told his attendants to do the same, for that was the resource, in such cases, against an attack. The empusa went off with a shriek. Philostratus's Life of Apollonius, II, 4. Mr Kittredge referred me later to what is said by Col. Yule (who also cites Philostratus), Marco Polo, I, 183, that the wise, according to Mas'udi, revile ghúls, and the ghúls vanish. Mr Kittredge also cites Luther's experience: how, when he could not be rid of the Devil by the use of holy writ and serious words, "so hätte er ihn oft mit spitzigen Worten und lächerlichen Possen vertrieben; ... quia est superbus spiritus, et non potest ferre contemptum sui." Tischreden, in Auswahl, Berlin, 1877, pp 152-154.

Sprites of the more respectable orders will quit the company of men if scolded: Walter Mapes, De Nugis Curialium, ed. Wright, p. 81, Alpenburg, Deutsche Alpensagen, p. 312, No 330. So Thetis, according to Sophocles, left Peleus when he reviled her: Scholia in Apollonii Argonautica,IV, 816. (Mannhardt, Wald- und Feldkulte, II, 60, 68.) 22.

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