C.

a.Kinloch MSS,V, 49, in the handwriting of J. Beattie.b.Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 134, from the recitation of Miss E. Beattie.

1The provost's daughter went out a walking,A may's love whiles is easy wonShe heard a poor prisoner making his moan,And she was the fair flower of Northumberland.2'If any lady would borrow meOut into the prison strong,I would make her a lady of high degree,For I am a great lord in fair Scotland.'3She's done her to her father's bed-stock,A may's love whiles is easy wonShe's stolen the keys o many braw lock,And she's loosd him out o the prison strong.4She's done her to her father's stable,A may's love whiles is easy wonShe's taen out a steed that was both swift and able,To carry them both to fair Scotland.5O when they came to the Scottish cross,A may's love whiles is easy won'Ye brazen-faced whore, light off o my horse,And go get you back to Northumberland!'6O when they came to the Scottish moor,A may's love whiles is easy won'Get off o my horse, you're a brazen-faced whore,So go get you back to Northumberland!'7'O pity on me, O pity,' said she,'O that my love was so easy won!Have pity on me as I had upon thee,When I loosd you out of the prison strong.'8'O how can I have pity on thee?O why was your love so easy won!When I have a wife and children threeMore worthy than a' Northumberland.'9'Cook in your kitchen I will be,O that my love was so easy won!And serve your lady most reverently,For I darena go back to Northumberland.'10'Cook in my kitchen you shall not be,Why was your love so easy won!For I will have no such servants as thee,So get you back to Northumberland.'11But laith was he the lassie to tyne,A may's love whiles is easy wonHe's hired an old horse and feed an old man,To carry her back to Northumberland.12O when she came her father before,A may's love whiles is easy wonShe fell down on her knees so lowFor she was the fair flower of Northumberland.13'O daughter, O daughter, why was ye so bold,Or why was your love so easy won,To be a Scottish whore in your fifteen year old?And you the fair flower of Northumberland!'14Her mother she gently on her did smile,O that her love was so easy won!'She is not the first that the Scotts have beguild,But she's still the fair flower of Northumberland.15'She shanna want gold, she shanna want fee,Altho that her love was so easy won,She shanna want gold to gain a man wi,And she's still the fair flower of Northumberland.'

1The provost's daughter went out a walking,A may's love whiles is easy wonShe heard a poor prisoner making his moan,And she was the fair flower of Northumberland.

2'If any lady would borrow meOut into the prison strong,I would make her a lady of high degree,For I am a great lord in fair Scotland.'

3She's done her to her father's bed-stock,A may's love whiles is easy wonShe's stolen the keys o many braw lock,And she's loosd him out o the prison strong.

4She's done her to her father's stable,A may's love whiles is easy wonShe's taen out a steed that was both swift and able,To carry them both to fair Scotland.

5O when they came to the Scottish cross,A may's love whiles is easy won'Ye brazen-faced whore, light off o my horse,And go get you back to Northumberland!'

6O when they came to the Scottish moor,A may's love whiles is easy won'Get off o my horse, you're a brazen-faced whore,So go get you back to Northumberland!'

7'O pity on me, O pity,' said she,'O that my love was so easy won!Have pity on me as I had upon thee,When I loosd you out of the prison strong.'

8'O how can I have pity on thee?O why was your love so easy won!When I have a wife and children threeMore worthy than a' Northumberland.'

9'Cook in your kitchen I will be,O that my love was so easy won!And serve your lady most reverently,For I darena go back to Northumberland.'

10'Cook in my kitchen you shall not be,Why was your love so easy won!For I will have no such servants as thee,So get you back to Northumberland.'

11But laith was he the lassie to tyne,A may's love whiles is easy wonHe's hired an old horse and feed an old man,To carry her back to Northumberland.

12O when she came her father before,A may's love whiles is easy wonShe fell down on her knees so lowFor she was the fair flower of Northumberland.

13'O daughter, O daughter, why was ye so bold,Or why was your love so easy won,To be a Scottish whore in your fifteen year old?And you the fair flower of Northumberland!'

14Her mother she gently on her did smile,O that her love was so easy won!'She is not the first that the Scotts have beguild,But she's still the fair flower of Northumberland.

15'She shanna want gold, she shanna want fee,Altho that her love was so easy won,She shanna want gold to gain a man wi,And she's still the fair flower of Northumberland.'

a.Buchan's MSS,II, 166.b.Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland,II, 208.

1As I went by a jail-house door,Maid's love whiles is easy wonI saw a prisoner standing there,'I wish I were home in fair Scotland.2'Fair maid, will you pity me?Ye'll steal the keys, let me gae free:I'll make you my lady in fair Scotland.3'I'm sure you have no need of me,For ye have a wife and bairns three,That lives at home in fair Scotland.'4He swore by him that was crownd with thorn,That he never had a wife since the day he was born,But livd a free lord in fair Scotland.5She went unto her father's bed-head,She's stown the key o mony a lock,She's let him out o prison strong.6She's went to her father's stable,She's stown a steed baith wight and able,To carry them on to fair Scotland.7They rode till they came to a muir,He bade her light aff, they'd call her a whore,If she didna return to Northumberland.8They rode till they came to a moss,He bade her light aff her father's best horse,And return her again to Northumberland.9'I'm sure I have no need of thee,When I have a wife and bairns three,That lives at home in fair Scotland.'10'I'll be cook in your kitchen,And serve your lady handsomelie,For I darena gae back to Northumberland.'11'Ye cannot be cook in my kitchen,My lady cannot fa sic servants as thee,So ye'll return again to Northumberland.'12When she went thro her father's ha,She looted her low amongst them a',She was the fair flower o Northumberland.13Out spake her father, he spake bold,'How could ye be a whore in fifteen years old,And you the flower of Northumberland?'14Out spake her mother, she spake wi a smile,'She's nae the first his coat did beguile,Ye're welcome again to Northumberland.'

1As I went by a jail-house door,Maid's love whiles is easy wonI saw a prisoner standing there,'I wish I were home in fair Scotland.

2'Fair maid, will you pity me?Ye'll steal the keys, let me gae free:I'll make you my lady in fair Scotland.

3'I'm sure you have no need of me,For ye have a wife and bairns three,That lives at home in fair Scotland.'

4He swore by him that was crownd with thorn,That he never had a wife since the day he was born,But livd a free lord in fair Scotland.

5She went unto her father's bed-head,She's stown the key o mony a lock,She's let him out o prison strong.

6She's went to her father's stable,She's stown a steed baith wight and able,To carry them on to fair Scotland.

7They rode till they came to a muir,He bade her light aff, they'd call her a whore,If she didna return to Northumberland.

8They rode till they came to a moss,He bade her light aff her father's best horse,And return her again to Northumberland.

9'I'm sure I have no need of thee,When I have a wife and bairns three,That lives at home in fair Scotland.'

10'I'll be cook in your kitchen,And serve your lady handsomelie,For I darena gae back to Northumberland.'

11'Ye cannot be cook in my kitchen,My lady cannot fa sic servants as thee,So ye'll return again to Northumberland.'

12When she went thro her father's ha,She looted her low amongst them a',She was the fair flower o Northumberland.

13Out spake her father, he spake bold,'How could ye be a whore in fifteen years old,And you the flower of Northumberland?'

14Out spake her mother, she spake wi a smile,'She's nae the first his coat did beguile,Ye're welcome again to Northumberland.'

Motherwell's MS., p. 102.

1She's gane down to her father's stable,O my dear, and my love that she wanShe's taen out a black steed baith sturdy and able,And she's away to fair Scotland.2When they came to Scotland bridge,'Light off, you whore, from my black steed,And go your ways back to Northumberland.'3'O take me by the body so meek,And throw me in the water so deep,For I daurna gae back to Northumberland.'4'I'll no take thee by the body so meek,Nor throw thee in the water so deep;Thou may go thy ways back to Northumberland.'5'Take me by the body so small,And throw me in yon bonny mill-dam,For I daurna gae back to Northumberland.'

1She's gane down to her father's stable,O my dear, and my love that she wanShe's taen out a black steed baith sturdy and able,And she's away to fair Scotland.

2When they came to Scotland bridge,'Light off, you whore, from my black steed,And go your ways back to Northumberland.'

3'O take me by the body so meek,And throw me in the water so deep,For I daurna gae back to Northumberland.'

4'I'll no take thee by the body so meek,Nor throw thee in the water so deep;Thou may go thy ways back to Northumberland.'

5'Take me by the body so small,And throw me in yon bonny mill-dam,For I daurna gae back to Northumberland.'

"Written down from memory by Robert Hutton, Shepherd, Peel, Liddesdale." Mr R. White's papers.

1A bailiff's fair daughter, she lived by the Aln,A young maid's love is easily wonShe heard a poor prisoner making his moan,And she was the flower of Northumberland.2'If ye could love me, as I do love thee,A young maid's love is hard to winI'll make you a lady of high degree,When once we go down to fair Scotland.'3To think of the prisoner her heart was sore,A young maid's love is easily wonHer love it was much, but her pity was more,And she, etc.4She stole from her father's pillow the key,And out of the dungeon she soon set him free,And she, etc.5She led him into her father's stable,And they've taken a steed both gallant and able,To carry them down to fair Scotland.6When they first took the way, it was darling and dear;As forward they fared, all changed was his cheer,And she, etc.7They rode till they came to a fair Scottish corse;Says he, 'Now, pray madam, dismount from my horse,And go get you back to Northumberland.8'It befits not to ride with a leman light,When awaits my returning my own lady bright,My own wedded wife in fair Scotland.'9The words that he said on her fond heart smote,She knew not in sooth if she lived or not,And she, etc.10She looked to his face, and it kythed so unkindThat her fast coming tears soon rendered her blind,And she, etc.11'Have pity on me as I had it on thee,O why was my love so easily won!A slave in your kitchen I'm willing to be,But I may not go back to Northumberland.12'Or carry me up by the middle sae sma,O why was my love so easily won!And fling me headlong from your high castle wa,For I dare not go back to Northumberland.'13Her wailing, her woe, for nothing they went,A young maid's love is easily wonHis bosom was stone and he would not relent,And she, etc.14He turned him around and he thought of a plan,He bought an old horse and he hired an old man,To carry her back to Northumberland.15A heavy heart makes a weary way,She reached her home in the evening gray,And she, etc.16And all as she stood at her father's tower-gate,More loud beat her heart than her knock thereat,And she, etc.17Down came her step-dame, so rugged and doure,O why was your love so easily won!'In Scotland go back to your false paramour,For you shall not stay here in Northumberland.'18Down came her father, he saw her and smiled,A young maid's love is easily won'You are not the first that false Scots have beguiled,And ye're aye welcome back to Northumberland.19'You shall not want houses, you shall not want land,You shall not want gold for to gain a husband,And ye're aye welcome back to Northumberland.'

1A bailiff's fair daughter, she lived by the Aln,A young maid's love is easily wonShe heard a poor prisoner making his moan,And she was the flower of Northumberland.

2'If ye could love me, as I do love thee,A young maid's love is hard to winI'll make you a lady of high degree,When once we go down to fair Scotland.'

3To think of the prisoner her heart was sore,A young maid's love is easily wonHer love it was much, but her pity was more,And she, etc.

4She stole from her father's pillow the key,And out of the dungeon she soon set him free,And she, etc.

5She led him into her father's stable,And they've taken a steed both gallant and able,To carry them down to fair Scotland.

6When they first took the way, it was darling and dear;As forward they fared, all changed was his cheer,And she, etc.

7They rode till they came to a fair Scottish corse;Says he, 'Now, pray madam, dismount from my horse,And go get you back to Northumberland.

8'It befits not to ride with a leman light,When awaits my returning my own lady bright,My own wedded wife in fair Scotland.'

9The words that he said on her fond heart smote,She knew not in sooth if she lived or not,And she, etc.

10She looked to his face, and it kythed so unkindThat her fast coming tears soon rendered her blind,And she, etc.

11'Have pity on me as I had it on thee,O why was my love so easily won!A slave in your kitchen I'm willing to be,But I may not go back to Northumberland.

12'Or carry me up by the middle sae sma,O why was my love so easily won!And fling me headlong from your high castle wa,For I dare not go back to Northumberland.'

13Her wailing, her woe, for nothing they went,A young maid's love is easily wonHis bosom was stone and he would not relent,And she, etc.

14He turned him around and he thought of a plan,He bought an old horse and he hired an old man,To carry her back to Northumberland.

15A heavy heart makes a weary way,She reached her home in the evening gray,And she, etc.

16And all as she stood at her father's tower-gate,More loud beat her heart than her knock thereat,And she, etc.

17Down came her step-dame, so rugged and doure,O why was your love so easily won!'In Scotland go back to your false paramour,For you shall not stay here in Northumberland.'

18Down came her father, he saw her and smiled,A young maid's love is easily won'You are not the first that false Scots have beguiled,And ye're aye welcome back to Northumberland.

19'You shall not want houses, you shall not want land,You shall not want gold for to gain a husband,And ye're aye welcome back to Northumberland.'

A. a.

2.Halliwell's Deloney, in the first line of the burden, hasleape over, but not elsewhere.92. in the.252. Where.

2.Halliwell's Deloney, in the first line of the burden, hasleape over, but not elsewhere.

92. in the.

252. Where.

32. walks.34. she is.51. aloud.133.omitssad.153. the knight.162. forth did.243. The fairest.271thou shalt.322. knight.352. never were.

32. walks.

34. she is.

51. aloud.

133.omitssad.

153. the knight.

162. forth did.

243. The fairest.

271thou shalt.

322. knight.

352. never were.

B. b.

22. this prison.43.omitsthat was.63. ye brazen-fac'd.113. He hired.123. fell at his feet.131.omitsso.141. mother on her sae gentlie smild,etc.

22. this prison.

43.omitsthat was.

63. ye brazen-fac'd.

113. He hired.

123. fell at his feet.

131.omitsso.

141. mother on her sae gentlie smild,etc.

C. a.

82. Her bade.83. return him.

82. Her bade.

83. return him.

51. into.132. at fifteen.

51. into.

132. at fifteen.

2.Thus in Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. xv:

When they came to Scotland brig,O my dear, my love that she wan!'Light off, ye hure, from my black steed,And his ye awa to Northumberland.'

"The Flower of Northumberland. Written down from memory by Robert Hutton, Shepperd, Peel, Liddesdale, and sent by James Telfor to his friend Robert White, Newcastle on Tyne. 20 copies printed."Mr White's note.

FOOTNOTES:[119]"Two of them singing the dittie," says Deloney, "and all the rest bearing the burden."[120]The earliest edition now known to exist is of 1619.[121]Some of these ballads begin with stanzas which are found also in Kvindemorderen and Ribold ballads (our No 4, No 7), where also a young woman is carried off furtively by a man. This is only what is to be expected.[122]By mistake, most probably. But in one of the Polish ballads, cited a little further on,Q(Kolberg, P. 1. Polskiego, 5 pp), the maid is told, "In my country the mountains are golden, the mountains are of gold."[123]So 'Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight,'D11:'Is this your bowers and lofty towers?'[124]There is a similarity, which is perhaps not accidental, between these Scandinavian ballads and 'Child Waters.' Child Waters makes Ellen swim a piece of water, shows her his hall—"of red gold shines the tower"—where the fairest lady is his paramour, subjects her to menial services, and finally, her patience withstanding all trials, marries her.[125]They pass the water inQonly, and that in a boat. She is thrown in from a bridge inV,W, the bridge of Cracow inC: cf. Scotland bridge,D2 of this ballad. By a curious accident, it is at a wayside crucifix that the man begins his change of demeanor in PolishCC2 (Kolberg,ddd), as inB5,E7, of this ballad, it is at a Scottish cross.

[119]"Two of them singing the dittie," says Deloney, "and all the rest bearing the burden."

[120]The earliest edition now known to exist is of 1619.

[121]Some of these ballads begin with stanzas which are found also in Kvindemorderen and Ribold ballads (our No 4, No 7), where also a young woman is carried off furtively by a man. This is only what is to be expected.

[122]By mistake, most probably. But in one of the Polish ballads, cited a little further on,Q(Kolberg, P. 1. Polskiego, 5 pp), the maid is told, "In my country the mountains are golden, the mountains are of gold."

[123]So 'Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight,'D11:'Is this your bowers and lofty towers?'

[123]So 'Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight,'D11:

'Is this your bowers and lofty towers?'

[124]There is a similarity, which is perhaps not accidental, between these Scandinavian ballads and 'Child Waters.' Child Waters makes Ellen swim a piece of water, shows her his hall—"of red gold shines the tower"—where the fairest lady is his paramour, subjects her to menial services, and finally, her patience withstanding all trials, marries her.

[125]They pass the water inQonly, and that in a boat. She is thrown in from a bridge inV,W, the bridge of Cracow inC: cf. Scotland bridge,D2 of this ballad. By a curious accident, it is at a wayside crucifix that the man begins his change of demeanor in PolishCC2 (Kolberg,ddd), as inB5,E7, of this ballad, it is at a Scottish cross.

A. a.'The Miller and the King's Daughter,' broadside of 1656, Notes and Queries, 1st S.,V, 591.b.Wit Restor'd, 1658, "p. 51," in the reprint of 1817, p. 153.c.'The Miller and the King's Daughters,' Wit and Drollery, ed. 1682, p. 87.d.'The Miller and the King's Daughter,' Jamieson's Popular Ballads,I, 315.B. a.'The Twa Sisters,' Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. 39.b.'The Cruel Sister,' Wm. Tytler's Brown MS., No 15.c.'The Cruel Sister,' Abbotsford MS., "Scottish Songs," fol. 21.d.'The Twa Sisters,' Jamieson's Popular Ballads,I, 48.C.'The Cruel Sister,' Scott's Minstrelsy,II, 143 (1802).D.'The Bonnie Milldams of Binnorie,' Kinloch MSS,II, 49.E.'The Twa Sisters,' Sharpe's Ballad Book, NoX, p. 30.F.'The Bonny Bows o London,' Motherwell's MS., p. 383.G.Motherwell's MS., p. 104.H.Motherwell's MS., p. 147.I.'Bonnie Milldams o Binnorie,' Kinloch MSS,V, 425.J.'The Miller's Melody,' Notes and Queries, 4th S.,V, 23.K.'Binnorie,' Kinloch's papers.L. a.'The Miller's Melody,' Notes and Queries, 1st S.,V, 316.b.'The Drowned Lady,' The Scouring of the White Horse, p. 161.M.'Binorie, O an Binorie,' Murison MS., p. 79.N.'Binnorie,' [Pinkerton's] Scottish Tragic Ballads, p. 72.O.'The Bonny Bows o London.'a.Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland,II, 128.b.Christie's Traditional Ballad Airs,I, 42.P. a.'The Twa Sisters,' Motherwell's MS., p. 245.b.'The Swan swims bonnie O,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. xx.Q.'The Twa Sisters,' communicated by J. F. Campbell, Esq.R. a.'The Three Sisters,' Notes and Q., 1st S.,VI, 102.b.'Bodown,' communicated by J. F. Campbell, Esq.c.'The Barkshire Tragedy,' The Scouring of the White Horse, p. 158.S.Kinloch MSS,VI, 89.T.'Sister, dear Sister,' Allingham's Ballad Book, p. xxxiii.U.From Long Island, N.Y., communicated by Mr W. W. Newell.

B. a.'The Twa Sisters,' Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. 39.b.'The Cruel Sister,' Wm. Tytler's Brown MS., No 15.c.'The Cruel Sister,' Abbotsford MS., "Scottish Songs," fol. 21.d.'The Twa Sisters,' Jamieson's Popular Ballads,I, 48.

C.'The Cruel Sister,' Scott's Minstrelsy,II, 143 (1802).

D.'The Bonnie Milldams of Binnorie,' Kinloch MSS,II, 49.

E.'The Twa Sisters,' Sharpe's Ballad Book, NoX, p. 30.

F.'The Bonny Bows o London,' Motherwell's MS., p. 383.

G.Motherwell's MS., p. 104.

H.Motherwell's MS., p. 147.

I.'Bonnie Milldams o Binnorie,' Kinloch MSS,V, 425.

J.'The Miller's Melody,' Notes and Queries, 4th S.,V, 23.

K.'Binnorie,' Kinloch's papers.

L. a.'The Miller's Melody,' Notes and Queries, 1st S.,V, 316.b.'The Drowned Lady,' The Scouring of the White Horse, p. 161.

M.'Binorie, O an Binorie,' Murison MS., p. 79.

N.'Binnorie,' [Pinkerton's] Scottish Tragic Ballads, p. 72.

O.'The Bonny Bows o London.'a.Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland,II, 128.b.Christie's Traditional Ballad Airs,I, 42.

P. a.'The Twa Sisters,' Motherwell's MS., p. 245.b.'The Swan swims bonnie O,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. xx.

Q.'The Twa Sisters,' communicated by J. F. Campbell, Esq.

R. a.'The Three Sisters,' Notes and Q., 1st S.,VI, 102.b.'Bodown,' communicated by J. F. Campbell, Esq.c.'The Barkshire Tragedy,' The Scouring of the White Horse, p. 158.

S.Kinloch MSS,VI, 89.

T.'Sister, dear Sister,' Allingham's Ballad Book, p. xxxiii.

U.From Long Island, N.Y., communicated by Mr W. W. Newell.

This is one of the very few old ballads which are not extinct as tradition in the British Isles. Even drawing-room versions are spoken of as current, "generally traced to some old nurse, who sang them to the young ladies."[126]It has been found in England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, and was very early in print. Dr Rimbault possessed and published a broadside of the date 1656[127](A a), and the same copy is included in the miscellany called Wit Restor'd, 1658. Both of these name "Mr Smith" as the author; that is, Dr James Smith, a well-known writer of humorous verses, to whom the larger part of the pieces in Wit Restor'd has been attributed. If the ballad were ever in Smith's hands, he might possibly have inserted the three burlesque stanzas, 11-13; but similar verses are found in another copy (L a), and might easily be extemporized by any singer of sufficiently bad taste. Wit and Drollery, the edition of 1682, has an almost identical copy of the ballad, and this is repeated in Dryden's Miscellany, edition of 1716, PartIII, p. 316. In 1781 Pinkerton inserted in his Tragic Ballads one with the title 'Binnorie,' purporting to be from Scottish tradition. Of twenty-eight couplets, barely seven are genuine. Scott printed in 1802 a copy (C) compounded from one "in Mrs Brown's MS." (B b) and a fragment of fourteen stanzas which had been transcribed from recitation by Miss Charlotte Brooke, adopting a burden found in neither.[128]Jamieson followed, four years after, with a tolerably faithful, though not, as he says,verbatim, publication of his copy of Mrs Brown's ballad, somewhat marred, too, by acknowledged interpolations. This text of Mrs Brown's is now correctly given, with the whole or fragments of eleven others, hitherto unpublished.

The ballad is as popular with the Scandinavians as with their Saxon cousins. Grundtvig, 'Den talende Strengeleg,' No 95, gives nineDanishversions and one stanza of a tenth; seven,A-E, inII, 507 ff, the remainder,H-K, inIII, 875 ff. One more,L, is added by Kristensen, No 96,I, 253. Of these, onlyEhad been previously printed. All are from tradition of this century.

There are twoIcelandicversions,Afrom the 17th,Bfrom the 19th, century, printed in Íslenzk Fornkvæði, No 13, 'Hörpu kvæði.'

Of twelveNorwegianversions,A, by Moe, "is printed in Norske Universitets og Skole-Annaler for 1850, p. 287," and in Moe's Samlede Skrifter,II, 118, 'Dæ bur ein Mann hær utmæ Aa;'B, by Lindeman, Annaler, as before, "p. 496," and in his Norske Fjeldmelodier, vol.I, Tekst-Bilag, p. 4, No 14, 'Dei tvæ Systa;'C, by Landstad, 'Dei tvo systar,' No 53, p. 480;D-Lare described by Professor Bugge in Grundtvig,III, 877 f;M"is printed in Illustreret Nyhedsblads Nytaarsgave for 1860, p. 77, Christiania."

FourFäröeversions are known:A, 'Hörpuríma,' "in Svabo's MS., No 16,I, 291," incorrectly printed by Afzelius,I, 86, and accurately, from a copy furnished by Grundtvig, in Bergström's edition of Afzelius,II, 69;B, a compound of two versions taken down by Pastor Lyngbye and by Pastor Schröter, in Nyeste Skilderie af Kjøbenhavn, 1821, col. 997 ff;C, a transcript from recitation by Hammershaimb (Grundtvig);D, "in Fugloyjarbók, No 31."

Swedishversions are:A, 'Den underbara Harpan,' Afzelius, No 17,I, 81, new ed., No 16, 1,I, 72:B, 'De två Systrarne,' Afzelius, No 69,III, 16, new ed., No 16, 2,I, 74:C,D,E, unprinted copies in Cavallius and Stephens's collection:F, 'De två Systrarne,' Arwidsson, No 99,II, 139:G, 'Systermordet,' E. Wigström, Skånska Visor, p. 4, and the same, Folkdiktning, etc., No 7, p. 19:H,Rancken, Några Prof af Folksång, No 3, p. 10. Afzelius, moreover, gives variations from four other copies which he had collected,III, 20 ff, new ed.,II, 74 ff; and Rancken from three others. Both of the editors of the new Afzelius have recently obtained excellent copies from singers. The ballad has also been found in Finnish, Bergström's Afzelius,II, 79.

There is a remarkable agreement between the Norse and English ballads till we approach the conclusion of the story, with a natural diversity as to some of the minuter details.

The sisters are king's daughters in EnglishA,B,C,H,O(?),P,Q,R a, and in SwedishBand two others of Afzelius's versions. They are an earl's daughters in SwedishF, and sink to farmer's daughters in EnglishR b,c,[129]SwedishA,G, NorwegianC.

It is a thing made much of in most of the Norse ballads that the younger sister is fair and the older dark; the younger is bright as the sun, as white as ermine or as milk, the elder black as soot, black as the earth, IcelandicA, SwedishA,B,G, DanishA,D, etc.; and this difference is often made the ground for very unhandsome taunts, which qualify our compassion for the younger; such as Wash all day, and you will be no whiter than God made you, Wash as white as you please, you will never get a lover, FäröeA,B, NorwegianA,C, etc. This contrast may possibly be implied in "the youngest was the fairest flower," EnglishF,G,Q["sweetest,"D], but is expressed only inM, "Ye was fair and I was din" (dun), and inP a, "The old was black and the young are fair."

The scene of action is a seashore in Icelandic and FäröeA,B, NorwegianA, SwedishA,B,G,H, and in all the Danish complete copies: a seashore, or a place where ships come in, in EnglishA,B a,D-I,Q,R a,T, but in all save the last of these (the last is only one stanza) we have the absurdity of a body drowned in navigable water being discovered floating down a mill-stream.[130]B chas "the deep mill-dam;"C"the river-strand," perhaps one of Scott's changes;M, "the dams;"L,O,P,R b c, a river, Tweed mill-dam, or the water of Tweed. NorwegianBhas a river.

The pretence for the older sister's taking the younger down to the water is in EnglishA-E,G,H,I,O,Q, to see their father's ships come in; in IcelandicBto wash their silks;[131]in most of the Norse ballads to wash themselves, so that, as the elder says, "we may be alike white," DanishC-H, NorwegianA,C, SwedishF,G, FäröeA,B. Malice prepense is attributed to the elder in SwedishB,F, Norwegian C, DanishE,F,G: but in FäröeA,B, NorwegianA,B, and perhaps some other cases, a previous evil intent is not certain, and the provocations of the younger sister may excuse the elder so far.

The younger is pushed from a stone upon which she sits, stands, or steps, in EnglishB,C,E-H,M,O,Q, IcelandicA,B, FäröeA,B, NorwegianA,B,C, DanishA-E,H,L, SwedishG,H, and Rancken's other copies.

The drowning scene is the same in all the ballads, except as to one point. The younger sister, to save her life, offers or consents to renounce her lover in the larger number, as EnglishB-E,G,H,I,M,P,Q, DanishA-D,F,G,I, SwedishA-D,G,H; and in IcelandicBand "all the Färöe" ballads she finally yields, after first saying that her lover must dispose of himself. But SwedishF, with more spirit, makes the girl, after promising everything else, reply:

'Help then who can, help God above!But ne'er shalt thou get my dear true-love.'

In this refusal concur IcelandicA, DanishE,H,L, and all the Norwegian versions exceptL.

SwedishA,G, and Rancken's versions (ortwo of them) make the younger sister, when she sees that she must drown, send greetings to her father, mother, true-love [also brother, sister, Rancken], and add in each case that she is drinking, or dancing, her bridal in the flood, that her bridal-bed is made on the white-sand, etc.

The body of the drowned girl is discovered, in nearly all the English ballads, by some member of the miller's household, and is taken out of the water by the miller. InL b, which, however, is imperfect at the beginning, a harper finds the body. In the Icelandic ballads it is found on the seashore by the lover; in all the Norwegian butMby two fishermen, as also in SwedishD[fishermen in SwedishB]; in all the Färöe versions and NorwegianMby two "pilgrims;"[132]in DanishA-F,L, and SwedishCby two musicians, DanishH, SwedishA,G, one. DanishG, which is corrupted at the close, has three musicians, but these simply witness and report the drowning.

According to all complete and uncorrupted forms of the ballad, either some part of the body of the drowned girl is taken to furnish a musical instrument, a harp or a viol,[133]or the instrument is wholly made from the body. This is done in the Norse ballads by those who first find the body, save in SwedishB, where fishermen draw the body ashore, and a passing "speleman" makes the instrument. In English it is done by the miller,A; by a harper,B,C,G,L b(theking'sharper inB); by a fiddler,D,E,I,L a(?),O,P(theking'sfiddler,O(?),P); by both a fiddler and the king's harper,H; inFby the father's herdsman, who happens to be a fiddler.

Perhaps the original conception was the simple and beautiful one which we find in EnglishBand both the Icelandic ballads, that the king's harper, or the girl's lover, takes three locks of her yellow hair to string his harp with. So we find three tets of hair inD,E,I, and three links inF,P, used, or directed to be used, to string the fiddle or the fiddle-bow, and the same, apparently, with DanishA. Infelicitous additions were, perhaps, successively made; as a harp-frame from the breast-bone in EnglishC, and fiddle-pins formed of the finger-joints, EnglishF,O, DanishB,C,E,F,L. Then we have all three: the frame of the instrument formed from the breast (or trunk), the screws from the finger-joints, the strings from the hair, SwedishA,B,G, NorwegianA,C,M. And so one thing and another is added, or substituted, as fiddle-bows of the arms or legs, SwedishC,D, DanishH, EnglishL a; a harp-frame from the arms, NorwegianB, FäröeA; a fiddle-frame from the skull, SwedishC, or from the back-bone, EnglishL b; aplectrumfrom the arm, FäröeB; strings from the veins, EnglishA; a bridge from the nose, EnglishA,L a; "hørpønota" from the teeth, NorwegianB; till we end with the buffoonery of EnglishAandL a.

SwedishHhas nothing about the finding of the body. Music is wanted for the bridal, and a man from another village, who undertakes to furnish it, looks three days for a proper tree to make a harp of. The singer of this version supplied the information, lost from the ballad, that the drowned sister had floated ashore and grown up into a linden, and that this was the very tree which was chosen for the harp. (See, further on, a Lithuanian, a Slovak, and an Esthonian ballad.)

All the Norse ballads make the harp or fiddle to be taken to a wedding, which chances to be that of the elder sister with the drowned girl's betrothed.[134]Unfortunately, many of theEnglish versions are so injured towards the close that the full story cannot be made out. There is no wedding-feast preserved in any of them. The instrument, inA,B,C,H, is taken into the king's presence. The viol inAand the harp inHare expressly said to speak. The harp is laid upon a stone inC,J, and plays "its lone;" the fiddle plays of itself inL b.[135]Bmakes the harper play, andD,F,K,O, which say the fiddle played, probably mean that there was a fiddler, and so perhaps with all the Norse versions; but this is not very material, since in either case the instrument speaks "with most miraculous organ."

There are three strings made from the girl's hair in IcelandicA,B, EnglishB[veins, EnglishA], and the three tets or links in EnglishD,E,F,I,Pwere no doubt taken to make three strings originally. Corresponding to this are three enunciations of the instrument in EnglishA,B,C, IcelandicA, FäröeA,[136]B, SwedishA,B,C,E,G,H, DanishA,D,F,I. These are reduced to two in IcelandicB, DanishB,C,H,L, SwedishD, and even to one in EnglishD,F,I,K,O, but some of these have suffered injury towards the conclusion. The number is increased to four in NorwegianB, to five in NorwegianA,D, and even to six in NorwegianC,K,M. The increase is, of course, a later exaggeration, and very detrimental to the effect. In those English copies in which the instrument speaks but once,[137]D,F,K,O, and we may addP, it expresses a desire for vengeance: Hang my sister,D,F,K; Ye'll drown my sister, as she's dune me,O; Tell him to burn my sister,P. This is found in no Norse ballad, neither is it found in the earliest English versions. These, and the better forms of the Norse, reveal the awful secret, directly or indirectly, and, in the latter case, sometimes note the effect on the bride. Thus, in IcelandicB, the first string sounds, The bride is our sister; the second, The bride is our murderer. In DanishBthe first fiddle plays, The bride is my sister; the second, The bridegroom is my true-love; inC,H, the first strain is, The bride has drowned her sister, the second, Thy sister is driven [blown] to land. FäröeA,B, have: (1) The bride was my sister; (2) The bride was my murderer; (3) The bridegroom was my true-love. The bride then says that the harp disturbs her much, and that she lists to hear it no more. Most impressive of all, with its terse, short lines, is IcelandicA:

The first string made response:'The bride was my sister once.'The bride on the bench, she spake:'The harp much trouble doth make.'The second string answered the other:'She is parting me and my lover.'Answered the bride, red as gore:'The harp is vexing us sore.'The canny third string replied:'I owe my death to the bride.'He made all the harp-strings clang;The bride's heart burst with the pang.

The first string made response:'The bride was my sister once.'

The bride on the bench, she spake:'The harp much trouble doth make.'

The second string answered the other:'She is parting me and my lover.'

Answered the bride, red as gore:'The harp is vexing us sore.'

The canny third string replied:'I owe my death to the bride.'

He made all the harp-strings clang;The bride's heart burst with the pang.

This is the wicked sister's end in both of the Icelandic ballads and in FäröeA,B. In SwedishA,G, at the first stroke on the harp she laughs; at the second she grows pale [has to be undressed]; upon the third she lay dead in her bed [falls dead on the floor]. She is burned in DanishA,B,C,F,G, SwedishB, NorwegianA,B,C,I,M. In NorwegianK,L, the younger sister (who is restored to life) begs that the elder may not be burned, but sent out of the country (cf. EnglishR b c); nevertheless, she is buried alive inL, which is her fate also inE, and in other unprinted versions. A prose comment upon DanishIhas her stabbed by the bridegroom.

NorwegianB21 makes the bride, in her confusion at the revelations of the harp, ask the bridegroom to drive the fiddler out of the house. So far from complying, the bridegroom orders him mead and wine, and the bride to the pile. In NorwegianCthe bride treads on the harper's foot, then orders the playing to stop; but the bridegroom springs from the table, and cries, Let the harp have its song out, pays no regard to the lady's alleging that she has so bad a head that she cannot bear it, and finally sends her to the pile. So, nearly, NorwegianA. In DanishA,C,D,H,L, vainly in the first two, the bride tries to hush the fiddler with a bribe. He endeavors to take back what he has said inD,L, declaring himself a drunken fool (the passage is borrowed from another ballad): still inL, though successful for the nonce, she comes to the stake and wheel some months after. InHthe fiddler dashes the instrument against a stone, seemingly to earn his bribe, but this trait belongs to versions which take the turn of the Norwegian. InC15 the bride springs from the table, and says, Give the fiddlers a trifle, and let them go. This explains the last stanza of EnglishA(cf., NorwegianB21):

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