D.

Scott's Minstrelsy, II, 234, ed. 1802, incorporated with 'The Young Tamlane.' From recitation.

1'Twas down by Carterhaugh, father,I walked beside the wa,And there I saw a wee wee man,The least that eer I saw.2His legs were skant a shathmont lang,Yet umber was his thie;Between his brows there was ae span,And between his shoulders three.3He's taen and flung a meikle stane,As far as I could see;I could na, had I been Wallace wight,Hae lifted it to my knee.4'O wee wee man, but ye be strang!Where may thy dwelling be?''It 's down beside yon bonny bower;Fair lady, come and see.'5On we lap, and away we rade,Down to a bonny green;We lighted down to bait our steed,And we saw the fairy queen.6With four and twenty at her back,Of ladies clad in green;Tho the King of Scotland had been there,The worst might hae been his queen.7On we lap, and away we rade,Down to a bonny ha;The roof was o the beaten goud,The floor was of chrystal a'.8And there were dancing on the floor,Fair ladies jimp and sma;But in the twinkling o an eye,They sainted clean awa.

1'Twas down by Carterhaugh, father,I walked beside the wa,And there I saw a wee wee man,The least that eer I saw.

2His legs were skant a shathmont lang,Yet umber was his thie;Between his brows there was ae span,And between his shoulders three.

3He's taen and flung a meikle stane,As far as I could see;I could na, had I been Wallace wight,Hae lifted it to my knee.

4'O wee wee man, but ye be strang!Where may thy dwelling be?''It 's down beside yon bonny bower;Fair lady, come and see.'

5On we lap, and away we rade,Down to a bonny green;We lighted down to bait our steed,And we saw the fairy queen.

6With four and twenty at her back,Of ladies clad in green;Tho the King of Scotland had been there,The worst might hae been his queen.

7On we lap, and away we rade,Down to a bonny ha;The roof was o the beaten goud,The floor was of chrystal a'.

8And there were dancing on the floor,Fair ladies jimp and sma;But in the twinkling o an eye,They sainted clean awa.

Kinloch MSS, VII, 253. From Mrs Elder.

1As I gaed out to tak a walk,Atween the water and the wa,There I met wi a wee wee man,The weest man that ere I saw.2Thick and short was his legs,And sma and thin was his thie,And atween his een a flee might gae,And atween his shouthers were inches three.3And he has tane up a muckle stane,And thrown it farther than I coud see;If I had been as strong as ere Wallace was,I coud na lift it to my knie.4'O,' quo I, 'but ye be strong!And O where may your dwelling be?''It 's down in to yon bonnie glen;Gin ye dinna believe, ye can come and see.'5And we rade on, and we sped on,Till we cam to yon bonny glen,And there we lichted and louted in,And there we saw a dainty dame.6There was four and twenty wating on her,And ilka ane was clad in green,And he had been the king of fair Scotland,The warst o them micht hae been his queen.7There war pipers playing on ilka stair,And ladies dancing in ilka ha,But before ye coud hae sadd what was that,The house and wee manie was awa.

1As I gaed out to tak a walk,Atween the water and the wa,There I met wi a wee wee man,The weest man that ere I saw.

2Thick and short was his legs,And sma and thin was his thie,And atween his een a flee might gae,And atween his shouthers were inches three.

3And he has tane up a muckle stane,And thrown it farther than I coud see;If I had been as strong as ere Wallace was,I coud na lift it to my knie.

4'O,' quo I, 'but ye be strong!And O where may your dwelling be?''It 's down in to yon bonnie glen;Gin ye dinna believe, ye can come and see.'

5And we rade on, and we sped on,Till we cam to yon bonny glen,And there we lichted and louted in,And there we saw a dainty dame.

6There was four and twenty wating on her,And ilka ane was clad in green,And he had been the king of fair Scotland,The warst o them micht hae been his queen.

7There war pipers playing on ilka stair,And ladies dancing in ilka ha,But before ye coud hae sadd what was that,The house and wee manie was awa.

a.Motherwell's Note-Book, fol. 40, "from Agnes Lyle;" Motherwell's MS., p. 195, "from the recitation of Agnes Laird, Kilbarchan."b.Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 343.

1As I was walking mine alone,Betwext the water and the wa,There I spied a wee wee man,He was the least ane that eer I saw.2His leg was scarse a shaftmont lang,Both thick and nimble was his knee;Between his eyes there was a span,Betwixt his shoulders were ells three.3This wee wee man pulled up a stone,He flang't as far as I could see;Tho I had been like Wallace strong,I wadna gotn't up to my knee.4I said, Wee man, oh, but you're strong!Where is your dwelling, or where may't be?'My dwelling's at yon bonnie green;Fair lady, will ye go and see?'5On we lap, and awa we rade,Until we came to yonder green;We lichtit down to rest our steed,And there cam out a lady soon.6Four and twenty at her back,And every one of them was clad in green;Altho he had been the King of Scotland,The warst o them a' micht hae been his queen.7There were pipers playing in every neuk,And ladies dancing, jimp and sma,And aye the owre-turn o their tuneWas 'Our wee wee man has been lang awa.'

1As I was walking mine alone,Betwext the water and the wa,There I spied a wee wee man,He was the least ane that eer I saw.

2His leg was scarse a shaftmont lang,Both thick and nimble was his knee;Between his eyes there was a span,Betwixt his shoulders were ells three.

3This wee wee man pulled up a stone,He flang't as far as I could see;Tho I had been like Wallace strong,I wadna gotn't up to my knee.

4I said, Wee man, oh, but you're strong!Where is your dwelling, or where may't be?'My dwelling's at yon bonnie green;Fair lady, will ye go and see?'

5On we lap, and awa we rade,Until we came to yonder green;We lichtit down to rest our steed,And there cam out a lady soon.

6Four and twenty at her back,And every one of them was clad in green;Altho he had been the King of Scotland,The warst o them a' micht hae been his queen.

7There were pipers playing in every neuk,And ladies dancing, jimp and sma,And aye the owre-turn o their tuneWas 'Our wee wee man has been lang awa.'

Motherwell's MS., p. 68, "from the recitation of Mrs Wilson, of the Renfrewshire Tontine; now of the Caledonian Hotel, Inverness."

1As I was walking mine alane,Between the water and the wa,And oh there I spy'd a wee wee mannie,The weeest mannie that ere I saw.2His legs they were na a gude inch lang,And thick and nimble was his thie;Between his een there was a span,And between his shouthers there were ells three.3I asked at this wee wee mannieWhare his dwelling place might be;The answer that he gied to meWas, Cum alang, and ye shall see.4So we'll awa, and on we rade,Till we cam to yon bonnie green;We lichted down to bait our horse,And up and started a lady syne.5Wi four and twenty at her back,And they were a' weell clad in green;Tho I had been a crowned king,The warst o them might ha been my queen.6So we'll awa, and on we rade,Till we cam to yon bonnie hall;The rafters were o the beaten gold,And silver wire were the kebars all.7And there was mirth in every end,And ladies dancing, ane and a,And aye the owre-turn o their sangWas 'The wee wee mannie's been lang awa.'

1As I was walking mine alane,Between the water and the wa,And oh there I spy'd a wee wee mannie,The weeest mannie that ere I saw.

2His legs they were na a gude inch lang,And thick and nimble was his thie;Between his een there was a span,And between his shouthers there were ells three.

3I asked at this wee wee mannieWhare his dwelling place might be;The answer that he gied to meWas, Cum alang, and ye shall see.

4So we'll awa, and on we rade,Till we cam to yon bonnie green;We lichted down to bait our horse,And up and started a lady syne.

5Wi four and twenty at her back,And they were a' weell clad in green;Tho I had been a crowned king,The warst o them might ha been my queen.

6So we'll awa, and on we rade,Till we cam to yon bonnie hall;The rafters were o the beaten gold,And silver wire were the kebars all.

7And there was mirth in every end,And ladies dancing, ane and a,And aye the owre-turn o their sangWas 'The wee wee mannie's been lang awa.'

Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 263.

1As I gaed out to tak the air,Between Midmar and bonny Craigha,There I met a little wee man,The less o him I never saw.2His legs were but a finger lang,And thick and nimle was his knee;Between his brows there was a span,Between his shoulders ells three.3He lifted a stane sax feet in hight,He lifted it up till his right knee,And fifty yards and mair, I'm sure,I wyte he made the stane to flee.4'O little wee man, but ye be wight!Tell me whar your dwelling be;''I hae a bower, compactly built,Madam, gin ye'll cum and see.'5Sae on we lap, and awa we rade,Till we come to yon little ha;The kipples ware o the gude red gowd,The reef was o the proseyla.6Pipers were playing, ladies dancing,The ladies dancing, jimp and sma;At ilka turning o the spring,The little man was wearin's wa.7Out gat the lights, on cam the mist,Ladies nor mannie mair coud seeI turnd about, and gae a look,Just at the foot o' Benachie.

1As I gaed out to tak the air,Between Midmar and bonny Craigha,There I met a little wee man,The less o him I never saw.

2His legs were but a finger lang,And thick and nimle was his knee;Between his brows there was a span,Between his shoulders ells three.

3He lifted a stane sax feet in hight,He lifted it up till his right knee,And fifty yards and mair, I'm sure,I wyte he made the stane to flee.

4'O little wee man, but ye be wight!Tell me whar your dwelling be;''I hae a bower, compactly built,Madam, gin ye'll cum and see.'

5Sae on we lap, and awa we rade,Till we come to yon little ha;The kipples ware o the gude red gowd,The reef was o the proseyla.

6Pipers were playing, ladies dancing,The ladies dancing, jimp and sma;At ilka turning o the spring,The little man was wearin's wa.

7Out gat the lights, on cam the mist,Ladies nor mannie mair coud seeI turnd about, and gae a look,Just at the foot o' Benachie.

22.The printed copy hasthighs.43. dwelling down.

22.The printed copy hasthighs.

43. dwelling down.

There is a copy of this ballad inCunningham's Songs of Scotland, I, 303. Though no confidence can be felt in the genuineness of the "several variations from recitation and singing," with which Cunningham says he sought to improve Herd's version, the more considerable ones are here noted.

13. O there I met.21. a shathmont lang.33. been a giant born.41. ye're wonder strong.44. O ladie, gang wi me.51. away we flew.52. to a valley green.53. down and he stamped his foot.54. And up there rose.61. Wi four.62. the glossy green.72. stately ha.

13. O there I met.

21. a shathmont lang.

33. been a giant born.

41. ye're wonder strong.

44. O ladie, gang wi me.

51. away we flew.

52. to a valley green.

53. down and he stamped his foot.

54. And up there rose.

61. Wi four.

62. the glossy green.

72. stately ha.

8.And there were harpings loud and sweet,And ladies dancing, jimp and sma;He clapped his hands, and ere I wist,He sank and saunted clean awa.

E. a.

41. your.Motherwell has made one or two slight changes in copying from his Note-Book into his MS.b.Besides some alterations of his own, Motherwell has introduced readings fromF.24. there were.33as Wallace.54. lady sheen.61. Wi four.62. And they were a' weel clad.After 6 is insertedF6, with the first line changed to

41. your.

Motherwell has made one or two slight changes in copying from his Note-Book into his MS.

b.Besides some alterations of his own, Motherwell has introduced readings fromF.

24. there were.

33as Wallace.

54. lady sheen.

61. Wi four.

62. And they were a' weel clad.

After 6 is insertedF6, with the first line changed to

So on we lap, and awa we rade.

This piece is found in Cotton MS., Julius, A, V, the ninth article in the manuscript, fol. 175, ro, (otherwise 180, ro). It is here given nearly as printed by Mr Thomas Wright in his edition of the Chronicle of Pierre de Langtoft, II, 452. It had been previously printed in Ritson's Ancient Songs, ed. 1829, I, 40; Finlay's Scottish Ballads, II, 168; the Retrospective Review, Second Series, II, 326. The prophecies, omitted here, are given by all the above.

1Als y yod on ay MoundayBytwene Wyltinden and Walle,Me ane aftere brade waye,Ay litel man y mette withalle;The leste that ever I sathe, [sothe] to say,Oithere in boure, oithere in halle;His robe was noithere grene na gray,Bot alle yt was of riche palle.2On me he cald, and bad me bide;Well stille y stode ay litel space;Fra Lanchestre the parke sydeYeen he come, wel fair his pase.He hailsed me with mikel pride;Ic haved wel mykel ferly wat he was;I saide, Wel mote the bityde!That litel man with large face.3I biheld that litel manBi the stretes als we gon gae;His berd was syde ay large span,And glided als the fethere of pae;His heved was wyte als any swan,His hegehen ware gret and grai alsso;Brues lange, wel I the canMerke it to five inches and mae.4Armes scort, for sothe I saye,Ay span seemed thaem to bee;Handes brade, vytouten nay,And fingeres lange, he scheued me.Ay stan he toke op thare it lay,And castid forth that I mothe see;Ay merke-soote of large wayBifor me strides he castid three.5Wel stille I stod als did the stane,To loke him on thouth me nouthe lange;His robe was alle golde bigane,Wel craftlike maked, I underestande;Botones asurd, everlke ane,Fra his elbouthe on til his hande;Eldelike man was he nane,That in myn herte icke onderestande.6Til him I sayde ful sone on ane,For forthirmare I wald him fraine,Glalli wild I wit thi name,And I wist wat me mouthe gaine;Thou ert so litel of flesse and bane,And so mikel of mithe and mayne;Ware vones thou, litel man, at hame?Wit of the I walde ful faine.7'Thoth I be litel and lith,Am y nothe wytouten wane;Fferli frained thou wat I hith,Yat thou salt noth with my name.My wonige stede ful wel es dyth,Nou sone thou salt se at hame.'Til him I sayde, For Godes mith,Lat me forth myn erand gane.8'The thar noth of thin errand lette,Thouth thou come ay stonde wit me;Forthere salt thou noth bisetteBi miles twa noythere bi three.'Na linger durste I for him lette,But forth ij fundid wyt that free;Stintid vs broke no becke;Ferlicke me thouth hu so mouth bee.9He vent forth, als ij you say,In at ay yate, ij underestande;Intil ay yate, wundouten nay;It to se thouth me nouth lange.The bankers on the binkes lay,And fair lordes sette ij fonde;In ilka ay hirn ij herd ay lay,And levedys south meloude sange.

2On me he cald, and bad me bide;Well stille y stode ay litel space;Fra Lanchestre the parke sydeYeen he come, wel fair his pase.He hailsed me with mikel pride;Ic haved wel mykel ferly wat he was;I saide, Wel mote the bityde!That litel man with large face.

3I biheld that litel manBi the stretes als we gon gae;His berd was syde ay large span,And glided als the fethere of pae;His heved was wyte als any swan,His hegehen ware gret and grai alsso;Brues lange, wel I the canMerke it to five inches and mae.

4Armes scort, for sothe I saye,Ay span seemed thaem to bee;Handes brade, vytouten nay,And fingeres lange, he scheued me.Ay stan he toke op thare it lay,And castid forth that I mothe see;Ay merke-soote of large wayBifor me strides he castid three.

5Wel stille I stod als did the stane,To loke him on thouth me nouthe lange;His robe was alle golde bigane,Wel craftlike maked, I underestande;Botones asurd, everlke ane,Fra his elbouthe on til his hande;Eldelike man was he nane,That in myn herte icke onderestande.

6Til him I sayde ful sone on ane,For forthirmare I wald him fraine,Glalli wild I wit thi name,And I wist wat me mouthe gaine;Thou ert so litel of flesse and bane,And so mikel of mithe and mayne;Ware vones thou, litel man, at hame?Wit of the I walde ful faine.

7'Thoth I be litel and lith,Am y nothe wytouten wane;Fferli frained thou wat I hith,Yat thou salt noth with my name.My wonige stede ful wel es dyth,Nou sone thou salt se at hame.'Til him I sayde, For Godes mith,Lat me forth myn erand gane.

8'The thar noth of thin errand lette,Thouth thou come ay stonde wit me;Forthere salt thou noth bisetteBi miles twa noythere bi three.'Na linger durste I for him lette,But forth ij fundid wyt that free;Stintid vs broke no becke;Ferlicke me thouth hu so mouth bee.

9He vent forth, als ij you say,In at ay yate, ij underestande;Intil ay yate, wundouten nay;It to se thouth me nouth lange.The bankers on the binkes lay,And fair lordes sette ij fonde;In ilka ay hirn ij herd ay lay,And levedys south meloude sange.

The meeting with the little man was on Monday. We are now invited to listen to a tale told on Wednesday by "a moody barn," who is presently addressed, in language which, to be sure, fits the elf well enough, as "merry man, that is so wight:" but things do not fay at all here.

10Lithe, bothe yonge and alde:Of ay worde ij will you saye,A litel tale that me was taldErli on ay Wedenesdaye.A mody barn, that was ful bald,My frend that ij frained aye,Al my yerning he me tald,And yatid me als we went bi waye.11'Miri man, that es so wythe,Of ay thinge gif me answere:For him that mensked man wyt mith,Wat sal worth of this were?' &c.

11'Miri man, that es so wythe,Of ay thinge gif me answere:For him that mensked man wyt mith,Wat sal worth of this were?' &c.

The orthography of this piece, if rightly rendered, is peculiar, and it is certainly not consistent.15.saithforsawoccurs in 233.24.Wright, Y cen:Retrosp. Rev., Yeen.38.W., Merkes:R. R., Merke. fize.55.W., everlkes:R. R., euerelke.68.W., of their:R. R., of ye (þe). i. wald.74.W., That thou:R. R., yat.75. dygh.94. south me.98. me loude.107.W., thering:R. R., yering.108.W., y atid:R. R., yatid.

The orthography of this piece, if rightly rendered, is peculiar, and it is certainly not consistent.

15.saithforsawoccurs in 233.

24.Wright, Y cen:Retrosp. Rev., Yeen.

38.W., Merkes:R. R., Merke. fize.

55.W., everlkes:R. R., euerelke.

68.W., of their:R. R., of ye (þe). i. wald.

74.W., That thou:R. R., yat.

75. dygh.

94. south me.

98. me loude.

107.W., thering:R. R., yering.

108.W., y atid:R. R., yatid.

A.'Tam Lin,' Johnson's Museum, p. 423, 1792. Communicated by Burns.B.'Young Tom Line,' Glenriddell MS., vol. xi, No 17, 1791.C.'Kertonha, or, The Fairy Court,' Herd, The Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, 1769, p. 300.D.'Tom Linn.'a.Motherwell's MS., p. 532.b.Maidment's New Book of Old Ballads, p. 54.c.'Tom o Linn,' Pitcairn's MSS, III, fol. 67.E.'Young Tamlin,' Motherwell's Note-Book, fol. 13.F.'Tomaline,' Motherwell's MS., p. 64.G.'Tam-a-line, the Elfin Knight,' Buchan's MSS, I, 8; 'Tam a-Lin, or The Knight of Faerylande,' Motherwell's MS., p. 595. Dixon, Scottish Traditionary Versions of Ancient Ballads, Percy Society, XVII, 11.H.'Young Tam Lane,' Campbell MSS, II, 129.I.'The Young Tamlane.' Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border:a, II, 337, ed. 1833;b, II, 228, ed. 1802.

A.'Tam Lin,' Johnson's Museum, p. 423, 1792. Communicated by Burns.

B.'Young Tom Line,' Glenriddell MS., vol. xi, No 17, 1791.

C.'Kertonha, or, The Fairy Court,' Herd, The Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, 1769, p. 300.

D.'Tom Linn.'a.Motherwell's MS., p. 532.b.Maidment's New Book of Old Ballads, p. 54.c.'Tom o Linn,' Pitcairn's MSS, III, fol. 67.

E.'Young Tamlin,' Motherwell's Note-Book, fol. 13.

F.'Tomaline,' Motherwell's MS., p. 64.

G.'Tam-a-line, the Elfin Knight,' Buchan's MSS, I, 8; 'Tam a-Lin, or The Knight of Faerylande,' Motherwell's MS., p. 595. Dixon, Scottish Traditionary Versions of Ancient Ballads, Percy Society, XVII, 11.

H.'Young Tam Lane,' Campbell MSS, II, 129.

I.'The Young Tamlane.' Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border:a, II, 337, ed. 1833;b, II, 228, ed. 1802.

The first twenty-two stanzas ofBdiffer from the corresponding ones inA, 1-23, omitting 16, by only a few words, and there are other agreements in the second half of these versions. Burns's intimacy with Robert Riddell would naturally lead to a communication from one to the other; but both may have derived the verses that are common from the same third party. Herd's fragment,C, was the earliest printed. Scott's version,I, as he himself states, was compounded of the Museum copy, Riddell's, Herd's, and "several recitals from tradition."I b, the edition of 1802, contained fragments of 'The Bromfield Hill' and of 'The Wee Wee Man,' which were dropped from the later edition; but unfortunately this later edition was corrupted with eleven new stanzas, which are not simply somewhat of a modern cast as to diction, as Scott remarks, but of a grossly modern invention, and as unlike popular verse as anything can be.Iis given according to the later edition, with those stanzas omitted; and all that is peculiar to this version, and not taken from the Museum, Glenriddell, or Herd, is distinguished from the rest by the larger type. This, it will be immediately seen, is very little.

The copy in Tales of Wonder, II, 459, isA, altered by Lewis. Mr Joseph Robertson notes, Kinloch MSS, VI, 10, that his mother had communicated to him some fragments of this ballad slightly differing from Scott's version, with a substitution of the name True Tammas for Tam Lane.

The Scots Magazine for October, 1818, LXXXII, 327-29, has a "fragment" of more than sixty stanzas, composed in an abominable artificial lingo, on the subject of this ballad, and alleged to have been taken from the mouth of a good old peasant, who, not having heard the ballad for thirty years, could remember no more. Thomas the Rhymer appears in the last lines with very great distinction, but it is not clear what part he has in the story.[323]

A copy printed in Aberdeen, 1862, and said to have been edited by the Rev. John Burnett Pratt, of Cruden, Aberdeenshire, is made up from Aytoun and Scott, with a number of slight changes.[324]

'The Tayl of the ȝong Tamlene' is spoken of as told among a company of shepherds, in Vedderburn's Complaint of Scotland, 1549, p. 63 of Dr James A. H. Murray's edition for the Early English Text Society. 'Thom of Lyn' is mentioned as a dance of the same party, a little further on, Murray, p. 66, and 'Young Thomlin' is the name of an air in a medley in "Wood's MS.," inserted, as David Laing thought, between 1600 and 1620, and printed in Forbes's Cantus, 1666: Stenhouse's ed. of The Scots Musical Museum, 1853, IV, 440. "A ballett of Thomalyn" is licensed to Master John Wallye and Mistress Toye in 1558: Arber, Transcript of the Registers of the Company of Stationers, I, 22; cited by Furnivall, Captain Cox, &c., Ballad Society, p. clxiv.

Sir Walter Scott relates a tradition of an attempt to rescue a woman from fairydom which recalls the ill success of many of the efforts to disenchant White Ladies in Germany: "The wife of a farmer in Lothian had been carried off by the fairies, and, during the year of probation, repeatedly appeared on Sunday, in the midst of her children, combing their hair. On one of these occasions she was accosted by her husband; when she related to him the unfortunate event which had separated them, instructed him by what means he might win her, and exhorted him to exert all his courage, since her temporal and eternal happiness depended on the success of his attempt. The farmer, who ardently loved his wife, set out at Halloween, and, in the midst of a plot of furze, waited impatiently for the procession of the fairies. At the ringing of the fairy bridles, and the wild, unearthly sound which accompanied the cavalcade, his heart failed him, and he suffered the ghostly train to pass by without interruption. When the last had rode past, the whole troop vanished, with loud shouts of laughter and exultation, among which he plainly discovered the voice of his wife, lamenting that he had lost her forever." The same author proceeds to recount a real incident, which took place at the town of North Berwick, within memory, of a man who was prevented from undertaking, or at least meditating, a similar rescue only by shrewd and prompt practical measures on the part of his minister.[325]

This fine ballad stands by itself, and is not, as might have been expected, found in possession of any people but the Scottish. Yet it has connections, through the principal feature in the story, the retransformation of Tam Lin, with Greek popular tradition older than Homer.

Something of the successive changes of shape is met with in a Scandinavian ballad: 'Nattergalen,' Grundtvig, II, 168, No 57; 'Den förtrollade Prinsessan,' Afzelius, II, 67, No 41, Atterbom, Poetisk Kalender, 1816, p. 44; Dybeck, Runa, 1844, p. 94, No 2; Axelson, Vandring i Wermlands Elfdal, p. 21, No 3; Lindeman, Norske Fjeldmelodier, Tekstbilag til 1ste Bind, p. 3, No 10.

Though many copies of this ballad have been obtained from the mouth of the people, all that are known are derived from flying sheets, of which there is a Danish one dated 1721 and a Swedish of the year 1738. What is of more account, the style of the piece, as we have it, is not quite popular. Nevertheless, the story is entirely of the popular stamp, and so is the feature in it, which alone concerns us materially. A nightingale relates to a knighthow she had once had a lover, but a step-mother soon upset all that, and turned her into a bird and her brother into a wolf. The curse was not to be taken off the brother till he drank of his step-dame's blood, and after seven years he caught her, when she was taking a walk in a wood, tore out her heart, and regained his human shape. The knight proposes to the bird that she shall come and pass the winter in his bower, and go back to the wood in the summer: this, the nightingale says, the step-mother had forbidden, as long as she wore feathers. The knight seizes the bird by the foot, takes her home to his bower, and fastens the windows and doors. She turns to all the marvellous beasts one ever heard of,—to a lion, a bear, a variety of small snakes, and at last to a loathsome lind-worm. The knight makes a sufficient incision for blood to come, and a maid stands on the floor as fair as a flower. He now asks after her origin, and she answers, Egypt's king was my father, and its queen my mother; my brother was doomed to rove the woods as a wolf. "If Egypt's king," he rejoins, "was your father, and its queen your mother, then for sure you are my sister's daughter, who was doomed to be a nightingale."[326]

We come much nearer, and indeed surprisingly near, to the principal event of the Scottish ballad in a Cretan fairy-tale, cited from Chourmouzis by Bernhard Schmidt.[327]A young peasant of the village Sgourokepháli, who was a good player on the rote, used to be taken by the nereids into their grotto for the sake of his music. He fell in love with one of them, and, not knowing how to help himself, had recourse to an old woman of his village. She gave him this advice: that just before cock-crow he should seize his beloved by the hair, and hold on, unterrified, till the cock crew, whatever forms she should assume. The peasant gave good heed, and the next time he was taken into the cave fell to playing, as usual, and the nereids to dancing. But as cock-crow drew nigh, he put down his instrument, sprang upon the object of his passion, and grasped her by her locks. She instantly changed shape; became a dog, a snake, a camel, fire. But he kept his courage and held on, and presently the cock crew, and the nereids vanished all but one. His love returned to her proper beauty, and went with him to his home. After the lapse of a year she bore a son, but in all this time never uttered a word. The young husband was fain to ask counsel of the old woman again, who told him to heat the oven hot, and say to his wife that if she would not speak he would throw the boy into the oven. He acted upon this prescription; the nereid cried out, Let go my child, dog! tore the infant from his arms, and vanished.

This Cretan tale, recovered from tradition even later than our ballad, repeats all the important circumstances of the forced marriage of Thetis with Peleus. Chiron, like the old woman, suggested to his protégé that he should lay hands on the nereid, and keep his hold through whatever metamorphosis she might make. He looked out for his opportunity and seized her; she turned to fire, water, and a wild beast, but he did not let go till she resumed her primitive shape. Thetis, having borne a son, wished to make him immortal; to which end she buried him in fire by night, to burn out his human elements, and anointed him with ambrosia by day. Peleus was not taken into counsel, but watched her, and saw the boy gasping in the fire, which made him call out; and Thetis, thus thwarted, abandoned the child and went back to the nereids. Apollodorus, Bibliotheca, III, 13, 5, 6.

The Cretan tale does not differ from the one repeated by Apollodorus from earlier writers a couple of thousand years ago more than two versions of a story gathered from oral tradition in these days are apt to do. Whether it has come down to our time from mouth tomouth through twenty-five centuries or more, or whether, having died out of the popular memory, it was reintroduced through literature, is a question that cannot be decided with certainty; but there will be nothing unlikely in the former supposition to those who bear in mind the tenacity of tradition among people who have never known books.[328]

B34,

First dip me in a stand of milk,And then in a stand of water;Haud me fast, let me na gae,I'll be your bairnie's father,

has an occult and very important significance which has only very lately been pointed out, and which modern reciters had completely lost knowledge of, as appears by the disorder into which the stanzas have fallen.[329]Immersion in a liquid, generally water, but sometimes milk, is a process requisite for passing from a non-human shape, produced by enchantment, back into the human, and also for returning from the human to a non-human state, whether produced by enchantment or original. We have seen that the serpent which Lanzelet kisses, in Ulrich's romance, is not by that simple though essential act instantly turned into a woman. It is still necessary that she should bathe in a spring (p. 308). In an Albanian tale, 'Taubenliebe,' Hahn, No 102, II, 130, a dove flies into a princess's window, and, receiving her caresses, asks, Do you love me? The princess answering Yes, the dove says, Then have a dish of milk ready to-morrow, and you shall see what a handsome man I am. A dish of milk is ready the next morning; the dove flies into the window, dips himself in the milk, drops his feathers, and steps out a beautiful youth. When it is time to go, the youth dips in the milk, and flies off a dove. This goes on every day for two years. A Greek tale, 'Goldgerte,' Hahn, No 7, I, 97, has the same transformation, with water for milk. OurB34 has well-water only.[330]Perhaps the bath of milk occurred in one earlier version of our ballad, the water-bath in another, and the two accounts became blended in time.

The end of the mutations, inF11,G43, is a naked man, and a mother-naked man inB33, under the presumed right arrangement; meaning by right arrangement, however, not the original arrangement, but the most consistent one for the actual form of the tradition. Judging by analogy, the naked man should issue from the bath of milk or of water; into which he should have gone in one of his non-human shapes, a dove, swan, or snake (for which, too, a "stand" of milk or of water is a more practicable bath than for a man). The fragmentCadds some slight probability to this supposition. The last change there is into "a dove but and a swan;" then Tam Lin bids the maiden to let go, for he'll "be a perfect man:" this, nevertheless, he could not well become without some further ceremony.Ais the only version which has preserved an essentially correct process: Tam Lin, when a burning gleed, is to be thrown into well-water, from which he will step forth a naked knight.[331]

At stated periods, which the ballads maketo be seven years, the fiend of hell is entitled to take his teind, tithe, or kane from the people of fairy-land:A24,B23,C5,D15,G28,H15. The fiend prefers those that are fair and fu o flesh, according toA,G; ane o flesh and blood,D.Hmakes the queen fear for herself; "the koors they hae gane round about, and I fear it will be mysel."His not discordant with popular tradition elsewhere, which attributes to fairies the practice of abstracting young children to serve as substitutes for themselves in this tribute: Scott's Minstrelsy, II, 220, 1802.D15 says "the last here goes to hell," which would certainly not be equitable, andC"we're a' dung down to hell," where "all" must be meant only of the naturalized members of the community. Poor Alison Pearson, who lost her life in 1586 for believing these things, testified that the tribute was annual. Mr William Sympson, who had been taken away by the fairies, "bidd her sign herself that she be not taken away, for the teind of them are tane to hell everie year:" Scott, as above, p. 208. The kindly queen of the fairies[332]will not allow Thomas of Erceldoune to be exposed to this peril, and hurries him back to earth the day before the fiend comes for his due. Thomas is in peculiar danger, for the reason given inA,G,R.

To morne of helle þe foulle fendeAmange this folke will feche his fee;And þou art mekill man and hende;I trowe full wele he wolde chese the.

The elf-queen,A42,B40, would have taken out Tam's twa gray een, had she known he was to be borrowed, and have put in twa een of tree,B41,D34,E21,H14; she would have taken out his heart of flesh, and have put in,B,D,E, a heart of stane,Hof tree. The taking out of the eyes would probably be to deprive Tam of the faculty of recognizing fairy folk thereafter. Mortals whose eyes have been touched with fairies' salve can see them when they are to others invisible, and such persons, upon distinguishing and saluting fairies, have often had not simply this power but their ordinary eyesight taken away: see Cromek's Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, p. 304, Thiele, Danmarks Folkesagn, 1843, II, 202,IV, etc. Grimm has given instances of witches, Slavic, German, Norse and Italian, taking out the heart of man (which they are wont to devour), and replacing it in some instances with straw, wood, or something of the kind; nor do the Roman witches appear to have been behind later ones in this dealing: Deutsche Mythologie, 904 f, and the note III, 312.

The fairy in the Lai de Lauval, v. 547, rides on a white palfrey, and also two damsels, her harbingers, v. 471; so the fairy princess in the English Launfal, Halliwell, Fairy Mythology, p. 30. The fairy king and all his knights and ladies ride on white steeds in King Orfeo, Halliwell, as above, p. 41. The queen of Elfland rides a milk-white steed in ThomasRymer,A,C; inB, and all copies of Thomas of Erceldoune, her palfrey is dapple gray. Tam Lin,A28,B27, etc., is distinguished from all the rest of his "court" by being thus mounted; all the other horses are black or brown.

Tam Lane was taken by the fairies, according toG26, 27, while sleeping under an apple-tree. In Sir Orfeo (ed. Zielke, v. 68) it was the queen's sleeping under an ympe-tree that led to her being carried off by the fairy king, and the ympe-tree we may suppose to be some kind of fruit tree, if not exclusively the apple. Thomas of Erceldoune is lying under a semely [derne, cumly] tree, when he sees the fairy queen. The derivation of that poem from Ogier le Danois shows that this must have been an apple-tree. Special trees are considered in Greece dangerous to lie under in summer and at noon, as exposing one to be taken by the nereids or fairies, especially plane, poplar, fig, nut, and St John's bread: Schmidt, Volksleben der Neugriechen, p. 119. The elder and the linden are favorites of the elves in Denmark.

The rencounter at the beginning between Tam Lin and Janet (in the wood,D,F,G) is repeated between Hind Etin [Young Akin] and Margaret in 'Hind Etin,' further on. Some Slavic ballads open in a similar way, but there is nothing noteworthy in that: see p. 41. "First they did call me Jack," etc.,D9, is a commonplace of frequent occurrence: see, e.g., 'The Knight and Shepherd's Daughter.'

Some humorous verses, excellent in their way, about one Tam o Lin are very well known: as Tam o the Linn, Chambers, Scottish Songs, p. 455, Popular Rhymes of Scotland, p. 33, ed. 1870; Sharpe's Ballads, new ed., p. 44, p. 137, No XVI; Tommy Linn, North Country Chorister, ed. Ritson, p. 3; Halliwell's Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales, p. 271, ed. 1849; Thomas o Linn, Kinloch MSS, III, 45, V, 81; Tam o Lin, Campbell MSS., II, 107. (Miss Joanna Baillie tried her hand at an imitation, but the jocosity of the real thing is not feminine.) A fool sings this stanza from such a song in Wager's comedy, 'The longer thou livest, the more fool thou art,' put at about 1568; see Furnivall, Captain Cox, his Ballads and Books, p. cxxvii:

Tom a Lin and his wife, and his wiues mother,They went ouer a bridge all three together;The bridge was broken, and they fell in:'The deuil go with all!' quoth Tom a Lin.

Mr Halliwell-Phillips (as above) says that "an immense variety of songs and catches relating to Tommy Linn are known throughout the country." Brian o Lynn seems to be popular in Ireland: Lover's Legends and Stories of Ireland, p. 260 f. There is no connection between the song and the ballad beyond the name: the song is no parody, no burlesque, of the ballad, as it has been called.

"Carterhaugh is a plain at the confluence of the Ettrick with the Yarrow, scarcely an English mile above the town of Selkirk, and on this plain they show two or three rings on the ground, where, they say, the stands of milk and water stood, and upon which grass never grows." Glenriddell MS.

Translated, after Scott, by Schubart, p. 139, and Büsching's Wöchentliche Nachrichten, I, 247; by Arndt, Blütenlese, p. 212; after Aytoun, I, 7, by Rosa Warrens, Schottische Volkslieder, No 8; by Knortz, Schottische Balladen, No 17, apparently after Aytoun and Allingham. The Danish 'Nattergalen' is translated by Prior, III, 118, No 116.

Johnson's Museum, p. 423, No 411. Communicated by Robert Burns.

1O I forbid you, maidens a',That wear gowd on your hair,To come or gae by Carterhaugh,For young Tam Lin is there.2There's nane that gaes by CarterhaughBut they leave him a wad,Either their rings, or green mantles,Or else their maidenhead.3Janet has kilted her green kirtleA little aboon her knee,And she has broded her yellow hairA little aboon her bree,And she's awa to Carterhaugh,As fast as she can hie.4When she came to CarterhaughTam Lin was at the well,And there she fand his steed standing,But away was himsel.5She had na pu'd a double rose,A rose but only twa,Till up then started young Tam Lin,Says, Lady, thou's pu nae mae.6Why pu's thou the rose, Janet,And why breaks thou the wand?Or why comes thou to CarterhaughWithoutten my command?7'Carterhaugh, it is my ain,My daddie gave it me;I'll come and gang by Carterhaugh,And ask nae leave at thee.'* * * * *8Janet has kilted her green kirtleA little aboon her knee,And she has snooded her yellow hairA little aboon her bree,And she is to her father's ha,As fast as she can hie.9Four and twenty ladies fairWere playing at the ba,And out then cam the fair Janet,Ance the flower amang them a'.10Four and twenty ladies fairWere playing at the chess,And out then cam the fair Janet,As green as onie glass.11Out then spak an auld grey knight,Lay oer the castle wa,And says, Alas, fair Janet, for theeBut we'll be blamed a'.12'Haud your tongue, ye auld fac'd knight,Some ill death may ye die!Father my bairn on whom I will,I'll father nane on thee.'13Out then spak her father dear,And he spak meek and mild;'And ever alas, sweet Janet,' he says,'I think thou gaes wi child.'14'If that I gae wi child, father,Mysel maun bear the blame;There's neer a laird about your haShall get the bairn's name.15'If my love were an earthly knight,As he's an elfin grey,I wad na gie my ain true-loveFor nae lord that ye hae.16'The steed that my true-love rides onIs lighter than the wind;Wi siller he is shod before,Wi burning gowd behind.'17Janet has kilted her green kirtleA little aboon her knee,And she has snooded her yellow hairA little aboon her bree,And she's awa to Carterhaugh,As fast as she can hie.18When she cam to Carterhaugh,Tam Lin was at the well,And there she fand his steed standing,But away was himsel.19She had na pu'd a double rose,A rose but only twa,Till up then started young Tam Lin,Says Lady, thou pu's nae mae.20Why pu's thou the rose, Janet,Amang the groves sae green,And a' to kill the bonie babeThat we gat us between?21'O tell me, tell me, Tam Lin,' she says,'For's sake that died on tree,If eer ye was in holy chapel,Or christendom did see?'22'Roxbrugh he was my grandfather,Took me with him to bide,And ance it fell upon a dayThat wae did me betide.23'And ance it fell upon a day,A cauld day and a snell,When we were frae the hunting come,That frae my horse I fell;The Queen o Fairies she caught me,In yon green hill to dwell.24'And pleasant is the fairy land,But, an eerie tale to tell,Ay at the end of seven yearsWe pay a tiend to hell;I am sae fair and fu o flesh,I'm feard it be mysel.25'But the night is Halloween, lady,The morn is Hallowday;Then win me, win me, an ye will,For weel I wat ye may.26'Just at the mirk and midnight hourThe fairy folk will ride,And they that wad their true-love win,At Miles Cross they maun bide.'27'But how shall I thee ken, Tam Lin,Or how my true-love know,Amang sae mony unco knightsThe like I never saw?'28'O first let pass the black, lady,And syne let pass the brown,But quickly run to the milk-white steed,Pu ye his rider down.29'For I'll ride on the milk-white steed,And ay nearest the town;Because I was an earthly knightThey gie me that renown.30'My right hand will be glovd, lady,My left hand will be bare,Cockt up shall my bonnet be,And kaimd down shall my hair,And thae's the takens I gie thee,Nae doubt I will be there.31'They'll turn me in your arms, lady,Into an esk and adder;But hold me fast, and fear me not,I am your bairn's father.32'They'll turn me to a bear sae grim,And then a lion bold;But hold me fast, and fear me not,As ye shall love your child.33'Again they'll turn me in your armsTo a red het gaud of airn;But hold me fast, and fear me not,I'll do to you nae harm.34'And last they'll turn me in your armsInto the burning gleed;Then throw me into well water,O throw me in wi speed.35'And then I'll be your ain true-love,I'll turn a naked knight;Then cover me wi your green mantle,And cover me out o sight.'36Gloomy, gloomy was the night,And eerie was the way,As fair Jenny in her green mantleTo Miles Cross she did gae.37About the middle o the nightShe heard the bridles ring;This lady was as glad at thatAs any earthly thing.38First she let the black pass by,And syne she let the brown;But quickly she ran to the milk-white steed,And pu'd the rider down.39Sae weel she minded whae he did say,And young Tam Lin did win;Syne coverd him wi her green mantle,As blythe's a bird in spring.40Out then spak the Queen o Fairies,Out of a bush o broom:'Them that has gotten young Tam LinHas gotten a stately groom.'41Out then spak the Queen o Fairies,And an angry woman was she:'Shame betide her ill-far'd face,And an ill death may she die,For she's taen awa the boniest knightIn a' my companie.42'But had I kend, Tam Lin,' she says,'What now this night I see,I wad hae taen out thy twa grey een,And put in twa een o tree.'

1O I forbid you, maidens a',That wear gowd on your hair,To come or gae by Carterhaugh,For young Tam Lin is there.

2There's nane that gaes by CarterhaughBut they leave him a wad,Either their rings, or green mantles,Or else their maidenhead.

3Janet has kilted her green kirtleA little aboon her knee,And she has broded her yellow hairA little aboon her bree,And she's awa to Carterhaugh,As fast as she can hie.

4When she came to CarterhaughTam Lin was at the well,And there she fand his steed standing,But away was himsel.

5She had na pu'd a double rose,A rose but only twa,Till up then started young Tam Lin,Says, Lady, thou's pu nae mae.

6Why pu's thou the rose, Janet,And why breaks thou the wand?Or why comes thou to CarterhaughWithoutten my command?

7'Carterhaugh, it is my ain,My daddie gave it me;I'll come and gang by Carterhaugh,And ask nae leave at thee.'

* * * * *

8Janet has kilted her green kirtleA little aboon her knee,And she has snooded her yellow hairA little aboon her bree,And she is to her father's ha,As fast as she can hie.

9Four and twenty ladies fairWere playing at the ba,And out then cam the fair Janet,Ance the flower amang them a'.

10Four and twenty ladies fairWere playing at the chess,And out then cam the fair Janet,As green as onie glass.

11Out then spak an auld grey knight,Lay oer the castle wa,And says, Alas, fair Janet, for theeBut we'll be blamed a'.

12'Haud your tongue, ye auld fac'd knight,Some ill death may ye die!Father my bairn on whom I will,I'll father nane on thee.'

13Out then spak her father dear,And he spak meek and mild;'And ever alas, sweet Janet,' he says,'I think thou gaes wi child.'

14'If that I gae wi child, father,Mysel maun bear the blame;There's neer a laird about your haShall get the bairn's name.

15'If my love were an earthly knight,As he's an elfin grey,I wad na gie my ain true-loveFor nae lord that ye hae.

16'The steed that my true-love rides onIs lighter than the wind;Wi siller he is shod before,Wi burning gowd behind.'

17Janet has kilted her green kirtleA little aboon her knee,And she has snooded her yellow hairA little aboon her bree,And she's awa to Carterhaugh,As fast as she can hie.

18When she cam to Carterhaugh,Tam Lin was at the well,And there she fand his steed standing,But away was himsel.

19She had na pu'd a double rose,A rose but only twa,Till up then started young Tam Lin,Says Lady, thou pu's nae mae.

20Why pu's thou the rose, Janet,Amang the groves sae green,And a' to kill the bonie babeThat we gat us between?

21'O tell me, tell me, Tam Lin,' she says,'For's sake that died on tree,If eer ye was in holy chapel,Or christendom did see?'

22'Roxbrugh he was my grandfather,Took me with him to bide,And ance it fell upon a dayThat wae did me betide.

23'And ance it fell upon a day,A cauld day and a snell,When we were frae the hunting come,That frae my horse I fell;The Queen o Fairies she caught me,In yon green hill to dwell.

24'And pleasant is the fairy land,But, an eerie tale to tell,Ay at the end of seven yearsWe pay a tiend to hell;I am sae fair and fu o flesh,I'm feard it be mysel.

25'But the night is Halloween, lady,The morn is Hallowday;Then win me, win me, an ye will,For weel I wat ye may.

26'Just at the mirk and midnight hourThe fairy folk will ride,And they that wad their true-love win,At Miles Cross they maun bide.'

27'But how shall I thee ken, Tam Lin,Or how my true-love know,Amang sae mony unco knightsThe like I never saw?'

28'O first let pass the black, lady,And syne let pass the brown,But quickly run to the milk-white steed,Pu ye his rider down.

29'For I'll ride on the milk-white steed,And ay nearest the town;Because I was an earthly knightThey gie me that renown.

30'My right hand will be glovd, lady,My left hand will be bare,Cockt up shall my bonnet be,And kaimd down shall my hair,And thae's the takens I gie thee,Nae doubt I will be there.

31'They'll turn me in your arms, lady,Into an esk and adder;But hold me fast, and fear me not,I am your bairn's father.

32'They'll turn me to a bear sae grim,And then a lion bold;But hold me fast, and fear me not,As ye shall love your child.

33'Again they'll turn me in your armsTo a red het gaud of airn;But hold me fast, and fear me not,I'll do to you nae harm.

34'And last they'll turn me in your armsInto the burning gleed;Then throw me into well water,O throw me in wi speed.

35'And then I'll be your ain true-love,I'll turn a naked knight;Then cover me wi your green mantle,And cover me out o sight.'

36Gloomy, gloomy was the night,And eerie was the way,As fair Jenny in her green mantleTo Miles Cross she did gae.

37About the middle o the nightShe heard the bridles ring;This lady was as glad at thatAs any earthly thing.

38First she let the black pass by,And syne she let the brown;But quickly she ran to the milk-white steed,And pu'd the rider down.

39Sae weel she minded whae he did say,And young Tam Lin did win;Syne coverd him wi her green mantle,As blythe's a bird in spring.

40Out then spak the Queen o Fairies,Out of a bush o broom:'Them that has gotten young Tam LinHas gotten a stately groom.'

41Out then spak the Queen o Fairies,And an angry woman was she:'Shame betide her ill-far'd face,And an ill death may she die,For she's taen awa the boniest knightIn a' my companie.

42'But had I kend, Tam Lin,' she says,'What now this night I see,I wad hae taen out thy twa grey een,And put in twa een o tree.'

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