Campbell MSS, II, 129.
Campbell MSS, II, 129.
1I forbid ye, maidens a',That wears gowd in your hair,To come or gang by Carterhaugh,For young Tam Lane is there.2I forbid ye, maidens a',That wears gowd in your green,To come or gang by Carterhaugh,For fear of young Tam Lane.3'Go saddle for me the black,' says Janet,'Go saddle for me the brown,And I'll away to Carterhaugh,And flower mysell the gown.4'Go saddle for me the brown,' says Janet,'Go saddle for me the black,And I'll away to Carterhaugh,And flower mysel a hat.'* * * * *5She had not pulld a flowr, a flowr,A flower but only three,Till up there startit young Tam Lane,Just at bird Janet's knee.6'Why pullst thou the herb, Janet,And why breaks thou the tree?Why put you back the bonny babeThat's between you and me?'7'If my child was to an earthly man,As it is to a wild buck rae,I would wake him the length of the winter's night,And the lea lang simmer's day.'8'The night is Halloween, Janet,When our gude neighbours will ride,And them that would their true-love wonAt Blackning Cross maun bide.9'Many will the black ride by,And many will the brown,But I ride on a milk-white steed,And ride nearest the town:Because I was a christened knightThey gie me that renown.10'Many will the black ride by,But far mae will the brown;But when ye see the milk-white stead,Grip fast and pull me down.11'Take me in yer arms, Janet,An ask, an adder lang;The grip ye get ye maun haud fast,I'll be father to your bairn.12'Take me in your arms, Janet,An adder and a snake;The grip ye get ye maun haud fast,I'll be your warld's make.'* * * * *13Up bespak the Queen of Fairies,She spak baith loud and high:'Had I kend the day at noonTam Lane had been won from me,14'I wad hae taen out his heart o flesh,Put in a heart o tree,That a' the maids o Middle Middle MistShould neer hae taen Tam Lane frae me.'15Up bespack the Queen of Fairies,And she spak wi a loud yell:'Aye at every seven year's endWe pay the kane to hell,And the koors they hae gane round about,And I fear it will be mysel.'
1I forbid ye, maidens a',That wears gowd in your hair,To come or gang by Carterhaugh,For young Tam Lane is there.
2I forbid ye, maidens a',That wears gowd in your green,To come or gang by Carterhaugh,For fear of young Tam Lane.
3'Go saddle for me the black,' says Janet,'Go saddle for me the brown,And I'll away to Carterhaugh,And flower mysell the gown.
4'Go saddle for me the brown,' says Janet,'Go saddle for me the black,And I'll away to Carterhaugh,And flower mysel a hat.'
* * * * *
5She had not pulld a flowr, a flowr,A flower but only three,Till up there startit young Tam Lane,Just at bird Janet's knee.
6'Why pullst thou the herb, Janet,And why breaks thou the tree?Why put you back the bonny babeThat's between you and me?'
7'If my child was to an earthly man,As it is to a wild buck rae,I would wake him the length of the winter's night,And the lea lang simmer's day.'
8'The night is Halloween, Janet,When our gude neighbours will ride,And them that would their true-love wonAt Blackning Cross maun bide.
9'Many will the black ride by,And many will the brown,But I ride on a milk-white steed,And ride nearest the town:Because I was a christened knightThey gie me that renown.
10'Many will the black ride by,But far mae will the brown;But when ye see the milk-white stead,Grip fast and pull me down.
11'Take me in yer arms, Janet,An ask, an adder lang;The grip ye get ye maun haud fast,I'll be father to your bairn.
12'Take me in your arms, Janet,An adder and a snake;The grip ye get ye maun haud fast,I'll be your warld's make.'
* * * * *
13Up bespak the Queen of Fairies,She spak baith loud and high:'Had I kend the day at noonTam Lane had been won from me,
14'I wad hae taen out his heart o flesh,Put in a heart o tree,That a' the maids o Middle Middle MistShould neer hae taen Tam Lane frae me.'
15Up bespack the Queen of Fairies,And she spak wi a loud yell:'Aye at every seven year's endWe pay the kane to hell,And the koors they hae gane round about,And I fear it will be mysel.'
a.Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 337, ed. 1833.b.II, 228, ed. 1802.
a.Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 337, ed. 1833.b.II, 228, ed. 1802.
1'O I forbid ye, maidens a',That wear gowd on your hair,To come or gae by Carterhaugh,For young Tamlane is there.2'There's nane that gaes by CarterhaughBut maun leave him a wad,Either gowd rings, or green mantles,Or else their maidenheid.3'Now gowd rings ye may buy, maidens,Green mantles ye may spin,But, gin ye lose your maidenheid,Ye'll neer get that agen.'4But up then spak her, fair Janet,The fairest o a' her kin:'I'll cum and gang to Carterhaugh,And ask nae leave o him.'5Janet has kilted her green kirtleA little abune her knee,And she has braided her yellow hairA little abune her bree.6And when she came to Carterhaugh,She gaed beside the well,And there she fand his steed standing,But away was himsell.7She hadna pu'd a red red rose,A rose but barely three,Till up and starts a wee wee man,At lady Janet's knee.8Says, Why pu ye the rose, Janet?What gars ye break the tree?Or why come ye to Carterhaugh,Withouten leave o me?9Says, Carterhaugh it is mine ain,My daddie gave it me;I'll come and gang to Carterhaugh,And ask nae leave o thee.10He's taen her by the milk-white hand,Among the leaves sae green,And what they did I cannot tell,The green leaves were between.11He's taen her by the milk-white hand,Among the roses red,And what they did I cannot say,She neer returnd a maid.12When she cam to her father's ha,She looked pale and wan;They thought she'd dreed some sair sickness,Or been with some leman.13She didna comb her yellow hairNor make meikle o her head,And ilka thing that lady tookWas like to be her deid.14It's four and twenty ladies fairWere playing at the ba;Janet, the wightest of them anes,Was faintest o them a'.15Four and twenty ladies fairWere playing at the chess;And out there came the fair Janet,As green as any grass.16Out and spak an auld grey-headed knight,Lay oer the castle wa:'And ever, alas! for thee, Janet,But we'll be blamed a'!'17'Now haud your tongue, ye auld grey knight,And an ill deid may ye die!Father my bairn on whom I will,I'll father nane on thee.'18Out then spak her father dear,And he spak meik and mild:'And ever, alas! my sweet Janet,I fear ye gae with child.'19'And if I be with child, father,Mysell maun bear the blame;There's neer a knight about your haShall hae the bairnie's name.20'And if I be with child, father,'T will prove a wondrous birth,For weel I swear I'm not wi bairnTo any man on earth.21'If my love were an earthly knight,As he's an elfin grey,I wadna gie my ain true loveFor nae lord that ye hae.'22She prinkd hersell and prinnd hersell,By the ae light of the moon,And she's away to Carterhaugh,To speak wi young Tamlane.23And when she cam to Carterhaugh,She gaed beside the well,And there she saw the steed standing,But away was himsell.24She hadna pu'd a double rose,A rose but only twae,When up and started young Tamlane,Says, Lady, thou pu's nae mae.25Why pu ye the rose, Janet,Within this garden grene,And a' to kill the bonny babeThat we got us between?26'The truth ye'll tell to me, Tamlane,A word ye mauna lie;Gin eer ye was in haly chapel,Or sained in Christentie?'27'The truth I'll tell to thee, Janet,A word I winna lie;A knight me got, and a lady me bore,As well as they did thee.28'Randolph, Earl Murray, was my sire,Dunbar, Earl March, is thine;We loved when we were children small,Which yet you well may mind.29'When I was a boy just turnd of nine,My uncle sent for me,To hunt and hawk, and ride with him,And keep him companie.30'There came a wind out of the north,A sharp wind and a snell,And a deep sleep came over me,And frae my horse I fell.31'The Queen of Fairies keppit meIn yon green hill to dwell,And I'm a fairy, lyth and limb,Fair ladye, view me well.32'Then would I never tire, Janet,In Elfish land to dwell,But aye, at every seven years,They pay the teind to hell;And I am sae fat and fair of flesh,I fear 't will be mysell.33'This night is Halloween, Janet,The morn is Hallowday,And gin ye dare your true love win,Ye hae nae time to stay.34'The night it is good Halloween,When fairy folk will ride,And they that wad their true-love win,At Miles Cross they maun bide.'35'But how shall I thee ken, Tamlane?Or how shall I thee knaw,Amang so many unearthly knights,The like I never saw?'36'The first company that passes by,Say na, and let them gae;The next company that passes by,Say na, and do right sae;The third company that passes by,Then I'll be ane o thae.37'First let pass the black, Janet,And syne let pass the brown,But grip ye to the milk-white steed,And pu the rider down.38'For I ride on the milk-white steed,And aye nearest the town;Because I was a christend knight,They gave me that renown.39'My right hand will be gloved, Janet,My left hand will be bare;And these the tokens I gie thee,Nae doubt I will be there.40'They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,An adder and a snake;But had me fast, let me not pass,Gin ye wad be my maik.41'They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,An adder and an ask;They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,A bale that burns fast.42'They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,A red-hot gad o airn;But haud me fast, let me not pass,For I'll do you no harm.43'First dip me in a stand o milk,And then in a stand o water;But had me fast, let me not pass,I'll be your bairn's father.44'And next they'll shape me in your armsA tod but and an eel;But had me fast, nor let me gang,As you do love me weel.45'They'll shape me in your arms, Janet,A dove but and a swan,And last they'll shape me in your armsA mother-naked man;Cast your green mantle over me,I'll be myself again.'46Gloomy, gloomy, was the night,And eiry was the way,As fair Janet, in her green mantle,To Miles Cross she did gae.47About the dead hour o the nightShe heard the bridles ring,And Janet was as glad o thatAs any earthly thing.48And first gaed by the black black steed,And then gaed by the brown;But fast she gript the milk-white steed,And pu'd the rider down.49She pu'd him frae the milk-white steed,And loot the bridle fa,And up there raise an erlish cry,'He's won amang us a'!'50They shaped him in fair Janet's armsAn esk but and an adder;She held him fast in every shape,To be her bairn's father.51They shaped him in her arms at lastA mother-naked man,She wrapt him in her green mantle,And sae her true love wan.52Up then spake the Queen o Fairies,Out o a bush o broom:'She that has borrowd young TamlaneHas gotten a stately groom.'53Up then spake the Queen o Fairies,Out o a bush o rye:'She's taen awa the bonniest knightIn a' my cumpanie.54'But had I kennd, Tamlane,' she says,'A lady wad borrowd theeI wad taen out thy twa grey een,Put in twa een o tree.55'Had I but kennd, Tamlane,' she says,'Before ye came frae hame,I wad taen out your heart o flesh,Put in a heart o stane.56'Had I but had the wit yestreenThat I hae coft the day,I'd paid my kane seven times to hellEre you'd been won away.'
1'O I forbid ye, maidens a',That wear gowd on your hair,To come or gae by Carterhaugh,For young Tamlane is there.
2'There's nane that gaes by CarterhaughBut maun leave him a wad,Either gowd rings, or green mantles,Or else their maidenheid.
3'Now gowd rings ye may buy, maidens,Green mantles ye may spin,But, gin ye lose your maidenheid,Ye'll neer get that agen.'
4But up then spak her, fair Janet,The fairest o a' her kin:'I'll cum and gang to Carterhaugh,And ask nae leave o him.'
5Janet has kilted her green kirtleA little abune her knee,And she has braided her yellow hairA little abune her bree.
6And when she came to Carterhaugh,She gaed beside the well,And there she fand his steed standing,But away was himsell.
7She hadna pu'd a red red rose,A rose but barely three,Till up and starts a wee wee man,At lady Janet's knee.
8Says, Why pu ye the rose, Janet?What gars ye break the tree?Or why come ye to Carterhaugh,Withouten leave o me?
9Says, Carterhaugh it is mine ain,My daddie gave it me;I'll come and gang to Carterhaugh,And ask nae leave o thee.
10He's taen her by the milk-white hand,Among the leaves sae green,And what they did I cannot tell,The green leaves were between.
11He's taen her by the milk-white hand,Among the roses red,And what they did I cannot say,She neer returnd a maid.
12When she cam to her father's ha,She looked pale and wan;They thought she'd dreed some sair sickness,Or been with some leman.
13She didna comb her yellow hairNor make meikle o her head,And ilka thing that lady tookWas like to be her deid.
14It's four and twenty ladies fairWere playing at the ba;Janet, the wightest of them anes,Was faintest o them a'.
15Four and twenty ladies fairWere playing at the chess;And out there came the fair Janet,As green as any grass.
16Out and spak an auld grey-headed knight,Lay oer the castle wa:'And ever, alas! for thee, Janet,But we'll be blamed a'!'
17'Now haud your tongue, ye auld grey knight,And an ill deid may ye die!Father my bairn on whom I will,I'll father nane on thee.'
18Out then spak her father dear,And he spak meik and mild:'And ever, alas! my sweet Janet,I fear ye gae with child.'
19'And if I be with child, father,Mysell maun bear the blame;There's neer a knight about your haShall hae the bairnie's name.
20'And if I be with child, father,'T will prove a wondrous birth,For weel I swear I'm not wi bairnTo any man on earth.
21'If my love were an earthly knight,As he's an elfin grey,I wadna gie my ain true loveFor nae lord that ye hae.'
22She prinkd hersell and prinnd hersell,By the ae light of the moon,And she's away to Carterhaugh,To speak wi young Tamlane.
23And when she cam to Carterhaugh,She gaed beside the well,And there she saw the steed standing,But away was himsell.
24She hadna pu'd a double rose,A rose but only twae,When up and started young Tamlane,Says, Lady, thou pu's nae mae.
25Why pu ye the rose, Janet,Within this garden grene,And a' to kill the bonny babeThat we got us between?
26'The truth ye'll tell to me, Tamlane,A word ye mauna lie;Gin eer ye was in haly chapel,Or sained in Christentie?'
27'The truth I'll tell to thee, Janet,A word I winna lie;A knight me got, and a lady me bore,As well as they did thee.
28'Randolph, Earl Murray, was my sire,Dunbar, Earl March, is thine;We loved when we were children small,Which yet you well may mind.
29'When I was a boy just turnd of nine,My uncle sent for me,To hunt and hawk, and ride with him,And keep him companie.
30'There came a wind out of the north,A sharp wind and a snell,And a deep sleep came over me,And frae my horse I fell.
31'The Queen of Fairies keppit meIn yon green hill to dwell,And I'm a fairy, lyth and limb,Fair ladye, view me well.
32'Then would I never tire, Janet,In Elfish land to dwell,But aye, at every seven years,They pay the teind to hell;And I am sae fat and fair of flesh,I fear 't will be mysell.
33'This night is Halloween, Janet,The morn is Hallowday,And gin ye dare your true love win,Ye hae nae time to stay.
34'The night it is good Halloween,When fairy folk will ride,And they that wad their true-love win,At Miles Cross they maun bide.'
35'But how shall I thee ken, Tamlane?Or how shall I thee knaw,Amang so many unearthly knights,The like I never saw?'
36'The first company that passes by,Say na, and let them gae;The next company that passes by,Say na, and do right sae;The third company that passes by,Then I'll be ane o thae.
37'First let pass the black, Janet,And syne let pass the brown,But grip ye to the milk-white steed,And pu the rider down.
38'For I ride on the milk-white steed,And aye nearest the town;Because I was a christend knight,They gave me that renown.
39'My right hand will be gloved, Janet,My left hand will be bare;And these the tokens I gie thee,Nae doubt I will be there.
40'They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,An adder and a snake;But had me fast, let me not pass,Gin ye wad be my maik.
41'They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,An adder and an ask;They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,A bale that burns fast.
42'They'll turn me in your arms, Janet,A red-hot gad o airn;But haud me fast, let me not pass,For I'll do you no harm.
43'First dip me in a stand o milk,And then in a stand o water;But had me fast, let me not pass,I'll be your bairn's father.
44'And next they'll shape me in your armsA tod but and an eel;But had me fast, nor let me gang,As you do love me weel.
45'They'll shape me in your arms, Janet,A dove but and a swan,And last they'll shape me in your armsA mother-naked man;Cast your green mantle over me,I'll be myself again.'
46Gloomy, gloomy, was the night,And eiry was the way,As fair Janet, in her green mantle,To Miles Cross she did gae.
47About the dead hour o the nightShe heard the bridles ring,And Janet was as glad o thatAs any earthly thing.
48And first gaed by the black black steed,And then gaed by the brown;But fast she gript the milk-white steed,And pu'd the rider down.
49She pu'd him frae the milk-white steed,And loot the bridle fa,And up there raise an erlish cry,'He's won amang us a'!'
50They shaped him in fair Janet's armsAn esk but and an adder;She held him fast in every shape,To be her bairn's father.
51They shaped him in her arms at lastA mother-naked man,She wrapt him in her green mantle,And sae her true love wan.
52Up then spake the Queen o Fairies,Out o a bush o broom:'She that has borrowd young TamlaneHas gotten a stately groom.'
53Up then spake the Queen o Fairies,Out o a bush o rye:'She's taen awa the bonniest knightIn a' my cumpanie.
54'But had I kennd, Tamlane,' she says,'A lady wad borrowd theeI wad taen out thy twa grey een,Put in twa een o tree.
55'Had I but kennd, Tamlane,' she says,'Before ye came frae hame,I wad taen out your heart o flesh,Put in a heart o stane.
56'Had I but had the wit yestreenThat I hae coft the day,I'd paid my kane seven times to hellEre you'd been won away.'
A.
Divided in the Museum into 45-1/2 four-line stanzas, without heed to rhyme or reason, 35,6making a stanza with 41,2, etc.31. has belted.42.Tom, elsewhereTam.174. brie.342. burning lead.
Divided in the Museum into 45-1/2 four-line stanzas, without heed to rhyme or reason, 35,6making a stanza with 41,2, etc.
31. has belted.
42.Tom, elsewhereTam.
174. brie.
342. burning lead.
B.
"An Old Song called Young Tom Line."Written in twenty-six stanzas of four [three, two] long, or double, lines.193. yon bonny babes.262. and do right sae.264. and let them gae.See 36.26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 stand in MS. 31, 26, 27, 32, 28, 29, 33, 30.
"An Old Song called Young Tom Line."Written in twenty-six stanzas of four [three, two] long, or double, lines.
193. yon bonny babes.
262. and do right sae.
264. and let them gae.See 36.
26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 stand in MS. 31, 26, 27, 32, 28, 29, 33, 30.
D.
bhas 26 stanzas,chas 12. The first 12 stanzas ofaandband the 12 ofc, and again the first 22 stanzas ofa, andb, are almost verbally the same, anda23 ==b24.bhas but 26 stanzas.a.15 stands 24 in MS.171. Miles Cross:b, Moss.173. the holy.192. So(?)clad:b, is clad.221. twa.251. ride.b.44. let abeene.64. I'll ask no.78. her down.104. gotten in.111. to me.113. at a.124. his land.153. and through.165. if that.166.Rides Cross, as ina.178. Take holy.204. next the.After 23:
bhas 26 stanzas,chas 12. The first 12 stanzas ofaandband the 12 ofc, and again the first 22 stanzas ofa, andb, are almost verbally the same, anda23 ==b24.bhas but 26 stanzas.
a.15 stands 24 in MS.
171. Miles Cross:b, Moss.
173. the holy.
192. So(?)clad:b, is clad.
221. twa.
251. ride.
b.44. let abeene.
64. I'll ask no.
78. her down.
104. gotten in.
111. to me.
113. at a.
124. his land.
153. and through.
165. if that.
166.Rides Cross, as ina.
178. Take holy.
204. next the.
After 23:
'I'll grow into your arms twoLike ice on frozen lake;But hold me fast, let me not go,Or from your goupen break.'25.And it's next night into Miles MossFair Margaret has gone,When lo she stands beside Rides Cross,Between twelve hours and one.26.There's holy water in her hand,She casts a compass round,And presently a fairy bandComes riding oer the mound.
'I'll grow into your arms twoLike ice on frozen lake;But hold me fast, let me not go,Or from your goupen break.'
25.And it's next night into Miles MossFair Margaret has gone,When lo she stands beside Rides Cross,Between twelve hours and one.
26.There's holy water in her hand,She casts a compass round,And presently a fairy bandComes riding oer the mound.
c.13, and always,Chester's wood.31. the seam.44. let alane.61. will pluck.64. ask no.94. has been.111. me, Tom o Lin.124. his land.
c.13, and always,Chester's wood.
31. the seam.
44. let alane.
61. will pluck.
64. ask no.
94. has been.
111. me, Tom o Lin.
124. his land.
E.
18, 19, 20 are not written out. We are directed to understand them to be "as in preceding stanzas, making the necessary grammatical changes."
18, 19, 20 are not written out. We are directed to understand them to be "as in preceding stanzas, making the necessary grammatical changes."
F.
112, 152.ass, somebody's blunder forask.
112, 152.ass, somebody's blunder forask.
G.
212.elfin gray, Motherwell, but seeH, 72.261. Ay.311. began.582.Motherwell: far's the river Tay.584.Motherwell: she gained.Motherwell, as usual, seems to have made some slight changes in copying.
212.elfin gray, Motherwell, but seeH, 72.
261. Ay.
311. began.
582.Motherwell: far's the river Tay.
584.Motherwell: she gained.
Motherwell, as usual, seems to have made some slight changes in copying.
I.
Scott's copy having been "prepared from a collation of the printed copies," namely, those in Johnson's Museum and Herd's Scottish Songs, "with a very accurate one in Glenriddell's MS., and with several recitals from tradition," what was not derived from tradition, but from the Museum, Glenriddell, and Herd, is printed in smaller type.a.3, 20, not inb.After 31 are omitted five stanzas of the copy obtained by Scott "from a gentleman residing near Langholm," and others, of the same origin, after 46 and 47.
Scott's copy having been "prepared from a collation of the printed copies," namely, those in Johnson's Museum and Herd's Scottish Songs, "with a very accurate one in Glenriddell's MS., and with several recitals from tradition," what was not derived from tradition, but from the Museum, Glenriddell, and Herd, is printed in smaller type.
a.3, 20, not inb.
After 31 are omitted five stanzas of the copy obtained by Scott "from a gentleman residing near Langholm," and others, of the same origin, after 46 and 47.
32'But we that live in Fairy-landNo sickness know nor pain;I quit my body when I will,And take to it again.33'I quit my body when I please,Or unto it repair;We can inhabit at our easeIn either earth or air.34'Our shapes and size we can convertTo either large or small;An old nut-shell's the same to usAs is the lofty hall.35'We sleep in rose-buds soft and sweet,We revel in the stream;We wanton lightly on the windOr glide on a sunbeam.36'And all our wants are well suppliedFrom every rich man's store,Who thankless sins the gifts he gets,And vainly grasps for more.'
32'But we that live in Fairy-landNo sickness know nor pain;I quit my body when I will,And take to it again.
33'I quit my body when I please,Or unto it repair;We can inhabit at our easeIn either earth or air.
34'Our shapes and size we can convertTo either large or small;An old nut-shell's the same to usAs is the lofty hall.
35'We sleep in rose-buds soft and sweet,We revel in the stream;We wanton lightly on the windOr glide on a sunbeam.
36'And all our wants are well suppliedFrom every rich man's store,Who thankless sins the gifts he gets,And vainly grasps for more.'
404.buy me maik, a plain misprint for thebe my maikofb57.46.After this stanza are omitted:
404.buy me maik, a plain misprint for thebe my maikofb57.
46.After this stanza are omitted:
52The heavens were black, the night was dark,And dreary was the place,But Janet stood with eager wishHer lover to embrace.53Betwixt the hours of twelve and oneA north wind tore the bent,And straight she heard strange elritch soundsUpon that wind which went.
52The heavens were black, the night was dark,And dreary was the place,But Janet stood with eager wishHer lover to embrace.
53Betwixt the hours of twelve and oneA north wind tore the bent,And straight she heard strange elritch soundsUpon that wind which went.
47.After this stanza are omitted:
47.After this stanza are omitted:
55Their oaten pipes blew wondrous shrill,The hemlock small blew clear,And louder notes from hemlock large,And bog-reed, struck the ear;But solemn sounds, or sober thoughts,The fairies cannot bear.56They sing, inspired with love and joy,Like skylarks in the air;Of solid sense, or thought that's grave,You'll find no traces there.57Fair Janet stood, with mind unmoved,The dreary heath upon,And louder, louder waxd the soundAs they came riding on.58Will o Wisp before them went,Sent forth a twinkling light,And soon she saw the fairy bandsAll riding in her sight.
55Their oaten pipes blew wondrous shrill,The hemlock small blew clear,And louder notes from hemlock large,And bog-reed, struck the ear;But solemn sounds, or sober thoughts,The fairies cannot bear.
56They sing, inspired with love and joy,Like skylarks in the air;Of solid sense, or thought that's grave,You'll find no traces there.
57Fair Janet stood, with mind unmoved,The dreary heath upon,And louder, louder waxd the soundAs they came riding on.
58Will o Wisp before them went,Sent forth a twinkling light,And soon she saw the fairy bandsAll riding in her sight.
b6-12 is a fragment of 'The Broomfield-Hill,' introduced by a stanza formed on the sixth, as here given:
b6-12 is a fragment of 'The Broomfield-Hill,' introduced by a stanza formed on the sixth, as here given:
5.And she's away to Carterhaugh,And gaed beside the wood,And there was sleeping young Tamlane,And his steed beside him stood.
5.And she's away to Carterhaugh,And gaed beside the wood,And there was sleeping young Tamlane,And his steed beside him stood.
After the fragment of 'The Broomfield-Hill' follows:
After the fragment of 'The Broomfield-Hill' follows:
13.Fair Janet, in her green cleiding,Returned upon the morn,And she met her father's ae brother,The laird of Abercorn.
13.Fair Janet, in her green cleiding,Returned upon the morn,And she met her father's ae brother,The laird of Abercorn.
And then these two stanzas, the first altered from Herd's fragment of 'The Broomfield Hill,' 'I'll wager, I'll wager,' p. 310, ed. 1769, and the second from Herd's fragment, 'Kertonha,' or versionCof this ballad:
And then these two stanzas, the first altered from Herd's fragment of 'The Broomfield Hill,' 'I'll wager, I'll wager,' p. 310, ed. 1769, and the second from Herd's fragment, 'Kertonha,' or versionCof this ballad:
14.I'll wager, I'll wager, I'll wager wi youFive hunder merk and ten,I'll maiden gang to Carterhaugh,And maiden come again.15.She princked hersell, and prin'd hersell,By the ae light of the moon,And she's away to CarterhaughAs fast as she could win.
14.I'll wager, I'll wager, I'll wager wi youFive hunder merk and ten,I'll maiden gang to Carterhaugh,And maiden come again.
15.She princked hersell, and prin'd hersell,By the ae light of the moon,And she's away to CarterhaughAs fast as she could win.
Instead ofa10, 11,bhas:
Instead ofa10, 11,bhas:
He's taen her by the milk-white hand,And by the grass-green sleeve,He's led her to the fairy ground,And spierd at her nae leave.
He's taen her by the milk-white hand,And by the grass-green sleeve,He's led her to the fairy ground,And spierd at her nae leave.
Instead of 14 ofa,bhas something nearer toA,B9:
Instead of 14 ofa,bhas something nearer toA,B9:
23.It's four and twenty ladies fairWere in her father's ha,Whan in there came the fair Janet,The flower amang them a'.
23.It's four and twenty ladies fairWere in her father's ha,Whan in there came the fair Janet,The flower amang them a'.
After 21 ofafollows inba copy of 'The Wee Wee Man,' 32-39, attached by these two stanzas, which had been "introduced in one recital only:"
After 21 ofafollows inba copy of 'The Wee Wee Man,' 32-39, attached by these two stanzas, which had been "introduced in one recital only:"
30.'Is it to a man of might, Janet,Or is it to a man o mean?Or is it unto young Tamlane,That 's wi the fairies gane?'31.''T was down by Carterhaugh, father,I walked beside the wa,And there I saw a wee, wee man,The least that eer I saw.'
30.'Is it to a man of might, Janet,Or is it to a man o mean?Or is it unto young Tamlane,That 's wi the fairies gane?'
31.''T was down by Carterhaugh, father,I walked beside the wa,And there I saw a wee, wee man,The least that eer I saw.'
Instead of 22, which had been used before, we have inb:
Instead of 22, which had been used before, we have inb:
40.Janet's put on her green cleiding,Whan near nine months were gane,And she's awa to Carterhaugh,To speak wi young Tamlane.
40.Janet's put on her green cleiding,Whan near nine months were gane,And she's awa to Carterhaugh,To speak wi young Tamlane.
bhas in place ofa28-30:
bhas in place ofa28-30:
46.Roxburgh was my grandfather,Took me with him to bide,And as we frae the hunting cameThis harm did me betide.47.Roxburgh was a hunting knight,And loved hunting well,And on a cauld and frosty dayDown frae my horse I fell.
46.Roxburgh was my grandfather,Took me with him to bide,And as we frae the hunting cameThis harm did me betide.
47.Roxburgh was a hunting knight,And loved hunting well,And on a cauld and frosty dayDown frae my horse I fell.
b49 hasA24 instead ofa37,I32.b612==a492==I442hastoad, and so hasC92, from which the stanza is taken.Todis an improvement, but probably an editorial improvement.
b49 hasA24 instead ofa37,I32.
b612==a492==I442hastoad, and so hasC92, from which the stanza is taken.Todis an improvement, but probably an editorial improvement.
FOOTNOTES:[323]These are the concluding verses, coming much nearer to the language of this world than the rest. They may have a basis of tradition:Whar they war aware o the Fairy King,A huntan wi his train.Four an twenty gentlemenCam by on steeds o brown;In his hand ilk bore a siller wand,On his head a siller crown.Four an twenty beltit knichtsOn duiplit greys cam by;Gowden their wands an crowns, whilk scanctLike streamers in the sky.Four an twenty noble kingsCam by on steeds o snaw,But True Thomas, the gude Rhymer,Was king outower them a'.[324]"Tamlane: an old Scottish Border Ballad. Aberdeen, Lewis and James Smith, 1862. "I am indebted for a sight of this copy, and for the information as to the editor, to Mr Macmath.[325]Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 221-24, ed. 1802.[326]Restoration from enchantment is effected by drinking blood, in other ballads, as Grundtvig, No 55, II, 156, No 58, II, 174; in No 56, II, 158, by a maid in falcon shape eating of a bit of flesh which her lover had cut from his breast.[327]Volksleben der Neugriechen, pp 115-17, "from Chourmouzis, [Greek: Krêtika], p. 69 f, Athens, 1842." Chourmouzis heard this story, about 1820 or 1830, from an old Cretan peasant, who had heard it from his grandfather.[328]The silence of the Cretan fairy, asB. Schmidt has remarked, even seems to explain Sophocles calling the nuptials of Peleus and Thetis "speechless," [Greek: aphthongous gamous]. Sophocles gives the transformations as being lion, snake, fire, water: Scholia in Pindari Nemea, III, 60; Schmidt, as before, p. 116, note. That a firm grip and a fearless one would make any sea-god do your will would appear from the additional instances of Menelaus and Proteus, in Odyssey, IV, and of Hercules and Nereus, Apollodorus, II, 5, 11, 4, Scholia in Apollonii Argonaut., IV, 1396. Proteus masks as lion, snake, panther, boar, running water, tree; Nereus as water, fire, or, as Apollodorus says, in all sorts of shapes. Bacchus was accustomed to transform himself when violence was done him, but it is not recorded that he was ever brought to terms like the watery divinities. See Mannhardt, Wald- und Feldkulte, II, 60-64, who also well remarks that the tales of the White Ladies, who, to be released from a ban, must be kissed three times in various shapes, as toad, wolf, snake, etc., have relation to these Greek traditions.[329]The significance of the immersion in water is shown by Mannhardt, Wald-u. Feldkulte, II, 64 ff. The disorder in the stanzas ofAat this place has of course been rectified. In Scott's version,I, transformations are added at random fromC,afterthe dipping in milk and in water, which seems indeed to have been regarded by the reciters only as a measure for cooling red-hot iron or the burning gleed, and not as the act essential for restoration to the human nature.[330]Possibly the holy water inD17,G32, is a relic of the water-bath.[331]In the MS. ofBalso the transformation into a het gad of iron comes just before the direction to dip the object into a stand of milk; but we have the turning into a mother-naked man several stanzas earlier. By reading, in 331, I'll turn, and putting 33 after 34, we should have the order of events which we find inA.That Tam Lin should go into water or milk as a dove or snake, or in some other of his temporary forms, andcome outa man, is the only disposition which is consistent with the order of the world to which he belongs. Mannhardt gives us a most curious and interesting insight into some of the laws of that world in Wald-u. Feldkulte, II, 64-70. The wife of a Cashmere king, in a story there cited from Benfey's Pantschatantra, I, 254, § 92, is delivered of a serpent, but is reported to have borne a son. Another king offers his daughter in marriage, and the Cashmere king, to keep his secret, accepts the proposal. In due time the princess claims her bridegroom, and they give her the snake. Though greatly distressed, she accepts her lot, and takes the snake about to the holy places, at the last of which she receives a command to put the snake into the water-tank. As soon as this is done the snake takes the form of a man. A woman's giving birth to a snake was by no means a rare thing in Karst in the seventeenth century, and it was the rule in one noble family that all the offspring should be in serpent form, or at least have a serpent's head; but a bath in water turned them into human shape. For elves and water nymphs who have entered into connections with men in the form of women, bathing in water is equally necessary for resuming their previous shape, as appears from an ancient version of the story of Melusina: Gervasius, ed. Liebrecht, p. 4 f, and Vincentius Bellovacensis, Speculum Naturale, 2, 127 (from Helinaudus), cited by Liebrecht, at p. 66.A lad who had been changed into an ass by a couple of witches recovers his shape merely by jumping into water and rolling about in it: William of Malmesbury's Kings of England, c. 10, cited by Vincent of Beauvais, Speculum Naturale, iii, 109; Düntzer, Liebrecht's Dunlop, p. 538. Simple illusions of magic, such as clods and wisps made to appear swine to our eyes, are inevitably dissolved when the unrealities touch water. Liebrecht's Gervasius, p. 65.[332]Cf. 'Allison Gross.'
[323]These are the concluding verses, coming much nearer to the language of this world than the rest. They may have a basis of tradition:Whar they war aware o the Fairy King,A huntan wi his train.Four an twenty gentlemenCam by on steeds o brown;In his hand ilk bore a siller wand,On his head a siller crown.Four an twenty beltit knichtsOn duiplit greys cam by;Gowden their wands an crowns, whilk scanctLike streamers in the sky.Four an twenty noble kingsCam by on steeds o snaw,But True Thomas, the gude Rhymer,Was king outower them a'.
[323]These are the concluding verses, coming much nearer to the language of this world than the rest. They may have a basis of tradition:
Whar they war aware o the Fairy King,A huntan wi his train.Four an twenty gentlemenCam by on steeds o brown;In his hand ilk bore a siller wand,On his head a siller crown.Four an twenty beltit knichtsOn duiplit greys cam by;Gowden their wands an crowns, whilk scanctLike streamers in the sky.Four an twenty noble kingsCam by on steeds o snaw,But True Thomas, the gude Rhymer,Was king outower them a'.
Whar they war aware o the Fairy King,A huntan wi his train.
Four an twenty gentlemenCam by on steeds o brown;In his hand ilk bore a siller wand,On his head a siller crown.
Four an twenty beltit knichtsOn duiplit greys cam by;Gowden their wands an crowns, whilk scanctLike streamers in the sky.
Four an twenty noble kingsCam by on steeds o snaw,But True Thomas, the gude Rhymer,Was king outower them a'.
[324]"Tamlane: an old Scottish Border Ballad. Aberdeen, Lewis and James Smith, 1862. "I am indebted for a sight of this copy, and for the information as to the editor, to Mr Macmath.
[324]"Tamlane: an old Scottish Border Ballad. Aberdeen, Lewis and James Smith, 1862. "I am indebted for a sight of this copy, and for the information as to the editor, to Mr Macmath.
[325]Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 221-24, ed. 1802.
[325]Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 221-24, ed. 1802.
[326]Restoration from enchantment is effected by drinking blood, in other ballads, as Grundtvig, No 55, II, 156, No 58, II, 174; in No 56, II, 158, by a maid in falcon shape eating of a bit of flesh which her lover had cut from his breast.
[326]Restoration from enchantment is effected by drinking blood, in other ballads, as Grundtvig, No 55, II, 156, No 58, II, 174; in No 56, II, 158, by a maid in falcon shape eating of a bit of flesh which her lover had cut from his breast.
[327]Volksleben der Neugriechen, pp 115-17, "from Chourmouzis, [Greek: Krêtika], p. 69 f, Athens, 1842." Chourmouzis heard this story, about 1820 or 1830, from an old Cretan peasant, who had heard it from his grandfather.
[327]Volksleben der Neugriechen, pp 115-17, "from Chourmouzis, [Greek: Krêtika], p. 69 f, Athens, 1842." Chourmouzis heard this story, about 1820 or 1830, from an old Cretan peasant, who had heard it from his grandfather.
[328]The silence of the Cretan fairy, asB. Schmidt has remarked, even seems to explain Sophocles calling the nuptials of Peleus and Thetis "speechless," [Greek: aphthongous gamous]. Sophocles gives the transformations as being lion, snake, fire, water: Scholia in Pindari Nemea, III, 60; Schmidt, as before, p. 116, note. That a firm grip and a fearless one would make any sea-god do your will would appear from the additional instances of Menelaus and Proteus, in Odyssey, IV, and of Hercules and Nereus, Apollodorus, II, 5, 11, 4, Scholia in Apollonii Argonaut., IV, 1396. Proteus masks as lion, snake, panther, boar, running water, tree; Nereus as water, fire, or, as Apollodorus says, in all sorts of shapes. Bacchus was accustomed to transform himself when violence was done him, but it is not recorded that he was ever brought to terms like the watery divinities. See Mannhardt, Wald- und Feldkulte, II, 60-64, who also well remarks that the tales of the White Ladies, who, to be released from a ban, must be kissed three times in various shapes, as toad, wolf, snake, etc., have relation to these Greek traditions.
[328]The silence of the Cretan fairy, asB. Schmidt has remarked, even seems to explain Sophocles calling the nuptials of Peleus and Thetis "speechless," [Greek: aphthongous gamous]. Sophocles gives the transformations as being lion, snake, fire, water: Scholia in Pindari Nemea, III, 60; Schmidt, as before, p. 116, note. That a firm grip and a fearless one would make any sea-god do your will would appear from the additional instances of Menelaus and Proteus, in Odyssey, IV, and of Hercules and Nereus, Apollodorus, II, 5, 11, 4, Scholia in Apollonii Argonaut., IV, 1396. Proteus masks as lion, snake, panther, boar, running water, tree; Nereus as water, fire, or, as Apollodorus says, in all sorts of shapes. Bacchus was accustomed to transform himself when violence was done him, but it is not recorded that he was ever brought to terms like the watery divinities. See Mannhardt, Wald- und Feldkulte, II, 60-64, who also well remarks that the tales of the White Ladies, who, to be released from a ban, must be kissed three times in various shapes, as toad, wolf, snake, etc., have relation to these Greek traditions.
[329]The significance of the immersion in water is shown by Mannhardt, Wald-u. Feldkulte, II, 64 ff. The disorder in the stanzas ofAat this place has of course been rectified. In Scott's version,I, transformations are added at random fromC,afterthe dipping in milk and in water, which seems indeed to have been regarded by the reciters only as a measure for cooling red-hot iron or the burning gleed, and not as the act essential for restoration to the human nature.
[329]The significance of the immersion in water is shown by Mannhardt, Wald-u. Feldkulte, II, 64 ff. The disorder in the stanzas ofAat this place has of course been rectified. In Scott's version,I, transformations are added at random fromC,afterthe dipping in milk and in water, which seems indeed to have been regarded by the reciters only as a measure for cooling red-hot iron or the burning gleed, and not as the act essential for restoration to the human nature.
[330]Possibly the holy water inD17,G32, is a relic of the water-bath.
[330]Possibly the holy water inD17,G32, is a relic of the water-bath.
[331]In the MS. ofBalso the transformation into a het gad of iron comes just before the direction to dip the object into a stand of milk; but we have the turning into a mother-naked man several stanzas earlier. By reading, in 331, I'll turn, and putting 33 after 34, we should have the order of events which we find inA.That Tam Lin should go into water or milk as a dove or snake, or in some other of his temporary forms, andcome outa man, is the only disposition which is consistent with the order of the world to which he belongs. Mannhardt gives us a most curious and interesting insight into some of the laws of that world in Wald-u. Feldkulte, II, 64-70. The wife of a Cashmere king, in a story there cited from Benfey's Pantschatantra, I, 254, § 92, is delivered of a serpent, but is reported to have borne a son. Another king offers his daughter in marriage, and the Cashmere king, to keep his secret, accepts the proposal. In due time the princess claims her bridegroom, and they give her the snake. Though greatly distressed, she accepts her lot, and takes the snake about to the holy places, at the last of which she receives a command to put the snake into the water-tank. As soon as this is done the snake takes the form of a man. A woman's giving birth to a snake was by no means a rare thing in Karst in the seventeenth century, and it was the rule in one noble family that all the offspring should be in serpent form, or at least have a serpent's head; but a bath in water turned them into human shape. For elves and water nymphs who have entered into connections with men in the form of women, bathing in water is equally necessary for resuming their previous shape, as appears from an ancient version of the story of Melusina: Gervasius, ed. Liebrecht, p. 4 f, and Vincentius Bellovacensis, Speculum Naturale, 2, 127 (from Helinaudus), cited by Liebrecht, at p. 66.A lad who had been changed into an ass by a couple of witches recovers his shape merely by jumping into water and rolling about in it: William of Malmesbury's Kings of England, c. 10, cited by Vincent of Beauvais, Speculum Naturale, iii, 109; Düntzer, Liebrecht's Dunlop, p. 538. Simple illusions of magic, such as clods and wisps made to appear swine to our eyes, are inevitably dissolved when the unrealities touch water. Liebrecht's Gervasius, p. 65.
[331]In the MS. ofBalso the transformation into a het gad of iron comes just before the direction to dip the object into a stand of milk; but we have the turning into a mother-naked man several stanzas earlier. By reading, in 331, I'll turn, and putting 33 after 34, we should have the order of events which we find inA.
That Tam Lin should go into water or milk as a dove or snake, or in some other of his temporary forms, andcome outa man, is the only disposition which is consistent with the order of the world to which he belongs. Mannhardt gives us a most curious and interesting insight into some of the laws of that world in Wald-u. Feldkulte, II, 64-70. The wife of a Cashmere king, in a story there cited from Benfey's Pantschatantra, I, 254, § 92, is delivered of a serpent, but is reported to have borne a son. Another king offers his daughter in marriage, and the Cashmere king, to keep his secret, accepts the proposal. In due time the princess claims her bridegroom, and they give her the snake. Though greatly distressed, she accepts her lot, and takes the snake about to the holy places, at the last of which she receives a command to put the snake into the water-tank. As soon as this is done the snake takes the form of a man. A woman's giving birth to a snake was by no means a rare thing in Karst in the seventeenth century, and it was the rule in one noble family that all the offspring should be in serpent form, or at least have a serpent's head; but a bath in water turned them into human shape. For elves and water nymphs who have entered into connections with men in the form of women, bathing in water is equally necessary for resuming their previous shape, as appears from an ancient version of the story of Melusina: Gervasius, ed. Liebrecht, p. 4 f, and Vincentius Bellovacensis, Speculum Naturale, 2, 127 (from Helinaudus), cited by Liebrecht, at p. 66.
A lad who had been changed into an ass by a couple of witches recovers his shape merely by jumping into water and rolling about in it: William of Malmesbury's Kings of England, c. 10, cited by Vincent of Beauvais, Speculum Naturale, iii, 109; Düntzer, Liebrecht's Dunlop, p. 538. Simple illusions of magic, such as clods and wisps made to appear swine to our eyes, are inevitably dissolved when the unrealities touch water. Liebrecht's Gervasius, p. 65.
[332]Cf. 'Allison Gross.'
[332]Cf. 'Allison Gross.'
Skene MSS, No 8, p. 25. Sharpe's Ballad Book, ed. Laing, p. 169.
Skene MSS, No 8, p. 25. Sharpe's Ballad Book, ed. Laing, p. 169.
We see from this pretty fragment, which, after the nature of the best popular ballad, forces you to chant and will not be read, that a woman had been carried off, four days after bearing a son, to serve as nurse in the elf-queen's family. She is promised that she shall be permitted to return home if she will tend the fairy's bairn till he has got the use of his legs. We could well have spared stanzas 10-12, which belong to 'Thomas Rymer,' to know a little more of the proper story.
That elves and water-spirits have frequently solicited the help of mortal women at lying-in time is well known: see Stewart's Popular Superstitions of the Highlands, p. 104; Grimm, Deutsche Sagen, Nos 41, 49, 68, 69, 304; Müllenhoff, Nos 443, 444; Thiele, Danmarks Folkesagen, 1843, II, 200, Nos 1-4; Asbjørnsen, Norske Huldre-Eventyr, 2d ed., I, 16; Maurer, Isländische Volkssagen, p. 6 f; Keightley's Fairy Mythology, pp 122, 261, 275, 301, 311, 388, 488.[333]They also like to have their offspring suckled by earthly women. It is said, writes Gervase of Tilbury, that nobody is more exposed to being carried off by water-sprites than a woman in milk, and that theysometimes restore such a woman, with pay for her services, after she has nursed their wretched fry seven years. He had himself seen a woman who had been abducted for this purpose, while washing clothes on the bank of the Rhone. She had to nurse the nix's son under the water for that term, and then was sent back unhurt. Otia Imperialia, III, 85, Liebrecht, p. 38. Choice is naturally made of the healthiest and handsomest mothers for this office. "A fine young woman of Nithsdale, when first made a mother, was sitting singing and rocking her child, when a pretty lady came into her cottage, covered with a fairy mantle. She carried a beautiful child in her arms, swaddled in green silk. 'Gie my bonnie thing a suck,' said the fairy. The young woman, conscious to whom the child belonged, took it kindly in her arms, and laid it to her breast. The lady instantly disappeared, saying, 'Nurse kin', an ne'er want.' The young mother nurtured the two babes, and was astonished, whenever she awoke, at finding the richest suits of apparel for both children, with meat of most delicious flavor. This food tasted, says tradition, like loaf mixed with wine and honey," etc. Cromek, Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, p. 302.