188ARCHIE O CAWFIELD

A.‘Archie of the Cawfield,’ communicated to Percy by Miss Fisher of Carlisle, 1780.

B. a.‘Archie of Cafield,’[323]Glenriddell MSS, XI, 14, 1791; Scott’s Minstrelsy, 1802, I, 177.b.‘Archie of Ca’field,’ Scott’s Minstrelsy, 1833, II, 116.

C.‘The Three Brothers,’ Buchan’s Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 111.

D.‘Billie Archie,’ Motherwell’s MS., p. 467, communicated by Buchan, and by him derived from James Nicol of Strichen; Motherwell’s Minstrelsy, p. 335.

E.Macmath MS., p. 76, fragments.

F.Communicated by Mr J. M. Watson, of Clark’s Island, Plymouth Harbor, Massachusetts.

B awas printed by Scott in the first edition of his Minstrelsy, with the omission of stanzas 11, 13, 153–6(153,4, 161,2, of the MS.), 173,4(181,2of the MS.), 27, 28, and with many editorial improvements, besides Scotticising of the spelling. OfB b, the form in which the ballad appears in the later edition of the Minstrelsy, the editor says that he has been enabled to add several stanzas obtained from recitation, of which he remarks that, “as they contrast the brutal indifference of the elderbrother with the zeal and spirit of his associates, they add considerably to the dramatic effect of the whole.” The new stanzas are ten, and partly displace some ofa. None of the omitted stanzas are restored, and the other changes previously made are retained, except of course where new stanzas have been introduced.

This ballad is in all the salient features a repetition of ‘Jock o the Side,’ Halls playing the parts of Armstrongs. The Halls are several times complained of for reif and away-taking of ky, oxen, etc., in 1579. There is a Jok Hall of the Sykis, Jok Hall, called Paitti’s Jok, a Jokie Hall in the Clintis, and the name Archie Hall occurs, which is, to be sure, a matter of very slight consequence. See the Register of the Privy Council of Scotland, III, 236 f., 354 f. Cafield is about a mile west of Langholm, in Wauchopedale. The Armstrongs had spread into Wauchopedale in the sixteenth century, and Jock Armstrong of the Caffeild appears in the Registers of the Privy Council, III, 43, 85, 133, 535. I have not found Halls of Caffeild, and hope not to do them injustice by holding that some friend or member of that sept has substituted their name, for the glory of the family.[324]

From a passage in A History of Dumfries, by William Bennet, in The Dumfries Monthly Magazine, III, 9 f., July, 1826 (kindly brought to my attention by Mr Macmath), there appears to have been a version of this ballad in which the Johnstones played the part of the Halls, or Armstrongs; but against their enemies the Maxwells, not against the public authority. A gentleman of Dumfries informed Bennet that he had “often, in early life, listened to an interesting ballad, sung by an old female chronicle of the town, which was founded upon the following circumstance. In some fray between the Maxwells and Johnstones, the former had taken the chief of the latter prisoner, and shut him up in the jail of Dumfries, in Lochmaben gate; for in Dumfries they possessed almost the same power as in the Stewartry of Annandale, Crichton of Sanquhar, who was then hereditary sheriff of Nithsdale, being their retainer. In a dark night shortly afterwards, a trusty band of the Johnstones marched secretly into Dumfries, and, surprising the jail-keepers, bore off their chief, manacled as he then was, and, placing him behind one of their troopers, galloped off towards the head of Locher, there to regain the Tinwald side and strike into the mountains of Moffat before their enemies should have leisure to start in pursuit. A band of the Maxwells, happening to be in town, and instantly receiving the alarm, started in pursuit of the fugitives, and overtook them about the dawn of morning, just as they had suddenly halted upon the banks of the Locher, and seemed to hesitate about risking its passage; for the stream was much swollen by a heavy rain which had lately fallen, and seemed to threaten destruction to any who should dare to enter it. On seeing the Maxwells, however, and reflecting upon the comparative smallness of their own party, they plunged in, and, by dextrous management, reached in safety the opposite bank at the moment their pursuers drew up on the brink of that which they had left. The Johnstones had now the decided advantage, for, had their enemies ventured to cross, they could, while struggling against the current, have been easily destroyed. The bloodthirsty warriors raged and shook their weapons at each other across the stream; but the flood rolled on as if in mockery of their threatenings, and the one party at length galloped off in triumph, while the other was compelled to return in disgrace.”

There are three Halls inA,B,C, brothers, of whom Archie is a prisoner, condemned to die. The actors inDare not said to be brothers or Halls; the prisoner is Archie, as before. InA, Jock the laird and Dickie effect the rescue, assisted by Jocky Ha, a cousin. Dick is the leader, Jocky Ha subordinate, and Jock the laird is the despondent and repining personage, corresponding to Much in Jock o the Side,A,D, and to the Laird’s Wat,B,C. InB, Dick is the only brother named; he and Jokie Hall from Teviotdaleeffect the rescue; Jokie Hall is prominent, and Dickie has the second place; Archie the prisoner is faint-hearted, but, properly speaking, that part is omitted. Jokie Hall represents Hobie Noble, who is the leader inAof the other ballad, as Jokie is here inB, and alsoC; whereas Dick is the leader inA,Dof the ballad before us, and represents the Laird’s Jock, who is principal inB,Cof the other. InB,C, only two are concerned in breaking the jail. InC, Dick loses heart, or has the place of Much; inD, Caff o Lin.

InA38, Jock the laird says his colt will drown him if he attempts to cross the river; so Dick inB23 (for it can be no other, though Dick is not named) and inC24, and Caff o Lin inD14. They have not two attacks of panic, as Much has in ‘Jock o the Side,’A, with such excellent effect in bringing out Hobie Noble’s steadiness. To make up for this, however, the laird has an unheroic qualm after all is well over, inA44: the dearsome night has cost him Cawfield! It is a fine-spirited answer that Dick makes: ‘Light o thy lands! we should not have been three brothers.’ In one of the stanzas which Scott added inB b, “coarse Ca’field,” that is, the laird again, is addressed (inconsecutively, as the verses stand) with the like reproach: ‘Wad ye even your lands to your born billy!’

Archie is prisoner at Dumfries inA,B, at Annan inC; inDno place is mentioned. The route followed inAis Barnglish,[325]only two or three miles westward, where the horseshoes are turned, 8; Bonshaw wood, where they take counsel, 10; over the Annan at Hoddam, 12, to Dumfries, 13; back by Bonshaw Shield, where they again take counsel, 29; over the Annan at Annan Holm (Annan Bank?), opposite Wamphray (where the Johnstones would be friendly), 31, to Cafield. Bonshaw Shield would have to be somewhere between Dumfries and Annan Water; it seems to be an erroneous repetition of the Bonshaw on the left of the Annan.

The route inBis The Murraywhat, where shoes are turned, 6; Dumfries, 8; back by Lochmaben, 17; The Murraywhat, where they file off the shackles, 18; to and across the Annan. Here we may ask why the shoes are not changed earlier; for The Murraywhat is on the west side of the Annan. The route inCis not described; there is no reason, if they start from Cafield (see 23), why they should cross the Annan, the town being on the eastern side. All difficulties are escaped inDby giving no names.

The New England copy,F, naturally enough, names no places. There are three brothers, as inA,B,C, and Dickie is the leader. The prisoner, here called Archer, gives up hope when he comes to the river; his horse is lame and cannot swim; but horses are shifted, and he gets over. His spirits are again dashed when he sees the sheriff in pursuit.

A, 62, 142, 164, ‘for leugh o Liddesdale cracked he,’ is explained byB a, 102, ‘fra the laigh of Tiviotdale was he;’ he bragged for lower Liddesdale, was from lower Liddesdale; it seems to be a sort ofεὔχετο εἶναι.B breads (that is, Scott corrects), ‘The luve of Teviotdale was he.’B a, 164, ‘And her girth was the gold-twist to be,’ is unintelligible to me, and appears to be corrupt,breads, And that was her gold-twist to be, an emendation of Scott’s, gold-twist meaning “the small gilded chains drawn across the chest of a war-horse.” The three stanzas introduced inB bafter 7 (the colloquy with the smith) are indifferent modern stuff. This and something worse areC14, where Johnny Ha takes the prisoner on his back andleadsthe mare, the refreshments in 16, 17, and the sheriff in 19–21, 28, 29.

Communicated to Percy by Miss Fisher of Carlisle, 1780.

1Late in an evening forth as I went,’Twas on the dawning of the day;I heard two brothers make their moan,I listend well what they did say.2. . . . . . .. . . . . .We were three born brethren,There[s] one of us condemnd to die.3Then up bespake Jock the laird:‘If I had but a hundre men,A hundred o th best i Christenty,I wad go on to fair Dumfries, I wad loosemy brother and set him free.’4So up bespak then Dicky Ha,He was the wisest o the three:‘A hundre men we’ll never get,Neither for gold nor fee,But some of them will us betray;They’l neither fight for gold nor fee.5‘Had I but ten well-wight men,Ten o the best i Christenty,I wad gae on to fair Dumfries,I wad loose my brother and set him free.6‘Jocky Ha, our cousin, ’s be the first man’(For leugh o Liddesdale cracked he);‘An ever we come till a pinch,He’ll be as good as ony three.’7They mounted ten well-wight men,Ten o the best i Christenty;. . . . . . .. . . . . . .8There was horsing and horsing of haste,And cracking o whips out oer the lee,Till they came to fair Barngliss,And they ca’d the smith right quietly.9He has shod them a’ their horse,He’s shod them siccer and honestly,And he as turnd the cawkers backwards oer,Where foremost they were wont to be.10And there was horsing, horsing of haste,And cracking of whips out oer the lee,Until they came to the Bonshaw wood,Where they held their council privately.11Some says, We’ll gang the Annan road,It is the better road, said they;Up bespak then Dicky Ha,The wisest of that company.12‘Annan road’s a publick road,It’s no the road that makes for me;But we will through at Hoddam ford,It is the better road,’ said he.13And there was horsing, horsing o haste,And cracking of whips out oer the lea,Until they came to fair Dumfries,And it was newly strucken three.14Up bespake then Jocky Ha,For leugh o Liddesdale cracked he:‘I have a mare, they ca her Meg,She is the best i Christenty;An ever we come till a pinch,She’ll bring awa both thee and me.’15‘But five we’ll leave to had our horse,And five will watch, guard for to be;Who is the man,’ said Dicky then,‘To the prison-door will go with me?’16Up bespak then Jocky Ha,For leugh o Liddesdale cracked he:‘I am the man,’ said Jocky than,‘To the prison-door I’ll go with thee.’17They are up the jail-stair,They stepped it right soberly,Until they came to the jail-door;They ca’d the prisoner quietly.18‘O sleeps thou, wakest thou, Archie, my billy?O sleeps thou, wakes thou, dear billy?’‘Sometimes I sleep, sometimes I wake;But who’s that knows my name so well?’ [said he.]‘I am thy brother Dicky,’ he says;‘This night I’m come to borrow thee.’19But up bespake the prisoner then,And O but he spake woefully!‘Today has been a justice-court,. . . . . . .And a’ Liddesdale were here the night,The morn’s the day at I’se to die.’20‘What is thy crime, Archie, my billy?What is the crime they lay to thee?’‘I brake a spear i the warden’s breast,For saving my master’s land,’ said he.21‘If that be a’ the crime they lay to thee, Archie, my billy,If that be the crime they lay to thee,Work thou within, and me without,And thro good strength I’ll borrow thee.’22‘I cannot work, billy,’ he says,‘I cannot work, billy, with thee,For fifteen stone of Spanish ironLyes fast to me with lock and key.’23When Dicky he heard that,‘Away, thou crabby chiel!’ cried he;He’s taen the door aye with his foot,And fast he followd it with his knee.Till a’ the bolts the door hung on,O th’ prison-floor he made them flee.24‘Thou’s welcome, welcome, Archy, my billy,Thou’s aye right dear welcome to me;There shall be straiks this day,’ he said,‘This day or thou be taen from me.’25He’s got the prisoner on o his back,He’s gotten him irons and aw,. . . . . . .. . . . . . .26Up bespake then Jocky Ha,‘Let some o th’ prisoner lean on me;’‘The diel o there,’ quo Dicky than,‘He’s no the wightdom of a flea.’27They are on o that gray mare,And they are on o her aw three,And they linked the irons about her neck,And galloped the street right wantonly.28‘To horse, to horse,’ then, ‘all,’ he says,‘Horse ye with all the might ye may,For the jailor he will waken next;And the prisoners had a’ wan away.’29There was horsing, horsing of haste,And cracking o whips out oer the lea,Until they came to the Bonshaw Shield;There they held their council privately.30Some says, ‘We’ll gang the Annan road;It is the better road,’ said they;But up bespak than Dicky Ha,The wisest of that company:31‘Annan road’s a publick road,It’s not the road that makes for me;But we will through at Annan Holme,It is the better road,’ said he;‘An we were in at Wamfrey Gate,The Johnstones they will a’ help me.’32But Dicky lookd oer his left shoulder,I wait a wiley look gave he;He spied the leiutenant coming,And a hundre men of his company.33‘So horse ye, horse ye, lads!’ he said,‘O horse ye, sure and siccerly!For yonder is the lieutenant,With a hundred men of his company.’34There was horsing, horsing of haste,And cracking o whips out oer the lea,Until they came to Annan Holme,And it was running like a sea.35But up bespake the lieutenant,Until a bonny lad said he,‘Who is the man,’ said the leiutenant,‘Rides foremost of yon company?’36Then up bespake the bonny lad,Until the lieutenant said he,‘Some men do ca him Dicky Ha,Rides foremost of yon company.’37‘O haste ye, haste ye!’ said the leiutenant,‘Pursue with a’ the might ye may!For the man had needs to be well saintThat comes thro the hands o Dicky Ha.’38But up bespak Jock the laird,‘This has been a dearsome night to me;I’ve a colt of four years old,I wait he wannelld like the wind;If ever he come to the deep,He will plump down, leave me behind.’39‘Wae light o thee and thy horse baith, Jock,And even so thy horse and thee!Take thou mine, and I’ll take thine,Foul fa the warst horse i th’ company!I’ll cast the prisoner me behind;There’ll no man die but him that’s fee.’40There they’ve a’taen the flood,And they have taen it hastily;Dicky was the hindmost took the flood,And foremost on the land stood he.41Dicky’s turnd his horse about,And he has turnd it hastilly:‘Come through, come thro, my lieutenant,Come thro this day, and drink wi me,And thy dinner’s be dressd in Annan Holme,It sall not cost thee one penny.’42‘I think some witch has bore the, Dicky,Or some devil in hell been thy daddy;I woud not swum that wan water double-horsed,For a’ the gold in Christenty.43‘But throw me thro my irons, Dicky,I wait they cost me full dear;’‘O devil be there,’ quo Jocky Hall,‘They’l be good shoon to my gray mare.’44O up bespoke then Jock the laird,‘This has been a dearsome night to me;For yesternight the Cawfield was my ain,Landsman again I neer sall be.’45‘Now wae light o thee and thy lands baith, Jock,And even so baith the land and thee!For gear will come and gear will gang,But three brothers again we never were to be.’

1Late in an evening forth as I went,’Twas on the dawning of the day;I heard two brothers make their moan,I listend well what they did say.

Late in an evening forth as I went,

’Twas on the dawning of the day;

I heard two brothers make their moan,

I listend well what they did say.

2. . . . . . .. . . . . .We were three born brethren,There[s] one of us condemnd to die.

. . . . . . .

. . . . . .

We were three born brethren,

There[s] one of us condemnd to die.

3Then up bespake Jock the laird:‘If I had but a hundre men,A hundred o th best i Christenty,I wad go on to fair Dumfries, I wad loosemy brother and set him free.’

Then up bespake Jock the laird:

‘If I had but a hundre men,

A hundred o th best i Christenty,

I wad go on to fair Dumfries, I wad loose

my brother and set him free.’

4So up bespak then Dicky Ha,He was the wisest o the three:‘A hundre men we’ll never get,Neither for gold nor fee,But some of them will us betray;They’l neither fight for gold nor fee.

So up bespak then Dicky Ha,

He was the wisest o the three:

‘A hundre men we’ll never get,

Neither for gold nor fee,

But some of them will us betray;

They’l neither fight for gold nor fee.

5‘Had I but ten well-wight men,Ten o the best i Christenty,I wad gae on to fair Dumfries,I wad loose my brother and set him free.

‘Had I but ten well-wight men,

Ten o the best i Christenty,

I wad gae on to fair Dumfries,

I wad loose my brother and set him free.

6‘Jocky Ha, our cousin, ’s be the first man’(For leugh o Liddesdale cracked he);‘An ever we come till a pinch,He’ll be as good as ony three.’

‘Jocky Ha, our cousin, ’s be the first man’

(For leugh o Liddesdale cracked he);

‘An ever we come till a pinch,

He’ll be as good as ony three.’

7They mounted ten well-wight men,Ten o the best i Christenty;. . . . . . .. . . . . . .

They mounted ten well-wight men,

Ten o the best i Christenty;

. . . . . . .

8There was horsing and horsing of haste,And cracking o whips out oer the lee,Till they came to fair Barngliss,And they ca’d the smith right quietly.

There was horsing and horsing of haste,

And cracking o whips out oer the lee,

Till they came to fair Barngliss,

And they ca’d the smith right quietly.

9He has shod them a’ their horse,He’s shod them siccer and honestly,And he as turnd the cawkers backwards oer,Where foremost they were wont to be.

He has shod them a’ their horse,

He’s shod them siccer and honestly,

And he as turnd the cawkers backwards oer,

Where foremost they were wont to be.

10And there was horsing, horsing of haste,And cracking of whips out oer the lee,Until they came to the Bonshaw wood,Where they held their council privately.

And there was horsing, horsing of haste,

And cracking of whips out oer the lee,

Until they came to the Bonshaw wood,

Where they held their council privately.

11Some says, We’ll gang the Annan road,It is the better road, said they;Up bespak then Dicky Ha,The wisest of that company.

Some says, We’ll gang the Annan road,

It is the better road, said they;

Up bespak then Dicky Ha,

The wisest of that company.

12‘Annan road’s a publick road,It’s no the road that makes for me;But we will through at Hoddam ford,It is the better road,’ said he.

‘Annan road’s a publick road,

It’s no the road that makes for me;

But we will through at Hoddam ford,

It is the better road,’ said he.

13And there was horsing, horsing o haste,And cracking of whips out oer the lea,Until they came to fair Dumfries,And it was newly strucken three.

And there was horsing, horsing o haste,

And cracking of whips out oer the lea,

Until they came to fair Dumfries,

And it was newly strucken three.

14Up bespake then Jocky Ha,For leugh o Liddesdale cracked he:‘I have a mare, they ca her Meg,She is the best i Christenty;An ever we come till a pinch,She’ll bring awa both thee and me.’

Up bespake then Jocky Ha,

For leugh o Liddesdale cracked he:

‘I have a mare, they ca her Meg,

She is the best i Christenty;

An ever we come till a pinch,

She’ll bring awa both thee and me.’

15‘But five we’ll leave to had our horse,And five will watch, guard for to be;Who is the man,’ said Dicky then,‘To the prison-door will go with me?’

‘But five we’ll leave to had our horse,

And five will watch, guard for to be;

Who is the man,’ said Dicky then,

‘To the prison-door will go with me?’

16Up bespak then Jocky Ha,For leugh o Liddesdale cracked he:‘I am the man,’ said Jocky than,‘To the prison-door I’ll go with thee.’

Up bespak then Jocky Ha,

For leugh o Liddesdale cracked he:

‘I am the man,’ said Jocky than,

‘To the prison-door I’ll go with thee.’

17They are up the jail-stair,They stepped it right soberly,Until they came to the jail-door;They ca’d the prisoner quietly.

They are up the jail-stair,

They stepped it right soberly,

Until they came to the jail-door;

They ca’d the prisoner quietly.

18‘O sleeps thou, wakest thou, Archie, my billy?O sleeps thou, wakes thou, dear billy?’‘Sometimes I sleep, sometimes I wake;But who’s that knows my name so well?’ [said he.]‘I am thy brother Dicky,’ he says;‘This night I’m come to borrow thee.’

‘O sleeps thou, wakest thou, Archie, my billy?

O sleeps thou, wakes thou, dear billy?’

‘Sometimes I sleep, sometimes I wake;

But who’s that knows my name so well?’ [said he.]

‘I am thy brother Dicky,’ he says;

‘This night I’m come to borrow thee.’

19But up bespake the prisoner then,And O but he spake woefully!‘Today has been a justice-court,. . . . . . .And a’ Liddesdale were here the night,The morn’s the day at I’se to die.’

But up bespake the prisoner then,

And O but he spake woefully!

‘Today has been a justice-court,

. . . . . . .

And a’ Liddesdale were here the night,

The morn’s the day at I’se to die.’

20‘What is thy crime, Archie, my billy?What is the crime they lay to thee?’‘I brake a spear i the warden’s breast,For saving my master’s land,’ said he.

‘What is thy crime, Archie, my billy?

What is the crime they lay to thee?’

‘I brake a spear i the warden’s breast,

For saving my master’s land,’ said he.

21‘If that be a’ the crime they lay to thee, Archie, my billy,If that be the crime they lay to thee,Work thou within, and me without,And thro good strength I’ll borrow thee.’

‘If that be a’ the crime they lay to thee, Archie, my billy,

If that be the crime they lay to thee,

Work thou within, and me without,

And thro good strength I’ll borrow thee.’

22‘I cannot work, billy,’ he says,‘I cannot work, billy, with thee,For fifteen stone of Spanish ironLyes fast to me with lock and key.’

‘I cannot work, billy,’ he says,

‘I cannot work, billy, with thee,

For fifteen stone of Spanish iron

Lyes fast to me with lock and key.’

23When Dicky he heard that,‘Away, thou crabby chiel!’ cried he;He’s taen the door aye with his foot,And fast he followd it with his knee.Till a’ the bolts the door hung on,O th’ prison-floor he made them flee.

When Dicky he heard that,

‘Away, thou crabby chiel!’ cried he;

He’s taen the door aye with his foot,

And fast he followd it with his knee.

Till a’ the bolts the door hung on,

O th’ prison-floor he made them flee.

24‘Thou’s welcome, welcome, Archy, my billy,Thou’s aye right dear welcome to me;There shall be straiks this day,’ he said,‘This day or thou be taen from me.’

‘Thou’s welcome, welcome, Archy, my billy,

Thou’s aye right dear welcome to me;

There shall be straiks this day,’ he said,

‘This day or thou be taen from me.’

25He’s got the prisoner on o his back,He’s gotten him irons and aw,. . . . . . .. . . . . . .

He’s got the prisoner on o his back,

He’s gotten him irons and aw,

. . . . . . .

26Up bespake then Jocky Ha,‘Let some o th’ prisoner lean on me;’‘The diel o there,’ quo Dicky than,‘He’s no the wightdom of a flea.’

Up bespake then Jocky Ha,

‘Let some o th’ prisoner lean on me;’

‘The diel o there,’ quo Dicky than,

‘He’s no the wightdom of a flea.’

27They are on o that gray mare,And they are on o her aw three,And they linked the irons about her neck,And galloped the street right wantonly.

They are on o that gray mare,

And they are on o her aw three,

And they linked the irons about her neck,

And galloped the street right wantonly.

28‘To horse, to horse,’ then, ‘all,’ he says,‘Horse ye with all the might ye may,For the jailor he will waken next;And the prisoners had a’ wan away.’

‘To horse, to horse,’ then, ‘all,’ he says,

‘Horse ye with all the might ye may,

For the jailor he will waken next;

And the prisoners had a’ wan away.’

29There was horsing, horsing of haste,And cracking o whips out oer the lea,Until they came to the Bonshaw Shield;There they held their council privately.

There was horsing, horsing of haste,

And cracking o whips out oer the lea,

Until they came to the Bonshaw Shield;

There they held their council privately.

30Some says, ‘We’ll gang the Annan road;It is the better road,’ said they;But up bespak than Dicky Ha,The wisest of that company:

Some says, ‘We’ll gang the Annan road;

It is the better road,’ said they;

But up bespak than Dicky Ha,

The wisest of that company:

31‘Annan road’s a publick road,It’s not the road that makes for me;But we will through at Annan Holme,It is the better road,’ said he;‘An we were in at Wamfrey Gate,The Johnstones they will a’ help me.’

‘Annan road’s a publick road,

It’s not the road that makes for me;

But we will through at Annan Holme,

It is the better road,’ said he;

‘An we were in at Wamfrey Gate,

The Johnstones they will a’ help me.’

32But Dicky lookd oer his left shoulder,I wait a wiley look gave he;He spied the leiutenant coming,And a hundre men of his company.

But Dicky lookd oer his left shoulder,

I wait a wiley look gave he;

He spied the leiutenant coming,

And a hundre men of his company.

33‘So horse ye, horse ye, lads!’ he said,‘O horse ye, sure and siccerly!For yonder is the lieutenant,With a hundred men of his company.’

‘So horse ye, horse ye, lads!’ he said,

‘O horse ye, sure and siccerly!

For yonder is the lieutenant,

With a hundred men of his company.’

34There was horsing, horsing of haste,And cracking o whips out oer the lea,Until they came to Annan Holme,And it was running like a sea.

There was horsing, horsing of haste,

And cracking o whips out oer the lea,

Until they came to Annan Holme,

And it was running like a sea.

35But up bespake the lieutenant,Until a bonny lad said he,‘Who is the man,’ said the leiutenant,‘Rides foremost of yon company?’

But up bespake the lieutenant,

Until a bonny lad said he,

‘Who is the man,’ said the leiutenant,

‘Rides foremost of yon company?’

36Then up bespake the bonny lad,Until the lieutenant said he,‘Some men do ca him Dicky Ha,Rides foremost of yon company.’

Then up bespake the bonny lad,

Until the lieutenant said he,

‘Some men do ca him Dicky Ha,

Rides foremost of yon company.’

37‘O haste ye, haste ye!’ said the leiutenant,‘Pursue with a’ the might ye may!For the man had needs to be well saintThat comes thro the hands o Dicky Ha.’

‘O haste ye, haste ye!’ said the leiutenant,

‘Pursue with a’ the might ye may!

For the man had needs to be well saint

That comes thro the hands o Dicky Ha.’

38But up bespak Jock the laird,‘This has been a dearsome night to me;I’ve a colt of four years old,I wait he wannelld like the wind;If ever he come to the deep,He will plump down, leave me behind.’

But up bespak Jock the laird,

‘This has been a dearsome night to me;

I’ve a colt of four years old,

I wait he wannelld like the wind;

If ever he come to the deep,

He will plump down, leave me behind.’

39‘Wae light o thee and thy horse baith, Jock,And even so thy horse and thee!Take thou mine, and I’ll take thine,Foul fa the warst horse i th’ company!I’ll cast the prisoner me behind;There’ll no man die but him that’s fee.’

‘Wae light o thee and thy horse baith, Jock,

And even so thy horse and thee!

Take thou mine, and I’ll take thine,

Foul fa the warst horse i th’ company!

I’ll cast the prisoner me behind;

There’ll no man die but him that’s fee.’

40There they’ve a’taen the flood,And they have taen it hastily;Dicky was the hindmost took the flood,And foremost on the land stood he.

There they’ve a’taen the flood,

And they have taen it hastily;

Dicky was the hindmost took the flood,

And foremost on the land stood he.

41Dicky’s turnd his horse about,And he has turnd it hastilly:‘Come through, come thro, my lieutenant,Come thro this day, and drink wi me,And thy dinner’s be dressd in Annan Holme,It sall not cost thee one penny.’

Dicky’s turnd his horse about,

And he has turnd it hastilly:

‘Come through, come thro, my lieutenant,

Come thro this day, and drink wi me,

And thy dinner’s be dressd in Annan Holme,

It sall not cost thee one penny.’

42‘I think some witch has bore the, Dicky,Or some devil in hell been thy daddy;I woud not swum that wan water double-horsed,For a’ the gold in Christenty.

‘I think some witch has bore the, Dicky,

Or some devil in hell been thy daddy;

I woud not swum that wan water double-horsed,

For a’ the gold in Christenty.

43‘But throw me thro my irons, Dicky,I wait they cost me full dear;’‘O devil be there,’ quo Jocky Hall,‘They’l be good shoon to my gray mare.’

‘But throw me thro my irons, Dicky,

I wait they cost me full dear;’

‘O devil be there,’ quo Jocky Hall,

‘They’l be good shoon to my gray mare.’

44O up bespoke then Jock the laird,‘This has been a dearsome night to me;For yesternight the Cawfield was my ain,Landsman again I neer sall be.’

O up bespoke then Jock the laird,

‘This has been a dearsome night to me;

For yesternight the Cawfield was my ain,

Landsman again I neer sall be.’

45‘Now wae light o thee and thy lands baith, Jock,And even so baith the land and thee!For gear will come and gear will gang,But three brothers again we never were to be.’

‘Now wae light o thee and thy lands baith, Jock,

And even so baith the land and thee!

For gear will come and gear will gang,

But three brothers again we never were to be.’

a.Glenriddell MSS, XI, 14, 1791, “an old West Border ballad.”b.Scott’s Minstrelsy, 1833, II, 116.

1As I was walking mine alane,It was by the dawning o the day,I heard twa brothers make their maine,And I listned well what they did say.2The eldest to the youngest said,‘O dear brother, how can this be!There was three brethren of us born,And one of us is condemnd to die.’3‘O chuse ye out a hundred men,A hundred men in Christ[e]ndie,And we’ll away to Dumfries town,And set our billie Archie free.’4‘A hundred men you cannot get,Nor yet sixteen in Christendie;For some of them will us betray,And other some will work for fee.5‘But chuse ye out eleven men,And we ourselves thirteen will be,And we’ill away to Dumfries town,And borrow bony billie Archie.’6There was horsing, horsing in haste,And there was marching upon the lee,Untill they came to the Murraywhat,And they lighted a’ right speedylie.7‘A smith, a smith!’ Dickie he crys,‘A smith, a smith, right speedily,To turn back the cakers of our horses feet!For it is forward we woud be.’8There was a horsing, horsing in haste,There was marching on the lee,Untill they came to Dumfries port,And there they lighted right manfulie.9‘Thereś six of us will hold the horse,And other five watchmen will be;But who is the man among you a’Will go to the Tolbooth door wi me?’10O up then spake Jokie Hall(Fra the laigh of Tiviotdale was he),‘If it should cost my life this very night,I’ll ga to the Tollbooth door wi thee.’11‘O sleepst thou, wakest thow, Archie laddie?O sleepst thou, wakest thow, dear billie?’‘I sleep but saft, I waken oft,For the morn’s the day that I man die.’12‘Be o good cheer now, Archie lad,Be o good cheer now, dear billie;Work thow within and I without,And the morn thou’s dine at Cafield wi me.’13‘O work, O work, Archie?’ he cries,‘O work, O work? ther’s na working for me;For ther’s fifteen stane o Spanish iron,And it lys fow sair on my body.’14O Jokie Hall stept to the door,And he bended it back upon his knee,And he made the bolts that the door hang onJump to the wa right wantonlie.15He took the prisoner on his back,And down the Tollbooth stairs came he;Out then spak Dickie and said,Let some o the weight fa on me;‘O shame a ma!’ co Jokie Ha,‘For he’s no the weight of a poor flee.’16The gray mare stands at the door,And I wat neer a foot stirt she,Till they laid the links out oer her neck,And her girth was the gold-twist to be.17And they came down thro Dumfries town,And O but they came bonily!Untill they came to Lochmaben port,And they leugh a’ the night manfulie.18There was horsing, horsing in haste,And there was marching on the lee,Untill they came to the Murraywhat,And they lighted a’ right speedilie.19‘A smith, a smith!’ Dickie he cries,‘A smith, a smith, right speedilie,To file off the shakles fra my dear brother!For it is forward we wad be.’20They had not filtt a shakle of iron,A shakle of iron but barely three,Till out then spake young Simon brave,‘Ye do na see what I do see.21‘Lo yonder comes Liewtenant Gordon,And a hundred men in his company:’‘O wo is me!’ then Archie cries,‘For I’m the prisoner, and I must die.’22O there was horsing, horsing in haste,And there was marching upon the lee,Untill they came to Annan side,And it was flowing like the sea.23‘I have a colt, and he’s four years old,And he can amble like the wind,But when he comes to the belly deep,He lays himself down on the ground.’24‘But I have a mare, and they call her Meg.And she’s the best in Christendie;Set ye the prisoner me behind;Ther’ll na man die but he that’s fae!’25Now they did swim that wan water,And O but they swam bonilie!Untill they came to the other side,And they wrang their cloathes right drunk[i]lie.26‘Come through, come through, Lieutenant Gordon!Come through, and drink some wine wi me!For ther’s a ale-house neer hard by,And it shall not cost thee one penny.’27‘Throw me my irons, Dickie!’ he cries,‘For I wat they cost me right dear;’‘O shame a ma!’ cries Jokie Ha,‘For they’ll be good shoon to my gray mare.’28‘Surely thy minnie has been some witch,Or thy dad some warlock has been;Else thow had never attempted such,Or to the bottom thow had gone.29‘Throw me my irons, Dickie!’ he cries,‘For I wot they cost me dear enough;’‘O shame a ma!’ cries Jokie Ha,‘They’ll be good shakles to my plough.’30‘Come through, come through, Liewtenant Gordon!Come throw, and drink some wine wi me!For yesterday I was your prisoner,But now the night I am set free.’

1As I was walking mine alane,It was by the dawning o the day,I heard twa brothers make their maine,And I listned well what they did say.

As I was walking mine alane,

It was by the dawning o the day,

I heard twa brothers make their maine,

And I listned well what they did say.

2The eldest to the youngest said,‘O dear brother, how can this be!There was three brethren of us born,And one of us is condemnd to die.’

The eldest to the youngest said,

‘O dear brother, how can this be!

There was three brethren of us born,

And one of us is condemnd to die.’

3‘O chuse ye out a hundred men,A hundred men in Christ[e]ndie,And we’ll away to Dumfries town,And set our billie Archie free.’

‘O chuse ye out a hundred men,

A hundred men in Christ[e]ndie,

And we’ll away to Dumfries town,

And set our billie Archie free.’

4‘A hundred men you cannot get,Nor yet sixteen in Christendie;For some of them will us betray,And other some will work for fee.

‘A hundred men you cannot get,

Nor yet sixteen in Christendie;

For some of them will us betray,

And other some will work for fee.

5‘But chuse ye out eleven men,And we ourselves thirteen will be,And we’ill away to Dumfries town,And borrow bony billie Archie.’

‘But chuse ye out eleven men,

And we ourselves thirteen will be,

And we’ill away to Dumfries town,

And borrow bony billie Archie.’

6There was horsing, horsing in haste,And there was marching upon the lee,Untill they came to the Murraywhat,And they lighted a’ right speedylie.

There was horsing, horsing in haste,

And there was marching upon the lee,

Untill they came to the Murraywhat,

And they lighted a’ right speedylie.

7‘A smith, a smith!’ Dickie he crys,‘A smith, a smith, right speedily,To turn back the cakers of our horses feet!For it is forward we woud be.’

‘A smith, a smith!’ Dickie he crys,

‘A smith, a smith, right speedily,

To turn back the cakers of our horses feet!

For it is forward we woud be.’

8There was a horsing, horsing in haste,There was marching on the lee,Untill they came to Dumfries port,And there they lighted right manfulie.

There was a horsing, horsing in haste,

There was marching on the lee,

Untill they came to Dumfries port,

And there they lighted right manfulie.

9‘Thereś six of us will hold the horse,And other five watchmen will be;But who is the man among you a’Will go to the Tolbooth door wi me?’

‘Thereś six of us will hold the horse,

And other five watchmen will be;

But who is the man among you a’

Will go to the Tolbooth door wi me?’

10O up then spake Jokie Hall(Fra the laigh of Tiviotdale was he),‘If it should cost my life this very night,I’ll ga to the Tollbooth door wi thee.’

O up then spake Jokie Hall

(Fra the laigh of Tiviotdale was he),

‘If it should cost my life this very night,

I’ll ga to the Tollbooth door wi thee.’

11‘O sleepst thou, wakest thow, Archie laddie?O sleepst thou, wakest thow, dear billie?’‘I sleep but saft, I waken oft,For the morn’s the day that I man die.’

‘O sleepst thou, wakest thow, Archie laddie?

O sleepst thou, wakest thow, dear billie?’

‘I sleep but saft, I waken oft,

For the morn’s the day that I man die.’

12‘Be o good cheer now, Archie lad,Be o good cheer now, dear billie;Work thow within and I without,And the morn thou’s dine at Cafield wi me.’

‘Be o good cheer now, Archie lad,

Be o good cheer now, dear billie;

Work thow within and I without,

And the morn thou’s dine at Cafield wi me.’

13‘O work, O work, Archie?’ he cries,‘O work, O work? ther’s na working for me;For ther’s fifteen stane o Spanish iron,And it lys fow sair on my body.’

‘O work, O work, Archie?’ he cries,

‘O work, O work? ther’s na working for me;

For ther’s fifteen stane o Spanish iron,

And it lys fow sair on my body.’

14O Jokie Hall stept to the door,And he bended it back upon his knee,And he made the bolts that the door hang onJump to the wa right wantonlie.

O Jokie Hall stept to the door,

And he bended it back upon his knee,

And he made the bolts that the door hang on

Jump to the wa right wantonlie.

15He took the prisoner on his back,And down the Tollbooth stairs came he;Out then spak Dickie and said,Let some o the weight fa on me;‘O shame a ma!’ co Jokie Ha,‘For he’s no the weight of a poor flee.’

He took the prisoner on his back,

And down the Tollbooth stairs came he;

Out then spak Dickie and said,

Let some o the weight fa on me;

‘O shame a ma!’ co Jokie Ha,

‘For he’s no the weight of a poor flee.’

16The gray mare stands at the door,And I wat neer a foot stirt she,Till they laid the links out oer her neck,And her girth was the gold-twist to be.

The gray mare stands at the door,

And I wat neer a foot stirt she,

Till they laid the links out oer her neck,

And her girth was the gold-twist to be.

17And they came down thro Dumfries town,And O but they came bonily!Untill they came to Lochmaben port,And they leugh a’ the night manfulie.

And they came down thro Dumfries town,

And O but they came bonily!

Untill they came to Lochmaben port,

And they leugh a’ the night manfulie.

18There was horsing, horsing in haste,And there was marching on the lee,Untill they came to the Murraywhat,And they lighted a’ right speedilie.

There was horsing, horsing in haste,

And there was marching on the lee,

Untill they came to the Murraywhat,

And they lighted a’ right speedilie.

19‘A smith, a smith!’ Dickie he cries,‘A smith, a smith, right speedilie,To file off the shakles fra my dear brother!For it is forward we wad be.’

‘A smith, a smith!’ Dickie he cries,

‘A smith, a smith, right speedilie,

To file off the shakles fra my dear brother!

For it is forward we wad be.’

20They had not filtt a shakle of iron,A shakle of iron but barely three,Till out then spake young Simon brave,‘Ye do na see what I do see.

They had not filtt a shakle of iron,

A shakle of iron but barely three,

Till out then spake young Simon brave,

‘Ye do na see what I do see.

21‘Lo yonder comes Liewtenant Gordon,And a hundred men in his company:’‘O wo is me!’ then Archie cries,‘For I’m the prisoner, and I must die.’

‘Lo yonder comes Liewtenant Gordon,

And a hundred men in his company:’

‘O wo is me!’ then Archie cries,

‘For I’m the prisoner, and I must die.’

22O there was horsing, horsing in haste,And there was marching upon the lee,Untill they came to Annan side,And it was flowing like the sea.

O there was horsing, horsing in haste,

And there was marching upon the lee,

Untill they came to Annan side,

And it was flowing like the sea.

23‘I have a colt, and he’s four years old,And he can amble like the wind,But when he comes to the belly deep,He lays himself down on the ground.’

‘I have a colt, and he’s four years old,

And he can amble like the wind,

But when he comes to the belly deep,

He lays himself down on the ground.’

24‘But I have a mare, and they call her Meg.And she’s the best in Christendie;Set ye the prisoner me behind;Ther’ll na man die but he that’s fae!’

‘But I have a mare, and they call her Meg.

And she’s the best in Christendie;

Set ye the prisoner me behind;

Ther’ll na man die but he that’s fae!’

25Now they did swim that wan water,And O but they swam bonilie!Untill they came to the other side,And they wrang their cloathes right drunk[i]lie.

Now they did swim that wan water,

And O but they swam bonilie!

Untill they came to the other side,

And they wrang their cloathes right drunk[i]lie.

26‘Come through, come through, Lieutenant Gordon!Come through, and drink some wine wi me!For ther’s a ale-house neer hard by,And it shall not cost thee one penny.’

‘Come through, come through, Lieutenant Gordon!

Come through, and drink some wine wi me!

For ther’s a ale-house neer hard by,

And it shall not cost thee one penny.’

27‘Throw me my irons, Dickie!’ he cries,‘For I wat they cost me right dear;’‘O shame a ma!’ cries Jokie Ha,‘For they’ll be good shoon to my gray mare.’

‘Throw me my irons, Dickie!’ he cries,

‘For I wat they cost me right dear;’

‘O shame a ma!’ cries Jokie Ha,

‘For they’ll be good shoon to my gray mare.’

28‘Surely thy minnie has been some witch,Or thy dad some warlock has been;Else thow had never attempted such,Or to the bottom thow had gone.

‘Surely thy minnie has been some witch,

Or thy dad some warlock has been;

Else thow had never attempted such,

Or to the bottom thow had gone.

29‘Throw me my irons, Dickie!’ he cries,‘For I wot they cost me dear enough;’‘O shame a ma!’ cries Jokie Ha,‘They’ll be good shakles to my plough.’

‘Throw me my irons, Dickie!’ he cries,

‘For I wot they cost me dear enough;’

‘O shame a ma!’ cries Jokie Ha,

‘They’ll be good shakles to my plough.’

30‘Come through, come through, Liewtenant Gordon!Come throw, and drink some wine wi me!For yesterday I was your prisoner,But now the night I am set free.’

‘Come through, come through, Liewtenant Gordon!

Come throw, and drink some wine wi me!

For yesterday I was your prisoner,

But now the night I am set free.’

Buchan’s Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 111.

1As I walked on a pleasant green—’Twas on the first morning of May—I heard twa brothers make their moan,And hearkend well what they did say.2The first he gave a grievous sigh,And said, Alas, and wae is me!We hae a brother condemned to death,And the very morn must hanged be.3Then out it speaks him Little Dick,I wat a gude fellow was he:‘Had I three men unto mysell,Well borrowed shoud Bell Archie be.’4Out it speaks him Johnny Ha,A better fellow by far was he:‘Ye shall hae six men and yoursell,And me to bear you companie.5‘Twa for keepers o the guard,See that to keep it sickerlie,And twa to come, and twa to gang,And twa to speak wi Bell Archie.6‘But we winna gang like men o weir,Nor yet will we like cavalliers;But we will gang like corn-buyers,And we’ll put brechens on our mares.’7Then they are to the jail-house doors,And they hae tirled at the pin:‘Ye sleep ye, wake ye, Bell Archie?Quickly rise, lat us come in.’8‘I sleep not aft, I lie not saft;Wha’s there that knocks and kens my name?’‘It is your brothers Dick and John;Ye’ll open the door, lat us come in.’9‘Awa, awa, my brethren dear,And ye’ll had far awa frae me;If ye be found at jail-house door,I fear like dogs they’ll gar ye die.’10‘Ohon, alas! my brother dear,Is this the hearkning ye gie to me?If ye’ll work therein as we thereout,Well borrowd shoud your body be.’11‘How can I work therein, therein,Or yet how can I work thereout,When fifty tons o Spanish ironAre my fair body round about?’12He put his fingers to the lock,I wat he handled them sickerlie,And doors of deal, and bands of steel,He gart them all in flinders flee.13He’s taen the prisoner in his arms,And he has kissd him cheek and chin:‘Now since we’ve met, my brother dear,There shall be dunts ere we twa twine.’14He’s taen the prisoner on his back,And a’ his heavy irons tee,But and his marie in his hand,And straight to Annan gate went he.15But when they came to Annan water,It was roaring like the sea:‘O stay a little, Johnny Ha,Here we can neither fecht nor flee.16‘O a refreshment we maun hae,We are baith dry and hungry tee;We’ll gang to Robert’s at the mill,It stands upon yon lily lee.’17Up in the morning the jailor raise,As soon’s ’twas light that he coud see;Wi a pint o wine and a mess sae fine,Into the prison-house went he.18When he came to the prison-door,A dreary sight he had to see;The locks were shot, the doors were broke,And a’ the prisoners won free.19‘Ye’ll gae and waken Annan town,Raise up five hundred men and three;And if these rascals may be found,I vow like dogs I’ll gar them die.20‘O dinna ye hear proud Annan roar,Mair loud than ever roard the sea?We’ll get the rascals on this side,Sure they can neither fecht nor flee.21‘Some gar ride, and some gar rin,Wi a’ the haste that ye can make;We’ll get them in some tavern-house,For Annan water they winna take.’22As Little Dick was looking round,All for to see what he could see,Saw the proud sheriff trip the plain,Five hundred men his companie.23‘O fare ye well, my bonny wife,Likewise farewell, my children three!Fare ye well, ye lands o Cafield!For you again I neer will see.24‘For well I kent, ere I came here,That Annan water woud ruin me;My horse is young, he’ll nae lat ride,And in this water I maun die.’25Out it speaks him Johnny Ha,I wat a gude fellow was he:‘O plague upo your cowardly face!The bluntest man I eer did see.26‘Gie me your horse, take ye my mare,The devil drown my mare and thee!Gie me the prisoner on behind,And nane will die but he that’s fay.’27He quickly lap upo the horse,And strait the stirrups siccarlie,And jumpd upo the other side,Wi the prisoner and his irons tee.28The sheriff then came to the bank,And heard its roaring like the sea;Says, How these men they hae got ower,It is a marvel unto me.29‘I wadna venture after them,For a’ the criminals that I see;Nevertheless now, Johnny Ha,Throw ower the fetters unto me.’30‘Deil part you and the fetters,’ he said,‘As lang as my mare needs a shee;If she gang barefoot ere they be done,I wish an ill death mat ye die.’31‘Awa, awa, now Johnny Ha,Your talk to me seems very snell;Your mither’s been some wild rank witch,And you yoursell an imp o hell.’

1As I walked on a pleasant green—’Twas on the first morning of May—I heard twa brothers make their moan,And hearkend well what they did say.

As I walked on a pleasant green—

’Twas on the first morning of May—

I heard twa brothers make their moan,

And hearkend well what they did say.

2The first he gave a grievous sigh,And said, Alas, and wae is me!We hae a brother condemned to death,And the very morn must hanged be.

The first he gave a grievous sigh,

And said, Alas, and wae is me!

We hae a brother condemned to death,

And the very morn must hanged be.

3Then out it speaks him Little Dick,I wat a gude fellow was he:‘Had I three men unto mysell,Well borrowed shoud Bell Archie be.’

Then out it speaks him Little Dick,

I wat a gude fellow was he:

‘Had I three men unto mysell,

Well borrowed shoud Bell Archie be.’

4Out it speaks him Johnny Ha,A better fellow by far was he:‘Ye shall hae six men and yoursell,And me to bear you companie.

Out it speaks him Johnny Ha,

A better fellow by far was he:

‘Ye shall hae six men and yoursell,

And me to bear you companie.

5‘Twa for keepers o the guard,See that to keep it sickerlie,And twa to come, and twa to gang,And twa to speak wi Bell Archie.

‘Twa for keepers o the guard,

See that to keep it sickerlie,

And twa to come, and twa to gang,

And twa to speak wi Bell Archie.

6‘But we winna gang like men o weir,Nor yet will we like cavalliers;But we will gang like corn-buyers,And we’ll put brechens on our mares.’

‘But we winna gang like men o weir,

Nor yet will we like cavalliers;

But we will gang like corn-buyers,

And we’ll put brechens on our mares.’

7Then they are to the jail-house doors,And they hae tirled at the pin:‘Ye sleep ye, wake ye, Bell Archie?Quickly rise, lat us come in.’

Then they are to the jail-house doors,

And they hae tirled at the pin:

‘Ye sleep ye, wake ye, Bell Archie?

Quickly rise, lat us come in.’

8‘I sleep not aft, I lie not saft;Wha’s there that knocks and kens my name?’‘It is your brothers Dick and John;Ye’ll open the door, lat us come in.’

‘I sleep not aft, I lie not saft;

Wha’s there that knocks and kens my name?’

‘It is your brothers Dick and John;

Ye’ll open the door, lat us come in.’

9‘Awa, awa, my brethren dear,And ye’ll had far awa frae me;If ye be found at jail-house door,I fear like dogs they’ll gar ye die.’

‘Awa, awa, my brethren dear,

And ye’ll had far awa frae me;

If ye be found at jail-house door,

I fear like dogs they’ll gar ye die.’

10‘Ohon, alas! my brother dear,Is this the hearkning ye gie to me?If ye’ll work therein as we thereout,Well borrowd shoud your body be.’

‘Ohon, alas! my brother dear,

Is this the hearkning ye gie to me?

If ye’ll work therein as we thereout,

Well borrowd shoud your body be.’

11‘How can I work therein, therein,Or yet how can I work thereout,When fifty tons o Spanish ironAre my fair body round about?’

‘How can I work therein, therein,

Or yet how can I work thereout,

When fifty tons o Spanish iron

Are my fair body round about?’

12He put his fingers to the lock,I wat he handled them sickerlie,And doors of deal, and bands of steel,He gart them all in flinders flee.

He put his fingers to the lock,

I wat he handled them sickerlie,

And doors of deal, and bands of steel,

He gart them all in flinders flee.

13He’s taen the prisoner in his arms,And he has kissd him cheek and chin:‘Now since we’ve met, my brother dear,There shall be dunts ere we twa twine.’

He’s taen the prisoner in his arms,

And he has kissd him cheek and chin:

‘Now since we’ve met, my brother dear,

There shall be dunts ere we twa twine.’

14He’s taen the prisoner on his back,And a’ his heavy irons tee,But and his marie in his hand,And straight to Annan gate went he.

He’s taen the prisoner on his back,

And a’ his heavy irons tee,

But and his marie in his hand,

And straight to Annan gate went he.

15But when they came to Annan water,It was roaring like the sea:‘O stay a little, Johnny Ha,Here we can neither fecht nor flee.

But when they came to Annan water,

It was roaring like the sea:

‘O stay a little, Johnny Ha,

Here we can neither fecht nor flee.

16‘O a refreshment we maun hae,We are baith dry and hungry tee;We’ll gang to Robert’s at the mill,It stands upon yon lily lee.’

‘O a refreshment we maun hae,

We are baith dry and hungry tee;

We’ll gang to Robert’s at the mill,

It stands upon yon lily lee.’

17Up in the morning the jailor raise,As soon’s ’twas light that he coud see;Wi a pint o wine and a mess sae fine,Into the prison-house went he.

Up in the morning the jailor raise,

As soon’s ’twas light that he coud see;

Wi a pint o wine and a mess sae fine,

Into the prison-house went he.

18When he came to the prison-door,A dreary sight he had to see;The locks were shot, the doors were broke,And a’ the prisoners won free.

When he came to the prison-door,

A dreary sight he had to see;

The locks were shot, the doors were broke,

And a’ the prisoners won free.

19‘Ye’ll gae and waken Annan town,Raise up five hundred men and three;And if these rascals may be found,I vow like dogs I’ll gar them die.

‘Ye’ll gae and waken Annan town,

Raise up five hundred men and three;

And if these rascals may be found,

I vow like dogs I’ll gar them die.

20‘O dinna ye hear proud Annan roar,Mair loud than ever roard the sea?We’ll get the rascals on this side,Sure they can neither fecht nor flee.

‘O dinna ye hear proud Annan roar,

Mair loud than ever roard the sea?

We’ll get the rascals on this side,

Sure they can neither fecht nor flee.

21‘Some gar ride, and some gar rin,Wi a’ the haste that ye can make;We’ll get them in some tavern-house,For Annan water they winna take.’

‘Some gar ride, and some gar rin,

Wi a’ the haste that ye can make;

We’ll get them in some tavern-house,

For Annan water they winna take.’

22As Little Dick was looking round,All for to see what he could see,Saw the proud sheriff trip the plain,Five hundred men his companie.

As Little Dick was looking round,

All for to see what he could see,

Saw the proud sheriff trip the plain,

Five hundred men his companie.

23‘O fare ye well, my bonny wife,Likewise farewell, my children three!Fare ye well, ye lands o Cafield!For you again I neer will see.

‘O fare ye well, my bonny wife,

Likewise farewell, my children three!

Fare ye well, ye lands o Cafield!

For you again I neer will see.

24‘For well I kent, ere I came here,That Annan water woud ruin me;My horse is young, he’ll nae lat ride,And in this water I maun die.’

‘For well I kent, ere I came here,

That Annan water woud ruin me;

My horse is young, he’ll nae lat ride,

And in this water I maun die.’

25Out it speaks him Johnny Ha,I wat a gude fellow was he:‘O plague upo your cowardly face!The bluntest man I eer did see.

Out it speaks him Johnny Ha,

I wat a gude fellow was he:

‘O plague upo your cowardly face!

The bluntest man I eer did see.

26‘Gie me your horse, take ye my mare,The devil drown my mare and thee!Gie me the prisoner on behind,And nane will die but he that’s fay.’

‘Gie me your horse, take ye my mare,

The devil drown my mare and thee!

Gie me the prisoner on behind,

And nane will die but he that’s fay.’

27He quickly lap upo the horse,And strait the stirrups siccarlie,And jumpd upo the other side,Wi the prisoner and his irons tee.

He quickly lap upo the horse,

And strait the stirrups siccarlie,

And jumpd upo the other side,

Wi the prisoner and his irons tee.

28The sheriff then came to the bank,And heard its roaring like the sea;Says, How these men they hae got ower,It is a marvel unto me.

The sheriff then came to the bank,

And heard its roaring like the sea;

Says, How these men they hae got ower,

It is a marvel unto me.

29‘I wadna venture after them,For a’ the criminals that I see;Nevertheless now, Johnny Ha,Throw ower the fetters unto me.’

‘I wadna venture after them,

For a’ the criminals that I see;

Nevertheless now, Johnny Ha,

Throw ower the fetters unto me.’

30‘Deil part you and the fetters,’ he said,‘As lang as my mare needs a shee;If she gang barefoot ere they be done,I wish an ill death mat ye die.’

‘Deil part you and the fetters,’ he said,

‘As lang as my mare needs a shee;

If she gang barefoot ere they be done,

I wish an ill death mat ye die.’

31‘Awa, awa, now Johnny Ha,Your talk to me seems very snell;Your mither’s been some wild rank witch,And you yoursell an imp o hell.’

‘Awa, awa, now Johnny Ha,

Your talk to me seems very snell;

Your mither’s been some wild rank witch,

And you yoursell an imp o hell.’

Motherwell’s MS., p. 467, “received in MS. by Buchan from Mr Nicol, of Strichen, who wrote as he had learned early in life from old people:” Motherwell’s Minstrelsy, p. 335.

1‘Seven years have I loved my love,And seven years my love’s loved me,But now to-morrow is the dayThat billy Archie, my love, must die.’2O then out spoke him Little Dickie,And still the best fellow was he:‘Had I but five men and my self,Then we would borrow billy Archie.’3Out it spoke him Caff o Lin,And still the worst fellow was he:‘You shall have five men and yourself,And I will bear you companye.’4‘We will not go like to dragoons,Nor yet will we like grenadiers,But we will go like corn-dealers,And lay our brechams on our meares.5‘And twa of us will watch the road,And other twa will go between,And I will go to jail-house door,And hold the prisoner unthought lang.’6‘Who is this at jail-house door,So well as they do know the gin?’‘It’s I myself,’ [said] him Little Dickie,‘And oh sae fain ’s I would be in!’7‘Away, away, now, Little Dickie!Away, let all your folly be!If the Lord Lieutenant come on you,Like unto dogs he’ll cause you die.’8‘Hold you, hold you, billy Archie,And now let all your folly be!Tho I die without, you’ll not die within,For borrowed shall your body be.’9‘Away, away, now, Little Dickie!Away, let all this folly be!An hundred pounds of Spanish ironsIs all bound on my fair bodie.’10Wi plough-culters and gavellocksThey made the jail-house door to flee;‘And in God’s name,’ said Little Dickie,‘Cast you the prisoner behind me!’11They had not rode a great way off,With all the haste that ever could be,Till they espied the Lord Lieutenant,With a hundred men in’s companie.12But when they came to wan water,It now was rumbling like the sea;Then were they got into a strait,As great a strait as well could be.13Then out did speak him Caff o Lin,And aye the warst fellow was he:‘Now God be with my wife and bairns!For fatherless my babes will be.14‘My horse is young, he cannot swim;The water’s deep, and will not wade;My children must be fatherless,My wife a widow, whateer betide.’15O then cried out him Little Dickie,And still the best fellow was he:‘Take you my mare, I’ll take your horse,And Devil drown my mare and thee!’16Now they have taken the wan water,Tho it was roaring like the sea,And whan they got to the other side,I wot they bragged right crouselie.17‘Come thro, come thro now, Lord Lieutenant!O do come thro, I pray of thee!There is an alehouse not far off,We’ll dine you and your companye.’18‘Away, away, now, Little Dickie!O now let all your taunting be!There’s not a man in the king’s armyThat would have tried what’s done by thee.19‘Cast back, cast back my fetters again!Cast back my fetters! I say to thee;And get you gane the way you came,I wish no prisoners like to thee.’20‘I have a mare, she’s called Meg,The best in all our low countrie;If she gang barefoot till they are done,An ill death may your lordship die!’

1‘Seven years have I loved my love,And seven years my love’s loved me,But now to-morrow is the dayThat billy Archie, my love, must die.’

‘Seven years have I loved my love,

And seven years my love’s loved me,

But now to-morrow is the day

That billy Archie, my love, must die.’

2O then out spoke him Little Dickie,And still the best fellow was he:‘Had I but five men and my self,Then we would borrow billy Archie.’

O then out spoke him Little Dickie,

And still the best fellow was he:

‘Had I but five men and my self,

Then we would borrow billy Archie.’

3Out it spoke him Caff o Lin,And still the worst fellow was he:‘You shall have five men and yourself,And I will bear you companye.’

Out it spoke him Caff o Lin,

And still the worst fellow was he:

‘You shall have five men and yourself,

And I will bear you companye.’

4‘We will not go like to dragoons,Nor yet will we like grenadiers,But we will go like corn-dealers,And lay our brechams on our meares.

‘We will not go like to dragoons,

Nor yet will we like grenadiers,

But we will go like corn-dealers,

And lay our brechams on our meares.

5‘And twa of us will watch the road,And other twa will go between,And I will go to jail-house door,And hold the prisoner unthought lang.’

‘And twa of us will watch the road,

And other twa will go between,

And I will go to jail-house door,

And hold the prisoner unthought lang.’

6‘Who is this at jail-house door,So well as they do know the gin?’‘It’s I myself,’ [said] him Little Dickie,‘And oh sae fain ’s I would be in!’

‘Who is this at jail-house door,

So well as they do know the gin?’

‘It’s I myself,’ [said] him Little Dickie,

‘And oh sae fain ’s I would be in!’

7‘Away, away, now, Little Dickie!Away, let all your folly be!If the Lord Lieutenant come on you,Like unto dogs he’ll cause you die.’

‘Away, away, now, Little Dickie!

Away, let all your folly be!

If the Lord Lieutenant come on you,

Like unto dogs he’ll cause you die.’

8‘Hold you, hold you, billy Archie,And now let all your folly be!Tho I die without, you’ll not die within,For borrowed shall your body be.’

‘Hold you, hold you, billy Archie,

And now let all your folly be!

Tho I die without, you’ll not die within,

For borrowed shall your body be.’

9‘Away, away, now, Little Dickie!Away, let all this folly be!An hundred pounds of Spanish ironsIs all bound on my fair bodie.’

‘Away, away, now, Little Dickie!

Away, let all this folly be!

An hundred pounds of Spanish irons

Is all bound on my fair bodie.’

10Wi plough-culters and gavellocksThey made the jail-house door to flee;‘And in God’s name,’ said Little Dickie,‘Cast you the prisoner behind me!’

Wi plough-culters and gavellocks

They made the jail-house door to flee;

‘And in God’s name,’ said Little Dickie,

‘Cast you the prisoner behind me!’

11They had not rode a great way off,With all the haste that ever could be,Till they espied the Lord Lieutenant,With a hundred men in’s companie.

They had not rode a great way off,

With all the haste that ever could be,

Till they espied the Lord Lieutenant,

With a hundred men in’s companie.

12But when they came to wan water,It now was rumbling like the sea;Then were they got into a strait,As great a strait as well could be.

But when they came to wan water,

It now was rumbling like the sea;

Then were they got into a strait,

As great a strait as well could be.

13Then out did speak him Caff o Lin,And aye the warst fellow was he:‘Now God be with my wife and bairns!For fatherless my babes will be.

Then out did speak him Caff o Lin,

And aye the warst fellow was he:

‘Now God be with my wife and bairns!

For fatherless my babes will be.

14‘My horse is young, he cannot swim;The water’s deep, and will not wade;My children must be fatherless,My wife a widow, whateer betide.’

‘My horse is young, he cannot swim;

The water’s deep, and will not wade;

My children must be fatherless,

My wife a widow, whateer betide.’

15O then cried out him Little Dickie,And still the best fellow was he:‘Take you my mare, I’ll take your horse,And Devil drown my mare and thee!’

O then cried out him Little Dickie,

And still the best fellow was he:

‘Take you my mare, I’ll take your horse,

And Devil drown my mare and thee!’

16Now they have taken the wan water,Tho it was roaring like the sea,And whan they got to the other side,I wot they bragged right crouselie.

Now they have taken the wan water,

Tho it was roaring like the sea,

And whan they got to the other side,

I wot they bragged right crouselie.

17‘Come thro, come thro now, Lord Lieutenant!O do come thro, I pray of thee!There is an alehouse not far off,We’ll dine you and your companye.’

‘Come thro, come thro now, Lord Lieutenant!

O do come thro, I pray of thee!

There is an alehouse not far off,

We’ll dine you and your companye.’

18‘Away, away, now, Little Dickie!O now let all your taunting be!There’s not a man in the king’s armyThat would have tried what’s done by thee.

‘Away, away, now, Little Dickie!

O now let all your taunting be!

There’s not a man in the king’s army

That would have tried what’s done by thee.

19‘Cast back, cast back my fetters again!Cast back my fetters! I say to thee;And get you gane the way you came,I wish no prisoners like to thee.’

‘Cast back, cast back my fetters again!

Cast back my fetters! I say to thee;

And get you gane the way you came,

I wish no prisoners like to thee.’

20‘I have a mare, she’s called Meg,The best in all our low countrie;If she gang barefoot till they are done,An ill death may your lordship die!’

‘I have a mare, she’s called Meg,

The best in all our low countrie;

If she gang barefoot till they are done,

An ill death may your lordship die!’

Macmath MS, p. 76. “Taken down by me, September, 1886, from my aunt, Miss Jane Webster: heard by her in her youth, at Airds.”

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