193THE DEATH OF PARCY REED

A.‘A song of Parcy Reed and the Three False Halls,’ the late Robert White’s papers.

B.‘The Death of Parcy Reed,’ Richardson’s Borderer’s Table Book, 1846, VII, 361; J. H. Dixon, Ancient Poems, Ballads and Songs of the Peasantry of England, p. 99, Percy Society, vol. xvii, 1846.

OfB, which purports to have been taken down from an old woman’s singing by James Telfer, Mr Robert White, from whom I receivedA, said in a letter to Mr J. H. Dixon: “Parcy Reed, as you suspect, is not genuine, for it bears marks of our friend’s improvements. I have a copy of the original somewhere, but may not be able to find it.” And again, Telfer himself, “in a letter to the late Robert Storey, the Northumbrian poet,” wrote, “I will send Mr Dixon the real verses, but it is but a droll of a ballad.” (J. H. Dixon, in Notes and Queries, Fourth Series, I, 108, V, 520.)

Comparison will show that almost the whole ofAis preserved inB, and in fairly good form.Bhas also some stanzas not found inAwhich may be accepted as traditional. Telfer may have added a dozen of his own, and has retouched others.

Mr White, after remarking that there is no historical evidence to show when the event on which the ballad was founded occurred, informs us that almost every circumstance in the narrative has been transmitted to the present century by local tradition.

“Percival, or Parcy, Reed,” in the words of Mr White, “was proprietor of Troughend, an elevated tract of land lying on the west side and nearly in the centre of Redesdale, Northumberland. The remains of the old tower may still be seen, a little to the west of the present mansion, commanding a beautiful and most extensive view of nearly the whole valley. Here he resided, and being a keen hunter and brave soldier, he possessed much influence, and was appointed warden or keeper of the district. His office was to suppress and order the apprehension of thieves and other breakers of the law; in the execution of which he incurred the displeasure of a family of brothers of the name of Hall, who were owners of Girsonsfield, a farm about two miles east from Troughend. He also drew upon himself the hostility of a band of moss-troopers, Crosier by name, some of whom he had been successful in bringing to justice. The former were, however, artful enough to conceal their resentment, and under the appearance of friendship calmly awaited an opportunity to be avenged. Some time afterwards, they solicited his attendance on a hunting expedition to the head of Redesdale, and unfortunately he agreed to accompany them. His wife had some strange dreams anent his safety on the night before his departure, and at breakfast, on the following morning, the loaf of bread from which he was supplied chanced to be turned with the bottom upwards, an omen which is still accounted most unfavorable all over the north of England. Considering these presages undeserving of notice, Reed set out in company with the Halls, and, after enjoying a good day’s sport, the party withdrew to a solitary hut in Batinghope, a lonely glen stretching westward from the Whitelee, whose little stream forms one of the chief sources of Reedwater. The whole of this arrangement had been previously planned by the Halls and Crosiers, and when the latter came down, late in the evening, to execute their purpose of vengeance, they foundParcy Reed altogether a defenceless man. His companions not only deserted him, but had previously driven his sword so firmly in its scabbard that it could not be drawn, and had also moistened the powder with which the very long gun he carried with him was charged, so as to render both useless when he came to rely upon them for protection. Accordingly the Crosiers instantly put him to death; and so far did they carry out their sanguinary measures, even against his lifeless body, that tradition says the fragments thereof had to be collected together and conveyed in pillow-slips home to Troughend. Public indignation was speedily aroused against the murderers; the very name of Crosier was abhorred throughout Redesdale, and the abettors were both driven from their residence and designated as the fause-hearted Ha’s, an appellation which yet remains in force against them.” (Richardson’s Borderer’s Table Book, VII, 361.)

The farm of Girsonsfield, according to the ballad,A3, 18, belonged to the Halls. But that place has been the property of others, says Mr White, “ever since the reign of Elizabeth;” whence he concludes that the story is not to be dated later than the sixteenth century.

Parcy Reed is famed to have had a favorite dog named Keeldar, and, though a “peerless archer,” to have killed him by an unlucky shot while hunting. Sir Walter Scott has celebrated this mishap and its consequence in ‘The Death of Keeldar’ (Table Book, as above, p. 240); and he alludes to the treacherous murder of Reed (with which he became acquainted through Robert Roxby’s ‘Lay of the Reedwater Minstrel,’ 1809) in Rokeby, written in 1812, Canto I, xx.

The late Robert White’s papers; “Woodburn, December 1, 1829, Thomas Hedley, Bridge End, Corsonside Parish.”

1The Liddesdale Crosiers hae ridden a race,And they had far better staid at hame,For they have lost a gallant gay,Young Whinton Crosier it was his name.2For Parcy Reed he has him taen,And he’s delivered him to law,But auld Crosier has made answerThat he’ll gar the house of the Troughend fa.3So as it happened on a dayThat Parcy Reed is a hunting gane,And the three false Halls of GirsonsfieldThey all along with him are gane.4They hunted up and they hunted down,They hunted all Reedwater round,Till weariness has on him seized;At the Batinghope he’s fallen asleep.5O some they stole his powder-horn,And some put water in his lang gun:‘O waken, waken, Parcy Reed!For we do doubt thou sleeps too sound.6‘O waken, O waken, Parcy Reed!For we do doubt thou sleeps too long;For yonder’s the five Crosiers coming,They’re coming by the Hingin Stane.7‘If they be five men, we are four,If ye will all stand true to me;Now every one of you may take one,And two of them ye may leave to me.’8‘We will not stay, nor we dare not stay,O Parcy Reed, for to fight with thee;For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,That they will slay both us and thee.’9‘O stay, O stay, O Tommy Hall,O stay, O man, and fight with me!If we see the Troughend again,My good black mare I will give thee.’10‘I will not stay, nor I dare not stay,O Parcy Reed, to fight for thee;For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,That they will slay both me and thee.’11‘O stay, O stay, O Johnnie Hall,O stay, O man, and fight for me!If I see the Troughend again,Five yoke of oxen I will give thee.’12‘I will not stay, nor I dare not stay,O Parcy Reed, for to fight with thee;For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,That they will slay both me and thee.’13‘O stay, O stay, O Willie Hall,O stay, O man, and fight for me!If we see the Troughend again,The half of my land I will give thee.’14‘I will not stay, nor I dare not stay,O Parcy Reed, for to fight with thee;For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,That they will slay both me and thee.’15‘Now foul fa ye, ye traitors all,That ever ye should in England won!You have left me in a fair field standin,And in my hand an uncharged gun.16‘O fare thee well, my wedded wife!O fare you well, my children five!And fare thee well, my daughter Jane,That I love best that’s born alive!17‘O fare thee well, my brother Tom!And fare you well his children five!If you had been with me this day,I surely had been man alive.18‘Farewell all friends! as for my foes,To distant lands may they be tane,And the three false Halls of Girsonsfield,They’ll never be trusted nor trowed again.’

1The Liddesdale Crosiers hae ridden a race,And they had far better staid at hame,For they have lost a gallant gay,Young Whinton Crosier it was his name.

The Liddesdale Crosiers hae ridden a race,

And they had far better staid at hame,

For they have lost a gallant gay,

Young Whinton Crosier it was his name.

2For Parcy Reed he has him taen,And he’s delivered him to law,But auld Crosier has made answerThat he’ll gar the house of the Troughend fa.

For Parcy Reed he has him taen,

And he’s delivered him to law,

But auld Crosier has made answer

That he’ll gar the house of the Troughend fa.

3So as it happened on a dayThat Parcy Reed is a hunting gane,And the three false Halls of GirsonsfieldThey all along with him are gane.

So as it happened on a day

That Parcy Reed is a hunting gane,

And the three false Halls of Girsonsfield

They all along with him are gane.

4They hunted up and they hunted down,They hunted all Reedwater round,Till weariness has on him seized;At the Batinghope he’s fallen asleep.

They hunted up and they hunted down,

They hunted all Reedwater round,

Till weariness has on him seized;

At the Batinghope he’s fallen asleep.

5O some they stole his powder-horn,And some put water in his lang gun:‘O waken, waken, Parcy Reed!For we do doubt thou sleeps too sound.

O some they stole his powder-horn,

And some put water in his lang gun:

‘O waken, waken, Parcy Reed!

For we do doubt thou sleeps too sound.

6‘O waken, O waken, Parcy Reed!For we do doubt thou sleeps too long;For yonder’s the five Crosiers coming,They’re coming by the Hingin Stane.

‘O waken, O waken, Parcy Reed!

For we do doubt thou sleeps too long;

For yonder’s the five Crosiers coming,

They’re coming by the Hingin Stane.

7‘If they be five men, we are four,If ye will all stand true to me;Now every one of you may take one,And two of them ye may leave to me.’

‘If they be five men, we are four,

If ye will all stand true to me;

Now every one of you may take one,

And two of them ye may leave to me.’

8‘We will not stay, nor we dare not stay,O Parcy Reed, for to fight with thee;For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,That they will slay both us and thee.’

‘We will not stay, nor we dare not stay,

O Parcy Reed, for to fight with thee;

For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,

That they will slay both us and thee.’

9‘O stay, O stay, O Tommy Hall,O stay, O man, and fight with me!If we see the Troughend again,My good black mare I will give thee.’

‘O stay, O stay, O Tommy Hall,

O stay, O man, and fight with me!

If we see the Troughend again,

My good black mare I will give thee.’

10‘I will not stay, nor I dare not stay,O Parcy Reed, to fight for thee;For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,That they will slay both me and thee.’

‘I will not stay, nor I dare not stay,

O Parcy Reed, to fight for thee;

For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,

That they will slay both me and thee.’

11‘O stay, O stay, O Johnnie Hall,O stay, O man, and fight for me!If I see the Troughend again,Five yoke of oxen I will give thee.’

‘O stay, O stay, O Johnnie Hall,

O stay, O man, and fight for me!

If I see the Troughend again,

Five yoke of oxen I will give thee.’

12‘I will not stay, nor I dare not stay,O Parcy Reed, for to fight with thee;For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,That they will slay both me and thee.’

‘I will not stay, nor I dare not stay,

O Parcy Reed, for to fight with thee;

For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,

That they will slay both me and thee.’

13‘O stay, O stay, O Willie Hall,O stay, O man, and fight for me!If we see the Troughend again,The half of my land I will give thee.’

‘O stay, O stay, O Willie Hall,

O stay, O man, and fight for me!

If we see the Troughend again,

The half of my land I will give thee.’

14‘I will not stay, nor I dare not stay,O Parcy Reed, for to fight with thee;For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,That they will slay both me and thee.’

‘I will not stay, nor I dare not stay,

O Parcy Reed, for to fight with thee;

For thou wilt find, O Parcy Reed,

That they will slay both me and thee.’

15‘Now foul fa ye, ye traitors all,That ever ye should in England won!You have left me in a fair field standin,And in my hand an uncharged gun.

‘Now foul fa ye, ye traitors all,

That ever ye should in England won!

You have left me in a fair field standin,

And in my hand an uncharged gun.

16‘O fare thee well, my wedded wife!O fare you well, my children five!And fare thee well, my daughter Jane,That I love best that’s born alive!

‘O fare thee well, my wedded wife!

O fare you well, my children five!

And fare thee well, my daughter Jane,

That I love best that’s born alive!

17‘O fare thee well, my brother Tom!And fare you well his children five!If you had been with me this day,I surely had been man alive.

‘O fare thee well, my brother Tom!

And fare you well his children five!

If you had been with me this day,

I surely had been man alive.

18‘Farewell all friends! as for my foes,To distant lands may they be tane,And the three false Halls of Girsonsfield,They’ll never be trusted nor trowed again.’

‘Farewell all friends! as for my foes,

To distant lands may they be tane,

And the three false Halls of Girsonsfield,

They’ll never be trusted nor trowed again.’

Richardsons’ Borderers’ Table Book, VII, 361, 1846; “taken down by James Telfer, of Saughtree, Liddesdale, from the chanting of an old woman named Kitty Hall, a native of Northumberland.”

1God send the land deliveranceFrae every reaving, riding Scot;We’ll sune hae neither cow nor ewe,We’ll sune hae neither staig nor stot.2The outlaws come frae Liddesdale,They herry Redesdale far and near;The rich man’s gelding it maun gang,They canna pass the puir man’s mear.3Sure it were weel, had ilka thiefAround his neck a halter strang;And curses heavy may they lightOn traitors vile oursels amang.4Now Parcy Reed has Crosier taen,He has delivered him to the law;But Crosier says he’ll do waur than that,He’ll make the tower o Troughend fa.5And Crosier says he will do waur,He will do waur if waur can be;He’ll make the bairns a’ fatherless,And then, the land it may lie lee.6‘To the hunting, ho!’ cried Parcy Reed,‘The morning sun is on the dew;The cauler breeze frae off the fellsWill lead the dogs to the quarry true.7‘To the hunting, ho!’ cried Parcy Reed,And to the hunting he has gane;And the three fause Ha’s o GirsonsfieldAlang wi him he has them taen.8They hunted high, they hunted low,By heathery hill and birken shaw;They raised a buck on Rooken Edge,And blew the mort at fair Ealylawe.9They hunted high, they hunted low,They made the echoes ring amain;With music sweet o horn and hound,They merry made fair Redesdale glen.10They hunted high, they hunted low,They hunted up, they hunted down,Until the day was past the prime,And it grew late in the afternoon.11They hunted high in Batinghope,When as the sun was sinking low;Says Parcy then, Ca off the dogs,We’ll bait our steeds and homeward go.12They lighted high in Batinghope,Atween the brown and benty ground;They had but rested a little whileTill Parcy Reed was sleeping sound.13There’s nane may lean on a rotten staff,But him that risks to get a fa;There’s nane may in a traitor trust,And traitors black were every Ha.14They’ve stown the bridle off his steed,And they’ve put water in his lang gun;They’ve fixed his sword within the sheathThat out again it winna come.15‘Awaken ye, waken ye, Parcy Reed,Or by your enemies be taen;For yonder are the five CrosiersA-coming owre the Hingin-stane.’16‘If they be five, and we be four,Sae that ye stand alang wi me,Then every man ye will take one,And only leave but two to me:We will them meet as brave men ought,And make them either fight or flee.’17‘We mayna stand, we canna stand,We daurna stand alang wi thee;The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,And they wad kill baith thee and we.’18‘O turn thee, turn thee, Johnie Ha,O turn thee, man, and fight wi me;When ye come to Troughend again,My gude black naig I will gie thee;He cost full twenty pound o gowd,Atween my brother John and me.’19‘I mayna turn, I canna turn,I daurna turn and fight wi thee;The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,And they wad kill baith thee and me’20‘O turn thee, turn thee, Willie Ha,O turn thee, man, and fight wi me;When ye come to Troughend again,A yoke o owsen I’ll gie thee.’21‘I mayna turn, I canna turn,I daurna turn and fight wi thee;The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,And they wad kill baith thee and me.’22‘O turn thee, turn thee, Tommy Ha,O turn now, man, and fight wi me;If ever we come to Troughend again,My daughter Jean I’ll gie to thee.’23‘I mayna turn, I canna turn,I daurna turn and fight wi thee;The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,And they wad kill baith thee and me.’24‘O shame upon ye, traitors a’!I wish your hames ye may never see;Ye’ve stown the bridle off my naig,And I can neither fight nor flee.25‘Ye’ve stown the bridle off my naig,And ye’ve put water i my lang gun;Ye’ve fixed my sword within the sheathThat out again it winna come.’26He had but time to cross himsel,A prayer he hadna time to say,Till round him came the Crosiers keen,All riding graithed and in array.27‘Weel met, weel met, now, Parcy Reed,Thou art the very man we sought;Owre lang hae we been in your debt,Now will we pay you as we ought.28‘We’ll pay thee at the nearest tree,Where we shall hang thee like a hound;’Brave Parcy raisd his fankit sword,And felld the foremost to the ground.29Alake, and wae for Parcy Reed,Alake, he was an unarmed man;Four weapons pierced him all at once,As they assailed him there and than.30They fell upon him all at once,They mangled him most cruellie;The slightest wound might caused his deid,And they hae gien him thirty-three;They hacket off his hands and feet,And left him lying on the lee.31‘Now, Parcy Reed, we’ve paid our debt,Ye canna weel dispute the tale,’The Crosiers said, and off they rade;They rade the airt o Liddesdale.32It was the hour o gloaming gray,When herds come in frae fauld and pen;A herd he saw a huntsman lie,Says he, Can this be Laird Troughen?33‘There’s some will ca me Parcy Reed,And some will ca me Laird Troughen;It’s little matter what they ca me,My faes hae made me ill to ken.34‘There’s some will ca me Parcy Reed,And speak my praise in tower and town;It’s little matter what they do now,My life-blood rudds the heather brown.35‘There’s some will ca me Parcy Reed,And a’ my virtues say and sing;I would much rather have just nowA draught o water frae the spring.’36The herd flung aff his clouted shoonAnd to the nearest fountain ran;He made his bonnet serve a cup,And wan the blessing o the dying man.37‘Now, honest herd, ye maun do mair,Ye maun do mair, as I you tell;Ye maun bear tidings to Troughend,And bear likewise my last farewell.38‘A farewell to my wedded wife,A farewell to my brother John,Wha sits into the Troughend towerWi heart as black as any stone.39‘A farewell to my daughter Jean,A farewell to my young sons five;Had they been at their father’s hand,I had this night been man alive.40‘A farewell to my followers a’,And a’ my neighbours gude at need;Bid them think how the treacherous Ha’sBetrayed the life o Parcy Reed.41‘The laird o Clennel bears my bow,The laird o Brandon bears my brand;Wheneer they ride i the Border-side,They’ll mind the fate o the laird Troughend.’

1God send the land deliveranceFrae every reaving, riding Scot;We’ll sune hae neither cow nor ewe,We’ll sune hae neither staig nor stot.

God send the land deliverance

Frae every reaving, riding Scot;

We’ll sune hae neither cow nor ewe,

We’ll sune hae neither staig nor stot.

2The outlaws come frae Liddesdale,They herry Redesdale far and near;The rich man’s gelding it maun gang,They canna pass the puir man’s mear.

The outlaws come frae Liddesdale,

They herry Redesdale far and near;

The rich man’s gelding it maun gang,

They canna pass the puir man’s mear.

3Sure it were weel, had ilka thiefAround his neck a halter strang;And curses heavy may they lightOn traitors vile oursels amang.

Sure it were weel, had ilka thief

Around his neck a halter strang;

And curses heavy may they light

On traitors vile oursels amang.

4Now Parcy Reed has Crosier taen,He has delivered him to the law;But Crosier says he’ll do waur than that,He’ll make the tower o Troughend fa.

Now Parcy Reed has Crosier taen,

He has delivered him to the law;

But Crosier says he’ll do waur than that,

He’ll make the tower o Troughend fa.

5And Crosier says he will do waur,He will do waur if waur can be;He’ll make the bairns a’ fatherless,And then, the land it may lie lee.

And Crosier says he will do waur,

He will do waur if waur can be;

He’ll make the bairns a’ fatherless,

And then, the land it may lie lee.

6‘To the hunting, ho!’ cried Parcy Reed,‘The morning sun is on the dew;The cauler breeze frae off the fellsWill lead the dogs to the quarry true.

‘To the hunting, ho!’ cried Parcy Reed,

‘The morning sun is on the dew;

The cauler breeze frae off the fells

Will lead the dogs to the quarry true.

7‘To the hunting, ho!’ cried Parcy Reed,And to the hunting he has gane;And the three fause Ha’s o GirsonsfieldAlang wi him he has them taen.

‘To the hunting, ho!’ cried Parcy Reed,

And to the hunting he has gane;

And the three fause Ha’s o Girsonsfield

Alang wi him he has them taen.

8They hunted high, they hunted low,By heathery hill and birken shaw;They raised a buck on Rooken Edge,And blew the mort at fair Ealylawe.

They hunted high, they hunted low,

By heathery hill and birken shaw;

They raised a buck on Rooken Edge,

And blew the mort at fair Ealylawe.

9They hunted high, they hunted low,They made the echoes ring amain;With music sweet o horn and hound,They merry made fair Redesdale glen.

They hunted high, they hunted low,

They made the echoes ring amain;

With music sweet o horn and hound,

They merry made fair Redesdale glen.

10They hunted high, they hunted low,They hunted up, they hunted down,Until the day was past the prime,And it grew late in the afternoon.

They hunted high, they hunted low,

They hunted up, they hunted down,

Until the day was past the prime,

And it grew late in the afternoon.

11They hunted high in Batinghope,When as the sun was sinking low;Says Parcy then, Ca off the dogs,We’ll bait our steeds and homeward go.

They hunted high in Batinghope,

When as the sun was sinking low;

Says Parcy then, Ca off the dogs,

We’ll bait our steeds and homeward go.

12They lighted high in Batinghope,Atween the brown and benty ground;They had but rested a little whileTill Parcy Reed was sleeping sound.

They lighted high in Batinghope,

Atween the brown and benty ground;

They had but rested a little while

Till Parcy Reed was sleeping sound.

13There’s nane may lean on a rotten staff,But him that risks to get a fa;There’s nane may in a traitor trust,And traitors black were every Ha.

There’s nane may lean on a rotten staff,

But him that risks to get a fa;

There’s nane may in a traitor trust,

And traitors black were every Ha.

14They’ve stown the bridle off his steed,And they’ve put water in his lang gun;They’ve fixed his sword within the sheathThat out again it winna come.

They’ve stown the bridle off his steed,

And they’ve put water in his lang gun;

They’ve fixed his sword within the sheath

That out again it winna come.

15‘Awaken ye, waken ye, Parcy Reed,Or by your enemies be taen;For yonder are the five CrosiersA-coming owre the Hingin-stane.’

‘Awaken ye, waken ye, Parcy Reed,

Or by your enemies be taen;

For yonder are the five Crosiers

A-coming owre the Hingin-stane.’

16‘If they be five, and we be four,Sae that ye stand alang wi me,Then every man ye will take one,And only leave but two to me:We will them meet as brave men ought,And make them either fight or flee.’

‘If they be five, and we be four,

Sae that ye stand alang wi me,

Then every man ye will take one,

And only leave but two to me:

We will them meet as brave men ought,

And make them either fight or flee.’

17‘We mayna stand, we canna stand,We daurna stand alang wi thee;The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,And they wad kill baith thee and we.’

‘We mayna stand, we canna stand,

We daurna stand alang wi thee;

The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,

And they wad kill baith thee and we.’

18‘O turn thee, turn thee, Johnie Ha,O turn thee, man, and fight wi me;When ye come to Troughend again,My gude black naig I will gie thee;He cost full twenty pound o gowd,Atween my brother John and me.’

‘O turn thee, turn thee, Johnie Ha,

O turn thee, man, and fight wi me;

When ye come to Troughend again,

My gude black naig I will gie thee;

He cost full twenty pound o gowd,

Atween my brother John and me.’

19‘I mayna turn, I canna turn,I daurna turn and fight wi thee;The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,And they wad kill baith thee and me’

‘I mayna turn, I canna turn,

I daurna turn and fight wi thee;

The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,

And they wad kill baith thee and me’

20‘O turn thee, turn thee, Willie Ha,O turn thee, man, and fight wi me;When ye come to Troughend again,A yoke o owsen I’ll gie thee.’

‘O turn thee, turn thee, Willie Ha,

O turn thee, man, and fight wi me;

When ye come to Troughend again,

A yoke o owsen I’ll gie thee.’

21‘I mayna turn, I canna turn,I daurna turn and fight wi thee;The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,And they wad kill baith thee and me.’

‘I mayna turn, I canna turn,

I daurna turn and fight wi thee;

The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,

And they wad kill baith thee and me.’

22‘O turn thee, turn thee, Tommy Ha,O turn now, man, and fight wi me;If ever we come to Troughend again,My daughter Jean I’ll gie to thee.’

‘O turn thee, turn thee, Tommy Ha,

O turn now, man, and fight wi me;

If ever we come to Troughend again,

My daughter Jean I’ll gie to thee.’

23‘I mayna turn, I canna turn,I daurna turn and fight wi thee;The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,And they wad kill baith thee and me.’

‘I mayna turn, I canna turn,

I daurna turn and fight wi thee;

The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,

And they wad kill baith thee and me.’

24‘O shame upon ye, traitors a’!I wish your hames ye may never see;Ye’ve stown the bridle off my naig,And I can neither fight nor flee.

‘O shame upon ye, traitors a’!

I wish your hames ye may never see;

Ye’ve stown the bridle off my naig,

And I can neither fight nor flee.

25‘Ye’ve stown the bridle off my naig,And ye’ve put water i my lang gun;Ye’ve fixed my sword within the sheathThat out again it winna come.’

‘Ye’ve stown the bridle off my naig,

And ye’ve put water i my lang gun;

Ye’ve fixed my sword within the sheath

That out again it winna come.’

26He had but time to cross himsel,A prayer he hadna time to say,Till round him came the Crosiers keen,All riding graithed and in array.

He had but time to cross himsel,

A prayer he hadna time to say,

Till round him came the Crosiers keen,

All riding graithed and in array.

27‘Weel met, weel met, now, Parcy Reed,Thou art the very man we sought;Owre lang hae we been in your debt,Now will we pay you as we ought.

‘Weel met, weel met, now, Parcy Reed,

Thou art the very man we sought;

Owre lang hae we been in your debt,

Now will we pay you as we ought.

28‘We’ll pay thee at the nearest tree,Where we shall hang thee like a hound;’Brave Parcy raisd his fankit sword,And felld the foremost to the ground.

‘We’ll pay thee at the nearest tree,

Where we shall hang thee like a hound;’

Brave Parcy raisd his fankit sword,

And felld the foremost to the ground.

29Alake, and wae for Parcy Reed,Alake, he was an unarmed man;Four weapons pierced him all at once,As they assailed him there and than.

Alake, and wae for Parcy Reed,

Alake, he was an unarmed man;

Four weapons pierced him all at once,

As they assailed him there and than.

30They fell upon him all at once,They mangled him most cruellie;The slightest wound might caused his deid,And they hae gien him thirty-three;They hacket off his hands and feet,And left him lying on the lee.

They fell upon him all at once,

They mangled him most cruellie;

The slightest wound might caused his deid,

And they hae gien him thirty-three;

They hacket off his hands and feet,

And left him lying on the lee.

31‘Now, Parcy Reed, we’ve paid our debt,Ye canna weel dispute the tale,’The Crosiers said, and off they rade;They rade the airt o Liddesdale.

‘Now, Parcy Reed, we’ve paid our debt,

Ye canna weel dispute the tale,’

The Crosiers said, and off they rade;

They rade the airt o Liddesdale.

32It was the hour o gloaming gray,When herds come in frae fauld and pen;A herd he saw a huntsman lie,Says he, Can this be Laird Troughen?

It was the hour o gloaming gray,

When herds come in frae fauld and pen;

A herd he saw a huntsman lie,

Says he, Can this be Laird Troughen?

33‘There’s some will ca me Parcy Reed,And some will ca me Laird Troughen;It’s little matter what they ca me,My faes hae made me ill to ken.

‘There’s some will ca me Parcy Reed,

And some will ca me Laird Troughen;

It’s little matter what they ca me,

My faes hae made me ill to ken.

34‘There’s some will ca me Parcy Reed,And speak my praise in tower and town;It’s little matter what they do now,My life-blood rudds the heather brown.

‘There’s some will ca me Parcy Reed,

And speak my praise in tower and town;

It’s little matter what they do now,

My life-blood rudds the heather brown.

35‘There’s some will ca me Parcy Reed,And a’ my virtues say and sing;I would much rather have just nowA draught o water frae the spring.’

‘There’s some will ca me Parcy Reed,

And a’ my virtues say and sing;

I would much rather have just now

A draught o water frae the spring.’

36The herd flung aff his clouted shoonAnd to the nearest fountain ran;He made his bonnet serve a cup,And wan the blessing o the dying man.

The herd flung aff his clouted shoon

And to the nearest fountain ran;

He made his bonnet serve a cup,

And wan the blessing o the dying man.

37‘Now, honest herd, ye maun do mair,Ye maun do mair, as I you tell;Ye maun bear tidings to Troughend,And bear likewise my last farewell.

‘Now, honest herd, ye maun do mair,

Ye maun do mair, as I you tell;

Ye maun bear tidings to Troughend,

And bear likewise my last farewell.

38‘A farewell to my wedded wife,A farewell to my brother John,Wha sits into the Troughend towerWi heart as black as any stone.

‘A farewell to my wedded wife,

A farewell to my brother John,

Wha sits into the Troughend tower

Wi heart as black as any stone.

39‘A farewell to my daughter Jean,A farewell to my young sons five;Had they been at their father’s hand,I had this night been man alive.

‘A farewell to my daughter Jean,

A farewell to my young sons five;

Had they been at their father’s hand,

I had this night been man alive.

40‘A farewell to my followers a’,And a’ my neighbours gude at need;Bid them think how the treacherous Ha’sBetrayed the life o Parcy Reed.

‘A farewell to my followers a’,

And a’ my neighbours gude at need;

Bid them think how the treacherous Ha’s

Betrayed the life o Parcy Reed.

41‘The laird o Clennel bears my bow,The laird o Brandon bears my brand;Wheneer they ride i the Border-side,They’ll mind the fate o the laird Troughend.’

‘The laird o Clennel bears my bow,

The laird o Brandon bears my brand;

Wheneer they ride i the Border-side,

They’ll mind the fate o the laird Troughend.’

101, 121, 141, orfornor;cf.81.

122. “O Parcy Reed, etc. (same as stanza 8, save at end, thee and me).”The same abridgment and remark at 102, 142, but the last words are there given asme and thee.Uniformity is to be expected.

161. fare thou:cf.163, 171.

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