ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS

Pp. 1–3, 484; II, 495 a.Little-Russian. Three lads give a girl riddles. ‘If you guess right, shall you be ours?’ Golovatsky, II, 83, 19. Two other pieces in the same, III, 180, 55. (W. W.)

A king’s daughter, or other maid, makes the reading of her riddles a condition of marriage in several Polish tales; it may be further stipulated that a riddle shall be also given which the woman cannot guess, or that those who fail shall forfeit their life. Karłowicz in Wisła, III, 258, 270, where are cited, besides a MS. communication, Zbiór wiadomości do antropologii krajowej, V, 194, VII, 12; Gli[‘n]ski, Bajarz Polski, III, No 1; Kolberg, Krakowskie, IV, 204.

P. 7 a. The last two stanzas ofFare also in Kinloch MSS, V, 275, with one trivial variation, and the burden, ‘And then, etc.’

Sir Walter Scott had a copy beginning, ‘There lived a wife in the wilds of Kent:’ Sharpe’s Ballad Book, 1880, p. 147 f.

7 b, 484 a. Add:P,Q, Hruschka u. Toischer, Deutsche Volkslieder aus Böhmen, p. 171, No 124, a, b.

7 b, III, 496 a. ‘Store Fordringer,’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 342, No 85 (with the stupid painted roses).

7 f, 484 a, II, 495 a, III, 496 a. Add: ‘I tre Tamburi,’ Ferraro, C. P. del Basso Monferrato, p. 52; ‘Il Compito,’ Romaic, Tommaseo, III, 13 (already cited by Nigra).

8 a, II, 495 a. Tasks.Servianballads. Karadžić, Sr. n. pj., I, 164, No 240, ‘The Spinster and the Tsar;’ I, 165, No 242, ‘The Spinster and the Goldsmith.’ Cf. I, 166, No 243. Also, Karadžić, Sr. n. pj. iz Herz., p. 217, No 191; Petranović, I, 13, No 16 (where the girl’s father sets the tasks), and p. 218, No 238; Rajković, p. 209, No 237.Bulgarian.Collection of the Bulgarian Ministry of Public Instruction, II, 31, 3; III, 28, 4. Cf. Verković, p. 52, 43; Bezsonov, II, 74, 105; Miladinof, p. 471, 536.Russian.An episode in the old Russian legend of Prince Peter of Murom and his wife Fevronija, three versions: Kušelev-Bezborodko, Monuments of Old Russian Literature, I, 29 ff. (W. W.)

Wit-contests in verse, the motive of love or marriage having probably dropped out. Polish. Five examples are cited by Karłowicz, Wisła, III, 267 ff.: Kolberg, Krakowskie, II, 149, and Mazowsze, II, 149, No 332, Zbiór wiad. do antrop., X, 297, No 217, and two not before printed. Moravian examples from Sušil, p. 692 f., No 809, p. 701 ff., No 815: make me a shirt without needle or thread, twist me silk out of oaten straw; count me the stars, build me a ladder to go up to them; drain the Red Sea, make me a bucket that will hold it; etc. Zapolski, White Russian Weddings and Wedding-Songs, p. 35, No 19. Wisła, as before, III, 532 ff.

Polish tales of The Clever Wench are numerous: Wisła, III, 270 ff.

13 b. A fragment of a riddle given by a wise man to the gods is preserved in a cuneiform inscription: [What is that] which is in the house? which roars like a bull? which growls like a bear? which enters into the heart of a man? etc. The answer is evidently air, wind. George Smith, The Chaldean Account of Genesis, 1876, p. 156 : cited by J. Karłowicz, Wisła, III, 273.

15–20, 484 f., II, 495 f. Communicated by the Rev. S. Baring-Gould. “From the north of Cornwall, near Camelford. This used to be sung as a sort of game in farm-houses, between a young man who went outside the room and a girl who sat on the settle or a chair, and a sort of chorus of farm lads and lasses. Now quite discontinued.” The dead lover represents the auld man inI.

1A fair pretty maiden she sat on her bed,The wind is blowing in forest and townShe sighed and she said, O my love he is dead!And the wind it shaketh the acorns down2The maiden she sighed; ‘I would,’ said she,‘That again my lover might be with me!’3Before ever a word the maid she spake,But she for fear did shiver and shake.4There stood at her side her lover dead;‘Take me by the hand, sweet love,’ he said.5. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .6‘Thou must buy me, my lady, a cambrick shirt,Whilst every grove rings with a merry antineAnd stitch it without any needle-work.O and thus shalt thou be a true love of mine7‘And thou must wash it in yonder well,Whilst, etc.Where never a drop of water in fell.O and thus, etc.8‘And thou must hang it upon a white thornThat never has blossomed since Adam was born.9‘And when that these tasks are finished and doneI’ll take thee and marry thee under the sun.’10‘Before ever I do these two and three,I will set of tasks as many to thee.11‘Thou must buy for me an acre of landBetween the salt ocean and the yellow sand.12‘Thou must plough it oer with a horse’s horn,And sow it over with one peppercorn.13‘Thou must reap it too with a piece of leather,And bind it up with a peacock’s feather.14‘And when that these tasks are finished and done,O then will I marry thee under the sun.’15‘Now thou hast answered me well,’ he said,The wind, etc.‘Or thou must have gone away with the dead.’And the wind, etc.16. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .

1A fair pretty maiden she sat on her bed,The wind is blowing in forest and townShe sighed and she said, O my love he is dead!And the wind it shaketh the acorns down

A fair pretty maiden she sat on her bed,

The wind is blowing in forest and town

She sighed and she said, O my love he is dead!

And the wind it shaketh the acorns down

2The maiden she sighed; ‘I would,’ said she,‘That again my lover might be with me!’

The maiden she sighed; ‘I would,’ said she,

‘That again my lover might be with me!’

3Before ever a word the maid she spake,But she for fear did shiver and shake.

Before ever a word the maid she spake,

But she for fear did shiver and shake.

4There stood at her side her lover dead;‘Take me by the hand, sweet love,’ he said.

There stood at her side her lover dead;

‘Take me by the hand, sweet love,’ he said.

5. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

6‘Thou must buy me, my lady, a cambrick shirt,Whilst every grove rings with a merry antineAnd stitch it without any needle-work.O and thus shalt thou be a true love of mine

‘Thou must buy me, my lady, a cambrick shirt,

Whilst every grove rings with a merry antine

And stitch it without any needle-work.

O and thus shalt thou be a true love of mine

7‘And thou must wash it in yonder well,Whilst, etc.Where never a drop of water in fell.O and thus, etc.

‘And thou must wash it in yonder well,

Whilst, etc.

Where never a drop of water in fell.

O and thus, etc.

8‘And thou must hang it upon a white thornThat never has blossomed since Adam was born.

‘And thou must hang it upon a white thorn

That never has blossomed since Adam was born.

9‘And when that these tasks are finished and doneI’ll take thee and marry thee under the sun.’

‘And when that these tasks are finished and done

I’ll take thee and marry thee under the sun.’

10‘Before ever I do these two and three,I will set of tasks as many to thee.

‘Before ever I do these two and three,

I will set of tasks as many to thee.

11‘Thou must buy for me an acre of landBetween the salt ocean and the yellow sand.

‘Thou must buy for me an acre of land

Between the salt ocean and the yellow sand.

12‘Thou must plough it oer with a horse’s horn,And sow it over with one peppercorn.

‘Thou must plough it oer with a horse’s horn,

And sow it over with one peppercorn.

13‘Thou must reap it too with a piece of leather,And bind it up with a peacock’s feather.

‘Thou must reap it too with a piece of leather,

And bind it up with a peacock’s feather.

14‘And when that these tasks are finished and done,O then will I marry thee under the sun.’

‘And when that these tasks are finished and done,

O then will I marry thee under the sun.’

15‘Now thou hast answered me well,’ he said,The wind, etc.‘Or thou must have gone away with the dead.’And the wind, etc.

‘Now thou hast answered me well,’ he said,

The wind, etc.

‘Or thou must have gone away with the dead.’

And the wind, etc.

16. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . .

Mr Frank Kidsen has given a copy of ‘Scarborough Fair,’ with some better readings, as sung “in Whitby streets twenty or thirty years ago,” in Traditional Tunes, p. 43, 1891.

1–4,second line of burden, true love.

22. Without any seam or needlework.

31. yonder dry well.

32. no water sprung.

41. Tell her to dry it on yonder thorn.

42. Which never bore blossom since.

5, 6.Wanting.

71. O will you find me.

72. Between the sea-foam [and] the sea-sand. Or never be a true lover of mine.

81. O will you plough.

91. O will you reap it.

92. And tie it all up.

101. And when you have done and finished your work.

102. You may come to me for your. And then you shall be a.At p. 172, the first stanza of another version is given, withRue, parsley, rosemary and thymefor the first line of the burden.

Pp. 20, 485 (also, 14 a, 484 a), III, 496 a. Foiling mischievous sprites and ghosts by getting the last word, or prolonging talk till the time when they must go, especially the noon-sprite: Wisła, III, 275 f., and notes 44–6; also, 269 f. The Wends have the proverbial phrase, to ask as many questions as a noon-sprite. The Poles have many stories of beings that take service without wages, on condition of no fault being found, and make off instantly upon the terms being broken.

20, III, 496 a. The last verses of ‘Tsanno d’Oymé,’ Daymard, Vieux Chants pop. recueillis en Quercy, p. 70, are after the fashion of this ballad.

‘Tsano d’Oymé, atal fuessés négado!’‘Lou fil del rey, et bous né fuessés l’aygo!’‘Tsano d’Oymé, atal fuessés brullado!’‘Lou fil del rey, et bous fuessés las clappos!’

‘Tsano d’Oymé, atal fuessés négado!’‘Lou fil del rey, et bous né fuessés l’aygo!’

‘Tsano d’Oymé, atal fuessés négado!’

‘Lou fil del rey, et bous né fuessés l’aygo!’

‘Tsano d’Oymé, atal fuessés brullado!’‘Lou fil del rey, et bous fuessés las clappos!’

‘Tsano d’Oymé, atal fuessés brullado!’

‘Lou fil del rey, et bous fuessés las clappos!’

P. 24 a. A copy in Christie’s Traditional Ballad Airs, II, 236, ‘May Colvine and Fause Sir John’ (of which no account is given), is a free compilation fromD b,D a, andC c.

The Gaelic tale referred to by Jamieson may be seen, as Mr Macmath has pointed out to me, in Rev. Alexander Stewart’s ’Twixt Ben Nevis and Glencoe, Edinburgh, 1885, p. 205 ff. Dr Stewart gives nine stanzas of a Gaelic ballad, and furnishes an English rendering. The story has no connection with that of No 4.

25 b, note. ‘Halewyn en het kleyne Kind,’ in the first volume of the MS. Poésies pop. de la France, was communicated by Crussemaker, and is the same piece that he printed. Other copies in Lootens et Feys, No 45, p. 85 (see p. 296); Volkskunde, II, 194, ‘Van Mijn-heerken van Bruindergestem.’

27 a, note †. Add: MacInness, Folk and Hero Tales [Gaelic], p. 301, a Highland St George: see I, 487, note.

27 f. Professor Bugge, Arkiv för nordisk Filologi, VII, 120–36, 1891, points out that a Swedish ballad given in Grundtvig, D. g. F. IV, 813 f.,F, and here referred to under ‘Hind Etin,’ I, 364 b, as SwedishC, has resemblances with ‘Kvindemorderen.’ Fru Malin is combing her hairal fresco, when a suitor enters her premises; he remarks that a crown would sit well on her head. The lady skips off to her chamber, and exclaims, Christ grant he may wish to be mine! Thesuitor follows her, and asks, Where is the fair dame who wishes to be mine? But when Fru Malin comes to table she is in trouble, and the suitor puts her several leading questions. She is sad, not for any of several reasons suggested, but for the bridge under which her seven sisters (syskon) lie. ‘Sorrow not,’ he says, ‘we shall build the bridge so broad and long that four-and-twenty horses may go over at a time.’ They pass through a wood; on the bridge her horse stumbles, and she is thrown into the water. She cries for help; she will give him her gold crown. He cares nothing for the crown, and never will help her out. Bugge maintains that this ballad is not, as Grundtvig considered it, a compound of ‘Nökkens Svig’ and ‘Harpens Kraft,’ but an independent ballad, ‘The Bride Drowned,’ of a set to which belong ‘Der Wasserman,’ Haupt and Schmaler, I, 62, No 34, and many German ballads: see Grundtvig, IV, 810 f, and here I, 365 f., 38.

29–37, 486 a. Add:E E, Hruschka u. Toischer, Deutsche Volkslieder aus Böhmen, p. 126, No 35. LikeQ, p. 35.

39 ff. The Polish ballad ‘Jás i Kasia.’ Mr John Karłowicz has given, in Wisła, IV, 393–424, the results of a study of this ballad, and they are here briefly summarized.

Ten unprinted versions are there added to the large number already published, making about ninety copies, if fragments are counted. Copies not noted at I, 39, 486, are, besides these ten, the following. Kolberg, Krakowskie, II, 111, 168, Nos 208, 336; Kieleckie, II, 148, No 453; Leęczychie, p. 131, No 223; Lubelskie, I, 289 ff., Nos 473, 474; Pozna[‘n]skie, IV, 63, No 131; Mazowsze, III, 274, No 386, IV, 320, No 346. Zbiór wiadomości do antropologii krajowej, II, 78, Nos 89, 90; IV, 129; X, 123. Wisła, II, 132, 159. Prace filologiczne, II, 568. Keętrzy[‘n]ski, O Mazurach, p. 35, No 1. Zawili[‘n]ski, Z powieści i pieśni górali beskidowych, p. 88, No 66. Wasilewski, Jagodne, etc., No 120. Federowski, Lud okolic Żarek, etc., p. 102, No 49.

Most of the ten versions printed in Wisła agree with others previously published; in some there are novel details. In No 3, p. 398, Kasia, thrown into the water by her lover, is rescued by her brother. In No 10, p. 404, Jás, when drowning the girl, tells her that he has drowned four already, and she shall be the fifth; her brother comes sliding down a silken rope; fishermen take the girl out dead. There are still only two of all the Polish versions in which Catharine kills John,A a,b. The name Ligar, in the latter, points clearly, Mr Karłowicz remarks, to the U-linger, Ad-elger, Ol-legehr of the German versions, and he is convinced that the ballad came into Poland from Germany, although the girl is not drowned in the German ballad, as in the Polish, English, and French.

John, who is commonly the hero in the Polish ballad, is at the beginning of many copies declared to have sung, and the words have no apparent sense. But we observe that in the versions of western Europe the hero plays on the horn, sings a seductive song, promises to teach the girl to sing, etc.; the unmeaning Polish phrase is therefore a survival.

In many of the German versions a bird warns the maid of her danger. This feature is found once only in Polish: in Zawili[‘n]ski (No 69 A of Karłowicz).

At p. 777 of Sušil’s Moravian Songs there are two other versions which I have not noticed, the second of them manifestly derived from Poland.

There is a Little-Russian ballad which begins like the Polish ‘Jás i Kasia,’ but ends with the girl being tied to a tree and burned, instead of being drowned: Wisła, IV, 423, from Zbiór wiadom. do antrop., III, 150, No 17. Traces of the incident of the burning are also found in Polish and Moravian songs: Wisła, pp. 418–22. It is probable that there were two independent ballads, and that these have been confounded.

42 a, III, 497 a.A. Add: ‘Renaud et ses Femmes,’ Revue des Traditions Populaires, VI, 34.

43 a. ‘Lou Cros dé Proucinello,’ Daymard, Vieux Chants p. recueillis en Quercy, p. 130, has at the end two traits of this ballad. A young man carries off a girl whom he has been in love with seven years; he throws her into a ravine; as she falls, she catches at a tree; he cuts it away; she cries, What shall I do with my pretty gowns? and is answered, Give them to me for another mistress. Cf. also Daymard, p. 128.

43 b, III, 497 a. ‘La Fille de Saint-Martin.’ Add: ‘Le Mari Assassin,’ Chanson du pays de Caux, Revue des Traditions Populaires, IV, 133.

43 f., 488 a, III, 497.Italian.The ballad in Nannarelli (488 a) I have seen: it is like ‘La Monferrina incontaminata.’ Add:‘La bella Inglese,’ Salvadori, in Giornale di Filologia Romanza, II, 201; ‘Un’ eroina,’ A. Giannini, Canzoni del Contado di Massa Lunense, No 1, Archivio, VIII, 273; [‘Montiglia’], [‘Inglesa’], Bolognini, Annuario degli Alpinisti Tridentini, XIII, Usi e Costumi del Trentino, 1888, p. 37 f.

44 b. ‘La Princesa Isabel,’ Pidal, Romancero Asturiano, p. 350 (sung by children as an accompaniment to a game), is a variety of ‘Rico Franco.’

45 a, 488 a. Another Portuguese version, ‘O caso de D. Ignez,’ Braga, Ampliações ao Romanceiro das Ilhas dos Açores, Revista Lusitana, I, 103.

45 b. Breton, 5. Marivonnic also in Quellien, Chansons et Danses des Bretons, 1889, p. 99.

50 b, note ǁ. As to this use of blood, cf. H. von Wlisłocki, Volksthümliches zum Armen Heinrich, Ztschr. f. deutsche Philologie, 1890, XXIII, 217 ff; Notes and Queries, 7th Series, VIII, 363. (G. L. K.)

55.B. A copy in Walks near Edinburgh, by Margaret Warrender, 1890, p. 104, differs fromB bin only a few words, as any ordinary recollection would. As:

43, 63, 83. my guid steed.

94. It will gar our loves to twine.

104. An I’ll ring for you the bell.

113. Grant me ae kiss o your fause, fause mouth (improbable reading).

142. she won.

143. most heartily.

56 ff., 488 f., II, 497 f.

The copy of ‘May Collin’ which follows is quite the best of the seriesC-G. It is written on the same sheet of paper as the “copy of some antiquity” used by Scott in making up his ‘Gay Goss Hawk’ (ed. 1802, II, 7). The sheet is perhaps as old as any in the volume in which it occurs, but may possibly not be the original. ‘May Collin’ is not in the same hand as the other ballad.

According to the preface to a stall-copy spoken of by Motherwell, Minstrelsy, p. lxx, 24, “the treacherous and murder-minting lover was an ecclesiastic of the monastery of Maybole,” and the preface toD d(see I, 488) makes him a Dominican friar. So, if we were to accept these guides, the ‘Sir’ would be the old ecclesiastical title and equivalent to the ‘Mess’ of the copy now to be given.

‘May Collin,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 146, Abbotsford.

1May Collin . . . . .. . . was her father’s heir,And she fell in love with a falsh priest,And she rued it ever mair.2He followd her butt, he followd her benn,He followd her through the hall,Till she had neither tongue nor teethNor lips to say him naw.3‘We’ll take the steed out where he is,The gold where eer it be,And we’ll away to some unco land,And married we shall be.’4They had not riden a mile, a mile,A mile but barely three,Till they came to a rank river,Was raging like the sea.5‘Light off, light off now, May Collin,It’s here that you must die;Here I have drownd seven king’s daughters,The eight now you must be.6‘Cast off, cast off now, May Collin,Your gown that’s of the green;For it’s oer good and oer costlyTo rot in the sea-stream.7‘Cast off, cast off now, May Collin,Your coat that’s of the black;For it’s oer good and oer costlyTo rot in the sea-wreck.8‘Cast off, cast off now, May Collin,Your stays that are well laced;For thei’r oer good and costlyIn the sea’s ground to waste.9‘Cast [off, cast off now, May Collin,]Your sark that’s of the holland;For [it’s oer good and oer costly]To rot in the sea-bottom.’10‘Turn you about now, falsh Mess John,To the green leaf of the tree;It does not fit a mansworn manA naked woman to see.’11He turnd him quickly round about,To the green leaf of the tree;She took him hastly in her armsAnd flung him in the sea.12‘Now lye you there, you falsh Mess John,My mallasin go with thee!You thought to drown me naked and bare,But take your cloaths with thee,And if there be seven king’s daughters thereBear you them company.’13She lap on her milk steedAnd fast she bent the way,And she was at her father’s yateThree long hours or day.14Up and speaks the wylie parrot,So wylily and slee:‘Where is the man now, May Collin,That gaed away wie thee?’15‘Hold your tongue, my wylie parrot,And tell no tales of me,And where I gave a pickle beforIt’s now I’ll give you three.’

1May Collin . . . . .. . . was her father’s heir,And she fell in love with a falsh priest,And she rued it ever mair.

May Collin . . . . .

. . . was her father’s heir,

And she fell in love with a falsh priest,

And she rued it ever mair.

2He followd her butt, he followd her benn,He followd her through the hall,Till she had neither tongue nor teethNor lips to say him naw.

He followd her butt, he followd her benn,

He followd her through the hall,

Till she had neither tongue nor teeth

Nor lips to say him naw.

3‘We’ll take the steed out where he is,The gold where eer it be,And we’ll away to some unco land,And married we shall be.’

‘We’ll take the steed out where he is,

The gold where eer it be,

And we’ll away to some unco land,

And married we shall be.’

4They had not riden a mile, a mile,A mile but barely three,Till they came to a rank river,Was raging like the sea.

They had not riden a mile, a mile,

A mile but barely three,

Till they came to a rank river,

Was raging like the sea.

5‘Light off, light off now, May Collin,It’s here that you must die;Here I have drownd seven king’s daughters,The eight now you must be.

‘Light off, light off now, May Collin,

It’s here that you must die;

Here I have drownd seven king’s daughters,

The eight now you must be.

6‘Cast off, cast off now, May Collin,Your gown that’s of the green;For it’s oer good and oer costlyTo rot in the sea-stream.

‘Cast off, cast off now, May Collin,

Your gown that’s of the green;

For it’s oer good and oer costly

To rot in the sea-stream.

7‘Cast off, cast off now, May Collin,Your coat that’s of the black;For it’s oer good and oer costlyTo rot in the sea-wreck.

‘Cast off, cast off now, May Collin,

Your coat that’s of the black;

For it’s oer good and oer costly

To rot in the sea-wreck.

8‘Cast off, cast off now, May Collin,Your stays that are well laced;For thei’r oer good and costlyIn the sea’s ground to waste.

‘Cast off, cast off now, May Collin,

Your stays that are well laced;

For thei’r oer good and costly

In the sea’s ground to waste.

9‘Cast [off, cast off now, May Collin,]Your sark that’s of the holland;For [it’s oer good and oer costly]To rot in the sea-bottom.’

‘Cast [off, cast off now, May Collin,]

Your sark that’s of the holland;

For [it’s oer good and oer costly]

To rot in the sea-bottom.’

10‘Turn you about now, falsh Mess John,To the green leaf of the tree;It does not fit a mansworn manA naked woman to see.’

‘Turn you about now, falsh Mess John,

To the green leaf of the tree;

It does not fit a mansworn man

A naked woman to see.’

11He turnd him quickly round about,To the green leaf of the tree;She took him hastly in her armsAnd flung him in the sea.

He turnd him quickly round about,

To the green leaf of the tree;

She took him hastly in her arms

And flung him in the sea.

12‘Now lye you there, you falsh Mess John,My mallasin go with thee!You thought to drown me naked and bare,But take your cloaths with thee,And if there be seven king’s daughters thereBear you them company.’

‘Now lye you there, you falsh Mess John,

My mallasin go with thee!

You thought to drown me naked and bare,

But take your cloaths with thee,

And if there be seven king’s daughters there

Bear you them company.’

13She lap on her milk steedAnd fast she bent the way,And she was at her father’s yateThree long hours or day.

She lap on her milk steed

And fast she bent the way,

And she was at her father’s yate

Three long hours or day.

14Up and speaks the wylie parrot,So wylily and slee:‘Where is the man now, May Collin,That gaed away wie thee?’

Up and speaks the wylie parrot,

So wylily and slee:

‘Where is the man now, May Collin,

That gaed away wie thee?’

15‘Hold your tongue, my wylie parrot,And tell no tales of me,And where I gave a pickle beforIt’s now I’ll give you three.’

‘Hold your tongue, my wylie parrot,

And tell no tales of me,

And where I gave a pickle befor

It’s now I’ll give you three.’

11,2.One line: May Collin was her father’s heir.

74. on the.

84. ina?indistinct.

125. 7.

P. 63 b.Swedish.‘Riddar Olof,’ Lagus, Nyländska Folkvisor, I, 63, No 16,a,b, imperfect copies.

64 b.Danish.‘Den rette Brudgom’ (Samson and Vendelru), Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 363, No 97.

65 b. ‘Herr Peders Hustru,’ the same, p. 365,==Grundtvig, No 278.

70.B. The three stanzas which follow were communicated to Scott by Major Henry Hutton, Royal Artillery, 24th December, 1802 (Letters, I, No 77), as recollected by his father and the family. “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 18. Instead of 3, 4:

There’s five o them with meal and malt,And other five wi beef and salt;There’s five o them wi well-bak’d bread,And other five wi goud so red.There’s five o them wi the ladies bright,There’s other five o belted knights;There’s five o them wi a good black neat,And other five wi bleating sheep.

There’s five o them with meal and malt,And other five wi beef and salt;There’s five o them wi well-bak’d bread,And other five wi goud so red.

There’s five o them with meal and malt,

And other five wi beef and salt;

There’s five o them wi well-bak’d bread,

And other five wi goud so red.

There’s five o them wi the ladies bright,There’s other five o belted knights;There’s five o them wi a good black neat,And other five wi bleating sheep.

There’s five o them wi the ladies bright,

There’s other five o belted knights;

There’s five o them wi a good black neat,

And other five wi bleating sheep.

“And before the two last stanzas, introduce”

O there was seald on his breast-bane,‘Cospatric is his father’s name;’O there was seald on his right handHe should inherit his father’s land.

O there was seald on his breast-bane,

‘Cospatric is his father’s name;’

O there was seald on his right hand

He should inherit his father’s land.

sois written over the secondandin12.

P. 88. ‘Ribold og Guldborg:’ Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 33, ‘Nævnet til døde,’ No 15,A-I.

91 b.Swedish.‘Kung Valdemo,’ ‘Ellibrand och Fröken Gyllenborg,’ Lagus, Nyländska Folkvisor, I, 1, No 1,a,b. (“Name not my name,”a20,b12.)

95 b, 489 b; III, 498 a. For the whole subject, see K. Nyrop. Navnets Magt, 1887, and especially sections 4, 5, pp. 46–70. As to reluctance to have one’s name known, and the advantage such knowledge gives an adversary, see E. Clodd, in The Folk Lore Journal, VII, 154 ff., and, in continuation, Folk-Lore, I, 272.

The berserkr Glammaðr could pick off any man with his pike, if only he knew his name. Saga Egils ok Ásmundar, Rafn, Fornaldar Sögur, III, 387, Ásmundarson, F. s. Norðrlanða, III, 292. (G. L. K.)

The demonic Gelô informs certain saints who force her “to tell them how other people’s children [may] be defended from her attacks,” that if they “can write her twelve names and a half she shall never be able to come within seventy-five stadia and a half:” Thomas Wright, Essays on Subjects connected with the Literature, etc., of the Middle Ages, 1846, I, 294 (referring to Leo Allatius, De Græcorum hodie quorundam opinationibus). The passage in question is to be found at p. 127 of Leo Allatius, De templis Græcorum recentioribus, ad Ioannem Morinum; De Narthece ecclesiæ veteris; nec non De Græcorum hodie quorundam opinationibus, ad Paullum Zacchiam. Coloniæ Agrippinæ, 1645. (G. L. K.)

96 b.Swedish.Two copies of‘Rosen lilla’ in Lagus, Nyländska Folkvisor, I, 37, No 10.

Danish.Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 215, No 52,C9, two lilies; p. 318, No 78, 9, 10, graves south and north, two lilies.

97 b.French.‘Les deux Amoureux,’ Daymard, Vieux Chants p. rec. en Quercy, p. 122, lavender and tree.

97 b, 489 b, II, 498 a, III, 498 b.Slavic.(1.) White-Russian: he buried in church, she in ditch; plane and linden (planted); plane embraces linden. MS. (2.) Little-Russian: buried apart; plane grows over his grave, two birches over hers; branches donotinterlace. Kolberg, Pokucie, p. 41. (3.) White-Russian: he in church, she near church; oak, birch (planted); trees touch.Zbiór wiado do antropol., XIII, 102 f. (4.) Little-Russian: burial apart in a church; rosemary and lily from graves. Var.: rose and sage, rosemary; flowers interlace. Holovatzky, III, 254. (J. Karłowicz, in Mélusine, V, 39 ff.)

Bulgarian.A poplar from the maid’s grave, a pine from her lover’s: Collection of the Bulgarian Ministry of Instruction, I, 35. (W. W.)

97 b, 490 a, III, 498 b.Breton.Luzel, Soniou, I, 272–3: a tree from the young man’s grave, a rose from the maid’s.

99 ff., 490 ff. ‘The Earl o Bran,’ “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 22 b, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of Richard Heber.

1Did ye ever hear o guid Earl o BranAn the queen’s daughter o the south-lan?2She was na fifteen years o ageTill she came to the Earl’s bed-side.3‘O guid Earl o Bran, I fain wad seeMy grey hounds run over the lea.’4‘O kind lady, I have no steeds but one,But ye shall ride, an I shall run.’5‘O guid Earl o Bran, but I have tua,An ye shall hae yere wael o those.’6The’re ovr moss an the’re over muir,An they saw neither rich nor poor.7Till they came to ald Carl Hood,He’s ay for ill, but he’s never for good.8‘O guid Earl o Bran, if ye loe me,Kill Carl Hood an gar him die.’9‘O kind lady, we had better spare;I never killd ane that wore grey hair.10‘We’ll gie him a penny-fie an let him gae,An then he’ll carry nae tiddings away.’11‘Where hae been riding this lang simmer-day?Or where hae stolen this lady away?’12‘O I hae not riden this lang simmer-day,Nor hae I stolen this lady away.13‘For she is my sick sisterI got at the Wamshester.’14‘If she were sick an like to die,She wad na be wearing the gold sae high.’15Ald Carl Hood is over the know,Where they rode one mile, he ran four.16Till he came to her mother’s yetts,An I wat he rapped rudely at.17‘Where is the lady o this ha?’‘She’s out wie her maidens, playing at the ba.’18‘O na! fy na!For I met her fifteen miles awa.19‘She’s over moss, an she’s over muir,An a’ to be the Earl o Bran’s whore.’20Some rode wie sticks, an some wie rungs,An a’ to get the Earl o Bran slain.21That lady lookd over her left shoudder-bane:‘O guid Earl o Bran, we’ll a’ be taen!For yond’r a’ my father’s men.22‘But if ye’ll take my claiths, I’ll take thine,An I’ll fight a’ my father’s men.’23‘It’s no the custom in our landFor ladies to fight an knights to stand.24‘If they come on me ane by ane,I’ll smash them a’ doun bane by bane.25‘If they come on me ane and a’,Ye soon will see my body fa.’26He has luppen from his steed,An he has gein her that to had.27An bad her never change her cheerUntill she saw his body bleed.28They came on him ane by ane,An he smashed them doun a’ bane by bane.29He sat him doun on the green grass,For I wat a wearit man he was.30But ald Carl Hood came him behind,An I wat he gae him a deadly wound.31He’s awa to his lady then,He kissed her, an set her on her steed again.32He rode whistlin out the way,An a’ to hearten his lady gay.33‘Till he came to the water-flood:‘O guid Earl o Bran, I see blood!’34‘O it is but my scarlet hood,That shines upon the water-flood.’35They came on ‘till his mother’s yett,An I wat he rappit poorly at.36His mother she’s come to the door:‘O son, ye’ve gotten yere dead wie an Englishwhore!’37‘She was never a whore to me;Sae let my brother her husband be.’38Sae ald Carl Hood was not the dead o ane,But he was the dead o hale seeventeen.

1Did ye ever hear o guid Earl o BranAn the queen’s daughter o the south-lan?

Did ye ever hear o guid Earl o Bran

An the queen’s daughter o the south-lan?

2She was na fifteen years o ageTill she came to the Earl’s bed-side.

She was na fifteen years o age

Till she came to the Earl’s bed-side.

3‘O guid Earl o Bran, I fain wad seeMy grey hounds run over the lea.’

‘O guid Earl o Bran, I fain wad see

My grey hounds run over the lea.’

4‘O kind lady, I have no steeds but one,But ye shall ride, an I shall run.’

‘O kind lady, I have no steeds but one,

But ye shall ride, an I shall run.’

5‘O guid Earl o Bran, but I have tua,An ye shall hae yere wael o those.’

‘O guid Earl o Bran, but I have tua,

An ye shall hae yere wael o those.’

6The’re ovr moss an the’re over muir,An they saw neither rich nor poor.

The’re ovr moss an the’re over muir,

An they saw neither rich nor poor.

7Till they came to ald Carl Hood,He’s ay for ill, but he’s never for good.

Till they came to ald Carl Hood,

He’s ay for ill, but he’s never for good.

8‘O guid Earl o Bran, if ye loe me,Kill Carl Hood an gar him die.’

‘O guid Earl o Bran, if ye loe me,

Kill Carl Hood an gar him die.’

9‘O kind lady, we had better spare;I never killd ane that wore grey hair.

‘O kind lady, we had better spare;

I never killd ane that wore grey hair.

10‘We’ll gie him a penny-fie an let him gae,An then he’ll carry nae tiddings away.’

‘We’ll gie him a penny-fie an let him gae,

An then he’ll carry nae tiddings away.’

11‘Where hae been riding this lang simmer-day?Or where hae stolen this lady away?’

‘Where hae been riding this lang simmer-day?

Or where hae stolen this lady away?’

12‘O I hae not riden this lang simmer-day,Nor hae I stolen this lady away.

‘O I hae not riden this lang simmer-day,

Nor hae I stolen this lady away.

13‘For she is my sick sisterI got at the Wamshester.’

‘For she is my sick sister

I got at the Wamshester.’

14‘If she were sick an like to die,She wad na be wearing the gold sae high.’

‘If she were sick an like to die,

She wad na be wearing the gold sae high.’

15Ald Carl Hood is over the know,Where they rode one mile, he ran four.

Ald Carl Hood is over the know,

Where they rode one mile, he ran four.

16Till he came to her mother’s yetts,An I wat he rapped rudely at.

Till he came to her mother’s yetts,

An I wat he rapped rudely at.

17‘Where is the lady o this ha?’‘She’s out wie her maidens, playing at the ba.’

‘Where is the lady o this ha?’

‘She’s out wie her maidens, playing at the ba.’

18‘O na! fy na!For I met her fifteen miles awa.

‘O na! fy na!

For I met her fifteen miles awa.

19‘She’s over moss, an she’s over muir,An a’ to be the Earl o Bran’s whore.’

‘She’s over moss, an she’s over muir,

An a’ to be the Earl o Bran’s whore.’

20Some rode wie sticks, an some wie rungs,An a’ to get the Earl o Bran slain.

Some rode wie sticks, an some wie rungs,

An a’ to get the Earl o Bran slain.

21That lady lookd over her left shoudder-bane:‘O guid Earl o Bran, we’ll a’ be taen!For yond’r a’ my father’s men.

That lady lookd over her left shoudder-bane:

‘O guid Earl o Bran, we’ll a’ be taen!

For yond’r a’ my father’s men.

22‘But if ye’ll take my claiths, I’ll take thine,An I’ll fight a’ my father’s men.’

‘But if ye’ll take my claiths, I’ll take thine,

An I’ll fight a’ my father’s men.’

23‘It’s no the custom in our landFor ladies to fight an knights to stand.

‘It’s no the custom in our land

For ladies to fight an knights to stand.

24‘If they come on me ane by ane,I’ll smash them a’ doun bane by bane.

‘If they come on me ane by ane,

I’ll smash them a’ doun bane by bane.

25‘If they come on me ane and a’,Ye soon will see my body fa.’

‘If they come on me ane and a’,

Ye soon will see my body fa.’

26He has luppen from his steed,An he has gein her that to had.

He has luppen from his steed,

An he has gein her that to had.

27An bad her never change her cheerUntill she saw his body bleed.

An bad her never change her cheer

Untill she saw his body bleed.

28They came on him ane by ane,An he smashed them doun a’ bane by bane.

They came on him ane by ane,

An he smashed them doun a’ bane by bane.

29He sat him doun on the green grass,For I wat a wearit man he was.

He sat him doun on the green grass,

For I wat a wearit man he was.

30But ald Carl Hood came him behind,An I wat he gae him a deadly wound.

But ald Carl Hood came him behind,

An I wat he gae him a deadly wound.

31He’s awa to his lady then,He kissed her, an set her on her steed again.

He’s awa to his lady then,

He kissed her, an set her on her steed again.

32He rode whistlin out the way,An a’ to hearten his lady gay.

He rode whistlin out the way,

An a’ to hearten his lady gay.

33‘Till he came to the water-flood:‘O guid Earl o Bran, I see blood!’

‘Till he came to the water-flood:

‘O guid Earl o Bran, I see blood!’

34‘O it is but my scarlet hood,That shines upon the water-flood.’

‘O it is but my scarlet hood,

That shines upon the water-flood.’

35They came on ‘till his mother’s yett,An I wat he rappit poorly at.

They came on ‘till his mother’s yett,

An I wat he rappit poorly at.

36His mother she’s come to the door:‘O son, ye’ve gotten yere dead wie an Englishwhore!’

His mother she’s come to the door:

‘O son, ye’ve gotten yere dead wie an Englishwhore!’

37‘She was never a whore to me;Sae let my brother her husband be.’

‘She was never a whore to me;

Sae let my brother her husband be.’

38Sae ald Carl Hood was not the dead o ane,But he was the dead o hale seeventeen.

Sae ald Carl Hood was not the dead o ane,

But he was the dead o hale seeventeen.

Note at the end: I have not written the chorus, but Mr Leyden, having it by him, knows how to insert it.

“Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 22 d. In the handwriting of William Laidlaw. Scott has written at the head, Earl Bran, another copy.

1Earl Bran’s a wooing gane;Ae lalie, O lilly lalieHe woo’d a lady, an was bringing her hame.O the gae knights o Airly2. . . . . . . .They met neither wi rich nor poor.3Till they met wi an auld palmer Hood,Was ay for ill, an never for good.4‘O yonder is an auld palmer Heed:Tak your sword an kill him dead.’5‘Gude forbid, O ladie fair,That I kill an auld man an grey hair.6‘We’ll gie him a an forbid him to tell;’The gae him a an forbad him to tell.7The auld man than he’s away hame,He telld o Jane whan he gaed hame.8‘I thought I saw her on yon moss,Riding on a milk-white horse.9‘I thought I saw her on yon muir;By this time she’s Earl Bran’s whore.’10Her father he’s ca’d on his men:‘Gae follow, an fetch her again.’11She’s lookit oer her left shoulder:‘O yonder is my father’s men!12‘O yonder is my father’s men:Take my cleadin, an I’ll take thine.’13‘O that was never law in land,For a ladie to feiht an a knight to stand.14‘But if yer father’s men come ane an ane,Stand ye by, an ye’ll see them slain.15‘If they come twae an twae,Stand ye by, an ye’ll see them gae.16‘And if they come three an three,Stand ye by, an ye’ll see them die.’17Her father’s men came ane an ane,She stood by . . . .18Than they cam by twae an twae,. . . . . . .19Than they cam by three an three,. . . . . . .20But ahint him cam the auld palmer Hood,An ran him outthro the heart’s blood.21‘I think I see your heart’s blood:’‘It’s but the glistering o your scarlet hood.’* * * * * *

1Earl Bran’s a wooing gane;Ae lalie, O lilly lalieHe woo’d a lady, an was bringing her hame.O the gae knights o Airly

Earl Bran’s a wooing gane;

Ae lalie, O lilly lalie

He woo’d a lady, an was bringing her hame.

O the gae knights o Airly

2. . . . . . . .They met neither wi rich nor poor.

. . . . . . . .

They met neither wi rich nor poor.

3Till they met wi an auld palmer Hood,Was ay for ill, an never for good.

Till they met wi an auld palmer Hood,

Was ay for ill, an never for good.

4‘O yonder is an auld palmer Heed:Tak your sword an kill him dead.’

‘O yonder is an auld palmer Heed:

Tak your sword an kill him dead.’

5‘Gude forbid, O ladie fair,That I kill an auld man an grey hair.

‘Gude forbid, O ladie fair,

That I kill an auld man an grey hair.

6‘We’ll gie him a an forbid him to tell;’The gae him a an forbad him to tell.

‘We’ll gie him a an forbid him to tell;’

The gae him a an forbad him to tell.

7The auld man than he’s away hame,He telld o Jane whan he gaed hame.

The auld man than he’s away hame,

He telld o Jane whan he gaed hame.

8‘I thought I saw her on yon moss,Riding on a milk-white horse.

‘I thought I saw her on yon moss,

Riding on a milk-white horse.

9‘I thought I saw her on yon muir;By this time she’s Earl Bran’s whore.’

‘I thought I saw her on yon muir;

By this time she’s Earl Bran’s whore.’

10Her father he’s ca’d on his men:‘Gae follow, an fetch her again.’

Her father he’s ca’d on his men:

‘Gae follow, an fetch her again.’

11She’s lookit oer her left shoulder:‘O yonder is my father’s men!

She’s lookit oer her left shoulder:

‘O yonder is my father’s men!

12‘O yonder is my father’s men:Take my cleadin, an I’ll take thine.’

‘O yonder is my father’s men:

Take my cleadin, an I’ll take thine.’

13‘O that was never law in land,For a ladie to feiht an a knight to stand.

‘O that was never law in land,

For a ladie to feiht an a knight to stand.

14‘But if yer father’s men come ane an ane,Stand ye by, an ye’ll see them slain.

‘But if yer father’s men come ane an ane,

Stand ye by, an ye’ll see them slain.

15‘If they come twae an twae,Stand ye by, an ye’ll see them gae.

‘If they come twae an twae,

Stand ye by, an ye’ll see them gae.

16‘And if they come three an three,Stand ye by, an ye’ll see them die.’

‘And if they come three an three,

Stand ye by, an ye’ll see them die.’

17Her father’s men came ane an ane,She stood by . . . .

Her father’s men came ane an ane,

She stood by . . . .

18Than they cam by twae an twae,. . . . . . .

Than they cam by twae an twae,

. . . . . . .

19Than they cam by three an three,. . . . . . .

Than they cam by three an three,

. . . . . . .

20But ahint him cam the auld palmer Hood,An ran him outthro the heart’s blood.

But ahint him cam the auld palmer Hood,

An ran him outthro the heart’s blood.

21‘I think I see your heart’s blood:’‘It’s but the glistering o your scarlet hood.’

‘I think I see your heart’s blood:’

‘It’s but the glistering o your scarlet hood.’

* * * * * *

71.MS., he’s *,and, in the margin, * away has been gane.Overaway hameis writtenthre them (==thrae, frae, them),or, perhaps, thre than.

201.MS., palmer weed:cf.31, 41.

202. outr thro.

P. 100,B; 489 b, 492,I. The printed copy used by Scott was ‘Lord Douglas’ Tragedy,’ the first of four pieces in a stall-pamphlet, “licensed and entered, 1792:” “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 1.Iis another edition of the same. The variations fromIare as follows:

11, says.

22. your arms.

34. father who.

43. sevenwanting.

44. just now.

51. betterfor(the obvious misprint) bitter.

53. once that.

61. Hold your hand.

72. wounds.

74. forkd in the.

81. Lady Margret.

93, 133. blue gilded,as inI,forbugelet: hanging down.

94, 134. slowly they both.

103. yon clear river-side.

113. his pretty.

123. ’Tis nothing.

152. soft.

162. long ere day.

164. diedwanting.

171. StforLady.

173. sprung.

182. be near.

183. ye: weil.

P. 107. The two copies from which (with some editorial garnish and filling out)Awas compounded were:a. “Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 20, obtained from Nelly Laidlaw, and in the handwriting of William Laidlaw;b. ‘Earlington’s Daughter,’ the same collection, No 11, in the handwriting of James Hogg. The differences are purely verbal, and both copies may probably have been derived from the same reciter; still, since only seven or eight verses in sixty-eight agree, both will be given entire, instead of a list of the variations.

a.1Lord Erlinton had ae daughter,I trow he’s weird her a grit sin;For he has bugn a bigly bower,An a’ to pit his ae daughter in.An he has buggin, etc.2An he has warn her sisters six,Her sisters six an her brethren se’en,Thei’r either to watch her a’ the night,Or than to gang i the mornin soon.3She had na been i that bigly bowerNot ae night but only aneUntill that Willie, her true-love,Chappit at the bower-door, no at the gin.4‘Whae’s this, whae’s this chaps at my bower-door,At my bower-door, no at the gin?’‘O it is Willie, thy ain true-love;O will ye rise an let me in?’5‘In my bower, Willie, there is a wane,An in the wane there is a wake;But I will come to the green woodsThe morn, for my ain true-love’s sake.’6This lady she’s lain down again,An she has lain till the cock crew thrice;She said unto her sisters baith,Lasses, it’s time at we soud rise.7She’s putten on her breast a silver tee,An on her back a silken gown;She’s taen a sister in ilka hand,An away to the bonnie green wood she’s gane.8They hadna gane a mile in that bonnie green wood,They had na gane a mile but only ane,Till they met wi Willie, her ain true-love,An thrae her sisters he has her taen.9He’s taen her sisters ilk by the hand,He’s kissd them baith, an he’s sent them hame;He’s muntit his ladie him high behind,An thro the bonnie green wood thei’r gane.10They’d ridden a mile i that bonnie green wood,They hadna ridden but only ane,When there cam fifteen o the baldest knightsThat ever boor flesh, bluid an bane.11Than up bespak the foremost knight,He woor the gray hair on his chin;‘Yield me yer life or your lady fair,An ye sal walk the green woods within.’12‘For to gie my wife to thee,I wad be very laith,’ said he;‘For than the folk wad think I was gane mad,Or that the senses war taen frae me.’13Up than bespak the niest foremost knight,I trow he spak right boustrouslie;‘Yield me yer life or your ladie fair,An ye sall walk the green woods wi me.’14‘My wife, she is my warld’s meed,My life, it lyes me very near;But if ye be man o your manhoodI serve will while my days are near.’15He’s luppen off his milk-white steed,He’s gien his lady him by the head:‘See that ye never change yer cheerTill ance ye see my body bleed.’16An he’s killd a’ the fifteen knights,He’s killed them a’ but only ane;A’ but the auld grey-headed knight,He bade him carry the tiddins hame.17He’s gane to his lady again,I trow he’s kissd her, baith cheek an chin;‘Now ye’r my ain, I have ye win,An we will walk the green woods within.’

a.1Lord Erlinton had ae daughter,I trow he’s weird her a grit sin;For he has bugn a bigly bower,An a’ to pit his ae daughter in.An he has buggin, etc.

Lord Erlinton had ae daughter,

I trow he’s weird her a grit sin;

For he has bugn a bigly bower,

An a’ to pit his ae daughter in.

An he has buggin, etc.

2An he has warn her sisters six,Her sisters six an her brethren se’en,Thei’r either to watch her a’ the night,Or than to gang i the mornin soon.

An he has warn her sisters six,

Her sisters six an her brethren se’en,

Thei’r either to watch her a’ the night,

Or than to gang i the mornin soon.

3She had na been i that bigly bowerNot ae night but only aneUntill that Willie, her true-love,Chappit at the bower-door, no at the gin.

She had na been i that bigly bower

Not ae night but only ane

Untill that Willie, her true-love,

Chappit at the bower-door, no at the gin.

4‘Whae’s this, whae’s this chaps at my bower-door,At my bower-door, no at the gin?’‘O it is Willie, thy ain true-love;O will ye rise an let me in?’

‘Whae’s this, whae’s this chaps at my bower-door,

At my bower-door, no at the gin?’

‘O it is Willie, thy ain true-love;

O will ye rise an let me in?’

5‘In my bower, Willie, there is a wane,An in the wane there is a wake;But I will come to the green woodsThe morn, for my ain true-love’s sake.’

‘In my bower, Willie, there is a wane,

An in the wane there is a wake;

But I will come to the green woods

The morn, for my ain true-love’s sake.’

6This lady she’s lain down again,An she has lain till the cock crew thrice;She said unto her sisters baith,Lasses, it’s time at we soud rise.

This lady she’s lain down again,

An she has lain till the cock crew thrice;

She said unto her sisters baith,

Lasses, it’s time at we soud rise.

7She’s putten on her breast a silver tee,An on her back a silken gown;She’s taen a sister in ilka hand,An away to the bonnie green wood she’s gane.

She’s putten on her breast a silver tee,

An on her back a silken gown;

She’s taen a sister in ilka hand,

An away to the bonnie green wood she’s gane.

8They hadna gane a mile in that bonnie green wood,They had na gane a mile but only ane,Till they met wi Willie, her ain true-love,An thrae her sisters he has her taen.

They hadna gane a mile in that bonnie green wood,

They had na gane a mile but only ane,

Till they met wi Willie, her ain true-love,

An thrae her sisters he has her taen.

9He’s taen her sisters ilk by the hand,He’s kissd them baith, an he’s sent them hame;He’s muntit his ladie him high behind,An thro the bonnie green wood thei’r gane.

He’s taen her sisters ilk by the hand,

He’s kissd them baith, an he’s sent them hame;

He’s muntit his ladie him high behind,

An thro the bonnie green wood thei’r gane.

10They’d ridden a mile i that bonnie green wood,They hadna ridden but only ane,When there cam fifteen o the baldest knightsThat ever boor flesh, bluid an bane.

They’d ridden a mile i that bonnie green wood,

They hadna ridden but only ane,

When there cam fifteen o the baldest knights

That ever boor flesh, bluid an bane.

11Than up bespak the foremost knight,He woor the gray hair on his chin;‘Yield me yer life or your lady fair,An ye sal walk the green woods within.’

Than up bespak the foremost knight,

He woor the gray hair on his chin;

‘Yield me yer life or your lady fair,

An ye sal walk the green woods within.’

12‘For to gie my wife to thee,I wad be very laith,’ said he;‘For than the folk wad think I was gane mad,Or that the senses war taen frae me.’

‘For to gie my wife to thee,

I wad be very laith,’ said he;

‘For than the folk wad think I was gane mad,

Or that the senses war taen frae me.’

13Up than bespak the niest foremost knight,I trow he spak right boustrouslie;‘Yield me yer life or your ladie fair,An ye sall walk the green woods wi me.’

Up than bespak the niest foremost knight,

I trow he spak right boustrouslie;

‘Yield me yer life or your ladie fair,

An ye sall walk the green woods wi me.’

14‘My wife, she is my warld’s meed,My life, it lyes me very near;But if ye be man o your manhoodI serve will while my days are near.’

‘My wife, she is my warld’s meed,

My life, it lyes me very near;

But if ye be man o your manhood

I serve will while my days are near.’

15He’s luppen off his milk-white steed,He’s gien his lady him by the head:‘See that ye never change yer cheerTill ance ye see my body bleed.’

He’s luppen off his milk-white steed,

He’s gien his lady him by the head:

‘See that ye never change yer cheer

Till ance ye see my body bleed.’

16An he’s killd a’ the fifteen knights,He’s killed them a’ but only ane;A’ but the auld grey-headed knight,He bade him carry the tiddins hame.

An he’s killd a’ the fifteen knights,

He’s killed them a’ but only ane;

A’ but the auld grey-headed knight,

He bade him carry the tiddins hame.

17He’s gane to his lady again,I trow he’s kissd her, baith cheek an chin;‘Now ye’r my ain, I have ye win,An we will walk the green woods within.’

He’s gane to his lady again,

I trow he’s kissd her, baith cheek an chin;

‘Now ye’r my ain, I have ye win,

An we will walk the green woods within.’

23. Theirstruck out.

93. muntitstruck out, andsetwritten above.

123. thanstruck out.

144. while, are,struck out, andtill, be,written above.

164. tiddins:onedstruck out.These changes would seem to be somebody’s editorial improvements.

Wi mein134sacrifices sense to rhyme.We are to understand in113,4, 133,4that Willie is to die if he will not give up the lady, but if he will resign her he may live, and walk the wood at his pleasure.144is corrupt in both texts.

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