He knows the two of us do guard the gold;

What shall we do? what would you have him told?"

"Shall it be secret?" shrewdly asked the first;

"Then shortly shall the method be rehearsed

Whereby I think to bring it well about." "Agreed," replied the other; "out of doubt I will betray you not, as God is true." "Now," said the first, "you know that we are two,

And two of us are mightier than one. Watch when he sits, then straightway rise

and run

180

His roosts, and he would venge him, if he might,

211

On vermin that devourèd him by night.
Then this apothecary, answering:
"God save my soul, but you shall have a
thing

That, let a living creature drink or eat
A part no bigger than a grain of wheat,
And he shall die, and that in shorter
while

Than you would take to pace a single mile;

Such is the force this poison can command."

This cursed man received into his hand
The poison in a box, and then he ran
Into a nearby street, unto a man,
And from him did he borrow bottles
three,

220

And in the two his poison pourèd he, But left the third unpoisoned, for his drink;

For he must work all night-so did he think

Bearing the treasure off with lusty limb. And when this rioter-bad luck to him!— Had filled with liquor all his bottles three, Back to his fellows then resorted he. What need is there to linger on it more? For just as they had planned his death before, 230

So did they slay him now, and that with speed.

Then said the one, when they had done the deed:

"Now let us eat and drink, and make us merry,

And afterwards we will his body bury." And with that word he took, it came to pass,

One of the bottles where the poison was, And drank, and gave his comrade drink beside,

From which they both in little season died.

And Avicenna,1 truly I suppose,

239

In book nor chapter never did disclose More signs of poisoning to take one's breath

Than these two wretches had before their death.

Thus these two homicidal villains fell,
And their deceitful poisoner as well.

I Avicenna. A medical authority.

SIR PATRICK SPENCE

[This ballad is perhaps connected with the story of the shipwreck of a vessel bearing an embassy between Scotland and Norway in 1290.] The king sits in Dumferling toun, Drinking the blood-red wine: "O where will I get guid sailor, To sail this ship of mine?"

Up and spake an eldern knight,

Sat at the king's right knee:
"Sir Patrick Spence is the best sailor
That sails upon the sea."

The king has written a braid 1 letter,
And signed it wi' his hand,
And sent it to Sir Patrick Spence,
Was walking on the sand.

The first line that Sir Patrick read,
A loud laugh laughéd he;
The next line that Sir Patrick read,

The tear blinded his e'e.

"O wha is this has done this deed,
This ill deed done to me,

To send me out this time o' the year,
To sail upon the sea!

10

20

“Make haste, make haste, my merry men all,

Our guid ship sails the morn:" "O say not so, my master dear, For I fear a deadly storm.

"Late late yestreen I saw the new moon,
Wi' the auld moon in her arm,
And I fear, I fear, my dear master,
That we will come to harm."

O our Scots nobles were richt laith 2
To wet their cork-heel'd shoon;
But lang e'er a' the play were played,
Their hats they swam aboon.3

O lang, lang may their ladies sit,

Wi' their fans into their hand,
Or e'er they see Sir Patrick Spence
Come sailing to the land.

O lang, lang may the ladies stand,
Wi' their gold kems in their hair,
Waiting for their ain dear lords,
For they'll see them na mair.

Half o'er, half o'er to Aberdour,
It's fifty fathom deep,

30

40

And there lies guid Sir Patrick Spence, Wi' the Scots lords at his feet.

20

But Johnnie has cast off the black velvet,
And put on the Lincoln twine,5
And he is on to good greenwood
As fast as he could gang.

Johnnie lookit east, and Johnnie lookit west,

And he lookit aneath the sun,
And there he spied the dun deer sleeping
Aneath a buss o' whun.6

Johnnie shot, and the dun deer lap,"
And she lap wondrous wide,
Until they came to the wans water,
And he stemmed her of her pride. 30
He has ta'en out the little pen-knife,
'Twas full three quarters long,
And he has ta'en out of that dun deer
The liver but and the tongue.

They eat of the flesh, and they drank of the blood,

And the blood it was so sweet, Which caused Johnnie and his bloody hounds

To fall in a deep sleep.

I busk. Prepare.

2 boun.

Ready.

3 ding. Strike.

4 Grown ill with anxiety.

5 twine. Cloth.

ters' "green.")

(Lincoln cloth was the hun

6 Under a bush of furze.

7 lap. Leaped.

8 wan. Dark.

9 but and.

And also.

"O some they count ye well-wight12 men, But I do count ye nane;

For you might well ha' wakened me,
And asked gin13 I would be ta'en.

"The wildest wolf in a' this wood
Would not ha' done so by me;
She'd ha' wet her foot in the wan water,
And sprinkled it o'er my brae,14 70
And if that would not ha' wakened me,
She would ha' gone and let me be.

"O bows of yew, if ye be true,

In London, where ye were bought, Fingers five, get up belive,15

Manhood shall fail me nought."

He has killed the Seven Foresters,
He has killed them all but ane,

And that wan16 scarce to Pickeram Side,
To carry the bode-words1? hame.

10 drie. Endure (to go).

II gar. Make (cause).

12 well-wight. Hardy.

13 gin. If.

14 brae. Brow.

15 belive. Quickly.

16 wan. Came.

17 bode-words. Tidings.

80

"Is there never a bird in a' this wood That will tell what I can say; That will go to Cockley's Well,

Tell my mither to fetch me away?"

There was a bird into that wood,
That carried the tidings away,
And many one was the well-wight man
At the fetching o' Johnnie away.

KINMONT WILLIE

[In its present form this ballad is partly the work of Sir Walter Scott. Kinmont Willie was William of Armstrong,-"Will o' Kinmouth." His capture and release took place in 1596. Lord Scroop was warden of the West-Marches of England, and Salkeld was his deputy. The Scotch marshal was Sir Walter Scott of Branxholm, laird of Buccleuch. Hairibee is the place of execution at Carlisle.]

O have ye na heard o' the false Sakelde? O have ye na heard o' the keen1 Lord Scroop?

How they ha' ta'en bold Kinmont Willie, On Hairibee to hang him up?

Had Willie had but twenty men,

But twenty men as stout as he,

False Sakelde had never the Kinmont ta'en,

Wi' eight score in his company.

They bound his legs beneath the steed, They tied his hands behind his back; 10 They guarded him, fivesome2 on each side,

And they brought him over the Liddel rack.8

They led him through the Liddel rack, And also through the Carlisle sands; They brought him to Carlisle's castle,

To be at my Lord Scroop's commands.

"My hands are tied, but my tongue is free,

And who will dare this deed avow? Or answer by the border law?

Or answer to the bold Buccleuch?" 20

"Now hold thy tongue, thou rank reiver !4 There's never a Scot shall set ye free; Before ye cross my castle-gate,

I trow ye shall take farewell o' me."

I keen. Bold.

2 fivesome. Five together.

3 rack. Ford.

4 reiver. Robber.

He has called him forty marchmen bold, I trow they were of his ain name, Except Sir Gilbert Elliot, called

The Laird of Stobs, I mean the same.

He has called him forty marchmen bold, Were kinsmen to the bold Buccleuch, With spur on heel, and splent on spauld,1

And gloves of green, and feathers blue.

There were five and five before them a', Wi' hunting-horns and bugles bright; And five and five came wi' Buccleuch, 71 Like Warden's men, arrayed for fight. And five and five like a mason-gang,

That carried the ladders lang and hie; And five and five like broken men;2

And so they reached the Woodhouselee.

And as we crossed the Batable Land,

When to the English side we held, The first o' men that we met wi',

Whae should it be but false Sakelde! 80 "Where be ye gaun, ye hunters keen?" Quoth false Sakelde; "come tell to me!" "We go to hunt an English stag,

Has trespassed on the Scots countree." "Where be ye gaun, ye marshal-men ?" Quoth false Sakelde; "come tell me true!"

"We go to catch a rank reiver,

Has broken faith wi' the bold Buccleuch."

"Where are ye gaun, ye mason-lads,

Wi' a' your ladders lang and hie?" 90 "We gang to harry a corbie's nest,

That wons not far frae Woodhouselee."

"Where be ye gaun, ye broken men?"

Quoth false Sakelde; "come tell to me!" Now Dickie of Dryhope led that band, And the never a word o' lore" had he.

"Why trespass ye on the English side? Row-footed outlaws, stand!" quoth he;

The ne'er a word had Dickie to say,

So he thrust the lance through his false bodie.

I splent on spauld. Armor on shoulder.

2 broken men. Outlaws.

3 Batable Land. Border.

4 harry. Plunder.

s corbie's. Crow's.

wons. Dwells.

lore. Learning.

8 Row-footed. Rough-footed.

100