2_The English and Scottish popular ballads, volume 1 (of 5)

'I'm walking here my lane,' she says, 'amang my father's trees;

And ye may lat me walk my lane, kind sir, now gin ye please.

The supper-bell it will be rung, and I'll be missd awa;

Sae I'll na lie in your bed, at neither stock nor wa.'

He said, My pretty lady, I pray lend me your hand,

And ye'll hae drums and trumpets always at your command;

And fifty men to guard ye wi, that weel their swords can draw;

Sae we'll baith lie in ae bed, and ye'll lie at the wa.

'Haud awa frae me, kind sir, I pray let go my hand;

The supper-bell it will be rung, nae langer maun I stand.

My father he'll na supper tak, gif I be missd awa;

Sae I'll na lie in your bed, at neither stock nor wa.'

'O my name is Captain Wedderburn, my name I'll neer deny,

And I command ten thousand men, upo yon mountains high.

Tho your father and his men were here, of them I'd stand na awe,

But should tak ye to my ain bed, and lay ye neist the wa.'

Then he lap aff his milk-white steed, and set the lady on,

And a' the way he walkd on foot, he held her by the hand;

He held her by the middle jimp, for fear that she should fa;

Saying, I'll tak ye to my ain bed, and lay thee at the wa.

He took her to his quartering-house, his landlady looked ben,

Saying, Monie a pretty ladie in Edinbruch I've seen;

But sic 'na pretty ladie is not into it a':

Gae, mak for her a fine down-bed, and lay her at the wa.

'O haud awa frae me, kind sir, I pray ye lat me be,

For I'll na lie in your bed till I get dishes three;

Dishes three maun be dressd for me, gif I should eat them a',

Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.

''T is I maun hae to my supper a chicken without a bane;

And I maun hae to my supper a cherry without a stane;

And I maun hae to my supper a bird without a gaw,

Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.'

'Whan the chicken's in the shell, I am sure it has na bane;

And whan the cherry's in the bloom, I wat it has na stane;

The dove she is a genty bird, she flees without a gaw;

Sae we'll baith lie in ae bed, and ye'll be at the wa.'

'O haud awa frae me, kind sir, I pray ye give me owre,

For I'll na lie in your bed, till I get presents four;

Presents four ye maun gie me, and that is twa and twa,

Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.

''T is I maun hae some winter fruit that in December grew;

And I maun hae a silk mantil that waft gaed never through;

A sparrow's horn, a priest unborn, this nicht to join us twa,

Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.'

'My father has some winter fruit that in December grew;

My mither has a silk mantil the waft gaed never through;

A sparrow's horn ye soon may find, there's ane on evry claw,

And twa upo the gab o it, and ye shall get them a'.

'The priest he stands without the yett, just ready to come in;

Nae man can say he eer was born, nae man without he sin;

He was haill cut frae his mither's side, and frae the same let fa;

Sae we'll baith lie in ae bed, and ye'se lie at the wa.'

'O haud awa frae me, kind sir, I pray don't me perplex,

For I'll na lie in your bed till ye answer questions six:

Questions six ye maun answer me, and that is four and twa,

Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.

'O what is greener than the gress, what's higher than thae trees?

O what is worse than women's wish, what's deeper than the seas?

What bird craws first, what tree buds first, what first does on them

fa?

Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.'

'Death is greener than the gress, heaven higher than thae trees;

The devil's waur than women's wish, hell's deeper than the seas;

The cock craws first, the cedar buds first, dew first on them does fa;

Sae we'll baith lie in ae bed, and ye'se lie at the wa.'

Little did this lady think, that morning whan she raise,

That this was for to be the last o a' her maiden days.

But there's na into the king's realm to be found a blither twa,

And now she's Mrs. Wedderburn, and she lies at the wa.

Sheldon's Minstrelsy of the English Border, p. 232, as

recited "by a lady of Berwick on Tweed, who used to sing

it in her childhood, and had learnt it from her nurse."

The laird of Roslin's daughter walked thro the wood her lane,

And by came Captain Wedderburn, a servant to the Queen;

He said unto his serving man, Wer 't not agaynst the law,

I would tak her to my ain house as lady o my ha.

He said, My pretty ladye, I pray give me your hand;

You shall have drums and trumpets always at your command;

With fifty men to guard you, that well their swords can draw,

And I'll tak ye to my ain bed, and lay you next the wa.

'I'm walking in my feyther's shaws:' quo he, My charming maid,

I am much better than I look, so be you not afraid;

For I serve the queen of a' Scotland, and a gentil dame is she;

So we'se be married ere the morn, gin ye can fancy me.

. . . . . . .

'The sparrow shall toot on his horn, gif naething us befa,

And I'll mak you up a down-bed, and lay you next the wa.

'Now hold away from me, kind sir, I pray you let me be;

I wont be lady of your ha till you answer questions three:

Questions three you must answer me, and that is one and twa,

Before I gae to Woodland's house, and be lady o your ha.

'You must get me to my supper a chicken without a bone;

You must get me to my supper a cherry without a stone;

You must get me to my supper a bird without a ga,

Before I go to Woodland's house and be lady of your ha.'

'When the cherry is in the bloom, I'm sure it has no stone;

When the chicken's in the shell, I'm sure it has nae bone;

The dove she is a gentil bird, and flies without a ga;

So I've answered you your questions three, and you're lady of my ha.'

* * * * * * *

'Questions three you must answer me: What's higher than the trees?

And what is worse than woman's voice? What's deeper than the seas?'

. . . . . . .

He answered then so readily: Heaven's higher than the trees;

The devil's worse than woman's voice; hell's deeper than the seas;

. . . . . . .

'One question still you must answer me, or you I laugh to scorn;

Go seek me out an English priest, of woman never born;'

. . . . . . .

'Oh then,' quo he, 'my young brother from mother's side was torn,

And he's a gentil English priest, of woman never born;'

. . . . . . .

Little did his lady think, that morning when she raise,

It was to be the very last of all her mayden days;

. . . . . . .

* * * * *

#A. a.#

2^4. I lye.

4^{3,4} _and 5^{3,4} have been interchanged_.

5^4. lye you.

#b.# lay.

7^1. teen.

17^1. priest was.

17^2. it was.

17^3. boned (?)

_#b# has ~bored~._

_#b# is a copy of #a#, but with the long lines broken up

into two, and some slight variations._

#b.#

3^4. And we'll.

5^1. _Omits_ if.

6^3. _Omits_ sae jimp.

11^2. and they are questions.

12^2. wish.

13^4. betwixt.

#B.#

_In stanzas of four short lines._

#a.#

16^2, 17^2. _Var._ women's vice.

17^1. _Var._ Poison is greener.

17^2. _Var._ There's nathing waur.

#b.#

Lord Roslin's Daughter's Garland. Containing three

excellent new songs.

I. The Drunkard Reformed.

II. The Devil and the Grinder.

III. Lord Roslin's Daughter.

Licensed and entered according to order.

1^1, walks throw.

1^2. And by came.

1^3, servant man.

1^4, 3^4, 6^4, 7^4, 10^4, 14^4, 18^4. next the wa.

17^4. neist.

2^3, 4^3. missd you know.

3^4. And we'll ... and thou's ly next.

4^2. will I.

4^4. So I not.

5^{1,2}.

Then said the pretty lady, I pray tell me your name.

My name is Captain Wedderburn, a servant to the king.

5^3. of him I'd not stand in aw.

6^1. He lighted off.

6^2. And held her by the milk-white hand even as they rode

along.

6^3. so jimp.

6^4. So I'll take.

7^1. lodging house.

7^3. But such a pretty face as thine in it I never saw.

7^4. make her up a down-bed.

8^2. will not go to your bed till you dress me.

8^3. three you must do to me.

9^1. O I must have ... a cherry without a stone.

9^2. a chicken without a bone.

10^{1,2}.

When the cherry is into the bloom I am sure it hath no stone,

And when the chicken's in the shell I'm sure it hath no bone.

10^3. it is a gentle.

11^2. I will not go till ... till you answer me questions.

11^3. Questions four you must tell me.

12^1. You must get to me.

12^2. That the wraft was neer ca'd.

12^{3,4} _and 16^{3,4} (and consequently 13^{3,4},

17^{3,4}) are wrongly interchanged in #b#, mixing up

ferlies and questions._

#a# 12^{3,4}, 13^{3,4}, 14, 15, 16^{1,2}, 16^{3,4},

17^{1,2}, 17^{3,4}==#b# 15^{3,4}, 16^{3,4}, 17, 14,

15^{1,2}, 12^{3,4}, 16^{1,2}, 13^{3,4}.

13^2. the wraft was neer ca'd throw.

13^{3,4}. A sparrow's horn you well may get, there's one

on ilka pa.

14^1. standing at the door.

14^3. A hole cut in his mother's side, he from the same

did fa.

16^2. And what ... women's voice.

16^3. What bird sings best, and wood buds first, that dew

does on them fa.

17^1. sky is higher.

17^2. worse than women's voice.

17^3. the dew does on them fa.

18^2. the last night.

18^3. now they both lie in one bed.

_#c# closely resembling #b#, the variations from #b# are

given._

#c.#

1. came _omitted_, _v._ 2; unto, _v._ 3.

2. into your bed, _v._ 4.

3. guard you ... who well, _v._ 3; into ... thou'lt, _v._

5^{1,2}. Then says, _v._ 1.

6. lighted from ... this lady, _v._ 1; middle jimp, _v._

7. pretty fair, _v._ 2; as this, _v._ 3.

8. dress me, _v._ 3.

9. unto, _vv_ 1,2; O I must, _v._ 2.

10. in the bloom, _v._ 1; we both shall ly in, _v._ 4.

11. will give oer, _v._ 1; to your ... you tell me, _v._

12. You must get to me ... that waft, _v._ 2; bird sings

first ... on them does, _v._ 3.

13. sings first, _v._ 3.

14. in your ... you tell me, _v._ 2; I'll ly in, _v._ 4.

15. What is ... woman's, _v._ 2; I'll ly in, _v._ 4.

16.

Death's greener than the grass, hell's deeper than the seas,

The devil's worse than woman's voice, sky's higher than the

trees, _vv_ 1,2; every paw, _v._ 3; thou shalt, _v._ 4.

18. the lady ... rose, _v._ 1; It was to be the very last,

_v._ 2; they ly in ae, _v._ 4.

#d.#

_Follows the broadside (#b#, #c#) through the first nine

stanzas, with changes from Jamieson's "~own

recollection,~" or invention, and one from #A#. 10 has

certainly arbitrary alterations. The remaining eight

stanzas are the corresponding ones of #A# treated freely.

The comparison here is with #b#, readings from #A# in

11-18 not being noticed._

1^3, serving men.

2^3. _~mist awa~, from #A#; so in 4^3, a stanza not in

#A#._

5^3. I'd have nae awe.

6^1. He lighted aff ... this lady.

6^3. middle jimp.

6^4. To tak her to his ain.

7^3. sic a lovely face as thine.

7^4. Gae mak her down.

8^3. maun dress to me.

9^1. It's ye maun get.

9^{2,3}. And ye maun get.

10^1. It's whan the cherry is in the flirry.

10^2. in the egg.

10^3. And sin the flood o Noah the dow she had nae ga.

#A, B d#, 11, 12^{1,2}, 13^{1,2}, 14, 15^{1,2},

16^{1,2}==#B b, c#, 14, 15^{1,2}, 16^{1,2}, 11, 12^{1,2},

13^{1,2}.

11^1. and gie your fleechin oer.

11^2. Unless you'll find me ferlies, and that is ferlies

four.

11^3. Ferlies four ye maun find me.

11^4. Or I'll never lie.

12^2. And get to me.

12^3. doth first down.

12^4. Ye sall tell afore I lay me down between you and the

wa.

13^2. has an Indian gown that waft.

13^3. on cedar top the dew.

14^2. that gait me perplex.

14^3. three times twa.

15^1. the greenest grass.

15^2. war nor an ill woman's wish.

16^3. horn is quickly found ... on every claw.

16^4. There's ane upon the neb of him.

17^3. A wild bore tore his mither's side.

18^3. now there's nae within the realm, I think.

#e#

_has stanzas 1, 5 (?), 9, 12, 10, 13, 14 of #a#, the first

two imperfect. The last line of each stanza is changed, no

doubt for delicacy's sake, to ~I will tak you wi me, I

tell you, aye or na~, or the like_.

The Earl o Roslin's dochter gaed out to tak the air;

She met a gallant gentleman, as hame she did repair;

. . . . . . .

I will tak you wi me, I tell you, aye or no.

5(?).

I am Captain Wedderburn, a servant to the king.

. . . . . . .

I will tak you wi me, I tell you, aye or no.

9^1. I maun hae to my supper a bird without a bone.

9^3. An I maun hae a gentle bird that flies.

9^4. Before that I gae with you, I tell you, aye or na.

10^1. When the bird is in the egg.

10^2. in the bud ... I'm sure.

10^3. it is a gentle bird.

12^2, 13^2. a gey mantle ... neer ca'ed.

13^3. sune sall get.

14^1. is standing at.

14^2. say that he was ... a sin.

#f.#

_Stanzas 9, 10 only._

9^1. 'T is I maun hae to my supper a bird without a bone.

9^2. withouten stone.

9^3. withouten ga.

10^1. When the bird is in the shell, I'm sure.

10^2. I'm sure.

10^3. a gentle ... withouten ga.

#C.#

_Printed in stanzas of four short lines._

[389] This book has been pursued by me for years, with the coöperation

of many friends and agents, but in vain.

[390] Followed by Virgil's riddle, Ecl. iii, 104-5, Where is the sky but

three spans broad?

[391] Halliwell's Popular Rhymes and Nursery Tales, p. 150; Halliwell's

Nursery Rhymes, No 375; Notes and Queries, 3d Ser., IX, 401; 4th Ser.,

III, 501, 604; Macmillan's Magazine, V, 248, by T. Hughes. The first of

these runs:

I have four sisters beyond the sea,

Para-mara, dictum, domine

And they did send four presents to me.

Partum, quartum, paradise, tempum,

Para-mara, dictum, domine

The first it was a bird without eer a bone,

The second was a cherry without eer a stone.

The third it was a blanket without eer a thread,

The fourth it was a book which no man could read.

How can there be a bird without eer a bone?

How can there be a cherry without eer a stone?

How can there be a blanket without eer a thread?

How can there be a book which no man can read?

When the bird's in the shell, there is no bone;

When the cherry's in the bud, there is no stone.

When the blanket's in the fleece, there is no thread;

When the book's in the press, no man can read.

The Minnesinger dames went far beyond our laird's daughter in the way of

requiring "ferlies" from their lovers. Der Tanhuser and Boppe represent

that their ladies would be satisfied with nothing short of their turning

the course of rivers; bringing them the salamander, the basilisk, the

graal, Paris's apple; giving them a sight of Enoch and Elijah in the

body, a hearing of the sirens, etc. Von der Hagen, Minnesinger, II, 91

f, 385 f.

[392] There were, no doubt, Grissels enough in the very distinguished

family of the Sinclairs of Roslin to furnish one for this ballad. I see

two mentioned among the Sinclairs of Herdmanstoun. Even a Wedderburn

connection, as I am informed, is not absolutely lacking. George Home of

Wedderburn († 1497), married the eldest daughter of John Sinclair of

Herdmanstoun: Douglas's Peerage of Scotland, ed. Wood, 1813, II, 174.

[393] The difficulty here is the want of a _που στω_, from which

to climb the tree.

[394] These number-riddles or songs are known to every nation of Europe.

E. g., Chambers' Popular Rhymes of Scotland, p. 44, ed. 1870, from

Buchan's MSS, I, 280:

O what will be our ane, boys?

My only ane, she walks alane,

And evermair has dune, boys, etc.

See Köhler in Orient u. Occident, II, 558-9. A dragon, in Hahn's

Griechische u. Albanesische Märchen, II, 210, gives Penteklimas ten of

these number-riddles: if he answers them he is to have a fine castle; if

not, he is to be eaten. An old woman answers for him: "One is God, two

are the righteous, etc.; ten is your own word, and now burst, dragon!"

The dragon bursts, and Penteklimas inherits his possessions.

[395] Gozzi retains the first and third riddles, Schiller only the

third. By a happy idea, new riddles were introduced at the successive

performances of Schiller's play. Turandot appears as a traditional tale

in Schneller's Märchen u. Sagen aus Wälschtirol, No 49, p. 132, "I tre

Indovinelli."

[396] The castle with walls and gate thus equipped, or a palisade of

stakes each crowned with a head, is all but a commonplace in such

adventures. This grim stroke of fancy is best in 'La mule sanz frain,'

where there are four hundred stakes, _all but one_ surmounted with a

bloody head: Méon, Nouveau Recueil, 1, 15, vv 429-37. For these parlous

princesses, of all sorts, see Grundtvig, 'Den farlige Jomfru,' IV, 43

ff, No 184.

[397] Von Hammer, Geschichte der schönen Redekünste Persiens, p. 116,

previously cited by von der Hagen, Gesammtabenteuer, III, lxii.

[398] The German schwank affixes the forfeit of the head to failure. In

the Norwegian the unsuccessful brothers get off with a thrashing. The

fire in the English, found also in the German, recalls the third task in

the Gesta Romanorum.

[399] Khudyakof, in the Ethnographical Collection of the Russian

Geographical Society, Etnografitcheskiy Sbornik, etc., VI, 9, 10, 8.

Ralston, The Songs of the Russian People, p. 353.

[400] Vigfusson objects to Thor being the interlocutor, though that is

the name in the MS., because cunning does not suit Thor's blunt

character, and proposes Odin instead. "May be the dwarf first met Thor

(Wingthor), whereupon Woden (Wingi) came up." Corpus Poeticum Boreale,

I, 81.

PROUD LADY MARGARET

#A.# 'Proud Lady Margaret,' Scott's Minstrelsy, III, 275,

ed. 1803.

#B. a.# 'The Courteous Knight,' Buchan's Ballads of the

North of Scotland, I, 91; Motherwell's MS., p. 591. #b.#

Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Introduction, p. lxxxi.

#C.# 'The Jolly Hind Squire,' Buchan's MSS, II, 95.

#D.# 'The Knicht o Archerdale,' Harris MS., fol. 7, No 3.

#E.# 'Fair Margret,' A. Laing, Ancient Ballads and Songs,

MS., 1829, p. 6.

#A# was communicated to Scott "by Mr Hamilton, music-seller, Edinburgh,

with whose mother it had been a favorite." Two stanzas and one line were

wanting, and were supplied by Scott "from a different ballad, having a

plot somewhat similar." The stanzas were 6 and 9. #C# was printed from

the MS., with a few changes, under the title of 'The Bonny Hind Squire,'

by Dixon, in Scottish Traditional Versions of Ancient Ballads, p. 42,

and from Dixon in Bell's Early Ballads, p. 183. Christie, Traditional

Ballad Airs, I, 28, says the ballad was called 'Jolly Janet' by the old

people in Aberdeenshire.

#A-D# are plainly compounded of two ballads, the conclusion being

derived from #E#. The lady's looking oer her castle wa, her putting

riddles, and her having gard so mony die, make the supposition far from

incredible that the Proud Lady Margaret of the first part of the ballad

may originally have been one of the cruel princesses spoken of in the

preface to 'Captain Wedderburn's Courtship,' p. 417. But the corrupt

condition of the texts of #A-D# forbids any confident opinion.

A dead mistress similarly admonishes her lover, in a ballad from

Brittany, given in Ampère, Instructions relatives aux Poésies populaires

de la France, p. 36.

"Non, je ne dors ni ne soumeille,

Je sis dans l'enfer à brûler.

"Auprès de moi reste une place,

C'est pour vous, Piar', qu'on l'a gardée."

"Ha! dites-moi plustot, ma Jeanne,

Comment fair' pour n'y point aller?"

"Il faut aller à la grand-messe,

Et aux vêpres, sans y manquer.

"Faut point aller aux fileries,

Comm' vous aviez d'accoutumé.

"Ne faut point embrasser les filles

Sur l' bout du coffre au pied du lect."

So Beaurepaire, Étude, p. 53; Puymaigre, 'La Damnée,' Chants populaires,

I, 115; V. Smith, Chants du Velay et du Forez, Romania, IV, 449 f, 'La

Concubine;' and Luzel, "Celui qui alla voir sa maitresse en enfer," I,

44, 45. In this last, a lover, whose mistress has died, goes into a

monastery, where he prays continually that he may see her again. The

devil presents himself in the likeness of a young man, and on condition

of being something gently considered takes him to hell. He sees his

mistress sitting in a fiery chair (cf. #B#, 30, 31), devoured by

serpents night and day, and is informed that fasts and masses on his

part will only make things worse. Like Dives, she sends word to her

sister not to do as she has done. Some of these traits are found also in

one or another of the French versions.

* * * * *

Translated by Doenniges, p. 6, after Scott, and by Knortz, Schottische

Balladen, No 1, after Aytoun, II, 62.

Scott's Minstrelsy, III, 275, ed. 1803. Communicated "by

Mr Hamilton, music-seller, Edinburgh, with whose mother it

had been a favorite."

'T was on a night, an evening bright,

When the dew began to fa,

Lady Margaret was walking up and down,

Looking oer her castle wa.

She looked east and she looked west,

To see what she could spy,

When a gallant knight came in her sight,

And to the gate drew nigh.

'You seem to be no gentleman,

You wear your boots so wide;

But you seem to be some cunning hunter,

You wear the horn so syde.'

'I am no cunning hunter,' he said,

'Nor neer intend to be;

But I am come to this castle

To seek the love of thee.

And if you do not grant me love,

This night for thee I'll die.'

'If you should die for me, sir knight,

There's few for you will meane;

For mony a better has died for me,

Whose graves are growing green.

['But ye maun read my riddle,' she said,

'And answer my questions three;

And but ye read them right,' she said,

'Gae stretch ye out and die.]

'Now what is the flower, the ae first flower,

Springs either on moor or dale?

And what is the bird, the bonnie bonnie bird,

Sings on the evening gale?'

'The primrose is the ae first flower

Springs either on moor or dale,

And the thristlecock is the bonniest bird

Sings on the evening gale.'

['But what's the little coin,' she said,

'Wald buy my castle bound?

And what's the little boat,' she said,

'Can sail the world all round?']

'O hey, how mony small pennies

Make thrice three thousand pound?

Or hey, how mony salt fishes

Swim a' the salt sea round?'

'I think you maun be my match,' she said,

'My match and something mair;

You are the first eer got the grant

Of love frae my father's heir.

'My father was lord of nine castles,

My mother lady of three;

My father was lord of nine castles,

And there's nane to heir but me.

'And round about a' thae castles

You may baith plow and saw,

And on the fifteenth day of May

The meadows they will maw.'

'O hald your tongue, Lady Margaret,' he said,

'For loud I hear you lie;

Your father was lord of nine castles,

Your mother was lady of three;

Your father was lord of nine castles,

But ye fa heir to but three.

'And round about a' thae castles

You may baith plow and saw,

But on the fifteenth day of May

The meadows will not maw.

'I am your brother Willie,' he said,

'I trow ye ken na me;

I came to humble your haughty heart,

Has gard sae mony die.'

'If ye be my brother Willie,' she said,

'As I trow weel ye be,

This night I'll neither eat nor drink,

But gae alang wi thee.'

'O hold your tongue, Lady Margaret,' he said,

'Again I hear you lie;

For ye've unwashen hands and ye've unwashen feet,

To gae to clay wi me.

'For the wee worms are my bedfellows,

And cauld clay is my sheets,

And when the stormy winds do blow,

My body lies and sleeps.'

#a.# Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, 1, 91;

Motherwell's MS., p. 591. #b.# Motherwell's Minstrelsy,

Introduction, p. lxxxi.

There was a knight, in a summer's night,

Appeard in a lady's hall,

As she was walking up and down,

Looking oer her castle wall.

'God make you safe and free, fair maid,

God make you safe and free!'

'O sae fa you, ye courteous knight,

What are your wills wi me?'

'My wills wi you are not sma, lady,

My wills wi you nae sma,

And since there's nane your bower within,

Ye'se hae my secrets a'.

'For here am I a courtier,

A courtier come to thee,

And if ye winna grant your love,

All for your sake I'll dee.'

'If that ye dee for me, sir knight,

Few for you will make meen;

For mony gude lord's done the same,

Their graves are growing green.'

'O winna ye pity me, fair maid,

O winna ye pity me?

O winna ye pity a courteous knight,

Whose love is laid on thee?'

'Ye say ye are a courteous knight,

But I think ye are nane;

I think ye're but a millar bred,

By the colour o your claithing.

'You seem to be some false young man,

You wear your hat sae wide;

You seem to be some false young man,

You wear your boots sae side.'

'Indeed I am a courteous knight,

And of great pedigree;

Nae knight did mair for a lady bright

Than I will do for thee.

'O I'll put smiths in your smithy,

To shoe for you a steed,

And I'll put tailors in your bower,

To make for you a weed.

'I will put cooks in your kitchen,

And butlers in your ha,

And on the tap o your father's castle

I'll big gude corn and saw.'

'If ye be a courteous knight,

As I trust not ye be,

Ye'll answer some o the sma questions

That I will ask at thee.

'What is the fairest flower, tell me,

That grows in mire or dale?

Likewise, which is the sweetest bird

Sings next the nightingale?

Or what's the finest thing,' she says,

'That king or queen can wile?'

'The primrose is the fairest flower

That grows in mire or dale;

The mavis is the sweetest bird

Next to the nightingale;

And yellow gowd's the finest thing

That king or queen can wale.

'Ye hae asked many questions, lady,

I've you as many told;'

'But how many pennies round

Make a hundred pounds in gold?