P. 399 ff. MS. of Thomas Wilkie, p. 5, in “Scotch Ballads, Materials for
Border Minstrelsy,” No 34. From Mrs Hislope, Gattonside. 1813.
1
The king calld on his merry men all,
By one, by two, and by three;
Lord Thomas should been the foremost man,
But the hindmost man was he.
2
As he came tripping down the stairs,
His stockings were of the silk,
His face was like the morning sun,
And his hand as white as milk.
3
‘No wonder, no wonder, Lord Thomas,’ he said,
‘Then my daughter she loved thee;
For, if I had been a woman as I am a man,
Tom, I would hae loved thee.’