Ballads of Mystery and Miracle and Fyttes of Mirth Part 41

He wrote a letter with his own hand In all the speed that e'er might be; He sent it into the lords in Scotland That were born of a great degree.

87.

He sent for lords, he sent for knights, The best that were in the country, To go with him into the land of France, To seek his son in that strange country.

88.

The wind was good, and they did sail, Five hundred men into France land, There to seek that bonny boy That was the worthy lord of Learne.

89.

They sought the country through and through, So far to the duke's place of France land: There they were ware of that bonny boy Standing with a porter's staff in his hand.

90.

Then the worshipful they did bow, The serving-men fell on their knee, They cast their hats up into the air For joy that boy that they did see.

91.

The lord of Learne, then he light down, And kissed his child both cheek and chin, And said, 'G.o.d bless thee, my son and my heir, The bliss of heaven that thou may win!'

92.

The false steward and the duke of France Were in a castle top truly: 'What fools are yond,' says the false steward, 'To the porter makes so low courtesy?'

93.

Then bespake the duke of France, Calling my lord of Learne truly, He said, 'I doubt the day be come That either you or I must die.'

94.

They set the castle round about, A swallow could not have flown away; And there they took the false steward That the lord of Learne did betray.

95.

And when they had taken the false steward, He fell low down upon his knee, And craved mercy of the lord of Learne For the villainous deed he had done, truly.

96.

'Thou shalt have mercy,' said the lord of Learne, 'Thou vile traitor! I tell to thee, As the laws of the realm they will thee bear, Whether it be for thee to live or die.'

97.

A quest of lords that there was chosen To go upon his death, truly: There they judged the false steward, Whether he was guilty, and for to die.

98.

The foreman of the jury, he came in; He spake his words full loud and high: Said, 'Make thee ready, thou false steward, For now thy death it draws full nigh!'

99.

Said he, 'If my death it doth draw nigh, G.o.d forgive me all I have done amiss!

Where is that lady I have loved so long, Before my death to give me a kiss?'

100.

'Away, thou traitor!' the lady said, 'Avoid out of my company!

For thy vile treason thou hast wrought, Thou had need to cry to G.o.d for mercy.'

101.

First they took him and hang'd him half, And let him down before he was dead, And quartered him in quarters many, And sod him in a boiling lead.

102.

And then they took him out again, And cutten all his joints in sunder, And burnt him eke upon a hill; I-wis they did him curstly c.u.mber.

103.

A loud laughter the lady laughed; O Lord! she smiled merrily; She said, 'I may praise my heavenly King, That ever I seen this vile traitor die.'

104.

Then bespake the duke of France, Unto the right lord of Learne said he there, Says, 'Lord of Learne, if thou wilt marry my daughter, I'll mend thy living five hundred [pounds] a year.'

105.

But then bespake that bonny boy, And answered the duke quickly, 'I had rather marry your daughter with a ring of gold, Than all the gold that e'er I blinked on with mine eye.'

106.

But then bespake the old lord of Learne, To the duke of France thus he did say, 'Seeing our children do so well agree, They shall be married ere we go away.'

107.

The lady of Learne, she was for sent Throughout Scotland so speedily, To see these two children set up In their seats of gold full royally.

[Annotations: 9.2: The line is partly cut away in the MS.: I follow the suggestion of Hales and Furnivall.

10.4: In the MS. the line stands: 'To learn the speeches of all strange lands.'

12.3: 'hend,' kindly, friendly.

13.4: 'mere' = more.

21.2: 'lend,' grant.

22.3: 'Even,' MS.

23.1: etc. 'Do thou off,' take off.

23.3: 'cordivant' = cordwain, leather from Cordova, in Spain. See _Brown Robin_, 17.4, First Series, p. 161.

25.4: 'Seam': Child's emendation, adopted from the broadside copies, for 'swain' in the MS.

37.2: The last word added by Child: ep. 43.3, 104.2.

39.4: A popular proverb.

42.4: Cp. the horror of 'churles blood' in _Glasgerion_, 9.5,6 (First Series, p. 5).

60.1: 'Where thou was,' MS.

63.4: The MS. reads '... robbed a 100: 3,'

67.4: 'eye': the MS. gives _knee_.

68.1: 'after' is superfluous (cp. 74.1), and is probably caught up from the next line.

70.2: 'let,' stop.

78.4, 79.4: 'these': the MS. gives _this_ in each instance: 'months' is probably to be read as a dissyllable, either as 'moneths' or 'monthes.'

85.4: 'Wroken,' avenged.

101.4: 'sod,' soused: cp. _The Two n.o.ble Kinsmen_, I.3, line 21; 'lead,' cauldron: cp. _The Maid and the Palmer_, 9.2, p. 154.

'Salting-leads' are still in use.

104.4: 'pounds' inserted to agree with 43.4.]

THE BAILIFF'S DAUGHTER OF ISLINGTON

+The Text+ is formed by a collation of six broadsides printed between 1672 and 1700: they do not, however, present many variations. Here, if anywhere, one would demand licence to make alterations and improvements.

In stanza 12 the rhymes are almost certainly misplaced; and the last stanza is quite superfluous. It would be much more in keeping with ballad-style to end with the twelfth, and many of the variants now sung conclude thus. This ballad is still extremely popular, and not only has it been included in many selections and song-books, but it is also still in oral tradition.