English and Scottish Ballads Volume VII Part 17

Encamped on yon lee; Ye'll never be a bite to them, For aught that I can see. 40

"But halve your men in equal parts, Your purpose to fulfill; Let ae half keep the water side, The rest gae round the hill.

"Your nether party fire must, 45 Then beat a flying drum; And then they'll think the day's their ain, And frae the trench they'll come.

"Then, those that are behind them, maun Gie shot, baith grit and sma'; 50 And so, between your armies twa, Ye may make them to fa'."

"O were ye ever a soldier?"

Sir David Lesly said; "O yes; I was at Solway Flow,[L55] 55 Where we were all betray'd.

"Again I was at curst Dunbar, And was a pris'ner ta'en; And many weary night and day In prison I hae lien." 60

"If ye will lead these men aright, Rewarded shall ye be; But, if that ye a traitor prove, I'll hang thee on a tree."

"Sir, I will not a traitor prove; 65 Montrose has plunder'd me; I'll do my best to banish him Away frae this country."

He halved his men in equal parts, His purpose to fulfill; 70 The one part kept the water side, The other gaed round the hill.

The nether party fired brisk, Then turn'd and seem'd to rin; And then they a' came frae the trench, 75 And cry'd, "The day's our ain!"

The rest then ran into the trench, And loosed their cannons a': And thus, between his armies twa, He made them fast to fa'. 80

Now let us a' for Lesly pray, And his brave company, For they hae vanquish'd great Montrose, Our cruel enemy.

13. A small stream that joins the Ettrick near Selkirk, on the south side of the river. S.

16. Various reading: "That we should take a dram." S.

17. A brook which falls into the Ettrick, from the north, a little above the Shaw burn. S.

37. Montrose's forces amounted to twelve or fifteen hundred foot, and about a thousand cavalry. Lesly had five or six thousand men, mostly horse.

55. It is a strange anachronism, to make this aged father state himself to have been at the battle of Solway Flow, which was fought a hundred years before Philiphaugh; and a still stranger, to mention that of Dunbar, which did not take place till five years after Montrose's defeat. S.

THE GALLANT GRAHAMS.

From _Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border_, ii. 187

In this lament for the melancholy fate of Montrose and his heroic companions, it was clearly the humble minstrel's aim to sketch the chief incidents in the great Marquis's career as the champion and the martyr of Royalty. The derangements and omissions which may be found in the verses as they now stand are but the natural effects of time.

The ballad was first published in Scott's _Minstrelsy_, as obtained from tradition, with enlargements and corrections from an old printed copy (ent.i.tled _The Gallant Grahams of Scotland_) furnished by Ritson.

The summer following the rout at Philiphaugh, King Charles committed himself to the treacherous protection of the Presbyterians. They required of him that his faithful lieutenant should at once disband his forces and leave the country. During three years of exile, Montrose resided at various foreign courts, either quite inactive, or cultivating the friendship of the continental sovereigns, by whom he was overwhelmed with attentions and honors. The execution of the King drew from him a solemn oath "before G.o.d, angels, and men," that he would devote the rest of his life to the avenging the death of his master and reestablishing his son on the throne. He received from Charles II. a renewal of his commission as Captain-General in Scotland, and while Charles was treating with the Commissioners of the Estates concerning his restoration (negotiations which Montrose regarded with no favor), set out for the Orkneys with a few hundred men, mostly Germans. His coming, even with this feeble band, struck a great terror into the Estates, and Lesly was ordered to march against him with four thousand men. Dest.i.tute of horse to bring him intelligence, Montrose was surprised at Corbiesdale, on the confines of Ross-shire, by a body of Covenanting cavalry under Colonel Strachan, which had been sent forward to check his progress. The whole of his little army was destroyed or made prisoners. Montrose escaped from the field after a desperate resistance, and finally gave himself up to Macleod of a.s.saint, who sold him to his enemies for four hundred bolls of meal!

"He was tried," says Scott, "for what was termed treason against the Estates of the Kingdom; and, despite the commission of Charles for his proceedings, he was condemned to die by a Parliament who acknowledged Charles to be their king, and whom, on that account only, Montrose acknowledged to be a Parliament."

(See SCOTT'S _Minstrelsy_, HUME, ch. lx., and NAPIER'S _Montrose and the Covenanters_.)

Now, fare thee well, sweet Ennerdale[L1]

Baith kith and countrie I bid adieu; For I maun away, and I may not stay, To some uncouth land which I never knew.

To wear the blue I think it best,[L5] 5 Of all the colours that I see; And I'll wear it for the gallant Grahams, That are banished from their countrie.

I have no gold, I have no land, I have no pearl nor precious stane; 10 But I wald sell my silken snood, To see the gallant Grahams come hame.

In Wallace days, when they began, Sir John the Graham did bear the gree[L14]

Through all the lands of Scotland wide: 15 He was a lord of the south countrie.

And so was seen full many a time; For the summer flowers did never spring, But every Graham, in armour bright, Would then appear before the king. 20

They were all drest in armour sheen, Upon the pleasant banks of Tay; Before a king they might be seen, These gallant Grahams in their array.

At the Goukhead our camp we set, 25 Our leaguer down there for to lay; And, in the bonny summer light, We rode our white horse and our gray.

Our false commander sold our king Unto his deadly enemie, 30 Who was the traitor, Cromwell, then; So I care not what they do with me.

They have betray'd our n.o.ble prince, And banish'd him from his royal crown; But the gallant Grahams have ta'en in hand 35 For to command those traitors down.

In Glen-Prosen we rendezvous'd,[L37]

March'd to Glenshie by night and day, And took the town of Aberdeen, And met the Campbells in their array. 40

Five thousand men, in armour strong, Did meet the gallant Grahams that day At Inverlochie, where war began, And scarce two thousand men were they.

Gallant Montrose, that chieftain bold, 45 Courageous in the best degree, Did for the king fight well that day; The Lord preserve his majestie!

Nathaniel Gordon, stout and bold,[L49]

Did for King Charles wear the blue; 50 But the cavaliers they all were sold, And brave Harthill, a cavalier too.[L52]

And Newton-Gordon, burd-alone,[L53]

And Dalgatie, both stout and keen,[L54]

And gallant Veitch upon the field,[L55] 55 A braver face was never seen.

Now, fare ye weel, Sweet Ennerdale!

Countrie and kin I quit ye free; Cheer up your hearts, brave cavaliers, For the Grahams are gone to High Germany.

Now brave Montrose he went to France, 61 And to Germany, to gather fame; And bold Aboyne is to the sea, Young Huntly is his n.o.ble name.[L64]

Montrose again, that chieftain bold, 65 Back unto Scotland fair he came, For to redeem fair Scotland's land, The pleasant, gallant, worthy Graham!