Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border Volume I Part 20

"I grant.i.t never a traitor's life, "And now I'll not begin wi' thee!"

"Grant me my life, my liege, my king!

"And a bonny gift I'll gie to thee-- "Gude four and twenty ganging[122] mills, "That gang thro' a' the yeir to me.

"These four and twenty mills complete, "Sall gang for thee thro' a' the yeir; "And as mickle of gude reid wheit, "As a' their happers dow to bear."

"Away, away, thou traitor strang!

"Out o' my sight soon may'st thou be!

"I grant.i.t nevir a traitor's life, "And now I'll not begin wi' thee."

"Grant me my life, my liege, my king!

"And a great gift I'll gie to thee-- "Bauld four and twenty sister's sons, "Sall for thee fecht, tho' a' should flee!"

"Away, away, thou traitor strang!

"Out o' my sight soon may'st thou be!

"I grant.i.t nevir a traitor's life, "And now I'll not begin wi' thee."

"Grant me my life, my liege, my king!

"And a brave gift I'll gie to thee-- "All between heir and Newcastle town "Sall pay their yeirly rent to thee."

"Away, away, thou traitor strang!

"Out o' my sight soon may'st thou be!

"I grant.i.t nevir a traitor's life, "And now I'll not begin wi' thee."

"Ye lied[123], ye lied, now king," he says.

"Altho' a king and prince ye be!

For I've luved naething in my life, "I weel dare say it, but honesty--

"Save a fat horse," and a fair woman, "Twa bonny dogs to kill a deir; "But England suld have found me meal and mault, "Gif I had lived this hundred yeir!

"Sche suld have found me meal and mault, "And beif and mutton in a' plentie; "But nevir a Scots wyfe could have said, "That e'er I skaithed her a pure flee.

"To seik het water beneith cauld ice, "Surely it is a greit folie-- "I have asked grace at a graceless face, "But there is mine for my men and me!

"But, had I kenn'd ere I cam frae hame, "How thou unkind wadst been to me!

"I wad have keepit the border side, "In spite of al thy force and thee.

"Wist England's king that I was ta'en, "O gin a blythe man he wad be!

"For anes I slew his sister's son, "And on his breist bane brake a trie."

John wore a girdle about his middle, Imbroidered ower wi' burning gold, Bespangled wi' the same metal; Maist beautiful was to behold.

There hang nine targats[124] at Johnie's hat, And ilk are worth three hundred pound-- "What wants that knave that a king suld have, But the sword of honour and the crown!

"O whair got thou these targats, Johnie, "That blink[125] sae brawly abune thy brie?"

"I gat them in the field fechting, "Where, cruel king, thou durst not be.

"Had I my horse, and harness gude, "And riding as I wont to be, "It suld have been tald this hundred yeir, "The meeting of my king and me!

"G.o.d be with thee, Kirsty,[126] my brother!

"Lang live thou laird of Mangertoun!

"Lang may'st thou live on the border syde, "Ere thou see thy brother ride up and down!

"And G.o.d be with thee, Kirsty, my son, "Where thou sits on thy nurse's knee!

"But and thou live this hundred yeir, "Thy father's better thou'lt nevir be.

"Farewell! my bonny Gilnock hall, "Where on Esk side thou stand est stout!

"Gif I had lived but seven yeirs mair, "I wad hae gilt thee round about."

John murdered was at Carlinrigg, And all his gallant c.u.mpanie; But Scotland's heart was ne'er sae wae, To see sae mony brave men die--

Because they saved their countrey deir, Frae Englishmen! Nane were sae bauld, Whyle Johnie lived on the border syde, Nane of them durst c.u.m neir his hauld.

[Footnote 118: _Kinnen_--Rabbits.]

[Footnote 119: _Nicker_--Neigh.]

[Footnote 120: _Gilt--Gold_.]

[Footnote 121: _Dow_--Able to.]

[Footnote 122: _Ganging_--Going.]

[Footnote 123: _Lied_--Lye.]

[Footnote 124: _Targats_--Ta.s.sels.]

[Footnote 125: _Blink sae brawly_--Glance so bravely.]

[Footnote 126: Christopher.]

SUPPLEMENT TO THE BALLAD OF JOHNIE ARMSTRANG.

The editor believes, his readers will not be displeased to see a Bond of Manrent, granted by this border freebooter to the Scottish warden of the west marches, in return for the gift of a feudal casualty of certain lauds particularized. It is extracted from _Syme's Collection of Old Writings, MS. penes_ Dr. Robert Anderson, of Edinburgh.

BOND OF MANRENT.

Be it kend till all men, be thir present letters, me, Johne Armistrang, for to be bound and oblist, and be the tenor of thir present letters, and faith and trewth in my body, lelie and trewlie, bindis and oblissis me and myn airis, to are n.o.bil and michtie lord, Robert Lord Maxwell, wardane of the west marches of Scotland, that, forasmikle as my said lord has given and grant.i.t to me, and mine airis perpetuallie, the nonentries of all and hail the landis underwritten, that is to say, the landis of Dalbetht, s.h.i.+eld, Dalblane, Stapil-Gortown, Langholme, and--with their pertindis, lyand in the lords.h.i.+p of Eskdale, as his gift, maid to me, therupon beris in the self: and that for all the tyme of the nonentres of the samyn.

Theirfor, I, the said Johne Armistrang, bindis and oblissis me and myne airis, in manrent and service to the said Robert Lord Maxwell, and his airis, for evermair, first and befor all uthirs, myne allegiance to our soverane lord, the king, allanerly except; and to be trewe, gude, and lele servant to my said lord, and be ready to do him service, baith in pece and weir, with all my kyn, friends, and servants, that I may and dowe to raise, and be and to my said lord's airis for evermair. And sall tak his true and plane part in all maner of actions at myn outer power, and sall nouther wit, hear, nor se my said lordis skaith, lak, nor dishonestie, but we sall stop and lett the samyn, and geif we dowe not lett the samyn, we sall warn him thereof in all possible haist; and geif it happ.e.n.i.s me, the said Johne Armistrang, or myne airis, to fail in our said service and manrent, any maner of way, to our said lord (as G.o.d forbid we do), than, and in that caiss, the gift and nonentres maid be him to us, of the said landis of Dalbetht, Schield, Dalblane, Stapil-Gortown, Langholme, and--with the pertinentis to be of no avale, force, nor effect; but the said lord and his airis to have free regress and ingress to the nonentres of the samyn, but ony pley or impediment. To the keeping and fulfilling of all and sundry the premisses, in form above writtin, I bind and obliss me and my airis foresaids, to the said lord and his airis for evermare, be the faithis treuthis in our bodies, but fraud or gile. In witness of the whilk thing, to thir letters of manrent subscrievit, with my hand at the pen, my sele is hangin, at Drumfries, the secund day of November, the yeir of G.o.d, Jaiv and XXV. yeiris.

JOHNE ARMISTRANG, with my hand at the pen.