title: The legendery cabinet, a collection of British national ballads...
text: : I.HrCcak. Tmm e m jtil b ©jf jejlil. Zondoiv.Tu&Usfietl by W. JojJKmfX'a '< THE LEGENDARY CABINET A COLLECTION OF BRITISH NATIONAL BALLADS, Kmimt antr i^tnSrmi ; FROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES. WITH NOTES AND ILLUSTRATIONS. *L BY y THE REV. J. D. TARRY, M.A. of st. peter's college, Cambridge. Call up him that left half-told The story of Cambuscau bold ; Of Camball, and of Algarsife, And who bad Canace to wife, That owned the virtuous ring and glass ; And of the wondrons horse of brass, On which the Tartar king did ride : And if aught else, great Bards beside. In sage and solemn tunes, bare sung. Of turneys, and of trophies hung ; Of forests, and enchantments drear, Where more is meant than meets the ear. MILTON.—// Penseroso LONDON : W. JOY, 66, ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD. MDCCCXXIX. LONDON : PRINTED BY SAMUEL MANNING AND CO. LONDON-HOUSE YARD, ST. PAUL'S. *- - , PREFACE. In presenting this little Collection to the Public, the Editor begs leave, in the first instance, to refer to a previous announcement, of its being conducted, as far as the subject would admit, on a moral plan; or, at the least, with an exclusion of all articles of a directly exceptionable character. At the same time, it is hoped that no candid and intelligent Reader will mistake this for an unqualified panegyric on its contents; or subject that to a rigid assay, which was never intended for, and consequently never can come forth as, pure and unmixed metal. It is well known that this description of Poetry pos- sesses to many minds, and particularly to those of the young, peculiar charms ; it is also a fact which may easily be verified by observation, that in no previous selection of this kind, has any discretion been exercised as to the general character and effect of their miscel- laneous contents. To render, then, that which is popular, at least comparatively innocent, is surely an IV PREFACE. object which a superior mind might not consider be- neath its notice; — and in this view of the subject, the Editor has had the satisfaction of coinciding with the ideas of a high Ecclesiastical character, but whose name he is not at liberty here to mention. Such then has been his prevailing design in the production of this little Volume ; and whether or not he shall be pronounced by rigid, or lenient criticism, to have attained his object, he feels conscious that, to the best of his humble abilities, no care or pains have been spared in pursuing it. About one third of the Ballads in this Collection, have been taken from " Percy's Reliques," * and the rest from the most esteemed Authors and Compilers ; upwards of Forty Volumes having been consulted for that purpose. The spelling in the older Ballads has been modernized ; — a liberty which the scrupulous antiquary may well excuse, in consideration of the additional facility and pleasure which is thus afforded to the mass of general readers. "Whilst, at the same time, the original style and idiom has either been minutely preserved, or with such a trifling deviation as may fairly dispense with the necessity of apology. * This work was first published in the year 1765, in 3 vols. 8vo. Dr. Percy was, in 1778, appointed Dean of Carlisle ; and in 1782, Bishop of Dromore in Ireland, where he died in 1811, in his 83rd year ; — having nobly signalized himself in the employments of a more mature age, and an exalted station ; and leaving a character for piety, liberality, and benevolence, to which ample testimony was borne by all classes and descriptions of men. PREFACE. V The notes, which have been partly abridged from the Authors themselves, and otherwise gleaned from a few common works of History and Antiquities, are added for the convenience of such readers as are not particularly conversant with the subjects in question. To the " Esoteric" disciples of Antiquity, to whom the Editor himself is as one of the uninitiated, this will doubtless be a sufficient excuse ; and should there be any Readers to whom they are no objects of interest, they may, at all events, pass them over, without notice or interruption. It should not be here suppressed, that a charge of want of fidelity and undue alteration has been made against Dr. Percy, in his publication of these ancient pieces of Poetry. In the treatment, however, which they received at his hands, they have no farther been removed from originality, than Dr. Warton de- scribes all the Metrical Romances now to be. " They have been divested of their original form, polished in their styles, adorned with new incidents, successively modernized by repeated transcription and recitation, and retaining little more than the outlines of the original." And a small portion only of this process is attributable to Dr. Percy. He became possessed, from the gift of a friend, of a manuscript folio of ballads, the contents of which fortunately falling into the hands of a man whose taste and elegance have rarely been exceeded, they underwent a certain de- gree of polish, which yet did not impair their primary lineaments ; and the breaches made by time were so VI PREFACE. carefully repaired, that the additions are scarcely discernible. Had there been no envy or malice in the case, this would have been deemed an excellence; but the heart of his great opponent, Mr. Ritson, had in it unfortunately a very large proportion of these ingredients, to which were superadded much gross- ness and impiety. A few others of the Ancient Ballads remain unaltered, as they were written — from the era of Queen Elizabeth to about the middle of the seventeenth century. In order to make this a National Selection, all compositions (with one or two exceptions only) have been excluded in which the scene is laid in foreign countries ; and also translations from foreign lan- guages, which are now numerous, and some of them very beautiful. Nor was it possible to include in this volume half the beauties of British Ballads. Should, therefore, the Public receive with favour this one of the novitiatory efforts of a young Author, it may probably lead to the production of a Second Volume, from these united sources, as a sequel to the present, and of the same size and character. Jan. 1829. CONTENTS. 1 Saxon Ode .... 1 2 Chevy Chase. 10 3 King Estmere 24 4 Sir Cauline. 36 5 Sir Aldingar .... 51 6 Marriage of Sir Gawaine . .. 59 7 King Arthur's Death 72 8 Sir Lancelot du Lake .... 79 ' 9 Sir Patrick Spence .... 84 10 Robin Hood and Guy. 87 11 Robin Hood and the Curtal Friar 98 12 Robin Hood and the Fishermen 104 13 Robin Hood's Chase . 108 14 King John and the Abbot. 112 15 Valentine and Ursine . 116 16 St. George and the Dragon 131 17 Sir Andrew Barton • 141 18 Princess Margaret .... 154 19 Johnny Armstrong . 155 20 The Child of Elle .. 159 21 Hardyknute .... . 166 22 Kempion .... 178 23 Willie of Kinmont . 182 24 The Douglas' Tragedy 189 25 The Gay Goss-Hawk . 192 26 Lady Elspat 198 27 Willie of Liddesdale . 200 28 The Dens of Yarrow 205 29 George Barnwell .... . 208 30 Passionate Shepherd 222 31 Christmas Song .... . 224 CONTENTS. 32 King's Ballad 33 Song to the Lute 34 Sonnets, by Lord Surrey 35 On Music 36 Red-Cross Knight 37 Richard Plantagenet 38 Hengist and Mey 39 The Grave of King Arthur 40 Athelgiva 41 Hermit of Warkworth. 42 Battle of Cuton-Moor 43 Colin and Lucy 44 The Hermit 45 The Friar of Orders Gray 46 The Spirit's Blasted Tree 47 Lord Ullin's Daughter 48 Lord Soulis 49 The Gray Brother 50 The Fatal Horse 51 The Luck of Eden-Hall. 52 The Prince of the Lake 53 The Troubadour's Song. 54 The Horn of Egremont Castle 55 Fair Ellen 56 The Inchcape Bell 57 The Well of St. Keyne , 58 May-day Pageant 59 Hunting Song 60 Legend of Charity 61 St. John's Eve, in Palestine 62 Ella 63 The Boy of Egremond 64 The Knight of Malta Supplementary Notes, &c. PAGE 228 239 232 234 235 249 264 271 279 292 323 336 339 346 350 357 360 371 376 382 390 394 406 409 413 414 416 419 422 424 433 VERSION OF THE SAXON ODE, «9n tfje Whtavv at i&wg gtf;cl£tan, at aSnmaufiurfllj. A.D. 938. BY THE EDITOR. This Ode, which is generally supposed to have been the compo- sition of some Saxon bard cotemporary with the event it celebrates, is here versified from the text of the original, given in Ellis's Ancient Romances, v. i, 14 ; to which is annexed, an exactly literal prose trans- lation. This copy, which Mr. Ellis received from a learned friend, was taken from two MSS. in the Cotton. Lib., British Museum, — Tibe- rius, B. IV. and A. VI. ; and it differs materially from the version given in Hickes' Saxon Grammar, and that in the Saxon Chronicle, which latter appears now in the garb of prose. On the respective merits of these, and on the points of difference, the Editor will not presume to give any opinion. His object has been, simply to offer a close and literal version of Mr. Ellis's copy, with no other interpola- tions than were absolutely necessary in giving it a metrical form : and he deemed it more advisable, in this manner, to shew the precise character and genius of the original, and the intimate connexion between the two languages, than to attempt investing it with the artificial decorations of modern refinement. The reader will, there- fore, not expect any of that romantic beauty which is to be found in Gray's imitations of ancient Northern Poetry. An account of the circumstances of the battle, may be seen in Hume's or in Goldsmith's History, or any similar work. Kikg Athelstan of warlike mould, The chief of earls and barons bold, And, second from that noble spring, His brother Edmund Atheling,* /Etheling signifies "the young noble:" — iEthel-stan, "the very noble. -O SAXON ODE. Of elders good a mighty train In shock of war have featly slain. Round Brunanburgh the field was spread,* Their blades a deadly course have sped, They cleave of shields th' united wall, They hew to earth the leaders tall, f The troubled Marches rest serene, As late in Edward's days was seen. To them, of ancient race and name, A fate of blest deliverance came, That oft, before their dreaded hand, Should flee each traitorous robber band, And leave, unvexed, the glad domain To prosper in a noble reign. Scotland's sons of land and deep, J Found many a youth the deathly sleep. The din of war rose sharp and dread, Thick sweat the warriors' limbs o'erspread, * Camden places this in Northumberland, on the coast between Bam- borough, and Coldingham in Scotland, and opposite to Lindisfarn, or Holy Island; and the name of the village at present nearest the site, he repre- sents to be Ford, near Bromeridge. But Bishop Gibson, on the authority of Florence of Worcester, who pronounces the hostile fleets to have entered the Humber, offers a conjecture, that the site of the engagement might have been much higher up ; — in Yorkshire or Lincolnshire. Such vexatious differences the Editor has before found to be not uncommon amongst anti- quaries; but he believes that, in the present instance, the former idea has by far the more numerous supporters. Mr. Hutchinson, in his History of Northumberland, inclines to Bishop Gibson's opinion of Broomridge, in that county, being the site of the battle ; adding, that " the many lines, breastworks, and entrenchments still remaining, testify that this was the place of some great action." He also (on the authority of some one of our old chroniclers) adds, as an ally to Constantine and Anlaf, Engenius, Oweine, or Ewaine, King of Cumberland, who fell in the engagement, and whom he supposes to have been buried in Penrith Church-yard, under a curious old monument, which remains to this day. t In one literal translation, this is rendered " banners." X The Saxon answers to the English " lad." SAXON ODE. O — Since o'er the fields at morning tide The greater Light began to glide,* God's candle — he of grace ador'd, Eternal and Almighty Lord, — Till latest in the fading west That creature of the High had rest. Full many a soldier strewed the field ; The North-man f stretched on useless shield, And noble Scottish chief from far, Red from the worrying shocks of war. The Wessex army all the day (A chosen herd) the rear assay, Their loathed foes they closely press, The lingering rearward sore distress ; The fugitives unhappy feel The sharpness of their piercing steel.J No rest th' unwearied Mercians knew; Their hardy hands were firm and true. Health then to Anlaf 's host was none, — By gales of favouring wind o'erblown, Who, o'er the bosom of the sea, Had sought this land, for sovereignty. Five sons of kings there prostrate lay, § By swords untimely swept away ; And seven, the earls of Anlaf 's train. Unnumbered pirates from the main, || * Saxon, — " the more (i. e. greater) twinkler." t North-men, — a general terra for Danes, called also Dacians, Norwe- gians or Norse, Icelanders, and others ; also, for the inhabitants of Orkney and Shetland, who were eminent for piracy on a large scale, and styled themselves sea-kings, or earls, and their ships sea-dragons. They here appear as allies to Scotland, although generally opposed, as in the modern ballad of Hardyknute, which is yet true to history. I Literally, — they " drilled" holes, or wounds, with their swords. § This may also mean that they were kings at the time. || The Saxon word is " unrim," said to be from the Latin innumerus. — The next word signifies, literally, " harassers." *± SAXON ODE. And Scottish men, with wild affright, Scarce saved their lives by hasty flight The North-man Chief, at utmost need, Upraised his voice * for instant speed : His remnant poor in sad retreat Tumultuous crowd the royal fleet, Then o'er the sea, at falling-tide, To distant lands in safety hied. And Constantine, of prudent thought, f His Northern realm most swiftly sought. There Hilderic, of hoary years, His loss bewailed with bitter tears. It little served his cause to groan, Yet much his mates he did bemoan. Short store of friends at home remain, X — They fell before, on hostile plain. His much-loved son is far away, — In blood, on wailful field, he lay. 'Vailed not his barons to deplore, Young Atguth, old in wisdom's lore ; By bill-men stretched on foreign earth, § — Nought served his valour, nought his worth. * " Steven," — a word which continued in use till the fifteenth century. t King of Scotland. — The Saxon has the original Latin, " Constantiuus," a name or title borrowed, doubtless, from the Lower Empire. It would seem, from other copies, as if Hilde-rinc was only an epithet for the same person ; but this, and many other points, must be left for higher judgments. | Saxon, — " Short folk filled his folk-stede ; " so before, " camp -Steele," (i. e. place). The termination is still retained in " farm-stead," " home- stead," &c. § The bills used in war were fixed at the end of long staves, similar to pike-handles. In process of time, with perhaps some little alteration of form, they were called partizans and halberts. SAXON ODE. Nor more shall haughty Anlaf * boast, With remnant of his scattered host, That they, forsooth, are best in fight, And theirs, in camp, more conquering might. When next the Motesf in council met, Then sighs were heard, and cheeks were wet; For many a heavy ransom told, Must free their friends from captive hold : And they the weighty charge must brook, Which first, with oaths, they undertook. The Northern ships, with tackled gear % And scanty crews, in grief and fear, Have launched them on the dreary deep, And o'er the dingy waters creep, — They rest them first on Dublin § strand, Then seek with shame their native land. Then, too, the brothers twain depart, — King Athelstan's of noble heart, And Atheling's united band, With joy return to Wessex land. |j The airy, screaming birds of war, — The Bittern's hollow note from far, — * The Danish king. — Dr. Percy thinks this should be spelt Anlai, Aulaf being evidently the genuine northern name Olaff or Olave, Lat. Olaus. t Mote, or ^e-mote, i. e. the mote, a term for a provincial council or incorporation. It is still retained in " ward-mote." Wittena-ge-mote, was " the assembly of wise men," and is said to have been the origin of Parlia- ments, styled, from the French, " parler," to speak. $ Literal, — i.e. With their rigging repaired. § Saxon, — Dyffien, and Difelin. i| This, which included seven counties in the West, was their ancient patrimonial kingdom; and it continued, in some measure, a separate juris- diction, long after the union of the Heptarchy. V SAXON ODE. They leave behind; — the paddock's croak,* — The Raven swarth, from woodland oak, With hooked beak and horny bill, f — House-wooding Heron, whose food is still % White fishes from the mountain-flood, — The ravenous Goshawk, gorged with blood, — The wild Deer grey, from lonely glen, § — The Wolf, the savage foe of men. Was ne'er more wail or sorrow rife In England's isle, from deadly strife, (Since first her ancient race arose), From blade's keen edge, or battle close, (So they who ancient books explore — The elders, wise in clerkly lore), [| Since first up-came from Eastern land, The Anglian and the Saxon band ; When, o'er the broad opposing brine, ^[ They sought the crown of Britain's line, * Toad. t Literally, " nib." X Literal,— i.e. that has its nests in the woods. This word " earn," the other copies render eagle, and flesh instead of fish ; with other important variations from the present copy, to which the learned are referred. § Deor. — In the Saxon Chronicle, " grcege-deor " is translated as an epithet to the wolf, " parti-coloured." On the authority of Mr. Ellis, it is a separate animal; but it does not follow from the preceding, that it was a beast of the stag kind. Deer was, it seems, formerly a general term for a great variety of wild animals, both large and small ; as plainly appears from a passage in the old Anglo-Saxon romance of " Bevis of Hampton "—(from whence it is borrowed by Shakspeare, in Lear, Act Hi. Sc. iv.)— " Mice and rats, and such small deer, Was his meat that seven year." || Literal, — i. e. So it is related by the learned elders, who search ancient books. IT " Broad brine," Saxon. At the time this ode was written, the Saxons had been in possession of England about 400 years. SAXON ODE. With shock of lances, keen and bright, The Welch subdued in valour's spite ; When, in the ages old and gone, The Earls they quelled, the land they won. ADDENDA. <l It is rather unfortunate," says Mr. Ritson, " that among the tolerably numerous relics of Saxon literature still extant, we find no songs. In the Saxon Chronicle, indeed, there are two or three poet- ical pieces, the principal one being in celebration of King Athel- stane's victory, gained over Anlaff the Dane ; which may be speci- mens of their ode, and were, possibly, sung to the harp. There is also extant, a short poem in praise of the city of Durham." What limits Mr. Ritson assigns to the term song, we cannot pre- cisely ascertain ; but we find, from higher authorities on this subject, that the remains of Saxon -poetry are by no means so few or insig- nificant. On this subject, which is by much too important for the compass of these observations, or the Editor's capability, ample satisfaction will be found in the works of Hickes, Manning, Cony- beare, Sharon Turner, &c. &c, and several excellent Grammars or Introductions in English, published within the last thirty years. We find King Alfred himself, to have been a poetical as well as prose author and translator ; and some really elevated poems on sacred subjects were written by Ca'dmon, in the seventh century. They modelled their verse by alliteration, by a periodical return of the same letters in the words, and by rhythm ; an ancient and classical term, which is not over-easy of definition ; but which appears to mean an harmonious return of syllables of the same or equal sound, at regular distances — or in short, such a position of words and cadences as has a melodious effect on a good ear. In its full acceptation, however, this phrase is applicable to sound, unconnected with letters or characters ; it is consequently the essence of music, and its rudi- ments were to be found in the tones of Pythagoras' s anvil. A good peal of eight bells, well set, contains the same essential properties of rhythm as a line of eight syllables. The Anglo- Saxons did not use feet, like the Greeks and Romans, in their poetry. Mr. Ritson confidently asserts that rhyme was not in use till after the Norman Conquest; but this is not true, as several examples of Anglo-Saxon rhymes are recorded in Mr. Turner's work ; and from the circumstance of several Anglo-Saxon poets having written Latin verses in rhyme before the year 800, it is plain that this art was known in their day. In the Teutonic, or Runic, it was used in the vernacular poetry from an early period. But we O SAXON ODE. learn from Mr. Conybeare, that the additional ornament of rhyme was by no means of common occurrence in Anglo-Saxon poetry ; and Mr. Ritson's conjecture, that it was introduced or perfected by the Danes, who had obtained a footing in the tenth century, and who were of the ancient Runic stock, seems deserving of some atten- tion. We have also the fragment of a song composed extempore by Canute the Great, as with his Queen and Court he was passing by water to Ely, A.D. 1017, to hold a solemn feast ; when hearing the monks chant, he was so delighted with the sweetness of the melody, that he burst forth in a poetical strain, of which this was the commencement. It shews, at this late period of the Saxon rule, a great affinity to the earliest English language, about two cen- turies after. Merie sungen the Muneches binnen Ely, Tha Cnut ching reu ther by. Roweth, Cnihtes noer the lond, (or, lant), And here we thes Muneches sang. Merry sang the Monks within Ely, When Cnut the King rowed thereby. " Row, ye Knights, near the land (along), And hear we these Monks' song." Ed. The following is said by Mr. Ritson to be the most ancient Ejiglish song now extant, which, on grounds which seem to him incontrovertible, he refers to the middle of the thirteenth century. It is inserted in Sir John Hawkins', and Dr. Burney's Histories of Music, by whom it is attributed to the fifteenth century ; but very incorrectly according to Ritson. It is accompanied by "a very masterly musical composition, for six voices, in the nature of a catch." The song is in praise of the Cuckoo, and cannot by any means be considered inharmonious. Svmer, is icumen in. Lhude sing cuccu. Groweth sed and bloweth med And spring th the wde nu. Sing cucu. Awe bleteth after lomb , Lhouth after calue~ cu. Bulluc sterteth. Bucke uerteth. Murie sing cuccu. Cuccu cuccu. Wei singes thu cuccu Ne swik thu nauer nu. SAXON ODE. In modern orthography, it would appear thus :- Summer is i-comen* in ! Loud sing, cuckoo ! Groweth seed, and bloweth mead, And springeth the wood, now. — Sing cuckoo ! Ewe bleateth after lamb, Loweth after calf cow : Bullock starteth, Buck verteth,t Merry sing, cuckoo ! — Cuckoo, cuckoo ! — Well sing'st thou, cuckoo ! Nor swikt thou never now. Ed. * t. e. Come. t "Goes to harbour in the fern." — Ritson. Perhaps from vert, green. — Ed. 1 Be silent. B 2 CHEW-CHASE. I never heard the old song of Piercy and Douglas, that I found not my heart more moved than with a trumpet ; and yet it is sung by some blind crowder, with no rougher voice than rude style, which being s& evil ap- parelled in the dust and cobweb of that uncivil age, what would it work, trimmed in the gorgeous eloquence of Pindar? — Sir Philip Sidney. — ( Quoted by Addison, Spec. 70, 1\). It was not known to Mr. Addison that Sir Philip had never seen the present ballad, the style of which is no rougher or less orna- mented than his own ; and is, as Addison justly observes, quite equal to Queen Elizabeth's days. The more ancient ballad, which from its general appearance and indications, Dr. Percy considers to be full as old as the reign of Henry VI. (i. e. probably about 1440 or 1450), is published in the " Reliques," vol. i., 1. The Editor has subjoined some of the most prominent instances of difference between the two. ». Another ancient ballad, materially connected with the plot and situation of the present, exists, under the title of the " Battle of Otterbourne," — Reliques, i., 18; — and to this the evidence of history affords, in a greater degree, the credit of veracity ; such a skirmish having undoubtedly taken place, and having been recorded by all our best chroniclers, and very circumstantially by Froissart. In this, Earl Douglas invades that part of Northumberland called Bamboroughshire, and lays waste the country to the walls of New Castell, wherein lies Sir Henry Percy, called Hotspur: a parley takes place at the walls ; they agree to meet at a future day, and at a more convenient spot. An engagement accordingly takes place, in which Douglas is killed, and Hotspur taken prisoner. This is, in brief, a summary of the occurrences of this ancient poem ; and such, with some slight variations, are recorded in history at the date of 1388. Dr. Percy conceives the story of the ballad of Chevy Chase to be true, as far as relates to the hunting, &c; but that the con- cluding events are borrowed by the authors from the battle of Otter- bourne. The precise date, therefore, of the occurrences on which the story of Chevy Chase is founded, is uncertain. Dr. Percy thinks they may have been prior to the other, and that the battle of Otterbourne was provoked by some such affront as the expedition of Percy, described in this ballad. CHEVY-CHASE. 11 The Cheviots are a range of hills between Northumberland and Roxburghshire : the spiral summit of one of the principal is con- sidered to be as high as any mountain in England. At the foot of these is a long track of flat and marshy ground, called the Cheviot Moors. All this country was included in the district belonging to both kingdoms, styled " the Marches/' and sometimes " the Debateable Ground," from its being a constant scene of dispute and hostility. It was one of the laws of these Marches, frequently renewed between the two nations, that neither party should hunt in the bor- ders of the other without leave ; and in time of peace, the borderers on both sides were accustomed, in the autumn of the year, to send to the Lord Warden of the opposite border, for leave to hunt within his bounds. But if they ventured to do this without permission asked, this official was always prompt to resent the insult offered. We have only, then, to suppose that Earl Douglas was the Lord Warden of the Scottish Marches, and which is actually declared in the older ballad ; and then there will remain nothing unexplained for the full understanding of this celebrated legend. God prosper long our noble king, Our lives and safeties all ; A woeful hunting once there did In Chevy-Chace befal : * * The title of the old ballad is, " The Hunting at the Cheviatt." The style has a more rugged appearance, from its being written in the broadest northern dialect. The first stanza, which has six lines, and the second, run as follows : — The Perse owt of Northombarlond, And a vowe to God made he, That he wolde hunt in the mountaynes Of Cheviat, within days thre, In the mauger (spite) of doughte Dogles, And all that ever with him be. The fattest harts in all Cheviat He sayd he wold kill, and cary them away " Be my feth," sayd the doughte Doglas agen, " I wyll let (hinder) that hontyng, yf that I may." From the word " King " at the beginning of this verse, it is probable the composition was in the time of James I. A skirmish took place between the second Earl of Northumberland, son of Hotspur, and Earl William Douglas, of Angus, at a place called Pepperden, near the Cheviot, in 143(5, which by some has been supposed to have been the ground-work of Chevy-Chase. 12 CHEVY-CHASE. To drive the deer with hound and horn Earl Percy took his way : The child may rue that is unborn The hunting of that day. * The stout Earl of Northumberland A vow to God did make, His pleasure in the Scottish woods Three summer's days to take ; The chiefest harts in Chevy-Chace To kill and bear away. — The tidings to Earl Douglas came In Scotland, where he lay ; Who sent Earl Percy present word He would prevent his sport. The English Earl, not fearing that, Did to the woods resort, With fifteen hundred bowmen bold; All chosen men of might, Who knew full well, in time of need, To aim their shafts aright. The gallant greyhounds swiftly ran, To chace the fallow deer : On Monday they began to hunt, Ere day-light did appear ; And long before high noon they had A hundred fat bucks slain ; * " This way of considering the misfortunes which this battle would bring on posterity, not only on those who were born immediately after the battle, and lost their fathers in it, but on those also who perished in future battles, which took their rise from this quarrel of the two Earls, is wonder- fully beautiful, and conformable to the way of thinking among the ancient poets."— Addison. CHEVY-CHASE. 13 Then, having dined, the drovers went * To rouse the deer again. The bowmen mustered on the hills, Well able to endure; Their backsides all, with special care, That day were guarded sure. The hounds ran swiftly through the woods The nimble deer to take ; And with their cries the hills and dales An echo shrill did make. Lord Percy to the quarry went, f To view the slaughtered deer ; Quoth he, Earl Douglas promised This day to meet me here : If that I thought he would not come, No longer would I stay, — With that a brave young gentleman Thus to the Earl did say : Lo ! yonder doth Earl Douglas come, His men in armour bright ; Full twenty-hundred Scottish spears, All marching in our sight ; All men of pleasant Tivydale, % Fast by the river Tweed. — Then cease your sport, Earl Percy said, And take your bows with speed : * In the original, it is said, the huntsmen " blew a mort," — an old term for the notes on the horn calling hack the dogs after the death of the deer. t This the Editor believes to be a term for any slaughtered game; or here perhaps for the place in which they were stowed. t Teviotdale, one of the three divisions of Roxburghshire, the others being Liddesdale and Eskdale. The part of Northumberland adjoining the Cheviot had also three divisions, — Islandshire, from Holy Island, or Lindisfarn ; 14 CHEVY-CHASE. And now with me, my countrymen, Your courage forth advance ; For there was never champion yet, In Scotland or in France, That ever did on horseback come, But, if my hap it were, I durst encounter, man for man, With him to break a spear. Earl Douglas on a milk-white steed, Most like a baron bold, Rode foremost of the company, Whose armour shone like gold. Shew me, said he, whose men ye be, That hunt so boldly here ; That, without my consent, do chace And kill my fallow-deer? * The man that first did answer make, Was noble Percy he ; Who said, We list f not to declare, Nor shew whose men we be. Yet will we spend our dearest blood, Thy chiefest harts to slay. Norhamshire, from Norham town and castle ; and Bamboroughshire, from Bamborough Castle. In the old ballad, v. 3.—" Then the Perse owt of Banborowe came." — " The country of the Scotch warriors described in these two last verses, has a fine romantic situation, and affords a couple of smooth words for verse." — Addison. * There are no deer now in the Cheviot, and the wood is almost entirely destroyed ; but it formerly abounded with both. Dr. Percy has transcribed a passage from Leland, who wrote at the beginning of the sixteenth century. " In Northumberland, as I lieare say, be no forests, except Chivet Hills, where is much brusshe wood, and some olkke (oak) ; grownde overgrowne with linge, and some with mosse. I have harde say that Chivet Hills stretcheth XX miles. There is great plente of redde-deer and roo bukkes." t Choose. CHEVY-CHASE. 15 Then Douglas swore a solemn oath, And thus in rage did say : — Ere thus I will out-braved be, One of us two shall die : I know thee well; an Earl thou art, Lord Percy: so am I. But trust me, Percy, pity it were, * And great offence to kill Any of these our guiltless men, For they have done no ill. Let thou and I the battle try, And set our men aside. — Accursed be he, Earl Percy said, By whom this is denied. Then stepped a gallant 'Squire forth, Witherington was his name, Who said, I would not have it told To Henry our King, for shame, That e'er my Captain fought on foot, And I stood looking on :f You be two Earls, said Witherington, And I a 'squire alone : * Mr. Addison speaks of this as a sentiment suitable to a hero. It does indeed shew a bright glimmering of virtuous and Christian charity. It is a pity that personal disputes of ambitious and selfish leaders, like Charles XII. or Napoleon Buonaparte, could not always thus be settled (if there must be bloodshed) by themselves alone. We should not then have — " Quicquid delirant Reges plectuntur Achivi." Of which, the reader, if he is content to smile at it, may take the following doggrel translation : — Whate'er mad antic foolish kings commit, Their luckless subjects always pay for it. t " We meet with the same heroic sentiments in Virgil. — See JEneid, xii. '2-2!)."— Addison. 16 CHEVY-CHASE. I'll do the best that do I may, While I have power to stand ; While I have power to wield my sword, I'll fight with heart and hand. Our English archers bent their bows, Their hearts were good and true; At the first flight of arrows sent, Full fourscore Scots they slew. To drive the deer with hound and horn, Earl Douglas had the bent : * A Captain, moved with mickle pride, The spears to shivers sent. They closed full fast on every side, No slackness there was found ; And many a gallant gentleman Lay gasping on the ground. O Christ ! it was a grief to see, And likewise for to hear The cries of men lying in their gore, And scattered here and there. At last these two stout Earls did meet, Like Captains of great might ; Like lions wild, they laid on load, And made a cruel fight. * This, in the old ballad, is the beginning of the second fytte, or ./if, an old term for the division of a song. These two lines, as they stand here alone, are absolute nonsense. Dr. Percy has admirably elucidated the mistake of the more modern composer, who took the word bent to mean disposition of mind ; whereas, in the old copy, it is — " Yet bides the Earl Doglas upon the bent ;" i. e. grass, or field. " Still Earl Douglas keeps the field." The first line, " to drive the deer," &c. is particularly absurd, occurring, as it does, in the midst of the description of a fight. Dr. Percy has here added three stanzas of his own composition, modernised from the old ballad — Reliques, i. 279. CHEVY-CHASE. 17 They fought until they both did sweat, With swords of tempered steel ; Until the blood, like drops of rain, They trickling down did feel. Yield thee, Lord Percy, Douglas said, In faith I will thee bring Where thou shalt high advanced be, By James our Scottish King. Thy ransom I will freely give, And thus report of thee : Thou art the most courageous knight That ever I did see. No, Douglas, quoth Earl Percy then, Thy proffer I do scorn ; I will not yield to any Scot That ever yet was born. With that there came an arrow keen * Out of an English bow, Which struck Earl Douglas to the heart, A deep and deadly blow : Who never spoke more words than these : Fight on, my merry men all ; For why ? my life is at an end : Lord Percy sees my fall, f Then leaving life, Earl Percy took The dead man by the hand : And said, Earl Douglas, for thy life Would I had lost my land ! * " iEneas was wounded after the same manner by an unknown hand, in the midst of a parley. — JEneid, xii. 318."— Addison. + " Turnus did not die after so heroic a manner ; though our poet seems to have his eye upon Turnus's speech, in the last verse. — JEn. xii. 936." — Addison. There is no mention of Percy made by Douglas, in the old ballad. With 18 CHEVY-CHASE. O Christ ! my very heart doth bleed * "With sorrow for thy sake ; For sure a more redoubted knight Mischance could never take. A knight amongst the Scots there was, Which saw Earl Douglas die, Who straight in wrath did vow revenge, Upon the Lord Percy : Sir Hugh Mountgomery he was called ; Who with a spear most bright, Well mounted on a gallant steed, Ran fiercely through the fight : And passed the English archers all, Without all dread or fear ; And through Earl Percy's body then He thrust his hateful spear : With such a vehement force and might He did his body gore, The staff ran through the other side A large cloth-yard, and more. respect to the imitation of Virgil by the respective authors, there can be little doubt that the second was able to read it in the original ; nor, perhaps, will any reader impute a lower degree of learning to the first. The Editor believes the first translation of Virgil into English to have been that of Gawain Douglas, Bishop of Dunkeld, in Scotland, about the year 1510. * " Earl Piercy's lamentation over his enemy is generous, beautiful, and passionate. I must only caution the reader not to let the simplicity of the style prejudice him against the greatness of the thought. * * * That beau- tiful line ' Taking the dead man by the hand,' will put the reader in mind of iEneas's behaviour towards Lausus, whom he himself had slain, as he came to the rescue of his aged father. — " At vero ut vultum vidit morientis, et ora Ora modis Anchisiades pallentia miris, Ingemuit, miserans graviter, dextramque tetendit." JEn. x. 822.— Addison. CHEVY-CHASE. 19 So thus did both these nobles die, * Whose courage none could stain ; An English archer then perceived The noble Earl was slain ; He had a bow bent in his hand, Made of a trusty tree ; An arrow of a cloth-yard long f Up to the head drew he : Against Sir Hugh Mountgomery So right the shaft he set, The grey-goose wing that was thereon In his heart's-blood was wet. The fight did last from break of day 'Till setting of the sun ; For when they rung the evening-bell \ The battle scarce was done. * " Of all the descriptive parts of this song, there are none more beautiful than the four following stanzas, which have a great force and spirit in them, and are filled with very natural circumstances. The thought in the third stanza was never touched by any other poet, and it is such a one as would have shined in Homer or Virgil." — Addison. In the old ballad, instead of " goose wing," it is " swan feather," a much more poetical expression. We read of arrows furnished with peacocks' fea- thers, in Chaucer, &c— See Warton, i. 450. t An ell. % In the old ballad it is " Eveng-song (t. e. vesper) bell," which was rung at six o'clock : — the action also here is much extended. " This battell began in Chyviat, An owar (hour) befor the none, And when even-song bell was rang, The battell was not half done. " They tooke on, on eithar hand, By the lyght of the moone." " That it was formerly looked upon as an uncommon, and perhaps irreli- gious circumstance, for a Christian army to continue engaged after the ringing of this bell, appears from a similar passage in the ancient Spanish romance of ' Tirant lo Blanc' — L e. Tirant the White. — Vide Don Quixote, ch. vi., (where the Licentiate passes a high encomium on it. — Ed.) Barcelona, 1497, where it is said, — ' E continuant toste 'ps la batailla, era ia quasi horade 20 CHEVY-CHASE. With stout Earl Percy there was slain Sir John of Egerton, Sir Roger Ratcliffe and Sir John, Sir James that hold Baron : And with Sir George, and good Sir James, Both knights of good account, Good Sir Ralph Raby there was slain, Whose prowess did surmount. For Witherington needs must I wail, As one in doleful dumps ; For when his legs were smitten off, He fought upon his stumps. And with Earl Douglas there was slain, Sir Hugh Mountgomery : Sir Charles Murray, that from the field One foot would never flee. Sir Charles Murray, of Ratcliffe too, His sister's son was he ; Sir David Lamb, so well esteemed, Yet saved could not be. And the Lord Maxwell, in like case, Did with Earl Douglas die :* Of twenty-hundred Scottish spears Scarce fifty-five did fly. vespres,' &c. chap. 157, (i. e. And the battle still continuing, it was the hour that there should have been vespers." — Ed.) Ritson. The commencement of the battle is here also properly stated at " eleven" o'clock in the forenoon, previous to which they had taken their dinner, which, however strange it may appear to us, answers faithfully to the manners of the times. They had risen probably at three or four, and taken their breakfast soon after. The author of the later ballad is guilty of a flagrant oversight here, as he had before declared that it was after dinner that the approach of the Douglas was announced. * The names are here given from the researches of Dr. Percy, and are improvements on the text of both ballads. It should be observed, that in 21 CHEVY-CHASE. Of fifteen-hundred Englishmen Went home but fifty-three : The rest were slain in Chevy-Chace, Under the green-wood tree. 