| |
| O HAVE ye na heard o the fause Sakelde? | |
| O have ye na heard o the keen Lord Scroop? | |
| How they hae taen bauld Kinmont Willie, | |
| On Hairibee to hang him up? | |
| |
| Had Willie had but twenty men, | 5 |
| But twenty men as stout as he, | |
| Fause Sakelde had never the Kinmont taen, | |
| Wi eight score in his companie. | |
| |
| They band his legs beneath the steed, | |
| They tied his hands behind his back; | 10 |
| They guarded him, fivesome on each side, | |
| And they brought him ower the Liddel-rack. | |
| |
| They led him thro the Liddel-rack, | |
| And also thro the Carlisle sands; | |
| They brought him to Carlisle castell, | 15 |
| To be at my Lord Scroope’s commands. | |
| |
| “My hands are tied, but my tongue is free, | |
| And whae will dare this deed avow? | |
| Or answer by the border law? | |
| Or answer to the bauld Buccleuch?” | 20 |
| |
| “Now haud thy tongue, thou rank reiver! 1 | |
| There’s never a Scot shall set ye free; | |
| Before ye cross my castle-yate, 2 | |
| I trow ye shall take farewell o me.” | |
| |
| “Fear na ye that, my lord,” quo Willie; | 25 |
| “By the faith o my bodie, Lord Scroop,” he said, | |
| “I never yet lodged in a hostelrie | |
| But I paid my lawing 3 before I gaed.” | |
| |
| Now word is gane to the bauld Keeper, | |
| In Branksome Ha where that he lay, | 30 |
| That Lord Scroope has taen the Kinmont Willie | |
| Between the hours of night and day. | |
| |
| He has taen the table wi his hand, | |
| He garrd 4 the red wine spring on hie; | |
| “Now Christ’s curse on my head,” he said, | 35 |
| “But avenged of Lord Scroop I’ll be! | |
| |
| “O is my basnet 5 a widow’s curch? | |
| Or my lance a wand of the willow-tree? | |
| Or my arm a ladye’s lilye hand? | |
| That an English lord should lightly 6 me. | 40 |
| |
| “And have they taen him Kinmont Willie, | |
| Against the truce of Border tide, | |
| And forgotten that the bauld Bacleuch | |
| Is keeper here on the Scottish side? | |
| |
| “And have they een taen him Kinmont Willie, | 45 |
| Withouten either dread or fear, | |
| And forgotten that the bauld Bacleuch | |
| Can back a steed, or shake a spear? | |
| |
| “O were there war between the lands, | |
| As well I wot that there is none, | 50 |
| I would slight 7 Carlisle castell high, | |
| Tho it were builded of marble-stone. | |
| |
| “I would set that castell in a low, 8 | |
| And sloken 9 it with English blood; | |
| There’s nevir a man in Cumberland | 55 |
| Should ken where Carlisle castell stood. | |
| |
| “But since nae war’s between the lands, | |
| And there is peace, and peace should be, | |
| I’ll neither harm English lad or lass, | |
| And yet the Kinmont freed shall be!” | 60 |
| |
| He has calld him forty marchmen bauld, | |
| I trow they were of his ain name, | |
| Except Sir Gilbert Elliot, calld | |
| The Laird of Stobs, I mean the same. | |
| |
| He has calld him forty marchmen bauld, | 65 |
| Were kinsmen to the bauld Buccleuch, | |
| With spur on heel, and splent on spauld, 10 | |
| And gleuves of green, and feathers blue. | |
| |
| There were five and five before them a’, | |
| Wi hunting-horns and bugles bright; | 70 |
| And five and five came wi Buccleuch, | |
| Like Warden’s men, arrayed for fight. | |
| |
| And five and five like a mason-gang, | |
| That carried the ladders lang and hie; | |
| And five and five like broken men; | 75 |
| And so they reached the Woodhouselee. | |
| |
| And as we crossed the Bateable Land, | |
| When to the English side we held, | |
| The first o men that we met wi, | |
| Whae sould it be but fause Sakelde! | 80 |
| |
| “Where be ye gaun, ye hunters keen?” | |
| Quo fause Sakelde; “come tell to me!” | |
| “We go to hunt an English stag, | |
| Has trespassed on the Scots countrie.” | |
| |
| “Where be ye gaun, ye marshal-men?” | 85 |
| Quo fause Sakelde; “come tell to me true!” | |
| “We go to catch a rank reiver, | |
| Has broken faith wi the bauld Buccleuch.” | |
| |
| “Where are ye gaun, ye mason-lads, | |
| Wi a’ your ladders lang and hie?” | 90 |
| “We gang to herry 11 a corbie’s 12 nest, | |
| That wons not far frae Woodhouselee.” | |
| |
| “Where be ye gaun, ye broken men?” | |
| Quo fause Sakelde; “come tell to me!” | |
| Now Dickie of Dryhope led that band, | 95 |
| And the never a word o lear 13 had he. | |
| |
| “Why trespass ye on the English side | |
| Row-footed 14 outlaws, stand!” quo he; | |
| The neer a word had Dickie to say, | |
| Sae he thrust the lance thro his fause bodie. | 100 |
| |
| Then on we held for Carlisle toun, | |
| And at Staneshaw-bank the Eden we crossd; | |
| The water was great, and meikle of spait, 15 | |
| But the nevir a horse nor man we lost. | |
| |
| And when we reached the Stanshaw-bank, | 105 |
| The wind was rising loud and hie; 16 | |
| And there the laird garrd 17 leave our steeds, | |
| For fear that they should stamp and nie. 18 | |
| |
| And when we left the Staneshaw-bank, | |
| The wind began full loud to blaw; | 110 |
| But ’twas wind and weet, and fire and sleet | |
| When we came beneath the castel-wa. | |
| |
| We crept on knees, and held our breath, | |
| Till we placed the ladders against the wa; | |
| And sae ready was Buccleuch himsell | 115 |
| To mount the first before us a’. | |
| |
| He has taen the watchman by the throat, | |
| He flung him down upon the lead: | |
| “Had there not been peace between our lands, | |
| Upon the other side thou hadst gaed. | 120 |
| |
| “Now sound out, trumpets!” quo Buccleuch; | |
| “Let’s waken Lord Scroope right merrilie!” | |
| Then loud the Warden’s trumpets blew | |
| “O whae dare meddle wi me?” | |
| |
| Then speedilie to wark we gaed, | 125 |
| And raised the slogan 19 ane and a’, | |
| And cut a hole thro a sheet of lead, | |
| And so we wan to the castel-ha. | |
| |
| They thought King James and a’ his men | |
| Had won the house wi bow and speir: | 130 |
| It was but twenty Scots and ten | |
| That put a thousand in sic a stear! 20 | |
| |
| Wi coutlers and wi forehammers, | |
| We garrd the bars bang merrilie, | |
| Untill we came to the inner prison, | 135 |
| Where Willie o Kinmont he did lie. | |
| |
| And when we cam to the lower prison, | |
| Where Willie o Kinmont he did lie, | |
| “O sleep ye, wake ye, Kinmont Willie, | |
| Upon the morn that thou’s to die?” | 140 |
| |
| “O I sleep saft, and I wake aft, | |
| It’s lang since sleeping was fleyd 21 frae me; | |
| Gie my service back to my wyfe and bairns, | |
| And a’ gude fellows that speer 22 for me.” | |
| |
| Then Red Rowan has hente 23 him up, | 145 |
| The starkest men in Teviotdale: | |
| “Abide, abide now, Red Rowan, | |
| Till of my Lord Scroope I take farewell. | |
| |
| “Farewell, farewell, my gude Lord Scroope! | |
| My gude Lord Scroope, farewell!” he cried; | 150 |
| “I’ll pay you for my lodging-maill 24 | |
| When first we meet on the border-side.” | |
| |
| Then shoulder high, with shout and cry, | |
| We bore him down the ladder lang; | |
| At every stride Red Rowan made, | 155 |
| I wot the Kinmont’s airns playd clang. | |
| |
| “O mony a time,” quo Kinmont Willie, | |
| “I have ridden horse baith wild and wood; | |
| But a rougher beast than Red Rowan | |
| I ween my legs have neer bestrode. | 160 |
| |
| “And mony a time,” quo Kinmont Willie, | |
| “I’ ve pricked a horse out oure the furs; 25 | |
| But since the day I backed a steed | |
| I nevir wore sic cumbrous spurs.” | |
| |
| We scarce had won the Staneshaw-bank, | 165 |
| When a’ the Carlisle bells were rung, | |
| And a thousand men, in horse and foot, | |
| Cam wi the keen Lord Scroope along. | |
| |
| Buccleuch has turned to Eden Water, | |
| Even where it flowd frae bank to brim, | 170 |
| And he has plunged in wi a’ his band, | |
| And safely swam them thro the stream. | |
| |
| He turned him on the other side, | |
| And at Lord Scroope his glove flung he: | |
| “If ye like na my visit in merry England, | 175 |
| In fair Scotland come visit me!” | |
| |
| All sore astonished stood Lord Scroope, | |
| He stood as still as rock of stane; | |
| He scarcely dared to trew his eyes | |
| When thro the water they had gane. | 180 |
| |
| “He is either himsell a devil frae hell, | |
| Or else his mother a witch maun be; | |
| I wad na have ridden that wan water | |
| For a’ the gowd in Christentie.” | |
