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By Sidgwick, Frank
And watir cleere of the ryuere
Shalbe ful swete to me;
Wyth whiche in hele I shal right wele
Endure, as ye shal see;
And, or we goo, a bed or twoo
I can prouide anoon;
For, in my mynde, of all mankynde
By Sidgwick, Frank
Yet bettyr were the power squyere
Alone to forest yede,
Than ye shal saye another day,
That, be [my] wyked dede,
Ye were betrayed: wherfore, good maide,
The best red that I can,
Is, that I too the grenewode goo,
By Sidgwick, Frank
Remembre you wele, how that ye dele
For, yf ye as the[y] sayd,
Be so unkynde, to leue behynde
Your loue, the notbrowne maide,
Trust me truly, that I [shall] dey
Sone after ye be gone;
For, in my mynde, of all mankynde
By Sidgwick, Frank
26.
Though in the wood I undirstode
Ye had a paramour,
All this may nought reineue my thought,
But that I wil be your;
And she shal fynde me soft and kynde,
And curteis euery our;
Glad to fulfylle all that she wylle
By Sidgwick, Frank
28.
This tidingis be more glad to me,
Than to be made a quene,
Yf I were sure they shuld endure;
But it is often seen,
When men wyl breke promyse, they speke
The wordis on the splene;
Ye shape some wyle me to begyle
By Sidgwick, Frank
30.
Here may ye see, that wymen be
In loue, meke, kinde, and stable;
Late neuer man repreue them than,
Or calle them variable;
But rather prey God that we may
To them be comfortable;
Whiche somtyme prouyth suche as loueth,
By Sidgwick, Frank
1.1: 'among,' from time to time.
1.5: 'neuer a dele,' not at all.
3.4: 'they' = the. 'in fere,' in company. 'and fere' (= fear) is
usually printed.
5.1: 'do,' done.
5.5: 'ton,' one.
5.10: _i.e._ I know no other advice.
6.4: 'derked,' darkened.
6.7: 'wheder,' whither.
7.2: 'distrayne,' affect.
7.5: 'aslake,' abate.
10.9: 'thoo,' those.
11.3: 'renne,' run.
11.6: A later edition of the _Chronicle_ reads--
'A bowe, redy to drawe.'
13.6: 'rescous,' rescue. Another edition has 'socurs.'
15.7: 'abowe,'...
By Sidgwick, Frank
13.
'O open, open, mother,' he says,
'O open, and let me in;
The rain rains on my yellow hair,
And the dew drops o'er my chin,
And I hae my young son in my arms,
I fear that his days are dune.'
By Sidgwick, Frank
1.3: 'leeler,' more loyal.
2.2: 'study,' stithy, anvil.
4.3: 'biggit,' built.
5.2: 'thought lang,' thought (it) tedious; _i.e._ was bored. Cp.
_Young Bekie_, 16.4, etc.; _Johney Scot_, 6.2, and elsewhere.
9.2: 'forbye,' apart.
10.1: 'he' is of course the false knight.
11.1: 'loo,' love.
12.2: 'string': _i.e._ the top; purses were bags with a running string
to draw the top together.
15.2: 'lang': the MS. reads long.
16.1: etc., 'gard,' made.]
By Sidgwick, Frank
2.
'What aileth thee, my daughter Janet,
Ye look so pale and wan?
Have ye had any sore sickness,
Or have ye been lying wi' a man?
Or is it for me, your father dear,
And biding sae lang in Spain?'
By Sidgwick, Frank
34.2: 'swire,' neck: the Folio reads _smire_.
37.4: 'slaine': the Folio gives _shaine_.
41.2: 'was' (Child's suggestion): the Folio reads _with_.
43.1: 'feires,' = feres, mates: the Folio reads _seires_.
44.2: Folio: _but a skill_: see note on 28.3.
48.1: 'carlish,' churlish.]
By Sidgwick, Frank
1.2: 'birling,' drinking: cf. 7.1.
3.1: 'bigly,' commodious: see _The Gay Goshawk_, 19.1.
3.3: 'shot-window,' here perhaps a shutter with a pane of glass let
in.
7.1: 'birl'd,' plied: cf. 1.2.
7.4: Cf. _Fause Footrage_ 16.4: a popular simile.
7.5: 'stown,' stolen: 'yates,' gates.
10.4: 'gare,' gore; _i.e._ by her knee: a stock ballad phrase.
11.4: 'gantrees,' stands for casks.
12.3: 'sic,' such: the MS. gives _sick_: 'steer,' disturbance.
13.4: 'marys,' maids.
15.4: 'gains for,' suits, is meet (...
By Sidgwick, Frank
1.1: 'silly,' simple.
1.4: 'lair,' lying-in.
2.4: 'gate,' way.
5.3: 'her mother' is, of course, her mother-in-law.
9.2: 'shun' = shoon, shoes.
13: This stanza is not in the original, but is supplied from the boy's
repetition, st. 19.
13.4: 'lake-wake' = lyke-wake: watching by a corpse.
22: This, in ballads, is a customary method of giving expression to
strong emotion.
29.1: 'scope,' a gag.
30.4: 'wite,' blame: _i.e._ her mother was the cause of all her
trouble.]
By Sidgwick, Frank
The Douglas Tragedy
'Light down, light down, Lady Margret,' he said,
_close quote after "Lady Margret," not visible_
'dighted,' dressed.
_reference "8.3" missing in text_
Lord Lovel
Of the former the commonest is _Der Ritter und die Maid_
_spelling unchanged_
Fair Annie of Rough Royal
'Lochryan,' says Scott, 'lies in Galloway;
_text has extra close quote after "Galloway"_
Lord Randal
'Where gat ye your dinner, Lord Randal, my son?
Where gat ye your dinner, my handsome young man?'
_text has empty...
By Edwards, George Wharton
"In thee," quoth he, "doth rest my life;
For surely thou shalt be my wife,
Or else this hand with bloody knife,
The Gods shall sure suffice."
Then from his bed he soon arose,
And to his pallace gate he goes;
Full little then this begger knowes
By Edwards, George Wharton
"The gods preserve your majesty,"
The beggers all gan cry;
"Vouchsafe to give your charity,
Our childrens food to buy."
The king to them his purse did cast,
And they to part it made great haste;
This silly woman was the last
By Edwards, George Wharton
Her father, old King Leir, this while
With his two daughters staid;
Forgetful of their promis'd loves,
Full soon the same decay'd;
And living in Queen Ragan's court,
The eldest of the twain,
She took from him his chiefest means,
By Edwards, George Wharton
For whereas twenty men were wont
To wait with bended knee,
She gave allowance but to ten,
And after scarce to three,
Nay, one she thought too much for him;
So took she all away,
In hope that in her court, good king,
By Edwards, George Wharton
And by a train of noble peers,
In brave and gallant sort,
She gave in charge he should be brought
To Aganippus' court;
Whose royal king, with noble mind,
So freely gave consent
To muster up his knights at arms,
By Edwards, George Wharton
But when he heard Cordelia's death,
Who died indeed for love
Of her dear father, in whose cause
She did this battle move,
He swooning fell upon her breast,
From whence he never parted;
But on her bosom left his life