Ed de Moel

Child Ballads - Additions and Corrections

173. Mary Hamilton

Pp. 379-97. I a was first printed in the second edition of the Minstrelsy, 1803, II, 163. (Read in 12, on her; in 32, hand.) The copy principally used was one furnished by Sharpe, which was not A a, and has not so far been recovered. Besides this, "copies from various quarters" were resorted to. (Half a dozen stanzas are found in G, but G itself is very likely a compilation). Eight copies from Abbotsford are now printed for the first time. Two of these may have been in Scott's hands in time to be used, two were certainly not, and for the others we have no date.

There is only one novel feature in all these copies: in U 13 Mary's paramour is a pottinger. The remark that there is no trace of an admixture of the Russian story with that of the apothecary, page 383, must therefore be withdrawn.[foot-note] Mary in this version, as in E, F, Q, T, U, V, Y, is daughter of the Duke of York.

X, like E, F, has borrowed from No 95: see 13-15.

S

Finlay sent Scott, March 27, 1803, the following copy of 'The Queen's Marie,' as he "had written it down from memory:" Letters addressed to Sir Walter Scott, I, No 87, Abbotsford. Stanzas 10, 9, 12 appear in the second volume of the Minstrelsy, 1802, p. 154, with the variation of a couple of words, as 'The Lament of the Queen's Marie' (here I b). Perhaps Finlay adopted these three stanzas into his copy. Stanzas 1, 3, 6, 8, with very slight variations, were printed by Finlay in the preface to his Scottish Ballads, 1808 (O).

1   There lived a lord into the South,
An he had daughters three;
The youngest o them's gaen to the king's court,
To learn some courtesie.
2   She had na been in the king's court
A twelvemonth an a day,
When word is thro the kitchen gaen,
An likewise thro the ha,
That Mary Moil was gane wi child
To the highest steward of a'.
3   She rowd it into a basket
An flang 't into the sea,
Saying, Sink ye soon, my bonny babe,
Ye'se neer get mair o me.
4   She rowd it into a basket
An flang 't into the faem,
Saying, Sink ye soon, my bonny babe,
I'se gang a maiden hame.
5   O whan the news cam to the king
An angry man was he;
He has taen the table wi his foot,
An in flinders gart it flie.
6   'O woe be to you, ye ill woman,
An ill death may ye die!
Gin ye had spared the sweet baby's life,
It might have been an honour to thee.
7   'O busk ye, busk ye, Mary Moil,
O busk, an gang wi me,
For agen the morn at ten o clock
A rare sight ye sail see.'
8   She wadna put on her gown o black,
Nor yet wad she o brown,
But she wad put on her gown o gowd,
To glance thro Embro town.
9   O whan she cam to the Netherbow Port
She gied loud laughters three,
But whan she cam to the gallows-foot
The tear blinded her ee.
10   Saying, O ye mariners, mariners,
That sail upon the sea,
Let not my father nor mother to wit
The death that I maun die.
11   'For little did father or mother wit,
The day they cradled me,
What foreign lands I should travel in,
Or what death I should die.
12   'Yestreen the Queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Mary Seton, an Mary Beaton,
An Mary Carmichael, an me.'
   33, 43. We should read Sink ye, soom ye, as in A 33, U 143, X 43, and other copies.

T

Communicated to Sir Walter Scott by Mrs. Christiana Greenwood, London, 21st February and 27th May, 1806, from the recitation of her mother and her aunt, who learned the ballad above fifty years before from Kirstan Scot, then an old woman, at Longnewton, near Jedburgh: Letters at Abbotsford, I, Nos 173, 189.

1   There was a duke, and he dwelt in York,
And he had daughters three;
One of them was an hostler-wife,
And two were gay ladies.
2   O word's gane to Queen Mary's court,
As fast as it coud gee,
That Mary Hamilton's born a bairn,
And the baby they coud na see.
3   Then came the queen and a' her maids,
Swift tripping down the stair:
'Where is the baby, Mary,
That we heard weep sae sair?'
4   'O say not so, Queen Mary,
Nor bear ill tales o me,
For this is but a sore sickness
That oft times troubles me.'
5   They sought it up, they sought it down,
They sought it below the bed,
And there the[y] saw the bonny wee babe,
Lying wallowing in its bluid.
6   'Now busk ye, busk ye, Mary Hamilton,
Busk ye and gang wi me,
For I maun away to Edinbro town,
A rich wedding to see.'
7   Mary wad na put on the black velvet,
Nor yet wad put on the brown,
But she's put on the red velvet,
To shine thro Edinbro town.
8   When she came unto the town,
And near the Tolbooth stair,
There stood many a lady gay,
Weeping for Mary fair.
9   'O baud yeer tongue[s], ye ladys a',
And weep na mair for me!
O baud yeer tongues, ye ladys a',
For it's for my fault I dee.
10   'The king he took me on his knee
And he gae three drinks to me,
And a' to put the babie back,
But it wad na gang back for me.
11   'O ye mariners, ye mariners a',
That sail out-owr the sea,
Let neither my father nor mother get wit
What has become o me!
12   'Let neither my father nor mother ken,
Nor my bauld brethren three,
For muckle wad be the gude red bluid
That wad be shed for me.
13   'Aft hae I laced Queen Mary's back,
Aft hae I kaimed her hair,
And a' the reward she's gein to me's
The gallows to be my heir.
14   'Yestreen the queen had four Marys,
The night she'l hae but three;
There was Mary Seatoun, and Mary Beatoun.
An Mary Carmichal, an me.'

U

'Lament of the Queen's Marie,' "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 92, Abbotsford. Communicated to Scott, 7th January, 1804, by Rev. George Paxton, Kilmaurs, near Kilmarnock, Ayrshire (afterwards professor of divinity at Edinburgh); from the mouth of Jean Milne, his "aged mother, formerly an unwearied singer of Scotish songs."

1   'My father was the Duke of York,
My mother a gay ladye,
And I myself a daintie dame;
The queen she sent for me.
2   'But the queen's meat it was sae sweet,
And her clothing was sae rare,
It made me long for a young man's bed,
And I rued it evermair.'
3   But word is up, and word is down,
Amang the ladyes a',
That Marie's born a babe sin yestreen,
That babe it is awa.
4   But the queen she gat wit of this,
She calld for a berry-brown gown,
And she's awa to Marie's bower,
The bower that Marie lay in.
5   'Open your door, my Marie,' she says,
'My bonny and fair Marie;
They say you have born a babe sin yestreen,
That babe I fain wad see.'
6   'It is not sae wi me, madam,
It is not sae wi me;
It is but a fit of my sair sickness,
That oft tunes troubles me.'
7   'Get up, get up, my Marie,' she says,
'My bonny and fair Marie,
And we'll away to Edinburgh town,
And try the verity.'
8   Slowly, slowly, gat she up,
And slowly pat she on,
And slowly went she to that milk-steed,
To ride to Edinburgh town.
9   But when they cam to Edinburgh,
And in by the Towbooth stair,
There was mony a virtuous ladye
Letting the tears fa there.
10   'Why weep ye sae for me, madams?
Why weep ye sae for me?
For sin ye brought me to this town
This death ye gar me die.'
11   When she cam to the Netherbow Port,
She gae loud laughters three;
But when she cam to the gallows-foot
The tear blinded her ee.
12   'Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Marie Seton, and Marie Beatoun,
And Marie Carmichael, and me.
13   'My love he was a pottinger,
Mony drink he gae me,
And a' to put back that bonnie babe,
But alas! it wad na do.
14   'I pat that bonny babe in a box,
And set it on the sea;
O sink ye, swim ye, bonny babe!
Ye's neer get mair o me.
15   'O all ye jolly sailors,
That sail upon the sea,
Let neither my father nor mother ken
The death that I maun die.
16   'But if my father and mother kend
The death that I maun die,
O mony wad be the good red guineas
That wad be gien for me.'

V

"Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 9, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of William Laidlaw.

1   'My father was the Duke of York,
My mother the gay ladie,
An I myself a maiden bright,
An the queen desired me.'
2   But there word gane to the kitchen,
There's word gane to the ha,
That Mary mild she gangs wi child
To the uppermost Stewart of a'.
3   Than they sought but, and they sou[ght] ben,
They sought aneath the bed,
An there the fand the bonnie lad-bairn,
Lyin lappin in his blood.
4   'Gae buss ye, Marie Hamilton,
Gae buss ye, buss ye bra,
For ye maun away to Edin[brough] town,
The queen's birthday ... '
5   She wadna put on her black, bla[ck] silk,
Nor wad she put on the brown,
But she pat on the glisterin stufs,
To glister in Edinbrough town.
6   An whan she cam to the water-gate
Loud laughters gae she three,
But whan she cam to the Netherbow Port
The tear blinded Marie's ee.
7   'T was up than spak Queen Marie's nurse,
An a sorry woman was she:
' Whae sae clever o fit and ready o wit
Has telld sic news o thee!'
8   'Oft have I Queen Marie's head
Oft have I caimd her hair,
An a' the thanks I've gotten for that
Is the gallows to be my heir!
9   'Oft have I dressd Queen Marie's head,
An laid her in her bed,
An a' the thanks I've gotten for that
Is the green gallows-tree to tread!
10   'O spare, O spare, O judge,' she cried,
'O spair a day for me!'
'There is nae law in our land, ladie,
To let a murderer be.'
11   'Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Marie Seaton, and Ma[rie] Bea[ton],
An Marie Carmichael, an me.
12   'O if my father now but kend
The death that I'm to die,
O muckle, muckle wad be the red gowd
That he wad gie for me.
13   'An if my brothers kend the death
That I am now to die,
O muckle, muckle wad be the red blood
That wad be shed for me.'
   23,4. Or:
  That Mary Hamilton's born a bairn
An murderd it at the wa.
31, 113. Edge bound in.
81. caimd written, but struck out.
83. & I the.

W

"Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 85, Abbotsford.

1   There lived a man in the North Countree
And he had doghters three;
The youngest o them's to Edinbourgh gaen,
Ane o the queen's Marys to be.
2   Queen Mary's bread it was sae white,
And her wine it ran sae clear,
It shewed her the way to the butler's bed.
And I wait she's bought dear.
3   For Mary's to the garden gaen,
To eat o the saven tree,
And a''s to pit her young son back.
But back he wad na be.
4   So Mary 'a to her chamber gaen,
. . .
. . .
. . .
5   Queen Mary she came down the stair,
And a' her maids afore her:
'Oh, Mary Miles, where is the child
That I have heard greet sae sore O?'
6   'There is no child with me, madam,
There is no child with me;
It was only a bit of a cholick I took,
And I thought I was gawen to dee.'
7   So they looked up, and they looked down,
And they looked beneath the bed-foot,
And there they saw a bonnie boy,
Lying weltering in his blood.
8   . . .
. . .
'Since that you have killed your own dear child,
The same death you shall dee.'
9   When Mary came afore the court,
A loud laugh laughed she;
But when she came to the [gallows-]fit
The tear blinded her ee.
  * * *
10   'O wha will comb Queen Mary's heed?
Or wha will brade her hair?
And wha will lace her middle sae jimp
Whan [I] am nae langer there?
11   'Yestreen the queen [had] four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Mary Seaten, and Mary Beaten,
And Mary Carmichal, and me.
  * * *
12   'I'll not put on my robes of black,
Nor yet my robes of brown,
But I'll put on a shining braw garb,
That will shine thro Edinbourgh town.'
  * * *
13   Oh, whan she came to the Cannongate,
The Cannongate sae hee,
There mony a lord and belted knight
Was grieved for her beautee.
  * * *
14   And when she came to [the] Hee Town
The Hee Town sae hee,
. . .
. . .
  * * *
   101. Oh.
111,2. Added in a different hand.
123. shinning.

X

'The Queen's Maries,' "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 91, Abbotsford.

1   There livd a lord in the West Country,
And he had daughters three;
The youngest o them's to the queen's court,
To learn some courtesy.
2   She hadna been at the queen's court
A year but and a day
Till she has fa'n as big wi child,
As big as she coud gae.
3   She's gane into the garden
To pu the sycamore tree,
And taen the bony bairn in her arms
And thrown it in the sea.
4   She rowd it in her apron
And threw it in the sea:
'Gae sink or soom, my bony sweet babe,
Ye'll never get mair o me.'
5   Then in an came Queen Mary,
Wi gowd rings on her hair:
'O Mary mild, where is the child
That I heard greet sae sair?'
6   'It wasna a babe, my royal liege,
Last night that troubled me,
But it was a fit o sair sickness,
And I was lyken to dee.'
7   'O hold yere tongue, Mary Hamilton,
Sae loud as I hear ye lee!
For I'll send you to Enbro town,
The verity to see.'
8   She wadna put on the ribbons o black,
Nor yet wad she the brown,
But she wad put on the ribbons o gowd,
To gae glittring through Enbro town.
9   As she rade up the Sands o Leith,
Riding on a white horse,
O little did she think that day
To die at Enbro Corss!
10   As she rade up the Cannongate,
She leugh loud laughters three,
And mony a lord and lady said,
Alas for that lady!'
11   'Ye needna say Oh, ye needna cry Eh,
Alas for that lady!
Ye'll neer see grace in a graceless face,
As little ye'll see in me.'
12   When she came to the Netherbow Port,
She leugh loud laughters three,
But ere she came to the gallows-foot
The tear blinded her eie;
Saying, Tye a white napkin owr my face,
For that gibbet I downa see.
13   'O hold yere hand, Lord Justice!
O hold it a little while!
1 think I see my ain true-love
Come wandring mony a mile.
14   'O have ye brought me ony o my gowd?
Or ony o my weel-won fee?
Or are ye come to see me hangd,
Upon this gallows-tree?'
15   'I hae brought ye nane o yere gowd,'
Nor nane o yere weel-won fee,
But I am come to see ye hangd,
And hangit ye shall be.'
16   'O all ye men and mariners,
That sail for wealth or fame,
Let never my father or mother get wit
But what I'm coming hame.
17   'O all ye men and mariners,
That sail upon the sea,
Let never my father or mother get wit
The death that I maun dee.
18   'Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Mary Seaton, and Mary Beaton,
And Mary Carmichael, and me.'

Y

'The Queen's Marys,' "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 144, Abbotsford.

1   'Yestreen the queen had four Marys,
The night she'll hae but three;
She had Mary Beaton, and Mary Seaton,
And Mary Carmichael, and me.
2   'My feather was the Duke of York,
My mother a gay lady,
And I mysell a bonnie young may,
And the king fell in love we me.
3   'The king's kisses they were so sweet,
And his wine it was so strong,
That I became a mother
Before fifteen years old.'
4   'O tell the truth now, Mary,
And sett this matter right;
What hae ye made o the babey
Was greeting yesternight?'
5   'O I will tell you, madam the queen,
I winna tell a lie;
I put it in a bottomless boat
And bad it sail the sea.'
6   'Ye lie, ye lie now, Mary,
Sae loud's I hear you lie!
You wasnae out o the palace,
So that coud never be.'
7   'Weel I will tell you, madam,
Though it should gar me weep;
I stabbd it we my little pen-knife,
And bad it take a sleep.'
8   When she came up the Netherbow,
She geed loud laughters three;
But when she came out o the Parliament Close
The tear blinded her ee.
9   'O little does my feather ken
The death I am to die,
Or muckel wad be the red, red gould
Wad be payed doun for me.
10   'O little does my mother think
The death that I am to die,
Or monie wad be the saut, saut tears
That she wad shed for me.
11   'O never lett my brothers ken
The death that I am to die,
For muckel wad be the red, red blood
That wad be shed for me.
12   'Aft hae I washd the king's bonnie face,
Kaimd doun his yellow hair,
And this is a' the reward he's geen me,
The gallows to be my share.'

Z

'The Queen's Marie,' "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 90 a, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of John Leyden.

1   'Buss ye, bonny Marie Hamilton,
Buss and gae wi me,
For ye maun gae to Edinborough,
A great wedding to see.'
2   'Ride hooly, hooly, gentlemen,
Ride hooly now wi me,
For never, I'm sure, a wearier bride
Rode in your cumpany.'
3   Little wist Marie Hamilton,
When she rode on the brown,
That she was gawn to Edinborough,
And a' to be put down.
4   When she came to the Council stairs,
She ga loud laughters three;
But or that she came down again
She was condemmd to dee.
5   'O ye mariners, mariners, mariners,
When ye sail oer the faem,
Let never my father nor mother to wit
But I'm just coining hame.
6   'Let never my father nor mother to wit,
Nor my bauld brether[en] three,
Or meckle wad be the red, red gowd
This day be gien for me.
7   'Let never my father or mother to wit,
Nor my bauld brethren three,
Or meckle war the red, red blude
This day wad fa for me.'

AA

"Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 142, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of James Hogg.

  'Oft hae I kaimd Queen Mary's head,
An oft hae I curld her hair,
An now I hae gotten for my reward
A gallows to be heir.'

To be Corrected in the Print.

379 a, 173, A a, first line. Read Sharpe's.

383 a, line 32. Read pavlovsk.

384 a, 51. Read was never.

397, P 11. Read father is.

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