| C. |
212, 222. Motherwell suggests
mother for lady.
After 22, "a stanza, forgotten by the reciter,
which purported that on the night his lady
was murdered, the ring on Lord Arran's
finger broke." |
| F. b. |
11, he got on.
12, 22. who lives.
31. The doors are ... windows are.
32. There is not ... where a mouse can.
42. For he.
51. the windows all pinned.
52. But one: Lankin.
72. she 's in her high chamber.
81. young heir.
91. we'll prick him, we'll.
101. They pricked him, they.
102. false nurse ... drop in.
113. my son Johnson.
122, 142, 162. Come down.
13. wanting.
142. and nurse.
152. And there 's no fire burning, nor lamp.
162. all by.
172. much money.
18. wanting.
19, 20, 21. Nancy.
202. golden basin.
222, 231. Long wanting.
232. close by. |
| G. |
"A friend of the lady who contributed our
copy of this ballad gave a transcript to Miss
Landon, who published it in the Drawing
Room Scrap Book for 1835, in which, with
out any authority, she lays the scene of the
murder in Cumberland."
Variations in the Drawing Boom Scrap Book:
71, 81, 91. Where are.
11, 13 are given in Halliwell's Nursery Rhymes
of England, ed. 1874, p. 212, No 403, with
only this variation: 112, when ye lord. |
| I. |
51. marble stane, indistinct in the Manuscript
71O.... her gang. |
| C. |
After 4. He was in league with the nurse,
who let him in to one of the low rooms.
After 12. Whilst he and the nurse are plundering the
house, the lord comes home, and avenges himself upon these wicked
villains. |
| L. |
21. woman. |
| M. a. |
After 1. And a' the servants were frae hame;
Lamkin made up wi the fauss norice.
2 follows 8. |
| b. |
Begins with a, stanza, very near to N 1:
Lamkin was as gude a mason
As ever laid a stane,
And he has built Lord Wearie a castle,
But payment he got nane.
11, once upon: Wearie went frae.
2 follows 6.
21. Lamkin he rockit and the.
22. Till to the four tors o the cradle the.
31. a wand.
8 is omitted.
92. as eer was paid. |
| N. |
61. first steppd. |
| P. |
Eleven of the nineteen stanzas of Herd's version are
spurious, and many of the others have been tampered with. The
metre is disturbed or changed.
Stanza 4 is omitted in Herd's printed copy.
After 1 follow:
'Sen ye winnae gie me my guerdon, lord,
Sen ye winnae gie me my hyre,
Yon proud castle, sac stately built,
I sail gar reck wi the fyre.
'Sen ye winna gie me my wages, lord,
Ye sail hae caus to rue:'
And syne he brewed a black revenge,
And syne he vowed a vow.
'Now byde at hame, my luve, my lyfe,
I warde ye byde at hame;
Oh gang nae to this day's hunting,
To leave me a' my lane.
'Yestrene, yestrene, I dreamt my bower
Of red, red blude was fu;
Gin ye gang to this black hunting,
I sail hae caus to rue.'
'Wha looks to dreams, my winsome dame?
Ye hae nae caus to feare:'
And syne he,'s kist her comely cheik,
And syne the starting teare.
And syne he 's gane to the good greene wode,
And she to her painted bowir,
And she 's gard steck doors, windows, yates,
Of castle, ha and tower.
After 8 follow these five stanzas, found also in
Herd's Manuscripts, II, 97:
And when she saw the red, red blude,
A loud scrich scriched she:
'O monster, monster, spare the child
Wha never skaithed thee.
'O spare, gif in your bluidy briest
Albergs not heart of stane;
spare, and ye sail hae of gould
What ye can carry hame.'
'Dame, I want not your gowd,' he sayd,
'Dame, I want not your fee;
I hae been wronged by your lord,
Ye sail black vengence drie.
'Here are nae serfs to guard your halls,
Nae trusty spearsmen here;
They sound the horn in good greene wode,
And chase the doe and deer.
'Tho merry sounds the gude greene wode,
Wi huntsmen hounds and horn,
Your lord sail rue eer sets yon sun
He hes done me skaith and scorn.'
For quha, ze, etc., wha, ye are
printed. |
| Q. |
Of the thirty-five stanzas printed by Finlay,
seventeen, or 2, 3, 5-9, 12 (?), 14, 16 (?), 18,
19, 21-25, are derived from Herd's version,
P, all his spurious verses being retained.
There are some variations, due to imperfect
recollection. Of the remaining eighteen, 4,
28, 29, 31, 34 are clearly by a modern pen.
There are some twelve genuine stanzas, 1,
10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 20, 26, 27, 30, 32, 33,
which are independent of Herd. Two more,
Finlay's 12, 16, have been left with these
because they vary considerably from Herd,
and may possibly be traditional. So may
the following be, Finlay's 35 and last; but
I think it is not.
They carried him a' airts o wind,
And mickle pain had he;
At last before Lord "Weire's gate
They hanged him on the tree. |
| R. |
This second version of Finlay's has been written over. His
fourth stanza and his last six owe nothing to tradition. Finlay
himself "restored" the name of Balwearie from a recited copy
"in preference to that of Sr. Guy, or Gray, which the Manuscript
bears, as it makes the ballad appear more decidedly
local."
After 3:
Then up spak fause notirice:
' haste up to the tower,
Somebody knocks at the gate,
bauldly and dowr.'
After 11:
She 's lifted her baby,
and kissed cheek and chin,
And his ance rosy lips,
but nae breath was within.
'Fare weel, my sweet baby,
ye've left me alane;
But I see my death coming,
I needna make mane.'
They've taen this fair lady,
and tied her wi bands,
And in her sweet heart's blood
they've dipped their hands.
For Balcanqual and nourice
had vowd her to slae,
Because their ill deeds
made Balwearie their fae.
Balwearie and his train
cam hame weary at een,
Nae voice gied them welcome,
nae light could be seen.
'Open, dear lady,
my castle to me: '
Nae voice gied an answer,
nae voice was to gie. |
| S. |
"Lambkin ... 27 stanzas." |
| T. |
After 5: "The nurse said this, and the false
Lantin stabbed the baby. He bribed the
nurse to make the lady come down and
please the child. It told how he stabbed
the baby, what kind of knife he had, and
how he put it through the baby." |
| U. b. |
Allingham's copy is principally composed of
14 stanzas of A, 9 of G, 5 of
Q, 1 of B.
So much of the following stanzas as is in
larger type may be regarded as derived,
partially or wholly, from the "copy taken
down from the mouth of an Irish nurse in
the family of a relative of the editor."
| 6 |
What care I for Lamkin,
or any of his gang?
I'll keep my doors weel guarded,
my windows all pennd in.' |
| 7 |
When all the doors were guarded,
and all the windows shut,
There was still one little window,
and that one was forgot. |
| 13 |
'And how are we to bring her down?'
says the Lamkin:
'Pinch the babe in the cradle here,'
says the fause nourice to him. |
| 18 |
The first step the lady stepped,
she stepped on a stane;
The last step the lady stepped,
there she met Lamkin. |
| 19 |
'O Mercy, mercy, Lamkin,
have mercy upon me!
O harm ye not my little son,
I pray you let him be.' |
| 23 |
Lord Weare he sat in England,
a drinking o the wine;
He felt his heart fu heavy
at this very same time. |
| 25 |
He sailed in his bonny ship
upon the saut sea-faem;
He leapd up on his horse
and swiftly he rade hame. |
| 27 |
'O whas blude is this,' he says,
'that lies in the bower?'
'It is your lady's heart's blude,
where Lamkin he slew her.' |
|
