Then sair, O sair his mind misgave,
And all his hart was wae;
Put on, put on, my wighty men,
So fast as ze can gae.
Put on, put on, my wighty men,
So fast as ze can drie;
For he that is hindmost of the thrang,
Sall neir get guid o' me.
Than sum they rade, and sum they rin,
Fou fast out-owr the bent;
But eir the foremost could get up,
Baith lady and babes were brent.
He wrang his hands, he rent his hair,
And wept in teenefu muid :
O traitors, for this cruel deid
Ze sall weep teirs o' bluid.
And after the Gordon he is gane,
Sa fast as he might drie ;
And soon i' the Gordon's foul hartis bluid,
He's wroken his dear ladie.
OD send the land deliverance
Frae every reaving, riding Scot;
We'll sune hae neither cow nor ewe,
The outlaws come frae Liddesdale,
They herry Redesdale far and near;
The rich man's gelding it maun gang,
They canna pass the puir man's meare.
Sure it were weel, had ilka thief
Around his neck a halter strang;
And curses heavy may they light
On traitors vile oursels amang.
Now Parcy Reed has Crosier ta'en,
He has delivered him to the law;
But Crosier says he'll do waur than that,
He'll make the tower o' Troughend fa'.
And Crosier says he will do waur—
He will do waur if waur can be;
He'll make the bairns a' fatherless;
And then, the land it may lie lee.
To the hunting, ho! cried Parcy Reed,
The morning sun is on the dew;
The cauler breeze frae off the fells
Will lead the dogs to the quarry true.
To the hunting, ho! cried Parcy Reed,
And to the hunting he has gane;
And the three fause Ha's o' Girsonsfield
Alang wi' him he has them ta'en.
They hunted high, they hunted low,
By heathery hill and birken shaw;
They raised a buck on Rooken Edge,
And blew the mort at fair Ealylawe.
They hunted high, they hunted low,
They made the echoes ring amain;
With music sweet o' horn and hound,
They merry made fair Redesdale glen.
They hunted high, they hunted low,
They hunted up, they hunted down,
Until the day was past the prime,
And it grew late in the afternoon.
They hunted high in Batinghope,
When as the sun was sinking low,
Says Parcy then, ca' off the dogs,
They lighted high in Batinghope, Atween the brown and benty ground; They had but rested a little while,
Till Parcy Reed was sleeping sound. There's nane may lean on a rotten staff, But him that risks to get a fa'; There's nane may in a traitor trust, And traitors black were every Ha.'
They've stown the bridle off his steed,
And they've put water in his lang gun;
They've fixed his sword within the sheath,
That out again it winna come.
Awaken ye, waken ye, Parcy Reed,
Or by your enemies be ta❜en;
For yonder are the five Crosiers
A-coming owre the Hingin-stane.
If they be five, and we be four,
Sae that ye stand alang wi' me,
Then every man ye will take one,
And only leave but two to me:
We will them meet as brave men ought,
And make them either fight or flee.
We mayna stand, we canna stand,
We daurna stand alang wi' thee;
The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,
And they wad kill baith thee and we.
O, turn thee, turn thee, Johnie Ha',
O, turn thee, man, and fight wi' me;
When ye come to Troughend again,
My gude black naig I will gie thee;
He cost full twenty pound o' gowd,
Atween my brother John and me.
I mayna turn, I canna turn,
I daurna turn and fight wi' thee;
The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,
And they wad kill baith thee and me.
O, turn thee, turn thee, Willie Ha',
O, turn thee, man, and fight wi' me;
When ye come to Troughend again,
A yoke o' owsen I'll gie thee.
I mayna turn, I canna turn,
I daurna turn and fight wi' thee; The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,
O, turn thee, turn thee, Tommy Ha'-
O, turn now, man, and fight wi' me;
If ever we come to Troughend again,
My daughter Jean I'll gie to thee.
I mayna turn, I canna turn,
I daurna turn and fight wi' thee;
The Crosiers haud thee at a feud,
And they wad kill baith thee and me.
O, shame upon ye, traitors a'!
I wish your hames ye may never see;
Ye've stown the bridle off my naig,
And I can neither fight nor flee.
Ye've stown the bridle off my naig,
And ye've put water i' my lang gun;
Ye've fixed my sword within the sheath,
That out again it winna come.
He had but time to cross himsel'
prayer he hadna time to say,
Till round him came the Crosiers keen,
All riding graithed, and in array.
Weel met, weel met, now Parcy Reed,
Thou art the very man we sought;
Owre lang hae we been in your debt,
Now will we pay ye as we ought.
pay thee at the nearest tree, Where we shall hang thee like a hound. Brave Parcy rais'd his fankit sword,
And fell'd the foremost to the ground.
Alake, and wae for Parcy Reed-
Alake he was an unarmed man :
Four weapons pierced him all at once,
As they assailed him there and than.
They fell upon him all at once,
They mangled him most cruellie;
The slightest wound might caused his deid, And they have gi'en him thirty-three.
They hacket off his hands and feet,
And left him lying on the lee.
Now, Parcy Reed, we've paid our debt,
Ye canna weel dispute the tale.
The Crosiers said, and off they rade-
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