But, father, I will wend with you, Unarm'd and naked will I bee; And he that strikes against the crowne, Then rose that reverend gentleman, And with him came a goodlye band To join with the brave Erle Percy, And all the flower o' Northumberland. With them the noble Nevill came, 90 95 The erle of Westmorland was hee: At Wetherbye they mustred their host, Thirteen thousand faire to see. Lord Westmorland his ancyent raisde, Were there sett out most royallye*. 100 4 Ver. 102, Dun Bull, &c.] The supporters of the Nevilles, Earls of Westmoreland, were two bulls argent, ducally collar'd gold, armed or, &c. But I have not discovered the device mentioned in the ballad among the badges, &c., given by that house. This however is certain, that among those of the Nevilles Lords Abergavenny (who were of the same family) is a dun cow with a golden collar: and the Nevilles of Chyte in Yorkshire (of the Westmoreland branch) gave for their crest in 1513, a dog's (greyhound's) head, erased. So that it is not improbable but Charles Neville, the unhappy Earl of Westmoreland here mentioned, might on this occasion give the above device on his banner. After all, our old minstrel's verses here may have undergone some corruption; for, in another ballad in the same folio MS. and apparently written by the same hand, containing the Sequel of this Lord West 105 Erle Percy there his ancyent spred, The Half-Moone shining all soe faire3: The Nortons ancyent had the crosse, And the five wounds our Lord did beare. Then Sir George Bowes he straitwaye rose, That baron he to his castle fled, To Barnard castle then fled hee. 110 moreland's history, his banner is thus described, more conformable to his known bearings: "Sette me up my faire Dun Bull, Wi' th' Gilden Hornes, hee beares soe hye." 5 Ver. 106, The Half-Moone, &c.] The silver crescent is a wellknown crest or badge of the Northumberland family. It was probably brought home from some of the Crusades against the Sarazens. In an ancient Pedigree in verse, finely illuminated on a roll of vellum, and written in the reign of Henry VII., (in possession of the family,) we have this fabulous account given of its original. The author begins with accounting for the name of Gernon or Algernon, often borne by the Percies: who, he says, were Gernons fyrst named of Brutys bloude of Troy : An hevynly mystery was schewyd him, old bookys reherse; Which to all the ooste yave a perfytte syght, To vaynquys his enmys, and to deth them persue; And therefore the Persès (Percies) the Cressant doth renew. In the dark ages, no family was deemed considerable that did not derive its descent from the Trojan Brutus; or that was not distinguished by prodigies and miracles. The uttermost walles were eathe to win, The uttermost walles were lime and bricke; For they were cut in rocke of stone. Then newes unto leeve London came In all the speede that ever might bee, And word is brought to our royall queene Of the rysing in the North countrìe. Her grace she turned her round about, And like a royall queene shee swore, I will ordayne them such a breakfast, 115 120 125 Shee caus'd thirty thousand men be rays'd 130 Wi' them the false Erle Warwick went, Th' erle Sussex and the lord Hunsdèn ; Untill they to Yorke castle came I wiss, they never stint ne blan. 135 6 This is quite in character: her majesty would sometimes swear at her nobles, as well as box their ears. Now spred thy ancyent, Westmorland, But the dun bulle is fled and gone, And the halfe moone vanished away : Thee, Norton, wi' thine eight good sonnes, Wi' them full many a gallant wight And many a childe made fatherlesse, 140 145 150 IV. Northumberland betrayed by Douglas. THIS ballad may be considered as the sequel of the preceding. After the unfortunate Earl of Northumberland had seen himself forsaken of his followers, he endeavoured to withdraw into Scotland, but falling into the hands of the thievish borderers, was stript and otherwise ill-treated by them. At length he reached the house of Hector of Harlow, an Armstrong, with whom he hoped to lie concealed; for Hector had engaged his honour to be true to him, and was under great obligations to this unhappy nobleman. But this faithless wretch betrayed his guest for a sum of money to Murray, the regent of Scotland, who sent him to the castle of Lough-leven, then belonging to William Douglas. All the writers of that time assure us that Hector, who was rich before, fell shortly afterwards into poverty, and became so infamous, that to take Hector's cloak, grew into a proverb, to express a man who betrays his friend. See Camden, Carleton, Holingshed, &c. Lord Northumberland continued in the castle of Loughleven, till the year 1572; when James Douglas, Earl of Morton, being elected regent, he was given up to the Lord Hunsden at Berwick, and being carried to York, suffered death. As Morton's party depended on Elizabeth for protection, an elegant historian thinks "it was scarce possible for them to refuse putting into her hands a person who had taken up arms against her. But as a sum of money was paid on that account, and shared between Morton and his kinsman Douglas, the former of whom during his exile in England had been much indebted to Northumberland's friendship, the abandoning this unhappy nobleman to inevitable destruction, was deemed an ungrateful and mercenary act."-Robertson's Hist. event. So far history coincides with this ballad, which was apparently written by some northern bard, soon after the The interposal of the witch-lady (v. 53.) is probably his own invention: yet even this hath some countenance from history; for about 25 years before, the Lady Jane Douglas, Lady Glamis, sister of the Earl of Angus, and nearly related to Douglas of Lough-leven, had suffered |