"I winnae cum doun, ze fals Gordon,
I winnae cum doun to thee;
I winnae forsake my ain dear lord,
That is sae far frae me."

"Give owre zour house, ze lady fair,
Give owre zour house to me,

Or I sall brenn yoursel therein,
Bot and zour babies three."

"I winnae give owre, ze false Gordòn,
To nae sik traitor as zee;

And if ze brenn my ain dear babes,
My lord sall make ze drie.

45

50

But reach my pistoll, Glaud, my man,*
And charge ze weil my gun ;*

For, but an I pierce that bluidy butcher,
My babes we been undone."

55

She stude upon hir castle wa',
And let twa bullets flee ;*

She mist that bluidy butchers hart,

And only raz'd his knee.

"Set fire to the house!" quo' fals Gordòn,

All wood wi' dule and ire:

"Fals lady, ze sall rue this deid,

As ze bren in the fire."

"Wae worth, wae worth ze, Jock my man,

I paid ze weil zour fee;

Quhy pu' ze out the ground-wa' stane.
Lets in the reek to me?

60

65

And ein wae worth ze, Jock my man,
I paid ze weil zour hire;

70

Quhy pu' ze out the ground-wa stane,
To me lets in the fire?"

These three lines are restored from Foulis's edition, and the

fol. MS. which last reads "the bullets," in ver. 58.

"Ze paid me weil my hire, lady;

Ze paid me weil my fee:

But now I'm Edom o' Gordons man,

Maun either doe or die."

O, than bespaik hir little son,

Sate on the nurses knee :

Sayes, "Mither deare, gi' owre this house,
For the reek it smithers me."

"I wad gie a' my gowd, my childe,
Sae wald I a' my fee,

For ane blast o' the western wind,
To blaw the reek frae thee."

O, then bespaik hir dochter dear,
She was baith jimp and sma:
"O, row me in a pair o' sheits,
And tow me owre the wa."

They rowd hir in a pair o' sheits,

And towd hir owre the wa :
But on the point of Gordons spear,
She gat a deadly fa.

O, bonnie bonnie was hir mouth,
And cherry were hir cheiks,
And clear clear was hir zellow hair,
Whereon the reid bluid dreips.

Then wi' his spear he turnd hir owre,
O, gin hir face was wan!
He sayd, "Ze are the first that eir
I wisht alive again.”

He turnd hir owre and owre againe,
O, gin hir skin was whyte !

"I might ha spared that bonnie face
To hae been sum mans delyte.

V. 98, 102, "O gin," &c. a Scottish idiom to express great admiration.

Busk and boun, my merry men a',
For ill dooms I doe guess;

I cannae luik in that bonnie face,
As it lyes on the grass."

"Thame, luiks to freits, my master deir,

Then freits wil follow thame :

Let it neir be said brave Edom o' Gordon
Was daunted by a dame."

But quhen the ladye see the fire
Cum flaming owre hir head,
She wept and kist her children twain,
Sayd, "Bairns, we been but dead."

The Gordon then his bougill blew,

And said, "Awa', awa'!

105

110

115

This house o' the Rodes is a' in flame,

120

I hauld it time to ga'."

O, then bespyed hir ain dear lord,

As hee cam owr the lee ;

He sied his castle all in a blaze

Sa far as he could see.

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.

125

Put on, put on, my wighty men,

Sa fast as ze can drie ;

130

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.

135

V. 109, 110." Thame," &c. i. e. Them that look after omens of

ill luck, ill luck will follow.

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.

140

+++ Since the foregoing Ballad was first printed, the subject of it has been found recorded in Abp. Spotswood's History of the Church of Scotland, p. 259: who informs us, that

"Anno 1771. In the north parts of Scotland, Adam Gordon (who was deputy for his brother the earl of Huntley) did keep a great stir; and under colour of the queen's authority, committed divers oppressions, especially upon the Forbes's Having killed Arthur Forbes, brother to the lord Forbes. Not long after he sent to summon the house of Tavoy pertaining to Alexander Forbes. The Lady refusing to yield without direction from her husband, he put fire unto it, and burnt her therein, with children and servants, being twenty-seven persons in all.

This inhuman and barbarous cruelty made his name odious, and stained all his former doings; otherwise he was held very active and fortunate in his enterprizes."

This fact, which had escaped the Editor's notice, was in the most obliging manner pointed out to him, by an ingenious writer who signs his name H. H. (Newcastle, May 9.) in the Gentleman's Magazine for May, 1775.

THE END OF THE FIRST BOOK.

Reliques

OF

ANCIENT POETRY, &c.

SERIES THE FIRST.-BOOK II.

BALLADS THAT ILLUSTRATE SHAKESPEARE.

OUR great dramatic poet having occasionally quoted many ancient ballads, and even taken the plot of one, if not more, of his plays from among them, it was judged proper to preserve as many of these as could be recovered, and that they might be the more easily found, to exhibit them in one collective view. This Second Book is therefore set apart for the reception of such ballads as are quoted by Shakespeare, or contribute in any degree to illustrate his writings: this being the principal point in view, the candid reader will pardon the admission of some pieces, that have no other kind of merit.

The design of this Book being of a Dramatic tendency, it may not be improperly introduced with a few observations on the origin of the English Stage, and on the conduct of our first Dramatic Poets: a subject, which though not unsuccessfully handled by several good writers already,* will yet perhaps admit of some further illustration.

Bp. Warburton's Shakesp. vol. v. p. 338.-Pref. to Dodsley's Old Plays.-Riccoboni's Acct. of Theat. of Europe, &c. &c. These were all the Author had seen when he first drew up this Essay.