O Christ! it was a grief to see, The cries of men lying in their gore, At last these two stout earls did meet, They fought until they both did sweat ; Until the blood like drops of rain, "Yield thee, Lord Percy," Douglas said; "Thy ransom I will freely give, Thou art the most courageous knight "No, Douglas," quoth Earl Percy then, I will not yield to any Scot That ever yet was born." With that there came an arrow keen Out of an English bow, Which struck Earl Douglas to the heart, A deap and deadly blow: Who never spoke more words than these 66 Fight on, my merry men all; For why, my life is at an end, Lord Percy sees my fall." Then leaving strife, Earl Percy took "O Christ! my very heart doth bleed With sorrow for thy sake: For sure a more renowned knight A knight amongst the Scots there was, Sir Hugh Montgomery was he call'd, And pass'd the English archers all, And through Earl Percy's body then With such a veh'ment force and might The spear ran through the other side So thus did both these nobles die, He had a bow bent in his hand, Against Sir Hugh Montgomery The gray-goose wing that was thereon This fight did last from break of day Till setting of the sun; For when they rung the evening-bell, The battle scarce was done. With the Earl Percy there was slain Sir Robert Ratcliff, and Sir John, And with Sir George and good Sir James, For Witherington needs must I wail, For when his legs were smitten off, And with Earl Douglas there was slain Sir Charles Carrel, that from the field Sir Charles Murray of Ratcliff, too, Sir David Lamb, so well-esteem'd, And the Lord Maxwell in like wise Of fifteen hundred Englishmen Next day did many widows come, They wash'd their wounds in brinish tears, Their bodies, bathed in purple blood, They bore with them away: They kiss'd them dead a thousand times, When they were clad in clay. This news was brought to Edinburgh, "Oh heavy news!" King James did say ; "Scotland can witness be, I have not any captain more Like tidings to King Henry came, Within as short a space, That Percy of Northumberland Was slain in Chevy Chase. "Now God be with him," said our king, "Sith 'twill no better be; I trust I have within my realm "Yet shall not Scot nor Scotland say, But I will vengeance take, And be revengèd on them all, For brave Earl Percy's sake." This vow full well the king perform'd, In one day, fifty knights were slain, And of the rest, of small account, Did many thousands die : Thus endeth the hunting of Chevy Chase, Made by the Earl Percy. God save the king, and bless the land And grant henceforth that foul debate THE DOWIE1 DENS OF YARROW. THIS ballad, the preservation of which is due to Sir Walter Scott, is understood to be founded on fact. It relates to a duel fought between John Scott of Tushielaw, and his brother-in-law, Walter Scott, third son of Robert of Thirlstane, in which the latter was slain. Tradition affirms, however, that he was not killed in fair fight, but that he was stabbed in the back by an accomplice of Tushielaw's, named Annan. Thirlstane was the brother of either the wife, or the betrothed bride of his opponent, and the alleged cause of feud was the lady's father having proposed to endow her with half of his property upon her marriage with a warrior of such renown. LATE at e'en, drinking the wine, “Oh stay at hame, my noble lord, On the dowie houms of Yarrow." "Oh fare ye weel, my ladye gaye! She kiss'd his cheek, she kaim'd his hair, As he gaed up the Tennies bank,5 Till, down in a den, he spied nine arm'd men, "Oh come ye here to part your land, Or come ye here to wield your brand, 1 Dismal, or dull. ? Reckoning. 3 Dawn. 4 Mate (husband.) The Tennies is the name of a farm of the Duke of Buccleuch's, a little below Yarrow Kirk. |