Until he came to John Steward's hall,

Iwis he never blan.

And of nurture the child had good;
He ran up hall and bower ffree,
And when he came to this lady ffaire,
Sayes, "God you save and see.

"I am come ffrom Childe Maurice,

A message unto thee,

And Childe Maurice he greetes you well,

And ever soe well ffrom me.

"And as it ffalls out, oftentimes

As knotts been knitt on a kell,

3.

40

Or merchant men gone to leeve London
Either to buy or sell;

45

"And as oftentimes he greetes you well,

As any hart can thinke,

Or schoolemaster in any schoole,
Wryting with pen and inke.

“And heere he sends a mantle of greene,

As greene as any grasse,

And he bidds you come to the silver wood,
To hunt with child Maurice.

"And heere he sends you a ring of gold,

A ring of precyous stone;

He prayes you to come to the silver wood,

Let for no kind of man.”

60

55

"Now peace, now peace, thou litle fotpage, Ffor Christes sake I pray thee ;

60

Ffor if my lord heare one of those words,
Thou must be hanged hye."

John Steward stood under the castle wall,
And he wrote the words every one;

And he called unto his horssekeeper, “Make ready you my steede;" And soe he did to his chamberlaine, "Make readye then my weed.”

And he cast a lease upon his backe,

And he rode to the silver wood,

65

70

And there he sought all about,

About the silver wood.

And there he found him Childe Maurice,

Sitting upon a blocke,

With a silver combe in his hand,

Kembing his yellow locke.

He sayes,

“how now, how now, Childe Maurice, Alacke how may this bee?"

But then stood by him Childe Maurice,
And sayd these words trulye :

"I do not know your ladye," he said,

"If that I doe her see."

"Ffor thou hast sent her love tokens,

More now than two or three.

75

80

“For thou hast sent her a mantle of greene,

85

As greene as any grasse,

And bade her come to the silver wood,
To hunt with Childe Maurice.

"And by my faith now, Childe Maurice,

The tane of us shall dye;"

"Now by my troth," sayd Childe Maurice, "And that shall not be I.”

But he pulled out a bright browne sword,
And dryed it on the grasse,

And soe fast he smote at John Steward,
Iwis he never rest.

Then hee pulled forth his bright browne sword, And dryed itt on his sleeve,

And the first good stroke John Steward stroke, Child Maurice head he did cleeve.

And he pricked it on his swords poynt,

Went singing there beside,

And he rode till he came to the ladye ffaire,
Whereas his ladye lyed.

90

95

100

And sayes, "dost thou know Child Maurice head,

Iff that thou dost it see?

And llap it soft, and kisse itt offt,

Ffor thou lovedst him better than mee."

But when shee looked on Child Maurice head,

Shee never spake words but three :

"I never beare noe child but one, And you have slain him trulye.”

Sayes, "wicked be my merry men all,
I gave meate, drinke, and clothe;

106

110

But cold they not have holden me,

When I was in all that wrath!

115

"Ffor I have slaine one of the courteousest

knights

That ever bestrode a steede ;

Soe have I done one of the fairest ladyes

That ever ware womans weede."

120

CLERK SAUNDERS. See p. 45.

From Jamieson's Popular Ballads and Songs, i. 83.

"The following copy was transmitted by Mrs. Arrott of Aberbrothick. The stanzas, where the seven brothers are introduced, have been enlarged from two fragments, which, although very defective in themselves, furnished lines which, when incorporated with the text, seemed to improve it. Stanzas 21 and 22, were written by the editor; the idea of the rose being suggested by the gentleman who recited, but who could not recollect the language in which it was expressed."

This copy of Clerk Saunders bears traces of having been made up from several sources. A portion of the

concluding stanzas (v. 107-130) have a strong resemblance to the beginning and end of Proud Lady Margaret (vol. viii. 83, 278), which ballad is itself in a corrupt condition. It may also be doubted whether the fragments Jamieson speaks of did not belong to a ballad resembling Lady Maisry, p. 78 of this vol

ume.

Accepting the ballad as it stands here, there is certainly likeness enough in the first part to suggest a community of origin with the Swedish ballad Den Grymma Brodern, Svenska Folk-Visor, No. 86 (translated in Lit. and Rom. of Northern Europe, p. 261). W. Grimm mentions (Altdän. Heldenl., p. 519) a Spanish ballad, De la Blanca Niña, in the Romancero de Amberes, in which the similarity to Den Grymma Brodern is very striking. The series of questions (v. 30-62) sometimes appears apart from the story, and with a comic turn, as in Det Hurtige Svar, Danske V., No. 204, or Thore och hans Syster, Arwidsson, i. 358. In this shape they closely resemble the familiar old song, Our gudeman came hame at e'en, Herd, Scottish Songs, ii. 74.

CLERK SAUNDERS was an earl's son,
He liv'd upon sea-sand;

May Margaret was a king's daughter,
She liv'd in upper land.

Clerk Saunders was an earl's son,

Weel learned at the scheel;

May Margaret was a king's daughter ;
They baith lo'ed ither weel.