Holde the, Persè, sayd the Doglas, Of Jamy our Scottish kynge. Thoue shalte have thy ransom fre, I hight the hear this thinge, With that ther cam an arrowe hastely 45 Hit hathe strekene the yerle Duglas In at the brest bane. Thoroue lyvar and longs bathe The sharp arrowe ys gane, That never after in all his lyffe days He spayke mo wordes but ane, 50 [may, That was,† Fyghte ye, my merry men, whyllys ye For my lyff days ben gan. V. 33, helde. PC. V. 49, throroue. PC. * Wane, i. e. ane. one, sc. man; an arrow came from a mighty one from a mighty man. + This seems to have been a gloss added. The Persè leanyde on his brande, And sawe the Duglas de; He tooke the dede man be the hande, And sayd, Wo ys me for the! 55 To have savyde thy lyffe I wold have pertyd with For a better man of hart, nare of hande Was not in all the north countrè. Off all that se a Skottishe knyght, Was callyd Sir Hewe the Mongon-byrry, 60 He sawe the Duglas to the deth was dyght; 65 He spendyd a spear a trusti tre : He rod uppon a corsiare Throughe a hondrith archery; He never styntyde, nar never blane Tyll he came to the good lord Persè. 70 He set uppone the lord Persé A dynte, that was full soare; With a suar spear of a myghtè tre Clean thorow the body he the Persè bore, Athe tothar syde, that a man myght se, Then that day slain wear thare. * V. 74, ber. PC. V. 78, ther. PC. 75 An archar of Northomberlonde Say slean was the lord Persè, 80 He bar a bende-bow in his hande, Was made off trusti tre: An arow, that a cloth yarde was lang, A dynt, that was both sad and soar, 85 He sat on Sir Hewe the Mongon-byrry. The dynt yt was both sad and' soar,' Ther was never a freake wone foot wolde fle, Heawyng on yche othar, whyll the myght dre, With many a bal ful brande. This battell begane in Chyviat An owar befor the none, The tooke 'on' on ethar hand 90 95 Be the lyght off the mone; 100 V. 80, Say, i. e. sawe. V. 84, haylde. PC. V. 87, sar. PC. *This incident is taken from the battle of Otterbourn; in which Sir Hugh Montgomery, Knt. (son of John Lord Montgomery) was slain with an arrow. Vide Crawfurd's Peerage. Many hade no strenght for to stande, Of fifteen hondrith archers of Ynglonde Of twenty hondrith spear-men of Skotlonde, 105 But all wear slayne Cheviat within : The hade no strengthe to stand on he: The chylde may rue that is un-borne, It was the mor pittè. Thear was slayne with the lord Persè Sir John of Agerstone, Sir Roger the hinde Hartly, 110 Sir Wyllyam the bolde Hearone. Sir Jorg the worthè Lovele 115 A knyght of great renowen, Sir Raff the ryche Rugbè With dyntes wear beaten dowene. For Wetharryngton my harte was wo, That ever he slayne shulde be; For when both his leggis wear hewyne in to, He knyled and fought on hys kne. V. 102, abou. PC. V. 108, strenge.. lóule. FC. V. 121, in to, i, e. in two. kny. Pc. 120 Ther was slayne with the dougheti Douglas Sir Hewe the Mongon-byrry, Sir Davye Lwdale, that worthè was, 125 His sistars son was he: Sir Charles a Murrè, in that place, Sir Hewe Maxwell, a lorde he was, So on the morrowe the mayde them byears Off byrch, and hasell so 'gray'; Many wedous with wepyng tears,* Cam to fach ther makys a-way. Tivydale may carpe off care, Northombarlond may mayk grat mone, For towe such captayns, as slayne wear thear, 130 135 V. 132, gay. PC. V. 136, mon. PC. V. 138, non. PC. For the names in this and the foregoing page, see the remarks at the end of the next ballad. * A common pleonasm, see the next poem, Fit 2nd, v. 155. So Harding in his Chronicle, chap. 140, fol. 148, describing the death of Richard I., says, He shrove him then unto Abbots thre With great sobbyng.... and wepyng teares. So likewise Cavendish, in his Life of Cardinal Wolsey, chap. 12, p. 31, 4to. "When the Duke heard this, he replied with weeping teares," &c. |