THE LAIRD OF MUIRHEAD. THIS Ballad is a fragment from Mr. Herd's MS., communicated to him by J. Grossett Muirhead, Esq. of Breadisholm, near Glasgow ; who stated that he extracted it, as relating to his own family, from the complete song, in which the names of twenty or thirty gentlemen were mentioned, contained in a large collection, belonging to Mr. Alexander Monro, merchant of Lisbon, but supposed now to be lost. It appears, from the appendix to Nisbit's Heraldry, p. 264, that Muirhead of Lachop and Bullis, the person here called the Laird o' Muirhead, was a man of rank, being rentaller, or perhaps feuar, of many crown-lands in Galloway; and was, in truth, slain in "Campo Belli de Northumberland sub vexilio Regis," i. e. in the Field of Flodden. AFORE the King in order stude Wi' that same twa-hand muckle sword He sware he wadna lose his right Nor budge him from his liege's sight, Twa hunder mair, of his ain name, Sware they would never gang to hame, And wondrous weel they kept their troth; Rush'd down the brae, wi' sic a pith, That nane could them withstand. Mony a bloody blow they dealt, And hadna that braw leader fall'n, ODE ON VISITING FLODDEN. GREEN Flodden! on thy blood-stain'd head But still, thou charnel of the dead, May whitening bones thy surface strew! Soon as I tread thy rush-clad vale, The rancour of a thousand years Glows in my breast; again I burn To see the banner'd pomp of war return, And mark, beneath the moon, the silver light of spears. Lo! bursting from their common tomb, With awful faces, ghastly red; In slow procession round the pile Of heaving corses, moves each shadowy file, And chants, in solemn strain, the dirge of Flodden field. What youth, of graceful form and mien, The virgins raise the funeral strain, From Ord's black mountain to the northern main, And mourn the emerald hue which paints the vest of spring. Alas! that Scottish maid should sing The combat where her lover fell! That Scottish bard should wake the string, The triumph of our foes to tell! Yet Teviot's sons, with high disdain, That mourn'd their martial fathers' bier; And at the sacred font, the priest Through ages left the master-hand unblest,2 Red Flodden! when thy plaintive strain In early youth rose soft and sweet, My life-blood, through each throbbing vein, 1 1 Under the vigorous administration of James IV., the young earl of Caithness incurred the penalty of outlawry and forfeiture, for revenging an ancient feud. On the evening preceding the battle of Flodden, accompanied by 300 young warriors, arrayed in green, he presented himself before the King, and submitted to his mercy. This mark of attachment was so agreeable to that warlike prince, that he granted an immunity to the Earl and all his followers. The parchment on which this immunity was inscribed, is said to be still preserved in the archives of the Earls of Caithness, and is marked with drum strings, having been cut out of a drum-head, as no other parchment could be found in the army. The Earl and his gallant band perished to a man in the battle of Flodden; since which period, it has been reckoned unlucky in Caithness to wear green, or cross the Ord on a Monday, the day of the week on which the Chieftain advanced into Sutherland. 2 In the Border counties of Scotland, it was formerly customary, when any rancorous enmity subsisted between two clans, to leave the right hand of male children unchristened, that it might deal the more deadly, or, according to the popular phrase, "unhallowed" blows to their enemies. By this superstitious rite, they were devoted to bear the family feud, or enmity. The same practice subsisted in Ireland, as appears from the following passage in CHAMPION'S History of Ireland, published in 1633.. In some corners of the land they used a damnable superstition, leaving the right armes of their infants, males, unchristened (as they term it), to the end it might give a more ungracious and deadly blow." P. 15. And oft, in fancied might, I trode And thought I heard the mingling hum, When, croaking hoarse, the birds of carrion come Till sink the mouldering towers beneath the burden'd ground.' Shades of the dead! on Alfer's plain Who scorned with backward step to move, But struggling 'mid the hills of slain, Against the Sacred Standard strove ;2 Amid the lanes of war I trace Each broad claymore and ponderous mace: Your glittering spears, in close array, Sweep, like a spider's filmy web, away The flower of Norman pride, and England's victor host. But distant fleets each warrior ghost, Such sounds were heard when Syria's host Around my solitary head Gleam the blue lightnings of the dead, While murmur low the shadowy band "Lament no more the warrior's doom! Blood, blood alone, should dew the hero's tomb, Who falls, 'mid circling spears, to save his native land." 1 Popular superstition in Scotland still retains so formidable an idea of the guilt of blood, that those ancient edifices, or castles, where enormous crimes have been committed, are supposed to sink gradually into the ground. With regard to the castle of Hermitage in particular, the common people believe, that thirty feet of the walls sunk, thirty feet fell, and thirty feet remain standing. 2 The fatal battle of the Standard was fought on Cowton Moor near Northallerton, in Yorkshire, 1138. David I. commanded the Scottish army. He was opposed by Thurston, Archbishop of York, who, to animate his followers, had recourse to the impressions of religious enthusiasm. The mast of a ship was fitted into the perch of a four-wheeled carriage; on its top was placed a little casket, containing a consecrated host. It also contained the banner of St Cuthbert, round which were displayed those of St Peter of York, St John of Beverley, and St Wilfred of Rippon. This was the English standard, and was stationed in the centre of the army Prince Henry, son of David, at the head of the men-of-arms, chiefly from Cumberland and Teviotdale, charged, broke, and completely dispersed the centre; but unfortunately was not supported by the other divisions of the Scottish army. The expression of Alfred (p. 345), describing this encounter, is more spirited than the general tenor of monkish historians;"Ipsa globi australis parte instar cassis araneæ dissipata "-that division of the phalanx was dispersed like a cobweb. THE DEATH OF FEATHERSTONHAUGH. THIS old Northumbrian ballad was originally printed in the Notes to "Marmion," ," but it is here inserted in its proper place. It was taken down from the recitation of a woman eighty years of age, mother of one of the miners in Alston-Moor, by the agent of the lead-mines there, who communicated it to my friend and correspondent, R. Surtees, Esq. of Mainsforth. She had not, she said, heard it for many years; but, when she was a girl, it used to be sung at merry-makings, "till the roof rung again." To preserve this curious, though rude rhyme, it is here inserted. The ludicrous turn given to the slaughter, marks that wild and disorderly state of society, in which a murder was not merely a casual circumstance, but, in some cases, an exceedingly good jest. The structure of the ballad resembles the "Fray of Suport," having the same irregular stanza and wild chorus. THE DEATH OF FEATHERSTONHAUGH. HOOT awa', lads, hoot awa', Ha' ye heard how the Ridleys, and Thirlwalls, and a’, And Hardriding Dick, And Hughie of Hawdon, and Will of the Wa'.2 And mony a mair that the deil may knaw. The auld man went down, but Nicol, his son, And afore they were done, There was many a Featherston gat sic a stun, I canno tell a', I canno tell a'; Some gat a skelp,3 and some gat a claw; Some gat a hurt, and some gat nane; .8 Ane gat a twist o' the craig ; 1 Pronounced Awbony. 9 2 See Note, p, 90. 3 Skelp-signifies slap, or rather is the same word which was originally spelled schlap. 4 Haud their jaw-Hold their jaw; a vulgar expression still in use. 5 Gat sta'en-Got stolen, or were plundered; a very likely termination of the fray. 6 Craig-Neck. 7 Bunch-Punch. 8 Wame-Belly. 9 Wallowing-Bellowing. G Hoot, hoot, the auld man's slain outright! Lay him now wi' his face down :-he's a sorrowful sight. I'll lay my best bonnet, Thou get a new gude-man afore it be night. We's a' be hangid if we stay. Tak' up the dead man, and lay him anent the bigging : Wi' his great bull's pizzle, 2 That supp'd up the broo', and syne-in the piggin.' NOTE. In explanation of this ancient ditty, Mr. Surtees has furnished me with the following local memorandum :-Willimoteswick, now more commonly called Ridley Hall, is situated at the confluence of the Allon and Tyne, and was the chief seat of the ancient family of Ridley. Hardriding Dick is not an epithet referring to horsemanship, but means Richard Ridley of Hardriding, the seat of another family of that name, which, in the time of Charles I., was sold on account of expenses incurred by the loyalty of the proprietor, the immediate ancestor of sir Matthew Ridley. Will of the Wa' seems to be William Ridley of Walltown, so called from its situation on the great Roman Wall. Thirlwall Castle, whence the clan of Thirlwalls derived their name, is situated on the small river of Tippell, near the western boundary of Northumberland. It is near the wall, and takes its name from the rampart having been thirled, i. e., pierced, or breached, in its vicinity. Featherston Castle lies south of the Tyne, towards Alston Moor. Albany Featherstonhaugh, the chief of that ancient family, made a figure in the reign of Edward VI. A feud did certainly exist between the Ridleys and Featherstones, productive of such consequences as the ballad narrates. "24 Oct. 22do Henrici 8vi Inquisitio capt. apud Hautwhistle, sup. visum corpus Alexandri Featherston, Gen. apud Grensilhaugh, felonice interfecti, 21 Oct. per Nicolaum Ridley de Unthanke, Gen. Hugon Ridle, Nicolaum Ridle, et alios ejusdem nominis." Nor were the Featherstones without their revenge; for 36to Henrici 8vi, we have "Utlagatio Nicolai Featherston, ac Thomæ Nyxon, &c. pro homicidio Willmi. Ridle de Morale.' JOHNIE O' BREADISLEE. AN ANCIENT NITHSDALE BALLAD. THE hero of this ballad appears to have been an outlaw and deerstealer-probably one of the broken men residing upon the Border. There are several different copies, in one of which the principal personage is called Johnie of Cockielaw. The stanzas of greatest merit have been selected from each copy. It is sometimes said, that this outlaw possessed the old castle of Morton, in Dumfriesshire, now ruinous : "Near to this castle there was a park, built by sir Thomas Randolph, on the face of a very great and high hill; so artificially, that, by the advantage of the hill, all wild beasts, such as deers, harts, and roes, and hares, did easily leap in, but could not get out again; and if any other cattle, such as cows, sheep, or goats, did voluntarily leap in, or were forced to do it, it is doubted if their owners were permitted to get them out again."-Account of Presbytery of Penpont, apud Macfarlane's MSS. Such a park would form a convenient domain to an 1 Donot.-Silly slut. The Border bard calls her so, because she was weeping for her husband; a loss which he seems to think might be soon repaired. 2 Bailey o' Haltwhistle-The Bailiff of Haltwhistle seems to have arrived when the fray was over. This supporter of social order is treated with characteristic irreverence by the moss-trooping poet. 3 An iron pot with two ears. |