The Young Tamlane
“O I forbid ye, maidens a’
That wear gowd on your hair,
To come or gae by Carterhaugh,
For young Tamlane is there.
“There’s nane that gaes by Carterhaugh,
But maun leave him a wad,
Either gowd rings or green mantles,
Or else their maidenheid.
“Now gowd rings ye may buy, maidens,
Green mantles ye may spin;
But, gin ye lose your maidenheid,
Ye’ll ne’er get that agen.”—
But up then spake her, fair Janet,
The fairest o’ a’ her kin;
“I’ll cum and gang to Carterhaugh,
And ask nae leave o’ him.”
Janet has kilted her green kirtle,
A little abune her knee;
And she has braided her yellow hair,
A little abune her bree.
And when she came to Carterhaugh,
She gaed beside the well;
And there she fand his steed standing,
But away was himsell.
She hadna pu’d a red red rose,
A rose but barely three;
Till up and starts a wee wee man,
At lady Janet’s knee.
Says—“Why pu’ ye the rose, Janet?
What gars ye break the tree?
Or why come ye to Carterhaugh,
Withouten leave o’ me?”—
Says—“Carterhaugh it is mine ain;
My daddie gave it me;
I’ll come and gang to Carterhaugh,
And ask nae leave o’ thee.”
He’s ta’en her by the milk-white hand,
Among the leaves sae green;
And what they did, I cannot tell—
The green leaves were between.
He’s ta’en her by the milk-white hand,
Among the roses red;
And what they did, I cannot say—
She ne’er return’d a maid.
When she came to her father’s ha’,
She looked pale and wan;
They thought she’d dreed some sair sickness,
Or been with some leman.
She didna comb her yellow hair,
Nor make meikle o’ her head;
And ilka thing that lady took,
Was like to be her deid.
It’s four and twenty ladies fair
Were playing at the ba’;
Janet, the brightest of them anes,
Was faintest o’ them a’.
Four and twenty ladies fair
Were playing at the chess;
And out there came the fair Janet,
As green as any grass.
Out and spak an old grey-headed knight
Lay o’er the castle wa’—
“And ever, alas! for thee, Janet,
But we’ll be blamed a’!”
“Now hand your tongue, ye auld grey knight!
And an ill deid may ye die,
Father my bairn on whom I will
I’ll father nane on thee.”
Out then spake her father dear,
And he spake meek and mild—
“And ever, alas! my sweet Janet,
I fear ye gae with child.”
“And if I be with child, father,
Mysell maun bear the blame;
There’s ne’er a knight about your ha’
Shall hae the bairnie’s name.
“And if I be with child, father,
’Twill prove a wondrous birth,
For weel I swear I’m not wi’ bairn
To any man on earth.
“If my love were an earthly knight,
As he’s an elfin grey,
I wadna gie my ain true love
For nae lord that ye hae.”
She prink’d hersell and prinn’d hersell,
By the ae light o’ the moon,
And she’s away to Carterhaugh,
To speak wi’ young Tamlane.
And when she came to Carterhaugh,
She gaed beside the well;
But there she saw the steed standing,
But away was himsell.
She hadna pu’d a double rose,
A rose but only twae,
When up and started young Tamlane,
Says—“Lady, thou pu’s nae mae!
“Why pu’ ye the rose, Janet,
Within this garden grene,
And a’ to kill the bonny babe,
That we got us between?”
“The truth ye’ll tell to me, Tamlane,
A word ye mauna lie;
Gin e’er ye was in haly chapel,
Or sained in Christentie?”—
“The truth I’ll tell to thee, Janet,
A word I winna lie;
A knight me got, and a lady me bore,
As well as they did thee.
“Randolph, Earl Murray, was my sire,
Dunbar, Earl March, is thine;
We loved when we were children small,
Which yet you well may mind.
“When I was a boy just turn’d of nine,
My uncle sent for me,
To hunt, and hawk, and ride with him,
And keep him companie.
“There came a wind out of the north,
A sharp wind and a snell;
And a deep sleep came over me,
And frae my horse I fell.
“The Queen of Fairies keepit me,
In yon green hill to dwell;
And I’m a fairy, lyth and limb;
Fair lady, view me well.
“But we, that live in Fairyland,
No sickness know, nor pain;
I quit my body when I will,
And take to it again.
“I quit my body when I please,
Or unto it repair;
We can inhabit, at our ease,
In either earth or air.
“Our shapes and size we can convert
To either large or small;
An old nutshell’s the same to us
As is the lofty hall.
“We sleep in rose-buds soft and sweet,
We revel in the stream;
We wanton lightly on the wind,
Or glide on a sunbeam.
“And all our wants are well supplied
From every rich man’s store,
Who thankless sins the gifts he gets,
And vainly grasps for more.
“Then would I never tire, Janet,
In elfish land to dwell;
But aye, at every seven years,
They pay the teind to hell;
And I’m sae fat and fair of flesh,
I fear ’twill be mysell.
“This night is Hallowe’en, Janet,
The morn is Hallowday;
And, gin ye dare your true love win,
Ye hae nae time to stay.
“The night it is good Hallowe’en,
When fairy folk will ride;
And they that wad their true love win,
At Miles Cross they maun bide.”—
“But how shall I thee ken, Tamlane?
Or how shall I thee knaw,
Amang so many unearthly knights,
The like I never saw?”—
“The first company that passes by.
Say na, and let them gae;
The next company that passes by,
Say na, and do right sae;
The third company that passes by,
Then I’ll be ane o’ thae.
“First, let pass the black, Janet,
And syne let pass the brown;
But grip ye to the milk-white steed,
And pu’ the rider down.
“For I ride on the milk-white steed,
And aye nearest the town;
Because I was a christen’d knight,
They gave me that renown.
“My right hand will be gloved, Janet,
My left hand will be bare;
And these the tokens I gie thee,
Nae doubt I will be there.
“They’ll turn me in your arms, Janet,
An adder and a snake,
But haud me fast, let me not pass,
Gin ye would buy me maik.
“They’ll turn me in your arms, Janet,
An adder and an ask;
They’ll turn me in your arms, Janet,
A bale that burns fast.
“They’ll turn me in your arms, Janet,
A red-hot gad o’ airn;
But haud me fast, let me not pass,
For I’ll do you no harm.
“First dip me in a stand o’ milk,
And then in a stand o’ water;
But haud me fast, let me not pass—
I’ll be your bairn’s father.
“And, next, they’ll shape me in your arms
A tod, but and an eel;
But haud me fast, nor let me gang,
As you do love me weel.
“They’ll shape me in your arms, Janet,
A dove, but and a swan;
And last they’ll shape me in your arms
A mother-naked man:
Cast your green mantle over me—
I’ll be myself again.”—
Gloomy, gloomy was the night,
And eiry was the way,
As fair Janet, in her green mantle,
To Miles Cross she did gae.
The heavens were black, the night was dark,
And dreary was the place;
But Janet stood, with eager wish,
Her lover to embrace.
Betwixt the hours of twelve and one,
A north wind tore the bent;
And she heard strange elritch sounds
Upon that wind which went.
About the dead hour o’ the night
She heard the bridles ring;
And Janet was as glad o’ that
As any earthly thing.
Their oaten pipes blew wondrous shrill,
The hemlock small blew clear;
And louder notes from hemlock large,
And bog-reed, struck the ear;
But solemn sounds, or sober thoughts,
The Fairies cannot bear.
They sing, inspired with love and joy,
Like skylarks in the air;
Of solid sense, or thought that’s grave,
You’ll find no traces there.
Fair Janet stood, with mind unmoved,
The dreary heath upon;
And louder, louder wax’d the sound,
As they came riding on.
Will o’-Wisp before them went,
Sent forth a twinkling light;
And soon she saw the Fairy bands
All riding in her sight.
And first gaed by the black, black steed,
And then gaed by the brown;
And fast she gript the milk-white steed,
And pu’d the rider down.
She pu’d him frae the milk-white steed,
And loot the bridle fa’;
And up there raise an erlish cry—
“He’s wan among us a’!”—
They shaped him in fair Janet’s arms
An esk, but and an adder;
She held him fast in every shape—
To be her bairn’s father.
They shaped him in her arms at last
A mother-naked man:
She wrapp’d him in her green mantle,
And sae her lover wan!
Up then spake the Queen o’ Fairies,
Out o’ a bush o’ broom—
“She that has borrow’d young Tamlane,
Has gotten a stately groom.”—
Up then spake the Queen o’ Fairies,
Out o’ a bush o’ rye—
“She’s ta’en away the bonniest knight
In a’ my companie.
“But had I kenn’d, Tamlane,” she says,
“A lady wad borrow’d thee—
I wad ta’en out thy twa grey e’en,
Put in twa e’en o’ tree.
“Had I but kenn’d, Tamlane,” she says,
“Before ye came frae hame—
I wad ta’en out your heart o’ flesh,
Put in a heart o’ stane.
“Had I but had the wit yestreen
That I hae coft the day—
I’d paid my kanes seven times to hell
Ere you’d been won away!”
Old Ballad.