THE SONG OF DEIRDRA 
 
 KING BYRGE AND HIS BROTHERS 
 
 AM) 
 
 OTHER BALLADS 
 
 nv 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London i 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 ")'3 
 
DUKE 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 Treasure %qom 
 
THE SONG OF DEIRDRA 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 Duke University Libraries 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/worksofgeorgebor03borr 
 
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 S? 
 
 THE SONG OF DEIRDRA 
 
 KING BYRGE AND HIS BROTHERS 
 
 AND 
 
 OTHER BALLADS 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 1913 
 
Copyright in the United Stales of America 
 ly Houghton, Mifflin c-' Co. for Clement Shorter. 
 
Tr. 
 
 THE SONG OF DEIRDRA 
 
 Farewell, grey Albyn, much loved land, 
 I ne'er shall see thy hills again ; 
 
 Upon those hills I oft would stand 
 
 And view the chase sweep o'er the plain. 
 
 'Twas pleasant from their tops I ween 
 To see the stag that bounding ran ; 
 
 And all the rout of hunters keen, 
 The sons of Usna in the van. 
 
 The chiefs of Albyn feasted high, 
 Amidst them Usna's children shone ; 
 
 And Nasa kissed in secrecy 
 
 The daughter fair of high Dundron. 
 
THE SOXG OF DEIRDRA 
 
 To her a milk-white doe he sent, 
 
 With little fawn that frisked and played 
 
 And once to visit her he went, 
 As home from Inverness he strayed. 
 
 The news was scarcely brought to me 
 When jealous rage inflamed my mind ; 
 
 I took my boat and rushed to sea, 
 For death, for speedy death, inclined. 
 
 But swiftly swimming at my stern 
 Came Ainlie bold and Ardan tall ; 
 
 Those faithful striplings made me turn 
 And brought me back to Nasa's hall. 
 
 Then thrice he swore upon his arms, 
 His burnished arms, the foeman's bane, 
 
 That he would never wake alarms 
 In this fond breast of mine again. 
 
 Dundron's fair daughter also swore, 
 And called to witness earth and sky, 
 
 That since his love for her was o'er 
 A maiden she would live and die. 
 
THE SONG OF DFJRDRA 
 
 Ah did she know that slain in fight, 
 He wets with gore the Irish hill, 
 
 How great would be her moan this night, 
 But greater far would mine be still. 
 
THE DIVER 
 
 A BALLAD TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN 
 
 " Where is the man who will dive for his King, 
 In the pool as it rushes with turbulent sweep ? 
 A cup from this surf-beaten jetty I fling, 
 And he who will seek it below in the deep, 
 And will bring it again to the light of the day, 
 As the meed of his valour shall bear it away. 
 
 " Now courage, my knights, and my warriors bold, 
 For, one, two, and three, and away it shall go — " 
 He toss'd, as he said it, the goblet of gold 
 Deep, deep in the howling abysses below. — 
 ' Where is the hero who ventures to brave 
 The whirl of the pool, and the break of the 
 wave?'* 
 
THE DIVER g 
 
 The steel-coated lancemen, and nobles around, 
 Spoke not, but they trembled in silent surprise, 
 And pale they all stood on the cliff's giddy bound, 
 And no one would venture to dive for the prize. 
 " Three times have I spoke, but no hero will spring 
 And dive for the goblet, and dive for the King." 
 
 But still they were silent and pale as before, 
 Till a brave son of Eirin, in venturous pride, 
 Dash'd forth from the lancemen's trembling corps 
 And canted his helm, cast his mantle aside, 
 While spearman, and noble, and lady, and knight, 
 Gazed on the bold stripling in breathless affright. 
 
 Unmoved by the thoughts of his horrible doom, 
 He mounted the cliff — and hepaus'd on his leap, 
 For the waves which the pool had imbibed in its 
 
 womb 
 Were spouted in thunder again from the deep,^ 
 Yes ! as they return'd, their report was as loud 
 As the peal when it bursts from the storm-riven 
 
 cloud. 
 
io THE DIVER 
 
 It roared, and it drizzled, it hiss'd and it whirl'd, 
 And it bubbled like water when mingled with 
 
 flame, 
 And columns of foam to the heaven were hurl'd, 
 And billow on billow tumultuously came; 
 It seem'd that the womb of the ocean would bear 
 Sea over sea to the uppermost air. 
 
 It thundered again as the wave gather'd slow, 
 And black from the drizzling foam as it fell, 
 The mouth of the fathomless tunnel below 
 Was seen like the pass to the regions of hell ; 
 The waters roll round it, and gather and boom, 
 And then all at once disappear in the gloom. 
 
 And now ere the waves had returned from the 
 
 deep, 
 The youth wiped the sweat-drops which hung on 
 
 his brows, 
 And he plunged — and the cataracts over him 
 
 sweep, 
 And a shout from his terrified comrades arose ; 
 And then there succeeded a horrible pause 
 For the whirlpool had clos'd its mysterious jaws. 
 
THE DIVER n 
 
 And stiller it grew on the watery waste, 
 In the womb of the ocean it bellow'd alone, 
 The knights . t aid their Aves in terrified haste, 
 And crowded each pinnacle, jetty, and stone: 
 " The high-hearted stripling is whelm'd in the 
 
 tide, 
 Ah ! wail him," was echoed from every side. 
 
 "If the monarch had buried his crown in the pool 
 And said : ' He shall wear it who brings it again,' 
 I would not have been so insensate a fool 
 As to dive when all hope of returning were vain ; 
 What heaven conceals in the gulfs of the deep, 
 Lies buried for ever, and there it must sleep." 
 
 Full many a burden the whirlpool had borne, 
 And spouted it forth on the drizzling surge, 
 But nought but a mast that was splinter'd and 
 
 torn, 
 Or the hull of a vessel was seen to emerge; 
 But wider and wider it opens its jaws, 
 And louder it gurgles, and louder it draws. 
 
12 THE DIVER 
 
 It drizzled, it thunder'd, it hiss'd and it whirl'd, 
 And it bubbled like water when mingled with 
 
 flame, 
 And columns of foam to the heaven were hurl'd, 
 And flood upon flood from the deep tunnel came ; 
 And then with a noise like the storm from the 
 
 North, 
 The hellish eruption was vomited forth. 
 
 But, ah ! what is that on the wave's foamy brim, 
 Disgorged with an ocean of wreck and of wood ? 
 'Tis the snow-white arm and the shoulder of him 
 Who daringly dived for the glittering meed : 
 'Tis he, 'tis the stripling so hardy and bold, 
 Who swings in his left hand the goblet of gold. 
 
 He draws a long breath as the breaker he leaves, 
 Then swims through the water with many a 
 
 strain, 
 While all his companions exultingly heave 
 Their voices above the wild din of the main : 
 " 'Tis he, O ! 'tis he, from the horrible hole 
 The brave one has rescued his body and soul." 
 
THE DIVER 13 
 
 He rcach'd the tall jetty, and kneeling he laid 
 The massy gold goblet in triumph and pride 
 At the foot of the monarch, who instantly made 
 A sign to his daughter who stood by his side : 
 She fill'd it with wine, and the youth with a spring 
 Received it, and quaffd it, and turn'd to the King. 
 
 " Long life to the monarch ! how happy are 
 
 they 
 Who breathe and exist in the sun's rosy light, 
 But he who is doom'd in the ocean to stray, 
 Views nothing around him but horror and night ; 
 Let no one henceforward be tempted like me 
 To pry in the secrets contain'cl in the sea. 
 
 I felt myself seized, with the quickness of thought 
 The whirlpool entomb'd me in body and limb, 
 And billow on billow tumultuously brought 
 It's cataracts o'er me ; in vain did I swim, 
 For like a mere pebble with horrible sound 
 The force of the double stream twisted me 
 round. 
 
14 THE DIVER 
 
 But God in his mercy, for to him alone 
 In the moment of danger I ever have clung, 
 Did bear me towards a projection of stone : 
 I seized it in transport, and round it I hung, 
 The goblet lay too on a corally ledge, 
 Which jutted just over the cataract's edge. 
 
 And then I look'd downward, and horribly deep, 
 And twinkling sheen in the darkness below, 
 And though to the hearing it ever might sleep, 
 Yet still the eye clouded with terror might know, 
 That serpents and creatures that made my blood 
 
 cool, 
 Were swimming and splashing about in the pool. 
 
 Ball'd up to a mass, in a moment uncoil'd, 
 They rose, and again disappear'd in the dark, 
 And down in the billows which over them boil'd 
 I saw a behemoth contend with a shark ; 
 The sounds of their hideous duel awaken 
 The black-bellied whale, and the slumbering 
 craken. 
 
THE DIVER 15 
 
 Still, still did I linger forlorn, and oppress'd 
 With a feeling of terror that curdled my blood ; 
 Ah think of a human and sensible breast 
 Enclosed with the hideous shapes of the flood ; 
 Still, still did I linger, but far from the reach 
 Of those that I knew would await on the beach. 
 
 Methought that a serpent towards me did creep, 
 And trailing behind him whole fathoms of length, 
 He open'd his jaws; and I dropp'd from the 
 
 steep 
 Round which I had clung with expiring strength : 
 'Twas well that I did so, the stream bore me up, 
 And here is thy servant, and there is the cup." 
 
 He then was retiring, a look from the King 
 Detain'd him : " My hero, the cup is thine own, 
 'Tis richly thy meed, but I'll give thee this 
 
 Beset with a diamond and chrysolite stone, 
 If again thou wilt dive, and discover to me 
 What's hid in the deepest abyss of the sea." 
 
16 THE DIVER 
 
 The daughter heard that with compassionate 
 
 thought, 
 Quick, quick to the feet of the monarch she flew : 
 " O father, desist from this horrible sport, 
 He has done what no other would venture to do, 
 If the life of a creature thou fain must destroy, 
 Let a noble take place of this generous boy." 
 
 The monarch has taken the cup in his hand, 
 And tumbled it down in the bellowing sea : 
 "And if thou canst bring it again to the strand, 
 The first, and the best of my knights thou shaltbe; 
 If that will not tempt thee, this maid thou shalt 
 
 wed, 
 And share as a husband the joys of her bed." 
 
 Then the pride of old Eirin arose in his look, 
 And it flash'd from his eye-balls courageously 
 
 keen, 
 One glance on the beautiful vision he took, 
 And he saw her change colour, and sink on the 
 
 green. 
 " \\y the stool of Saint Peter the prize I'll obtain ; " 
 He shouted, and instantly dived in the main. 
 
THE DIVER 17 
 
 The waters sunk down, and a thundering peal 
 Announced that the time of their sojourn was 
 
 o'er ; 
 Each eye is cast downward in terrified zeal, 
 As forth from the tunnel the cataracts pour. 
 The waters rush up, and the waters subside ; 
 But ah ! the bold diver remains in the tide. 
 
KING BYRGE AND HIS BROTHERS 
 
 Dame Ingeborg three brave brothers could 
 
 boast, 
 For the crown of Sweden their lives they lost. 
 
 The nobles to Sweden would fain away, 
 Dame Ingeborg bade them at home to stay. 
 
 Dame Ingeborg stood at Helsingborg's gate, 
 " Dear brothers, go not, I beg and entreat ! " 
 
 Then with one voice the brothers cried : 
 "We've long for our realms paternal sighed. 
 
 " And we have too long with thee remained, 
 Our hearts within us are sorely pained." 
 
 " Five days with me, dear brothers, wait, 
 Whilst I my dreadful dream relate. 
 
KING BYRGE AND HIS BROTHERS 19 
 
 " Methought that your mantles were of lead, 
 With them, dear brothers, ye were arrayed. 
 
 " They were fast tied about your throats, 
 And treachery towards ye that denotes." 
 
 To Dame Ingeborg's rede no ear they lent, 
 But to Sweden that very same day they went. 
 
 And when they had won to the sand beach 
 
 white, 
 There met them Brouk, that faithless knight. 
 
 "Ye brothers both, thrice welcome be, 
 
 Yell come and drink Yule with His Majesty ? " 
 
 The nobles repair to Nykoping street, 
 There they a deceitful counsel meet. 
 
 " Now off your bodies your armour lay, 
 And hie to the castle in court dress gay." 
 
 In at the doorway the nobles stepped, 
 Up to receive them the monarch leapt. 
 
 " My dear brothers both, thrice welcome be, 
 Will ye drink Yule with our Majesty ?" 
 
20 KING BYRGE AND HIS BROTHERS 
 
 With his brothers down sate King Byrge to 
 
 food, 
 Much serious discourse betwixt them ensued. 
 
 " Now welcome, my brothers, thrice welcome 
 
 I say, 
 May I not alone the country sway ? " 
 
 " May God to our brother grant happiness, 
 But he cannot alone the land to possess." 
 
 The nobles they ate and they drank for a trice, 
 Brouk has discovered another device : 
 
 ."What will ye now do, ye worshipful knights, 
 Have drinking and dancing for ye delights ?" 
 
 Then they danced out and danced in with glee, 
 And Brouk the clear wine poured so free. 
 
 On the floor stood the nobles and 'gan to sing, 
 Whilst Brouk proceeded to plot with the King. 
 
 Then unto his brother Duke Valdemar said : 
 " Erik, we drink too much wine, I'm afraid. 
 
KING BYRGE AND HIS BROTHERS; 21 
 
 " Be we on our guard 'gainst Brouk's pleasantries, 
 He knoweth all manner of villanies." 
 
 Duke Erik held up his good right hand : 
 " Shall we fear aught in our fatherland ? 
 
 " We are come with a safety assurance fair, 
 And of no quarrel are we aware." 
 
 They drank and they danced till the day had 
 
 ta'en flight, 
 Then illumined was torch and big wax light. 
 
 To hie now to bed the nobles desired, 
 
 And repose on the bolsters their bodies tired. 
 
 Then in to the prison tower they were led, 
 The King himself went in his cloak of red. 
 
 They thought that in jest the thing was done, 
 'Till he slammed the doors to every one. 
 
 Manlike fought Erik and scorned to yield, 
 As long as he'd sword or a post to wield. 
 
22 KING BYRGE AND HIS BROTHERS 
 
 Broke sword! broke post! they no more could 
 
 defend ! 
 Into prison they naked were forced to wend. 
 
 The noble brothers suffered sore, 
 From frost and from cold and from hunger 
 much more. 
 
 " We'll give thee, Brouk, the gold so red, 
 If thou'lt give us but water and bread." 
 
 " Ye shall not obtain in Sweden here, 
 Or bread or water your hearts to cheer." 
 
 " Our dear brother's wife we are confident, 
 To let us be starved will ne'er consent. 
 
 " We know the Queen has a pitying breast, 
 She will straw send us whereon to rest. 
 
 " The hunger within us is sharp and strong, 
 Our hearts must certainly burst ere long." 
 
 Then Brouk at that word so wrathful grew, 
 The keys he into the salt fiord threw. 
 
KING BY ROE AND HIS BROTHERS 23 
 
 Twas dismal to hear how with hunger they roared, 
 Each others shoulders they devoured. 
 
 And there is yet more woe to relate, 
 
 The flesh from the sides of each other they ate. 
 
 Much misery and woe there was that tide, 
 In each other's arms the brothers died. 
 
 And thus things stood till five months were fled, 
 King Byrge came home from the war-field red. 
 
 " Now whither departed are brothers mine ? 
 Why didst thou not give them their fill of 
 wine?" 
 
 Then answered straight the little child : 
 
 " Brouk into the tower the nobles beguiled." 
 
 King Byrge peeped in the window through, 
 The state of the brothers was piteous to view. 
 
 " Now hear thou, Brouk, straight to me declare, 
 Where the prison keys are I gave to thy care ? " 
 
24 KING BYRGE AND HIS BROTHERS 
 
 " May the blessed Christ my soul ne'er save, 
 If I cast them not in the briny wave." 
 
 " O Broukj shame fall thy head upon, 
 So evilly towards me thou has done. 
 
 " Thou fool and villain ! I've lost thereby 
 The keys to Sweden's sovereignty." 
 
 " If I have betrayed thy brothers twain, 
 Thou mayest alone over Sweden reign." 
 
 That deed such grief to the Dukes' friends gave, 
 And that grief they carried to the grave. 
 
 With his Queen King Byrge must fly from his 
 
 throne, 
 Beheaded was Magnus, his beautiful son. 
 
 . & ..v-w, 
 
 But Brouk to the infamous wheel was consigned, 
 May all such traitors a like end find ! 
 
 When sovereigns many there are to a land, 
 You'll never see them go hand in hand. 
 
KING RYRGE AND HIS BROTHERS 25 
 
 The one 'fore the other must certainly fall. 
 Not seldom destruction comes o'er them all. 
 
 Though fraud and deceit for a time have 
 
 success, 
 At length on their owner they'll bring distress. 
 
TURKISH HYMN TO MAHOMET 
 
 O Envoy of Allah, to thee be salaam, 
 
 With my whole heart I love thee, O blest be thy 
 
 name. 
 At the high throne of God thou for sinners dost 
 
 plead 
 Who forgives for thy sake each iniquitous deed. 
 O Prophet of Allah, for all that I've done 
 Of rebellion against Him, tis thou must atone. 
 For Thou art the one intercessor, Thou, Thou — 
 The prince of the prophets to whom the rest 
 
 bow. 
 In the world's Judgment Day when all nations 
 
 are met, 
 When good deeds and bad in the balance are 
 
 set, 
 Intercession I hope for, from Thee, only Thee, 
 So breathe intercession for me, wretched me. 
 
TURKISH HYMN TO MAHOMET 27 
 
 Tis true my misdeeds I'm unable to count, 
 But I know that thy goodness exceeds their 
 
 amount. 
 Like one who's defunct I a long time have been, 
 My body is drowned in an ocean of sin. 
 My rebellions they be of so dreadful a die 
 That to wend to my Maker no courage have - 1. 
 Now save I in dust at thy feet myself throw, 
 And thy footstool I strike with my agonis'd 
 
 brow ; 
 And save thou for me dost benignantly speak, 
 What for me will remain but despairing to shriek ? 
 For unless I thy kind intercession procure, 
 My soul with the Kaffirs will torments endure. 
 But I trust thou wilt that for thy servant employ' 
 And that rest I shall gain, and unspeakable joy. 
 Unto thee without end shall be praises and 
 
 prayers, 
 And also to them, thy disciples and heirs, 
 The voyagers noble who trod the true road, 
 And to others the path of salvation who show'd, 
 The four eldest friends of exalted degree 
 Who of our religion the four pillars be. 
 
28 TURKISH HYMN TO MAHOMET 
 
 First of all the good King of the Kingdom of 
 
 Grace, 
 The just Abon Bekir with truth in his face ; 
 The next the stout lion so bravely who warr'd, 
 The Lyon of the Mussulman, Omar my Lord. 
 The third a high Emir, renowned midst our 
 
 clan, 
 The child of the moment, the Emir Othman. 
 The fourth of the pillars, my Lord AH dear, 
 Inspector acute of the dark and the clear. 
 Then the light of our eyes, the delectable twain, 
 The Lovely Prince Hassan, the Emir Hoseyn. 
 Nor unnoticed by men shall be suffered to pass 
 Those excellent uncles, Hanozah and Abbess. 
 Unto each of that band be a thousand salaams, 
 An bless'd through all ages be each of their 
 
 names. 
 
 London : 
 rrinteJ for THOMAS J. WISE, Hampstead, N.W. 
 
 Edition limited to Thirty Copies. 
 
BROWN WILLIAM 
 
 THE POWER OF THE HARP 
 
 AND 
 
 OTHER BALLADS 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 Lov 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE (3RCULA1 
 
 1913 
 
BROWN WILLIAM 
 THE POWER OF THE HARP 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
BROWN WILLIAM 
 
 THE POWER OF THE HARP 
 
 AND 
 
 OTHER BALLADS 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London' : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 ■9'3 
 
Copyright in the United States of At/tern a 
 by Houghton, Mtjfiin &* Co. for Clement Shorter, 
 
BROWN WILLIAM 
 
 This ballad was written in consequence of the execution of 
 William Christian, generally called William Dorm, or Brown 
 William, from the darkness of his complexion, who was shot at 
 Hango Hill, near Castletown, in the Isle of Man, shortly 
 after the Restoration, for alleged treason to the Dei by family, 
 who long possessed the sovereignty of Man. . . . The ballad oj 
 "Breton William,'' 1 which gives an account of the betrayal of 
 the roor patriot, and the vengeance taken by the hand of God 
 upon his murderers, is the most popular of all the wild songs 
 of Elian Vannin. 
 
 Ll'.T no one in greatness too confident be, 
 
 Nor trust in his kindred, though high their 
 
 degree ; 
 For envy and rage will lay any man low : 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 
 woe. 
 
 Thou wast the Receiver of Mona's fair state, 
 Thy conduct was noble, thy wisdom was great, 
 And ne'er of thy rule did she weariness show : 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 
6 BROWN WILLIAM- 
 
 Thy right hand was Earley, and Theah thy right 
 
 eye ; 
 Thy state caused thy foemen with rage to swell 
 
 high ; 
 And envy and rage will lay any man low: 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 
 woe. 
 
 How blest thy condition in fair Ronalds way ! 
 Thy mansion, how stately ! thy garden, how gay ! 
 But oh ! what disasters from envy do flow : 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 woe. 
 
 'Twas said at thy trial, by men void of faith, 
 The king, by a letter, demanded thy death ; 
 The jury was frighten'd, and dared not say "No ! " 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 woe. 
 
 The clan of wild Colcad could ne'er be at rest 
 Whilst the race of Christeen their own acres 
 
 possess'd ; 
 And envy and spite will bring any man low : 
 Thy murder Brown William, fills Mona with woe. 
 
BROWN WILLIAM 7 
 
 A band of adulterers, curst and unholy, 
 
 For Ronaldsvvay lust, as they did for Logh 
 
 Molley ; 
 Of Naboth, the tragedy's played here anew : 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 
 woe. 
 
 Not one of the band but received his just meed, 
 Who acted a part in that damnable deed ; 
 To dwindle away the whole band was not slow : 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 woe. 
 
 To Callaghyn-doo, and to Vannyster roam, 
 And call on the Colcad till hoarse ye become ; 
 Gone, gone is the name so well known long ago : 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 woe. 
 
 A cripple was Robin for many years long, 
 Who troubled and bullied the island when strong ; 
 His own friends of tending him weary did grow : 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 woe. 
 
8 BROWN WILLIAM 
 
 Sly Richard took ship with thy blood on his 
 
 hand, 
 But God can avenge on the sea as on land ; 
 The waves would not bear him, but whelm'd 
 
 him, I trow : 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 
 woe. 
 
 And now, if a few of the seed do remain, 
 They're vile as the thistles and briars 01 the 
 
 plain ; 
 They ply for their neighbours the pick and the 
 
 hoe : 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 
 woe. 
 
 Should ye walk through all Man you'll find no 
 
 one, I reckon, 
 To mourn for the name that was once in 
 
 Beemachan ; 
 But thousands of poor who rejoice that 'tis low : 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 
 woe. 
 
BROWN WILLIAM y 
 
 Proceed to Creganyn, and Balla-Iogh green, 
 But where's there a Colcad to bid ye walk in ? 
 By strangers their homes and their lands are 
 
 held now : 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 
 woe. 
 
 Great Scarlett, in wealth who dwelt down by the 
 
 bay, 
 Must toil now with paupers for sixpence a-day ; 
 And oft, as I've heard, has no morsel to chew : 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 
 woe. 
 
 The band by whose weapons the great Caesar 
 
 died 
 Were hunted by foes, and all peace were denied ; 
 Not one died the death of kind Nature, O, no ! 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 
 woe. 
 
 So it fated with the band by whom Willie did 
 
 die, 
 Their lands are a waste, their names stink to the 
 
 sky ; 
 
 B 
 
io BROWN WILLIAM 
 
 They melted like rime in the ruddy sun's glow : 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 woe. 
 
 But comfort I take, for 'tis common report 
 There are shoots of dear Will who are sitting at 
 
 court, 
 Who have punished his foes by king's mandate, 
 
 although 
 Thy murder, Brown William, fills Mona with 
 
 woe. 
 
 O, 'tis pleasant to think, when one's wither'd and 
 
 grey. 
 
 There's race of Brown William in fair Ronalds- 
 way, 
 
 That his foemen are crush'd, and their faces can't 
 show, 
 
 While the clan of Christeen have no trouble or 
 
 * Here the old ballad — I speak of the original Manx — con- 
 cludes. The two following stanzas are comparatively modern. 
 
BROWN WILLIAM u 
 
 To the counsellors false, both in church and in 
 
 state, 
 Bear the public of Moiia both loathing and hate, 
 Who set man against man, and the peace would 
 
 break now, 
 As thy murder, Brown William, broke hearts 
 
 long ago. 
 
 The lord of our island, Duke Athol the great, 
 They would gladly persuade, with their parle 
 
 and their prate, 
 The corner-stones high of his house to lay low, 
 And to King, Duke and Mona are focmen, I 
 
 trow. 
 
 13 i 
 
THE POWER OF THE HARP 
 
 SIR PETER would forth from the castle ride, 
 Grieving and weeping did sit his young bride. 
 Belov'd of my heart, wherefore sorrowest thou 
 so? 
 
 " Art grieving for saddle, or steed black or white, 
 Or because I have wed thee art thou in this 
 
 plight ? " 
 Belov'd of my heart, wJierefore sorroivest thou 
 
 so ? 
 
 " I grieve not for saddle, or steed black or white, 
 Nor because thou hast wed me am I in this 
 plight." 
 Belov'd of my heart, wherefore sorroivest thou 
 so? 
 
THE POWER OF THE I/Ah'/ 1 13 
 
 " Dost sorrow because little wealth I have got, 
 Or dost sorrow because thine equal I'm not? " 
 Belov'd of my heart, wherefore sorrowest thou 
 so? 
 
 " I sorrow not because little of wealth thou hast 
 
 got, 
 Nor grieve I because thou mine equal art not." 
 Belov'd of my heart, wherefore sorrowest thou 
 
 so? 
 
 " Dost sorrow because thy fond father is dead, 
 Or dost sorrow because thou'rt no longer a 
 
 maid ?" 
 Belov'd of my heart, wherefore sorrowest thou 
 
 so ? 
 
 " I grieve not because my dear father is dead, 
 Nor sorrow I because that I am not a maid.'' 
 Belov'd of my heart, wherefore sorrowest thou 
 so ? 
 
 " I grieve and I weep, and to grieve I have need, 
 I know but too well what for me is decreed." 
 Belov'd of my heart, wherefore sorrowest thou 
 so? 
 
14 THE POWER OF THE HARP 
 
 " For the bridge, the broad bridge, I sorrow much 
 
 more, 
 For oh ! my five sisters together fell o'er." 
 
 Belov'd of my heart, zvherefore sorrowest thou 
 so? 
 
 " I think of the stream, and I sorrow much more, 
 My sisters sank in it and never rose more." 
 Belov'd of my heart, zvherefore sorrowest thou 
 so? 
 
 " My dearest, my dearest, cast sorrow aside, 
 Before thee shall twelve of my merry men ride." 
 Belov'd of my heart, zvherefore sorroivest thou 
 so? 
 
 " Before thee shall twelve of my merry men 
 
 speed, 
 And I will myself hold the reins of thy steed." 
 Belov'd of my heart, zvherefore sorrozvest thou 
 
 so? 
 
 And when they arrived in the tureen forest shade 
 A hart they beheld at gold tables that played. 
 Beloz''d of my lu-art, zvherefore sorrowest thou 
 so? 
 
THE POWER OF THE HARP 15 
 
 All stopped at the strange brown hart to take 
 heed, 
 
 And allowed the young bride by herself to pro- 
 ceed. 
 Belov'd of my heart, wherefore sorroivest thou 
 so? 
 
 And as the broad bridge she went galloping o'er, 
 Stumbled her steed on his golden shoes four. 
 Belov'd of my heart, wherefore sorroivest thou 
 so ? 
 
 Golden shoes four, each with golden nails three, 
 And the bride was cast into the boiling sea. 
 Belov'd of my heart, wherefore sorroivest thou 
 so? 
 
 Sir Peter he turned at her terrified cry, 
 But the bride she had sunk 'neath the waters 
 high. 
 Belov'd of my heart, wherefore sorroivest thou 
 
 so 
 
 ? 
 
 He called to his men as their hands they wring : 
 " Bring quickly my harp with the golden string ! " 
 Belov'd of my heart, wherefore sorrowest thou 
 so? 
 
16 THE POWER OF THE HARP 
 
 Sir Peter began with such sweetness to play, 
 That the birds all sang as they sat on the spray. 
 Be/ov'd of my heart, wherefore sorrowest thou 
 so? 
 
 The Merman rose from the depths of the sea, 
 And the fair young bride by the hand led he. 
 Be/ov'd of my heart, wherefore sorrozvest thou 
 so ? 
 
 K ' Sir Peter, Sir Peter, thy playing give o'er, 
 Thy beautiful bride to thy arms I restore." 
 
 Be/ov'd of my heart, wherefore sorrowest thou 
 so? 
 
 (l For my bonny bride only I will not give o'er, 
 
 Her five sisters also thou must restore." 
 
 Be/ov'd of my heart, wherefore sorrowest thou 
 so? 
 
 Anew 'gan Sir Peter so sweetly to play, 
 
 That the birds came down from their seat on the 
 spray. 
 Belov'd of my heart, wherefore sorrowest thou 
 so? 
 
THE POWER OF THE HARP 17 
 
 The Merman arose from the depth of the sea, 
 Five pretty maids by the hand led he. 
 
 Belov'd of iny hearty wherefore sorrowest thou 
 so? 
 
 " Sir Peter, Sir Peter, thy playing give o'er, 
 For in truth have I now no maidens more." 
 Belov'd of iiiy heart, wherefore sorrowest thou 
 so? 
 
 From her anguish now is the Lady free, 
 In the arm of Sir Peter each night sleeps she. 
 Belov'd of my heart, wherefore sorrowest thou 
 so? 
 
THE UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE 
 
 HlLDEBRAND gave his sister away, 
 Causing her many a mournful day* 
 
 She was given away and evilly wed, 
 Joy from her bosom quickly fled. 
 
 On Sunday she was a graceful bride, 
 On Monday a prisoner sad she sigh'd. 
 
 " O what, my Lord, have I done to thee ? " 
 " Woman, I had no gold with thee. 
 
 " This have I, Dame, to say to thee, 
 Thou brought st no silver home to me." 
 
 " Thou knowest I brought thee as my dower 
 Eight full coffers to thy bower. 
 
THE UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE uj 
 
 " Two filled with silver, white to see, 
 And two with gold so ruddy of blee. 
 
 " Two filled with sable and mard skins rare, 
 And two with pelts of deer and of bear. 
 
 " Upon thy father I bestow'd 
 Gilded saddle and courser proud. 
 
 " Upon thy mother did I bestow 
 Scarlet to place her feet below. 
 
 " To thy brother a ship from off the wave, 
 To your sister gold from my breast I gave. 
 
 " All thy courtiers I have dight 
 With little shirts as ivory white. 
 
 " No serving lass in the house is there 
 But I gave her silk to snood her hair. 
 
 " With what, my Lord, canst me upbraid, 
 And why in durance am I laid ? " 
 
 " Woman, to thee I've this to say, 
 Thy brothers my father slew in fray." 
 
2o THE UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE 
 
 "If my brothers a deed so dire did dare, 
 I in that deed did in no ways share. 
 
 " And thou for thy father's death wast paid 
 Seven tons of silver, and golden braid. 
 
 " What more, my Lord, canst thou require, 
 To remove from me thy anger dire ? " 
 
 " Woman, with this I thee upbraid, 
 Thou cam'st not into my bed a maid." 
 
 " So lend me, God, in my trouble aid, 
 As I came into thy bed a maid ! 
 
 " And may God never give me grace, 
 If I came not a maid to thy embrace." 
 
 " To-day thou shalt sit within and mourn. 
 To-morrow at dawn on faggots burn.'' 
 
 There she sits and her hands she wrings, 
 Till she heard the clang of the Raven's wings. 
 
 "O Raven, Raven, stay thy wing, 
 
 Canst thou the tune of the watchman sing ?" 
 
THE UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE 21 
 
 " O well can I, and well I ought, 
 
 So little was I when the tune I caught." 
 
 " Wilt fly for me, Raven, to Tonne town, 
 For there my friends and kindred vvonc ? 
 
 " I'll give thee, Raven, a red gold band, 
 To carry my message to Hildebrand. 
 
 " A red gold band I'll give to thee, 
 To tell him the tale of my misery." 
 
 " Thy gold will do me little good, 
 Dearer to me my raven food." 
 
 " O Raven, if thou wilt fly for me, 
 My husband's eyes shall be thy fee." 
 
 Abroad his black wings the Raven threw, 
 And over three kingly realms he flew. 
 
 The Raven into the chamber sped, 
 Where Hildebrand drank the wine so red. 
 
 " Hear thou, Hildebrand the young, 
 Thy sister's into durance flung. 
 
22 THE UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE 
 
 " Here art thou sitting and drinking wine, 
 To-morrow they'll burn sweet sister thine." 
 
 Hildebrand sprang the table o'er, 
 Dashing the wine on the marble floor. 
 
 Hildebrand hies him into the stall, 
 There he beholds the coursers all. 
 
 He viewed the brown, and the gray as well, 
 On the black he laid the gilded selle. 
 
 "Blacklille, Blacklille, if me thou'lt bear, 
 
 Thou on winnowed wheat all thy days shalt fare." 
 
 " Then willingly, willingly, thee I'll bear, 
 But to breathe my name thou must not dare." 
 
 He placed himself Blacklille's back upon, 
 And across the sea then away he ran. 
 
 And when to the midst of the Sound they came, 
 He in evil hour uttered Blacklille's name. 
 
 Blacklille quickly swam to the land, 
 
 But down to the bottom sank Hildebrand. 
 
THE UNFORTUNATE MARRLIUE 23 
 
 On the Ting .stood the damsel at break of day, 
 Then heard she afar off Hlacklille neigh. 
 
 Blacklille ran towards the Ting in wrath, 
 Back scattered both women and men from 
 his path. 
 
 Blacklille he kicked, the Raven he hewed, 
 With the blood of men was his beak embrued. 
 
 Black took on his back the fair young dame, 
 He went from the Ting and with her was tame. 
 
 And when they reached the yellow sand, 
 Upon it was standing Hildebrand. 
 
 " Welcome, sweet Kirsten, dear sister mine, 
 Why is so pallid that cheek of thine ? " 
 
 " The reason my cheek so pale is seen, 
 
 Is because I've far from my dear home been." 
 
 " Now let no honest man," she said, 
 " Into foreign lands his daughter wed. 
 
 " Of gold perhaps he may get a store, 
 But her happiness goeth for evermore." 
 
24 THE UNFORTUNATE MARRIAGE 
 
 Hildebrand kissed her o'er and o'er : 
 
 " My darling sister, pray sorrow no more. 
 
 " Kirsten, I pray thee, pardon me 
 For bringing thee into this misery." 
 
 Then spake Blacklille as he stood :. 
 
 " I've saved thee by shedding human blood. 
 
 " Give me, Kirsten, one little kiss, 
 
 And the Raven one on that beak of his." 
 
 On their mouths she kissed them both with 
 
 glee — - 
 From hideous thrall were they both set free. 
 
 She kissed them both with good will, I ween, 
 
 They changed to her brothers who lost had 
 been. 
 
 They all pressed her fondly to their breast, 
 From sorrow and woe she is now at rest. 
 
THE WRESTLING-MATCH 
 
 As one day I wandered lonely, in extreme 
 
 distress of mind, 
 I a pleasant garden entered, hoping comfort 
 
 there to find. 
 Up and down I paced the garden till an open 
 
 space I spied, 
 There I saw a crowd of people, and I heard a 
 
 voice that cried : 
 " Come and see what Love is doing, here is Love 
 
 performing more 
 Wondrous feats than e'er were witnessed at 
 
 Olympian games of yore : 
 This he conquers, that he conquers, young and 
 
 old before him lie, 
 Great and small alike he conquers, none with 
 
 him a fall must try. 
 
26 THE WRESTLING-MATCH 
 
 Hearing this at once I entered 'midst the crowd 
 
 collected there, 
 Some of whom no doubt were eager like myself 
 
 to banish care. 
 I would fain behold this being, this same 
 
 wondrous lad survey, 
 Who 'twas said in each encounter bore with ease 
 
 the prize away. 
 Quickly I the crowd divided, soon I pierced the 
 
 multitude, 
 And this Love stood full before me, and what 
 
 think you 'twas I view'd? 
 Why a boy, a little darling, full of captivating 
 
 grace, 
 Rather roguish were his glances, but how lovely 
 
 was his face ! 
 
 Soon as I beheld this warrior gibings I began to 
 
 throw 
 At the wretches who had suffered fell defeat 
 
 from such a foe. 
 
THE WRESTLING-MATCH 27 
 
 Then, to me His visage turning, of the conquered 
 
 standing by 
 One replied, and in replying tears he shed 
 
 abundantly : 
 "O, poor youth," 'twas thus he answered," little, 
 
 little dost thou know 
 That in coming here thou comest not to joy, 
 
 but bitter woe. 
 Tears, and pains, and wounds most ghastly, 
 
 wounds for which there is no cure, 
 Every kind of evil treatment such as no one can 
 
 endure." 
 
 When these words I heard him utter I was filled 
 
 with bitter rage, 
 And forthwith made preparation with the warrior 
 
 to engage. 
 " Hearken, Master Love," I shouted, " from this 
 
 spot stir not away, 
 You and I must have a battle, must engage in 
 
 deadly fray ; 
 
28 THE WRESTLING-MATCH 
 
 That it may be known for certain which is 
 
 strongest of us two." 
 Then into the arena bounding there I stood in 
 
 all men's view, 
 In the midst of it expecting firm the onset of 
 
 the foe, 
 Doubting not should he attack me him at once 
 
 to overthrow. 
 Love he was not slow to follow with a blythe 
 
 and joyous air, 
 Crying out, " My dearest fellow, for the fight 
 
 yourself prepare ! 
 Round the waist each other clasping now let's 
 
 strive like wrestlers true, 
 Do your best and I will show you what young 
 
 Master Love can do." 
 
 Then around the waist I clasped him, he his 
 
 arms around me wound, 
 Long we hugged and hugged each other, each 
 
 his match in t'other found. 
 
THE WRESTLING-MATCH 29 
 
 Said at length the urchin to me : " Sadly tired, 
 
 friend, am I, 
 Very much fatigued and weary, really friend 
 
 just fit to die. 
 Therefore take from me, I prythee, what thou 
 
 anxiously hast sought, 
 And for which in this arena with me gallantly 
 
 hast fought." 
 
 Then a blast of wild consuming fiie he breathed 
 
 into my breast, 
 Straight my breast it quick enkindled, all 
 
 deprived was I of rest, 
 Then he ran away exulting to some other 
 
 wretched wight, 
 Such a zest he has for conflict, in such fray is 
 
 his delight. 
 
 As for me I fell half senseless on the fatal, fatal 
 
 spot, 
 Fierce consuming fire within me, never sure was 
 
 one so hot. 
 
30 THE WRESTLING MATCH 
 
 Rising up I followed shrieking, " Oh have 
 
 mercy, Love, on me ! 
 See my tears, my sad affliction, cure me of my 
 
 misery ! " 
 
 Then he cried, " Dost not remember all the 
 
 boasts thy lips out-pour'd ? 
 Know henceforth in every region Love is 
 
 Conqueror and Lord." 
 
 Thus he cried, and proudly left me, and wherever 
 
 now I rove, 
 I reproach myself for thinking I could vanquish 
 
 mighty Love. 
 
THE WARRIOR 
 
 From the Arabic. 
 
 THOU lov'st to look on myrtles green, 
 And the narcissus bright of hue ; 
 
 I love the blaze of sabres keen, 
 I love the dagger's flash to view. 
 
 Thou, thou may'st drink the rosy wine 
 From golden goblets sculptured o'er ; 
 
 From foemen's skulls the joy be mine 
 To drink my foemen's reeking gore. 
 
London 
 Printed for THOMAS J. WISE, Ilnmpstead, N.W. 
 Edition limited to Thirty Copies. 
 
FINNISH ARTS 
 
 OR 
 
 SIR THOR AND DAMSEL THURE 
 
 A BALLAD 
 
 BY 
 
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FINNISH ARTS 
 
 OR 
 
 SIR THOR AND DAMSEL THURE 
 
 A HALL AD 
 
 11 v 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 
 PRINTED FUR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 1913 
 
Copyright in the United Slates of America 
 by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. for Clement Shorter. 
 
FINNISH ARTS 
 
 OR 
 
 SIR THOR and DAMSEL THURE. 
 
 Sir Thor was a knight of prowess tried, 
 The son of a king he was beside. 
 
 He was a knight excelled by none, 
 
 At home such deeds of might he'd done. 
 
 And not alone in his native home, 
 
 But manhood had he displayed at Rome. 
 
 He faithfully served the emperor, 
 And hatred to all his foes he bore. 
 
 King of Norroway was his sire, 
 
 His fame spreads over the world entire. 
 
 He was a King both aged and grey, 
 
 So he summoned his son from Rome away. 
 
 He summoned his son from Rome away, 
 To help him Norway's land to sway. 
 
 c 
 
8 SIR THOR AND DAMSEL THURE 
 
 As soon as the tidings reached Sir Thor, 
 He hied to the Roman Emperor. 
 
 " Hail, Emperor Ludvig, great and brave ! 
 Thy leave to return to my sire 1 crave." 
 
 " Freely shalt thou permission gain, 
 
 And thy post shall vacant for thee remain." 
 
 He greeted all the knightly train, 
 They begged him quickly return again. 
 
 When from Rome he came to his own countrie, 
 His father welcomed him heartilie. 
 
 His dear son married he fain would see, 
 And divide with him his domain would he. 
 
 He envoys sends with all despatch 
 To seek a maid with his son to match. 
 
 They travelled wide with unwearied mind 
 Before his equal they could find. 
 
 O'er land and sea so wide they speed, 
 Until they reached the land of Swede. 
 
S/R THOR AND DAMSEL THURE 
 
 And when they reached the Swedish State, 
 They found one worthy to be his mate. 
 
 Damsel Thura the maiden hight, 
 In Swedish land was none so bright. 
 
 The loveliest maiden in all the land, 
 Her father was high Sir Sallemand. 
 
 He was a noble rich and great, 
 
 His equal was not in Sweden's State. 
 
 So glad to Norroway back they wend, 
 That the matter be brought to a happy end. 
 
 They the tidings to their lord declare 
 That they had found a damsel rare. 
 
 No fairer was in the Swede countrie, 
 Nor in all the isles there round that be. 
 
 The heart of Sir Thor with joy beat loud 
 When they described the damsel proud. 
 
 He spoke to his men, so gallant and stout, 
 Who were to attend him in his rout : 
 
 c 2 
 
io S/R TH&R AND DAMSEL THURE 
 
 " We must quickly away, so ready make, 
 I've sworn an oath I dare not break, 
 
 " As soon as the lovely rose was found, 
 To her o'er land and sea to bound." 
 
 They hoisted their sails on the yard so high, 
 And out of the haven away they fly. 
 
 So gay thence sailed they every one, 
 
 To Sweden in less than a month they won. 
 
 The noble he steered his ship to the land, 
 
 Sir Thor was the first who stepped on the sand 
 
 The knight he sprang on his courser red : 
 " God help us now to this lovely maid." 
 
 As they through the land of Sweden hied, 
 The folks received them with joy and pride. 
 
 To Sir Sallemand's house came Sir Thor on 
 
 his steed, 
 Erect in his sables stood the Swede. 
 
 " Here stand'st thou, Sir Sallemand, gallantly 
 
 dight, 
 Say, wilt thou house me with thee to-night?" 
 
SIR THQR AND DAMSEL THURE u 
 
 "As one from God thou shalt welcome be, 
 Respect and honour I pay to thee." 
 
 To the hall of the women Sir Thor led they, 
 His eyes fell straight on the lovely may. 
 
 They washed their hands and to table went, 
 With the music and talk were they well content. 
 
 And when they had feasted all so free, 
 They cried for chess to increase their glee. 
 
 "Sir Sallemand, listen to what I say, 
 May I at chess with thy daughter play ? " 
 
 " Yes, thou to play with her art free, 
 Whether within or without I be." 
 
 The young Sir Thor and Thure the maid, 
 A game of chess at the table played. 
 
 The longer they played, they happier grew, 
 Full pleased with each other were the two. 
 
 " Hear thou, May Thure, thou lily bright, 
 Wilt thou with thy white hand thyself to me 
 plight ? " 
 
12 SIR THOR AND DAMSEL THURE 
 
 " Hear thou, Sir Thor, I tell thee plain, 
 My faith and troth thou may'st obtain. 
 
 " My faith and troth I would plight to thee 
 If I knew thou would 'st be true to me." 
 
 " May Christ destroy the dastard vile 
 Who a noble maid would ever beguile ! " 
 
 She gave him her troth with her hand so fair, 
 But what she did more there was none aware. 
 
 From his hand a gold bracelet he unbound, 
 And placed it the Damsel's arm around. 
 
 " Hear me, May Thure," then said he, 
 
 " How long wilt thou tarry a maid for me ? " 
 
 " I will, Sir Thor, if need there be, 
 , For eighteen winters wait for thee." 
 
 " So long a time thou need'st not wait, 
 No longer a time than winters eight." 
 
 When the eight winters they were o'er 
 The damsel began to grieve so sore. 
 
SIR THOR AND DAMSEL THURF t 3 
 
 The damsel began to grieve so sore, 
 And briny tears from her eyes to pour. 
 
 A noble Duke has paid her his suit, 
 A hero was he, on horse and on foot. 
 
 The Duke to her royal father said : 
 
 " Wilt give me counsel thy daughter to wed ? 
 
 "And she I'll hold, till life depart, 
 As the only lady of my heart." 
 
 So rash a man was Sir Sallemand, 
 
 To the Duke he promised his daughter's hand. 
 
 " I'll give my daughter to thy good hand, 
 She never shall go into Norroway land. 
 
 " Sir Thor shall never behold the day, 
 That he with her shall Norway sway." 
 
 The Damsel Tliure pined so sore, 
 
 And the tears afresh down her cheeks did pour. 
 
 To the castle bridge she wends her way, 
 And watches the ships in the sound that lay. 
 
M SIR THOR AND DAMSEL THURE 
 
 Their sails both brown and white she viewed, 
 And them with her fingers small she sewed. 
 
 " I sewed like sails with these fingers of mine, 
 Perhaps Sir Thor yonder ploughs the brine." 
 
 So she lamented in piteous guise, 
 But no one heard the maiden's cries. 
 
 " To his true love each lad comes home, 
 And why not mine across the foam ? 
 
 " O would to Christ I had a friend, 
 
 That I to the shore a message might send. 
 
 " I'd give him presents rich and fair, 
 
 If he would in secret my message bear." 
 
 Straight then answered the little foot-boy : 
 
 " Thy message I'll bear to the strand with joy." 
 
 The boy he ran to the yellow sand, 
 
 Sir Thor was steering his ship to the land. 
 
 Sir Thor was the first who stepped to shore, 
 To him his message the foot-boy bore. 
 
S/A THOR AND DAMSEL THXTRE 15 
 
 " How speed the folk on this island, say ? 
 How speeds fair Thure, my plighted may ? " 
 
 " O well doth she speed through heaven's grace, 
 To-morrow her bridal will take place. 
 
 '■ She's betrothed to a Duke of high degree, 
 Live and die with her will he." 
 
 " Ere he shall gain my betrothed may, 
 I'll have with that Duke a bloody fray." 
 
 His cloak of sable he o'er him throws, 
 And unto Sir Sallemand's hall he goes. 
 
 He took the shining chess-table of gold, 
 And into the high hall strode he bold. 
 
 " Is there any man this hall within, 
 Who at chess with me a game can win ? 
 
 " Who a game at chess can skilfully play, 
 And win a foreigner's gold away?" 
 
 All then sate so hushed and still, 
 
 None save May Thure would prove their skill. 
 
i6 SIR THOR AND DAMSEL THCRF. 
 
 But Damsel Thure, she answered free : 
 " Yes, I will at chess-table play with thee." 
 
 May Thure covered her golden head, 
 And unto her father she is sped. 
 
 " Here thou sitt'st and drink'st wine from the 
 
 shell, 
 And may I sit down at chess-table ? 
 
 " At the table a game of chess to play, 
 Will help to beguile the longsome day." 
 
 " Yes, by the Saints ! my daughter bright, 
 At chess thou may'st play from now till night. 
 
 " At chess to play thou, my girl, art free, 
 Whether within or without I be." 
 
 Thereto her mother answer made, 
 In evil arts she was deeply read : 
 
 " Of Sir Thor the powerful have thou care, 
 Lest he at chess-table thee ensnare. 
 
 " Do thou with thy maids in thy bower stay, 
 At tables of gold thou shalt not play." 
 
.9/7? THOR AND DAMSEL THURE 17 
 
 But the maid no ear to her mother lent, 
 To play at tables away she went. 
 
 The first game on the board they played 
 Was won by Thure, the lily maid. 
 
 " The eagle flies across the moor, 
 He heeds but little the tempest's roar. 
 
 " All that he findeth he swalloweth, 
 How like to a woman devoid of faith ! " 
 
 " O do not cast such reproach at me, 
 Remember I waited eight years for thee." 
 
 " Hear thou, Damsel, what word I say 
 Wilt follow me now to Norroway ? " 
 
 " I'll follow thee gladly to Norroway's land, 
 If I with thee can reach the strand." 
 
 The Damsel she was a lily flower, 
 
 She followed Sir Thor to the rugged shore. 
 
 He took her tenderly by the waist, 
 
 And on the gilt prow the Damsel placed. 
 
1 8 SIR THOR AND DAMSEL THURE 
 
 Sir Trior spread his sail on the yard-arm good, 
 And out to the open sea he stood. 
 
 The wind filled bravely the silken sail, 
 The ship sprang lightly before the gale. 
 
 Sir Thor he waved his hat with delight, 
 " Bid ye, Sir Sallemand, a long good night 
 
 " And tell the Duke, when he comes to wed, 
 That Thor has taken his plighted maid." 
 
 A messenger swift Sir Sallemand hailed : 
 
 " Away with thy daughter Sir Thor has sailed ! " 
 
 To that Sir Sallemand replied : 
 
 " She was his own betrothed bride." 
 
 But her mother said with a grimly frown : 
 " They soon shall sink to the bottom clown. 
 
 " For I will cause a storm to blow, 
 
 Shall make them both to the bottom go." 
 
 Proud Mette and her nine witches hoar, 
 They hurried screaming to the shore. 
 
S/R THOR AND DAMSEL THURE 19 
 
 She waked on the sea a tempest blast, 
 
 The sand from the bottom the waves upcast. 
 
 For seven long days, and long nights seven, 
 Together were blended earth and heaven. 
 
 But all the mother could send for their hurt, 
 With ease the daughter could avert. 
 
 " O woe is me, how rash my part, 
 When I taught her all my secret art ! " 
 
 There was none on board that tide 
 Who was able the ship to guide, 
 
 Save Damsel Thure, save her alone, 
 And of her little pages one. 
 
 " Thou little page, if thou'lt stand by me, 
 Full fairly I reward will thee. 
 
 " The best of scarlet thou shalt don, 
 And ride a noble horse upon." 
 
 " I will faithfully by thee stand, 
 Until in safety we gain the land." 
 
20 SIR THOR AND DAMSEL THURE 
 
 Answers Sir Thor in the hold as he lies : 
 " Many suffer yet promise not in that guise. 
 
 " And many as brilliant promises give, 
 Yet never perform them whilst they live." 
 
 " Climb, little boy, on the mast so high, 
 And see if to land we are drawing nigh. 
 
 " But whether thou steppest aft or afore, 
 Step not, I pray, on my bridegroom Thor." 
 
 " O lady, no more of the land I see 
 
 Than the topmost bough of the good pine tree. 
 
 " No more of the pomp of the world can I 
 Than just the top of the oak espy." 
 
 " If the top of a tree salute thine eyes, 
 'Tis time to bid my bridegroom rise. 
 
 '' Sir Thor, arise, and stand on the prow, 
 The Lord to the haven brings us now." 
 
 She steered the vessel towards the land, 
 Sir Thor stepped first upon the sand. 
 
SIR THOR AND DAMSEL THURE 21 
 
 The people of Norway thronged the shore, 
 They welcomed so well their King, Sir Thor. 
 
 They welcomed and blest their King, Sir Thor, 
 But they welcomed and blest his lady more. 
 
 The Damsel he took in such gallant way, 
 He lifted her up on his courser gray. 
 
 He bore her to his own castle fair, 
 Where they did dwell devoid of care. 
 
 His bridal with speed and with joy held he, 
 To his own repose and to her great glee. 
 
 He embraced so fondly her dainty frame, 
 The crown he gave her and Queenly name. 
 
 His palace she enters to wone therein, 
 She dons the scarlet and ermine skin. 
 
 The scarlet she wears, and the gold- laced shoe ; 
 May every knight as Sir Thor prove true ! 
 
 Sir Thor to his faith was steady and true, 
 And true to her troth was the lady too. 
 
A NEW SONG 
 TO AN OLD TUNE 
 
 Who starves his wife, 
 
 And denies her clothing ? 
 Bright the Shaker, 
 
 The humbug Quaker ! 
 
 Merrily danced tlie Quaker s wife, 
 
 Merrily danced the Quaker ; 
 But tlie wife of Briglit is too starved to dance, 
 
 A nd he's too fat to caper. 
 
 He grudges the wretch a morsel of food, 
 He grudges her even clothing ; 
 
 Once, 'tis said, to the cupboard she stole, 
 But there to steal found nothing. 
 
A NEW SONG TO AN OLD TUNE 23 
 
 But Bright's as fat as a bacon hog, 
 
 The old outrageous sinner ; 
 For he will stuff at any fool's cost, 
 
 Who'll ask him home to dinner. 
 
 Merrily danced the Quakers wife, 
 
 Merrily danced the Quaker ; 
 But the wife of Bright is too starved to dance, 
 
 And he's too fat to caper. 
 
 Who starves his wife. 
 
 And denies her clothing ? 
 Bright the Shaker, 
 
 The humbug Quaker ! 
 
ODE 
 FROM ANACREON 
 
 The earth to drink does not disdain. 
 The trees drink of the earth full fain. 
 
 Of the light air the sea drinks free, 
 The red sun drinkcth from the sea, 
 
 And the red sun, at pride of noon, 
 I've seen drunk up by the pale moon. 
 
 Then why, friend, with me prove in ire, 
 That I to drink too feel desire ? 
 
LINES 
 FROM THE ITALIAN 
 
 " Repent, O repent ! " said a Friar one day 
 To a reprobate wretch, as expiring he lay ; 
 
 " As I came up the stairs, I was frightened to see 
 The devil who's waiting to seize upon thee." 
 
 " You saw him then truly ? " " Too truly, alas ! " 
 "And under what shape?" "Under that of an 
 ass." 
 
 " Well, well ! " cried the sinner," I am not afraid, 
 You've only been terrified by your own shade." 
 
A DRINKING SONG 
 
 O how my breast is glowing 
 When I am drinking wine ; 
 
 And how my verse is flowing 
 In honour of the nine. 
 
 How vanish grief and sorrow 
 When I am drinking wine ; 
 
 Each thought about the morrow, 
 Each project and design. 
 
 Through roseate space I'm gliding 
 When I am drinking wine ; 
 
 My spirit 'neath the guiding 
 Of Bacchus, the divine. 
 
A DRINKING SONG 27 
 
 I crown my head with flowers 
 
 When I am drinking wine, 
 And say : " Almighty powers, 
 
 A quiet life be mine ! " 
 
 The air with sweets perfuming, 
 
 When I am drinking wine, 
 I sit with damsel blooming 
 
 Beneath a spreading vine. 
 
 No thought am I concealing 
 
 When I am drinking wine ; 
 My bosom's all revealing, 
 
 I sit beneath the vine. 
 
 My tongue I watch not over 
 
 When I am drinking wine ; 
 My heart I all discover, 
 
 And naught within confine. 
 
London : 
 Printed for THOMAS J. WISE, Hampstead, N.W. 
 
 Edition limited to Thirty C<>/>ies. 
 
A 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 TO 
 
 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 
 
 Inspired by 
 FORDS "HAND-BOOK FOR TRAVKLLERS IN SPAIN. 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London- : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 191. 5 
 
A 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 TO 
 
 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 
 
 
12 Spanish 
 
 It was formerly our custom lo rrad Uie Don 
 every ihiee years ; we still keep up thai custom in \ 
 to do so whilst life remains. We say i/< port, because we 
 condDde will ivc huh J 
 
 sympathy with the pranks dtspeaswL upon £ is mastc / ' r 
 
 . i i- i '')" '' 1C ' r> u ^ e wwi Duchess, —**"*** "rrupya mmithimliln pus** 
 
 _^ J-4 m t bo De e- wd I juj l i ; and as for iIjl ana 
 
 at Samaria, it appears to ds I 
 Bantaria, wc are told, was a place upon tk D 
 f^L- sjsting of some thousand inhabitants; and ol was 
 
 •i ^i fery possible lor a a poor squire go- 
 
 i . bal we do sooaei get u> Bantaria than we I 
 pot in a tt ^i w.- k but in a capital in Madrid The governor at 
 night makes his ronndsj attended bv -an immense watch] 
 wanders from one street to another for bonis; be ej 
 kinds of adventures, not mock but real adv< nlures ■ kinds 
 
 of characters, not mock bin real 
 circuses, theatres, gambling-houses, and su< !i like j 
 \f a honlet_n£uui& I thousand inhabitants, in which, bj it.;' way, 
 
 \ nothing but a cat ii ever beard stirring after eight ■ 
 
 m- consider t < be carrying the joke miber loo far; 
 5a . bat the readei who is joked with. B 
 
 widely different affair : ail the scenes are adm ble S i i 
 
 lire a thousand years, we should nerei 9 ."- j 
 
 upon us \t\ the U*wiV-aXi^4r t-»*h-^ t*- p m>.>i^ t *«*iv ■■ _ %■! i. ■ t - - ' -p - rVJ T v ffi&V « 
 
 h*^ gl i i t ii S . y . . md by the sequel tl 
 ventures in the Brown Mountain. We can on t] dt ol 
 scenes as astonishing — i!jc-\ have never been equalled in 
 b'ne. There is another wonderful book ^u ^« wi *| 
 what we maj i ■'' I (He ftald Ufa ol E e 
 ■ , t\ i ,^-****-L*b — we allude <-■> course to Le Sage's nove which 
 
 VUIX ' whole we prefer to Don Qu 
 
 iiuj more tru lo tul '■■- ■■ tl ■ n i . , in I 
 other great work. Shame to Spain tl phi 
 
 t* statue I ! e Sage « bo has d 
 her ; but miserable envy and 
 
 inifestcd Spain 
 Ther. .. ,. stains in the gi ind 
 
 has imitated without acknowledgment three -.■-.,.,, 
 
 taiued in the lift ol Obregon, a curious work, of which ■■■ 
 ■'. spoken, and to which on some future rcas 
 ■ revert, 
 J!ui the Hand-book ' We take leave of it «i'.Ii the I 
 respei t and admiration 
 
 to tra but to the puMioin genera!, as a i 
 
 ^ vir. high >rder. written i i man who has ■ 
 
 bis whole lime, talents, and all the various treasures of an «■-.- 
 tensive learoii g cntion. We n peal that wc wen 
 
 m unprepared for such a liti rary treat as i.e I 
 
 us. It is our sincere wish that at bis full com 
 
 favoui us wit] 
 
 I enl work. I; hardlj becomes us t» point out to an author 
 
 subjects on which to exercise bis powers. We - 
 
 lake the liberty of hinting tbat a s?ood history •-! Sjnin ■ ;■ 
 
 exist at least in English— and thainol even Shdton produced a 
 
 satisfactory translation of the great gem ol 5p lerature 
 
 ' The Life and Adventures of Don Q 
 
 [ t -_ 
 
 
A 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 TO 
 
 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 
 
 Inspired by 
 
 FORD'S " HAND-ISOOK. FOR TRAVELLERS IN SPAIN." 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 LONDI IN : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 1913 
 
PREFATORY NOTE 
 
 In 1845 Richard Ford published his Hand- Book for 
 Travellers in Spain and Readers at Home [2 Vols. 
 Svo.], a work which still commands attention, and 
 the compilation of which is said to have occupied its 
 author for more than sixteen years. In conformity 
 with the wish of Ford (who had himself favourably 
 reviewed The Bible in Spain) Borrow undertook to 
 produce a study of the Hand-Book for The Quarterly 
 Review. The following Essay was the result. 
 
 But the Essay, brilliant as it is, was not a ' Review.' 
 Not until page 6 of the suppressed edition (p. 25 of the 
 present edition) is reached is the Hand-Book even men- 
 tioned, and but little concerning it appears thereafter. 
 Lockhart, then editing the Quarterly, proposed to 
 render it more suitable for the purpose for which it 
 had been intended by himself interpolating a series of 
 extracts from Ford's volumes. Hut Borrow would 
 tolerate no interference with his work, and promptly 
 
8 PREFATORY NOTE 
 
 withdrew the Essay, which had meanwhile been set 
 up in type. The following letter, addressed by 
 Lockhart to Ford, sufficiently explains the position : 
 
 London, 
 
 June 13///, 1845. 
 Dear Ford, 
 
 ' El Gitano ' sent me a paper on the " Hand- 
 Book," which I read with delight. It seemed just 
 another capital chapter of his " Bible in Spain," and I 
 thought, as there was hardly a word of ' review,' and 
 no extract giving the least notion of the peculiar merits 
 and style of the "Hand-Book," that I could easily (as 
 is my constant custom) supply the humbler part myself, 
 and so present at once a fair review of the work, and a 
 lively specimen of our friend's vein of eloquence in 
 exordio. 
 
 But, behold ! he will not a/low any tampering .... 
 / now write to condole 7vi/h you ; for I am very 
 sensible, after all, that you run a great risk in having 
 your book committed to hands far less competent for 
 treating it or any other book of Spanish interest than 
 Borrow 's would haze been .... but I consider that, 
 after all, in the case of a new author, it is the first 
 duty of " The Quarterly Review " to introduce that 
 author fully and fairly to the public. 
 
 Ever Yours Truly, 
 
 J. G. Lockhart. 
 
PREFATORY NOTE 9 
 
 The action of Lockhart in seeking to amend his 
 Essay excited Borrow's keenest indignation, and 
 induced him to produce the following amusing 
 squib : — 
 
 . Would it not be more dignified 
 To run up debts on every side. 
 And then to pay your debts refuse, 
 Than vi rite for rascally Revietos? 
 And lectures give to great and small, 
 In pot-house, theatre, and town-hall, 
 Wearing your brains by night and day 
 To win the means to pay your way? 
 I vow by him who reigns in [//<"//], 
 // would be more respectable ! 
 
 This squib was never printed by Borrow. I 
 chanced to light upon it recently in a packet of his 
 as yet unpublished verse. 
 
 The Essay itself is far too interesting, and far too 
 characteristic of its author, to be permitted to remain 
 any longer inaccessible ; hence the present reprint. 
 The original is a folio pamphlet, extending to twelve 
 numbered pages. Of this pamphlet no more than 
 two copies would appear to have been struck off, and 
 both are fortunately extant to-day. One of these was 
 formerly in the possession of Dr. William J. Knapp, 
 and is now the property of the Hispanic Society of 
 New York. The second example is in my own 
 library. This was Borrow's own copy, and is freely 
 
 1: 
 
io PREFATORY NOTE 
 
 corrected in his handwriting throughout. From this 
 copy the present edition has been printed, and in 
 preparing it the whole of the corrections and additions 
 made by Borrow to the text of the original pamphlet 
 have been adopted. 
 
 A reduced facsimile of the last page of the 
 pamphlet serves as frontispiece to the present 
 volume. 
 
 T. J. W. 
 
A 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 TO 
 
 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 
 
 Does Gibraltar, viewing the horrors which are 
 continually taking place in Spain, and which, not- 
 withstanding their frequent grotesqueness, have 
 drawn down upon that country the indignation of 
 the entire civilized world, never congratulate herself 
 on her severance from the peninsula, for severed she 
 is morally and physically? Who knows what is 
 passing in the bosom of the old Rock? Yet on 
 observing the menacing look which she casts upon 
 Spain across the neutral ground, we have thought that 
 provided she could speak it would be something after 
 the following fashion : — 
 
 Accursed land ! I hate thee ; and, far from being 
 a defence, will invariably prove a thorn in thy side, a 
 source of humiliation and ignominy, a punishment for 
 thy sorceries, thy abominations and idolatries — thy 
 cruelty, thy cowardice and miserable pride ; I will 
 
13 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 look on whilst thy navies are burnt in my many bays, 
 and thy armies perish before my eternal walls — I will 
 look on whilst thy revenues are defrauded and ruined, 
 and thy commerce becomes a bye word and a 
 laughing-stock, and I will exult the while and shout 
 — 'I am an instrument in the hand of the Lord, even 
 I, the old volcanic hill — I have pertained to the Moor 
 and the Briton — they have unfolded their banners 
 from my heights, and I have been content — I have 
 belonged solely to the irrational beings of nature, and 
 no human hum invaded my solitudes; the eagle 
 nestled on my airy crags, and the tortoise and the 
 sea-calf dreamed in my watery caverns undisturbed ; 
 even then I was content, for I was aloof from Spain 
 and her sons. The days of my shame were those 
 when I was clasped in her embraces and was polluted 
 by her crimes ; when I was a forced partaker in her 
 bad faith, soul-subduing tyranny, and degrading 
 fanaticism ; when I heard only her bragging tongue, 
 and was redolent of nought but the breath of hei 
 smoke-loving borrachos ; when I was a prison for her 
 convicts and a garrison for her rabble soldiery — 
 Spain, accursed land, I hate thee : may I, like my 
 African neighbour, become a house and a retreat only 
 for vile baboons rather than the viler Spaniard. May 
 I sink beneath the billows, which is my foretold fate, 
 ere I become again a parcel of Spain — accursed land, 
 I hate thee, and so long as I can uphold my brow 
 will still look menacingly on Spain.' 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN" 13 
 
 Strong language this, it will perhaps be observed — 
 but when the rocks speak strong language may be 
 expected, and it is no slight matter which will set 
 stones a-speaking. Surely, if ever there was a time 
 for Gibraltar to speak, it is the present, and we leave 
 it to our readers to determine whether the above is 
 not a real voice from Gibraltar heard by ourselves one 
 moonlight night at Algeziras, as with our hands in our 
 pockets we stood on the pier, staring across the bay 
 in the direction of the rock. 
 
 ' Poor Spain, unfortunate Spain !' we have frequently 
 heard Spaniards exclaim. Were it worth while 
 asking the Spaniard a reason for anything he says or 
 does, we should be tempted to ask him why he 
 apostrophizes his country in this manner. If she is 
 wretched and miserable and bleeding, has she any- 
 thing but what she richly deserves, and has brought 
 down upon her own head ? By Spain we of course 
 mean the Spanish nation — for as for the country, it is 
 so much impassible matter, so much rock and sand, 
 chalk and clay — with which we have for the moment 
 nothing to do. It has pleased her to play an arrant 
 jade's part, the part of a inula falsa, a vicious mule, 
 and now, and not for the first time, the brute has 
 been chastised — there she lies on the road amidst the 
 dust, the blood running from her nose. Did our 
 readers ever peruse the book of the adventures of the 
 Squire Marcos de Obregon ? * No ! How should our 
 
 * Relaciones de la vida del Escudero Marcos de Obregon. 
 
14 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 readers have perused the scarce book of the life and 
 adventures of Obregon? never mind! we to whom it 
 has been given to hear the voice of Gibraltar whilst 
 standing on the pier of Algeziras one moonlight 
 evening, with our hands in our pockets, jingling the 
 cuartos which they contained, have read with con- 
 siderable edification the adventures of the said 
 Marcos, and will tell the reader a story out of the 
 book of his life. So it came to pass that in one of his 
 journeys the Senor de Obregon found himself on the 
 back of a mule, which, to use his own expression, had 
 the devil in her body, a regular jade, which would 
 neither allow herself to be shod or saddled without 
 making all the resistance in her power — was in the 
 habit of flinging herself down whenever she came to a 
 sandy place, and rolling over with her heels in the air. 
 An old muleteer, who observed her performing this 
 last prank, took pity on her rider, and said, "Gentle- 
 man student, I wish to give you a piece of advice 
 with respect to that animal " — and then he gave Marcos 
 the piece of advice, which Marcos received with the 
 respect due to a man of the muleteer's experience, 
 and proceeded on his way. Coming to a sandy place 
 shortly after, he felt that the mule was, as usual, about 
 to give way to her penchant, whereupon, without 
 saying a word to any body, he followed the advice of 
 the muleteer and with a halter which he held in his 
 hand struck with all fury the jade between the two 
 ears. Down fell the mule in the dust, and, rolling on 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 15 
 
 her side, turned up the whites of her eyes. ' And as 
 I stood by looking at her,' said Marcos, 'I was almost 
 sorry that I had struck her so hard, seeing how she 
 turned up the whites of her eyes. At length, how- 
 ever, I took a luncheon of bread, and steeping it in 
 wine from my bota, I thrust it between her jaws, and 
 thus revived her ; and I assure you that from that 
 moment she never played any tricks with me, but 
 behaved both formally and genteelly under all circum- 
 stances, but especially when going over sandy ground. 
 I am told, however, that as soon as I parted with her 
 she fell into her old pranks, refusing to be shod or 
 saddled — rushing up against walls and scarifying the 
 leg of her rider, and flinging herself down in all sandy 
 places.' Now we say, without the slightest regard to 
 contradiction, knowing that no one save a Spaniard 
 will contradict us, that Spain has invariably proved 
 herself just such a jade as the mule of the cavalier 
 De Obregon : with a kind and merciful rider what will 
 she not do ? Look at her, how she refuses to be 
 bridled or shod — how she scarifies the poor man's leg 
 against rude walls, how ill she behaves in sandy 
 places, and how occasionally diving her head between 
 her fore-legs and kicking up behind she causes him to 
 perform a somersault in the air to the no small discom- 
 posure of his Spanish gravity ; but let her once catch 
 a Tartar who will give her the garrote right well 
 between the ears, and she can behave as well as any 
 body. One of the best of her riders was Charles the 
 
16 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 First. How the brute lay floundering in the dust on 
 the plains of Villalar, turning up the whites of her 
 eyes, the blood streaming thick from her dishonest 
 nose ! There she lay, the Fleming staring at her, 
 with the garrote in his hand. That's right, Fleming ! 
 give it her again — and withhold the sopa till the very 
 last extremity. 
 
 Then there was Napoleon again, who made her 
 taste the garrote ; she was quiet enough under him, 
 but he soon left her and went to ride other jades, and 
 his place was filled by those who, though they had no 
 liking for her, had not vigour enough to bring her 
 down on her side. She is down, however, at present, 
 if ever she was in her life — blood streaming from her 
 nose amidst the dust, the whites of her eyes turned up 
 very much, whilst staring at her with uplifted garrote 
 stands Narvaez. 
 
 Yes, there lies Spain, and who can pity her? — she 
 could kick off the kind and generous Espartero, who, 
 though he had a stout garrote in his hand, and knew 
 what kind of conditioned creature she was, forbore to 
 strike her, to his own mighty cost and damage. She 
 kicked off him, and took up — whom? a regular 
 muleteer, neither more nor less. We have nothing 
 further to say about him ; he is at present in his 
 proper calling, we bear him no ill-will, and only wish 
 that God may speed him. But never shall we forget 
 the behaviour of the jade some two years ago. O the 
 yell that she set up, the true mulish yell — knowing all 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 17 
 
 the time that she had nothing to fear from her rider, 
 knowing that he would not strike her between the 
 ears. ' Come here, you scoundrel, and we will make 
 a bell-clapper of your head, and of your bowels a string 
 to hang it by ' — that was the cry of the Barcelonese, 
 presently echoed in every town and village throughout 
 Spain — and that cry was raised immediately after he 
 had remitted the mulct which he had imposed on 
 Barcelona for unprovoked rebellion. But the mule is 
 quiet enough now ; no such yell is heard now at 
 Barcelona, or in any nook or corner of Spain. No, 
 no — the Caballero was kicked out of the saddle, and 
 the muleteer sprang up — There she lies, the brute ! 
 Bien hecho, Narvaez — Don't spare the garrote nor the 
 mule ! 
 
 It is very possible that from certain passages which 
 we have written above, some of our readers may come 
 to the conclusion that we must be partisans either of 
 Espartero or Narvaez, perhaps of both. In such 
 case, however, they would do us wrong. Having 
 occasion at present to speak of Spain, we could 
 hardly omit taking some notice of what has been 
 lately going on in ihe country, and of the two 
 principal performers in the late funcion. We have 
 not been inatteniive observers of it ; and have, more- 
 over, some knowledge of the country ; but any such 
 feeling as partisanship we disclaim Of Narvaez, the 
 muleteer, we repeat that we have nothing more to 
 say, his character is soon read. Of the caballero — of 
 
 c 
 
iS A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 Espartero, we take this opportunity of observing that 
 the opinion which we at first entertained of him, 
 grounded on what we had heard, was anything but 
 favourable. We thought him a grasping ambitious 
 man ; and, like many others in Spain, merely wishing 
 for power for the lust thereof; but we were soon un- 
 deceived by his conduct when the reins of government 
 fell into his hand. That he was ambitious we have 
 no doubt ; but his ambition was of the noble and 
 generous kind ; he wished to become the regenerator 
 of his country — to heal her sores, and at the same 
 time to reclaim her vices — to make her really strong 
 and powerful — and, above all, independent of France. 
 But all his efforts were foiled by the wilfulness of the 
 animal — she observed his gentleness, which she mis- 
 took for fear, a common mistake with jades — gave a 
 kick, and good bye to Espartero ! There is, however, 
 one blot in Espartero's career ; we allude to it with 
 pain, for in every other point we believe him to have 
 been a noble and generous character ; but his treat- 
 ment of Cordova cannot be commended on any 
 principle of honour or rectitude. Cordova was his 
 friend and benefactor,, to whom he was mainly in- 
 debted for his advancement in the army. Espartero 
 was a brave soldier, with some talent for military 
 matters. But when did either bravery or talent serve 
 as credentials for advancement in the Spanish service ? 
 He would have remained at the present day a major 
 or a colonel but for the friendship of Cordova, who, 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 19 
 
 amongst other things, was a courtier, and who was 
 raised to the command of the armies of Spain by a 
 court intrigue — which command he resigned into the 
 hands of Espartero when the revolution of the Granja 
 and the downfall of his friends, the Moderados, com- 
 pelled him to take refuge in France. The friendship 
 of Cordova and Espartero had been so well known 
 that for a long time it was considered that the latter 
 was merely holding the command till his friend might 
 deem it safe and prudent to return and resume it. 
 Espartero, however, had conceived widely different 
 views. After the return of Cordova to Spain he 
 caused him to be exiled under some pretence or 
 other. He doubtless feared him, and perhaps with 
 reason ; but the man had been his friend and bene- 
 factor, and to the relations which had once existed 
 between them Cordova himself alludes in a manifesto 
 which he printed at Badajoz when on his way to Por- 
 tugal, and which contains passages of considerable 
 pathos. Is there not something like retribution in the 
 fact that Espartero is now himself in exile ? 
 
 Cordova ! His name is at present all but forgotten, 
 yet it was at one time in the power of that man to 
 have made himself master of the destinies of Spain. 
 He was at the head of the army — was the favourite of 
 Christina — and was, moreover, in the closest connexion 
 with the Moderado party — the most unscrupulous, 
 crafty, and formidable of all the factions which in 
 these latter times have appeared in the blood)' circus 
 
20 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 of Spain. But if ever there was a man, a real man of 
 flesh and blood, who in every tittle answered to one of 
 the best of the many well-drawn characters in Le 
 Sage's wonderful novel— one of the masters of Gil 
 Bias, a certain Don Mathias, who got up at midday, 
 and rasped tobacco whilst lolling on the sofa, till the 
 time arrived for dressing and strolling forth to the 
 prado — a thorough Spanish coxcomb highly perfumed, 
 who wrote love-letters to himself bearing the names of 
 noble ladies — brave withal and ever ready to vindi- 
 cate his honour at the sword's point, provided he was 
 not called out too early of a morning — it was this 
 self-same Don Cordova, who we repeat had the 
 destinies of Spain at one time in his power, and who, 
 had he managed his cards well, and death had not 
 intervened, might at the present moment have occu- 
 pied the self-same position which Narvaez fills with so 
 much credit to himself. The man had lots of courage, 
 was well versed in the art military ; and once, to his 
 honour be it said, whilst commanding a division of 
 the Christino army, defeated Zumalacarregui in his 
 own defiles ; but, like Don Mathias, he was fond of 
 champagne suppers with actresses, and would always 
 postpone a battle for a ball or a horse-race. About 
 five years ago we were lying off Lisbon in a steamer 
 in our way from Spain. The morning was fine, and 
 we were upon deck staring vacantly about us, as is 
 our custom, with our hands in our pockets, when a 
 large barge with an awning, and manned by many 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 21 
 
 rowers, came dashing through the water and touched 
 the vessel's side. Some people came on hoard, of 
 whom, however, we took but little notice, continuing 
 with our hands in our pockets staring sometimes at 
 the river, and sometimes at the castle of Saint George, 
 the most remarkable object connected with the 'white 
 city,' which strikes the eye from the Tagus. In a 
 minute or two the steward came running up to us from 
 the cabin, and said, ' There are two or three strange 
 people below who seem to want something; but what 
 it is we can't make out, for we don't understand 
 them. Now I heard you talking 'Moors' the other 
 day to the black cook, so pray have the kindness to 
 come and say two or three words in Moors to the 
 people below.' Whereupon, without any hesitation, 
 we followed the steward into the cabin. ' Here's 
 one who can jabber Moors with you,' bawled he, 
 bustling up to the new comers. On observing the 
 strangers, however, who sat on one of the sofas, 
 instead of addressing them in ' Moors,' we took our 
 hands out of our pockets, drew ourselves up, and 
 making a most ceremonious bow, exclaimed in pure 
 and sonorous Castilian, ' Cavaliers, at your feet ! 
 What may it please you to command ? ' 
 
 The strangers, who had looked somewhat blank at 
 the first appearance of our figure, no sooner heard us 
 address them in this manner than they uttered a 
 simultaneous 'Ola!' and, springing up, advanced 
 towards us with countenances irradiated with smiles. 
 
22 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 They were three in number, to say nothing of a tall 
 loutish fellow with something of the look of a domestic, 
 who stood at some distance. All three were evidently 
 gentlemen — one was a lad about twenty, the other 
 might be some ten years older — but the one who 
 stood between the two, and who immediately con- 
 fronted us, was evidently the principal. He might be 
 about forty, and was tall and rather thin ; his hair was 
 of the darkest brown ; his face strongly marked and 
 exceedingly expressive; his nose was fine, so was his 
 forehead, and his eyes sparkled like diamonds beneath 
 a pair of bushy brows slightly grizzled. He had one 
 disagreeable feature — his mouth — which was wide and 
 sensual-looking to a high degree. He was dressed 
 with elegance — his brown surtout was faultless ; shirt 
 of the finest Holland, frill to correspond, and fine 
 ruby pin. In a very delicate and white hand he held 
 a delicate white handkerchief perfumed with the best 
 atar-de-nuar of Abderrahman. ' What can we oblige 
 you in, cavalier?' said we, as we looked him in the 
 face : and then he took our hand, our brown hand, 
 into his delicate white one, and whispered something 
 into our ear — whereupon, turning round to the 
 steward, we whispered something into his ear. ' I 
 know nothing about it,' said the steward in a surly 
 tone — we have nothing of the kind on board — no such 
 article or packet is come ; and I tell you what, I 
 don't half like these fellows; I believe them to be 
 custom-house spies : it was the custom-house barge 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 23 
 
 they came in, so tell them in Moors to get about 
 their business.' 'The man is a barbarian, sir,' said we 
 to the cavalier ; ' but what you expected is certainly 
 not come.' A deep shade of melancholy came over 
 the countenance of the cavalier: he looked us wist- 
 fully in the face, and sighed ; then, turning to his 
 companions, he said, ' We are disappointed, but there 
 is no remedy — Vamos, amigos.' Then, making us a 
 low bow, he left the cabin, followed by his friends. 
 The boat was ready, and the cavalier was about to 
 descend the side of the vessel — we had also come on 
 deck — suddenly our eyes met. ' Pardon a stranger, 
 cavalier, if he takes the liberty of asking your illustrious 
 name.' ' General Cordova,' said the cavalier in an 
 under voice. We made our lowest bow, pressed our 
 hand to our heart — he did the same, and in another 
 minute was on his way to the shore. ' Do you know 
 who that was?' said we to the steward — 'that was the 
 great General Cordova.' ' Cordova, Cordova,' said 
 the steward. 'Well, I really believe I have some- 
 thing for that name. A general do you say ? What 
 a fool I have been — I suppose you couldn't call him 
 back ? ' The next moment we were at the ship's side 
 shouting. The boat had by this time nearly reached 
 the Caesodrea, though, had it reached Cintra — but 
 stay, Cintra is six leagues from Lisbon — and, moreover, 
 no boat unless carried can reach Cintra. Twice did 
 we lilt up our voice. At the second shout the boat 
 rested on its oars; and when we added 'Caballeros, 
 
24 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 vengan ustedes atras,' its head was turned round in a 
 jiffy, and back it came bounding over the waters with 
 twice its former rapidity. We are again in the cabin ; 
 the three Spaniards, the domestic, ourselves, and the 
 steward ; the latter stands with his back against the 
 door, for the purpose of keeping out intruders. 
 There is a small chest on the table, on which all eyes 
 are fixed ; and now, at a sign from Cordova, the 
 domestic advances, in his hand a chisel, which he 
 inserts beneath the lid of the chest, exerting all the 
 strength of his wrist — the lid flies open, and discloses 
 some hundreds of genuine Havannah cigars. ' What 
 obligations am I not under to you ! ' said Cordova, 
 again taking us by the hand, ' the very sight of them 
 gives me new life ; long have I been expecting them. 
 A trusty friend at Gibraltar promised to send them, 
 but they have tarried many weeks : but now to dispose 
 of this treasure.' In a moment he and his friends 
 were busily employed in filling their pockets. Yes, 
 Cordova, the renowned general, and the two secre- 
 taries of a certain legation at Lisbon — for such were 
 his two friends — are stowing away the Havannah 
 cigars with all the eagerness of contrabandistas. 
 ' Rascal,' said Cordova, suddenly turning to his 
 domestic with a furious air and regular Spanish 
 grimace, 'you are doing nothing; why don't you take 
 more ? ' 'I can't hold any more, your worship,' 
 replied the latter in a piteous tone. ' My pockets are 
 already full ; and sec how full I am here,' he con- 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 25 
 
 tinued, pointing to his bosom. ' Peace, bribon,' said 
 
 his master ; ' if your bosom is full, fill your hat, and 
 put it on your head. We owe you more than we can 
 express,' said he, turning round and addressing us in 
 the blandest tones. ' But why all this mystery ? ' we 
 demanded. ' O, tobacco is a royal monopoly here, 
 you know, so we are obliged to be cautious.' ' But 
 you came in the custom-house barge?' 'Yes, the 
 superintendent of the customs lent it to us in order 
 that we might be put to as little inconvenience as 
 possible. Between ourselves, he knows all about it ; 
 he is only solicitous to avoid any scandal. Really 
 these Portuguese have some slight tincture of gen- 
 tility in them, though they are neither Castilian nor 
 English,' he continued, making us another low bow. 
 On taking his departure the general gave the steward 
 an ounce of gold, and having embraced us and 
 kissed us on the cheek, said, ' In a few weeks I shall 
 be in England, pray come and see me there.' This 
 we promised faithfully to do, but never had the oppor- 
 tunity ; he went on shore with his cigars, gave a cham. 
 pagne supper to his friends, and the next morning was 
 a corpse. What a puff of smoke is the breath of man ! 
 But here before us is a Hand-book for Spain. 
 From what we have written above it will have been 
 seen that we are not altogether unacquainted with the 
 country ; indeed we plead guilty to having performed 
 the grand tour of Spain more than once ; but why do 
 we say guilty — it is scarcely a thing to be ashamed of ; 
 
26 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 the country is a magnificent one, and the people are a 
 highly curious people, and we are by no means sorry 
 that we have made the acquaintance of either. 
 Detestation of the public policy of Spain, and a 
 hearty abhorrence of its state creed, we consider by 
 no means incompatible with a warm admiration for 
 the natural beauties of the country, and even a zest 
 for Spanish life and manners. We love a ride in 
 Spain, and the company to be found in a Spanish venta ; 
 but the Lord preserve us from the politics of Spain, 
 and from having anything to do with the Spaniards 
 in any graver matters than interchanging cigars and 
 compliments, meetings upon the road (peaceable ones 
 of course), kissing and embracing (see above). 
 Whosoever wishes to enjoy Spain or the Spaniards, 
 let him go as a private individual, the humbler in 
 appearance the better : let him call every beggar 
 Cavalier, every Don a Senor Conde ; praise the water 
 of the place in which he happens to be as the best of 
 all water ; and wherever he goes he will meet with 
 attention and sympathy. 'The strange Cavalier is 
 evidently the child of honourable fathers, although, 
 poor man, he appears to be, like myself, unfortunate > 
 — will be the ejaculation of many a proud tatterde- 
 malion who has been refused charity with formal 
 politeness — whereas should the stranger chuck him 
 contemptuously an ounce of gold, he may be pretty 
 sure that he has bought his undying hatred both in 
 this world and the next. 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SI'AIN 27 
 
 Here we have a Hand-book for Spain — we mean 
 for travellers in Spain — and of course for English 
 travellers. The various hand-books which our friend 
 Mr. Murray has published at different times are very 
 well known, and their merit generally recognized. We 
 cannot say that we have made use of any of them 
 ourselves, yet in the course of our peregrinations we 
 have frequently heard travellers speak in terms of 
 high encomium of their general truth and exactness, 
 and of the immense mass of information which they 
 contain. There is one class of people, however, who 
 are by no means disposed to look upon these publica- 
 tions with a favourable eye — we mean certain gentry 
 generally known by the name of valets de place, for 
 whom we confess we entertain no particular affection, 
 believing them upon the whole to be about the most 
 worthless, heartless, and greedy set of miscreants to 
 be found upon the whole wide continent of Europe. 
 These gentry, we have reason to know, look with a 
 by no means favourable eye upon these far-famed 
 publications of Albemarle-street. ' They steal away 
 our honest bread,' said one of them to us the other 
 day at Venice, ' / Signori forestieri find no farther 
 necessity for us since they have appeared ; we are 
 thinking of petitioning the government in order that 
 they may be prohibited as heretical and republican. 
 Were it not for these accursed books I should now 
 have the advantage of waiting upon those forestieri 1 
 — and he pointed to a fat English squire, who with a 
 
28 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 blooming daughter under each arm, was proceeding 
 across the piazza to St. Marco with no other guide 
 than a ' Murray,' which he held in his hand. High, 
 however, as was the opinion which we had formed of 
 these Hand-books from what we had heard concerning 
 them, we were utterly unprepared for such a treat as 
 has been afforded us by the perusal of the one which 
 now lies before us — the Hand-book for Spain. 
 
 It is evidently the production of a highly-gifted and 
 accomplished man of infinite cleverness, considerable 
 learning, and who is moreover thoroughly acquainted 
 with the subjectof which he treats. That he knows Spain 
 as completely as he knows the lines upon the palm of his 
 hand, is a fact which cannot fail of forcing itself upon 
 the conviction of any person who shall merely glance 
 over the pages ; yet this is a book not to be glanced 
 over, for we defy any one to take it up without being 
 seized with an irresistible inclination to peruse it from 
 the beginning to the end — so flowing and captivating 
 is the style, and so singular and various are the objects 
 and events here treated of. We have here a perfect 
 panorama of Spain, to accomplish which we believe to 
 have been the aim and intention of the author ; and 
 gigantic as the conception was, it is but doing him 
 justice to say that in our opinion he has fully worked 
 it out. But what iron application was required for 
 the task— what years of enormous labour must have 
 been spent in carrying it into effect even after the 
 necessary materials had been collected— and then the 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN T SPAIN 29 
 
 collecting of the materials themselves — what strange 
 ideas of difficulty and danger arise in our minds at 
 the sole mention of that most important point ! But 
 here is the work before us ; the splendid result of the 
 toil, travel, genius, and learning of one man, and that 
 man an Englishman. The above is no overstrained 
 panegyric ; we refer our readers to the work itself, and 
 then fearlessly abandon the matter to their decision' 
 We have here all Spain before us ; mountain, plain, 
 and river, poblado y desploblado— the well known and 
 the mysterious — Barcelona and Batuecas. 
 
 Amidst all the delight and wonder which we have 
 felt, we confess that we have been troubled by an 
 impertinent thought of which we could not divest 
 ourselves. We could not help thinking that the 
 author, generous enough as he has been to the public, 
 has been rather unjust to himself — by publishing the 
 result of his labours under the present title. A Hand- 
 book is a Hand-book after all, a very useful thing, but 
 still — The fact is that we live in an age of humbug, in 
 which every thing to obtain much note and reputation 
 must depend less upon its own intrinsic merits than 
 on the name it bears. The present work is about one 
 of the best books ever written upon Spain ; but we are 
 afraid that it will never be estimated at its proper 
 value; for after all a Hand-book is a Handbook. 
 Permit us, your Ladyship, to introduce to you the 
 learned, talented, and imaginative author of the 
 — shocking ! Her Ladyship would faint, and would 
 
30 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 never again admit ourselves and our friends to her 
 soirees. What a pity that this delightful book does 
 not bear a more romantic sounding title — ' Wander- 
 ings in Spain,' for example ; or yet better, ' The 
 Wonders of the Peninsula.' 
 
 But are we not ourselves doing our author injustice ? 
 Aye surely ; the man who could write a book of the 
 character of the one which we have at present under 
 notice, is above all such paltry considerations, so we 
 may keep our pity for ourselves. If it please him to 
 cast his book upon the waters in the present shape, 
 what have we to do but to be grateful ? — we forgot for 
 a moment with what description of man we have to 
 do. This is no vain empty coxcomb ; he cannot but 
 be aware that he has accomplished a great task ; but 
 such paltry considerations as those to which we have 
 alluded above are not for him but for writers of a 
 widely different stamp with whom we have nothing 
 to do. 
 
 What to observe in Spain. 
 
 Before we proceed to point out the objects best 
 worth seeing in the Peninsula, many of which are to 
 be seen there only, it may be as well to mention what 
 is not to be seen : there is no such loss of time as 
 finding this out oneself, after weary chace and wasted 
 hour. Those who expect to find well-garnished 
 arsenals, libraries, restaurants, charitable or literary 
 institutions, canals, railroads, tunnels, suspension- 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 3T 
 
 bridges, steam-engines, omnibuses, manufactories, 
 polytechnic galleries, pale-ale breweries, and similar 
 appliances and appurtenances of a high state of 
 political, social, and commercial civilisation, had 
 better stay at home. In Spain there are no turnpike- 
 trust meetings, no quarter-sessions, no courts of justice, 
 according to the real meaning of that word, no tread- 
 mills, no boards of guardians, no chairmen, directors, 
 masters-extraordinary of the court of chancery, no 
 assistant poor-law commissioners. There are no 
 anti-tobacco-teetotal-temperance meetings, no aux- 
 iliary missionary propagating societies, nothing in the 
 blanket and lying-in asylum line, nothing, in short, 
 worth a revising barrister of three years' standing's 
 notice. Spain is no country for the political economist, 
 beyond affording an example of the decline of the 
 wealth of nations, and offering a wide topic on errors 
 to be avoided, as well as for experimental theories, 
 plans of reform and amelioration. In Spain, Nature 
 reigns ; she has there lavished her utmost prodigality 
 of soil and climate which a bad government has for 
 the last three centuries been endeavouring to counter- 
 act. El cielo y such es bueno, el entresuelo ma/o, and 
 man, the occupier of the Peninsula entresol, uses, or 
 rather abuses, with incurious apathy the goods with 
 which the gods have provided him. Spain is a terra 
 incognita to naturalists, geologists, and every branch 
 of ists and ologists. The material is as superabundant 
 as native labourers and operatives are deficient. All 
 
32 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 these interesting branches of inquiry, healthful and 
 agreeable, as being out-of-door pursuits, and bringing 
 the amateur in close contact with nature, offer to 
 embryo authors, who are ambitious to book something 
 new, a more worthy subject than the decies 7-epctita 
 descriptions of bull-fights and the natural history of 
 ollas and ventas. Those who aspire to the romantic, 
 the poetical, the sentimental, the artistical, the anti- 
 quarian, the classical, in short, to any of the sublime 
 and beautiful lines, will find both in the past and 
 present state of Spain subjects enough, in wandering 
 with lead-pencil and note-book through this singular 
 country, which hovers between Europe and Africa, 
 between civilisation and barbarism ; this is the land of 
 the green valley and barren mountain, of the boundless 
 plain and the broken sierra, now of Elysian gardens 
 of the vine, the olive, the orange, and the aloe, then 
 of trackless, vast, silent, uncultivated wastes, the 
 heritage of the wild bee. Here we fly from the dull 
 uniformity, the polished monotony of Europe, to the 
 racy freshness of an original, unchanged country, 
 where antiquity treads on the heels of to-day, where 
 Paganism disputes the very altar with Christianity, 
 where indulgence and luxury contend with privation 
 and poverty, where a want of all that is generous or 
 merciful is blended with the most devoted heroic 
 virtues, where the most cold-blooded cruelty is linked 
 with the fiery passions of Africa, where ignorance and 
 erudition stand in violent and striking contrast. 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 33 
 
 Here let the antiquarian pore over the stirring 
 memorials of many thousand years, the vestiges of 
 Phoenician enterprise, of Roman magnificence, of 
 Moorish elegance, in that storehouse of ancient 
 customs, that repository of all elsewhere long forgotten 
 and passed by ; here let him gaze upon those classical 
 monuments, unequalled almost in Greece or Italy, 
 and on those fairy Aladdin palaces, the creatures of 
 Oriental gorgeousness and imagination, with which 
 Spain alone can enchant the dull European; here let 
 the man of feeling dwell on the poetry of her envy- 
 disarming decay, fallen from her high estate, the 
 dignity of a dethroned monarch, borne with unre- 
 pining self-respect, the last consolation of the 
 innately noble, which no adversity can take away ; 
 here let the lover of art feed his eyes with the mighty 
 masterpieces of Italian art, when Raphael and Titian 
 strove to decorate the palaces of Charles, the great 
 emperor of the age of Leo X., or with the living 
 nature of Velazquez and Murillo, whose paintings are 
 truly to be seen in Spain alone ; here let the artist 
 sketch the lowly mosque of the Moor, the lofty 
 cathedral of the Christian, in which God is worshipped 
 in a manner as nearly befitting His glory as the power 
 and wealth of finite man can reach ; art and nature 
 here offer subjects, from the feudal castle, the vasty 
 Escorial, the rock built alcazar of imperial Toledo, the 
 sunny towers of stately Seville, to the eternal snows 
 and lovely vega of Granada : let the geologist clamber 
 
34 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 over mountains of marble, and metal-pregnant sierras ; 
 let the botanist cull from the wild hothouse of nature 
 plants unknown, unnumbered, matchless in colour, 
 and breathing the aroma of the sweet south ; let all, 
 learned or unlearned, listen to the song, the guitar, 
 the Castanet ; let all mingle with the gay, good- 
 humoured, temperate peasantry, the finest in the 
 world, free, manly, and independent, yet courteous 
 and respectful ; let all live with the noble, dignified, 
 high-bred, self-respecting Spaniard ; let all share in 
 their easy, courteous society ; let all admire their dark- 
 eyed women, so frank and natural, to whom the voice 
 of all ages and nations has conceded the palm of 
 attraction, to whom Venus has bequeathed her magic 
 girdle of grace and fascination ; let all — sed ohe I Jam 
 satis — enough for starting on this expedition, where, 
 as Don Quixote said, there are opportunities for what 
 are called adventures elbow deep. 
 
 The following account of the rivers of Spain would 
 do credit to the pen of Robertson : — 
 
 ' There are six great rivers in Spain, — the arteries 
 which run between the seven mountain chains, the 
 vertebrae of the geological skeleton. These six water- 
 sheds are each intersected in their extent by others on 
 a minor scale, by valleys and indentations, in each of 
 which runs its own stream. Thus the rains and 
 melted snows are all collected in an infinity of ramifi- 
 cations, and carried by these tributary conduits into 
 one of the six main trunks, or great rivers : all these, 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 35 
 
 with the exception of the Ebro, empty themselves 
 into the Atlantic. The Duero and Tagus, unfortu- 
 nately for Spain, disembogue in Portugal, thus 
 becoming a portion of a foreign dominion exactly 
 where their commercial importance is the greatest. 
 Philip II. saw the true value of the possession of 
 Portugal, which rounded and consolidated Spain, and 
 insured to her the possession of these valuable outlets 
 of internal produce, and inlets for external commerce. 
 Portugal annexed to Spain gave more real power to 
 his throne than the dominion of entire continents 
 across the Atlantic. The Mino, which is the shortest of 
 these rivers, runs through a bosom of fertility. The 
 Tajo, Tagus, which the fancy of poets has sanded 
 with gold and embanked with roses, tracks much of 
 its dreary way through rocks and comparative barren- 
 ness. The Guadiana creeps through lonely Estre- 
 madura, infecting the low plains with miasma. The 
 Guadalquivir eats out its deep banks amid the sunny 
 olive-clad regions of Andalucia, as the Ebro divides 
 the levels of Arragon. Spain abounds with brackish 
 streams, Salados, and with salt-mines, or saline 
 deposits, after the evaporation of the sea-waters. 
 The central soil is strongly impregnated with salt- 
 petre : always arid, it every day is becoming more 
 so, from the singular antipathy which the inhabitants 
 of the interior have against trees. There is nothing 
 to check the power of evaporation, no shelter to 
 protect or preserve moisture. The soil becomes more 
 
36 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 and more baked and calcined ; in some parts it has 
 almost ceased to be available for cultivation : another 
 serious evil, which arises from want of plantations, is, 
 that the slopes of hills are everywhere liable to 
 constant denudation of soil after heavy rain. There 
 is nothing to break the descent of the water ; 
 hence the naked, barren stone summits of many of 
 the sierras, which have been pared and peeled of 
 every particle capable of nourishing vegetation ; they 
 are skeletons where life is extinct. Not only is the 
 soil thus lost, but the detritus washed down eitner 
 forms bars at the mouths of rivers, or chokes up and 
 raises their beds ; they are thus rendered liable to 
 overflow their banks, and convert the adjoining plains 
 into pestilential swamps. The supply of water, which 
 is afforded by periodical rains, and which ought to 
 support the reservoirs of rivers, is carried off at once 
 in violent floods, rather than in a gentle gradual disem- 
 bocation. The volume in the principal rivers of Spain 
 has diminished, and is diminishing. Rivers which 
 were navigable are so no longer ; the artificial canals 
 which were to have been substituted remain unfin- 
 ished : the progress of deterioration advances, while 
 little is done to counteract or amend what every year 
 must render more difficult and expensive, while the 
 means of repair and correction will diminish in equal 
 proportion, from the poverty occasioned by the evil, 
 and by the fearful extent which it will be allowed to 
 attain. The rivers which are really adapted to 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 37 
 
 navigation are, however, only tliuse which are 
 perpetually fed by those tributary streams that flow 
 down from mountains which are covered with snow 
 all the year, and these are not many. The majority 
 of Spanish rivers are very scanty of water during the 
 summer time, and very rapid in their flow when filled 
 by rains or melting snow : during these periods they 
 are impracticable for boats. They are, moreover, 
 much exhausted by being drained off, bled, for the 
 purposes of artificial irrigation. The scarcity of rain 
 in the central table-lands is much against a regular 
 supply of water to the springs of the rivers : the water 
 is soon sucked up by a parched, dusty, and thirsty 
 soil, or evaporated by the dryness of the atmosphere. 
 Many of the sierras are indeed covered with snow, 
 but to no great depth, and the coating soon melts 
 under the summer suns, and passes rapidly away.' 
 
 Here we have a sunny little sketch of a certain 
 locality at Seville ; it is too life-like not to have been 
 taken on the spot : — 
 
 ' The sunny flats under the old Moorish walls, which 
 extend between the gates of Carmona and La Car/ic, 
 are the haunts of idlers and of gamesters. The lower 
 classes of Spaniards are constantly gambling at cards : 
 groups are to be seen playing all day long for wine, 
 love, or coppers, in the sun, or under their vine- 
 trellises. There is generally some well-known cock of 
 the walk, a bully, or guapo, who will come up and lay 
 his hands on the cards, and say, 'No one shall play 
 
38 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 here but with mine ' — aqui no se juega siiio con mis 
 barajas. If the gamblers are cowed, they give him 
 dos cuartos, a halfpenny each. If, however, one of 
 the challenged be a spirited fellow, he defies him. 
 Aqui no se cobra el barato sino con un punal de 
 Albacete — ' You get no change here except out of an 
 Albacete knife.' If the defiance be accepted, vamos alia 
 is the answer — ' Let's go to it.' There's an end then 
 of the cards, all flock to the more interesting ecarte ; 
 instances have occurred, where Greek meets Greek, of 
 their tying the two advanced feet together, and yet 
 remaining fencing with knife and cloak for a quarter 
 of an hour before the blow be dealt. The knife is 
 held firmly, the thumb is pressed straight on the 
 blade, and calculated either for the cut or thrust, to 
 chip bread and kill men.' 
 
 Apropos of Seville. It is sometimes called we 
 believe La Capital de Majeza ; the proper translation 
 of which we conceive to be the Head Quarters of 
 Foolery, for nothing more absurd and contemptible 
 than this Majeza ever came within the sphere of our 
 contemplation. Nevertheless it constitutes the chief 
 glory of the Sevillians. Every Sevillian, male or 
 female, rich or poor, handsome or ugly, aspires at a 
 certain period of life to the character of the majo or 
 maja. We are not going to waste either space or 
 time by entering into any lengthened detail of this 
 ridiculous nonsense : indeed, it is quite unnecessary ; 
 almost every one of the books published on Spain, 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 39 
 
 and their name at present is legion, being crammed 
 with details of this same Majeza — a happy combina- 
 tion of insolence, ignorance, frippery, and folly. The 
 majo or Tomfool struts about the streets dressed 
 something like a merry Andrew with jerkin and tight 
 hose, a faja or girdle of crimson silk round his waist, 
 in which is sometimes stuck a dagger, his neck 
 exposed, and a queer kind of half-peaked hat on 
 his head. He smokes continually, thinks there 
 is no place like Seville, and that he is the prettiest 
 fellow in Seville. His favourite word is 'Carajo!' 
 The maja or she-simpleton, wears a fan and man- 
 tilla, exhibits a swimming and affected gait, thinks 
 that there's no place like Seville, that she is the flower 
 of Seville — Carai ! is her favourite exclamation. But 
 enough of these poor ridiculous creatures. Yet, 
 ridiculous in every respect as they are, these majos 
 and majas find imitators and admirers in people who 
 might be expected to look down with contempt upon 
 them and their follies ; we have seen, and we tell it 
 with shame, we have seen Englishmen dressed in 
 Tomfool's livery lounging about Seville breathing out 
 smoke and affecting the airs of hijos de Sevilla ; and 
 what was yet worse, fair blooming Englishwomen, 
 forgetful of their rank as daughters of England, 
 appearing a la maja on the banks of the Guadalquivir, 
 with fan and mantilla, carai and caramba. We wish 
 sincerely that our countrymen and women whilst 
 travelling abroad would always bear in mind that they 
 
4 o A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 can only be respected or respectable so long as they 
 maintain their proper character — that of Englishmen 
 and Englishwomen ; — but in attempting to appear 
 French, Italians, and Spaniards, they only make 
 themselves supremely ridiculous. As the tree falls, 
 so must it lie. They are children of England ; they 
 cannot alter that fact, therefore let them make the 
 most of it, and after all it is no bad thing to be a 
 child of England. But what a poor feeble mind 
 must be his who would deny his country under any 
 circumstances ! Therefore, gentle English travellers, 
 when you go to Seville, amongst other places, appear 
 there as English, though not obtrusively, and do not 
 disgrace your country by imitating the airs and graces 
 of creatures whom the other Spaniards, namely, Cas- 
 tilians, Manchegans, Aragonese, &c, pronounce to 
 be fools. 
 
 The Normans in Spain. 
 
 ' In the ninth century, the Normans or Northmen 
 made piratical excursions on the W. coast of Spain. 
 They passed, in 843, from Lisbon up to the straits 
 and everywhere, as in France, overcame the unpre- 
 pared natives, plundering, burning, and destroying. 
 They captured even Seville itself, September 30, 844, 
 but were met by the Cordovese Kalif, beaten, and 
 expelled. They were called by the Moors Majlis, 
 Madjous, Magioges (Conde, i. 282), and by the early 
 Spanish annalists Almajuzcs. The root has been 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 41 
 
 erroneously derived from Mi-yos, Magus, magicians 
 or supernatural beings, as they were almost held to 
 be. The term Madjous was, strictly speaking, applied 
 by the Moors to those Berbers and Africans who 
 were Pagans or Muwallads, i.e. not believers in the 
 Khoran. The true etymology is that of the Gog and 
 Magog so frequently mentioned by Ezekiel (xxxviii. 
 and xxxix.) and in the Revelations (xx. 8) as ravagers 
 of the earth and nations, May-Gogg, " he that dis- 
 solved," — the fierce Normans appeared, coming no 
 one knew from whence, just when the minds of men 
 were trembling at the approach of the millennium, and 
 thus were held to be the forerunners of the destroyers 
 of the world. This name of indefinite gigantic power 
 survived in the Mogigangas, or terrific images, which 
 the Spaniards used to parade in their religious 
 festivals, like the Gogs and Magogs of our civic wise 
 men of the East- Thus Andalucia being the half- 
 way point between the N. and S.E., became the 
 •meeting-place of the two great ravaging swarms which 
 have desolated Europe : here the stalwart children of 
 frozen Norway, the worshippers of Odin, clashed 
 against the Saracens from torrid Arabia, the followers 
 of Mahomet. Nor can a greater proof be adduced of 
 the power and relative superiority of the Cordovese 
 Moors over the other nations of Europe, than this, 
 their successful resistance to those fierce invaders, 
 who overran without difficulty the coasts of England, 
 France, Apulia, and Sicily: conquerors everywhere 
 
42 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 else, here they were driven back in disgrace. Hence 
 the bitter hatred of the Normans against the Spanish 
 Moors, hence their alliances with the Catalans, where 
 a Norman impression yet remains in architecture ; but, 
 as in Sicily, these barbarians, unrecruited from the 
 North, soon died away, or were assimilated as usual 
 with the more polished people, whom they had 
 subdued by mere superiority of brute force.' 
 
 If the Moors called the Norsemen Al Madjus, 
 which according to our author signifies Gog and 
 Magog, the Norsemen retorted by a far more definite 
 and expressive nickname ; this was Blue-skins or 
 Bluemen, doubtless in allusion to the livid coun- 
 tenances of the Moors. The battles between the 
 Moors and the Northmen are frequently mentioned 
 in the Sagas, none of which, however, are of 
 higher antiquity than the eleventh century. In none 
 of these chronicles do we find any account of this 
 raid upon Seville in 844 ; it was probably a very 
 inconsiderable affair magnified by the Moors and 
 their historians. Snorre speaks of the terrible attack 
 of Sigurd, surnamed the Jorsal wanderer, or Jerusalem 
 pilgrim, upon Lisbon and Cintra, both of which places 
 he took, destroying the Moors by hundreds. He 
 subsequently ' harried ' the southern coasts of Spain 
 on his voyage to Constantinople. But this occurred 
 some two hundred years after the affair of Seville 
 mentioned in the Handbook. It does not appear 
 that the Norse ever made any serious attempt to 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 43 
 
 establish their power in Spain ; had they done so we 
 have no doubt that they would have succeeded. We 
 entertain all due respect for the courage and chivalry 
 of the Moors, especially those of Cordova, but we 
 would have backed the Norse, especially the pagan 
 Norse, against the best of them. The Biarkemal 
 would soon have drowned the Moorish ' Ltlhies.' 
 
 ' Thou Har, who grip'st thy foeman 
 Right hard, and Rolf the bowman, 
 And many, many others, 
 The forky lightning's brothers, 
 Wake — not for banquet table, 
 Wake — not with maids to gabble, 
 But wake for rougher sporting, 
 For Hildur's bloody courting.' 
 
 Under the head of La Mancha our author has 
 much to say on the subject of Don Quixote ; and to 
 the greater part of what he says we yield our respectful 
 assent. His observations upon the two principal 
 characters in that remarkable work display much 
 sound as well as original criticism. We cannot 
 however agree with him in preferring the second part, 
 which we think a considerable falling off from the 
 first. We should scarcely believe the two parts were 
 written by the same hand. We have read through 
 both various times, but we have always sighed on 
 coming to the conclusion of the first. It was formerly 
 our custom to read the Don ' pervasively ' once every 
 
44 A SUPPLEMENTARY CHAPTER 
 
 three years ; we still keep up that custom in part, and 
 hope to do so whilst life remains. We say in part, 
 because we now conclude with the first part going no 
 farther. We have little sympathy with the pranks 
 played off upon Sancho and his master by the Duke 
 and Duchess, to the description of which so much 
 space is devoted ; and as for the affair of Sancho's 
 government at Barataria, it appears to us full of 
 inconsistency and absurdity. Barataria, we are told, 
 was a place upon the Duke's estate, consisting of two 
 or three thousand inhabitants ; and of such a place it 
 was very possible for a nobleman to have made the 
 poor squire governor ; but we no sooner get to 
 Barataria than we find ourselves not in a townlet, but 
 in a capital in Madrid. The governor at night makes 
 his rounds, attended by ' an immense watch ; ' he 
 wanders- from one street to another for hours ; he 
 encounters all kinds of adventures, not mock but real 
 adventures, and all kinds of characters, not mock but 
 real characters ; there is talk of bull-circuses, theatres, 
 gambling-houses, and such like ; and all this in a 
 place of two or three thousand inhabitants, in which, 
 by the way, nothing but a cat is ever heard stirring 
 after eight o'clock ; this we consider to be carrying 
 the joke rather too far ; and it is not Sancho but the 
 reader who is joked with. But the first part is a 
 widely different affair : all the scenes are admirable. 
 Should we live a thousand years, we should never 
 forget the impression made upon us by the adventure 
 
TO THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 45 
 
 of the corpse, where the Don falls upon the priests 
 who are escorting the bier by torch light, and by the 
 sequel thereto, his midnight adventures in the Brown 
 Mountain. We can only speak of these scenes as 
 astonishing — they have never been equalled in their 
 line. There is another wonderful book which de- 
 scribes what we may call the city life of Spain, as the 
 other describes the vida del campo — we allude of 
 course to Le Sage's novel, which as a whole we 
 prefer to Don Quixote, the characters introduced 
 being certainly more true to nature than those which 
 appear in the other great work. Shame to Spain that 
 she has not long since erected a statue to Le Sage, 
 who has done so much to illustrate her ; but miserable 
 envy and jealousy have been at the bottom of the 
 feeling ever manifested in Spain towards that illus- 
 trious name. There are some few stains in the grand 
 work of Le Sage. He has imitated without acknow- 
 ledgment three or four passages contained in the life 
 of Obregon, a curious work, of which we have already 
 spoken, and to which on some future occasion we 
 may perhaps revert. 
 
 But the Hand-book ? We take leave of it with the 
 highest respect and admiration for the author ; and 
 recommend it not only to travellers in Spain, but to 
 the public in general, as a work of a very high order, 
 written con amore by a man who has devoted his 
 whole time, talents, and all the various treasures of an 
 extensive learning to its execution. We repeat that 
 
46 THE BIBLE IN SPAIN 
 
 we were totally unprepared for such a literary treat as 
 he has here placed before us. It is our sincere wish 
 that at his full convenience he will favour us with 
 something which may claim consanguinity with the 
 present work. It hardly becomes us to point out to 
 an author subjects on which to exercise his powers. 
 We shall, however, take the liberty of hinting that a 
 good history of Spain does not exist, at least in 
 English — and that not even Shelton produced a 
 satisfactory translation of the great gem of Spanish 
 literature, 'The Life and Adventures of Don Quixote.' 
 
London : 
 Printed for Thomas J. Wise, ITampstead, N.W. 
 
 Edition limited to Thirty Copies 
 
CHILD MAIDELVOLD 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 1913 
 
CHILD MAIDELVOLD 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
CHILD MAIDELVOLD 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 1913 
 
Copyright in the United States- of America 
 by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. for Clement Shorter. 
 
CHILD MAIDELVOLU. 
 
 The fair Sidselil, of all maidens the flower, 
 With her mother the Queen sat at work in her 
 bower. 
 
 So hard at the woof the fair Sidselil plies, 
 That out from her bosom, so white, the milk flies, 
 
 " Now hear thou, O Sidselil, child of my heart, 
 What causes the milk from thy bosom to 
 start ? " 
 
 " O that is not milk, my dear mother, I vow, 
 It is but the mead I was drinking just now." 
 
 " Unlike are the two, most unlike to the sight, 
 The one it is brown, and the other is white." 
 
6 CHILD MAIDELVOLD 
 
 " I see it is best that the truth be declared, 
 The handsome Child Maidelvold me has 
 ensnared." 
 
 " And if it be truth what thou now hast declared, 
 And handsome Child Maidelvold thee has 
 ensnared, 
 
 "Aloft on the gallows I'll hang him, I trow, 
 And burn thee to ashes the gallows below." 
 
 Proud Sidselil she her blue mantle puts on, 
 And unto Child Maidelvold's bower she is gone. 
 
 With her fingers so tapering she twirled at the 
 
 pin : 
 " Child Maidelvold rise, and with speed let me 
 
 in." 
 
 " I've summoned no one the tribunal before, 
 And at night to no one will I open my door." 
 
 " Child Maidelvold rise, I beseech, in Christ's 
 
 name, 
 I've spoke to my mother who knows of my 
 
 sliame. 
 
CHILD MAWF.LVOLD 7 
 
 "Aloft on the gallows she'll hang thee, I trow, 
 And burn me to ashes the gallows below." 
 
 "01 will not hang, my sweet maiden, for thee 
 And thou shalt not burn, my sweet maiden, for 
 me. 
 
 " Collect thou thy gold in the coffer with speed, 
 And I'll to the stable and saddle my steed." 
 
 He flung round the maiden his mantle so wide, 
 And he lifted her up on his courser of pride. 
 
 They came to the wood of the briar and rose, 
 There Sidselil craved for a while to repose. 
 
 " Now art thou fatigued by thy journey, sweet 
 
 love, 
 Or say, does the saddle too close for thee 
 
 prove ? " 
 
 " I am not o'ercomc by the journey, sweet love, 
 But the saddle too close for my burden doth 
 prove." 
 
 c 
 
8 CHILD MAIDEJLVOLD 
 
 He spread on the cold earth his mantle so wide: 
 " Here rest thee a space and I'll watch by thy 
 side." 
 
 '' O Jesus, that one of my maidens were near, 
 1 he pains of a mother are on me I fear." 
 
 " Thy maidens arc now at a distance from thee, 
 And thou hast no one to assist thee but me." 
 
 " 'Twere better to perish again and again, 
 Than thou should'st stand by me and gaze on 
 my pain." 
 
 " Then take off thy kerchief and cover my head, 
 And perhaps I may stand in the wise woman's 
 stead." 
 
 " One draught of pure water could'st thou bring 
 
 me now, 
 To cheer up my heart that is sinking so low ? " 
 
 So faithful to her was the Child, and so true, 
 He fetched her the drink in her gold spangled 
 shoe. 
 
CHILD MAIDELVOLD 9 
 
 Child Maidelvold sped through the forest so 
 
 black, 
 He went to the fountain the wearisome track. 
 
 And when he arrived at the fount in the vale, 
 Two nightingales sat there and sang him their 
 tale: 
 
 " Dead Sidselil lieth beneath the green bough, 
 With two little babes on her bosom of snow." 
 
 He paid little hred to the nightingales' lay, 
 And traced through the forest his wearisome 
 way. 
 
 But, ah ! what a spectacle burst on his view, 
 The little birds' story he found to be true. 
 
 A grave broad and deep has Child Maidelvold 
 
 made, 
 Therein the unfortunate three he has laid. 
 
 As o'er them he clamped the mould down with 
 
 his boot, 
 He thought that the babies screamed under his 
 
 foot. 
 
io CHILD MAIDELVOLD 
 
 Against a grey stone has the Child set his sword, 
 The point of the blade his heart mortally gor'd. 
 
 He was true to his Sidselil whilst he had breath, 
 He lies 'neath the earth now beside her in death. 
 
 *„* Another, but widely different, version of this Ballad was 
 printed in Romantic Ballads, 1S26, pp. 2S-31, under the title 
 Sir Middel. In this version the name of the heroine is Swanelil, 
 in place of Sidselil; and that of the hero is Sir Middel, in place 
 of Child Maidelvold. 
 
SIR PETER. 
 
 Sir Peter and Kirstin the)- sat by the board, 
 Betwixt them in jest there passed many a word. 
 
 " Now listen to me, good Sir Peter the knight, 
 Say, when wilt thou me to thy bridal invite ? " 
 
 " 'Twill be held in a far distant country, I trow, 
 So far that to come quite unable art thou." 
 
 " And though thou shouldst hold it, Sir Peter, in 
 
 Rome, 
 If thou shouldst invite me I'd certainly come." 
 
 " And if at my bridals thou wish to appear, 
 Behind thou must leave all thy red golden gear." 
 
 " In my icd golden gear I will ever go dight, 
 For it was not gained by dishonor, Sir Knight. ' 
 
12 SIR PETER 
 
 Sir Peter he bids them his bridals get ready, 
 Cries Kirstin : "Now shoe ye my palfrey so 
 steady." 
 
 Fair Kirstin she saddles her courser so gray, 
 To the house of Sir Peter she taketh her way. 
 
 She rides her horse into Sir Peter's court yard, 
 And there stood the knight, clad in sable and 
 mard. 
 
 " Now hear thou, Sir Peter, so handsome and 
 
 fine, 
 Say, may I this day skink before thee the 
 
 wine r 
 
 " To skink wine before me if thee I permit, 
 Thou on the stone bench with the servants shalt 
 sit." 
 
 Adown her cheeks trickled the tear-drops so 
 
 free — 
 How hard by each mortal insulted to be ! 
 
 To the high and wide hall good Sir Peter proceeds, 
 Fair Kirstin behind him in rich scarlet weeds. 
 
SIR PETER 13 
 
 A coronet glittered her temples upon, 
 
 And full of gold rings were her fingers, each one. 
 
 When into the hall little Kirstin she came, 
 Uprose to receive her each maiden and dame. 
 
 She took in her fair hand the white silver can, 
 To skink mead before the young knight she 
 began. 
 
 The youthful bride said to her servant: "Canst 
 
 tell 
 The name of that skinker, that sweet demoiselle ?" 
 
 Then answered the servant, as low as she might : 
 " 'Tis only Sir Peter his love-lady light." 
 
 " And if he possessed such a leman, why rode 
 Sir Peter the knight to my father's abode ? 
 
 " And had good Sir Peter a leman so brave, 
 O why did he me of my father e'er crave. 
 
 " More gold she displays on her ten fingers small, 
 Than my father could show in his good castle 
 all." 
 
M S7A' PETER 
 
 Now o'er was the supper, the laugh and the song, 
 To retire to her bed the young bride she doth 
 long. 
 
 With the bride to the bridal apartment they go, 
 Fair Kirstin in front bears the yellow flambeau. 
 
 The bride in the soft bridal couch they have 
 
 plac'd, 
 To come to her arms good Sir Peter made haste. 
 

 INGEFRED AND GUDRUNE. 
 
 Ingefred and Gudrune they sate in their bower, 
 Each bloomed a beauteous fragrant flower — 
 So sweet it is in summer tide ! 
 
 A working the gold fair Ingefred kept, 
 Still sate Gudrune, and bitterly wept. 
 
 " Dear sister Gudrune so fain I'd know 
 Why down thy cheek the salt tears flow ? " 
 
 " Cause enough have I to be thus forlorn, 
 With a load of sorrow my heart is worn. 
 
 " Hear, Ingefred, hear what I say to thee, 
 Wilt thou to-night stand bride for me? 
 
 " If bride for me thou wilt stand to-night, 
 
 I'll give thee my bridal clothes thee to requite. 
 
1 6 I NCR FRED AND GUDRUNE 
 
 "And more, much more to thee I'll give, 
 All my bride jewels thou shalt receive." 
 
 "01 will not stand for bride in thy room, 
 Save I also obtain thy merry bridegroom." 
 
 " Betide me whatever the Lord ordain 
 
 From me my bridegroom thou never shalt gain." 
 
 In silks so costly the bride they arrayed, 
 And unto the kirk the bride they conveyed. 
 
 In golden cloth weed the holy priest stands, 
 He joins of Gudiune and Samsing the hands. 
 
 O'er the downs and green grass meadows they 
 
 sped, 
 Where the herdsman watched his herd asit fed. 
 
 " Of thy beauteous self, dear Damsel, take heed 
 Ne'er enter the house of Sir Samsing, I rede. 
 
 Sir Samsing possesses two nightingales 
 Who tell of the Ladies such wondrous tales. 
 
 With their voices of harmony they can declare 
 Whether maiden or none has fallen to his share." 
 
INGEFRED AND GUDRUNE 17 
 
 The chariot they stopped in the green wood 
 
 shade, 
 An exchange 'twixt them of their clothes they 
 
 made. 
 
 Thej' change of their dress whatever they 
 
 please, 
 Their faces they cannot exchange with like ease. 
 
 To Sir Samsing's house the bride they conveyed, 
 Of the ruddy gold no spare was made. 
 
 On the bridal throne the bride they plac'd, 
 They skinked the mead for the bride to taste. 
 
 Then said from his place the court buffoon, 
 " Methinks thou art Ingcfred not Gudrune." 
 
 From off her hand a gold ring she took, 
 Which she gave the buffoon with entreating look. 
 
 Said he : " I'm art oaf and have drunk too hard, 
 To words of mine pay no regard." 
 
 'Twas deep at night, and down fell the mist, 
 To her bed the young bride they assist. 
 
1 8 INGE FRED AND GUDRUNE 
 
 Sir Samsing spoke to his nightingales twain : 
 " Before my young bride sing now a strain. 
 
 " A song now sing which shall avouch 
 Whether I've a maiden or none in my couch." 
 
 " A maid's in the bed, that's certain and sure, 
 Gudrune is standing yet on the floor.'' 
 
 " Proud Ingefred straight from my couch retire! 
 Gudrune come hither, or dread my ire ! 
 
 " Now tell me, Gudrune, with open heart, 
 What made thee from thy bed depart ? " 
 
 " My father, alas ! dwelt near the strand, 
 When war and bloodshed filled the land. 
 
 " Full eight there were broke into my bower, 
 One only ravished my virgin flower." 
 
 Upon her fair cheek he gave a kiss : 
 
 " My dearest, my dearest, all sorrow dismiss ; 
 
 " My swains they were that broke into thy bower, 
 'Twas I that gathered thy virgin flower." 
 
I NCR FRED AND GUDRUNE 1 9 
 
 Fair Ingefred gained, because bride she had 
 
 been, 
 One of the King's knights of handsome mien. 
 
SIR RIBOLT. 
 
 Ribolt the son of a Count was he — ■ 
 Gulborg he courted in secrecy. 
 
 Since she was a child the maid he woo'd, 
 And till she had come to womanhood. 
 
 " Gulborg do thou become my bride, 
 In a better land then thou shalt reside. 
 
 '" Unto the land I thee will bear, 
 
 Where grief ne'er comes the mind to tear. 
 
 "To an island 'neath a blissful sky, 
 Where thou shalt live and never die." 
 
 " To the land thou never me wilt bear, 
 But grief shall come the mind to tear. 
 
.S7A' RIBOLT 21 
 
 " Nor me to the isle wilt thou convey 
 Where I've no death to the Lord to pay." 
 
 " O there no grass but the leek up-springs, 
 And there no bird but the cuckoo sings. 
 
 " No other water flows than wine, 
 
 Thou may'st believe these words of mine." 
 
 " But how from the Castle can I fly ? 
 So many watch incessantly. 
 
 " I'm watched by father, watched by mother, 
 By sister I am watched, and brother. 
 
 " I'm watched by the man to whom I'm plighted, 
 And I fear him more than the rest united." 
 
 " Although by all thy clan controll'd, 
 Thy promise to me thou yet shall hold. 
 
 " In my acton blue I thee will case, 
 
 And my golden helm on thy head I'll place. 
 
 " I'll gird thee with my sword of worth, 
 Then none will think that a maid rides forth. 
 
22 SIR RIBOLT 
 
 " Decked with my gilded spurs so free, 
 Thou off may'st ride though thy father see." 
 
 O'er her he threw his mantle wide, 
 And set her upon his steed of pride. 
 
 When on the moor themselves they found, 
 Met them a Count, in arms renown'd. 
 
 " Here, Ribolt, hear, dear comrade mine, 
 Say, who's that fair young page of thine ? " 
 
 " Comrade, it is my youngest brother, 
 I've ta'en him from his doting mother." 
 
 " It little avails such tales to tell ; 
 Gulborg, Gulborg, I know thee well. 
 
 " Thy scarlet dress thou may'st disguise, 
 But thy cheeks of rose I recognise. 
 
 "Thy hair I know of fairest sort, 
 
 For long I've served at thy father's court. 
 
 " By thy garb and shoon I know thee not, 
 But I know the knight who thy troth has got " 
 
S//i RIBOLT 23 
 
 A bracelet drew she forth of gold, 
 And trave it to that Count so bold : 
 
 " Where'er thou rest thee at close of day, 
 Be sure no word of me thou say." 
 
 The Count he rode to Kulloe house, 
 
 Where the kemps were drinking a deep carouse. 
 
 He enter'd at Sir Truid's gate — 
 At his table wide Sir Truid sate. 
 
 " Here, Truid, thou sitt'st the red wine taking, 
 Whilst Ribolt off with thy bride is making." 
 
 Then through his hall Sir Truid roar'd: 
 
 " Up, up, ye knights, take helm and sword ! " 
 
 Barely a mile had they advanced 
 When fair Gulborg behind her glanced. 
 
 " O yonder my father's steed I see, 
 And the knight who is betrothed to me." 
 
 " Gulborg, be therefore in no pain, 
 But hold our steeds by the bridle rein. 
 
24 SIR RIBOLT 
 
 " And thougli to earth thou see me fall, 
 Gulborg thou must not upon me call. 
 
 " And though thou see me freely bleed, 
 Let not my name from thy mouth proceed." 
 
 His helm on his head Sir Ribolt cast, 
 Gulborg with her fair hands laced it fast. 
 
 Then, crying his cry, he slays outright 
 Her father dear and her plighted knight, 
 
 And, at the second " Halloo," he slew 
 Her brothers with locks of yellow hue. 
 
 "Desist, O Ribolt, my heart's ador'd, 
 'Tis time, 'tis time to sheath thy sword. 
 
 " My youngest brother I pray thee spare, 
 That he to my mother may tiding bear ; 
 
 " Bear her the tidings of the slaughter, 
 
 O would she never had borne a daughter ! " 
 
 Scarce had the name of Ribolt sounded, 
 When Ribolt tottered, deadly wounded. 
 
SIR RTBOLT 25 
 
 He sheathed his faulchion, blood bc-dyed : 
 " Come, dear Gulborg, we hence will ride." 
 
 They thread the mazes of the wood, 
 No word escaped him, bad or good. 
 
 " Hear, Ribolt, hear, my destined mate, 
 Why art not glad as thou wast of late ? " 
 
 " Gulborg, I feel my life-blood leak, 
 Gulborg, I feel me faint and weak. 
 
 " But chiefly, chiefly I look not pleas'd 
 Because Death's hand my heart has seiz'd." 
 
 " Myself of my girdle I'll dis-array, 
 
 And thy streaming blood will stanch and stay." 
 
 " God bless thee ever, my own true love, 
 Of service slight will thy girdle prove." 
 
 And when to the Castle gate they won, 
 His mother stood there and leaned thereon. 
 
 " Welcome, my son, thou art welcome twice, 
 And thy fair young bride she is welcome thrice. 
 
26 SIR RIBOLT 
 
 " I ne'er have seen a bride so pale 
 Come travelling over hill and dale." 
 
 " If pale she be is a wonder slight, 
 When she has witness'd so hard a fight. 
 
 " God grant I may retain my breath 
 Whilst parting presents I bequeath. 
 
 " To my father I give my courser tall, 
 
 mother I pray thee a priest to call. 
 
 " And unto my brother, who's standing near, 
 
 1 give Gulborg whom I love so dear." 
 
 "O willingly her to wife I'd take, 
 
 If, brother, 'twere not for the black sin's sake." 
 
 " May the Lord God me in my trouble aid, 
 So sure as she is for me a maid. 
 
 " 'Twas only once that I had the bliss 
 From her rosy mouth to snatch a kiss." 
 
 " O better, better to sink in death, 
 
 Than unto two brothers plight my faith.'' 
 
S/R RIBOLT 17 
 
 Ribolt was dead ere the cock did cry, 
 Gulborg was dead ere the sun was high. 
 
 They bore from the Castle corses three, 
 A handsome corse was each to see. 
 
 The one was Ribolt, the other his bride, 
 His mother the third, of grief she died. 
 
London : 
 Printed for THOMAS J. WISE, Hampstead, N.W. 
 
 Edition limited to Thirty Copies. 
 
KING DIDERIK 
 
 AND THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE 
 LION AND DRAGON 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
 nv 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 1913 
 
KING DIDERIK 
 
 AND THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE 
 LION AND DRAGON 
 
 AM) OTHER BALLADS 
 
KING DIDERIK 
 
 AND THE FIGHT BETWEEN THE 
 LION AND DRAGON 
 
 AND OTHER BALI. ADS 
 
 nv 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION' 
 
 1913 
 
Copyright in the United States of America 
 by Houghton, Mifflin &-' Co. for Clement Shorter. 
 
KING DIDERIK AND THE LION'S 
 FIGHT WITH THE DRAGON 
 
 FROM Bern rode forth King Diderik, 
 
 A stately warrior form ; 
 Engaged in fray he found in the way 
 
 A lion and laidly worm.* 
 
 They fought for a day, they fought for two, 
 
 But ere the third was flown, 
 The worm outfought the beast, and brought 
 
 To earth the lion down. 
 
 Then cried the lion in his need 
 
 When he the warrior saw : 
 " O aid me quick, King Diderik, 
 
 To 'scape the Dragon's claw. 
 * Dragon. 
 
6 KING DIDERIK 
 
 " O aid mc quick, King Diderik, 
 For the mightj' God thou fearest ; 
 
 A lion save for the lion brave, 
 
 Which on thy shield thou bcarest. 
 
 " Come to my rescue, thou noble King, 
 
 Help, help me for thy name ; 
 Upon thy targe I stand at large, 
 
 Glittering like a flame." 
 
 Long, long stood he, King Diderik, 
 
 Deep musing thereupon ; 
 At length he cried : " Whate'er betide 
 
 I'll help thee, noble one." 
 
 It was Sir King Diderik, 
 
 His good sword bare he made : 
 
 With courage fraught, the worm he fought, 
 'Till blcod tinged all the blade. 
 
 The gallant lord would not delay 
 
 So fast his blows he dealt ; 
 He hacked and gored until his sword 
 
 Was sundered at the hilt. 
 
AND THE LION AND DRAGON 
 
 The Lindworm took him upon her back, 
 The horse beneath her tongue ; 
 
 To her mountain den she hurried then 
 To her eleven young. 
 
 The horse she cast before her young, 
 The man in a nook she throws : 
 
 " Assuage your greed upon the steed, 
 But I will to repose. 
 
 " I pray ye feed upon the steed, 
 
 At present no more I can ; 
 When I upleap, refreshed, from sleep, 
 
 We'll feast upon the man." 
 
 It was Sir King Diderik, 
 
 In the hill he searched around ; 
 Then, helped by the Lord, the famous sword 
 
 Called Adelring he found. 
 
 Aye there he found so sharp a sword, 
 And a knife with a golden heft : 
 
 "King Sigfred be God's grace with thee, 
 For here thy life was reft ! 
 
 c 
 
8 KING DIDERIK 
 
 " I've been with thee in many a fight, 
 
 In many an inroad too, 
 But that thy doom had been in this tomb 
 
 I never, never knew." 
 
 It was Sir King Diderik, 
 
 Would prove the faulchion's might ; 
 He hewed upon the flinty stone 
 
 'Till all around was light. 
 
 It was the youngest Lindworm saw 
 
 The sparks the hill illume: 
 " Who dares awake the fiery snake 
 
 In her own sleeping room ? " 
 
 The Lindworm gnashed its teeth with rage, 
 
 Its grinning fangs it show'd : 
 " Who dares awake the mother snake 
 
 Within her own abode ? " 
 
 Then spake the other little ones, 
 From the dark nooks of the hill : 
 
 "If from her sleep the old one leap, 
 'Twill fare with thee but ill." 
 
AND THE /./OX AND DRAGON 
 
 Then answered Sir King Diderik, 
 
 His eyes with fury gleam : 
 " I will awake your mother snake 
 
 With chilly, chilly dream. 
 
 " Your mother she King Sigfrcd slew, 
 
 A man of noble line ; 
 I'll on ye all avenge his fall 
 
 With this good hand of mine." 
 
 And then awaked the Lindworm old, 
 
 And on her fell such fear : 
 " Who thus with riot disturbs my quiet ? 
 
 What noise is this I hear ? " 
 
 Then said King Diderik : " 'Tis I, 
 
 And this have I to say : 
 O'er hill and dale, 'neath thy crooked tail, 
 
 Thou brought"st me yesterday." 
 
 " O hew me not, King Diderik, 
 
 I'll give thee all my hoard ; 
 'Twere best that wc good friends should be, 
 
 So cast away thy sword." 
 
 c 2 
 
io KING DIDERIK 
 
 " I pay no trust to thy false device, 
 
 Befool me thou wouldst fain ; 
 Full many hast thou destroyed ere now, 
 
 Thou never shalt again." 
 
 " Hear me, Sir King Diderik, 
 
 Forbear to do me ill, 
 And thee I'll guide to thy plighted bride, 
 
 She's hidden in the hill. 
 
 "Above by my head, King Diderik', 
 
 Is hung the little key ; 
 Below by my feet to the maiden sweet 
 
 Descend thou fearlessly." 
 
 "Above by thy head, thou serpent curst, 
 
 To begin I now intend ; 
 Below by thy feet, as is full meet, 
 
 I soon shall make an end." 
 
 Then first the laidly worm he slew, 
 
 And then her young he smote ; 
 But in vain did he try from the mountain to fly, 
 
 For tongues of snakes thrust out. 
 
AND THE LION AND DRAGON \\ 
 
 So then with toil in the rocky soil 
 
 He dug a trench profound, 
 That in the flood of serpent blood 
 
 And bane he might not be drowned. 
 
 Then bann'd the good King Diderik, 
 
 On the lion he wroth became : 
 " Bann'd, bann'd," said he, " may the lion be, 
 
 Confusion be his and shame." 
 
 " With subtle thought the brute has brought 
 
 On me this grievous risk ; 
 Which I ne'er had seen had he not been 
 
 Graved on my buckler's disc." 
 
 And when the gallant lion heard 
 
 The King bewail his hap : 
 " Stand fast, good lord," the lion roared, 
 
 " While with my claws I scrap." 
 
 The lion scrapp'd, King Diderik hewed, 
 Bright sparks the gloom relieved ; 
 
 Unless the beast had the knight released 
 He'd soon to death have grieved. 
 
12 KING DIDERIK 
 
 So when he had slain the laidly worm, 
 And her offspring all had kill'd; 
 
 Escaped the knight to the morning light, 
 With heavy cuirass and shield. 
 
 And when he had now come out of the hill 
 For his gallant courser he sighed ; 
 
 With reason good he trust him could, 
 For they had each other tried. 
 
 " O there's no need to bewail the steed, 
 Which thou, Sir King, hast miss'd ; 
 
 I am thy friend, my back ascend, 
 And ride where'er thou list." 
 
 So he rode o'er the deepest dales, 
 
 And o'er the verdant meads ; 
 The knight he rode, the lion strode, 
 
 Through the dim forest glades. 
 
 The lion and King Didcrik 
 
 Together thenceforth remain ; 
 Each death had braved, and the other saved 
 
 From peril sore and pain 
 
AND THE LION AND DRAGON 13 
 
 Where'er King Diderik rode in the fields 
 
 The lion beside him sped ; 
 When on the ground the knight sat down 
 
 In his bosom he laid his head. 
 
 Wherefore they call him the lion knight 
 
 With fame that name he bore ; 
 Their love so great did ne'er abate 
 
 Until their dying hour. 
 
DIDERIK AND OLGER THE DANE 
 
 WlTH his eighteen brothers Diderik stark 
 
 Dwells in the hills of Bern ; 
 And each I wot twelve sons has got, 
 
 For manly feats they yearn. 
 
 He has twelve sisters, each of them 
 
 A dozen sons can show ; 
 Thirteen the youngest, gallant lads, 
 
 Of fear who nothing know. 
 
 To stand before the King a crowd 
 
 Of giant bodies move ; 
 I say to ye foi sooth their heads 
 
 O'eitopped the bcechen grove. 
 
DIDERIK AND OLGER THE DANE i; 
 
 " With knights of pride we war have plied 
 
 For many, many a year ; 
 Of Olger, who in Denmark reigns, 
 
 Such mighty things we hear. 
 
 " Men talk so fain of Olger Dane 
 Who dwells in Jutland's fields ; 
 
 Crowned is his head with gold so red, 
 No tribute us he yields." 
 
 Then Swerting took a mace, and shook 
 
 That mace right furiously : 
 " From ten times ten of Olger's men 
 
 I would not look to flee ! " 
 
 " Hark, Swerting, hark, of visage dark, 
 
 Esteem them not so little ; 
 I'd have thee ken that Olger's men 
 
 Arc knights of gallant mettle. 
 
 " They feel no fright for faulchions, 
 
 For arrows no dismay ; 
 The desperate fight is their delight, 
 
 They deem it children's play." 
 
16 DIDERIK AND OLCER THE DANE 
 
 Then cried the mighty man of Bern, 
 When pondered long had he : 
 
 " To Denmark we will wend, and learn 
 At home if Olger be." 
 
 They took their route from Berner land, 
 They eighteen thousand were ; 
 
 King Olger good they visit would, 
 And to Denmark all repair. 
 
 A messenger by Diderik sent 
 
 To Danish Olger goes : 
 " Say, will ye tribute pay to us, 
 
 Or with us bandy blows ? " 
 
 Then full of wrath King Olger grew, 
 Such speech he could not bear : 
 
 " Let Diderik meet us on the wold, 
 We'll battle with him there. 
 
 " Tribute to pay each Dane would scorn, 
 He's wont himself to take it ; 
 
 Our tribute ye will like but ill, 
 If ye come here to seek it." 
 
DWERIK AND OLGER THE DANE 17 
 
 His kemps then gathering in a ring 
 
 The news to them he told : 
 " Bern's haughty lord has sent us word 
 
 That he'll have tribute-gold. 
 
 " He'll either tribute have, or hold 
 
 With us a bloody feud ; 
 But the first King he will not be 
 
 We have this year subdued." 
 
 Then cried in scorn a kempion good, 
 
 King Diderik's envoy to : 
 " To waste our home if Berners come 
 
 They all hence out won't go." 
 
 Soon as the news he heard, full glad 
 
 Was Ulf Van Yern, and gay ; 
 Then laughed outright bold Hogen knight : 
 
 " Too long do they delay " 
 
 It was Vidrik Verlandson, 
 
 High beat with joy his heart ; 
 Then said amain Orm Ungerswayne : 
 
 " To meet them let us start." 
 
iS DIDERIK AND OLGEK THE DANE 
 
 "The first man I'll be in the van," 
 
 Sir Ivor Blue he cried : 
 " Nor shall ye say that I was last," 
 
 Sir Kulden Gray replied. 
 
 King Olger on the verdant wold 
 With Diderik battle join'd ; 
 
 To fight they went, no jest they meant, 
 So wroth were they in mind. 
 
 Endured for three long days the fray, 
 And flinch would neither side ; 
 
 To help his lord each Dane his sword 
 In desperation plied. 
 
 Down ran the blood, like raging flood 
 Which 'neath steep hills doth pour ; 
 
 Then tribute they were forced to pay 
 Who tribute asked before. 
 
 Rose in the sky the blood-reek high, 
 And dimmed the lustrous sun ; 
 
 'Twas sad to spy the brave men lie 
 So thick the earth upon. 
 
DIDERIK AND OLGER THE DANE 19 
 
 In gore lay thick both men and steeds, 
 Dear friends were parted there ; 
 
 All did not laugh the feast who sought, 
 Too hot they found the fare. 
 
 Now tamer grown, the Berher Jutt 
 
 Thought thus himself within : 
 " Of us a hundred scarce remain, 
 
 We cannot hope to win." 
 
 Then took he to his heels and ran, 
 
 Not often back looked he ; 
 To say good night forgot Swerting quite, 
 
 For Bern, for Bern they flee. 
 
 Then Diderik turned him with a shout 
 
 That shook the vaulted skies : 
 " Bern, Bern's the place for us, I guess, 
 
 For here no refuge lies ! " 
 
 Then answered 'neath the green hill's side 
 
 The son of Verland keen : 
 '• Ye and your host will little boast 
 
 Ye have in Denmark been." 
 
20 DIDERIK AND OLGER THE DANE 
 
 Full eighteen thousand knights were they 
 When out they marched from Bern ; 
 
 Wounded and worn but seventy-five 
 With drooping crests, return. 
 
OLGER THE DANE AND BURMAN 
 
 BURMAN in the mountain holds, 
 
 Makes his shield shine brightly there ; 
 
 A message he sends to Iceland's King, 
 For he has a daughter fair. 
 
 " Hear, good King of Iceland, hear, 
 
 Hear what now I say to thee : 
 Give to me thy daughter fair, 
 
 And divide thy land with me. 
 
 " Either yield thy daughter fair, 
 
 And divide with me thy land, 
 Or the warrior good prepare 
 
 Who in n<jht can me withstand." 
 
! OLGER THE DANE AND BURMAN 
 
 " I have daughter none but one, 
 Damsel Gloriant her they call ; 
 
 To King Carvel she's betrothed, 
 And in him my trust is all. 
 
 " I have given her to a King 
 And King Carvel hight is he ; 
 
 If he fail to defend the maid, 
 Then thy booty she shall be." 
 
 'Tvvas the King of Iceland good, 
 To his daughter's bower he goes ; 
 
 And the Damsel Gloriant 
 To receive him gently rose. 
 
 " Hear, all dearest daughter mine, 
 For I bring thee tidings new ; 
 
 Burman in the mountain holds, 
 He would win thee and doth woo. 
 
 " Burman is a kempion dour, 
 
 And of jesting nought he knows; 
 
 He will surely have thee soon, 
 If no warrior him oppose." 
 
OLGER THE DANE AND BUR MAN 23 
 
 It was Damsel Gloriant, 
 
 Silent would no longer stand : 
 " In our tower a prisoner is 
 
 Who will Burman take in hand." 
 
 It was Damsel Gloriant, 
 
 Her blue mantle o'er her threw ; 
 Swiftly to the prison tower, 
 
 Where the prisoners lay she flew. 
 
 It was Damsel Gloriant, 
 
 'Bove the prisoners all she cried : 
 
 " Hear thou, Olger good, the Dane, 
 Have thy legs yet power to stride ? 
 
 "Art thou living, Olger Dane ? 
 
 I have something to impart ; 
 There is a trold for me that lusts, 
 
 And that trold is Burman swart. 
 
 " I'll not wed the filthy guest, 
 
 I'm betrothed to Christian knight ; 
 
 I to thee will subject be 
 
 If thou conquer him in fight." 
 
24 OLGER THE DANE AND BUSMAN 
 
 " Here I've lain for fifteen years, 
 All in chains and bondage hard ; 
 
 Blessings on thee, Gloriant, 
 That to me thou hast repaired. 
 
 " Here for fifteen years I've lain, 
 
 Borne fierce hunger-pangs, and thirst ; 
 
 I'm not able now to wage 
 Fight as I was able erst." 
 
 " Hear thou me, good Olger Dane, 
 Save me from my peril, save ; 
 
 Ere I take the ugly trold 
 
 I would fling me in my grave. 
 
 " Burman is fierce, his horse is wild 
 
 I to thee will tell forsooth, 
 I have heard and been assured 
 
 That he bites with wolfish tooth. 
 
 " Nothing, nothing will he eat 
 But the flesh of Christian men ; 
 
 And nothing, nothing, will he drink 
 But human blood mixt up with bane." 
 
OLGER THE DANE AND P.URMAN 
 
 " Thy father means a gallant man, 
 King Carvel to share thy bed ; 
 
 Can he not hold thee from the trold, 
 That thou unto me hast sped ? 
 
 " Blessings on thee, Gloriant, 
 That thou didst upon me think, 
 
 With Burman I will break a lance 
 If thou give me good meat and drink. 
 
 " Canst thou procure my horse again, 
 My good sword and hauberk tried ? 
 
 Then for thy sake it will be, 
 I a course with him will ride. 
 
 " Carvel is my stall-brother true, 
 To his ears 'twill doubtless come ; 
 
 Rather would I lose my life 
 
 Than the fiend should bear thee home." 
 
 "The best food which thou shalt choose 
 I for thee will straight provide ; 
 
 And I will give thee thy steed again, 
 Which thou lovest best to ride. 
 
> OLGER THE DANE AND BUR MAN 
 
 " I will give thee the strongest sword 
 E'er that armed a warrior's side ; 
 
 Give thee too a faulchion hard, 
 
 Well thereon thou may'st confide." 
 
 Olger from the tower they took. 
 
 Garments for him have they wrought ; 
 
 The)- sat him highest at the board, 
 And rich meats for him the) - brought. 
 
 Burman riding came to court, 
 Thought to bear the maid away ; 
 
 Olger the Dane against him rode, 
 And soon found him rougher play. 
 
 For two days they stoutly fought, 
 As the third towards evening drew 
 
 Down upon a stone they sat, 
 
 They their strength would there renew. 
 
 Then the valiant Burman kemp, 
 
 To the Danish Olger said : 
 "Quarter I will grant, if thou 
 
 Wilt believe in Mahommed." 
 
OLGER THE DANK AND BURMAN 27 
 
 Little could brook that, Olger the Dane, 
 
 On his foe fierce looks he bent : 
 " When thou dwell in blackest hell 
 
 Say by Olger thou wast sent." 
 
 Up then leapt the kempions twain, 
 
 'Gainst each other rode anew ; 
 Then asunder went their helms, 
 
 And afar their faulchions flew. 
 
 They fought so long, they fought so hard, 
 That their strength was well-nigh flown ; 
 
 Slain at length was Burman Kemp, 
 Dead to earth fell Burman down. 
 
 Olger to the Damsel rode : 
 
 " Thou mayst take thy plighted knight, 
 For I have with my good sword 
 
 Slain the foul and poisonous sprite." 
 
London : 
 Printed for THOMAS J. WISE, Hampstead, N.W. 
 
 Edition limited to Thirty Copies 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE 
 THE VALKYRIE AND RAVEN 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 ■91.5 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE 
 THE VALKYRIE AND RAVEN 
 
 AND DTIIKK BALLADS 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE 
 THE VALKYRIE AND RAVEN 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 IQI 5 
 
Copyright in the United States of A merit a 
 by Houghton, Mifflin and Co. for Clement Shorter. 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE, OR THE 
 TRANSFORMED DAMSEL 
 
 I KNOW where stands a Castellaye, 
 
 Its turrets are so fairly gilt ; 
 With silver are its gates inlaid, 
 
 Its walls of marble stone are built. 
 
 Within it stands a linden tree, 
 
 With lovely leaves its boughs are hung, 
 Therein doth dwell a nightingale, 
 
 And sweetly moves that bird its tongue. 
 
 A gallant knight came riding by, 
 He heard its dulcet ditty ring ; 
 
 And sorely, sorely, wondered he 
 
 At midnight hour that it should sing. 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE 
 
 " And hear, thou little Nightingale, 
 If thou to me wilt sing a lay, 
 
 Thy feathers I'll with gold bedeck, 
 Thy neck with costly pearls ana)'." 
 
 " With golden feathers others lure, 
 Such gifts for me have value slight ; 
 
 I am a strange and lonely bird, 
 But little known to mortal wight." 
 
 " And thou, a strange wild bird thou be, 
 Whom other mortals little know ; 
 
 Yet hunger pinches thee, and cold, 
 When falls the cruel winter snow." 
 
 " I laugh at hunger, laugh at snow, 
 Which falls so wide on hill and lea ; 
 
 But I am vexed by secret care, 
 I know not either joy or glee. 
 
 " Betwixt the hills and valleys deep 
 Away the rapid rivers flow ; 
 
 But ah ! remembrance of true love 
 From out the mind will never go. 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE 
 
 " O I had once a handsome love, 
 A famous knight of valour he ; 
 
 But ah ! my step-dame all o'erturn'd, 
 She vowed our marriage ne'er should be. 
 
 " She changed me to a Nightingale, 
 Bade me around the world to fly ; 
 
 My Brother she changed to a wolf so gray, 
 Bade him into the forest hie. 
 
 " She told him, as the wood he sought, 
 That he should win his shape no more, 
 
 'Till he had drunk her heart's blood out, 
 And that befell when years were o'er. 
 
 " It happened on a summer tide, 
 Amidst the wood she wandered gay, 
 
 My brother saw and watched her close, 
 From 'neath the bushes where he lay. 
 
 " He seized her quickly by the foot, 
 All with his laidly wolfish claw ; 
 
 Tore out her heart, and drank her blood, 
 And thus released himself he saw. 
 
 c 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE 
 
 " Yet I am still a little bird, 
 
 And o'er the verdant meads I fly ; 
 
 So sorrowful I pass my life, 
 
 But mostly 'neath the winter's sky. 
 
 " But God be thanked, he me has waked, 
 And speech from him my tongue has won ; 
 
 For fifteen years I have not spoke 
 
 As I with thee, Sir Knight, have done. 
 
 " But ever with a mournful voice, 
 
 Have sung the green wood bough upon ; 
 
 And had no better dwelling place 
 Than gloomy forests, sad and lone." 
 
 " Now hear, thou little Nightingale, 
 This simple thing would I propose, 
 
 In winter sit within my bower, 
 
 And hie thee forth when summer blows." 
 
 " O many thanks, thou handsome knight 
 Thy offer would I accept full fane ; 
 
 But ah, my step-dame that forbade 
 Whilst still in feather I remain." 
 
THE NIGHTINGALE 
 
 The Nightingale sat musing deep, 
 Unto the knight she paid no heed, 
 
 Until he seized her by the foot, 
 For God I ween had so decreed. 
 
 He carried her to his chamber in, 
 
 The doors and windows fast he made ; 
 
 Then changed she to the strangest beasts 
 That ever mortal eye survey'd. 
 
 A lion now, and now a bear, 
 
 And now a coil of hissing snakes ; 
 
 At last a Dragon she became, 
 
 And furious she the knight attacks. 
 
 He cut her with a little knife, 
 
 So that her blood did stain the floor ; 
 Then straight before his eye there stood 
 
 A Damsel bright as any flower. 
 
 " Now, Damsel fair, I've rescued thee 
 From thraldom drear and secret care ; 
 
 Now tell me of thy ancestry, 
 
 Thy parents and thy race declare." 
 
) THE NIGHTINGALE 
 
 " My father he was England's King, 
 My mother was his lovely Queen ; 
 
 My brother once a grey wolf was, 
 And trotted o'er the wold so green." 
 
 " If England's King thy father was, 
 And thy dear mother England's Queen, 
 
 Thou art my sister's daughter then, 
 Who long a Nightingale has been." 
 
 O there was joy throughout the land, 
 And all the court was filled with glee ; 
 
 The Knight has caught the Nightingale, 
 That dwelt within the linden tree. 
 
THE VALKYRIE AND RAVEN 
 
 Ye men wearing bracelets 
 
 Be mute whilst I sing 
 Of Harald the hero — 
 
 High Norroway's king ; 
 I'll duly declare 
 
 A discourse which I heard, 
 Iietwixt a bright maiden 
 
 And black raven bird. 
 
 The Valkyrie's vext 
 
 No war-field to find ; 
 The speech she knew well 
 
 Of the wild feather'd kind, 
 And thus she bespakc him 
 
 Who bears the brown bill, 
 So proud as he perch'd on 
 
 The peak of the hill. 
 
THE VALKYRIE AND RAVEN 
 
 " What do you here, ravens, 
 
 And whence come ye, say, 
 Your heads turn'd direct to 
 
 The dying sun's ray ? 
 Bits of flesh hold your claws — 
 
 There's blood flowing free 
 From your beaks, surely nigh 
 
 Dead bodies there be." 
 
 Then wiping his beak, 
 
 Bloody red, on the rock, 
 The eagle's sworn brother 
 
 Thus answer'd and spoke : 
 " Harald we've follow'd, 
 
 Of Halfdan the son, 
 Ever since from the egg 
 
 That we egress have won." 
 
 " Then ye know, bird, the king, 
 Whose keep is in Kvine, 
 
 The young king — the Norse king- 
 Whose keels cut the brine ; 
 
THE VALKYRIE AND RAVEN 
 
 Red-i'imm'd are his bucklers, 
 
 Bctarr'd arc his oars — 
 His sails are all blcach'd 
 
 With the sea-spray and showers.' 
 
 "Abroad will drink Yule, 
 
 The young king, and will try 
 To wake up, O maiden, 
 
 The wild game of Frey, 
 Of the warmth of the hearth 
 
 He weary is grown ; 
 He loathes the close chamber 
 
 And cushions of down. 
 
 " Heard ye not the hard fight 
 
 Near Hafirs firth beach, 
 'Twixt the king of high kindred 
 
 And Kotva the rich ? 
 Sail'd ships from the East 
 
 Prepared for war stern ; 
 Their dragon heads gaped, 
 
 Their gilded sides burn. 
 
14 THE VALKYRIE AND RAVEN 
 
 " They were fill'd with proud freemen 
 
 Well furnish'd with shields, 
 And the very best weapons 
 
 The western land yields ; 
 Grimly the Baresarkers 
 
 Grinn'd, biting steel, — 
 Howl'd the wolf-heathens 
 
 War madness they feel. 
 
 " They moved 'gainst the monarch 
 
 Whose might makes them pine, 
 'Gainst the king — the Norse king — 
 
 Who keeps court at Utstein ; 
 Flinch'd the king's bark at first, 
 
 For they ply'd her right well — 
 There was hammering on helmets 
 
 Ere Haklangr fell. 
 
 " Left the land to the lad 
 With the locks long and full, 
 
 Rich Kotva, the lord, 
 
 Thick of neck, like the bull ; 
 
THE VALKYRIE AND RAVEN 
 
 'Neath the thwarts themselves threw, 
 They who'd wounds, in despair, 
 
 Their heads to the keel 
 And their heels to the air. 
 
 " On their shoulders their shields, 
 
 Such as Swafni's roof form, 
 Flinging swift as a fence 
 
 From the fierce stony storm ; 
 The yeomen affrighted 
 
 From Hafirsfirth speed, 
 And arrived at their homes 
 
 They call hoarsely for mead. 
 
 " The slain strew the strand 
 
 To the very great joy 
 Of ourselves and of Odin, 
 
 The chief of one eye." 
 
 Valkyrie. 
 " Of his wars and his prowess 
 
 With wonder I've heard ; 
 Now speak of his wives 
 
 And his women, O bird ! " 
 
16 THE VALKYRIE AND RAVEN 
 
 Raven. 
 
 " He had damsels from Holmygg 
 
 And Hordaland, too ; 
 And damsels from Hcdcmark 
 
 Dainty of hue ; 
 But he sent them with gifts 
 
 To their countries again, 
 When he wedded Ranhilda 
 
 The beautiful Dane." 
 
 I T alkyrie. 
 
 " I warrant he's bounteous ! 
 
 And well doth reward 
 The warriors and gallants 
 
 His kingdom who guard." 
 
 Raven. 
 
 " O, yes, he is bounteous ! 
 
 And bravely they fare 
 Who in Harald's dominions 
 
 Hew food for the bear ; 
 
THE VALKYRIE AND RAVEN 17 
 
 With coin he presents them, 
 
 And keen polish'd glaives, 
 With mail from Hungaria 
 
 And Osterland slaves." 
 
 " O happy lives have they 
 
 Who help him in war, 
 Can run to the mast-head 
 
 Or manage the oar ; 
 Make the row-locks to creak, 
 
 And the row-bench to crack, 
 And in their lord's service 
 
 Are never found slack." 
 
 Valkyrie. 
 
 " Of the Skalds now I'll ask thee, 
 
 The sons of the strain, 
 By whom deathless honor 
 
 He hopes to obtain ; 
 I doubt not, O Raven, 
 
 That thou knowest well 
 The workers of verse 
 
 Who at Harald's court dwell." 
 
THE VALKYRIE AND RAVEN 
 
 Raven. 
 
 " By their gallant array, 
 
 By the armlets they bear 
 All of gold, you may learn 
 
 To their lord they are dear ; 
 Ruddy kirtles they have 
 
 That are laced at the skirts, 
 Swords silver inlaid, 
 
 And steely mail shirts : 
 All gilded their hilts, 
 
 Their helmets all graven ; 
 Gold rings on their hands." 
 
 Valkyrie. 
 
 " Now read me, O Raven, 
 Of the Baresarkers — how 
 
 Do ye style them who wade 
 In blood ankle-deep 
 
 By no danger dismay 'd ?" 
 
THE VALKYRIE AND RAVEN 19 
 
 Raven, 
 
 " Wolf-heathens they hight, 
 
 To the thick of the fray 
 Ruddy shields who do bear, 
 
 And with swords clear away ; 
 None but those who know nought 
 
 Of terror can stand 
 When stout and strong men 
 
 Shiver buckler with brand." 
 
 Valkyrie. 
 
 " Of jesting and game 
 
 Our discourse shall be brief; 
 What does Andadr do, 
 
 Harald's jester in chief?" 
 
 Rave?i 
 
 " Fun Andadr loves ; 
 
 He makes faces and sneers, 
 And the monarch doth laugh 
 
 At the loon without ears. 
 
THE VALKYRIE AND RAVEN 
 
 There are others who bear 
 
 Burning brands from the fire 
 Stick a torch 'neath their belt, 
 
 Yet ne'er singe their attire ; 
 Some that dance on their heels, 
 
 Or that tumble and spring — 
 O 'tis gay in the hall 
 
 Of high Harald the king ! " 
 
ERIK EMUN AND SIR PLOG 
 
 Early at morn the lark sang gay — ■ 
 
 {All underneath so green a hill) 
 Sir Carl by his bed put on his array — 
 
 {The Danish King will 'venge his Jill). 
 
 He drew on his shirt as white as milk, 
 Then his doublet foisted with verdant silk. 
 
 His legs in his buckskin boots he placed, 
 And around them his gilded spurs he braced. 
 
 His gilded spurs there around he braced, 
 And away to the Ting he rode in haste. 
 
 Sir Carl he galloped along the way, 
 Such wondrous things he proved that day. 
 
22 ERIK EM UN AND SIR PLOG 
 
 Sir Carl he galloped up to the Ting, 
 The crowd before him scattering. 
 
 To warriors nine the Dane-king cries : 
 " Bind ye Sir Carl before my eyes." 
 
 Up then amain the nine warriors rise, 
 
 They bound Sir Carl 'fore their sovereign's eyes. 
 
 And out from the town Sir Carl they convey'd, 
 And upon a new wheel his body laid. 
 
 To Sir Plog then quickly a messenger came : 
 " The Dane-king has broken thy brother's frame." 
 
 Sir Plog he sprang o'er the wide, wide board, 
 But returned in answer no single word. 
 
 In his buckskin boots his shanks he cased 
 And around his gilded spurs he braced. 
 
 His gilded spurs there around he tied, 
 And away to the Ting the noble hied. 
 
 And fast and furious was his course, 
 So leapt and bounded his gallant horse. 
 
ERIK EMUN AND SIR PLOG 23 
 
 Up, up to the Ting Sir I'log he goes, 
 And up to receive him the Dane-king rose. 
 
 " If I had been earlier here to-day, 
 
 Then things had turned out in a better way. 
 
 " My brother is wheeled though he did no wrong, 
 That deed, Dane-king, thou shalt rue ere long. 
 
 "If four hours sooner I had but come, 
 
 My brother, for certain, had followed me home. 
 
 " Deprived of his life doth my brother lie, 
 Dane-king, thou hast lost thine honour thereby." 
 
 The Dane-king so fitting an answer returned : 
 " Thy brother full richly his death had earned. 
 
 " When the great with sword can oppress the 
 
 mean 
 The law is not worth a rotten bean." 
 
 " My brother, Sir King, was good and bold, 
 
 I could have redeemed him with silver and gold." 
 
 " Thy silver and gold I hold at nought, 
 The law shall have the course it ought. 
 
24 ERIK EMUN AND SIR FLOG 
 
 " And since thou so long on this matter doth 
 
 prate, 
 Thou shalt suffer the very same fate." 
 
 To warriors nine the Dane-king cries : 
 " Bind ye Sir Flog before my eyes." 
 
 " If a truly brave man, Dane-king, thou be, 
 Do thou thyself bind and fetter me." 
 
 The King off his hands the little gloves took, 
 Sir Flog his spear with vehemence shook. 
 
 He first slew four, then five he slew, 
 
 And the Dane-king himself with his warriors true. 
 
 When all the King's men he dead had laid, 
 His gallant brother he home convey'd. 
 
 To Ribe the royal corse they bear, 
 
 Where it rests 'neath a tomb of marble fair. 
 
 But Sir Plog he went to a foreign shore, 
 No word thev heard of him evermore. 
 
THE ELVES 
 
 Take heed, good people, of yourselves ; 
 And oil ! beware ye of the elves. 
 
 Once a peasant young and gay 
 
 Was in his meadow cutting hay, 
 
 There came a lovely looking lass 
 
 From out the neighbouring morass. 
 
 The lass he woo'd, her promise won, 
 
 And soon the bridal day came on. 
 
 But when the pair had got to bed, 
 
 The bridegroom found, with fear and dread, 
 
 That he a rough oak stump embrae'd, 
 
 Instead of woman's lovely waist. 
 
 Then, to increase his fear and wonder. 
 
 There sanu a voice his window under : 
 
THE ELVES 
 
 " Come out to her whom thou didst wed, 
 Upon my mead the bed is spread." 
 From that wild lay the peasant knew 
 He with a fay had had to do. 
 
 Take liced, good people, of yourselves ; 
 And oil ! beware ye of the elves. 
 
 FERIDUN 
 
 No face of an Angel could Feridun claim, 
 Nor of musk nor of amber I ween was his frame 
 In bright genero-ity beauteous was he, 
 Be Lrenerous like him and as fair thou slialt be. 
 
EPIGRAMS 
 
 i. 
 
 A worthless thing is song, I trow, 
 From out the heart which does not flow ; 
 But song from out no heart will flow 
 Which does not feel of love the glow. 
 
 2. 
 Though pedants have essayed to hammer 
 Into our heads the points of grammar ; 
 We're oft obliged to set at nought 
 The different force of should and ought ; 
 And oft are sorely puzzled whether 
 We should make use of both or cither. 
 
 3- 
 When of yourself you have cause to speak 
 Always make yourself broad and tall ; 
 Envy attacks you if you are great, 
 But thorough contempt attends the small. 
 
Lon DON : 
 Printed for THOMAS J. WISE, Hampstead, K.W. 
 
 Edition limited to Thirty Copies. 
 
THE VERNER RAVEN 
 
 THE COUNT OF VENDEL'S 
 DAUGHTER 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 1913 
 
THE VERNER RAVEN 
 THE COUNT OF VENDEL'S DAUGHTER 
 
 AN-6 OTHER BALLADS 
 
THE VERNER RAVEN 
 
 THE COUNT OF VENDEL'S 
 DAUGHTER 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 I9'3 
 
Copyright ill the United States of America 
 by Houghton, Mifflin e~" Co. for Clement Shorter. 
 
THE VERNER RAVEN 
 
 Tin; Raven he flies in the evening tide, 
 
 He in day dares not intrude ; 
 Whoever is born to have evil luck 
 
 In vain may seek for good. 
 
 Lustily flies the Verner Raven, 
 
 High o'er the wall he's flown, 
 For he was aware that Irmindlin fair 
 
 Sate in her bower alone. 
 
 He southward flew, and he northward flew, 
 He flew high up in the cloud ; 
 
 And he beheld May Irmindlin 
 Who sorrowing sate and sew'd. 
 
THE VERSER RAVEN 
 
 " Now hear me, little Irmindlin, 
 Why weep in this piteous way ? 
 
 For father or mother, or is it for brother", 
 That adown thy cheek tears stray ? '' 
 
 It was Damsel Irmindlin, 
 
 Swift out of the window looked she : 
 " O who is he that will comfort me, 
 
 And list to my misery ? 
 
 " Hear thou, wild Raven, bird of Death, 
 
 Fly thou hither down to me ; 
 And all my trouble and all my care 
 
 I'll straight relate to thee. 
 
 " My father gave me the son of a king, 
 We were fitted the one for the other, 
 
 But he was into the Austrian land 
 Dispatched by my cruel step-mother. 
 
 "So happily we should together have lived, 
 
 For he my whole love won ; 
 But she wished to give me her sister's son, 
 
 Who was likcr a fiend than a man. 
 
THE VERNE R RAVEN 7 
 
 " I had a gallant brother once, 
 
 Sir Verner by name was he, 
 But he was transformed by my cruel step-dame 
 
 And driven to a strange countrie." 
 
 " Hear thou, Damsel Irmindlin, 
 
 What wilt thou give me, say? 
 " I'll carry thee straight to thy plighted youth, 
 
 If with me thou wilt fly away." 
 
 " Thou shalt from me the ruddy gold, 
 
 And the silver white receive ; 
 If thou bear me to my Bridegroom bold, 
 
 And me from my woe relieve." 
 
 " Keep thou thyself thy silver and gold, 
 
 Such gifts I do not crave ; 
 The first son thou conceivest of him, 
 
 That, that from thee I'll have." 
 
 Then straight she took the Raven's foot, 
 
 Laid that her white hand upon ; 
 She swore to him by her Christian faith, 
 
 That he should have the son. 
 
 c 
 
THE VERNER RAVEN 
 
 Then took he Damsel Irmindlin, 
 
 He placed her on his back ; 
 Then flew he over the wild sea waves 
 
 As fast as he could track. 
 
 It was the Verner Raven wild, 
 
 On the turret he alighted : 
 " Now sit we, Damsel, upon the house, 
 
 Where dwells thy Bridegroom plighted." 
 
 Out came bold Sir Nilaus, 
 
 A silver cup in his hand : 
 " Be welcome, Damsel Irmindlin, 
 
 Here to this foreign land ! 
 
 " What shall I give to thee, Raven wild, 
 That hast brought to me my Bride ? 
 
 No better tidings I have heard, 
 
 Since from Denmark forth I hied." 
 
 Thanks be to brave Sir Nilaus, 
 
 He kept his faith so well ; 
 The Monday next that followed, 
 
 His bridal it befell. 
 
THE VERSF.R RAVEN 9 
 
 The}' their bridal solemnised 
 
 With glee and utmost Joy ; 
 When forty weeks away had flown 
 
 She brought into the world a boy. 
 
 It was the Verner Raven, 
 
 Perched on the turret tall : 
 " What thou did'st promise me, Irmindlin, 
 
 To thy mind I'd have thee call." 
 
 So sorely she wept, and her hands she smote, 
 
 Because it a girl was not : 
 "Thee shall the wild Death Raven have, 
 
 That will cost thee thy life, I wot !" 
 
 There came flying over the house 
 The Raven, with looks to scare ; 
 
 So sorely then wept both Maidens and Dames, 
 And their hands wrung in despair. 
 
 Sir Nilaus went, and proffered the bird 
 
 Proud castles many a one ; 
 He proffered him even the half of his land 
 
 If he only might keep his son. 
 
 c 2 
 
io THE VERNE R RAVEN 
 
 " If I get not the little babe, 
 
 Thou sorely shall rue it straight, 
 
 Thee I limb from limb will tear 
 And thy kingdom devastate." 
 
 She has taken the babe, and in linen white 
 
 Hath wrapped it tenderly ; 
 " Farewell, farewell, my dearest son, 
 
 Thou owest thy death to me." 
 
 Then bore they out the little babe, 
 On its mother's breast that lay ; 
 
 O'er the cheeks of all did big tears fall, 
 Such woe was and wail that day. 
 
 The Raven took the child in his claw, 
 
 He croaked in joyous guise; 
 Sir Nilaus stood and looked thereon, 
 
 Pouring forth bitter sighs. 
 
 Then tore he amain its right eye out, 
 Drank the half of its heart's red blood ; 
 
 Then he became the handsomest knight 
 That upon earth e'er stood 
 
THE VERNER RAVEN i 
 
 He changed into the loveliest knight 
 That with eye man ever had seen : 
 
 It was Irmindlin's brother himself, 
 Who had long enchanted been. 
 
 All the folk that stood thereby, 
 They fell upon their knees bare ; 
 
 And the child it was to life restored 
 
 When to God the}' had made their prayer. 
 
 Now sitteth Dame Irmindlin so glad, 
 All her grief has from her hied ; 
 
 For she has now both brother and son, 
 And sleeps by Sir Nilaus' side. 
 
THE COUNT OF VENDEL'S 
 DAUGHTER 
 
 Within a bower the womb I left, 
 
 'Midst dames and maids who stood to aid : 
 
 They wrapped me first in silken weft, 
 And next in scarlet red array'd. 
 
 But a stepdame soon 'twas my lot to get, 
 And fierce and wild she proved to me ; 
 
 Within a coffer me she set, 
 
 And pushed it out upon the sea. 
 
 By one wave I was borne to land, 
 And by the next away was ta'en ; 
 
 But God on High, it seems, had plann'd, 
 That I should footing there obtain. 
 
THE COUNT OF VEND EL'S DAUGHTER 13 
 
 The tide it drove me to the shore, 
 And in its backward course retook ; 
 
 Sure ne'er had child of king before 
 Such buffeting on sea to brook. 
 
 But God He help'd me, so that I 
 Was cast above the billows' reach ; 
 
 And soon a savage wolf drew nigh, 
 Was prowling on the sandy beach. 
 
 Soon prowling came a wolf so gray, 
 
 And me up-taking in his jaws, 
 He carried me with care away 
 
 Deep, deep into the forest shaws. 
 
 That self-same wolf he was so kind 
 
 That me beneath a tree he laid ; 
 And then came running a nimble hind, 
 
 And me unto its lair convey 'd. 
 
 There me for winter one she nurs'd — 
 She nursed me for two winters' space. 
 
 To creep, to creep, I learnt at first, 
 And next I learnt to pace, to pace. 
 
M THE COUNT OF VEND EL'S DAUGHTER 
 
 And I was full eight years, I wot, 
 
 Within the quiet, green retreat. 
 Close couched beside the hind I got 
 
 Full many a slumber calm and sweet. 
 
 I had clothes and shelter of no kind, 
 
 Except the linden green alone ; 
 And, save the gentle forest hind, 
 
 Had nurse and foster-mother none. 
 
 But forth on courser reeking hot 
 
 There rushed a knight of bearing bold, 
 
 And he my foster-mother shot 
 With arrow on the verdant wold. 
 
 He pierced the hind with mortal wound, 
 And all our fond connection cut ; 
 
 Then wrapped his cloak my frame around, 
 And me within his buckler put. 
 
 That self-same knight, so bold and strong, 
 Within his bower the foundling bred ; 
 
 He tended me both well and long, 
 And finally his bride he made. 
 
THE COUNT OF VENDELS DAUGHTER ij. 
 
 He had by long inquiry found 
 
 My father was a noble count 
 In Vendel's land, who castles own'd, 
 
 And rul'd o'er many a plain and mount. 
 
 The first night we together slept 
 
 Was fraught with woe of darkest hue ; 
 
 Foes, whom he long at bay had kept, 
 Broke in on us, and him they slew. 
 
 The night we lay together first 
 
 A deed of horror was fulfill'd ; 
 The bride-house door his foemen burst, 
 
 And in my arms my husband kill'd. 
 
 Soon, soon, my friends to counsel go, 
 A husband new they chose for me ; 
 
 The cloister's prior of mitred brow — 
 The good Sir Nilaus styl'd was he. 
 
 But soon as I the threshold cross'd, 
 
 The nuns could not their fury smother ; 
 
 They vow'd by God and all His Host, 
 The Prior Nilaus was my brother. 
 
1 6 THE COUNT OF VENDED S DAUGHTER 
 
 Forth from the cloister him they drew, 
 They pelted him to death with stones ; 
 
 I stood close by, and all could view, 
 I scarce could hear his piteous moans. 
 
 Once more my friends to counsel hied, 
 For me another spouse they get — 
 
 Son of the King of England wide 
 Was he, and hight Sir Engelbret. 
 
 Nine winters with that princely youth 
 I lived ; of joy we had no dearth, 
 
 I tell to ye, for sooth and truth, 
 To ten fair sons that I gave birth. 
 
 But pirate crews the land beset, 
 
 No one, no one, my grief could tell ; 
 
 They slew with sword Sir Engelbret, 
 And nine of my fair sons as well. 
 
 My husband and my sons with brand 
 They slew. How I bewail their case ! 
 
 My tenth son bore they from the land — 
 I never more shall see his face. 
 
THE CO i WT OF I 'ENDEDS DA CO// 7 FA' 1 7 
 
 Now is my care as complicate 
 
 As golden threads which maidens spin ; 
 God crown with bliss Sir Engelbret, 
 
 He ever was so free from sin. 
 
 15ut now I'll take the holy vows, 
 
 Within the cloister under Ey ; 
 I'll ne'er become another's spouse, 
 
 Hut in religion I will die. 
 
 15ut first to all the country side 
 
 I will declare my bosom's grief; 
 I find, the more my grief I hide, 
 
 The less, the less, is my relief. 
 
THE CRUEL MOTHER-IN-LAW 
 
 From his home and his country Sir Volmor 
 
 should fare, 
 His wife he commends to his mother's best care. 
 
 Proud Lyborg she sang, as the dancers she 
 
 watched, 
 Behind stood Dame Ingeborg, malice she 
 
 hatched. 
 
 " To live to the Fall if the luck I enjoy 
 Fair lady, thy beautiful voice I'll destroy." 
 
 Proud Lyborg's fair maidens upon the floor 
 
 sprang, 
 And all through the evening she unto them 
 
 sans:. 
 
THE CRUEL MOTHER-IN-LAW 19 
 
 But alack two short summer days scarcely had 
 
 pass'd, 
 When in desperate sickness proud Lyborg lay 
 
 fast. 
 
 Proud Lyborg fell sick, and lay stretched on her 
 
 bed, 
 Then backwards and forwards Dame Ingeborg 
 
 sped. 
 
 " Now hear me, Dame Ingeborg, dear mother 
 
 mine, 
 Do bring me, I pray, either water or wine." 
 
 " The water is frozen, and frozen the wine, 
 And frozen the tap in each barrel of mine. 
 
 " The door it is locked, and the keys are away, 
 But where, daughter dear, by the Saints I can't 
 say." 
 
 " If I can nor water nor wine from thee win, 
 Then open the door that the c\c\v may rush in. 
 
20 THE CRUEL MOTHER-IN-LAW 
 
 " Cause the door to the North to be wide open 
 
 set, 
 Then my feverish frame cool refreshment shall 
 
 get." 
 
 "The door to the South I'll have straightway 
 
 undone, 
 That the hot sun may flash in thy visage upon." 
 
 " O would there were one that for sweet pity's 
 
 sake, 
 To my mother a message in secret would take." 
 
 Then answer'd proud Lyborg's own little foot- 
 boy : 
 " Your message in secret I'll carry with joy." 
 
 That they were alone they with confidence 
 
 thought ; 
 Dame Ingeborg stood nigh, and every word 
 
 caught. 
 
 The lad he upsprang on his courser so high, 
 He galloped as fast as the winged birds fly. 
 
THE CRUEL MOTHER-IN-LAW 21 
 
 In, in came the lad, in a kirtle red drest : 
 
 " Your daughter, Dame Lyborg, in death will 
 
 soon rest. 
 
 " She bids you to come with all possible quick- 
 ness, 
 
 To live through this night she can't hope from 
 her sickness." 
 
 Straight unto her servants proud Mettelil says : 
 " My horses go fetch from the meads where they 
 graze." 
 
 The horses they galloped, the chariot wheels 
 
 turned, 
 Throughout the long day whilst the summer 
 
 heat burned. 
 
 The midsummer's sun with such fury it glows 
 Proud Lyborg swoons 'ncath it in terrible throes. 
 
 A purse takes Dame Ingeborg fraught with gold 
 
 treasure, 
 And she speeds to the hall, her heart bounding 
 
 with pleasure. 
 
22 THE CRUEL MOTHER-IN-LAW 
 
 " Whosoever will gold and will bounty derive, 
 Let him help me to bury proud Lyborg alive." 
 
 Soon as she of the gold distribution had made, 
 Below the black earth the fair lily they laid. 
 
 To the gate of the castle proud Mettelil came, 
 Dame Ingeborg stood there, and leaned on the 
 same. 
 
 "Proud Ingeborg, hear what I say unto thee: 
 What hast done with my daughter? declare 
 that to me !" 
 
 " But yesterday 'twas that with sorrowful mind, 
 Her corse to the arms of the grave we consign'd." 
 
 " Proud Ingeborg, hush thee, nor talk in this 
 
 guise, 
 But show me the grave where my dear daughter 
 
 lies." 
 
 As soon as Dame Mettelil o'er the place trod, 
 Proud Lyborg she screamed underneath the 
 screen sod. 
 
THE CRUEL MOTHER-IN-LAW -*3 
 
 " Whoever will gold and will silver obtain, 
 L.et him help me to dig now with might and 
 with main." 
 
 They took up proud Lyborg, all there as she 
 
 lay, 
 Her mother flung o'er her the scarlet array. 
 
 " Now tell to me, Lyborg, thou child of my 
 
 heart, 
 Since restored to the arms of thy mother thou 
 
 art, 
 
 "What death to thy thinking should Ingeborg 
 
 thole, 
 For placing thee living in horrid grave-hole ? " 
 
 " To destroy my young life it is true, she was 
 
 bent, 
 But let her live, mother, and let her repent." 
 
 "That she go unpunished I cannot permit, 
 I'll teach her what 'tis on a fire to sit." 
 
 To two of her servants proud Mettelil spake : 
 " Do ye quickly a fire on the open field make. 
 
24 THE CRUEL MOTHER-IN-LA W 
 
 " Do ye cut down the oak and the bonny ash- 
 tree, 
 
 That the fire by them fed may burn brilliant 
 and free." 
 
 Dame Ingeborg forth from the house they 
 
 convey 'd, 
 And they burnt her to dust on the fire they had 
 
 made. 
 
 Sir Volmor came home from the red field of 
 
 strife, 
 Then tidings assailed him, with dolour so rife. 
 
 Then tidings assailed him, with dolour so rife, 
 Burnt, burnt was his mother, and flown was his 
 wife. 
 
 He bade for proud Lyborg of red gold a store, 
 But he could the lily obtain nevermore. 
 
THE FAITHFUL KING OF THL'LE 
 
 A King so true and steady 
 
 In Thule lived of old ; 
 To him his dying lady 
 
 A goblet gave of gold. 
 
 He drank thereout so often. 
 For all his love it gained ; 
 
 To tears his eyes would soften 
 Whene'er its juice he drained. 
 
 When death drew nigh, his spirit 
 
 His riches o'er he told 
 To him who should inherit — 
 
 But not that cup of gold. 
 
THE FAITHFUL KING OF THULE 
 
 By all his knights surrounded 
 
 One day he sat at dine, 
 In hall of fortress, founded 
 
 By ocean's roaring brine. 
 
 The ancient hero rallfes 
 
 With one more draught his blood, 
 Then casts the sacred chalice 
 
 Below him in the flood. 
 
 Deep, deep within the billows 
 He watched it as it sank ; 
 
 Then, sinking on his pillows, 
 No drop more e'er he drank. 
 
THE FAIRIES' SONG 
 
 PALMY the evening air, 
 
 Nature, how bright the hue ! 
 
 But, though the bloom is fair 
 The sense with sweets to woo, 
 
 Love, Music, Mirth, Oh give! 
 On these we Fairies live ! 
 
 The glow-worm's amorous lamp 
 Recalls her wandering mate ; 
 
 Their revel in the swamp 
 Outshines the halls of State. 
 
 Then, Spirits, hither fly, 
 And match their revelry ! 
 
 The Bat is on the wing, 
 
 And Gnats, what reels they run ! 
 In wide or narrow ring, 
 
 An atmosphere of fun. 
 Then let us to the dance, 
 
 And feet like midges "lance ! 
 
London 
 Printed for THOMAS J. WISE, Ilampstead, N.W. 
 
 Edition limited to Thirty Copies. 
 
THE 
 
 RETURN OF THE DEAD 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 1913 
 
THE RETURN OF THE DEAD 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
THE 
 
 RETURN OF THE DEAD 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 
 PRINTED For PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 [913 
 
THE RETURN OF THE DEAD 
 
 Swayne Dyring o'er to the island strayed ; 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 He wedded there a lovely maid — ■ 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 Together they lived seven years and more ; 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 And seven fair babes to him she bore— 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 Then death arrived in luckless hour ; 
 
 A nd were 1 only young again ! 
 Then died the lovely lily flower — 
 
 To honied words wc list so fain. 
 
6 THE RETURN OF THE DEAD 
 
 The Swayne he has crossed the salt sea way, 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 And he has wedded another may — 
 
 To honied tvords we list so fain. 
 
 And he that may to his home has brought ; 
 
 A nd were I only young again ! 
 But peevish was she, and with malice fraught — 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 And when she came to the castle gate, 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 The seven children beside it wait — ■ 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 The children stood in sorrowful mood, 
 
 A nd were I only young again ! 
 She spurned them away with her foot so rude — 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 Nor bread nor meat will she bestow; 
 
 And zvere I only young again 
 
 I 
 
 Said "Hate ye shall have and the hunger throe" 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
THE RETURN OF THE DEAD 
 
 She took away the bolsters blue ; 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 " Bare straw will serve for the like of you " — 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 Away she's ta'cn the big wax light ; 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 Said she " Ye shall lie in the murky night " — 
 
 To honied words zve list so fain. 
 
 The babies at night with hunger weep ; 
 
 And zuere I only young again ! 
 The woman heard that in the grave so deep — 
 
 To honied words zee list so fain. 
 
 To God's high throne such haste she made ; 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 " O I must go to my babies' aid " — 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 She begged so loud, and she begged so long, 
 
 A nd xvere I only young again ! 
 That at length consent from her God she wrung- 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
8 THE RETURN OF THE DEAD 
 
 " But thou must return when the cock shall crow, 
 
 And tvere I only young again ! 
 " No longer tarry must thou below " — 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 Then up she struck with her stark thigh bone, 
 
 And ivere I only young again ! 
 And burst through wall and marble stone — 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 And when to the dwelling she drew nigh, 
 
 A nd were 1 only young again ! 
 The hounds they yelled to the clouds so high — 
 
 To honied words zee list so fain. 
 
 And when to the castle gate she won, 
 
 A nd were I only young again ! 
 Her eldest daughter stood there alone — 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 " Hail daughter mine, what dost thou here? 
 
 A nd were I only young again ! 
 How fare thy brothers and sisters dear ? " — 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
THE RETURN OF THE DEAD 
 
 " O dame thou art no mother of mine, 
 And were I only young again ! 
 
 For she was a lady fair and fine — 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 " A lady fine with cheeks so red, 
 And were I only young again ! 
 
 But thou art pale as the sheeted dead " — 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 " O how should I be fine and sleek ? 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 How else than pale should be my cheek?— 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 " And how should I be white and red ? 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 Beneath the mould I've long been dead "— 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 And when she entered the high, high hall, 
 And were I only young again ! 
 
 Drowned with tears stood the babies all — 
 To honied words 'we list so fain. 
 
io THE RETURN 0E THE DEAD 
 
 The one she combed, the other she brushed, 
 
 A nd were I only young again ! 
 The third she dandled, the fourth she hushed - 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 The fifth upon her breast she plac'd, 
 
 And were I only young again .' 
 And allowed the babe of the breast to taste — 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 To her eldest daughter she turned her eye ; 
 
 A nd were I only young again ! 
 " Go call Swayne Dyring instantly" — 
 
 To honied wards we list so fain. 
 
 And when Swayne Dyring before her stood, 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 She spake to him thus in wrathful mood — 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 " I left behind both ale and bread ; 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 My children with hunger are nearly dead — 
 
 To honied wards we list so fain. 
 
THE RETURN OF THE DEAD 
 
 " I left behind me bolsters blue ; 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 Upon bare straw my babes I view — 
 
 To honied words zve list so fain. 
 
 " I left behind the big wax light ; 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 My children lie in the murk at night — 
 
 To honied words zee list so fain. 
 
 " If again I'm forced to seek thee here, 
 And zvere I only young again ! 
 
 Befall thee shall a fate so drear — 
 To honied words zve list so fain. 
 
 " But hark ! the ruddy cock has crow'd, 
 And were I only young again ! 
 
 The dead must return to their abode — 
 To honied zuords zve list so fain. 
 
 " I hear, I hear the black cock crow ; 
 
 And zvere I only young again ! 
 The gates of heaven are opening now — 
 To honied zvords zve list so fain. 
 
12 THE RETURN OF THE DEAD 
 
 The white cock claps his wings so wide, 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 No longer here I dare to bide " — 
 
 To honied words zue list so fain. 
 
 Each time the dogs began to yell, 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 They gave the children bread and ale — 
 
 To honied words we list so fain. 
 
 As soon as they heard of the hounds the cry, 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 They feared the ghost was drawing nigh — 
 
 To honied 'words we list so fain. 
 
 Whene'er the dogs were heard to rave, 
 
 And were I only young again ! 
 They feared the woman had left her grave — 
 
 To honied words zve list so fain. 
 
THE TRANSFORMED DAMSEL 
 
 I TAKE my axe upon my back, 
 
 To fell the tree I mean ; 
 Then came the man the wood who owned, 
 
 And thrust his heft between. 
 
 " If thou hew down my father's grove, 
 
 And me this damage do, 
 If I but see thee fell the tree 
 
 Thou dearly that shalt rue." 
 
 ■ 
 
 " O let me hew this single tree, 
 
 Nor to resist me seek ; 
 Unless I yonder bird obtain 
 
 With grief my heart will break." 
 
14 THE TRANSFORMED DAMSEL 
 
 " Now list thou fair and gallant swain, 
 
 To me incline thine ear! 
 Thou ne'er wilt yonder bird obtain 
 
 Unless some bait thou bear." 
 
 From off my breast the bait I cut, 
 
 And hung it on the bough : 
 The breast it bled, the bait it reeked, 
 
 Mine is the birdie now. 
 
 Down flew the lovely little bird, 
 Fluttering its wings o'erjoyed ; 
 
 It seemed to smile as if the guile 
 It knew that I employed. 
 
 It clawed and picked so hastily, 
 So well did smack the bait ; 
 
 And still the more it seemed to please 
 The more the birdie ate. 
 
 Down flew the lovely little bird, 
 
 Alighting on the sand ; 
 The loveliest damsel she became, 
 
 And gave the youth her hand. 
 
THE FORCED CONSENT 
 
 Within her own fair castclaye 
 
 There goes a damsel bright ; 
 A whole year's tide for her has sighed 
 
 A young and handsome knight. 
 
 " Now do thou hear, thou beauteous maid, 
 
 Could I thy troth obtain, 
 Then thou shouldst tread on silk outspread, 
 
 And ne'er on the earth again. 
 
 And do thou hear, my lovely maid, 
 
 My wedded lady be, 
 And the slighest care thou shalt not bear 
 
 If I can save it thee." 
 
1 6 THE FORCED CONSENT 
 
 " I've vowed an oath to Mary maid, 
 
 And to keep it is my plan ; 
 Ne'er live will I beneath the sky 
 
 With any sinful man. 
 
 " Here with my seven brothers bold 
 
 To-morrow I will come ; 
 Yourself array in costly way, 
 
 For you must follow us home." 
 
 It was the young and handsome knight, 
 He out of the doorway springs ; 
 
 And he in haste the Runes has traced, 
 And them on her lap she flings. 
 
 And so he cast the magic Rune 
 
 The maiden's dress below ; 
 Then beat her heart, and blood did start 
 
 From her finger nails I trow. 
 
 " If thou with thy seven brothers bold 
 
 To-morrow here wilt come, 
 Myself I'll array in costly way 
 
 And follow ye to your home." 
 
THE FORCED CONSENT 17 
 
 The very next morn, the very next morn, 
 
 When rose the sun in gold, 
 Full three times ten bold knightly men 
 
 Were waiting on the wold. 
 
 Full three times ten bold knightly men, 
 
 On a bonny grey steed each one ; 
 With silk so white was the courser dight 
 
 Which the maid should ride upon. 
 
 But what think ye that maiden did 
 
 Ere mounting on her horse? 
 A draught she drank of poison rank, 
 
 Thought death her wisest course. 
 
 Through the shallow streams they dashed their 
 steeds, 
 
 Through the deep their steeds they swam ; 
 And ever and anon the maid would groan, 
 
 " How dreadfully ill I am." 
 
 And when they came to the house of the knight, 
 
 Where the bridal kept should be ; 
 Spread out on the earth was silk of worth, 
 
 And <jold so red of bice. 
 
1 8 THE FORCED CONSENT 
 
 " Now thou may'st see, my lady love. 
 
 That I my promise hold ; 
 Now thou dost tread on silk outspread, 
 
 And not on the earth so cold." 
 
 " There's spread enough of the silken stuff, 
 
 And plenty of gold is strown ; 
 But better I ween in heaven sheen 
 
 With our Father God to wone." 
 
 Then they led her to the high, high hall, 
 
 And in scarlet her array'd ; 
 But their joy was brief, soon came their grief, 
 
 She died alack a maid ! 
 
 Thanks be to him the youthful knight, 
 
 No truer e'er was seen ; 
 He built her a grave in the church, and gave 
 
 The churchmen farms fifteen. 
 
 Then as he stood by the maiden's grave, 
 
 The gallant young noble cried : 
 " O would to God beneath the sod 
 
 I were lying by her side ! " 
 
INGEBORG'S DISGUISE 
 
 Such handsome court clothes the proud Ingeborg 
 
 buys, 
 Says she "I'll myself as a courtier disguise." 
 
 Proud Ingeborg hastens her steed to bestride, 
 Says she " I'll away with the King to reside." 
 
 "Thou gallant young King to my speech lend 
 
 an ear, 
 Hast thou any need of my services here ? " 
 
 " yes, my sweet lad, of a horseboy I've need, 
 If there were but stable room here for his steed. 
 
 " But thy steed in the stall with my own can be 
 
 tied, 
 And thou 'neath the linen shalt sleep by my side." 
 
20 IXGRIiORG'S DISGUISE 
 
 Three years in the palace good service she 
 
 wrought, 
 That she was a woman no one ever thought. 
 
 She filled for three years of a horse-boy the place, 
 And the steeds of the monarch she drove out to 
 graze. 
 
 She led for three years the King's steeds to the 
 
 brook, 
 For else than a youth no one Ingeborg took. 
 
 Proud Ingeborg knows how to make the dames 
 
 gay- 
 She also can sing in such ravishing way. 
 
 The hair on her head is like yellow spun gold, 
 To her beauty the heart of the prince was not cold. 
 
 But at length up and down in the palace she 
 
 strayed, 
 Her colour and hair began swiftly to fade. 
 
 What eye has seen ever so wondrous a case ? 
 The boy his own spurs to his heel cannot brace. 
 
INGEBORGS DISGUISE 21 
 
 The horse-boy is brought to so wondrous a plight, 
 To draw his own weapon he has not the might. 
 
 The son of the King to five damsels now sends, 
 And In<reborsc fair to their care he commends. 
 
 Proud Ingeborg took they and wrapped in their 
 
 weed, 
 And to the stone chamber with her they proceed. 
 
 Upon the blue cushions they Ingeborg laid, 
 Where light of two beautiful sons she is made. 
 
 Then in came the prince, smiled the babies to 
 
 view : 
 " 'Tis not every horse-boy can bear such a two.'' 
 
 He patted her soft on her cheek sleek and fair : 
 " Forget my heart's dearest all sorrow and care." 
 
 He placed the gold crown on her temples I ween: 
 " With me shalt thou live as my wife and my 
 Queen." 
 
SONG 
 
 I'VE pleasure not a little 
 A dancing youth to sec, 
 
 Nor less — one single tittle — 
 An old man full of glee. 
 
 To dance I ever glory 
 
 With those of youthful mien ; 
 It shows, although I'm hoary 
 
 In hair, my mind is green. 
 
LoNiiON : 
 Printed for THOMAS J. WISE, Hampstead, N.W. 
 
 Edition limited to Thirty topics. 
 
AXEL THORDSON 
 AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 A BALLAD 
 
 BV 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London' : 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 1913 
 
AXEL THORDSON 
 AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
AXEL THORDSON 
 AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 A BALLAD 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 LONDI IN : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 1913 
 
Copyright in the United States of America 
 by Houghton, Mifflin Z? Co. for Clement Shorter. 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR 
 VALBORG. 
 
 At the wide board at tables play, 
 
 With pleasure and with glee abounding 
 
 The ladies twain in fair array, 
 
 The game they play is most astounding. 
 
 How fly about the dies so small, 
 
 Such sudden turnings are they making ; 
 
 And so does Fortune's wheel withal, 
 
 We scarcely know the route 'tis taking. 
 
 Dame Julli grand, and Malfred Queen, 
 At tables were their time employing ; 
 
 Not distant on the floor was seen 
 A child with pear and apple toying. 
 
6 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 Upon the floor the child it walked, 
 
 It played with apples and with flowers ; 
 
 Then in Sir Axel Thordson stalked, 
 
 Was bound for Rome's imperial towers. 
 
 He greets the Dames repeatedly, 
 
 At courtesy he had no master ; 
 He loved the child in secrecy, 
 
 But fate had doomed them much disaster. 
 
 His eyeballs brimming full of tears 
 Full tenderly her cheek he patted : 
 
 " O would thou wast of fitting years, 
 With Axel Thordson to be mated ! " 
 
 Answered his youngest sister straight, 
 Thus answered she her gallant brother : 
 
 " Though she this night to woman's state 
 Had won, ye might not wed each other.'' 
 
 Answered the Damsel's mother high, 
 And she the simple truth has stated : 
 
 " A worthy pair I don't deny, 
 
 But, oh ! ye are too near related." 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 7 
 
 A gold ring off his arm he drew, 
 
 To play with that he fondly bade her ; 
 
 To years of reason when she grew 
 To palen and to pine it made her. 
 
 "That I've betrothed thee, little bride, 
 In mind I beg that thou wilt carry ; 
 
 And now from out the land I'll ride, 
 With foreign masters long to tarry." 
 
 Sir Axel out of the country hied, 
 
 His breast with love and valour glowing. 
 
 In cloister they have placed his bride, 
 Instruction to receive in sewing. 
 
 They taught to her the silken seam, 
 
 They taught her writing, taught her reading ; 
 Through land and city soon the fame 
 
 Of Valborg's virtue goes, and breeding. 
 
 The noble ways that she displays 
 
 Attract the general admiration, 
 And though full young she's ranked among 
 The very sages of the nation. 
 
8 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 And there eleven years she stay'd, 
 
 Till God had called away her mother; 
 
 The Queen to court then took the maid, 
 Selecting her 'fore every other. 
 
 Served at the Emperor's court meantide 
 
 The knight, with gold his spurs were glaring ; 
 
 A glittering faulchion decked his side, 
 And truly knightly was his bearing. 
 
 Sir Axel lies in pomp and state 
 
 As well beseems so rich a noble ; 
 15 ut he at night no rest can get, 
 
 His dreams are full of woe and trouble. 
 
 Sir Axel in the chamber high 
 
 Doth lie on softest silk and fairest, 
 
 But sleep alas has fled his eye, 
 He's ever thinking of his dearest. 
 
 Sir Emmer's child, his Valborg fair, 
 He dreamt sat drest in costly fashion ; 
 
 And Hogen, son of the King, by her 
 Sat softly pleading for his passion. 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALRORG 9 
 
 The morning sun its lustre shed, 
 
 The lark's sweet voice on high was ringing ; 
 Sir Axel started from his bed, 
 
 His clothes upon him swiftly flinging. 
 
 He saddled straight his good grey horse, 
 Within the wood he'll take his pleasure ; 
 
 His dreams from out his head he'll force 
 By listening to the wild bird's measure. 
 
 When to the wood Sir Axel wan, 
 
 Where blushing roses thick were growing; 
 
 In foreign garb he met a man 
 Upon a pilgrimage was going. 
 
 " Now pilgrim good a merry morn, 
 
 Say, whither, whither art thou faring ? 
 
 Thou'rt from the land where I was born, 
 For that thy vestments are declaring." 
 
 " My native land is Norroway, 
 
 From Gild's high race I boast my being; 
 To Rome's famed town I've vowed to stray, 
 
 My mind is bent the Pope on seeing." 
 
 D 
 
io AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 " From Gildish race if thou be sprung, 
 Then pilgrim thou art my relation ; 
 
 Has Valborg me from memory flung ? 
 Of her canst give me information ? 
 
 " O Valborg is a damsel bright, 
 
 There's few than I should know her better ; 
 Full many a gay and gallant knight 
 
 She holds in love's enchanting fetter. 
 
 " So well to me the maid is known, 
 The mard and sable rich she weareth ; 
 
 From all the maids at court that wone 
 
 The belle, the belle sweet Valborg beareth. 
 
 " Upgrown Sir Knight is Valborg now, 
 
 A lily she among the daisies ; 
 Amongst our maidens high or low 
 
 No fairer ever met my gazes. 
 
 "In earth beside her lord beloved 
 
 The good Dame Julli now is sleeping ; 
 
 From cloister Valborg is removed, 
 The Queen is favours on her heaping. 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG n 
 
 " With strings of pearls her hair is tied, 
 Around her wrist red gold there gloweth, 
 
 She's named ' Sir Axel's bonnie bride ' 
 By every voice where'er she goeth. 
 
 " They called her thy betrothed maid, 
 
 Sir Axel, but her friends united 
 Have hope she will Prince Hogen wed, 
 
 And with that hope they are delighted." 
 
 Sir Axel robed himself that day 
 In the best guise that he was able, 
 
 And to the hall he took his way 
 
 Where Emperor Henrik sat at table. 
 
 " Hail Henrik Emperor mild of heart, 
 
 In whose good grace I've long been basking, 
 
 For home that I may straight depart 
 The freedom I now take of asking. 
 
 " My sire and mother both are dead, 
 Exposed to foes my lands are lying, 
 
 Another my betrothed will wed, 
 
 And that's the call to me most crying." 
 
 1! 2 
 
12 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALRORG 
 
 " The leave for which thy heart doth yearn 
 Reluctantly Sir Knight I give thee ; 
 
 Whene'er it please thee to return 
 
 Most gladly I'll Sir Knight receive thee." 
 
 Away from court Sir Axel rode, 
 A gallant band attend behind him ; 
 
 And all that at the Court abode 
 
 Unto the care of God consign'd him. 
 
 So fast he speeded on his way, 
 
 Him followed thrice ten swains so merry ; 
 But when he reached his castellaye 
 
 The noble knight was solitary. 
 
 Alone he reached his castle good, 
 
 His gallant courser panting, snorting: 
 
 And there his sister Helfred stood, 
 Against the gate herself supporting. 
 
 " Here standst thou, Helfred, sister dear, 
 Thou little didst expect my coming ; 
 
 How doth it with sweet Valborg fare, 
 
 That roselet 'mongst the flowers blooming ? " 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 13 
 
 " Dear brother well doth Valborg fare 
 She all our maids exceeds in honor ; 
 
 The Queen she tends, who's chosen her 
 Before them all to wait upon her." 
 
 " Now rede me, Hclfred, sister fine, 
 Thy very best advice I'm needing ; 
 
 How can I speak with maiden mine 
 
 Apart removed from mortals heeding ? " 
 
 " The very best of silk put on, 
 
 And clothe thee in thy garments fairest ; 
 And say that thou with her alone 
 
 Must speak, for thou my message bearest." 
 
 It was Sir Axel Thordson, knight, 
 As he the hall's high steps ascended, 
 
 He met Queen Malfred's damsels bright 
 From evening song as back they wended. 
 
 To Valborg he his snowy hand 
 
 Extends, with voice of sweetness saying : 
 " I come from Helfred fair, thy friend, 
 
 A private scroll to thee conveying." 
 
1 4 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 The lovely Valborg op'd in haste 
 
 And read with beating heart the letter ; 
 
 Therein the words of love were trac'd, 
 No one could have imagined better. 
 
 Within it lay five golden rings, 
 
 With roses wrought and lilies fairly ; 
 
 " Sir Axel Thordson sends these things 
 Who thee betroth'd in childhood early. 
 
 " I have thy word to be my bride, 
 
 Now prove thou to thy promise steady ; 
 
 On earth so wide or sea's salt tide 
 
 I'll ne'er deceive thee, beauteous lady." 
 
 Then to a niche proceeded both, 
 Obeying thus the wish of heaven ; 
 
 They vowed an oath when they their troth 
 Had once more to each other given. 
 
 They swore an oath by Mary may, 
 And eke by Dorothy the sainted, 
 
 That in pure honor live would they, 
 And die in honor pure untainted. 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 15 
 
 Sir Axel to the King's court rides, 
 Delighted now beyond all measure ; 
 
 In the Queen's bower Valborg bides, 
 
 And sports and smiles with glee and pleasure 
 
 For five months' tide thus matters stood, 
 And till nine months had over wended, 
 
 Forth stepped eleven counts so good 
 And fairly for her hand pretended. 
 
 Eleven knights of prowess rare 
 
 Declared their passion well and fairly ; 
 
 The twelfth was Hogen, Norway's heir, 
 And he pursued her late and early. 
 
 " Now do thou hear, O Valborg fine, 
 
 If thou'lt accept me for thy lover 
 Thou as my lawful Queen shalt shine, 
 
 And Norway's crown thy brows shall cover." 
 
 " Now do thou hear, thou King's son high, 
 
 Thy noble love I cannot favour, 
 For I've betrothed in secrecy 
 
 Sir Axel, and I'll wrong him never." 
 
1 6 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 O then with wrath the King's son shook, 
 The maid no longer he entreated ; 
 
 He smoothed his garb, and him betook 
 To where his Mother high was seated. 
 
 " Hail, hail to thee, dear Mother mine, 
 What counsel now canst thou award me ? 
 
 I've long wooed Valborg, damsel fine, 
 But, ah ! she deigns not to regard me. 
 
 " I proffered hand, I proffered land, 
 For the proud maiden's acceptation ; 
 
 But she loves Axel, and will stand 
 By him, that was her declaration." 
 
 " If Valborg has on him bestowed 
 Her troth, to keep it is her duty ; 
 
 There's many a maid in Norway broad, 
 My son, of noble birth and beauty." 
 
 " Ah ! yes, of maids there's many a one 
 Abounding both in wealth and graces ; 
 
 But ah ! so fair as Valborg none, 
 
 Or who such virtue bright possesses." 
 
AXEL THORPS ON AND FAIR VALBORG 17 
 
 " Thou canst not gain the maid by force, 
 For that were crying shame and scandal ; 
 
 Shouldst thou to weapons have recourse 
 His sword Sir Axel well can handle." 
 
 Then Hogen grew so wroth in mood, 
 And as in wrath he left his mother 
 
 Before him his confessor stood, 
 
 Was called Canute, the sable brother. 
 
 " Why goes my Lord with face of gloom. 
 
 And whither, whither is he roving? 
 If any ill is o'er him come 
 
 O let him tell his servant loving." 
 
 " Misfortune's come too hard to bear, 
 Beneath its heavy weight I cower ; 
 
 Betrothed has Axel Valborg fair, 
 To gain her is beyond my power." 
 
 " Though Axel to the maid aspires 
 
 There's matter shall prevent their mating ; 
 
 Within the house of sable friars 
 Are papers to their birth relating. 
 
 c 
 
1 8 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 "They're children of relations near, 
 
 Of knightly race renowned and stately ; 
 
 Unto the fountain them did bear 
 
 One Dame, she died at Hoiborg lately. 
 
 " Relations by the fount to be 
 
 They by our cloister's law are rated ; 
 
 Besides we see in third degree 
 
 The knight and damsel are related. 
 
 " My Lord must to the Chapter write 
 To meet upon this grave occasion ; 
 
 The Damsel shall not wed the knight, 
 For I'll prevent the abomination." 
 
 It was Hogen, son of the King, 
 
 His little servant lad directed : 
 " To me the maiden's uncles bring, 
 
 And be my bidding straight effected." 
 
 The counts before the wide, wide board 
 Are standing with respectful bearing : 
 
 " Thou'st summoned us, our gracious Lord, 
 Of your high will we crave the hearing." 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 19 
 
 " I ask of ye your niece so dear 
 
 That she may share my pomp and power ; 
 To rank of Queen I her will rear 
 
 If on your prince ye will bestow her." 
 
 Then straight the uncles three replied, 
 With joyous eyes each other viewing : 
 
 " O she was born in lucky tide, 
 A noble prince for her is suing." 
 
 Then quickly donned their best array, 
 Her uncles three, those counts of power ; 
 
 And they together took their way 
 
 To good Queen Malfred's lofty bower. 
 
 First Malfred Queen saluted they, 
 In manner as became them duteous ; 
 
 And then they greeted Valborg may, 
 Of all the maiden band most beauteous. 
 
 " Success attend thee through thy life, 
 Thou child of her we loved so tender ; 
 
 Prince Hogen thee doth woo for wife, 
 And we to him will thee surrender." 
 
 c 2 
 
20 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 "And have ye promised me for wife ? 
 
 Now my three gentle uncles rnind me, 
 I love Sir Axel dear as life, 
 
 And faithless he shall never find me. 
 
 Then answered her those counts so bold, 
 Her uncles three, with fury glaring : 
 
 "Ah ne'er shalt thou the promise hold 
 
 Which thou to make hast had the daring." 
 
 It was Hogen the King's son then 
 So many letters broad endighted ; 
 
 With seven times ten of priestly men 
 The Archbishop he to him invited. 
 
 'Twas Master Erland the good and wise 
 So carefully the brief read over : 
 
 " Now shame on him who this device 
 Did hatch, Canute I here discover." 
 
 The Archbishop placed him by the board, 
 Bowed to the prince his reverend figure : 
 
 " Thou'st sent for rne, my gracious lord, 
 To learn thy high commands I'm eager." 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 21 
 
 " O long have I a maiden woo'd, 
 
 And I to wife would gladly take her ; 
 
 But most for Axel stands her mood, 
 Abandon him we now must make her." 
 
 They've writ and caused upon the Ting 
 
 Be read so solemn a citation, 
 Which should the hapless couple bring 
 
 Before the priestly congregation. 
 
 The matin singing was at end, 
 
 The sun its rays so freshly darted : 
 
 To church Sir Axel now must wend 
 With Valborg fair the loving hearted. 
 
 Upsprang the knight on steed of height, 
 With sighs his anguish deep declaring ; 
 
 In chariot rode the damsel bright, 
 In bosom locked her sorrow bearing. 
 
 First rode the knight on steed of height, 
 His thoughts so wide and wild were flying ; 
 
 Next him in coach the damsel bright 
 Did ride, to veil her sorrow trying. 
 
22 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 Then out and spoke proud Valborg fair, 
 As they the bridge were passing over : 
 
 " A glad heart seldom sighs with care, 
 Though smiles do oft a sad heart cover." 
 
 They stopped Maria's Church before, 
 
 And from their steeds they have descended ; 
 
 In stepped they through the lofty door, 
 By knights and noble friends attended. 
 
 Midst of the Church's aisle they stay'd, 
 
 Their steps the advancing Chapter facing ; 
 
 All saw they were at heart afraid 
 
 Who on that luckless two were gazing. 
 
 Advanced with silver staff in hand 
 
 The Archbishop then, of reverend carriage ; 
 
 Behind him all the priestly band 
 
 Who should forbid the lovers' marriage. 
 
 Then forth Canute the brother trode, 
 With scrolls of pedigree was laden ; 
 
 And from those scrolls alack he show'd 
 That near akin were knight and maiden. 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 23 
 
 The tree of pedigree was read 
 
 By the command of that black brother ; 
 They were akin full clear it made, 
 
 And both by lineage of the mother. 
 
 Descended of a lineage high 
 
 Each to the other stood related, 
 In third degree their affinity, 
 
 So priests the pair have separated. 
 
 Two cousins they from Gild's root sprung, 
 
 A prodigy of virtue either ; 
 Proud Valborg fair and Axel young 
 
 Must never, never come together. 
 
 What time they were baptized one Dame 
 Did bear them to the sacred fountain ; 
 
 Their Godfather he was the same, 
 
 His name Sir Asbiorn of the mountain. 
 
 Relations they by birth and blood, 
 
 Of Gildish race renowned and dreaded ; 
 
 Relations they beside in God, 
 Alas ! they never can be wedded. 
 
24 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 They led them to the shrine, and placed 
 A kerchief in their hands which quiver; 
 
 Their lineage and line are traced, 
 
 And priests are bent their bands to sever. 
 
 They 'twixt the two the cloth cut through. 
 
 A portion each in hand retaineth ; 
 However great and high his state 
 
 There's none that o'er his fortune reigneth. 
 
 " The handkerchief is parted now, 
 Ye have parted us for good and ever, 
 
 But whilst with life our breasts shall glow 
 Our love ye shall dissever never." 
 
 The gold ring off her hand to take 
 
 And bracelet from her wrist they hastened ; 
 His gifts they gave to Axel back, 
 
 The knot of love was now unfastened. 
 
 The gold he on the altar threw, 
 
 To Olave that he consecrated, 
 And swore to bide to Valborg true 
 
 As long as he to live was fated. 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 25 
 
 Then wroth grew Hogen son of the King, 
 Who stood his scarlet garb array'd in : 
 
 " Since her from mind thou canst not fling 
 Tis clear and plain she is no maiden." 
 
 Outspoke of the clerks the wisest wight, 
 E'en Erland he the good Archdeacon : 
 
 " The man who does not know the might 
 Of love an ignorant man I reckon. 
 
 " With water we the fire can quench, 
 
 And slake the brand that's fiercely glowing, 
 
 But though the flame with floods we drench 
 The flame of love will yet be growing. 
 
 "The sun shines bright on hill and plain, 
 
 We sink its scorching fury under, 
 But ah ; love's chain is harder pain, 
 
 And none can break its links asunder." 
 
 Then Axel turned to yonder Lord, 
 
 His manly cheek with rage was ruddy : 
 
 "To-morrow I'll rebut thy word 
 
 Although it cost me life and body." 
 
26 AXEL THORDSON AJVb FAIR VALBORG 
 
 Then forward on the flagstone wide 
 
 The prince advanced, inflamed with passion : 
 
 " To-morrow thou an oath," he cried, 
 " Shalt swear without equivocation. 
 
 " Thou on thy sword an oath to me 
 Shalt swear, and on the brevier holy, 
 
 Whether Valborg is a maid for thee 
 Or whether ye have committed folly." 
 
 " Proud prince, if I must take that oath 
 I it can do with heart approving; 
 
 To fight thee ne'er shalt find me loth 
 
 Whilst I this hand have power of moving." 
 
 That night Dame Eskelin in her bed 
 Was by her lord Sir Hagen sleeping : 
 
 "What have I dream'd ? " she, starting, said, 
 " Saint Bridget take me 'neath thy keeping. 
 
 "Methought that Julli fair and mild 
 Beneath the earth who long has rested, 
 
 That I would help her hapless child 
 So mournfully with tears requested. 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALDORG 27 
 
 " I have full seven sons, my lord, 
 
 And each has thirty swains so steady, 
 
 They to their loins shall bind the sword 
 And up and help the beauteous lady. 
 
 " And thou shalt saddle ten steeds so free 
 
 And ride away like gallant noble, 
 Heading our house's chivalry 
 
 To stand by Valborg in her trouble. 
 
 " Full seven sons, my lord, have we, 
 
 They all are counts so bold and sprightly ; 
 
 It is our joy and pride to see 
 
 They bear themselves so well and knightly. 
 
 " Two cousins I and Julli were — 
 The peace of God attend upon her ! 
 
 If I forsake in this affair 
 
 Her child 'twill be to our dishonor." 
 
 'Twas early in the morning tide, 
 
 Rose o'er the wold the sun in lustre ; 
 
 Within the Castle's halls of pride 
 
 The knights to swear the oath now muster. 
 
2S AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 Then up Sir Axel Thordson rose, 
 
 And lifted up his arm of power : 
 " Come, swear with me, of Gildish house 
 
 Ye counts of chivalry the flower." 
 
 Then in their sable and mard array 
 
 Stepped forward stately knights eleven : 
 
 " We'll with Sir Axel swear to-day, 
 Betide whatever pleases heaven." 
 
 Down Valborg's cheek ran tears as fleet 
 As winter rain when fastest pouring : 
 
 " Ah where shall I with friends now meet? 
 Destruction's voice for me is roaring." 
 
 Answered her uncles all with speed, 
 Their voice it made her ears to tingle : 
 
 " As thou wast single in the rede, 
 So in the oath be also single." 
 
 Then up and spake Archdeacon Erland, 
 That speech has broken all his patience : 
 
 " Thou hast not many friends at hand, 
 Poor maid, though plenty of relations. 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 29 
 
 " Thou of relations hast a store, 
 
 But friends thou canst not one discover ; 
 
 God help thee in this peril sore, 
 
 And may thou all thy woes get over." 
 
 " That sire and mother mine are dead, 
 I've cause I trow to rue sincerely ; 
 
 But God, who helpeth all in need, 
 He sees my innocence full clearly. 
 
 " Dame Julli sleeps the slab below, 
 Sir Emmer lies in earth's embraces, 
 
 If they but lived my uncles now 
 
 Would scarcely turn from me their faces." 
 
 And as she sat with cheek so white 
 
 And wrung her hands in piteous taking, 
 
 Sir Hagen bold appeared in sight, 
 
 With speed towards the castle making. 
 
 To Valborg strode he hastily, 
 
 Behind him all his knightly party : 
 
 " My pretty maid to swear with thee 
 I come to offer free and hearty. 
 
3o AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 " Full well loves thee Dame Eskelin, 
 
 Who every night doth sleep beside me ; 
 
 Thy Dame and she were close of kin, 
 And therefore hither have I hied me. 
 
 " Step forth my sons, I say the word, 
 And in the oath be ye partakers ; 
 
 Ye too, stout sons of Carl, the lord 
 Of Sondervalley's fertile acres." 
 
 Forward eleven warriors trode, 
 
 The mard and sable they were wearing, 
 
 They all were clad in princely mode, 
 In tresses each his hair was bearing. 
 
 Then forward stepped with dauntless air 
 Those counts eleven all together ; 
 
 Their trusty swords were gilded fair, 
 And gilded was their girdles' leather. 
 
 We'll vouch the honour of yonder maid, 
 And blythe with her the oath embark in ; 
 
 Ye noble couple forward tread, 
 
 And all unto your speech shall hearken." 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VAI.RORG 31 
 
 On the mass book Axel laid his hand, 
 His good sword holding by the handle ; 
 
 By his side stood the knightly band, 
 All eager to refute the scandal. 
 
 The hilt of his brand within his hand, 
 The point against a flagstone planted, 
 
 With demeanour staid the knight he made 
 The solemn oath from him was wanted. 
 
 " 'Tis true I had fair Valborg dear, 
 I loved none like her under heaven. 
 
 But ne'er to her have been so near 
 A kiss to her I might have given." 
 
 Her hand then on the sacred book 
 
 The maiden laid with modest bearing : 
 
 " Upon Sir Axel's form to look 
 
 These eyes had never yet the daring." 
 
 They raised a heaven o'er her head, 
 In dress of gala they installed her ; 
 
 To the high hall the maid they led, 
 
 ' The cherished of the king ' they called her. 
 
32 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 In came Hogen the king's son then, 
 
 He spake in high exhilaration : 
 " O there is neither knight nor swain 
 
 Shall leave this night my habitation. 
 
 " Proud Valborg, from suspicion freed, 
 I here declare my bosom's dearie ; 
 
 And she shall be my Queen with speed, 
 And on her brows the crown shall carry." 
 
 The cloth was spread, and down to board 
 They sat, the skinkers did their duty ; 
 
 Sir Axel sat, full many a word 
 
 Exchanging with his cherish'd beauty. 
 
 " Now list, since here apart we be, 
 O Valborg, thou, my ravished jewel, 
 
 Canst form no plan which possibly 
 
 May chase from us love's anguish cruel ? " 
 
 " Sir Axel though to wed 1 go 
 
 The King, 'tis not from inclination ; 
 
 Though I live years a thousand, thou 
 Within my heart wilt hold thy station. 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 33 
 
 " And I will sit in chamber high, 
 And I'll embroider cap and kirtle : 
 
 I'll pass my time so mournfully 
 E'en like the gentle widow'd turtle. 
 
 " Who on the green bough will not rest 
 
 Her legs, with weariness which fraught are, 
 
 Nor of the limpid pool will taste 
 Until her feet have soiled the water. 
 
 " But Axel thou ride forth with glee, 
 The hind and savage roe in quest of ; 
 
 Each thought of me that comes o'er thee 
 I pray thou wilt thyself divest of. 
 
 " My gallant Lord ride forth with glee, 
 The nimble hare and leveret follow ; 
 
 All thoughts of me that rise in thee 
 I beg thee drown in whoop and hollo." 
 
 " Though in the green wood I should ride, 
 And rouse the savage deer from cover, 
 
 What should I do in night's still tide 
 When sleep comes not my eyelids over ? 
 
34 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 " Forsooth my father's broad estate 
 I'll sell for gold and silver pieces, 
 
 And hie to foreign regions straight, 
 And pine until my life-pulse ceases." 
 
 " My Lord sell not the lands so broad 
 Your fathers won with toil and slaughter, 
 
 But seek Sir Asbiorn's high abode, 
 And ask of him his lovely daughter. 
 
 " His daughter Allied thou shalt wed, 
 
 And with her live in pomp and splendour ; 
 
 I'll stand ye in a mother's stead, 
 And ever kindly service render." 
 
 " O I will wed no damsel bright, 
 
 When I can vow not faith unshaking ; 
 
 The Emperor's daughter I would slight 
 Since thee my own I've failed in making." 
 
 Archdeacon Erland now drew near, 
 To each a fatherly hand extended : 
 
 " Now breathe good-bye, my children dear. 
 'Tis time that your discourse were ended." 
 
AXEL THOIWSON AND FAIR VALBORG 35 
 
 To himself aside the Archdeacon cried, 
 Was filled with indignation bitter : 
 
 " Now shame the black Canute betide, 
 Of this fond pair the ruthless splitter. 
 
 Sir Axel to the lovely maid 
 
 Now bids good-night with groans and sighing ; 
 His heart with sorrow down is weigh'd, 
 
 Like heart of wretch in fetters lying. 
 
 Wends to her chamber Valborg fair, 
 Her maidens all behind her pacing ; 
 
 Her heart with anguish and despair 
 
 With more than furnace heat was blazing. 
 
 Early in the morning tide 
 The sun began to shine so proudly, 
 
 Queen Malfred to her maidens cried 
 Within her bower oft and loudly. 
 
 To work the gold so red of blee 
 
 Queen Malfred has her maidens ordered ; 
 
 But still stood Valborg, still stood she, 
 Her heart with care was all disordered. 
 
36 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 " Now Valborg hear, thou damsel dear, 
 Why sitt'st thou lonely and dejected ? 
 
 A joy to thee it sure must be, 
 
 Thou art a prince's bride elected." 
 
 " Much sooner I, Queen, would wone 
 With Axel as his mate, much sooner 
 
 Than I would wear Norwegia's crown, 
 Enjoying all the regal honour. 
 
 "'Twill profit me in scanty guise 
 
 That all are flatteries on me heaping, 
 
 If with the water of my eyes 
 
 My pallid cheeks I'm daily steeping." 
 
 For many a day thus matters stood, 
 
 For many a day till months were ended ; 
 
 Sir Axel and his damsel good 
 
 Their sports and laughs have all suspended. 
 
 Then war, fierce war, drew near that clime, 
 The foes they were in force alarming ; 
 
 For Hogen, son of the King, 'tis time 
 To rise and 'gainst his foes be arming. 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 37 
 
 He summoned his good banner round 
 All, all his men both clerks and laity ; 
 
 To the heart of Axel, knight renown'd, 
 The call to arms brought sudden gaiety. 
 
 It was Hogen the King's son bold 
 
 Unto the field of battle wended, 
 And every one who brand could hold 
 
 His sovereign to the field attended. 
 
 Each man in the land could bear a blade 
 To fight the foe with him has wended ; 
 
 Sir Axel he his captain made, 
 
 He knew that much on him depended. 
 
 Wide o'er the field shone Axel's shield, 
 That shield which was of white and azure ; 
 
 Two hearts there stood, both red with blood, 
 For fame he'll risk his life with pleasure. 
 
 Then soon they saw upon the plain 
 
 In glittering ranks outspread their foemen ; 
 
 To fight with men was the question then, 
 I ween, and not to dance with women. 
 
38 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 Sir Axel on that dreadful day 
 
 For country fought in manner fitting ; 
 
 Before him knights in steel array 
 
 Are fast their gilded saddles quitting. 
 
 He slew so many of noble race, 
 
 And trampled them his warhorse under ; 
 
 Not one, not e'en of highest place, 
 
 Was spared by Axel's hand of thunder. 
 
 He slew the lords of Oppeland, 
 Upon gigantic coursers mounted ; 
 
 King Aumund's sons, a stalwart band, 
 He slew, who manfully him confronted. 
 
 Like hay, which in the loft up fling 
 
 The boors, the yard-long shafts are flying ; 
 
 There wounded lies the son of the king, 
 Upon the earth is Hogen dying. 
 
 And when from steed the King's son fell, 
 O there was none that hasted faster 
 
 Than the good knight redoubtable, 
 Axel, to aid his luckless master. 
 
AXEL THORDSQN AND FAIR VALBORG 39 
 
 " Hear, Axel Thordson," Hogen said, 
 " Avenge my death in gallant fashion, 
 
 And thou shalt Norway rule, and wed 
 The maid we loved with rival passion." 
 
 " I'll revenge, my Lord, thy death, 
 
 Or I will do my best endeavour, 
 For dread of this poor body's scathe, 
 
 While life shall last I'll faulter never." 
 
 Now speed, his eyeballs gleaming wrath, 
 Sir Axel 'mongst the hostile forces, 
 
 And all the foes that crossed his path 
 To earth are smitten bleeding corses. 
 
 Then fell the mighty on the plain 
 
 Like corn which hand of peasant reapeth ; 
 
 Sir Axel, young and noble swain, 
 In all his woes a stout heart keepeth. 
 
 So long and well he him did guard 
 
 That piecemeal lay his armour scattered ; 
 
 And still fought hard that stalwart lord 
 Until his beamy shield was shattered. 
 
40 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 Still he defended himself full brave, 
 Inspiring all with fear and wonder ; 
 
 Yes even 'till his tiusty glaive 
 
 At the gold hilt was snapped asunder. 
 
 With eighteen wounds, each dire to view, 
 The noble breast of Axel smarted ; 
 
 To his tent bore him his friends so true, 
 At his sad fortune broken-hearted. 
 
 Down ran his blood in reeking flood, 
 He for the victory won has perished ; 
 
 The last, last word his lips proffer'd 
 Devotes he to his maiden cherished. 
 
 " To Valborg bid a kind adieu, 
 
 To Christ's high care I now bequeath her ; 
 We soon shall meet in yonder blue 
 
 Were we in joy shall live together." 
 
 Enters the hall the little page, 
 
 And takes his stand before the table ; 
 
 'Tis true he was of tender age, 
 
 But well to ply his words was able. 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG \\ 
 
 " Doff the red silk and don the white, 
 Ye maids, I've news of sore disaster ; 
 
 Hogen the prince is slain in fight, 
 And Axel, too, my gallant master. 
 
 " In fight Sir Hogen the King's son fell, 
 
 Upon the bier now lies his body ; 
 My master him avenged full well, 
 
 But got thereby his death wound bloody. 
 
 " 'Tis true we've won a victory, 
 
 But tempered is our exultation ; 
 We have lost a host of peasantry 
 
 And all the best knights of our nation." 
 
 How fair Queen Malfred wept that tide 
 Each mother's heart can form a notion ; 
 
 The fair Valborg in secret sigh'd, 
 
 And wrung her hands in wild emotion. 
 
 She calls her servitor in haste, 
 
 And him with tears is thus commanding : 
 " Now fetch ye down the gilded chest 
 
 From the high chamber where 'tis standing. 
 
42 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 " And the grey horse to the chariot set, 
 
 Me to the cloister it shall carry ; 
 Sir Axel's death I'll ne'er forget 
 
 So long as on the earth I tarry." 
 
 Before Maria's high church door 
 From out the chariot she alighted ; 
 
 So sadly on the Church's floor 
 
 She stepped, her every joy was blighted. 
 
 She took the gold crown from her brow, 
 And gently that gold crown she laid on 
 
 A stone : " I'll have no husband now," 
 She sighed, " but die a spotless maiden. 
 
 " I twice have been a plighted may, 
 But wedded bride I could be never : 
 
 From henceforth in this abbey grey 
 
 From the bleak world myself I'll sever." 
 
 Forward her chest adorned with gold 
 
 They brought, wherein her treasure's warded ; 
 
 The treasure 'mongst her friends she dol'd, 
 Amongst those friends she most regarded. 
 
AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 43 
 
 First she took out a necklace fine, 
 
 Hung round with ornaments of splendor ; 
 
 And that she gave to Eskclinc, 
 
 The Dame who showed her love so tender. 
 
 The big arm-band and bracelet broad 
 Then taking from the gilded coffer, 
 
 On bold Sir Hagen she bestow'd, 
 
 To swear with her who made the offer. 
 
 A hundred golden rings so sheen, 
 With silver and with gold no little, 
 
 She gave the counts of handsome mien 
 Who swore the oath was her acquittal. 
 
 To church she gave, to cloister gave, 
 Her bounty priest and prelate booted ; 
 
 And for the soul of Axel brave 
 She daily masses instituted. 
 
 She gave to orphans, and the clan 
 
 Who rove with hunger's pangs tormented ; 
 
 Unto the image of Saint Ann 
 
 A red gold crown she has presented. 
 
44 AXEL THORDSON AND FAIR VALBORG 
 
 " Now Bishop with the earth so black 
 
 Uo thou effect my consecration ; 
 And when a nun let me not lack 
 
 Thy mild paternal consola'.ion. 
 
 " Come Aage, dear Archbishop, come, 
 Do thou the Lord's devoted make me ; 
 
 This blessed place shall be my home 
 Till out a lifeless corse they take me." 
 
 There were so many warriors bold 
 Whose hearts were all with sorrow laden, 
 
 When tliey saw cast the dingy mould 
 O'er Valborg's arm, the lovely maiden. 
 
 Now Valborg in that abbey grey 
 
 Doth go, its utmost strictness bearing ; 
 
 From no mass will she keep away, 
 In every matin song she's sharing. 
 
 Of maids and dames there's every year 
 Full many a one to cloister given ; 
 
 But none so fair as Valborg dear, 
 Whose equal lives not under heaven. 
 
AXEL THORDSQN AND FAIR VALBORG v-, 
 
 'Tis better ne'er to breathe the air 
 
 Than pine for ever on in sadness ; 
 Each day to cat one's bread with care, 
 
 And ne'er enjoy a moment's gladness. 
 
 To them repentance God impart. 
 
 By whose vile means are those divided, 
 Who have each other dear at heart, 
 
 And whose love is by honor guided. 
 
London : 
 Printed for THOMAS J. Wise, Hampslead. N.W. 
 
 Edition limited to Thirty Copies. 
 
THE TALE OF BRYNILD 
 
 AND 
 
 KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 
 
 TWO BALLADS 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 191.5 
 
THE TALE OF BRYNILD 
 
THE TALE OF BRYNILD 
 
 AND 
 
 KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 
 
 TWO BALLADS 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 i9'j 
 
Copyright in the United States of America 
 hy Houghton, Mijftin &* Co. for Clement Shorter. 
 
THE TALE OF BRYNILD 
 
 SlVARD he a colt has got, 
 The swiftest 'neath the sun ; 
 
 Proud Brynild from the Hill of Glass 
 In open day he won. 
 
 Unto her did of knights and swains 
 
 The very flower ride ; 
 Not one of them the maid to win 
 
 Could climb the mountain's side. 
 
 The hill it was both steep and smooth ; 
 
 Upon its lofty head 
 Her sire had set her, knight nor swain 
 
 He swore with her should wed. 
 
THE TALE OF BRYNILD 
 
 Soon to the Danish monarch's court 
 
 A messenger repaired, 
 To know if there was any one 
 
 To try the adventure dared. 
 
 'Twas talked about, and Sivard then 
 His purpose soon made known ; 
 
 Said he : " I'll try upon my colt 
 To bring Brynilda down." 
 
 He rode away, the way was far, 
 The path was of the worst ; 
 
 He saw the shining Glass Hill, where 
 The maid her durance curs'd. 
 
 And he away proud Brynild bore, 
 Nor deemed the adventure hard ; 
 
 To bold Sir Nielus her he gave 
 To show him his regard. 
 
 Proud Brynild and proud Signelil 
 Those maids of beauteous mien, 
 
 Down to the river's side they went 
 Their silken robes to clean. 
 
THE TALE OF BRYNILD 
 
 " Now do thou hear, thou proud Brynild, 
 
 What now I say to thee, 
 Where didst thou get the bright gold ring 
 
 I on thy finger see ? " 
 
 " How did I get the bright gold ring 
 
 Which on my hand you see? 
 That gave me Sivard Snareswayne, 
 
 When he betrothed me." 
 
 " And though young Sivard gave thee that 
 
 When he his love declar'd, 
 He gives thee to Sir Nielus now 
 
 In proof of his regard." 
 
 No sooner than did Brynild hear, 
 
 The haughty hearted may, 
 Than to the chamber high she went, 
 
 Where sick of rage she lay. 
 
 It was the proud Brynild there 
 
 Fell sick, and moaning lay ; 
 And her the proud Sir Nielus then 
 
 Attended every day. 
 
THE TALE OF BRYNILD 
 
 " Now hark to mo, thou Brynild fair, 
 
 My mind is ill at ease ; 
 Know'st thou of any medicine 
 
 Can cure thy sad disease ? 
 
 "If there be aught this world within 
 Can make thee cease to moan, 
 
 That thou shalt have, e'en if it cost 
 All, all the gold I own." 
 
 " I know of nought within this world 
 Can do my sickness good, 
 
 Except of Sivard Snareswayne 
 It be the hated blood. 
 
 "And there is nothing in this world 
 Which can assuage my pain, 
 
 Except of Sivard Snareswayne 
 The head I do obtain." 
 
 " To draw of Sivard Snareswayne 
 The blood I have no might ; 
 
 His neck is hard as burnished steel, 
 No sword thereon will bite." 
 
THE TALE OF BRYNILD 
 
 " O hark, Sir Niclus, hark to me, 
 
 My well beloved lord, 
 Borrow of him his Adelring, 
 
 His famous trusty sword. 
 
 " Tell him thou needest it so oft 
 When thou dost wage a fierht, 
 
 But soon as 'tis within thy hand 
 Hew off his head outright." 
 
 It was the bold Sir Nielus then 
 
 His mantle puts he on ; 
 To Sivard, his companion true, 
 
 To the high hall he's gone. 
 
 " Now hear, O Sivard Snareswayne, 
 Thy sword unto me lend, 
 
 For I unto the field of fight 
 
 Full soon my course must bend." 
 
 " My trusty faulchion Adelring 
 
 I'll freely lend to thee ; 
 No man be sure shall thee o'ercome, 
 
 However strong; he be. 
 
io THE TALE OF BRYNILD 
 
 " My trusty faulchion Adelring 
 
 To thee I'll freely yield, 
 But, oh ! beware thee of the tears 
 
 Beneath the hilt conceal'd. 
 
 " Beware thee of those frightful tears, 
 
 They all are bloody red ; 
 If clown thy fingers they should run 
 
 Thou wert that moment dead." 
 
 Upstood the bold Sir Nielus then, 
 Drew out the sword amain ; 
 
 One blow and off the head is hewn 
 Of Sivard Snareswayne. 
 
 Beneath his mantle then he takes 
 The head, distilling blood, 
 
 And hurrying to the chamber high 
 Before Brynilda stood. 
 
 " Behold the head, the bloody head, 
 Thou didst so crave to gain ; 
 
 For thee I've done a felon deed 
 Which gives my heart such pain." 
 
THE TALE OF BRYNILD 
 
 " O lay aside the bloody head, 
 It fills my heart with fright; 
 
 And come to me, my dearest lord, 
 Beneath the linen white." 
 
 " I crave thee, woman, not to think 
 I came for sport and play ; 
 
 Thou wast the wicked cause that I 
 From honour went astray.'' 
 
 It was the bold Sir Nielus then 
 His faulchion he drew out ; 
 
 It was the beauteous Brynild whom 
 He all to pieces smote. 
 
 " Now have I slain my comrade dear, 
 
 And eke my lovely may, 
 Yet still I am resolved in mind 
 
 A third, a third to slay." 
 
 So then against the hard stone floor 
 He placed the trusty glaive ; 
 
 To his heart's root the point in went, 
 And him his death wound gave. 
 
12 THE TALE OF BRYNILD 
 
 'Twere better that this maid had died 
 
 Within her mother's womb, 
 Than that these princely men through her 
 
 To such an end should come. 
 
 Now will I rede, each honest man 
 
 Well to deliberate ever ; 
 Unequalled woman's cunning is, 
 
 Though guiles of men be clever. 
 
 She laughs when 'tis her wish to laugh, 
 And weeps when she will weep ; 
 
 Whene'er she wants thy heart to move 
 Fair words on thee she'll heap. 
 
 Be she sick, or be she well, 
 
 In woman ne'er confide; 
 In murder red, by woman led, 
 
 His hands Sir Nielus dyed. 
 
KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 
 
 See, see, with Queen Sophy sits Valdemar bold. 
 About little Kirsten much parlance they hold. 
 
 " Now hark, my good Lord ! I have this to 
 
 propose, 
 That thou shalt give Kirsten to Bun's for spouse. 
 
 A sister thou hast, I a brave brother own, 
 A wedding we'll have ere this good year be 
 flown." 
 
 " It never shall happen, as long as I live, 
 That I to a horse-thief my sister will give. 
 
 My sister's a princess so fair and so bright, 
 But Buris is liker a groom than a knight." 
 
14 KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 
 
 Then pale as a corpse grew Sophia to see ; 
 
 " My noble lord, wherefore despisest thou me ? " 
 
 The Queen struck with fury her hand on the 
 
 board : 
 " Be sure that I vengeance will have for that 
 
 word." 
 
 King Valdemar now to the war-field should 
 
 wend, 
 Behind stays Sir Buris the land to defend. 
 
 Forth, forth from the land the bold King his 
 
 course bent, 
 So many a beautiful knight with him went. 
 
 Him followed so many a chivalrous band ; 
 
 He disposed of his sister, the fair mirror's hand. 
 
 To a prince rich and fine and of valour approved, 
 He gave little Kirsten, his sister beloved. 
 
 With Buris Sophia sits over the board, 
 And much brooded she on King Valdemar's 
 word. 
 
KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 15 
 
 " Sir Buris, my brother, list thou to my say : 
 Beguile the King's sister whilst he is away." 
 
 Sir Buris he cast on his sister his eyes : 
 
 " O why my dear sister dost talk in this guise ? 
 
 To do such an act I will never consent, 
 
 To make her my wife is my wish and intent." 
 
 The Queen with her hand struck the table with 
 
 force : 
 " Just, just as I bid thee direct thou thy course." 
 
 His mantle of azure Sir Buris puts on, 
 And unto the princess Sir Buris is gone. 
 
 With prayers late and early the maiden he 
 
 tired, 
 But could not obtain from her what he 
 
 desired. 
 
 " Sir Buris, why seekest thou me to betray ? 
 To my brother for this thou must answer some 
 day." 
 
1 6 KING VALUE MAR AND HIS SISTER 
 
 With ghastly white cheek did Sir Buris depart, 
 The maiden he loved from the depths of his 
 heart. 
 
 Sir Buris flung on him his scarlet array, 
 And unto Sophia with speed took his way : 
 
 " The princess so firm and determined I find, 
 No knight in this world can e'er conquer her 
 mind." 
 
 " A pretty man, thou, to take love-work in hand, 
 If the powerful Runes thou dost not under- 
 stand." 
 
 "To the paths of fidelity I will return, 
 
 No wish do I feel your Rune-magic to learn. 
 
 King Valdemar left his domain to my care, 
 Shall I in return his dear sister ensnare ? " 
 
 "O I will for thee the Rune-characters trace, 
 And thou them shalt cast in convenient place." 
 
KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 17 
 
 " Sir Buris has cast the Rune-letters, alas, 
 On the bridge over which little Kirstcn should 
 pass. 
 
 Little Kirstcn with anguish was filled, and with 
 
 care, 
 Must spite of herself to Sir Buris repair. 
 
 She knocked with her hand on the thick oaken 
 
 door : 
 " Sir Buris, arise, let me into thy bower." 
 
 Upstood then Sir Buris, in scarlet array'd, 
 And straight he admitted the beautiful maid. 
 
 The whole night she lay in Sir Buris' embrace, 
 All to her own sorrow and daily distress. 
 
 Now on towards summer and autumn it drew, 
 So stout in the waist little Kirsten she grew. 
 
 Her true waiting maid little Kirsten address'd : 
 " To the chamber of stone now convey me in 
 haste. 
 
1 8 KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 
 
 And there unto me do thou bring the mid-wife 
 But let not the Queen know thereof for thy life." 
 
 To her little foot-swain little Kirsten did say : 
 " Fetch hither Sir Buris, withouten delay." 
 
 They met on the lofty hall's high balcony, 
 Together discoursed they so sorrowfully. 
 
 They gave then each other a tender caress, 
 And swooned to the earth from of grief the 
 excess. 
 
 The year has revolved, and home now from the 
 
 fray, 
 King Valdemar cometh triumphant and gay. 
 
 In, in through the portal King Valdemar strode, 
 Sophia received him in complaisant mode. 
 
 About and around him King Valdemar stared : 
 " Say ! where is my sister, and how has she 
 fared ? " 
 
KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER ig 
 
 Then sly 'neath her scarlet laughed Sophy the 
 
 Queen : 
 " It is full three months now since thy sister I've 
 
 seen." 
 
 Sophia exciaim'd : " She is not to be taught, 
 My advice and monition she holdcth at naught." 
 
 " O why dost thou thus of my sister complain ? 
 In honour she liv'd without ever a stain." 
 
 " The chamber of stone she has long made her 
 
 home, 
 There she of a little child light has become." 
 
 Then the heart of the monarch was smitten with 
 
 grief: 
 "To thy words, O Sophia, I yield no belief." 
 
 " The blessed Lord's truth and no lie have I 
 
 told, 
 She invited me e'en her child-birth to behold." 
 
 To five of his good knights spake sternly the 
 King: 
 
20 KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 
 
 " Depart, and my sister straight home to me 
 bring." 
 
 The knights rode away as King Valdemar said, 
 Much rather, much rather, would they have been 
 dead. 
 
 They struck on the door 'neath their mantle of 
 
 skin : 
 " Sweet princess Kirstina, arise, let us in." 
 
 To the chamber straight came the true serving 
 
 lass: 
 " We crave thy leave into the chamber to pass." 
 
 " O sirs, ye may enter as free as the morn, 
 For nobody here any baby has borne." 
 
 Then in sorrowful mood good Sir Peter replied : 
 " God grant that thy words I may see verified." 
 
 "Arise, little Kirsten, thyself quick array, 
 For thou to thy brother this night must away. 
 
 "Array thyself quick, for in hurry we are, 
 
 Thy brother the King has returned from the war." 
 
KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 21 
 
 "Alack, I dare venture my gold coronet, 
 
 That I shall my death by this night-journey get. 
 
 " My daughter now take, and in linen enfold, 
 The face of her mother no more she'll behold. 
 
 "Assist ye my daughter to Christentic's breast, 
 1 fear that her luck will not be of the best. 
 
 " Let the name that ye give her be proud 
 
 Ingerlill, 
 My fortune intends for me nothing but ill." 
 
 Little Kirsten her faithful maid servant 
 
 address'd : 
 " Now fetch to me hither, I pray, my gilt chest." 
 
 The chest she unlocked where lay stored all her 
 
 gear, 
 And distributed that midst her servants so dear. 
 
 And most to her maid she thought fit to award, 
 For she was to be her child's teacher and guard. 
 
 The gold, the red gold, she has given her so free, 
 That tender and kind to her child she might be. 
 
22 KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 
 
 " Every lady can well imagine how fit 
 At present I am on my courser to sit. 
 
 "And each man, I am sure, can imagine how ill 
 A journey nocturnal agree with me will." 
 
 On the saddle they placed her, with hearts full 
 
 of care, 
 Glittered like the spun gold her beautiful hair. 
 
 And when they arrived at the lofty castelle, 
 Down, down from her horse little Kirstenlill fell. 
 
 At the window the Queen stood and laughed 
 
 with delight : 
 " Come hither and view of your sister the plight." 
 
 To lift her from the ground little Knud was not 
 
 slow : 
 " In the name of Lord Jesus the whole truth 
 
 avow." 
 
 They helped her the stairs of the hall to ascend : 
 " Now thee to the powerful Christ we commend." 
 
KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 23 
 
 In the doorway she crossed herself thrice on the 
 
 breast : 
 " To Christ I commend me, the mighty and 
 
 blest." 
 
 Then in through the door little Kirstcn she 
 
 wends, 
 And his white hand to her the bold monarch 
 
 tends. 
 
 Then unto her brother she gives her fair hand : 
 " I joy much to see thee returned to the land." 
 
 Much favour and friendship to her he display 'd 
 And that Queen Sophia so furious made. 
 
 The king to the brim filled a beaker with wine : 
 " I beg of thee drink to me, dear sister mine !" 
 
 " Now hear, little Kirsten, what I to thee say, 
 Thou shalt sing before me some pretty love-la)-." 
 
 " I never in all my life learnt a love-lay, 
 But I'll sing another as well as I may." 
 
24 KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 
 
 " O thou with thy dancing, and eke with thy 
 
 voice, 
 The hearts of my guests shalt this evening 
 
 rejoice." 
 
 To sing then a song little Kirsten began, 
 To the tune danced so many a bold knightly 
 man. 
 
 The King himself sprang 'mid the dancers' gay 
 
 band, 
 And his sister he took by the lilly-fair hand. 
 
 He out and in with her eagerly danced, 
 
 But nothing amiss in her movements he glanced. 
 
 So often the King proved the voice of the maid, 
 And still to her gait more attention he paid. 
 
 And the King measured her by the girdle with 
 
 care, 
 But still he of nothing amiss was aware. 
 
 " O Sophia, may thee shame and evil betide, 
 My dear little Kirsten thou'st foully belied." 
 
KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 25 
 
 " It is the Lord's truth that I've told, and no lie, 
 She has brought forth a daughter in secrecy." 
 
 The Queen has yet worse little Kirsten distrcst, 
 Her two lovely breasts she tore out from her vest. 
 
 And, craving her ruin, with hand resolute 
 
 She pressed out the milk before Valdemar's foot. 
 
 She pressed out the milk 'fore the King on the 
 
 floor: 
 " My King and my husband, canst doubt any 
 
 more ? " 
 
 Then black as the earth grew King Valdemar's 
 
 face, 
 And Kirstenlil swooned 'neath the load of 
 
 disgrace. 
 
 " I intended to wed thee but full speedily, 
 Now thou shalt this evening with agony die. 
 
 "To a mighty lord I'd resolv'd thee to espouse, 
 Now this very night thy young life thou shalt 
 lose. 
 
26 KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 
 
 " The death the most cruel and painful of all, 
 This night thou shalt suffer in this very hall." 
 
 Little Kirsten she fell 'fore the King on her 
 
 knee : 
 " Dear brother ! I pray shew some pity to me." 
 
 " Thy kneeling, O Kirsten, will profit thee nought, 
 The basest and vilest of sins thou hast wrought. 
 
 'Tis folly to hope I shall mercy display, 
 Thou injured me hast in such infamous way. 
 
 I promised thy hand, for of this nought I knew, 
 To the son of a king 'cross the Haf's water 
 blue." 
 
 He turned to the foot-swain who stood at his 
 
 side : 
 " Fetch hither five horse-whips," King Valdcmar 
 
 cried. 
 
 Little Kirsten she fell down upon her bare knee : 
 " Now mighty Lord God ! look with mercy on 
 me." 
 
KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 27 
 
 " For four whips or five whips thou needest not 
 
 send, 
 One will be quite enough to bring me to my end." 
 
 The King in his hand the horse-scourges has 
 
 ta'en, 
 His bosom with sorrow was filled, and with pain. 
 
 " Rise, rise Queen Sophia ! and beg for me now, 
 For brought me to this have thy brother and 
 thou." 
 
 " Little worthy were I of the title of Queen, 
 Were I to essay such a harlot to screen." 
 
 " I'll punish her so, though I love her full dear, 
 That all shall thereof with astonishment hear." 
 
 He lashed her so long, and he lashed her so sore, 
 That grovelling she lay in a stream of red gore. 
 
 She crept for defence 'neath Sophia's array, 
 With her foot she with vehemence spurned her 
 away. 
 
28 KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 
 
 " O 'ncath your red scarlet my poor body hide, 
 For the sake of the Christ who for us sinners 
 died. 
 
 I let fall so many a big briny tear, 
 
 God's mercy upon me ! my fate has been drear. 
 
 brother, O brother, your cruel hand stay, 
 For a moment, that soul-gifts distribute I may. 
 
 1 give to thyself all my castles so grand, 
 Because that my life thou dost hold in thy hand. 
 
 To my daughter so dear my red gold I bequeath, 
 For she shall cause vengeance be ta'en for my 
 death. 
 
 I give to Queen Sophy my silver-cased knife, 
 Because she it was who betrayed my young life. 
 
 O Bun's ! God give thee misery smart, 
 Enveloped with care the most black is my heart. 
 
 And now I've my testament made to my mind, 
 Dear brother, prove towards me forgiving and 
 kind. 
 
KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 29 
 
 I to Christ give my soul, ma)' he shew it good 
 
 grace, 
 There's no one, I trow, cares for me in this place." 
 
 She bade all good night that around her she 
 
 spied. 
 And all for the damsel so piteously cried. 
 
 For her wept every dame, for her wept every maid, 
 All wept save Sophia, that -vile wicked jade. 
 
 Then yielded the roselet her innocent sprite, 
 To God she commended it as it took flight. 
 
 O then was KingVald'mar with sorrow opprest, 
 And wildly his heart 'gan to knock in his breast. 
 
 " What a hard hearted wretch thou, O Soph} - , 
 
 must be, 
 That thou her distress without pit}' could see. 
 
 Shame upon thee, thou basest of all womankind, 
 
 Thou now hast obtained the great wish of thy 
 mind. 
 
3 o KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 
 
 Alack ! well a day, my dear sister is dead ; 
 Now where shall we bury the rose-flower red ? " 
 
 " In Riber street, Sir, let thy flower repose, 
 That o'er her may tread every day my horse- 
 shoes." 
 
 " O never shalt thou have the joy, that thy horse 
 Shall tread o'er the ground which concealth her 
 corse. 
 
 To Vestervig's cloister her corse shall be sent, 
 O'er her shall be placed a red brick monument." 
 
 He caused her be buried with grandeur and 
 
 state, 
 All the days of his life the King sighed for her 
 
 fate. 
 
 " Now I will retire to a chamber of gloom, 
 A chamber which fire nor light shall illume. 
 
 There ne'er shall the blest sun on me cast its 
 
 raj', 
 Till I've through repentance mysins wiped away." 
 
KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 31 
 
 To his page the King spake with so serious an 
 
 air : 
 " Command thou Sir Buris to me to repair. 
 
 " Hark, hark thou, Sir Knight, what I now say 
 
 to thee, 
 How hast thou been found in thy duty to me ? 
 
 I left thee a vine-yard for thee to watch o'er, 
 Therein hast thou done me an injury sore. 
 
 The loveliest vine in the vineyard that stood, 
 That hast thou destroyed to thy own little good." 
 
 Sir Buris he fell on his knee 'fore the King : 
 
 " My dear lord and master, O pardon this thing." 
 
 " No, thou too shalt suffer both torment and 
 
 shame, 
 To a sharp shameful death through thy treachery 
 
 she came." 
 
 " The cruellest death ye for me can invent, 
 To thou for the beautiful maid I'm content." 
 
32 KING VALDEMAR AND HIS SISTER 
 
 " Let the eyes of the horse-thief be torn from 
 
 his head, 
 Because he the beautiful damsel betray 'd." 
 
 They've torn from the sockets Sir Buris's eyes, 
 In spite of Queen Sophy's entreaties and cries. 
 
 Sir Buris' right hand, and Sir Buris' left foot, 
 King Valdemar caused to be hewn off to boot. 
 
 From the Castle the knight they led forth on 
 
 the green, 
 In mockery and scoff of Sophia the Queen. 
 
 " Behold now thy brother, that lord great and 
 
 fine, 
 Who fain as a prince and a monarch would 
 
 shine ! " 
 
 The Dane-king a fetter has caused to be made, 
 On Buris in Vestcrvig cloister 'twas laid. 
 
 For eleven long years there was Sir Buris 
 
 confin'd, 
 Each day to her grave went the knight lame 
 
 and blind. 
 
A'/.Vo VALDEMAR AND 11 IS SISTER 33 
 
 Each day that he lived of the King did he crave 
 That beside her when dead they might lay him 
 
 To the King he was forced to give land and 
 
 domain, 
 Ere to rest in the cloister the boon he could gain. 
 
 He expired just as the twelfth year was begun — 
 The King never smiled Ouecn Sophia upon. 
 
MIRROR OF CINTRA 
 
 Translated from the original Portuguese on a 
 
 marble slab in the garden of Don Juan De Castro, 
 
 at Cintra, 
 
 TlNY fields in charming order, 
 Which the jagged forests border ; 
 Sheltered valleys downward wending, 
 'Midst the rocks to heaven ascending ; 
 Silvery fountains turbid never, 
 Foliage dense which bloometh ever ; 
 Ceaseless Zephyrs gently playing, 
 Satyrs, fawns by thousands straying ; 
 Nymphs, with fair bewitching faces, 
 Form of Cintra's clime the graces. 
 
 1840. 
 
THE HART 
 
 From GUroniify Ozce/i 
 
 The harp to every one is dear 
 
 Who hateth vice, and all things evil ; 
 
 Hail to its gentle voice so clear, 
 Its gentle voice affrights the Devil ! 
 
 The Devil can not the Minstrel quell — 
 He by the Minstrel is confounded ; 
 
 From Saul was cast the spirit fell, 
 
 When David's harp melodious sounded. 
 
London : 
 
 Printed for THOMAS J. WISE, Ilampstead, N.W. 
 
 Edition limited to Thirty Copies. 
 

THE DALBY BEAR 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
 r.v 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 I9«3 
 
THE DALBY BEAR 
 
 AND OTIIIK BALT.AHS 
 
THE DALBY BEAR 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
 nv 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 I9U 
 
THE DALBY BEAR 
 
 There goes a bear on Dalby moors, 
 Oxen and horses he devours. 
 
 The peasants are in deep distress 
 The laidly bear should them oppress. 
 
 Their heads together at length they lay, 
 How they the bear might seize and slay. 
 
 They drove their porkers through the wood, 
 The bear turn'd round as he lay at food. 
 
 Outspoke as best he could the bear : 
 "What kind of guests approach my lair ?" 
 
 Uprose the bear amain from his food, 
 A christian man before him stood. 
 
 15 2 
 
THE DALBY BEAR 
 
 A little hour together they fought, 
 
 The bear to the earth the man has brought. 
 
 Fast came a knight as he could make, 
 He heard the heart of the peasant break. 
 
 The bear upon him fiercely glar'd ; 
 
 " Thou needst not hurry, I'm prepar'd." 
 
 " And thou by me shalt be stoutly met, 
 
 So thou may'st vapour and thou may'st threat. 
 
 " If thou hast spear and nimble hand, 
 I've claws and teeth at my command." 
 
 They fought for a day, they fought for two, 
 And so on the third they continu'd to do. 
 
 But when to night the fourth day drew, 
 The bear to the earth the warrior threw. 
 
 " Thou wilt no victory gain from me, 
 
 Thou haughty knight, thou may'st certain be. 
 
 " I late was the son of a powerful King, 
 A Oueen me into the world did brin<r. 
 
THE DA LBV BEAK 
 
 " My Stcp-dame chang'd me, as you sec, 
 She'd ruin me to eternity. 
 
 " About the wild forest I have run, 
 
 To the boors much scathe and violence done. 
 
 " In winter and in summer's tide 
 In peace for me they could not bide. 
 
 " But they may thank my cruel Dame, 
 For 'twas through her I a bear became. 
 
 " She plac'd around my neck so tight 
 An iron band in wrath and spite. 
 
 " If thou this accursed band canst break 
 Thy life from thee I will not take." 
 
 " O I will help thee from thy thrall ; 
 Maria's son who has power for all 
 
 " Will loosen from thee this stubborn band, 
 Full able thereto is his right hand." 
 
 O'er him the cross the knight did make, 
 The iron burst from the bruin's neck. 
 
THE DALEY BEAR 
 
 He became a youth as fair as day, 
 His father's realm he went to sway. 
 
 A noble maid awaits the knight, 
 
 The hand of the Monarch's sister bright. 
 
 They liv'd together in honor and joy, 
 To the cruel Stepdame's great annoy. 
 
 A hard flint rock she soon became, 
 
 For herself she earn'd both woe and shame. 
 
TYGGE HERMANDSEN 
 
 Down o'er the isle in torrents fell 
 On a Thursday morn the rain ; 
 
 To fetch his bride now forth shall ride 
 Sir Tygge Hermandsen. 
 
 Sir Tygge out of the window look'd, 
 The brooks ran boisterously : 
 
 " To ride out now would bring me woe, 
 So dear no bride I'll buy. 
 
 " Rut hear thou, Nilaus Benditson, 
 Long shanks has thy good steed ; 
 
 I beg for the love of the God above 
 You'll fetch my bride with speed." 
 
io TYGGE HERMANDSEN 
 
 Then answer'd Nilaus Benditson, 
 
 In his sleeve thus answer'd he : 
 " If me thou dispatch thy bride to fetch 
 
 I'll trick thee certainly." 
 
 It was Nilaus Benditson, 
 
 He rode the bride to meet ; 
 There hung silk sheen and sendal green 
 
 Before his courser's feet. 
 
 They clad themselves in silken cloth, 
 
 And in cloth of gold beside ; 
 In long array to the Kirk their way 
 
 They took with the youthful bride. 
 
 The bride before the holy Kirk door 
 Like a blooming rose did stand ; 
 
 Oft did she turn to the water, to learn 
 If the bridegroom was at hand. 
 
 Then answer'd Nilaus Benditson, 
 He stood by the bride so close : 
 
 " The brooks so roar'd that to cross the ford 
 He fear'd would wet his hose." 
 
T 1 'GGE HERMANDSEN 
 
 They plac'd the bride on the bridal bench 
 
 With pomp and honor high ; 
 Oft would they turn to the water to learn 
 
 If the bridegroom bold drew nigh. 
 
 In the silver cup they skink the ale, 
 And the nut-brown mead they pour ; 
 
 Thus things they sped till day was fled, 
 And until of bed the hour. 
 
 They lifted up the youthful bride, 
 
 In the bride-bed her they set; 
 And there sat she for hours three, 
 
 There came no bridegroom yet. 
 
 The priests before the bride-bed stood, 
 And sang with all their might : 
 
 " Who in the bed in the bridegroom's stead 
 Shall sleep with the bride tonight? " 
 
 Then forth stepp'd Nilaus Benditson, 
 
 His lae'd shoe off flung he : 
 " With the bride so bright I'll sleep tonight, 
 
 And give her my troth with glee.'' 
 
12 TYGGE HERMANDSEN 
 
 So they the bridal solemnized, 
 And glad themselves they made ; 
 
 At home was then Tygge Hermandsen, 
 To cross the brooks afraid. 
 
 It chanc'd upon a Wednesday, 
 
 The waters began to fall ; 
 Across came then Tygge Hermandsen 
 
 With his gay bridesmen all. 
 
 And he came to the bridal house 
 Where the feast was spread in state, 
 
 Then up and cried the youthful bride : 
 " Ride back, you come too late." 
 
 "Now hear, thou beauteous Sidselil, 
 I've this to complain of thee, 
 
 That thou hast ta'en another swain 
 And broke thy troth with me." 
 
 " Now hear, thou Tygge Hermandsen, 
 Thou might'st have been aware, 
 
 I would disdain to wed the swain 
 To wet his feet had fear. 
 
TYGGE HERMANDSEN 13 
 
 If thou hadst been a Lady's swain, 
 
 And hadst thou lov'd me true, 
 With thy sword's stroke thou wouldst have broke 
 
 Thy way through the billows blue." 
 
 " To the cloyster I'll myself betake, 
 
 And the monkish vow I'll swear ; 
 For good or ill, proud Sidselil, 
 
 I'll never more come here." 
 
 " But if hereby thy way shall lie 
 When the brooks shall calmly run, 
 
 If cheeses two in my store I view 
 In thy sack I'll drop thee one." 1 
 
 1 She taunts him with the idea of his becoming a monk, and 
 going about with a sack begging for amis. 
 
THE WICKED STEPMOTHER 
 
 Sir Ove he has no daughter but one, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 He bestow'd her the Lord of Elling upon. 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 He bestow'd her upon a gallant knight, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 Sir Stig Cob was the gallant hight. 
 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 When a year to end had well nigh come, 
 All underneath a green hills side. 
 
 Two sons had Thorelil in her womb. 
 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
THE WICKED STEPMOTHER 15 
 
 Hither and thither they carry the dame, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 But worse and worse her plight became. 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 Sir Stig his bonnet he has put on, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 And into the hall to his mother is gone. 
 /// sneh peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 " Hear me, dear mother, canst thou rede, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 How it with Thorelil shall speed ? " 
 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 " For forty weeks and a year I trow, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 Thy Thorelil with child shall go." 
 
 In sneh peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 " O mother dear, it can scarce be so, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 But forty weeks Mary with Christ did go." 
 /;/ such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
i THE WICKED STEPMOTHER 
 
 " Since I no help can here obtain, 
 All underneath a green kill's side, 
 
 From whence I came convey me again." 
 In suck peril tkrougk the forest they ride. 
 
 " The horses are grazing upon the moor, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 And in their beds the coachmen snore." 
 In such peril through the forest tkey ride. 
 
 " If coach nor coachmen I can get, 
 All underneath the green kills side, 
 
 I'll tramp on my feet through dry and wet. 
 In suck peril tkrougk the forest tkey ride. 
 
 Her lips the word had scarcely said, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 When the horses to the coach were led. 
 In suck peril tkrougk tke forest tkey ride. 
 
 Stig took her so tenderly by the waist, 
 All underneath a green kill's side. 
 
 And her in the gilded coach he plac'd. 
 In suck peril tkrougk tke forest tkey ride. 
 
THE WICKED STEPMOTHER 17 
 
 He set her down on the cushions gray, 
 All underneath a green kill's side, 
 
 And he himself drove the coach away. 
 In stick peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 And when they came under the green wood 
 bough, 
 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 Her chariot broke her weight below. 
 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 " A wondrous woman I sure must be, 
 All underneath a green lull's side, 
 
 Since my own coach won't carry me." 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 " My dearest, my dearest, be not dismay 'd, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 Thou back canst walk with thy husband's aid." 
 /// such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 And when to the castle gate they won, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 His sister stood and lean'd thereon. 
 
 /// suck peril through the forest they ride. 
 
8 THE WICKED STEPMOTHER 
 
 " O my dear sister, canst thou rede, 
 All underneath a green hills side, 
 
 How it with Thorelil will speed ? " 
 
 la such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 Unto her coffer proud Mettelil flew, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 Of wax she has fashion'd babies two. 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 She drew her blue mantle o'er her head, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 And unto her mother's bower she sped. 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 " From thy heart, dear mother, all sorrow chase, 
 All underneath a green hills side, 
 
 And thy grand-babes take to thy embrace." 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 "01 had thought with my bunch of keys, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 To overturn her bliss with ease. 
 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
THE WICKED STEPMOTHER 19 
 
 ' I thought Id bcwitch'd each inch of land,'' 
 All underneath a green /nil's side, 
 
 Save the spot alone where her chest doth stand." 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 No sooner was Thorelil thither convey 'd, 
 All underneath a green kill's side. 
 
 Than of two fair sons she 1 ight was made. 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 " O God grant me so long to breathe, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 That parting presents I may bequeath. 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 " Stig's mother, I give her my sarke to wear, 
 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 May she use it like me with grief and caie! 
 In such peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 " To his sister I give my embroidcr'd shoe, 
 All underneath a green kill's side, 
 
 To wear with glee unmixt with woe. 
 
 /;/ such pe>il through the forest they ride. 
 
20 THE WICKED STEPMOTHER 
 
 " A lovely rose is my last bequest, 
 All underneath a green hill's side, 
 
 For Stig to wed, and with her be blest." 
 /;/ suck peril through the forest they ride. 
 
 London : 
 Printed for THOMAS J. WISE, Hampstead, N W. 
 
 Edition limited to Thirty Co/its. 
 
the 
 
 MERMAID'S PROPHECY 
 
 AND OTHER 
 
 SONGS RELATING TO QUEEN DAGMAR 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
SONGS RELATING TO QUEEN DAGMAR 
 
THE 
 
 MERMAID'S PROPHECY 
 
 AND OTHER 
 
 SONGS RELATING TO QUEEN DAGMAR 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 1913 
 
SONGS RELATING TO OUEEN DAGMAR 
 
 I. 
 KING VALDEMAR'S WOOING. 
 
 Valdcmar King and Sir Strange bold 
 
 At table sat one day, 
 So many a word ' twixt them there passed 
 
 In amicable way. 
 
 " Hear Strange, hear ! thou for a time 
 
 Thy native land must leave ; 
 Thou shalt away to Bohemia far 
 
 My young bride to receive." 
 
 Then answered Strange Ebbesen, 
 
 To answer he was not slow : 
 " Who shall attend me of thy liegemen, 
 
 If I to Bohemia <ro ? " 
 
6 KING VALDEMARS WOOING 
 
 " Do thou take with thee young Lord Limbek, 
 
 Nor leave Olaf Lukke behind ; 
 Take rich Peter Glob, and whomsoe'er 
 
 Shall best please thine own mind. 
 
 " Take Sealand's Bishop, none more learned 
 
 There dwelleth North nor South, 
 And take Sir Albert of Eskilsea, 
 
 There's eloquence in his mouth." 
 
 It was the young Sir Strange bold, 
 
 He down to the sea shore wends, 
 And him King Valdemar himself 
 
 With nobles many attends. 
 
 And they sailed over the briny wave, 
 
 They sailed for sennights three, 
 The nearest way to Bohemia's bounds, 
 
 They were at heart so free. 
 
 They furled their sail, and their anchor dropped, 
 
 To the land they eagerly sped ; 
 So fair a band of knights they were, 
 
 Sir Strange at their head. 
 
KING VALDEMAR'S WOOING 
 
 When a little up the land they'd won 
 They dispatched their messenger, 
 
 Should tell to Bohemia's prince that they 
 The Dane-king's envoys were. 
 
 And to speak with him in secrecy 
 On a matter of weight they sought ; 
 
 Then silk upon the earth was spread, 
 And before the King they were brought. 
 
 " Hail to thee, King of Bohemian Land, 
 Thou sittest a prince in state ; 
 
 To you sends Valdemar, Denmark's King, 
 With your daughter he would mate." 
 
 " Take napkins, Sirs, and water take, 
 
 Sit down at our table board ; 
 We bid ye welcome to our land, 
 
 Fit answer we'll award." 
 
 To the bower high the monarch sped, 
 
 His Queen's advice to take : 
 " Nobles are here from Denmark come, 
 
 And suit for our daughter make." 
 
8 KING VALDEMAR S WOOING 
 
 " If Valdemar, King of Denmark's land, 
 
 For our dear daughter woo, 
 We'll give her to the powerful man, 
 
 And precious dowry too." 
 
 They decked her with the ruddy gold, 
 And her to the hall convey'd ; 
 
 Sir Strange the knight, so fair and fine, 
 A low obeisance made. 
 
 They clad her in the silken vest, 
 And her to the hall conveyed : 
 
 " Here mayst thou see the princess self 
 In her graces all arrayed." 
 
 Then they bore in the playing board, 
 
 Was wroughten all of gold ; 
 Sir Strange should with the princess play, 
 
 And private converse hold. 
 
 The third game they together played 
 
 Upon that red gold board, 
 Sir Strange won the noble maid 
 
 For Valdemar his lord. 
 
KING VALDEMAR'S WOOING 
 
 So deep 'twas getting in the night, 
 
 From tables they should rise, 
 Sir Strange must the princess bed, 
 
 Sir Strange bold and wise. 
 
 Then they the Damsel attend to bed 
 
 To the valiant cavalier, 
 Sir Strange with respectful grace 
 
 Arose when she drew near. 
 
 " Now on your honour and knightly truth, 
 
 Sir Strange tell to me : 
 Whether the King of your Danish land 
 
 Be handsome or not to see ? " 
 
 Then answer made Sir Strange good, 
 
 Looked up to the star-lit sky : 
 " By the Saints above, the King of our love 
 
 Is handsomer twice than I." 
 
 They spread the silk upon the earth, 
 And the princess led to the strand, 
 
 To her parents dear, she bade good-night, 
 And away they bore from land. 
 
 B 
 
io KING VALDEMAR'S WOOING 
 
 It was the good Bohemian King 
 
 To advising his daughter fell : 
 " Think, think my child, on honor and fame 
 
 When thou in Denmark dwell. 
 
 "Pious and virtuous, kind and good, 
 
 To prove thyself essay 
 To thy subjects all, for thus wilt thou 
 
 Become their hope and stay." 
 
 The nobles steered their ship from the land, 
 
 No cares their hearts oppress, 
 And they the land of Denmark made 
 
 In two months tide and less. 
 
 It was the beauteous Dagmar Queen 
 Before Mando neared the land, 
 
 And lo ! the bold King of Denmark rode 
 His courser on the sand. 
 
 " Tell me, Sir Strange Ebbesen, 
 
 Ere we come nearer land, 
 What squinting fellow 'tis who rides 
 
 So brisk on the yellow sand ? " 
 
KING VALDEMAR'S WOOING u 
 
 " Be welcome, beauteous Dagmar Queen, 
 
 Speak thereabout no word ; 
 For know 'tis Valdemar of Denmark, 
 
 Of kingdoms three the lord. 
 
 ' My gracious liege, lady Dagmar fair, 
 
 Of princes he's the flower, 
 He castles has, and fortresses, 
 
 Three kingdoms own his power." 
 
 " Shame, shame befall thee, Strange dog, 
 
 How loudly thou canst lie ; 
 Methinks your boasted Danish King 
 
 Has only got one eye." 
 
 " My lovely Dame, a warrior he, 
 
 And the best beneath the sun ; 
 He back to Denmark all the land 
 
 Benorth Ebb's stream has won. 
 
 " A man is he, and a prince full wise, 
 
 In the face dares look his foes ; 
 They fly before him both East and West, 
 
 When he with fury glows. 
 
 B 2 
 
12 KING VALDEMARS WOOING 
 
 " Who others life and land will risk 
 And prove war's pastime fell, 
 
 If a prince of blood and courageous mood 
 Will risk himself as well ? 
 
 " And do thou hear, my lovely maid, 
 
 Be cheerful and content, 
 For ne'er so long as thou shalt live 
 
 This step thou shalt repent. 
 
 "And all the time that thou shalt live 
 
 Your servant I will be, 
 And Denmark's gallant nobles all 
 
 Shall bow to thee their knee." 
 
 So they their bridal solemnized 
 
 Beneath a lucky star ; 
 So heartily one another loved 
 
 Soon Valdemar and Dagmar. 
 
 There was rejoicing with great and small, 
 With rich men and with poor, 
 
 But boors and burgers most of all 
 Rejoiced from their heart's core. 
 
KING VALDEMARS WOOING 
 
 She came not to burden, she came in peace, 
 To ease the good boor she came ; 
 
 If Denmark aye such flowers had 
 She dearly would prize the same ! 
 
 The love of every Danish heart 
 The good Queen Dagmar gained : 
 
 Such happy pleasant days there were 
 Whilst she alive remained. 
 
II. 
 
 QUEEN DAGMAR'S ARRIVAL IN 
 DENMARK. 
 
 It was Bohemia's Queen began 
 
 Her daughter to direct : 
 "They'll show thee, when thou to Denmark 
 come, 
 
 Much honor and respect. 
 
 "And when respect and honor thou win 
 
 In Denmark's land of fame, 
 Let not the boors be with tax opprest, 
 
 Thus will they bless thy name. 
 
 " Be the first boon thou of thy lord dost crave, 
 
 Of thy lord so fair and kind, 
 That he release Bishop Valdemar, 
 
 His uncle, who sits confin'd." 
 
QUEEN DAGMARS ARRIVAL IN DENMARK i 5 
 
 And there was silk and scarlet cloth 
 
 Upon the earth outspread ; 
 'Twas Dagmar, the youthful princess fair, 
 
 To the strand that down was led. 
 
 They hoisted up their silken sails 
 
 On the gilded yard so high, 
 And they in less than two months space 
 
 Old Denmark could descry. 
 
 Before Mando they anchor cast, 
 They cast it on the white sand ; 
 
 They took the princess Dagmar fair 
 And bore her first to land. 
 
 They took the youthful Dagmar fair 
 
 And bore her first to land ; 
 'Twas Valdemar King of Denmark old 
 
 That stretched to her his hand. 
 
 Then there was silk, and scarlet cloth, 
 So wide on the earth outspread ; 
 
 On Dagmar wait both Dames and maids, 
 To Ribe house she was led. 
 
16 QUEEN DAGMAR'S ARRIVAL IN DENMARK 
 
 So early in the moining tide 
 
 Ere the sun illumed the lift, 
 'Twas young and beauteous Dagmar Queen 
 
 That craved her morning gift. 
 
 " The first, first boon that I crave of thee, 
 
 My heart's beloved lord, 
 Let Bishop Valdemar leave his tower 
 
 And be to his friends restor'd. 
 
 " The second boon I most earnestly crave, 
 
 Nor must thou that refuse, 
 Take off from each plough the tax that's on, 
 
 And from prison the captives loose." 
 
 " Desist, desist from thy first prayer, 
 
 Desist, my Dagmar dear, 
 If Valdemar Bishop come but out, 
 
 He'll widow thee in a year." 
 
 She took the gold crown off her brow, 
 
 On the table that she set : 
 " O what shall I do in Denmark, now 
 
 My request denial has met ? " 
 
QUEEN DAGMARS ARRIVAL IN DENMARK 17 
 
 " Straight fetch to mc hither Sir Strange 
 knight, 
 
 And Younker Canute to me call, 
 They shall away to Oringsdorg 
 
 And the prisoners free from thrall." 
 
 And when from the tower forth he came 
 Nor walk nor stand he mought : 
 
 " Therein for full twelve years I sat, 
 So long the time I thought." 
 
 A golden comb his sister took, 
 
 And combed his yellow hair ; 
 For every lock of his she smoothed 
 
 She shed a briny tear. 
 
 " And do thou hear, dear sister mine, 
 
 Ne'er sorrow for my sake ; 
 If I one single year survive 
 
 I 11 well my wrongs ywrake." 
 
 " O hush, Bishop Valdemar ! nor let 
 
 Thy fury o'er thee reign ; 
 Comst thou once more into Scaborough tower, 
 
 We ne'er shall meet again." 
 
18 QUEEN DAGMARS ARRIVAL IN DENMARK 
 
 But the Bishop could not stifle his wrath, 
 So the land he was forced to quit ; 
 
 It grieved Queen Dagmar to the heart, 
 That he showed so little wit. 
 
 There was great joy over all Denmark 
 That Dagmar for Queen they had got ; 
 
 Lived burger and boor in peace without 
 The plague of plough-tax and scot. 
 
 Christ bless the youthful Athelings two, 
 
 And lengthen their vital span, 
 That justice they may, and equity, 
 
 Do Ions in sisdit of man ! 
 
III. 
 
 THE MERMAID'S PROPHECY. 
 
 The King he has caught the fair mermaid, and 
 deep 
 {The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 In the dungeon has placed her, to pine and to 
 weep, 
 Because his will she had not done. 
 
 The Queen of the Danes addressed two of her 
 band : 
 {The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 " To come to my presence the mermaid com- 
 mand, 
 For my will by her it shall be done." 
 
20 THE MERMAID'S PROPHECY 
 
 The mermaid came in, to the Queen she up 
 went : 
 (The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 "What wilt thou, Queen, that for me thou 
 hast sent ? 
 By me thy will can never be done." 
 
 The Queen the blue cushion stroked down with 
 a smile : 
 
 (The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 " Sit down pretty mermaid and rest thee awhile, 
 
 My will by thee must now be done." 
 
 " Why seek'st thou, O Queen, to betray my 
 young life? 
 
 (The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 For under that cushion is stuck a sharp knife, 
 
 By me thy will can never be done." 
 
 '' If thou knowest that, then much more thou 
 dost know, 
 
 (The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 So do thou my destiny unto me show, 
 
 And thus by thee shall my will be done." 
 
THE MERMAIDS PROPHECY 2! 
 
 " If I should thy destiny to thcc announce, 
 {The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 
 On a fire of faggots thoud'st burn me at once ! 
 By me unwilling your will is done. 
 
 " Three babes thou shalt bear, each a beautiful 
 boy, 
 {The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 And in leaving thy womb they thy life shall 
 destroy, 
 And thus fair Queen thy will is done." 
 
 " If with me, luckless me, it no better shall 
 speed, 
 
 {The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 Inform me what fortune for them is decreed, 
 
 For thus by thee can my will be done." 
 
 " The first shall be King in old Denmark of 
 them, 
 
 {The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 The next shall succeed to the gold diadem, 
 
 By me can thus thy will be done. 
 
22 THE MERMAIDS PROPHECY 
 
 " The third as the wisest of mortals shall shine, 
 ( The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 
 And for him thou art doomed thy young life to 
 resign, 
 Thus all your will, fair Queen, I've done." 
 
 In her mantle of azure the Queen wrapt her 
 head, 
 
 {The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 And unto the hall to the Monarch she sped, 
 
 For she her will had fairly done. 
 
 " Now hear my entreaty, my heart's belov'd 
 Lord, 
 
 ( The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 To my own disposal this mermaid award, 
 
 For she my will has fairly done." 
 
 " I'll not give her thee, nor her life shalt thou 
 save, 
 {The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 For my seven brave vessels she swamped in the 
 wave, 
 My pleasure thus she has not done." 
 
THE MERMAID'S rROPHECY 23 
 
 Black, black as a clod grew the Queen at that 
 word, 
 {The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 And down she fell senseless before the King's 
 board, 
 Because her will she had fairly done. 
 
 " My Queen and my dearest ! thy heart shall 
 not break, 
 
 ( The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 Thou art free to the strand the fair mermaid to take, 
 
 Because thy will she has fairly done." 
 
 The mermaid in scarlet so fine she array'd, 
 {The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 
 Although she had heard her own death by her 
 spaed, 
 For thus, for thus, her will she'd done. 
 
 The Queen gave command to the maids in her 
 train : 
 
 {The mermaid da/ices the floor upon) 
 " Convey ye the mermaid hence down to the main, 
 
 For she my will has fairly done." 
 
24 THE MERMAIDS PROPHECY 
 
 Upon the blue billows the mermaid they place, 
 (Tlie mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 
 The Queen fell to weeping, and sad was each 
 face, 
 For she her will, alack ! had done. 
 
 " O prythee don't weep, and O prythee don't 
 grieve, 
 
 {The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 Heaven's portals stand open thy soul to receive, 
 
 Now I thy will have fairly done. 
 
 " In the mansions of Heaven thou aye shalt 
 remain, 
 ( The mermaid dances the floor upon) 
 And there perfect quiet and rest thou shalt 
 gain- 
 Now all thy will, fair Queen, I've done ! " 
 
ROSMER. 
 
 Buckshank bold, and Elfinstone, 
 And more than I can mention here. 
 
 They caused to be built so stout a ship, 
 And unto Iceland they will steer. 
 
 They launched the ship upon the sea, 
 Which bellowed like a wrathful bear ; 
 
 Down to the bottom the vessel sank, 
 A laidly Trold has dragged it there. 
 
 Sank to the bottom the young Roland, 
 And round about he groped awhile. 
 
 Until he found the path which led 
 Unto the bower of Ellenlile. 
 
26 ROSMER 
 
 Young Roland towards the mountain goes, 
 
 He saw the little sparkles fly : 
 " Betide whate'er the Lord God will 
 
 I here will house me verily." 
 
 Young Roland into the mountain went, 
 Benumbed with cold his limbs they shook : 
 
 " What dost thou here, thou wretched man, 
 On whom the Lord with pity look ? " 
 
 Then up and spoke Dame Ellenlile : 
 
 " Young swain why hither hast thou come ? 
 
 What message hast thou brought to me ? 
 Thou'dst better far have staid at home. 
 
 " Now hie thee to the chamber in, 
 
 So frozen and so wet withal ; 
 But cometh Rosmer Giant home 
 
 He'll tear thee into pieces small. 
 
 " Now sit thee down, thou wretched lad, 
 And at the fire thy body cheer ; 
 
 If Rosmer Giant come striding in 
 He'll stick thee on this spit, I fear." 
 
ROSMER 27 
 
 Then home came Rosmer Shank-stretcher, 
 
 And thus in anger he began : 
 " Full certainly there's hither come 
 
 Some Christian woman, child, or man." 
 
 Then forward stepped she, Ellenlile, 
 And swore so high and solemnly : 
 
 " A crow which bore a dead man's leg 
 E'en now across the house did fly. 
 
 " A crow which bore a dead man's leg 
 Just now across our house did fly ; 
 
 He cast it in, I cast it out, 
 
 And that I trow full speedily/' 
 
 But Rosmer shrieked and sprang about : 
 " Some Christian wight thon dost conceal, 
 
 And I will spit and burn thee, Dame, 
 Unless the truth thou dost reveal." 
 
 Then Ellenlile her mantle donned, 
 
 And went and stood by Rosmer's knee : 
 
 " O here's a swain from Iceland come, 
 And he's of nearest kin to me." 
 
28 ROSMER 
 
 "If there's a swain from Iceland come, 
 And if he be thy kinsman near, 
 
 Then I to him will safety pledge, 
 No harm from me he need to fear." 
 
 When he two years in the sea had been, 
 Young Roland he would fain be gone ; 
 
 For Ellenlile was now with child, 
 A deed of folly had been done. 
 
 When that perceived proud Ellenlile, 
 Near Rosmer King she took her stand : 
 
 " Now wilt thou give the stranger lad 
 Leave to return to his own land ? " 
 
 " And if the swain for home doth long, 
 Then I will take him to the shore ; 
 
 And I will give him silver and gold, 
 And in a coffer it will store. 
 
 And so he took the ruddy gold, 
 
 And in a coffer it he laid ; 
 Unknown to him proud Ellenlile 
 
 So sly therein herself convey'd. 
 
ROSMER 29 
 
 He takes the man beneath his arm, 
 The coffer on his back he throws ; 
 
 Then away, away beneath the salt spray 
 Striding the Giant Rosmer goes. 
 
 " Now have I brought thee to the land, 
 And moon and sun thou canst behold ; 
 
 And now to use as thou shalt chuse 
 I give this coffer filled with gold." 
 
 " I thank thee, Rosmer, honest man, 
 
 Thou'st brought me out of the ocean wild ; 
 
 And now I'll tell thee a piece of news, 
 The proud Dame Ellen is with child." 
 
 Then ran the tears down Rosmer's cheeks, 
 As falls the dew on hill and plain : 
 
 "If thou hadst not my troth and oath 
 Here as thou standest thee I'd brain." 
 
 Rosmer hied to the hill so fast, 
 As hind before the hart doth run ; 
 
 And when he came within the hill 
 Behold proud Ellenlile was gone. 
 
3Q KOSAfER 
 
 But Ellenlile took Roland's hand, 
 
 'Midst sport and jest away they hied ; 
 
 To young Roland she told her tale, 
 And Roland served her as a guide. 
 
 When Rosmer saw his love was gone, 
 So full was he of grief and dool, 
 
 He turned him into a huge grey rock, 
 And there he standeth like a fool. 
 
London : 
 Printed for THOMAS J. WISE, Hampstcad, N.W. 
 
 Edition limited to Thirty copies. 
 
Copyright in the United States of America 
 hy Houghton Mifflin <Sr Co. , for Clement Shorter. 
 
SIGNELIL 
 
 A TALE FROM THE CORNISH 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 1913 
 
SIGNELIL 
 
 A TALE FROM THE CORNISH 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
Copyright in the United States of America 
 by Houghton, Mifflin & Co. for Clement Shorter. 
 
SIGNELIL 
 
 The Lady her handmaid to questioning took: 
 " Why dost thou so sickly and colourless look ? " 
 But sorrow gnaws so sorely ! 
 
 "' Tis little wonder if sickly I'm growing, 
 
 Malfrcd my lady ! 
 So much am I busied with cutting and sewing." 
 
 " Erewhile was thy cheek as the blooming rose 
 
 red, 
 But now thou art pale, even pale as the dead." 
 
 " To conceal the truth longer 'tis vain to essay, 
 My gallant young master has led me astray." 
 
 " And if the young noble has led thee astray, 
 Say, what gave he thee for thy virtue in pay ? " 
 
6 S1GNELIL 
 
 " He gave to me shoes were gold spangled all 
 
 o'er, 
 And them have I worn with affliction so sore. 
 
 " He gave to me also of silk a soft shift, 
 And with sorrow most painful I've worn the fair 
 gift. 
 
 " He gave me, Christ sain him ! a gold ring so 
 
 fine, 
 Whose match I can see on no finger of thine." 
 
 " But what will avail thee his presents of price, 
 If he thee will not wed before God and men's 
 eyes ? " 
 
 " O, he to espouse me so often has vowed, 
 
 And rich presents beside upon me has bestowed." 
 
 " What will his vows help thee in secrecy spoke ? 
 To man)' a maid them he has made and has 
 broke." 
 
 "O, I on the gold harp will play me a tune, 
 And the knight to his presence will summon me 
 soon." 
 
SIGN ELI I. 7 
 
 With her fingers so tapering she struck the first 
 
 chord, 
 That heard, as he dozed in his bed, the young 
 
 lord. 
 
 The gallant young lord to his waiting-boy said : 
 " Go straight, and call hither my mother's fair 
 maid." 
 
 The bedside he stroked with so gentle an air : 
 " Dear heart, sit thee down, for thy weight it will 
 bear." 
 
 " O no, by the Saints, I will never do that, 
 For there, noble Sir, I have ne'er before sat." 
 
 " Though thou ne'er hast placed thee upon my 
 
 bedside, 
 Thou hast slept in my arms embraced many a 
 
 tide. 
 
 " My spouse thou shalt be, yea, my heart's beloved 
 
 spouse, 
 And I in thine arms every night will repose." 
 
 C 
 
A TALE FROM THE CORNISH 
 
 In Lavan's parish once of yore, 
 Dwelt on the spot called Tshei an Hor, 
 A loving couple, man and wife, 
 But poverty distressed their life. 
 And thus the man his wife address'd : 
 " I'll wander forth of work in quest ; 
 And you, my dearest, you can earn 
 Your living here till I return." 
 
 His home he leaves, and, far from gay, 
 Towards the East he took his way. 
 At length a farmer's dwelling reaching, 
 He enter'd it, for work besecchinsj. 
 
A TARE FROM THE CORNISH 
 
 " What work canst do? " the fanner cried ; 
 " All kinds of work, Sir," John replied. 
 Then straight they for a year agree, 
 Three pounds the wages were to be. 
 
 And when the year to end had come 
 
 The master paid him down the sum. 
 
 "John," said his master, " here's your fee ; 
 
 But if- you'll it return to me, 
 
 A point of wisdom I will teach you." 
 
 Said John : " Give it me, I beseech you." 
 
 " No, no, to give is not my way." 
 
 " Take it," said John, " and say your say." 
 
 Quoth t'other : "This in memory hold : 
 
 Ne'er/or the new road leave the old!' 
 
 They for another year agree, 
 
 The wages just the same to be ; 
 
 And when the year its end had reached, 
 
 The farmer forth the three pounds fetched. 
 
 " John," said his master, " here's your fee, 
 
 But if you'll it return to me, 
 
io A TALE FROM THE CORNISH 
 
 A point of wisdom I will teach you." 
 " Give it me, Sir, I do beseech you." 
 "For nought 1 will not speak, not I." 
 " Well, take it then," was John's reply. 
 Quoth t'other : " Lodge not, for your life, 
 With an old man w/io's a young wife" 
 
 For yet a year they then agree, 
 The wages still the same to be. 
 And when the year to end had roll'd, 
 The three pounds out the master told. 
 " John," said the master, " here's your fee ; 
 But if you'll it return to me, 
 I'll the best point of wisdom learn you." 
 " For that. Sir, I'll the wage return you." 
 The farmer said : " Take this advice, 
 Ere striking once, bethink thee twice." 
 
 Now John would serve no longer there, 
 Home to his wife he would repair. 
 " Go not to-day," the farmer spake, 
 " To-morrow's my wife's day to bake ; 
 
A TALE FROM THE CORNISH 
 
 She shall for you prepare a cake 
 Home to your faithful wife to take." 
 
 The nine pounds in the loaf they hid, 
 And when John them adieu had bid, 
 The farmer cried : " I pray thee carry 
 This present home unto your deary ; 
 And as ye two there merry make, 
 Then, and not till then, part the cake." 
 
 John turned him homeward from the door ; 
 
 And when he reach'd St. Eler's Moor, 
 
 He met three Tre-ryn merchants there 
 
 Returning home from Exeter. 
 
 " We're glad to see thee, John," they cried, 
 
 " Where hast thou been this long, long tide ? " 
 
 Says John : " Im just from service come, 
 
 And to my wife am journeying home." 
 
 " O travel with us," cried all three, 
 
 " And very welcome shalt thou be." 
 
 Before them two roads they behold ; 
 They took the new, John kept the old. 
 
12 A TALE FROM THE CORNISH 
 
 And as they passed by Keou Tshoy Un, 
 
 When they had just lost sight of John, 
 
 Thieves set upon them furiously, 
 
 Whereat they raised a doleful cry, 
 
 Which reaching John's ears on his rout, 
 
 " Murder ! " and " Thieves ! " he bellowed out. 
 
 His clamour scared the robber train, 
 
 Whu from the merchants sped amain. 
 
 And when they came to Market Jew 
 
 They to their joy met John anew, 
 
 And cried : " What thanks we owe thee, John 
 
 We had for certain, every one, 
 
 Been ruined people, but for thee, 
 
 Come with us, thou'lt most welcome be." 
 
 And when they reached the hostelrie 
 At which it was their wont to lie, 
 Quoth John : " The master I must view." 
 " The master ! what with him wouldst do ? " 
 They answered, " we've a mistress here, 
 And young enough she is, and fair ; 
 
A TALE FROM THE CORNISH ij 
 
 To see the host, if you're inclined, 
 Him in the kitchen you will find." 
 
 Into the kitchen John he goes, 
 And sees the master of the house, 
 An ancient man who turned the spit. 
 " O, ho ! " said John, " this house I quit ; 
 No sleeping place of it I'll make, 
 But in the next will quarters take." 
 " Do not go yet," they cried all three, 
 " Stay, sup with us, thou 'It welcome be." 
 
 And now, with grief and shame, I say 
 
 That with a friar of orders grey 
 
 The mistress had contrived a plan 
 
 To murder the poor ancient man, 
 
 When sleep had bound the merchants fast, 
 
 And on their heads the crime to cast. 
 
 John in the next house that same night 
 Saw through a hole i' the wall a light. 
 So getting up and gently walking, 
 He heard the friar and woman talkingf. 
 
M A TALE FROM THE CORNISH 
 
 The friar said : " Against yon hole 
 My back I'll set, for fear some soul 
 From the next house our deeds should spy." 
 
 The hostess then most cruelly, 
 With a silk handkerchief she bore, 
 Murdered her ancient husband poor, 
 Strangled him did the accursed slut. 
 But meanwhile through the hole John cut 
 A round piece from the friar's gown, 
 And then in bed again lay down. 
 
 At morn ran out the hostess crying 
 That murdered was her husband lying ; 
 And since nor man nor child had been, 
 Except the merchants, in the inn, 
 The\' should be hanged withouten fail ; 
 They thereupon were led to jail. 
 John quickly them a visit paid. 
 " O, John ! we've evil luck, ' they said ; 
 " Last night the host was choked in bed, 
 And upon us the crime is laid." 
 
A TALE FROM THE CORNISH 15 
 
 " Dear gentlemen," was John's reply, 
 " Beseech the Justice instantly 
 To cause them who the murder wrought 
 Into his presence to be brought." 
 
 " But who knows who the deed has done ? " 
 They faltered forth ; then answered John : 
 " If I can't prove who did it, I 
 Will hang for it most willingly." 
 
 " Speak out," they cried. Said John : " Last 
 
 night, 
 Being in bed, I saw a light ; 
 I rose, as if I'd had a call — 
 There was a hole in the house wall, 
 'Gainst which his back a certain friar 
 Placed, thereby blinding it entire, 
 Lest, as he said, some curious eye 
 From the next house their deeds should spy. 
 I cut, meanwhile, to him unknown, 
 A large round piece from off his gown. 
 To prove that what I've said is true 
 I've in my pouch the piece to shew." 
 
16 A TALE FROM THE CORNISH 
 
 The merchants then were soon set free ; 
 The murderers died on gallows tree. 
 
 All three depart from Market Jew, 
 Together with their comrade true, 
 Far as Kuz earn na Huila went, 
 And thence their ways lay different. 
 Now though the merchants earnest were 
 That John should with them home repair, 
 He steadfastly refused their plea, 
 Longing his wife and home to see. 
 
 When of the merchants he lost sight 
 He lounged away his time till night. 
 He'd fain know whether, while he roved 
 Abroad, his consort faithful proved. 
 
 Arrived, he listened at the door, 
 And heard a man's voice, he was sure, 
 Within the bed ; his knife he drew, 
 Resolved to slay the guilty two. 
 But soon remembering the advice, 
 " Ere striking once, bethink thee tivice" 
 
A TALE FROM THE CORNISH 17 
 
 In hurry from the door he strode, 
 But soon returning knocked aloud. 
 
 " In name of God, who's there ?" she cried ; 
 
 " Tis I am here, wife," John replied. 
 
 (" Now in the name of blest Marie, 
 
 Whom heard I in her company ? ") 
 
 " If John thou art, pray enter free." 
 
 " First bring the light here," answered he. 
 
 'Twas brought, he stepped the threshold o'er. 
 
 Quoth he : " On coming to the door 
 
 I heard a man's voice in the bed." 
 
 " Ah, Johnny, when away you sped 
 
 In distant parts for work to roam, 
 
 I then with child was three months gone ; 
 
 In bed there lies a comely boy, 
 
 Unto us both he'll be a joy." 
 
 Said John, " I've something to disclose. 
 My master, when I left his house, 
 Gave me this cake I have in hand, 
 And with it sjave the strict command 
 
iS A TALE FROM THE CORNISH 
 
 When I with thee should merry make 
 Then and not till then it to break. 
 I'll now accomplish what he bade, 
 Mayhap we've wherefor to be glad." 
 
 They broke the cake in anxious haste, 
 
 The nine pounds in it, lo ! were placed. 
 
 They took the money, ate the bread, 
 
 And I for truth have heard it said 
 
 No quarrel e'er or noisy word 
 
 'Twixt them from that time forth occurr'd. 
 
 Now, Gentles all, my tale is done, 
 I hope it has your favour won ! 
 
SIR VERNER AND DAME INGEBORG 
 
 In Linholm's house 
 The swains they were drinking and making 
 carouse. 
 
 The Dames ne'er could so gallant a prisoner 
 keep in. 
 
 The swains they drank deep and they made 
 
 themselves gay, 
 And so did Sir Verner in prison that lay. 
 
 Dame Ingeborg woke, and she lifts up her eyes : 
 " O, which of my maidens doth sing in that 
 guise ? " 
 
 " O, none of your maidens can sing in such 
 
 guise, 
 'Tis Sir Verner who's singing, in durance he lies." 
 
20 SIR VERNER AND DAME INGEBORG 
 
 Dame Ingeborg straightway two servants 
 
 addressed : 
 " To come to my presence Sir Verner request." 
 
 In through the portal Sir Yerner he strode, 
 And up to receive him Dame Ingeborg stood. 
 
 To the cushion Dame Ingeborg points with a 
 
 smile : 
 " Go thither, Sir Verner, and rest thee awhile. 
 
 " Now hark thou, Sir Verner, what I to thee say : 
 I beg thou wilt sing me a pretty love lay." 
 
 "A love lay I've never learnt up to this hour, 
 But I'll sing to oblige thee the best in my 
 power." 
 
 Sir Verner began, and he sang such a lay, 
 That soon in deep slumber Dame Ingeborg lay. 
 
 The Dames and the maids fell to sleep and to 
 
 doze, 
 Dame Ingeborg sank to a peaceful repose. 
 
 Sir Verner he glanced then so cautiously round, 
 The keys great and small in a nook he has found. 
 
SIR VERNE R AND DAME INGE R ORG 21 
 
 To the door hied Sir Verner as fast as he might, 
 He forgot to bid Dame Ingeborga good-night. 
 
 When out of the castle himself he perceived, 
 His voice in a ditty again he upheaved. 
 
 Sir Verner he waved up his hat with delight : 
 " Dame Ingeborg bid ye a very good night ! 
 
 "And hear thou, Sir Warden, who stand'st on 
 
 thy watch, 
 Of my ditty the burden I pray thee to catch. 
 
 " She'd this e'en not have taken a bushel of gold, 
 Now no penny for me shall she ever behold." 
 
 So fast to the door went Sir Verner the knight, 
 He forgot to bid Damsel or Lady good-night. 
 
THE HEDDEBY SPECTRE 1 
 
 At evening fall I chanced to ride, 
 My courser to a tree I tied. 
 So wide thereof the story goes. 
 
 Against a stump my head I laid, 
 And then to slumber I essay'd. 
 So wide thereof the story goes. 
 
 As soon as sleep had closed my eye, 
 The murdered man to me drew nigh. 
 So wide thereof the story goes. 
 
 " And if thy race to mine belongs, 
 
 I call thee to avenge my wrongs. 
 
 So wide thereof the story goes. 
 
 1 An earlier, and utterly different, version of this ballad was 
 printed in Romantic Ballads, 1826, pp. 37-39. Borrow after- 
 wards described this earlier version as "a paraphrase." 
 
THE HEDDEKV SPECTRE 23 
 
 " And thou to Heddeby shalt ride. 
 
 For there my kith and kin reside. 
 
 So wide thereof the story goes. 
 
 " My father dwells there, and my mother, 
 There dwell my sister and my brother. 
 So tvide tliereof the story goes. 
 
 " There Kirsten dwells, my lovely wife, 
 And it was she who took my life. 
 So wide tliereof the story goes. 
 
 " Her sleeping husband stifled she, 
 
 With aid of cursed beldames three. 
 
 So wide thereof the story goes. 
 
 " Then in a truss of hay concealed, 
 They brought me forth to this wide field. 
 So wide thereof the story goes. 
 
 " The page I loved the best of all, 
 Now rides upon my courser tall. 
 So wide thereof the story goes. 
 
24 THE HEDDBBY SPECTRE 
 
 " Eats daily with my silver knife, 
 And sleeps with Kirsten fair, my wife. 
 So-ioide thereof t he story goes. 
 
 " He sitteth highest at the board, 
 
 My children tremble at his word. 
 
 So icicle thereof the story goes. 
 
 " To them he gives so little bread, 
 And mocks them now that I am dead. 
 So wide thereof the story goes. 
 
 " He rides about the forest grounds, 
 And hunts the red deer with my hounds. 
 So wide thereof the story goes. 
 
 " Each time the caitiff slays a deer, 
 He wakes me in my grave so drear. 
 So wide thereof the story goes. 
 
 " But if I to him once repair, 
 With him 'twill sorely, sorely fare." 
 So wide thereof the .story goes. 
 
FROM' GdUDELI 
 
 YksTERE'EN when the bat, and the owl, and his 
 mate, 
 Were holding discourse their small matters 
 
 about ; 
 And the sun, that the wee little stars might 
 shine out, 
 Had extinguished the lamp of his lustre so 
 great. 
 
 A shepherd exclaimed : " O 'twas foil}- that I 
 My love should bestow upon one never kind, 
 Upon Siris the lovely, whose cold, cruel mind, 
 
 Would suffer unmoved a true lover to die. 
 
26 FROM GOUDELI 
 
 " Often times, when our flocks on the common 
 
 did browse, 
 I'd approach her to pour in her ear my fond 
 
 vows, 
 But unto her companions to haste she was 
 
 sure. 
 O, light of my eyes ! wouldst thou render me 
 
 blest, - 
 
 And wouldst grant me two kisses on thy snowy 
 
 breast, 
 I swear that each one should an hour endure ! " 
 
PEASANT SONGS OF SPAIN 
 
 When Jesu our Redeemer 
 To him the twelve did call, 
 
 By threes and fours he called them, 
 Till they were mustered all. 
 
 And when they all were mustered, 
 'Twas thus to them he spake : 
 
 " O which of ye, my children, 
 Will perish for my sake?" 
 
 Then, gazing on each other, 
 They stood abashed and still ; 
 
 All save Saint John the Baptist, 
 And Peter of the Hill. 
 
28 PEASANT SONGS OF SPAIN 
 
 " We'll die for thee, O Jesus, 
 Upon to-morrow's morn." 
 
 For him died John the Baptist, 
 And suffered pain and scorn. 
 
 2. 
 
 There stands a stone, a rounded stone, 
 'Midst ocean's surges hoary, 
 
 On which sweet Jesus set his foot 
 When mounting to his glory. 
 
 There grows a rose, a blooming rose, 
 'Midst ocean's briny waters, 
 
 That o'er may pass, to hear the mass, 
 Havanah's dusky daughters. 
 
 London : 
 Frinted for THOMAS J. WISE, Hanipstead. N W. 
 
 Edition limited to Thirty Copies. 
 
YOUNG SWAIGDER 
 
 OK 
 
 THE FORCE OF RUNES 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 1913 
 
YOUNG SWAIGDER 
 
 OR 
 
 THE FORCE OF RUNES 
 
YOUNG SWAIGDER 
 
 OR 
 
 THE FORCE OF RUNES 
 
 AND OTHER BALLADS 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE BORROW 
 
 London : 
 PRINTED FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION 
 
 "9ij 
 
Copyright in the United States of America 
 hy Houghton, Mifflin & Co. for Clement Shorter. 
 
YOUNG SWAIGDER 
 
 OR 
 
 THE FORCE OF RUNES 
 
 It was the young Swaigder, 
 With the little ball he played ; 
 
 The ball flew into the Damsel's lap, 
 And pale her cheeks it made. 
 
 The ball flew into the Damsel's bower. 
 
 He went of it in quest ; 
 Before he out of the bower came, 
 
 Much care had filled his breast! 
 
 " The ball, the ball thou shouldst not fling, 
 
 Shouldst cast it not at me ; 
 There sits a maid in a foreign land, 
 
 She sighs and weeps for thee. 
 
YOUNG SWA1GDER 
 
 " Thou never more shalt peace obtain, 
 
 Or close in sleep thine eyes, 
 Till thou has freed the lovely maid, 
 
 In thrall for thee that lies." 
 
 It was the young Swaigder, 
 Placed his cap upon his head, 
 
 And into the high chamber 
 Unto his knights he sped. 
 
 " Here, quaffing mead from out the shell 
 
 Sit ye, my Courtmen bold, 
 Whilst I go to the mountain drear, 
 
 Speech with the Dead to hold ! 
 
 " Here, quaffing mead and ruddy wine, 
 
 Sit ye my men so brave, 
 Whilst I go to the mountain drear, 
 
 With my mother speech to have ! " 
 
 It was the young Swaigder, 
 
 And he began to call — 
 Riven were wall and marble stone, 
 
 And the hill began to fall. 
 
YOUNG SWAIGDER 
 
 " Who is it breaks my sleep, 
 And works me such annoy ? 
 
 Deep, deep below the earth so swart 
 Can I not peace enjoy ? " 
 
 " O, it is the young Swaigder, 
 The son thou lovest dear ; 
 
 He fain would good advice from thee, 
 His darling mother, hear. 
 
 " For I have now a step-mother, 
 
 So harsh she is of mood, 
 And she upon me Runes has cast 
 
 For a maid I ne'er have view'd.' 
 
 " I will give thee a noble horse, 
 Shall bear thee at thy need, 
 
 And he will run upon the sea 
 As on the verdant mead. 
 
 " And I will to thee a napkin give, 
 
 'Tis of Ager wool entire, 
 Before thee on the board shall stand, 
 
 What meat thou shalt desire. 
 
 c 
 
YOUNG SWArGDER 
 
 " I will to thee a deer's horn give, 
 Mark well its golden gleam ; 
 
 All the drink thou wishest for, 
 
 From the golden horn shall stream. 
 
 " And I will give to thee a sword. 
 Hardened in Dragon's blood : 
 
 It will glitter like a beam 
 
 When thou ridest through the wood. 
 
 " I will give to thee a barque, 
 Its white sails silk shall be ; 
 
 Shall move as well on the verdant earth 
 As on the foaming sea." 
 
 Their silken sails on the gilded yard 
 So wide, so wide they spread ; 
 
 Away they sailed to the distant land, 
 \\ here dwelt the lovely maid. 
 
 And they have cast their anchors 
 
 Upon the yellow sand ; 
 It was the young Swaigder 
 
 Who stepped the first to land. 
 
YOUNG SWAIGDER 
 
 It was the young Swaigder, 
 
 His ship to the shore he steers ; 
 
 And the first man there that met him, 
 Was a man of many years. 
 
 It was then the ancient man 
 Was the first to make enquire : 
 
 " 0, what is the name of the young swain 
 With the sword, and the look of fire ? " 
 
 '• 0, he is hight young Swaigder, 
 
 So wide his fame doth fly ; 
 And he for a maid is pining sore 
 
 On whom he ne'er set eye." 
 
 " There is within this land a maid, 
 
 Who pining long hath been 
 For a swain that hight is Swaigder, 
 
 And him she ne'er has seen." 
 
 "If longs she after a young swain 
 
 On whom she ne'er set eye, 
 And he is hight young Swaigder, 
 
 He is here in verity. 
 
io YOUNG SWAIGDER 
 
 " Now do thou hear, thou ancient man, 
 
 If it as thou sayest be, 
 Become I King upon this land, 
 
 I'll make a Count of thee." 
 
 " 'Midst of yonder verdant wood 
 Stands the castle of the maid ; 
 
 The house is of gray marble stone, 
 The court with steel belaid. 
 
 " The house is of grey marble stone 
 The court with steel is floored, 
 
 The portal is of ruddy gold, 
 Twelve bears before it guard. 
 
 " In middle of the maiden's court 
 
 A linden spreads its shade, 
 1 f truly thou art Swaigder, 
 
 Hie forward unafraid." 
 
 Away then rode young Swaigder, 
 Cast towards the gate his eye ; 
 
 And all the locks that before it hung, 
 Down fell they instantly. 
 
YOUNG SWAIGDEQ n 
 
 Then withered the leaf, then withered the linden, 
 And the grass at the linden's root ; 
 
 And the twelve bears who the portal guard 
 They fell at the hero's foot 
 
 When he came into the castle-court, 
 
 He smoothed his array, 
 Then proudly up to the high, high hall 
 
 To the King he took his way. 
 
 " Hail to thee, hail to thee, heathen King, 
 
 Who dost at the wide board sit, 
 Wilt thou give me thy daughter fair ? 
 
 Return me an answer fit." 
 
 " I have no daughter, I have no daughter, 
 
 No daughter but one have I ; 
 And she so sorely longing 
 
 For a young swain doth lie. 
 
 " For a young swain whom she has never seen 
 
 My daughter longing lies ; 
 The swain he hight is Swaigder, 
 
 So far his fame it hies." 
 
12 YOUNG SWAIGDER 
 
 In went the little serving boy, 
 
 Wore a kirtle white to see : 
 " If thou dost long for Swaigder, 
 
 Know that hither come is he." 
 
 In then came the lovely maid, 
 
 In white silk clad was she : 
 " Now welcome, welcome my dearest heart, 
 
 Young Swaigder, welcome be ! " 
 
 "Wilt thou consent baptized to be, 
 And the Christian faith receive, 
 
 And follow me to Denmark 
 
 With young Swaigder to live ? " 
 
 " Willingly I baptized will be, 
 Will the Christian faith receive ; 
 
 And will follow thee to Denmark, 
 Young Swaigder, with thee to live." 
 
 On a Thursday she baptized was, 
 She the Christian faith received ; 
 
 On a Sunday they their bridal held, 
 And ever in peace they lived. 
 
YOUNG SWAIGDER 13 
 
 They kept their bridal feast for a day, 
 
 They kept the same for nine ; 
 And there sat waiting the ancient man, 
 
 And through all of them did pine. 
 
 Be thanks to brave young Swaigder, 
 
 He kept so well his word ; 
 A Knight he made of that ancient man, 
 
 Set him highest at the board. 
 
 Now joyful is young Swaigder, 
 
 His trouble all has fled ; 
 He King became upon that land, 
 
 She Queen, when her sire was dead. 
 
THE HAIL STORM 1 
 
 As in Horunga haven 
 We fed the crow and raven, 
 I heard the tempest breaking 
 Of demon Thorgerd's waking ; 
 Sent by the fiend in anger, 
 With din and stunning clangor ; 
 To crush our might intended, 
 Gigantic hail descended. 
 
 A pound the smallest pebble 
 Did weigh, and others treble ; 
 It drifted, dealing slaughter, 
 And blood ran out like water, 
 
 1 This is a much later, and greatly improved, version of the 
 ballad which first appeared in Romantic fia//a.is, 1826, pp. 
 136-138, and afterwards in Targum, 1835: pp. 42-43. 
 
THE HAIL STORM 
 
 Ran recking, red and horrid, 
 From battered check and forehead 
 But, though so rudeiy greeted, 
 No Jornsberg man retreated. 
 
 With anger ever sharper, 
 Thorgerda fierce, and Yrpr, 
 Shot lightning from each finger, 
 Which sped and did not linger. 
 Then sank our brave in numbers 
 To cold, eternal slumbers ; 
 There lay the good and gallant, 
 Renowned for warlike talent. 
 
 To bide the storm unable 
 Our chieftain hewed his cable, 
 And with his ship departed — 
 We follow, broken-hearted ; 
 For in Horunga haven 
 Our bravest feed the raven ; 
 We did our best, but no men 
 Can stand 'gainst hail and foemen. 
 
ROSMER MEREMAN 1 
 
 In Denmark once a lady dwelt, 
 
 Hellelil the name she bore ; 
 A castle new that lady built, 
 
 It shone all Denmark o'er. 
 
 Her daughter dear was stolen away, 
 
 She sought for her far and near ; 
 The more she sought the less she found, 
 
 To her great distress and care. 
 
 She bid a noble ship be built, 
 
 Therein gilt masts did stand ; 
 With valiant knights and courtmen bold 
 
 She caused it to be manned. 
 
 1 This ballad should be read in conjunction with Kosmer, 
 printed in The Mermaid's Prophecy, and other Songs relating lo 
 Queen Dagmar, 1913, pp. 25-3Q. 
 
RGSMER MEREMAN 17 
 
 Her sons she followed to the strand, 
 
 With many a fond caress ; 
 For eight long years they sailed away, 
 
 Enduring much distress. 
 
 For eight years had they sailed away, 
 
 So long they thought the tide, 
 When they sailed before a lofty hill, 
 
 And straight to land they hied. 
 
 Then peeped the Damsel Swanclil 
 
 Forth from the mountain brow : 
 " O whence can be these stranger swains, 
 
 As guests that seek us now ?" 
 
 The youngest brother then replied, 
 
 So ready of speech was he : 
 " A widow's three poor sons we are, 
 
 So long we've sailed the sea. 
 
 " Dame Hellelil our mother is, 
 
 We were born on Denmark's ground ; 
 
 From us our sister stolen was, 
 And her we have yet not found." 
 
1 8 ROSMER ME RE. WAN 
 
 "If thou wert born on Danish ground, 
 And Dame Hellelil be thy mother 
 
 Then I thy beloved sister am 
 
 And thou art my youngest brother. 
 
 " Now do thou hear, my youngest brother, 
 
 Why didst not at home remain ? 
 If thou hadst a thousand thousand lives 
 
 Thou none of them couldst retain." 
 
 She placed him in the smallest nook 
 
 She could in the house espy : 
 She bade him for sake of the highest God, 
 
 Neither to laugh nor cry. 
 
 Rosmer came from the ocean home, 
 
 And straight he fell to bann : 
 " O I can smell by my right hand 
 
 That here is a Christian man." 
 
 " A Bird with a dead man's shank in its mouth, 
 
 Chanced over our house to fly ; 
 He cast it in, I cast it out, 
 
 And that full speedily." 
 
ROSMER MEREMAN 19 
 
 A noble meal she then prepared, 
 
 And she gave him many a kiss : 
 " O here is come my sister's son , 
 
 It would grieve me him to miss. 
 
 " My sister's son is here arrived 
 
 From the land where I first drew breath ; 
 Now give him, my lord, thy firm, firm oath, 
 
 Thou'lt do unto him no scathe." 
 
 "If here has come thy sister's son 
 
 From the native land of both, 
 To do him ne'er any kind of hurt, 
 
 I swear by my highest oath." 
 
 It was the lofty Rosmer King 
 
 To two serving swains did call : 
 " Bid ye proud Swanelil's sister's son 
 
 Attend me in the hall." 
 
 It was Swanelil's sister's son, 
 
 Before Rosmer should appear ; 
 His heart it fluttered, his body it shivered, 
 
 He stood in such mighty fear,. 
 
20 ROSMER MEREMAN 
 
 Then took Rosmer her sister's son, 
 
 Placed him upon his knee ; 
 He stroked him so tenderly on the face 
 
 That 'twas yellow and blue to see. . 
 
 Then answered proud Dame Swanelil : 
 " Thou forget'st, Sjr Rosmer, mayhap. 
 
 Thou hast not fingers small enough 
 To stroke so little a chap." 
 
 And he was there till the years were five, 
 Then he longed for his native land : 
 
 " Now cause, O sister Swanelil, 
 
 That I'm set on the yellow strand." 
 
 It was proud Dame Swanelil 
 
 'Fore Rosmer goes to stand ; 
 " The swain so long has been by the sea, 
 
 That he sighs for his native land." 
 
 "If the swain has been so long by the sea 
 That he sighs for his native land, 
 
 I will give him a chest of gold, 
 To be subject to his hand." 
 
ROSMER MEREMAN 21 
 
 " Wilt thou give him a chest of gold, 
 
 To be subject to his hand ? 
 Hear thou now, my noble heart's dear, 
 
 Take him to his native land." 
 
 It was proud Dame Swanelil, 
 
 So cunning a trick she played ; 
 She took thereout the ruddy gold all, 
 
 And herself in the chest she laid. 
 
 He took the man upon his back, 
 
 And the chest in his mouth he's ta'en ; 
 
 And so he went the long, long way 
 Across the land and the main. 
 
 " Now have I borne thee to thy land, 
 
 Thou seest both sun and moon ; 
 I conjure thee by the highest God 
 
 Name Swanelil to none." 
 
 Rosmer sprang into the sea amain, 
 
 The water splashed to the sky ; 
 And when he came to the mountain home 
 
 No Swanelil could he spy, 
 
22 ROSAfER MEREMAN 
 
 When he came to the mountain home 
 Gone was the belov'd of his heart ; 
 
 He sprang so wild about the hill, 
 And changed to a flint rock swart. 
 
 There was rejoicing in Hellelil's court, 
 They rejoiced in many a way ; 
 
 Back to their friends her children are come, 
 Who had been so long away. 
 
THE WICKED STEPMOTHER 
 No. II. 1 
 
 SIR PETER o'er to the island strayed — 
 
 All underneath a linden wide. 
 He weds Mcttclil, so fair a maid— 
 
 In such peril with her through the forest ride. 
 
 Bracelets of gold he given her hath, 
 That fills his mother's breast with wrath. 
 
 " If thou wed a maid against my desire, 
 With her first babe she shall expire ! " 
 
 He weds her and home he her has ta'en, 
 To meet her his mother will not deign. 
 
 1 This ballad should be compared with The WUked Step- 
 mother, primed in The Dalby Bear and Other Ballads, 191 j, 
 pp. 14-20. 
 
2+ THE WICKED STEPMOTHER 
 
 When they together a year had dwelt, 
 Herself with child proud Mettelil felt. 
 
 Out and in they Mettelil bear, 
 Death has to her approached so near. 
 
 " Since neither live nor die I may, 
 
 Take me whence a maid ye brought me away." 
 
 Thereto the Stepmother made reply, 
 She was tow'rds her disposed maliciously : 
 
 " The horses graze upon the mead, 
 
 And the coach swains heavy they sleep in bed." 
 
 Sir Peter he stood a little apart, 
 Mettelil has so grieved his heart. 
 
 The coach to her country was turned in haste, 
 And the horses before it were quickly placed. 
 
 And when they came to the verdant moor, 
 Her chariot broke into pieces four. 
 
 "What mighty crime can I have done, 
 
 That my own coach 'neath me will not run ? " 
 
THE WICKED STEPMOTHER 2 
 
 Sir Peter at no great distance hied, 
 He was so near he all espied. 
 
 " We forthwith will find a remedy, 
 Thou shalt ride and walk will I." 
 
 " Each noble Uame will know how fit, 
 I am in this plight in the saddle to sit." 
 
 Proud Mettelil came to her father's abode, 
 Her father abroad to receive her strode. 
 
 " Welcome, Mettelil, daughter mine, 
 
 How speedest thou with that burden of thine ? ' 
 
 " So speeding am I, such plight I am in, 
 That upon this earth no rest can I win." 
 
 Little Kirsten a may was of goodness rife, 
 Dearly she loved her brother's wife. 
 
 She to her brother was true of heart. 
 Of wax two babes she formed with art. 
 
26 THE WICKED STEPMOTHER 
 
 She wrapt them up in the linen fair, 
 
 And took them beneath her cloak with care. 
 
 She took them beneath her cloak with care, 
 And them to her mother she straightway bare. 
 
 " My dearest mother, no longer grieve, 
 
 The babes of your son in your arms receive." 
 
 " Has Mettelil forth these little sons brought ? 
 Then my dark Runes have availed nought. 
 
 " Air and earth I have spelled, save the spot 
 
 alone, 
 The little spot, my chest stood upon. 
 
 " Oh I enchanted have as wide 
 As she could either walk or ride. 
 
 " I have enchanted both earth and wood, 
 Save the spot whereon my chest it stood." 
 
 No sooner she the words had said, 
 
 Than proud Mettelil on the place was laid. 
 
THE WICKED STEPMOTHER 27 
 
 And when she had come where stood the chest, 
 Straight of two sons was she released. 
 
 That Sir Peter's mother so mortified, 
 Full quickly of rage and spite she died. 
 
London : 
 Printed for THOMAS J. WISH, Hampstead, N.W. 
 
 Edition limited to Thirty Copies