And some for kyne, and some for ewes,
Call'd in of Dandrie, Hob, and Jock-

4

We saw, come marching ower the knows,
Five hundred Fennicks' in a flock,-

With jack and speir, and bows all bent,
And warlike weapons at their will:
Although we were na weel content,

Yet, by my troth, we fear'd no ill.
Some gaed to drink, and some stude still,
And some to cards and dice them sped;
Till on ane Farnstein they fyled a bill,
And he was fugitive and fled.

Carmichaell bade them speik out plainlie,
And cloke no cause for ill nor good;
The other, answering him as vainlie,
Began to reckon kin and blood:

6

He raise, and raxed him where he stood,

And bade him match him with his marrows;

I These are districts, or dales, on the English Border.

2 Mr. George Ellis suggests, with great probability, that this is a mistake, not for Hebburne, but for Hexham, which, with its territory, formed a county independent of Northumberland, with which it is here ranked.

3 Rowes-Rolls.

4 [Dandrie, Dandy, and Dand, are corruptions of Andrew,

familiar in the south of Scotland.]

5 The Fenwicks; a powerful and numerous Northumberland clan.-The original seat of this ancient family was at Fenwick tower, long since ruinous; but, from the time of Henry IV., their principal mansion was Wallington, Sir John Fenwick, attainted and executed for treason in the reign of William III., represented the chieftain of this clan.

6 Raise-Rose.

Raxed him-Stretched himself up. Marrows-Equals.

Then Tindaill heard them reasun rude,
And they loot off a flight of arrows.

Then was there nought but bow and speir,
And every man pull'd out a brand;
66
"A Schafton and a Fenwick" thare:
Gude Symington was slain frae hand.
The Scotsmen cried on other to stand,
Frae time they saw John Robson slain-
What should they cry? the King's command
Could cause no cowards turn again.

Up rose the laird to red the cumber, '

Which would not be for all his boast;-
What could we doe with sic a number-
Fyve thousand men into a host?
Then Henry Purdie proved his cost,2
And very narrowlie had mischief'd him,
And there we had our warden lost,
Wert not the grit God he relieved him.

Another throw the breiks him bair.

Whill flatlies to the ground he fell:
Than thought I weel we had lost him there,
Into my stomack it struck a knell!

Yet up he raise, the treuth to tell ye,
And laid about him dints full dour;
His horsemen they raid sturdily,
And stude about him in the stoure.

Then raise the slogan with ane shout

"Fy, Tindaill, to it! Jedburgh's here!"

I trow he was not half sae stout,

3 The gathering word peculiar to a certain name, or set of people, was termed slogan or slughorn, and was always repeated at an onset.

But, &c.-Till once his anger was set up.

5 Genzie-Engine of war.

But up amang the merchant geir,
They were as busy as we were down.

2

The swallow taill frae tackles flew,'
Five hundredth flain into a flight.
But we had pestelets enew,

And shot among them as we might.
With help of God the game gaed right,
Fra time the foremost of them fell;

Then ower the know, without goodnight,
They ran with mony a shout and yell.

I The Scots, on this occasion, seem to have had chiefly firearms; the English retain. ing still their partiality for their ancient weapon, the longbow.

2 Flain-Arrows; hitherto absurdly printed slain.

3 The ballad maker here ascribes the victory to the real cause; for the English Borderers dispersing to plunder the merchandise, gave the opposite party time to recover from their surprise. It seems to have been usual for travelling merchants to attend Border meetings, although one would have thought the kind of company usually assembled there might have deterred them.

4 This gentleman was third son of Francis Earl of Bedford, and father to Edward Earl of Bedford. He was, at this time, chamberlain of Berwick, and Governor of Tinmouth Castle. He was afterwards killed in a fray of a similar nature, at a Border meeting between the same Sir John Forster, (his father in law) and Thomas Ker of Fairnihurst, A, D. 1585.

5 Fenwick of Wallington, a powerful Northumbrian chief.

5

Howbeit he might not fight so fast;
Beanjeddart, Hundlie, and Hunthill, *
Three, on they laid weel at the last.
Except the horsemen of the guard,
If I could put men to availe,

None stoutlier stood out for their laird,
Nor did the lads of Liddisdail.

1 Sir Cuthbert Collingwood of Eslington, Sheriff of Northumberland, the 10th and 20th of Elizabeth. [The late gallant Admiral Lord Collingwood was of this family.] Besides these gentlemen, James Ogle, and many other Northumbrians of note, were made prisoners. Sir George Heron, of Chipchase and Ford, was slain, to the great regret of both parties, being a man highly esteemed by the Scots as well as the English. When the prisoners were brought to Morton, at Dalkeith, and among other presents, received from him some Scottish falcons, one of his train observed, that the English were nobly treated, since they got live hawks for dead herons.-GODSCROFT.

2 The Shaftoes are an ancient family settled at Bavington, in Northumberland, since the time of Edward I.

3 An ancient family on the Borders.

1 Graden, a family of Kers.

5 Douglas of Beanjeddart, an ancient branch of the house of Cavers, possessing property near the junction of the Jed and Teviot. Hundlie.-Rutherford of Hundlie, or Hundalee, situated on the Jed above Jedburgh. Hunthill.—The old tower of Hunthill was situated about a mile above Jedburgh. It was the patrimony of an ancient family of Rutherfords.

Sir Andrew Turnbull of Bedrule, upon Rule Water.

Gude Edderstane ' was not to lack,
Nor Kirktoun, Newton, noble men!"
Thir's all the specials I of speake,
By others that I could not ken.

3

Who did invent that day of play,

We need not fear to find him soon;
For Sir John Forster, I dare well say,
Made us this noisome afternoon.
Not that I speak preceislie out,
That he supposed it would be perril;

But pride, and breaking out of feuid,
Garr'd Tindaill lads begin the quarrel."

I An ancient family of Rutherfords.

2 Kirktown. The parish of Kirktoun belonged, I believe, about this time, to a branch of the Cavers family; but Kirkton of Stewartfield is mentioned in the list of Border clans in 1597. Newton-This is probably Grinyslaw of Little Newton, mentioned in the said roll of Border clans.

In addition to what has been said of the ferocity of the Reedsdale and Tynedale men, may be noticed a by-law of the incorporated Merchant-adventurers of Newcastle, in 1564, which, alleging evil repute of these districts for thefts and felonies, enacts, that no apprentices shall be taken “proceeding from such leude and wicked progenitors," This law, though in desuetude, subsisted until 1771.

ANECDOTE.

As Dr. Hutton (when bishop of Durham) was travelling over Cam, between Wensleydale and Ingleton, he suddenly dismounted, and having delivered his horse to a servant walked to a particular place at some distance from the highway, where he kneeled down, and continued for some time in prayer. On his return one of his attendants took the liberty of enquiring what was his master's motive for so singular an act; in answer to which the bishop informed him, that when he was a poor boy, without shoes or stockings, traversing this wild and bleak mountain on a frosty day, he remembered that he had disturbed a red cow, then lying on that identical place, in order to warm his feet and legs on the spot.-Whittaker's Richmondshire.