We crept on knees, and held our breath,

Till we placed the ladders against the wa'; And sae ready was Buccleuch himsell

To mount the first before us a'.

He has ta'en the watchman by the throat,
He flung him down upon the lead:
'Had there not been peace between our lands,
Upon the other side thou'dst gaed!

Now sound out, trumpets!' quo' Buccleuch;
'Let's waken Lord Scroope right merrilie!'
Then loud the warden's trumpet blew

O wha dare meddle wi' me?

THE RESCUE

Then speedilie to wark we gaed,
And raised the slogan ane and a',
And cut a hole through a sheet of lead,
And so we wan to the castle ha'.

They thought King James and a' his men
Had won the house wi' bow and spear;

It was but twenty Scots and ten

That put a thousand in sic a stear!

Wi' coulters and wi' forehammers
We garred the bars bang merrilie,
Until we came to the inner prison,
Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie.

And when we cam' to the lower prison,
Where Willie o' Kinmont he did lie:

'O sleep ye, wake ye, Kinmont Willie, Upon the morn that thou's to die?'

'O I sleep saft, and I wake aft;

It's lang since sleeping was fleyed frae me! Gie my service back to my wife and bairns, And a' gude fellows that spier for me.'

Then Red Rowan has hente him up,

The starkest man in Teviotdale: 'Abide, abide now, Red Rowan,

Till of my Lord Scroope I take farewell.

Farewell, farewell, my gude Lord Scroope!

My gude Lord Scroope, farewell!' he cried; 'I'll pay you for my lodging maill,

When first we meet on the Border side.'

Then shoulder high with shout and cry
We bore him down the ladder lang;
At every stride Red Rowan made,

I wot the Kinmont's airns played clang. 'O mony a time,' quo' Kinmont Willie, 'I have ridden horse baith wild and wood; But a rougher beast than Red Rowan I ween my legs have ne'er bestrode.

And mony a time,' quo' Kinmont Willie,
'I've pricked a horse out oure the furs;
But since the day I backed a steed,
I never wore sic cumbrous spurs!'

We scarce had won the Staneshaw-Bank
When a' the Carlisle bells were rung,

And a thousand men on horse and foot
Cam' wi' the keen Lord Scroope along.
Buccleuch has turned to Eden Water,

Even where it flowed frae bank to brim, And he has plunged in wi' a' his band,

And safely swam them through the stream. He turned him on the other side,

And at Lord Scroope his glove flung he: 'If ye like na my visit in merrie England, In fair Scotland come visit me!'

All sore astonished stood Lord Scroope,
He stood as still as rock of stane;
He scarcely dared to trew his eyes,
When through the water they had gane.
'He is either himsell a devil frae hell,
Or else his mother a witch maun be;
I wadna have ridden that wan water
For a' the gowd in Christentie.'

XXX

THE HONOUR OF BRISTOL

ATTEND you, and give ear awhile,
And you shall understand
Of a battle fought upon the seas

By a ship of brave command.

The fight it was so glorious

Men's hearts it did ful-fill,

And it made them cry, 'To sea, to sea,
With the Angel Gabriel!'

This lusty ship of Bristol

Sailed out adventurously Against the foes of England,

Her strength with them to try:

Well victualled, rigged, and manned she was,
With good provision still,

Which made men cry, 'To sea, to sea,
With the Angel Gabriel!'

The Captain, famous Netherway
(That was his noble name):

The Master-he was called John Mines—
A mariner of fame:

The Gunner, Thomas Watson,

A man of perfect skill:

With many another valiant heart

In the Angel Gabriel.

They waving up and down the seas

Upon the ocean main,

'It is not long ago,' quoth they,

"That England fought with Spain: O would the Spaniard we might meet Our stomachs to fulfil!

We would play him fair a noble bout
With our Angel Gabriel!'

They had no sooner spoken

But straight appeared in sight

Three lusty Spanish vessels

Of warlike trim and might;

With bloody resolution

They thought our men to spill,

And they vowed that they would make a prize Of our Angel Gabriel.

Our gallant ship had in her
Full forty fighting men:
With twenty piece of ordnance
We played about them then,
With powder, shot, and bullets
Right well we worked our will,
And hot and bloody grew the fight
With our Angel Gabriel.

Our Captain to our Master said,
"Take courage, Master bold!'
Our Master to the seamen said,
'Stand fast, my hearts of gold!'
Our Gunner unto all the rest,

'Brave hearts, be valiant still! Fight on, fight on in the defence Of our Angel Gabriel!'

We gave them such a broadside,
It smote their mast asunder,
And tore the bowsprit off their ship,
Which made the Spaniards wonder,
And caused them in fear to cry,
With voices loud and shrill,

'Help, help, or sunken we shall be
By the Angel Gabriel!'