"In the hinder end of harvest, on All-hallowe'en, Some hobland on a hemp-stalk, hovand to the hight; Into a pot by Pomathorne; They fand a monster on the morn, plished on Hallowe'en, at the great annual procession | circumstance, the natural consequence of her disease, of the Fairy court. Of this procession the follow- led some of the spectators to think that she had been ing description is found in Montgomery's Flyting carried off by the Fairies, and that the body before against Polwart, apud Watson's collection of Scots them was some elfin deception. The husband, proPoems, 1790, Part III. p. 12. bably, paid little attention to this opinion at the time. The body was interred, and after a decent time had elapsed, finding his domestic affairs absolutely required female superintendence, the widower paid his addresses to a young woman in the neighbourhood. The recollection, however, of his former wife, whom he had tenderly loved, haunted his slumbers; and, one morning, he came to the clergyman of the parish in the utmost dismay, declaring that she had appeared to him the preceding night, informed him that she was a captive in Fairy Land, and conjured him to attempt her deliverance. She directed him to bring the minister and certain other persons, whom she named, to her grave at midnight. Her body was then to be dug up, and certain prayers recited; after which the corpse was to become animated, and fly from them. One of the assistants, the swiftest runner in the parish, was to pursue the body; and, if he was able to seize it, before it had thrice encircled the church, the rest were to come to his assistance, and detain it, in spite of the struggles it should use, and the various shapes into which it might be transformed. The redemption of the abstracted person was then to become complete. The minister, a sensible man, argued with his parishioner upon the indecency and absurdity of what was proposed, and dismissed him. Next Sunday, the banns being for the first time proclaimed betwixt the widower and his new bride, his former wife, very naturally, took the opportunity of the following night to make him another visit, yet more terrific than the former. She upbraided him with his incredulity, his fickleness, and his want of affection; and to convince him that her appearance was no aërial illusion, she gave suck, in his presence, to her youngest child. The man, under the greatest horror of mind, had again recourse to the pastor; and his ghostly counsellor fell upon an admirable expedient to console him. This was nothing less than dispensing with the formal solemnity of banns, and marrying him, without an hour's delay, to the young woman to whom he was affianced; after which no spectre again disturbed his repose.' The catastrophe of Tamlane terminated more successfully than that of other attempts, which tradition still records. The wife of a farmer in Lothian had been carried off by the Fairies, and, during the year of probation, repeatedly appeared on Sunday, in the midst of her children, combing their hair. On one of these occasions she was accosted by her husband; when she related to him the unfortunate event which had separated them, instructed him by what means he might win her, and exhorted him to exert all his courage, since her temporal and eternal happiness depended on the success of his attempt. The farmer, who ardently loved his wife, set out on Hallowe'en, and, in the midst of a plot of furze, waited impatiently for the procession of the Fairies. At the ringing of the Fairy bridles, and the wild unearthly sound which accompanied the cavalcade, his heart failed him, and he suffered the ghostly train to pass by without interruption. When the last had rode past, the whole troop vanished, with loud shouts of laughter and exultation; among which he plainly discovered the voice of his wife, lamenting that he had lost her for ever. A similar, but real incident, took place at the town of North Berwick, within the memory of man. The wife of a man above the lowest class of society, being left alone in the house a few days after delivery, was attacked and carried off by one of those convulsionfits, incident to her situation. Upon the return of the family, who had been engaged in haymaking, or harvest, they found the corpse much disfigured. This See the inimitable poem of Hallowe'en— "Upon that night, when Fairies light Or o'er the leas, in splendid blaze, To these I have now to add the following instance of redemption from Fairy Land. The legend is printed from a broadside still popular in Ireland : to her situation; when near the hour of twelve at night they were alarmed with a dreadful noise, at which of a sudden the candles went out, which drove the attendants in the utmost confusion; soon as the women regained their half-lost senses, they called in their neighbours, who, after striking up lights, and looking towards the lying-in woman, found her a corpse, which caused great confusion in the family. There was no grief could exceed that of her husband, who. next morning, prepared ornaments for "Near the town of Aberdeen, in Scotland, lived James Camp-her funeral; people of all sects came to her wake, amongst bell, who had one daughter, named Mary, who was married to John Nelson, a young man of that neighbourhood. Shortly after their marriage, they being a young couple, they went to live in the town of Aberdeen, where he followed his trade, being a goldsmith; they lived loving and agreeable together until the time of her lying-in, when there was female attendants prepared suitable others came the Rev. Mr. Dodd, who, at first sight of the corpse, said, It's not the body of any Christian, but that Mrs. Nelson was taken away by the Fairies, and what they took for her was only some substance left in her place. He was not believed, so he refused attending her funeral; they kept her in the following night, and the next day she was interred. Having concluded these general observations upon the Fairy superstition, which, although minute, may not, I hope, be deemed altogether uninteresting, I proceed to the more particular illustrations, relating to The Tale of the Young Tamlane. The following ballad, still popular in Ettrick Forest, where the scene is laid, is certainly of much greater antiquity than its phraseology, gradually modernized as transmitted by tradition, would seem to denote. The Tale of the Young Tamlane is mentioned in the Complaynt of Scotland; and the air, to which it was chanted, seems to have been accommodated to a particular dance; for the dance of Thom of Lynn, another variation of Thomalin, likewise occurs in the same performance. Like every popular subject, it seems to have been frequently parodied; and a burlesque ballad, beginning, "Her husband, one evening after sunset, being riding in his own field, heard a most pleasant concert of music, and soon after espied a woman coming towards him drest in white; she being veiled, he could not observe her face, yet he rode near her, and asked her very friendly who she was that chose to walk alone so late in the evening? at which she unveiled her face, and burst into tears, saying, I am not permitted to tell you who I am. He knowing her to be his wife, asked her, in the name of God, what disturbed her, or occasioned her to appear at that hour? She said her appearing at any hour was of no consequence; for though you believe me to be dead and buried, I am not, but was taken away by the Fairies the night of my delivery; you only buried a piece of wood in my place; I can be recovered if you take proper means; as for my child, it has three nurses to attend it, but I fear it cannot be brought home; the greatest dependence I have on any person is my brother Robert, who is a captain of a merchant ship, and will be home in ten days hence. Her husband asked her what means he should take to win her? She told him he should find a letter the Sunday morning following, on the desk in his own room, directed to her brother, wherein there would be directions for winning her. Since my being taken from you I have had the attendance of a queen or empress, and if you look over my right shoulder you will see several of my companious; he then did as she desired, when, at a small distance, he saw a king and queen sitting, beside a moat, on a throne, in splendour. "She then desired him to look right and left, which he did, and observed other kings on each side of the king and queen, well guarded. He said, I fear it is an impossibility to win you from such a place. No, says she, were my brother Robert here in your place, he would bring me home; but let it not encourage you to attempt the like, for that would occasion the loss of me for ever; there is now severe punishment threatened to me for speaking to you; but, to prevent that, do you ride up to the moat, where (suppose you will see no person) all you now see will be near you, and do you threaten to burn all the old thorns and brambles that is round the moat, if you do not get a firm promise that I shall get no punishment; I shall be forgiven; which he promised. She then disappeared, and he lost sight of all he had seen; he then rode very resolutely up to the moat, and went round it, vowing he would burn all about it if he would not get a promise that his wife should get no hurt. A voice desired him to cast away a book was in his pocket, and then demand his request; he answered he would not part his book, but grant his request, or they should find the effect of his rage. The voice answered, that upon honour she should be forgave her fault, but for him to suffer no prejudice to come to the moat, which he promised to fulfil, at which he heard most pleasant music. He then returned home, and sent for the Reverend Mr. Dodd, and related to him what he had seen; Mr. Dodd staid with him till Sunday morning following, when, as Mr. Nelson looked on the desk in his room, he espied a letter, which he took up, it being directed to her brother, who in a few days came home; on his receiving the letter he opened it, wherein he found the following : "sing young Thomlin, be merry, be merry, and twice so merry." In Scottish Songs, 1774, a part of the original tale was published under the title of Kerton Ha'; a corruption of Carterhaugh; and, in the same collection, there is a fragment, containing two or three additional verses, beginning, "I'll wager, I'll wager, I'll wager with you," etc. In Johnston's Musical Museum, a more complete copy occurs, under the title of Tom Linn, which, "DEAR BROTHER,-My husband can relate to you my present circumstances. I request that you will (the first night after you see this) come to the moat where I parted my husband : let nothing daunt you, but stand in the centre of the moat at the hour of twelve at night, and call me, when I, with several others, will surround you; I shall have on the whitest dress of any in company, then take hold of me, and do not forsake me; all the frightful methods they shall use let it not surprise you, but keep your hold, suppose they continue till cock-crow, when they shall vanish all of a sudden, and I shall be safe, when I will return home and live with my husband. If you succeed in your attempt, you will gain applause from all your friends, and have the blessing of your ever-loving and affectionate sister, 'MARY NELSON.' "No sooner had he read the letter than he vowed to win his sister and her child, or perish in the attempt; he returned to his ship, and related to his sailors the consequence of the letter; he delayed till ten at night, when his loyal sailors offered to go with him, which he refused, thinking it best to go alone. As he left his ship a frightful lion came roaring towards him; he drew his sword and struck at the lion, which he observed was of no substance, it being only the appearance of one, to terrify him in his attempt; it only encouraged him, so that he proceeded to the moat, in the centre of which he observed a white handkerchief spread; on which he was surrounded with a number of women, the cries of whom were the most frightful he ever heard; his sister being in the whitest dress of any round him, he seized her by the right hand, and said, With the help of God, I will preserve you from all infernal imps; when of a sudden, the moat seemed to be on fire round him. He likewise heard the most dreadful thunder could be imagined; frightful birds and beasts seemed to make towards him out of the fire, which he knew was not real; nothing daunted his courage; he kept hold of his sister for the space of an hour and three quarters, when the cocks began to crow; then the fire disappeared, and all the frightful imps vanished. He held her in his arms, and fell on his knees, and gave God thanks for his proceedings that night; he believing her clothing to be light, he put his outside coat on her she then embraced him, saying, she was now safe, as he put any of his clothing on her; he then brought her home to her husband, which occasioned great rejoicing. Her husband and he began to conclude to destroy the moat in revenge of the child they had away, when instantly they heard a voice, which said, you shall have your son safe, and well, on condition that you will not till the ground within three perches of the moat, nor damage bushes or brambles round that place, which they agreed to, when, in a few minutes, the child was left on his mother's knee, which caused them to kneel and return thanks to God. "The circumstance of this terrifying affair was occasioned by leaving Mrs. Nelson, the night of her lying-in, in the care of women who were mostly intoxicated with liquor. It is requested both sexes will take notice of the above, and not leave women in distress, but with people who at such times mind their duty to God." with some alterations, was reprinted in the Tales of heather upon Peatlaw, a hill not far from CarterWonder. The present edition is the most perfect which has yet appeared; being prepared from a collation of the printed copies with a very accurate one in Glenriddel's MSS. and with several recitals from tradition. Some verses are omitted in this edition, being ascertained to belong to a separate ballad, which will be found in a subsequent part of the work. In one recital only, the well-known fragment of the Wee, wee Man, was introduced, in the same measure with the rest of the poem. It was retained in the first edition, but is now omitted; as the Editor has been favoured, by the learned Mr. Ritson, with a copy of the original poem, of which it is a detached fragment. The Editor has been enabled to add several verses of beauty and interest to this edition of Tamlane, in consequence of a copy obtained from a gentleman residing near Langholm, which is said to be very ancient, though the diction is somewhat of a modern cast. The manners of the Fairies are detailed at considerable length, and in poetry of no common merit. Carterhaugh is a plain, at the conflux of the Ettrick and Yarrow in Selkirkshire, about a mile above Selkirk, and two miles below Newark Castle;' a romantic ruin, which overhangs the Yarrow, and which is said to have been the habitation of our heroine's father, though others place his residence in the tower of Oakwood. The peasants point out, upon the plain, those electrical rings, which vulgar credulity supposes to be traces of the Fairy revels. Here, they say, were placed the stands of milk, and of water, in which Tamlane was dipped, in order to effect the disenchantment; and upon these spots, according to their mode of expressing themselves, the grass will never grow. Miles Cross, (perhaps a corruption of Mary's Cross,) where fair Janet awaited the arrival of the Fairy train, is said to have stood near the Duke of Buccleuch's seat of Bowhill, about half a mile from Carterhaugh. In no part of Scotland, indeed, has the belief in Fairies maintained its ground with more pertinacity than in Selkirkshire. The most sceptical among the lower ranks only venture to assert, that their appearances, and mischievous exploits, have ceased, or at least become infrequent, since the light of the gospel was diffused in its purity. One of their frolics is said to have happened late in the last century. The victim of elfin sport was a poor man, who, being employed in pulling haugh, had tired of his labour, and laid him down to sleep upon a Fairy ring. When he awakened, he was amazed to find himself in the midst of populous city, to which, as well as to the means of his transportation, he was an utter stranger. His coat was left upon the Peatlaw; and his bonnet, which had fallen off in the course of his aërial journey, was afterwards found hanging upon the steeple of the church of Lanark. The distress of the poor man was, in some degree, relieved, by meeting a carrier whom he had formerly known, and who conducted him back to Selkirk, by a slower conveyance than had whirled him to Glasgow.-That he had been carried off by the Fairies was implicitly believed by all who did not reflect, that a man may have private reasons for leaving his own country, and for disguising his having intentionally done so.❜ THE YOUNG TAMLANE. "OI forbid ye, maidens, a', That wear gowd on your hair, "Now gowd rings ye may buy, maidens, But up then spak her, fair Janet, The fairest o' a' her kin; And when she came to Carterhaugh, She gaed beside the well; She hadna pu'd a red red rose, 2 [See notes to the Last Minstrel. Canto I.] ["We notice, with particular approbation, a discourse in the 2d volume, on the Fairies of Popular superstition, in which the author takes a much wider range than was to have been expected from a collector of Border Ballads; and evinces an extent of reading and sagacity of conjecture, which have never before been applied to this subject. We recommend this treatise, as by far the most learned, rational, and entertaining, that has yet been made public, upon the subject of these superstitions."-Edin. Rev. No. II. "Though we cannot entirely approve the nature and extent of Mr. Scott's plan in the Minstrelsy,' yet the fidelity, taste, and learning, which he has manifested in the execution of it, induce us to cherish the hope that he will employ his pen on more important and useful subjects. Even from his present labours, indeed, the curious inquirer may derive some ingenious and entertaining information on several points connected with the antiquities and history of Great Britain. Prefixed to The Young Tamlane is an acute and philosophical dissertation on the Fairies of Popular Superstition," etc.-Monthly Review, September, 1803.] 3 Wad-Pledge. 4 The ladies are always represented, in Dunbar's Poems, with green mantles and yellow hair.—Maitland Poems, vol. i. p. 45. Till up and starts a wee wee man, At lady Janet's knee. Says "Why pu' ye the rose, Janet? Says "Carterhaugh it is mine ain; He's ta'en her by the milk-white hand, He's ta'en her by the milk-white hand, And what they did, I cannot say- When she cam to her father's ha', She looked pale and wan; They thought she'd dreed some sair sickness, Or been with some leman.' She didna comb her yellow hair, Nor make meikle o' her head; And ilka thing that lady took, It's four and twenty ladies fair Four and twenty ladies fair Were playing at the chess; And out there came the fair Janet, As green as any grass. Out and spak an auld grey-headed knight "And ever, alas! for thee, Janet, But we'll be blamed a'!" "Now haud your tongue, ye auld grey knight! And an ill deid may ye die, Father my bairn on whom I will, Out then spak her father dear, And he spak meik and mild"And ever, alas! my sweet Janet, I fear ye gae with child." "And if I be with child, father, Mysell maun bear the blame; There's ne'er a knight about your ha' Shall hae the bairnie's name. "And if I be with child, father, 'Twill prove a wondrous birth; For weel I swear I'm not wi' bairn To any man on earth. "If my love were an earthly knight, As he's an elfin grey, I wadna gie my ain true love She prink'd hersell and prinn'd hersell, To speak wi' young Tamlane. And there she saw the steed standing, But away was himsell. She hadna pu'd a double rose, A rose but only twae, When up and started young Tamlane, 66 Says "Lady, thou pu's nae mae! "Why pu' ye the rose, Janet, Within this garden grene, And a' to kill the bonny babe, That we got us between?" "The truth ye'll tell to me, Tamlane : A word ye mauna lie; Gin e'er ye was in haly chapel, Or sained3 in Christentie?" "The truth I'll tell to thee, Janet, A word I winna lie; A knight me got, and a lady me bore, As well as they did thee. "Randolph, Earl Murray, was my sire, Dunbar, Earl March, is thine; 4 We loved when we were children small, Which yet you well may mind. "When I was a boy just turn'd of nine, My uncle sent for me, To hunt, and hawk, and ride with him, "There came a wind out of the north, And frae my horse I fell. "But we, that live in Fairy-land, phew of Robert Bruce, had a castle at Ha' Guards, in Annandale, and another in Peebles-shire, on the borders of the forest, the site of which is still called Randall's Walls. Patrick of Dunbar, Earl of March, is said, by Henry the Minstrel, to have retreated to Ettrick Forest, after being defeated by Wallace. I quit my body when I will, I quit my body when I please, We can inhabit, at our ease, In either earth or air. "Our shapes and size we can convert An old nut-shell's the same to us "We sleep in rose-buds soft and sweet, "And all our wants are well supplied From every rich man's store, And vainly grasps for more.' They pay the teind to hell; I fear t'will be mysell. "This night is Hallowe'en, Janet, And, gin ye dare your true love win, "The first company that passes by, "First let pass the black, Janet, And syne let pass the brown; "For I ride on the milk-white steed, "My right hand will be gloved, Janet, And these the tokens I gie thee, Nae doubt I will be there. But had me fast, let me not pass, They'll turn me in your arms, Janet, They'll turn me in your arms, Janet, A red-hot gad o' airn; But had me fast, let me not pass, But had me fast, let me not pass I'll be your bairn's father. "And, next, they'll shape me in your arms, A tod, but and an eel; But had me fast, nor let me gang, As you do love me weel. "They'll shape me in your arms, Janet, A dove, but and a swan; And, last, they'll shape me in your arms Cast your green mantle over me- Gloomy, gloomy, was the night, As fair Janet, in her green mantle, To sin our gifts or mercies, means, ungratefully to hold them in slight esteem. The idea, that the possessions of the wicked are most obnoxious to the depredations of evil spirits, may be illustrated by the following tale of a Buttery Spirit, extracted from Thomas Heywood: "An ancient and virtuous monk came to visit his nephew, an innkeeper, and, after other discourse, inquired into his circumstan ces. Mine host confessed, that, although he practised all the unconscionable tricks of his trade, he was still miserably poor. The monk shook his head, and asked to see his buttery, or larder. As they looked into it, he rendered visible to the astonished host an immense goblin, whose paunch, and whole appearance, bespoke his being gorged with food, and who, nevertheless, was gormandizing at the innkeeper's expense, emptying whole shelves of food, and washing it down with entire hogsheads of liquor. To the depredation of this visitor will thy viands be exposed,' quoth the uncle, until thou shalt abandon fraud and false reckonings.' The monk returned in a year. The host having turned over a new leaf, and given Christian measure to his customers, was now a thriving man. When they again inspected the larder, they saw the same spirit, but wofully reduced in size, and in vain attempting to reach at the full plates and bottles which stood around him; starving, in short, like Tantalus, in the midst of plenty." Honest Heywood sums up the tale thus: "In this discourse, far be it we should mean |