No. 173: Mary Hamilton
[During the Narrative, versions A b and A c are referred to sometimes as b, c. I've corrected this since there is an I b.
The controversy about the identity of Mary Hamilton and relating the skewed names and events from the ballad story to possible real names and events were covered by Child (see his headnotes below) and later by Andrew Lang in his article, The Mystery of "The Queen's Marie," published in Blackwood's Magazine, Volume 158; Sept. 1895 (see the article attached to my Recording & Info page). Lang endorses the theory that the ballad has sprung from an incident at the court of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1563 rather than the Mary Hamilton (Hambleton) who died at a Russian court in 1719, for killing two of her children. The Russian analogue seems to me to be more of a coincidence with a woman named Mary Hamilton. The possibility also exists that the name, Mary Hamilton, was attached to the ballad from the Russian incident.
The four Marys were the four maids-in-waiting of Queen Mary Stuart who went with her to France in 1549 and returned with her in 1561. Their last names were Seaton, Beaton, Livingston, and Fleming-- not Seaton, Beaton, Carmichael, and Hamilton as in the ballad. The ballad story, however, appears to be about a French girl, who served in the court of the Queen and an apothecary of the Queen who had an affair about 1563 (Knox). The girl was executed in December 1565 for killing her newborn baby. Through the folk process the French girl became one of the four Marys, Mary Hamilton and the apothecary became Henry Darnley.
Malcolm Douglas in a post dated October 2003 explored the ballad:
Child did revise, to an extent, his initial thought that an origin in the Russian incident was the only tenable basis for the ballad. This was in the light of two factors. The first was the discovery of a version (his example U: Child IV 509) which contains the lines
My love he was a pottinger,
Mony drink he gae me,
And a' to put back that bonnie babe,
But alas! it wad na do.
This from a text of 16 stanzas communicated to Walter Scott, 7th January, 1804, by Rev George Paxton, Kilmaurs, near Kilmarnock, Ayrshire (afterwards professor of divinity at Edinburgh); from the mouth of Jean Milne, his "aged mother, formerly an unwearied singer of Scottish songs." The mention of a "pottinger" (apothecary) suggested that there may after all have been a connection with the incident of 1563; what it did not prove was that the ballad is of that period.
The other factor was an article by Andrew Lang in Blackwood's Magazine (September 1895, p. 381 ff.) Lang and Child both felt it unlikely that "a ballad, older and superior in style to anything which we can show to have been produced in the 18th, or even the 17th century, should have been composed after 1719" (the date of the Russian incident involving a Mary Hamilton), and Lang's argument persuaded Child that his earlier, reluctant feeling that the Russian incident had to be the root was now more improbable than the alternative (though also still improbable) explanation; but this is "gut feeling", not firm evidence, and Child reached no firm conclusion but left the matter open. This may be the other root of Friedmann's assertion[1].
And we don't know what the truth is here, of course; perhaps the Russian incident involving a Mary Hamilton is just a coincidence, and perhaps it isn't. If we are to look for an answer solely to the time of Queen Mary, however, then the unfortunate heroine was probably not a Hamilton, nor even a Mary; but a Frenchwoman whose name we do not know, far from home and doomed by tragic circumstance.
For little did father or mother wit,
The day they cradled me,
What foreign lands I should travel in,
Or what death I should die. (Child IV 507-8; version S)
The ballad is not well-known in North America and few complete authentic versions have surfaced. The first complete published version from West Virginia in 1925 is a ballad recreation by Carey Woofter based in Child A. The version by Alfreda Peel published by Davis in 1929 and then mysteriously a complete version in 1960, has been recorded by Lomax from the singing of Texas Gladden (who learned it from Peel) in 1941. Other popular US versions including the Niles versions, the Hally Wood/Peegy Seeger/Sandy Paton (based on Child J) versions, Jean Ritchie's version, Joan Baez's version and Almeida Riddle's version seem to be recreations or arrangements based on print or existing versions.
For information about the secondary tradition in the late 1800s see Barry's notes in BBM, 1929 on the US & Canada Versions page. Barry also gives the "secondary version" which was sung by Marjory Kennedy-Frasier at a series Scottish Establishments circa 1882. A similar version was published as an Edinburgh broadside, printed by J. Sanderson, Canongate. Here is the text from Kennedy-- probably learned from her father, the Scotch-singer David Kennedy, who performed worldwide:
B. THE FOUR MARIES
Last nicht there were four Maries,
This nicht there'll be but three--
There was Mary Beaton an' Mary Seaton,
An' Mary Carmichael an' me.
Oh, little did my mither think,
When first she cradled me,
That I would dee sae far frae hame,
Or hang on a gallows tree.
They'll tie a napkin round my e'en,
An' they'll no let me see to dee,--
An' they'll ne'er let on to my father an' mither,
But I'm awa' o'er the sea.
I wish I could lie in our ain kirk-yard,
Aneath the auld yew-tree,
Where we pu'd the gowans an' thread the rowans,
My brothers, my sisters an' me.
But little care I for a nameless grave,
If I've hope for eternity--
So I'll pray that the faith o' the deein' thief
May be granted thro' grace unto me.
The following notes by the editor accompany this version: "In the version here presented only the first three stanzas are from the old ballad: the two last are from the pen of a lady resident in Dundee, and have not before been published."
Similar versions of this secondary tradition were published in the US and collected in New England and Canada.
R. Matteson 2012, 2015
1. The editor of Viking Book of Folk Ballads, Albert Friedmann, wrote "a troublesome fact that some form of the ballad seems to have circulated in Scotland before 1719" has cited no authority for this statement.]
CONTENTS:
1. Child's Narrative
2. Footnotes (Found at the end of Child's Narrative; there are also 5 footnotes in Additions and Corrections found at the end of that section.)
3. Brief (Kittredge)
4. Child's Ballad Texts A-BB (Changes for A b, Ac and I b given in Endnotes. Another version of F is added to be substituted for the first F. Versions S-BB were added in Additions and Corrections.)
5. Endnotes
6. Additions and Corrections (There are versions S-BB plus footnotes. Child briefly re-examines the identity of Mary Hamilton, referencing the Andrew Lang article in Blackwood Magazine --see article attached to Recordings & Info. )
ATTACHED PAGES (see left hand column):
1. Recordings & Info: 173. Mary Hamilton
A. Roud No. 79: Mary Hamilton (146 Listings)
B. On Child 76 and 173 in Divers Hands
C. "Mary Hamilton" and the Anglo-American Ballad
D. Mary Hamilton; The Group Authorship of Ballads
E. The Mystery of "The Queen's Marie"- Andrew Lang 1895
2. Sheet Music: Mary Hamilton (Bronson's music examples and texts)
3. US & Canadian Versions
4. English and Other Versions (Including Child versions A-BB with additional notes)]
Child's Narrative: 173. Mary Hamilton
A. a. 'Marie Hamilton,' Sharp's Ballad Book, 1824, p. 18.
b. Communicated by the late John Francis Campbell.
c. Aungervyle Society's publications, No V, p. 18.
B. 'Mary Hamilton,' Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 337; printed in part in Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 313 ff.
C. 'Mary Myles,' Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 265.
D. 'Mary Hamilton,' Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 267; Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 316.
E. 'Lady Maisry,' Buchan's Manuscripts, II, 186; Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 190.
F. a. 'Quin Mary's Marreys,' No 12 of "The Old Lady's Collection."
b. Skene Manuscript, p. 61.
G. 'Mary Hamilton,' Manuscript of Scottish Songs and Ballads copied by a granddaughter of Lord Woodhouselee.
H. 'Mary Hamilton,' Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 252.
I. a.'The Queen's Marie,' Scott's Minstrelsy, 1833, III, 294.
b. Scott's Minstrelsy, 1802, II, 154, three stanzas.
J. 'Marie Hamilton,' Harris Manuscript, fol. 10 b.
K. 'The Queen's Mary,' Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 96.
L. 'Mary Hamilton,' Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 280.
M. 'Mary Hamilton,' Maidment's North Countrie Garland, p. 19. Repeated in Buchan's Gleanings, p. 164.
N. 'The Queen's Maries,' Murison Manuscript, p. 33.
O. 'The Queen's Marie,' Finlay's Scottish Ballads, I, p. 51. xix.
P. Kinloch Manuscripts, VII, 95, 97; Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 252.
Q. 'Queen's Marie,' Letters from and to Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, ed. Allardyce, II, 272, two stanzas.
R. Burns, Letter to Mrs. Dunlop, 25 January, 1790, Currie, II, 290, 1800, one stanza.
[S. Finlay sent Scott, March 27, 1803, the following copy of 'The Queen's Marie,' as he "had written it down from memory:" Letters addressed to Sir Walter Scott, I, No 87, Abbotsford.
T. Communicated to Sir Walter Scott by Mrs. Christiana Greenwood, London, 21st February and 27th May, 1806, from the recitation of her mother and her aunt, who learned the ballad above fifty years before from Kirstan Scot, then an old woman, at Longnewton, near Jedburgh: Letters at Abbotsford, I, Nos 173, 189.
U. 'Lament of the Queen's Marie,' "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 92, Abbotsford.
V. "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 9, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of William Laidlaw.
W. "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 85, Abbotsford.
X. 'The Queen's Maries,' "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 91, Abbotsford.
Y. 'The Queen's Marys,' "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 144, Abbotsford.
Z. 'The Queen's Marie,' "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 90 a, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of John Leyden.
AA. "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 142, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of James Hogg.
BB. 'The Queen's Maries' Communicated by Mr. Andrew Lang as received from Mrs. Arthur Smith; sung by a nurse. 4 is clearly modern.]
The scene is at the court of Mary Stuart, A-N, Q. The unhappy heroine is one of the queen's Four Maries, A a 18, b 14, c 1, 18, 23, B 19, D 21, F 3, 12, G 16, H 18, I 19, J 8, 10, K 8, M 7, N 1; Mary Hamilton, A a 1, b 2, c 2, B 3, D 8, G 1, H 4, I 1, J 6; Lady Mary, F 5, 6; Mary Mild, Myle, C 5, M 1, N 1, also A c 6, Moil, O, but Lady Maisry, E 6. She gangs wi bairn; it is to the highest Stewart of a', A a 1, A c 2, B 3, C 5; cf. D 3, G 1-3, I 1-6, L 9, P 1. She goes to the garden to pull the leaf off the tree, in a vain hope to be free of the babe, C 3; it is the savin-tree, D 4, the deceivin-tree, N 3, the Abbey-tree (and pulled by the king), I 6.[1] She rolls the bairn in her apron, handkerchief, and throws it in the sea, A a 3, A b 3, A c 4, C 4, D 5, 9, I 7, K 2, 4, L 5 (inconsistently), O 3; cf. B 7. The queen asks where the babe is that she has heard greet, A a 4, A b 4, A c 6, B 4, 6, C 6, D 6, 8, E 6, 7, F 6, G 5, H 5, I 9, J 3, L 1, M 1; there is no babe, it was a stitch in the side, colic, A a 5, A b 5, A c 7, B 5, C 7, D 7, E 8, F 7, G 6, H 6, I 10, J 4, L 2, M 2; search is made and the child found in the bed, dead, B 9, F 9, H 7, J 5, L 4, M 4 (and A c 8 inconsistently). The queen bids Mary make ready to go to Edinburgh (i.e., from Holyrood), A a 6, A b 6, A c 10, C 8, D 11, E 10, F 12, H 8, I 11. The purpose is concealed in A, a, b, c, and for the best effect should be concealed, or at least simulated, as in B, D, G, I, where a wedding is the pretence, Mary Hamilton's own wedding in D. The queen directs Mary to put on black or brown, A a 6, A b 6, A c 10; she will not put on black or brown, but white, gold, red, to shine through Edinburgh town, A a 7, A b 7, A c 11, B 9, C 9, D 13, E 11, H 10, K 6, N 5, O 5. When she went up the Canongate, A a 8, A b 8, A c 13, L 6, up the Parliament stair, A a 9, A b 9, A c 14, D 16, up the Tolbooth stair, C 12, E 14, H 15, I 17, came to the Netherbow Port, G 10, I 18, M 6, she laughed loudly or lightly, A a 8, A b 8, A c 13, D 16, E 14, G 10, H 15, I 18, L 6, M 6; the heel, lap, came off her shoe, A a 9, A b 9, A c 14, C 12, the corks from her heels did flee, I 17; but ere she came down again she was condemned to die, A a 9, A b 9, A c 14, C 12, D 16, E 14, H 15, I 17; but when she reached the gallows-foot, G 10, I 18, M 6, ere she came to the Cowgate Head, L 6, when she came down the Canongate, A a 8, A b 8, A c 13, the tears blinded her eyes. She calls for a bottle of wine, that she may drink to her well-wishers and they may drink to her, A a 12, A b 10, A c 17, B 14; cf. D 19, 20, G 13. She adjures sailors, travellers, not to let her father and mother get wit what death she is to die, A a 14, A b 12, A c 19, B 15, C 13, D 20, F 15, G 13, H 21, I 23, L 7, M 8, or know but that she is coming home, A a 13, A b 11, B 16, C 14, D 19, E 15, F 16, G 14, H 20, I 22, L 8. Little did her mother think when she cradled her (brought her from home, F 18) what lands she would travel and what end she would come to, A a 15, A c 21, B 17, 18, C 15, D 17, G 15, I 25, J 9, N 9, B; as little her father, when he held her up, A a 16, A c 22, C 16, brought her over the sea, F 17. Yestreen the queen had four Maries, to-night she'll have but three (see above); yestreen she washed Queen Mary's feet, etc., and the gallows is her reward to-day, A a 17, A b 13, B 20, C 17, G 11, 12, H 19, I 20, 21, N 8.
It is impossible to weave all the versions into an intelligible and harmonious story. In B 10, F 12, H 8 the intention to bring Mary to trial is avowed, and in A c 9, B 85,6, F 10, K 5, M 5 she is threatened with death. In D 12, H 9, J 7, N 4, the queen is made to favor, and not inhibit, gay colors. Mary may laugh when she goes up the Parliament stair, but not when she goes up the Tolbooth stair. She goes up the Canongate to the Parliament House to be tried, but she would not go down the Canongate again, the Tolbooth being in the High Street, an extension of the Canongate, and the Parliament House in the rear. The tears and alaces and ohones as Mary goes by, A a 10, c 15, B 10, C 10, D 14, E 12, F 13, H 11, I 16, are a sufficiently effective incident as long as Mary is represented to be unsuspicious of her doom, as she is in D 15, G 9, I 15, 16; but in A a 11, A c 16, B 11, C 11, H 12, 22, she forbids condolement, because she deserves to die for killing her babe, which reduces this passage to commonplace. Much better, if properly introduced, would be the desperate ejaculation, Seek never grace at a graceless face! which we find in E 13, F 14, H 13, N 7.
At the end of B the king tells Mary Hamilton to come down from the scaffold, but she scorns life after having been put to public shame. So in D, with queen for king.
In A a 4, b 4, 13, G 5 the queen is "the auld queen," and yet Mary Stuart.
E, from 16, F, from 19, are borrowed from No 95, 'The Maid Freed From the Gallows:' see II, 346. G 8 (and I 13, taken from G) is derived from 'Lord Thomas and Fair Annet,' D a 11, e 10, g 11: see II, 187, 196, 197. The rejection of black and brown, A 7, C 9, D 13, etc., or of green, K 6, is found in the same ballad, C 10, E 16, F 12, 15, etc., B 20. B 21 is perhaps from 'The Laird of Waristoun:' see further on, A 9, B 10, C 4. I 12, 14 look like a souvenir of 'Fair Janet,' No 64.
There are not a few spurious passages. Among these are the extravagance of the queen's bursting in the door, F 8; the platitude, of menial stamp, that the child, if saved, might have been an honor to the mother, D 10, L 3, O 4; the sentimentality of H 3, 16.
Allan Cunningham has put the essential incidents of the story into a rational order, that of A, for example, with less than usual of his glistering and saccharine phraseology: Songs of Scotland, I, 348. Aytoun's language is not quite definite with regard to the copy which he gives at II, 45, ed. 1859: it is, however, made up from versions previously printed.
When Mary Stuart was sent to France in 1548, she being then between five and six, she had for companions "sundry gentlewomen and noblemen's sons and daughters, almost of her own age, of the which there were four in special of whom every one of them bore the same name of Mary, being of four sundry honorable houses, to wit, Fleming, Livingston, Seton, and Beaton of Creich; who remained all four with the queen in France during her residence there, and returned again in Scotland with her Majesty in the year of our Lord 1561: "Lesley, History of Scotland, 1830, p. 209. We still hear of the Four Maries in 1564, Calendar of State Papers (Foreign), VII, 213, 230; cited by Burton, IV, 107. The ballad substitutes Mary Hamilton and Mary Carmichael for Mary Livingston and Mary Fleming; but F 3, 12 has Livingston. N, of late recitation, has Heaton for Seton and Michel for Carmichael.
D 4, etc. In 'Tam Lin,' No 39, Janet pulls the rose to kill or scathe away her babe; A 19, 20, F 8, I 24, 25 (probably repeated from A). In G 18, 19, the herb of 15 and the rose of 17 becomes the pile of the gravil green, or of the gravil gray; in H 5, 6 Janet pulls an unspecified flower or herb (I, 341 ff).
We have had in 'The Twa Brothers,' No 49, a passage like that in which Mary begs sailors and travellers not to let her parents know that she is not coming home; and other ballads, Norse, Breton, Romaic, and Slavic, which present a similar trait, are noted at I, 436 f, II, 14. To these may be added Passow, p. 400, No 523; Jeannaraki, p. 116, No 118; Sakellarios, p. 98, No 31; Puymaigre, 1865, p. 62, Bujeaud, II, 210 (Liebrecht); also Guillon, p. 107, Nigra, No 27, A, B, pp. 164, 166, and many copies of 'Le Déserteur,' and some of 'Le Plongeur,' 'La ronde du Battoir.'
Scott thought that the ballad took its rise from an incident related by Knox as occurring in "the beginning of the regiment of Mary, Queen of Scots." "In the very time of the General Assembly," says Knox, "there comes to public knowledge a heinous murder committed in the court, yea, not far from the queen's own lap; for a French woman that served in the queen's chamber had played the whore with the queen's own apothecary. The woman conceived and bare a child, whom, with common consent, the father and the mother murdered. Yet were the cries of a new-born bairn heard; search was made, the child and mother was both deprehended, and so were both the man and the woman damned to be hanged upon the public street of Edinburgh."[2] "It will readily strike the reader," says Scott, "that the tale has suffered great alterations, as handed down by tradition; the French waiting-woman being changed into Mary Hamilton, and the queen's apothecary[3] into Henry Darnley. Yet this is less surprising when we recollect that one of the heaviest of the queen's complaints against her ill-fated husband was his infidelity, and that even with her personal attendants." This General Assembly, however, met December 25, 1563, and since Darnley did not come to Scotland until 1565, a tale of 1563, or of 1563-4, leaves him unscathed.
Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, in his preface to A, Ballad Book, 1824, p. 18, observes: "It is singular that during the reign of the Czar Peter, one of his empress's attendants, a Miss Hamilton, was executed for the murder of a natural child... I cannot help thinking that the two stories have been confused in the ballad, for if Marie Hamilton was executed in Scotland, it is not likely that her relations resided beyond seas; and we have no proof that Hamilton was really the name of the woman who made a slip with the queen's apothecary." Sharpe afterwards communicated details of the story[4] to Scott, who found in them "a very odd coincidence in name, crime and catastrophe;" Minstrelsy, 1833, III, 296, note. But Sharpe became convinced "that the Russian tragedy must be the original" (note in Laing's edition of the Ballad Book, 1880, p. 129); and this opinion is the only tenable one, however surprising it may be or seem that, as late as the eighteenth century, the popular genius, helped by nothing but a name, should have been able so to fashion and color an episode in the history of a distant country as to make it fit very plausibly into the times of Mary Stuart.
The published accounts of the affair of the Russian Mary Hamilton differ to much the same degree as some versions of the Scottish ballad. The subject has fortunately been reviewed in a recent article founded on original and authentic documents.
When the Hamiltons first came to Russia does not appear. Artemon Sergheievitch Matveief, a distinguished personage, minister and friend of the father of Peter the Great, married a Hamilton, of a Scottish family settled at Moscow, after which the Hamilton family ranked with the aristocracy. The name of Mary's father, whether William or Daniel, is uncertain, but it is considered safe to say that she was niece to Andrei Artemonovitch Matveief, son of the Tsar Alexei's friend. Mary Hamilton was created maid-of-honor to the Empress Catharine chiefly on account of her beauty. Many of Catharine's attendants were foreigners; not all were of conspicuous families, but Peter required that they should all be remarkably handsome. Mary had enjoyed the special favor of the Tsar, but incurred his anger by setting afloat a report that Catharine had a habit of eating wax, which produced pimples on her face. The empress spoke to her about this slander; Mary denied that she was the author of it; Catharine boxed her ears, and she acknowledged the offence. Mary Hamilton had been having an amour with Ivan Orlof, a handsome aide-de-camp of Tsar Peter, and while she was under the displeasure of her master and mistress, the body of a child was found in a well, wrapped in a court-napkin. Orlof, being sent for by Peter on account of a missing paper, thought that his connection with Mary had been discovered, and in his confusion let words escape him which Peter put to use in tracing the origin of the child. The guilt was laid at Mary's door; she at first denied the accusation, but afterwards made a confession, exonerating Orlof, however, from all participation in the death of the babe; and indeed it was proved that he had not even known of its birth till the information came to him in the way of court-gossip. Both were sent to the Petropaulovsk fortress, Orlof on April 4, Mary on April 10, 1718. Orlof was afterwards discharged without punishment. Mary, after being twice subjected to torture, under which she confessed to having previously destroyed two children,[5] was condemned to death November 27, 1718, and executed on March 14, 1719, the Tsar attending. She had attired herself in white silk, with black ribbons, hoping thereby to touch Peter's heart. She fell on her knees and implored a pardon. But a law against the murder of illegitimate children had recently been promulgated afresh and in terms of extreme severity. Peter turned aside and whispered something to the executioner; those present thought he meant to show grace, but it was an order to the headsman to do his office. The Tsar picked up Mary's head and kissed it, made a little discourse on the anatomy of it to the spectators, kissed it again, and threw it down. That beautiful head is said to have been kept in spirits for some sixty years at the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg.
It will be observed that this adventure at the Russian court presents every material feature in the Scottish ballad, and even some subordinate ones which may or may not have been derived from report, may or may not have been the fancy-work of singers or reciters. We have the very name, Mary Hamilton; she is a maid-of-honor; she has, as some versions run, an intrigue with the king, and has a child, which she destroys; she rolls the child in a napkin and throws it into a well (rolls the child in her handkerchief, apron, and throws it in the sea); she is charged with the fact and denies; according to some versions, search is made and overwhelming proof discovered;[6] she is tried and condemned to die; she finds no grace. The appeal to sailors and travellers in the ballad shows that Mary Hamilton dies in a foreign land not that of her ancestors. The king's coming by in B 22 (cf. D 22, 23) may possibly be a reminiscence of the Tsar's presence at the execution, and Mary's dressing herself in white, etc., to shine through Edinburgh town a transformation of Mary's dressing herself in white to move the Tsar's pity at the last moment; but neither of these points need be insisted on.
There is no trace of an admixture of the Russian story with that of the French woman and the queen's apothecary, and no ballad about the French woman is known to have existed.
We first hear of the Scottish ballad in 1790, when a stanza is quoted in a letter of Robert Burns (see B). So far as I know, but one date can be deduced from the subject-matter of the ballad; the Netherbow Port is standing in G, I, M, and this gate was demolished in 1764. The ballad must therefore have arisen between 1719 and 1764. It is remarkable that one of the very latest of the Scottish popular ballads should be one of the very best.
I a is translated by Gerhard, p. 149; Aytoun's ballad by Knortz, Schottische Balladen, p. 76, No 24.
Footnotes:
1. Deceivin, Abbey, are of course savin misunderstood. One of the reciters of D (42) gave 'saving.'
2. History of the Reformation, Knox's Works, ed. Laing, II, 415 f. Knox continues: "But yet was not the court purged of whores and whoredom, which was the fountain of such enormities; for it was well known that shame hasted marriage betwix John Semple, called the Dancer, and Mary Livingston, surramed the Lusty. What bruit the Maries and the rest of the dancers of the court had, the ballads of that age did witness, which we for modesty's sake omit." This Mary Livingston is one of the Four Marys, but, as already said, is mentioned in version F only of our ballad.
3. "In this set of the ballad" [D], says Motherwell, "from its direct allusion to the use of the savin tree, a clue is perhaps afforded for tracing how the poor mediciner mentioned by Knox should be implicated in the crime of Mary Hamilton." Maidment goes further: "The reference to the use of the savin tree in Motherwell induces a strong suspicion that the lover was a mediciner." Maidment should have remembered that there is a popular pharmacopoeia quite independent of the professional. No apothecary prescribes in 'Tam Lin.'
4. In an extract from Gordon's History of Peter the Great, Aberdeen, 1755, II, 308 f.
5. The parentage of these was not ascertained. Some accounts make Mary Hamilton to have been Peter's mistress: for example [J.B. Scherer's], Anecdotes intéressantes et secrètes de la cour de Russie, London, 1792, II, 272 ff. See also Mélanges de Littérature, etc., par Francois-Louis, comte d'Escherny, Paris, 1811, I, 7 f. (The white gown with black ribbons is here.)
6. "Hamilton, imperturbable, niait. Menzikoff engagea l'empereur a faire une perquisition dans les coffres d'Hamilton, ou Ton trouva te corps du delit, l'arriere-faix et du linge ensanglanté." Schérer, Anecdotes, p. 274.
Brief Description by George Lyman Kittredge
When Mary Stuart was sent to France in 1548, being - then between five and six, she had four companions "sundry gentlewomen and noblemen's sons and daughters, almost of her own age, of the which there were four in special of whom every one of them bore the same name of Mary, being of four sundry honorable houses, to wit, Fleming, Livingston, Seton, and Beaton of Creich; who remained all four with the queen in France during her residence there, and returned again in Scotland with her Majesty in the year of our Lord 1561." Lesley, History of Scotland, 1830, p. 209.
This ballad purports to relate the tragic history of one of the queen's Maries. In some of the versions her lover is said to be the king (Darnley). The ballad seems to have taken its rise in an incident which occurred at Mary's court in 1563, which involved the queen's apothecary and "a French woman that served in the queen's chamber." There is also a striking coincidence between the ballad and the fate of a Miss Hamilton who, in the reign of Peter the Great, was one of the attendants of the Russian Empress. The subject is fully discussed by Professor Child, Ballads, III, 381 ff., v, 298 f., and Mr. Andrew Lang, Blackwood's Magazine, September, 1895, pp. 381 ff.
Child's Ballad Texts
'Marie Hamilton'- Version A a; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
a. Sharpe's Ballad Book, 1824, p. 18.
b. Communicated by the late John Francis Campbell, as learned from his father about 1840.
c. Aungervyle Society's publications, No V, p. 5 (First Series, p. 85); "taken down early in the present century from the lips of an old lady in Annandale."
1 Word's gane to the kitchen,
And word's gane to the ha,
That Marie Hamilton gangs wi bairn
To the hichest Stewart of a'.
2 He's courted her in the kitchen,
He's courted her in the ha,
He's courted her in the laigh cellar,
And that was warst of a'.
3 She's tyed it in her apron
And she's thrown it in the sea;
Says, Sink ye, swim ye, bonny wee babe!
You'l neer get mair o me.
4 Down them cam the auld queen,
Goud tassels tying her hair:
'O marie, where's the bonny wee babe
That I heard greet sae sair?'
5 'There never was a babe intill my room,
As little designs to be;
It was but a touch o my sair side,
Come oer my fair bodie.'
6 'O Marie, put on your robes o black,
Or else your robes o brown,
For ye maun gang wi me the night,
To see fair Edinbro town.'
7 'I winna put on my robes o black,
Nor yet my robes o brown;
But I'll put on my robes o white,
To shine through Edinbro town.'
8 When she gaed up the Cannogate,
She laughd loud laughters three;
But whan she cam down the Cannogate
The tear blinded her ee.
9 When she gaed up the Parliament stair,
The heel cam aff her shee;
And lang or she cam down again
She was condemnd to dee.
10 When she cam down the Cannogate,
The Cannogate sae free,
Many a ladie lookd oer her window,
Weeping for this ladie.
11 'Ye need nae weep for me,' she says,
'Ye need nae weep for me;
For had I not slain mine own sweet babe,
This death I wadna dee.
12 'Bring me a bottle of wine,' she says,
'The best that eer ye hae,
That I may drink to my weil-wishers,
And they may drink to me.
13 'Here's a health to the jolly sailors,
That sail upon the main;
Let them never let on to my father and mother
But what I'm coming hame.
14 'Here's a health to the jolly sailors,
That sail upon the sea;
Let them never let on to my father and mother
That I cam here to dee.
15 'Oh little did my mother think,
The day she cradled me,
What lands I was to travel through,
What death I was to dee.
16 'Oh little did my father think,
The day he held up me,
What lands I was to travel through,
What death I was to dee.
17 'Last night I washd the queen's feet,
And gently laid her down;
And a' the thanks I've gotten the nicht
To be hangd in Edinbro town!
18 'Last nicht there was four Maries,
The nicht there'l be but three;
There was Marie Seton, and Marie Beton,
And Marie Carmichael, and me.'
-----------------
'Mary Hamilton'- Version B; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 337.
1 There were ladies, they lived in a bower,
And oh but they were fair!
The youngest o them is to the king's court,
To learn some unco lair.
2 She hadna been in the king's court
A twelve month and a day,
Till of her they could get na wark,
For wantonness and play.
3 Word is to the kitchen gane,
And word is to the ha,
And word is up to Madame the Queen,
And that is warst of a',
That Mary Hamilton has born a bairn,
To the hichest Stewart of a'.
4 'O rise, O rise, Mary Hamilton,
O rise, and tell to me
What thou did with thy sweet babe
We sair heard weep by thee.'
5 'Hold your tongue, madame,' she said,
'And let your folly be;
It was a shouir o sad sickness
Made me weep sae bitterlie.'
6 'O rise, O rise, Mary Hamilton,
O rise, and tell to me
What thou did with thy sweet babe
We sair heard weep by thee.'
7 'I put it in a piner-pig,
And set it on the sea;
I bade it sink, or it might swim,
It should neer come hame to me.'
8 'O rise, O rise, Mary Hamilton,
Arise, and go with me;
There is a wedding in Glasgow town
This day we'll go and see.'
9 She put not on her black clothing,
She put not on her brown,
But she put on the glistering gold,
To shine thro Edinburgh town.
10 As they came into Edinburgh town,
The city for to see,
The bailie's wife and the provost's wife
Said, Och an alace for thee!
11 Gie never alace for me,' she said,
'Gie never alace for me;
It's all for the sake of my poor babe,
This death that I maun die.'
12 As they gaed up the Tolbuith stair,
The stair it was sae hie,
The bailie's son and the provost's son
Said, Och an alace for thee!
13 'Gie never alace for me,' she said,
'Gie never alace for me!
It's all for the sake of my puir babe,
This death I maun die.
14 'But bring to me a cup,' she says,
'A cup bot and a can,
And I will drink to all my friends,
And they'll drink to me again.
15 'Here's to you all, travellers,
Who travels by land or sea;
Let na wit to my father nor mother
The death that I must die.
16 'Here's to you all, travellers,
That travels on dry land;
Let na wit to my father nor mother
But I am coming hame.
17 'Little did my mother think,
First time she cradled me,
What land I was to travel on,
Or what death I would die.
18 'Little did my mother think,
First time she tied my head,
What land I was to tread upon,
Or whare I would win my bread.
19 'Yestreen Queen Mary had four Maries,
This night she'll hae but three;
She had Mary Seaton, and Mary Beaton,
And Mary Carmichael, and me.
20 'Yestreen I wush Queen Mary's feet,
And bore her till her bed;
This day she's given me my reward,
This gallows-tree to tread.
21 'Cast off, cast off my goun,' she said,
'But let my petticoat be,
And tye a napkin on my face,
For that gallows I downa see.'
22 By and cum the king himsell,
Lookd up with a pitiful ee:
'Come down, come down, Mary Hamilton,
This day thou wilt dine with me.'
23 'Hold your tongue, my sovereign leige,
And let your folly be;
An ye had a mind to save my life,
Ye should na shamed me here.'
-----------
'Mary Myles'- Version C; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Motherwell's Manuscript p. 265; from Mrs. Cram, Dumbarton, 7 April, 1825.
1 There lived a lord into the west,
And he had dochters three,
And the youngest o them is to the king's court,
To learn some courtesie.
2 She was not in the king's court
A twelvemonth and a day,
Till she was neither able to sit nor gang,
Wi the gaining o some play.
3 She went to the garden,
To pull the leaf aff the tree,
To tak this bonnie babe frae her breast,
But alas it would na do!
4 She rowed it in her handkerchief,
And threw it in the sea:
'O sink ye, swim ye, wee wee babe!
Ye'll get nae mair o me.'
5 Word is to the kitchen gane,
And word is to the ha,
That Mary Myle she goes wi child
To the highest Steward of a'.
6 Down and came the queen hersell,
The queen hersell so free:
'O mary Myle, whare is the child
That I heard weep for thee?'
7 'O hold your tongue now, Queen,' she says,
'O hold your tongue so free!
For it was but a shower o the sharp sickness,
I was almost like to die.'
8 'O busk ye, busk ye, Mary Myle,
O busk, and go wi me;
O busk ye, busk ye, Mary Mile,
It's Edinburgh town to see.'
9 'I'll no put on my robes o black,
No nor yet my robes [o] brown;
But I'll put on my golden weed,
To shine thro Edinburgh town.'
10 When she went up the Cannongate-side,
The Cannongate-side so free,
Oh there she spied some ministers' lads,
Crying Och and alace for me!
11 'Dinna cry och and alace for me!
Dinna cry o[c]h and alace for me!
For it's all for the sake of my innocent babe
That I come here to die.'
12 When she went up the Tolbooth-stair,
The lap cam aff her shoe;
Before that she came down again,
She was condemned to die.
13 'O all you gallant sailors,
That sail upon the sea,
Let neither my father nor mother know
The death I am to die!
14 'O all you gallant sailors,
That sail upon the faem,
Let neither my father nor mother know
But I am coming hame!
15 'Little did my mother know,
The hour that she bore me,
What lands I was to travel in,
What death I was to die.
16 'Little did my father know,
When he held up my head,
What lands I was to travel in,
What was to be my deid.
17 'Yestreen I made Queen Mary's bed,
Kembed doun her yellow hair;
Is this the reward I am to get,
To tread this gallows-stair!'
--------------
'Mary Hamilton'- Version D; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 267; from the recitation of Miss Nancy Hamilton and Mrs. Gentles, January, 1825.
1 There lives a knight into the north,
And he had daughters three;
The ane of them was a barber's wife,
The other a gay ladie.
2 And the youngest of them is to Scotland gane,
The queen's Mary to be,
And a' that they could say or do,
Forbidden she woudna be.
3 The prince's bed it was sae saft,
The spices they were sae fine,
That out of it she couldna lye
While she was scarse fifteen.
4 She's gane to the garden gay
To pu of the savin tree;
But for a' that she could say or do,
The babie it would not die.
5 She's rowed it in her handkerchief,
She threw it in the sea;
Says, Sink ye, swim ye, my bonnie babe!
For ye'll get nae mair of me.
6 Queen Mary came tripping down the stair,
Wi the gold strings in her hair:
'O whare's the little babie,' she says,
'That I heard greet sae sair?'
7 'O hold your tongue, Queen Mary, my dame,
Let all those words go free!
It was mysell wi a fit o the sair colic,
I was sick just like to die.'
8 'O hold your tongue, Mary Hamilton,
Let all those words go free!
O where is the little babie
That I heard weep by thee?'
9 'I rowed it in my handkerchief,
And threw it in the sea;
I bade it sink, I bade it swim,
It would get nae mair o me.'
10 'O wae be to thee, Marie Hamilton,
And an ill deid may you die!
For if ye had saved the babie's life
It might hae been an honour to thee.
11 'Busk ye, busk ye, Marie Hamilton,
O busk ye to be a bride!
For I am going to Edinburgh toun,
Your gay wedding to bide.
12 'You must not put on your robes of black,
Nor yet your robes of brown;
But you must put on your yellow gold stuffs,
To shine thro Edinburgh town.'
13 'I will not put on my robes of black,
Nor yet my robes of brown;
But I will put on my yellow gold stuffs,
To shine thro Edinburgh town.'
14 As she went up the Parliament Close,
A riding on her horse,
There she saw many a cobler's lady,
Sat greeting at the cross.
15 'O what means a' this greeting?
I'm sure its nae for me;
For I'm come this day to Edinburgh town
Weel wedded for to be.'
16 When she gaed up the Parliament stair,
She gied loud lauchters three;
But ere that she came down again,
She was condemned to die.
17 'O little did my mother think,
The day she prinned my gown,
That I was to come sae far frae hame
To be hangid in Edinburgh town.
18 'O what'll my poor father think,
As he comes thro the town,
To see the face of his Molly fair
Hanging on the gallows-pin!
19 'Here's a health to the marineres,
That plough the raging main!
Let neither my mother nor father know
But I'm coming hame again!
20 'Here's a health to the sailors,
That sail upon the sea!
Let neither my mother nor father ken
That I came here to die!
21 'Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
This night she'll hae but three;
There was Mary Beaton, and Mary Seaton,
And Mary Carmichael, and me.'
22 'O hald your tongue, Mary Hamilton,
Let all those words go free!
This night eer ye be hanged
Ye shall gang hame wi me.'
23 'O hald your tongue, Queen Mary, my dame,
Let all those words go free!
For since I have come to Edinburgh toun,
It's hanged I shall be,
And it shall neer be said that in your court
I was condemned to die.'
-------------
'Lady Maisry'- Version E; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Buchan's Manuscripts, II, 186.
1 'My father was the Duke of York,
My mother a lady free,
Mysell a dainty damsell,
Queen Mary sent for me.
2 'Yestreen I washd Queen Mary's feet,
Kam'd down her yellow hair,
And lay a' night in the young man's bed,
And I'll rue t for evermair.
3 'The queen's kale was aye sae het,
Her spice was aye sae fell,
Till they gart me gang to the young man's bed,
And I'd a' the wyte mysell.
4 'I was not in the queen's service
A twelvemonth but barely ane,
Ere I grew as big wi bairn
As ae woman could gang.
5 'But it fell ance upon a day,
Was aye to be it lane,
I did take strong travilling
As ever yet was seen.'
6 Ben it came the queen hersell,
Was a' gowd to the hair;
'O where's the bairn, Lady Maisry,
That I heard greeting sair?'
7 Ben it came the queen hersell,
Was a' gowd to the chin:
'O where's the bairn, Lady Maisry,
That I heard late yestreen.'
8 'There is no bairn here,' she says,
'Nor never thinks to be;
'Twas but a stoun of sair sickness
That ye heard seizing me.'
9 They sought it out, they sought it in,
They sought it but and ben,
But between the bolster and the bed
They got the baby slain.
10 'Come busk ye, busk ye, Lady Maisdry,
Come busk, an go with me;
For I will on to Edinburgh,
And try the verity.'
11 She woud not put on the black, the black,
Nor yet wad she the brown,
But the white silk and the red scarlet,
That shin'd frae town to town.
12 As she gaed down thro Edinburgh town
The burghers' wives made meen,
That sic a dainty damsel
Sud ever hae died for sin.
13 Make never meen for me,' she says,
'Make never meen for me;
Seek never grace frae a graceless face,
For that ye'll never see.'
14 As she gaed up the Tolbooth stair,
A light laugh she did gie;
But lang ere she came down again
She was condemned to die.
15 'A' you that are in merchants-ships,
And cross the roaring faem,
Hae nae word to my father and mother,
But that I'm coming hame.
16 'Hold your hands, ye justice o peace,
Hold them a little while!
For yonder comes my father and mother,
That's travelld mony a mile.
17 'Gie me some o your gowd, parents,
Some o your white monie,
To save me frae the head o yon hill,
Yon greenwood gallows-tree.'
18 'Ye'll get nane o our gowd, daughter,
Nor nane o our white monie;
For we hae travelld mony a mile,
This day to see you die.'
19 'Hold your hands, ye justice o peace,
Hold them a little while!
For yonder comes him Warenston,
The father of my chile.
20 'Give me some o your gowd, Warenston,
Some o your white monie,
To save me frae the head o yon hill,
Yon greenwood gallows-tree.'
21 'I bade you nurse my bairn well,
And nurse it carefullie,
And gowd shoud been your hire, Maisry,
And my body your fee.'
22 He's taen out a purse o gowd,
Another o white monie,
And he's tauld down ten thousand crowns,
Says, True love, gang wi me.
-------------
'Lady Mary'- Version F; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Skene Manuscript, p. 61.
1 My father was the Duke of York,
My mother a lady free,
Mysel a dainty demosell,
Queen Mary sent for me.
2 The queen's meat, it was sae sweet,
Her colthing was sae rare,
It made me lang for Sweet Willie's bed,
An I'll rue it ever maer.
3 Mary Beaton, and Mary Seaton,
And Lady Livinston, three,
We'll never meet in Queen Mary's bower,
Now Maries tho ye be.
4 Queen Mary sat in her bower,
Sewing her silver seam;
She thought she heard a baby greet,
But an a lady meen.
5 She threw her needle frae her,
Her seam out of her hand,
An she is on to Lady Mary's bower,
As fast as she could gang.
6 'Open your door, Lady Mary,' she says,
'And lat me come in;
For I hear baby greet,
But an a lady meen.'
7 'There is na bab in my bower, madam,
Nor never thinks to be,
But the strong pains of gravel
This night has seized me.'
8 She pat her fit to the door,
But an her knee,
Baith of brass and iron bands
In flinders she gard flee.
9 She pat a hand to her bed-head,
An ither to her bed-feet,
An bonny was the bab
Was blabbering in its bleed.
10 'Wae worth ye, Lady Mary,
An ill dead sall ye die!
For an ye widna kept the bonny bab,
Ye might ha sen't to me.'
11 'Lay na the wate on me, madam,
Lay na the wate on me!
For my fas love bare the brand at his side
That gared my barrine die.'
12 'Get up, Lady Beaton, get up, Lady Seton,
And Lady Livinstone three,
An we will on to Edinburgh,
An try this gay lady.'
13 As she came to the Cannongate,
The burgers' wives they cryed
Hon ohon, ochree! . .
. . . .
14 'O had you still, ye burgers' wives,
An make na meen for me;
Seek never grace of a graceless face,
For they hae nane to gie.
15 'Ye merchants and ye mariners,
That trade upon the sea,
O dinna tell in my country
The dead I'm gaen to die!
16 'Ye merchants and ye mariners,
That sail upo the faeme,
O dinna tell in my country
But that I'm comin hame!
17 'Little did my father think,
Whan he brought me our the sea,
That he wad see me yellow locks
Hang on a gallow's tree.
18 'Little did my mither think
Whan she brought me fra hame,
That she maught see my yellow loks
Han[g] on a gallow-pin.
19 'O had your hand a while!
. . .
For yonder comes my father,
I'm sure he'l borrow me.
20 'O some of your goud, father,
An of your well won fee,
To save me [frae the high hill]
[And ] frae the gallow-tree!'
21 'Ye's get nane of my goud,
Nor of my well won fee,
For I would gie five hundred pown
To see ye hangit hie.'
22 'O had yer hand a while!
. . .
Yonder is my love Willie,
Sure he will borrow me.
23 'O some o your goud, my love Willie,
An some o yer well won fee,
To save me frae the high hill,
And fra the gallow-tree!'
24 'Ye's get a' my goud,
And a' my well won fee,
To save ye fra the headin-hill,
And frae the gallow-tree.'
-------------
'Mary Hamilton'- Version G; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Manuscript of Scottish Songs and Ballads, copied by a granddaughter of Lord Woodhouselee, 1840-50, p. 51.
1 O Mary Hamilton to the kirk is gane,
Wi ribbons in her hair;
An the king thoct mair o Marie
Then onie that were there.
2 Mary Hamilton's to the preaching gane,
Wi ribbons on her breast;
An the king thocht mair o Marie
Than he thocht o the priest.
3 Syne word is thro the palace gane,
I heard it tauld yestreen,
The king loes Mary Hamilton
Mair than he loes his queen.
4 A sad tale thro the town is gaen,
A sad tale on the morrow;
Oh Mary Hamilton has born a babe,
An slain it in her sorrow!
5 And down then cam the auld queen,
Goud tassels tied her hair:
'What did ye wi the wee wee bairn
That I heard greet sae sair?'
6 'There neer was a bairn into my room,
An as little designs to be;
'Twas but a stitch o my sair side,
Cam owre my fair bodie.'
7 'Rise up now, Marie,' quo the queen,
'Rise up, an come wi me,
For we maun ride to Holyrood,
A gay wedding to see.'
8 The queen was drest in scarlet fine,
Her maidens all in green;
An every town that they cam thro
Took Marie for the queen.
9 But little wist Marie Hamilton,
As she rode oure the lea,
That she was gaun to Edinbro town
Her doom to hear and dree.
10 When she cam to the Netherbow Port,
She laughed loud laughters three;
But when she reached the gallows-tree,
The tears blinded her ee.
11 'Oh aften have I dressed my queen,
An put gowd in her hair;
The gallows-tree is my reward,
An shame maun be my share!
12 'Oh aften hae I dressed my queen,
An saft saft made her bed;
An now I've got for my reward
The gallows-tree to tread!
13 'There's a health to all gallant sailors,
That sail upon the sea!
Oh never let on to my father and mither
The death that I maun dee!
14 'An I charge ye, all ye mariners,
When ye sail owre the main,
Let neither my father nor mither know
But that I'm comin hame.
15 'Oh little did my mither ken,
That day she cradled me,
What lands I was to tread in,
Or what death I should dee.
16 'Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
The nicht she'll hae but three;
There's Marie Seaton, an Marie Beaton,
An Marie Carmichael, an me.'
-----------
'Mary Hamilton'- Version H; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Kinloch's Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 252; a North Country version.
1 'Whan I was a babe, and a very little babe,
And stood at my mither's knee,
Nae witch nor warlock did unfauld
The death I was to dree.
2 'But my mither was a proud woman,
A proud woman and a bauld;
And she hired me to Queen Mary's bouer,
When scarce eleven years auld.
3 'O happy, happy is the maid,
That's born of beauty free!
It was my dimpling rosy cheeks
That's been the dule o me;
And wae be to that weirdless wicht,
And a' his witcherie!'
4 Word's gane up and word's gane doun,
An word's gane to the ha,
That Mary Hamilton was wi bairn,
An na body kend to wha.
5 But in and cam the queen hersel,
Wi gowd plait on her hair:
Says, Mary Hamilton, whare is the babe
That I heard greet sae sair?
6 'There is na babe within my bouer,
And I hope there neer will be;
But it's me wi a sair and sick colic,
And I'm just like to dee.'
7 But they looked up, they looked down,
Atween the bowsters and the wa,
It's there they got a bonnie lad-bairn,
But its life it was awa.
8 'Rise up, rise up, Mary Hamilton,
Rise up, and dress ye fine,
For you maun gang to Edinbruch,
And stand afore the nine.
9 'Ye'll no put on the dowie black,
Nor yet the dowie brown;
But ye'll put on the robes o red,
To sheen thro Edinbruch town.'
10 'I'll no put on the dowie black,
Nor yet the dowie brown;
But I'll put on the robes o red,
To sheen thro Edinbruch town.'
11 As they gaed thro Edinbruch town,
And down by the Nether-bow,
There war monie a lady fair
Siching and crying, Och how!
12 'O weep nae mair for me, ladies,
Weep nae mair for me!
Yestreen I killed my ain bairn,
The day I deserve to dee.
13 'What need ye hech and how, ladies?
What need ye how for me?
Ye never saw grace at a graceless face,
Queen Mary has nane to gie.'
14 'Gae forward, gae forward,' the queen she said,
'Gae forward, that ye may see;
For the very same words that ye hae said
Sall hang ye on the gallows-tree.'
15 As she gaed up the Tolbooth stairs,
She gied loud lauchters three;
But or ever she cam down again,
She was condemnd to dee.
16 'O tak example frae me, Maries,
O tak example frae me,
Nor gie your luve to courtly lords,
Nor heed their witchin' ee.
17 'But wae be to the Queen hersel,
She micht hae pardond me;
But sair she's striven for me to hang
Upon the gallows-tree.
18 'Yestreen the Queen had four Maries,
The nicht she'll hae but three;
There was Mary Beatoun, Mary Seaton,
And Mary Carmichael, and me.
19 'Aft hae I set pearls in her hair,
Aft hae I lac'd her gown,
And this is the reward I now get,
To be hangd in Edinbruch town!
20 'O a' ye mariners, far and near,
That sail ayont the faem,
O dinna let my father and mither ken
But what I am coming hame!
21 'O a' ye mariners, far and near,
That sail ayont the sea,
Let na my father and mither ken
The death I am to dee!
22 'Sae, weep na mair for me. ladies,
Weep na mair for me;
The mither that kills her ain bairn
Deserves weel for to dee.'
-----------
'The Queen's Marie'- Version I a; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
a. Scott's Minstrelsy, 1833, III, 294, made up from various copies.
b. Three stanzas (23, 18, 19) in the first edition of the Minstrelsy, 1802, II, 154, from recitation.
1 Marie Hamilton's to the kirk gane,
Wi ribbons in her hair;
The king thought mair o Marie Hamilton
Than ony that were there.
2 Marie Hamilton's to the kirk gane,
Wi ribbons on her breast;
The king thought mair o Marie Hamilton
Then he listend to the priest.
3 Marie Hamilton's to the kirk gane,
Wi gloves upon her hands;
The king thought mair o Marie Hamilton,
Than the queen and a' her lands.
4 She hadna been about the king's court
A month, but barely one,
Till she was beloved by a' the king's court,
And the king the only man.
5 She hadna been about the king's court
A month, but barely three,
Till frae the king's court Marie Hamilton,
Marie Hamilton durstna be.
6 The king is to the Abbey gane,
To pu the Abbey-tree,
To scale the babe frae Marie's heart,
But the thing it wadna be.
7 O she has rowd it in her apron,
And set it on the sea:
'Gae sink ye, or swim ye, bonny babe!
Ye's get nae mair o me.'
8 Word is to the kitchen gane,
And word is to the ha,
And word is to the noble room,
Amang the ladyes a',
That Marie Hamilton's brought to bed,
And the bonny babe's mist and awa.
9 Scarcely had she lain down again,
And scarcely fa'en asleep,
When up then started our gude queen,
Just at her bed-feet,
Saying, Marie Hamilton, where's your babe?
For I am sure I heard it greet.
10 'O no, O no, my noble queen,
Think no such thing to be!
'Twas but a stitch into my side,
And sair it troubles me.'
11 'Get up, get up, Marie Hamilton,
Get up and follow me;
For I am going to Edinburgh town,
A rich wedding for to see.'
12 O slowly, slowly raise she up,
And slowly put she on,
And slowly rode she out the way,
Wi mony a weary groan.
13 The queen was clad in scarlet,
Her merry maids all in green,
And every town that they cam to,
They took Marie for the queen.
14 'Ride hooly, hooly, gentlemen,
Ride hooly now wi me!
For never, I am sure, a wearier burd
Rade in your cumpanie.'
15 But little wist Marie Hamilton,
When she rade on the brown,
That she was gaen to Edinburgh town,
And a' to be put down.
16 'Why weep ye so, ye burgess-wives,
Why look ye so on me?
O I am going to Edinburgh town
A rich wedding for to see!'
17 When she gaed up the Tolbooth stairs,
The corks frae her heels did flee;
And lang or eer she cam down again
She was condemnd to die.
18 When she cam to the Netherbow Port,
She laughed loud laughters three;
But when she cam to the gallows-foot,
The tears blinded her ee.
19 'Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Marie Seaton, and Marie Beaton,
And Marie Carmichael, and me.
20 'O often have I dressed my queen,
And put gold upon her hair;
But now I've gotten for my reward
The gallows to be my share.
21 'Often have I dressd my queen,
And often made her bed;
But now I've gotten for my reward
The gallows-tree to tread.
22 'I charge ye all, ye mariners,
When ye sail ower the faem,
Let neither my father nor mother get wit
But that I'm coming hame!
23 'I charge ye all, ye mariners,
That sail upon the sea,
Let neither my father nor mother get wit
This dog's death I'm to die!
24 For if my father and mother got wit,
And my bold brethren three,
O mickle wad be the gude red blude
This day wad be spilt for me!
25 'O little did my mother ken,
That day she cradled me,
The lands I was to travel in,
Or the death I was to die!'
-------------
'Marie Hamilton'- Version J; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Harris Manuscript, fol. 10 b; "Mrs. Harris and others."
1 My mother was a proud, proud woman,
A proud, proud woman and a bold;
She sent me to Queen Marie's bour,
When scarcely eleven years old.
2 Queen Marie's bread it was sae sweet,
An her wine it was sae fine,
That I hae lien in a young man's arms,
An I rued it aye synsyne.
3 Queen Marie she cam doon the stair,
Wi the goud kamis in her hair:
'Oh whare oh whare is the wee wee babe
I heard greetin sae sair?'
4 'It's no a babe, a babie fair,
Nor ever intends to be;
But I mysel, wi a sair colic,
Was seek and like to dee.'
5 They socht the bed baith up an doon,
Frae the pillow to the straw,
An there they got the wee wee babe,
But its life was far awa.
6 'Come doon, come doon, Marie Hamilton,
Come doon and speak to me;
. . . .
. . . .
7 'You'll no put on your dowie black,
Nor yet your dowie broun;
But you'll put on your ried, ried silk,
To shine through Edinborough toun.'
* * * * *
8 'Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
The nicht she'll hae but three;
There was Marie Bethune, an Marie Seaton,
An Marie Carmichael, an me.
9 'Ah, little did my mother ken,
The day she cradled me,
The lands that I sud travel in,
An the death that I suld dee.'
10 Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
The nicht she has but three;
For the bonniest Marie amang them a'
Was hanged upon a tree.
----------------
'The Queen's Mary'- Version K; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 96; from Jean Macqucen, Large.
1 Queen Mary had four serving-maids,
As braw as braw could be,
But ane o them has fa'n wi bairn,
And for it she maun die.
2 But whan the babie it was born,
A troubled woman was she;
She rowed it up in a handkerchief,
And flang it in the sea.
3 Out then spoke a bonnie wee burd,
And it spak sharp and keen:
'O what did ye do wi your wee babie,
Ye had in your arms yestreen?'
4 'O I tyed it up in a napkin,
And flang it in the sea;
I bade it sink, I bade it soom,
'Twad get nae mair o me.'
5 Out and spak King Henrie,
And an angry man was he:
'A' for the drowning o that wee babe
High hanged ye shall be.'
* * * * *
6 'I'll no put on a goun o black,
Nor yet a goun o green,
But I'll put on a goun o gowd,
To glance in young men's een.
7 'O gin ye meet my father or mother,
Ye may tell them frae me,
'Twas for the sake o a wee wee bairn
That I came here to die.
8 'Yestreen four Maries made Queen Mary's bed,
This nicht there'll be but three,
A Mary Beaton, a Mary Seaton,
A Mary Carmichael, and me.
9 'O what will my three brithers say,
When they come hame frae see,
When they see three locks o my yellow hair
Hinging under a gallows-tree!'
-------------
'Mary Hamilton'- Version L; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 280; from the recitation of Mrs. Trail of Paisley.
1 Doun and cam the queen hersell,
Wi the goud links in her hair:
'O what did ye do wi the braw lad bairn
That I heard greet sae sair?
2 'There was never a babe into my room,
Nor ever intends to be;
It was but a fit o the sair colic,
That was like to gar me die.'
3 Doun and cam the king himsell,
And an angry man was he:
'If ye had saved that braw child's life,
It might hae been an honour to thee.'
4 They socht the chamer up and doun,
And in below the bed,
And there they fand a braw lad-bairn
Lying lapperin in his blood.
5 She rowed it up in her apron green,
And threw it in the sea:
'Een sink or swim, you braw lad bairn!
Ye'll neer get mair o me.'
* * * * *
6 When she gaed up the Cannogate,
She gied loud lauchters three;
But or she cam to the Cowgate Head
The tears did blind her ee.
7 'Come a' ye jovial sailors,
That sail upon the sea,
Tell neither my father nor mother
The death that I'm to die!
8 'Come a' ye jovial sailors,
That sail upon the main,
See that ye tell baith my father and mother
That I'm coming sailing hame!
9 'My father he's the Duke of York,
And my mother's a gay ladie,
And I mysell a pretty fair lady,
And the king fell in love with me.'
-------------
'Mary Hamilton'- Version M; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Maidment's North Countrie Garland, p. 19.
1 Then down cam Queen Marie,
Wi gold links in her hair,
Saying, Marie Mild, where is the child,
That I heard greet sae sair?
2 'There was nae child wi me, madam,
There was nae child wi me;
It was but me in a sair cholic,
When I was like to die.'
3 'I'm not deceived,' Queen Marie said,
'No, no, indeed not I!
So Marie Mild, where is the child?
For sure I heard it cry.'
4 She turned down the blankets fine,
Likewise the Holland sheet,
And underneath, there strangled lay
A lovely baby sweet.
5 'O cruel mother,' said the queen,
'Some fiend possessed thee;
But I will hang thee for this deed,
My Marie tho thou be!'
* * * * *
6 When she cam to the Netherbow Port
She laught loud laughters three;
But when she cam to the gallows-foot,
The saut tear blinded her ee.
7 'Yestreen the Queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Marie Seton, and Marie Beaton,
And Marie Carmichael, and me.
8 'Ye mariners, ye mariners,
That sail upon the sea,
Let not my father or mother wit
The death that I maun die!
9 'I was my parents' only hope,
They neer had ane but me;
They little thought when I left hame,
They should nae mair me see!'
-------------
'The Queen's Maries'- Version N; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Murison Manuscript, p. 33; from recitation at Old Deer, 1876.
1 The streen the queen had four Maries,
This nicht she'll hae but three;
There's Mary Heaton, an Mary Beaton,
An Mary Michel, an me,
An I mysel was Mary Mild,
An flower oer a' the three.
2 Mary's middle was aye sae neat,
An her clothing aye sae fine,
It caused her lie in a young man's airms,
An she's ruet it aye sin syne.
3 She done her doon yon garden green,
To pull the deceivin tree,
For to keep back that young man's bairn,
But forward it would be.
4 'Ye winna put on the dowie black,
Nor yet will ye the broon,
But ye'll put on the robes o red,
To shine through Edinburgh toon.'
5 She hasna pitten on the dowie black,
Nor yet has she the broon,
But she's pitten on the robes o red,
To shine thro Edinburgh toon.
6 When she came to the mariners' toon,
The mariners they were playin,
. . . .
. . . .
7 'Ye needna play for me, mariners,
Ye needna play for me;
Ye never saw grace in a graceless face,
For there's nane therein to be.
8 'Seven years an I made Queen Mary's bed,
Seven years an I combed her hair,
An a hansome reward noo she's gien to me,
Gien me the gallows-tows to wear!
9 'Oh little did my mither think,
The day she cradled me,
What road I'd hae to travel in,
Or what death I'd hae to dee!'
-------------
'The Queen's Marie'- Version O; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Finlay's Scottish Ballads, I, xix, from recitation.
1 There lived a lord into the south,
And he had dochters three,
And the youngest o them went to the king's court,
To learn some courtesie.
2 She rowd it in a wee wee clout
. . .
. . . .
. . . .
3 She rowd it in a wee wee clout
And flang't into the faem,
Saying, sink ye soon, my bonny babe!
I'll go a maiden hame.
4 'O woe be to you, ye ill woman,
An ill death may ye die!
Gin ye had spared the sweet baby's life,
It might hae been an honour to thee.'
5 She wadna put on her gowns o black,
Nor yet wad she o brown,
But she wad put on her gowns o gowd,
To glance through Embro town.
6 'Come saddle not to me the black,' she says,
'Nor yet to me the brown,
But come saddle to me the milk-white steed,
That I may ride in renown.'
-----------
['My Father's the Duke of Argyll']- Version P; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Kinloch's Manuscripts, VII, 95, 97.
1 My father's the duke of Argyll,
My mither's a lady gay,
And I mysel am a dainty dame,
And the king desired me.
2 He schawd [me] up, he schawed me doun,
He schawd me to the ha;
He schawd me to the low cellars,
And that was waurst of a'.
-------------
'Queen's Marie'- Version Q; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Letters from and to Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe, ed. Allardyce, 1888, II, 272, in a letter from Sharpe to W. Scott [1823].
1 The Duke of York was my father,
My mother a lady free,
Myself a dainty damosell,
Queen Marie sent for me.
2 The queen's meat it was sae sweet,
Her cleiding it was sae rare,
It gart me grien for sweet Willie,
And I'll rue it evermair.
---------------
['Little did my mother think']- Version R; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
Burns, in a letter to Mrs. Dunlop, January 25, 1790; Carrie, II, 290, 1800.
1 Little did my mother think,
That day she cradled me,
What land I was to travel in,
Or what death I should die!
-----------
'The Queen's Marie'- Version S; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
1 There lived a lord into the South,
An he had daughters three;
The youngest o them's gaen to the king's court,
To learn some courtesie.
2 She had na been in the king's court
A twelvemonth an a day,
When word is thro the kitchen gaen,
An likewise thro the ha,
That Mary Moil was gane wi child
To the highest steward of a'.
3 She rowd it into a basket
An flang 't into the sea,
Saying, Sink ye soon, my bonny babe,
Ye'se neer get mair o me.
4 She rowd it into a basket
An flang 't into the faem,
Saying, Sink ye soon, my bonny babe,
I'se gang a maiden hame.
5 O whan the news cam to the king
An angry man was he;
He has taen the table wi his foot,
An in flinders gart it flie.
6 'O woe be to you, ye ill woman,
An ill death may ye die!
Gin ye had spared the sweet baby's life,
It might have been an honour to thee.
7 'O busk ye, busk ye, Mary Moil,
O busk, and gang wi me,
For agen the morn at ten o clock
A rare sight ye sall see.'
8 She wadna put on her gown o black,
Nor yet wad she o brown,
But she wad put on her gown o gowd,
To glance thro Embro town.
9 O whan she cam to the Netherbow Port
She gied loud laughters three,
But whan she cam to the gallows-foot
The tear blinded her ee.
10 Saying, O ye mariners, mariners,
That sail upon the sea,
Let not my father nor mother to wit
The death that I maun die.
11 'For little did father or mother wit,
The day they cradled me,
What foreign lands I should travel in,
Or what death I should die.
12 'Yestreen the Queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Mary Seton, an Mary Beaton,
An Mary Carmichael, an' me.'
-------------
['Mary Hamilton']- Version T; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
1 There was a duke, and he dwelt in York,
And he had daughters three;
One of them was an hostler-wife,
And two were gay ladies.
2 O word's gane to Queen Mary's court,
As fast as it coud gee,
That Mary Hamilton's born a bairn,
And the baby they coud na see.
3 Then came the queen and a' her maids,
Swift tripping down the stair:
'Where is the baby, Mary,
That we heard weep sae sair?'
4 'O say not so, Queen Mary,
Nor bear ill tales o me,
For this is but a sore sickness
That oft times troubles me.'
5 They sought it up, they sought it down,
They sought it below the bed,
And there the[y] saw the bonny wee babe,
Lying wallowing in its bluid.
6 'Now busk ye, busk ye, Mary Hamilton,
Busk ye and gang wi me,
For I maun away to Edinbro town,
A rich wedding to see.'
7 Mary wad na put on the black velvet,
Nor yet wad put on the brown,
But she's put on the red velvet,
To shine thro Edinbro town.
8 When she came unto the town,
And near the Tolbooth stair,
There stood many a lady gay,
Weeping for Mary fair.
9 'O haud yeer tongue[s], ye ladys a',
And weep na mair for me!
O haud yeer tongues, ye ladys a',
For it's for my fault I dee.
10 'The king he took me on his knee
And he gae three drinks to me,
And a' to put the babie back,
But it wad na gang back for me.
11 'O ye mariners, ye mariners a',
That sail out-owr the sea,
Let neither my father nor mother get wit
What has become o me!
12 'Let neither my father nor mother ken,
Nor my bauld brethren three,
For muckle wad be the gude red bluid
That wad be shed for me.
13 'Aft hae I laced Queen Mary's back,
Aft hae I kaimed her hair,
And a' the reward she's gein to me 's
The gallows to be my heir.
14 'Yestreen the queen had four Marys,
The night she'l hae but three;
There was Mary Seatoun, and Mary Beatoun,
An Mary Carmichal, an me.'
-----------
'Lament of the Queen's Marie'- Version U; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
1 'My father was the Duke of York,
My mother a gay ladye,
And I myself a daintie dame;
The queen she sent for me.
2 'But the queen's meat it was sae sweet,
And her clothing was sae rare,
It made me long for a young man's bed,
And I rued it evermair.'
3 But worid is up, and word is down,
Amang the ladyes a',
That Marie's born a babe sin yestreen,
That babe it is awa.
4 But the queen she gat wit of this,
She calld for a berry-brown gown,
And she's awa to Marie's bower,
The bower that Marie lay in.
5 'Open your door, my Marie,' she says,
'My bonny and fair Marie;
They say you have born a babe sin yestreen,
That babe I fain wad see.'
6 'It is not sae wi me, madam,
It is not sae wi me;
It is but a fit of my sair sickness,
That oft times troubles me.'
7 'Get up, get up, my Marie,' she says,
'My bonny and fair Marie,
And we'll away to Edinburgh town,
And try the verity.'
8 Slowly, slowly, gat she up,
And slowly pat she on,
And slowly went she to that milk-steed,
To ride to Edinburgh town.
9 But when they cam to Edinburgh,
And in by the Towbooth stair,
There was mony a virtuous ladye
Letting the tears fa there.
10 'Why weep ye sae for me, madams?
Why weep ye sae for me?
For sin ye brought me to this town
This death ye gar me die.'
11 When she cam to the Netherbow Port,
She gae loud laughters three;
But when she cam to the gallows-foot
The tear blinded her ee.
12 'Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Marie Seton, and Marie Beatoun,
And Marie Carmichael, and me.
13 'My love he was a pottinger,
Mony drink he gae me,
And a' to put back that bonnie babe,
But alas! it wad na do.
14 'I pat that bonny babe in a box,
And set it on the sea;
O sink ye, swim ye, bonny babe!
Ye's neer get mair o me.
15 'O all ye jolly sailors,
That sail upon the sae,
Let neither my father nor mother ken
The death that I maun die.
16 'But if my father and mother kend
The death that I maun die,
O mony wad be the good red guineas
That wad be gien for me.'
--------------
['Marie Hamilton']- Version V; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
1 'My father was the Duke of York,
My mother the gay ladie,
An I myself a maiden bright,
An the queen desired me.'
2 But there word gane to the kitchen,
There's word gane to the ha,
That Mary mild she gangs wi child
To the uppermost stewart of a'.
3 Than they sought but, and they sou[ght] ben,
They sought aneath the bed,
An there the fand the bonnie lad-bairn,
Lyin lappin in his blood.
4 'Gae buss ye, Marie Hamilton,
Gae buss ye, buss ye bra,
For ye maun away to Edin[brough] town,
The queen's birthday . . '.'
5 She wadna put on her black, bla[ck] silk,
Nor wad she put on the brown,
But she pat on the glisterin stufs,
To glister in Edinbrough town.
6 An whan she cam to the water-gate
Loud laughters gae she three,
But whan she cam to the Netherbow Port
The tear blinded Marie's ee.
7 'Twas up than spak Queen Marie's nurse,
An a sorry woman was she:
'Whae sae clever o fit and ready o wit
Has telld sic news o thee!'
8 'Oft have I Queen Marie's head
Oft have I caimd her hair,
An a' the thanks I've gotten for that
Is the gallows to be my heir!
9 'Oft have I dressd Queen Marie's head,
An laid her in her bed,
An a' the thanks I've gotten for that
Is the green gallows-tree to tread!
10 'O spare, O spare, O judge,' she cried,
'O spair a day for me!'
'There is nae law in our land, ladie,
To let a murderer be.'
11 'Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Marie Seaton, and Ma[rie] Bea[ton],
An Marie Carmichael, an me.
12 'O if my father now but kend
The death that I'm to die,
O muckle, muckle wad be the red gowd
That he wad gie for me.
13 'An if my brothers kend the death
That I am now to die,
O muckle, muckle wad be the red blood
That wad be shed for me.'
-------------
['Mary Miles']- Version W; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
1 There lived a man in the North Countree
And he had doghters three;
The youngest o them's to Edinbourgh gaen,
Ane o the queen's Marys to be.
2 Queen Mary's bread it was sae white,
And her wine it ran sae clear,
It shewed her the way to the butler's bed,
And I wait she's bought dear.
3 For Mary's to the garden gaen,
To eat o the saven tree,
And a' 's to pit her young son back,
But back he wad na be.
4 So Mary's to her chamber gaen,
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
5 Queen Mary she came down the stair,
And a' her maids afore her:
'Oh, Mary Miles, where is the child
That I have heard greet sae sore O?'
6 'There is no child with me, madam,
There is no child with me;
It was only a bit of a cholick I took,
And I thought I was gawen to dee.'
7 So they looked up, and they looked down,
And they looked beneath the bed-foot,
And there they saw a bonnie boy,
Lying weltering in his blood.
8 . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . .
'Since that you have killed your own dear child,
The same death you shall dee.'
9 When Mary came afore the court,
A loud laugh laughed she;
But when she came to the [gallows-]fit
The tear blinded her ee.
* * * * * * *
10 'O wha will comb Queen Mary's heed?
Or wha will brade her hair?
And wha will lace her middle sae jimp
Whan [I] am nae langer there?
11 'Yestreen the queen [had] four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Mary Seaten, and Mary Beaten,
And Mary Carmichal, and me.
* * * * * * *
12 'I'll not put on my robes of black,
Nor yet my robes of brown,
But I'll put on a shining braw garb,
That will shine thro Edinbourgh town.'
* * * * * * *
13 Oh, whan she came to the Cannongate,
The Cannongate sae hee,
There mony a lord and belted knight
Was grieved for her beautee.
* * * * * * *
14 And whan she came to [the] Hee Town,
The Hee Town sae hee,
. . .
. . .
* * * * * * *
---------------
'The Queen's Maries'- Version X; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
1 There livd a lord in the West Country,
And he had daughters three;
The youngest o them's to the queen's court,
To learn some courtesy.
2 She hadna been at the queen's court
A year but and a day
Till she has fa'n as big wi child,
As big as she coud gae.
3 She's gane into the garden
To pu the sycamore tree,
And taen the bony bairn in her arms
And thrown it in the sea.
4 She rowd it in her apron
And threw it in the sea:
'Gae sink or soom, my bony sweet babe,
Ye'll never get mair o me.'
5 Then in an came Queen Mary,
Wi gowd rings on her hair:
'O Mary mild, where is the child
That I heard greet sae sair?'
6 'It wasna a babe, my royal liege,
Last night that troubled me,
But it was a fit o sair sickness,
And I was lyken to dee.'
7 'O hold yere tongue, Mary Hamilton,
Sae loud as I hear ye lee!
For I'll send you to Enbro town,
The verity to see.'
8 She wadna put on the ribbons o black,
Nor yet wad she the brown,
But she wad put on the ribbons o gowd,
To gae glittring through Enbro town.
9 As she rade up the Sands o Leith,
Riding on a white horse,
O little did she think that day
To die at Enbro Corss!
10 As she rade up the Cannongate,
She leugh loud laughters three,
And mony a lord and lady said,
'Alas for that lady!'
11 'Ye needna say Oh, ye needna cry Eh,
Alas for that lady!
Ye'll neer see grace in a graceless face,
As little ye'll see in me.'
12 When she came to the Netherbow Port,
She leugh loud laughters three,
But ere she came to the gallows-foot
The tear blinded her eie;
Saying, Tye a white napkin owr my face,
For that gibbet I downa see.
13 'O hold yere hand, Lord Justice!
O hold it a little while!
I think I see my ain true-love
Come wandring mony a mile.
14 'O have ye brought me ony o my gowd?
Or ony o my weel-won fee?
Or are ye come to see me hangd,
Upon this gallows-tree?'
15 'O I hae brought ye nane o yere gowd,
Nor nane o yere weel-won fee,
But I am come to see ye hangd,
And hangit ye shall be.'
16 'O all ye men and mariners,
That sail for wealth or fame,
Let never my father or mother get wit
But what I'm coming hame.
17 'O all ye men and mariners,
That sail upon the sea,
Let never my father or mother get wit
The death that I maun dee.
18 'Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Mary Seaton, and Mary Beaton,
And Mary Carmichael, and me.'
--------------
'The Queen's Marys'- Version Y; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
1 'Yestreen the queen had four Marys,
The night she'll hae but three;
She had Mary Beaton, and Mary Seaton,
And Mary Carmichael, and me.
2 'My feather was the Duke of York,
My mother a gay lady,
And I mysell a bonnie young may,
And the king fell in love we me.
3 'The king's kisses they were so sweet,
And his wine it was so strong,
That I became a mother
Before fifteen years old.'
4 'O tell the truth now, Mary,
And sett this matter right;
What hae ye made o the babey
Was greeting yesternight?'
5 'O I will tell you, madam the queen,
I winna tell a lie;
I put it in a bottomless boat
And bad it sail the sea.'
6 'Ye lie, ye lie now, Mary,
Sae loud's I hear you lie!
You wasnae out o the palace,
So that coud never be.'
7 'Weel I will tell you, madam,
Though it should gar me weep;
I stabbd it we my little pen-knife,
And bad it take a sleep.'
8 When she came up the Netherbow,
She geed loud laughters three;
But when she came out o the Parliament Close
The tear blinded her ee.
9 'O little does my feather ken
The death I am to die,
Or muckel wad be the red, red gould
Wad be payed doun for me.
10 'O little does my mother think
The death that I am to die,
Or monie wad be the saut, saut tears
That she wad shed for me.
11 'O never lett my brothers ken
The death that I am to die,
For muckel wad be the red, red blood
That wad be shed for me.
12 'Aft hae I washd the king's bonnie face,
Kaimd doun his yellow hair,
And this is a' the reward he's geen me,
The gallows to be my share.'
---------------
'The Queen's Marie'- Version Z; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
1 'Buss ye, bonny Marie Hamilton,
Buss and gae wi me,
For ye maun gae to Edinborough,
A great wedding to see.'
2 'Ride hooly, hooly, gentlemen,
Ride hooly now wi me,
For never, I'm sure, a wearier bride
Rode in your cumpany.'
3 Little wist Marie Hamilton,
When she rode on the brown,
That she was gawn to Edinborough,
And a' to be put down.
4 When she came to the Council stairs,
She ga loud laughters three;
But or that she came down again
She was condemmd to dee.
5 'O ye mariners, mariners, mariners,
When ye sail oer the faem,
Let never my father nor mother to wit
But I'm just coming hame.
6 'Let never my father nor mother to wit,
Nor my bauld brether[en] three,
Or meckle wad be the red, red gowd
This day be gien for me.
7 'Let never my father or mother to wit,
Nor my bauld brethren three,
Or meckle war the red, red blude
This day wad fa for me.'
--------------
['Oft hae I kaimd Queen Mary's head'] Version AA; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
1 Oft hae I kaimd Queen Mary's head,
An oft hae I curld her hair,
An now I hae gotten for my reward
A gallows to be heir.'
-------------
'The Queen's Maries'- Version BB; Child 173 Mary Hamilton
1 Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
But the nicht she'll hae but three;
There was Mary Beaton, and Mary Seaton,
And Mary Carmichell, and me.
2 Oh little did my mither think,
At nicht when she cradled me,
That I wad sleep in a nameless grave
And hang on the gallows-tree.
Yestreen, etc.
3 They'll tie a kerchief round my een,
And they'll na let me see t' dee,
And they'll spread my story thro a' the land,
Till it reaches my ain countrie.
4 I wish I micht sleep in the auld kirkyard,
Beneath the hazel tree,
Where aft we played in the long simmer nichts,
My brithers and sisters and me.
End-Notes
A. b. 1 There 's news is gaen in the kitchen,
There 's news is gaen in the ha,
There 's news is gaen in the laigh cellar,
And that was warst of a'.
2 There 's news is gaen in the kitchen,
There 's news is gaen in the ha',
That Mary Hamilton 's gotten a wean,
And that was warst of a'.
31. She 's rowed.
32. She 's cuist it.
33. My bonnie bairn ga sink or swim.
34. Ye 's no hear mair.
41. Then doon.
42. Wi tasslets.
43. Cri'n, M. H., whaur's the bairn.
44. That wanting.
51. There's no a bairn in a' the toon.
52. Nor yet.
53. 'T was but a steek in.
61. And ye maun.
64. And ye maun awa wi me the morn.
71. I 'se no.
74. To see fair.
81. And when.
83. And when.
34. tear stood in.
91. And when.
92. heel slipped off.
93. And when she cam doon the Parliament stair.
10, 11 wanting.
121. But bring: she cried.
131, 141. And here 's to the jolly sailor lad.
132, 142. sails: faem.
133. And let not my father nor mother get wit
134. that I shall come again.
143. But let, as in 133.
144. O the death that I maun dee.
15, 16 wanting.
171. auld queen's.
172. And I laid her gently.
173. I hae gotten the day.
174. Is to.
181. night the queen had.
182. This night she'll hae.
184. M. Beton and M. Seton.
c. Begins: This nicht the queen has four Maries,
Each fair as she can be;
There's Marie Seton, etc.
31. The bairn 's tyed.
32. And thrown intill.
33. Osink.
After 3:
Oh I have born this bonnie wee babe
Wi mickle toil and pain;
Gae hame, gae hame, you bonnie wee babe!
For nurse I dare be nane.
41. Then down cam Queen Marie.
43. Saying, Marie mild, where is the babe.
51. There was nae babe.
52. There was na babe wi me.
53. o a sair cholic.
After 5 (mostly spurious):
The queen turned down the blankets fine,
Likewise the snae-white sheet,
And what she saw caused her many a tear,
And made her sair to greet.
O cruel mither, said the queen,
A fiend possessed thee:
But I will hang thee for this deed,
My Marie though thou be.
After 7:
And some they mounted the black steed,
And some mounted the brown,
But Marie mounted her milk-white steed,
And rode foremost thro the town.
83. But when.
After 12:
Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
The nicht she'll hae but three;
There was M. S., and M. B.
And M. C., and me.
13 wanting.
141. Ye mariners, ye mariners.
143. L[et] not my father and mother wit.
144. The death that I maun dee.
After 14:
I was my parents' only hope,
They neer had ane but me;
They little thought, when I left hame,
They should nae mair me see.
17 wanting.
181. there were.
Largely taken from a, 1, 2, 6-12, 15, 16 being literally repeated.
B. 33. us up.
85,6. wrongly:
And we'll ride into Edinburgh town,
High hanged thou shalt be.
C. 92. Altered from I'll put on my brown.
Var. between 92 and 93:
Nor I'll no put on my suddling silks,
That I wear up and down,
up and down altered from ilka day.
101. went altered from gaed.
131, 141. Oh.
D. From two reciters, which accounts for the alterations and insertions.
11. Altered from There was a lord lived in the north.
21. Altered from And the third.
23. Altered from that he.
41. gay added later.
42. Altered from And pued the saving tree.
43. for inserted later.
44. it inserted later.
73. a fit o inserted later.
74. Altered from I am just.
9. After 9, Motherwell wrote A stanza wanting, and subsequently added 10, 11.
123. Originally, gold stars.
13. Originally,
She did not put on her robes of black,
Nor yet her robes of brown,
But she put on her yellow gold stars (stays?).
14. Originally, And when she came into Edinborugh, (bad reading)
And standing at the cross,
There she saw all the coblers' wifes,
Sat greeting at the cross.
153,4. Originally, For I am come to, etc.,
Weeded for to be.
A marginal note by Motherwell, opposite the last line, but erased, has A rich wedding to sie.
161. stair altered from close.
19, 20. Written in the margin, after those which follow.
233,4 and And, 235, are of later insertion.
E. For the seven stanzas after 15, see No 95, II, 346.
F. 3. Mary Beaton & Mary Seaton & Lady Livinston
Three we'll [or will] never meet
In queen Mary's bower
Now Maries tho ye be.
132. then cryed.
141. had your.
184. pine.
For the six stanzas after 18, see No 95, II, 346.
G. 11. Oh.
H. 3, 16, 17, 22 are put into smaller type as being evidently spurious.
I. a. 24 is certainly spurious, and reduces the pathos exceedingly.
b. 'The Lament of the Queen's Marie'
184. tear.
23 O ye mariners, mariners, mariners,
That sail upon the sea,
Let not my father nor mother to wit
The death that I maun die!
K. From Jean Macqueen, Largo, in the Manuscript
"More likely to be Largs, which is on the Clyde, than Largo, on the east coast": note of Mr. J.B. Murdoch.
41. Oh.
6 is the last stanza but one in the Manuscript.
L. 9 might better be 1.
N. Variations.
13,6. There 's Mary Beaton, an Mary Seaton,
An Mary Carmichael, an me;
An I mysel, Queen Mary's maid,
Was flower oer a' the three.
21. sae jimp.
23. She loved to He.
32. the savin tree.
33,4. But the little wee babe came to her back,
An forward it would be.
8 is 4 in the Manuscript.
O. "The unfortunate heroine's name is Mary Moil": Finlay, p. xix
Additions and Corrections
To be Corrected in the Print.
379 a, 173, A a, first line. Read Sharpe's.
383 a, line 32. Read pavlovsk.
384 a, 51. Read was never.
397, P 11. Read father is.
To be Corrected in the Print.
513 b, AA, line 4. Read my heir.
Pp. 379-97. I a was first printed in the second edition of the Minstrelsy, 1803, II, 163. (Read in 12, on her; in 32, hand.) The copy principally used was one furnished by Sharpe, which was not A a, and has not so far been recovered. Besides this, "copies from various quarters" were resorted to. (Half a dozen stanzas are found in G, but G itself is very likely a compilation). Eight copies from Abbotsford are now printed for the first time. Two of these may have been in Scott's hands in time to be used, two were certainly not, and for the others we have no date.
There is only one novel feature in all these copies: in U 13 Mary's paramour is a pottinger. The remark that there is no trace of an admixture of the Russian story with that of the apothecary, page 383, must therefore be withdrawn.[1] Mary in this version, as in E, F, Q, T, U, V, Y, is daughter of the Duke of York.
X, like E, F, has borrowed from No 95: see 13-15.
[Add version S]
S. Finlay sent Scott, March 27, 1803, the following copy of 'The Queen's Marie,' as he "had written it down from memory:" Letters addressed to Sir Walter Scott, I, No 87, Abbotsford. Stanzas 10, 9, 12 appear in the second volume of the Minstrelsy, 1802, p. 154, with the variation of a couple of words, as 'The Lament of the Queen's Marie' (here I b). Perhaps Finlay adopted these three stanzas into his copy. Stanzas 1, 3, 6, 8, with very slight variations, were printed by Finlay in the preface to his Scottish Ballads, 1808 (O).
1 There lived a lord into the South,
An he had daughters three;
The youngest o them's gaen to the king's court,
To learn some courtesie.
2 She had na been in the king's court
A twelvemonth an a day,
When word is thro the kitchen gaen,
An likewise thro the ha,
That Mary Moil was gane wi child
To the highest steward of a'.
3 She rowd it into a basket
An flang 't into the sea,
Saying, Sink ye soon, my bonny babe,
Ye'se neer get mair o me.
4 She rowd it into a basket
An flang 't into the faem,
Saying, Sink ye soon, my bonny babe,
I'se gang a maiden hame.
5 O whan the news cam to the king
An angry man was he;
He has taen the table wi his foot,
An in flinders gart it flie.
6 'O woe be to you, ye ill woman,
An ill death may ye die!
Gin ye had spared the sweet baby's life,
It might have been an honour to thee.
7 'O busk ye, busk ye, Mary Moil,
O busk, an gang wi me,
For agen the morn at ten o clock
A rare sight ye sail see.'
8 She wadna put on her gown o black,
Nor yet wad she o brown,
But she wad put on her gown o gowd,
To glance thro Embro town.
9 O whan she cam to the Netherbow Port
She gied loud laughters three,
But whan she cam to the gallows-foot
The tear blinded her ee.
10 Saying, O ye mariners, mariners,
That sail upon the sea,
Let not my father nor mother to wit
The death that I maun die.
11 'For little did father or mother wit,
The day they cradled me,
What foreign lands I should travel in,
Or what death I should die.
12 'Yestreen the Queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Mary Seton, an Mary Beaton,
An Mary Carmichael, an me.'
33, 43. We should read Sink ye, soom ye, as in A 33, U 143, X 43, and other copies.
[Add version T]
T. Communicated to Sir Walter Scott by Mrs. Christiana Greenwood, London, 21st February and 27th May, 1806, from the recitation of her mother and her aunt, who learned the ballad above fifty years before from Kirstan Scot, then an old woman, at Longnewton, near Jedburgh: Letters at Abbotsford, I, Nos 173, 189.
1 There was a duke, and he dwelt in York,
And he had daughters three;
One of them was an hostler-wife,
And two were gay ladies.
2 O word's gane to Queen Mary's court,
As fast as it coud gee,
That Mary Hamilton's born a bairn,
And the baby they coud na see.
3 Then came the queen and a' her maids,
Swift tripping down the stair:
'Where is the baby, Mary,
That we heard weep sae sair?'
4 'O say not so, Queen Mary,
Nor bear ill tales o me,
For this is but a sore sickness
That oft times troubles me.'
5 They sought it up, they sought it down,
They sought it below the bed,
And there the[y] saw the bonny wee babe,
Lying wallowing in its bluid.
6 'Now busk ye, busk ye, Mary Hamilton,
Busk ye and gang wi me,
For I maun away to Edinbro town,
A rich wedding to see.'
7 Mary wad na put on the black velvet,
Nor yet wad put on the brown,
But she's put on the red velvet,
To shine thro Edinbro town.
8 When she came unto the town,
And near the Tolbooth stair,
There stood many a lady gay,
Weeping for Mary fair.
9 'O baud yeer tongue[s], ye ladys a',
And weep na mair for me!
O baud yeer tongues, ye ladys a',
For it's for my fault I dee.
10 'The king he took me on his knee
And he gae three drinks to me,
And a' to put the babie back,
But it wad na gang back for me.
11 'O ye mariners, ye mariners a',
That sail out-owr the sea,
Let neither my father nor mother get wit
What has become o me!
12 'Let neither my father nor mother ken,
Nor my bauld brethren three,
For muckle wad be the gude red bluid
That wad be shed for me.
13 'Aft hae I laced Queen Mary's back,
Aft hae I kaimed her hair,
And a' the reward she's gein to me's
The gallows to be my heir.
14 'Yestreen the queen had four Marys,
The night she'l hae but three;
There was Mary Seatoun, and Mary Beatoun.
An Mary Carmichal, an me.'
[Add version U]
U. 'Lament of the Queen's Marie,' "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 92, Abbotsford. Communicated to Scott, 7th January, 1804, by Rev. George Paxton, Kilmaurs, near Kilmarnock, Ayrshire (afterwards professor of divinity at Edinburgh); from the mouth of Jean Milne, his "aged mother, formerly an unwearied singer of Scotish songs."
1 'My father was the Duke of York,
My mother a gay ladye,
And I myself a daintie dame;
The queen she sent for me.
2 'But the queen's meat it was sae sweet,
And her clothing was sae rare,
It made me long for a young man's bed,
And I rued it evermair.'
3 But word is up, and word is down,
Amang the ladyes a',
That Marie's born a babe sin yestreen,
That babe it is awa.
4 But the queen she gat wit of this,
She calld for a berry-brown gown,
And she's awa to Marie's bower,
The bower that Marie lay in.
5 'Open your door, my Marie,' she says,
'My bonny and fair Marie;
They say you have born a babe sin yestreen,
That babe I fain wad see.'
6 'It is not sae wi me, madam,
It is not sae wi me;
It is but a fit of my sair sickness,
That oft tunes troubles me.'
7 'Get up, get up, my Marie,' she says,
'My bonny and fair Marie,
And we'll away to Edinburgh town,
And try the verity.'
8 Slowly, slowly, gat she up,
And slowly pat she on,
And slowly went she to that milk-steed,
To ride to Edinburgh town.
9 But when they cam to Edinburgh,
And in by the Towbooth stair,
There was mony a virtuous ladye
Letting the tears fa there.
10 'Why weep ye sae for me, madams?
Why weep ye sae for me?
For sin ye brought me to this town
This death ye gar me die.'
11 When she cam to the Netherbow Port,
She gae loud laughters three;
But when she cam to the gallows-foot
The tear blinded her ee.
12 'Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Marie Seton, and Marie Beatoun,
And Marie Carmichael, and me.
13 'My love he was a pottinger,
Mony drink he gae me,
And a' to put back that bonnie babe,
But alas! it wad na do.
14 'I pat that bonny babe in a box,
And set it on the sea;
O sink ye, swim ye, bonny babe!
Ye's neer get mair o me.
15 'O all ye jolly sailors,
That sail upon the sea,
Let neither my father nor mother ken
The death that I maun die.
16 'But if my father and mother kend
The death that I maun die,
O mony wad be the good red guineas
That wad be gien for me.'
[Add version V]
V. "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 9, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of William Laidlaw.
1 'My father was the Duke of York,
My mother the gay ladie,
An I myself a maiden bright,
An the queen desired me.'
2 But there word gane to the kitchen,
There's word gane to the ha,
That Mary mild she gangs wi child
To the uppermost Stewart of a'.
3 Than they sought but, and they sou[ght] ben,
They sought aneath the bed,
An there the fand the bonnie lad-bairn,
Lyin lappin in his blood.
4 'Gae buss ye, Marie Hamilton,
Gae buss ye, buss ye bra,
For ye maun away to Edin[brough] town,
The queen's birthday ... '
5 She wadna put on her black, bla[ck] silk,
Nor wad she put on the brown,
But she pat on the glisterin stufs,
To glister in Edinbrough town.
6 An whan she cam to the water-gate
Loud laughters gae she three,
But whan she cam to the Netherbow Port
The tear blinded Marie's ee.
7 'T was up than spak Queen Marie's nurse,
An a sorry woman was she:
' Whae sae clever o fit and ready o wit
Has telld sic news o thee!'
8 'Oft have I Queen Marie's head
Oft have I caimd her hair,
An a' the thanks I've gotten for that
Is the gallows to be my heir!
9 'Oft have I dressd Queen Marie's head,
An laid her in her bed,
An a' the thanks I've gotten for that
Is the green gallows-tree to tread!
10 'O spare, O spare, O judge,' she cried,
'O spair a day for me!'
'There is nae law in our land, ladie,
To let a murderer be.'
11 'Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Marie Seaton, and Ma[rie] Bea[ton],
An Marie Carmichael, an me.
12 'O if my father now but kend
The death that I'm to die,
O muckle, muckle wad be the red gowd
That he wad gie for me.
13 'An if my brothers kend the death
That I am now to die,
O muckle, muckle wad be the red blood
That wad be shed for me.'
23,4. Or:
That Mary Hamilton's born a bairn
An murderd it at the wa.
31, 113. Edge bound in.
81. caimd written, but struck out.
83. & I the.
[Add version W]
W. "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 85, Abbotsford.
1 There lived a man in the North Countree
And he had doghters three;
The youngest o them's to Edinbourgh gaen,
Ane o the queen's Marys to be.
2 Queen Mary's bread it was sae white,
And her wine it ran sae clear,
It shewed her the way to the butler's bed.
And I wait she's bought dear.
3 For Mary's to the garden gaen,
To eat o the saven tree,
And a''s to pit her young son back.
But back he wad na be.
4 So Mary 'a to her chamber gaen,
. . .
. . .
. . .
5 Queen Mary she came down the stair,
And a' her maids afore her:
'Oh, Mary Miles, where is the child
That I have heard greet sae sore O?'
6 'There is no child with me, madam,
There is no child with me;
It was only a bit of a cholick I took,
And I thought I was gawen to dee.'
7 So they looked up, and they looked down,
And they looked beneath the bed-foot,
And there they saw a bonnie boy,
Lying weltering in his blood.
8 . . .
. . .
'Since that you have killed your own dear child,
The same death you shall dee.'
9 When Mary came afore the court,
A loud laugh laughed she;
But when she came to the [gallows-]fit
The tear blinded her ee.
* * *
10 'O wha will comb Queen Mary's heed?
Or wha will brade her hair?
And wha will lace her middle sae jimp
Whan [I] am nae langer there?
11 'Yestreen the queen [had] four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Mary Seaten, and Mary Beaten,
And Mary Carmichal, and me.
* * *
12 'I'll not put on my robes of black,
Nor yet my robes of brown,
But I'll put on a shining braw garb,
That will shine thro Edinbourgh town.'
* * *
13 Oh, whan she came to the Cannongate,
The Cannongate sae hee,
There mony a lord and belted knight
Was grieved for her beautee.
* * *
14 And when she came to [the] Hee Town
The Hee Town sae hee,
. . .
. . .
* * *
101. Oh.
11 1,2. Added in a different hand.
123. shinning.
[Add version X]
X. 'The Queen's Maries,' "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 91, Abbotsford.
1 There livd a lord in the West Country,
And he had daughters three;
The youngest o them's to the queen's court,
To learn some courtesy.
2 She hadna been at the queen's court
A year but and a day
Till she has fa'n as big wi child,
As big as she coud gae.
3 She's gane into the garden
To pu the sycamore tree,
And taen the bony bairn in her arms
And thrown it in the sea.
4 She rowd it in her apron
And threw it in the sea:
'Gae sink or soom, my bony sweet babe,
Ye'll never get mair o me.'
5 Then in an came Queen Mary,
Wi gowd rings on her hair:
'O Mary mild, where is the child
That I heard greet sae sair?'
6 'It wasna a babe, my royal liege,
Last night that troubled me,
But it was a fit o sair sickness,
And I was lyken to dee.'
7 'O hold yere tongue, Mary Hamilton,
Sae loud as I hear ye lee!
For I'll send you to Enbro town,
The verity to see.'
8 She wadna put on the ribbons o black,
Nor yet wad she the brown,
But she wad put on the ribbons o gowd,
To gae glittring through Enbro town.
9 As she rade up the Sands o Leith,
Riding on a white horse,
O little did she think that day
To die at Enbro Corss!
10 As she rade up the Cannongate,
She leugh loud laughters three,
And mony a lord and lady said,
Alas for that lady!'
11 'Ye needna say Oh, ye needna cry Eh,
Alas for that lady!
Ye'll neer see grace in a graceless face,
As little ye'll see in me.'
12 When she came to the Netherbow Port,
She leugh loud laughters three,
But ere she came to the gallows-foot
The tear blinded her eie;
Saying, Tye a white napkin owr my face,
For that gibbet I downa see.
13 'O hold yere hand, Lord Justice!
O hold it a little while!
1 think I see my ain true-love
Come wandring mony a mile.
14 'O have ye brought me ony o my gowd?
Or ony o my weel-won fee?
Or are ye come to see me hangd,
Upon this gallows-tree?'
15 'I hae brought ye nane o yere gowd,'
Nor nane o yere weel-won fee,
But I am come to see ye hangd,
And hangit ye shall be.'
16 'O all ye men and mariners,
That sail for wealth or fame,
Let never my father or mother get wit
But what I'm coming hame.
17 'O all ye men and mariners,
That sail upon the sea,
Let never my father or mother get wit
The death that I maun dee.
18 'Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
The night she'll hae but three;
There was Mary Seaton, and Mary Beaton,
And Mary Carmichael, and me.'
[Add version Y]
Y. 'The Queen's Marys,' "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 144, Abbotsford.
1 'Yestreen the queen had four Marys,
The night she'll hae but three;
She had Mary Beaton, and Mary Seaton,
And Mary Carmichael, and me.
2 'My feather was the Duke of York,
My mother a gay lady,
And I mysell a bonnie young may,
And the king fell in love we me.
3 'The king's kisses they were so sweet,
And his wine it was so strong,
That I became a mother
Before fifteen years old.'
4 'O tell the truth now, Mary,
And sett this matter right;
What hae ye made o the babey
Was greeting yesternight?'
5 'O I will tell you, madam the queen,
I winna tell a lie;
I put it in a bottomless boat
And bad it sail the sea.'
6 'Ye lie, ye lie now, Mary,
Sae loud's I hear you lie!
You wasnae out o the palace,
So that coud never be.'
7 'Weel I will tell you, madam,
Though it should gar me weep;
I stabbd it we my little pen-knife,
And bad it take a sleep.'
8 When she came up the Netherbow,
She geed loud laughters three;
But when she came out o the Parliament Close
The tear blinded her ee.
9 'O little does my feather ken
The death I am to die,
Or muckel wad be the red, red gould
Wad be payed doun for me.
10 'O little does my mother think
The death that I am to die,
Or monie wad be the saut, saut tears
That she wad shed for me.
11 'O never lett my brothers ken
The death that I am to die,
For muckel wad be the red, red blood
That wad be shed for me.
12 'Aft hae I washd the king's bonnie face,
Kaimd doun his yellow hair,
And this is a' the reward he's geen me,
The gallows to be my share.'
[Add version Z]
Z. 'The Queen's Marie,' "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 90 a, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of John Leyden.
1 'Buss ye, bonny Marie Hamilton,
Buss and gae wi me,
For ye maun gae to Edinborough,
A great wedding to see.'
2 'Ride hooly, hooly, gentlemen,
Ride hooly now wi me,
For never, I'm sure, a wearier bride
Rode in your cumpany.'
3 Little wist Marie Hamilton,
When she rode on the brown,
That she was gawn to Edinborough,
And a' to be put down.
4 When she came to the Council stairs,
She ga loud laughters three;
But or that she came down again
She was condemmd to dee.
5 'O ye mariners, mariners, mariners,
When ye sail oer the faem,
Let never my father nor mother to wit
But I'm just coining hame.
6 'Let never my father nor mother to wit,
Nor my bauld brether[en] three,
Or meckle wad be the red, red gowd
This day be gien for me.
7 'Let never my father or mother to wit,
Nor my bauld brethren three,
Or meckle war the red, red blude
This day wad fa for me.'
[Add version AA]
AA. "Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy," No 142, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of James Hogg.
'Oft hae I kaimd Queen Mary's head,
An oft hae I curld her hair,
An now I hae gotten for my reward
A gallows to be heir.'
P. 379. Stanzas 1, 2, 10 of C are printed in Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 315, and 4, 9 of L at p. 316.
380 a, line 13. Say Stewart, or Stewart.
384. A a. Found in a small Manuscript volume, with the title "Songs" on the cover, entirely in Sharpe's handwriting, p. 29. The only variations, besides a few in spelling, are these:
91. stairs.
173. the night's.
182. they'l.
389. F. [Add F a.] This version was rendered by Skene with comparative fidelity. Still, the original, 'Quin Mary's Marreys,' No 12 of "The Old Lady's Collection," would of course have been given if it had been in hand, and should be substituted, opportunity occurring. It is therefore printed here.
1 'My father was the Duck of York,
My mother a lady frie,
My sell a dainnty damisall,
Quin Mary sent for me.
2 'The quin's meat it was so suit,
An her clething was sae rair,
It made me lang for Suit Willie's bed,
An I ill rue it ever mare.
3 'Mary Beeten, an Mary Sitton,
An Lady Livenston, a' three,
We'll never mett in Quin Mary's bour nou,
Marrys tho we be.'
4 Quin Mary satt in her bour,
Suing her selver seam;
She thought she hard a baby greet
Bat an a lady mean.
5 She throu her neddel frae her,
Her seam out of her han,
An she is on to Lady Marry's bour,
As fast as she could gang.
6 'Open yer dor, Lady Mary,' she says,
'An lat me come in;
For I hear a baby greet,
Bat an a lady meen.'
7 Ther is nae bab in my bour, madam the Quin,
Nor never thinks to be,
Bat the strong pains of gravell
This night has sesed me.'
8 She paat her fitt to the dor,
Bat an her knee,
Bolts of brass an irn bands
In flinders she gart flee.
9 She pat a ban to her bed-head
A nether to her bed-feet,
An bonny was the bab
Was blabring in its bleed.
10 'Wae worth ye, Lady Mary,
An ill dead sail ye die!
For in ye widne keepet the bonny bab
Ye might ha gen 't to me.'
11 Lay na the witt on me, madam,
Lay na the witt on me,
For my fals love bare the v[e]pan att his side
That gared my bern dee.'
12 'Gett up, Lady Betton, get up, Lady Setton,
An Lady Livenston, three,
An we will on to Edenbrugh
An tray this gay lady.'
13 As she cam in the Cannogate,
The burgers' wives they crayed hon, ochon, ochree!
14 'O had yer still, ye burgers' wives,
An make na mane for me;
Seek never grace out of a graslass face,
For they ha nan to gee.
15 'Ye merchants an ye mareners,
That trad on the sea,
Ye dinne tell in my country
The dead I am gaine to dee.
16 'Ye merchants an ye mareners,
That traid on the fame,
Dinne tell in my countray
Bat fatt I am coming hame.
17 Littel did my father think,
Fan he brouch[t] me our the sea,
That he woud see my yallou lokes
Hang on a gallou-tree.
18 'Littel did my midder think,
Fan she brought me fra hame,
That she maugt see my yallou lokes
Hang on a gallou-pine.
19 . . .
had yer ban a wee!
For yonder comes my father,
I am sure he'll borrou me.
20 'O some of yer goud, father,
An of yer well won fee,
To safe me [fra the high hill],
[An] fra the gallage-tree.'
21 'Ye's gett nane of my goud,
Ner of my well wone fee,
For I wead gee five hundred poun
To see ye hanged hee.'
22 . . .
O had yer ban a wee!
Yonder is my love Willie,
He will borrou me.
23 'O some of yer goud, my love Wille,
An some of yer well wone fee,
To save me fraa the high hill,
An fraie the gallou-tree.'
24 'Ye's gett a' my goud,
An a' my well won fee,
To save ye fra the heading-hill,
An fra the galla-tree.'
42. Perhaps silver.
63. lady greet: cf. 43.
71. nae.
112. watt.
113. vpan?
231. son Wille.
392 a, H 84. The nine. "Anciently the supreme criminal court of Scotland was composed of nine members." Kinloch's note, Ancient Scottish Ballads, p. 259. This may afford a date.
I. b. The three stanzas were given as written down from memory by Finlay: see VIII, 507 b.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
P. 882. The passages following relate to the affair of the Frenchwoman and the apothecary. Calendar of State Papers, Foreign Series, of the Reign of Elizabeth, 1563. (Indicated to me by Mr. Andrew Lang.)
The Queen's apothecary got one of her maidens, a Frenchwoman, with child. Thinking to have covered his fault with medicine, the child was slain. They are both in prison, and she is so much offended that it is thought they shall both die. Randolph to Cecil, Edinburgh, 21 Dec., 1563, p. 637. The apothecary and the woman he got with child were both hanged this Friday. Randolph to Cecil, Dec. 31, 1563, p. 650.
The heroine of this ballad is Mary Hamilton in all copies in which she has a full name, that is, twelve out of the twenty-four which have any name; Mary simply, or Mary mild,[2] is found in eleven copies, and Maisry in one. Finding in the history of the court of Peter the Great an exact counterpart of the story of the ballad with a maid of honor named Mary Hamilton filling the tragic role, and "no trace of an admixture of the Russian story with that of the Frenchwoman and the queen's apothecary," I felt compelled to admit that Sharpe's suggestion of the Russian origin of the ballad was, however surprising, the only tenable opinion (III, 382 f.). Somewhat later a version of the ballad (U) was found at Abbotsford in which there is mention of the apothecary and of the practices for which he suffered in 1563, and this fact furnished ground for reopening the question (which, nevertheless, was deferred).
Mr. Andrew Lang has recently subjected the matter of the origin of the ballad to a searching review (in Blackwood's Magazine, September, 1895, p. 381 ff. [Attached to Recordings & Info page]). Against the improbability that an historical event of 1718-9 should by simple chance coincide, very minutely and even to the inclusion of the name of the principal actor, with what is related in a ballad ostensibly recounting an event in the reign of Mary Stuart, he sets the improbability that a ballad, older and superior in style to anything which we can show to have been produced in the 18th, or even the 17th century,[3] should have been composed after 1719, a ballad in which a contemporary occurrence in a foreign and remote country would be transferred to Scotland and Queen Mary's day, and so treated as to fit perfectly into the circumstances of the time: and this while the ballad might entirely well have been evolved from a notorious domestic occurrence of the date 1563, the adventure of Queen Mary's French maid and the apothecary which has now turned out to be introduced into one version of the ballad.[4]
I wish to avow that the latter improbability, as put by Mr. Lang, has come to seem to me considerably greater than the former.
The coincidence of the name of the heroine is indeed at first staggering; but it will be granted that of all the "honorable houses" no one might more plausibly supply a forgotten maid of honor than the house of Hamilton. The Christian name is a matter of course for a Queen's Mary.
384 ff., IV, 507 ff., V, 246 f.
[Add version BB]
BB. The Queen's Maries
Communicated by Mr. Andrew Lang as received from Mrs. Arthur Smith; sung by a nurse. 4 is clearly modern.
1 Yestreen the queen had four Maries,
But the nicht she'll hae but three;
There was Mary Beaton, and Mary Seaton,
And Mary Carmichell, and me.
2 Oh little did my mither think,
At nicht when she cradled me,
That I wad sleep in a nameless grave
And hang on the gallows-tree.
Yestreen, etc.
3 They'll tie a kerchief round my een,
And they'll na let me see t' dee,
And they'll spread my story thro a' the land,
Till it reaches my ain countrie.
4 I wish I micht sleep in the auld kirkyard,
Beneath the hazel tree,
Where aft we played in the long simmer nichts,
My brithers and sisters and me.
Footnotes (found in Additions and Corrections only)
1. Scott suggested that the passage in Knox was the foundation of the ballad, January, 1802, in the first edition of his Minstrelsy, where only three stanzas were given. The Rev. Mr. Paxton, however, first saw Scott's fragment not long before 1804, and then in the second number of the Edinburgh Review, where there is no mention of the apothecary. Thereupon, he says, I "instantly" wrote the enclosed piece from the mouth of my aged mother. There is no room, consequently, for the supposition that either mother or son might have taken a hint from Knox, and put in the pottinger.
2. Mild Mary is an appellation which occurs elsewhere (as in No 91 E), and Mary Hamilton and Mary mild are interchangeable in X. It is barely worth remarking that Myle, Moil, in C, S, are merely varieties of pronunciation, and Miles in W, an ordinary kind of corruption.
3. In the 18th century we have 'Derwentwater' and 'Rob Roy,' both of slight value; in the 17th 'The Fire of Frendraught' and 'The Baron of Brackley,' both fairly good ballads, and others of some merit; but nothing in either to be compared with 'Mary Hamilton.'
4. As to the "ballads" about the Maries mentioned by Knox, I conceive that these may mean nothing more than verses of any sort to the discredit of these ladies.