Captain Wedderburn's Courtship- Jamieson 1803 Child B d.
Child in his narrative writes:
Jamieson remarks that 'Captain Wedderburn' was equally in vogue in the north and the south of Scotland.
Jamieson writes to the Scots Magazine, 1803, p. 701: "Of this ballad I have got one whole copy and part of another, and I remember a good deal of it as I have heard it sung in Morayshire when I was a child." In his Popular Ballads, II, 154, 1806, he says that the copy which he prints was furnished him from Mr. Herd's Manuscript by the editor of the Border Minstrelsy, and that he had himself supplied a few readings of small importance from his own recollection. There is some inaccuracy here. The version given by Jamieson is rather B, with readings from A.
Below Child's Additions and Corrections is Jamieson's text from Popular Ballads and Songs, II, p. 159.
d. 'Captain Wedderburn's Courtship,'
Jamieson's Popular Ballads, II, 159.
1 The Lord of Roslin's daughter walk'd thro' the wood her lane [1] ,
And by came Captain Wedderburn, a servant to the king.
He said unto his servant man [2], Were't not against the law,
I would tak her to my ain bed, and lay her neist the wa'.
2 'I'm walking here alone,' she says, 'amang my father's trees;
And you must let me walk alane, kind sir, now, if you please.
The supper-bell it will be rung, and I'll be missd you know;
Sae I winna lie in your bed, either stock [3] nor wa.'
3 He said, "My pretty lady, I pray lend me your hand,
And you shall hae drums and trumpets always at your command;
And fifty men to guard ye wi, that weel their swords can draw;
Sae we'll baith lie in ae bed, and thou's ly next the wa.
4 'Haud [4] awa frae me, kind sir, I pray let go my hand;
The supper-bell it will be rung, nae langer will I stand.
My father he'll na supper tak, gif [5] I be missd you know;
So I not lie in your bed, at neither stock nor wa.'
5 Then said the pretty lady, 'I pray tell me your name.'
'My name is Captain Wedderburn, a servant to the king.'
Tho' your father and his men were here, of him I'd not stand in aw,
But should tak ye to my ain bed, and ye'se lie neist [6] the wa.'
6 He lighted [7] aff his milk-white steed, and set the lady on,
And held her by the milk-white hand even as they rade along,
He held her by the middle jimp[8], for fear that she should fa;
Saying, 'So I'll take ye to my ain bed, and lay thee at the wa.'
7 He took her to his lodging house[9] , his landlady look'd ben[10] ,
Saying, "Mony a pretty ladie in Edinbruch I've seen;
But such a pretty face as thine in it I never saw:
Gae, make her up a down-bed, and lay her at the wa'."
8 'O haud awa frae me, kind sir, I pray ye lat me be,
For I will not go to your bed till you dress me;
Dishes three you must do to me, gif I should eat them a',
Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.
9 'O I must have to my supper a cherry without a stone;
And I maun hae to my supper a chicken without a bone;
And I maun hae to my supper a bird without a gaw[11] ,
Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.'
10 'When the cherry is into the bloom I am sure it hath no stone,
And when the chicken's in the shell I 'm sure it hath no bone;
The dove it is a gentle bird, she flees without a gaw;
Sae we'll baith lie in ae bed, and ye'll be at the wa.'
11 'O haud awa frae me, kind sir, I pray ye give me owre,
For I will not go till you answer me questions;
Questions four you must tell me, and that is twa and twa,
Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.
12 'And ye maun get to me a plumb that in December grew;
And I maun hae a silk mantil that the wraft was neer ca,'
A sparrow's horn, a priest unborn, this nicht to join us twa,
Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.'
13 'My father he has winter fruit that in December grew;
My mither has an Indian gown that wraft was ne'er ca'd thro';
A sparrow's horn you well may get, there's one on ilka pa,
And twa upo the gab o it, and ye shall get them a'.
14 'The priest he is standing at the door, just ready to come in;
Nae man can say he eer was born, nae man without he sin;
A hole cut in his mother's side, he from the same did fa;
Sae we'll baith lie in ae bed, and ye'se lie at the wa.'
15 'O haud awa frae me, kind sir, I pray don't me perplex,
For I'll na lie in your bed till ye answer questions six:
Questions six ye maun answer me, and that is four and twa,
Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.
16 'O what is greener than the gress, what's higher than thae trees?
And what is worse than women's voice, what's deeper than the seas?
What bird craws first, what tree buds first, what first does on them fa?
Before I lie in your bed, at either stock or wa.'
17 'Death is greener than the gress, heaven higher than thae trees;
The devil's waur than women's wish, hell's deeper than the seas;
The cock craws first, the cedar buds first, the dew does on them fa;
Sae we'll baith lie in ae bed, and ye'se lie neist the wa.'
18 Little did this lady think, that morning whan she raise,
That this was for to be the last night o a' her maiden days.
But now they both lie in one bed to be found a blither twa,
And now she's Mrs. Wedderburn, and she lies at the wa.
Footnotes:
1. her lane= alone
2. servant man= has livery-man in B a.
3. stock= outer side. The 'stock' of a bed is the outer side, and the wa' (=wall) the inner. Ancient beds were made like boxes with the outer side cut away.
4. haud= keep
5. gif= if
6. neist= next
7. lighted= leapt
8. jimp= slender (waist)
9. lodging= B a. has quartering-house
10. ben= within
11. gaw= gall. It is an ancient superstition that the dove or pigeon has no gall, the fact being that the gall-bladder is absent. See Sir Thomas Browne's Pseudodoxia Epidemica, iii. 3.
______________
From Additions and Corrections
d. Follows the broadside (b, c) through the first nine stanzas, with changes from Jamieson's "own recollection," or invention, and one from A. 10 has certainly arbitrary alterations. The remaining eight stanzas are the corresponding ones of A treated freely. The comparison here is with b, readings from A in 11-18 not being noticed.
1[3. serving men.
2[3. mist awa, from A; so in 4[3, a stanza not in A.
5[3. I 'd have nae awe.
6[1. He lighted aff ... this lady.
6[3. middle jimp.
6[4. To tak her to his ain.
7[3. sic a lovely face as thine.
7[4. Gae mak her down.
8[3. maun dress to me.
9[1. It's ye maun get.
9[2,3. And ye maun get.
10[1. It's whan the cherry is in the flirry.
10[2. in the egg.
10[3. And sin the flood o Noah the dow she had nae ga.
A, B d, 11, 121,2, 131,2, 14, 151,2. 161,2 = B b, c, 14, 151,2, 161,2, 11, 121,2, 131,2.
11[1. and gie your fleechin oer.
11[2. Unless you'll find me ferlies, and that is ferlies four.
11[3. Ferlies four ye maun find me.
11[4. or I'll never lie.
12[2. And get to me.
12[3. doth first down. 124. Ye sall tell afore I lay me down between you and the wa.
13[2. has an Indian gown that waft.
13[3. on cedar top the dew.
14[2. that gait me perplex.
14[3. three times twa.
15[1. the greenest grass.
15[2. war nor an ill woman's wish.
16[3. horn is quickly found ... on every claw.
16[4. There's ane upon the neb of him.
17[3. A wild bore tore his mither's side.
18[3. now there's nae within the realm, I think.
_________________
CAPTAIN WEDDERBURN'S COURTSHIP.
Of this piece, which is very popular in the north, as well as in the south of Scotland, the following copy was furnished from Mr Herd's MS. by the editor of the " Border Minstrelsy;" and the present writer has supplied a few readings of small importance from his own recollection, as it was quite familiar to him in his early youth.
Playful sparrings of wit, of the kind here specified, are, and I believe have always been, so common among lovers in real life, that it would be matter of surprise, that they have so seldom obtained a place in the popular songs characteristic of the tender passion, did we not consider how few there are of the very ingenious ladies and lady-like gentlemen, who exercise their talents in that way, that have in them sentiment and sense enough to preserve from oblivion a song, or sonnet, beyond the circle of their own frivolous acquaintance. Hence the collector of these ditties is willing to suppose it comes, that he has been able to furnish his readers with only one specimen of an amorous parley of this kind, and that too of very little merit as a composition. Its singularity, however, and its extensive popularity, seem to entitle it to a place in this miscellany; and if the riddles of Girzey Sinclair have been less noted and less important than those of Samson, and of the Sphinx, they may nevertheless be read with pleasure, as well as indulgence, by such (more particularly) of my expatriated countrymen, as have heard them in their earlier years at stentings and rochings around the wintery ingle in Scotland. And although it is true, that the subject, good enough in itself, is handled with very little dexterity; yet had "The lord of Roslin's daughter," and the gallant "servant to the king, captain Wedderburn," lived in later times, they would probably have made a very distinguished figure among the ingenious correspondents of the learned Dr H**** and Co. in the "Lady's Diary," which hath often been ihe instrument of "crowning love, though riddles won the cause."
That there were in those days in England also aenigmatising lovers, as naive, innocent, and easy to be won, as Girzey Sinclair, we have unquestionable evidence in " The noble Riddle wisely expounded, or the Maid's Answer to the Knight's three Questions," which is preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, in a large volume of ballads in black letter, of the latter part of Charles the Second's reign, p. 299. It begins thus :
"There was a lady of the north country,
(Lay the bent to the bonny broom)
And she had lovely daughters three,
Fa la la la, fa la la la ra re. "
There was a knight of noble worth, &c.
Which also lived in the north," &c.
And so it came to pass that " The knight of courage stout and brave," being amorously and matrimonially inclined,
-----knocked at the Ladies gate, &c.
One evening when it was late, &c.
"The eldest sister let him in, &c.
And pind the door with a silver pin, &c.
"The second sister she made his bed, &c.
And laid soft pillows under his head, &c.
"The youngest daughter that same night, &c.
She went to bed with this young knight, &c.
And in the morning when it was day, &c.
These words unto hiin she did say, &c.
"Now, you have had your will, quoth she,
I pray, sir knight, will you marry me; &c.
"The young brave knight to her replyed, &c.
Thy suit, fair maid, shall not be denyed, &c.
"If thou canst answer me questions three, &c.
This very day will I marry thee, &c.
"Kind sir, in love, O then, quoth she, &c.
Tell me what your questions be? &c.
O what is longer than the way? &c.
Or what is deeper than the sea? &c.
"Or what is louder than the horn? &c.
Or what is sharper than a thorn? &c.
"Or what is greener than the grass? &c.
Or what is worse than a woman was? &c.
"O love is longer than the way, &c.
And hell is deeper than the sea, &c.
"And thunder is louder than the horn, &c.
And hunger is sharper than a thorn, &c.
" And poyson is greener than the grass, &c.
And the devil is worse than woman was, &c.
" When she these questions answered had, &c.
The knight became exceeding glad, &c.
" And having tryd her wit, &c.
He much commended her for it, &c.
And so do I, with all my heart; and, considering the exceeding brilliancy of it, no one can be surprised, that
-"after, as it is verified, &c.
He made of her his lovely bride, &c.
in which she certainly was extremely fortunate; and the good knight was also very much in the right, as they were just fere for fere, Quae Pro Quo; and so, in the beautiful strains of the same illustrious bard, whose lays I here consecrate to immortality,
----"now, fair maidens, all adieu, &c.
This song I dedicate to you, &c.
"I wish that you may constant prove, &c.
Unto the man that you do love, &c."
and so I do; and yet, fair maidens, after all, with all your constancy, you may chance not to come off a bit better than did the poor heroine of another ballad, which I have often heard in Morayshire, which commences thus:
"There cam a trooper frae the west,
And he's ridden till his deary ;
'It's open and lat me in,' he says,
Tori am wet and weary."
The kind fair one puts his horse into the stable, and takes himself to her bower, where she gives him " the good white bread, and blood-red wine," and a part of her bed. In the morning, when he prepares to depart, she naturally enough asks,
"O whan sail we be married, love?
O whan sail we be married?"
"Whan heather-cows turn owsen bows,
It's then that we'll be married."
"O whan sail we be married, love?
O whan sail we be married?"
"Whan cockle shells turn siller-bells,
It's then that we'll be married."
* * * *
" Whan the sun and moon dance on the green,
It's then that we'll be married."
CAPTAIN WEDDERBURN'S COURTSHIP
The Lord of Roslin's daughter
Walk'd thro' the wood her lane;
And by came captain Wedderburn,
A servant to the king.
He said unto his serving men,
" Were't not against the law,
I would tak her to my ain bed,
And lay her neist the wa'."
"I am walking here alone," she says,
"Amang my father's trees;
And you must let me walk alane,
Kind sir, now, if you please;
The supper bell it will be rung,
And I'll be mist awa';
Sae I winna lie in your bed
Either at stock or wa'."
He says, "My pretty lady,
I pray lend me your hand,
And you shall hae drums and trumpets
Always at your command;
And fifty men to guard you with,
That well their swords can draw;
Sae we'se baith lie in ae bed,
And ye'se lie neist the wa'."
"Haud awa frae me," she said,
"And pray lat gae my hand;
The supper bell it will be rung,
I can nae langer stand;
My father he will angry be,
Gin I be miss'd awa';
Sae I'll nae lie in your bed,
Either at stock or wa'."
Then said the pretty lady—
"I pray tell me your name?"
"My name is Captain Wedderburn,
A servant to the king.
Tho' thy father and his men were here,
Of them I'd have nae awe;
But tak you to my ain bed,
And lay you neist the wa'."
He lighted aff his milk-white steed,
And set this lady on;
And held her by the milk-white hand,
Even as they rade along;
He held her by the middle jimp,
For fear that she should fa',
To tak her to his ain bed,
And lay her neist the wa'.
He took her to his lodging-house;
His landlady look'd ben;
Says,—" Mony a pretty lady
In Edenbruch I've seen,
But sic a lovely face as thine
In it I never saw;
Gae mak her down a down-bed,
And lay her neist the wa'."
"O haud awa' frae me," she says;
" I pray ye lat me be;
I winna gang into your bed,
Till ye dress me dishes three:
Dishes three ye maun dress to me,
Gin I should eat them a',
Afore that I lie in your bed,
Either at stock or wa'.
"Its ye maun get to my supper
A cherry without a stane;
And ye maun get to my supper
A chicken without a bane;
And ye maun get to my supper
A bird without a ga',
Or I winna lie in your bed,
Either at stock or wa'."
"Its whan the cherry is in the flirry,
I'm sure it has nae stane;
And whan the chicken's in the egg,
I'm sure it has nae bane;
And sin the flood o' Noah,
The dow she had nae ga'; [1]
Sae we'll baith lie in ae bed,
And ye'se lie neist the wa'."
"O haud your tongue, young man," she says,
"Nor that gait me perplex;
For ye maun tell me questions yet,
And that is questions six:
Questions six ye tell to me,
And that is three times twa,
Afore I lie in your bed,
Either at stock or wa'."
"What's greener than the greenest grass?
What hicher than the trees?
What's war nor an ill woman's wish?
What's deeper than the seas ?
What bird sings first? And whareupon
The dew doth first down fa'?
Ye sall tell afore I lay me down
Between you and the wa'."
"Vergris is greener than the grass;
Heaven's hicher than the trees;
The deil's warse nor a woman's wish;
Hell's deeper than the seas;
The cock craws first; on cedar top
The dew down first doth fa';
And we'll baith lie in ae bed,
And ye'se lie neist the wa'."
"O haud your tongue, young man," she says,
"And gi'e your fleechin' o'er;
Unless you'll find me ferlies,
And that is ferlies four;
Ferlies four ye maun find me,
And that is twa and twa;
Or I'll never lie in your bed,
Either at stock or wa'."
"And ye maun get to me a plumb
That in December grew;
And get to me a silk mantel,
That waft was ne'er ca'd thro';
A sparrow's horn; a priest unborn
This night to join us twa;
Or I'll nae lie in your bed,
Either at stock or wa'."
"My father he has winter fruit
That in December grew;
My mither has an Indian gown,
That waft was ne'er ca'd thro';
A sparrow's horn is quickly found;
There's ane on every claw;
There's ane upon the neb o' him;
Perhaps there may be twa—
"The priest he's standing at the door,
Just ready to come in;
Nae man can say that he was born,
To lie it were a sin;
A wild bore tore his mither's side,
He out o' it did fa';
Then we'll baith lie in ae bed,
And thou's lie neist the wa'."
Little kend Girzy Sinclair
That morning whan she raise,
That this wad be the hindermaist
O' a' her maiden days;
But now there's nae within the realm,
I think, a bly ther twa;
And they baith lie in ae bed,
And she lies neist the wa'.
Footnote:
1. The peasants in Scotland say, that the dove that was sent out of the Ark by Noah flew till she burst her gall; and that no dove since that time ever had a gall.