THOMAS THE RHYMER*

IN THREE PARTS

PART FIRST-ANCIENT

TRUE THOMAS lay on Huntlie bank;
A ferlie he spied wi' his ee;
And there he saw a ladye bright,

Come riding down by the Eildon Tree.

Her shirt was o' the grass-green silk,
Her mantle o' the velvet fyne;
At ilka tett of her horse's mane,
Hung fifty siller bells and nine.

True Thomas, he pull'd aff his cap,
And louted low down to his knee,
"All hail, thou mighty Queen of Heaven!
For thy peer on earth I never did see.'

"O no, O no, Thomas," she said,

"That name does not belang to me; I am but the Queen of fair Elfland, That am hither come to visit thee.

'Harp and carp, Thomas," she said;

Harp and carp along wi' me;

And if ye dare to kiss my lips,

Sure of your bodie I will be."

"Betide me weal, betide me woe,

That weird shall never daunton me.

Syne he has kiss'd her rosy lips,

All underneath the Eildon Tree.

"Now, ye maun go wi' me," she said; "True Thomas, ye maun go wi' me;

And ye maun serve me seven years,

Thro' weal or woe as may chance to be."

She mounted on her milk-white steed;
She's ta'en true Thomas up behind :
And aye, whene'er her bridle rung,

The steed flew swifter than the wind.

O they rade on, and farther on;

The steed gaed swifter than the wind; Until they reach'd a desert wide,

And living land was left behind.

"Light down, light down, now, true Thomas, And lean your head upon my knee ;

Abide and rest a little space,

And I will show you ferlies three.

"O see ye not yon narrow road,

So thick beset with thorns and briers?

That is the path of righteousness,

Though after it but few enquires.

"And see ye not that braid braid road, That lies across that lily leven? That is the path of wickedness,

Though some call it the road to heaven.

"And see not ye that bonny road,

That winds about the fernie brae ?

That is the road to fair Elfland,

Where thou and I this night maun gae.

"But, Thomas, ye maun hold your tongue, Whatever ye may hear or see;

For, if ye speak word in Elflyn land,

Ye'll ne'er get back to your ain countrie."

O they rade on, and farther on,

And they waded through rivers aboon the knee, And they saw neither sun nor moon,

But they heard the roaring of the sea.

It was mirk mirk night, and there was nae stern light, And they waded through red blude to the knee,

For a' the blude that's shed on earth

Rins through the springs o' that countrie.

Syne they came on to a garden green,
And she pu'd an apple frae a tree—
"Take this for thy wages, true Thomas;

It will give thee the tongue that can never lie."

'My tongue is mine ain," true Thomas said;

"A gudely gift ye wad gie to me!

I neither dought to buy nor sell,

At fair or tryst where I may be.

"I dought neither speak to prince or peer,
Nor ask of grace from fair ladye."-
"Now hold thy peace!" the lady said,
"For as I say, so must it be."-

He has gotten a coat of the even cloth,
And a pair of shoes of velvet green;
And till seven years were gane and past,
True Thomas on earth was never seen.

PART SECOND-ALTERED FROM ANCIENT PROPHECIES

WHEN seven years were come and gane,
The sun blink'd fair on pool and stream;

And Thomas lay on Huntlie Bank,

Like one awaken'd from a dream.

He heard the trampling of a steed,

He saw the flash of armour flee,

And he beheld a gallant knight

Come riding down by the Eildon Tree.

He was a stalwart knight, and strong;
Of giant make he 'pear'd to be :
He stirr'd his horse, as he were wode,
Wi' gilded spurs, of faushion free.

Says "Well met, well met, true Thomas!
Some uncouth ferlies show to me.".
Says "Christ thee save, Corspatrick brave!
Thrice welcume, good Dunbar, to me!

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'Light down, light down, Corspatrick brave! And I will show thee curses three, Shall gar fair Scotland greet and grane,

And change the green to the black livery.

"A storm shall roar this very hour,

From Ross's hills to Solway sea.'

"Ye lied, ye lied, ye warlock hoar,

For the sun shines sweet on fauld and lee."

He put his hand on the Earlie's head;
He show'd him a rock beside the sea,
Where a king lay stiff beneath his steed,
And steel-dight nobles wiped their ee.

"The neist curse lights on Branxton hills ; By Flodden's high and heathery side, Shall wave a banner red as bluid,

And chieftains throng wi' meikle pride.

"A Scottish King shall come full keen,
The ruddy lion beareth he;
A feather'd arrow sharp, I ween,

Shall make him wink and warre to see.

"When he is bloody, and all to bledde, Thus to his men he still shall say— 'For God's sake, turn ye back again, And give yon southern folk a fray! Why should I lose, the right is mine? My doom is not to die this day.'

"Yet turn ye to the eastern hand,
And woe and wonder ye sall see;
How forty thousand spearmen stand,
Where yon rank river meets the sea.

"There shall the lion lose the gylte,
And the libbards bear it clean away;
At Pinkyn Cleuch there shall be spilt
Much gentil bluid that day.”—

Enough, enough, of curse and ban;

Some blessings show thou now to mẹ,

Or, by the faith o' my bodie," Corspatrick said, "Ye shall rue the day ye e'er saw me!"

"The first of blessings I shall thee show, Is by a burn, that's call'd of bread ;* Where Saxon men shall tine the bow,

And find their arrows lack the head.

"Beside that brigg, out ower that burn, Where the water bickereth bright and sheen, Shall many a fallen courser. spurn,

And knights shall die in battle keen.

"Beside a headless cross of stone,

The libbards there shall lose the gree: The raven shall come, the erne shall go, And drink the Saxon bluid sae free. The cross of stone they shall not know, So thick the corses there shall be."

"But tell me, now," said brave Dunbar, "True Thomas, tell now unto me,

What man shall rule the isle Britain,

Even from the north to the southern sea?"———

"A French Queen shall bear the son,
Shall rule all Britain to the sea ;*
He of the Bruce's blood shall come,
As near as in the ninth degree.

"The waters worship shall his race;
Likewise the waves of the farthest sea;

For they shall ride over ocean wide,

With hempen bridles, and horse of tree."

PART THIRD -MODERN

WHEN seven years more were come and gone,
Was war through Scotland spread,

And Ruberslaw show'd high Dunyon
His beacon blazing red.