XII. Edom O' Gordon, A SCOTTISH BALLAD, was printed at Glasgow, by Robert and Andrew Foulis, mdeclv. 8vo., 12 pages, We are indebted for its publication (with many other valuable things in these volumes) to Sir David Dalrymple, Bart., who gave it as it was preserved in the memory of a lady, that is now dead. The reader will here find it improved, and enlarged with several fine stanzas, recovered from a fragment of the same ballad, in the Editor's folio MS. It is remarkable that the latter is entitled Captain Adam Carre, and is in the English idiom. But whether the author was English or Scotch, the difference originally was not great. The English Ballads are generally of the North of England, the Scottish are of the South of Scotland, and of consequence the country of Balladsingers was sometimes subject to one crown, and sometimes to the other, and most frequently to neither. Most of the finest old Scotch songs have the scene laid within twenty miles of England, which is indeed all poetic ground, green hills, remains of woods, clear brooks. The pastoral scenes, remain : of the rude chivalry of former ages happily nothing remains but the ruins of the castles, where the more daring and successful robbers resided. The House or Castle of the Rodes stood about a measured mile south from Duns, in Berwickshire: some of the ruins of it may be seen to this day. The Gordons were anciently seated in the same county: the two villages of East and West Gordon lie about ten miles from the castle of the Rodes. The fact, however, on which the ballad is founded, happened in the North of Scotland, (see below), yet it is but too faithful a specimen of the violences practised in the feudal times in every part of this Island, and indeed all over Europe. This Ballad is well known in that neighbourhood, where it is entitled Adam o'Gordon. It may be observed, that the famous freebooter, whom Edward I. fought with hand to hand, near Farnham, was named Adam Gordon. From the different titles of this Ballad, it should seem that the old strolling bards or Minstrels (who gained a livelihood by reciting these poems) made no scruple of changing the names of the personages they introduced, to humour their hearers. For instance, if a Gordon's conduct was blame-worthy in the opinion of that age, the obsequious minstrel would, when among Gordons, change the name to Car, whose clan or sept lay further West, and vice versâ.—The foregoing observation, which I owed to Sir David Dalrymple, will appear the more perfectly well founded, if, as I have since been informed (from Crawford's Memoirs), the principal Commander of the expedition was a Gordon, and the immediate Agent a Car, or Ker; for then the reciter might, upon good grounds, impute the barbarity here deplored, either to a Gordon or a Car, as best suited his purpose. In the third volume the reader will find a similar instance. See the song of Gil Morris, wherein the principal character introduced had different names given him, perhaps from the same cause. It may be proper to mention, that in the folio MS. instead of the "Castle of the Rodes," it is the "Castle of Britton's-borrow," and also Diactors" or "Draitours-borrow," (for it is very obscurely written,) and Capt. Adam Carre" is called the "Lord of Westerton-town." Uniformity required that the Additional stanzas supplied from that copy should be clothed in the Scottish orthography and idiom: this has therefore been attempted, though perhaps imperfectly. It fell about the Martinmas, Quhen the wind blew shril and cauld, Said Edom o' Gordon to his men, We maun draw till a hauld. An quhat a hauld sall we draw till, 5 We wul gae to the house o' the Rodes, Put on, put on, my wighty men, So fast as ze can drie; 120 125 130 "Anno 1571. In the north parts of Scotland, Adam Gordon (who was deputy for his brother the Earl of Huntley) did keep a great stir; and, under colour of the queen's authority, committed divers oppressions, especially upon the Forbes. . . . . . Having killed Arthur Forbes, brother to the Lord Forbes. . . . Not long after he sent to summon the house of Tavoy, pertaining to Alexander Forbes. The lady refusing to yield without direction from her husband, he put fire unto it, and burnt her therein, with children and servants, being twenty-seven persons in all. "This inhuman and barbarous cruelty made his name odious, and stained all his former doings; otherwise he was held very active and fortunate in his enterprizes." This fact, which had escaped the Editor's notice, was in the most obliging manner pointed out to him by an ingenious writer who signs his name H. H. (Newcastle, May V. 98, 102, O Gin, &c., a Scottish idiom to express, great 9,) in the Gentleman's Magazine for May, admiration. V. 109, 110, Thame, &c., i. e. Them that look after omens of ill luck, ill luck will follow. 1775, p. 219. THE END OF THE FIRST BOOK. SERIES THE FIRST. BOOK II. I. Ballads that Illustrate Shakspeare. OUR great dramatic poet having occasionally quoted many ancient ballads, and even taken the plot of one, if not more, of his plays from among them, it was judged proper to preserve as many of these as could be recovered, and, that they might be the more easily found, to exhibit them in one collective view. This second book is therefore set apart for the reception of such ballads as are | quoted by Skakspeare, or contribute in any degree to illustrate his writings: this being the principal point in view, the candid reader will pardon the admission of some pieces that have no other kind of merit. The design of this book being of a dramatic tendency, it may not be improperly introduced with a few observations on the origin of the English Stage, and on the conduct of our first Dramatic Poets; a subject which, though not unsuccessfully handled by several good writers already,* will yet perhaps admit of some further illustration. probably a kind of dumb shows, intermingled, it may be, with a few short speeches; at length they grew into a regular series of connected dialogues, formally divided into acts and scenes. Specimens of these in their most improved state (being at best but poor artless compositions) may be seen among Dodsley's Old Plays and in Osborne's Harleyan Miscel. How they were exhibited in their most simple form, we may learn from an ancient novel, often quoted by our old dramatic Poets, entitled "a Merye Jest of a man that was called Howleglas,"† &c., being a translation from the Dutch language, in which he is named Ulenspiegle. Howleglass, whose waggish tricks are the subject of this book, after many adventures comes to live with a priest, who makes him his parish-clerk. This priest is described as keeping a Leman or concubine, who had but one eye, to whom Howleglass owed a grudge for revealing his rogueries to his master. The story thus proceeds: "And than in the meane season, while Howleglas, was parysh clarke, at Easter they should play the Ressurrection of our Lorde: It is well known that dramatic poetry in and for because than the men wer not learned, this and most other nations of Europe owes nor could not read, the priest toke his leman, its origin, or at least its revival, to those re- and put her in the grave for an Aungell: and ligious shows, which in the dark ages were this seing Howleglas, toke to him iij of the usually exhibited on the more solemn festi- symplest persons that were in the towne, vals. At those times they were wont to re- that played the iij Maries; and the Person present in the churches the lives and miracles | [i. e. Parson or Rector] played Christe, with of the saints, or some of the more importanta baner in his hand. Than saide Howleglas stories of Scripture. And as the most myste- to the symple persons, When the Aungell rious subjects were frequently chosen, such as asketh you, whome you seke, you may saye, the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of The parsons leman with one iye. Than it Christ, &c., these exhibitions acquired the ge- fortuned that the tyme was come that they neral name of Mysteries. At first they were ON THE ORIGIN OF THE ENGLISH STAGE, ETC. * Bp. Warburton's Shakespeare, vol. v. p. 338.-Pref. to Dodsley's Old Plays.-Riccoboni's Acct. of Theat. of Europe, &c. &c. These were all the author had seen when he first drew up this Essay. * See Ben Johnson's Poetaster, act iii. sec. 4, and his Masque of The Fortunate Isles. Whalley's edit. vol. ii. p. 49, vol. vi. p. 190. † Howleglass is said in the preface to have died in MCCCCL. At the end of the book, in MCCCL. must playe, and the Aungel asked them whom they sought, and than sayd they, as Howleglas had shewed and lerned them afore, and than answered they, We seke the priests leman with one iye. And than the prieste might heare that he was mocked. And whan the priestes leman herd that, she arose out of the grave, and would have smyten with her fist Howleglas upon the cheke, but she missed him and smote one of the simple persons that played one of the thre Maries; and he gave her another; and than toke she him by the heare [hair]; and that seing his wyfe, came running hastely to smite the priestes leman; and than the priest seeing this, caste down hys baner and went to helpe his woman, so that the one gave the other sore strokes, and made great noyse in the churche. And than Howleglas seyng them lyinge together by the eares in the bodi of the churche, went his way out of the village, and came no more there.''* tors to the Prologue on their rude stage): then God is represented; who, after some general complaints on the degeneracy of mankind, calls for Death, and orders him to bring before his tribunal Every-man, for so is calle 1 the personage who represents the Human Race. Every-man appears, and receives the summons with all the marks of confusion and terror. When Death is withdrawn, EveryMan applies for relief in this distress to Fellowship, Kindred, Goods, or Riches, but they successively renounce and forsake him. In this disconsolate state he betakes himself to Good Dedes, who after upbraiding him with his long neglect of her,† introduces him to her sister Knowledge, and she leads him to the "holy man Confession," who appoints him penance: this he inflicts upon himself on the stage, and then withdraws to receive the sacraments of the priest. On his return he begins to wax faint, and, after Strength, Beauty, Discretion, and Five Wits (g) have taken their final leave of him, gradually expires on the stage; Good Dedes still accompanying him to the last. Then an Aungell descends to sing his Requiem; and the Epilogue is spoken by a person, called Doctour, who recapitulates the whole, and delivers the moral: "T. This memoriall men may have in mynde, Ye herers, take it of worth old and yonge, And forsake Pryde, for he deceyveth you in thende, and Discretion, As the old Mysteries frequently required the representation of some allegorical personage, such as Death, Sin, Charity, Faith, and the like, by degrees the rude poets of those unlettered ages began to form complete dramatic pieces consisting entirely of such personifications. These they entitled Moral Plays or Moralities. The Mysteries were very inartificial, representing the Scripture stories simply according to the letter. But the Moralities are not devoid of invention; they exhibit outlines of the dramatic art: they contain something of a fable or plot, And remembre Beautè, Five Witts, Strength and even attempt to delineate characters and manners. I have now before me two that were printed early in the reign of Henry VIII.; in which I think one may plainly discover the seeds of Tragedy and Comedy: for which reason I shall give a short analysis of them both. One of them is entitled "Every Man."+ The subject of this piece is the summoning of Man out of the world by Death; and its moral that nothing will then avail him but a well-spent life and the comforts of religion. This subject and moral are opened in a monologue spoken by the Messenger (for that was the name generally given by our ances *¶. IMPRINTED.. BY WYLLYAM COPLAND: without date, 4to. bl. let. among Mr. Garrick's Old Plays, K. vol. X. This play has been reprinted by Mr. Hawkins in his 3 vols. of Old Plays, entitled, "The Origin of the English Drama," 12mo. Oxford, 1773. See vol. i. p. 27. They all at last do Every Man forsake; From this short analysis it may be observed, that "Every Man" is a grave solemn piece, not without some rude attempts to excite terror and pity, and therefore may not improperly be referred to the class of Tragedy. It is remarkable that in this old simple drama the fable is conducted upon the strictest model of the Greek tragedy. The action is simply *The second person of the Trinity seems to be meant, The before-mentioned are male characters. i. e. The Five Senses. These are frequently exhibited as five distinct personages upon the Spanish stage (see Riccoboni, p. 98); but our moralist has represented them all by one character. |