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Many a freyke, that was full free,
Ther undar foot dyd lyght.

At last the Duglas and the Persè met,

Lyk to captayns of myght and mayne; The swapte togethar tyll the both swat With swordes, that wear of fyn myllàn.

Thes worthè freckys for to fyght

Ther-to the wear full fayne,

Tyll the bloode owte off thear basnetes sprente,
As ever dyd heal or rayne.

Holde the, Persè, sayd the Doglas,

And i' feth I shall the brynge

Wher thowe shalte have a yerls wagis
Of Jamy our Scottish kynge.

Thoue shalte have thy ransom fre,
I hight the hear this thinge,

For the manfullyste man yet art thowe,
That ever I conqueryd in filde fightyng.

Nay 'then' sayd the lord Persè,

I tolde it the beforne,
That I wolde never yeldyde be

To no man of a woman born.

With that ther cam an arrowe hastely
Forthe off a mightie wane3,

Hit hathe strekene the yerle Duglas
In at the brest bane.

V. 26, to, i. e. two.

Ibid. and of, P. C.
V. 33, helde. P. C.

V. 32, ran. P. C.

25

30

335

40

45

8 Wane, i. e. ane. one, sc. man; an arrow came from a mighty one: from a mighty man.

Thoroue lyvar and longs bathe

The sharp arrowe ys gane,

That never after in all his lyffe days

He spayke mo wordes but ane,

That was 9, Fyghte ye, my merry men, whyllys ye may,

For my lyff days ben gan.

The Persè leanyde on his brande,

50

55

And sawe the Duglas de;

He tooke the dede man be the hande,

And sayd, Wo ys me for the!

To have savyde thy lyffe I wold have pertyd with

My landes for years thre,

60

For a better man of hart, nare of hande

Was not in all the north countrè.

Off all that se a Skottishe knyght,

Was callyd Sir Hewe the Mongon-byrry,

He sawe the Duglas to the deth was dyght;
He spendyd a spear a trusti tre:

65

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75

Athe tothar syde, that a man myght se,
A large cloth yard and mare:

Towe bettar captayns wear nat in Cristiantè,
Then that day slain wear thare.

V. 74, ber. P. C.

V. 78, ther. P. C.

V. 49, throroue. P. C.
9 This seems to have been a gloss added.

An archar of Northomberlonde
Say slean was the lord Persè,

80

He bar a bende-bow in his hande,

Was made off trusti tre:

An arow, that a cloth yarde was lang,
To th' hard stele halyde he;

85

A dynt, that was both sad and soar,

He sat on Sir Hewe the Mongon-byrry.

The dynt yt was both sad and 'soar,'
That he of Mongon-byrry sete;
The swane-fethars, that his arrowe bar,
With his hart blood the wear wete 10.

Ther was never a freake wone foot wolde fle,
But still in stour dyd stand,

Heawyng on yche othar, whyll the myght dre,
With many a bal ful brande.

This battell begane in Chyviat
An owar befor the none,
And when even-song bell was rang

The battell was nat half done.

The tooke 'on' on ethar hand

Be the lyght off the mone;

Many hade no strength for to stande,
In Chyviat the hyllys abone.

Of fifteen hondrith archers of Ynglonde
Went away but fifti and thre;

Of twenty hondrith spear-men of Skotlonde,
But even five and fifti:

V. 80, Say, i.e. sawe.

V. 84, haylde. P. C.

V. 87, sar. P. C.

V. 102, abou. P.C.

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10 This incident is taken from the battle of Otterbourn; in which Sir Hugh Montgomery, Knt. (son of John Lord Montgomery) was slain with an arrow. Vide Crawfurd's Peerage.

But all wear slayne Cheviat within:

The hade no strengthe to stand on he: The chylde may rue that is un-borne,

It was the mor pittè.

Thear was slayne with the lord Persè

Sir John of Agerstone,

Sir Roger the hinde Hartly,

Sir Wyllyam the bolde Hearone.

Sir Jorg the worthè Lovele

A knyght of great renowen,

Sir Raff the ryche Rugbè

With dyntes wear beaten dowene.

110

115

For Wetharryngton my harte was wo,

That ever he slayne shulde be;

120

For when both his leggis wear hewyne in to,

He knyled and fought on hys kne.

Ther was slayne with the dougheti Douglas
Sir Hewe the Mongon-byrry,

Sir Davye Lwdale, that worthè was,

125

His sistars son was he:

Sir Charles a Murrè, in that place,

That never a foot wolde fle;

Sir Hewe Maxwell, a lorde he was,
With the Duglas dyd he dey.

So on the morrowe the mayde them byears
Off byrch, and hasell so 'gray';

Many wedous with wepyng tears 1,
Cam to fach ther makys a-way.

V. 108, strenge.... hy. P. C.

130

V. 115, lóule. P. C.

V. 121, in to,

V. 132, gay. P.C.

i. e. in two. V. 122, Yet he.... kny. P. C.

1 A common pleonasm, see the next poem, Fit 2nd, v. 155. So Harding in his Chronicle, chap. 140, fol. 148, describing the death of Richard I., says,

Tivydale may carpe off care,

Northombarlond may mayk grat mone,

For towe such captayns, as slayne wear thear,
On the march perti shall never be none.

Word ys commen to Edden-burrowe

135

To Jamy the Skottishe kyng,

140

That dougheti Duglas, lyff-tenant of the Merches,

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That lord Persè, leyff-tennante of the Merchis,
He lay slayne Chyviat within.

150

God have merci on his soll, sayd kyng Harry,
Good lord, yf thy will it be!

I have a hondrith captayns in Yynglonde, he sayd,

As good as ever was hee:

But Persè, and I brook my lyffe,

155

Thy deth well quyte shall be.

As our noble kyng made his a-vowe,
Lyke a noble prince of renowen,
For the deth of the lord Persè,

He dyd the battel of Hombyll-down:

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160

For the names in this and the foregoing page, see the remarks at the end of the next ballad.

V. 146, ye setḥ. P.C,

V. 149, cheyff tennante. P. C.

He shrove him then unto Abbots thre

With great sobbyng. and wepyng teares.

So likewise Cavendish, in his Life of Cardinal Wolsey, chap. 12, p. 31, 4to. 66 'When the Duke heard this, he replied with weeping teares," &c.

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