LADY ALICE

1.

Lady Alice was sitting in her bower-window, At midnight mending her quoif, And there she saw as fine a corpse As ever she saw in her life.

2.

'What bear ye, what bear ye, ye six men tall?

What bear ye on your shoulders?'

'We bear the corpse of Giles Collins, An old and true lover of yours.'

3.

'O lay him down gently, ye six men tall, All on the grass so green, And to-morrow, when the sun goes down, Lady Alice a corpse shall be seen.

4.

'And bury me in Saint Mary's church, All for my love so true, And make me a garland of marjoram, And of lemon-thyme, and rue.'

5.

Giles Collins was buried all in the east, Lady Alice all in the west, And the roses that grew on Giles Collins's grave, They reached Lady Alice's breast.

6.

The priest of the parish he chanced to pass, And he severed those roses in twain; Sure never were seen such true lovers before, Nor e'er will there be again.

[Annotations: 1.2: 'quoif,' cap. The line should doubtless be:-- 'Mending her midnight quoif.']

CHILD MAURICE

+The Text+ is from the Percy Folio, given _literatim_, with two rearrangements of the lines (in stt. 4 and 22) and a few obvious corrections, as suggested by Hales, and Furnivall, and Child. The Folio version was printed by Jamieson in his _Popular Ballads and Songs_.

The Scotch version, _Gil Morrice_, was printed by Percy in the _Reliques_ in preference to the version of his Folio. He notes that the ballad 'has lately run through two editions in Scotland: the second was printed at Glasgow in 1755.' Thanks to an advertisement prefixed to these Scottish editions, sixteen additional verses were obtained and added by Percy, who thought that they were 'perhaps after all only an ingenious interpolation.' _Gil Morrice_ introduces 'Lord Barnard' in place of 'John Steward,' adopted, perhaps, from _Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard_. Motherwell's versions were variously called _Child Noryce_, _Bob Norice_, _Gill Morice_, _Chield Morice_. Certainly the Folio ballad is unsurpassed for its vigorous, objective style, and forcible, vivid pictures.

+The Story+ of this ballad gave rise to Home's _Douglas_, a tragedy, produced in the Concert Hall, Canongate, Edinburgh, 1756 (on which occasion the heroine's name was given as 'Lady Barnard'), and transferred to Covent Garden Theatre, in London, in 1757, the heroine's name being altered to 'Lady Randolph.'

Perhaps in the same year in which the play was produced in London, the poet Gray wrote from Cambridge:-- 'I have got the old Scotch ballad on which _Douglas_ was founded; it is divine, and as long as from hence to Aston. Aristotle's best rules are observed in it in a manner which shows the author never had heard of Aristotle. It begins in the fifth act of the play. You may read it two-thirds through without guessing what it is about; and yet, when you come to the end, it is impossible not to understand the whole story.'

CHILD MAURICE

1.

Child Maurice hunted ithe siluer wood, He hunted itt round about, And noebodye that he ffound therin, Nor none there was with-out.

2.

And he tooke his siluer combe in his hand, To kembe his yellow lockes.

3.

He sayes, 'Come hither, thou litle ffoot-page, That runneth lowlye by my knee, Ffor thou shalt goe to Iohn Stewards wiffe And pray her speake with mee.

4.

I, and greete thou doe that ladye well, Euer soe well ffroe mee.

5.

'And, as itt ffalls, as many times As knotts beene knitt on a kell, Or marchant men gone to leeue London Either to buy ware or sell;

6.

'And, as itt ffalles, as many times As any hart can thinke, Or schoole-masters are in any schoole-house Writting with pen and inke: Ffor if I might, as well as shee may, This night I wold with her speake.

7.

'And heere I send her a mantle of greene, As greene as any grasse, And bid her come to the siluer wood, To hunt with Child Maurice.

8.

'And there I send her a ring of gold, A ring of precyous stone, And bidd her come to the siluer wood, Let ffor no kind of man.'

9.

One while this litle boy he yode, Another while he ran, Vntill he came to Iohn Stewards hall, I-wis he never blan.

10.

And of nurture the child had good, Hee ran vp hall and bower ffree, And when he came to this lady ffaire, Sayes, 'God you saue and see!

11.

'I am come ffrom Child Maurice, A message vnto thee; And Child Maurice, he greetes you well, And euer soe well ffrom mee;

12.

'And, as itt ffalls, as oftentimes As knotts beene knitt on a kell, Or marchant-men gone to leeue London Either ffor to buy ware or sell;

13.

'And as oftentimes he greetes you well As any hart can thinke, Or schoolemasters are in any schoole, Wryting with pen and inke.

14.

'And heere he sends a mantle of greene, As greene as any grasse, And he bidds you come to the siluer wood, To hunt with Child Maurice.

15.

'And heere he sends you a ring of gold, A ring of the precyous stone; He prayes you to come to the siluer wood, Let ffor no kind of man.'

16.

'Now peace, now peace, thou litle ffoot-page, Ffor Christes sake, I pray thee!

Ffor if my lord heare one of these words, Thou must be hanged hye!'

17.

Iohn Steward stood vnder the castle-wall, And he wrote the words euerye one, ... ... ...