But how far do they fall short of the original simplicity!
Non cuivis contingit. As the title is lacking, as well as the
imprint, I have styled it
THE FRAGMENT OF THE FAUSE LOVER
AND THE DEAD LEMAN.
O Willie rade, and Willie gaed
Atween the shore and sea,
And still it was his dead Lady
That kept him company.
O Willie rade, and Willie gaed
Atween the [loch and heather],
And still it was his dead Lady
That [held his stirrup leather].
"O Willie, tak' me up by ye,
Sae far it is I gang;
O tak' me on your saddle bow,
Or [your day shall not be lang]."
"Gae back, gae back, ye fause ill wife,
To the grave wherein ye lie,
It never was seen that a dead leman
Kept lover's company!
"Gae back, gae back frae me," he said,
"For this day maun I wed,
And how can I kiss a living lass,
When ye come frae the dead?
"If ye maun haunt a living man,
Your brither haunt," says he,
"For it was never my knife, but his
That [twined thy life and thee!]
* * *
We are to understand, I make no doubt, that Willie had been too
fortunate a lover, and that in his absence--the frailty of his lady
becoming conspicuous--her brother had avenged the family honour
according to that old law of Scotland which the courteous Ariosto
styles "l' aspra legge di Scozia, empia e severa."
Pray let me know, at your leisure, what you think of this
trouvaille. It is, of course, entirely at your service, if you
think it worthy of a place in a new edition of the "Minstrelsy.
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