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I cannot conclude this fhort Memoir, without obferving that the French romancers who had borrowed the word Termagant from us, and applied it as we in their old romances, corrupted it into TERVAGAUNTE: And from them La Fontaine took it up, and has used it more than once in his tales. -This may be added to the other proofs adduced in thefe volumes of the great intercourse that formerly fubfifted between the old minstrels and legendary writers of both nations, and that they mutually borrowed each others romances.

VII.

SIR PATRICK SPENCE,

A SCOTTISH BALLAD,

is given from two MS copies tranfmitted from Scotland. In what age the hero of this ballad lived, or when this fatal expedition happened that proved fo deftructive to the Scots nobles, I have not been able to discover; yet am of opinion that their catastrophe is not altogether without foundation in history, though it has escaped my own reSearches. In the infancy of navigation, fuch as used the northern feas, were very liable to fhipwreck in the wintry months: hence a law was enacted in the reign of James the III, (a law which was frequently repeated afterwards) "That there be na schip frauched out of the realm with any ftaple gudes, fra the feaft of Simons day and Jude, unto the feast of the purification our Lady called Candel"" mess." Jam. III. Parlt. 2. Ch. 15.

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In fome modern copies, instead of Patrick Spence hath been fubftituted the name of Sir Andrew Wood, a famous Scottish admiral who flourished in the time of our Edw. IV. but whose fory bath nothing in common with this of the ballad. As Wood was the most noted warrior of Scotland, it is probable that, like the Theban Hercules, he hath engrossed the renown of other heroes.

THE

THE king fits in Dumferling toune,

Drinking the blude-reid wine :

O quhar will I get guid failòr,

To fail this fchip of mine?

Up and fpak an eldern knicht,
Sat at the kings richt kne :

Sir Patrick Spence is the best failòr,
That fails upon the fe.

The king has written a braid letter,
And fignd it wi' his hand;
And fent it to Sir Patrick Spence,
Was walking on the fand.

The first line that Sir Patrick red,

A loud lauch lauched he:

The next line that Sir Patrick red,
The teir blinded his ee.

3

10

15

O quha is this has don this deid,

This ill deid don to me ;

To fend me out this time o'the zeir,

20

To fail upon the fe?

Mak haft, mak hafte, my mirry men all,

Our guid fchip fails the morne.

O fay na fae, my mafter deir,

For I feir a deadlie ftorme.

Late

Late late yeftreen I faw the new moone
Wi' the auld moone in hir arme ;
And I feir, I feir, my deir mastèr,
That we will com to harme.

O our Scots nobles wer richt laith
To weet their cork-heild fchoone;
Bot lang owre a' the play wer playd,
Thair hats they fwam aboone.

O lang, lang, may thair ladies fit
Wi' thair fans into their hand,
Or eir they fe Sir Patrick Spence
Cum failing to the land.

O lang, lang, may the ladies ftand

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Wi' thair gold kems in their hair,

Waiting for thair ain deir lords,

For they'll fe thame na mair.

25

30

35

40

Have owre, have owre to Aberdour †,

It's fiftie fadom deip :

And thair lies guid Sir Patrick Spence,

Wi' the Scots lords at his feit.

VIII.

A village lying upon the river Forth, the entrance to. which is

fometimes denominated De mortuo mari.

VIII.

ROBIN HOOD AND GUY OF GISBORNE.

We have here a ballad of Robin Hood (from the Editor's folio MS) which was never before printed, and carries marks of much greater antiquity than any of the common popular fongs on this fubject.

The feverity of those tyrannical foreft-laws, that were introduced by our Norman kings, and the great temptation of breaking them by fuch as lived near the royal forefts, at a time when the yeomanry of this kingdom were every where trained up to the long-bow, and excelled all other nations in the art of booting, must conftantly have occafioned great numbers of outlaws, and especially of fuch as were the best mark/men. These naturally fled to the woods for shelter, and forming into troops, endeavoured by their numbers to protect themselves from the dreadful penalties of their delinquency. The ancient punishment for killing the king's deer, was lofs of eyes and caftration: a punishment far worse than death. This will eafily account for the troops of banditti, which formerly lurked in the royal forefts, and from their fuperior skill in archery and knowledge of all the receffes of thofe unfrequented folitudes, found it no difficult matter to refift or elude the civil power.

Among all thefe, none was ever more famous than the hero of this ballad: the heads of whofe story, as collected by Stow, are briefly these.

"In this time [about the year 1190, in the reign of Ri"chard I.] were many robbers, and outlawes, among the "which Robin Hood, and Little John, renowned theeves, " continued in woods, defpoyling and robbing the goods of

" the

"the rich. They killed none but fuch as would invade "them; or by refiftance for their own defence.

"The faide Robert entertained an hundred tall men and "good archers with fuch Spoiles and thefts as he got, upon "whom four hundred (were they ever fo ftrong) durft not

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give the onfet. He fuffered no woman to be oppreffed, vio"lated, or otherwife molested: poore mens goods he fpared, "abundantlie relieving them with that, which by theft he

got from abbeys and the houses of rich carles: whom "Maior (the historian) blameth for his rapine and theft, "but of all theeves he affirmeth him to be the prince and "the most gentle theefe." Annals, p. 159;

The perfonal courage of this celebrated outlaw, his skill in archery, his humanity, and efpecially his levelling principle of taking from the rich and giving to the poor, have in all ages rendered him the favourite of the common people who not content to celebrate his memory by innumerable fongs and ftories, have erected him into the dignity of an earl. Indeed it is not impoffible, but our hero, to gain the more respect from bis followers, or they to derive the more credit to their profeffion, may have given rife to fuch a report themselves: for we find it recorded in an epitaph, which, if genuine, muft have been infcribed on his tombstone near the nunnery of Kirk-lees in Yorkshire; where (as the story goes) he was bled to death by a treacherous nun to whom he applied for phlebotomy.

Hear undernead dis laitt stean
faiz robert earl of huntingtun
nea arcir ver az hie sae geud
an pipt kauld im Robin Heud
fick utlawz as hí an is men
vil England nivir fi agen.
obiit 24 kal. dekembris, 1247.

This Epitaph appears to me fufpicious; however, a late Antiquary has given a pedigree of ROBIN HOOD, which,

• See Thoresby's Ducat. Leod. p. 576. Biog. Brit. VI. 3933

if

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