THE AULD SCOTS BALLADS

Maoriland Worker, Volume 10, Issue 448, 8 October 1919, Page 1

THE AULD SCOTS BALLADS

y (Concluded) A noteworthy feature of th® auld Scotg ballad is the supernatural note. The ballads of mirth and marvel have a strong romantic colouring; indeed romance is the life and soul of all the ballads. The unseen world casts its | u-adow ovfcr this old folk lore; tho ,' i'-tiry glamour ha.J a poient/ hold ovr I tno people who produced tn-ese ballad, t of love and hate and romance, sudden death, the clash of steel and the world of faery. In those days science had not plucked the hleart out of the mystery cf Life; the Unknown and the Unseen touched man on every side he turned and made a deep impression on bis mind, an impression that lingers

i yet in the glens and uak-3 of Scotland. Man's pilgrimage on earth ;in those days was indeed tliiouglj a Valley of the Shadow. He saw fearful goblins, heard strange noises, and his terrified soul conjured up images of dragons, hobgoblins and chimeras dire. In many of the auld Scots ballads th* supernatural element is introduced with a weird eifect-. It is this that gives a rare interest to some of the best of the ballads. Th 0 lowland Scot is .supposed lo bo of a more matter of fact race than the Highlander, but thus© ballads with their mythology and tincture of the Unseen World reveal a mysticism even in th© nature of the Lowland Scot. This indeed is a natioT.nl characteristic by no means rare. In ibe works of James Hogg, the J'Utrick Shepherd, the poetic treatment of Fairyland reached its zenilii. n.ubt-i'ss th© physical ohar-ai-rer and cliuiaXs of I lie Lowlands conduced as much io belief in fairies and lli-e-ir power in ih,> natural world as did ru© hills and glens of the far North, wnich produced a literature in the Gaelic strongly tinged witli that peculiar j/ensiveiic-ss. melancholy ami love , of introspection so marked a feature iit th« character ol' the <Jac|. .1 ( any rale, :i* a wiiX-i- t ;» tlie balladXX has :.;uid "not ill file wide domain "I' popular eaj-ro, aud jwriry can I-Ik-tic h'l reaped a richer or moi> varied harvest nl weird and wild and beautiful ' fancies iouched by the light that never was on sea or land than is t<> b)_ found in ihe Se-oltXli ballads." i" In Tim Ship of Th,* J'Xud i._ told the story of a faithless womani, false fc first io her lover, and then to her husband and child. Tho lover returns nnd upbraid 3 her, and tempts r < bar 1o fellow him in a ship, on© of a, fleet of eight wonderful vessels, I whos s inainyards and masts are covered with gold. But she soon repented of her decision, for— <■ Sim hadna sailed a league fra. land, & A leagu© but barely .three, Till she minded on her dear husband, . KttAe son te©.' ? i This ballad is a fair specimen of _ : the supe"rnatural kind, and tells how ' tli© lover and his false love sail by tne hills of heaven, and come to mounland, dreary with frost and snow. The man assumes preternatural proportions, nnrtil he growg as tall as the mast. Finally the tragedy ends . in these striking words: — ' He strack the mainmast wi' hi. hand, a Tho foremast wi' his knee, The gallant ship was broken in twain, And sank into the _ea. j There is rich ore in this mine of tfolk lore, which will well repay tbe v labor of the student. Those who like b I mystery, magic and the supernatural !I ! can sup their fill on wonders in Tarn- j }'■ j lane, T-uvi.a-i '.h« "Ryrccr, two of wen- v ! <_er_ ali compa-wi.. Co__i_.g L- c~ii-'i -■ j again, there a re ballads of rare merit. v I full of the tragedy and comedy of human life, and th c dark workings of T mysterious Fat«. Ther© are Tine ITowers ia the Valley, a pitiful story of a T matricide, Th© Lowlands of Holland, a fine ballad of true lov e which survive death. "

Tho Umiks o* yarrow is a Bad story of two broth ers-iii-1 aw, who quarrel, and agro* to light a duel. One of the combatant* put, armed men in am-. bush aud treacherously slays the other. Th« traitor's sister, wii' c of the -lain man, (.ome, to the bloody field. The Yan-ow is the must famous stream in Scats Minstrelsy "nil been th« t_*.':ii. ti man; ,1' the clci ballads, as troll a'j those from the pens of modern hards. Late nt- oo'n, drinking the wine. To light it in the dawiug. They sat, a combat them between, To fight it in the dawing. "What though y e be niy sister's lord, We'll cross our swords to-morrow." "What though my wife your sister be, I'll meet ye then on Yarrow." .She kissed hia cheek, ehe kaimed his hair, As _t't> she'd done- before, O; slip belted him wi' his glide brand, And lie's awa' to Yarrow, When he gaed up the Tenuies bank As h e gaed moiiy a morrow, Nine armed men lay in a den, On "the do trie bfaes o' Yarrow. Two has lie hurt, and three has slain, Ui„ tho bloody l»ra.s o' Yarrow; 1 _11d the. stubborn knight cifpl in behind, And pierced his body through. Oa e _amo, gae hamo, you britber John, And tell your sister sorrow, — T*> ooine and lift hor leafu' lord On the dowi© banks o' Yarrow. "I. dreamt a dream lust' night" eh© says. I wish it; bitma Borrow; I dreamt 1 puM the bfather green Wi' my true lov# on Yarrow. Sh-'s tn'fcii him in her arm. two, And giei;. him kisses thorough; She sought to bind hia m.ny wounds, But he lay dead on Yarrow. '0 hand your tongue" her father says, 'And let be a' your sorrow; I'll wed you to a better lord Than him ye lost on Yarrow." r "0 hand your tongue father," she says, ""Far worse ye raak' my sorrow; A. better lord could never be Than him that lies on Yarrow. S:->£ WX-eo _J_ iips, she ■laimeci his hair, As alt she had dune before, O; ! And there wi' grief her heart did break Upun the banks o' Yarrow. I have merely skimmed the subject, but ewugh aas l>een said perhaps to j awaken interest and shew what a rich j field lies r.ady for exploration by those interested. Without this ballad lore . to build on the Works of Burns, Hogg j and Scott would not have been possible, j It is a literature that belongs to days i that have gone for ever, leaving only Lheir traditions behind, but these are full of rich lessons for us. Ma_y of . the world's greatest writers have sought j inspiration in these rude ballads of ■ y-gone days when life was simpler, '. nore natural and had in it more of j tragedy. There is a depth of feeling ■ .n these old ballads never found ['< ii p:o-Xm work; X is vvnll illr.s:.-rod i ; .n these words:-- '_ I'weed said to Till 1 What gar. ye rici sa© still, Dill said to Tweed : Through ye rin wi' speed ' And I rin slaw ! VhaT ye droon ac man I droon twa, ]