Francis James Child

“ Wi the glass and the comb in her hand:
'Reek about, reek about, my merrie men,
Ye are not far from land.'
'You lie, you lie, you pretty mermaid,
Sae loud as I hear you lie;
For since I have seen your face this nicht,
The land I will never see.'
We hadna sailed a league but ane,
A league but barely three,
Till all we and our goodly ship
Was all drowned in the sea.
Lang lang may our ladies stand,
Wi their seams into their hand,
Looking for Sir Patrick's ship,
That will never come to land.
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Buchan's Gleaning, p. ”

“ Communicated by Mr Murison, as taken down from recitation in Old Deer by Mrs Murison.
IT'S when he read the letter ower
A licht lauch then leuch he;
But lang ere he wan the end o it
The saut tear filled his ee.
'O woe be to the man,' he says,
'That's tauld the king o me;
Altho he be my ain brither,
Some ill death mat he dee!
. . . . . .
. . . . ”

“ They wat their heads aboon.
Nore-east, nore-west frae Aberdeen
Is fifty fanthom deep,
And there lies good Sir Andrew Wood,
And a' the Scottish fleet.
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Motherwell's MS., p. .
THE king sits in Dumfermline toun,
Sae merrilie drinking wine; O
Says, Whare will I get a fine skipper,
Wud sail these ships of mine? O
Out and spak an auld rich knicht,
And an ill death may he die!
Says, Young Patrick is the best skipper
That ever set sail on sea. ”

“ Our ship she must awa.
'Drink, O drink, my merrie men all,
Drink o the beer and wine,
For gin Wedensday by twal o'clock
We'll a' be in our lang hame.'
Out and spak a pretty little boy:
'I fear a deadlie storm ”

“ There lies a' our braw Scots men,
Earl Patrick at their feet.
58 Q: Sir Patrick Spens
Finlay's Scottish Ballads, I, xiv, from a recited copy.
THEN up an cam a mermaid,
Wi a siller cup in her han:
'Sail on, sail on, my gude Scotch lords,
For ye sune will see dry lan.'
'Awa, awa, ye wind woman,
An let your fleechin be;
For sen your face we've seen the day,
Dry lan we'll never see.'
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Communicated by Mr Macmath, from Mr William Traquair, S. S. C., Edinburgh; obtained originally in Perthsire. ”

“ Come sailing to the land.
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Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, III, 64, ed. ; I, , ed. ; "taken from two MS. copies, collated with several verses recited by the editor's friend, Robert Hamilton, Esq., Advocate." ”