And when the letter it was redd
Affore that goodlye companye,
I wis, if you the truthe wold know,
There was many a weeping eye.

He sayd, "Come thither, Christopher Norton,
A gallant youth thou seemst to bee;
What doest thou counsell me, my sonne,
Now that good erle's in jeopardy?"

"Father, my counselle's fair and free;
That erle he is a noble lord,
And whatsoever to him you hight,

I wold not have you breake your word."

"Gramercy, Christopher, my sonne,
Thy counsell well it liketh mee,
And if we speed and scape with life,
Well advanced shalt thou bee.

Come you hither, my nine good sonnes,
Gallant men I trowe you bee:

How many of you, my children deare,
Will stand by that good erle and mee?"

Eight of them did answer make

Eight of them spake hastilie,

"O father, till the day we dye

We'll stand by that good erle and thee."

"Gramercy now, my children deare,

50

55

60

65

70

You showe yourselves right bold and brave; And whethersoe'er I live or dye,

75

A fathers blessing you shal have.

But what sayst thou, O Francis Norton,
Thou art mine eldest sonn and heire :
Somewhat lyes brooding in thy breast;
Whatever it bee, to mee declare."

"Father, you are an aged man,

Your head is white, your bearde is gray;
It were a shame at these your yeares
For you to ryse in such a fray."

80

"Now, fye upon thee, coward Francis,

Thou never learnedst this of mee:
When thou wert yong and tender of age,
Why did I make soe much of thee?"

"But, father, I will wend with you,
Unarm'd and naked will I bee;
And he that strikes against the crowne,
Ever an ill death may he dee."
Then rose that reverend gentleman,
And with him came a goodlye band
To join with the brave Erle Percy,

And all the flower o' Northumberland.

With them the noble Nevill came,

The erle of Westmorland was hee:

At Wetherbye they mustred their host,
Thirteen thousand faire to see.

Lord Westmorland his ancyent raisde,
The Dun Bull he rays'd on hye,
And three Dogs with golden collars
Were there sett out most royallye.*

Erle Percy there his ancyent spred,

The Halfe-Moone shining all soe faire † :

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95

100

105

*Ver. 102. "Dun Bull," &c.] The supporters of the Nevilles Earls of Westmoreland were Two Bulls Argent, ducally collar'd Gold, armed Or, &c. But I have not discovered the device mentioned in the Ballad, among the badges, &c. given by that house. This however is certain, that, among those of the Nevilles, Lords Abergavenny (who were of the same family) is a Dun Cow with a golden collar and the Nevilles of Chyte in Yorkshire (of the Westmoreland branch) gave for their crest, in 1513, a Dog's (Greyhound's) Head erased. So that it is not improbable but Charles Neville, the unhappy Earl of Westmoreland here mentioned, might on this occasion give the above device on his banner.-After all our old minstrel's verses here may have undergone some corruption; for, in another ballad in the same folio MS. and apparently written by the same hand, containing the sequel of this Lord Westmoreland's History, his Banner is thus described, more conformable to his known bearings:

"Sett me up my faire Dun Bull,

With Gilden Hornes, hee beares all soe hye."

+ Ver. 106. "The Half-Moone," &c.] The Silver Crescent is a

The Nortons ancyent had the crosse,

And the five wounds our Lord did beare.

Then Sir George Bowes he straitwaye rose,
After them some spoyle to make :
Those noble erles turn'd backe againe,
And aye they vowed that knight to take.
That baron he to his castle fled,

To Barnard castle then fled hee.
The uttermost walles were eathe to win,
The earles have wonne them presentlìe.

The uttermost walles were lime and bricke;
But though they won them soon anone,
Long e'er they wan the innermost walles,
For they were cut in rocke of stone.

Then newes unto leeve London came

In all the speede that ever might bee,
And word is brought to our royall queene
Of the rysing in the North countrie.
Her grace she turned her round about,
And like a royall queene shee swore,*

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115

120

125

well-known Crest or Badge of the Northumberland family. It was probably brought home from some of the Cruzades against the Sarazens. In an ancient Pedigree in verse, finely illuminated on a Roll of Vellum, and written in the reign of Henry VII. (in possession of the family) we have this fabulous account given of its original.-The author begins with accounting for the name of Gernon or Algernon, often born by the Percies; who, he says,

were

Gernons fyrst named of Brutys bloude of Troy:
Which valliantly fyghtynge in the land of Persè [Persia]
At pointe terrible ayance the miscreants on nyght,

An hevynly mystery was schewyd hym, old bookys reherse;
In hys scheld did schyne a Mone veryfying her lyght,

Which to all the ooste yave a perfytte syght,

To vaynquys his enemys, and to deth them persue;

And therefore the Persès [Percies] the Cressant doth renew."

In the dark ages no Family was deemed considerable that did not derive its descent from the Trojan Brutus; or that was not distinguished by prodigies and miracles.

*This is quite in character: her majesty would sometimes swear at her nobles, as well as box their ears.

VOL. I.

L

"I will ordayne them such a breakfast,
As never was in the North before."

Shee caus'd thirty thousand men be rays'd,
With horse and harneis faire to see;
She caused thirty thousand men be raised,
To take the earles i' th' North countrie.

Wi' them the false Erle Warwick went,

Th' erle Sussex and the lord Hunsdèn;
Untill they to Yorke castle came

I wiss, they never stint ne blan.

"Now spred thy ancyent, Westmorland,
Thy dun bull faine would we spye:
And thou, the Erle o' Northumberland,
Now rayse thy half moone up on hye."

But the dun bulle is fled and gone,

And the halfe moone vanished away:
The Erles, though they were brave and bold,
Against soe many could not stay.

Thee, Norton, wi' thine eight good sonnes,
They doom'd to dye, alas! for ruth!
Thy reverend lockes thee could not save,
Nor them their faire and blooming youthe.

Wi' them full many a gallant wight
They cruellye bereav'd of life:

And many a childe made fatherlesse,
And widowed many a tender wife.

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135

140

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150

IV.

NORTHUMBERLAND BETRAYED BY DOUGLAS.

THIS ballad may be considered as the sequel of the preceding. After the unfortunate Earl of Northumberland had seen himself forsaken of his followers, he endeavoured to withdraw into Scotland, but falling into the hands of the thievish

borderers, was stript and otherwise ill-treated by them. At length he reached the house of Hector, of Harlaw, an Armstrong, with whom he hoped to lie concealed: for, Hector had engaged his honour to be true to him, and was under great obligations to this unhappy nobleman. But this faithless wretch betrayed his guest for a sum of money to Murray the Regent of Scotland, who sent him to the castle of Lough-leven, then belonging to William Douglas.-All the writers of that time assure us, that Hector, who was rich before, fell shortly after into poverty, and became so infamous, that to take Hector's cloak, grew into a proverb to express a man who betrays his friend. See Camden, Carleton, Holingshed, &c.

Lord Northumberland continued in the castle of Lough-leven, till the year 1572; when James Douglas Earl of Morton being elected Regent, he was given up to the Lord Hunsden at Berwick, and being carried to York suffered death. As Morton's party depended on Elizabeth for protection, an elegant Historian thinks" it was scarce possible for them to refuse putting into her hands a person who had taken up arms against her. But, as a sum of money was paid on that account, and shared between Morton and his kinsman Douglas, the former of whom, during his exile in England, had been much indebted to Northumberland's friendship, the abandoning this unhappy nobleman to inevitable destruction, was deemed an ungrateful and mercenary act." Robertson's Hist.

So far History coincides with this ballad, which was apparently written by some Northern Bard soon after the event. The interposal of the "witch-lady "(v. 53.) is probably his own invention: yet, even this hath some countenance from history; for, about 25 years before, the Lady Jane Douglas, Lady Glamis, sister of the Earl of Angus, and nearly related to Douglas of Lough-leven, had suffered death for the pretended crime of witchcraft; who, it is presumed, is the Witch-lady alluded to in verse 133.

The following is selected (like the former) from two copies, which contained great variations; one of them in the editor's folio MS. In the other copy some of the stanzas at the beginning of this Ballad are nearly the same with what in that MS. are made to begin another Ballad on the escape of the E. of Westmoreland, who got safe into Flanders, and is feigned in the ballad to have undergone a great variety of adventures.

"How long shall fortune faile me nowe,
And harrowe me with fear and dread?