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I got ze in my father's house,
Wi' mickle sin and shame;

I brocht thee up in gude grene wode,
Under the heavy rain:

Oft have I by thy cradle sitten,

And fondly seen thee sleip;

Bot now I gae about thy grave,
The saut tears for to weip.

And syne she kissd his bluidy cheik,
And syne his bluidy chin:

O better I loe my Gill Morice
Than a' my kith and kin!
Away, away, ze ill woman,

And an il deith mait ze dee:

Gin I had kend he'd bin zour son,

He'd neir bin slain for mee.

Obraid me not, my lord Barnard!

Obraid me not for shame!

Wi' that saim speir O pierce my heart!

And put me out o' pain.

[Since 101] Since nothing bot Gill Morice head

Thy jelous rage could quell,

Let that saim hand now tak hir life,

That neir to thee did ill.

To me nae after days nor nichts
Will eir be saft or kind;
I'll fill the air with heavy sighs,

And greet till I am blind.
Enouch of blood by me's bin spilt,
Seek not zour death frae mee;
I rather lourd it had been my sel
Than eather him or thee.

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Ze see his head upon the speir,
His heart's blude on the ground.

I curse the hand that did the deid,
The heart that thocht the ill;
The feet that bore me wi' sik speid,

The comely zouth to kill.
I'll ay lament for Gill Morice,

As gin he were my ain;

[I'll 102] I'll neir forget the dreiry day
On which the zouth was slain. *

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* The foregoing ballad is said to have furnished the plot to the tragedy of DOUGLAS.

It may be proper to mention that other copies read ver. 110. thus

"Shot frae the golden sun."

And ver. 116. as follows

"His een like azure sheene."

THE END OF THE FIRST BOOK.

contains a short summary of the exploits of this famous champion, as recorded in the old story books; and is commonly intitled, "A pleasant song of the valiant deeds of 10 "chivalry atchieved by that noble knight sir Guy of Warwick, VOL.1 "who, for the love of fair Phelis, became a ["hermit, 104] "hermit, and dyed in a cave of craggy rocke, a mile distant "from Warwick."

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The history of sir Guy, tho' now very properly resigned 15 to children, was once admired by all readers of wit and taste: for taste and wit had once their childhood. Tho' of English growth, it was early a favourite with other nations: it appeared in French in 1525: and is alluded to [in] the old Spanish romance Tirante el blanco, which it is 20 believed was written not long after the year 1430. See advertisement to the French translation, 2 vols. 12mo.

The original whence all these stories is [b. are] extracted is a very ancient romance in old English verse, which is quoted by Chaucer as a celebrated piece even in his time, (viz. 25 Percy's Reliques ed. Schröer.

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"Men speken of romances of price,
"Of Horne childe and Ippotis,
"Of Bevis, and sir Guy, &c.

R. of Thop.)

and was usually sung to the harp at Christmas dinners 5 and brideales, as we learn from Puttenham's art of poetry,

4to. 1589.

This ancient romance is not wholly lost. An imperfect copy in black letter, "Imprynted at London--for Wylliam 'Copland." in 34 sheets 4to. without date, is still preserved 10 among Mr. Garrick's collection of old plays. As a specimen of the poetry of this antique rhymer, take his description of the dragon mentioned in ver. 105 of the following ballad, "A messenger came to the king. "Syr king, he sayd, lysten me now, "For bad tydinges I bring you, "In Northumberlande there is no man, "But that they be slayne everychone: For there dare no man route,

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"By twenty myle rounde aboute,
"For doubt of a fowle dragon,

"That sleath men and beastes downe.

"He is blacke as any cole,

"Rugged as a rough fole;

"His bodye from the navill upwarde
"No man may it pierce it is so harde;

["His 105] "His neck is great as any summere;
"He renneth as swifte as any distrere;
"Pawes he hath as a lyon:

"All that he toucheth he sleath dead downe.
"Great winges he hath to flight,

"That is no man that bare him might.
"There may no man fight him agayne,
"But that he sleath him certayne:
"For a fowler beast then is he,
"Ywis of none never heard ye."

The accurate Dugdale is of opinion that the story of Guy is not wholly apocryphal, tho' he acknowledges the monks have sounded out his praises too hyperbolically. In particular. he gives the duel fought with the Danish champion as a 40 real historical truth, and fixes the date of it in the year 929, Etat. Guy, 70. See his Warwickshire.

The following is written upon the same plan, as ballad V. Book I. but which is the original and which the copy, cannot be decided. This song is ancient, as may be inferred

from the idiom preserved in the margin, ver. 94. 102: and was once popular, as appears from Fletcher's Knight of the burning pestle, act. 2. sc. ult.

Printed from an ancient MS copy in the Editor's old folio volume, collated with two printed ones, one of which 5 is in black letter in the Pepys collection.

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WAS ever knight for ladyes sake

Soe tost in love, as I sir Guy

For Phelis fayre, that lady bright
As ever man beheld with eye?

Shee gave me leave myself to try,

The valiant knight with sheeld and speare,
Ere that her love shee wold grant me;

Which made mee venture far and neare.

[Then 106] Then proved I a baron bold,
In deeds of armes the doughtyest knight
That in those dayes in England was,

With sworde and speare in feild to fight.

An English man I was by birthe:

In faith of Christ a christyan true:
The wicked lawes of infidells

I sought by prowesse to subdue.

'Nine' hundred twenty yeere and odde
After our Saviour Christ his birthe,
When king Athèlstone wore the crowne,

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I lived heere upon the earthe.

Sometime I was of Warwicke erle,
And, as I sayd, of very truthe

To seeke strange ventures in my youthe.

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A ladyes love did me constraine

To win me fame by feates of armes
In strange and sundry heathen lands;
Where I atchieved for her sake

Right dangerous conquests with my hands.

Ver. 9. The proud sir Guy. P. MS and P.

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Ver. 17. Two hundred. 35