Ballads of Scottish Tradition and Romance | Page 7

answear mayd,?yt was the good lord Pers?:?'We wyll not tell the whoys men we ar,' he says,?'nor whos men that we be;?But we wyll hounte hear in this chays,?in the spyt of thyne and of the.
17.?'The fattiste hart?s in all Chyviat?we have kyld, and cast to carry them away:'?'Be my troth,' sayd the doughet? Dogglas agayn,?'therfor the ton of us shall de this day.'
18.?Then sayd the dought? Doglas?unto the lord Pers?:?'To kyll alle thes giltles men,?alas, it wear great pitt?!
19.?'But, Pers?, thowe art a lord of lande,?I am a yerle callyd within my contr?;?Let all our men vppone a parti stande,?and do the battell off the and of me.'
20.?'Nowe Cristes cors on his crowne,' sayd the lord Pers?,?'who-so-ever ther-to says nay!?Be my troth, doughtt? Doglas,' he says,?'thow shalt never se that day.
21.?'Nethar in Ynglonde, Skottlonde, nar France,?nor for no man of a woman born,?But, and fortune be my chance,?I dar met him, on man for on.'
22.?Then bespayke a squyar off Northombarlonde,?Richard Wytharyngton was his nam:?'It shall never be told in Sothe-Ynglonde,' he says,?'to Kyng Herry the Fourth for sham.
23.?'I wat youe byn great lord?s twaw,?I am a poor squyar of lande:?I wylle never se my captayne fyght on a fylde,?and stande my selffe and loocke on,?But whylle I may my weppone welde,?I wylle not fayle both hart and hande.'
24.?That day, that day, that dredfull day!?the first fit here I fynde;?And youe wyll here any mor a the hountyng a the Chyviat,?yet ys ther mor behynde.
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25.?The Yngglyshe men hade ther bowys yebent,?ther hartes wer good yenoughe;?The first off arros that the shote off,?seven skore spear-men the sloughe.
26.?Yet byddys the yerle Doglas vppon the bent,?a captayne good yenoughe,?And that was sene verament,?for he wrought hom both woo and wouche.
27.?The Dogglas partyd his ost in thre,?lyk a cheffe cheften off pryde;?With suar spears off myghtt? tre,?the cum in on every syde:
28.?Thrughe our Yngglyshe archery?gave many a wounde fulle wyde;?Many a doughet? the garde to dy,?which ganyde them no pryde.
29.?The Ynglyshe men let ther bo?s be,?and pulde owt brandes that wer brighte;?It was a hevy syght to se?bryght swordes on basnites lyght.
30.?Thorowe ryche male and myneyeple,?many sterne the strocke done streght;?Many a freyke that was fulle fre,?ther undar foot dyd lyght.
31.?At last the Duglas and the Pers? met,?lyk to captayns of myght and of mayne;?The swapte togethar tylle the both swat?with swordes that wear of fyn myllan.
32.?Thes worth? freckys for to fyght,?ther-to the wear fulle fayne,?Tylle the bloode owte off thear basnetes sprente,?as ever dyd heal or rayn.
33.?'Yelde the, Pers?,' sayde the Doglas,?'and i feth I shalle the brynge?Wher thowe shalte have a yerls wagis?of Jamy our Skottish kynge.
34.?'Thou shalte have thy ransom fre,?I hight the hear this thinge;?For the manfullyste man yet art thowe?that ever I conqueryd in filde fighttynge.'
35.?'Nay,' sayd the lord Pers?,?'I tolde it the beforne,?That I wolde never yeldyde be?to no man of a woman born.'
36.?With that ther cam an arrowe hastely,?forthe off a myghtt? wane;?Hit hathe strekene the yerle Duglas?in at the brest-bane.
37.?Thorowe lyvar and long?s bathe?the sharpe arrowe ys gane,?That never after in all his lyffe-days?he spayke mo word?s but ane:?That was, 'Fyghte ye, my myrry men, whyllys ye may,?for my lyff-days ben gan.'
38.?The Pers? leanyde on his brande,?and sawe the Duglas de;?He tooke the dede mane by the hande,?and sayd, 'Wo ys me for the!
39.?'To have savyde thy lyffe, I wolde have partyde with?my landes for years thre,?For a better man, of hart nare of hande,?was nat in all the north contr?.'
40.?Off all that se a Skottishe knyght,?was callyd Ser Hewe the Monggombyrry;?He sawe the Duglas to the deth was dyght,?he spendyd a spear, a trusti tre.
41.?He rod uppone a corsiare?throughe a hondrith archery:?He never stynttyde, nar never blane,?tylle he cam to the good lord Pers?.
42.?He set uppone the lorde Pers??a dynte that was full soare;?With a suar spear of a myghtt? tre?clean thorow the body he the Pers? ber,
43.?A the tothar syde that a man myght se?a large cloth-yard and mare:?Towe bettar captayns wear nat in Cristiant??then that day slan wear ther.
44.?An archar off Northomberlonde?say slean was the lord Pers?;?He bar a bende bowe in his hand,?was made off trusti tre.
45.?An arow, that a cloth-yarde was lang,?to the harde stele halyde he;?A dynt that was both sad and soar?he sat on Ser Hewe the Monggombyrry.
46.?The dynt yt was both sad and sar,?that he of Monggomberry sete;?The swane-fethars that his arrowe bar?with his hart-blood the wear wete.
47.?Ther was never a freake wone foot wolde fle,?but still in stour dyd stand,?Heawyng on yche othar, whylle the myghte dre,?with many a balfull brande.
48.?This battell begane in Chyviat?an owar befor the none.?And when even-songe bell was rang,?the battell was nat half done.
49.?The tocke ... on ethar hande?be the lyght off the mone;?Many hade no strenght for to stande,?in Chyviat the hillys abon.
50.?Of fifteen hondrith archars of Ynglonde?went away