The English and Scottish Popular Ballads :: :: University of Virginia Library

Maidment's New Book of Old Ballads, p. 73, No XX; Whitelaw's Book of Scottish Ballads, p. 246, No V: from a manuscript copy, in the possession of W. H. Logan, Edinburgh, derived from oral tradition.

1

Said the lord to his lady,
Beware of Rankin;
For I am going to England,
to wait on the king.

2

‘No fears, no fears,’
said the lady, said she,
‘For the doors shall be bolted,
and the windows pindee.

3

‘Go bar all the windows,
both outside and in;
Don't leave a window open,
to let Bold Rankin in.’

4

She has barred all the windows,
both outside and in;
But she left one of them open,
to let Bold Rankin in.

5

‘O where is the master of this house?’
said Bold Rankin;
‘He's up in Old England,’
said the false nurse to him.

6

‘O where is the mistress of this house?’
said Bold Rankin;
‘She's up in the chamber sleeping,’
said the false nurse to him.

7

‘O how shall we get her down?’
said Bold Rankin;
‘By piercing the baby,’
said the false nurse to him.

8

‘Go please the baby, nursy,
go please it with a bell;’
‘It will not be pleased, madam,
till you come down yoursel.’

9

‘How can I come down stairs,
so late into the night,
Without coal or candle,
to shew me the light?

10

‘There is a silver bolt
lies on the chest-head;
Give it to the baby,
give it sweet milk and bread.’

11

She rammed the silver bolt
up the baby's nose,
Till the blood it came trinkling
down the baby's fine clothes.

12

‘Go please the baby, nursie,
go please it with the bell:’
‘It will not please, madam,
till you come down yoursel.

13

‘It will neither please with breast-milk,
nor yet with pap;
But I pray, loving lady,
Come and roll it in your lap.’

14

The first step she stepit,
she steppit on a stone;
And the next step she stepit,
she met Bold Rankin.

15

‘O Rankin, O Rankin,
spare me till twelve o'clock,
And I will give you as many guineas
as you can carry on your back.’

16

‘What care I for as many guineas
as seeds into a sack,
When I cannot keep my hands off
your lily-white neck?’

17

‘O will I kill her, nursie,
or let her abee?’
‘O kill her,’ said the false nurse,
‘she was never good to me.’

18

‘Go scour the bason, lady,
both outside and in,
To hold your mother's heart's blood,
sprung from a noble kin.’

19

‘To hold my mother's heart's blood
would make my heart full woe;
O rather kill me, Rankin,
and let my mother go.’

20

‘Go scour the bason, servants,
both outside and in,
To hold your lady's heart's blood,
sprung from a noble kin.’

327

21

‘To hold my lady's heart's blood
would make my heart full woe;
O rather kill me, Rankin,
and let my lady go.’

22

‘Go scour the bason, nursy,
both outside and in,
To hold your lady's heart's blood,
sprung from a noble kin.’

23

‘To hold my lady's heart's blood
would make my heart full glad;
Ram in the knife, Bold Rankin,
and gar the blood to shed.

24

‘She's none of my comrades,
she's none of my kin;
Ram in the knife, Bold Rankin,
and gar the blood rin.’

25

‘O will I kill her, nursy,
or let her abee?’
‘O kill her,’ said the false nurse,
‘she was never good to me.’

[OMITTED]

26

‘I wish my wife and family
may be all well at home;
For the silver buttons of my coat
they will not stay on.’

27

As Betsy was looking
oer her window so high,
She saw her dear father
come riding by.

28

‘O father, dear father,
don't put the blame on me
It was false nurse and Rankin
that killed your lady.’

29

O was n't that an awful sight,
when he came to the stair,
To see his fairest lady
lie bleeding there!

30

The false nurse was burnt
on the mountain hill-head,
And Rankin was boiled
in a pot full of lead.