And Selden is a Galliard by himself.
And wel might be; there’s more divines
in him.
Than in all this their Jewish Sanhedrim.
Skelton, in his railing poem against James IV., terms him Sir Skyr Galyard.]
THE LADS OF WAMPHRAY.
’Twixt Girth-head and the Langwood
end,
Lived the Galliard, and the Galliard’s
men;
But and the lads of Leverhay,
That drove the Crichtons’ gear away.
It is the lads of Lethenha’,
The greatest rogues amang them a’:
But and the lads of Stefenbiggin,
They broke the house in at the rigging.
The lads of Fingland, and Hellbeck-hill,
They were never for good, but aye for
ill;
’Twixt the Staywood-bush and Langside-hill,
They stealed the broked cow and the branded
bull.
It is the lads of the Girth-head,
The deil’s in them for pride and
greed;
For the Galliard, and the gay Galliard’s
men,
They ne’er saw a horse but they
made it their ain.
The Galliard to Nithside is gane,
To steal Sim Crichton’s winsome
dun;
The Galliard is unto the stable gane,
But instead of the dun, the blind he has
ta’en.
“Now Simmy, Simmy of the Side,
Come out and see a Johnstone ride!
Here’s the bonniest horse in a’
Nithside,
And a gentle Johnstone aboon his hide.”
Simmy Crichton’s mounted then,
And Crichtons has raised mony a ane;
The Galliard trowed his horse had been
wight,
But the Crichtons beat him out o’
sight.
As soon as the Galliard the Crichton saw,
Behind the saugh-bush he did draw;
And there the Crichtons the Galliard hae
ta’en,
And nane wi’ him but Willie alane.
“O Simmy, Simmy, now let me gang,
And I’ll nevir mair do a Crichton
wrang!
O Simmy, Simmy, now let me be,
And a peck o’ gowd I’ll give
to thee!
O Simmy, Simmy, now let me gang,
And my wife shall heap it with her hand.”
But the Crichtons wad na let the Galliard
be,
But they hanged him hie upon a tree.
O think then Willie he was right wae,
When he saw his uncle guided sae;
“But if ever I live Wamphray to
see,
My uncle’s death avenged shall be!”
Back to Wamphray he is gane,
And riders has raised mony a ane;
Saying—“My lads, if ye’ll
be true,
Ye shall a’ be clad in the noble
blue.”
Back to Nithisdale they have gane,
And awa’ the Crichtons’ nowt
hae ta’en;
But when they cam to the Wellpath-head,
The Crichtons bade them ’light and
lead.
And when they cam to the Biddes burn,
The Crichtons bade them stand and turn;
And when they cam to the Biddess strand,
The Crichtons they were hard at hand.
But when they cam to the Biddes law,
The Johnstones bade them stand and draw;
“We’ve done nae ill, we’ll
thole nae wrang,
“But back to Wamphray we will gang,”