THE BONNY EARL OF MURRAY.

"THE 7 of Februarij this zeire, 1592, the Earle of Murray was cruelly murthered by the Earle of Huntly, at his house in Dunibrissell, in Fyffeshyre, and with him Dumbar, Shriffe of Murray; it [was] given out, and publickly talked that the Earle of Huntley was only the instrument of perpetratting this facte, to satisffie the Kinges jelosie of Murray, quhom the Queine, more rashlie than wyslie, some few dayes before had commendit in the Kinges heiringe, with too many epithetts of a proper and gallant man. The ressons of these surmisses proceidit from proclamatione of the Kinges the 18 of Marche following, inhibitting the younge Earle of Murray to persew the Earle of Huntley for his fathers slaughter, in respecte he being wardit in the castell of Blacknesse for the same murther, was willing to abyde his tryell; averring that he had done nothing, bot by the King's maties commissione and so was neither airt nor part of the murther."-Annales of Scotland by Sir James Balfour, Vol. I. Edin., 1824. For other accounts of this transaction, see Spottiswood, Moyse's Memoires, Calderwood's History of the Church, and Gordon's Genealogical History of the Earldom of Sutherland.

YE Highlands, and ye Law-lands,
Oh! quhair hae ye been?

They hae slaine the Earl of Murray,

And hae lain him on the green.

Now wae be to thee, Huntly!
And quhairfore did you sae?
I bade you bring him wi' you,
But forbade you him to slay.

He was a braw gallant,

And he rid at the ring; And the bonny Earl of Murray, Oh! he might hae been a king.

He was a braw gallant,

And he play'd at the ba'; And the bonny Earl of Murray, Was the flower amang them a'.

He was a braw gallant,

And he play'd at the gluve; And the bonny Earl of Murray, Oh! he was the Queenes luve.

Oh! lang will his lady,

Look owre the castle Downe, Ere she see the Earl of Murray,

I

Cum sounding thro' the towne.

"I had conjectured this to be the true reading, before I was aware that a friend of Mr. Pinkerton had anticipated me. It has always, before the present edition, been printed, 'look our the castle downe,' which is hardly sense."-Finlay's ballads, Vol. I. This is not true. Had Mr. Finlay taken the trouble of consulting Ramsay's Teatable Miscellany, Edin., 1775, he would there have found the line in question, printed correctly, yea, even according to his fancied emendation !

THE BONNIE EARL O' MURRAY

Is a different ballad from the one that precedes it; but owing to the same peculiarity of measure of both, Mr Finlay conjectures, which is not at all unlikely, that they may at one period have been united.

OPEN the gates,

And let him come in;
He is my brother Huntly,
He'll do him nae harm.

The gates they were open't,
They let him come in ;
But fause traitor Huntly,

He did him great harm.

He's ben and ben,

And ben to his bed; And with a sharp rapier, He stabbed him dead.

The lady came down the stair,
Wringing her hands:

"He has slain the Earl o' Murray,
The flower o' Scotland."

But Huntly lap on his horse;

Rade to the king,

"Ye're welcome hame, Huntly, And whare hae ye been?

"Whare hae ye been?

And how hae ye sped?"

"I've killed the Earl o' Murray,

Dead in his bed."

“Foul fa' you, Huntly,

And why did ye so;

You might hae taen the Earl of Murray,

And saved his life too."

L

"Her bread its to bake,

Her yill is to brew;

My sister's a widow,

And sair do I rue."

"Her corn grows ripe,

Her meadows grow green;
But in bonny Dinnibristle,
I darena be seen."

YOUNG WATERS.

THIS ballad, like the two former, has been supposed to refer to the fate of the unfortunate Earl of Murray; but at best, this is a guess, which, for one chance it has of being right, there are ten chances that it is wrong.

ABOUT Zule quhen the wind blew cule,
And the round tables began ;

A! there is cum to our king's court,
Money a well-favor'd man.