The queen luikit owre the castle wa',
Beheld baith dale and down,
And there she saw young Waters,
Cum riding to the town.

His footmen they did rin before,
His horsemen rade behind,
And mantel of the burning gowd
Did keep him frae the wind.

Gowden graith'd his horse before,
And siller shod behind;

The horse young Waters rade upon
Was fleeter than the wind.

Out then spak a wylie lord,
Unto the queen said he :
“O tell me quha's the fairest face
Rides in the company?"

"I've sene lord, and I've sene laird, And knights of high degree,

But a fairer face than young Waters', Mine eyne did never see."

Out then spak the jealous king,
(And an angry man was he):
“O, if he had been twice as fair,
You micht have excepted me."

"You're neither laird nor lord," she says, "But the king that wears the crown ; There's not a knight in fair Scotland, But to thee maun bow down."

For a' that she could do or say,
Appeased he wadna be ;

But for the words which she had said,
Young Waters he maun die.

They hae ta'en young Waters, and
Put fetters to his feet;

They hae ta'en young Waters, and
Thrown him in dungeon deep.

"Aft I have ridden thro' Stirling town, In the wind bot and the weit;

But I ne'er rade thro' Stirling town

Wi' fetters at my feet.

Aft I have ridden thro' Stirling town,
In the wind bot and the rain;
But I ne'er rode thro' Stirling town
Ne'er to return again."

They hae ta'en to the heiding hill,
His young son in his cradle;
And they hae ta'en to the heiding hill,
His horse bot and the saddle.

They hae ta'en to the heiding hill,

His lady fair to see;

And for the words the queen had spoke Young Waters he did die.

LADY MARY ANN.

"I HAVE extracted these beautiful stanzas from Johnson's Poetical Museum.' They are worthy of being better known--a circumstance which may lead to a discovery of the persons whom they celebrate.” -Scottish Historical and Romantic Ballads, Vol. I. Edin. 1808. The stanzas are certainly beautiful, and it is probable they may refer to some of the Dundonald family. The thrifty habits of one lady of that noble house, at least, have already been commemorated in some wretched stuff, still preserved by tradition in Paisley.

My lady Dundonald sits singing and spinning

Drawing a thread frae her tow rock;
And it weel sets me for to wear a gude cloak,
And I span ilka thread o't mysell so I did.
Lilty teedle doodle doo, doodle doo,

Lilty teedle doodle doo dan. Lilty teedle, &c.

The reader has quite enough of this delectable ditty; the air, however, to which it is sung, is good and worthy of preservation.

O LADY Mary Ann looks o'er the castle wa',
She saw three bonnie boys playing at the ba',
The youngest he was the flower among them a';

My bonnie laddie's young, but he's growin' yet.

O father, O father, an ye think it fit,
We'll send him a year to the college yet;
We'll sew a green ribbon round about his hat,
And that will let them ken he's to marry yet.

Lady Mary Ann was a flower in the dew,
Sweet was its smell, and bonnie was its hue,
And the langer it blossomed, the sweeter it grew;
For the lily in the bud will be bonnier yet.

Young Charlie Cochran was the sprout of an aik,
Bonnie and blooming and straight was its make,
The sun took delight to shine for its sake;
And it will be the brag o' the forest yet.

The summer is gane when the leaves they were green,

And the days are awa' that we hae seen,

But far better days I trust will come again;

For my bonnie laddie's young but he's growing

yet.