The English and Scottish popular ballads, volume 5 (of 5)
General
The English and Scottish popular ballads, volume 5 (of 5)
Ballads, English -- England -- Texts; Ballads, Scots -- Scotland -- Texts
The old lord collects
five hundred friends of high degree, and goes over to France in search
of his son. They find him acting as porter at the duke’s palace. The
men of worship bow, the serving-men kneel, the old lord lights from his
horse and kisses his son. The steward is just then in a castle-top with
the duke, and sees what is going on below. Why are those fools showing
such courtesy to the porter? The duke fears that this means death for
one of them. The castle is beset; the steward is captured, is tried by
a quest of lords and brought in guilty, is hanged, quartered, boiled,
and burned. The young Lord of Lorne is married to the duke’s daughter.
=B.= =B= is an abridgment of an older copy. The story is the same as
in =A= in all material particulars. The admiration of the schoolmaster
and the self-complacency of his pupil in =A= 2, 3, =B= 3, are better
justified in =B= by a stanza which has perhaps dropped out of =A=:
There’s nere a doctor in all this realm,
For all he goes in rich array,
[But] I can write him a lesson soon
To learn in seven years day.
The last six stanzas are not represented in =A=, and the last two are
glaringly modern; but there is a foundation for 62-64 in a romance from
which the story is partly taken, the History of Roswall and Lillian.[44]
‘Roswall and Lillian.’ Roswall was son to the king of Naples.
Happening one day to be near a prison, he heard three lords, who had
been in durance many years for treason, putting up their prayers for
deliverance. He was greatly moved, and resolved to help them out. The
prison-keys were always hidden for the night under the king’s pillow.
Roswall possessed himself of them while his father was sleeping, set
the lords free, and replaced the keys. The escape of the prisoners
was reported the next morning, and the king made a vow that whoever
had been instrumental to it should be hanged; if he came within the
king’s sight, the king would even slay him with his own hands. It soon
came to light that the guilty party was none other than the prince.
The queen interceded for her son, but the king could not altogether
disregard his vow: the prince must be kept out of his sight, and the
king promptly decided that Roswall should be sent to reside with the
king of Bealm, under charge of the steward, a stalwart knight, to
whom the queen promised everything for good service. As the pair rode
on their way, they came to a river. The prince was sore athirst, and
dismounted to take a drink. The steward seized him by the feet as he
bent over the water, and vowed to throw him in unless he would swear an
oath to surrender his money and credentials, and become servant where
he had been master. To these hard terms Roswall was forced to consign.
When they were near the king of Bealm’s palace, the steward dropped
Roswall’s company, leaving him without a penny to buy his dinner; then
rode to the king, presented letters, and was well received. Roswall
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account