Ancient Scottish ballads, recovered from tradition, and never before ...

231
And he has tane wi ? him his eldest son,
For to carry his game.
— —
"OI wad ask ye something, father,
An ye wadna angry be ;"
" Ask on, ask on, my eldest son,
Ask onie thing at me."
"My mother's cheeks are aft times weet,
Alas ! they are seldom dry."
" Na wonder, na wonder, my eldest son,
Tho' she should brast* and die.
For your mother was an earl's dochter,
Of noble birth and fame;
And now she's wife o' Hynde Etin,
Wha ne'er got christendame.
But we'll shoot the laverock in the liftf
The buntlin^: on the tree;
And ye'll tak them hame to your mother,
And see if she'll comforted be."
* Brast—burst. f Laverock in the lift—lark in the sky.
\ Buntlin—-Bunting.
*