THE FIVE CARLINS. A SCOTS BALLAD. Tune-Chevy-Chase. THERE were five carlins in the south, They fell upon a scheme, To send a lad to London town, Not only bring them tidings hame, There was Maggy by the banks o' Nith, And blinkin' Bess of Annandale, That dwelt near Solway-side; And whiskey Jean, that took her gill And black Joan, frae Crighton-peel, O' gipsy kith an' kin ; Five wighter carlins were na found To send a lad to London town, And mony a knight, and mony a laird, O mony a knight, and mony a laird, But nae ane could their fancy please, The first ane was a belted knight, And he wad gae to London town, And he wad do their errands weel, And ilka ane about the court Wad bid to him gude-day. The neist cam in a sodger youth, He wad na hecht them courtly gifts, But he wad hecht an honest heart, Then wham to chuse, and wham refuse, For some had gentlefolks to please, Then out spak mim-mou'd Meg o' Nith, And she spak up wi' pride, And she wad send the sodger youth, Whatever might betide. For the auld gudeman o' London court She didna care a pin; But she wad send the sodger youth To greet his eldest son. Then slow raise Marjory o' the Lochs Her ancient weed was russet gray, "The London court set light by meI set as light by them; And I will send the sodger lad To shaw that court the same." Then up sprang Bess of Annandale And swore a deadly aith, Says, "I will send the border-knight "For far-off fowls hae feathers fair, Then whiskey Jean spak o'er her drink, "Ye weel ken, kimmers a', The auld gudeman o' London court, "And mony a friend that kiss'd his caup, But it's ne'er be'sae wi' whiskey Jean,— Says black Joan o' Crighton-peel A carlin stoor and grim, "The auld gudeman, or the young gudeman, For me may sink or swim. "For fools will prate o' right and wrang, So how this mighty plea may end God grant the king, and ilka man, The Five Carlins" are the five boroughs of Dumfrieshire and Kirkcudbright which unite in sending a member to Parliament. The personifications are considered happy by all who are acquainted with the places. "Maggy by the banks of Nith, is "bonnie Dumfries," as the Duchess of Gordon delighted to call it, nor is the name forgotten yet by some of her grace's daughters. It is a beautiful town: the seventh of Scotland in point of population, says Chambers, and the fifth for looks. 66 Marjory o' the mony lochs, A carlin auld and teugh," is Lochmaben; a neat little borough, altogether secluded from commerce of any kind, and bearing marks of great antiquity. It was the residence of Robert Bruce, the great restorer of Scottish independence: and no one can say but that the king shewed a taste suited to the times, for the castle in which he lived stands all but inaccessible among deep lakes, and every approach by land is commanded. "Blinkin' Bess, of Annandale, That dwelt near Solway side," personates the little thriving borough of Annan. |