The Feud: A Border Ballad

Adam Lindsay Gordon

PLATE I

Rixa super mero

They sat by their wine in the tavern that night,

But not in good fellowship true :

The Rhenish was strong and the Burgundy bright,

And hotter the argument grew.

‘I asked your consent when I first sought her hand,

Nor did you refuse to agree,

Tho’ her father declared that the half of his land

Her dower at our wedding should be.’

‘No dower shall be given (the brother replied)

With a maiden of beauty so rare,

Nor yet shall my father my birthright divide,

Our lands with a foeman to share.’

The knight stood erect in the midst of the hall,

And sterner his visage became,

‘Now, shame and dishonour my ‘scutcheon befall

If thus I relinquish my claim.’

The brother then drained a tall goblet of wine,

And fiercely this answer he made?

‘Before like a coward my rights I resign

I’ll claim an appeal to the blade.

‘The passes at Yarrow are rugged and wide,

There meet me to-morrow alone ;

This quarrel we two with our swords will decide,

And one shall this folly atone.’

They’ve settled the time and they’ve settled the place,

They’ve paid for the wine and the ale,

They’ve bitten their gloves, and their steps they retrace

To their castles in Ettrick’s Vale.

PLATE II

Morituri (te) salutant

Now, buckle my broadsword at my side

And saddle my trusty steed ;

And bid me adieu, my bonnie bride,

To Yarrow I go with speed.

‘I’ve passed through many a bloody fray,

Unharmed in health or limb ;

Then why’s your brow so sad this day

And your dark eye so dim ?’

‘Oh, belt not on your broadsword bright,

Oh ! leave your steed in the stall,

For I dreamt last night of a stubborn fight,

And I dreamt I saw you fall.’

‘On Yarrow’s braes there will be strife,

Yet I am safe from ill ;

And if I thought it would cost my life

I must take this journey still.’

He turned his charger to depart

In the misty morning air,

But he stood and pressed her to his heart

And smoothed her glossy hair.

And her red lips he fondly kissed

Beside the castle door,

And he rode away in the morning mist,

And he never saw her more !

PLATE III

Heu ! deserta domus

She sits by the eastern casement now,

And the sunlight enters there,

And settles on her ivory brow

And gleams in her golden hair.

On the deerskin rug the staghound lies

And dozes dreamily,

And the quaint carved oak reflects the dyes

Of the curtain’s canopy.

The lark has sprung from the new-mown hay,

And the plover’s note is shrill

And the song of the mavis far away

Comes from the distant hill ;

And in the wide courtyard below

She heard the horses neigh,

The men-at-arms pass to and fro

The scraps of border-lay.

She heard each boisterous oath and jest

The rough moss-troopers made,

Who scoured the rust from spur or crest,

Or polished bit or blade.

They loved her well, those rugged men,?

How could they be so gay

When he perchance in some lone glen

Lay dying far away ?

She was a fearless Border girl,

Who from her earliest days

Had seen the banners oft unfurl

And the war-beacons blaze?

Had seen her father’s men march out,

Roused by the trumpet’s call,

And heard the foeman’s savage shout

Close to their fortress wall.

And when her kin were arming fast,

Had belted many a brand?

Why was her spirit now o’ercast ?

Where was her self-command ?

She strove to quell those childish fears,

Unworthy of her name ;

She dashed away the rising tears,

And, flushed with pride and shame,

She rose and hurried down the stair,

The castle yard to roam ;

And she met her elder sister there,

Come from their father’s home,

‘Sister, I’ve ridden here alone,

Your lord and you to greet.’

‘Sister, to Yarrow he has gone

Our brother there to meet ;

I dreamt last night of a stubborn fray

Where I saw him fall and bleed,

And he rode away at break of day

With his broadsword and his steed.’

‘Oh ! sister dear, there will be strife :

Our brother likes him ill,

And one or both must forfeit life

On Yarrow’s lonely hill.’

A stout moss-trooper, standing near,

Spoke with a careless smile :

‘Now, have no fear for my master dear,?

He may travel many a mile,

And those who ride on the Border side,

Albeit they like him not,

They know his mettle has oft been tried

Where blows were thick and hot.

He left command that none should go

From hence till home he came ;

But, lady, the truth you soon shall know

If you will bear the blame.

Your palfrey fair I’ll saddle with care,

Your sister shall ride the grey,

And I’ll mount myself on the sorrel mare,

And to Yarrow we’ll haste away.’

The sun was low in the western sky,

And steep was the mountain track,

But they rode from the castle rapidly?

Oh ! how will they travel back ?

PLATE IV

Gaudia certaminis

He came to the spot where his foe had agreed

To meet him in Yarrow’s dark glade,

And there he drew rein amd dismounted his steed,

And fastened him under the shade.

Close by in the greenwood the ambush was set,

And scarce had he entered the glen

When, armed for the combat, the brother he met,

And with him were eight of his men.

‘Now, swear to relinquish all claim to our land,

Or to give as a hostage your bride !

Or fly if you’re able, or yield where you stand,

Or die as your betters have died !’

His doublet and hat on the greensward he threw,

He wrapt round the left arm his cloak ;

And out of its scabbard his broadsword he drew,

And stood with his back to an oak.

‘My claim to your land I refuse to deny,

Nor will I restore you my bride,

Now will I surrender, nor yet will I fly :

Come on, and the steel shall decide !’

Oh ! sudden and sure were the blows that he dealt !

Like lightning the sweep of his blade !

Cut and thrust, point and edge, all around him they fell,

They fell one by one in the glade !

And pierced in the gullet their leader goes down !

And sinks with a curse on the plain ;

And his squire falls dead ! cut through headpiece and crown !

And his groom by a back stroke is slain.

Now five are stretched lifeless ; disabled are three !

Hard pressed, see the last caitiff reel !

The brother behind struggles up on one knee,

And drives through his body the steel.

PLATE V

Non habeo mihi facta adhuc cur Herculis uxor

Credar coniugii mors mihi pignus erit.

The traitor’s father heard the tale,

In haste he mounted then,

And spurred his horse from Ettrick Vale

To Yarrow’s lonely glen,

Some troopers followed in his track?

For them he tarried not,

He neither halted nor looked back

Until he found the spot.

The earth was trod and trampled bare,

And stained with dark red dew,

A broken blade lay here, and there

A bonnet cut in two ;

And stretched in ghastly shapes around

The lifeless corpses lie,

Some with their faces to the ground,

And some towards the sky.

And there the ancient Border chief

Stood silent and alone?

Too stubborn to give way to grief,

Too stern remorse to own.

A soldier in the midst of strife

Since he had first drawn breath,

Heed grown to undervalue life

And feel at home with death.

And yet he shuddered when he saw

The work that had been done ;

He knew his fearless son-in-law,

He knew his dastard son.

Despite the failings of his race

A brave old man was he,

Who would not stoop to actions base,

And hated treachery.

He loved his younger daughter well,

And though severe and rude,

For her sake he had tried to quell

That foolish Border feud.

Her brother all his schemes had marred,

And given his pledge the lie,

And sense of justice struggled hard

With nature’s stronger tie.

He knew his son had richly earned

The stroke that laid him low,

Yet had not quite forgiveness learned

For him that dealt the blow.

There came a tramp of horses’ feet :

He raised his startled eyes,

And felt his pulses throb and beat

With sorrow and surprise.

He saw his daughter riding fast,

And from her steed she sprung,

And on her lover’s corpse she cast

Herself, and round him clung.

Her head she pillowed on his waist,

And all her clustering hair

Hung down, disordered by her haste

In silken masses there.

Her sister and their sturdy guide

Dismounted and drew nigh,

The elder daughter stood aside?

Her tears fell silently.

The stout moss-trooper glanced around

But not a word he said ;

He knelt upon the battered ground

And raised his master’s head.

The face had set serene and sad,

Nor was there on the clay

The stamp of that fierce soul which had

In anger passed away.

With dagger blade he ripped the skirt,

The fatal wound to show,

And wiped the stains of blood and dirt

From throat and cheek and brow.

And all the while she did not stir,

She lay there calm and still,

Nor could he hope to comfort her,?

Her case was past his skill.

The father first that silence broke ;

His voice was firm and clear,

And every accent that he spoke

Fell on the listener’s ear.

edaughter, this quarrel to forgo,

I offered half our land

A dower to him?a feudal foe?

When first he sought your hand.

I only asked for some brief while,

Some few short weeks’ delay,

Till I my son could reconcile ;

For this he would not stay.

He was your husband, so I’m told ;

But you yourself must own

He took you to his fortress-hold

With your consent alone.

Of late the strife broke out anew ;

They blame your brother there ;

But he was hot and headstrong, too?

He doubtless did his share.

Oh ! stout of heart, and strong of hand,

With all his faults was he,

The champion of his Border land ;

I ne’er his judge will be !

Now, grieve no more for what is done ;

Alike we share the cost ;

For, girl, I too have lost a son,

If you your love have lost.

Forget the deed ! and learn to call

A worthier man your lord

Than he whose arm has vexed us all ;

Here lies his fatal sword.

Think, when you seek his guilt to cloak,

Whose blood has dyed it red.

Who fell beneath its deadly stroke,

Whose life is forfeited.’

The old man paused, for while he spoke

The girl had raised her head.

Her silken hair she proudly dashed

Back from her crimson face !

And in her bright eyes once more flashed

The spirit of her race !

He beauty made her stand abashed !

Her voice rang thro’ the place !

‘Who held the treacherous dagger’s hilt

When against odds he fought ?

My brother’s blood was fairly spilt !

But his was basely sought !

Now, Christ absolve his soul from guilt ;

He sinned as he was taught !

‘His next of kin by blood and birth

May claim his house and land !

His groom may slack his saddle-girth,

Or bid his charger stand !

But never a man on God’s wide earth

Shall touch his darling’s hand !’

The colour faded from her cheek,

Her eyelids drooped and fell,

And when again she sought to speak

Her accents came so low and weak

Her words they scarce could tell.

‘Oh ! father, all I ask is rest,?

Here let me once more lie !’

She stretched upon the dead man’s breast

With one long weary sigh ;

And the old man bowed his lofty crest

And hid his troubled eye !

They called her, but she spoke no more,

And when they raised her head

She seemed as lovely as before,

Though all her bloom had fled ;

But they grew pale at that they saw?

They knew that she was dead !

PLATE VI

Dies irae : dies illa

The requiem breaks the midnight air, the funeral bell they toll,?

A mass or prayer we well may spare, for a brave moss-trooper’s soul ;

And the fairest bride on the Border side, may she too be forgiven !

The dirge we ring, the chant we sing, the rest we leave to Heaven !