William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Restoration Verse. 1910.
Thomas the RhymerAnonymous
T
A ferlie he spied wi’ his ee;
And there he saw a ladye bright,
Come riding down by the Eildon Tree.
Her mantle o’ the velvet fyne;
At ilka tett of her horse’s mane
Hang fifty siller bells and nine.
And louted low down on his knee:
‘All hail, thou mighty Queen of Heaven!
For thy peer on earth I never did see.’
‘That name does not belang to me;
I’m but the Queen o’ fair Elfland,
That am hither come to visit thee.
‘Harp and carp along wi’ me;
And if ye dare to kiss my lips,
Sure of your bodie I will be!’
That weird sall never daunten me;’
Syne he has kissed her rosy lips,
All under the Eildon Tree.
‘True Thomas, ye maun go wi’ me,
And ye maun serve me seven years,
Thro weal or woe as may chance to be.’
She’s taen True Thomas up behind,
And aye, whene’er her bridle rang,
The steed gaed swifter than the wind.
The steed gaed swifter than the wind—
Until they reached a desart wide,
And living land was left behind.
And lean your head upon my knee;
Abide and rest a little space,
And I will shew you ferlies three.
So thick beset with thorns and briers?
That is the path of righteousness,
Tho after it but few enquires.
That lies across the lily leven?
That is the path of wickedness,
Tho some call it the road to heaven.
That winds about the fernie brae?
That is the road to fair Elfland,
Where thou and I this night maun gae.
Whatever ye may hear or see,
For, if you speak word in Elflyn-land,
Ye’ll neer win back to your ain countrie.’
And they waded rivers aboon the knee,
And they saw neither sun nor moon
But they heard the roaring of the sea.
And they waded thro red blude to the knee;
For a’ the blude that’s shed on the earth
Rins thro the springs o that countrie.
And she pu’d an apple frae a tree:
‘Take this for thy wages, True Thomas,
It will give thee the tongue that can never lee.’
‘A gudely gift ye wad gie to me!
I neither dought to buy or sell,
At fair or tryst where I may be.
Nor ask of grace from fair ladye:’
‘Now hold thy peace, Thomas,’ she said,
‘For as I say, so must it be.’
And a pair o shoes of the velvet green,
And till seven years were gane and past
True Thomas on earth was never seen.