be discovered;
and for once we have a traditional tale inculcating a moral, though we
do not understand why the 'nourice' betrays Sir James to his enemies.

Michael Bruce wrote a version of the story of this ballad, which seems
to have become more popular than the ballad itself. It may be seen in
A. B. Grosart's edition of his works (1865), p. 197.

SIR JAMES THE ROSE

1.
O heard ye of Sir James the Rose,
The young heir of Buleighan?
For he has killed a gallant squire,
And his friends are out to take him.

2.
Now he's gone to the house of Marr,
Where the Nourice was his leman;
To seek his dear he did repair,
Thinking she would befriend him.

3.
'Where are you going, Sir James?' she says,
'Or where now are you riding?'
'Oh, I am bound to a foreign land,
For now I'm under hiding.

4.
'Where shall I go? where shall I run?
Where shall I go to hide me?
For I have killed a gallant squire,
And they're seeking to slay me.'

5.
'O go ye down to yon ale-house,
And I'll there pay your lawin';
And if I be a maiden true,
I'll meet you in the dawin'.'

6.
'I'll no go down to yon ale-house,
For you to pay my lawin';
There's forty shillings for one supper,
I'll stay in't till the dawin'.'

7.
He's turned him richt and round about,
And rowed him in his brechan;
And he has gone to take his sleep,
In the lowlands of Buleighan.

8.
He had not weel gone out o' sicht,
Nor was he past Millstrethen,
Till four-and-twenty belted knights,
Came riding owre the Lethan.

9.
'O have ye seen Sir James the Rose,
The young heir of Buleighan?
For he has killed a gallant squire,
And we're sent out to take him.'

10.
'O I have seen Sir James,' she says,
'For he passed here on Monday;
If the steed be swift that he rides on,
He's past the gates o' London.'

11.
As they rode on man after man,
Then she cried out behind them,
'If you do seek Sir James the Rose,
I'll tell you where you'll find him.'

12.
'Seek ye the bank abune the mill,
In the lowlands of Buleighan;
And there you'll find Sir James the Rose,
Lying sleeping in his brechan.

13.
'You must not wake him out of sleep,
Nor yet must you affright him,
Till you drive a dart quite through his heart,
And through his body pierce him.'

14.
They sought the bank abune the m