lye lee.

"O bury me by the bracken bush,
Beneath the blooming brier,
Let never living mortal ken,
A kindly Scot lies here."[12]

Throwing a shroud over the prostrate body of the wounded and dying
soldier, that the enemy might not discover who it was that had fallen,
they raised the standard and shouted lustily "a Douglas! a Douglas!" and
rushed with might and main upon the English host. Soon the English ranks
began to waver, and when at last it was known that Hotspur had been taken
prisoner by the Earl of Montgomery, "The enemy fled and turned their
backs." According to Godscroft there were 1840 of the English slain, 1040
taken prisoners, and 1000 wounded. The losses on the Scottish, according
to the same historian, were comparatively trifling, amounting only to 100
slain and 200 taken prisoners.

This deed was done at Otterbourne
About the breaking of the day,
Earl Douglas was buried at the bracken bush,
And the Percy led captive away.

There are several incidents connected with this famous battle that are
worthy of special notice, but one in particular demands a passing word.
The Bishop of Durham, at the head of ten thousand men, appeared on the
field almost immediately after the battle had ended. The Scots were
greatly alarmed, and scarcely knew how, in the circumstances,--having so
many prisoners and wounded to attend to,--they were to meet this
formidable host. They fortified their camp, having only one pass by which
it could be entered; made their prisoners swear that, whether rescued or
not, they would remain their prisoners; and then they ordered their
minstrels to play as merrily as possible. The Bishop of Durham had
scarcely approached within a league of the Scots when they began to play
such a concert that "it seemed as if all the devils in hell had come
thither to join in the noise," so that those of the English who had never
before heard such were much frightened. As he drew nearer, the noise
became more terrific--"the hills redoubling the sound." The Bishop being
impressed with the apparent strength of the camp, and not a little alarmed
at the discordant piercing sounds which proceeded from it, thought it
desirable to retreat as speedily as possible, as it appeared to him that
there were greater chances of loss than gain. "He was affrighted with the
sound of the horns."

Thus ended one of the most notable battles on record. The flower of the
chivalry of both nations too