Scho rowd him in a cake of lead,
Bade him lie stil and sleip.
Scho cast him in a deip draw-well,
Was fifty fadom deip.
Quhan bells wer rung, and mass was sung,
And every lady went hame:
Than ilka lady had herzong sonne,
Bot Lady Helen had nane.
Scho rowd hir mantil hir about,
And sair sair gan she weip:
And she ran into the Jewis castèl,
Quhan they wer all asleip.
My bonny Sir Hew, my pretty Sir Hew,
I pray thee to me speik.
"O lady, rinn to the deip draw-well,
Ginzezour sonne wad seik."
Lady Helen ran to the deip draw-well,
And knelt upon her knee:
My bonny Sir Hew, anze be here,
I pray thee speik to me.
"The lead is wondrous heavy, mither,
The well is wondrous deip,
A keen pen-knife sticks in my hert,
A word I dounae speik.
Gae hame, gae hame, my mither deir,
Fetch me my windling sheet,
And at the back o' Mirry-land toun
Its thair we twa sall meet."
NOTES- It is important to note that Mirry-land Toune is a corruption of Merry Lincoln and
not, as Percy conjectured, of Mailand (Milan) town.--Editor