6. And first appear'd the fatal block, And syne the aix to head him, And Geordie cumin' down the stair, And bands o' airn upon him.
7. But tho' he was chain'd in fetters strang, O' airn and steel sae heavy, There was na ane in a' the court Sae bra' a man as Geordie.
8. O she's down on her bended knee; I wat she's pale and weary: 'O pardon, pardon, noble king, And gie me back my dearie!
9. 'I hae born seven sons to my Geordie dear, The seventh ne'er saw his daddie, O pardon, pardon, noble king, Pity a waefu' lady!'
10. 'Gar bid the headin'-man mak haste,' Our king reply'd fu' lordly: 'O noble king, tak a' that's mine, But gie me back my Geordie!'
11. The Gordons cam, the Gordons ran, And they were stark and steady, And ay the word amang them a' Was 'Gordons, keep you ready!'
12. An aged lord at the king's right hand Says 'Noble king, but hear me; Gar her tell down five thousand pound, And gie her back her dearie.'
13. Some gae her marks, some gae her crowns, Some gae her dollars many, And she's tell'd down five thousand pound, And she's gotten again her dearie.
14. She blinkit blythe in her Geordie's face, Says 'Dear I've bought thee, Geordie; But there sud been bluidy bouks on the green Or I had tint my laddie.'
15. He claspit her by the middle sma', And he kist her lips sae rosy: 'The fairest flower o' woman-kind Is my sweet bonnie lady!'
[Annotations: 1.4: 'wyte,' blame. 3.4: 'wallowt,' drooped. 4.2: 'menyie,' attendants. 14.3: 'bouk,' body. 14.4: 'Or,' ere; 'tint,' lost.]
+The Text+ is from Alexander Laing's _Scarce Ancient Ballads_ (1822). A similar version occurs in Buchan's _Gleanings_ (1825). Professor Gummere, in printing the first text, omits six stanzas, on the assumption that they represent part of a second ballad imperfectly incorporated. But I think the ballad can be read as it stands below, though doubtless 'his ladie's' remark, st. 11, is out of place.
+The Story+ seems to be a combination of at least two. An old Baron of Brackley, 'an honest aged man,' was slain in 1592 by 'caterans' or freebooters who had been entertained hospitably by him. In 1666 John Gordon of Brackley began a feud with John Farquharson of Inverey by seizing some cattle or horses--accounts differ--by way of fines due for taking fish out of season. This eventually led to the slaying of Brackley and certain of his adherents.