But he like a cruel knight spurred on,
His heart did not relent-a;
For, till he came there, he show'd no fear;
Till then, why should he repent-a?

The king (Heaven bless him!) had singular hopes
Of him and all his troop-a;
The Borderers they, as they met him on the way,
For joy did holloa and whoop-a.

None liked him so well as his own colonel,
Who took him for John de Wert-a;
But when there were shows of gunning and blows,
My gallant was nothing so pert-a.

For when the Scots' army came within sight,
And all men prepared to fight-a,
He ran to his tent; they ask'd what he meant;
He swore that his stomach ached quite-a.

The colonel sent for him back again,
To quarter him in the van-a,
But Sir John did swear, he came not there
To be kill'd the very first man-a.

To cure his fear he was sent to the rear,
Some ten miles back and more-a;
Where he did play at trip and away,
And ne'er saw the enemy more-a.

But now there is peace, he's return'd to increase
His money which lately he spent-a;
But his lost honour must still lie in the dust;
At Berwick away it went-a.

_Old Ballad_

CXLIV

_THE NUN'S LAMENT FOR PHILIP SPARROW_

When I remember'd again
How my Philip was slain,
I wept and I wailed,
The tears down hailed;
But nothing it avail'd
To call Philip again
Whom Gib our cat hath slain.
_Heu, heu, me,_
That I am woe for thee!
_Levavi oculos meos in montis;_
Would that I had Xenophontis
Or Socrates the Wise,
To show me their device
Moderately to take
This sorrow that I make
For Philip Sparrow's sake!
It had a velvet cap,
And would sit on my lap,
And seek after small worms,
And sometimes white bread crumbs;
And many times and oft
Within my breast soft
It would lie and rest.
Sometimes he would gasp
When he saw a wasp;
A fly or a gnat,
He would fly at that;
And prettily he would pant
When he saw an ant;
Lord, how he would pry
After the butterfly!
Lord, how he would hop
After the grasshop!
And when I said, Phip, Phip,
Then he would leap and skip,
And take me by the lip.
_De profundis clamavi_
When I saw my sparrow die.
Vengeance I ask and cry,
By way of exclamation,