Thanks Bruce! You've put me on the right track (why didn't I think of SMM????) SMM says that Lady Wardlow based her verse on "imperfect fragments" of an old ballad and makes a pretty shaky case for the fact (she was too elegant and accomplished a writer to make the mistakes in the ballad...) But it also says it seems improbable if there was such a ballad, that it would have been overlooked by Scottish bards. It doesn't say which verses are original, but does say that whole stanzas are. The fellow who heard the tune was a performer in Edinburgh in 1695.

I now have all of the SMM Verses (these follow the first three)

His dame fae peerlefs anes and fair,
For chaft and bewtie deimt,
Nae marrow had in all the lands
Saif Elenor the queen.

Full thirtein fons tea him foho bare,
All men of valour frout;
In bludy fichf with fword in hand
Nyne loft their lives hot doubt;

Four zit remain, lang may they live
To ftand by liege and land:
Hie was their fame, hie was their micht,
And hie was their command.

Great luve they bare to Fairly-fair,
Their fifter faft and deir;
Her girdle flawd her middle gimp,
And gowden glift her hair.

Q chat waefou wae her bewtie bred,
Waefou to zung and auld,
Waefou I trow to kyth and kiq,
As ftory ever tauld!
The King of Norfe in fummer tyde,
Puft up with powir and micht,
Landed iii fair Scotland the yle,
With mony a hardy kniclit.

The tydings to our gude Scots king
Came, as he fat at dyne,
With noble chiefs in braif any,
Drinking the blude - reid wyne

'To hone, to hark, my royal Leige
Zours faes ftand on the ftrand,
Foil twenty thousand glittering fears
The King of Norfe commands.'

'Bring me my fteed Mage dapple gray
Our gude King riafe and cry'd,
'A truftier beaft in all the land
A Scots king nevir feyd.

Go, little page, tell Hardyknute,
That lives on hill fae hie,
To draw his fword, the dreid of fats.
And halt and follow me.'

The little page flew fwift as dirt
Flung by his mafters arm:
'Cum clown, cum down, Lord Hardy
A-rid rid zour King frae harm.'

Then reid reid crew his dark-brown che-
Sae did his dark-brown brow;
His luiks grew kene, as they were wont.
In dangers great, to do.
^^