Ballads of Scottish Tradition and Romance | Page 5

of Otterburn_, _Mary Hamilton_, _The
Laird o' Logie_, _Captain Car_, _Flodden Field_, _The Fire of
Frendraught_, _Bessy Bell and Mary Gray_, _Jamie Douglas_, _Earl
Bothwell_, _Durham Field_, _The Battle of Harlaw_, and _Lord
Maxwell's Last Goodnight_. Probably we should add _The Death of

Parcy Reed_; possibly _Geordie_ and _The Gipsy Laddie_. More
doubtful still is _Sir Patrick Spence_; and _The Baron of Brackley_
confuses two historical events.
(ii) From the above section I have eliminated those which may be
separately classified as 'Border Ballads.' _Sir Hugh in the Grime's
Downfall_ seems to have some historical foundation, but _Bewick and
Grahame_ has none. A sub-section of 'Armstrong Ballads' forms a good
quartet; _Johnie Armstrong_, _Kinmont Willie_, _Dick o' the Cow_,
and _John o' the Side_.
(iii) In the purely 'Romantic' class we may place _The Braes of
Yarrow_, _The Twa Brothers_, _The Outlyer Bold_, _Clyde's Water_,
_Katharine Jaffray_, _Lizie Lindsay_, _The Heir of Linne_, and _The
Laird of Knottington_.
(iv) There remain a lyrical ballad, _The Gardener_; a song, _Waly,
waly, gin love be bonny_; and the nondescript _Whummil Bore_. The
Appendix contains a ballad, _The Jolly Juggler_, which would have
come more fittingly in the First Series, had I known of it in time.
In the general arrangement, however, the above classes have been
mixed, in order that the reader may browse as he pleases.
I
A comparison of the first two ballads in this volume will show the
latitude with which it is possible for an historical incident to be treated
by tradition. The Battle of Otterburn was fought in 1388; but our two
versions belong to the middle of the sixteenth century. The English
_Battle of Otterburn_ is the more faithful to history, and refers (35.2) to
'the cronykle' as authority. _The Hunting of the Cheviot_ was in the
repertory of Richard Sheale (see First Series, _Introduction_, xxvii),
who ends his version in the regular manner traditional amongst
minstrels. Also, we have the broadside _Chevy Chase_, which well
illustrates the degradation of a ballad in the hands of the hack-writers;
this may be seen in many collections of ballads.

_Mary Hamilton_ has a very curious literary history. If, _pendente lite_,
we may assume the facts to be as suggested, pp. 44-46, it illustrates
admirably Professor Kittredge's warning, quoted above, that ballads
already in circulation may be adapted to the circumstances of a recent
occurrence. But the incidents--betrayal, child-murder, and consequent
execution--cannot have been uncommon in courts, at least in days of
old; and it is quite probable that an early story was adapted, first to the
incident of 1563, and again to the Russian story of 1718. Perhaps we
may remark in passing that it is a pity that so repugnant a story should
be attached to a ballad containing such beautiful stanzas as the last four.
_Captain Car_ is an English ballad almost contemporary with the
Scottish incident which it records; and, from the fact of its including a
popular burden, we may presume it was adapted to the tune. _Bessy
Bell and Mary Gray_, which records a piece of Scottish news of no
importance whatever, has become an English nursery rhyme. In _Jamie
Douglas_ an historical fact has been interwoven with a beautiful lyric.
Indeed, the chances of corruption and contamination are infinite.
II
The long pathetic ballad of _Bewick and Grahame_ is a link between
the romantic ballads and the ballads of the Border, _Sir Hugh in the
Grime's Downfall_ connecting the Border ballads with the 'historical'
ballads. The four splendid 'Armstrong ballads' also are mainly
'historical,' though _Dick o' the Cow_ requires further elucidation.
_Kinmont Willie_ is under suspicion of being the work of Sir Walter
Scott, who alone of all ballad-editors, perhaps, could have compiled a
ballad good enough to deceive posterity. We cannot doubt the
excellence of _Kinmont Willie_; but it would be tedious, as well as
unprofitable, to collect the hundred details of manner, choice of words,
and expression, which discredit the authenticity of the ballad.
_John o' the Side_ has not, I believe, been presented to readers in its
present shape before. It is one of the few instances in which the English
version of a ballad is better than the Scottish.
III

_The Braes o' Yarrow_ is a good example of the Scottish lyrical ballad,
the continued rhyme being very effective. _The Twa Brothers_ has
become a game, and _Lizie Lindsay_ a song. _The Outlyer Bold_ is a
title I have been forced to give to a version of the ballad best known as
_The Bonnie Banks o' Fordie_; this, it is true, might have come more
aptly in the First Series. So also _Katharine Jaffray_, which enlarges
the lesson taught in _The Cruel Brother_ (First Series, p. 76), and adds
one of its own.
_The Heir of Linne_ is another of