come to a river (usually the bridge is broken), they 'bend their bows and swim.' These are only a few of the most frequent 'commonplaces' in ballads, but plenty of others equally picturesque and naïve will be found. A conventional omission, also very common, is that of the speaker's name; a ballad will suddenly plunge into conversation without telling you who is supposed to be speaking. This, of course, is a natural consequence of the singing or recitation of ballads, for the narrator's voice can easily show the change of speaker dramatically; but it is not always easy or even possible to guess the speaker when reading a ballad for the first time. These various characteristics will be found to be pointed out in the Notes as they occur. Sources of the Texts.-We must now say something as to the sources whence we get the texts of our ballads. Firstly, there are printed sources-beginning with the 'broadsides' mentioned above; but these do not as a rule go back much before the seventeenth century, and even then they were usually re-written in a poor style for the broadside press. The printing of collections of ballads did not begin until more than a century later; but in 1765 came the first really important work on the subject. This was called Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, collected by Thomas Percy, afterwards Bishop of Dromore; and in addition to the extraordinary effect the book produced at the time, 'Percy's Reliques' has remained popular ever since. Ballads had at no time acked a champion; but towards the end of the ighteenth century English poetry had become highly artificial, and the Reliques may be said to have been the first step in the direction of assisting it back to simpler forms. The book strongly influenced Sir Walter Scott-who at the age of thirteen forgot his dinner, so entranced was he with his first perusal of the Reliques— Wordsworth, and Coleridge, all of whom played important parts subsequently in the revival of a simple and natural style of poetry. But it is interesting to observe that Percy found it necessary to apologise for the roughnesses and crudities of the ballads, and not only to re-write and 'correct' these, the more obsolete poems,' but also to add 'little elegant pieces'-of Elizabethan verse, for instance-in order to make the Reliques acceptable. His ballads were printed from many sources; he copied some from collections of broadsides, and some were sent him, written down from tradition. But he possessed another and most valuable source of ballad-texts. This leads us to the manuscript sources. In the first half of the seventeenth century, a man (who is thought to have been a Lancashire man, from his dialect and spelling) wrote down in a tall narrow manuscript book a very large number of traditional ballads, romances, and poems. We must recollect that at this date-roughly 1650-this man would probably be regarded as eccentric, for caring at all about old poetry; England was still full of glorious new poetry. His manuscript does indeed contain a few songs of his own day, but far the greater portion consists of old and traditional verse. We do not know whence he got it, but it was most probably written down from the recitations of people who knew the poems by heart. About а hundred years later, this manuscri volume belonged to a gentleman at whose house the young Thomas Percy used to visit; the gentleman did not value the book, and his servants used to light fires with pages torn from it. Percy was already interested in old poetry, and begged it from his friend. Afterwards he used it to help him in making the Reliques, though he altered its texts freely, and even tore some pages out (including King Estmere) to send to the printer of the Reliques. These pages have of 'course disappeared, and we shall never know what was written on them, or how much Percy altered their contents to print in his book. But the manuscript, torn and incomplete as it is, still remains one of the ballad-collector's most valuable documents. After long concealment in private hands, it is now safe in the British Museum, where it can be seen any day exhibited in a case in the King's Library. Such is Percy's 'Folio Manuscript.' There are also other valuable manuscripts made by collectors of ballads from tradition, chiefly Scottish; but everything that is of value in these, as well as the whole of the 'Percy Folio,' has now been printed, and ballad-students who wish to find new texts must now either ransack old books and manuscripts in the hopes. of finding something hitherto overlooked, or must go, as they still may go with reasonable hope of success, to the ultimate sources of all popular ballads, the mouths and memories of the people. OLD BALLADS THE LORD OF LEARNE [PART 1] It was the worthy lord of Learne, He learned more upon one day Than other children did on three. And then bespake the school-master, Which He hath given unto me." The school-master turn'd him round about, ΙΟ 20 The child, he caused a steed to be brought, And when he came before his father, If Christ would grant you would give it me." "Now God thee bless, my son and my heir, His servant in heaven that thou may be! What tidings hast thou brought me, child, Thou art comen home so soon to me?" Good tidings, father, I have you brought, The book is not in all Scotland, But I can read it before your eye." A joyèd man his father was, Even the worthy lord of Learne; "Thou shalt go into France, my child, 30 The speeches of all strange lands to learn." 40 But then bespake the child his mother- And then bespake that bonny child Says, "Father, I'll have the hend steward, |