* * Queen Mary. Said to have been written by Lord Darnley Highland Queen. Attributed to - "I yield, dear lassie, ye have won. ,, "Were I assur'd you'll constant prove." "Now from rusticity and love." "When hope was quite sunk in despair. "At setting day, and rising morn. Bonny grey-eyed morn Sweet Annie frae the sea beach came. Deil tak the wars Wo worth the time The flower of Yarrow * Original of Tweedside. * 313 DAVID HE R D. DAVID HERD-one of the earliest and most trustworthy labourers in the vineyard of Scottish Song literaturewas a native of St. Cyrus, Kincardineshire, in which parish he was born in humble circumstances about the year 1732. Of his early life and education little or nothing is now known. When a young man, he took up his abode in Edinburgh, where his employment was that of a writer's clerk, above which position he seems to have had no ambition to rise. He was for many years in the occupation of one David Russell, an accountant. Being ardently devoted to antiquarian pursuits through life, and possessing good literary taste, he was brought into close contact with most of the Scottish literati of the period, among whom may be mentioned Runciman, the painter, Ruddiman, Gilbert Stuart, and Robert Ferguson. Sir Walter Scott, in editing the Border Minstrelsy, was under considerable obligations to a manuscript of Herd's containing many copies of curious old ballads, which he had gathered into the garner and carefully annotated. The following extract from a letter of Herd's to his intimate friend George Paton, shows with what scrupulous care he treasured up the merest scraps of old songs which fell in his way :— DEAR SIR, * EDINBURGH, 7th July, 1778. * I inclose you an old Ballad, which I got upwards of two years ago from one William Bell, who had picked it up in Annandale; it was all in detached scraps of paper, wrote down by himself at different times, as he met with those who remembered any thing of it—part of these he had lost, and some of the remainder were illegible, being chaff'd in his pocket. The verses I arranged; and marked some notes-and shew'd them to Mr. Wotherspoon when he was publishing the last edition of the Scots Ballads; but he thought it too imperfect, and not of sufficient merit for having a place in the Collection. I should wish your opinion whether anything of the Antique remains hidden in it —for it has been confoundedly modernised in the taking down. I did not attempt any alteration in the spelling-perhaps you may find a better method of classing the verses. You may shew it to any one of your acquaintances who are curious in these matters; but as it is the only copy, I would not wish it to be lost. In Clerk's snuff-shop in the Exchange, I pick'd up yesterday the inclosed description of Ossian's Hall, but was rather late; it is mutilated, and would have been all immediately destroyed.—I am sorry I cannot furnish you with a complete copy.* On the whole life seems to have passed more cozily and pleasantly with David Herd, the bachelor, than it is usually understood to pass with most men, married or single. Not many ups or downs, perhaps not many varieties or dainties might fall to his lot; but still he managed, by frugal means, to pursue an even tenor of way which many will think was far more preferable. If he knew little of the boisterous outbursts of mirth and merriment which some men experience, he knew still less about the cloud of despair which invariably follows in the wake of such outbursts. We get a passing glance at his quiet habits and social * Letters from Bishop Percy, David Herd, and others, to George Paton. (Edin., 1830.) disposition in another of his brief notes to George Paton, dated 21st July, 1795 — DEAR SIR,-I had your favour this morning, with the Orkney fish, for which I return you many thousand thanks. I am really ashamed of your presents, having nothing I can think of in return. Mr. John Scott has engaged to drink tea with me this afternoon about five o'clock, and if you would come likewise we would be very happy, and would adjourn together to some strong-ale office in the evening. I am thinking of comparing your Philotus with Pinkerton's copy, in order to advise Mr. Constable which would be the best copy to print it from; for which purpose I will have to trouble you some time or other for a sight of it, along with Pinkerton's publication thereof. Herd was a well-known frequenter of John Dowie's noted tavern in Liberton's Wind, where the choicest spirits of Auld Reekie used to assemble to enjoy themselves over a bottle of ale, and "a gude buff'd herring, or reisted skate an' ingans." Robert Ferguson, the poet, and more recently Robert Burns, are said to have enlivened this houff with their conversational powers and convivialities. A humorous description of it was written at the time by Hunter of Blackness, in which George Paton figures prominently :— O Dowie's Ale! thou art the thing Thou e'en mak'st passion tak the wing, O Geordy Robertson, dreigh loun, An' antiquarian Paton soun', Wi' mony ithers i' the town, What wad come o'er ye, Gif Johnnie Dowie shou'd stap down Ye sure wad break your hearts wi' grief, War ye to lose your Dowie-chief THREE years at least, now to be brief, Herd is spoken of as having contributed articles to various periodicals of the day, and as being most zealous in antiquarian pursuits and studies; but that which gained him more especial celebrity was his collection of Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs, Heroic Ballads, etc., which first appeared in 1769 in one volume, and afterwards in 1776 in two volumes. An edition was also printed by Lawrie and Symington in 1791, to which some modern additions were "tacked to" by a less ingenious hand than that of Honest Greysteel who was true to the core. * John Pinkerton-the manufacturer of certain spurious antiquity ballads; a man of some learning, but of more audacity-now flitted across the stage for a moment by sneeringly pronouncing Herd to be "an illiterate and injudicious compiler;" but this ill-natured remark soon lost its sting, and only rebounded on the perpetrator of it. t Sir Walter more than counterbalanced its evil * Sir Walter Scott says, "Mr. Herd was known and generally esteemed for his shrewd manly common sense and antiquarian science, mixed with much good nature and great modesty. His hardy and antique mould of countenance, and his venerable grizzled locks, procured him, amongst his acquaintance, the name of Graysteil." + Pinkerton, in his Select Scottish Ballads and Ancient Scottish Poems, attempts to be witty at the expense of Allan Ramsay, by |