music was written by the same individual by whom the sacred contents of the volume were penned. We have here, among others,-“ Green grows the rashes-Owr late among the broom-Bonny Jean-The Gee Wife-Corn Buntingd—Get ye gone from me-Skip Jon Waker wantonlie-The malt grinds well-Ostend-God be with my bonnie loveFain would I be married-Long a-growing-Hold her goings-Ketron Ogieh-Bonnie Maidlen Wedderburn-My Ladie Binnies Lilt or Urania-Bessy Bell-Ranting Ladie-It's brave sailing herek-Clout the Cauldron-I love my love in secret-The Shoemakerm-Jon Robison's Park-If the Kirk would let me be"-The Blench of MidlbieoThe Bonnie BroomP-The Windie Writer The High Court of Justice

a To this day a favourite and well-known air.

b Query of Aberdeen?

C 66 The gee wife," i.e. The pettish wife. The Scotish song, " My wife has taen the gee," though evidently derived from this, would seem to be more modern. (See Ritson's Scotish Songs, vol. i. p. 90.)

d The Emberiza Miliaria is in Mearns and Aberdeenshire called the "corn-buntlin."-Dr Jamieson's Supplement, voce Buntlin. The tune is now better known as Tullochgorum.

e In the Skene MS.

f "Long a-growing." See a ballad in the "North Country Garland," entitled, “ My bonny love is long of growing."

"Haud her gaun." Still well known in modern collections, under the name of "Steer her up, and haud her gaun."

See supra, p. 17.

Most probably Lady Binnie of that Ilk.

*The title of this song reminds us of the one mentioned in Gawin Douglas's Prologue to Book xii. of Virgil.

"The schip salis over the salt fame,

Will bring thir merchandis and my lemane hame ;"

but we do not pretend to trace any connection between the two.

1 See Chambers's Scotish Songs, vol. ii. p. 542.

m

We find a copy of this tune in a MS. belonging to Mr Waterston, of 1715.

Whether the

words are extant, we are not aware. "The gallant shoemaker" is one of the songs mentioned in Mr Ritson's list of those which, in his time, had not been recovered. (Ritson's Letters to Paton, p. 24.) "See Chambers's Scotish Songs, vol. i. p. 134.

• See "Weel bobbit blench of Middlebie,” in Riddell of Glenriddell's Collection.

"The bonny broom." This, if not the same with "The broom of the Cowdenknows," which is certainly one of the finest of our pastorals, most probably suggested the idea. Chambers's Scotish Songs, vol. i. p. 247.

The windie (i. e. swaggering or blustering) writer. A friend has kindly furnished us with the

-Sweet Willie-If thou wert my own thing-My love hath left me sick, sick, sick-Stollen away when I was sleeping-Kety thinks not long to play with Peter at Evin-The gown made-Yonder grows the tanzie-Jockie drunken bable-Bonny Christian-Levin's Rant-Joy to the personne of my love-Good night, and God be with you."

Mr Andrew Blaikie, engraver, Paisley, who has, for many years, taken great pains to collect and preserve all the specimens, traditionary as well as recorded, which he could find, of our genuine Scotish melodies, is in possession of a volume, bearing date 1692, which contains a great number of tunes written in tablature for the Viol da Gamba, most, if not all, of which he has himself reduced to modern notation. This is the volume mentioned by Mr Robert Chambers and Mr R. A. Smith, along with another dated 1683. The last, however, Mr Blaikie some years ago had the misfortune to lose, but not until he had nearly rendered himself independent of any such casualty by a translation of the principal airs. Another circumstance lessened the importance of this loss: the tunes, with a very few exceptions, were the same with those contained in the volume which is preserved. It may be mentioned, also, that, although Mr Blaikie procured these MSS. at different times, and from different individuals, they were both written in the same hand, and their respective contents arranged nearly in the same order. Great part of the collection consists of popular English songs and dances, which we need not enumerate. The following are among those of which Scotland may claim the parentage:

words of this song, as taken down from the recitation of a lady in Edinburgh: but they are little worthy of preservation. Er uno disce omnes.

"There lives a lass just at the Cross,

Her face is like the paper,

And she's forsaken lairds and lords,

And ta'en a windy writer."

Probably the tune of the pretty old ballad, "Sweet Willie and fair Annie."

b Introduction to Scotish Songs, p. 44.

• Preface to Scotish Minstrel.

d It would be somewhat singular if this collection and that of 1670, belonging to Mr Laing, had

"A health to Betty-Down Tweedside-Honest Luckie-King James's march to Ireland-Meggie, I must love (thee)-Where Helen lies Tow to spins-Sweet Willie-Robin and Jonneth-Highland Laddie-Franklin is fled far away-For lake of gold she left me-Abbayhill's Rant-Bonny roaring Willie-O'er the muir to Maggy-My dearie, if thou dye-When the King enjoys his own again The last time I came over the moor-The new way of owing (wooing)-The Bed to me-The ladd's gane-Binny's Jigm-Sheugare-Candie-Phillporter's Lament-Do Rant-New Cornriggs-Montrose's Lynes Maclean's Scots Measure-Lord Aboyne's Air-Lady Binny's Lilt-John, come kiss

been written by Englishmen; but from the anglicised phraseology and othography adopted in both, there can be little doubt either that this was the case, or that they were written by natives of this country, who preferred the English mode of diction and spelling to that of their vernacular tongue. a The air," My mother's ae glowerin o'er me."

"Tweedside." It is worthy of remark, that this air was introduced with variations by the famous Italian violinist, Veracini, in his solos for the violin, printed in 1744.

This is in some respects a memorable tune. Mr Blaikie, the owner of the musical MS., relates, that some time before the appearance of Redgauntlet, he happened to make Sir Walter Scott a present of a MS. (not musical) of the 17th century, written by a person who had been resident in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, and containing some curious details relative to his reconversion to the Roman Catholic faith, in consequence of a vision he had on a mountain in Spain. Among other matters of reproach to the Presbyterians, from whom he had separated, he mentions that one of their preachers said one day in the pulpit, I hear you have a tune among you called • Weel hoddled Luckie,' if I hear ony mair of this, I'I hoddle the best of you." "Soon after this," (says Mr Blaikie,) " I began deciphering my musical MS., and sent Sir Walter some of the tunes, and among the rest, Honest Luckie,' which I said was probably the tune that had offended the Presbyterian minister, with a more passable name." It is therefore not one of the least characteristic passages in " Wandering Willie's Tale," when Sir Robert Redgauntlet, at his "appointed place," in the lower regions, says to Willie's grand at er, in answer to his demand for the receipt,

ye shall hae that for a tune on the pipes, Steenie.

d" Lochaber no more."

e" Peggy, I must love thee."

f Chambers's Songs, vol. i. p. 144.

"Nancy's to the greenwood gane."

h My jo Janet."

i "O this is no my ain house."

k Rattlin roarin Willie? Chambers's Songs, v

1 44 Carle now the king's come."

The Dusty Miller."

me now-Jockie went to the wood_Joy to the person-Allan Water-Ballow-Bonie Nanie-Bonie Lassie Jock, the laird's brother-Hold away from me, Donald-Hey how, Robin, quoth she_Bonny ChristonDrumlanrick's Ayr-Duke of Lennox Port-Gerard's Mistress_I pray your love turn to me-In January last-Jockie wod a owing (wooing) go -My Ladie Monteith's Lament"-Jockie drunken bable-MackbethMy Lady Errol's Lamente-The bonny brow-The Nightingale." Among

--

This tune, a copy of which will be found in the Musical Appendix of this work, is not what we would have expected from the name,-of a Scotish cast, but decidedly Welsh in its structure,—— obviously a harp tune, and substantially identical with a Welsh air called "Reged,” p. 150, Jones's Welsh Bards. As "Jockie" is but a familiar impersonation of the male sex, the name "Jockie went to the wood," precisely corresponds with the "Hie ruff sang"-" Ane man fur to the holt," in "Peblis to the Play ;”—(supra, p. 45;) and if the two airs could be identified, it would lead to the singular result, that harp songs like this were in vogue among the populace, in Scotland, during the 15th century. We know that the harp was the most popular instrument in Britain at this time. It was the one on which James I. chiefly excelled, and "at the coronation of Henry V., in 1413, we hear of no other instruments than harps, and one of that Prince's historians (Thomas de Elmham) tells us that their number in the hall was prodigious." (Burney's Hist. vol. ii. p. 382.) In Scotland, however, we consider that at this time the popular style of melody was something very different from that which prevailed in Wales or England; and we cannot conceive that an air so refined and regular as "Jockie went to the wood" could ever have been described as a rough song. At the same time, if the enquiry were instituted, as to whether or not the tunes of the Welsh or early Britons had formed the basis of some of our popular airs, we should be inclined to say, that there could be no doubt of the fact, however distinct and different the melodies of the two countries in reality are. Let any one, for example, compare the Welsh air " Pen Rhaw" with "John, come kiss me now," and the latter with the lively air, "There's nae luck about the house," and he will see that they all spring from the same parent source. But we here only pre

sent our readers with the germ of an enquiry, which we leave to others to bring to maturity. "There's auld Rob Morris."

"Turn thee, sweet Will, to me?" Complaynt of Scotland, see supra, p. 53.

d "Whistle o'er the lave o't."

• The incident to which this tune related was an action of divorce, brought, in 1658-59, by Lady Erroll, a daughter of the Earl of Southesk, against her husband, upon a similar ground to that which first proclaimed the infamy of the Countess of Essex, in the reign of James VI. If, however, any reliance can be placed on the ballads and traditions of the country, the plea was not here urged with the same success as in the case of the English countess. Our judicial records, so far as they have been investigated, are said to be silent on the subject; but a letter from Keith of Barholm to Captain Brown at Paris, dated 22d February 1659, which Mr Sharpe quotes in his Ballad Book, goes far to corroborate the general truth of the story, and the tune, " Lady Erroll's

T

the dances there are " The Canaries"-" The Seamen's dance," &c.

Dr Leyden, in his Introduction to the Complaynt, (p. 285,) refers to a MS. collection of airs written soon after the Revolution, and adapted to the Lyra-viol. Whether this volume is still extant, the Editor is not aware, but from the names mentioned by Leyden, it must have contained many of those to be found in Mr Blaikie's collection of 1692, and, besides them, the following:-" The Lady's Gounea Strick upon a StroginHallowevin-The new kirk gavell-When she cam ben (she bobit)-Full fa my eyes- When the bryd cam ben she becked-The Colleyrs Daughter Foull take the wars-The bonie brookit lassie, blew beneath the eyes— The milkein pell."

We find, also, in a very small MS. belonging to Mr Laing, probably not older than the early part of the eighteenth century, and written partly in common notation, and partly in a species of notation, for the flute or flageolet, consisting of dots, the following among others "The wind has blown my plaid away_Willie Winkie's dead away-Gilliecrankie-Robin laddie-Foull fa' the wars-Widow, art thou wakin Findlay came to my bed-stock_King James's March to

Lament," in this MS. of Mr Blaikie, may be deemed an additional confirmation. See Mr Maidment's "North Country Garland," Mr Kinloch's "Ballad Book," and "Lamont's Diary;" entry, January 7, 1658.

a Although it might puzzle many a Scotch lawyer of the present day to explain the legal signification of" The Lady's Gown," the term appears formerly to have been applied to a certain gratuity or pecuniary gratification, which was paid to a wife when she gave her consent to the alienation of her husband's lands over which her liferent extended. Fountainhall's Decisions, vol. ii. p. 519. b "Deil tak the wars."

⚫ Chambers's Songs, vol. ii. p. 544.

a. Over the hills and far away."

• Probably Willie Winkie's Testament:" but these words do not occur in the verses which Herd has furnished in his Collection in 1776.

'Burns has a song founded on this. It begins

"Wha is that at my bower's door?

Wha is it but Finlay."