[355]. See John Ashton, Modern Street Ballads, London, 1888. For the French, see C. Nisard, Les Chansons Populaires chez les Anciens et chez les Français, essai historique suivi d’une étude sur la chanson des rues contemporaine, ... Paris, 1867, 2 vols. Vol. II. treats street songs. This is really a continuation of Nisard’s Histoire des Livres Populaires, 2 vols., 1854, on almanacs, prophecies, divinations, magic, etc. Nisard’s account of origins is ridiculous,—or perhaps it is meant to be playful. See I. 69.
[356]. In addition to the material quoted in the introduction to Old English Ballads, see Nash, Harvey, and the other pamphleteers on nearly every page. Chettle, Kind-Harts Dreame (Percy Soc., 1841), particularly pp. 9 ff., has a lively account of ballad making, printing, selling, singing, in this lower stratum. What is so lewd, he asks, that it has not been printed “and in every streete abusively chanted”? For the state of things somewhat later, see a curious publication, Whimzies, or a New Cast of Characters, London, 1631; it describes in alphabetical order, “almanach-maker,” “ballad-monger,” and so on, down to “zealous brother”; for ballad-monger, see pp. 8-15.
[357]. Ancient and Modern Scottish Songs.
[358]. National Ballad and Song: Merry Songs and Ballads Prior to the Year 1800; 5 vols., privately printed for subscribers only, 1897. The fourth volume of the Percy Folio teaches a like lesson.
[359]. Werke, ed. Suphan, XXV. 323.
[361]. Poetik (well called Naturlehre der Dichtung, and an excellent piece of work), pp. 99 ff.
[362]. When folk read and write, they cease to improvise poetry, and the folksong really ceases; that the æsthetic impulse, however, abides with them, even in low levels, but has other results, is shown by Gustav Meyer in an interesting passage of his “Neugriechische Volkslieder,” Essays, p. 309.
[363]. Sir George Douglas, Hogg, pp. 38 f.
[364]. See the context of it in Lachmann u. Haupt, Minnesangs Frühling, pp. 221 ff.