And sicker in a grave sae deep,
I laid the dear-lo'ed boy;,
And now for ever maun I weep
My winsome Gilderoy.
If any one will compare the Percy version of this ballad with the homely and indecorous ones printed before, he will not be the more disposed to go back to antiquity and a humble grade of authorship for what is best in the Scottish ballads. [ [19] ]
Edward, Edward, which Percy received from Sir David Dalrymple, and placed among his oldest pieces, in affectedly old spelling, is a striking melodramatic composition:
'Why does your brand sae drap wi' bluid,
Edward, Edward?,
Why does your brand sae drap wi' bluid,
And why sae sad gang ye, O?',