God save the king, and bless the land
In plenty, joy, and peace;
And grant henceforth, that foul debate255
'Twixt noblemen may cease!
[62]. since.—O. B.
[123]. Percy has lions wood.
[137]. To.
[187]. Sc. the Curfew bell, usually rung at eight o'clock; to which the modernizer apparently alludes, instead of the "Evensong bell," or bell for vespers of the original author, before the Reformation.—Percy.
[198]. "I, as one in deep concern, must lament." The construction here has generally been misunderstood.—P.
This phrase may help us to determine the date of the authorship of the ballad. "Doleful dumps" suggested nothing ludicrous to a writer of the age of Elizabeth, but not long after became burlesque. The observation is Percy's.
[220]. They.—O. B.