634. his title he hath deserved.
642. to this.
644. king his land.
Old Ballads, 1723, and Roxburghe, III, 726, have Iris for the Neptune of B, in 13; Charles Lord Howard in 61; Ninety pounds in 641.
h.
This being a Scottish copy, and the variations also numerous, it seems advisable to give the whole text rather than only the divergent readings. The transcript may be inferred, from passages phonetically misrendered, to have been made from recitation or reading, more probably from recitation, since many of the differences from the printed copies are of the sort which are made by reciters; that is, immaterial expressions are imperfectly remembered; and again, 162 is adopted from popular ballad phraseology, and, as already observed, the stanza following 50 is borrowed from ‘Adam Bell.’ Cases of writing sound for sense are 43, makes us squails for makes us quail; 73, I quitted all for No whit at all; 482, The spirit for This pĭrate; 613, A nobler day for A noble a day. Verses of 25, 26 have been interchanged. 8, 93,4, 101,2, 21, 28, 29, 30, 32, 36, 44, 49, 522,3,4, 531 are wanting. 33, 34 are in the right order. It is a little surprising that a Scottish copy should have Sir Andrew Cross for St Andrew’s cross, 533. a-d have Sir Andrews Cross.
1
When Febus, with her fragrant flours,
bedect the earth so trim and gay,
And Neptan, with his denty shours,