“Some alterations made from the way it was sung” by the editor’s maternal grandfather.
42. And kindly said, My dearie.
63. as you ance had a love for me.
114. That were.
122. Where shall I gang to hide me.
144. Than the.
213
SIR JAMES THE ROSE
‘Sir James the Rose.’ a. From a stall-tract of about 1780, Abbotsford library. b. Motherwell’s Minstrelsy, p. 321. c. Sir James the Rose’s Garland, one of a volume of the like from Heber’s library. d. Motherwell’s MS., p. 281; from the recitation of Mrs Gentles, of Paisley. e. Herd’s MSS, I, 82. f. The same, II, 42. g. ‘Sir James the Rose,’ Pinkerton’s Scottish Tragic Ballads, 1781, p. 61.
b, says Motherwell, “is given as it occurs in early stall-prints, and as it is to be obtained from the recitations of elderly people.” Most of the variations are derived from d. c may have been printed earlier than a, but is astonishingly faulty. d, well remembered from print, is what Motherwell meant by “the recitations of elderly people.” e was obtained by Herd, probably from recitation, as early as 1776, but must have been learned from print. f is e with a few missing lines supplied. g, says Pinkerton, “is given from a modern edition in one sheet 12mo,” but was beyond question considerably manipulated by the editor. All the important variations are certainly his work.
The copy in Buchan’s Gleanings, p. 9, is g. Whitelaw, in his Book of Scotish Ballads, p. 39, has combined b and g.