They were both brisk and bonny O;
They rode till they came to the Earl of Castle's house,
And here they sang so sweetly O."
This is a very hobbling version (from the recitation of a "gipsy vagabond") of a ballad frequently reprinted. It first appeared in Ramsay's Tea-Table Miscellany; afterwards in Finlay's and Chambers' Collections. None of these versions were known to Mr. Sheldon.
I have now extracted enough from the Minstrelsy of the English Border to show the mode of "ballad editing" as pursued by Mr. Sheldon. The instances are sufficient to strengthen my position.
One of the most popular traditional ballads still
floating about the country, is "King Henrie the Fifth's Conquest:"—
"As our King lay musing on his bed,
He bethought himself upon a time,
Of a tribute that was due from France,