They are all from a manuscript in the library of the Earl of Macclesfield, at Shirburn castle. “This collection helps to bridge over the gap between the earlier ballads and those of the post-Restoration period. The variety offered is considerable; there are ballads of religion and of politics, festive ballads and ballads of earthquakes and monsters.” (Dial.)
“The notes of Mr. Shirburn are so learned and interesting that we must admire them in spite of the poetry which they illustrate.” Andrew Lang.
| + | Acad. 72: 232. Mr. 9, ’07. 1140w. |
“The editor deserves much praise for the pains he has taken to make this book serviceable to the student of Elizabethan social conditions. Many pieces both grave and gay, although throwing no light on institutions or social conditions, yet have an interest to the historian as indicating the temper of the times.”
| + | Am. Hist. R. 12: 923. Jl. ’07. 300w. |
“The editor ... has done his work with great care. If we were to find fault with anything, it would be that he does not always stick to his antiquarian last.”
| + + − | Ath. 1907, 1: 727. Je. 15. 370w. | |
| Dial. 42: 319. My. 16, ’07. 140w. | ||
| Lond. Times. 6: 89. Mr. 22, ’07. 1590w. |
“Perhaps the greatest importance of the collection is that it bridges over the gap in ballad-literature between the early ballads as represented by Prof. F. J. Child’s monumental work and those of the post-restoration period.”
| + | Nation. 84: 384. Ap. 25, ’07. 470w. |