Ancient Scottish ballads, recovered from tradition, and never before ...

68
bath, by making of Robin Hood Plays.—Ar-
nofs Hist. ofEdin. ch. II.
Among all the numerous ballads and tales,
which have been composed on these celebrated
outlaws, the Editor has not discovered that the
present one has ever even published. The Edi-
tor observes however, a ballad in the " Border
Minstrelsy," under the title of " Rose the Red,
and White Lilly," which is evidently founded
on the same story. The editor of that work
is correct in his conjecture, that it related to
Robin Hood. One might fancy, a slight resem-
blance between the meeting of Robin Hood with
the heroines of this ballad, and his meeting with
Clorinda, or " Maid Marian," as detailed in
" Robin Hood's birth, breeding, valour and mar-
riage" as published by Mr. Ritson, part II.