A collection of ancient and modern Scottish ballads, etc

VI
and give a faithful picture of the manners of
those times.
The Collection is divided into three Parts
in the classification of the First and Third, the
plan of the acute and learned Mr Ritson has
been followed. The First Part consists of His-
torical and Romantic Ballads ; the Second of
Tales; and the Third of Songs, under the
heads Humorous, Love, and Miscellaneous. To
the poems in the First and Second Parts brief
observations are prefixed, with a view to eluci-
date the transactions related ;
and in the Third
Part are given the author's names, and anecdotes
regarding many of the Songs. Such informa-
tion has been long wanting, and it is wholly
owing to BuRNs's passion for Scottish poetry,
that so much is now known of the history of
our lyrics ; he procured all the late Mr Tytler
of Woodhouselee''s anecdotes, which, with his
own strictures, are published in Mr Cromek's
Reliques of the immortal bard ;— ^from that authentic
source, from Ritson's Scottish Songs, and
from other Collections, the Editor has gleaned
much of his information on this subject. In
every instance he has followed the most correct
copies he could obtain of the various poems,
being convinced th^t accuracy in the readings
;