A collection of ancient and modern Scottish ballads, etc

291
the author of so excellent- a prod^^ctroH, his claims could
not have escaped the knowledge of one who paid such
laudable attention to the poetical literature of his native
country. This collector has, however, attributed 'Christis
Kirk' to James the First : nor can any other testimony
of the same antiquity be produced in support of either
opinion/'— Irvine's Lives of the Scotish Poeis, vol. K
pp. 310, 311.
Throughout the first canto the prince paints with a masterly
pencil and ia glowing colours the rustic manners of his
age. He begins with describing the dress and coyness
of the young women, among whom Gillie was not the
least the attractive ; takes notice of the merits of the
minstrel, whose powers have a wonderful effect in raising
the spirits of the parties assembled to dance ; and having
thus arrested the attention of his readers, he causes an
ordinary occurrence give rise to the brawl which is the
subject of the poem, for in the midst of the hilarity, Rob
Roy seizes hold of one of the young women, and roughly
pulls her towards him ; this is instantly resented by her
paramour, who rescues her from his grasp after a violent
struggle ; all the company take a part ia th& quarrel,,
the sportive dance, the frolicsome gaiety of the meetings
are changed to a scene of tumult and uproar, which is
detailed with great spirit in the remainder of the poem.
Tiie awkward manner in which several of the combat-
ants use the bow, is humorously burlesqued ; while the
cowardice of one, the aff»cted bravery of another, and
the bustling noise of all, are drawn with nice discrimina-
tion, and in strict consonance to nature.
The exquisite pleasantry of James's poem caught the fancy
of Allan Ramsay, who, in 1T15, added a second, and
afterwards, in 1718, a third canto. These we Jtave in:-