A collection of ancient and modern Scottish ballads, etc

PREFACE.
Our relations and intercourse with the sister
kingdom have become, from a variety of causes,
so intimate, that our manners, our customs,
and even our language, are assimilating with
rapid strides to those of that country. Not-
withstanding, however, that the simple, expressive
style of our fathers be becoming less and
less frequent in conversation among the middle
ranks, yet our poetry is still understood and ad-
mired by every Scotchman, and is fondly trea-
sured up in the memory of such of our coun-
trymen whom adventitious circumstances have
placed at a distance from their native land, who
pore with delight over the rich humour, tender