[ix]

ADVERTISEMENT

TO THE FOURTH EDITION.

TWENTY WENTY years have near elapsed fince the laft edition of this work appeared. But, although it was fufficiently a favourite with the public, and had long been out of print, the original Editor had no defire to revive it. More important pursuits had, as might be expected, engaged his attention; and the prefent edition would have remained unpublished, had he not yielded to the importunity of his friends, and accepted the humble offer of an Editor in a Nephew, to whom, it is feared, he will be found too partial.

These volumes are now reftored to the public with fuch corrections and improvements as have occurred fince the former impreffion; and the Text in particular hath been emended in many paffages by recurring to the old copies. The inftances, being frequently trivial, are not always noted in the margin; but the alteration hath never been made without good reafon; and especially in fuch pieces as were extracted from the folio Manuscript so often mentioned in the following pages,

where

where any variation occurs from the former impreffion, it will be understood to have been given on the authority of that MS.

The appeal publicly made to Dr. JOHNSON in the first page of the following Preface, fo long fince as in the year 1765, and never once contradicted by him during so large a portion of his life, ought to have precluded every doubt concerning the existence of the MS. in queftion. But such, it feems, having been fuggefted, it may now be mentioned, that, while this edition passed through his prefs, the MS. itself was left for near a year with Mr. NICHOLS, in whofe house, or in that of its Poffeffor, it was examined with more or lefs attention by many Gentlemen of eminence in literature. At the first publication of these volumes it had been in the hands of all, or moft of, his friends; but, as it could hardly be expected that he should continue to think of nothing elfe but these amusements of his youth, it was afterwards laid afide at his refidence in the country. Of the many Gentlemen abovementioned, who offered to give their teftimony to the publick, it will be fufficient to name the Honourable DAINES BARRINGTON, the Reverend

CLAY

CLAYTON MORDAUNT CRACHERODE, and those eminent Critics on Shakespeare, the Reverend Dr. FARMER, GEORGE STEEVENS, Efq. EDMUND MALONE, Efq. and ISAAC REED, Efq. to whom I beg leave to appeal for the truth of the following representation.

The MS. is a long narrow folio volume, containing 191 Sonnets, Ballads, Hiftorical Songs, and Metrical Romances, either in the whole or in part, for many of them are extremely mutilated and imperfect. The first and laft leaves are wanting; and of 54 pages near the beginning half of every leaf hath been torn away, and feveral others are injured towards the end; befides that through a great part of the volume the top or bottom line, and fometimes both have been cut off in the binding.

In this ftate is the MS. itfelf: and even where the leaves have fuffered no injury, the tranfcripts, which feem to have been all made by one perfon (they are at least all in the fame kind of hand), are fometimes extremely incorrect and faulty, being in fuch inftances probably made from defective copies, or the imperfect recitation of illi

terate

terate fingers; so that a confiderable portion of the fong or narrative is fometimes omitted; and miferable trash or nonfenfe not unfrequently introduced into pieces of confiderable merit. And often the copyift grew fo weary of his labour as to write on without the least attention to the fenfe or meaning; fo that the word which fhould form the rhyme is found misplaced in the middle of the line; and we have fuch blunders as thefe, want and will for wanton will*; even pan and wale for wan and pale †, &c. &c.

Hence the Public may judge how much they are indebted to the compofer of this collection; who, at an early period of life, with fuch mate rials and fuch fubjects, formed a work which hath been admitted into the most elegant libraries; and with which the judicious Antiquary hath just reason to be fatisfied, while refined entertainment hath been provided for every Reader of taste and genius.

THOMAS PERCY,

FELLOW OF ST. JOHN'S COLLEGE, OXFORD.

*Page 130. Ver. 117. (This must have been copied from a reciter.)

† Pag. 139. Ver. 164, viz.

"bis vifage waxed pan and wale.”

THE

THE PREFACE.

TH

HE Reader is here prefented with select remains of our ancient English Bards and Minstrels, an order of men, who were once greatly refpected by our anceftors, and contributed to foften the roughness of a martial and unlettered people by their fongs and by their mufic.

The greater part of them are extracted from an ancient folio Manufcript, in the Editor's poffeffion, which contains near 200 Poems, Songs, and Metrical Romances. This MS. was written about the middle of the last century; but contains compofitions of all times and dates, from the ages prior to Chaucer, to the conclufion of the reign of Charles I. *

This Manufcript was fhewn to feveral learned and ingenious friends, who thought the contents too curious to be configned to oblivion, and importuned the poffeffor to felect fome of them, and give them to the prefs. As most of them are of great fimplicity, and feem to have been merely written for the people, he was long in doubt, whether, in the present state of improved literature, they could be deemed worthy the attention of the public. At length the importunity of his friends prevailed, and he could refufe nothing to fuch judges as the Author of the RAMBLER and the late Mr. SHENSTONE.

*Chaucer quotes the old Romance of "Libius Difconius,” and fome others, which are found in this MS. (See the ESSAY prefixed to Vol. III. p. xxiii. & feqq.) It also contains feveral Songs relating to the Civil War in the last century, but not one that alludes to the Restoration.

Ac