ed him with their correspondence, he has, besides, been fortunate. To Captain Charles Gray, R.M., in particular, he has been largely indebted for many valuable communications on the subject of Scottish song—a subject on which the Captain's enthusiasm and information go hand in hand—as well as for pointing out and furnishing a number of useful authorities. He has also to express his obligations to Alexander Laing, Esq., David Vedder, Esq., Patrick Maxwell, Esq., Thomas C. Latto, Esq., Robert White, Esq., Dr. Andrew Crawford, and various other correspondents in a lesser degree, for serviceable information in the course of his labours.
The Book of Scottish Song contains, in all, somewhere about twelve hundred and seventy songs; and it is presumed that every standard lyric in the language—every song of established reputation—is included within its pages. Some omissions may possibly have been made; but the Editor trusts that they are of a very unimportant character.[1] A large number of the songs in the collection are taken from hitherto unexplored sources, and may be considered (to use Coleridge's phrase) 'as good as manuscript.' Another portion, though not so large, are bona fide 'originals,' that is to say, they have the claim to originality at least, in having been here first printed. Of this portion, about one hundred and thirty in all, many, it is confidently trusted, will be admitted even by the most fastidious, to possess very superior merit, while the whole, though forming but a subordinate feature of the work, will be found, it is hoped, to add no inconsiderable or unworthy heap to the lofty and ever-accumulating cairn of Scottish song.
In this preliminary notice, it was originally intended to have entered somewhat at large into the history of the lyric poetry of the country; but the demands upon the space of the work, as it drew to a close, for the insertion
- ↑ The Index of First Lines, which is constructed on the strictest alphabetical arrangement, and given at the end of the volume, will be the reader's best guide for finding out any particular song. In cases where the first line is not known or remembered, the Index of Authors may be of service. An Index of Titles was at one time contemplated, but the impracticability of arranging these in a satisfactory manner caused it to be abandoned as a table of reference all but useless. In consulting the Index of First Lines, great accuracy is of course necessary on the part of the consulter as to the opening word, otherwise he may be disappointed in his search, and hastily conclude that the song he wants is not in the book, while it actually is. The omission or addition of the exclamation 'O' at the beginning of a song may, for example, lead him wrong. When he is not sure in cases of this kind, he had better try the line with and without the 'O.'
