Excerpt from The Book of Scottish Song: Collected and Illustrated With Historical and Critical Notices, and an Essay on the Song-Writers of Scotland This work was undertaken with the object of laying before the public, in a single volume, and at a moderate price, a coupnsnsusxva gomcrros or run 801103 or scotland, ancient and modern, accompanied with such particulars regarding their history, age, or authorship, as could be gathered from the liter ary records of the country, or might be elicited from personal inquiry and research among the lovers of song. It may excite surprise to know, but nevertheless it is undeniable, that no publication of the kind here aimed at, whether as regards extent of design in text and commentary, or adaptation in size and price for general circulation, has hitherto been attempted, amid the multifarious song-collections that have issued from the press. Ritson, near the close of the last century, was the first, as an editor of Scottish song, who endea voured to ascertain the age and authorship of the pieces in his work, and his example has been followed by one or two other editors; but the compilations adverted to are at once limited in their range, and removed by their cost be yond the reach of ordinary purchasers. Ritson's collection did not, in all, amount to more than our. Nusnnnn and monrr songs, and the collections of succeeding editors, though in some instances extending to several volumes, do not in any case contain om; half of the number of songs given in the present publication. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.