Page:Bishop Percy’s Folio Manuscript. Ballads and Romances.djvu/37

 Mr. Chappell observes in ''Pop. Mus.'' ii. 438, note 2,) fixes the date of the song to the year 1643, we must make the date about 1650, though rather before than after, so far as I can judge. I should keep it in Charles I.'s reign, and he died Jan. 30, 1649 ; but within a quarter of a century one can hardly determine. The change of the shape of the c, from the accented foreigner's shape F to a big (ii. 559, note ²), and that of the shape of the χ from a form like the MS. & to the modern one (iii. 342/558, note ⁶), which occurs towards the end of the volume, may help some future and more learned writinger to settle the date more closely than I can.

The dialect of the copier of the MS. seems to have been Lancashire, as is shown by the frequent use of the final st, thoust for thou shalt (see i. 20/28, note ⁴, ii. 218, &c., and -st in the Glossary), Ist for I will (ii. 218/2, 219/30, 223/145, &c.), youst for you will (ii. 219/47), unbethought for "umbethought" (i. 76/35, 177/62, &c.), and the occurrence of northern terms like strang (ii. 571/332), gauge (ii. 572/343), &c. &c. Moreover, the strong local feeling shown by the copier in favour of Lancashire and Cheshire and the Stanleys, in his choice of Flodden Feilde (i. 313), Bosworth Feilde (iii. 233), Earles of Chester (i. 258), Ladye Bessiye (iii. 319) confirms the probability that he was from one of the counties named. That much, if not all, of the MS. was written from dictation, and hurriedly, is almost certain from the continual mis writing of they for the, rought for wrought, Knight for night (once), me fancy for my fancy (ii. 30/8), justine for justing (ii. 103/673), &c. These mistakes have been left in the text, as after a little practice they do not mislead the reader, and the they and the may point to a peculiarity of pronunciation which Mr. Alexander J. Ellis, or some successor of his, may value.

5. Percy suggests that the copier of the MS. was Thomas