Page:Lancashire Legends, Traditions, Pageants, Sports, Etc., with an Appendix Containing a Rare Tract.djvu/44



any endeavour to bring together the legends and traditions which form so striking a feature in the folk-lore of Lancashire, it is impossible to pass over unnoticed that collection which bears the name of the late Mr John Roby of Rochdale. In 1829 he published "The Traditions of Lancashire," in two volumes, containing twenty tales, more or less founded upon traditions current in their respective localities. During 1831 he published a second series of so-called "Traditions," likewise in two volumes, and also containing a score of tales. A posthumous volume, which appeared in 1854, contained three legends, but only one of these—"Mother Red Cap"—has its scene in Lancashire.

In the preface to the first series of his "Traditions of Lancashire," Mr Roby has the following passage:—"A native of Lancashire, and residing there during the greater part of his life, he has been enabled to collect a mass of local traditions, now fast dying from the memories of the A