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 ballads, by virtue of their simplicity and truth, have lived and will continue to live for generations yet unborn. For "song passeth not away." Such ballads go straight to the heart, not only of the Irish people, but of humanity at large. There are no high-flown metaphors, they tell of homely joys and sorrows, "simple annals of the poor." Take, for example, the first verses of The Lament of the Irish Emigrant—

In Katey's Letter all is joyousness and fun—fun that seems bubbling over from a full heart.