Page:Songs of Old Canada.djvu/95

. The ballad seems to have been preserved in its original entirety; at least the dreadful tale of treason and murder is told with dramatic completeness in the rude and irregular couplets, which are in themselves a proof of its age.

It will be noticed that there is no burden or refrain.

The origin of this song was apparently unknown to M. Gagnon, and perhaps, as Dr. Larue suggests in the case of La claire fontaine, it was not made at all,—it simply grew.

Among the popular songs preserved here it is a surprise to come across so great a contrast to their general tone and feeling as this familiar lover's quarrel, which has come down to us as bright as the summer's day on which it happened so long ago. And yet a popular song it undoubtedly is and may be found in all collections with slight variations of the words, the best evidence, however, being that M. Gagnon discovered it in the County of Maskinongé.