Their form is a ludicrous cockney perversion,but it retains the essence.Bateman,a captive of "this Turk,"is beloved by the Turk's daughter (a staple incident of old French romance),and by her released.The lady after seven years rejoins Lord Bateman:he has just married a local bride,but "orders another marriage,"and sends home his bride "in a coach and three."This incident is stereotyped in the ballads and occurs in an example in the Romaic.
(2)
Now Lord Bateman is YOUNG BEKIE in the Scotch ballads,who becomes YOUNG BEICHAN,YOUNG BICHEM,and so forth,and has adventures identical with those of Lord Bateman,though the proud porter in the Scots version is scarcely so prominent and illustrious.As Motherwell saw,Bekie (Beichan,Buchan,Bateman)is really Becket,Gilbert Becket,father of Thomas of Canterbury.Every one has heard how HIS Saracen bride sought him in London.(Robert of Gloucester's LIFE AND MARTYRDOM OF THOMAS BECKET,Percy Society.
See Child's Introduction,IV.,i.1861,and MOTHERWELL'SMINSTRELSY,p.xv.,1827.)The legend of the dissolved marriage is from the common stock of ballad lore,Motherwell found an example in the state of CANTEFABLE,alternate prose and verse,like AUCASSIN AND NICOLETTE.Thus the cockney rhyme descends from the twelfth century.
Such are a few of the curiosities of the ballad.The examples selected are chiefly chosen for their romantic charm,and for the spirit of the Border raids which they record.A few notes are added in an appendix.The text is chosen from among the many variants in Child's learned but still unfinished collection,and an effort has been made to choose the copies which contain most poetry with most signs of uncontaminated originality.In a few cases Sir Walter Scott's versions,though confessedly "made up,"are preferred.Perhaps the editor may be allowed to say that he does not merely plough with Professor Child's heifer,but has made a study of ballads from his boyhood.
This fact may exempt him,even in the eyes of too patriotic American critics,from "the common blame of a plagiary."Indeed,as Professor Child has not yet published his general theory of the Ballad,the editor does not know whether he agrees with the ideas here set forth.
So far the Editor had written,when news came of Professor Child's regretted death.He had lived to finish,it is said,the vast collection of all known traditional Scottish and English Ballads,with all accessible variants,a work of great labour and research,and a distinguished honour to American scholarship.We are not told,however,that he had written a general study of the topic,with his conclusions as to the evolution and diffusion of the Ballads:as to the influences which directed the selection of certain themes of MARCHEN for poetic treatment,and the processes by which identical ballads were distributed throughout Europe.No one,it is to be feared,is left,in Europe at least,whose knowledge of the subject is so wide and scientific as that of Professor Child.It is to be hoped that some pupil of his may complete the task in his sense,if,indeed,he has left it unfinished.