_Source._--Mrs. Balfour's "Legends of the Lincolnshire Fens," in
_Folk-Lore_, ii. It was told to Mrs. Balfour by a labourer, who
professed to be the hero of the story, and related it in the first
person. I have given him a name, and changed the narration into the
oblique narration, and toned down the dialect.
_Parallels._--"Tiddy Mun," the hero of another of Mrs. Balfour's legends
(_l.c._, p. 151) was "none bigger 'n a three years old bairn," and had
no proper name.
_Remarks._--One might almost suspect Mrs. Balfour of being the victim of
a piece of invention on the part of her autobiographical informant. But
the scrap of verse, especially in its original dialect, has such a
folkish ring that it is probable he was only adapting a local legend to
his own circumstances.