+The Text+ was communicated to Percy by Dr. Robertson of Edinburgh, but
it did not appear in the _Reliques_.
In 9.1, 'Then' is doubtless an interpolation, as are the words 'Now
Douglas' in 11.1 But on the whole it is the best text of the fifteen or
twenty variants.
+The Story.+--James Hogg and Sir Walter Scott referred the ballad to two
different sources, the former legendary, and the latter historical. It
has always been very popular in Scotland, and besides the variants there
are in existence several imitations, such as the well-known poem of
William Hamilton, 'Busk ye, busk ye, my bonny bonny bride.' This was
printed in vol. ii. of Percy's _Reliques_.
About half the known variants make the hero and heroine man and wife,
the other half presenting them as unmarried lovers.