+The Text+ is from Motherwell's _Minstrelsy_ (1827). It is based on a
stall-copy, presumably similar to one preserved by Sir Walter Scott at
Abbotsford, combined with a version from recitation, which Child none
the less calls 'well remembered from print.'
+The Story+ has no historical foundation, as far as can be discovered;
and for once we have a traditional tale inculcating a moral, though we
do not understand why the 'nourice' betrays Sir James to his enemies.
Michael Bruce wrote a version of the story of this ballad, which seems
to have become more popular than the ballad itself. It may be seen in
A. B. Grosart's edition of his works (1865), p. 197.