The 'Fyttes of Mirth' conclude the present volume. It may be as well to
say here that I have placed under this head any ballad that tells of a
successful issue and has a happy ending or mirthful climax.
The version I have given of that famous ballad _The Lord of Learne_ (or,
more commonly, _Lorne_) is most enchanting in its _naïveté_, and, when
read aloud or recited, is exceedingly effective. The curious remark that
the affectionate parting between the young Lord and his father and
mother would have changed even a Jew's heart; the picturesque
description of the siege of the castle, so close that 'a swallow could
not have flown away'; the sudden descent from romance to a judicial
trial; the remarkable assumption by the foreman of the jury of the
privileges of a judge; and the thoroughly satisfactory description of
the false steward's execution--
'I-wis they did him curstly cumber!'
--all these help to form the ever-popular _Lord of Learne_.
The remaining 'Fyttes of Mirth' are mostly well known, and require no
further comment.