+The Text+ is formed by a collation of six broadsides printed between
1672 and 1700: they do not, however, present many variations. Here, if
anywhere, one would demand licence to make alterations and improvements.
In stanza 12 the rhymes are almost certainly misplaced; and the last
stanza is quite superfluous. It would be much more in keeping with
ballad-style to end with the twelfth, and many of the variants now sung
conclude thus. This ballad is still extremely popular, and not only has
it been included in many selections and song-books, but it is also still
in oral tradition.
+The Story+ is simple and pre-eminently in the popular vein.
Counterparts exist elsewhere in the languages derived from Latin, and in
Romaic.