+The Text+ is that obtained in 1800 by Alexander Fraser Tytler from Mrs.
Brown of Falkland, and by him committed to writing. The first ten and
the last two stanzas show corruption, but the rest of the ballad is in
the best style.
+The Story+ emphasises the necessity of asking the consent of a brother
to the marriage of his sister, and therefore the title _The Cruel
Brother_ is a misnomer. In ballad-times, the brother would have been
well within his rights; it was rather a fatal oversight of the
bridegroom that caused the tragedy.
Danish and German ballads echo the story, though in the commonest German
ballad, _Graf Friedrich_, the bride receives an _accidental_ wound, and
that from the bridegroom's own hand.
The testament of the bride, by which she benefits her friends and leaves
curses on her enemies, is very characteristic of the ballad-style, and
is found in other ballads, as _Lord Ronald_ and _Edward, Edward_. In the
present case, 'sister Grace' obtains what would seem to be a very
doubtful benefit.