as to deem
it utterly inconsistent with the ballad, which, at least to judge from
the examples left us by antiquity, admits in some cases of a
considerable degree of decoration. Still, however, I do most sincerely
agree with you, that this may be very easily overdone, and I am far from
asserting that this may not be in some degree my own case; but there is
scarcely so nice a line to distinguish, as that which divides true
simplicity from flatness and _Sternholdianism_ (if I may be allowed to
coin the word), and therefore it is not surprising, that in endeavouring
to avoid the latter, so young and inexperienced a rhymer as myself
should sometimes have deviated also from the former."[71] This was
Scott's earliest stage as a man of letters, and he evidently learned
more about ballads later. But there appears in much of his criticism on
the subject a limitation which may be assigned partly to his time, and
partly, no doubt, to the fact that he was a poet and could not forget
all the sophistications of his art.

The true nature of ballad poetry could hardly be understood until
scholars had investigated the structure of primitive society in a way
that Scott's contemporaries were not at all prepared to do. Even Scott,
with all his intelligent interest in bygone institutions and modes of
expression, could hardly have foreseen the anthropological researches
which the problem of literary origins has since demanded. We do not
find, then, that Scott's work on ballads was marked by any special
originality in point of view or method. _The Minstrelsy of the Scottish
Border_ was a notable book because it did better what other men had
tried to do, and especially because of the charm and effectiveness of
its historical comment. It was more trustworthy than Percy's collection
and more graceful than Ritson's; it was richer than other books of the
kind in what people cared to have when they wanted ballads, and yet was
not, for its time, over-sophisticated. Scott's conclusions cannot now be
accepted without question, but the illustrations with which he sets them
forth and the wide reading and sincere love of folk-poetry which
evidently lie behind them produce a pleasant effect of ripe and
reasonable judgment. The admirable qualities of the book were at once
recognized by competent critics, and it will always be studied with
enthusiasm by scholars as well as by the uncritical lover of ballads.

_Studies in the Romances_

Scott's the