Reliques of ancient English poetry: consisting of old heroic ballads ...

AND BALLADS. '79
Paire with her that will for mee,
With her I will never paire ;
That cunningly can be coy,
For being a little faire.
The aiTe I'll leave to her difdaine ;
And now I am mvfelfe a^aine.
XX.
THE KING AND MILLER OF MANSFIELD.
It has been a favourite-fubjeel with our Engli/b balladmakers
to reprejent our kings converfng, either by accident
or defign, -with the meanefi of their fubjecls. Qf theformer
kind, befedes this fong of the King and the Miller ; we
have K. Henry and the Soldier ; K. James I. and the
Tinker ; K. William III. and the Forrefter, &c. Of the
latter fort, are K. Alfred and the Shepherd ; K. Edvjard
IV. and the Tanner ; K. Henry Fill, and the Cobler, &c.
A few of the bejl of thefe we have admitted into this
collection. Both the author of thefollowing ballad, and
others who have vjritten on the fame plan, feem to have
copied a very ancient poem, intiiled John the Reeve,
which is built on an adventure of the fame kind, that happened
between K. Edward Long/hanks, and one ofhis Reeves
or Bailiffs. This is a piece ofgreat antiquity, being written
before the time of Edward IV. andfor its genuine hu-
mour, diverting incidents, and faithfv.l piclure of rujiic
manners, is infinitely fupericr to all that have been Juice
written in imitation of it. The editor has a copy in his
ancient folio MS. but its length rendered it improper for
this volume, it confifiing cf more then 900 lines. It contains
alfo fame corruptions, and the editor chufes to defer its pub-
lication in hopes that fome time or other he Jhall be able to
remove them.
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