112 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



Les tisseninds,"'^ L'occasion manqaée — ou saisU%-'^ Les trois enfants res-^ 

 suscités par Saint-Nicolas,'"" La mère ressuscitée,^''" iJenfant au berceau 

 dénonce un crime^^'^' Renaud^''-'' La fille qui fait lamorteP^ L'amant noyé^^^ 

 aiul La Pernette.''^^ Ail these are found in M. Eolhind's collection, which 

 is only the beginning of a great Avork. and is b}' no means exhaustive even 

 S(J far as it has gone already. 



Looking further atield, we tind that our texts do not carry us quite 

 so far as we might ho])e among the folksongs of the world at large. We 

 have uo Canadian versions of the adventures of Bluebeard or of May 

 Colven, whilst there are innumerable variants in French, Italian, Spanish, 

 Portuguese, English. Dutch. F'lemish, High and Low German, Norse, 

 Swedish, Icelandic. Polish, Bohemian. .Magyar, Servian and scores of 

 other languages. To see what could be done with Teutonic folklore, I 

 went through the two thousand colkslieder of Erlach's collection ; -'^ but 

 onlv found about twc-nty Avhich had any direct aitinity with those in our 

 texts. Of course, among the twenty were variants of the misadventures 

 of Petite Jeanneton. who instead of l)eing sent 



. . . . à la fontaine 

 Pour pêcher du poi.sson^ss 



<;oes of her own accord. 



Wollt geli'n in den Wald, 

 WoUt Brombeei" l)rocI<en ab,-''^ 



and does so with very •■ variant "' results. Equally of course, were 

 stories of the loves of lords of high degree for rustic inaids, and the 

 •-|iiritt'd answers of girls whom their parents ask t-o promise 



De n'.jamais aimer les garçons.-*' 



Tlie Weltkind's anwer is even more tiery than la Canadienne's : 



Meine Glut ist iiicht zu diirnpfen, 

 Bis ich einstens werde kiinipfen 

 Mit dem Amor, bis aufs Blut. '-•''' 



Petite Jed/imtan is one of those lolksongs which seem to be native to 

 everv soil ; and an even greater vogue is enjoyed by the woeful j\Iau- 

 iniii-'és. 1 f a world widi' celobi'ity were any compensation for the miseries 

 of married life. P'tit Jeiin'-'^ would get some consolation from the know- 

 ledi--e that, even in far Calbay. he has felknv-sufierers ; for there the 

 ■■ Ilotuiiii: Lione-ss " makes her l>ettei- halt (|uakt; at eveiy roar.'^'*^ The 

 stoiv of the prisoner and the gaoku-'s (hiughter is known everywhere 

 and is always a most popular theme, whether the hero is sim])ly '' un 

 prixiiinier.'' as he is in Canada, or a ])eer of the i-ealm, as he is in the 

 Lociiui Ballad of Lord Bateman. The tragic history of Marianson'-^^ 

 is common t<j many countries, more particulai'ly to Sptiin and Portugal, 

 where the famous ballad of Helena'-^" has always been held in es])Ocial 



