MEMOIR OF SIR J. O. DA I. V 1.1. L. \xi 



they wholly Scottish. None of them arc to be found in Thr Uonlait, an 

 allegorical work of the fifteenth century ; nor in a manuscript collect ion 

 of the latter end of the name century, preserved in the Advocated' Library ; 

 while there are only a few in the Bonnatyne collection. From all which 

 it would appear that they cannot bo older than the close of the sixteenth 

 ivntury. Amongst the profane tunes spiritualised is one which, from the 

 chorus, " LA, lay, la," and the construction of the verse, may have been 

 similar to " Ilfy. tnttie taite." It is called "The Conception of Christ" 



" Lat n reioyce and sing, 

 And praise that mighty King, 

 Wbilk tent hi* ion of a virgin bright 



La. Lay. La. 



And on him take oar ryU nature, 

 Oar dcidlie wound* to care, 

 Mankind to bald in right. 



La, Lay. La." Ac. 



As to " Quho is at my windo ? who ? who ?' there can be no mistake. It 

 is still popular. " My lufe murnis for me" seems to have been another 

 familiar air. " Johne, cum kis me now," is well known ; and " The wind 

 blawis cauld, furious and bald" is apparently the first line of an old ditty. 

 " Hay now the day dallis" is known to be another name for flat/, luttii- 

 taite." " Till our gudeman, till our gudeman," is another well remembered 

 air. So is " Hay trix, trim goe true, under the greene wood tree." This 

 is an English one, however. " Say weill, and do weill" seems to be part 

 of an old rhyming axiom 



" Say weill is throughly a worthy gude thing ; 

 Of lay weill great rertew forth does ipring ; 

 Say weill from do weill differ* in letter ; 

 Say weill U gnde, hot do weill i better." 



Ah, my Love, leife me not" is apparently another English air. To UP. 

 in modern times, such a collection may excite risibility though the same 

 principle is followed out in the composition of those songs for schools pre- 

 sently in use ; and there can be little doubt that such ditties were of con- 



