470 Rattling, Roaring Willie. By the late Sir W. Elliot. 



1623, as "William Sweet Milk, parochiner in Cavers," for 

 immorality, and again in September 1624, with Eobt. Scott and 

 Helene Langlands of the same parish, on a similar charge. 

 Several families of the name of Elliot are noted as residents in 

 Cavers parish at this time, but in none of them can we trace any 

 connection with our Sweet Milk. 



The above is all the information I have been able to procure 

 regarding the personality of Henderson. The attempts to trace 

 his compositions are even more difficult. Transmitted from mouth 

 to mouth for nearly two centuries, they must have lost much of 

 the original character imparted to them by their author. 



This will be found to be the case in the following verses, which 

 have been collected with considerable difficulty from every 

 available quarter. They consist of different versions of the old 

 popular song and air. The first reliable information we have of 

 the song of " Rattlin', Roarin' Willie" is that communicated by 

 Robert Burns to Johnson's "Musical Museum," being No. 194 

 in the second vol., which was published in Edinburgh in 1788, 

 and repeated in the later editions 18;38 and 18.53, enriched, as 

 these are with valuable notes hy W. Stenhouse and David Laing. 



At this period of his life, Burns' evinced a lively interest in 

 placing the popular minstrelsy of his country on a permanent 

 footing, which terminated only with his death in 1 796. For 

 besides his contributions to Johnson, he was engaged during 

 1792-6 in a similar and even closer correspondence 1 with George 

 Thomson, then employed in bringing out his "Select Melodies of 

 Scotland" — so much so that the publication of the later vols, of 

 the " Museum" was considerably delayed. The oth vol. ajDpeared 

 in 1797, the year after Burns' death, and the 6th in 1803. He 

 also took an active personal share in Cromek's " Select Scottish 

 Songs, ancient and modern," which were not published till 1810, 

 several years after his death. 



In communicating the song to the " Musical Museum," Burns 

 added a 3rd verse, composed by himself, which still retains its 

 place in the subsecpuent editions. 



"0 rattlin', roaria' Willie, 

 he held to the fair, 

 And for to sell his fiddle, 

 And buy some other ware, 



1 This correspondence is given in full in vol. iv. of Dr Currie's Life of 

 Burns. 



