" (On Ettrick, near Thirlestane. She
doubtless meant the first of the Andersons of Tushielaw, who
succeeded the old lairds, the Scotts.) "She was said to hae been
another or a guid ane, and there are many queer stories about
hersel', but O, she had been a grand singer o' auld songs an'
ballads." (Hogg's Domestic Manners of Sir Walter Scott, p. 61,
1834.)
"Maitland upon auld beird gray" is mentioned by Gawain Douglas, in
his Palice of Honour, which the Shepherd can hardly have read, and
Scott identified this Maitland with the ancestor of Lethington; his
date was 1250-1296. On the whole, even the astute Shepherd, in his
early days of authorship, could hardly have laid a plot so
insidious, and the question of the authenticity and origin of the
ballad (obvious interpolations apart) remains a mystery. Who could
have forged it? It is, as an exercise in imitation, far beyond
Hardyknute, and at least on a level with Sir Roland. The
possibility of such forgeries is now very slight indeed, but
vitiates early collections.
If we suspect Leyden, who alone had the necessary knowledge of
antiquities, we are still met by the improbability of old Mrs. Hogg
being engaged in the hoax. Moreover, Leyden was probably too keen
an antiquary to take part in one of the deceptions which Ritson
wished to punish so severely. Mr. Child expresses his strong and
natural suspicions of the authenticity of the ballad, and Hogg is,
certainly, a dubious source. He took in Jeffrey with the song of
"Donald Macgillavray," and instantly boasted of his triumph.
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