[82] Caution is imperative where so much ground is covered, and no man should be confident that he can do absolute justice to poetry in a tongue that he was not born to; but foreign poetry is as likely to be rated too high as to be undervalued. I will give Grundtvig's impression, at least as competent a judge of popular ballads as ever spoke: "Den Rigdom paa stemningsfuld Lyrik, som i det hele taget hjemler den engelsk-skotske Folkevise den højeste poetiske Rang mellem alle sine Søskende, kommer ogsaa her til Syne, fordelt paa alle Opskrifter." Danmarks gamle Folkeviser, V, 187. [83] Except in Swedish #A#, where, apparently by a mixture of two stories, the issue is tragic. 64 FAIR JANET #A.# 'Fair Janet,' Sharpe's Ballad Book, p. 1. #B.# 'Fair Janet and Sweet William,' Motherwell's MS., p. 357. #C.# 'Willie and Annet,' Herd's Scots Songs, 1769, p. 303. #D.# 'Lord William,' Motherwell's MS., p. 271. #E.# 'Willie and Janet,' Kinloch MSS, V, 283, II, 41. #F.# 'Sweet Willie and Fair Maisry,' Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, I, 97; Motherwell's MS., p. 606. #G.# 'Sweet Willie,' Finlay's Scottish Ballads, II, 61. #G#, as printed by Finlay, was made up from various fragments. Of his twenty-seven stanzas fourteen were taken from #C#, and these are now omitted. #A# 13, #D# 5, #G# 4, 5, #C# 19, are found also in some copies of 'Fair Annie of Lochroyan;' #C# 19 also in 'Sweet Willie and Fair Annie.' The very inappropriate question in #F# 4, "O will ye gang to the cards, Meggie," occurs in Jamieson's 'Clerk Saunders,' I, 84, st. 5. The inquiry in #G# 1, "Will you _burn_ for Sweet Willie?" may probably have been suggested by the ballad of 'Lady Maisry.' We have the oath by the thorn, #G# 13, in 'Glasgerion.' For the conclusion of #A#, #E#, see No 7, I, 96 ff.