PREFACE.

THE following Collection of the Popular and National Songs of England is offered to the lovers of this delightful department of literature, with the hope that it will be found to present, in a small compass, a large portion of the most celebrated effusions of this kind which the language affords. The ordinary Song-books, of which large numbers are annually, if not daily issued, at prices varying from one penny to a shilling, are for the most part valueless to those who desire to know the age in which the songs were written, the names of the Authors, the circumstances which led to their production, or any fact of interest connected with their origin or their influence. They contain neither names nor dates, make no attempt at classification, and often include effusions which are objectionable to the right-minded, and unfit to be placed in the hands of the young. The Collection now offered to the public aims to supply a deficiency in these respects; and although it has no pretensions to being complete,-for fifty volumes would scarcely exhaust a subject so extensive—it is hoped that it presents a fair view of the progress and present state of English literature in this particular branch. The songs have not been uniformly selected for their beauty or their excellence. While these claims have not been lost sight of, the popularity which they may have at any time enjoyed, or the influence, direct or indirect, which they may be supposed to have exercised upon the popular mind, have been considered legitimate passports to a place in the Collection. It is possible that many readers, with whom particular songs may have become favourites from old association, may look in vain in this volume for the lyrics that have been impressed