Chapter XV: Conclusion--Charles interrupts the Congress--Is (2)

At the conclusion of the narrative are--‘A Quaker’s Address to Prince Charles, shewing what was the Cause and Ground of his Misfortunes,’ of 146 lines; a copy of ‘The Rebels’ Orders before the Battle of Culloden’; ‘Miss Flora’s Lament--A Song,’ of ten four-line stanzas; ‘The Author’s Address to all in general,’ of fourteen six-line stanzas; and two pages of contents--making a total of 192 pages. The text of the third edition has been used in the reprinting of the _History of the Rebellion_ for this volume.

The subsequent editions, so far as they have been discovered, need only be mentioned. No trace has been found of the fourth edition, though it must have been published soon after Graham’s death. The fifth edition received this notice from a writer of last century:--‘In 1787, “An impartial history of the rebellion in Britain, in the years 1745 and 1746, by Douglas Graham” (the fifth edition), was printed at Glasgow by J. & M. Robertson. This history is in Hudibrastic metre. This is a sorry performance.’[12] The seventh edition was published in Glasgow by J. & M. Robertson, Saltmarket, in 1803; the eighth by the same firm in 1808; the ninth in Falkirk, by T. Johnston, 1812; while the last, what its number it would be difficult to say, was published in Aberdeen, in 1850, conjointly by Alexander Watson and Alexander Murdoch. The Aberdeen edition does not bear Graham’s name on the title-page, and instead of the author’s preface, it contains a ‘Genealogical and Historical Introduction,’ taken from the introduction to Chambers’s _History of the Rebellion_. It is remarkable that the Advocates’ Library, Edinburgh, should only possess an eighth edition.

Something must now be said about the miscellaneous poetical works of Dougal Graham. The best known of these may be said to be _John Hielandman’s Remarks on Glasgow_, a humorous sketch of considerable power, valuable also, because of the information it affords regarding the leading features of the City of St. Mungo in the middle of last century. M‘Vean has put it on record that this poem had long been popular, although it was not generally known that it was by Graham that Glasgow had been ‘married to immortal verse.’[13] The date of its first publication is unknown, but it has been generally supposed to have been written in the decade subsequent to Dougal’s settlement in Glasgow in 1746. The earliest copy that has been seen by any writer was in one of the early penny broadsides issued by J. & M. Robertson, of the Saltmarket, Glasgow, who long occupied a prominent position as publishers of popular literature. As a literary production _John Hielandman_ has not attracted so much notice as might have been expected from writers on Scottish literature, but even a casual glance will show that it is a composition of great merit, abounding in graphic touches and humorous situations. It must be admitted, however, that the interest attaching to it has been almost entirely local, and to that circumstance may be attributed the fact that its merits have been frequently overlooked.

_Turnimspike_ has received more attention than any other of Graham’s poems, with the exception, perhaps, of his _History of the Rebellion_; and it has obtained the unqualified approval of all the literary antiquaries who have had occasion to speak of it. Sir Walter Scott said the _Turnimspike_ alone was sufficient to entitle Graham to immortality.[14] Dr. Charles Mackay has taken advantage of a note upon it, to tell a story which has considerable bearing upon the state of feeling exhibited in the poem itself. ‘Turnimspike, or Turnpike,’ he says, ‘is ludicrously descriptive of the agonies of a real Highlander at the introduction of toll gates, and other paraphernalia of modern civilisation, into the remote mountain fastnesses of his native land. Long after the suppression of the Rebellion, great consternation was excited in Ross-shire, by the fact that a sheriff’s officer had actually served a writ in Tain. “Lord, preserve us!” said an Highlandman to his neighbour, “What’ll come next? The law has reached Tain.”’[15] Burns, in his _Strictures on Scottish Song_, expressed admiration for _Turnimspike_, on account of its local humour, but he did not seem to have known the author; though Motherwell, in his edition of the works of the Ayrshire bard, supplies a few notes concerning Graham, to whom he attributes the poem. Stenhouse, in his illustrative notes to Johnson’s _Museum_, says--‘This truly comic ballad, beginning _Hersell be Highland Shentleman_, by an anonymous author, does not appear either in the Tea-Table Miscellany, or the Orpheus Caledonius. It is preserved, however, in Herd’s Collection of 1769.... From its excellent broad humour, and the ludicrous specimen of a Highlander’s _broken_ English, it has long been a popular favourite in the lower districts of Scotland. It is adapted to the ancient air of “Clout the Caldron”.’ No writer has yet ventured to fix the date of the publication of this poem. It may, however, be pointed out that the first General Turnpike Act for Scotland was 7 Geo. III., c. 42 (1766-7), and it is not improbable the passing of this Act may have been the occasion of the verses which, it has been seen, obtained a place in Herd’s Collection in 1769. They were, in all likelihood, issued in broadside or chap-book form previous to that date.

The two songs already discussed, are now without quibble regarded as the work of Dougal Graham; but there are two others probably from his pen, which bear the mark of his genius, were published in his time, but which have not yet been generally regarded as his by literary antiquaries. The first of these is _Tugal M‘Tagger_, unhesitatingly ascribed to Dougal by the venerable M‘Vean. It has been suggested that this work has traces of Alexander Rodger, on the ground that the rhythm has a flow similar to that characteristic of Rodger’s poems; but this reason of itself cannot be taken as evidence in favour of the suggestion, in view of the fact that Graham’s style was itself very uneven, and, probably on account of carelessness, some of his pieces are as bad as others are good. M‘Vean’s statement, also, must be allowed to go a considerable length in a matter of this kind. The song is in Dougal’s best vein, and may be regarded as a worthy counterpart to _Turnimspike_. The following extract, by pointing to the occasion and probable date of the composition, helps towards the conclusion that it was the work of Graham:--‘The Court of Session, in 1754, made an Act of Sederunt, establishing an equality of ranking among all arrestors and poinders within a certain period of bankruptcy. But this was a mere experiment; and upon the expiration of the Act, which was in force for only four years, it was not renewed. The law fell back into its old state of imperfection; priority gave preference, and, on the slightest alarm, creditors poured in with diligence against the unhappy debtor, and the most unjust preferences took place among the creditors. In this position it continued until 1772, when the first Sequestration Act, 12 Geo. III., c. 72, was passed. It enacted that, on a debtor’s bankruptcy, and upon a petition to the Court of Session by any creditor, a sequestration of his personal estate should be awarded, which should have the effect of equalising all arrestments and poindings used within thirty days of the date of petition; that the estate should be vested in a factor proposed by the creditors, and be distributed by him according to the directions of Court; or, if it should seem more eligible to the creditors, extrajudicially by a trustee elected by them, as under a private trust deed. When, in 1783, this statute came to be renewed, _the alarm occasioned by the novelty of the arrangements_ had given way to a conviction that bankruptcies were much more beneficially administered under the new system, imperfect as it was, than under the Common Law.’[16] Such a radical alteration on the law would afford excellent opportunity for a popular ballad, and as there is no good reason for doubting M‘Vean’s statement that Graham was the author of _Tugal M‘Tagger_, it must in the meantime be accepted as his production. The Act being passed in 1772, the ballad would probably be published in the same year. That it retained its popularity for a long time, is attested by a note written upon it in 1869:--‘Tugal M‘Tagger was a very popular song in Glasgow about forty years ago. It used to be sung by Mr. Livingstone at the Theatre Royal there.’[17] Even yet, it is not unknown to the people, and may be found in some penny collections.

Another song, believed to be by Graham, but which has not yet met with general approval, is an old version of _Had awa frae me, Donald_. Stenhouse has indirectly suggested it as Dougal’s work, by saying that it was probably by the same hand that produced _Turnimspike_, and he mentions it as appearing in Herd’s Collection in 1769. This song appears also in _The Blackbird_, a collection of songs, ‘few of which,’ according to the title-page, ‘are to be found in any collection,’ published in Edinburgh in 1764. The likeness which struck Stenhouse must also force upon every reader of the piece the same suspicion; and without being dogmatic upon the point, the editor of these sheets sees no reason why the version of _Had awa frae me, Donald_, given in this volume, should not be admitted into the list of works ‘probably’ written by Graham.

This includes, so far as can be discovered, the metrical works, still existing, which have been attributed to Graham. There are others, M‘Vean mentions, but none of them appear to have been seen since his time; and in the hope that they may be ultimately discovered, their names, or, perhaps it may be more proper to say, the subjects of which they treat, are here given:--Verses on the Popular Superstitions of Scotland, Rhythmical Dialogue between the Pope and the Prince of Darkness, An Epitaph on the Third Command, and Verses on the Pride of Women. As for the second of these pieces, it may be interesting to note that a twelve-page pamphlet was issued in 1792, bearing a similar title--_Dialogue between the Pope and Devil, on the present political state of Europe_. This, however, refers to the events immediately preceding the French Revolution, and cannot, therefore, be looked upon as the work of Graham. A passing reference is made by the Devil to the beginnings of the Reform movement in Glasgow, in these words:--

‘In Glasgow freedom sounds in every mouth;
And if I could but deign to tell the truth,
Not since the day I first saw Paradise,
Did earth maintain such a respectful race.’

But the works upon which the fame of Dougal Graham chiefly rests, are his chap-books. On this matter Motherwell said that if Graham had only written the _History of the Rebellion_, ‘we believe he never would have occupied our thoughts for a moment; but as one who subsequently contributed largely to the amusement of the lower classes of his countrymen, we love to think of the facetious bellman.’[18] It has already been stated that the period during which the most of these chap-books were written and published, was probably between 1752 and 1774, although the first editions of several are known to have appeared subsequent to the latter date. On a subject in which he took so much fruitful interest, no apology is needed for again quoting Motherwell, who says:--‘Of some of Graham’s penny histories we had a fair assortment at one time, principally printed by J. & M. Robertson, Saltmarket, Glasgow, which we believe might well be esteemed first editions, but some unprincipled scoundrel has bereaved us of that treasure. There are a number of infamous creatures, who acquire large libraries of curious things, by borrowing books they never mean to return, and some not unfrequently slide a volume into their pocket, at the very moment you are fool enough to busy yourself in showing them some nice typographic gem, or bibliographic rarity. These dishonest and heartless villains, ought to be cut above the breath whenever they cross the threshold. They deserve no more courtesy than was of old vouchsafed to witches, under bond and indenture to the Devil.’[19] Out of the ‘scanty wreck’ left him, Motherwell was able to furnish the list given in a previous page.[20] This was probably the nearest that any collector ever attained to having a collection of first or very early editions of Graham’s chap-books; but even in 1828 it was hardly possible to state when the first editions were issued. It would be worse than useless to endeavour to trace the chronological order of their publication, or to fix definitely dates for one or all of them. The fact seems to be that the first editions have either all disappeared, or else bear in their title-page the vague, but not uncommon intimation--‘Printed in this present year.’ The danger of attempting such an arrangement may be best shown by a statement made by the late Sheriff Strathern, a learned local antiquary, in a paper on ‘Chapman Literature,’ delivered before the Glasgow Archæological Society, on the 6th April, 1863. Mr. Strathern, in the course of a somewhat exhaustive sketch, says:--‘It is difficult to give them in the order of publication; but I have, at some little trouble, collected a few of the editions, and, as near as I can reach it, this is the order in which the works appeared. His earliest was “The Whole Proceedings of Jockey and Maggy,” in five parts. It was published in 1783.... “The Comical Sayings of Paddy from Cork” followed, and was printed for George Caldwell, Paisley, in 1784,’ etc. Then follows a long list of chaps by Graham, which, according to Sheriff Strathern, were published subsequent to 1784. The learned Sheriff may possibly have been correct in his surmise that the works he had enumerated were published in the order he had given them, but surely not on the understanding that Graham’s ‘earliest’ was issued in 1783? It is not at all likely that Graham left his works for publication after his death. Indeed, there is positive evidence that they were in the market long before 1783, and any edition of that date must be a reprint. This incident of itself shows the danger of attempting to fix dates for Dougal’s ‘penny histories,’ or even the order of their publication, without the absolute evidence of the books themselves, if they bear any, or the testimony of any one who, like Mr. Caldwell, actively took part in their issue to the public. Even Caldwell offers no information on the matter. The only statement in this direction, upon which any reliance can be placed, is one by Motherwell, when he states that the _editio princeps_ of the second part of _Leper the Taylor_ was published in 1779. Sheriff Strathern may have fallen into error by trusting the date, 1787, at which Motherwell fixed Graham’s death. That date, however, was only a surmise; and the true date was supplied by Strang.

It is a matter of some interest to notice that while many of Graham’s most popular chap-books have been issued to the public subsequent to the period to which literature of this class is assumed to belong, these modern editions, if they may be so called, have for the most part been greatly mutilated. Nearly all of them have been cut down, not apparently because of a desire to keep out the indelicate allusions which most of them contain--for comparatively few of these have been taken out--but on account of the exigencies of printing. In some cases a chap-book, originally of twenty-four or thirty-six closely printed pages, has been compressed into twenty-five, sixteen, or even eight pages of much larger print. The consequence is, that most of the modern editions are utterly useless for all practical purposes, and, like most other abridgments, the souls of their originals have been driven from them. The truth of this remark will be indicated in the following pages; but it will be borne out to its fullest extent by a comparison between the early editions the editor has been able to reprint in these volumes, and those now in circulation.

_The Whole Proceedings of Jockey and Maggy_, admitted by all authorities to have been written by Graham, may be noticed first, as being one of his ablest and most characteristic works. It is written with great dramatic power, and affords many curious insights into manners and customs about the middle of last century. In respect of language, also, it possesses considerable value. Professor Fraser suggests that the first edition was in all likelihood published as early as 1755, but, as has already been seen, it would be inadvisable to fix any date, in the absence of either evidence or reasonable suspicion. In the work itself there is nothing but what might have been written at any time during the whole period of Dougal’s life. The edition, reprinted in this collection, bears the imprint:--‘Glasgow: Printed and Sold by J. & J. Robertson. MDCCLXXIX’--and is the earliest of which any mention has yet been made. It was thus published in the year of Graham’s death, and as the title-page states that it was ‘Carefully Corrected and Revised by the Author,’ it was probably one of the latest works upon which he was engaged. While most certainly not a first edition, it has the advantage of being, to a certain extent, fresh from the author, and on that account possesses a special value and interest. Motherwell’s copy was dated 1783, and also bore to have undergone the author’s revision. These editions both occupy thirty-six pages, and are in five parts; but in 1793 an edition, consisting only of three parts, was published. Since then, the three-part edition has been the one most commonly issued to the public, and it may still be found for sale. In 1823, however, the complete edition was reprinted, and a few copies of it may be seen occasionally. The abridgment, it must be noted, has seriously marred Graham’s production. In it the first two parts are so far almost literal transcripts of the earlier editions, but parts three, four, and five, are omitted, a short and very imperfect summary of part five being inserted for part three. In addition, an epitaph and elegy on Jockey’s mother, whose death and burial are graphically described in the last part, are consistently left out.

Of a somewhat similar character to the chap-book just noticed is _The Coalman’s Courtship of the Creelwife’s Daughter_, though it is by no means so valuable as an exhibition of manners and superstitions. It contains, nevertheless, many interesting references, and it gives a vigorous description of real life among the lower classes in and around Edinburgh. Motherwell, it has been seen, only hesitatingly ascribed this work to Graham; but M‘Vean inserts it in his bibliography without any reservation, though it is curious that both these writers should make a mistake in naming it _The Creelman’s Courtship_. There is no good reason to doubt that Graham was the author of it, for the broad treatment of the subject, the animated dialogue, and the graphic descriptions, are all in Dougal’s best style. The edition reproduced in these volumes is the earliest to which any reference has yet been made, having been issued by Messrs. J. & J. Robertson, from their Saltmarket press, in 1782, though it bears on the title-page to be the tenth edition of the work. M‘Vean stated that the chap contained only two parts, but he had fallen into a mistake, for it really consists of three parts. The modern editions, with the exception of a few typographical alterations, are exact reprints of the one of 1782. Among those we have seen are two undated editions, bearing the following imprints--‘Glasgow: Printed for M‘Kenzie & Hutchison, Booksellers, 16, Saltmarket’; ‘Edinburgh: Printed by J. Morren, Cowgate.’

Very different in its design from the two works already mentioned is _Lothian Tom_, a narrative of the ‘comical transactions’ of a roguish fellow while sowing his wild oats. Many of the stories told of the hero of the work are far from being new, but they have been given a local colouring which imparts an appearance of consistency to the book; and, incidentally, little circumstances of life and character are brought in, giving additional value to it as illustrating the home life of the Scottish peasantry of last century. In the chap-literature of England and Scotland, there are many other productions of a similar kind, in which the heroes rejoice in the name of Tom; a circumstance that has given point to a suggestion that the word ‘tomfoolery’ may owe its origin to the mad pranks of the Toms of popular story. South of the Tweed the great favourites were--_Wanton Tom, or the Merry History of Tom Stitch the Taylor_; _The Merry Conceits of Long Tom the Carrier_; _The Mad Pranks of Tom Tram_; and another one with the euphonious title of _Swalpo_. All these, like _Lothian Tom_, are but collections of jokes of which their respective Toms are made the central figures. There is no reason to believe that any of them were in the slightest degree really biographical. The modern reprints of _Lothian Tom_ consist only of five parts, and in this and several minor details they differ from the earlier editions, in which there are six parts. Messrs. J. & M. Robertson, of the Saltmarket, Glasgow, in 1793 and 1807, published editions of the work; and in 1816 another was issued in Edinburgh, while there are several editions still to be found without any date. A six-part edition, without the song to be referred to further on, was issued by C. Randall, Stirling, in 1801. The edition which has been used by the editor of these volumes, was published in Edinburgh, in three numbers--including all the six parts--the title-page of each being embellished with a rough woodcut of a chapman full stride on the road-way. The first number bears the imprint--‘Printed and Sold in Niddery’s Wynd, 1775’; the second is dated 1777; while the third has no date, though it appears to be quite as old as the others. This, the earliest edition of which mention has yet been made, is a most unique copy. Each number occupies eight pages. No attention is paid to the breaking off in the middle of a part, or even of a sentence, and the folios run right through. A large portion of the third number is taken up by ‘Pady’s New Catechism,’ properly belonging to another of Graham’s chap-books, entitled, _Pady from Cork_, and on that account it has been left out here.

At the close of the third number of this edition of _Lothian Tom_, and reproduced in the second volume, is ‘The Plowman’s Glory; or, Tom’s Song,’ a doggrel description of the pleasures of country life; but it is a piece which requires more than passing reference. The first eight lines are as follow:--

‘As I was a walking one morning in the spring,
I heard a young plowman so sweetly to sing,
And as he was singing, these words he did say,
No life is like the plowman’s in the month of May.
The lark in the morning rises from her nest,
And mounts in the air with the dew on her breast,
And with the jolly plowman she’ll whistle and she’ll sing,
And at night she’ll return to her nest back again.’

It is interesting to notice that Cromek has attributed lines almost identical with these to Robert Burns,[21] and the most eminent editors of the works of the Ayrshire Bard have followed him. The lines as given by Cromek read thus:--

‘As I was a wand’ring ae morning in spring,
I heard a young ploughman sae sweetly to sing,
And as he was singin’ thir words he did say,
There’s nae life like the Ploughman in the month o’ sweet May--
The lav’rock in the morning she’ll rise frae her nest,
And mount to the air wi’ the dew on her breast,
And wi’ the merry Ploughman she’ll whistle and sing,
And at night she’ll return to her nest back again.’

In a foot-note Cromek remarks--‘It is pleasing to mark those touches of sympathy which shew the sons of genius to be of one kindred.--In the following passage from the poem of his countryman, the same figure is illustrated with characteristic simplicity; and never were the tender and the sublime in poetry more happily united, nor a more affectionate tribute paid to the memory of Burns.

---- “Thou simple bird,
Of all the vocal quire, dwell’st in a home
The humblest; yet thy morning song ascends
Nearest to Heaven;--sweet emblem of his[22] song,
Who sung thee wakening by the daisy’s side!”’

It can only be inferred from the nature of this foot-note that Cromek believed the verses to have been written by Burns, notwithstanding the fact that he had Gilbert Burns’s statement that his brother was not their author. The subsequent editorial history of the lines is still more interesting. In the Kilmarnock edition of the poet’s works, they are given with this note:--‘Although this double stanza exists in Burns’s own writing, his brother, Gilbert, assured Cromek that the little song was sung by every ploughman and ploughman’s mistress in Ayrshire, before the poet was born.’[23] The Rev. Dr. P. Hately Waddel, and the Rev. George Gilfillan, in their editions of the works of Burns, both insert the verses without any comment. Mr. William Scott Douglas, one of the latest and most competent editors of Burns, has this note upon the ‘Ploughman’s Song’:--‘Gilbert Burns expressed to Cromek a strong doubt regarding his brother’s authorship of these lines, as also of some other pieces found in his handwriting, and included in the _Reliques_ of the poet; but as the authorship of the “Bonie Muirhen”--one of the pieces referred to--has been clearly traced to Burns, we do not feel at liberty to reject the lines in the text.’[24] Mr. Douglas inserts the verses under the date 1780, when Burns was twenty-two years of age; and in this connection it is worthy of notice that another editor has put it under the year 1794, when the poet was thirty-six years of age.

The obvious suggestion from what has been said is, that Burns was not the author of the ‘Lines on a Merry Ploughman,’ which his editors, after the dogmatic statement of Gilbert Burns, have more or less insisted upon attributing to him; and, as a corollary, that the verses having been found among others at the end of one of Dougal Graham’s chap-books, as a consistent finish to the exploits of his hero, Lothian Tom, in an edition published when Burns was a youth, their authorship may be more clearly traced to Graham. With a due admiration for the talents of Graham, we must submit that the character of the verse, even as given in a slightly polished state by Cromek, was not worthy of Burns, who said himself that his work was all the result of careful revisal. Graham’s verses often display false quantity; his rhyme is often far from true; and his grammar is frequently lame: but these are faults which the greatest detractor of the genius of Robert Burns would find it difficult to lay to his charge. It might be urged, of course, that this may have been a youthful production of Burns’s pen; but it is more probable, from his known habit of noting down any remnant of song he found among the people, that he wrote out what he had heard sung from his infancy. In support of this idea, there is Gilbert Burns’s assurance ‘that the little song was sung by every ploughman and ploughman’s mistress in Ayrshire before the poet was born.’ To us it seems conclusive that Burns was not its author, and that, from its position in an early--not by any means the first--edition of one of Graham’s most popular chap-books, to Graham must be attributed its composition, with all the praise or blame that may attach to it.

_The History of John Cheap the Chapman_ belongs to the same class of chap-books as _Lothian Tom_, though it has been usual to believe that, unlike the latter, it was to a certain extent autobiographical, and that in it Graham related some of his own experiences. It has been already seen that its value in this respect, if it has any, cannot be estimated on account of the doubt as to whether it is autobiography or fiction. There can be no question, however, that it contains a most valuable account of the real life of the Scottish Chapman, with many vivid glimpses of home life in Scotland in the middle of last century. Like all the others, its indelicacy is sometimes notorious, but like them its truthfulness must be its apology. The earliest dated edition we have seen is one published in 1798 by Johnston of Falkirk; but another, in some slight details more complete, was issued by J. Morren, of the Cowgate, Edinburgh, about the beginning of this, or the closing year of the eighteenth, century. The modern editions are almost identical with the ones mentioned.

The plan of another of Graham’s chap-books, _Fun upon Fun, or the Comical Tricks of Leper the Taylor_, is very similar to that which has been pointed out as characteristic of _Lothian Tom_ and _John Cheap_. Leper is a madcap whose impudent doings bear a strong resemblance to stories told of similar beings in this and other countries; and the design of the author seems to have been to lay before his readers a collection of tales grouped round one central figure, rather than to give a record of the life of any real person. This, however, has been done so skilfully--by local colouring, and the introduction of little incidents which must have had their counterparts in the every-day life of the people--that the work has always been most deservedly popular. In point of time, this seems to have been one of the latest, if not the latest, of Graham’s publications, for Motherwell was able to give the title and date of what he believed to be the first edition of the second part as follows:--‘Fun upon Fun; or the Comical Tricks of Leper the Taylor. Part II. Glasgow: Printed for the Company of Flying Stationers in Town and Country. 1779.’ As the work is in two parts, it is probable that the first would be published a short time before the date mentioned. Motherwell also records that there was this _nota bene_ to the second part--‘The Third Part will contain a variety of his Witty Tricks in the different periods of his Life.’ It is a question whether Graham was ever able to fulfil his promise; for his death occurred, as has been seen, in the July of the year in which the second part was issued. The fact that, in later editions of _Leper the Taylor_, there is added to the two original parts one giving an account of _The Grand Solemnity of the Taylor’s Funeral_, quite in the same style, and a consistent conclusion to the life of the Sartorian worthy, affords reasonable presumption that he did so, and without any hesitation the third part has, like the others, been accepted as the work of Graham. This chap-book is in many respects akin to several booklets which found a place in the popular literature of England; but possibly its counterpart may be found in _Joaks upon Joaks, or No Joak like a True Joak, being the Diverting Humours of Mr. John Ogle, a Life Guard Man_. As for the modern editions, they differ in many respects from the early ones, though not materially, except that they leave out the third part. The earliest dated edition that we have seen was printed by C. Randall, Stirling, in 1799. It is without the third part, and is of sixteen pages. The next was ‘Printed in the year 1816’; but the title-page does not state the town of publication. It contains all the three parts, and occupies twenty-four pages duodecimo. Another edition, almost identical with the one mentioned, was ‘Printed in the year 1820,’ and in this case also the town of issue is not stated. In what appears to be a chap-book of English manufacture, without date or place of publication, there is appended the _Grand Solemnity of the Taylor’s Funeral_, on which some slight alterations have been made, notably in the way of Anglicising the names of the characters. On the title-page of the work mentioned is a rough woodcut, representing the lowering of a body into the grave, while in the back-ground stands a primitive-looking hearse, drawn by two horses.

The two chap-books that now fall to be spoken of are very different in their nature from any to which reference has yet been made, and, indeed, they may be said to form a class by themselves, for they are unique in the popular literature of either Scotland or England. _The History of Haverel Wives_, ‘written,’ as the title-page states, ‘by Humphrey Clinker, the Clashing Wives’ Clerk,’ one of the many cognomens adopted by Graham, is a ‘comical’ and exceedingly interesting conference between two old women, on their experiences of the past. The object of the author seems to have been to bring together in small compass as much folk-lore as possible, and this he prefaces by the remark, that he had ‘furnished the public with a small collection of old wives’ noted sayings and wonders, which, they relate, happened in their own time; also, what has been told them by their forefathers.’ The intention is thus shown to have been to hold the old wives up to a little gentle satire, though this generation must regard the result as being a most valuable contribution to the antiquities of Scotland. The language used is frequently very old, and ancient superstitions and beliefs are given expression to in the words of those who more or less put faith in them. This chap-book, also, must be esteemed because of the descriptions given in it of the doings of an age long before the period usually dealt with by works of a similar nature--an age, the great events of which have been duly recorded by historians who have paid but little attention to the lives of the peasantry, or to the motives of their actions. It would not be too much to say that not within the whole range of Scottish literature could a more graphic account be obtained of the manner of observing the first day of the week in Scotland in pre-reformation and prelatic times, than is to be found in this unconsidered booklet The second chap-book of this class is _Janet Clinker’s Oration on the Virtues of the Old Women, and the Pride of the Young_. It is put forward as having been dictated by Janet Clinker, one of the _Haverel Wives_, to ‘Humphrey Clinker,’ and it consists of a comparison between the women of her young days and those of the days in which she then lived. The whole tone of the work is satirical, and the young women are made to undergo a severe reprimand for their proud and upsetting behaviour. These chap-books were frequently printed together, though a 1781 edition of the _Haverel Wives_ concludes with the simple intimation--‘Humphrey’s Aunt Janet is yet alive, and has made an oration in praise of the old women, and on the pride of the young.’ Another edition, undated, published by Morren of Edinburgh, is also without Janet’s _Oration_, but it concludes by stating that the two old women went and ‘birl’d their bawbees,’ and made an agreement

‘Never to drink ae drop of tea,
But stout brown ale and whisky bare’--

a conclusion quite different from what is given in the edition of 1781, for in it Maggy, Janet’s gossip, dies ‘keeping her purse in her hand.’ An edition was published in Glasgow, in 1807, by J. & J. Robertson. This is the first in which we have seen the two chap-books printed together, and it is also the earliest copy of _Janet Clinker’s Oration_ that has come under our notice. The _Haverel Wives_, in this case, is reprinted from the 1781 edition, and only in one or two slight matters, apparently typographical, differs from it. The _Oration_ was printed alone in 1824, with the title--‘Grannie M‘Nab’s Lecture in the Society of Clashing Wives, Glasgow, on Witless Mothers and their Dandy Daughters, who bring them up to hood-wink the men, and deceive them with their braw dresses, when they can neither wash a sark, mak’ parritch, or gang to the well. Printed for the Booksellers.’ A chap-book bearing the title of _The Art of Courtship_,[25] an Undated edition of which was published by M. Randall, of Stirling, contains matter somewhat similar to much that is contained in _Janet Clinker’s Oration_, and the part that relates to the choosing of a wife is quoted almost _verbatim et literatim_. It is somewhat remarkable that no editions of these works were, so far as we have been able to discover, issued subsequent to 1824.

_The Comical and Witty Jokes of John Falkirk, the Merry Piper_, one of the least known of Graham’s chap-books, is, as its name indicates, merely a collection of _facetiæ_. Many of the tales in it are cleverly told, while a few have nothing to recommend them to the reader. Motherwell, on the authority of Caldwell, attributes the work to Graham, and all other writers on the subject have concurred with him. We have only seen one edition of _John Falkirk_, and it was published in Edinburgh in 1777; but Motherwell notes one issued in Glasgow two years later. No modern edition of it has been published. The _Scots Piper’s Queries, or John Falkirk’s Cariches_, is regarded as a sequel to the _Jokes_ of the same worthy. The _Cariches_ are well known, and have long been popular, though it cannot be said there is anything particularly original about them. Many of the jokes in them were venerable in Graham’s time, but he has touched them up to suit the tastes of the age in which he wrote. Not a few of the questions and answers have a distinct flavour of the proverbs of Solomon; and while the expressions used are sometimes far from delicate, a good deal of worldly wisdom is to be found in them. The intention of the author, however, seems to have been amusement purely and simply, for in the title-page of an undated edition, published by C. Randall, of Stirling, there are these lines, which, it may be assumed belong to the original work:--

‘’Twill please the bairns and keep them laughing,
And mind the goodwife o’ her daffing.’

‘John Falkirk,’ it has already been mentioned, was a cognomen used by Graham; and Motherwell has noted that, in an edition of the _Cariches_ published after Graham’s death, there was prefixed an ‘Account of John Falkirk, the Scots Piper.’ The only early edition we have seen is one printed by C. Randall, Stirling. It is undated, but was probably printed about 1807, and consists of eight pages. So far as it goes it does not materially differ from the modern editions, but it is without forty questions and answers which appear in them. It is probable that, out of the general rule, the modern editions are more complete than the one published by Randall. On the title-page of the Stirling chap-book is a rough wood-cut of a blind beggar led by a dog, presumably designed as a frontispiece for an English chap, entitled, ‘The Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green,’ very popular south of the Tweed, and occasionally printed in Scotland. Motherwell’s edition of _John Falkirk_ was published in Glasgow in 1779, but his copy of the _Cariches_ was undated.

The _Comical Sayings of Pady from Cork_ is the title of a chap-book attributed to Graham by Motherwell and all his successors. Unlike the bellman’s other works it does not deal with any phase of Scottish life, but rather with the vagaries popularly believed for many generations to be characteristic of the Irish mind. It is, in fact, a collection of the proverbial Irish ‘bulls,’ some of them ‘comical’ and spontaneous, but others studied and consequently stupid. In many respects the dialogue between Pady and his English interlocutor, Tom, is clever, but frequently it is evident that the author was out of his element. It must be confessed that there is a good deal of force in Professor Fraser’s argument, so far as _Pady from Cork_ is concerned, that there was not a single sentence in it which might not have been written by any one other than Graham, and that most of the incidents narrated in it were to be found in the _facetiæ_ of almost every country in Europe long before Graham carried a pack or rang the skellat bell of Glasgow.[26] Mr. Fraser refers in these remarks in the first instance to _George Buchanan_ and _The History of Buckhaven_, but he applies them to _Pady from Cork_, with the modification that it was less of a compilation and had more local colouring than the chap-books he had been discussing. But while all that may be true enough, Motherwell’s authority in attributing the authorship of _Pady from Cork_ to Dougal Graham cannot well be impugned, for on this point he apparently writes under the inspiration of his friend Mr. Caldwell; and it is notable that the copy in the possession of Motherwell was published by Caldwell in 1784. The edition reprinted from in this collection was published in Glasgow by J. & M. Robertson in 1807, and on the title-page there is a wood-cut showing a military looking gentleman standing beside a small cannon. The modern editions are considerably mutilated, and, among other things, want the ‘Creed for Romish Believers,’ to be found in earlier copies. ‘Pady’s New Catechism’ and his ‘Creed’ have been mentioned in a preceding page as being in the third number of a very rare edition of _Lothian Tom_, to all appearance only as padding.

Motherwell and M‘Vean both attributed the authorship of _Simple John and his Twelve Misfortunes_ to Dougal Graham; but Professor Fraser, on the other hand, has brought a distinct charge of plagiarism against the poetical bellman. ‘The original hero of the “Misfortunes,”’ he says, ‘is _Simple Simon_; a history of whose life and misadventures was common in England in the seventeenth century. This, or a similar version--most likely one of the many editions issued from Newcastle--Graham most certainly stole, and, having changed the hero’s name to _John_, and written a racy introduction to the work in broad Scotch, gave it to the world as an original production. The prefatory matter is quite in Graham’s style, and could not have been written by an Englishman. It is frequently to be found published separately under the title of _Silly Tam_.’[27] But before going into the question here raised, it may be as well to state that the edition from which _Simple John_ has been reprinted in this collection, is one published in Glasgow in 1780, and ‘Printed for the Company of Flying Stationers in Town and Country.’ The original is a duodecimo, and consists of eight closely printed pages, with a wood-cut on the title-page, representing the unfortunate husband running from his wife, who pursues him with outstretched arms, while his haste is emphasised by his hat and wig being shown as falling from his head to the ground. The other editions now lying before the editor are--1st, one printed in Edinburgh, in 1821, ‘for the booksellers,’ of twenty-four pages duodecimo; and another almost identical in every way, the print being nearly line for line the same, bearing the imprint--‘Edinburgh: Printed for the Booksellers, 1823.’ Both these editions have, as a frontispiece, the picture of a hook-nosed termagant, giving a simple looking fellow, with a beer-mug in his hand, a severe shaking. The matter in the modern undated edition, ‘printed for the booksellers’ in Glasgow, is the same, with one or two slight differences, as what is to be found in the older ones already enumerated. But, in addition to these, there also lies before us a copy of _The Miseries of Poor Simple Innocent Tam_, which, like one mentioned by Professor Fraser, is of eight pages duodecimo, without covers, and gives no indication of date or place of issue. With the exception of the alteration of the name of the hero from ‘John’ to ‘Tam,’ the text is exactly the same as that contained in the introduction to _Simple John_. An undated edition, of eight pages, of _Simple John_ was printed by William Cameron, in Edinburgh. It only contains the introductory matter, and concludes with the addition of John’s lament on the death of his mother, without making further reference to his misfortunes. Having thus detailed the several editions of what has generally been regarded as Graham’s chap-book, in its two-fold form of _Simple John_ and _Simple Tam_, some attention may now be paid to Professor Fraser’s allegations against the literary morality of the reputed author. After a careful comparison of the English chap-book, _Simple Simon_, with _Simple John_, we cannot but admit the statement that ‘the prefatory matter is quite in Graham’s style, and could not have been written by an Englishman;’ but we are not prepared to admit that Graham ‘most certainly stole’ the main body of the work. What Professor Fraser assumes to have been stolen must have been, though he does not explicitly say so, the ‘Twelve Misfortunes,’ for he admits that the preface is original and Scotch. This conclusion seems to have been come to without careful collation. Any one who has the opportunity, and will take the trouble to collate the two works, will find that only in two instances do the misfortunes in the Scotch chap-book bear any resemblance to those described in its English counterpart. These two instances are the fourth and seventh misfortunes in _Simple John_; but though the general features are the same, there is a great difference in the mode of treatment. As for the other misfortunes that befell _Simple John_, they have not even counterparts in _Simple Simon_, and, indeed, they could not well have, for they are almost entirely Scotch in their nature. Again, the conclusions arrived at in the two books are different. _Simple Simon_ endeavours to poison himself, but by mistake he takes a draught from his wife’s bottle of sack, becomes drunk, and is cudgelled in consequence, but he and his wife afterwards lead a happy life. No such good fortune attends _Simple John_, for he laments his unhappy fate, and ‘appeals to a Jedburgh jury, if it be not easier to deal wi’ fools than headstrong, fashious fouks; owns he has but an empty scull, but his wicked wife wants wit to pour judgment into it, never tells him o’ danger till it comes upon him, for his mither said he was a bidable bairn, if onybody had been to learn him wit.’ We cannot, therefore, concur in Mr. Fraser’s statement that Graham ‘stole’ this chap-book, ‘and gave it to the world as an original production.’ For the reasons shown, we believe Graham only took the idea--and it may be gravely questioned if he did so much, for it has yet to be proved that _Simple Simon_ was ‘common in England in the seventeenth century,’[28]--from the English chap-book, and worked it out in a manner peculiarly his own, and, it must also be added, distinctively Scotch.

In the case of another chap-book usually believed to owe its existence to Dougal Graham, Professor Fraser has seen fit to go against the general verdict, without, as it seems to us, giving a sufficient reason for the position he has taken up. He considers it extremely improbable, judging from internal evidence, that Graham ever composed the _History of Buckhaven_; and, further on, referring to it and _The Witty Exploits of George Buchanan_, he says, ‘There is not a single sentence in either of them that might not have been written by any one else.’ The latter remark may be all very true, but the former one must involve a serious difference of opinion. It would indeed be difficult to say what internal evidence is to be found in the _History of Buckhaven_ that gave good reason for the assumption that Graham was not its author. Motherwell, judging apparently on this ‘internal evidence,’ says that, although he had not authority for ascribing any popular chap-books to Graham other than those he had mentioned, he would not be surprised to find that Graham was also the author of this history. M‘Vean, without comment, gives the work a place in his bibliography of Graham’s works, and it is to be presumed that a man of his undoubted attainments as a literary antiquary would not have done so without some reason satisfactory at least to himself. For our own part, we see nothing in the work itself at all inconsistent with the idea that Graham may have been the author of it. On the contrary, there seem to be some points in the course of the narrative which strongly support the commonly accepted tradition. That Graham possessed an undoubted acquaintance with the western district of Fifeshire, in which the respectable town of Buckhaven is situated, is evident from _Jockey and Maggy’s Courtship_, the scene of which is laid in the vicinity of Torryburn; and his intimate knowledge of Fifeshire modes of speech is further shown by an amusing character he introduced into _The Coalman’s Courtship_--‘auld Mattie, the Fife wife ... the wife it says, _Be-go laddie_.’ The language used in the _History of Buckhaven_, the style of treatment, and the burlesque humour, all bespeak Dougal as its author, for they are similar in all important points to what are to be found in works which even Mr. Fraser has without hesitation assented to being ascribed to Graham. The history, of course, is a burlesque, after the style of a well-known English chap-book, _The Wise Men of Gotham_, which it far outstrips for cleverness and racy humour. It has, however, the taint common to so many of Dougal’s works. The whole motive may be summed up in a short quotation from one of the many defunct Glasgow magazines:--‘The Buckhaven people, originally foreign colonists, were a people on the Fife side of the Forth, who lived much by themselves, had singular manners, and were of uncouth speech. All kinds of absurdities could thus be safely palmed upon them.’[29] Messrs. J. & M. Robertson, Saltmarket, issued a 24 pp. edition of the _History of Buckhaven_ in 1806, illustrated by some very rude woodcuts, most of them having done duty in other chap-books. This edition is in three parts; and the title-page bears that the work was written by ‘Merry Andrew at Tamtallon.’ The more modern issues only contain the first two parts, and even these are considerably abridged.

The last work attributed to Dougal Graham, and calling for any detailed notice in this place, is the one entitled _The History and Entertaining Exploits of George Buchanan, who was commonly called the King’s Fool_. It is a chap-book which has been long popular, and one which has given rise to a variety of speculations, not only as to its authorship but also as to who was really the person whose ‘exploits’ are professedly recorded in its pages. As to the first of these points, Motherwell said he would not be surprised if Graham were its author; and M‘Vean heads his list of Dougal’s works with it. Fraser, on the other hand, argues against it being the composition of Graham, the ground he takes up being the same as that already quoted in relation to _The History of Buckhaven_ and _Simple John_. In this instance, however, we think he has a stronger case than he had against Graham’s authorship of the two other publications. The internal evidence of the work itself--the time at which George Buchanan is shown to have lived--is sufficient proof that in it Graham could not in any sense lay claim to originality. But at the same time it is more than probable that he brought together the stories told about the country regarding his hero, and for the first time gave them forth to the world in a collected form. Until some additional light can be shed upon this matter, dogmatism either on the one side or the other would be imprudent; but, while sympathising to some extent with the position taken up by Professor Fraser, we do not see our way clear to dissent from the tradition of Graham’s connection with the chap-book. The idea that he may have been its editor, or compiler, appears to be quite reasonable.