CURRENT LITERATURE.
Whistle-Binkic ; or, the Piper of the Party. Being a Collection of Songs for the Social Circle. 2 vols. (David Robertson, Glasgow.)—We are glad to see at length so admirable a reprint of a collection of Scotch songs that is full of originality and freshness. And this edition has one great advantage over its predecessor in having a biographical notice of one or two of the contributors who were alive in 1853, when the last edition was published, and whose lives therefore were not given in that edition. Amongst these is James Ballantine, one of the best of the ballad-writers, of whose admirable songs we extract a single specimen :—
"CREEP AFORE YE GANG.
Creep awe, my bairnie, creep afore ye gang,
Cock ye batt6 your lugs to your amid Grannies sang: Gin ye gang as far, ye will think the road lang, Creep awn', my bairnie, creep afore ye gang.
Creep awe, my bairnie, ye're ower young to learn To tot up and down yet, my bonnie wee bairn;
Better creepin' cannie, than fein wi a bang, Dentin' a' your wee brow,—creep afore ye gang. Ye'll creep, an' yell botch, an' yell nod to your mither, Watchin' ilka step o' your wee dousy brither ; Rest ye on the floor till your wee limbs grow strang, An' yell be a brew chiel yet,—creep afore ye gang.
The wee birdie fa's when it tries ower soon to flee, Folks are sure to tumble, when they climb over hie ;
They wha canna walk right are sure to come to wrang, Creep awe, my bairnie, creep afore ye gang."
The notice of James Ballantine's life, as well as of William Miller's, adds a great interest to this edition of 1Vhistle-Binkie.
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