Commentary
The first ballad begins: 'When Charlie first came frae the North, / With the manly looks of a Highland laddie'. The second ballad begins: 'A beautiful damsel of fame and renown, / A gentleman's daughter near Monaghan town'. This sheet was published by James Kay of Glasgow, and carries two illustrative woodcut. The first song exhibits strong Jacobite leanings as tartan was illegal in Scotland until the visit of George IV in 1822 and any mention of Prince Charles Edward Stuart was treason after 1746. The second song was popular on broadsides and similarities can be found in 'The Young Sailor Lad' and 'If I was a Blackbird'. It could be that these songs were published together to make them more appealing to the Catholic or Irish sections of the local population.
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