The National Music Of The World

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	Music from the West. 193
	tenaciously imbued with home love as a woman, and a Welshwoman, can be, her notation of the tunes which were published by her, I think, may be relied on. One of these melodies, 'The Blackbird,' reputed to be of great age, will remind the hearer of some half-dozen well-known tunes: of the English one, ⁴ Pretty Polly Oliver,' with its namby-pamby verses, 'Fair Hebe I left with a cautious design;' of the Irish ' Last Rose of Summer,' distilled by Moore out of ' The Groves of Blarney.' I have purposely chosen this specimen, which has hitherto not found its way into collections, as one of the many examples of coincidence and comparison which entirely baffle the dogmatist who pretends to decide on national melody. There are certainly few other Welsh tunes which bear resemblance to ' The Blackbird.' It is remarkable for its three-bar phrases : — Ex. 46.