THE MERMAID.

DR. JOHN LEYDEN composed this beautiful ballad, which Scott originally published in his "Minstrelsy." "It is founded," writes Sir Walter, " upon a Gaelic traditional ballad called Macphail of Colonsay and the Mermaid of Conerrekin." But in almost every age and every country Mermaids have been the subjects of romance and credulity. Their existence, their habits, and their loves of mortal men, have been said and sung from time immemorial, in strains both serious and lively.

LORD ULLIN'S DAUGHTER.

THOMAS CAMPBELL, the living author of this ballad, has established himself as a favorite with the people of the British Isles. The " Mariners of England," the "Exile," who "Sang the bold anthem of Erin go Bragh," and " Lord Ullin's Daughter," have respectively touched the sympathies, and won the admiration of the English, the Irish, and the Scotch. To this charming composition there is no historical interest attached. Its intrinsic merit is sufficient commendation.