Though not
consisting of a recital of bare facts, they are in most instances
founded upon fact, and in so far connected with history, which
occasionally, indeed, borrows from, and as often reflects light upon,
these familiar annals, these more private and interesting casualties of
human life.
"It is thus that popular tradition, connected with all that is most
interesting in human history and human action, upon a national scale--a
mirror reflecting the people's past worth and wisdom--invariably
possesses so deep a hold upon its affections, and offers so many
instructive hints to the man of the world, to the statesman, the
citizen, and the peasant.
"Signs of approaching changes, no less in manners than in states, may
likewise be traced, floating down this popular current of opinions,
fertilising the seeds scattered by a past generation, and marking by its
ebbs and flows the state of the political atmosphere, and the distant
gathering of the storm.
"National traditions further serve to throw light upon ancient and
modern mythology; and in many instances they are known to preserve
traces of their fabulous descent, as will clearly appear in some of the
following selections.
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