Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1880-02-13
"C0MIN' THRO' THE Rye
A Fanciful Interpretation Disposed off.
Letter from burns BiOgrapher.


a Fanciful Interpretation Disposed of.
Letter from burns Biographer.
7 & hi Boston Advertiser. go aI
Some time ago member of the bar
inlthis city, interested in subtleties not
altogether legal, undertook to verify the
following Bit OF poetical exegesis which
had been for some time going the
ronnds. M r
| A New York pictorial publishes an
illustration Of "Comin' Thro' the Rye"
and plumbers into what we presume is
the popular misconception of the ditty,
giving laddie and lassie meeting and
Kissing in a field Of grain. The lines:
IL 0 laddie meet a lassie
Comm thro' the rye,
And especially the other couplet:
| htbe lads they smile on me
When comm thro' the rye.
seemed to imply that travcrsing the
rye was All habitual or common thing.
But what, in the name OF the II lyal Ag-
ricultural Society, could be the object
in tramping down crop of grain in
that styie2 The song perhaps suggests
IL harvest scene, when both sexes, as il
the custom in Great Britain, are at work
reaping, and when they would come
and 60 through the rye field indeed, but
not through the rye itself, 80 as to meet
and kiss in it. The truth is, the rye in
this case is no more grain than Rye
Beach is, it being the name Of small,
shallow stream near Ayr, in Scotland,
which, having neither bridge nor ferry,
was forded by people going to and from
the market, custom allowing a lad to
steal kiss from any lass Of his ac-
quaintance whom he met in mid-stream.
Our contemporary will see that this is
The true explanation, if he will refer to
Burns original ballad, in which the first
verse refers to the lass wetting her
clothes in the stream
jennie is n wat, pure hode;
Juunie's seldom dry:
She drag II a. her petlicoate,
COMM thro' the rye.
--Nsw6wyport He,aid.
Our friend inclosed the slip, with his
inquiries to the postmaster of Ayr, in
Scotland, who submitted them to the
Rev. DIR. P. II. Waddelb of Glasgow, a
high authority on the works Of the poet
Burns. DR.. Waddell very ki1dly took
the trouble Of going fully into the sub.
ject OF controversy, and put his opinion
in writing, which was duly forwarded to
Boston. We have the pleasure Of print
ing copy Of the letter:
ELMwooD PLACE,
GLASGOW, October %. 1870.
DEAR SIR: Your communication of
yesterday was duly received, and in re-
ply, for the satisfaction of your cores
pondent ut Boston. make the follow
ing memoranda, which you had better,
perhaps, transmit to him by post, as
they stand:
/. do not know and never heard of
any brook or burn in Ayrshire called
the Rye; but, even if there were, the
title Of the song is an cid title, to which
the words we're only adapted by Burns
and first lted, | believe, on n broad
sheet.
2. If the words had referred to riv-
er they would most probably have been
"o'er the rye" and not through the
rye"
3. No woman in her senses crossing II
brook or stream OF water Of any kind,
would or could "dragglo her pettlcoats," "
NJ described in the song; but in passing
through IL field OF rye, even on foot
path, could not help doing it after rain
or dew, for the heads of grass or corn
would hang down over the (oot-patE.
L. II was very common long ago, and
still il, TO have small beaten loot-paths
through corn fields and grass fields lead
ing to other fields or wells or to ada
cent houses, etc., and on these loot
paths, when passengers met, it would
be very difficult indeed to pass without
jostling or else going aside into the
growing crop. In tho particular case
supposed u salutation was exchanged,
without onense, and, 1t may be pre-
sumed, without IMPROPERLY. 1t could
be hardly possible, indeed, TO avoid it,
8. All doubt M to the meaning of the
word in question is set ut rest by the
typography The word throughout the
song in Burns own edition is printed
invariably with small "r." If the word
bad been the name Of river II would
have Il capital undoubtedly, for Burns
was addicted to the use Of capitals, even
where they were not required, and
would never have omitted given cap
ital through an entire song in the same
word, If the capital had been essential
to the meaning of the word.
6. lam quite aware of the conlro-
versy alluded TO by your correspondent,
hut the difficulty has originated i'll = to-
tal misapprehension Of the circumstan-
ces by the writers. The song does not
refor to any rustic gallantrles in the
harvest field at al, but to u very rare
salutation where 1t could not be avoid
ed. Jennie was probably some simple
minded, harmless creature, employed
to 70 messages from one house or vii
lage To another, through the fields, and
the whole burden of her complaint is
that very unexpected compliment ON
the way had been made subject of
ridicule III the neighborhood.
Hoping these explanations may be
satisfactory to your correspondent, |
remain, dear air, yours faithfully,
L. nATELy WApDELL,
Editor and Biographer OF Robert Burns
u. ST should remark that Burns