Susan, you seem to have got the idea that I have been criticising the conjectural meanings of the plant symbols of the pretty near universal motif that terminates many ballads. This has been dealt with thoroughly by Child and other scholars and I'm pretty happy to accept their findings, particularly those Don and Jon mention.

My scorn was being poured on the suggestions that LL was somehow an Irish-French ballad and some versions had been appropriated for political purposes.

Jim,
Child's antipathy towards broadsides is perfectly understandable given his background. I have a love-hate relationship with them myself. I would have loved to have seen an exclusive version of Child as opposed to his inclusive set, but I fear it would have all fitted into a single volume!