s: "'She cool'd his brow with the heart's own drop,


s: And her whisper reach'd the realm of hope


s: "'For ever since Eve her love-bower would weave,


s: "'And if Fortune's frown would o'er him come down,


s: Since he woo'd all while to make his own


s: "Notwithstanding the ever-living solicitude and sad suffering


s: "'The Christian Politician' was published during the time of my


s: "Songs of the Ark, with other Poems." Edin. 1831. 8vo.


s: "Poems, Songs, and Miscellaneous Pieces." Edinburgh, 1847, 12mo.


s: When my flocks upon the heathy hill are lying a' at rest,


s: And meet my bonnie lassie in the wild glen sae green.


s: I'll meet her by the trysting-tree, that's stannin' a' alane,


s: Where I hae carved her name upon yon little moss gray stane,


s: There I will fauld her to my breast, and be mair bless'd I ween


s: Than a' that are aneath the sky, in the wild glen sae green.


s: Her head reclined upon this heart, in simple bliss I'll share


s: The pure, pure kiss o' tender love that owns nae earthly care,


s: And spirits hovering o'er us shall bless the heartfelt scene,


s: While I woo my bonnie lassie in the wild glen sae green.


s: To my bonnie, bonnie lassie, in the wild glen sae green.


s: It may be sweet at morning hour, or at the noon o' day,


s: To meet wi' those that we lo'e weel in grove or garden gay;


s: But the sweetest bliss o' mortal life is at the hour o' e'en,


s: Wi' a bonnie, bonnie lassie, in the wild glen sae green.


s: O! I could wander earth a' o'er, nor care for aught o' bliss,


s: If I might share, at my return, a joy sae pure as this;


s: And I could spurn a' earthly wealth--a palace and a queen,


s: For my bonnie, bonnie lassie, in the wild glen sae green!


s: The land that blooms with freeman's tread,


s: Where far and deep the green woods spread,


s: The gathering clans, 'mong Scotia's glens,


s: For strains sublime, through future time,


s: We'll meet yet again, my loved fair one, when o'er us


s: The sky shall be bright, and the bower shall be green,


s: And the visions of life shall be lovely before us


s: As the sunshine of summer that sleeps o'er the scene.


s: The woodlands are sad when the green leaves are fading,


s: And sorrow is deep when the dearest must part,


s: But for each darker woe that our spirit is shading


s: A joy yet more bright shall return to the heart.


s: We'll meet yet again, when the pain, disconcerting


s: The peace of our minds in a moment like this,


s: Shall melt into nought, like the tears of our parting,


s: Or live but in mem'ry to heighten our bliss.


s: We have loved in the hours when a hope scarce could find us;


s: We've loved when our hearts were the lightest of all,


s: And the same tender tie that has bound still shall bind us,


s: When the dark chain of fate shall have ceased to enthral.


s: We'll meet yet again, when the spirit of gladness


s: Shall breathe o'er the valley, and brighten its flowers,


s: And the lone hearts of those who have long been in sadness


s: Shall gather delight from the transport of ours;


s: Yes, thine are the charms, love, that never can perish,


s: And thine is the star that my guide still shall be,


s: Alluring the hope in this soul that shall cherish


s: Its life's dearest treasures, to share them with thee.


s: Our ain native land! our ain native land!


s: There's a charm in the words that we a' understand,


s: That flings o'er the bosom the power of a spell,


s: And makes us love mair what we a' love so well.


s: The heart may have feelings it canna conceal,


s: As the mind has the thoughts that nae words can reveal,


s: But alike he the feelings and thought can command


s: Who names but the name o' our ain native land.


s: Though bleak be its mountains and rugged its strand,


s: The waves aye seem bless'd, dancing wild o'er the sea,


s: When woke by the winds from the hills o' the free.


s: Our sky oft is dark, and our storms loud and cauld,


s: But where are the hearts that sic worth can unfauld


s: As those that unite, and uniting expand,


s: When they hear but the name o' our ain native land?


s: To hear of her famed ones let none e'er demand,


s: For the hours o' a' time far too little would prove


s: To name but the names that we honour and love.


s: The bard lives in light, though his heart it be still,


s: And the cairn of the warrior stands gray on the hill,


s: And songster and sage can alike still command


s: A garland of fame from our ain native land.


s: Our ain native land! our ain native land!


s: Her wild woods are glorious, her waterfalls grand,


s: And her songs still proclaim, as they ring through the glen,


s: The charms of her maids and the worth of her men.


s: Her thistle shall cease in the breezes to wave,


s: And the floweret to bloom on the patriot's grave,


s: Ere we cease to defend, with our heart and our hand,


s: The freedom and faith of our ain native land.


s: Let us think, as the banners of Greece we unfold,


s: Of the brave in the pages of glory enroll'd,


s: Let love of our country give power to each spear,


s: And beauty's pale cheek dry its long-gather'd tear


s: Awake then to glory, that Greece yet may be


s: The land--the proud land of the famed and the free!


s: Rear! rear the proud trophies once more,


s: Let the song of our triumph arise on our shore,


s: Till the mountains give back the far sounds, as of yore,


s: To the fields where our foemen lie strewn!


s: In breezes, which, fraught with the tidings of peace,


s: Shall wander o'er all the fair islands of Greece,


s: Awake then to glory! that Greece yet may be


s: More dark is my soul than the scenes of yon islands,


s: Dismantled of all the gay hues that they wore;


s: For lost is my hope since the Prince of the Highlands


s: 'Mong these, his wild mountains, can meet me no more.


s: Ah! Charlie, how wrung was this heart when it found thee


s: Forlorn, and the die of thy destiny cast;


s: Thy Flora was firm 'mid the perils around thee,


s: But where were the brave of the land that had own'd thee,


s: That she--only she--should be true to the last?


s: The step's in the bark on the dark heaving waters,


s: That now should have been on the floor of a throne;


s: And, alas for auld Scotland, her sons and her daughters!


s: Thy wish was their welfare, thy cause was their own.


s: But 'lorn may we sigh where the hill-winds awaken,


s: And weep in the glen where the cataracts foam,


s: And sleep where the dew-drops are deep on the bracken;


s: Thy foot has the land of thy fathers forsaken,


s: And more--never more will it yield thee a home.


s: Oh! yet when afar, in the land of the stranger,


s: If e'er on thy spirit remembrance may be


s: Of her who was true in these moments of danger,


s: Reprove not the heart that still lives but for thee.


s: The night-shrouded flower from the dawning shall borrow


s: A ray, all the glow of its charms to renew,


s: Can dawn from thy coming to chase the dark sorrow


s: Which death, in thine absence, alone can subdue.


s: When the glen all is still, save the stream of the fountain,


s: When the shepherd has ceased o'er the dark heath to roam,


s: And the wail of the plover awakes on the mountain,


s: Inviting her mate to return to his home--


s: Oh! meet me, Eliza, adown by the wild-wood,


s: Where the wild daisies sleep 'mong the low-lying dew,


s: And our bliss shall be sweet as the visions of childhood,


s: And pure as the fair star, in heaven's deep blue.


s: Thy locks shall be braided in drops of the gloaming,


s: And fann'd by the far-travell'd breeze of the lawn;


s: The spirits of heaven shall know of thy coming,


s: And watch o'er our joy till the hour of the dawn.


s: No woes shall we know of dark fortune's decreeing,


s: Of the past and the future my dreams may not be,


s: For the light of thine eye seems the home of my being,


s: And my soul's fondest thoughts shall be gather'd to thee.


s: Gae, bring my guid auld harp ance mair,--


s: Auld Scotland's howes, and Scotland's knowes,


s: Then Scotland's dales, and Scotland's vales,


s: Auld Scotland's right, and Scotland's might,


s: Then Scotland's right, and Scotland's might,


s: This song, set to music by Mr Peter M'Leod, was published in a


s: I sat in the vale, 'neath the hawthorns so hoary,


s: And the gloom of my bosom seem'd deep as their shade,


s: For remembrance was fraught with the far-travell'd story,


s: That told where the dust of the minstrel was laid:


s: I saw not his harp on the wild boughs above me,


s: I heard not its anthems the mountains among;


s: But the flow'rets that bloom'd on his grave were more lovely


s: Than others would seem to the earth that belong.


s: "Sleep on," said my soul, "in the depths of thy slumber


s: Sleep on, gentle bard! till the shades pass away;


s: For the lips of the living the ages shall number


s: That steal o'er thy heart in its couch of decay:


s: Oh! thou wert beloved from the dawn of thy childhood,


s: Beloved till the last of thy suffering was seen,


s: Beloved now that o'er thee is waving the wild-wood,


s: And the worm only living where rapture hath been.


s: "Till the footsteps of time are their travel forsaking,


s: No form shall descend, and no dawning shall come,


s: To break the repose that thy ashes are taking,


s: And call them to life from their chamber of gloom:


s: Yet sleep, gentle bard! for, though silent for ever,


s: Thy harp in the hall of the chieftain is hung;


s: No time from the mem'ry of mankind shall sever


s: The tales that it told, and the strains that it sung."


s: No sky shines so bright as the sky that is spread


s: O'er the land that gave birth to the first breath we drew--


s: Such radiance but lives in the eye of the maid


s: That is dear to our heart--to our heart ever true.


s: With her--yes, with her that this spirit has bless'd,


s: 'Neath my dear native sky let my home only be;


s: And the valley of flowers, and the heath-covered waste,


s: Shall alike have a spell of enchantment for me.


s: Let her eye pour its light o'er the joy of my heart,


s: Or mingle its beam with the gloom of my woe,


s: And each shadow of care from the soul shall depart,


s: Save of care that on her it is bliss to bestow.


s: My thought shall not travel to sun-lighted isles,


s: Nor my heart own a wish for the wealth they may claim,


s: But live and be bless'd in rewarding her smiles


s: With the song of the harp that shall hallow her name.


s: The anthems of music delightful may roll,


s: Or eloquence flow as the waves of the sea,


s: But the sounds that enchantment can shed o'er the soul


s: Are--the lass that we love, and the land that is free!


s: I form'd a green bower by the rill o' yon glen,


s: Afar from the din and the dwellings of men;


s: Where still I might linger in many a dream,


s: And mingle my strains wi' the voice o' the stream.


s: From the cave and the cliff, where the hill foxes roam,


s: Where the earn has his nest and the raven his home,


s: I brought the young flower-buds ere yet they had smiled,


s: And taught them to bloom round my bower of the wild.


s: But the fair maidens came, from yon vale far away,


s: And sought my lone grotto still day after day,


s: And soon were the stems of their fair blossoms shorn


s: That the flowers of the bard might their ringlets adorn.


s: Full fair were they all, but the maiden most fair


s: Would still have no flower till I pull'd it with care;


s: And gentle, and simple, and modest, and mild,


s: She stole my lone heart in the bower of the wild.


s: The summer is past, and the maidens are gone,


s: And this heart, like my grotto, is wither'd and lone,


s: And yet, with the winter, I'll cease not to mourn,


s: Unless, with the blossoms, these fair ones return.


s: Oh! had they ne'er come, or had ne'er gone away,


s: I sing in my sorrow still day after day.


s: The scene seems a desert--the charm is exiled,


s: And woe to my blooms and my bower of the wild!


s: I winna love the laddie that ca's the cart and pleugh,


s: Though he should own that tender love, that's only felt by few;


s: For he that has this bosom a' to fondest love betray'd,


s: Is the faithfu' shepherd laddie that wears the crook and plaid;


s: For he's aye true to his lassie--he's aye true to his lassie,


s: At morn he climbs the mountains wild his fleecy flocks to view,


s: Sae blithe it is the laddie wi' that wears the crook and plaid;


s: At noon he leans him down upon the high and heathy fell,


s: And views his flocks, beneath him a', fair feeding in the dell;


s: And there he sings the sangs o' love, the sweetest ever made;


s: O! how happy is the laddie that wears the crook and plaid;


s: He pu's the bells o' heather red, and the lily-flowers sae meek,


s: Ca's the lily like my bosom, and the heath-bell like my cheek;


s: His words are sweet and tender, as the dews frae heaven shed;


s: And weel I love to list the lad who wears the crook and plaid;


s: Beneath the spreading hawthorn gray, that's growing in the glen,


s: He meets me in the gloamin' aye, when nane on earth can ken,


s: To woo and vow, and there I trow, whatever may be said,


s: He kens aye unco weel the way to row me in his plaid;


s: The youth o' mony riches may to his fair one ride,


s: And woo across the table cauld his madam-titled bride;


s: But I'll gang to the hawthorn gray, where cheek to cheek is laid,


s: To own the truth o' tender love what heart wad no comply,


s: Since love gives purer happiness than aught aneath the sky?


s: If love be in the bosom, then the heart is ne'er afraid;


s: Oh, lassie! if thou'lt gang to yonder glen wi' me,


s: I'll weave the wilds amang a bonnie bower for thee;


s: I'll weave a bonnie bower o' the birks and willows green,


s: And to my heart thou'lt be what nae other e'er has been.


s: When the dew is on the flower, and the starlight on the lea,


s: In the bonnie green-wood bower I'll wake my harp to thee;


s: I'll wake my hill-harp's strain, and the echoes o' the dell


s: Shall restore the tales again that its notes o' love shall tell.


s: Oh, lassie! thou art fair as the morning's early beam,


s: As the image of a flower reflected frae the stream;


s: There's kindness in thy heart, and there's language in thine e'e,


s: Oh, lassie! wert thou mine I wad love thee wi' such love


s: As the lips can ne'er define, and the cold can never prove;


s: In the bower by yonder stream our happy home should be,


s: And our life a blissful dream, while I lived alone for thee.


s: When I am far away my thoughts on thee shall rest,


s: Allured, as by a ray, frae the dwellings o' the blest;


s: For beneath the clouds o' dew, where'er my path may be,


s: Oh! a maiden fair as thou, I again shall never see!


s: 'Mong the flocks on the mountains that lie,


s: When these all my thoughts would employ;


s: 'Neath the shade of yon hoar hawthorn-tree,


s: When Gloaming stole down from the rocks,


s: 'Twas sweet through yon green birks to stray,


s: Though all fair was that bosom, heaving white,


s: And though that eye, with beauty's light,


s: Oh! charms there were still more divine,


s: The charms that caught this soul of mine,


s: For my soul seem'd but to live in thy lay,


s: Oh! I could stray where the drops of dew


s: And dwell where the fair flowers never grew


s: If the hymns of thy voice still found me.


s: With all that here makes mortals bless'd;


s: Where freedom reigns, and friendship dwells,


s: Fair, where the light hill breezes blaw,


s: The wild-flowers bloom by glen and shaw;


s: Oh! tell me what sound is the sweetest to hear--


s: The sound that can most o'er our being prevail?


s: 'Tis the sweet melting voice of the maid we love dear,


s: When chanting the songs of her own native vale.


s: More thrilling is this than the tone of the gale,


s: Awakening the wind-harp's wild wandering lore;


s: More sweet than the songster that sings in the dale,


s: When the strains of the rest of the warblers are o'er.


s: Oh! tell me what light, of the earth or the sky,


s: Can the deepest delight to the spirit impart?


s: 'Tis the bright beaming radiance that lives in the eye


s: Of the maid that affection has bound to the heart.


s: More charming is this than the glory of art,


s: More lovely than rays from yon heavens above;


s: It heightens each joy, as it soothes every smart,


s: Enchanting our souls with the magic of love.


s: Oh! tell me what drop is most melting and meek


s: That aught 'neath the azure of heaven can share?


s: 'Tis the tear-drop that falls o'er the dear maiden's cheek


s: When she breathes o'er her lover her sigh and her prayer!


s: More tender is this--more celestial and fair--


s: Than the dew-drop that springs from the chamber of morn;


s: A balm that still softens the ranklings of care,


s: And heals every wound that the bosom hath borne.


s: She shunn'd the ill, and sought the good,


s: But fears and cares, baith grit and sma',


s: Sae changed, and yet sae sweet and fair,


s: estimation for the extent of her information and the unclouded


s: Miss'd is thy foot on the mountain and lea.


s: While lambies are list'ning and bleating for thee?


s: Still is thy bosom, and closed is thine e'e.


s: Thou art deaf to the storm--it is harmless to thee.


s: Thy life's dream hath pass'd as a shadow gone by;


s: Each line is embalm'd with a tear or a sigh.


s: Shedding its odours o'er sorrow or glee;


s: All taught the strain to sing, Shepherd, by thee.


s: While down its sides the wild cataracts foam;


s: Thy rest is unbroken, and peaceful thy home.


s: Chanting its notes on the bush or the tree;


s: Shall, cow'ring, sing sadly its farewell to thee.


s: This song was composed by Mrs Inglis, in honour of the Ettrick


s: Shepherd, shortly after the period of his death.


s: Leafless and bare were the shrub and the flower,


s: Cauld was the drift that blew over yon mountain,


s: But caulder my heart at his last ling'ring hour,


s: Though warm was the tear-drap that fell frae my e'e.


s: O saft is the tint o' the gowan sae bonny,


s: The blue heather-bell and the rose sweet as ony,


s: But softer the blink o' his bonnie blue e'e,


s: Dark lowers the cloud o'er yon mountain sae hie,


s: Faint gloams the sun through the mists o' the ocean,


s: Rough rows the wave on whose bosom I see


s: The wee bit frail bark that bears Jamie frae me.


s: Oh, lang may I look o'er yon wild waste sae dreary,


s: And lang count the hours, now so lonesome and weary,


s: And oft may I see the leaf fade frae the tree,


s: Ere I see the blithe blink o' his bonnie blue e'e.


s: Cheerless and wae, on yon snaw-cover'd thorn,


s: Mournfu' and lane is the chirp o' the Robin,


s: He looks through the storm, but nae shelter can see;


s: Come, Robin, and join the sad concert wi' me.


s: Oh, lang may I look o'er yon foam-crested billow,


s: And Hope dies away like a storm-broken willow;


s: Sweet Robin, the blossom again ye may see,


s: But I'll ne'er see the blink o' his bonnie blue e'e.


s: Put on their shields, unsheathe their blades,


s: Mind Wallace wight, auld Scotland's light,


s: And Douglas bright, and Scrymgeour's might,


s: Heard ye the bagpipe, or saw ye the banners


s: That floated sae light o'er the fields o' Kildairlie;


s: Saw ye the broadswords, the shields and the tartan hose,


s: Heard ye the muster-roll sworn to Prince Charlie?


s: Saw ye brave Appin, wi' bonnet and belted plaid,


s: Plant the white rose in their bonnets for Charlie?


s: Saw ye the halls o' auld Holyrood lighted up,


s: Kenn'd ye the nobles that revell'd sae rarely;


s: Saw ye the chiefs of Lochiel and Clanronald,


s: Wha rush'd frae their mountains to follow Prince Charlie?


s: But saw ye the blood-streaming fields of Culloden,


s: Or kenn'd ye the banners were tatter'd sae sairly;


s: Heard ye the pibroch sae wild and sae wailing,


s: That mourn'd for the chieftains that fell for Prince Charlie.


s: Wha, in yon Highland glen, weary and shelterless,


s: Pillows his head on the heather sae barely;


s: Wha seeks the darkest night, wha maunna face the light,


s: Borne down by lawless might--gallant Prince Charlie?


s: Wha, like the stricken deer, chased by the hunter's spear,


s: Fled frae the hills o' his father sae scaredly;


s: But wha, by affection's chart, reigns in auld Scotland's heart--


s: Wha but the royal, the gallant Prince Charlie?


s: When the morning's first ray saw the mighty in arms,


s: And the tyrant's proud banners insultingly wave,


s: And the slogan of battle from beauty's fond arms


s: Roused the war-crested chieftain, his country to save;


s: The sunbeam that rose on our mountain-clad warriors,


s: And reflected their shields in the green rippling wave,


s: In its course saw the slain on the fields of their fathers,


s: And shed its last ray on their cold bloody graves.


s: O'er those green beds of honour our war-song prepare,


s: And the red sword of vengeance triumphantly wave,


s: While the ghosts of the slain cry aloud--Do not spare,


s: Lead to victory and freedom, or die with the brave;


s: For the high soul of freedom no tyrant can fetter,


s: Like the unshackled billows our proud shores that lave;


s: Though oppressed, he will watch o'er the home of his fathers,


s: And rest his wan cheek on the tomb of the brave.


s: To arms, then! to arms! Let the battle-cry rise,


s: Like the raven's hoarse croak, through their ranks let it sound;


s: Set their knell on the wing of each arrow that flies,


s: Till the shouts of the free shake the mountains around;


s: Let the cold-blooded, faint-hearted changeling now tremble,


s: For the war-shock shall reach to his dark-centered cave,


s: While the laurels that twine round the brows of the victors


s: Shall with rev'rence be strew'd o'er the tombs of the brave.


s: compositions are distinguished by earnestness of expression and


s: How bright is its water, how pleasant to see;


s: A picture of bliss and an emblem of thee!


s: The beauties of heaven o'er mountain and lea,


s: For they are, dear Anna, sweet emblems of thee.


s: My tongue could pronounce what might tend to betray;


s: His soul's all unfit for the glories of day.


s: And though I in raptures view lake, stream, and tree,


s: I view them, fair maid, but as emblems of thee.


s: No sound was heard o'er the broom-cover'd valley,


s: Save the lone stream o'er the rock as it fell,


s: Warm were the sunbeams, and glancing so gaily,


s: That gold seem'd to dazzle along the flower'd vale.


s: Yet pleasant to me was his soul's ardent flow;


s: Life's like the dew on the hill of the roe.


s: "Son of the peaceful vale, keep from the battle plain,


s: Sad is the song that the bugle-horns sing;


s: Though lovely the standard it waves o'er the mangled slain,


s: Widows' sighs stretching its broad gilded wing.


s: But free thou may'st walk as the breezes that blow,


s: "Wouldst thou have peace in thy mind when thou'rt hoary,


s: Shun vice's paths in the days of thy bloom;


s: Innocence gilds the dark shades of the tomb.


s: But pure is the peasant's soul, pure as the snow,


s: Hope bright as dew on the hill of the roe."


s: Ceased the soft voice, for gray mist was descending,


s: Slow rose the bard and retired from the hill,


s: The blackbird's mild notes with the thrush's were blending,


s: Oft scream'd the plover her wild notes and shrill,


s: Mix'd with instruction and blended with woe;


s: "Life's like the dew on the hill of the roe."


s: Till clay-cauld death shall blin' my e'e,


s: Of this song a new version was composed by Burns, the original


s: chorus being retained. Burns' version commences--"Hark the mavis'


s: Mitchell employed himself latterly in forwarding the sale of his


s: His thoughts and war's rough ills assuage:


s: Ah! who will comfort bring to the love-sick maid?


s: She cannot bear the glare of the flaunting day!


s: A doctor has been found, and the secret 's out!


s: regretted by his friends. He left a widow, who died lately in


s: With every flower--hath wrought a spell,


s: And though her chaplets fragrance breathe


s: Nor dream that nymph, so fair and young,


s: For where Love is--or what's Love's spell--


s: This song was addressed by Mr Jamieson to Miss Jane Morrison of


s: WELSH AIR--_"Sir William Watkin Wynne."_


s: From Beauty's soft lip, like the balm of its roses,


s: Or breath of the morning, a sigh took its flight;


s: Nor far had it stray'd forth, when Pity proposes


s: The wanderer should lodge in this bosom a night.


s: But scarce had the guest, in that peaceful seclusion,


s: His lodging secured, when a conflict arose,


s: Each feeling was changed, every thought was delusion,


s: Nor longer my breast knew the calm of repose.


s: They say that young Love is a rosy-cheek'd bowyer,


s: At random the shafts from his silken string fly,


s: But surely the urchin of peace is destroyer,


s: Whose arrows are dipp'd in the balm of a sigh.


s: O yes! for he whisper'd, "To Beauty's shrine hie thee;


s: There worship to Cupid, and wait yet awhile;


s: A cure she can give, with the balm can supply thee,


s: The wound from a sigh can be cured by a smile."


s: countenance wore the aspect of intelligence.


s: AIR--_"Loudon's Bonnie Woods and Braes."_


s: Wilt thou--wilt thou gang and leave me--


s: But soon those cheeks will lose their red,


s: That heart that lo'ed ye last and best--


s: What heart could view thy smiling looks,


s: On the fierce savage cliffs that look down on the flood,


s: Where to ocean the dark waves of Gabia haste,


s: All lonely, a maid of black Africa stood,


s: Gazing sad on the deep and the wide roaring waste.


s: A bark for Columbia hung far on the tide,


s: And still to that bark her dim wistful eye clave;


s: Ah! well might she gaze--in the ship's hollow side,


s: Moan'd her Zoopah in chains--in the chains of a slave.


s: Like the statue of Sorrow, forgetting to weep,


s: Long dimly she follow'd the vanishing sail,


s: Till it melted away where clouds mantle the deep;


s: Then thus o'er the billows she utter'd her wail:--


s: "O my Zoopah come back! wilt thou leave me to woe?


s: Come back, cruel ship, and take Monia too!


s: Ah ye winds, wicked winds! what fiend bids ye blow


s: To waft my dear Zoopah far, far from my view?


s: "Great Spirit! why slumber'd the wrath of thy clouds,


s: When the savage white men dragg'd my Zoopah away?


s: Why linger'd the panther far back in his woods?


s: Was the crocodile full of the flesh of his prey?


s: "Ah cruel white monsters! plague poison their breath,


s: And sleep never visit the place of their bed!


s: On their children and wives, on their life and their death,


s: Abide still the curse of an African maid!"


s: J. C. Denovan was born at Edinburgh in 1798. Early evincing a


s: Thou hast left me, dear Dermot! to cross the wide seas,


s: And thy Norah lives grieving in sadness forlorn,


s: She laments and looks back on the past happy days


s: When thy presence had left her no object to mourn


s: A pang leaves behind them, 'tis Heaven's decree;


s: Till Dermot, dear Dermot, returns back to me.


s: O Dermot, dear Dermot! why, why didst thou leave


s: The girl who holds thee so dear in her heart?


s: Oh! couldst thou hold a thought that would cause her to grieve,


s: Or think for one moment from Norah to part?


s: In a far unknown country, where dangers there be?


s: If thou, dear beloved one, return not to me.


s: In silence I 'll weep till my Dermot doth come,


s: Alone will I wander by moon, noon, and night,


s: Still praying of Heaven to send him safe home


s: To her who 'll embrace him with joy and delight.


s: Whose heart will entwine thee, fond, joyous, and free;


s: O Dermot, dear loved one! return back to me.


s: John Imlah, one of the sweetest and most patriotic of Scottish


s: O distant but dear is that sweet island, wherein


s: My hopes with my Kathleen and kindred abide;


s: And far though I wander from thee, emerald Erin!


s: No space can the links of my love-chain divide.


s: Fairest spot of the earth! brightest gem of the ocean!


s: How oft have I waken'd my wild harp in thee!


s: While, with eye of expression, and heart of emotion,


s: Listen'd, Kathleen mavourneen, cuishlih ma chree!


s: The bloom of the moss-rose, the blush of the morning,


s: The soft cheek of Kathleen discloses their dye;


s: What ruby can rival the lip of mavourneen?


s: What sight-dazzling diamond can equal her eye?


s: Her silken hair vies with the sunbeam in brightness,


s: And white is her brow as the surf of the sea;


s: Thy footstep is like to the fairy's in lightness,


s: Of Kathleen mavourneen, cuishlih ma chree!


s: Fair muse of the minstrel! beloved of my bosom!


s: As the song of thy praise and my passion I breathed,


s: Thy fair fingers oft, with the triad leaf'd blossom,


s: Sweet Erin's green emblem, my wild harp have wreathed;


s: While with soft melting murmurs the bright river ran on,


s: That by thy bower follows the sun to the sea;


s: And oh! soon dawn the day I review the sweet Shannon


s: And Kathleen mavourneen, cuishlih ma chree!


s: AIR--_"O'er the Muir amang the Heather."_


s: Whare mists at morn an' gloamin' gather;


s: Whare blooms the bonnie Hielan' heather!


s: Baith sweet o' sang an' fair o' feather;


s: Whare, light o' heart an' light o' heel,


s: Loved land of my kindred, farewell--and for ever!


s: Oh! what can relief to the bosom impart;


s: When fated with each fond endearment to sever,


s: And hope its sweet sunshine withholds from the heart!


s: Farewell, thou fair land! which, till life's pulse shall perish,


s: Though doom'd to forego, I shall never forget,


s: Wherever I wander, for thee will I cherish


s: The dearest regard and the deepest regret.


s: Farewell, ye great Grampians, cloud-robed and crested!


s: Like your mists in the sunbeam ye melt in my sight;


s: Your peaks are the king-eagle's thrones--where have rested


s: The snow-falls of ages--eternally white.


s: Ah! never again shall the falls of your fountains


s: Their wild murmur'd music awake on mine ear;


s: No more the lake's lustre, that mirrors your mountains,


s: I'll pore on with pleasure--deep, lonely, yet dear.


s: Yet--yet Caledonia! when slumber comes o'er me,


s: Oh! oft will I dream of thee, far, far, away;


s: But vain are the visions that rapture restore me,


s: To waken and weep at the dawn of the day.


s: Ere gone the last glimpse, faint and far o'er the ocean,


s: Where yet my heart dwells--where it ever shall dwell,


s: While tongue, sigh and tear, speak my spirit's emotion,


s: My country--my kindred--farewell, oh farewell!


s: Long had their young hearts throbb'd as one


s: "Be praised--brave knight! thy steel hath striven


s: The shout and shell the revellers raise,


s: Bald sire to beardless son, each come and early;


s: Belt on your broad claymores--fight for Prince Charlie;


s: Out from the clachan, the bothie, and shieling,


s: Bravely our bagpipes the pibroch is pealing.


s: Men of the mountains--descendants of heroes!


s: Heirs of the fame as the hills of your fathers;


s: Say, shall the Southern--the Sassenach fear us


s: When to the war-peal each plaided clan gathers?


s: Red rust hath blunted the armour of Albin;


s: When hath the tartan plaid mantled a coward?


s: When did the blue bonnet crest the disloyal?


s: Up, then, and crowd to the standard of Stuart,


s: Follow your leader--the rightful--the royal!


s: Lovat! Lochiel! with the Grant and the Gordon!


s: Gun on the shoulder, and thigh the good sword on!


s: I've roam'd by Tweed, I've roam'd by Tay,


s: When blade and blossoms sprout in spring,


s: And barn-yards stored wi' stooks o' corn,


s: The chorus of this song, which is said to have been originally


s: Wi' friens and fav'rites, left sae lang,


s: Ah! Fortune's flowers wi' thorns are rife,


s: When baith our hearts were young and licht,


s: "The air," communicates the reverend author of this song, "is


s: I could not, as I gazed my last--there was on me a spell,


s: In all its simple agony--breathe that lone word--"Farewell,"


s: Which hath no hope that clings to it, the closer as it dies,


s: In song alone 'twould pass the lips that loved the dear disguise.


s: I go across a bluer wave than now girds round my bark,


s: As forth the dove went trembling--but to my Father's ark


s: Shall I return? I may not ask my doubting heart, but yet


s: To hope and wish in one--how hard the lesson to forget.


s: But drooping head and feeble limbs--and, oh! a beating heart,


s: Remind the vow'd to sing no more of all his weary part;


s: Yet, with a voice that trembles as the sounds unloose the spell,


s: In this, his last and rudest lay, he now can breathe--"Farewell."


s: She's aff and awa', like the lang summer-day,


s: And our hearts and our hills are now lanesome and dreary;


s: The sun-blinks o' June will come back ower the brae,


s: But lang for blithe Mary fu' mony may weary.


s: She cam' wi' the spring, just like ane o' its flowers,


s: And the blue-bell and Mary baith blossom'd thegither;


s: The bloom o' the mountain again will be ours,


s: But the rose o' the valley nae mair will come hither.


s: An e'e that was brighter ne'er glanced on a lover;


s: Sounds safter ne'er dropt frae an aye-saying tongue,


s: Nor mair pure is the white o' her bridal-bed cover.


s: But farewell Glenlin, and Dunoon, and Loch Striven,


s: My country and kin,--since I 've sae lov'd the stranger;


s: Whare she 's been maun be either a pine or a heaven--


s: Sae across the braid warld for a while I'm a ranger.


s: Gardiner was unfortunate as a bookseller, and ultimately obtained


s: Though flow'rets deck their verdant sides,


s: There lives my blithesome mountain maid,


s: See Lockhart's "Life of Sir Walter Scott."


s: We have to acknowledge our obligations to Mr Robert Chambers for


s: Haste, all ye fairy elves, hither to me,


s: Cross ye the mountain-burn, thread ye the brake,


s: Stop not at muirland, wide river, nor sea:


s: Come when the moonbeam bright sleeps on the hill;


s: Come at the dead of night when all is still;


s: Come over mountain steep, come over brae,


s: Through holt and valley deep, through glen-head gray;


s: Come from the forest glade and greenwood tree;


s: Were ye by woodland or cleugh of the brae,


s: Were ye by ocean rock dash'd by the spray,


s: Or by the braken howe far down the glen,


s: Hasten, ye fairy elves, hither to-night,


s: Haste to your revel sports gleesome and light,


s: To bathe in the dew-drops, and bask in the Leven,


s: And dance on the moonbeams far up the heaven,


s: Then sleep on the rosebuds that bloom on the lea;


s: Your bonnie milk-white hands they wrang,


s: Gang wi' me to yonder howe, bonnie Peggie, O!


s: Down ayont the gowan knowe, bonnie Peggie, O!


s: An' where there is none to hear, bonnie Peggie, O!


s: I hae lo'ed you e'en an' morn, bonnie Peggie, O!


s: You hae laugh'd my love to scorn, bonnie Peggie, O!


s: I've now gotten a' my care, bonnie Peggie, O!


s: You hae said you love me too, bonnie Peggie, O!


s: An' you've sworn you will be true, bonnie Peggie, O!


s: Nae hap our joy shall spill, bonnie Peggie, O!


s: Where the flowers o' simmer grow, bonnie Peggie, O!


s: I am happy at the last, bonnie Peggie, O!


s: My wayward course should still be traced,


s: 'Twere joy to me o'er the bonnie blue sea


s: At midnight hours, round leaves and flowers,


s: When night clouds flit, that, but for it,


s: Such blissful dreams, that this world seems


s: Printed from the author's MS., in the possession of Mr H. S.


s: Oh, what are the chains of Love made of,


s: Can you twist a rope of beams of the sun,


s: And round your hand, like threads of silk,


s: And yet of these Love's chains are made,


s: Printed for the first time from the original MS.


s: Oh! would I were throned on yon glossy golden cloud,


s: Soaring to heaven with the eagle so proud,


s: I would skim afar o'er ocean, and drink of bliss my fill,


s: O'er the thunders of Ni'gara and cataracts of Nile,--


s: Above the mighty Alps (o'er the tempest's angry god


s: Careering on the avalanche) should be my bless'd abode.


s: Our aerial flight should be where eye hath never been,


s: O'er the stormy Polar deep, where the icy Alps are seen,


s: Through light clouds flash'd the fitful gleam


s: And fair the glade, and green the grove,


s: All night, by the pathway that crosses the moor,


s: Yet thought her not false--she had ever been true


s: I had heard of Love lighting to darken the heart,


s: Fickle, fleeting as wind and the dews of the morn;


s: Such were not my fears, though I sigh'd all night long,


s: The snows, that were deep, had awaken'd my dread,


s: I mark'd as footprints far below by the burn;


s: I sped to the valley--I found her deep sunk,


s: I whisper'd, "My Mary!"--she spoke not: I caught


s: Her hand, press'd her pale cheek--'twas icy and cold;


s: Then sunk on her bosom--its throbbings were o'er--


s: Carry my last breath with thee to the cliff,


s: One that shall mark nor it nor lover more.


s: Her heaving heart to rest, as thou dost mine;


s: The tearful tale, flap out her beacon-light.


s: With lone and lingering wail--then lay thy head,


s: Upon her breast, that she may weep for me.


s: Life has, but still far hence, choice flowers to crop.


s: And deem my loss too bitter to be borne,


s: Bear the last trickling tear-drop on thy wing,


s: The love-fraught pearly shower till rest it find!


s: Of a fine genius, a gentle and amiable nature, and pure Christian


s: An' the moon 's creepin' down to the hill-tap,


s: May ha'e mair o' the blessin's o' Heaven


s: But woe may be drinkin' the heart-springs,


s: Thou 'lt treasure pure faith in thy bosom,


s: Born where the glorious star-lights trace


s: As if stars, flowers, and all things bright


s: Her heart was young--she loved to breathe


s: The air which spins the mountain's wreath,


s: Of freedom--where nought comes to taint,


s: A lustre, till each sense seem'd fraught


s: With which she could converse, and bring


s: That fortune's stormiest blast could tire,


s: The beauteous stars walk through the night,


s: Then pause! I've felt the pure tide roll


s: Which paints the earth in cheerful bloom,


s: 'Tis finish'd, they 've died for their forefathers' land,


s: As the patriot sons of the mountain should die,


s: With the mail on each bosom, the sword in each hand,


s: Like their own mountain eagles they rush'd to the fight,


s: Like the oaks of their deserts they braved its rude blast;


s: Their blades in the morning look'd dazzling and bright,


s: They rush'd on, exulting in honour, and met


s: The foes of their country in battle array;


s: But the sun of their glory in darkness hath set,


s: And the flowers of the forest are faded away!


s: Oh! far from the scenes of their childhood they sleep,


s: No friend of their bosom, no loved one is near,


s: To add a gray stone to their cairns on the steep,


s: Rousing up the plume on ocean's hoary crest,


s: She sweeps the shining wilderness in glee--


s: The billows crouch around her as her slaves.


s: What armaments shall follow thee in joy!


s: When the heart that loved thee 's broken,


s: Devoted to the important duties of the clerical office, Mr Torry


s: Away on the wings of the wind she flies,


s: And she bounds beneath the eastern skies,


s: Why so fast flies the bark through the ocean's foam,


s: 'Tis an Araby maid who hath left her home,


s: She hath left her sire and her native land,


s: The land which from childhood she trode,


s: And hath sworn, by the pledge of her beautiful hand,


s: Then away, away, oh swift be thy flight,


s: For behind there is many a blade glancing bright--


s: They are safe in the land where love is divine,


s: They have knelt at the foot of the holy shrine,


s: Nought can sever them now but the grave.


s: Her prayers are said at the holy shrine,


s: Her lover fell where the brave should fall,


s: Amidst the fight, when the trumpet's call


s: Though winds be high, there let them roar;


s: editorship of the _Dumfries Journal_, a respectable Conservative


s: "Study to fill your paper," writes Cunningham, "with


s: such agreeable and diversified matter as will allure


s: readers; correct intelligence, sprightly and elegant


s: paragraphs, remarks on men and manners at once free


s: and generous; and local intelligence pertaining to the


s: district, such as please men of the Nith in a far land.


s: These are the staple commodity of a newspaper, and


s: these you can easily have. A few literary paragraphs


s: you can easily scatter about; these attract


s: booksellers, and booksellers will give advertisements


s: where they find their works are noticed. Above all


s: things, write cautiously concerning all localities; if


s: you praise much, a hundred will grumble; if you are


s: severe, one only may complain, but twenty will shake


s: the head. You will have friends on one side of the


s: water desiring one thing, friends on the other side


s: desiring the reverse, and in seeking to please one you


s: vex ten. An honest heart, a clear head, and a good


s: conscience, will enable you to get well through all."


s: On terminating his connexion with the _Dumfries Journal_, Allan


s: "They are never idle. Their very recreations are made conducive


s: to their business, and they go through their labours with a


s: spirit and cheerfulness, which shew how consonant these are with


s: their dispositions." "Mr Robert Chambers," he adds, "is the most


s: mild, unassuming, kind-hearted man I ever knew, and is perfectly


s: uneasy if he thinks there is any one uncomfortable about him. The


s: everything I ever experienced, and the friendly yet delicate way


s: in which he is every other day asking me if I am all comfortable


s: at home, and bidding me apply to him when I am in want of


s: anything, equally puzzles me to understand or express due thanks


s: publication, with suitable music. In 1834, some of his relatives


s: Is your war-pipe asleep, and for ever, M'Crimman?


s: Shall the pibroch, that welcom'd the foe to Benaer,


s: Be hush'd when we seek the dark wolf in his lair,


s: To the raid and the onslaught our chieftains have gone,


s: Like the course of the fire-flaught the clansmen pass'd on,


s: Then raise your wild slogan-cry--on to the foray!


s: Sons of the heather-hill, pinewood, and glen,


s: Till the Lomonds re-echo the challenge again!


s: Youth of the daring heart! bright be thy doom


s: As the bodings which light up thy bold spirit now,


s: But the fate of M'Crimman is closing in gloom,


s: And the breath of the gray wraith hath pass'd o'er his brow;


s: Victorious, in joy, thou'lt return to Benaer,


s: And be clasp'd to the hearts of thy best beloved there,


s: But M'Crimman, M'Crimman, M'Crimman, never--


s: Wilt thou shrink from the doom thou canst shun not, M'Crimman?


s: Wilt thou shrink from the doom thou canst shun not?


s: If thy course must be brief, let the proud Saxon know


s: That the soul of M'Crimman ne'er quail'd when a foe


s: Bared his blade in the land he had won not!


s: Where the light-footed roe leaves the wild breeze behind,


s: And the red heather-bloom gives its sweets to the wind,


s: There our broad pennon flies, and the keen steeds are prancing,


s: 'Mid the startling war-cries, and the war-weapons glancing,


s: Then raise your wild slogan-cry--on to the foray!


s: Sons of the heather-hill, pinewood, and glen;


s: Till the Lomonds re-echo the challenge again!


s: In Blackie's "Book of Scottish Song," this song is attributed to


s: I will think of thee yet, though afar I may be,


s: In the land of the stranger, deserted and lone,


s: Though the flowers of this earth are all wither'd to me,


s: And the hopes which once bloom'd in my bosom are gone,


s: I will think of thee yet, and the vision of night


s: Will oft bring thine image again to my sight,


s: And the tokens will be, as the dream passes by,


s: A sigh from the heart and a tear from the eye.


s: I will think of thee yet, though misfortune fall chill


s: O'er my path, as yon storm-cloud that lours on the lea,


s: And I'll deem that this life is worth cherishing still,


s: While I know that one heart still beats warmly for me.


s: Yes! Grief and Despair may encompass me round,


s: 'Till not e'en the shadow of peace can be found;


s: But mine anguish will cease when my thoughts turn to you


s: And the wild mountain land which my infancy knew.


s: I will think of thee; oh! if I e'er can forget


s: The love that grew warm as all others grew cold,


s: 'Twill but be when the sun of my reason hath set,


s: Or memory fled from her care-haunted hold;


s: But while life and its woes to bear on is my doom,


s: Shall my love, like a flower in the wilderness, bloom;


s: And thine still shall be, as so long it hath been,


s: A light to my soul when no other is seen.


s: Lassie, dear lassie, the dew 's on the gowan,


s: And the brier-bush is sweet whar the burnie is rowin',


s: But the best buds of Nature may blaw till they weary,


s: Ere they match the sweet e'e or the cheek o' my dearie!


s: I wander alane, when the gray gloamin' closes,


s: And the lift is spread out like a garden o' roses;


s: But there 's nought which the earth or the sky can discover


s: Sae fair as thysell to thy fond-hearted lover!


s: The snaw-flake is pure frae the clud when it 's shaken,


s: And melts into dew ere it fa's on the bracken,


s: Oh sae pure is the heart I hae won to my keepin'!


s: But warm as the sun-blink that thaw'd it to weepin'!


s: Then come to my arms, and the bosom thou 'rt pressing


s: Will tell by its throbs a' there's joy in confessing,


s: For my lips could repeat it a thousand times over,


s: And the tale still seem new to thy fond-hearted lover.


s: When I look far down on the valley below me,


s: Where lowly the lot of the cottager's cast,


s: While the hues of the evening seem ling'ring to shew me


s: How calmly the sun of this life may be pass'd,


s: How oft have I wish'd that kind Heaven had granted


s: My hours in such spot to have peacefully run,


s: Where, if pleasures were few, they were all that I wanted,


s: And Contentment 's a blessing which wealth never won.


s: I have mingled with mankind, and far I have wander'd,


s: Have shared all the joys youth so madly pursues;


s: I have been where the bounties of Nature were squander'd


s: Till man became thankless and learn'd to refuse!


s: Yet _there_ I still found that man's innocence perish'd,


s: As the senses might sway or the passions command;


s: That the scenes where alone the soul's treasures were cherish'd,


s: Were the peaceful abodes of my own native land.


s: Then why should I leave this dear vale of my choice


s: And the friends of my bosom, so faithful and true,


s: To mix in the great world, whose jarring and noise


s: Must make my soul cheerless though sorrows were few?


s: Ah! too sweet would this life of probation be render'd,


s: Our feelings ebb back from Eternity's strand,


s: And the hopes of Elysium in vain would be tender'd,


s: Could we have all we wish'd in our dear native land.


s: Printed, for the first time, from the author's MS.


s: I will wake my harp when the shades of even


s: When thoughts that wear the hues of Heaven


s: Are weaning my heart from the world away;


s: And my strain will tell of a land and home


s: Which my wand'ring steps have left behind,


s: Where the hearts that throb and the feet that roam


s: Are free as the breath of their mountain wind.


s: I will wake my harp when the star of Vesper


s: Hath open'd its eye on the peaceful earth,


s: That a dew-drop falls, or a breeze hath birth.


s: And you, dear friends of my youthful years,


s: And a smile for the past will gild the tears


s: I will wake my harp when the moon is holding


s: Her star-tent court in the midnight sky,


s: When the spirits of love, their wings unfolding,


s: Bring down sweet dreams to each fond one's eye.


s: For my spirit will then, from its thrall set free,


s: And gather each sigh that she breathes for me.


s: Thus, still when those pensive hours are bringing


s: The feelings and thoughts which no lips can tell,


s: I will charm each cloud from my soul by singing


s: Oh! Fate may smile, and Sorrow may cease,


s: But the dearest hope we on earth can gain


s: Is to come, after long sad years, in peace,


s: And be join'd with the friends of our love, again.


s: hospitable, he latterly avoided general society, and, in a great


s: All lovely and bright, 'mid the desert of time,


s: Like the green isles that swell in this far distant clime,


s: On the deeps that are trackless and blue.


s: And now, while the torrent is loud on the hill,


s: I think of the lapse of our own native rill--


s: The far-coming morn on her sea-paths is gray,


s: Yet why should I ponder, or why should I grieve


s: O'er the joys that my childhood has known?


s: We may meet, when the dew-flowers are fragrant at eve,


s: Of lively and playful dispositions, Sillery did not derive much


s: Let the proud Indian boast of his jessamine bowers,


s: His pastures of perfume, and rose-cover'd dells;


s: While humbly I sing of those wild little flowers--


s: The blue-bells of Scotland, the Scottish blue-bells.


s: Wave, wave your dark plumes, ye proud sons of the mountain,


s: For brave is the chieftain your prowess who quells,


s: And dreadful your wrath as the foam-flashing fountain,


s: That calms its wild waves 'mid the Scottish blue-bells.


s: Then strike the loud harp to the land of the river,


s: The mountain, the valley, with all their wild spells,


s: And shout in the chorus for ever and ever--


s: Sublime are your hills when the young day is beaming,


s: And green are your groves with their cool crystal wells,


s: And bright are your broadswords, like morning dews gleaming


s: On blue-bells of Scotland, on Scottish blue-bells.


s: Awake! ye light fairies that trip o'er the heather,


s: Ye mermaids, arise from your coralline cells--


s: Come forth with your chorus, all chanting together--


s: Oh! would that the wind that is sweeping now


s: Were swaying the leaves of the cypress bough


s: And my heart with its pulses of fire and life,


s: I 've drunk up bliss from a mantling cup,


s: But the cold black dregs are floating up,


s: It is closed for aye, where the long weeds sigh,


s: Alexander Hume was born at Kelso on the 1st of February 1809. His


s: ascertained. His first teacher was Mr Ballantyne of Kelso, a man


s: About this period (1822 or 1823), when irritated by those who had


s: appreciation of his integrity and worth.


s: metropolis; nor was he disappointed in the hope of realising


s: unremitting. Mr Hume's health gradually declined, and ultimately


s: Let kings ha'e thrones, 'mang warld's strife,


s: Eliza was a bonnie lass, and oh! she lo'ed me weel,


s: Sic love as canna find a tongue, but only hearts can feel;


s: But I was poor, her faither doure, he wadna look on me;


s: O poverty! O poverty! that love should bow to thee.


s: I went unto her mother, and I argued and I fleech'd,


s: I spak o' love and honesty, and mair and mair beseech'd;


s: But she was deaf to a' my grief, she wadna look on me;


s: I next went to her brother, and I painted a' my pain,


s: I told him o' our plighted troth, but it was a' in vain;


s: Though he was deep in love himsel', nae feeling he'd for me;


s: Oh! wealth it makes the fool a sage, the knave an honest man,


s: And canker'd gray locks young again, if he has gear and lan';


s: To age maun beauty ope her arms, though wi' a tearfu' e'e;


s: But wait a wee, oh! love is slee, and winna be said nay,


s: It breaks a' chains, except its ain, but it will ha'e its way;


s: In spite o' fate we took the gate, now happy as can be;


s: O poverty! O poverty! we're wed in spite o' thee.


s: My Bessie, oh! but look upon these bonnie budding flowers,


s: Oh! do they no remember ye o' mony happy hours,


s: When on this green and gentle hill we aften met to play,


s: An' ye were like the morning sun, an' life a nightless day?


s: The gowans blossom'd bonnilie, I 'd pu' them from the stem,


s: An' rin in noisy blithesomeness to thee, my Bess, wi' them,


s: To place them in thy lily breast, for ae sweet smile on me,


s: I saw nae mair the gowans then, then saw I only thee.


s: Like two fair roses on a tree, we flourish'd an' we grew,


s: An' breathe young vows that after-years o' sorrow has na brak!


s: We 'd raise our lisping voices in auld Coila's melting lays,


s: An' sing that tearfu' tale about Doon's bonnie banks and braes;


s: But thoughtna' we o' banks and braes, except those at our feet,


s: Oh! is na this a joyous day, a' Nature's breathing forth,


s: In gladness an' in loveliness owre a' the wide, wide earth?


s: The linties they are lilting love, on ilka bush an' tree,


s: Oh! may such joy be ever felt, my Bess, by thee and me!


s: I 've wander'd on the sunny hill, I 've wander'd in the vale,


s: The rising sun, in golden beams, dispels the night's dark gloom--


s: But sunbeams ne'er so brightly play'd in dance o'er yon glad sea,


s: I love thee as the pilgrims love the water in the sand,


s: I loved thee, bonnie Bessie, as the earth adores the sun,


s: I ask'd nae lands, I craved nae gear, I prized but thee alone;


s: Ye smiled in look, but no in heart--your heart was no for me;


s: O' our great ha' there 's left nae stane--


s: But friends can live, though cold they lie,


s: While thought and feeling rule my frame,


s: Should Fortune's smile attend me thither,


s: And look again on the mountain heather--


s: Might bloom again in the mountain heather--


s: A poet and indefatigable prose-writer, Thomas Smibert was born in


s: "Information for the People." In 1842, he was appointed to the


s: Once more on the broad-bosom'd ocean appearing


s: The banner of England is spread to the breeze,


s: And loud is the cheering that hails the uprearing


s: Of glory's loved emblem, the pride of the seas.


s: What manhood can do in her cause shall be done--


s: Will conquer or die by his colours and gun.


s: On Acre's proud turrets an ensign is flying,


s: Which stout hearts are banded till death to uphold;


s: And bold is their crying, and fierce their defying,


s: When trench'd in their ramparts, unconquer'd of old.


s: Brave Napier appears, and their triumph is done;


s: He conquers or dies by his colours and gun.


s: Now low in the dust is the Crescent flag humbled,


s: Its warriors are vanquish'd, their freedom is gone;


s: The strong walls have tumbled, the proud towers are crumbled,


s: And England's flag waves over ruin'd St John.


s: The aid of a friend when the combat is won;


s: Who conquers or dies by his colours and gun.


s: "All hail to the hero!" his country is calling,


s: And "hail to his comrades!" the faithful and brave,


s: They fear'd not for falling, they knew no appalling,


s: But fought like their fathers, the lords of the wave.


s: Rejoicing convey them where fame may be won,


s: To conquer or die by their colours and gun!


s: Alexander, who was considerably his senior. After some years'


s: And though, like you, sweet flowers of earth,


s: The shower is past, the winds are still,


s: The fields are green, the flow'rets spring,


s: I 've seen a cheek, which once could vie


s: With pangs no lighter heart could prove.


s: More high than mortal thoughts can reach,


s: There sunny streams of gladness stretch,


s: Stewart was a person of modest demeanour, and of a thoughtful and


s: And love-lit hopes, with fears yet fringed,


s: And, smiling o'er the blue waves bright,


s: But Ellen, so fair, so sweet, and young,


s: While beaus and belles parade the streets


s: And barter'd smiles and borrow'd sweets,


s: My walks are where the bean-field's breath


s: Than that sweet bliss, which ne'er can cloy--


s: O say not o' war the young soldier is weary,


s: Ye wha in battle ha'e witness'd his flame;


s: Remember his daring when danger was near ye,


s: Forgive ye the sigh that he heaves for his hame.


s: Past perils he heeds not, nor dangers yet coming,


s: Frae dark-brooding terror his young heart is free;


s: But it pants for the place whar in youth he was roaming;


s: He turns to the north wi' the tear in his e'e.


s: 'Tis remembrance that saftens what war never daunted,


s: 'Tis the hame o' his birth that gives birth to the tear;


s: The warm fondled hopes his first love had implanted,


s: He langs now to reap in his Jeanie sae dear.


s: An' aften he thinks on the bonnie clear burnie,


s: Whar oft in love's fondness they daff'd their young day;


s: Nae tear then was shedded, for short was the journey


s: 'Tween Jeanie's broom bower and the blaeberry brae.


s: An' weel does he mind o' that morning, when dressing,


s: In green Highland garb, to cross the wide sea;


s: His auld mither grat when she gi'ed him her blessing--


s: 'Twas a' that the puir body then had to gi'e.


s: The black downy plume on his bonnie cheek babbit,


s: As he stood at the door an' shook hands wi' them a';


s: But sair was his heart, an' sair Jeanie sabbit,


s: Whan down the burn-side she convoy'd him awa'.


s: Now high-headed Alps an' dark seas divide them,


s: Wilds ne'er imagined in love's early dream;


s: Their Alps then the knowes, whare the lambs lay beside them,


s: Their seas then the hazel an' saugh-shaded stream.


s: An' wha couldna sigh when memory 's revealing


s: The scenes that surrounded our life's early hame?


s: The hero whose heart is cauld to that feeling


s: His nature is harsh, and not worthy the name.


s: Is the land of the plaid and bonnet blue,


s: Of the gallant heart, the firm and true,


s: Isle of the freeborn, honour'd and blest,


s: Whose flowers perpetual breathe perfume;


s: And lovely the lands that 'neath it lie;


s: Though fair blooms the rose in gay Anglia's bowers,


s: And green be thy emblem, thou gem of the sea,


s: The greenest, the sweetest, the fairest of flowers,


s: Is the thistle--the thistle of Scotland, for me!


s: Far lovelier flowers glow, the woodlands adorning,


s: And breathing perfume over moorland and lea,


s: But there breathes not a bud on the freshness of morning


s: Like the thistle--the thistle of Scotland, for me!


s: What scenes o' langsyne even thy name can awaken,


s: Thou badge of the fearless, the fair, and the free,


s: And the tenderest chords of the spirit are shaken;


s: The thistle--the thistle of Scotland, for thee!


s: Still'd be my harp, and forgotten its numbers,


s: And cold as the grave my affections must be,


s: Ere thy name fail to waken my soul from her slumbers;


s: The thistle--the thistle of Scotland, for me!


s: On the fields of their fame, while proud laurels she gathers,


s: Caledonia plants, wi' the tear in her e'e,


s: Thy soft downy seeds on the graves of our fathers;


s: Oh! hame is aye hamely still, though poor at times it be,


s: An' ye winna find a place like hame in lands beyond the sea;


s: Though ye may wander east an' west, in quest o' wealth or fame,


s: There 's aye a pulse within the heart beats hame, hame, hame,


s: Oh! there 's aye a pulse within the heart beats hame, hame, hame.


s: There 's gowd in gowpens got, they say, on India's sunny strand,


s: Then wha would bear to linger here in this bleak, barren land?


s: I 'll hie me ower the heaving wave, and win myself a name,


s: And in a palace or a grave forget my Hieland hame.


s: 'Twas thus resolved the peasant boy, and left his native stream,


s: And Fortune crown'd his every wish, beyond his fondest dream;


s: And young companions, long forgot, would join him in the game,


s: As erst in life's young morning, around his Hieland hame.


s: Oh! in the Brahmin, mild and gray, his father's face he saw;


s: He thought upon his mother's tears the day he gaed awa';


s: And her he loved--his Hieland girl--there 's magic in the name--


s: They a' combine to wile him back to his far Hieland hame.


s: He sigh'd for kindred hearts again, and left the sunny lands,


s: And where his father's cottage stood a stately palace stands;


s: Oh! hame is aye hamely, dear, though poor at times it be,


s: Ye winna find a spot like hame in lands beyond the sea;


s: Oh! ye may wander east or west, in quest o' wealth or fame,


s: But there 's aye a pulse within the heart beats hame, hame, hame,


s: together, confined to the sick-chamber. During the periods of


s: For, speechless through yon gow'ny glen,


s: "Ye needna' be courtin' at me, auld man,


s: Ye 're threescore an' three, an' ye 're blin' o' an e'e,


s: Sae ye needna' be courtin' at me, auld man,


s: "Stan' aff, noo, an' just lat me be, auld man,


s: Ye 're auld an' ye 're cauld, an' ye 're blin' an' ye 're bald,


s: An' ye 're nae for a lassie like me, auld man,


s: "Ha'e patience, an' hear me a wee, sweet lass,


s: I 've gowpens o' gowd, an' an aumry weel stow'd,


s: An' a heart that lo'es nane but thee, sweet lass,


s: "I 'll busk you as braw as a queen, sweet lass,


s: I 've guineas to spare, an', hark ye, what 's mair,


s: I 'm only twa score an' fifteen, sweet lass,


s: "Gae hame to your gowd an' your gear, auld man,


s: There 's a laddie I ken has a heart like mine ain,


s: An' to me he shall ever be dear, auld man,


s: "Get aff, noo, an' fash me nae mair, auld man,


s: There 's a something in love that your gowd canna move--


s: I 'll be Johnie's although I gang bare, auld man,


s: I 'll be Johnie's although I gang bare."


s: The bucket, the bucket, the bucket for me!


s: Though good ye may think it, I 'll never mair drink it--


s: There 's health in the bucket, there 's wealth in the bucket,


s: There 's mair i' the bucket than mony can see;


s: An' aye whan I leuk in 't, I find there 's a beuk in 't


s: That teaches the essence o' wisdom to me.


s: Whan whisky I swiggit, my wifie aye beggit,


s: An' aft did she sit wi' the tear in her e'e;


s: But noo--wad you think it?--whan water I drink it


s: Right blithesome she smiles on the bucket an' me.


s: The bucket 's a treasure nae mortal can measure,


s: It 's happit my wee bits o' bairnies an' me;


s: An' noo roun' my ingle, whare sorrows did mingle,


s: I 've pleasure, an' plenty, an' glances o' glee.


s: The bucket 's the bicker that keeps a man sicker,


s: The bucket 's a shield an' a buckler to me;


s: In pool or in gutter nae langer I 'll splutter,


s: But walk like a freeman wha feels he is free.


s: Ye drunkards, be wise noo, an' alter your choice noo--


s: Come cling to the bucket, an' prosper like me;


s: Ye 'll find it is better to swig "caller water,"


s: Than groan in a gutter without a bawbee!


s: cottage. In his thirteenth year, he wrote verses and became the


s: Possessed of strong poetical genius, Robert Nicoll has attained a


s: There 's nae hame like the hame o' youth,


s: An' to feast on the bramble-berries brown,


s: O' the friends I loved wi' a young heart's love


s: Are twined wi' the stanes o' the silver burn,


s: That onward sang 'neath the gowden broom


s: But thae hames are gane, an' the hand o' time


s: For though on the hearth o' my bairnhood's hame


s: Where the freeborn lintie sings its sang


s: An' the heather brown, an' the wild blue-bell


s: An' the singing birds, an' the humming bees,


s: O' the meek wild-flowers I playmates made,


s: There are lands on the earth where the vine ever blooms,


s: Where the air that is breathed the sweet orange perfumes;


s: But mair dear is the blast the lane shepherd that chills


s: As it wantons along o'er our ain Hieland hills.


s: There are rich garden lands wi' their skies ever fair;


s: But o' riches or beauty we mak na our care;


s: Our hearts to the burstin'--our ain Hieland hills.


s: In our lone and deep valleys fair maidens there are,


s: Though born in the midst o' the elements' war;


s: O sweet are the damsels that sing by our rills,


s: As they dash to the sea frae our ain Hieland hills.


s: On the moss-cover'd rock wi' their broadswords in hand,


s: To fight for fair freedom, their sons ever stand;


s: A storm-nursed bold spirit each warm bosom fills,


s: That guards frae a' danger our ain Hieland hills.


s: Bonnie Bessie Lee had a face fu' o' smiles,


s: And mirth round her ripe lip was aye dancing slee;


s: And light was the footfa', and winsome the wiles,


s: O' the flower o' the parochin, our ain Bessie Lee!


s: Wi' the bairns she would rin, and the school laddies paik,


s: And o'er the broomy braes like a fairy would flee,


s: Till auld hearts grew young again wi' love for her sake--


s: There was life in the blithe blink o' bonnie Bessie Lee!


s: She grat wi' the waefu', and laughed wi' the glad,


s: And light as the wind 'mang the dancers was she;


s: And a tongue that could jeer, too, the little limmer had,


s: Whilk keepit aye her ain side for bonnie Bessie Lee!


s: She could sing like the lintwhite that sports 'mang the whins,


s: An' sweet was her note as the bloom to the bee--


s: It has aft thrilled my heart whaur our wee burnie rins,


s: Where a' thing grew fairer wi' bonnie Bessie Lee.


s: And she whiles had a sweetheart, and sometimes had twa,


s: A limmer o' a lassie; but atween you and me,


s: Her warm wee bit heartie she ne'er threw awa',


s: Though mony a ane had sought it frae bonnie Bessie Lee.


s: But ten years had gane since I gazed on her last--


s: For ten years had parted my auld hame and me--


s: And I said to mysel', as her mither's door I passed,


s: Will I ever get anither kiss frae bonnie Bessie Lee?


s: But Time changes a' thing--the ill-natured loon!


s: Were it ever sae rightly, he 'll no let it be;


s: And I rubbit at my e'en, and I thought I would swoon,


s: How the carle had come roun' about our ain Bessie Lee!


s: The wee laughing lassie was a gudewife grown auld,


s: Twa weans at her apron, and ane on her knee,


s: She was douce too, and wise-like--and wisdom's sae cauld;


s: I would rather hae the ither ane than this Bessie Lee.


s: The last four lines of this stanza are not the production of


s: The powers that watch'd o'er Mary's birth


s: For while they filled her eyes with fire,


s: house-painter, and soon became distinguished for his skill in the


s: contributed to the _Illustrated London News_ representations of


s: Which path to heaven is surest and best:


s: Oh! for a home in the land of the blest!


s: From this sad bondage, O Lord, set me free;


s: While in the Saviour my trust it shall be.


s: The portals of glory all open I 'll see.


s: We are indebted to Mr James Ballantine, of Edinburgh, for the


s: Sweetly shines the sun on auld Edinbro' toun,


s: And you maun gang wi' me, my winsome Mary Grieve,


s: There 's nought in the world to fear ye;


s: For I ha'e ask'd your minnie, and she has gi'en ye leave


s: Oh, the sun winna blink in thy bonnie blue e'en,


s: For I 'll shade a bower wi' rashes lang and green


s: But, Mary, my love, beware ye dinna glower


s: Or the fairy will change you into a wee, wee flower,


s: And you 'll grow by the Wells o' Wearie.


s: For wanting my Mary, a' around me was but pain


s: Let fortune or fame their minions deceive,


s: True glory and wealth are mine wi' Mary Grieve,


s: Then gang wi' me, my bonnie Mary Grieve,


s: For I ha'e ask'd your minnie, and she has gi'en ye leave,


s: One of the simplest and most popular of the living national


s: Mr Laing early wrote verses. In 1819, several songs from his pen


s: appeared in the "Harp of Caledonia"--a respectable collection of


s: minstrelsy, edited by John Struthers. He subsequently became a


s: Robertson's "Whistle Binkie" and the "Book of Scottish Song." He


s: But she has smiled, and fate has frown'd,


s: An' sweet are the moments when o'er the blue ocean,


s: An' I, breathing o'er ilka tender emotion,


s: Wi' my lovely Mary, the Maid o' Montrose.


s: But gie me the grove where the broom's yellow blossom


s: Waves o'er the white lily an' red smiling rose,


s: An' ae bonnie lassie to lean on my bosom--


s: My ain lovely Mary, the Maid o' Montrose.


s: An' where can we taste o' true pleasure,


s: O sweet are the smiles an' the dimples o' beauty,


s: Where lurking the loves an' the graces repose;


s: An' sweet is the form an' the air o' the pretty,


s: But sweeter is Mary, the Maid o' Montrose.


s: The rose bloom is gane when the chill autumn's low'ring;


s: The aik's stately form when the wild winter blows;


s: But the charms o' the mind are the ties mair enduring--


s: These bind me to Mary, the Maid o' Montrose.


s: AIR--_"Miss Forbes's Farewell to Banff."_


s: On the airy Ben-Nevis the wind is awake,


s: The boat 's on the shallow, the ship on the lake;


s: The next I am far away--far on the wave!


s: Oh! fare thee well, fare thee well, Glen-na-h'Albyn!


s: I was proud of the power and the fame of my chief,


s: And to build up his House was the aim of my life;


s: And now in his greatness he turns me away,


s: When my strength is decay'd and my locks worn gray.


s: Farewell the gray stones of my ancestors' graves,


s: I go to my place 'neath the foam of the waves;


s: Where none of my fathers were gathered before!


s: "Glen-na-h'Albyn, or Glen-more-na-h'Albyn, the great Glen of


s: He has plighted his troth, and a', and a',


s: For he lo'es her, she lo'es him, 'bune a', 'bune a',


s: 'Bune pearlins, and brooches, and a', and a',


s: It 's mirth on the green, in the ha', the ha',


s: It 's mirth on the green, in the ha', the ha';


s: And the bride's father 's blithest of a', of a',


s: But it 's just that she 'll aye be awa, awa,


s: The title of this song seems to have been suggested by that of a


s: How light, how bright, the golden-wing'd hours


s: And then I spurn earth's songs and flowers,


s: And pant to breathe in heaven's own bowers.


s: O yes, there 's a valley as calm and as sweet


s: As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet;


s: So bland in its beauty, so rich in its green,


s: 'Mid Scotia's dark mountains--the Vale of Killean.


s: The flocks on its soft lap so peacefully roam,


s: The stream seeks the deep lake as the child seeks its home,


s: That has wander'd all day, to its lullaby close,


s: Singing blithe 'mid the wild-flowers, and fain would repose.


s: How solemn the broad hills that curtain around


s: This sanctuary of nature, 'mid a wilderness found,


s: Whose echoes low whisper, "Bid the world farewell,


s: And with lowly contentment here peacefully dwell!"


s: Then build me a cot by that lake's verdant shore,


s: 'Mid the world's wild turmoil I 'll mingle no more,


s: And the tidings evoking the sigh and the tear,


s: Of man's crimes and his follies, no more shall I hear.


s: Young Morn, as on tiptoe he ushers the day,


s: Will teach fading Hope to rekindle her ray;


s: And pale Eve, with her rapture tear, soft will impart


s: To the soul her own meekness--a rich glow to the heart.


s: The heavings of passion all rocked to sweet rest,


s: As repose its still waters, so repose shall this breast;


s: And 'mid brightness and calmness my spirit shall rise,


s: Like the mist from the mountain to blend with the skies.


s: My young heart's luve! twal' years ha'e been


s: Its thochts unchanged, still it is true,


s: Though fair the flowers that bloom around


s: Though bricht the streams, an' green the bowers,


s: But there are nae auld Scotland's burds,


s: The laverock, lintie, shulf, an' yyoite,


s: Their cheerfu' saft luve-lilts will tell


s: The wooded scenery of the Kelvin will in a few years be included


s: Let us haste to Kelvin Grove, bonnie lassie, O!


s: Through its mazes let us rove, bonnie lassie, O!


s: Where the midnight fairies glide, bonnie lassie, O!


s: Let us wander by the mill, bonnie lassie, O!


s: To the cove beside the rill, bonnie lassie, O!


s: Through the mountains rocky hall, bonnie lassie, O!


s: O Kelvin banks are fair, bonnie lassie, O!


s: When in summer we are there, bonnie lassie, O!


s: Round the yellow banks of broom, bonnie lassie, O!


s: Though I dare not call thee mine, bonnie lassie, O!


s: As the smile of fortune 's thine, bonnie lassie, O!


s: And win thee for my bride, bonnie lassie, O!


s: But the frowns of fortune lower, bonnie lassie, O!


s: On thy lover at this hour, bonnie lassie, O!


s: From this land I must away, bonnie lassie, O!


s: Then farewell to Kelvin grove, bonnie lassie, O!


s: And adieu to all I love, bonnie lassie, O!


s: Even to thee of all most dear, bonnie lassie, O!


s: When upon a foreign shore, bonnie lassie, O!


s: Should I fall midst battle's roar, bonnie lassie, O!


s: To his memory shed a tear, bonnie lassie, O!


s: 'Tis lovely the landscape to view, love,


s: Bright dew-drops are heard as they fall,


s: Yes, the light fairy step of my true love


s: Contributed by Mr Lyle to the present work.


s: When the merle and the blackbird build their nest


s: And every heart 's in its happiest mood,


s: And shearers ply, in the yellow ripe field,


s: When the shepherd brings his ewes to the fauld,


s: Oh, hast thou forgotten the birk tree's shade,


s: And this warm, true heart o' mine, Mary?


s: Oh, hast thou forgotten the promise thou made,


s: When so fondly 't was pressed to thine, Mary?


s: Oh, hast thou forgotten, what I ne'er can forget,


s: Those hours which, like stars in my memory, yet


s: Oh, hast thou forgotten that moment of bliss,


s: So fraught with the heart's full feeling?


s: As we clung to each other in the last embrace,


s: Oh, hast thou forgotten that sacred spot,


s: Is the sigh, and the tear, and all forgot,


s: Then for ever farewell, thou false fair one;


s: Though a fairer youth thy heart should gain,


s: And a smoother tongue should bless thee:--


s: Will breathe a soul more warm than mine,


s: When the maid of my heart, with the dark rolling eye,


s: I ask not of Heaven one bliss to impart,


s: Save that which I feel with the maid of my heart.


s: When around and above us there 's nought to be seen,


s: But the moon on the sky and the flower on the green,


s: And all is at rest in the glen and the hill,


s: Save the soul-stirring song of the breeze and the rill.


s: Then the maid of my heart to my bosom is press'd,


s: Then all I hold dear in this world is possess'd;


s: Then I ask not of Heaven one bliss to impart,


s: Oh! the land of hills is the land for me,


s: Where the maiden's step is light and free;


s: Where the shepherd's pipe, and the hunter's horn,


s: There 's a voice in the wind, when it comes from the lake,


s: There 's a voice in the wind, when it comes from the wood,


s: But, oh! when it comes from the mountain fells,


s: Where the Spirit of Song and Freedom dwells,


s: Where in youth's warm day I woke that strain


s: The warm blood leaps in its wonted course,


s: And fresh tears gush from their briny source,


s: O, saw ye this sweet bonnie lassie o' mine?


s: Or saw ye the smile on her cheek sae divine?


s: Or saw ye the kind love that speaks in her e'e?


s: It 's no that she dances sae light on the green,


s: It 's no the simplicity marked in her mien--


s: But, O! it 's the kind love that speaks in her e'e


s: That keeps me aye happy as happy can be.


s: To meet her alane 'mang the green leafy trees,


s: When naebody kens, an' when naebody sees;


s: To breathe out the soul in a saft melting kiss--


s: On earth sure there 's naething is equal to this.


s: I have felt every bliss which the soul can enjoy,


s: When friends circle round, and nought to annoy;


s: I have felt every joy which illumines the breast


s: When the full flowing bowl is most warmly caress'd.


s: But, O! there 's a sweet and a heavenly charm


s: In life's early day, when the bosom is warm,


s: When soul meets with soul in a saft melting kiss,


s: introduced it shortly after in his _Noctes Bengerianæ_, in the


s: "It 's I 'll not walk the wood wi' thee,


s: And wi' thee I 'll cross the saut sea, Willie,


s: I 'll never love a woman but thee, Mary,


s: One of the most learned of the modern Gaelic song-writers, Evan


s: The first stanza of this song was the composition of a


s: lady. Maclachlan completed the composition in Gaelic,


s: and afterwards produced the following version of the


s: Not the swan on the lake, or the foam on the shore,


s: Can compare with the charms of the maid I adore:


s: Not so white is the new milk that flows o'er the pail,


s: Or the snow that is shower'd from the boughs of the vale.


s: As the cloud's yellow wreath on the mountain's high brow,


s: The locks of my fair one redundantly flow;


s: Her cheeks have the tint that the roses display


s: When they glitter with dew on the morning of May.


s: As the planet of Venus that gleams o'er the grove,


s: Her blue rolling eyes are the symbols of love:


s: Her pearl-circled bosom diffuses bright rays,


s: Like the moon when the stars are bedimm'd with her blaze.


s: The mavis and lark, when they welcome the dawn,


s: Make a chorus of joy to resound through the lawn:


s: But the mavis is tuneless, the lark strives in vain,


s: When my beautiful charmer renews her sweet strain.


s: When summer bespangles the landscape with flowers,


s: While the thrush and the cuckoo sing soft from the bowers,


s: Through the wood-shaded windings with Bella I 'll rove,


s: And feast unrestrained on the smiles of my love.


s: These verses are allegorical. In the character of a


s: song-bird the bard relates the circumstances of his


s: nativity, the simple habits of his progenitors, and his


s: own rural tastes and recreations from infancy, giving


s: the first place to the delights of melody. He proceeds


s: to give an account of his flight to a strange but


s: hospitable region, where he continued to sing his songs


s: among the birds, the flocks, the streams, and


s: cultivated fields of the land of his sojourn. This


s: piece is founded upon a common usage of the Gaelic


s: bards, several of whom assume the allegorical character


s: of the "Mavis" of their own clan. Thus we have the


s: Mavis of Clan-ranald by Mac-Vaistir-Allister--of


s: Macdonald (of Sleat) by Mac Codrum--of Macleod, and


s: Clan Lachlan's tuneful mavis, I sing on the branches early,


s: And such my love of song, I sleep but half the night-tide rarely;


s: No bird of devastating claw, but a woodland songster meek.


s: I love the apple's infant bloom; my ancestry have fared


s: For ages on the nourishment the orchard hath prepared:


s: Their hey-day was the summer, their joy the summer's dawn,


s: And their dancing-floor it was the green leaf's velvet lawn;


s: Their song was the carol that defiance bade to care,


s: And their breath of life it was the summer's balmiest air.


s: When first my morn of life was born, the Pean's silver stream


s: But changes will come over us, and now a stranger I


s: Among the glades of Cluaran must imp my wings and fly;


s: Yet gratitude forbid complaint, although in foreign grove,


s: Since welcome to my haunt I come, and there in freedom rove.


s: By every song-bird charm'd, my ear is fed the livelong day,


s: Now from the hollow's deepest dell, now from the top-most spray,


s: With its own clusters loaded, with its rich foliage dress'd,


s: Each bough is hanging down, and each shapely stem depress'd,


s: While nestle there inhabitants, a feather'd tuneful choir,


s: The concert of your harmony, nor ever harshly jars


s: A string of all your harping, nor of your voices trill


s: Notes that are weak for tameness, that are for sharpness shrill.


s: The sun is on his flushing march, his golden hair abroad,


s: It seems as on the mountain's side of beams a furnace glow'd,


s: Now melts the honey from all flowers, and now a dew o'erspreads


s: (A dew of fragrant blessedness) all the grasses of the meads.


s: Nor least in my remembrance is my country's flowering heather,


s: Of my own Highland mountains that I climb in love and pride.


s: Dear tribes of nature! co-mates ye of nature's wandering son--


s: I hail the lambs that on the floor of milky pastures run,


s: The streams they drink are waters of the ever-gushing well,


s: I will not name each sister beam, but clustering there I see


s: The beauty of the purple-bell, the daisy of the lea.


s: Of every hue I mark them, the many-spotted kine,


s: With the barley and the corn that Scotland loves so well.


s: And now I close my clannish lay with blessings on the shade


s: That bids the mavis sing her song, well nurtured, undismay'd;


s: The shade where bloom and cresses, and the ear-honey'd heather,


s: Are smiling fair, and dwelling in their brotherhood together;


s: For the sun is setting largely, and blinks my eye its ken;


s: The stream that flows through Glen Pean.


s: distinguished from the Lowland Brown, which he assumed. He first


s: The poet had paid his addresses to one of the sisters,


s: but without the consent of her relatives, who


s: ultimately induced her to wed another. After a lapse of


s: time the bard transferred his affection to another


s: daughter of the same distinguished family, and being


s: successful, was compensated for his former trials.


s: The sundown had mantled Ben Nevis with night,


s: And the stars were attired in the glory of light,


s: And the hope of the lover was shining as day,


s: When Dunolly's fair daughter was sprited away.


s: Away she has gone at the touch of the helm,


s: And the shadows of darkness her lover o'erwhelm--


s: But, would that his strength as his purpose was true,


s: Yes! did they give courtesy, did they give time,


s: The kindred of Cowal would meet at the prime,


s: And the _Brunach_ would joy, in the succour they gave,


s: To win him a bride, or to win him a grave.


s: My lost one! I'm not like the laggard thou'st found,


s: Whose puissance scarce carries the sword he has bound;


s: In the flush of my health and my penniless youth,


s: I could well have rewarded thine honour and truth.


s: Five years they have pass'd, and the Brunach has shaken


s: The burden of woe that his spirit was breaking;


s: And the eyes of the Brunach are treasured with joy.


s: A bride worth the princesses England is rearing,


s: Comes forth from Dunolly, a star reappearing;


s: If my heart in Dunolly was garner'd before,


s: In Dunolly, my pride and my pleasure is more.


s: The lowly, the gentle, the graceful, the mild


s: That in friendship or charity never beguiled,


s: She is mine--to Dunduala that traces her stem,


s: As for kings to be proud of, 'tis prouder for them,


s: Though Donald the gracious be head of her line,


s: And "our exiled and dear" in her pedigree shine.


s: Then hearken, ye men of the country I love!


s: Despair not, unsmooth though the course of your love,


s: Ere ye yield to your sorrow or die in your folly,


s: May ye find, like the Brunach, another Dunolly.


s: Brunach--The Brown, viz., the poet himself.


s: Supposed to be the first of our Christian kings.


s: concealment by his own daughter, a child about ten years old.


s: The war was raging in Holland, under the command of the Duke of


s: York. The bard threatens to exchange the pen for the sword.


s: Versified from the Gaelic Original by the Author.


s: A brief account of the manner in which I became engaged in these


s: I ventured to communicate to the Members of the University who


s: attended my lectures, my discoveries, as it were, in the unknown


s: region of Indian poetry, and to introduce translations of such


s: original; and I cannot too strongly express my gratitude for the


s: The versification, or rather the metrical system, which I have


s: Lived of yore, a raja, Nala,--Virasena's mighty son,


s: Over, over all exalted--in his splendour like the sun:


s: Holy, deep-read in the Vedas--in Nishadha lord of earth;


s: Loving dice, of truth unblemished--chieftain of a mighty host.


s: The admired of noble women--generous, with each sense subdued.


s: Guardian of the state; of archers--best, a present Manu he.


s: So there dwelt in high Vidarbha--Bhima, terrible in strength,


s: To his court there came a Brahmin,--Damana the seer was named.


s: Him the child-desiring Bhima--in all duties skilled, received,


s: Feasted with his royal consort--in his hospitable hall.


s: Richly gifted with all virtues--mighty, fearful in their might.


s: And a hundred virgin handmaids--as around great Indra's queen.


s: In her court shone Bhima's daughter--decked with every ornament,


s: Like the long-eyed queen of beauty--without rival, without peer.


s: Never mid the gods immortal--never mid the Yaksha race,


s: Nor 'mong men was maid so lovely--ever heard of, ever seen,


s: As the soul-disturbing maiden--that disturbed the souls of gods.


s: Nala too, 'mong kings the tiger--peerless among earthly men,


s: Like Kandarpa in his beauty--like that bright-embodied God.


s: All around Vidarbha's princess--praised they Nala in their joy.


s: Ever praised they Damayanti--round Nishadha's noble king.


s: Hearing so each others virtues--all unseen they 'gan to love.


s: Thus of each, O son of Kunti,--the deep silent passion grew.


s: Nala, in his heart impatient--longer that deep love to bear,


s: To the grove, in secret, wandered--by the palace' inmost court.


s: So in Damayanti's presence--will I praise Nishadha's king,


s: Never after shall the maiden--think of mortal man but thee."


s: To Vidharba's stately city:--there by Damayanti's feet,


s: But the swan that through the forest--gentle Damayanti chased,


s: Suddenly, in human language--spake to Damayanti thus.--


s: "Damayanti, in Nishadha--Nala dwells, the noble king--


s: Like the Aswinas in beauty,--peerless among men is he.


s: O incomparable princess--to this hero wert thou wed,


s: Noble birth and perfect beauty--not unworthy fruit had borne.


s: Gods, Gandharvas, men, the Serpents,--and the Rakshasas we've


s: All we've seen--of noble Nala--never have we seen the peer.


s: Pearl art thou among all women--Nala is the pride of men.


s: If the peerless wed the peerless--blessed must the union be."


s: When the bird thus strangely speaking--gentle Damayanti heard,


s: Home then flew he to Nishadha--and to Nala told it all.


s: Damayanti, ever after--she the swan's sweet speech had heard--


s: With herself she dwelt no longer--all herself with Nala dwelt.


s: Lost in thought she sate dejected--pale her melancholy cheek,


s: Damayanti sate and yielded--all her soul to sighs of grief.


s: Upward gazing, meditative--with a wild distracted look,


s: Told how pined his gentle daughter--for the sovereign of men.


s: This from Damayanti's maidens--when the royal Bhima heard,


s: Damayanti's Swayembara--soon as heard the kings of men,


s: All obeyed king Bhima's summons--all to Bhima's court drew near;


s: All the lofty-minded rajas--Bhima with the arm of strength,


s: Moving in their might ascended--up from earth to Indra's world.


s: Great in holiness and wisdom--Narada and Parvata


s: Honoured entered they the palace--of the monarch of the gods.


s: Them salutes the cloud-compeller--of their everlasting weal,


s: Well it fares with us, Immortal--in our weal the world partakes--


s: He that Bali slew and Vritra--asked of Narada again--


s: Theirs this everlasting kingdom--even as Kamadhuk is mine.


s: O thou mighty giant slayer!--one and all approach to woo."


s: All exclaimed in sudden rapture--thither we likewise will go;


s: Set he forth, with soul all sanguine--full of Damayanti's love.


s: Saw the gods, king Nala standing--on the surface of the earth;


s: Standing in transcendent beauty--equal to the god of love.


s: Nala made his solemn promise,--"all your bidding will I do;"


s: Then with folded hands adoring--humbly of their will enquired.


s: "Who are ye? to whom must Nala--as your welcome herald go?


s: What is my commanded service?--tell me, mighty gods, the truth."


s: Spake the sovereign of Nishadha--Indra answered thus and said:--


s: "Know us, the Immortals, hither--come for Damayanti's love.


s: Indra I, and yon is Agni,--and the king of waters there--


s: Slayer he of mortal bodies,--Yama, too, is here, O king!


s: Thou, O Nala, of our coming,--must to Damayanti tell:


s: One of these celestial beings,--choose, O maiden, for thy lord."


s: Nala, thus addressed by Indra--with his folded hands replied:


s: "Thus with one accord commanding--on this mission send not me.


s: How can man, himself enamoured--for another plead his cause?


s: Spare me then, ye gods, in mercy--this unwelcome service, spare."


s: By the gods adjured so sternly--thus rejoined Nishadha's king--


s: "Strictly guarded is yon palace--how may I find entrance there?"


s: "Thou shalt enter;" thus did Indra--to the unwilling king reply.


s: In the bower of Damayanti--as they spake, king Nala stood.


s: There he saw Vidarbha's maiden--girt with all her virgin bands;


s: In her glowing beauty shining--all excelling in her form;


s: Every limb in smooth proportion--slender waist and lovely eyes;


s: Yet to keep his truth, his duty--all his passion he suppressed.


s: Yet, not venturing to accost him,--in their secret souls adored.


s: "Oh the beauty! oh the splendour!--oh the mighty hero's strength!


s: Damayanti, in her wonder--to the hero Nala spake:--


s: Watchful are our chamber wardens--stern the mandate of the king."


s: "Know, O loveliest, I am Nala--here the messenger of gods,


s: Gods desirous to possess thee;--one of these, the lord of heaven


s: Indra, Agni, Varun, Yama,--choose thou, princess, for thy lord.


s: Thou hast heard me, noble princess--even as thou wilt, decide."


s: I myself, and whatsoever--in the world I have, is thine


s: In full trust is thine--O grant me--in thy turn thy love, O king!


s: But if thou mine homage scornest--scornest me, all honoured king,


s: Every bright celestial glory--wedded to the gods, enjoy.


s: He, who all the world compressing--with devouring might consumes,


s: Yet thee only, thee, my husband--may I choose, Be this my vow!"


s: Answered he the trembling maiden--as with folded hands she stood,


s: Plighted by a sacred promise--to the everlasting gods;


s: Thus engaged to plead for others--for myself I may not plead.


s: This my duty; yet hereafter--come I on my own behalf,


s: Uttered brokenly and slowly--thus to royal Nala spake:--


s: "Yet I see a way of refuge--'tis a blameless way, O king;


s: Whence no sin to thee, O raja,--may by any chance arise.


s: Thou, O noblest of all mortals--and the gods by Indra led,


s: Come and enter in together--where the Swayembara meets;


s: Then will I, before the presence--of the guardians of the world,


s: Back again returned, where waited--eager, the expecting gods.


s: "Was she seen of thee, O monarch--Damayanti with soft smile?


s: To the bower of Damayanti--on your solemn mission sent,


s: Entered I the lofty portal--by the aged warders watched;


s: Mortal eye might not behold me--there as swift I entered in;


s: And they all in mute amazement--gazed upon me as I stood.


s: Came the day of happy omen--moonday meet, and moment apt;


s: Bhima to the Swayembara--summoned all the lords of earth.


s: One and all, upon the instant--rose th' enamoured lords of earth,


s: As with serpents, Bhogavati--the wide hall was full of kings;


s: As the mountain caves with tigers--with the tiger-warriors full.


s: Damayanti in her beauty--entered on that stately scene,


s: With her dazzling light entrancing--every eye and every soul.


s: Whichsoe'er the form she gazed on--him her Nala, him she thought.


s: Pondering thus Vidarbha's maiden--in the anguish of her heart--


s: As on earth they stand before me--not of one may I discern."


s: Long she pondered in her silence--and again, again she thought.


s: To the gods, her only refuge--turned she at this trying hour.


s: With her voice and with her spirit--she her humble homage paid.


s: As my vow, so pledged to Nala--holily must be maintained,


s: By this truth I here adjure ye--oh, ye gods, my lord reveal.


s: Each the form divine assume ye--earth's protectors, mighty lords;


s: As they heard sad Damayanti--uttering thus her piteous prayer,


s: As she prayed, the gods obedient--stood with attributes revealed:


s: Then alas! alas! burst wildly,--from that conclave of the kings,


s: Then to royal Damayanti--Virasena's kingly son,


s: To that slender waisted damsel--spake he comfort in his joy;


s: While this spirit fills this body--maiden with the smile serene!


s: Thine am I, so long thine only--this the solemn truth I vow."


s: Thus he gladdened Damayanti--with the assurance of his faith;


s: And the happy pair devoutly--worshipped then the present gods.


s: Firm and noble, Sachi's husband--Indra to king Nala gave.


s: Agni gave his own bright presence--whensoe'er the monarch called.


s: Varun gave obedient water--to be present at his call;


s: With the gentle Damayanti--as they came, in joy returned.


s: Thus the kings of earth departed;--Bhima in his joy and pride,


s: Solemnized the stately bridals--of the maiden and the king.


s: Having gained the pearl of women--the majestic lord of earth


s: Ruled the subjects of his kingdom--with a just and equal sway.


s: Of the horse the famous offering--like Nahucha's mighty son,


s: Every sacrifice performed he--with rich gifts to holy men.


s: And full oft in flowering gardens--and delicious shady groves,


s: Like a god, the royal Nala--took with Damayanti joy.


s: So begat from Damayanti--Nala, of heroic soul,


s: Indrasena one fair daughter--Indrasen one beauteous son.


s: Thus in sacrifice and pleasance--took his joy the king of men,


s: Kali as he saw, did Indra--did the giant-killer say,


s: "Here, with Dwapara attended--whither, Kali, dost thou go?"


s: Kali spake, "the Swayembara--we of Damayanti seek;


s: Her I go to make my consort--into her mine heart hath passed."


s: "Closed and ended is that bridal,"--Indra answered with a smile,


s: "Nala she hath chosen for husband--in the presence of us all."


s: Thus addressed by Indra, Kali--in the transport of his wrath,


s: All the heavenly gods saluting,--thus his malediction spake,


s: Kali hardly thus had spoken--than the heaven-born gods replied:


s: "With our full and liberal sanction--Damayanti chose her lord.


s: Who to Nala, with all virtue--rich endowed, would not incline?


s: He that rightly knows each duty--he who ever rightly acts,


s: He who reads the whole four Vedas--the Puranas too the fifth,


s: In his palace with pure offerings--ever are the gods adored,


s: Gentle to all living creatures--true in word and strict in vow;


s: On himself recoil his curses--only fatal to himself.


s: Nala, gifted with such virtues--he, O Kali, who would curse--


s: Soon as they had parted, Kali--thus to Dwapara began:


s: "I my wrath can curb no longer--I henceforth in Nala dwell;


s: Bound by that malignant treaty--Kali with his dark ally,


s: Haunted they the stately palace--where Nishadha's monarch ruled;


s: Watching still the fatal instant--in Nishadha long they dwelt.


s: Prayed at eve, with feet unwashen--Kali seized the fatal hour.


s: Into Nala straight he entered--and possessed his inmost soul.


s: Pushkara in haste he summoned--come with Nala play at dice,


s: Ever in the gainful hazard--by my subtle aid thou'lt win,


s: Even the kingdom of Nishadha--even from Nala all his realm.


s: Pushkara by Kali summoned--to his brother Nala came,


s: In the dice of dice embodied--Dwapara stood silent by.


s: Pushkara the hero-slayer--to king Nala standing near:


s: "Play we with the dice, my brother,"--thus again, again he said.


s: Long the lofty-minded raja--that bold challenge might not brook,


s: He with love of gaming maddened,--of his faithful friends not one


s: Came the citizens assembling--with the counsellors of state,


s: "All the city, noble princess--stands assembled at the gate,


s: Say thou to Nishadha's monarch--'All his subjects here are met;


s: "Raja, lo! the assembled city--at the gate their king to see:


s: With the counsellors of wisdom--by their loyal duty led.


s: Deign thou, monarch, to admit them,"--thus again, again she said.


s: Then those counsellors of wisdom--and those loyal citizens,


s: Many a weary month it lasted--and still lost the king of men.


s: Damayanti then beholding--Punyasloka, king of men,


s: Undistracted, him distracted--with the maddening love of play.


s: In her dread and in her sorrow--thus did Bhima's daughter speak;


s: Nala, 'reft of all his treasures--when the noble woman saw,


s: Thus addressed she Vrihatsena,--her old faithful slave and nurse,


s: "Vrihatsena, go, the council--as at Nala's call convene,


s: When the dice she heard for ever--adverse to the king of men,


s: And of all bereft, her Nala--to the nurse again she spake:


s: "Go again, my Vrihatsena,--in the name of Nala, go,


s: To the charioteer, Varshneya,--great the deed must now be done."


s: Vrihatsena on the instant--Damayanti's words she heard,


s: Caused the charioteer be summoned--by her messengers of trust.


s: Bhima's daughter to Varshneya--winning with her gentle voice,


s: As by Pushkara is worsted--ever more and more the king,


s: More and more the fatal frenzy--maddens in his heart for play.


s: As to Pushkara obedient--ever fall the lucky dice,


s: Thus those dice to royal Nala--still with adverse fortune fall.


s: Nor the voice of friend or kindred--as beseems him, will he hear;


s: Of the lofty-minded Nala--well I know 'tis not the sin,


s: I am not o'er calm in spirit--haply he may perish thus.


s: He, the chief of Nala's council--thus in full divan addressed,


s: There he rendered up the horses--with the chariot there he left.


s: That young maiden Indrasena--Indrasen, that noble boy.


s: To king Bhima paid his homage--sad, for Nala's fall distressed,


s: Thence departing, to Ayodhya--took the charioteer his way.


s: In his grief to Rituparna--that illustrious king, he came,


s: As his charioteer, the service--entered of the lord of earth.


s: Scarce Varshneya had departed--still the king of men played on,


s: Till to Pushkara his kingdom--all that he possessed, was lost.


s: Nala then, despoiled of kingdom--smiling Pushkara bespake:


s: "Throw we yet another hazard--Nala, where is now thy stake?


s: There remains but Damayanti--all thou hast beside, is mine.


s: Throw we now for Damayanti--come, once more the hazard try."


s: Thus as Pushkara addressed him--Punyasloka's inmost heart


s: By his grief was rent asunder--not a single word he spake.


s: And on Pushkara, king Nala--in his silent anguish gazed.


s: All his ornaments of splendour--from his person stripped he off,


s: "Whosoe'er befriendeth Nala--shall to instant death be doomed."