s: Despise not the heart you may value too late;


s: Improve the sweet sunshine that now gilds the plain;


s: With you it may never be sunshine again.


s: The simmer o' life, ah! it soon flits awa',


s: An' the bloom on your cheek will soon dow in the snaw;


s: Oh! think, ere you treat a fond youth wi' disdain,


s: That, in age, the sweet flower never blossoms again.


s: AIR--_"Miss Forbes' Farewell to Banff."_


s: Though still my heart 's at Lanark Mills.


s: While Tintock stands the pride of hills,


s: While Clyde's dark stream rolls to the sea,


s: May Heaven's best blessings smile on thee.


s: Was wading barefoot through the heather.


s: Pray sit you down, let 's talk together;


s: You 've stole my heart amang the heather."


s: You 'll lose your hearts amang the heather.


s: The more popular words to the same tune and chorus, beginning,


s: David Drummond, author of "The Bonnie Lass o' Levenside," a song


s: formerly of no inconsiderable popularity, was a native of Crieff,


s: Around her banks the wild flowers blooming;


s: And Leven's streams that glide sae saucy,


s: The little birds to cease their singing,


s: How swells my heart with rapture's tide,


s: How blest were the days o' langsyne when a laddie!


s: Alane by a bush wi' my dog and my plaidie;


s: Nae fop was sae happy, though dress'd e'er sae gaudy,


s: Sae sweet were the days o' langsyne when a laddie.


s: Whiles croonin' my sonnet amang the whin bushes,


s: Whiles whistling wi' glee as I pou'd the green rashes;


s: The whim o' the moment kept me aye frae sorrow,


s: What I wanted at night was in prospect to-morrow.


s: And plundering bykes was the game I adored;


s: My pleasures did vary, as I was unsteady,


s: Yet I always found something that pleased when a laddie.


s: The boy with great pleasure the butterfly chases;


s: When manhood approaches, the maid he embraces;


s: But view him at once baith the husband and daddie,


s: He fondly looks back to the joys o' a laddie.


s: When childhood was over my prospects were greater,


s: I tried to be happy, but, alas, foolish creature!


s: The sports of my youth were my sweetest employment--


s: Much sweetness in prospect embitters enjoyment.


s: But now I 'm grown auld, and wi' cares I 'm perplex'd,


s: How numerous the woes are by which I am vex'd!


s: I 'm tentin' the kye wi' my dog, staff, and plaidie;


s: How changed are the days since langsyne when a laddie!


s: That bids him thus forsake and grieve me?


s: This song and that following are printed from the original MSS.


s: "In life's gay morn," when hopes beat high,


s: Soft transports thrill'd my bosom through,


s: This song was set to music by R. A. Smith.


s: Edinburgh to enter into copartnership with Mr Chalmers Izzet,


s: His heart was true, and fortune smiled."


s: Spring no wild flowers nor verdure fair;


s: For once thou drank'st the hero's blood,


s: Those hearts that high with honour heave,


s: While wild birds chant from Locky's bowers,


s: "Land of proud hearts and mountains gray,


s: Where once they ruled and roam'd at will,


s: But generous hearts will weep your fate,


s: With opening flowers at spring's return!


s: My lassie is lovely, as May day adorning


s: Wi' gowans an' primroses ilka green lee;


s: Though sweet is the violet, new blown i' the morning,


s: As tender an' sweet is her blue rollin' e'e.


s: O, say what is whiter than snaw on the mountain?


s: Or what wi' the red rose in beauty can vie?


s: Yes, whiter her bosom than snaw on the mountain,


s: An' bonnie her face as the red rose can be.


s: See yon lowly cottage that stands by the wild-wood,


s: Hedged round wi' the sweetbriar and green willow-tree,


s: 'Twas yonder I spent the sweet hours of my childhood,


s: An' first felt the power of a love-rollin' e'e.


s: Though soon frae my hame an' my lassie I wander'd;


s: Though lang I 've been tossing on fortune's rough sea;


s: Aye dear was the valley where Ettrick meander'd;


s: Aye dear was the blink o' her blue-rollin' e'e.


s: Oh! for the evening, and oh! for the hour,


s: When down by yon greenwood she promised to be;


s: When quick as the summer-dew dries on the flower,


s: A' earthly affections and wishes wad flee.


s: Let Art and let Nature display their proud treasures;


s: Let Paradise boast o' what ance it could gie;


s: As high is my bliss, an' as sweet are my pleasures,


s: In the heart-melting blink o' my lassie's blue e'e.


s: cultivated the society of lovers of Scottish song. In 1841, in


s: birthplace. In the _Glasgow Citizen_ newspaper, he subsequently


s: This volume of the merry Anstruther rhymers is entitled


s: Good-Fellowship throughout the British Empire."


s: The cantie Spring scarce rear'd her head,


s: Our hearts were light, our hopes were high


s: I 've seen thine e'en like crystal clear,


s: These are the charms that mak thee dear,


s: The heroine of this song subsequently became the author's wife.


s: Grim winter was howlin' owre muir and owre mountain,


s: And bleak blew the wind on the wild stormy sea;


s: The cauld frost had lock'd up each riv'let and fountain,


s: As I took the dreich road that leads north to Dundee.


s: Though a' round was dreary, my heart was fu' cheerie,


s: And cantie I sung as the bird on the tree;


s: For when the heart 's light, the feet winna soon weary,


s: Though ane should gang further than bonnie Dundee!


s: Arrived at the banks o' sweet Tay's flowin' river,


s: I look'd, as it rapidly row'd to the sea;


s: And fancy, whose fond dream still pleases me ever,


s: Beguiled the lone passage to bonnie Dundee.


s: There, glowrin' about, I saw in his station


s: When fair stood a mark, on the face o' creation,


s: The lovely young Peggy, the pride o' Dundee!


s: O! aye since the time I first saw this sweet lassie,


s: I 'm listless, I 'm restless, wherever I be;


s: I 'm dowie, and donnart, and aften ca'd saucy;


s: They kenna its a' for the lass o' Dundee!


s: O! lang may her guardians be virtue and honour;


s: Though anither may wed her, yet well may she be;


s: And blessin's in plenty be shower'd down upon her--


s: The lovely young Peggie, the pride o' Dundee!


s: Is throned on high in her beauty bright:


s: The cold flowers which the valleys strew


s: The opening blue-bell--Scotland's pride--


s: But cheer'd by thee, the griefs we share


s: That calms the throbbing breast of pain,


s: The lover's thoughts and feelings seize;


s: I heard the evening linnet's voice the woodland tufts among,


s: Yet sweeter were the tender woes of Isabella's song;


s: So soft into the ear they steal, so soft into the soul,


s: I look'd upon the pure brook that murmur'd through the glade,


s: And mingled in the melody that Isabella made;


s: Yet purer was the residence of Isabella's heart,


s: Above the reach of pride and guile, above the reach of art.


s: I look'd upon the azure of the deep unclouded sky,


s: Yet clearer was the blue serene of Isabella's eye;


s: Ne'er softer fell the rain-drop of the first relenting year,


s: Than falls from Isabella's eye the pity-melted tear.


s: All this my fancy prompted, ere a sigh of sorrow proved,


s: How hopelessly, yet faithfully, and tenderly I loved!


s: Yet though bereft of hope I love, still will I love the more,


s: As distance binds the exile's heart to his dear native shore.


s: AIR--_"Here 's a health to ane I love dear."_


s: Inconstant thou art, as the dew of the morn,


s: Thou swar'st by the moon's sacred light;


s: I would trust more than thee and thy art!


s: And leave thy friens i' th' south countrie--


s: At e'en, whan darkness shrouds the sight,


s: There 's beauty 'mang hills o' the Highlan's,


s: But the heather its sweet scent discloses,


s: See yon far heathy hills, whare they 're risin',


s: There the fleet mountain roes they are lyin',


s: Right sweet are our scenes i' the gloamin',


s: Right sweet is the low-setting sunbeams,


s: While blinkin' love beam'd frae her e'e,


s: While Scotlan's braes shall wave wi' grain,


s: Till this fond heart shall break wi' pain,


s: Though sweet is spring, whan young and gay,


s: TUNE--_"Will ye walk the woods with me?"_


s: Alexander Rodger was born on the 16th July 1784, at East Calder,


s: Clasp'd to each other's throbbing breast--


s: Makes rapture thrill through all my veins--


s: Gin that 's the case, there 's time and place,


s: And when were ane, bluid, flesh, and bane,


s: How happy lives the peasant, by his ain fireside,


s: Wha weel employs the present, by his ain fireside;


s: Wi' his wifie blithe and free, and his bairnie on his knee,


s: Smiling fu' o' sportive glee, by his ain fireside!


s: Nae cares o' state disturb him, by his ain fireside;


s: Nae foolish fashions curb him, by his ain fireside;


s: In his elbow-chair reclined, he can freely speak his mind,


s: To his bosom-mate sae kind, by his ain fireside.


s: When his bonnie bairns increase, around his ain fireside,


s: What health, content, and peace surround his ain fireside,


s: A' day he gladly toils, and at night delighted smiles


s: At their harmless pranks and wiles, about his ain fireside;


s: And while they grow apace, about his ain fireside,


s: In beauty, strength, and grace, about his ain fireside,


s: Wi' virtuous precepts kind, by a sage example join'd,


s: He informs ilk youthfu' mind, about his ain fireside.


s: When the shivering orphan poor draws near his ain fireside,


s: And seeks the friendly door, that guards his ain fireside,


s: She 's welcomed to a seat, bidden warm her little feet,


s: While she 's kindly made to eat, by his ain fireside.


s: When youthfu' vigour fails him, by his ain fireside,


s: And hoary age assails him, by his ain fireside,


s: With joy he back surveys all his scenes of bygone days,


s: As he trod in wisdom's ways, by his ain fireside.


s: And when grim death draws near him, by his ain fireside,


s: What cause has he to fear him, by his ain fireside?


s: With a bosom-cheering hope, he takes heaven for his prop,


s: Then calmly down does drop, by his ain fireside.


s: Oh! may that lot be ours, by our ain fireside;


s: Then glad will fly the hours, by our ain fireside;


s: May virtue guard our path, till we draw our latest breath,


s: Then we 'll smile and welcome death, by our ain fireside.


s: And to this heart 't were death's dread knell,


s: One home, one hearth, shall ours be still,


s: literature the vigour of a master intellect, he riveted public


s: attention by the force of his declamation, the catholicity of his


s: _nom-de-guerre_, became a monthly treasure of interest and


s: I walk'd by mysel' owre the sweet braes o' Yarrow,


s: When the earth wi' the gowans o' July was dress'd;


s: But the sang o' the bonnie burn sounded like sorrow,


s: Round ilka house cauld as a last-simmer's nest.


s: I look'd through the lift o' the blue smiling morning,


s: But never a wee cloud o' mist could I see,


s: On its way up to heaven, the cottage adorning,


s: Hanging white owre the green o' its sheltering tree.


s: By the outside I kenn'd that the inn was forsaken,


s: That nae tread o' footsteps was heard on the floor;


s: Oh, loud craw'd the cock whare was nane to awaken,


s: And the wild raven croak'd on the seat by the door!


s: Sic silence--sic lonesomeness, oh, were bewildering!


s: I heard nae lass singing when herding her sheep;


s: I met nae bright garlands o' wee rosy children,


s: Dancing onto the school-house, just waken'd frae sleep.


s: I pass'd by the school-house, when strangers were coming,


s: Whose windows with glad faces seem'd all alive;


s: Ae moment I hearken'd, but heard nae sweet humming,


s: For a night o' dark vapour can silence the hive.


s: I pass'd by the pool where the lasses at daw'ing,


s: Used to bleach their white garments wi' daffin and din;


s: But the foam in the silence o' nature was fa'ing,


s: And nae laughing rose loud through the roar of the linn.


s: I gaed into a small town, when sick o' my roaming,


s: Whare ance play'd the viol, the tabor, and flute;


s: 'Twas the hour loved by labour, the saft smiling gloaming,


s: Yet the green round the cross-stane was empty and mute.


s: To the yellow-flower'd meadow, and scant rigs o' tillage,


s: The sheep a' neglected had come frae the glen;


s: The cushat-dow coo'd in the midst o' the village,


s: And the swallow had flown to the dwellings o' men!


s: Sweet Denholm! not thus when I lived in thy bosom


s: Thy heart lay so still the last night o' the week;


s: Then nane was sae weary that love would nae rouse him,


s: And grief gaed to dance with a laugh on his cheek.


s: Sic thoughts wet my een, as the moonshine was beaming


s: On the kirk-tower that rose up sae silent and white;


s: The wan ghastly light on the dial was streaming,


s: But the still finger tauld not the hour of the night.


s: The mirk-time pass'd slowly in siching and weeping,


s: I waken'd, and nature lay silent in mirth;


s: Owre a' holy Scotland the Sabbath was sleeping,


s: And heaven in beauty came down on the earth.


s: The morning smiled on--but nae kirk-bell was ringing,


s: Nae plaid or blue bonnet came down frae the hill;


s: The kirk-door was shut, but nae psalm tune was singing,


s: And I miss'd the wee voices sae sweet and sae shrill.


s: I look'd owre the quiet o' death's empty dwelling,


s: The laverock walk'd mute 'mid the sorrowful scene,


s: And fifty brown hillocks wi' fresh mould were swelling


s: Owre the kirkyard o' Denholm, last simmer sae green.


s: The infant had died at the breast o' its mither;


s: The cradle stood still at the mitherless bed;


s: At play the bairn sunk in the hand o' its brither;


s: At the fauld on the mountain the shepherd lay dead.


s: Oh! in spring-time 'tis eerie, when winter is over,


s: And birds should be glinting owre forest and lea,


s: When the lint-white and mavis the yellow leaves cover,


s: And nae blackbird sings loud frae the tap o' his tree.


s: But eerier far, when the spring-land rejoices,


s: And laughs back to heaven with gratitude bright,


s: To hearken, and naewhere hear sweet human voices


s: When man's soul is dark in the season o' light!


s: And thy heart broods o'er home-born dreams!


s: And when thou speak'st, thy melting tone,


s: With the wife's love, the mother's fears!


s: Of the eider-down that is spread for thee,


s: For mine, sweet Sleep! is a couch of stone.


s: But thou, glad Sleep! lov'st gladsome airs,


s: And wilt only come to thy lover's prayers,


s: When the bells of merriment are ringing,


s: Fair Sleep! so long in thy beauty woo'd,


s: Dear Sleep, farewell! hour, hour, hour, hour,


s: Will slowly bring on the gleam of morrow;


s: And lie wilt thou not in the arms of Sorrow.


s: The present memoir is condensed from a well written biographical


s: Losh! I thought that the sound o' the happer


s: While the happer said, Tak it, man, tak it.


s: Oh! I thought ilka dunt it would crack it;


s: Sae I flang frae my neive what was in 't,


s: Still the happer said, Tak it, man, tak it.


s: Might be deaved wi' its clamorous clapper;


s: Yet there 's few but would suffer the sough


s: After kenning what 's said by the happer.


s: I whiles thought it scoff'd me to scorn,


s: Saying, Shame, is your conscience no checkit?


s: The smugglers whiles cam wi' their pocks,


s: Gaed them grain for a soup o' their liquor.


s: Nae doubt but ye 'll think I was wrang o 't,


s: A' my tale, and he made a bit sang o 't;


s: But for singing I ne'er got the knack o 't;


s: Yet I tried whiles, just thinking to please


s: For 'twad seem that the hale race o' men,


s: Made notes to ring through head and heart,


s: Where, noddin', she looks o'er the Firth,


s: Wark bodies fling their trantlooms doun,


s: And gilphies forget the stock and horle,


s: Pate Birnie was a celebrated fiddler or violinist who resided in


s: An old designation for the city of Edinburgh, often used by the


s: Shall I leave thee, thou land to my infancy dear,


s: For the clime of the stranger, the solitude drear,


s: Shall I give my lone bosom a prey to its strife?


s: Must I friendship's just claims disallow?


s: No; her breathings can cool the hot fever of life,


s: 'Tis said that the comforts of plenty abound


s: In the wide-spreading plains of the west;


s: That there an asylum of peace shall be found


s: Where the care-stricken wanderer may rest.


s: That nature uncheck'd there displays all her pride


s: That the river rolls onward its ocean-like tide,


s: But is there a spot in that far distant land


s: Or how shall the heart of the exile expand,


s: Though thy children, old Albyn! adversity bear,


s: As forlorn o'er thy mountains they roam,


s: Yet I 've found, what in vain I should seek for elsewhere--


s: I have found 'mong these mountains a home.


s: How lovely the beam on thy moorland appears,


s: And how comely the garment that evening wears


s: Ah! strong are the ties that the patriot bind,


s: The turf that he treads, by the best of their kind,


s: Nor is there a field--not a foot of thy soil,


s: Unmark'd in the annals of chivalrous toil,


s: The rill hath a voice from the rock as it pours,


s: For the life-blood of martyrs hath hallow'd thy muirs,


s: And their names are revered in the vale.


s: How sacred the stone that, remote on the heath,


s: O'er the bones of the righteous was laid,


s: Who triumph'd in death o'er the foes of their faith,


s: And sweet are the songs of the land of my love,


s: Or lofty and loud, like the thunder above,


s: Or the storm-cloud of passion, they roll.


s: While summer, beyond the Atlantic's wide waste,


s: My country! thou boastest the verdure of taste,


s: No! I will not forsake thee, thou land of my lay!


s: O'er thy lea I have revell'd in youth's sunny ray,


s: And thy wild-flowers shall spangle my grave.


s: Besides conducting Constable's magazine, Pringle undertook the


s: O bonnie grows the broom on Blaiklaw knowes,


s: And green are the hills o' the milk-white ewes,


s: Here bright are the skies; and these valleys of bloom


s: But all seems dress'd in death-like gloom,


s: Far round and round spreads the howling waste,


s: But I wake to weep 'mid the desolate scene


s: Oh light, light is poverty's lowliest state,


s: Compared with the heart-sick exile's fate,


s: And dearly I love when the gray-mantled gloaming


s: Adown the dim valley glides slowly along,


s: And finds me afar by the pine-forest roaming,


s: A-list'ning the close of the gray linnet's song.


s: When the moon from her fleecy cloud scatters


s: Comes soft through the silence of night--


s: I love by the ruin'd tower lonely to linger,


s: A-dreaming to fancy's wild witchery given,


s: And hear, as if swept by some seraph's pure finger,


s: The harp of the winds breathing accents of heaven.


s: Yet still, 'mid sweet fancies o'erflowing,


s: Oft bursts from my lone breast the sigh--


s: Come, friend of my bosom! with kindred devotion,


s: To worship with me by wild mountain and grove;


s: With rapture to hallow the chaste home of love!


s: But I 've a heart that 's leal and true,


s: You 'll view the land o' flood and fell,


s: O brave Caledonians! my brothers, my friends,


s: Now sorrow is borne on the wings of the winds;


s: Care sleeps with the sun in the seas of the west,


s: And courage is lull'd in the warrior's breast.


s: Here social pleasure enlivens each heart,


s: And friendship is ready its warmth to impart;


s: The goblet is fill'd, and each worn one partakes,


s: To drink plenty and peace to the dear land of cakes.


s: Though the Bourbon may boast of his vine-cover'd hills,


s: Through each bosom the tide of depravity thrills;


s: Though the Indian may sit in his green orange bowers,


s: There slavery's wail counts the wearisome hours.


s: Though our island is beat by the storms of the north,


s: There blaze the bright meteors of valour and worth;


s: There the loveliest rose-bud of beauty awakes


s: From that cradle of virtue, the dear land of cakes.


s: O valour! thou guardian of freedom and truth,


s: Thou stay of old age, and thou guidance of youth!


s: Still, still thy enthusiast transports pervade


s: The breast that is wrapt in the green tartan plaid.


s: And ours are the shoulders that never shall bend


s: To the rod of a tyrant, that scourge of a land;


s: Ours the bosoms no terror of death ever shakes,


s: When call'd in defence of the dear land of cakes.


s: Shall the ghosts of our fathers, aloft on each cloud,


s: When the rage of the battle is dreadful and loud,


s: See us shrink from our standard with fear and dismay,


s: And leave to our foemen the pride of the day?


s: No, by heavens we will stand to our honour and trust!


s: Till our heart's blood be shed on our ancestors' dust,


s: Till we sink to the slumber no war-trumpet breaks,


s: Beneath the brown heath of the dear land of cakes.


s: O, peace to the ashes of those that have bled


s: For the land where the proud thistle raises its head!


s: O, peace to the ashes of those gave us birth,


s: In a land freedom renders the boast of the earth!


s: Though their lives are extinguish'd, their spirit remains,


s: And swells in their blood that still runs in our veins;


s: Still their deathless achievements our ardour awakes,


s: For the honour and weal of the dear land of cakes.


s: Ye sons of old Scotia, ye friends of my heart,


s: From our word, from our trust, let us never depart;


s: Nor e'er from our foe till with victory crown'd,


s: And the balm of compassion is pour'd in his wound;


s: And still to our loves and our friendships sincere;


s: And, till heaven's last thunder the firmament shakes,


s: May happiness beam on the dear land of cakes.


s: She was mine when the leaves of the forest were green,


s: When the rose-blossoms hung on the tree;


s: And dear, dear to me were the joys that had been,


s: But she faded more fast than the blossoms could fade,


s: And when the green leaves of the forest decay'd,


s: I saw my true-love first on the banks of queenly Tay,


s: Nor did I deem it yielding my trembling heart away;


s: I feasted on her deep, dark eye, and loved it more and more,


s: For, oh! I thought I ne'er had seen a look so kind before!


s: I heard my true-love sing, and she taught me many a strain,


s: But a voice so sweet, oh! never shall my cold ear hear again.


s: In all our friendless wanderings--in homeless penury--


s: Her gentle song and jetty eye were all unchanged to me.


s: I saw my true-love fade--I heard her latest sigh;


s: I wept no friv'lous weeping when I closed her lightless eye:


s: Far from her native Tay she sleeps, and other waters lave


s: The markless spot where Ury creeps around my Jeanie's grave.


s: Move noiseless, gentle Ury! around my Jeanie's bed,


s: And I 'll love thee, gentle Ury! where'er my footsteps tread;


s: For sooner shall thy fairy wave return from yonder sea,


s: Than I forget yon lowly grave, and all it hides from me.


s: When a' ither bairnies are hush'd to their hame


s: By aunty, or cousin, or frecky grand-dame,


s: Wha stands last and lanely, an' naebody carin'?


s: 'Tis the puir doited loonie--the mitherless bairn!


s: The mitherless bairn gangs to his lane bed,


s: Nane covers his cauld back, or haps his bare head;


s: His wee hackit heelies are hard as the airn,


s: An' litheless the lair o' the mitherless bairn.


s: Aneath his cauld brow siccan dreams hover there,


s: O' hands that wont kindly to kame his dark hair;


s: But mornin' brings clutches, a' reckless an' stern,


s: That lo'e nae the locks o' the mitherless bairn!


s: Yon sister that sang o'er his saftly-rock'd bed


s: Now rests in the mools whare her mammie is laid;


s: The father toils sair their wee bannock to earn,


s: An' kens na' the wrangs o' his mitherless bairn.


s: Her spirit that pass'd in yon hour o' his birth,


s: Still watches his wearisome wanderings on earth;


s: Recording in heaven the blessings they earn,


s: Wha couthilie deal wi' the mitherless bairn!


s: Oh! speak him na' harshly--he trembles the while,


s: He bends to your bidding, and blesses your smile;


s: In their dark hour o' anguish, the heartless shall learn


s: That God deals the blow for the mitherless bairn!


s: An Inverury correspondent writes: "Thom gave me the following


s: At hame or afield I am cheerless an' lone,


s: I 'm dull on the Ury, an' droop by the Don;


s: Their murmur is noisy, and fashious to hear,


s: An' the lay o' the lintie fa's dead on my ear.


s: I hide frae the morn, and whaur naebody sees;


s: I greet to the burnie, an' sich to the breeze;


s: Though I sich till I 'm silly, an' greet till I dee,


s: Kintore is the spot in this world for me.


s: But the lass o' Kintore, oh! the lass o' Kintore,


s: Be warned awa' frae the lass o' Kintore;


s: There 's a love-luring look that I ne'er kent afore


s: Steals cannily hame to the heart at Kintore.


s: They bid me forget her, oh! how can it be?


s: In kindness or scorn she 's ever wi' me;


s: I feel her fell frown in the lift's frosty blue,


s: An' I weel ken her smile in the lily's saft hue.


s: I 've liked her lang, an' I aye like her yet;


s: My poor heart may wither, may waste to its core,


s: But forget her, oh never! the lass o' Kintore!


s: Oh the wood o' Kintore, the holmes o' Kintore!


s: The love-lichtin' e'e that I ken at Kintore;


s: I 'll wander afar, an' I 'll never look more


s: On the gray glance o' Peggy, or bonnie Kintore!


s: Oh! how can I be cheerie in this hameless ha'?


s: The very sun glints eerie on the gilded wa';


s: Though mony miles between us, an' far, far frae me,


s: The bush that wont to screen us frae the cauld warl's e'e,


s: Ye promised to speak o' me to the lanesome moon,


s: An' weird kind wishes to me, in the lark's saft soun';


s: Then how can I be cheerie in the stranger's ha'?


s: A gowden prison drearie, my luckless fa'!


s: William Glen was about six feet in height; his person, which was


s: originally slender, afterwards became portly. He was of a fair


s: To Mr James C. Roger, of Glasgow, we have to acknowledge our


s: Quoth I, "My bird, my bonnie, bonnie bird,


s: Are thae some words ye 've learnt by heart,


s: An' whare wast that your Prince lay down,


s: The sun hadna peep'd frae behint the dark billow,


s: The slow sinking moon half illumined the scene;


s: As I lifted my head frae my care-haunted pillow,


s: An' wander'd to muse on the days that were gane.


s: Sweet hope seem'd to smile o'er ideas romantic,


s: An' gay were the dreams that my soul would beguile;


s: But my eyes fill'd wi' tears as I view'd the Atlantic,


s: An' thought on my Mary of sweet Aberfoyle.


s: Though far frae my hame in a tropical wildwood,


s: Yet the fields o' my forefathers rose on my view;


s: An' I wept when I thought on the days of my childhood,


s: An' the vision was painful the brighter it grew.


s: Sweet days! when my bosom with rapture was swelling,


s: Though I knew it not then, it was love made me smile;


s: Oh! the snaw wreath is pure where the moonbeams are dwelling,


s: Yet as pure is my Mary of sweet Aberfoyle.


s: Now far in the east the sun slowly rising,


s: Brightly gilded the top of the tall cabbage tree;


s: And sweet was the scene such wild beauties comprising,


s: As might have fill'd the sad mourner with rapture and glee.


s: But my heart felt nae rapture, nae pleasant emotion,


s: The saft springs o' pleasure had lang, lang been seal'd;


s: I thought on my home 'cross a wide stormy ocean,


s: And wept for my Mary of sweet Aberfoyle.


s: The orange was bathed in the dews o' the morning,


s: An' the bright draps bespangled the clustering vine;


s: White were the blossoms the lime-tree adorning,


s: An' brown was the apple that grew on the pine.


s: Sic beautiful scenes might give pleasure the while;


s: But the joy o' a slave is aye waverin' an' shiftin',


s: An' a slave I 'm to Mary of sweet Aberfoyle.


s: When the mirk cloud o' fortune aboon my head gathers,


s: An' the golden shower fa's whare it ne'er fell before;


s: Oh! then I 'll revisit the land of my fathers,


s: An' clasp to this bosom the lass I adore.


s: Hear me, ye angels, who watch o'er my maiden,


s: (Like ane o' yoursels she is free frae a' guile),


s: Green be the turf upon the warrior's breast,


s: And his name, through endless ages shall endure;


s: Where Albion's bold sons to victory were led.


s: But dauntless was your chief, that meteor of war,


s: Breathe, sweetly breathe, a soft love-soothing strain,


s: He rush'd to battle, and he won his fame;


s: Peal for a lofty spirit-stirring strain;


s: Till then, sweet harp, hang on the willow tree;


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


s: The "gallant Græme," Lord Lynedoch, on hearing this song at a


s: Thou'st touch'd the string o' a' my woes;


s: Couldst thou but learn frae me my grief,


s: Sweet bird, thou 'dst leave thy native grove,


s: Thou 'dst sing thy sweetest, saddest lay,


s: How eerily, how drearily, how wearily to pine,


s: When my love 's in a foreign land, far frae thae arms o' mine;


s: Three years hae come an' gane, sin' first he said to me,


s: That he wad stay at hame wi' Jean, wi' her to live an' dee;


s: The day comes in wi' sorrow now, the night is wild an' drear,


s: An' every hour that passes by I water wi' a tear.


s: I kiss my bonnie baby, I clasp it to my breast,


s: Ah! aft wi' sic a warm embrace, it's father hath me press'd!


s: An' whan I gaze upon its face, as it lies on my knee,


s: The crystal draps upon its cheeks will fa' frae ilka ee;


s: Oh! mony a, mony a burning tear upon its cheeks will fa',


s: For oh! its like my bonnie love, and he is far awa'.


s: Whan the spring time had gane by, an' the rose began to blaw,


s: An' the harebell an' the violet adorn'd ilk bonnie shaw;


s: 'Twas then my love cam courtin' me, and wan my youthfu' heart,


s: An' mony a tear it cost my love ere he could frae me part;


s: But though he 's in a foreign land far, far across the sea,


s: I ken my Jamie's guileless heart is faithfu' unto me.


s: Ye wastlin win's upon the main blaw wi' a steady breeze,


s: And waft my Jamie hame again across the roaring seas;


s: Oh! whan he clasps me in his arms in a' his manly pride,


s: I 'll ne'er exchange that ae embrace for a' the warl' beside;


s: Then blaw a steady gale, ye win's, waft him across the sea,


s: And bring my Jamie hame again to his wee bairn an' me.


s: An' the Scottish thistle rear'd its head


s: At the battle of Vittoria, the 71st, or Glasgow Regiment, bore a


s: applause; it was nightly called for during the season.


s: AIR--_"Blink over the burn, sweet Betty."_


s: The cheek o' my love 's like the rose-bud,


s: Her lips are like threads o' the scarlet,


s: 'Tis her heavenly seraph-like sweetness,


s: An' she says, though her father forbade it,


s: She 'll ne'er break the vows she has sworn.


s: But she says, though her father forbade it,


s: Thou 'lt claim the deepest, dearest sigh,


s: An' think, while listenin' a' the while,


s: While straying through the Indian groves,


s: A writer of verses from his boyhood, Vedder experienced agreeable


s: Let warriors rush through flood and fire,


s: When incense breathes from heath and wold--


s: Will blithely churm at "auld gray-thrums."


s: And low-breathed blessings rise like those


s: I 'll kiss thy beauteous brow once more;


s: I neither got promise of siller nor land


s: With the bonnie wee darling who gave me her hand;


s: But I got a kind heart with my sweet blushing bride,


s: And that 's proved the bliss of my ain fireside.


s: There 's happiness aye at my ain fireside!


s: Ambition once pointed my view towards rank,


s: To meadows and manors, and gold in the bank:


s: 'Twas but for an hour; and I cherish with pride


s: My sweet lovely flower at my ain fireside.


s: My Jeanie 's the charm of my ain fireside!


s: Her accents are music; there 's grace in her air;


s: She 's lovelier now than in maidenly pride,


s: Though she 's long been the joy of my ain fireside.


s: There 's harmony still at my ain fireside!


s: Let the minions of fortune and fashion go roam,


s: I 'm content with the sweet, simple pleasures of home;


s: Though their wine, wit, and humour flow like a spring-tide,


s: What are these to the bliss of my dear fireside?


s: There are pleasures untold at my ain fireside!


s: AIR--_"He 's dear to me, though far frae me."_


s: And pours his glittering treasure forth;


s: The song-birds pour their sweetest lays,


s: AIR--_"There 's a bonnie brier bush in our kail-yard."_


s: When the lark is in the air, the leaf upon the tree,


s: The butterfly disporting beside the hummel bee;


s: The scented hedges white, the fragrant meadows pied,


s: How sweet it is to wander by bonnie Nithside!


s: When the blackbird piping loud the mavis strives to drown,


s: And schoolboys seeking nests find each nursling fledged or flown,


s: How sweet at dewy morn to roam by bonnie Nithside!


s: When the flies are on the stream, 'neath a sky of azure hue,


s: And anglers take their stand by the waters bright and blue;


s: While the coble circles pools, where the monarch salmon glide,


s: Surpassing sweet on summer days is bonnie Nithside!


s: When the corncraik's voice is mute, as her young begin to flee,


s: And seek with swifts and martins some home beyond the sea;


s: And reapers crowd the harvest-field, in man and maiden pride,


s: How exquisite the golden hours on bonnie Nithside!


s: When stubbles yield to tilth, and woodlands brown and sear,


s: The falling leaf and crispy pool proclaim the waning year;


s: And sounds of sylvan pastime ring through our valley wide,


s: Vicissitude itself is sweet by bonnie Nithside!


s: And when winter comes at last, capping every hill with snow,


s: And freezing into icy plains the struggling streams below,


s: You still may share the curler's joys, and find at even-tide,


s: Maids sweet and fair, in spence and ha', at bonnie Nithside!


s: commendation of Sir Walter Scott, and he was a frequent guest at


s: unpublished volumes of his "Ballad Collections" are now in the


s: I 'll hail wi' you the blithesome change,


s: The first stanza of this song is the composition of Robert


s: William Finlay was the son of an operative shawl manufacturer in


s: Thy sparkling streams, thy plantin's green,


s: Whase hearts were loupin' licht wi' glee,


s: Thy tinkling rills, thy heath-clad hills,


s: John Gibson Lockhart, the distinguished editor of the _Quarterly


s: Lockhart was translated from Cambusnethan to the College church,


s: pulmonary consumption. After a period of physical prostration, he


s: _Blackwood's Magazine_; and by his learned and ingenious articles


s: publication of his translations from the "Spanish Ballads." He


s: Abbotsford entail, have assumed the name of Scott. Their infant


s: Possessed of a vigorous intellect, varied talents, and accurate


s: TUNE--_"Oh, the roast beef of Old England."_


s: Now there 's peace on the shore, now there 's calm on the sea,


s: Fill a glass to the heroes whose swords kept us free,


s: Right descendants of Wallace, Montrose, and Dundee.


s: Old Sir Ralph Abercromby, the good and the brave--


s: Let him flee from our board, let him sleep with the slave,


s: Whose libation comes slow while we honour his grave.


s: Though he died not like him amid victory's roar,


s: Though disaster and gloom wove his shroud on the shore;


s: Not the less we remember the spirit of Moore.


s: Yea a place with the fallen, the living shall claim,


s: We 'll entwine in one wreath every glorious name,


s: Count the rocks of the Spey, count the groves of the Forth--


s: Count the stars in the clear cloudless heaven of the north;


s: Then go blazon their numbers, their names and their worth.


s: The highest in splendour, the humblest in place,


s: Stand united in glory, as kindred in race;


s: For the private is brother in blood to his Grace.


s: Then sacred to each and to all let it be,


s: Fill a glass to the heroes whose swords kept us free,


s: Right descendants of Wallace, Montrose, and Dundee.


s: Oh! we ne'er shall see the like of Captain Paton no mo'e!


s: Oh! I ne'er shall take potluck with Captain Paton no mo'e!


s: And then all the time he would discourse


s: Which he scarce could credit, having heard


s: Oh! we ne'er shall hear the like from Captain Paton no mo'e!


s: And we laid him by the Ram's-horn kirk--


s: For it ne'er shall see the like of Captain Paton no mo'e!


s: Listen to me, as when ye heard our father


s: Sing, long ago, the song of other shores;


s: All your deep voices, as ye pull your oars:


s: Fair these broad meads--these hoary woods are grand;


s: But we are exiles from our fathers' land!


s: From the lone shieling of the misty island


s: Mountains divide us, and the waste of seas;


s: Yet still the blood is strong, the heart is Highland,


s: We ne'er shall tread the fancy-haunted valley,


s: Where, 'tween the dark hills, creeps the small clear stream,


s: In arms around the patriach-banner rally,


s: Nor see the moon on royal tombstones gleam.


s: Come, foreign rage!--let discord burst in slaughter!


s: Oh then for clansman true, and stern claymore!


s: The hearts that would have given their blood like water


s: This simple and interesting lyric appears in No. XLVI. of the


s: But smiles, like blinks o' simmer sheen,


s: James Brown was born at Libberton, a village in the upper ward of


s: Yestreen as I stray'd on the banks o' the Clyde,


s: A laddie beneath the gay greenwood I spied,


s: Who sang o' his Peggy, and oh! he seem'd wae,


s: For Peggy, sweet Peggy, was far, far away.


s: Though fair burns the taper in yon lofty ha',


s: Yet nought now shines bright where her shade doesna fa';


s: My Peggy was pure as the dew-drops o' May,


s: But Peggy, sweet Peggy, is far, far away.


s: Ye breezes that curve the blue waves o' the Clyde,


s: And sigh 'mang the dark firs on yon mountain side,


s: How dreary your murmurs throughout the lang day,


s: Since Peggy, sweet Peggy, gaed far, far away.


s: The sable-wing'd blackbird yon birk-trees amang,


s: And mavis sing notes that accord wi' my sang,


s: A' nature is dowie, by bank and by brae,


s: Ye dew-dripping daisies that bloom by the burn,


s: Though scathed by rude winter in spring ye return;


s: I mark'd, but I minded no whit your decay,


s: Ere Peggy, sweet Peggy, gaed far, far away.


s: I mourn'd not the absence o' summer or spring,


s: Nor aught o' the beauties the seasons may bring,


s: E'en 'mid the dark winter this heart still was gay,


s: The bleak blawing winter, wi' a' its alarms,


s: Might add to, but tak not away from her charms,


s: The snaws seem'd as welcome as summer-won hay,


s: Our Henry lo'es Mary, Jock dotes upon Jean,


s: And Willie ca's Nancy o' beauty the queen,


s: But Peggy was mine, and far lovelier than they,


s: Oh, when will the days o' this sadness be o'er,


s: It kens she 's the loveliest it ere made o' clay,


s: And ill I may thole that she 's far, far away.


s: Love brought me a bough o' the willow sae green


s: That waves by yon brook where the wild-flowers grow sheen;


s: And braiding my harp wi' the sweet budding rue,


s: It mellow'd its tones 'mang the saft falling dew;


s: It whisper'd a strain that I wist na to hear,


s: That false was the lassie my bosom held dear;


s: Pride stirr'd me to sing, as I tore off the rue--


s: If she 's got ae sweetheart, sure I can get two!


s: Yet aft when reflection brings back to my mind


s: The days that are gane, when my lassie was kind,


s: A sigh says I felt then as ne'er I feel now,


s: My soul was enraptured--I canna tell how.


s: Yet what need I sing o' the joys that hae been,


s: And why should I start at the glance o' her een,


s: Or think o' the dark locks that wave o'er her brow?--


s: Yestreen when the sun glinted blithe on the hill,


s: I met her alane by the flower-border'd rill,


s: I speer'd for her weelfare, but cauld was her air,


s: And I soughtna' to change it by foul words or fair;


s: She says I deceived her, how can it be sae?


s: The heart, ere deceived some affection maun hae,


s: And that hers had nane, I the sairer may rue,


s: Though she 's got ae sweetheart, an' I can get two.


s: She left me for ane wha o' mailins could sing,


s: Sae gie her the pleasures that riches can bring.


s: And me the enjoyment that 's prized by the few;


s: A friend o' warm feeling, and frank and refined,


s: And a lassie that 's modest, true hearted, and kind,


s: I 'll woo her, I 'll lo'e her, and best it will do,


s: For love brings nae bliss when it tampers wi' two.


s: But now there 's nought but shy finesse,


s: Wae-worth their haughty state and style,


s: But strange things shall to me be strange,


s: I 'll greet them just as aye I 've doon,


s: Thou 'lt hear the love, by glen and shaw,


s: My plaid shall shield thy peerless charms


s: Scenes of grandeur--scenes of childhood--


s: On Leman's breast the winds are sighing;


s: And the flow'rs, with dew-drops glist'ning,


s: Come, oh! come, my soul's best treasure!


s: AIR--_"Oh! the days are past when beauty bright."_


s: Oh! our childhood's once delightful hours


s: Their sunny glens, their blooming bowers,


s: Oh! our childhood's days are ne'er forgot


s: But 'twill never bring the morn of life,


s: Though friends may gaze, yet all they see


s: In the morning of life, when its sweet sunny smile


s: Shines bright on our path, we may dream we are blest;


s: We may look on the world as a gay fairy isle,


s: Where sorrow 's unknown, and the weary have rest!


s: But the brightness that shone, and the hopes we enjoy'd,


s: Are clouded ere noon, and soon vanish away;


s: While the dark beating tempest, on life's stormy tide,


s: Obscures all the sweets of the morning's bright ray!


s: Then where are those bowers, in some gay, happy plain,


s: Where hope ne'er deceives, and where love is aye true;


s: Where the brightness of morning shines on but to gain


s: A sunshine as bright and as promising too?


s: Oh! ask for it not in this valley of sighs,


s: Where we smile but to weep, and we ne'er can find rest;


s: For the world we would wish shines afar in the skies,


s: Where sorrow 's unknown--'tis the home of the blest!


s: Oh! weep not thus, though the child thou hast loved,


s: Still, still as the grave, in silence sleeps on;


s: 'Midst the tears that are shed, his eye is unmoved,


s: And the beat of that bosom for ever is gone:


s: Then weep not thus, for the moment is blest


s: When the wand'rer sleeps on his couch of rest!


s: The world to him, with its sorrows and sighs,


s: Has fled like a dream when the morn appears;


s: While the spirit awakes in the light of the skies,


s: No more to revisit this valley of tears:


s: Few, few were his years; but, had they been more,


s: The sunshine which smiled might have vanish'd away,


s: And he might have fallen on some far friendless shore,


s: Or been wreck'd amidst storms in some desolate bay:


s: Like a rosebud of promise, when fresh in the morn,


s: Was the child of thy heart while he lingered here;


s: But now from thy love, from thine arms he is torn,


s: Yet to bloom in a lovelier, happier sphere:


s: How happy the pilgrim whose journey is o'er,


s: Who, musing, looks back on its dangers and woes;


s: Then rejoice at his rest, for sorrow no more


s: Can start on his dreams, or disturb his repose:


s: Then weep not thus, for the moment is blest


s: When the wand'rer sleeps on his couch of rest!


s: Who would not recline on the breast of a friend,


s: When the night-cloud has lower'd o'er a sorrowful day?


s: Who would not rejoice at his journey's end,


s: When perils and toils encompass'd his way?


s: To the lone vale, where night-clouds low'r?


s: Their time was past--they lived to die--


s: Of cherish'd hopes, once fondly bright--


s: Or seen the babe, like some sweet flow'r,


s: Seem'd, when those fancied chords were moved,


s: Which led the thoughts to that dark ground


s: While thoughts like these have oft combined


s: Where oft I 've pu'd the blossom'd slaes


s: Shoots through my heart with pleasing pain,


s: And streamlet, mountain, rock, or plain,


s: Rank hemlocks wild, and weeds, o'erspread


s: When warm'd with summer's glowing beams,


s: Wi' comrades guileless, blithe, and gay,


s: Still mark'd the spot where youngsters met,


s: acquaintance, the Rev. James Murray, minister of Old Cumnock:--


s: "Roger was in many respects a very remarkable man....


s: He possessed, in an eminent degree, an exquisite


s: natural sympathy with all things beautiful and good. He


s: was an excellent botanist, well-skilled in music, and


s: passionately fond of poetry. His conversation was very


s: interesting; and his slight tendency to dogmatise in


s: the presence of a stranger, entirely disappeared in the


s: society of his friends. He might almost be said to


s: revere any one possessed of intellectual gifts and


s: accomplishments, whether natural or acquired; and as he


s: lived many years in a cottage situated on the way-side


s: between Peebles and Innerleithen, he was frequently


s: visited by those who passed by. Occasionally the


s: Ettrick Shepherd would stop his gig to have a few


s: minutes' _crack_ with his 'friend Peter,' as he called


s: him. At another time it would be his minister, the Rev.


s: Mr Leckie, or some other worthy pastor, or some surgeon


s: of the district upon his widely-extended rounds--Dr


s: Craig, for example; or Mr Thomas Smibert; or Mr Adam


s: appearance would be the welcome signal for the


s: 'tinkling' of Peter's hammer to know a brief respite.


s: And I could mention others of his acquaintance, almost


s: self-taught like himself, whose intelligence might


s: "My own intimacy with Peter extends back to the time of


s: my boyhood; and I can honestly say, that an evening


s: spent under his roof, in company with him and his pious


s: and amiable sister Peggy, who survives him, was among


s: the greatest treats I ever experienced. There, at his


s: door, in paper cap and leather apron, his shirt sleeves


s: turned up, and his bare, brawny arms crossed upon his


s: chest, and 'his brow wet with honest sweat,' would the


s: hard-headed and warm-hearted blacksmith await the


s: coming of him whom he expected. And, first, whilst his


s: sister was attending to the preparation of some


s: creature-comforts--for he was a man of some substance,


s: and hospitable withal--you would be conducted into his


s: little garden, sloping down to the very brink of the


s: Tweed, and embosomed amid natural hazel wood, the


s: lingering remains of a once goodly forest, to see some


s: favourite flower, or to hear him trill, with a skill


s: and execution which would have done little dishonour to


s: _Picus_ himself, some simple native melody upon his


s: Scotch flute. The _in-door_ entertainment consisted of


s: varied conversation, embracing the subjects of


s: literature, politics, and theology, largely


s: interspersed with the reading of MS. poems by his


s: numerous poetical friends. But the best part of the


s: treat came last. Gradually you would notice a serious


s: shade, not gloomy but chastened, steal over his massive


s: features. His conversation would glide most naturally,


s: and without any intentional effort that was apparent,


s: into a serious strain; and then Peggy would bring down


s: the family Bible, and, after having selected a suitable


s: psalm, he would sing it to some plaintive air--and he


s: could sing well; and the prayer which closed the usual


s: exercises was such a manly, pathetic, and godly


s: outpouring of a spirit chastened with the simplest and


s: "Peter did nothing by halves, but everything with the


s: energy of a man working at a forge. He embraced the


s: temperance movement as soon as he heard of it, and


s: continued to the end of his days a most rigid total


s: abstainer from the use of all ardent spirits.


s: Altogether, he was one of those self-taught,


s: large-hearted, pious, and intellectual men of whom


s: Her voice sae saft, sae sweet and clear,


s: But it 's no her peerless face nor form,


s: Into the west, where sink its ebbing sands;


s: Sigh'd back from long-lost years and distant lands.


s: Floats on the low sweet strain of lulling tones;


s: With winds awake in murmurs and in moans.


s: Deep pealing through the temple of the sky.


s: From lady's bower, the lover's serenade;


s: The only voice that wails above the dead.


s: The dreamy murmurs of the night steal on;


s: From distant shores unseen, and lands unknown?


s: Our home's sweet voices swooning on the floods;


s: Or Indian's dismal war-whoop through the woods.


s: Her choral bowers wake matins of delight;


s: Was there a time of old ere it was born,


s: And their wild voices, through the void profound,


s: Shall be their solemn, drear, and dirge-like sound!


s: Scamander's voice scarce whispers on its way;


s: Where battles' thunders peal'd--and where are they?


s: When many a glorious strain the world hath flown;


s: Unwearied and unchanged, goes sounding on.


s: The last gleam o' sunset in ocean was sinkin',


s: Owre mountain an' meadowland glintin' fareweel;


s: An' thousands o' stars in the heavens were blinkin',


s: As bright as the een o' sweet Mary Macneil.


s: A' glowin' wi' gladness she lean'd on her lover,


s: Her een-tellin' secrets she thought to conceal;


s: And fondly they wander'd whar nane might discover


s: The tryst o' young Ronald an' Mary Macneil.


s: Oh! Mary was modest, an' pure as the lily,


s: That dew-draps o' mornin' in fragrance reveal;


s: Nae fresh bloomin' flow'ret in hill or in valley


s: She moved, and the graces play'd sportive around her;


s: She smiled, and the hearts o' the cauldest wad thrill;


s: She sang, and the mavis cam listenin' in wonder,


s: To claim a sweet sister in Mary Macneil.


s: But ae bitter blast on its fair promise blawin',


s: Frae spring a' its beauty an' blossoms will steal;


s: An' ae sudden blight on the gentle heart fa'in',


s: Inflicts the deep wound nothing earthly can heal.


s: The simmer saw Ronald on glory's path hiein';


s: The autumn, his corse on the red battle fiel';


s: The winter, the maiden found heartbroken, dyin';


s: An' spring spread the green turf owre Mary Macneil!


s: There 's a thrill of emotion, half-painful, half-sweet,


s: When the object of untold affection we meet,


s: But the pleasure remains, though the pang is as brief,


s: As the touch and recoil of the sensitive leaf.


s: There 's a thrill of distress, between anger and dread,


s: When a frown o'er the fair face of beauty is spread;


s: But she smiles, and away the disturber is borne,


s: Like sunbeams dispelling the vapours of morn.


s: There 's a thrill of endearment, all raptures above,


s: When the pure lip imprints the first fond kiss of love,


s: Which, like songs of our childhood, to memory clings,


s: The longest, the last of terrestrial things.


s: Hark! hark! they come--the foemen come--


s: AIR--_"We 'll meet beside the dusky glen."_


s: Nae mair we 'll meet again, my love, by yon burn side--


s: Nae mair we 'll wander through the grove, by yon burn side--


s: Ne'er again the mavis lay will we hail at close o' day,


s: Nor ne'er again we 'll stray down by yon burn side.


s: Yet mem'ry oft will fondly brood on yon burn side,


s: O'er haunts which we sae saft hae trod, by yon burn side;


s: Now far removed from every care, 'boon yon burn side,


s: Thou bloom'st, my love, an angel fair, 'boon yon burn side;


s: And if angels pity know, sure the tear for me will flow,


s: Who must linger here below, down by yon burn side.


s: Oh, we aft hae met at e'en, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: On the banks of Cart sae green, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: Far frae busy strife and din, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: When the lately crimson west, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: In her darker robe was dress'd, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: Rose majestic to the view, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: When the sound of flute or horn, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: On the gale of ev'ning borne, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: Sung a soft and sweet reply, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: Then how happy would we rove, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: Whilst thou, blushing, own'd thy love, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: Ne'er was mortal half so blest, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: Now, alas! these scenes are o'er, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: Now, alas! we meet no more, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: Yet had'st thou been true to me, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: As I still hae been to thee, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: And yon evening star so bright, bonnie Peggy, O!


s: This song is much in the strain of the popular song of "Kelvin


s: professional brother, Mr Thomas Lyle, surgeon, Glasgow, and was


s: Thus doom'd to ceaseless, hopeless love,


s: This song was addressed to a young lady to whom the author was


s: I 've wander'd east, I 've wander'd west,


s: Sweet time--sad time! twa bairns at schule,


s: And tones, and looks, and smiles were shed,


s: Cheek touchin' cheek, loof lock'd in loof,


s: When baith bent doun owre ae braid page,


s: Whene'er the schule-weans, laughin', said


s: The fount that first burst frae this heart,


s: The heroine of this song, Miss Jane Morrison, now Mrs Murdoch,


s: Oh! wae be to the orders that march'd my luve awa',


s: And wae be to the cruel cause that gars my tears down fa',


s: Oh! wae be to the bluidy wars in Hie Germanie,


s: For they hae ta'en my luve, and left a broken heart to me.


s: The drums beat in the mornin', afore the screich o' day,


s: But waes me for my sodger lad that march'd to Germanie.


s: Oh! lang, lang is the travel to the bonnie Pier o' Leith,


s: Oh! dreich it is to gang on foot wi' the snaw drift in the teeth!


s: When I gaed there to see my luve embark for Germanie.


s: I look'd owre the braid blue sea, sae lang as could be seen


s: A wee bit sail upon the ship that my sodger lad was in;


s: I never think o' dancin', and I downa try to sing,


s: But a' the day I speir what news kind neibour bodies bring;


s: I sometimes knit a stocking, if knittin' it may be,


s: Syne for every loop that I cast on, I 'm sure to let doun three.


s: My father says I 'm in a pet, my mither jeers at me,


s: And bans me for a dautit wean, in dorts for aye to be;


s: But little weet they o' the cause that drumles sae my e'e,


s: Oh! they hae nae winsome love like mine, in the wars o' Germanie.


s: On the heart's bloom--ay, well may tears


s: Grammar-school of that town. He subsequently attended the medical


s: Magazine_, a small periodical published in Haddington. In 1816 he


s: published in a separate form, much increased his reputation as an


s: Could love have saved, thou hadst not died,


s: We mourn for thee when blind, blank night


s: We pine for thee when morn's first light


s: Are changed--we saw the world through thee,


s: That heaven is God's, and thou art there


s: Thy mountain air no more we 'll breathe;


s: The household sword shall eat the sheath,


s: While rave the wild winds o'er the heath


s: A pretty young maiden sat on the grass--


s: And by a blithe young shepherd did pass,


s: "I dare not list to a young man's tongue,


s: But the shepherd to gain her heart was bent;


s: Oft she strove to go, but she never went;


s: And at length she fondly blush'd consent--


s: An' though twal' gude years sinsyne hae fled,


s: reading, he now followed a system of regular study; and ere his


s: twentieth year, was not only a respectable classical scholar, but


s: gentleman to Mr Jeffrey and the Rev. Mr Alison, who had both been


s: In a dream of the night, I was wafted away


s: To the muirlands of mist where the martyrs lay;


s: Where Cameron's sword and his Bible are seen


s: Engraved on the stone where the heather grows green.


s: 'Twas a dream of those ages of darkness and blood,


s: When the minister's home was the mountain and wood,


s: And in Wellwood's dark valley the standard of Zion,


s: All bloody and torn, 'mong the heather was lying.


s: 'Twas morning, and summer's young sun from the east


s: Lay in lovely repose on the green mountain's breast;


s: On Wardlaw and Cairntable, the clear shining dew


s: Glisten'd sheen 'mong the heath-bells and mountain-flowers blue.


s: And far up in heaven, in a white sunny cloud,


s: The song of the lark was melodious and loud;


s: And in Glenmuir's wild solitudes, lengthen'd and deep,


s: Were the whistling of plovers and bleating of sheep.


s: And Wellwood's sweet valley breathed music and gladness,


s: The fresh meadow blooms hung in beauty and redness;


s: Its daughters were happy to hail the returning,


s: And drink the delights of July's sweet morning.


s: But, ah! there were hearts cherish'd far other feelings--


s: Illumed by the light of prophetic revealings--


s: And drank from the scenery of beauty but sorrow,


s: For they knew that their blood would bedew it to-morrow.


s: 'Twas the few faithful ones who with Cameron were lying,


s: Conceal'd 'mong the mist where the heath-fowl were crying;


s: For the horsemen of Earlshall around them were hovering,


s: And their bridle-reins rung through the thin misty covering.


s: Their faces grew pale, and their swords were unsheath'd,


s: But the vengeance that darken'd their brow was unbreathed;


s: With eyes raised to heaven, in calm resignation,


s: They sung their last song to the God of salvation.


s: The hills with the sweet mournful music were ringing,


s: The curlew and plover in concert were singing;


s: But the melody died 'midst derision and laughter,


s: As the host of ungodly rush'd on to the slaughter.


s: Though in mist and in darkness and fire they were shrouded,


s: Yet the souls of the righteous were calm and unclouded;


s: Their dark eyes flash'd lightning, as, proud and unbending,


s: They stood like the rock which the thunder was rending.


s: The muskets were flashing, the blue swords were gleaming,


s: The helmets were cleft, and the red blood was streaming,


s: The heavens grew black, and the thunder was rolling,


s: As in Wellwood's dark muirlands the mighty were falling.


s: When the righteous had fallen, and the combat was ended,


s: A chariot of fire through the dark cloud descended;


s: Its drivers were angels on horses of whiteness,


s: And its burning wheels turn'd upon axles of brightness.


s: A seraph unfolded its door, bright and shining,


s: All dazzling like gold of the seventh refining;


s: And the souls that came forth out of great tribulation,


s: Have mounted the chariot and steeds of salvation.


s: On the arch of the rainbow the chariot is gliding;


s: Through the path of the thunder the horsemen are riding;


s: Glide swiftly, bright spirits! the prize is before ye--


s: A crown never fading, a kingdom of glory!


s: Where Nature spreads luve's crimson bed,


s: Yes; that dear glance, sae saft and meek,


s: Is nocht like thy sweet lips, dear lassie!


s: Where Manor stream rins blithe an' clear,


s: And 'neath her feet the wild-flowers sprang;


s: But, oh, let not our parting grieve thee;


s: Though dark and dreary lowers the night,


s: 'Tis the first rose of summer that opes to my view,


s: With its bright crimson bosom all bathed in the dew;


s: It bows to its green leaves with pride from its throne--


s: 'Tis the queen of the valley, and reigneth alone.


s: Oh! why, lovely stranger! thus early in bloom,


s: Art thou here to assure us that summer is come?


s: The primrose and harebell appear with the spring,


s: But tidings of summer the young roses bring.


s: Thou fair gift of nature (I welcome the boon),


s: Was 't the lark of the morning that 'woke thee so soon?


s: Yet I weep, thou sweet floweret! for soon, from the sky,


s: The lark shall repose where thy leaves wither'd lie.


s: Oh! if beauty could save thee, thou ne'er wouldst decay,


s: But, alas! soon thou 'lt perish and wither away;


s: And thy kindred may blossom, and blossom as fair--


s: Yet I 'll mourn, lonely rosebud! when thou art not there.


s: Oh! the happy days o' youth are fast gaun by,


s: And age is coming on, wi' its bleak winter sky;


s: An' whar shall we shelter frae its storms when they blaw,


s: When the gladsome days o' youth are flown awa'?


s: They said that wisdom cam wi' manhood's riper years,


s: But naething did they tell o' its sorrows an' tears;


s: Oh! I 'd gie a' the wit, gif ony wit be mine,


s: For ae sunny morning o' bonnie langsyne.


s: I canna dow but sigh, I canna dow but mourn,


s: For the blithe happy days that never can return;


s: When joy was in the heart, an' love was on the tongue,


s: An' mirth on ilka face, for ilka face was young.


s: Oh! the bonnie weaving broom, whaur aften we did meet,


s: Wi' its yellow flowers that fell like gowd 'mang our feet;


s: The bird would stop its sang, but only for a wee,


s: As we gaed by its nest, 'neath its ain birk-tree.


s: Oh! the sunny days o' youth, they couldna aye remain--


s: There was ower meikle joy and ower little pain;


s: Sae fareweel, happy days! an' fareweel, youthfu' glee!


s: The young may court your smiles, but ye 're gane frae me.


s: A withering death-like glance was there!


s: Were 't no for dreams that should na come,


s: The dawn it is breaking; but lonesome and eerie


s: Is the hour of my waking, afar from the glen.


s: Alas! that I ever came a wanderer hither,


s: Where the tongue of the stranger is racking my brain!


s: Cleft in twain is my heart, all my pleasure betraying;


s: The half is behind, but the better is straying


s: The shade of the hills and the copses away in,


s: And the truant I call to the Lowlands in vain.


s: I know why it wanders,--it is to be treading


s: Where long I frequented the haunts of my dear,


s: The meadow so dewy, the glades so o'erspreading,


s: With the gowans to lean on, the mavis to cheer.


s: It is to be tending where heifers are wending,


s: And the birds, with the music of love, are contending;


s: And rapture, its passion to innocence lending,


s: Is a dance in my soul, and a song in my ear.


s: The following is a portion of the poet's "Lament for


s: his Lost Love," on her departure to England with her


s: husband. Cormac, an Irish harper, was long entertained


s: in his professional character by Macleod of Lewis; and


s: had the temerity to make love to the chief's daughter.


s: On the discovery, and its apprehended consequences to


s: his safety, he is said to have formed the desperate


s: resolution of slaying the father, and carrying away the


s: lady. His hand was stayed, as he raised the deadly


s: weapon, by the sudden appearance of Macleod's son; who,


s: with rare and commendable temper, advised him to look


s: for a love among the hundred maidens of his own degree


s: who were possessed of equal charms. With the same


s: uncommon self-command, poor Cormac formed the


s: resolution of drowning his love in the swell of his own


s: music. Ross applies the story to his own case.


s: Thus sung the minstrel Cormac, his anguish to beguile,


s: When Colin Cormac's guilty grasp was closing with the spear,


s: As rosy on the lip, is there--then, why so frantic thou?"


s: But aye he rung his harp, though now it knew another strain,


s: And loud arose its warblings as the sounding of the main.


s: Yes! 'twas an organ peal that soar'd the vocal lift along,


s: As chorus'd to the high-strung harp his words of mightier song,


s: But I, alas! no language find, of Sassenach or Gael,


s: Nor note of music in the land, my cureless woe to quail.


s: And art thou gone, without a word, without a kindly look


s: Of smiling comfort, on the bard whose life thy beauty shook?


s: Not so it fared with Cormac; for thus the tale is told,


s: That never, to the last, he brook'd desertion's bitter cold.


s: His comrades sorrow'd round him; his dear vouchsafed a kiss--


s: This was composed when Ross was dying, and probably


s: when he was aware of his approaching end. He died of


s: consumption, precipitated by the espousals of his


s: From the hope to which passion had clung.


s: Deems its bliss and its treasure secure,


s: May the months in thy blessings rejoice,


s: While their rise and their wane shall endure!


s: That bounded, the hearing that thrill'd,


s: In the song-fight shall never take part,


s: As the discord that raves 'neath the cloud


s: That their worthies before me are there?


s: The brave chief of Cluny, after lingering long on the


s: heights of Benalder, where he entertained his


s: unfortunate prince during some of the last days of the


s: adventurer's wandering, at length took shipping for


s: France, amidst the tears and regrets of a clan that


s: loved him with the fondest devotion. "Strathmassie"


s: seems to have caught, in the following verses, some


s: characteristic traits of his chief, in whom peaceful


s: dispositions were remarkably blended with the highest


s: Oh, many a true Highlander, many a liegeman,


s: Is blank on the roll of the brave in our land;


s: And bare as its heath is the dark mountain region,


s: Of its own and its prince's defenders unmann'd.


s: The hound's death abhorr'd, some have died by the cord,


s: And the axe with the best of our blood is defiled,


s: And e'en to the visions of hope unrestored,


s: Some have gone from among us, for ever exiled.


s: He is gone from among us, our chieftain of Cluny;


s: At the back of the steel, a more valiant ne'er stood;


s: Our father, our champion, bemoan we, bemoan we!


s: In battle, the brilliant; in friendship, the good.


s: When the sea shut him from us, then the cross of our trial


s: Was hung on the mast and was swung in the wind:


s: "Woe the worth we have sepulchred!" now is the cry all;


s: "Save the shade of a memory, is nothing behind."


s: What symbols may match our brave chief's animation?


s: When his wrath was awake, 'twas a furnace in glow;


s: As a surge on the rock struck his bold indignation,


s: As the breach to the wall was his arm to the foe.


s: So the tempest comes down, when it lends in its fury


s: To the frown of its darkness the rattling of hail;


s: So rushes the land-flood in turmoil and hurry,


s: So bickers the hill-flame when fed by the gale.


s: Yet gentle as Peace was the flower of his race,


s: Rare was shade on his face, as dismay in his heart;


s: The brawl and the scuffle he deem'd a disgrace,


s: But the hand to the brand was as ready to start.


s: Who could grapple with him in firmness of limb


s: And sureness of sinew? and--for the stout blow--


s: 'Twas the scythe to the swathe in the meadows of death,


s: Where numbers were levell'd as fast and as low.


s: Ever loyal to reason, we 've seen him appeasing


s: With a wave of one hand the confusion of strife;


s: With the other unsheathing his sword, and, unbreathing,


s: Following on for the right in the havoc of life.


s: To the wants of the helpless, the wail of the weak,


s: His hand aye was open, his arm was aye strong;


s: And under yon sun, not a tongue can bespeak


s: His word or his deed that was blemish'd with wrong.


s: M'Laggan, D.D., was successively minister of the parishes of


s: Macpherson afterwards consulted Mr M'Laggan's "Collection of


s: Ossianic Remains" (see report on Ossian, App. 153).


s: For success, a prayer, with a farewell, bear


s: To the warriors dear of the muir and the valley--


s: The lads that convene in their plaiding of green,


s: With the curtal coat, and the sweeping _eil-e_.


s: In their belts array'd, where the dark blue blade


s: When the sword is at large, and uplifted the targe,


s: Sink the eyes of the foe, of the friend's mounts the glow,


s: When the Murdoch's high blood takes command.


s: With Loudon to lead ye, the wise and the steady,


s: Like the lightning ye 'll rush, with the sword's bright flash,


s: And return to your mountains victorious.


s: Oh, sons of the Lion! your watch is the wild-lands,


s: The garb of the Highlands is mingled with blue,


s: Though the target and bosses are bright in the Highlands,


s: The axe in your hands might be blunted well, too.


s: Then forward--and see ye be huntsmen true,


s: So fell ye the Gaul, and so strike ye all


s: Where ocean is roaring, let top-sails be towering,


s: And sails to the motion of helm be flying;


s: Though high as the mountain, or smooth as the fountain,


s: Or fierce as the boiling floods angrily crying,


s: Though the tide with a stroke be assailing the rock;


s: Oh, once let the pibroch's wild signal be heard,


s: Then the waves will come bending in dimples befriending,


s: And beckoning the friends of their country on board.


s: The ocean-tide 's swelling, its fury is quelling,


s: In salute of thunder proclaiming your due;


s: And, methinks, that the hum of a welcome is come,


s: When your levy is landed, oh, bright as the pearls


s: Shall the strangers who welcome you, gladly and greeting


s: Speak beautiful thoughts; aye, the beautiful girls


s: From their eyes shall the tears o'er the ruby be meeting,


s: And encounter ye, praying, from the storm and the slaying,


s: "From the stranger, the enemy, save us, oh save!


s: From rapine and plunder, oh tear us asunder,--


s: Our noble defenders are ever the brave!"


s: "Be bold in the fight, and give transport's delight


s: To your friends and the fair, by your duty."


s: "Oh, yes!" shall the beautiful hastily cry;


s: "Oh, yes!" in a word, shall the valiant reply;


s: "By our womanly faith we pledge you for both,


s: For where'er we contract, and where'er we betroth,


s: To hunger's worst ire, and to action's bold fire,


s: Accustom'd so well to each enterprise snell,


s: Be the chase or the warfare their quarry;


s: Aye ever they fight the best, for the right


s: To the strike of the swords, when they hurry.


s: _Blaud_, a flat piece of anything, to slap.


s: _Gilphie_, a half-grown person, a romping lad.


s: _Souch_, the sighing of the wind, the breathing of a tune.


s: Dandelions, dandelions, shining through the dew,


s: Let the Kings have Cloth of Gold, but let _us_ have _you_!


s: Let the kings have Cloth of Gold, but let _us_


s: have _you_!                                   _Frontispiece_


s: Hey-a-day-a-day, my dear! Dandelion time!


s: Come, and let us make for them a pretty little rhyme!


s: See the meadows twinkling now, beautiful and bright


s: As the sky when through the blue shine the stars at night!


s: Once upon a time, folks say, mighty kings of old


s: Met upon a splendid field called "The Cloth of Gold."


s: But, we wonder, could it be there was ever seen


s: Brighter gold than glitters now in our meadows green?


s: Let the kings have Cloth of Gold, but let _us_ have _you_!


s: The band in front with the big bass drum


s: And the red-plumed horses, oh, see them prance


s: And daintily lift their hoofs and dance,


s: While beautiful ladies with golden curls


s: Are jingling their bridles of gold and pearls,


s: Here's one that's open and glaring there


s: If his bars broke loose right now, don't you?


s: That pink-cheeked lady in skirts of gauze


s: And the great big lion with folded paws!


s: --But look! the clown is coming! Of course


s: And shouting out things to make folks laugh,


s: Just like giraffes in the picture-books!


s: And there are the elephants, two and two,


s: Through their beady eyes,--folks say they know


s: And you never must do a thing that's bad


s: Or that possibly might make an elephant mad,


s: For he'll never forgive you, it appears,


s: And will punish you sure, if it takes him _years!_


s: But the camels don't care if you laugh at them


s: With their bumpy humps like a capital M,


s: As they wrinkle their noses, long and gray,


s: "This swaggering stride is quite the plan,


s: They surely must all be queens and kings!


s: Strange animals caught in cannibal isles


s: And brought in ships for a million miles!


s: Beside this one with the wonderful name,


s: For this life's a much too humdrum one for me!


s: Yes, this life's a quite too quiet one for me!"


s: He was just a paper giant, don't you see?


s: Just a gaudy, picture giant, don't you see?


s: Did you ever see a fairy in a rose-leaf coat and cap


s: Swinging in a cobweb hammock as he napped his noonday nap?


s: Did you ever see one waken very thirsty and drink up


s: All the honey-dew that glimmered in a golden buttercup?


s: Did you ever see one fly away on rainbow-twinkling wings?


s: If you did not, why, how comes it that you never see such things?


s: And thread the air with silver, and embroider it with pearls!


s: Is flooded to its golden rim, and brimming o'er and o'er!


s: And melt into a mist of rainy music as you go!


s: The baby looks upward with love-laden gaze;


s: Oh, shower some petals down here in his cart,


s: One honey-sweet cluster of pretty pink sprays!


s: Apple-buds, apple-buds, scornful and too


s: Vain of your loveliness, stay where you are!


s: The cheeks of the baby are pinker than you,


s: And finer and softer and sweeter by far!


s: Ho, ho! see the queer little prints there


s: At the web-footed tangle that hints where


s: And the dear little ducklings that toddled


s: Ho, ho! laughs the baby, and grasps in his glee


s: His wealth, but soon shows what a spend-thrift is he!


s: --Nay, nay, he is king, though he never was crowned,


s: And royally scatters his gold on the ground!


s: Golden his curls on the white pillow lie,


s: Sleep, baby, sleep, baby, hush-a-by-bye.


s: See the firelight flicker over you and me!


s: See the tiny people basking in the glow,


s: Peering through the ruddy little coals, and so


s: How they dance and scamper! Merry fairy folk!


s: Little sparks for spangles, little wings of smoke!


s: Come baby, come baby, nestle in my arms;


s: Hear the purring flames now sing their sleepy charms.


s: All the firelight fairies, all the drowsy elves,


s: (They had not met for half an hour and so had much to say)


s: Till they wanted to come back again, they could not find the way!


s: And they wailed to one another, "Oh, whatever shall we do?


s: Or the wicked gipsies get us! _Oh, boo-hoo! Boo-hoo! Boo-hoo!_"


s: For at last somebody found them as they bade the world good-by;


s: Shone through the rifted clouds on high,


s: The golden grains as they bounce and break


s: And turn themselves suddenly inside out!


s: The popper's full and we'll have to stop;


s: Drop your playthings! Quick! don't wait!


s: Of course I've heard the moon's green cheese,


s: I'll wear the striped skirt that trails,


s: Flash through the pinks and golden-glow,


s: Like Captain Kidd, when they're safely hid


s: With a sparkling little picture traced in lines of shining white;


s: And a frosty bridge and river tumbling over frosty rocks;


s: And a frosty little pasture full of frosty little flocks.


s: That I gazed and gazed in wonder at the lovely painted pane;


s: Till, alas, my picture vanished and I looked for it in vain!


s: The snow! the snow! Whoop! Hooray! Ho! Ho!


s: Plunge in the deep drifts and toss it up so!


s: Plucked out of the breasts of the marvelous geese


s: By the little old woman who lives in the sky;


s: Have ever you seen her? No, neither have I!


s: And then--why, then--you'll growl again,


s: Beating, sleeting on your draggled coat!


s: Hey, little Sweetheart! and May morning, hey!


s: This time is kiss time for sweethearts, I say!


s: Sweet, see this tiny May-basket I bring;


s: Dear little baby of sunshine and spring!


s: Its twinkling candles that bud and bloom


s: Like strange bright flowers in the darkened room,


s: Its candy canes and its blue-eyed dolls,


s: Where else do such wonderful sweetmeats grow?--


s: Its tasseled horns and its pop-corn strings


s: For our dear and beautiful tree, because


s: And he brought it here in his reindeer sleigh


s: And all clasp hands as we dance and sing


s: To the blessed tree and the blessed night


s: When the Christ-child walks in the candles' light!_


s: There's a tree in each of his million packs!--


s: And down our chimney and here, you know;


s: It shines like the fabled Fleece of Gold!


s: But our beautiful tree, it is best of all!


s: We'll still clasp hands as we dance and sing


s: In the topmost boughs, is the image fair


s: Of the Christ-child nestling amid the green


s: And the little brown cones that peep between!


s: And we children think, as we gaze on them,


s: Oh, far, came seeking a Babe and brought


s: Their love and worship to Him they sought,


s: And made Him gifts, as the gifts we make


s: With loving hearts for that Baby's sake.


s: Let all clasp hands as we dance and sing


s: Dreams of delight when the feasting has ceased,


s: This is a song that the butterfly knows.


s: A servant's form, though he had reigned a king,


s: In realms of glory, ere the worlds were made,


s: Or the creating words, "Let there be light"


s: In heaven were uttered. But though veiled in flesh,


s: Fled at his bidding, and the buried dead


s: Sat upright, when he touched it. But he came,


s: To fill the earth with gladness; for all climes


s: Shall feel its influence, and shall own its power.


s: He bowed upon the cross. The temple's veil


s: Through which the soul, can have communion with


s: From all defilements, find acceptance too,


s: But the pure Church he planted,--the pure Church


s: Which his apostles watered,--and for which,


s: The blood of countless martyrs freely flowed,


s: And in the dungeon's gloom,--this blessed Church,


s: Which grew in suffering, when it overspread


s: Its truth was hidden, and its light obscured


s: The joys of heaven for money,--and to raise


s: And thus thick darkness, overspread the Church


s: Day dawning upon Christendom. The light,


s: Grew stronger, as the Reformation spread.


s: For Luther, and Melancthon, could not be


s: Beyond the morning's dawn. The noontide blaze


s: Though thus enlightened, the professing Church,


s: Was far from many of the precious truths


s: Owned not his Spirit's government therein.


s: But now the time approached, when he would pour


s: To spread his gospel when first introduced,


s: So now he passed mere human learning by,


s: To the small stone the youthful David used,


s: To smite the champion who defied the Lord.


s: Who seemed a shepherd, for around him there


s: A flock was feeding, and the sportive lambs


s: Gambolled amid the herbage. But his face


s: The youth looked long and earnestly, and then,


s: Closing the book, gazed upward, in deep thought


s: This was the instrument by whom the Lord


s: Designed to spread a clearer light below


s: For the Lord's service from his very birth.


s: From youthful follies, and his mind was turned


s: To things of highest moment. He was filled


s: Horror of sin grew stronger; and his mind


s: Became so clothed with sadness, and so full


s: Of soul-felt longings, for the healing streams


s: In this deep-proving season he was told,


s: Of priests, whose reputation had spread wide


s: He sought for consolation,--but in vain.


s: Misstepped within his garden; and a priest


s: Finding no help in man, the youthful Fox,


s: For light and knowledge. In his Saviour's school,


s: The deep corruption, that had overspread


s: The doctrines of the Gospel, were unveiled,


s: To the attentive student,--doctrines, which,


s: Though clearly written on the sacred page,


s: Had long been hidden, by the rubbish man's


s: Perversions and inventions heaped thereon.


s: The everlasting Gospel; but that Christ,


s: Glad tidings of salvation. He was shown,


s: No outward building, made of wood and stone


s: Could be a holy place,--and that the Church--


s: The only true and living Church--must be


s: And to his teaching. He was clearly taught,


s: Are purified and fitted for this Church;


s: That this was not, by being dipped into,


s: Or sprinkled with clear water, but it was


s: But the Lord's Table was within the heart;


s: Was blessed and broken, and the heavenly wine,


s: Which cheers the fainting spirit, handed forth.


s: The Saviour showed him that all outward wars,


s: Are now forbidden,--that the warfare here,


s: Though mighty, even to the pulling down,


s: Of the strong holds of Satan, are yet all


s: The Spirit's weapons. He was shown, that oaths


s: The Christian dispensation, which commands,


s: "Swear not at all." He saw the compliments,--


s: Hat honour, and lip service of the world,


s: Sprang from pride's evil root, and were opposed


s: To the pure spirit of Christ's holy law.


s: And by His inward Light, was clearly seen


s: For which that Saviour calls, who never asked,


s: These truths and others, being thus revealed,


s: Fox was prepared and qualified to preach,


s: The unveiled Gospel, to the sons of men.


s: Abroad through Britain, and proclaimed that Light,


s: Which Christ's illuminating Spirit sheds,


s: In the dark heart of man. Some heard of this,


s: Who seemed prepared and waiting, to receive


s: His Gospel message, and were turned to Him,


s: Whose Holy Spirit sealed it on their hearts.


s: And not a few of these, were called upon,


s: To take the message, and themselves declare


s: The way of Truth to others. But the Priests,


s: Carnal professors, and some magistrates,


s: And thrust the Preacher within prison walls.


s: With robbers, and with blood-stained criminals,


s: Locked up in loathsome jails. And when abroad


s: But none of these things moved him, for within


s: Which bore his spirit high above the waves,


s: But now the time approached, for his release


s: From suffering and from labour. He had spent,


s: Long years in travel for the cause of Truth,--


s: Not all in Britain,--for he preached its light,


s: And power in Holland,--the West Indian isles,


s: And North America. Far through the wild,


s: And trackless wilderness, this faithful man,


s: To see Truth's banner fearlessly displayed


s: The inward teaching of the Saviour's will,--


s: Of light and life. But his allotted work,


s: Was now accomplished, and his soul prepared,


s: For an inheritance with saints in light,


s: And with his loins all girded, he put off


s: His earthly shackles, triumphing in death,


s: That the Seed reigned, and Truth was over all!


s: Primeval forests, where the red man still,


s: Built his rude wigwam, and the timid deer


s: Fled for concealment from the Indian's eye,


s: There, in the shadow of these ancient woods,


s: A sea-worn ship has anchored. On her deck,


s: Men of grave mien are gathered. One of whom,


s: Of noble figure, and quick searching eyes,


s: Surveys the scene, wrapt in the deepest thought.


s: And this is William Penn. He stands among,


s: Fellow believers, who have sought a home,


s: And place of refuge, in this wilderness.


s: Might, with his talents, have soon ranked among


s: The proudest subjects of the British throne.


s: He chose the better part--to serve that King


s: While yet a student within college halls,


s: He heard Truth's message, and his heart was reached,


s: And fully owned it, though it came through one


s: Called in derision Quakers. Thus convinced,


s: He was expelled from Oxford; and was soon


s: From brilliant prospects, to pursue the path


s: From the paternal roof. But William Penn,


s: With strength and courage to perform his will;


s: And he was called and qualified to preach,


s: And to bear witness of that blessed Light


s: Which shines within. He suffered in the cause,


s: His share of trial. He was dragged before


s: Looking abroad through England, he was filled


s: With deep commiseration, for the jails--


s: The loathsome, filthy jails--were crowded with


s: His brethren in the Truth. For their relief,


s: Their cruel sufferings; and their innocence;


s: And thus became the instrument through which


s: Some prison doors were opened. But he sought


s: A place of refuge from oppression's power,


s: That Friends might worship the Creator there,


s: And such a place soon opened to his view,


s: And here is William Penn, and here a band


s: The promised land before them; but it is


s: The Indian's country, and the Indian's home.


s: Penn had indeed, received a royal grant,


s: He therefore buys it honestly from those


s: With these inhabitants, behold, he stands


s: Beneath an ancient elm, whose spreading limbs


s: O'erhang the Delaware. The forest chiefs


s: Sit in grave silence, while the pipe of peace


s: Goes round the circle. They have made a league


s: And treaty of true friendship, to endure


s: While the sun shines, and while the waters run.


s: A refuge from oppression, where all creeds


s: Found toleration, and where truth and right


s: But that of justice and of righteousness;


s: Because they ever breathe, good will to men.


s: Sought his old field of labour, and again,


s: Both through the press and vocally, he plead


s: The right of conscience, and the rights of man;


s: And frequently, and forcibly he preached


s: His labour was incessant; and the cares,


s: His burdened spirit, which demanded rest;--


s: That rest was granted. In the midst of all


s: His labour and his trials, there was drawn


s: A veil, in mercy, round his active mind,


s: Which dimmed all outward things; but he still saw


s: And found sweet access to the Source of good.


s: And thus, shut out from the perplexities


s: And sorrows of the world, he was prepared


s: His tattered garments, and be clothed upon


s: The world's allurements, and unlike the youth


s: Who talked with Jesus, Barclay turned away


s: From great possessions, and embraced the Truth.


s: By the live coal that touched them, but his pen,


s: Moved by a force from the same altar, poured


s: Light, truth, and wisdom. From it issued forth


s: That man has published, since that sacred book


s: Anciently written. Seekers are still led


s: By its direction, to that blessed Light,


s: And inward Teacher, who is Jesus Christ.


s: But now, this noble servant of the Lord,


s: Rests from his faithful labour, while his works


s: Conflicts and trials, and imprisonments.


s: Seemed purged and purified from all the dross


s: And harmless as an infant--was compelled


s: To dwell in loathsome prisons. But he had,


s: Though in the midst of wickedness, sublime


s: And the true nature of Christ's living Church.


s: Of Truth in Ireland, was compelled to drink


s: Deeply of suffering for the blessed cause.


s: Dragged from his home, half naked, by a mob


s: Heart-rending cruelties. But all of these,


s: Stars of the morning, felt oppression's hand,


s: And some endured it to the closing scene.


s: Whose lips and pen were eloquent for Truth,


s: Drew his last breath in prison. Parnel, too,


s: A young and valiant soldier of the Lamb,


s: Died, a true martyr in a dungeon's gloom.


s: Of Christ's ordaining, were released from all


s: Their earthly trials within prison walls.


s: Who past from scenes of conflict, to the joys


s: Of the Redeemer's kingdom, within jails,


s: Light spread in Britain, and a living Church


s: Was greatly multiplied. The tender minds,


s: Even of children, felt the power of Truth,


s: And showed the fruit and firmness it affords.


s: The town of Bristol, and all older Friends


s: Were locked in prison, little children met,


s: Within their place of worship, by themselves,


s: From which their parents had been dragged to jail.


s: But let us turn from Britain, and look down,


s: Seems calm and peaceful, let us look within.


s: There, stretched upon the floor, within a close,


s: Dark, narrow cell, inhaling from a crack


s: But who are these, and wherefore are they here?


s: These are two ministers of Christ, who left


s: Their homes in England, faithfully to bear,


s: The Saviour's message into eastern lands.


s: Priests and Inquisitor assail them here,


s: And urge the claims of popery. The rack,


s: And cruel deaths are threatened; and again


s: For years these tender women have been thus,


s: But all these efforts to convert them failed:


s: To shake their faith and confidence in Him,


s: To save his children from devouring flames;


s: He, from this furnace of affliction, brought


s: Out of the burning, with no smell of fire


s: Upon their garments, and again they trod,


s: Were stretched upon the rack. Their tortured limbs


s: Could tear them from their Master, and they came


s: Nor were these all who suffered for the cause


s: Of truth and righteousness, in foreign lands.


s: For at Mequinez and Algiers, some toiled,


s: Discourage faithful messengers of Christ


s: From his required service. They were found


s: Preaching repentance where the Israelites


s: Still rolls its waters. And the holy light


s: Where its great Author had first published it--


s: The haughty Musselmen, were told of Him,


s: The one great Prophet, who now speaks within.


s: Equipped for battle, Richard Sellers bore,


s: With a meek, Christian spirit, cruelties


s: Who was his heavenly Captain, and by whom,


s: War is forbidden. Sellers would not touch,


s: The instruments of carnage, nor could all


s: Which had sustained him in the midst of all


s: But let us turn from persecuting scenes,


s: That stain the annals of the older world,


s: Spreads its long beach and eminence beyond,


s: A barrier to the ocean. The whole scene,


s: Looks beautiful, in the clear northern air,


s: And loveliness of morning. On the heights


s: That overlook the harbour, there is seen


s: And anchor where the Puritans have sought,


s: For liberty of conscience. But there seems,


s: Urged on by stormy passions, and some wear


s: Where crowds are gathered on an eminence?


s: These are the Puritans. They now surround


s: A common gallows. On its platform, stands


s: Worn by the early Quakers. Of the throng,


s: She only seems unmoved, although her blood


s: The first professors of Christ's inward Light,


s: Who brought this message into Boston bay,


s: Were inoffensive women. They were searched


s: For signs of witchcraft, and their books were burned.


s: The captain who had brought them, was compelled


s: Both men and women, zealous for the Truth.


s: These were received with varied cruelties--


s: By frequent whippings and imprisonments.


s: But all in vain, for still these faithful ones


s: Carried their Master's message undismayed


s: Among the Puritans, and still they found


s: Those who received it, and embraced the Truth,


s: And steadily maintained it, in the midst


s: Of whipping posts, and pillories, and jails!


s: The banished Quakers, who were found again


s: Within the province, were to suffer death.


s: All just enactments, when laws trespassed on


s: The rights of conscience, and on God's command,


s: Which to obey.--And soon there stood upon


s: A scaffold of New England, faithful friends,


s: While passing to this instrument of death,


s: "No eye can witness, and no ear can hear,


s: No tongue can utter, nor heart understand


s: The incomes and refreshings from the Lord


s: Which now I feel." And in the spirit which


s: These words a little pictured, Robinson,


s: For whom he laboured, and in whom he died.


s: Then Stevenson, another faithful steward


s: And servant of the Lamb, was ushered from


s: Deep scenes of suffering into scenes of joy.


s: To join these martyrs in their heavenward flight,


s: But a few fleeting months had rolled away,


s: Ere this devoted woman felt constrained,


s: And here she stands! the second time, upon


s: Arrests her sentence now. But still she feels


s: The same sweet incomes, and refreshing streams


s: From the Lord's Holy Spirit. In the midst


s: The most resigned and peaceful.--But the deed


s: Is now accomplished, and the scene is closed!


s: She doubtless wears a pure and spotless robe,


s: The blood of Leddra was soon after shed,


s: Which closed the scene of martyrdom among


s: But not the scene of suffering. Women were


s: Dragged through its towns half-naked, tied to carts,


s: While the lash fell upon their unclothed backs,


s: And bloody streets, showed where they past along.


s: Who preached the doctrine of his inward Light.


s: But in New England, there was really found


s: A refuge from oppression, justice reigned


s: The rights of conscience were held sacred there,


s: Was William Coddington. He loved the law--


s: The perfect law of righteousness--and strove


s: To govern by it; and all faithful Friends


s: Felt him a brother in the blessed Truth.


s: The introduction and the spread of light.


s: The faithful Hodgson, have few parallels


s: Was with His servant in the midst of all,


s: And healed his tortured and his mangled frame.


s: The early Friends were bright and shining stars,


s: The Sun of Righteousness bestowed on them.


s: They followed no deceiving, transient glare--


s: And even death; but they would not forsake


s: Their Holy Leader, or His blessed cause.


s: Their patient suffering, and firm steadfastness,


s: Who have succeeded them. Do these now feel


s: That firm devotion to the cause of Truth--That


s: Held for their children? The great cruelties


s: Borne by the fathers, have not been entailed


s: On their descendants, who now dwell at ease.


s: The world does not revile them. Do not some


s: Love it the more for this? and do they not


s: More and more freely of its tempting baits,


s: Its fashions and its spirit? but are these


s: More pure and holy than they were of old,


s: When in the light of Truth, their fathers saw


s: That deep corruption overspread the world?


s: To speak of Quakers with less bitterness


s: Than when the name reproachfully was cast


s: Drawn watchmen from the citadel of Truth?


s: Has it not opened doors that had been closed,


s: And should have been forever? And by these,


s: And strive in secrecy to gather strength,


s: Respect and friendship? Must the Quaker then


s: Bow in the house of Rimmon, saying, Lord


s: Fail to resist encroachments, when they come


s: Clothed in enticing words, and wear the guise


s: Of charity and kindness, and are veiled,


s: But is a snare less certain, when concealed


s: Less sure and fatal, when it flies unheard,


s: Or, when the hand that sends it is unseen,


s: "Art thou in health my brother?" and appeared


s: To kiss Amasa, while he thrust his sword


s: Into his life-blood? And when Jonas fled


s: From the Lord's service, and the stormy waves


s: Threatened the ship that bore him, was the cause


s: Not found within it? Was there not a calm


s: Had raised the tempest, was no longer there?


s: Untorn--unsullied. Man indeed may change,


s: And may forsake it; but the Standard still


s: May all whose dwellings are upon the sand,


s: Seek for a building on that living Rock,


s: Which stands forever;--for a storm has come--


s: A storm that tries foundations! Even now,


s: The flooding rains are falling, and the winds


s: Upon all dwellings. They alone can stand


s: Which have the Rock beneath them, and above


s: "I like this rocking of the battlements.


s: Rage on, ye winds; burst clouds, and waters roar!


s: You bear a just resemblance of my fortune,


s: "Speak of passion, but of passion past."


s: thunderstorms; in short, of all objects where unrest--the leading


s: Sometimes even by a single word he proclaimed the presence of the


s: Ferrier, Scott's poems and novels, Galt's, Lockhart's, Wilson's,


s: Delta's, and Aird's tales and poetry, and much of the poetry of


s: Each to congratulate his friends made haste,


s: And long inveterate foes saluted as they pass'd."


s: Would that I were where wild-woods wave,


s: Oh, what are the chains of love made of?


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


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


s: "'Prompting the heart to pour the impassion'd strain


s: And wild as wailings of the desert wind.'


s: Tending the flocks that o'er them stray'd.


s: Weening, though not through hopes of fame,


s: Wrapp'd in the plaid, and dern'd beneath


s: "'The swell and fall of these wild tones


s: Were worth the pomp of a thousand thrones.'


s: "'The feeling is nameless that makes us unglad,


s: And a strange, wild dismayment it brings;


s: Which yet hath no match in the solemn and sad


s: "'The hill-foxes howl'd round the wanderer's way,


s: And effort has then oft too much of dismay


s: If fate has its privilege, death has its power,


s: But worse it may seem 'mong the blasts of the moor,


s: Where all that approaches portends to devour,


s: "'No mercy obtains in the tempests that rave,


s: And there comes no hand that is willing to save,


s: But the storms round the thrones of the wilderness break


s: And howl in their strength and impatience to take


s: Their course to commix with the roar of the lake


s: Where it flings forth its foam on the blast.


s: "'Lo! 'neath where the heath hangs so dark o'er yon peak,


s: Where the bield could not shelter the weary and weak,


s: By the strife of the tempest o'erthrown.


s: No raven had fed, and the hill-fox had fled,


s: And the stillness reign'd deep o'er his cold moorland bed,


s: Which came down in the power of the sleep of the dead


s: admiration of the elegant strains of his friend, young Knox.


s: 'Mong fair fields and flowing fountains,


s: "'Still, oh! still 'twere lovelier rather


s: Where the light hill-breeze was blowing,


s: profession, free from pedantry. He was kind-hearted and somewhat


s: anonymously, and it was sold about Clydesdale.


s: "My intention had been to qualify myself for the University, and,


s: introduced to him. But he came to me one day on the hill of


s: attributes. In a week or two, however, my friend A. F. Harrower,


s: transactions, or fraught with more interesting associations. In


s: attending the Natural Philosophy Class, not being proficient in


s: publication in palpable shape. Some years previously I published


s: stanzas, or a monody, on the death of Lord Byron. I had all along


s: "The summer vacations of college years I passed in the country,


s: pretended at any time, his broad bright eye and bluff face,


s: magnificently lifted up, like the sun on frost-work, melted down


s: "Shortly after becoming a probationer, I came to reside in this


s: district, and, not long after, the preacher who officiated in the


s: Where the stir of pain ne'er travels o'er


s: "'The moon is set, and the star is gone,


s: And went to part with a sore, sore heart,


s: "'The dews were deep, and the leaves were green,


s: "'The leaves were green, and the dews were deep,


s: The grass and flowers, round the bower asleep;


s: "'He spoke the word with a struggle hard,


s: "'For the fair one whom he'd woo'd before,