s: Ye light fleeting spirits, that glide o'er the steep,


s: Oh, would ye but waft me across the wild deep!


s: There fearless I'd mix in the battle's loud roar,


s: I'd die with my Connel, and leave him no more.


s: Ye dark rugged rocks, that recline o'er the deep,


s: Here shelter me under your cliffs while I weep,


s: For distant, alas! from my dear native shore,


s: And wide is the merciless ocean that roars


s: How blest were the times when together we stray'd,


s: Or lean'd by the border of Cartha's green side,


s: Around us all nature lay wrapt up in peace,


s: Save Cartha's hoarse brawling, convey'd by the breeze,


s: If haply some youth had his passion express'd,


s: And praised the bright charms of her face,


s: What horrors unceasing revolved though my breast,


s: For where is the eye that could view her alone,


s: Nor wish the adorable nymph for his own,


s: Thou moon, that now brighten'st those regions above,


s: While breathing my tender expressions of love,


s: Ah, then, how I joy'd while I gazed on her charms!


s: What transports flew swift through my heart!


s: I press'd the dear, beautiful maid in my arms,


s: But now from the dear, from the tenderest maid,


s: 'Midst strangers, who wonder to see me so sad,


s: And oft, while drear Midnight assembles her shades,


s: And Silence pours sleep from her throne,


s: Pale, lonely, and pensive, I steal through the glades,


s: In vain to the town I retreat for relief,


s: Belles, coxcombs, and uproar, can ne'er soothe my grief,


s: Still absent from her whom my bosom loves best,


s: Her presence could banish each woe from my heart,


s: Ye dark rugged rocks, that recline o'er the deep;


s: Oh, shelter me under your cliffs while I weep,


s: Far distant, alas! from my dear native shore,


s: And wide is the merciless ocean that roars


s: From the village of Leslie, with a heart full of glee,


s: And my pack on my shoulders, I rambled out free,


s: Resolved that same evening, as Luna was full,


s: To lodge, ten miles distant, in old Auchtertool.


s: Through many a lone cottage and farm-house I steer'd,


s: Took their money, and off with my budget I sheer'd;


s: The road I explored out, without form or rule,


s: Still asking the nearest to old Auchtertool.


s: At length I arrived at the edge of the town,


s: As Phœbus, behind a high mountain, went down;


s: The clouds gather'd dreary, and weather blew foul,


s: And I hugg'd myself safe now in old Auchtertool.


s: An inn I inquired out, a lodging desired,


s: But the landlady's pertness seem'd instantly fired;


s: For she saucy replied, as she sat carding wool,


s: "I ne'er kept sic lodgers in auld Auchtertool."


s: With scorn I soon left her to live on her pride;


s: But, asking, was told there was none else beside,


s: Except an old weaver, who now kept a school,


s: And these were the whole that were in Auchtertool.


s: To his mansion I scamper'd, and rapp'd at the door;


s: He oped, but as soon as I dared to implore,


s: He shut it like thunder, and utter'd a howl


s: That rung through each corner of old Auchtertool.


s: Deprived of all shelter, through darkness I trode,


s: Till I came to a ruin'd old house by the road;


s: Here the night I will spend, and, inspired by the owl,


s: My wrath I 'll vent forth upon old Auchtertool.


s: We have ventured to omit three verses, and to alter slightly the


s: otherwise than by the initial letters, "K. and Q." This extreme


s: contributions in "The Scottish Minstrel."


s: The philanthropic efforts of Lady Nairn were not limited to the


s: purification of the national minstrelsy; her benevolence extended


s: "Did good by stealth, and blush'd to find it fame."


s: Robertson of Struan, cousin-german of Lady Nairn's mother, and a


s: A daughter of Baron Hume was one of the ladies who induced Lady


s: There 's high and low, there 's rich and poor,


s: But, east and west, his trade 's the best,


s: Then, come, weel speed my pleughman lad,


s: The lark, sae sweet, that starts to meet


s: Heaven bless the seed, and bless the soil,


s: They 're bonnie fish and halesome farin';


s: They 're no brought here without brave daring;


s: Cast their heads, and screw their faces.


s: Truth will stand when a' thing 's failin'.


s: This song has acquired an extensive popularity, for which it is


s: This exquisitely tender and beautiful lay was composed by Lady


s: The Laird o' Cockpen he 's proud and he 's great,


s: His mind is ta'en up with the things o' the state;


s: He wanted a wife his braw house to keep,


s: But favour wi' wooin' was fashious to seek.


s: At his table-head he thought she 'd look well;


s: M'Clish's ae daughter o' Claverse-ha' Lee,


s: His wig was weel pouther'd, and as gude as new;


s: His waistcoat was white, his coat it was blue;


s: He put on a ring, a sword, and cock'd hat,


s: And wha' could refuse the Laird wi' a' that?


s: He took the gray mare, and rade cannily--


s: And rapp'd at the yett o' Claverse-ha' Lee;


s: "Gae tell Mistress Jean to come speedily ben,


s: She 's wanted to speak to the Laird o' Cockpen."


s: Mistress Jean was makin' the elder-flower wine,


s: "And what brings the Laird at sic a like time?"


s: She put aff her apron, and on her silk gown,


s: Her mutch wi' red ribbons, and gaed awa' down.


s: And when she cam' ben, he bowed fu' low,


s: And what was his errand he soon let her know;


s: Amazed was the Laird when the lady said "Na;"


s: And wi' a laigh curtsie she turned awa'.


s: And aften he thought, as he gaed through the glen,


s: She 's daft to refuse the Laird o' Cockpen.


s: And now that the Laird his exit had made,


s: Mistress Jean she reflected on what she had said;


s: "Oh! for ane I 'll get better, it 's waur I 'll get ten,


s: I was daft to refuse the Laird o' Cockpen."


s: Next time that the Laird and the Lady were seen,


s: They were gaun arm-in-arm to the kirk on the green;


s: Now she sits in the ha' like a weel-tappit hen,


s: But as yet there 's nae chickens appear'd at Cockpen.


s: This humorous and highly popular song was composed by Lady Nairn


s: inheritance. The modern ballad has been often attributed to Miss


s: Ferrier, the accomplished author of "Marriage," and other popular


s: In all its rich wildness, her home she is leaving,


s: And still as the moment of parting is nearer,


s: Each long cherish'd object is fairer and dearer.


s: Not a grove or fresh streamlet but wakens reflection


s: Of hearts still and cold, that glow'd with affection;


s: Not a breeze that blows over the flowers of the wild wood,


s: But tells, as it passes, how blest was her childhood.


s: And how long must I leave thee, each fond look expresses,


s: Ye high rocky summits, ye ivy'd recesses!


s: How long must I leave thee, thou wood-shaded river,


s: The echoes all sigh--as they whisper--for ever!


s: Tho' the autumn winds rave, and the seared leaves fall,


s: And winter hangs out her cold icy pall--


s: Yet the footsteps of spring again ye will see,


s: And the singing of birds--but they sing not for me.


s: The joys of the past, more faintly recalling,


s: Sweet visions of peace on her spirit are falling,


s: And the soft wing of time, as it speeds for the morrow,


s: Wafts a gale, that is drying the dew-drops of sorrow.


s: Hope dawns--and the toils of life's journey beguiling,


s: The path of the mourner is cheer'd with its smiling;


s: And there her heart rests, and her wishes all centre,


s: Where parting is never--nor sorrow can enter.


s: She 's up the hill, she 's down the glen,


s: It 's walth o' peace, o' love, and truth,


s: The heart that beat warm for his Jeanie,


s: Now heartless, I hope not--I fear not,--


s: There 's some hae land, and some hae gowd,


s: The author seems to have composed these stanzas as a sequel to a


s: There was laughin' and singin', and dancin' and glee,


s: In Kitty's Reid's house, in Kitty Reid's house,


s: The light glimmer'd in through a crack i' the wa',


s: Frae Kitty's Reid's house on the green, Jo!


s: The birds and beasts it wauken'd them a',


s: The wa' gaed a hurley, and scatter'd them a',


s: The piper, the fiddler, auld Kitty, and a';


s: The kye fell a routin', the cocks they did craw,


s: The morning's feast with joy they brought,


s: Cured her heart's wound, cured her heart's wound.


s: They 'll ne'er wi' your wee skin be warm'd,


s: Oh, spare them, whistling like yoursel's,


s: Another song with the same title, "Saw ye nae my Peggy?" is


s: exceptionable words, beginning, "Saw ye my Maggie?"


s: My harp, fareweel! thy strains are past,


s: And morn and e'en, they 're blythe and bein,


s: He 's ta'en the rig, he 's miss'd the brig,


s: This excellent ballad is the fourth version adapted to the air,


s: And 'deed she thinks they 're no to blame.


s: The Whigs may scoff, the Whigs may jeer;


s: His right these hills, his right these plains;


s: Sae gallant and bold, sae young and sae fair;


s: Oh, did ye but see him, ye 'd do as we've done!


s: Hear him but ance, to his standard you 'll run.


s: Then draw the claymore, for Charlie then fight;


s: For your country, religion, and a' that is right;


s: Were ten thousand lives now given to me,


s: The rose-bud, wash'd in summer's shower,


s: Sae loun' that there nae blast could blaw;


s: She whiles did smile, she whiles did greet,


s: The lofty elm-trees spread their boughs,


s: There grows a bonnie brier bush in our kail-yard,


s: And white are the blossoms o't in our kail-yard,


s: Like wee bit white cockauds to deck our Hieland lads,


s: And the lasses lo'e the bonnie bush in our kail-yard.


s: An' it 's hame, an' it 's hame to the north countrie,


s: Wi' a heart kind and true, in my ain countrie.


s: "But were they a' true that were far awa?


s: Oh! were they a' true that were far awa'?


s: They drew up wi' glaikit Englishers at Carlisle Ha',


s: And forgot auld frien's that were far awa.


s: "Ye 'll come nae mair, Jamie, where aft ye 've been,


s: Ye 'll come nae mair, Jamie, to Atholl's green;


s: Ye lo'ed ower weel the dancin' at Carlisle Ha',


s: And forgot the Hieland hills that were far awa'."


s: "I ne'er lo'ed a dance but on Atholl's green,


s: I ne'er lo'ed a lassie but my dorty Jean,


s: Sair, sair against my will did I bide sae lang awa',


s: And my heart was aye in Atholl's green at Carlisle Ha'."


s: The brier bush was bonnie ance in our kail-yard;


s: A blast blew ower the hill, that gae Atholl's flowers a chill,


s: And the bloom 's blawn aff the bonnie bush in our kail-yard.


s: The present is an amended version of an old song, entitled "The


s: He 's a terrible man, John Tod, John Tod,


s: He scolds on the vera hie road, John Tod,


s: Here 's an ill wean, John Tod, John Tod,


s: The callants a' fear John Tod, John Tod,


s: And it 's unco weel done o' John Tod, John Tod,


s: An' weel does he keep the kirk road, John Tod,


s: An' the French wadna frighten John Tod, John Tod,


s: Ye 're sun-brunt and batter'd, John Tod, John Tod


s: But there 's nouse i' the lining, John Tod, John Tod,


s: But there 's nouse i' the lining, John Tod.


s: He 's weel respeckit, John Tod, John Tod,


s: If e'er he sud leave us, John Tod, John Tod,


s: A familiar Scottish phrase for good sense.


s: AIR--_"The Rock and the Wee Pickle Tow."_


s: Send a horse to the water, ye 'll no mak him drink,


s: Send a fule to the college, ye 'll no mak him think;


s: Send a craw to the singin', an' still he will craw,


s: An' the wee laird had nae rummulgumshion ava.


s: Yet is he the pride o' his fond mother's e'e,


s: "He 's a fell clever lad, an' a bonny wee man,"


s: Is aye the beginnin' an' end o' her sang.


s: An' oh! she 's a haverin' lucky, I trow,


s: An' oh! she 's a haverin' lucky, I trow;


s: His legs they are bow'd, his een they do glee,


s: His wig, whiles it 's aff, and when on, it 's ajee;


s: He 's braid as he 's lang, an' ill-faur'd is he,


s: An' yet for this cratur' she says I am deein',


s: When that I deny, she 's fear'd at my leein';


s: Obliged to put up wi' this sair defamation,


s: I'm liken to dee wi' grief an' vexation.


s: An' her clishmaclavers gang a' through the toun,


s: An' the wee lairdie trows I 'll hang or I 'll droun.


s: Wi' his gawky-like face, yestreen he did say,


s: "I 'll maybe tak you, for Bess I 'll no hae,


s: Nor Mattie, nor Effie, nor lang-legged Jeanie,


s: Nor Nelly, nor Katie, nor skirlin' wee Beenie."


s: I 'm thinkin' to bring them afore judge an' jury.


s: For oh! what a randy auld luckie is she, &c.


s: Freen's! gi'e your advice!--I 'll follow your counsel--


s: Maun I speak to the Provost, or honest Toun Council,


s: Or the writers, or lawyers, or doctors? now say,


s: For the law on the lucky I shall an' will hae.


s: The hale toun at me are jibin' and jeerin',


s: For a leddy like me it 's really past bearin';


s: The lucky maun now hae dune wi' her claverin',


s: For I 'll no put up wi' her nor her haverin'.


s: "He 's a fell clever lad, an' a bonny wee man,"


s: Is aye the beginnin' an' end o' her sang.


s: Oh, Castell Gloom! thy strength is gone,


s: Time's restless fingers sair hath waur'd


s: We 'll up, and we 'll gi'e them a blaw, a blaw,


s: Oh, we 'll on, an' we 'll march to Carlisle ha',


s: Wi' its yetts, its castel, an' a', an' a'.


s: Oh, our brave sodger lads look'd braw, an' braw,


s: Wi' their tartans, their kilts, an' a', an' a',


s: Wi' bannets an' feathers, an' glittrin' gear,


s: An' pibrochs soundin' sae sweet an' clear.


s: Will they a' come hame to their ain dear glen?


s: Will they a' return, our brave Hieland men?


s: Oh, second-sighted Sandie look'd fu' wae,


s: An' mithers grat sair whan they march'd away.


s: Wha is it first follows the blaw, the blaw?


s: Bonnie Charlie, the king o' us a', us a',


s: His bannet and feather, he 's waving high,


s: The Esk was swollen sae red an' sae deep,


s: But shouther to shouther the brave lads keep;


s: Twa thousand swam ower to fell English ground,


s: An' danced themselves dry to the pibroch sound.


s: Dumfounder'd the English were a', were a',


s: Dumfounder'd they a' heard the blaw, the blaw,


s: Frae the hundred pipers, an' a', an' a'.


s: These verses are printed from a MS. in possession of one of Lady


s: The romantic scenery depicted in this song is in the immediate


s: vicinity of the Queen's Drive, Edinburgh.


s: The wells of Weary are situated near the Windyknowe, beneath


s: Than that true hearts should e'er be bought.


s: The mitherless lammie ne'er miss'd its ain mammie,


s: We tentit it kindly by night and by day,


s: The bairnies made game o't, it had a blithe hame o't,


s: Its food was the gowan--its music was "_mai_."


s: Without tie or fetter, it couldna been better,


s: But it would gae witless the world to see;


s: The foe that it fear'd not, it saw not, it heard not,


s: Was watching its wand'ring frae Bonnington Lea.


s: Oh, what then befell it, 't were waefu' to tell it,


s: Tod Lowrie kens best, wi' his lang head sae sly;


s: He met the pet lammie, that wanted its mammie,


s: And left its kind hame the wide world to try.


s: We miss'd it at day-dawn, we miss'd it at night-fa'in',


s: Its wee shed is tenantless under the tree,


s: Ae dusk i' the gloamin' it wad gae a roamin';


s: 'T will frolic nae mair upon Bonnington Lea.


s: Oh, some will tune their mournfu' strains,


s: My sang 's o' nae sic thieveless themes,


s: For conscience' sake they stoutly stood;


s: Themselves have shed their injured blood;


s: They 're down the day that might hae been


s: This song having become known to George IV., it is said to have


s: 'Twill live in joy, 'twill live in grief,


s: 'Twill live, 'twill live, though buried deep,


s: Oh, ye whose hearts are scathed and riven,


s: When I bade farewell to the north countrie,


s: This song was composed in 1842, when the author had attained her


s: AIR--_"Here 's a health to ane I lo'e weel."_


s: Here 's to them that were here, the faithful and dear,


s: That will never be here again--no, never.


s: They 're gane to the light that fears not the night,


s: An' their day of rejoicing shall end--no, never.


s: Here 's to them, to them that were here;


s: Here 's a tear and a sigh to the bliss that 's gane by,


s: But 'twas ne'er like what 's coming, to last--for ever.


s: Yet, lang ere the gloaming, in clouds it gaed down;


s: But the storm and the cloud are now past--for ever.


s: Fareweel, fareweel! parting silence is sad;


s: But that silence shall break, where no tear on the cheek


s: Can bedim the bright vision again--no, never.


s: To the regions of rest, to the shores of the blest,


s: Where the full tide of glory shall flow--for ever.


s: Go, call for the mourners, and raise the lament,


s: Let the tresses be torn, and the garments be rent;


s: But weep not for him who is gone to his rest,


s: Nor mourn for the ransom'd, nor wail for the blest.


s: The sun is not set, but is risen on high,


s: Nor long in corruption his body shall lie--


s: Then let not the tide of thy griefs overflow,


s: Nor the music of heaven be discord below;


s: Rather loud be the song, and triumphant the chord,


s: Let us joy for the dead who have died in the Lord.


s: But give to the living thy passion of tears


s: Who walk in this valley of sadness and fears,


s: Who are press'd by the combat, in darkness are lost,


s: By the tempest are beat, on the billows are toss'd.


s: Oh, weep not for those who shall sorrow no more,


s: Whose warfare is ended, whose combat is o'er;


s: Let the song be exalted, be triumphant the chord,


s: And rejoice for the dead who have died in the Lord.


s: These stanzas are printed for the first time. The MS. is not in


s: Sacrifices," was published in an octavo volume in the year 1823.


s: Blaw saftly, ye breezes, ye streams, smoothly murmur,


s: Ye sweet-scented blossoms, deck every green tree;


s: 'Mong your wild scatter'd flow'rets aft wanders my charmer,


s: The sweet lovely lass wi' the black rollin' e'e.


s: For pensive I ponder, and languishin' wander,


s: Far frae the sweet rosebud on Quair's windin' stream!


s: Why, Heaven, wring my heart wi' the hard heart o' anguish?


s: Why torture my bosom 'tween hope and despair?


s: When absent frae Nancy, I ever maun languish!--


s: That dear angel smile, shall it charm me nae mair?


s: Since here life 's a desert, an' pleasure 's a dream,


s: Bear me swift to those banks which are ever my theme,


s: Where, mild as the mornin' at simmer's returnin',


s: Blooms the sweet lovely rosebud on Quair's windin' stream.


s: By yon hoarse murmurin' stream, 'neath the moon's chilly beam,


s: Sadly musin' I wander, an' the tear fills my e'e;


s: Recollection, pensive power, brings back the mournfu' hour,


s: When the laddie gaed awa' that is dear, dear to me.


s: The tender words he said, and the faithfu' vows he made,


s: When we parted, to my bosom a mournfu' pleasure gie;


s: An' I lo'e to pass the day where we fondly used to stray,


s: An' repeat the laddie's name that is dear, dear to me.


s: Though nature bid rejoice, yet sorrow tunes my voice,


s: For the laddie 's far awa' that is dear, dear to me!


s: When the gloamin' brings alang the time o' mirth an' sang,


s: An' the dance kindles joy in ilka youthfu' e'e,


s: My neebours aften speir, why fa's the hidden tear?


s: But they kenna he's awa' that is dear, dear to me.


s: Oh, for the happy hour, when I shall hae the power,


s: To the darlin' o' my soul, on wings o' love, to flee!


s: Or that the day wad come, when fortune shall bring home,


s: The laddie to my arms that is dear, dear to me.


s: But if--for much I fear--that day will ne'er appear,


s: Frae me conceal in darkness the cruel stern decree;


s: For life wad a' be vain, were I ne'er to meet again,


s: Wi' the laddie far awa' that is dear, dear to me.


s: "My neebours," she sang, "aften jeer me,


s: An' now, 'bout my marriage they 'll clatter,


s: That the white o' his e'e is turn'd out,


s: That his black beard is rough as a heckle,


s: That his mou' to his lug 's rax'd about;


s: "But a weel-plenish'd mailin has Geordie,


s: But wi' poortith, hearts het as a cinder,


s: "There 'll just be ae bar to my pleasures,


s: Gude sooth! it shall soon get a scailin',


s: But though 'gainst my spendin' he swear aye,


s: An' down frae the bauks, flat 's a flounder,


s: My dear little lassie, why, what 's a' the matter?


s: My heart it gangs pittypat--winna lie still;


s: I 've waited, and waited, an' a' to grow better,


s: Yet, lassie, believe me, I 'm aye growin' ill!


s: My head 's turn'd quite dizzy, an' aft, when I 'm speakin',


s: I sigh, an' am breathless, and fearfu' to speak;


s: I gaze aye for something I fain would be seekin',


s: Yet, lassie, I kenna weel what I would seek.


s: Thy praise, bonnie lassie, I ever could hear of,


s: And yet, when to ruse ye the neebour lads try--


s: Though it 's a' true they tell ye--yet never sae far off


s: I could see 'em ilk ane, an' I canna tell why.


s: When we tedded the hayfield, I raked ilka rig o't,


s: And never grew weary the lang simmer day;


s: The rucks that ye wrought at were easiest biggit,


s: And I fand sweeter scented around ye the hay.


s: In har'st, whan the kirn-supper joys mak us cheerie,


s: 'Mang the lave o' the lasses I preed yer sweet mou';


s: Dear save us! how queer I felt whan I cam' near ye--


s: My breast thrill'd in rapture, I couldna tell how.


s: When we dance at the gloamin', it 's you I aye pitch on;


s: There 's something, dear lassie, about ye bewitching,


s: That tells me my happiness centres in thee.


s: sixteenth year; and having already afforded evidence of a refined


s: productions could find a publisher. Mortified by his failures, he


s: authorities. At length the proprietor fell into the snare of


s: publisher, the jealous eye of the authorities rested on its new


s: productions, "The Wanderer in Switzerland" attained the widest


s: circulation; and, notwithstanding an unfavourable and injudicious


s: As a poet, Montgomery is conspicuous for the smoothness of his


s: "I sang of war--but it was the war of freedom, in which death was


s: sing the abolition of slavery itself by some Parliament of which


s: pulsations. I sang the love which man ought to bear towards his


s: brother, of every kindred, and country, and clime upon earth. I


s: sang the love of virtue, which elevates man to his true standard


s: Holland, and the South Sea Islands themselves--I have received


s: testimonies of approbation from all ranks and degrees of readers,


s: communications from unknown correspondents, coming to me like


s: When "Friendship, Love, and Truth" abound


s: The flowers that shed their leaves to-day


s: Old Time lays down his scythe and glass,


s: Oh, when shall I visit the land of my birth--


s: The loveliest land on the face of the earth?


s: When shall I those scenes of affection explore,


s: With pride of our mountains, the maid I adore?


s: Oh, when shall I dance on the daisy-white mead,


s: In the shade of an elm, to the sound of a reed?


s: When shall I return to that lowly retreat,


s: Where all my fond objects of tenderness meet,--


s: The lambs and the heifers, that follow my call,


s: Oh, when shall I visit the land of my birth?--


s: 'Tis the loveliest land on the face of the earth.


s: And heaven and earth are hid from sight,


s: The song, the dance, the feast, go round.


s: Colds nor cramps shall ne'er oppress thee;


s: Soon shall Spring, in smiles and blushes,


s: Millions, millions, have been slaughter'd,


s: AIR--_"The Rock and the Wee Pickle Tow."_


s: I 'm now a guid farmer, I 've acres o' land,


s: And my heart aye loups light when I 'm viewing o't,


s: And twa dainty cowts for the plowin' o't.


s: My farm is a snug ane, lies high on a muir,


s: The muircocks and plivers aft skirl at my door,


s: And whan the sky low'rs I 'm aye sure o' a show'r,


s: Leeze me on the mailin that 's fa'n to my share,


s: It taks sax muckle bowes for the sawin' o't;


s: I 've sax braid acres for pasture, and mair,


s: And a dainty bit bog for the mawin' o't.


s: A spence and a kitchen my mansionhouse gies,


s: I 've a cantie wee wifie to daut whan I please,


s: Twa bairnies, twa callans, that skelp o'er the leas,


s: And they 'll soon can assist at the plowin' o't.


s: My biggin' stands sweet on this south slopin' hill,


s: And the sun shines sae bonnily beamin' on 't,


s: And past my door trots a clear prattlin' rill,


s: Frae the loch, whare the wild-ducks are swimmin' o't;


s: And on its green banks, on the gay simmer days,


s: My wifie trips barefoot, a-bleachin' her claes,


s: And on the dear creature wi' rapture I gaze,


s: While I whistle and sing at the plowin' o't.


s: To rank amang farmers I hae muckle pride,


s: But I mauna speak high when I 'm tellin' o't,


s: How brawlie I strut on my shelty to ride,


s: Wi' a sample to shew for the sellin' o't.


s: In blue worset boots that my auld mither span,


s: I 've aft been fu' vanty sin' I was a man,


s: But now they 're flung by, and I 've bought cordivan,


s: And my wifie ne'er grudged me a shillin' o't.


s: Sae now, whan to kirk or to market I gae--


s: My weelfare what need I be hiddin' o't?--


s: In braw leather boots shinin' black as the slae,


s: Last towmond I sell'd off four bowes o' guid bear,


s: And thankfu' I was, for the victual was dear,


s: And I came hame wi' spurs on my heels shinin' clear,


s: Now hairst time is o'er, and a fig for the laird,


s: My rent 's now secure for the toilin' o't;


s: My fields are a' bare, and my crap 's in the yard,


s: And I 'm nae mair in doubts o' the spoilin' o't.


s: Now welcome gude weather, or wind, or come weet,


s: Or bauld ragin' winter, wi' hail, snaw, or sleet,


s: Nae mair can he draigle my crap 'mang his feet,


s: Nor wraik his mischief, and be spoilin' o't.


s: And on the douf days, whan loud hurricanes blaw,


s: Fu' snug i' the spence I 'll be viewin' o't,


s: And jink the rude blast in my rush-theekit ha',


s: Whan fields are seal'd up from the plowin' o't.


s: My bonny wee wifie, the bairnies, and me,


s: The peat-stack, and turf-stack our Phœbus shall be,


s: Till day close the scoul o' its angry ee,


s: And we 'll rest in gude hopes o' the plowin' o't.


s: And whan the year smiles, and the lavrocks sing,


s: He 'll thrash, and I 'll toil on the fields in the spring,


s: And turn up the soil at the plowin' o't.


s: And whan the wee flow'rets begin then to blaw,


s: The lavrock, the peasweep, and skirlin' pickmaw,


s: Shall hiss the bleak winter to Lapland awa,


s: Then we 'll ply the blythe hours at the sawin' o't.


s: And whan the birds sing on the sweet simmer morn,


s: My new crap I 'll keek at the growin' o't;


s: Whan hares niffer love 'mang the green-bairdit corn,


s: And dew draps the tender blade shewin' o't,


s: On my brick o' fallow my labours I 'll ply,


s: And view on their pasture my twa bonny kye,


s: Till hairst-time again circle round us wi' joy,


s: Wi' the fruits o' the sawin' and plowin' o't.


s: Nor need I to envy our braw gentle focks,


s: Wha fash na their thumbs wi' the sawing o't,


s: Nor e'er slip their fine silken hands in the pocks,


s: Nor foul their black shoon wi' the plowin' o't:


s: For, pleased wi' the little that fortune has lent,


s: The seasons row round us in rural content;


s: We 've aye milk and meal, and our laird gets his rent,


s: And I whistle and sing at the plowin' o't.


s: "What plague, the French landit!" quo' Symon,


s: "Faith, then there's be loadin' and primin',"


s: O' the French to be fu' o' the flesh o',


s: His waistcoat pouch fill'd he wi' pouther,


s: "Then hear me," quo' Janet, "I pray thee,


s: And if thou should fa' I 'll die wi' thee,


s: Quo' he, "Sir, I mean to gae wi' ye, man,


s: I 'll turn her butt-end, and I 'll thrash."


s: Hale skart frae the wars, without skaithing,


s: His Mary's charms an' matchless feature,


s: Quoth he, "in love's saft wiles I'd daut her;


s: "Gie fine focks wealth, yet what care I,


s: "Flow fair an' clear, thou bonnie stream,


s: Fain wad I, fain wad I hae the bloody wars to cease,


s: An' the nations restored again to unity an' peace;


s: Then mony a bonnie laddie, that 's now far owre the sea,


s: Wad return to his lassie, an' his ain countrie.


s: My lad was call'd awa for to cross the stormy main,


s: An' to face the battle's bray in the cause of injured Spain;


s: But in my love's departure hard fate has injured me,


s: That has reft him frae my arms, an' his ain countrie.


s: When he bade me adieu, oh! my heart was like to break,


s: An' the parting tear dropp'd down for my dear laddie's sake;


s: Kind Heavens protect my Willie, wherever he be,


s: An' restore him to my arms, an' his ain countrie.


s: Yes, may the fates defend him upon that hostile shore,


s: Amid the rage of battle, where thund'ring cannons roar;


s: In the sad hour of danger, when deadly bullets flee,


s: Far frae the peacefu' plains of his ain countrie.


s: Wae 's me, that vice had proven the source of blood an' war,


s: An' sawn amang the nations the seeds of feud an' jar:


s: But it was cruel Cain, an' his grim posterity,


s: First began the bloody wark in their ain countrie.


s: An' oh! what widows weep, an' helpless orphans cry!


s: On a far foreign shore now, the dear, dear ashes lie,


s: Whose life-blood stain'd the gowans of some far foreign lea,


s: Far frae their kith an' kin, an' their ain countrie.


s: Hail the day, speed the day, then, when a' the wars are done!


s: An' may ilk British laddie return wi' laurels won;


s: On my dear Willie's brows may they flourish bonnily,


s: An' be wi' the myrtle twined in his ain countrie.


s: But I hope the time is near, when sweet peace her olive wand


s: To lay the fiend of war shall soon stretch o'er every land,


s: When swords turn'd into ploughshares and pruning-hooks shall be,


s: An' the nations a' live happy in their ain countrie.


s: There was a musician wha play'd a good stick,


s: An' in his profession he had right good luck


s: But ah! the poor fiddler soon chancéd to die,


s: An' the poor widow cried, wi' the tear in her e'e,


s: That as lang as she lived she wad mourn.


s: Alane by the hearth she disconsolate sat,


s: An' aye as she look'd on the fiddle she grat,


s: Fair shane the red rose on the young widow's cheek,


s: As in came a younker some comfort to speak,


s: "Dear lassie," he cried, "I am smit wi' your charms,


s: I 'm as good as ever laid hair upon thairms,


s: An' I 'll cheer baith the fiddle an' you."


s: The young widow blush'd, but sweet smiling she said,


s: If we twa thegither are doom'd to be wed,


s: He took down the fiddle as dowie it hung,


s: The young widow dighted her cheeks an' she sung,


s: Now sound sleep the dead in his cauld bed o' clay,


s: For now he 's forgot, an' his widow's fu' gay,


s: He 's no more on the green hill, he has left the wide forest,


s: Whom, sad by the lone rill, thou, loved dame, deplorest:


s: We saw in his dim eye the beam of life quiver,


s: Its bright orb to light again no more for ever.


s: Loud twang'd thy bow, mighty youth, in the foray,


s: Dread gleam'd thy brand in the proud field of glory;


s: And when heroes sat round in the Psalter of Tara,


s: His counsel was sage as was fatal his arrow.


s: When in war's loud commotion the hostile Dane landed,


s: Or seen on the ocean with white sail expanded,


s: Like thee, swoll'n stream, down our steep vale that roarest,


s: Fierce was the chieftain that harass'd them sorest.


s: Proud stem of our ancient line, nipt while in budding,


s: Like sweet flowers' too early gem spring-fields bestudding,


s: Our noble pine 's fall'n, that waved on our mountain,--


s: Our mighty rock dash'd from the brink of our fountain.


s: Our lady is lonely, our halls are deserted--


s: The mighty is fallen, our hope is departed--


s: Loud wail for the fate from our clan that did sever,


s: Whom we shall behold again no more for ever.


s: Adieu, lovely Summer! I see thee declining,


s: Thy once glowing beauties by Autumn are pining,


s: The late blowing flowers now thy pale cheek adorning,


s: The groves, too, are silent, no minstrel of morning


s: Aurora peeps silent, and sighs a lorn widow,


s: No more the shrill lark quits the dew-spangled meadow,


s: Sage Autumn sits sad now on hill, dale, and valley,


s: They languish, they languish! I see them fade daily,


s: O Virtue, come waft me on thy silken pinions,


s: Where summer, unceasing, pervades thy dominions,


s: fictitious tale, than in giving his principal attention to the


s: performances, illustrative of the chivalry of his own land.


s: During the visit of George IV. to Scotland, in 1822, Sir Walter


s: accommodation; and he felt bound in honour, as well as by legal


s: unconsciousness, it became evident to his friends, that, in the


s: In stature, Sir Walter Scott was above six feet; but his personal


s: From "The Grave of Sir Walter Scott," a poem by Thomas C. Latto


s: Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall;


s: Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall,


s: And he swore her death, ere he would see


s: When dead in her true love's arms she fell,


s: Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall--


s: (Where the sun shines fair on Carlisle wall),


s: This song appears in the sixth canto of "The Lay of the Last


s: Oh, young Lochinvar is come out of the west,


s: Through all the wide border his steed was the best;


s: And save his good broadsword he weapons had none,


s: He rode all unarm'd, and he rode all alone.


s: So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,


s: There never was knight like the young Lochinvar.


s: He stay'd not for brake, and he stopp'd not for stone,


s: He swam the Eske river where ford there was none;


s: The bride had consented, the gallant came late:


s: Was to wed the fair Ellen of brave Lochinvar.


s: Among bridesmen, and kinsmen, and brothers, and all:


s: Then spoke the bride's father, his hand on his sword,


s: (For the poor craven bridegroom said never a word)


s: "Oh, come ye in peace here, or come ye in war,


s: Or to dance at our bridal, young Lord Lochinvar?"


s: "I long woo'd your daughter, my suit you denied;--


s: Love swells like the Solway, but ebbs like its tide--


s: And now am I come, with this lost love of mine,


s: To lead but one measure, drink one cup of wine;


s: There are maidens in Scotland more lovely by far,


s: That would gladly be bride to the young Lochinvar."


s: The bride kiss'd the goblet; the knight took it up,


s: He quaff'd off the wine, and he threw down the cup;


s: She look'd down to blush, and she look'd up to sigh,


s: With a smile on her lips, and a tear in her eye.


s: He took her soft hand, ere her mother could bar--


s: "Now tread we a measure!" said young Lochinvar.


s: So stately his form, and so lovely her face,


s: That never a hall such a galliard did grace;


s: While her mother did fret, and her father did fume,


s: And the bridegroom stood dangling his bonnet and plume;


s: And the bride-maidens whisper'd, "'Twere better, by far,


s: To have match'd our fair cousin with young Lochinvar."


s: One touch to her hand, and one word in her ear,


s: When they reach'd the hall-door, and the charger stood near;


s: So light to the croupe the fair lady he swung,


s: So light to the saddle before her he sprung!


s: "She is won! we are gone, over bank, bush, and scaur;


s: They 'll have fleet steeds that follow," quoth young Lochinvar.


s: There was mounting 'mong Græmes of the Netherby clan;


s: Forsters, Fenwicks, and Musgraves, they rode and they ran:


s: There was racing, and chasing, on Cannobie Lea,


s: But the lost bride of Netherby ne'er did they see.


s: So daring in love, and so dauntless in war,


s: Have ye e'er heard of gallant like young Lochinvar?


s: Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking;


s: Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking,


s: Here 's no war-steed's neigh and champing,


s: The song of Lady Margaret in the first canto of "The Lady of the


s: Hail to the chief who in triumph advances!


s: Honour'd and bless'd be the ever-green pine!


s: Long may the tree, in his banner that glances,


s: Flourish, the shelter and grace of our line!


s: Ours is no sapling, chance-sown by the fountain,


s: When the whirlwind has stripp'd every leaf on the mountain,


s: The more shall Clan-Alpine exult in her shade;


s: Proudly our pibroch has thrill'd in Glen Fruin,


s: And Bannochar's groans to our slogan replied;


s: Glen Luss and Ross-dhu, they are smoking in ruin,


s: And the best of Loch Lomond lie dead on her side.


s: Think of Clan-Alpine with fear and with woe;


s: Row, vassals, row, for the pride of the Highlands!


s: Stretch to your oars for the ever-green pine!


s: Oh, that the rosebud that graces yon islands


s: Were wreathed in a garland around him to twine!


s: Honour'd and bless'd in their shadow might grow!


s: Song of Norman in "The Lady of the Lake," canto third.


s: These towers, although a king's they be,


s: Drive the fleet deer the forest through,


s: Allen-a-Dale has no fleece for the spinning,


s: Yet Allen-a-Dale has red gold for the winning;


s: Come, read me my riddle! come, hearken my tale!


s: And tell me the craft of bold Allen-a-Dale.


s: The Baron of Ravensworth prances in pride,


s: And he views his domains upon Arkindale side,


s: The mere for his net, and the land for his game,


s: The chase for the wild, and the park for the tame;


s: Yet the fish of the lake and the deer of the vale


s: Are less free to Lord Dacre than Allen-a-Dale.


s: Though his spur be as sharp, and his blade be as bright;


s: Yet twenty tall yeomen will draw at his word;


s: And the best of our nobles his bonnet will vail,


s: Who at Rere-cross on Stanmore meets Allen-a-Dale.


s: The mother she asked of his household and home;


s: "Though the castle of Richmond stand fair on the hill,


s: My hall," quoth bold Allen, "shows gallanter still;


s: 'Tis the blue vault of heaven, with its crescent so pale,


s: And with all its bright spangles," said Allen-a-Dale.


s: The father was steel and the mother was stone,


s: They lifted the latch, and they bade him be gone;


s: But loud, on the morrow, their wail and their cry,


s: He had laugh'd on the lass with his bonny black eye,


s: And she fled to the forest to hear a love-tale,


s: And the youth it was told by was Allen-a-Dale.


s: Strike the wild harp while maids prepare


s: While the dawn on the mountain was misty and gray,


s: My true love has mounted his steed and away,


s: Over hill, over valley, o'er dale, and o'er down;--


s: Heaven shield the brave gallant that fights for the crown!


s: He has doff'd the silk doublet the breastplate to bear,


s: He has placed the steel cap o'er his long flowing hair,


s: From his belt to his stirrup his broadsword hangs down--


s: For the rights of fair England that broadsword he draws,


s: Her king is his leader, her church is his cause,


s: His watchword is honour, his pay is renown,--


s: God strike with the gallant that strikes for the crown!


s: They may boast of their Fairfax, their Waller, and all


s: The roundheaded rebels of Westminster Hall;


s: But tell these bold traitors of London's proud town,


s: That the spears of the north have encircled the crown.


s: There 's Derby and Cavendish, dread of their foes;


s: There 's Erin's high Ormond, and Scotland's Montrose!


s: Would you match the base Skippon, and Massey, and Brown,


s: With the barons of England that fight for the crown?


s: Now joy to the crest of the brave cavalier,


s: Be his banner unconquer'd, resistless his spear,


s: Till in peace and in triumph his toils he may drown,


s: In a pledge to fair England, her church, and her crown!


s: With hawk, and horse, and hunting-spear!


s: Hawks are whistling, horns are knelling,


s: When 'gainst the oak his antlers fray'd;


s: Oh, say not, my love, with that mortified air,


s: That your spring-time of pleasure is flown;


s: Nor bid me to maids that are younger repair,


s: For those raptures that still are thine own.


s: Though April his temples may wreathe with the vine,


s: 'Tis the ardour of August matures us the wine,


s: Though thy form, that was fashion'd as light as a fay's,


s: And thy glance, that was bright as a falcon's at gaze,


s: Enough, that those dear sober glances retain


s: His calling, with the interval of a brief military service in the


s: Songs and Poems of Robert Mackay, p. 38. (Inverness, 1829. 8vo.)


s: This is selected as a specimen of Mackay's descriptive poetry. It


s: Mackay was entertained by Macechan, who was a respectable


s: the following is a translation, were much approved.


s: From both, want reaves the dregs of joy;


s: The flash of youth through rags appears.


s: I fly from the fold, since my passion's despair


s: No longer must harbour the charms that are there;


s: Anne's slender eyebrows, her sleek tresses so long,


s: What has been, and is not--woe 's my thought!


s: It must not be spoken, nor can be forgot.


s: I wander'd the fold, and I rambled the grove,


s: And each spot it reported the kiss of my love;


s: But I saw her caressing another--and feel


s: 'Tis distraction to hear them, and see them so leal.


s: Since 'twas told that a rival beguil'd thee away,


s: The dreams of my love are the dreams of dismay;


s: Though unsummon'd of thee, love has captured thy thrall,


s: And my hope of redemption for ever is small.


s: To shake him away, still he clings like the ivy.


s: But, auburn-hair'd Anna! to tell thee my plight,


s: 'Tis old love unrequited that prostrates my might,


s: In presence or absence, aye faithful, my smart


s: Still racks, and still searches, and tugs at my heart--


s: From my country, without one embrace from my dear?


s: She answers with laughter and haughty disdain--


s: "To handle my snood you petition in vain;


s: Six suitors are mine since the year thou wert gone,


s: What art _thou_, that thou should'st be the favourite one?


s: Art thou dying for love? Troth, love's payment was slow."


s: Though my anger may feign it requites thy disdain,


s: And vaunts in thy absence, it threatens in vain--


s: All in vain! for thy image in fondness returns,


s: And o'er thy sweet likeness expectancy burns;


s: Till my hope waxes high as a tower in its soar.


s: "Anne"--Rob's first love, the heroine of the piece. "Similar in


s: "Isabel"--the daughter of Ian Macechan, the subject of other


s: Alluding to his absence, and delay in his courtship.


s: Rather more modest than the classic's "feriam sidera vertice."


s: Seest thou Isabel Mackay with the milk kye,


s: Where brown hills rear their ridges bare,


s: inmate a poor asthmatic old man, stretched on his pallet,


s: apparently at the point of death. As he sat by his bed-side, he


s: "crooned," so as to be audible, it seems, to the patient, the


s: George the Second's reign. As he was finishing his ditty, the old


s: appended note. This is one of Sir Walter Scott's extracts in the


s: _Quarterly_, and is now attempted in the measure of the original.


s: Oh, marked we, Death! thy teachings true,


s: Hearken! greatest of earth's great ones--


s: Friends of my heart! in the twain we see


s: Where was there one more low than thou--


s: At this humiliating apostrophe, the beggar is reported to have


s: legend--a nourishment of the imagination in which, as well as in


s: The composition of hymns, embracing a most eloquent and musical


s: rebellion. While he relates that the power of religion at length


s: The same account observes that though none of his works are


s: These are his descriptions of "The Drunkard," "The Glutton," and


s: As I sat by the grave, at the brink of its cave


s: The symbol I clasp, and detain in my grasp,


s: Without beauty or grace, or a glance to express


s: Its jaw and its mouth are tenantless both,


s: No glow on its face, no ringlets to grace


s: Hush'd the caves of its breath, and the finger of death


s: The raised features hath flatten'd along.


s: The eyes' wonted beam, and the eyelids' quick gleam--


s: But the worms of the soil, as they wriggle and coil,


s: Alexander the Brave, as the portionless slave


s: Thou delver of death, in my ear let thy breath


s: That my voice may not die without a reply,


s: Thy meshes didst set, like the links of a net,


s: Alas every charm that a bosom could warm


s: Oh, fie on the spoiler for daring to soil her


s: Say, wise in the law, did the people with awe


s: A magistrate true, to all dealing their due,


s: Or was righteousness sold for handfuls of gold


s: While the poor were unheard when their suit they preferr'd,


s: Say, once in thine hour, was thy medicine of power


s: And seem'd, as the pride of thy leech-craft e'en tried


s: Alas, that thine aid should have ever betray'd


s: What salve or annealing sufficed for thy healing


s: When the hours of thy portion were flown?


s: Or--wert thou a hero, a leader to glory,


s: To victory cheering, as thy foemen careering


s: In flight, left their mountains of dead?


s: Was thy valiancy laid, or unhilted thy blade,


s: The sepulchre-swarms, ensheathed in their arms,


s: How they joy in their spoil, as thy body the while


s: And her beetle-mate blind hums his gladness to find


s: Some dig where the sheen of the ivory has been,


s: In rabble and rout they come in and come out


s: Do I hold in my hand a whole lordship of land,


s: Perhaps not unkind to the helpless thy mind,


s: Perhaps stern of brow to thy tenantry thou!


s: 'Gainst their crave for respite, when thy clamour for right


s: While the frown of thy pride to the aged denied


s: And humbly they stand, with their bonnet in hand,


s: Thy serfs may look on, unheeding thy frown,


s: All praise to the stroke their bondage that broke!


s: While but claims their obeisance the dead.


s: Or a head do I clutch, whose devices were such,


s: That death must have lent them his sting--


s: So daring they were, so reckless of fear,


s: Did the tongue of the lie, while it couch'd like a spy


s: Its slander display, as poisons its prey


s: That member unchain'd, by strong bands is restrain'd,


s: And, its emblem, the trail of the worm, shall prevail


s: Where its slaver once harbour'd beneath.


s: And oh! if thy scorn went down to thine urn


s: To repose where thou art is of peace all thy part,


s: Like a frog, from the lake that leapeth, to take


s: And to hear from His lips, amid nature's eclipse,


s: The hardness of iron thy bones shall environ,


s: Shall stiffen, and the glow of thy manhood shall grow


s: But wert thou the mould of a champion bold


s: Oh, then, though the fence of each limb and each sense


s: And the shell of thy dust thou shalt leave to be crush'd,


s: We submit these further illustrations of the moral maxims of "The


s: Its solemn sounds. "Thou man distraught!


s: Or fills the world thy crave of thought?


s: "No rest for toil, no drink for drought,


s: There, gasp for gasp, and throe for throe,


s: "From every hearth-turf reeks its cloud,


s: Where high its tempting heaps are piled?


s: So, warp'd all hopes that mortals bless--


s: With boundless wealth, the sufferer's groans;


s: To herd with brutes her joy would bound;


s: The vows I heard, when my kindest dearie


s: Nor needed there more to transport me wholly,


s: 'Twas a Monday morn, and the way that parted


s: The troth to plight with a maiden true-hearted,


s: I led her apart, and the hour that we reckon'd,


s: I heard my heart, and could tell each second,


s: I told my ail to the foe that pain'd me,


s: She heard the tale, and her leech-craft it sain'd me,


s: Forever, my dear, I 'll dearly adore thee


s: My fancy's delusion, new loves ever choosing,


s: I roam'd in the wood, many a tendril surveying,


s: My eye, as it look'd, its ambition betraying


s: One branch of perfume, in blossom all over,


s: And yielded its bloom, that hung high from each lover,


s: I went to the river, one net-cast I threw in,


s: Forget shall I never, how the beauty I drew in,


s: Oh, happy the day that crown'd my affection


s: Gaelic, "gealag"--descriptive of the salmon, from its glossy


s: _Gaelic_--Caoillt; who, with Cuchullin, makes a figure in


s: Literally--"From the barrel of Nic-Coisean." This was the poet's


s: Macintyre acted latterly as a constable of the City Guard of


s: feelings of satisfaction in a piece of minstrelsy, which in the


s: original ranks among his best productions. Of this ode we are


s: enabled to present a faithful metrical translation, quite in the


s: forth, my glittering Bride," composed by Theodore Körner of


s: Dresden, and the last and most remarkable of his patriotic


s: patriotism. Macintyre addresses as his wife the musket which he


s: carried as an officer of the guard; and is certainly as


s: enthusiastic in praise of his new acquisition, as ever was


s: love-sick swain in eulogy of the most attractive fair one.


s: An' I 'll try, as she 's no that ill faur'd,


s: She is stately, fine, an' straight, an' sound,


s: The "Auld Town Guard" of Edinburgh, which existed before the


s: Police Acts came into operation, was composed principally of


s: A favourite fowling-piece, alluded to in Bendourain, and


s: Should my numbers essay to enliven a lay,


s: The notes would betray the languor of woe;


s: My heart is o'erthrown, like the rush of the stone


s: That, unfix'd from its throne, seeks the valley below.


s: The _veteran of war_, that knows not to spare,


s: And offers us ne'er the respite of peace,


s: Resistless comes on, and we yield with a groan,


s: For under the sun is no hope of release.


s: 'Tis a sadness I ween, how the glow and the sheen


s: Of the rosiest mien from their glory subside;


s: How hurries the hour on our race, that shall lower


s: The arm of our power, and the step of our pride.


s: As scatter and fail, on the wing of the gale,


s: The mist of the vale, and the cloud of the sky,


s: So, dissolving our bliss, comes the hour of distress,


s: Old age, with that face of aversion to joy.


s: And unbreathed as the dead, is the person of Age;


s: Not a joint, not a nerve--so prostrate their verve--


s: In the contest shall serve, or the feat to engage.


s: To leap with the best, or the billow to breast,


s: Or the race prize to wrest, were but effort in vain;


s: The fever's hot breath, the dart-shot of pain.


s: Ah, desolate eld! the wretch that is held


s: By thy grapple, must yield thee his dearest supplies;


s: The friends of our love at thy call must remove,--


s: What boots how they strove from thy bands to arise?


s: They leave us, deplore as it wills us,--our store,


s: Our strength at the core, and our vigour of mind;


s: Remembrance forsakes us, distraction o'ertakes us,


s: Every love that awakes us, we leave it behind.


s: Thou spoiler of grace, that changest the face


s: To hasten its race on the route to the tomb,


s: To whom nothing is dear, unaffection'd the ear,


s: Of spirit how void, thy passions how cloy'd,


s: Thy pith how destroy'd, and thy pleasure how gone!


s: To the pang of thy cries not an echo replies,


s: Even sympathy dies--and thy helper is none.


s: We see thee how stripp'd of each bloom that equipp'd


s: Thy flourish, till nipp'd the winter thy rose;


s: Till the spoiler made bare the scalp of the hair,


s: And the ivory tare from its sockets' repose.


s: Thy skinny, thy cold, thy visageless mould,


s: Its disgust is untold, and its surface is dim;


s: What a signal of wrack is the wrinkle's dull track,


s: And the bend of the back, and the limp of the limb!


s: Where glory is dear, shall thy welcome be found?


s: Thou contempt of the brave--oh, rather the grave,


s: Than to pine as the slave that thy fetters have bound.


s: Like the dusk of the day is thy colour of gray,


s: Thou foe of the lay, and thou phantom of gloom;


s: Thou bane of delight--when thy shivering plight,


s: And thy grizzle of white, and thy crippleness, come


s: To beg at the door; ah, woe for the poor,


s: And the greeting unsure that grudges their bread;


s: All unwelcome they call--from the hut to the hall


s: The confession of all is, "_'Tis time he were dead_!"


s: Single-speech Hamilton may be said to have had his _marrow_ in a


s: In Stat. Ac. said to be of Lochbroom, vol. xiv., p. 79.


s: With steel-cap, blade, and _skene_ array'd,


s: For shame! preferr'd that ravening bird!


s: Well in thy fright hast timed thy flight,


s: To join thy might, when call'd the right,


s: Applicable both to the chief and his crest.


s: Steed. The Celtic "Cabul" and Latin "Caballus" correspond.


s: Here the bard is a little obscure; but he seems to mean that the


s: The _eagle_; the crest of Monro of Fowlis. The filthy and cruel


s: habits of this predatory bird are here contrasted with the


s: _Fioreun_, the name of the eagle, signifying true bird.


s: Literally--Accursed by Moses, or the Mosaic law.


s: The single eagle's feather crested the chieftain's bonnet.


s: Mac-Mhic-Alister, the patronymic of Glengary.


s: _Gaelic_--Barrels of liquor, properly _bùidealan_.


s: _Boddle_, an old Scottish coin--value the third of a penny.


s: _Castocks_, the pith of stalks of cabbages.


s: _Cock-up_, a hat or cap turned up before.


s: _Disjasket_, having appearance of decay.


s: _Grist_, the fee paid at the mill for grinding.


s: _Henny_, honey, a familiar term of affection among the peasantry.


s: _Hinkum_, that which is put up in hanks or balls, as thread.


s: _Kenspeckle_, having a singular appearance.


s: Virgil--Publius Vergilius Maro--was born at Andes near Mantua, in


s: publication of his second work, the _Georgics_, he was recognized


s: thoughts and phrases of his forerunners, but the Roman critics of


s: National Destiny, and stern sense of duty to which it gives


s: expression, its profoundly religious character and stately and


s: melodious verse, have always caused it to be recognized as the


s: passages his verses thrill us with a strange pathos, and his


s: sensitiveness to unseen things--things beautiful and sad--has


s: always be wanting in the musical quality of continuous verse. And


s: 'Sunt lacrimae rerum et mentem mortalia tangunt'


s: The casement slowly grows a glimmering square,'


s: The first translation of the _Aeneid_ into English verse was that


s: that of Dryden appeared. In the best passages it renders the tone


s: 'Thai walking furth fa dyrk, oneth thai wyst


s: Quhidder thai went, amyd dym schaddowys thar,


s: Quhar evir is nycht, and nevir lyght dois repar,


s: Throwout the waist dongion of Pluto Kyng,


s: Thai voyd boundis, and that gowsty ryng:


s: Siklyke as quha wold throw thik woddis wend


s: In obscure licht, quhen moyn may nocht be kenned;


s: And the myrk nycht, with her vissage gray,


s: From every thing hes reft the hew away.'


s: 'As she had said, her damsell might perceue


s: Her with these wordes fal pearced on a sword


s: The blade embrued and hands besprent with gore.


s: The brute ranne throughout al thastoined towne,


s: With wailing great, and women's shrill yelling,


s: The roofs gan roare, the aire resound with plaint,


s: As though Cartage, or thauncient town of Tyre


s: With prease of entred enemies swarmed full,


s: Or when the rage of furious flame doth take


s: The temples toppes, and mansions eke of men.'


s: Of the translations into modern English, that of Dryden may still


s: 'Just in the gate, and in the jaws of hell,


s: Revengeful cares, and sullen sorrows dwell,


s: Want, fear, and famine's unresisted rage,


s: Here toils and death, and death's half-brother sleep,


s: Forms terrible to view, their sentry keep.


s: With anxious pleasures of a guilty mind,


s: Deep frauds, before, and open force behind;


s: The Furies' iron beds, and strife that shakes


s: Her hissing tresses, and unfolds her snakes.'


s: But though the heroic couplet may have conveyed to Dryden's age


s: Aeneas becomes merely a sprightly reminder that--


s: The various attempts that have been made to translate the poem in


s: lumbering, boistrous, wallowing measure, in his translation of


s: Longer, O maiden, arises before me as strange and unlooked for:


s: Father, and teach me the way, and the sacred avenues open.'


s: Nor is William Morris' attempt to devise a new metre anything but


s: abounds, though they might be suitable in a translation of Homer,


s: For the best metre to use we must look in a different direction.


s: faultless as any translation could be, as is shown by the version


s: 'Soothsayers, ah! how little do they know!


s: Of what avail are temples, vows, and prayers,


s: To quell a raging passion? All the while


s: A subtle flame is smouldering in her veins,


s: The wealth of Sidon, all the town laid out,


s: Begins to speak, then stops, she knows not why.


s: Now, as day wanes, the feast of yesterday


s: She gives again, again with fevered lips


s: Begs for the tale of Troy and all its woes,


s: And hangs upon his lips, who tells the tale.


s: Then, when the guests are gone and in her turn


s: The wan moon pales her light, and waning stars


s: Persuade to sleep, she in her empty halls


s: Mourns all alone, and throws herself along


s: The couch where he had lain: though he be gone


s: Far from her side, she hears and sees him still.'


s: criticisms will be just or the reverse, according to the skill of


s: Edward Fairfax Taylor, whose translation of the _Aeneid_ is now


s: fulfilling his duties in the House of Lords, have left a deep


s: Classicorum Bibliotheca Oxoniensis_, 1900). Of the editions


s: containing explanatory notes, that of Conington and Nettleship,


s: The best modern prose translations are those of Mackail (London,


s: here!" (577-661). Dido speaks him fair and echoes his words, "If


s: AEneas to tell the whole story of his adventures (775-891).


s: First drove from Troy to the Lavinian shore.


s: Full many an evil, through the mindful hate


s: Much tost on earth and ocean, yea, and more


s: And his loved household-deities brought o'er


s: To Latium, whence the Latin people come,


s: Whence rose the Alban sires, and walls of lofty Rome.


s: The various causes and the crimes relate,


s: To injured Godhead, what offence so great


s: Heaven's Queen resenting, with remorseless hate,


s: To brave such troubles, and endure the weight


s: How can in heavenly minds such fierce resentment dwell?


s: Rich in all wealth, and trained to war's rough lore,


s: Her arms, and here her chariot; evermore


s: E'en then this land she cherished as her own,


s: And here, should Fate permit, had planned a world-wide throne.


s: Those Tyrian towers should level, how again


s: From these in time a nation should proceed,


s: (So Fate was working) of the Libyan reign.


s: This feared she, mindful of the war beside


s: Waged for her Argives on the Trojan plain;


s: The causes of her wrath, the pangs of wounded pride,--


s: The hateful race, the lawless honours ta'en


s: By ravished Ganymede--these wrongs remained.


s: So fired with rage, the Trojans' scanty train


s: By fierce Achilles and the Greeks unslain


s: She barred from Latium, and in evil strait


s: They wandered, homeless outcasts, tost by Fate;


s: So huge, so hard the task to found the Roman state.


s: Their sails to sea, and merrily ploughed the main,


s: With brazen beaks, when Juno, harbouring yet


s: Within her breast the ever-rankling pain,


s: Mused thus: "Must I then from the work refrain,


s: Nor keep this Trojan from the Latin throne,


s: Baffled, forsooth, because the Fates constrain?


s: Could Pallas burn the Grecian fleet, and drown


s: Their crews, for one man's crime, Oileus' frenzied son?


s: And strewed the ships. Him, from his riven breast


s: The flames outgasping, with a whirlwind's sweep


s: She caught and fixed upon a rock's sharp crest.


s: But I, who walk the Queen of Heaven confessed,


s: Jove's sister-spouse, shall I forevermore


s: With one poor tribe keep warring without rest?


s: Who then henceforth shall Juno's power adore?


s: Who then her fanes frequent, her deity implore?"


s: Straightway the Goddess to AEolia passed,


s: The storm-clouds' birthplace, big with blustering wind.


s: The sounding tempest and the struggling blast


s: Bends to his sway and bridles them with chains.


s: They, in the rock reverberant held fast,


s: Moan at the doors. Here, throned aloft, he reigns;


s: His sceptre calms their rage, their violence restrains:


s: The winds together through the void would sweep.


s: Hath buried them in caverns dark and deep,


s: And o'er them piled huge mountains in a heap,


s: And set withal a monarch, there to reign,


s: By compact taught at his command to keep


s: Strict watch, and tighten or relax the rein.


s: Him now Saturnia sought, and thus in lowly strain:


s: And Gods the sovran Sire, hath given to thee


s: To lull the waves and lift them with the wind,


s: Their ships are steering o'er the Tuscan sea,


s: Bearing their Troy and vanquished gods away


s: And sink their ships or scatter them astray,


s: And strew their corpses forth, to weltering waves a prey.


s: Thy life-long years for such deserts to share,


s: And make thee parent of an offspring fair."--


s: "Speak, Queen," he answered, "to obey is mine.


s: Of realm is here; thou makest Jove benign,


s: Thou giv'st to rule the storms and sit at feasts divine."


s: And turned the massive sceptre in his hand


s: And pushed the hollow mountain on its side.


s: Out rushed the winds, like soldiers in a band,


s: In wedged array, and, whirling, scour the land.


s: East, West and squally South-west, with a roar,


s: Swoop down on Ocean, and the surf and sand


s: Mix in dark eddies, and the watery floor


s: Heave from its depths, and roll huge billows to the shore.


s: Of seamen. Clouds the darkened heavens have drowned,


s: And snatched the daylight from the Trojans' eyes.


s: Black night broods on the waters; all around


s: From pole to pole the rattling peals resound


s: And frequent flashes light the lurid air.


s: All nature, big with instant ruin, frowned


s: Destruction. Then AEneas' limbs with fear


s: Were loosened, and he groaned and stretched his hands in prayer:


s: Why could not I have perished, too, that day


s: Beneath thine arm, and breathed this soul away


s: Far on the plains of Troy, where Hector brave


s: Lay, pierced by fierce AEacides, where lay


s: Rolls heroes, helms and shields, whelmed in one watery grave?"


s: Struck with a roar against the sail. Up leap


s: The waves to heaven; the shattered oars start forth;


s: Round swings the prow, and lets the waters sweep


s: The broadside. Onward comes a mountain heap


s: Of billows, gaunt, abrupt. These, horsed astride


s: A surge's crest, rock pendent o'er the deep;


s: To those the wave's huge hollow, yawning wide,


s: Lays bare the ground below; dark swells the sandy tide.


s: On hidden rocks, which (Latins from of yore


s: Have called them "Altars") in mid ocean lay,


s: A huge ridge level with the tide. Three more


s: Fierce Eurus from the deep sea dashed ashore


s: On quicks and shallows, pitiful to view,


s: And round them heaped the sandbanks. One, that bore


s: Full in AEneas' sight a toppling wave o'erthrew.


s: Thrice round the billow whirled her, as she lay,


s: Then whelmed below. Strewn here and there behold


s: Arms, planks, lone swimmers in the surges grey,


s: And treasures snatched from Trojan homes away.


s: Through many a gaping seam lets in the baleful tide.


s: The storm let loose, the turmoil of the sky,


s: And ocean from its lowest depths upheaved.


s: With calm brow lifted o'er the sea, his eye


s: Beholds Troy's navy scattered far and nigh,


s: And by the waves and ruining heaven oppressed


s: His sister's wiles and hatred. East and West


s: He summoned to his throne, and thus his wrath expressed.


s: And raise such hubbub in my realm? Beware--


s: Yet first 'twere best these billows to allay.


s: For crimes like these. Presumptuous winds, begone,


s: And take your king this message, that the sway


s: Fate gave to me, not him; the trident is my own.


s: There let him glory in his hall and reign,


s: But keep his winds close prisoners." Thus he,


s: And, ere his speech was ended, smoothed the main,


s: And chased the clouds and brought the sun again.


s: Triton, Cymothoe from the rock's sharp brow


s: Push off the vessels. Neptune plies amain


s: His trident-lever, lays the sandbanks low,


s: On light wheels shaves the deep, and calms the billowy flow.


s: Rage finds them arms; stones, firebrands fly about,


s: Then if some statesman reverend and grave,


s: Stand forth conspicuous, and the tumult brave


s: All, hushed, attend; his guiding words restrain


s: Their angry wills; so sank the furious wave,


s: When through the clear sky looking o'er the main,


s: The sea-king lashed his steeds and slacked the favouring rein.


s: There lies a haven; towards the deep doth stand


s: An island, on whose jutting headlands beat


s: The broken billows, shivered into sleet.


s: Two towering crags, twin giants, guard the cove,


s: And threat the skies. The waters at their feet


s: Sleep hushed, and, like a curtain, frowns above,


s: Mixt with the glancing green, the darkness of the grove.


s: With limpid springs inside, and many a seat


s: Of living marble, lies a sheltered cave,


s: Home of the Sea-Nymphs. In this haven sweet


s: Cable nor biting anchor moors the fleet.


s: Here with seven ships, the remnant of his band,


s: The welcome earth, the Trojans leap to land,


s: And lay their weary limbs still dripping on the sand.


s: And lit the leaves and dry wood heaped with care


s: Then, tired of toiling, from the ships they bear


s: The sea-spoiled corn, and Ceres' tools prepare,


s: And 'twixt the millstones grind the rescued grain


s: And roast the pounded morsels for their fare:


s: While up the crag AEneas climbs, to gain


s: Full prospect far and wide, and scan the distant main.


s: No sail, but wandering on the shore he sees


s: Three stags, and, grazing up the vale at ease,


s: The whole herd troops behind them in a row.


s: He stops, and from Achates hastes to seize


s: His chance-brought arms, the arrows and the bow,


s: The branching antlers smites, and lays the leader low.


s: In mingled rout he drives the scattered train,


s: Plying his shafts, nor stays his conquering raid


s: Till seven huge bodies on the ground lie slain,


s: He seeks the crews, and gives a deer to each,


s: Then opes the casks, which good Acestes, fain


s: At parting, filled on the Trinacrian beach,


s: Than these ye suffered, and to these as well


s: Will Jove give ending, as he gave before.


s: Ye know mad Scylla, and her monsters' yell,


s: And the dark caverns where the Cyclops dwell.


s: Fear not; take heart; hereafter, it may be


s: These too will yield a pleasant tale to tell.


s: Through shifting hazards, by the Fates' decree,


s: To Latin shores we steer, our promised land to see.


s: There Troy her ruined fortunes shall repair.


s: Bear up; reserve you for a happier day."


s: He spake, and heart-sick with a load of care,


s: Suppressed his grief, and feigned a cheerful air.


s: All straightway gird them to the feast. These flay


s: The ribs and thighs, and lay the entrails bare.


s: Those slice the flesh, and split the quivering prey,


s: And tend the fires and set the cauldrons in array.


s: Refreshed their strength. And when the feast was sped,


s: Their missing friends in converse they require,


s: Doubtful to deem them, betwixt hope and dread,


s: All mourned, but good AEneas mourned the most,


s: Lycus, Orontes bold, all counted with the lost.


s: When Jove, surveying from his prospect high


s: Shore, sail-winged sea, and peopled earth below,


s: Stood, musing, on the summit of the sky,


s: And on the Libyan kingdom fixed his eye,


s: To him, such cares revolving in his breast,


s: Her shining eyes suffused with tears, came nigh


s: Fair Venus, for her darling son distrest,


s: And thus in sorrowing tones the Sire of heaven addressed;


s: O'er Gods and men thine everlasting reign,


s: Wherein his Trojans, thus to mourn their slain,


s: Barred from the world, lest Italy they gain?


s: Surely from them the rolling years should see


s: So swar'st thou; Father, say, why changed is thy decree?


s: For Troy's sad fall. Now Fortune, as before,


s: Pursues the woe-worn victims of her hate.


s: O when, great Monarch, shall their toil be o'er?


s: Safe could Antenor pass th' Illyrian shore


s: Through Danaan hosts, and realms Liburnian gain,


s: And climb Timavus and her springs explore,


s: Where through nine mouths, with roaring surge, the main


s: Bursts from the sounding rocks and deluges the plain.


s: The nation, and the Trojan arms laid down,


s: And now rests happy in the town he framed.


s: Thy nod hath promised a celestial throne,


s: Our vessels lost, from Italy are barred,


s: O shame! and ruined for the wrath of one.


s: Thus, thus dost thou thy plighted word regard,


s: Our sceptred realms restore, our piety reward?"


s: The storms, and gently kissing her, replies;


s: "Firm are thy fates, sweet daughter; spare thy fears.


s: Thou yet shalt see Lavinium's walls arise,


s: My purpose shifts not. Now, to ease thy woes,


s: Since sorrow for his sake hath dimmed thine eyes,


s: More will I tell, and hidden fates disclose.


s: He in Italia long shall battle with his foes,


s: And cities build and wield the Latin sway,


s: Till the third summer shall have seen him reign,


s: And three long winter-seasons passed away


s: Then, too, the boy Ascanius, named of late


s: When firm by royalty stood Ilium's state--


s: Shall rule till thirty years complete the destined date.


s: And gird Long Alba for defence; and there


s: 'Neath Hector's kin three hundred years complete


s: The kingdom shall endure, till Ilia fair,


s: Queen-priestess, twins by Mars' embrace shall bear.


s: Then Romulus the nation's charge shall claim,


s: Wolf-nursed and proud her tawny hide to wear,


s: And make the Roman race remembered by his name.


s: Nay, Juno, too, who now, in mood malign,


s: Earth, sea and sky is harrying, shall incline


s: To cherish and uphold the imperial line,


s: Lords of the flowing gown. So standeth my decree.


s: And terms of peace to conquered Greeks proclaim.


s: Drawn from the great Iulus--shall arise,


s: And compass earth with conquest, heaven with fame,


s: Him, crowned with vows and many an Eastern prize,


s: Thou, freed at length from care, shalt welcome to the skies.


s: Shall give the law. With iron bolt and chain


s: Firm-closed the gates of Janus shall remain.


s: Within, the Fiend of Discord, high reclined


s: Bound with a hundred brazen knots behind,


s: And grim with gory jaws, his grisly teeth shall grind."


s: XL. So saying, the son of Maia down he sent,


s: Lest Dido, weetless of the Fates' intent,


s: Should drive the Trojan wanderers from her gate.


s: With feathered oars he cleaves the skies, and straight


s: On Libya's shores alighting, speeds his hest.


s: Their fierceness. Dido, more than all the rest,


s: Warms to her Phrygian friends, and wears a kindly breast.


s: XLI. But good AEneas, pondering through the night


s: Distracting thoughts and many an anxious care,


s: Resolved, when daybreak brought the gladsome light,


s: To search the coast, and back sure tidings bear,


s: What land was this, what habitants were there,


s: If man or beast, for, far as the eye could rove,


s: A wilderness the region seemed, and bare.


s: His ships he hides within a sheltering cove,


s: Screened by the caverned rock, and shadowed by the grove,


s: XLII. Then wielding in his hand two broad-tipt spears,


s: Alone with brave Achates forth he strayed,


s: Who tires swift steeds, and scours the woodland glade,


s: So fair the goddess seemed, apparelled for the chase.


s: XLIII. Bare were her knees, and from her shoulders hung


s: Her flowing raiment in a knot she strung,


s: And loosed her tresses with the winds to play.


s: "Ho, Sirs!" she hails them, "saw ye here astray


s: Ought of my sisters, girt in huntress wise


s: With quiver and a spotted lynx-skin gay,


s: Or following on the foaming boar with cries?"


s: Thus Venus spake, and thus fair Venus' son replies;


s: XLIV. "Nought of thy sisters have I heard or seen.


s: What name, O maiden, shall I give to thee,


s: Say, who the people, what the clime and place,


s: And many a victim's blood thy hallowed shrine shall grace."


s: XLV. "Nay, nay, to no such honour I aspire."


s: And 'tis the manner of the maids of Tyre


s: To wear, like me, the quiver, and to tie


s: The purple buskin round the ankles high.


s: The realm thou see'st is Punic; Tyrians are


s: The folk, the town Agenor's. Round them lie


s: The Libyan plains, a people rough in war.


s: Queen Dido rules the land, who came from Tyre afar,


s: XLVI. "Flying her brother. Dark the tale of crime,


s: And long, but briefly be the sum supplied.


s: In land, and worshipped by his hapless bride.


s: Her, in the bloom of maidenhood, her sire


s: Had given him, and with virgin rites allied.


s: But soon her brother filled the throne of Tyre,


s: Pygmalion, swoln with sin; 'twixt whom a feud took fire.


s: XLVII. "He, reckless of a sister's love, and blind


s: Slew by the altar, and with impious mind


s: Long hid the deed, and flattering hopes and fair


s: Devised, to cheat the lover of her care.


s: But, lifting features marvellously pale,


s: The ghost unburied in her dreams laid bare


s: His breast, and showed the altar and the bale


s: Wrought by the ruthless steel, and solved the crime's dark tale.


s: XLVIII. "Then bade her fly the country, and revealed,


s: To aid her flight, an old and unknown weight


s: Of gold and silver, in the ground concealed.


s: Thus roused, her friends she gathers. All await


s: Her summons, who the tyrant fear or hate.


s: Some ships at hand, chance-anchored in the bay,


s: They seize and load them with the costly freight,


s: Pygmalion's hoarded pelf. A woman leads the way.


s: XLIX. "Hither, where now the walls and fortress high,


s: Of Carthage, and her rising homes are found,


s: They came, and there full cheaply did they buy,


s: Such space--called Byrsa from the deed--of ground


s: As one bull's-hide could compass and surround.


s: But who are ye, pray answer? on what quest


s: Come ye? and whence and whither are ye bound?"


s: Heaving a deep-drawn sigh, with labouring speech addressed:


s: L.  "O Goddess, should I from the first unfold,


s: Or could'st thou hear, the annals of our woe,


s: Eve's star were shining, ere the tale were told.


s: From ancient Troy--if thou the name dost know--


s: A chance-met storm hath driven us to and fro,


s: And tost us on the Libyan shores. My name


s: Outsoars the stars of heaven; a Jove-born race, we claim


s: With twice ten ships I climbed the Phrygian main,


s: As Fate commanded. Now scarce seven remain,


s: Wave-worn and shattered by the tempest's strain.


s: Myself, a stranger, friendless and unknown,


s: From Europe driven and Asia, roam in vain


s: The wilds of Libya"--Then his plaintive tone


s: No more could Venus bear, but interrupts her son;


s: LII. "Stranger," she answered, "whosoe'er thou be;


s: Not unbeloved of heavenly powers, I ween,


s: Thou breath'st the vital air, whom Fate's decree


s: But hence, and seek the palace of the queen.


s: Glad news I bear thee, of thy comrades brought,


s: The North-wind shifted and the skies serene;


s: Thy ships have gained the harbour which they sought,


s: Else vain my parents' lore the augury they taught.


s: LIII. "See yon twelve swans, in jubilant array,


s: Whom late Jove's eagle scattered through the sky;


s: Now these alight, now those the pitch survey.


s: As they, returning, sport with joyous cry,


s: And flap their wings and circle in the sky,


s: E'en so thy vessels and each late-lost crew


s: Safe now and scatheless in the harbour lie,


s: Or, crowding canvas, hold the port in view.


s: But hence, where leads the path, thy forward steps pursue."


s: LIV. So saying, she turned, and all refulgent showed


s: Her roseate neck, and heavenly fragrance sweet


s: Was breathed from her ambrosial hair. Down flowed


s: Her loosened raiment, streaming to her feet,


s: And by her walk the Goddess shone complete.


s: "Ah, mother mine!" he chides her, as she flies,


s: "Art thou, then, also cruel? Wherefore cheat


s: Why may I not clasp hands, and talk without disguise?"


s: LV. Thus he, reproaching. Towards the town they fare


s: In haste. But Venus round them on the way


s: Wrapt a thick mist, a mantle of dark air,


s: That none should see them, none should touch nor stay,


s: Nor, urging idle questions, breed delay.


s: Then back, rejoicing, through the liquid air


s: Where, steaming with Sabaean incense rare,


s: An hundred altars breathe with garlands fresh and fair.


s: LVI. They by the path their forward steps pursued,


s: And climbed a hill, whose fronting summit frowned


s: Steep o'er the town. Amazed, AEneas viewed


s: Tall structures rise, where whilom huts were found,


s: The streets, the gates, the bustle and the sound.


s: Hotly the Tyrians are at work. These draw


s: The bastions' lines, roll stones and trench the ground;


s: Or build the citadel; those clothe with awe


s: The Senate; there they choose the judges for the law.


s: LVII. These delve the port; the broad foundations there


s: And columns, hewn from marble rocks, prepare,


s: Tall ornaments, the future stage to grace.


s: Through flowery fields, when forth from dale and dell


s: They lead the full-grown offspring of the race,


s: Or with the liquid honey store each cell,


s: And make the teeming hive with nectarous sweets to swell.


s: LVIII. These ease the comers of their loads, those drive


s: The drones afar. The busy work each plies,


s: And sweet with thyme and honey smells the hive.


s: Looked up where pinnacles and roof-tops showed


s: The new-born city; then in wondrous wise,


s: Clothed in the covering of the friendly cloud,


s: Passed through the midst unseen, and mingled with the crowd.


s: LIX. A grove stood in the city, rich in shade,


s: Where storm-tost Tyrians, past the perilous brine,


s: Dug from the ground, by royal Juno's aid,


s: A war-steed's head, to far-off days a sign


s: That wealth and prowess should adorn the line.


s: Here, by the goddess and her gifts renowned,


s: All brazen rose the threshold; brass was round


s: The door-posts; brazen doors on grating hinges sound.


s: LX. Here a new sight AEneas' hopes upraised,


s: And fear was softened, and his heart was mann'd.


s: For while, the queen awaiting, round he gazed,


s: And marvelled at the happy town, and scanned


s: The rival labours of each craftsman's hand,


s: Behold, Troy's battles on the walls appear,


s: The war, since noised through many a distant land,


s: There Priam and th' Atridae twain, and here


s: Achilles, fierce to both, still ruthless and severe.


s: LXI. Pensive he stood, and with a rising tear,


s: "What lands, Achates, on the earth, but know


s: Worth wins her due, and there are tears to flow,


s: Fear not," he cries, "Troy's glory yet shall gain


s: Deeply he sighs, and tears run down his cheeks like rain.


s: LXII. He sees, how, fighting round the Trojan wall,


s: Here fled the Greeks, the Trojan youth pursue,


s: Here fled the Phrygians, and, with helmet tall,


s: Achilles in his chariot stormed and slew.


s: Not far, with tears, the snowy tents he knew


s: Of Rhesus, where Tydides, bathed in blood,


s: Broke in at midnight with his murderous crew,


s: And drove the hot steeds campward, ere the food


s: Of Trojan plains they browsed, or drank the Xanthian flood.


s: LXIII. There, reft of arms, poor Troilus, rash to dare


s: Hangs from his empty chariot. Neck and hair


s: Trail on the ground; his hand still grasps the rein;


s: The spear inverted scores the dusty plain.


s: Meanwhile, with beaten breasts and streaming hair,


s: The Trojan dames, a sad and suppliant train,


s: The veil to partial Pallas' temple bear.


s: Stern, with averted eyes the Goddess spurns their prayer.


s: LXIV. Thrice had Achilles round the Trojan wall


s: Dragged Hector; there the slayer sells the slain.


s: Sighing he sees him, chariot, arms and all,


s: And Priam, spreading helpless hands in vain.


s: Himself he knows among the Greeks again,


s: Black Memnon's arms, and all his Eastern clan,


s: With moony shields. Bare-breasted, in the van,


s: Girt with a golden zone, the maiden fights with man.


s: LXV. Thus while AEneas, with set gaze and long,


s: Hangs, mute with wonder, on the wildering scene,


s: Lo! to the temple, with a numerous throng


s: Of youthful followers, moves the beauteous Queen.


s: On swift Eurotas' banks or Cynthus' crest,


s: Leading the dances. She, in form and mien,


s: Armed with her quiver, towers above the rest,


s: And tranquil pleasure thrills Latona's silent breast.


s: LXVI. E'en such was Dido; so with joyous mien,


s: Urging the business of her rising state,


s: Among the concourse passed the Tyrian queen;


s: Then, girt with guards, within the temple's gate


s: Beneath the centre of the dome she sate.


s: There, ministering justice, she presides,


s: And deals the law, and from her throne of state,


s: As choice determines or as chance decides,


s: To each, in equal share, his separate task divides.


s: LXVII. Sudden, behold a concourse. Looking down,


s: His late-lost friends AEneas sees again,


s: Whom the black squall had scattered o'er the main,


s: At once, 'twixt joy and terror rent in twain,


s: And long to greet old friends and clasp a comrade's hand.


s: LXVIII. Yet wildering wonder at so strange a scene


s: Still holds them mute, while anxious thoughts divide


s: Their doubtful minds, and in the cloud unseen,


s: Wrapt in its hollow covering, they abide


s: And note what fortune did their friends betide,


s: And whence they come, and why for grace they sue,


s: And on what shore they left the fleet to bide,


s: For chosen captains came from every crew,


s: And towards the sacred fane with clamorous cries they drew.


s: LXIX. Then, audience granted, as the fane they filled,


s: Thus calmly spake the eldest of the train,


s: Ilioneus: "O queen, whom Jove hath willed


s: To found this new-born city, here to reign,


s: And stubborn tribes with justice to refrain,


s: We, Troy's poor fugitives, implore thy grace,


s: Storm-tost and wandering over every main,--


s: Forbid the flames our vessels to deface,


s: Mark our afflicted plight, and spare a pious race.


s: LXX. "We come not hither with the sword to rend


s: Your Libyan homes, and shoreward drive the prey.


s: Nay, no such violence our thoughts intend,


s: Such pride suits not the vanquished. Far away


s: There lies a place--Greeks style the land to-day


s: And strong in arms. OEnotrian folk, they say,


s: First tilled the soil. Italian is the name


s: Borne by the later race, with Italus who came.


s: LXXI. "Thither we sailed, when, rising with the wave,


s: Of wanton winds, and mastering billows drave


s: Our vessels on the pathless rocks astray.


s: We few have floated to your shore. O say,


s: What manner of mankind is here? What land


s: Is this, to treat us in this barbarous way?


s: They grudge the very shelter of the sand,


s: And call to arms and bar our footsteps from the strand!


s: LXXII. "If human kind and mortal arms ye scorn,


s: Think of the Gods, who judge the wrong and right.


s: A man more just, more valiant in the fight,


s: More famed for piety and deeds of might.


s: Nor cruel death hath snatched him from the light,


s: No fear have we, nor need hast thou to shun


s: A Trojan guest, or rue kind offices begun.


s: LXXIII. "Towns yet for us in Sicily remain,


s: And arms, and, sprung from Trojan sires of yore,


s: Our kinsman there, Acestes, holds his reign.


s: Grant us to draw our scattered fleet ashore,


s: And fit new planks and branches for the oar.


s: So, if with king and comrades brought again,


s: The Fates allow us to reach Italia's shore,


s: Seek we; but else, if thoughts of safety be in vain,


s: LXXIV. "If thee, dear Sire, the Libyan deep doth hide,


s: Nor hopes of young Iulus more can cheer,


s: And proffered homes and king Acestes steer."


s: He spake; the Dardans answered with a cheer.


s: Then Dido thus, with downcast look sedate;


s: "Take courage, Trojans, and dismiss your fear.


s: My kingdom's newness and the stress of Fate


s: Force me to guard far off the frontiers of my state.


s: LXXV. "Who knows not Troy, th' AEneian house of fame,


s: The deeds and doers, and the war's renown


s: That fired the world? Not hearts so dull and tame


s: Have Punic folk; not so is Phoebus known


s: Whether ye sail to great Hesperia's shore


s: And Saturn's fields, or seek the realms that own


s: Acestes' sway, where Eryx reigned of yore,


s: Safe will I send you hence, and speed you with my store.


s: LXXVI. "Else, would ye settle in this realm, the town


s: I build is yours; draw up your ships to land.


s: Would that your king AEneas here could stand,


s: Driven by the gale that drove you to this strand!


s: Natheless, to scour the country, will I send


s: Some trusty messengers, with strict command


s: To search through Libya to the furthest end,


s: Lest, cast ashore, through town or lonely wood he wend."


s: LXXVII. Roused by these words, long since the sire of Troy


s: Yearned, like his friend, their comrades to surprise


s: And burst the cloud. Then first with eager joy


s: "O Goddess-born," the bold Achates cries,


s: "How now--what purpose doth thy mind devise?


s: Lo! all are safe--ships, comrades brought again;


s: Sank in the midst of the engulfing main.


s: All else confirms the tale thy mother told thee plain."


s: LXXVIII. Scarce had he said, when straight the ambient cloud


s: Broke open, melting into day's clear light,


s: And bathed in sunshine stood the chief, endowed


s: With shape and features most divinely bright.


s: For graceful tresses and the purple light


s: And sprightly lustre breathed upon his sight,


s: Beauteous as ivory, or when artists mould


s: Silver or Parian stone, enchased in yellow gold.


s: LXXIX. Then to the queen, all wondering, he exclaimed,


s: The man ye seek, from Libyan waves reclaimed.


s: Thou, who alone Troy's sorrows deign'st to hear,


s: And us, the gleanings of the Danaan spear,


s: Poor world-wide wanderers and in desperate case,


s: Hast ta'en to share thy city and thy cheer,


s: Meet thanks nor we, nor what of Dardan race


s: Yet roams the earth, can give to recompense thy grace.


s: LXXX. "The gods, if gods the good and just regard,


s: And thy own conscience, that approves the right,


s: Grant thee due guerdon and a fit reward.


s: What godlike parents bore a child so bright?


s: While running rivers hasten to the main,


s: While yon pure ether feeds the stars with light,


s: While shadows round the hill-slopes wax and wane,


s: Thy fame, where'er I go, thy praises shall remain."


s: LXXXI. So saying AEneas with his left hand pressed


s: Brave Gyas, brave Cloanthus and the rest.


s: Then Dido, struck with wonder at the sight


s: Of one so great and in so strange a plight,


s: "O Goddess-born! what fate through dangers sore,


s: What force to savage coasts compels thy flight?


s: Art thou, then, that AEneas, whom of yore


s: Venus on Simois' banks to old Anchises bore?


s: LXXXII. "Ay, well I mind me how in days of yore


s: To Sidon exiled Teucer crossed the main,


s: To seek new kingdoms and the aid implore


s: Ruled Cyprus, victor of the wasted plain,


s: Since then thy name and Ilion's fate are known,


s: And all the princes of Pelasgia's reign.


s: Himself, a foe, oft lauded Troy's renown,


s: And claimed the Teucrian sires as kinsmen of his own.


s: LXXXIII. "Welcome, then, heroes! Me hath Fortune willed


s: Long tost, like you, through sufferings, here to rest


s: And find at length a refuge. Not unskilled


s: In woe, I learn to succour the distrest."


s: And calls for festal honours in the shrine.


s: Then shoreward sends beeves twenty to the rest,


s: A hundred boars, of broad and bristly chine,


s: A hundred lambs and ewes and gladdening gifts of wine.


s: LXXXIV. Meanwhile with regal splendour they arrayed


s: The palace-hall, where feast and banquet high


s: And forth they bring the broidered tapestry,


s: With purple dyed and wrought full cunningly.


s: The tables groan with silver; there are told


s: The deeds of prowess for the gazer's eye,


s: A long, long series, of their sires of old,


s: Traced from the nation's birth, and graven in the gold.


s: LXXXV. But good AEneas--for a father's care


s: No rest allows him--to the ships sends down


s: The welcome news, and bring him to the town.


s: The father's fondness centres on the son.


s: Rich presents, too, he sends for, saved of old


s: From Troy, a veil, whose saffron edges shone


s: Fringed with acanthus, glorious to behold,


s: A broidered mantle, stiff with figures wrought in gold.


s: LXXXVI. Fair Helen's ornaments, from Argos brought,


s: And lawless nuptials o'er the waves she sought.


s: Therewith the royal sceptre, which of yore


s: Her shining necklace, strung with costly beads,


s: And diadem, rimmed with gold and studded o'er


s: With sparkling gems. Thus charged, Achates heeds,


s: And towards the ships forthwith in eager haste proceeds.


s: LXXXVII. But crafty Cytherea planned meanwhile


s: New arts, new schemes,--that Cupid should conspire,


s: The queen with gifts, and kindle fierce desire,


s: And turn the marrow of her bones to fire.


s: Fierce Juno's hatred rankles in her breast;


s: The two-faced house, the double tongues of Tyre


s: She fears, and with the night returns unrest;


s: So now to winged Love this mandate she addressed:


s: LXXXVIII. "O son, sole source of all my strength and power,


s: Who durst high Jove's Typhoean bolts disdain,


s: Thou know'st, who oft hast sorrowed with my pain,


s: How, tost by Juno's rancour, o'er the main


s: Thy brother wanders. Him with speeches fair


s: And sweet allurements doth the queen detain;


s: Scarce at an hour like this will she her hand forbear.


s: LXXXIX. "Soft snares I purpose round the queen to weave,


s: And wrap her soul in flames, that power malign


s: Shall never change her, but her heart shall cleave


s: Now learn, how best to compass my design.


s: To Tyrian Carthage hastes the princely boy,


s: Prompt at the summons of his sire divine,


s: Fraught with brave store of gifts, saved from the flames of Troy.


s: Of lone Cythera, lest he learn the scheme,


s: Or by his sudden presence mar the sleight.


s: Take thou his likeness, only for a night,


s: And wear the boyish features that are thine;


s: And when the queen, in rapture of delight,


s: Shall lock thee in her arms, and press her lips to thine,


s: Through all her veins with unsuspected sleight


s: The poisoned sting of passion and desire."


s: Young Love obeys, and doffs his plumage light,


s: And, like Iulus, trips forth with delight.


s: And gently bears him to Idalia's height,


s: Where breathing marjoram around him throws


s: Sweet shade, and odorous flowers his slumbering limbs compose.


s: The royal presents to the Tyrians bears.


s: There, under gorgeous curtains, at the head


s: There, flocking in, the Trojans and their King


s: Bread, heaped in baskets, the attendants bring,


s: Towels with smooth-shorn nap, and water from the spring.


s: To dress the food, and nurse the flames divine.


s: A hundred more, and youths like-aged, prepare


s: To load the tables and arrange the wine.


s: There, entering too, on broidered seats recline


s: The Tyrians, crowding through the festive court.


s: They praise the boy, his glowing looks divine,


s: The words he feigned, the royal gifts he brought,


s: The robe, the saffron veil with bright acanthus wrought.


s: Burns as she gazes, with insatiate fire,


s: Charmed by his presents and his youthful mien:


s: He, fondly clinging to his fancied sire,


s: Gave all the love that parents' hearts desire,


s: Then seeks the queen. She, fixing on the boy


s: Her eyes, her soul, impatient to admire,


s: Now, fondling, folds him to her lap with joy;


s: Weetless, alas! what god is plotting to destroy.


s: Slowly the Love-god with prevenient art,


s: Long dead to feeling, and a vacant heart.


s: Now, hushed the banquet and the tables all


s: Removed, huge wine-bowls for each guest apart


s: They wreathe with flowers. The noise of festival


s: Rings through the spacious courts, and rolls along the hall.


s: Bright lamps, and torches turn the night to day.


s: Now for the ponderous goblet called the Queen,


s: Of Belus' line, and poured the wine straightway,


s: And prayed, while silence filled the crowded hall:


s: "Great Jove, the host's lawgiver, bless this day


s: To these my Tyrians and the Trojans all.


s: Long may our children's sons this solemn feast recall.


s: Kind Juno, come; and ye with fair accord


s: And friendly spirit hold the feast aright."


s: So spake the Queen, and on the festal board


s: The prime libation to the gods outpoured,


s: Then lightly to her lips the goblet pressed,


s: And gave to Bitias. Challenged by the word,


s: He dived into the brimming gold with zest,


s: And quaffed the foaming bowl, and after him, the rest.


s: And sings what Atlas taught in loftiest strain;


s: The suns' eclipses and the changing moons,


s: Whence man and beast, whence lightning and the rain,


s: What causes make the winter nights so long,


s: Why sinks the sun so quickly in the main;


s: All this he sings, and ravished at the song,


s: Tyrians and Trojan guests the loud applause prolong.


s: And drank deep love, and nursed her inward flame,


s: Now in what arms Aurora's offspring came,


s: "Tell me," she says, "thy wanderings; stranger, come,


s: Thy friends' mishaps and Danaan wiles proclaim;


s: For seven long summers now have seen thee roam


s: O'er every land and sea, far from thy native home."


s: forthwith as a trophy into Troy (1-72). Sinon, a Greek, brought


s: before Priam, feigns righteous indignation against Greece. The


s: Trojans sympathise and believe his story of wrongs done him by


s: Greeks rally. The Trojans scatter. At Priam's palace a last stand


s: Troy's sire began, "O queen, a tale too true,


s: Too sad for words, thou biddest me repeat;


s: Her power and all her wailful realm o'erthrew:


s: The woes I saw, thrice piteous to behold,


s: And largely shared. What Myrmidon, or who


s: His tears, to tell such things, as thou would'st have re-told?


s: The dewy night wheels down, and sinking slow,


s: The stars are gently wooing us to sleep.


s: The toils we suffered, though my heart doth ache,


s: Of scenes so sad, yet, Lady, for thy sake


s: I will begin,"--and thus the sire of Troy outspake;


s: Of fate, as fortune and their hopes decline,


s: The Danaan leaders build a monstrous horse,


s: Huge as a hill, by Pallas' craft divine,


s: And cleft fir-timbers in the ribs entwine.


s: They feign it vowed for their return, so goes


s: The tale, and deep within the sides of pine


s: And caverns of the womb by stealth enclose


s: Armed men, a chosen band, drawn as the lots dispose.


s: Renowned and rich, while Priam held command,


s: Now a mere bay and roadstead fraught with guile.


s: Thus far they sailed, and on the lonely strand


s: We thought the winds had borne them. Troy once more


s: Shakes off her ten years' sorrow. Open stand


s: The gates. With joy to the abandoned shore,


s: The places bare of foes, the Dorian lines we pour.


s: The fleet, and here the rival armies met


s: And mingled. Some with wonder and dismay


s: And through the gates the monstrous horse convey


s: His fraud or Troy's dark fates were working for our woe.


s: The doubtful gift, for treachery designed,


s: Or burn with fire, or pierce the hollow side,


s: And probe the caverns where the Danaans hide.


s: Thus while they waver and, perplext with doubt,


s: Urge diverse counsels, and in parts divide,


s: Lo, from the citadel, foremost of a rout,


s: Breathless Laocoon runs, and from afar cries out;


s: Gone, or that guileless are their gifts? O blind


s: With madness! _Thus_ Ulysses do ye know?


s: Or Grecians in these timbers lurk confined,


s: Or 'tis some engine of assault, designed


s: To breach the walls, and lay our houses bare,


s: And storm the town. Some mischief lies behind.


s: Trust not the horse, ye Teucrians. Whatso'er


s: This means, I fear the Greeks, for all the gifts they bear.'


s: Full at the flank against the ribs he drave,


s: And pierced the bellying framework of the horse.


s: Quivering, it stood; the hollow chambers gave


s: A groan, that echoed from the womb's dark cave,


s: Then, but for folly or Fate's adverse power,


s: His word had made us with our trusty glaive


s: Lay bare the Argive ambush, and this hour


s: Should Ilion stand, and thou, O Priam's lofty tower!


s: The Dardan shepherds drag a youth unknown,


s: With hands fast pinioned, and in captive guise.


s: Caught on the way, by cunning of his own,


s: This end to compass, and betray the town.


s: Prepared for either venture, void of fear,


s: The crafty purpose of his mind to crown,


s: Or meet sure death. Around, from far and near,


s: The Trojans throng, and vie the captive youth to jeer.


s: Learn all. As, scared the Phrygian ranks to see,


s: Confused, unarmed, amid the gazing throng,


s: He stood, 'Alas! what spot on earth or sea


s: Is left,' he cried, 'to shield a wretch like me,


s: Whom Dardans seek in punishment to kill,


s: And Greeks disown?'--Touched by his tearful plea,


s: We asked his race, what tidings, good or ill,


s: He brings, for hope, perchance, may cheer a captive still.


s: 'Great King, all truly will I own, whate'er


s: This first; if fortune, spiteful and unfair,


s: Hath made poor Sinon wretched, fortune ne'er


s: Shall make me false or faithless;--if the name


s: To thee or thine in talk the rumour of his fame,


s: Wroth that his sentence should the war prevent,


s: By perjured witnesses the Greeks arraigned,


s: And doomed to die, but now his death lament,


s: And while in plenitude of power he went,


s: And high in princely counsels waxed his fame,


s: I too could boast of credit and a noble name.


s: He left the light,--alas! the tale ye know,--