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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2011 with funding from 
 The Library of Congress 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/geniusofscotlandOOturn 
 
A/ ^<- 
 
 f- 
 
 /J 
 
 /r THE ^ 
 
 GENIUS 
 
 OF 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 SCOTLAND; 
 
 SKETCHES OF SCOTTISH SCENERY, 
 LITERATURE AND RELIGION. 
 
 BY 
 
 REV. ROBERT TURNBULL 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 ROBERT CARTER, 58 CANAL STREET, 
 AND PITTSBURG, 56 MARKET STREET. 
 
 1847, 
 
 

 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1847, 
 
 BY EGBERT CARTER, 
 
 In the Clerk*s Office of the District Court of the United States 
 
 for the Southern District of New York. 
 
 JJWASHINOTOW 
 
 •TBRKOTYPED BY THOMAS B. SMITH, EDWARD O. JENKINS, PRINTER, 
 
 316 WILLIAM STREET, MEW YORK. 114 NASSAU STREET. 
 
 'r)(j^i 
 
 10 - 
 
 774 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Having been born and educated in Scotland, and pos- 
 sessing a tolerable acquaintance with its History and 
 Literature, the Author of the following Work felt that 
 he had some facilities for giving to the people of this 
 country a just idea of his native Land. The plan of his 
 work is somewhat new, combining in a larger degree, 
 than he hae hitherto seen attempted, descriptions of Sce- 
 nery, with Literary and Biographical Sketches, portrai- 
 tures of character social and religious, incidents of travel, 
 and reflections on matters of local or general interest. 
 Hence he has omitted many things which a mere tourist 
 would not fail to notice, and supplied their place with 
 sketches of more enduring interest. He would particu- 
 larly invite attention to the sketches of Knox, Burns, 
 Wilson, Chalmers, Bruce, * The Ettrick Shepherd,' and 
 Sir Walter Scott. His rambles through fair or classic 
 scenes are thus enlivened with useful information. In a 
 word, it has been his endeavor, in an easy natural way, 
 to give his readers an adequate conception of the Scenery, 
 Literature, and Religion of Scotland. 
 
 Haetford, Conn. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAQX 
 
 Preface 1 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Beauty an Element of tlie Mind — Our Native Land — Auld 
 Lang Syne — General Description of Scotland — Extent of 
 Population — Spirit of the People — The Highlands — The 
 Lowlands — Burns's ^Genius of Scotland' — Natural and 
 Moral Aspects of the Country — ' The Cotter^s Saturday 
 Night' — Sources of Prosperity 11 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 The city of Edinburgh — Views from Arthur's Seat — The 
 Poems of Richard Gall — 'Farewell to Ayrshire' — 'Ar- 
 thur's Seat, a Poem' — Extracts — Craigmillar Castle — The 
 Forthj Roslin Castle and the Pentland Hills — Liberty . 32 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Walk to the Castle — The Old Wynds and their Occupants 
 — Regalia of Scotland — Storming of the Castle — Views 
 from its Summit — Heriot's Hospital — Other Hospitals — 
 St. Giles's Cathedral — Changes — The Spirit of Protes- 
 tantism 42 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 John Knox's House — History of the Reformer — His Char- 
 acter— Carlyle's View— Testimony of John Milton . 53 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Edinburgh University — Professor Wilson — His Life and 
 Writings, Genius and Character ... .62 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Calton Hill — Burns's Monument — Character and Wri- 
 tings of ' the Peasant Poet' — His Religious Views — Mon- 
 ument of Professor Dugald Stewart — Scottish Metaphysics 
 — Thomas Carlyle . . 77 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Preaching in Edinburgh — The Free Church — Dr. Chalmers 
 — A Specimen of his Preaching — The Secret of his Elo- 
 quence 99 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Biographical Sketch of Dr. Chalmers 113 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Dr. John Brown of Edinburgh — Rev. John Brown of White- 
 burn — Professor John Brown of Haddington — Rev. Dr. 
 Candlish — Specimen of his Preaching . . . .126 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Ride into the Country — The Skylark — Poems on the Sky- 
 lark by Shelley and the ' Ettrick Shepherd' — Newhall — 
 • The Gentle Shepherd' — Localities and Outlines of the 
 Story — Its Popularity in Scotland 138 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Biographical Sketch of Allan Ramsay — Lasswade — Ramble 
 along the banks of the North Esk — Glenesk — A Character 
 — Anecdote of Sir Walter Scott — Hawthornden — Drum- 
 mond, the Poet — His Character and Genius — Sonnets — 
 Chapel and Castle of Roslin — Barons of Roslin — Ballad 
 of Rosabella — Hunting Match between Robert Bruce and 
 Sir William St. Clair 157 
 
CONTENTS. VU 
 
 CHAPTER XTI. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Ramble througli the Fields — Parish Schools — Recollections 
 of Domiuie Meuross — The South Esk — Borthwick and 
 Crichtoun Castles — New Battle Abbey — Dalkeith — Res- 
 idence of the Duke of Buccleugh—' Scotland's Skaith,' 
 by Hector Macneil— His Character and Writings — Ex- 
 tracts from the • History of Will and Jean' . . .183 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 City of Glasgow — Spirit of the Place — Trade and Manufac- 
 tures — The Broomielaw— Steam — George's Square — Mon- 
 uments to Sir Walter Scott, Sir John Moore, and James 
 Watt— Sketch of the Life of Watt— Glasgow University 
 — Reminiscences — Brougham — Sir D. K. Sandford — Pro- 
 fessor Nichol and others — High Kirk, or Glasgow Cathe- 
 dral — Martyrdom of Jerome Russel and John Kennedy . 197 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Necropolis — Jewish Burial Place — Monument to John 
 Knox — Monuments of William Macgavin and Dr. Dick 
 — Reminiscences — Character and Writings of Dr. Dick — 
 Pollok and ' the Course of Time' — Grave of Motherwell 
 — Sketch of his Life — His Genius and Poetry — ' Jeanie 
 Morrison' — ' My Heid is like to rend, Willie' — ' A Sum- 
 mer Sabbath Noon' . . . . . . . . 209 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Dumbarton Castle — Lochlomond — Luss — Ascent of Benlo- 
 mond— Magnificent Views — Ride to Loch-Katrine — Rob 
 Roy Macgregor — ' Gathering of Clan Gregor' — Loch-Ka- 
 trine and the Trossacks — The City of Perth — Martyr- 
 dom of Helen Stark and her husband . . . .231 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Sabbath Morning— ' The Sabbath,' by James t^rahame — 
 Sketch of his Life—Extracts from his Poetry— The Ca- 
 meronians— ' Dream of the Martyrs/ by James Hislop — 
 
Vlll CONTENTS. 
 
 PAOX 
 
 Sabbath Morning Walk— Country Church— The Old 
 Preacher — The Interval of Worship — Conversation in the 
 Church-yard — Going Home from Church — Sabbath Eve- 
 ning 244 
 
 CHAPTER XVir. 
 
 Lochleven — Escape of Clueen Mary from Lochleven Castle 
 — Michael Bruce— Sketch of his Life— Boyhood— Col- 
 lege Liffe — Poetry — ' Lochleven' — Sickness — ' Ode to 
 Spring'— Death— 'Ode to the Cuckoo' . . . .260 
 
 CHAPTER XVIIL 
 
 Dunfermline — Ruins of the Abbey — Grave of Robert Bruce 
 — Malcolm Canmore's Palace — William Henryson, the 
 poet — William Dunbar — Stirling Castle — Views from its 
 Summit — City of Stirling — George Buchanan and Dr. Ar- 
 thur Johnston — Falkirk — Linlithgow — Story of the Cap- 
 ture of Linlithgow Castle — Spirit of War — Arrival in 
 Edinburgh 284 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Journey to Peebles — Characters — Conversation on Politics — 
 Scottish Peasantry — Peebles — ' Christ's Kirk on the 
 Green' — A Legend — An old Church— The Banks of the 
 Tweed — Its ancient Castles — The Alarm Fire — Excursion 
 to the Vales of Ettrick and Yarrow — Stream of Yarrow 
 — St. Mary's Lake and Dryhope Tower — 'The Dowie 
 Dens of Yarrow' — Growth of Poetry — Ballads and Poems 
 on Yarrow by HamiltoUj Logan and Wordsworth . . 295 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Hamlet and Church-yard of Ettrick — Monument to Thomas 
 Boston — Birth-place of the Ettrick Shepherd — Altrieve 
 Cottage — Biographical Sketch of the Ettrick Shepherd — 
 The Town of Selkirk— Monument to Sir Walter Scott — 
 Battle-field of Philiphaugh 319 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Return to the Banks of the Tweed— Abbotsford — The 
 Study— Biographical Sketch of Sir Walter Scott — His 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 FAGS 
 
 Early Life — Residence in the Country — Spirit of Ro- 
 mance — Education — First Efforts as an Author — Success 
 of ^ Marmion' — Character of his Poetry— Literary Change 
 — His Novels — Pecuniary Difficulties — Astonishing Ef- 
 forts — Last Sickness— Death and Funeral . . .334 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Melrose Abbey— The Eildon Hills — Thomas the Rhymer — 
 Dryburgh — Monuments to the Author of ^ The Seasons' 
 and Sir William Wallace — Kelso — Beautiful Scenery — 
 A Pleasant Evening — Biographical Sketch of Leyden, 
 Poet, Antiquary, Scholar and Traveller — The Duncan 
 Family — Journey Resumed — Twisel Bridge — Battle of 
 Flodden — Norham Castle — Berwick upon Tweed — Bio- 
 graphical Sketch of Thomas Mackay Wilson, author of 
 ' The Border Tales'— Conclusion— ^ Auld Lang Syne' . 351 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Beauty an Element of the Mind — Our Native Land — Auld Lang 
 Syne — General Description of Scotland — Extent of Population 
 — Spirit of the People — The Highlands — The Lowlands — 
 Burns's ' Genius of Scotland' — Natural and Moral Aspects of 
 the Country — 'The Cotter's Saturday Night' — Sources of 
 Prosperity. 
 
 The theory has become prevalent among phi- 
 losophers, and even among literary men, that 
 beauty is more an element of the mind than of ex- 
 ternal objects. Things, say they, are not w^hat they 
 seem. Their aspects are ever varying with the 
 minds which gaze upon them. They change even 
 under the eyes of the same individuals. A striking 
 illustration of this may be found in the opening stanza 
 of Wordsworth's Ode to Immortality. 
 
 There was a time -when meadow, grove and stream, 
 The earth and every common sight 
 
 To me did seem 
 
 Apparelled in celestial light, 
 The glory and the freshness of a dream. 
 It is not now as it hath been of yore j 
 
 Turn wheresoe'er I may, 
 
 By night or day, 
 The things which I have seen I now can see no more. 
 
12 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 It is the mind then, which transfers its own ethe- 
 real colors to the forms of matter, and invests scenes 
 and places with new and peculiar attractions.'- Like 
 the light of the moon streaming through a leafy- 
 grove and transforming its darkness into its own 
 radiant beauty, the spirit of man diffuses its own 
 inspiration through the universe, 
 
 " Making all nature 
 Beauty to the eye and music to the ear.'' 
 
 Now if this theory be true, it follows that no coun- 
 try will appear to us so beautiful as the one which 
 happens to be endeared to our hearts by early re- 
 collections and pleasant associations. No matter 
 how rude and wild, — that spot of all others on 
 earth, will appear to us the sweetest and most at- 
 tractive ! ' New England,' says a native of Mas- 
 sachusetts or of Vermont, ' is the glory of all lands. 
 No hills and vales are more picturesque than hers, 
 no rivers more clear and beautiful.' ' Visit Naples, 
 and die !' exclaims the Neapolitan, proud of his clas- 
 sic home. ' Green Erin, my darling,' is the fond 
 language of the Hibernian, ' first gem of the ocean, 
 first flower of the sea.' ' Here's a health,' shouts 
 the native of Caledonia, * bonny Scotland to thee !' 
 Others may speak disparagingly of the sour climate 
 and barren soil of Scotland; but to a native of 
 that country, the land of his fathers is invested 
 with all the charms of poetry and romance. Every 
 spot of its varied surface is hallowed ground. He 
 sees its rugged rocks and desolate moors mantled 
 with the hoary memories of by-gone days, the thrill- 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 13 
 
 ing associations of childhood and youth. There- 
 fore, with a meaning and emphasis, which all who 
 love their native land will appreciate, he appro- 
 priates the words of the poet : — 
 
 Land of the forest and the rock, 
 
 Of dark blue lake and mighty river, 
 Of mountains reared aloft to mock, 
 The storm's career, the lightning's shock, 
 
 My own green land forever ! 
 Land of the beautiful and brave ! 
 The freeman's home, the martyr's grave ? 
 The nursery of giant men, 
 Whose deeds have linked with every glen, 
 The magic of a warrior's name ! 
 
 Does not Scotland, however inferior, in some re- 
 spects, it may be deemed to other lands, possess a 
 peculiar charm to all cultivated minds ?* What 
 
 =^ The following eloquent passage from an address by the Hon- 
 orable Edward Everett, before the " Scots' Charitable Society," 
 Boston, well illustrates the fact referred to. 
 
 ^'Not to speak of the worthies of ages long passed; of the 
 Knoxes, the Buchanans, and the early minstrelsy of the border ; 
 the land of your fathers, sir, since it ceased to be a separate king- 
 dom, has, through the intellect of her gifted sons, acquired a su- 
 premacy over the minds of men, more extensive and more endur- 
 ing, than that of Alexander or Augustus. It would be impossi- 
 ble to enumerate them all, — the Blairs of the last generation, the 
 Chalmerses of this ; the Robertsons, and Humes ; the Smiths, 
 the Reids, the Stuarts, the Browns ; the Homes, the Mackenzies j 
 the Mackintoshes, the Broughams, the Jeffreys, with their dis- 
 tinguished compeers, both on physical and moral science. The 
 Marys and the Elizabeths, the Jameses and the Charleses will be 
 forgotten, before these names will perish from the memory of 
 men. And when I add to them those other illustrious names — 
 Burns, Campbell, Byron, and Scott, may I not truly say, sir, that 
 the throne and the sceptre of England will crumble into dust like 
 
 2 
 
14 GENIUS OF SCOTLANIJ. 
 
 visions of ancient glory cluster around the time-hon- 
 ored name ! What associations of * wild native 
 grandeur,' — of wizard beauty, and rough magnifi- 
 
 those of Scotland : and Windsor Castle and W^estminster Abbey 
 will lie in ruins as poor and desolate as those of Scone and lona, 
 before the lords of Scottish song shall cease to reign in the hearts 
 of men. 
 
 For myself, sir, I confess that I love Scotland. I have reason 
 to do so. I have trod the soil of the 
 
 Land of brown heath and shaggy wood, 
 Land of the mountain and the flood, 
 
 I have looked up to the cloud-capt summit of Ben Lomond ; have 
 glided among the fairy islets of Loch Katrine ; and from the bat- 
 tlements of Stirling Castle, have beheld the links of Forth spark- 
 ling in the morning sun. I have done more, sir ; I have tasted that 
 generous hospitality of Scotland, which her Majesty's Consul 
 has so justly commemorated ; I have held converse with her most 
 eminent sons ; I have made my pilgrimage to Melrose Abbey, in 
 company with that modern magician, who, mightier than the ma- 
 gician of old that sleeps beneath the marble floor of its chancel, 
 has hung the garlands of immortal poesy upon its shattered 
 arches, and made its moss-clad ruins a shrine, to be visited by the 
 votary of the muse from the remotest corners of the earth, to the 
 end of time. Yes, sir, musing as I did, in my youth, over the 
 sepulchre of the wizard, once pointed out by the bloody stain of 
 the cross and the image of the archangel : — standing within that 
 consecrated enclosure, under the friendly guidance of him whose 
 genius has made it holy ground ; while every nerve within me 
 thrilled with excitement, my fancy kindled with the inspiration 
 of the spot. I seemed to behold, not the vision so magnificently 
 described by the minstrel, — the light, which, as the tomb was 
 opened, 
 
 broke forth so gloriously, 
 Streamed upward to the chancel roof. 
 And through the galleries far aloof : 
 
 But I could fancy that I beheld, with sensible perception, the 
 brighter light, which had broken forth from the master mind j 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 15 
 
 cence. What gleams of * poetic sunlight,' — what 
 recollections of martial daring by flood and field, — 
 what hallowed faith and burning zeal, — what mar- 
 tyr toils and martyr graves, monuments of free- 
 dom's struggles and freedom's triumphs in moor 
 or glen, — what ' lights and shadows' of love and 
 passion, — what ancient songs, echoing among the 
 hills, — what blessed sabbath calm, — what lofty in- 
 spiration of the Bible and covenant, — in a word, 
 what dear and hallowed memories of that ' Auld 
 lang syne,' indigenous only to Scotland, though 
 known throughout the world ! Should this be 
 deemed enthusiastic, let it, and all else of a similar 
 character which may be found in this volume, be 
 ascribed to a natural and not unpardonable feeling 
 on the part of the writer. The remembrance of 
 * Auld lang syne' can never be extinguished. Ex- 
 cept the hope of heaven, it is our best and holiest 
 heritage. 
 
 As ^ Auld Lang Syne' brings Scotland one and all, 
 
 Scotch plaids, Scotch snoods, the blue hills and clear streams, 
 The Dee, the Don, Balgownies brig's black wall, 
 
 All my boy feelings, all my gentler dreams 
 Of "what I then dreamt, clothed in their own pall. 
 
 Like Banquo's offspring ; floating past me seems 
 My childhood, in this childishness of mind ; 
 
 I care not ; — 'tis a glimpse of ' Auld Lang Syne.' 
 
 Byron. 
 
 Beautiful is New England, resembling as she 
 
 which had streamed from his illumined page ail-gloriously up- 
 ward, above the pinnacles of worldly grandeur, till it mingled its 
 equal beams, with that of the brightest constellations, in the in- 
 tellectual firmament of England.'' 
 
16 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 does, in many of her features, ' Auld Scotia's hills 
 and dales,' and moreover being much akin to her, 
 in rehgious sentiment and the love of freedom ; so 
 that a native of either might well be forgiven for 
 clinging with peculiar fondness to the land of his 
 birth, and, in certain moods of mind, prefering it to 
 all the world beside. Though far away, and even 
 loving the place of his estrangement, he cannot, if 
 he would, altogether renounce those ties which 
 bind him to his early home. A ' viewless chain,' 
 which crosses ocean and continent, conveys from 
 the one to the other that subtle, yet gracious in- 
 fluence, which is quicker and stronger than the 
 lightning's gleam. Let no one then be surprised if 
 a Scotsman in New England, the cherished land of 
 his adoption, should solace his mind with the recol- 
 lection of early days, and endeavor to set before 
 others the characteristic beauties and excellencies 
 of his native country. 
 
 O Caledonia, stern and wild, 
 
 Meet nurse for a poetic child ! 
 
 Land of brown heath and shaggy wood, 
 
 Land of the mountain and the flood, 
 
 Land of my sires ! What mortal hand, 
 
 Can e'er untie the filial band 
 
 That knits me to thy rugged strand ! 
 
 " Scotland," as one of her own sons has express- 
 ed it, " is a wee bit country," but possessed of 
 " muckle pith and spirit." Its surface is rough and 
 mountainous, with beautiful patches of rich arable 
 land along the courses of its streams, and extensive 
 level meadows, called Carses, as the Carse of Fal- 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 17 
 
 kirk, and the Carse of Gowrie. It is of unequal 
 breadth, being much indented with bays and creeks, 
 and stretches some two hundred and eighty miles 
 in length, reckoning from its most southerly point, 
 the Mull of Galloway, to Dunnefs Head, its most 
 northern extremity. This probably would be a 
 little farther than from " Maiden Kirk to Johnny 
 Groat's," the " from Dan to Beersheba" of Scot- 
 land. Clustering around its western and northern 
 sides are the Hebrides, the Shetland and the Ork- 
 ney islands ; wild and rocky isles, with rude and 
 primitive inhabitants, constituting the Ultima Thule 
 of Great Britain. In Scotland, a considerable por- 
 tion of the land is uncultivated, consisting of heathy 
 hills, mountains and moors ; and the most of that 
 which is cultivated has been rendered productive 
 by the hand of art and industry. Like Switzerland, 
 it is comparatively a poor country, but has been 
 made rich by the generative powers of mind. Her 
 wealth consists in the brawny arms and vigorous 
 intellects of her sons. The cUmate is cold and 
 variable, though milder in winter than that of New 
 England, and in summer cooler, and upon the whole, 
 more agreeable, except when dense fogs and long- 
 continued rains prevail. 
 
 The population is over two millions and a half, 
 and is gradually increasing, though the people, like 
 those of New England, are greatly given to migra- 
 tion, and may be found in every part of the world. 
 Its commerce and manufactures are, for its size, 
 very extensive. They have increased, since 1814, 
 
 from twenty-five to thirty per cent. Agriculture and 
 
 2# 
 
18 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 the mechanic arts have been carried to a high de- 
 gree of perfection. While the people are charac- 
 teristically cautious and slow, " looking before they 
 leap," to quote one of their favorite proverbs, they 
 are bold and enterprising, and thus leap long and 
 successfully. Few nations have accomphshed so 
 much in literature or trade, in science or the arts 
 of industry. Their highest distinction, however, 
 consists in their spirit of love and fealty, their leal- 
 heartedness, their contempt of sham, their passion- 
 ate love of freedom, their zeal for God and the 
 truth ! Obstinate and wrong-headed at times, char- 
 acteristically dogmatic, and perhaps a little intoler- 
 ant, their very faults lean to virtue's side, and go 
 to the support of goodness. Their punctiliousness 
 and pride, their dogged adherence to what they 
 conceive to be right, and their vehement mode of 
 defending it, constitute the rough and prickly bark 
 which defends the precious tree. One thing is cer- 
 tain, they are transparent as daylight, and honest as 
 their own heathy hills. 
 
 They are preeminently a religious people, pro- 
 testant to the ' backbone, occasionally rough and 
 impetuous in the expression of their opinions, but 
 never formal, never indecorous. A profound en- 
 thusiasm, bordering on fanaticism, a passionate, 
 though not boisterous or canting devotion, a fine 
 sense of the grand and beautiful, intermingled with 
 a keen conscientiousness, an ardent love of freedom, 
 with a boundless trust in God, form the great ele- 
 ments of their religious life. Their theology is 
 chiefly Calvinistic, apparently philosophical and 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 19 
 
 dogmatic, but rather less so than popular and prac- 
 tical. Of cathedrals, old and dim, of masses, chants 
 and processions, the pomp and circumstance of a 
 magnificent ritual, they have none.* But of old 
 and glorious memories, solemn temples among the 
 woods and hills, hallowed grave-yards, blessed sa- 
 craments, and national enthusiasm, they have abun- 
 dance. Their religion is a part of the soil. It is 
 indigenous to the country. It grew up among the 
 mountains, was nursed by * wizard streams,' and 
 *led forth' with the voice of psalms, among 'the 
 green pastures of the wilderness.' Somewhat for- 
 bidding at first, like the rough aspect of the coun- 
 try, it appears equally picturesque and beautiful, 
 when really known and loved. It is the religion 
 not of form but of substance, of deep inward emo- 
 tion, not of outward pretension and show. Neither 
 is it a sickly sentimentalism which lives on poetic 
 musings, and matures only in cloistered shades and 
 moonlight groves ; but it is a healthy, robust prin- 
 ciple which goes forth to do and to suffer the will 
 of Heaven. Its head and heart are sound, and its 
 works praise it in the gate. Beautiful as the visions 
 of fancy, it is yet strong as the everlasting hills 
 among which it was reared. In a w^ord, it is the 
 religion of faith and love, the religion of the old 
 puritans, of the martyrs and confessors of primitive 
 times. Welling out forever from the unstained foun- 
 tains of the Word of God, it has marked its course 
 over the fair face of Scotland, with the greenest ver- 
 dure, the sweetest flowers. 
 
 ^ This is spoken, of course, of the great body of the people. 
 
20 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Scotland is naturally divided into Highlands and 
 Lowlands. The former includes, besides the va- 
 rious groups of islands on the north and northwest 
 coast, the counties of Argyle, Inverness, Nairn, 
 Ross, Cromarty, Sutherland and Caithness, with 
 portions of Dumbarton, Stirling, Perth, Forfar, 
 " Aberdeen awa," Banff and Elgin, or the more 
 northerly regions of the country, protected and 
 beautified by the mighty range of the Grampians, 
 commencing at the southern extremity of Loch 
 Etive, and terminating at the mouth of the Dee on 
 the eastern coast. The Highlands again are divi- 
 ded into two unequal portions by the beautiful chain 
 of lochs, or lakes running through the Glenmore- 
 Nan-Albin, or Great Glen of Caledonia, forming 
 some of the wildest and richest scenery in the 
 world. To the north are the giant mountains 
 of Macdui, Cairngorm, Ben-Aven and Ben-More, 
 while nearer the Lowlands, rise the lofty Ben- 
 Lomond, and the hoary Ben-Aw^e. Under their 
 shadows gleam the storied lochs, the wild tarns and 
 trosachs, whose picturesque and romantic beauties 
 have been immortalized by the pens of Burns, Scott, 
 and Wilson. 
 
 To the south and east of the Grampian range, 
 and running parallel to them, you discover a chain 
 of lower and more verdant hills, bearing the well 
 known and poetical names of the Sidlaw, Campsie 
 and Ochil hills. These are divided by the fertile 
 valleys of the Tay and Forth. Between them and 
 the Grampians lies the low and charming valley of 
 Strathmore. The " silver Tay," one of the finest 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 21 
 
 rivers in Scotland, rises in Breadalbane, expands 
 into lake Dochart, flows in an easterly direction 
 through the vale of Glendochart, expands again 
 into the long and beautiful Loch Tay, which runs 
 like a belt of silver among the hills, whence issuing, 
 it receives various accessions from other streams, 
 passes on in a southerly direction to Dunkeld, fa- 
 mous for its ancient Abbey and lovely scenery, 
 skirts the ancient and delightful city of Perth, be- 
 low which it forms the Firth of Tay, passes the 
 populous and thriving town of Dundee, and after 
 receiving its great tributary, the Earn, which flows 
 in serpentine windings through the rich vale of 
 Strath Earn, it glides by Taymouth Castle, the 
 magnificent seat of the Duke of Breadalbane, and 
 loses itself in the waters of the Northern Sea. Fur- 
 ther north, the rapid Spey, springing from the 
 * braes of Badenoch' near Lochaber, passes tumul- 
 tuously through a rough and mountainous country, 
 lingering occasionally, as if to rest itself in some 
 deep glen, crosses the ancient province of Moray, 
 famous for its floods, so admirably described by Sir 
 Thomas Dick Lauder, passes Kinrara, " whence, 
 for a few miles, it is attended by a series of land- 
 scapes, alike various, singular and magnificent," 
 after which, it moves, with a monotonous aspect, 
 and a steady pace, to the sea. Portions of the 
 country through which this river passes are exceed- 
 ingly sterile and wild. Covered with the birch, the 
 alder and the pine, varied by rugged rocks and 
 desolate moors, it admirably corresponds to our 
 
22 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 notions of Caledonia, in her ancient and primitive 
 integrity. 
 
 In the more remote and northern regions of the 
 Highlands, and in most of the Scottish isles, the 
 Gaehc, or Erse, a primitive and energetic tongue, 
 somewhat akin to the Welsh or Irish, is spoken by 
 a majority of the inhabitants. In other parts of 
 Scotland, the EngUsh, w^ith a Scottish idiom, is the 
 prevalent speech. The literature of the Gaelic is 
 exceedingly limited, confined chiefly to old ballads, 
 songs and traditionary stories. The poems of Os- 
 sian are doubtless the production of Macpherson, 
 their professed translator, while they probably con- 
 tain a few translated fragments, and some tradition- 
 ary facts and conceptions afloat among the High- 
 landers, ingeniously interwoven with the main 
 fabric of the work. 
 
 The Highlanders are a simple-hearted, primitive 
 race, mostly poor, and imperfectly educated. Those 
 of them that are wealthy and well educated, are 
 said to be remarkably acute, courteous, and agree- 
 able. 
 
 The Lowlands of Scotland comprehend the south 
 and southeastern portions of the country, and though 
 not the grandest and most romantic, are by far the 
 best cultivated, and in some respects the most beau- 
 tiful. Including the level ground on the eastern 
 coast to the south of the Moray Firth, they stretch 
 along the coast through portions of Perthshire, and 
 the old kingdom of Fife, towards the regions bound- 
 ed on either side, by the river and the Firth of 
 Forth, and thence to Kircudbright and the English 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 23 
 
 border, including the principal cities, the most fer- 
 tile tracts of arable land, the rivers Forth, Clyde 
 and Tweed, and the range of the Cheviot hills, 
 which extend from the north of England towards 
 the northwest, join the Louther hills in the region 
 of Ettrick and Yarrow, with their ' silver streams,' 
 pass through the southern part of Ayrshire and ter- 
 minate at Loch Ryan, in the Irish Channel. The 
 Clyde is the most important commercial river in 
 Scotland. Taking its origin among the mountains 
 of the south, not far from the early home of its 
 beautiful and more classic sisters, the Tweed and 
 the Annan, it runs in many capricious windings, in 
 a northwesterly direction, leaps in foaming cas- 
 cades first at Bonnington, and then at Cora Linn, 
 rushes on through the line country of Lanarkshire, 
 till, joined by many tributary streams, it passes 
 through the large and flourishing city of Glasgow, 
 bearing upon its bosom the vast commerce and 
 population of the neighboring regions, flows around 
 the walls of old Dumbarton Castle, with its time- 
 worn battlements and glorious memories, in sight, 
 too, of the lofty Ben Lomond, and the beautiful lake 
 which it protects, touches the ancient city of Green- 
 ock, expands into the Firth of Clyde, and gradual- 
 ly loses itself amid the picturesque islands which 
 adorn the western coast of Scotland. 
 
 Were it possible, by placing ourselves upon 
 some lofty elevation, to take in at one glance, the 
 whole of this varied landscape of lake, river, and 
 mountain ; of tarn, trosach and moor, with verdant 
 vales, and woody slopes between, we should con- 
 
24 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 fess that it was one of as rare beauty and wild 
 magnificence as ever greeted the vision of man. 
 And were our minds steeped in ancient and poetic 
 lore, we should be prepared to appreciate the faith- 
 fulness and splendor of Burns's allegorical descrip- 
 tion of the " Genius of Scotland." 
 
 " Green, slender, leaf-clad holly boughs, 
 Were twisted gracefu' round her brows ; 
 I took her for some Scottish Muse, 
 
 By that same token, 
 And come to stop those reckless vows 
 
 Would soon be broken. 
 
 A hair-brained sentimental trace, 
 Was strongly marked in her face ; 
 A wildly witty-rustic grace, 
 
 Shone full upon her, 
 Her eye e'en turned on empty space, 
 
 Beamed keen with honor. 
 
 Her mantle large, of greenish hue, 
 
 My gazing wonder chiefly drew. 
 
 Deep lights and shadows mingling threw 
 
 A lustre grand ; 
 And seemed, to my astonished view 
 
 A well known land! 
 
 Here rivers in the sea were lost ; 
 There mountains in the skies were tost ; 
 Here tumbling billows marked the coast, 
 
 With surging foam ; 
 There, distant shone, Art's lofty boast, 
 
 The lordly dome. 
 
 Here Doon poured down his far-fetched floods ; 
 There well fed Irwine stately thuds : 
 Auld hermit Ayr staw through his woods, 
 
 On to the shore ; 
 And many a lesser torrent scuds 
 
 With seeming roar. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 25 
 
 Low in a sandy valley spread. 
 
 An ancient borough reared her head 
 
 Still as in Scottish story read. 
 
 She boasts a race, 
 To every nobler virtue bred. 
 
 And polished grace. 
 
 By stately tower or palace fair 
 
 Or ruins pendent in the air 
 
 Bold stems of heroes here and there, 
 
 I could discern ; 
 Some seemed to muse, some seemed to dare 
 
 With feature stern.'' 
 
 Now, imagine the whole of this country, studded 
 at no remote intervals, with churches and schools 
 well supported, and well attended by young and 
 old. Think of her ancient and able Universities, 
 Edinburgh, Glasgow, St. Andrews, and Aberdeen, 
 including in the last, Marischal College and Kings 
 College, with an average attendance of from 2500 
 to 3000 students, with their learned and amiable 
 professors, extensive libraries, and fine collections 
 in Natural History. Think of her innumerable 
 high schools, private schools, public and private 
 libraries, literary institutes and ancient hospitals, 
 some for the body and some for the mind, and con- 
 nect the whole with her heroic history, her poetical 
 enthusiasm, her reUgious faith, her fealty to God 
 and man, and you will have some faint conception 
 of the beauty and glory of Scotland. 
 
 But the impression would be deepened, could 
 you behold the land, beautified and ennobled by 
 her sabbath calm, as once in seven days, she rests 
 and worships before the Lord. Could you but hear 
 
 3 
 
26 -GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 the voice of her church-going bells, and go to the 
 house of God, in company with her thoughtful but 
 cheerful population ; could you sit in some " auld 
 warld" kirk, and hear some grey-haired holy man 
 dispense, with deep and tender tones, the word of 
 everlasting life ; could you hear a whole congre- 
 gation of devout worshippers make the hills ring 
 again, with their simple melody ; above all, could 
 you place yourself in some deep shady glen, by the 
 " sweet burnie," as it " wimples" among the waving 
 willows, or the yellow broom, or sit down on the 
 green " brae side," enamelled with " gowans," on 
 some sacramental occasion, when thousands are 
 gathered to hear the preaching of the gospel, and 
 with simple ritual, to commemorate the dying love 
 of the Redeemer ! Could you see the devout and 
 happy looks of the aged, and the sweet but rever- 
 ent aspect of children and youth, as the tones of 
 some earnest preacher thrilled them with emotions 
 of holy gratitude, in view of the " loving kindness of 
 the Lord," you would instinctively feel that Scot- 
 land, — free, Protestant Scotland, was a happy land, 
 and would be prepared to exclaim with the sweet 
 singer of Israel : " Blessed are the people that 
 know the joyful sound, they shall walk, O Lord, in 
 the light of thy countenance." 
 
 " How with religious awe impressed 
 They open .lay the guileless breast ; 
 And youth and age with fears distressed 
 
 All due prepare, 
 The symbols of eternal rest 
 
 Devout to share. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 27 
 
 How down ilk lang withdrawing hill. 
 Successive crowds the valleys fill ; 
 While pure religious converse still 
 
 Beguiles the way, 
 And gives a cast to youthful will, 
 
 To suit the day. 
 
 How placed along the sacred board, 
 Their hoary pastor's looks adored, — 
 His voice with peace and blessing stored, 
 
 Sent from above. 
 And Mth and hope, and joy afford 
 
 And boundless love. 
 
 O'er this with warm seraphic glow, 
 Celestial beings pleased bow ; 
 And whispered hear the holy vow, 
 
 'Mid grateful tears ; 
 And mark amid such scenes below 
 
 Their future peers."* 
 
 Or you might leave this scene, and study the 
 Scottish character with some shepherd boy on the 
 hills, as he reads God's word upon the green-sward, 
 and meditates on things divine, while tending his 
 flocks far from the house of God, on the sabbath 
 day, a circumstance to which Grahame in his poem 
 of the Sabbath, has touchingly referred, and which 
 Telford has thus described : 
 
 " Say how, by early lessons taught. 
 Truth's pleasing air is willing caught ! 
 Congenial to the untainted thought, 
 
 The shepherd boy, 
 Who tends his flocks on lonely height. 
 
 Feels holy joy. 
 
 ♦ Letter to Robert Burns, by Mr. Telford, of Shrewsbury, a 
 native of Scotland. 
 
28 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND, 
 
 Is aught on earth so lovely known, 
 On sabbath morn, and far alone. 
 His guileless sou lall naked shown 
 
 Before his God — 
 Such prayers must welcome reach the throne 
 
 And bless'd abode. 
 
 O tell ! with what a heartfelt joy 
 The parent eyes the virtuous boy ; 
 And all his constant kind employ, 
 
 Is how to give 
 The best of lear he can enjoy, 
 
 As means to live." 
 
 The scenes of " the Cotter's Saturday Night," 
 one of the sweetest poems m any language, are ex- 
 act transcripts from real life, as Burns himself inti- 
 mates. His father was " a godly man," and was 
 wont, morning and evening, to " turn o'er, wi' patri- 
 archal grace, the big ha' Bible," and worship God, 
 with his family. Where in Italy or in Austria will 
 you meet aught so beautiful or thrilling as the fol- 
 lowing ? 
 
 " The cheerfu' supper done, wP serious face, 
 They round the ingle form a circle wide, 
 The sire turns o'er wi' patriarchal grace 
 
 The big ha^ Bible ance his father's pride : 
 His bonnet reverently is laid aside. 
 
 His lyart haffets^* wearing thin and bare : 
 Those strains that once did sweet in Zion glide 
 He wales a portion with judicious care ; 
 And ^ Let us worship God !' he says with solemn air. 
 
 They chant their artless notes in simple guise. 
 They tune their hearts, by far their noblest aim ; 
 
 Perhaps Dundee^ s wild warbling measures rise, 
 Or plaintive Martyrs worthy of the name, 
 
 * Withered cheeks. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 29 
 
 Or noble Elgin beats the heavenward flame, 
 
 The sweetest far of Scotia' s holy lays. 
 Compared with these Italian trills are tame ; 
 
 The tickled ears no heartfelt raptures raise, 
 Nae unison hae they with our Creator's praise. 
 
 The priest-like father reads the sacred page, 
 
 How Abram was the friend of God on high, 
 Or Moses bade eternal warfare wage 
 
 With Amalek's ungracious progeny ; 
 Or how the royal bard did groaning lie 
 
 Beneath the stroke of Heaven's avenging ire ; 
 Or Job's pathetic plaint and wailing cry ; 
 
 Or rapt Isaiah's wild seraphic fire ; 
 Or other holy seers that tune the sacred lyre. 
 
 Perhaps the Christian volume is the theme : 
 
 How guiltless blood for guilty man was shed , 
 How He who bore in Heaven the second name, 
 
 Had * not on earth whereon to lay his head j' 
 How his first followers and servants sped ; 
 
 The precepts sage they wrote to many a land : 
 How he who lone in Patmos banished, 
 
 Saw in the sun a mighty angel stand ; 
 And heard great Babylon's doom pronounced by Heaven's 
 command. 
 
 Then kneeling down to Heaven's eternal King, 
 The saint, the father, and the husband prays, 
 Hope springs exulting on triumphant wing,' 
 That thus they all shall meet in future days: 
 There ever bask in uncreated rays, 
 
 No more to sigh or shed the bitter tear, 
 Together hymning their Creator's praise, 
 In such society, yet still more dear ; 
 While circling time moves round in an eternal sphere. 
 
 Compared with this how poor religion's pride. 
 
 In all the pomp of method and of art. 
 When men display to congregations wide, 
 
 Devotion's every grace except the heart j 
 3* 
 
so GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 The Power incensed the pageant will desert, 
 The pompous strain, the sacerdotal stole ; 
 But haply in some cottage far apart, 
 
 May hear well pleased the language of the soul, 
 And in His book of life the inmates poor enroll.^' 
 
 These are the elements of a people's greatness. 
 These are the perennial sources of their ruth and 
 loyalty, their freedom and virtue. These guard 
 the domestic graces, these bind the commonwealth 
 in holy and enduring bands. Better than splendid 
 mausoleums and gorgeous temples, better than 
 costly altars and a pompous ritual, better than 
 organ blasts and rolling incense, better by far than 
 mass and breviary, confessional and priestly abso- 
 lution ! For while the most imposing forms of 
 Religion are often heartless and dead, these sacred 
 rites of a Christianity pure and practical, ever pos- 
 sess a vital power, — a power to quicken and save. 
 
 " From scenes like these auld Scotia's grandeur springs, 
 That makes her loved at home, revered abroad ; 
 Princes and lords are but the breath of kings, 
 ' An honest man 's the noblest work of God.' 
 
 'Tr TT tP "3? •?? TiF 
 
 O Scotia ! my dear, my native soil ! 
 
 For whom my warmest wish to heaven is sent, 
 Long may thy hardy sons of rustic toil. 
 
 Be blest with health and peace and sweet content ! 
 And oh, may Heaven their simple lives prevent 
 
 From luxury's contagion, weak and vile ! 
 Then however crowns and coronets be rent, 
 
 A virtuous populace may rise the while. 
 And stand a wall of fire around their much loved Isle." 
 
 But we have dwelt long enough on general 
 
GENIUS OP SCOTLAND. 31 
 
 topics. If the reader will accompany us, we will 
 ramble together in some particular scenes, medita- 
 ting, as we go, on things new and old, and chat- 
 ting, in lively or in sombre mood, as the humor 
 may seize us. First of all then, let us visit " Auld 
 Reekie," as the inhabitants often call it, or more 
 classically, " the modern Athens," the beautiful and 
 far famed metropoHs of Scotland. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 The city of Edinburgh— Views from Author's Seat— The Poems 
 of Richard Gall—" Farewell to Ayrshire'^ — " Authur's Seat, a 
 Poem"— Extracts— Craigmillar Castle— The Forth, Roslin 
 Castle and the Pentland Hills — Liberty. 
 
 We will enter the city on the west side, as if we 
 were coming from Glasgow, pass through Prince's 
 Street, with its elegant buildings and fine prome- 
 nades, skirting that enclosure of walks and shrub- 
 bery, just under the frowning battlements of the 
 Castle, and adorned with the superb statue of Sir 
 Walter Scott, rising rapidly to its completion ; 
 then turn the corner at right-angles, cross the 
 North Bridge, enter High Street, and thence 
 plunge down the hill into the old Canongate ; and 
 without waiting to look at " the Heart of Midlo- 
 thian," or even the beautiful ruins of Holvrood 
 House, at the foot of the hill, let us turn to the 
 right, and climb the rocky sides of " Arthur's Seat," 
 with its summit of verdure overlooking the city 
 and the neighboring country. For there the whole 
 panorama of the city will spread itself before us, 
 surrounded with magnificent scenery, stretching 
 far and wide from the Pentland Hills on the one 
 side to the Firth of Forth on the other, from Stir- 
 ling Castle on the west to the German Ocean on 
 the east. Here we are then, on the very highest 
 point of the mountain, with the warm sunshine 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 33 
 
 around us, tempered as it is by the fresh " west- 
 lin wind," at once so sweet and bland. Aye, aye ! 
 this is beautiful ! What a landscape ! How varied 
 and yet how harmonious ! Not only beautiful ex- 
 ceedingly, but ineffably grand and striking ! Be- 
 neath us is the fine old city— new and old at the 
 same time, lying nearly square, with its lofty build- 
 ings and elegant monuments, handsome parks and 
 green shrubberies. To the left is the older part of 
 the city, rising gradually from the palace of Holy- 
 rood at our feet, and crowned by the Castle, which 
 is built upon a granite rock, whose rough sides, 
 terminating abruptly to the north and west, hang 
 over Prince's Street and the lower part of the city. 
 
 " There watching high the least alarms, 
 
 Thy rough rude foi-tress gleams afar ; 
 Like some bold veteran gray in arms 
 
 And pierced with many a seamy scar : 
 The ponderous wall and massy bar, 
 
 Grim rising o'er the rugged rock ; 
 Have oft withstood assailing war, 
 
 And oft repelled the invader's shock." — Burns. 
 
 Before us and stretching away towards the Forth 
 and the city of Leith is " the new town," sur- 
 mounted on this side by the Calton Hill, on which 
 stand the monuments of Dugald Stewart and Ad- 
 miral Nelson, the unfinished Parthenon, and the 
 monument of Robert Burns, — beautiful and impos- 
 ing objects, reminding us of the AcropoHs of Athens, 
 and affording fine relief to the long ranges of 
 smooth and polished buildings beyond. Behind us 
 
34 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 are the Pentland Hills with their verdant slopes 
 and historic recollections. To the right lie the 
 city and bay of Leith, " the Piraeus" of Edinburgh, 
 the long winding shore in the direction of Porto- 
 bello, and " the dark blue deep" of the ocean, stud- 
 ded with white sails, glistening in the summer radi- 
 ance. To the north, at a distance of a few miles, 
 you see the majestic Firth of Forth, and beyond, 
 " in cultur'd beauty," the " Kingdom of Fife," with 
 the distant range of the Ochil and Campsie hills. 
 From this point also you can see, at a distance of 
 some three miles, the gray ruins of Craigmillar Cas- 
 tle, famous in the annals of Scotland, as the resi- 
 dence of Queen Mary, and the scene of those secret 
 machinations, which ended in the tragedy of Holy- 
 rood ; Inch Keith with its lofty lighthouse ; the 
 isle of May, once consecrated to St. Adrian, and on 
 which stands another " star of hope" to the mariner ; 
 and old Inchcolm, famous for its ancient convent 
 founded by St. Colomba, one of the patron saints 
 of Scotland. How gloriously, light and shade, land 
 and ocean, park and woodland, old castles and 
 hoary ruins, frowning rocks and smiling meadows 
 mingle and blend in this rare and magnificent land- 
 scape. 
 
 *' Traced like a map the landscape lies 
 In cultur'd beauty stretching wide ; 
 There Pentland's green acclivities, 
 
 There ocean, with its azure tide ; * 
 
 There Authur's Seat, and gleaming through 
 Thy southern wing Dun Edin blue ! 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 35 
 
 While in the orient, Lammer's daughters, 
 A distant giant range are seen, ddd 
 
 North Berwick Law, with cone of green, 
 
 And Bass amid the waters.'^ Delta.^ 
 
 Here you can easily understand the reason why 
 Edinburgh has been thought to resemble the city 
 of Athens. Mr. Stuart, author of the " Antiquities 
 of Athens," was the first to call attention to this 
 fact, and his opinion has often been confirmed since. 
 Dr. Clarke remarks that the neighborhood of Athens 
 is just the Highlands of Scotland, enriched with the 
 splendid remains of art. Another acute observer 
 states that the distant view of Athens from the 
 iEgean Sea is extremely like that of Edinburgh 
 from the Firth of Forth, " though," he adds, " cer- 
 tainly the latter is considerably superior." " The 
 resemblance," says J. G. Kohl, the celebrated Ger- 
 man traveller, " is indeed very striking. Athens, 
 like Edinburgh, was a city of hills and valleys, 
 and its Ilissus was probably not much larger than 
 the Water of Leith. Athens, like Edinburgh, was 
 an inland town, and had its harbor, Piraeus, on 
 the sea-coast. The mountains near Edinburgh very 
 much resemble those near Athens. I have little 
 doubt, however, that Athens is more honored by 
 being compared to Edinburgh, than Edinburgh to 
 Athens ; for it is probable that the scenery and po- 
 sition of the Northern are more grand and striking 
 in their beauty, than those of the Southern Athens.'* 
 
 By the way there is a beautiful poem in the Scot- 
 tish dialect, entitled " Arthur's Seat," written by 
 
 * Supposed to be Dr. Moir. 
 
36 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Richard Gall, a young man of great promise, the 
 friend and correspondent of Barns. He struggled 
 with poverty, and like Furgusson and Michael 
 Bruce, was cut off prematurely, but not before he 
 had written some exquisite poems, in the style of 
 Burns, whom he greatly admired. He was con- 
 temporary with the unfortunate but gifted Tanna- 
 hill of Paisley, and possessed a kindred taste in 
 song writing.* His " Farewell to Ayrshire," com- 
 mencing — 
 
 " Scenes of woe and scenes of pleasure, 
 
 Scenes that former thoughts renew ; 
 Scenes of woe and scenes of pleasure, 
 
 Now a sad and last adieu ! 
 Bonnie Doon sae sweet at gloaming, 
 
 Fare thee weel before I gang — 
 Bonnie Doon where early roaming, 
 
 First I weaved the rustic sang-' — 
 
 has been often printed, on account of its locality 
 and associations, as the composition of Burns. He 
 is doubtless greatly inferior to Burns, and not quite 
 equal to Bruce or even Tannahill, but his verses 
 possess great sweetness, and contain some graphic 
 and beautiful descriptions. This is the case espe- 
 cially, with " Arthur's Seat," his longest and most 
 elaborate poem. As its sketches of scenery in and 
 around Edinburgh, are at once accurate and pleas- 
 ing, and as it is entirely unknown in America, we 
 will take the liberty of quoting some of its finest 
 passages. 
 
 ^ Tannahill was a weaver in Paisley. He excelled in song 
 writing. Under the pressure of poverty and deep depression of 
 spirits he committed suicide, 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 37 
 
 Gazing from Arthur's Seat, the poet invokes the 
 genius of Burns — 
 
 " To sing ilk bonny bushy bower, 
 Adorned with many a wild-born flower j 
 Ilk burnie singing through the vale. 
 Where blooming hawthorns scent the gale ; 
 And ilka sweet that nature yields, 
 In meadow wild or cultur'd fields ; 
 The cultur'd fields where towering Strang 
 The sturdy aik his shadows flang; 
 Where lonely Druids wont to roTe, 
 The mystic tenants of the grove.'^ 
 
 He aptly and strikingly interweaves historical 
 and poetical allusions. The following contains a 
 fine contrast, and a striking description of the ruins 
 of Craigmillar Castle, in the vicinity of Edinburgh. 
 
 " Yes, Arthur, round thy velvet chair, 
 Ilk chequered picture blushes fair, 
 And mixed with nature's landscape green, 
 The varied works o' art are seen. 
 Here starts the splendid dome to view, 
 Mang sylvan haunts o' vernal hue ; 
 There some auld lanely pile appears, 
 The mouldering wreck o' former years, 
 Whose tottering wa' nae mair can stand 
 Before fell Time's resistless hand ; 
 Sic as Craigmillar's Castle gray. 
 That now fa's crumbling to decay, 
 A prey to ilka blast that blaws 
 An' whistles through its royal ha's — 
 Where mirth ance burst with joyf u' sound 
 And melting music rang around. 
 Ah ! there dull gloomy silence reigns. 
 The mossy grass creeps o'er the stanes, 
 And howlets loud at e'enin's fa'. 
 Rejoice upon the ruined wa'." 
 
 4 
 
38 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Craigmillar Castle naturally suggests the name 
 of the beautiful and unfortunate Mary, Queen of 
 Scots, who once resided within its lordly but now 
 forsaken halls. The poet therefore breaks out into 
 the following animated and pathetic strains, which, 
 it has been said, will bear a comparison with Mr- 
 Burke's celebrated rhapsody on the unfortunate 
 Queen of France. 
 
 " Tliere was a time wlien woman's cliarms 
 Could fire the warlike world of arms. 
 And breed sic wae to auld and young, 
 As Helen wept and Homer sung, 
 But Mary o' ilk stay bereft, 
 Misfortune^s luckless child was left ; 
 Nae guileless friend to stem her grief, 
 The bursting sigh her whole relief. — 
 O ye whose brave forefathers bled, 
 And oft the rage of battle led, 
 Wha rushing o'er the crimson field, 
 At Bannockburn made Edward yield ; 
 Ye wha still led by glory's flame. 
 Make terror mix wP Scotia's name — 
 Where slept your dauntless valor keen 
 When danger met your injured Glueen ?" 
 
 His descriptions of the Forth and the neighbor- 
 ing regions, of the Pentland hills, and the scenery 
 of the Esk, are strikingly beautiful. 
 
 " What varied scenes, what prospects deai 
 In chequer'd landscape still appear ! 
 What rural sweets profusely thrang 
 The flowery Links of Forth alang, 
 O'er whose proud shivering surface blue 
 Fife's woods and spires begirt the view ; 
 Where Ceres gilds the fertile plain 
 An' richly waves the yellow grain, 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 39 
 
 An' Lomond hill wi' misty showers, 
 Aft weets anld Falkland's royal towers, 
 Nor distant far, upon the ear 
 The popling Leven wimples clear, 
 Whose ruined pile and glassy lake 
 Shall live in sang for Mary's sake.=^ 
 
 TV TV TV T? TT 
 
 Return fond muse frae haunts sae fair, 
 To Lothian's shore return ance mair, 
 And let thy lyre be sweetly strung, 
 For peerless Esk remains unsung. 
 Romantic stream, what sweets combine 
 To deck ilk bank and bower o' thine ! 
 For now the sun, wi' cheerfu' rays 
 Glows soft o'er a' thy woody braes. 
 Where mony a native wild flower's seen, 
 Mang birks and briars, and ivy green, 
 An' a' the woodland chorists sing 
 Or gleesome flit on wanton wing, 
 Save where the liiitie mournfully 
 Sabs sair 'aneath the rowan tree, 
 To see her nest and young ones a' 
 By thoughtless reaver borne awa.' 
 
 TV* •tP TV TV TT 
 
 What saftening thoughts resistless start, 
 And pour their influence o'er the heart ; 
 What mingling scenes around appear 
 To musing meditation dear. 
 When wae we tent fair grandeur fa' 
 By Roslin's ruined Castle wa' If 
 O what is pomp ? and what is power ? 
 The silly phantoms of an hour ! 
 Sae loudly ance from Roslin's browj 
 The martial trump of grandeur blew, 
 
 ^ The reference here is to the residence, or rather imprison- 
 ment of Mary in Lochleven Castle. 
 
 t Roslin Castle, on the banks of the Esk, about seven miles 
 from Edinburgh. 
 
 I Brow^ in Scotland, is often pronounced as if spelt bru€. 
 
40 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 While steel-clad vassals wont to wait 
 Their chieftain at the portalled gate j 
 And maidens fair, in vestments gay. 
 Bestrewed wP flowers the warrior^s way. 
 But now, ah me I how changed the scene ! 
 Nae trophied ha', nae towers remain ; 
 Nae torches bleeze wP gladsome light, 
 A guiding star in dead o' night ; 
 Nae voice is heard, save tinkling rill, 
 That echoes from the distant hill." 
 
 How exquisite, and how entirely and peculiarly 
 Scottish is the following : 
 
 " Now tent the Pentlands westlin's seen, 
 O'erspread wP flowery pastures green ; 
 "Where, stretching wide, the fleecy ewes^ 
 Run bleating round the sunny knowes, 
 And mony a little silver rill 
 Steals gurgling down its mossy hill ; 
 And vernal green is ilka tree 
 On bonny braes o' Woodhouselee.'^ 
 
 The genius of Scotland is one of freedom, of 
 independent thought, and unfettered action in mat- 
 ters civil and religious. This produced the Re- 
 formation ; this generated the recent secession from 
 the ' Kirk ;' this characterizes the literature of the 
 nation. We cannot, therefore, refrain from making 
 one more quotation, which breathes the lofty spirit 
 of freedom : 
 
 ^' Alas ! sic objects to behold. 
 Brings back the glorious days of old, 
 When Scotia's daring gallant train. 
 That ever spurned a tyrant's chain. 
 
 * En-eSj pronounced as if it were yorves. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 41 
 
 For dearest independence bled, 
 
 And nobly filled their gory bed — 
 
 So o'er yon mountains stretching lang, 
 
 Their shields the sons of Freedom rang, 
 
 When Rome's ambition wild, burst forth, 
 
 An' roused the warriors of the north, 
 
 When Calgach urged his dauntless train, 
 
 And freedom rush'd through ilka vein, 
 
 And close they met the haughty foe. 
 
 And laid fu' mony a tyrant low ; 
 
 As fierce they fought, like freemen a', 
 
 Oh ! glorious fought — yet fought to fa' ! 
 
 They fell, and thou sweet Libi^bty, 
 
 Frae Grampia's blood-stained heights did flee, 
 
 And fixed thy seat remote, serene, 
 
 Mang Caledonia's mountains green. 
 
 Fair Maid ! O may thy saftest smile 
 
 For ever cheer my native isle !" 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Walk to the Castle — The old Wynds and their Occupants — 
 Regalia of Scotland — Storming of the Castle — Views from its 
 Summit — Heriot's Hospital — Other Hospitals — St. Giles's Ca- 
 thedral — Changes — The Spirit of Protestantism. 
 
 Let us now descend into the city. We will not 
 linger long in old Holyrood Palace, interesting as 
 it is, nor dwell upon " the stains" of Rizzio's blood 
 in Queen Mary's room, as these have been de- 
 scribed a thousand times, and are familiar to every 
 one. Neither will we spend time in gazing upon 
 the spot where once stood that quaint old gaol, 
 called " The Heart of Midlothian," made classic by 
 the pen of Scott, in the beautiful story of Jeanie 
 Deans. Neither will we visit the old " Parliament 
 House" and the " Advocates' Library ;" but we will 
 pass right up through High Street, amid those co- 
 lossal buildings, rising, on either side, to the height 
 of six, seven, and even eight and ten stories, swarm- 
 ing with inhabitants ; and dive into one or two of 
 those close, dark wynds, where reside, in countless 
 multitudes, the poorest and most vicious of the peo- 
 ple. Here, it must be confessed, are some strange 
 sights and appalling noises. Yet it is not quite so 
 bad as some have represented it. All large cities 
 have their poor and vicious inhabitants, and al- 
 though those of the Scottish metropolis are tolera- 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 43 
 
 bly dirty and vastly degraded, they bear no com- 
 parison to the lazzaroni of Naples and the beggars 
 of Rome. Some of the streets and wynds are nar- 
 row enough and vile enough, but they contain, after 
 all, many worthy people, who own a Bible, and 
 read it too ; and were you only to become tho- 
 roughly acquainted with them, you would be sur- 
 prised to find how much of honesty and kindly 
 affection still dwell in their hearts. In ancient 
 times the houses in these very " closes" or " wynds" 
 were inhabited by the nobility and gentry. Hence 
 Grey's Close, Morrison's Close, Stewart's Close, &c. 
 They built their houses in these narrow streets in 
 order to be more secure from the attacks of their 
 enemies, and to be the better able to defend the 
 principal thoroughfares into which they opened. 
 In Blythe's Close may be seen the remains of the 
 palace of the Queen Regent, Mary of Guise. In 
 another stand the old houses of the Earls of Gosford 
 and Moray. One of the largest old palaces is 
 now inhabited by beggars and rats. 
 
 It would be a great improvement if these misera- 
 ble dwellings could be removed, and replaced by 
 better streets and houses ; a still greater one, if the 
 people could only be induced to abandon the use of 
 whiskey, for then they would abandon their hovels 
 as a matter of course. Their besetting sin is the 
 love of strong drink, though this has been gradually 
 diminishing for tlie last few years throughout Scot- 
 land. It is to be hoped that the pious and moral 
 portion of the community will unite in a strong 
 effort to reclaim this degraded class of their fellow- 
 
44 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 townsmen, and that the time will speedily come 
 when the only reproach which rests upon their 
 fair fame shall be wholly obliterated. 
 
 But let us leave this region, the only unpleasant 
 one in the whole of this magnificent city, and ascend 
 to the old Castle, where we shall see the Regalia 
 of Scotland, preserved in a little room at the top of 
 the Castle. These regalia consist of the crown of 
 Robert Bruce the hero of Bannockburn, the scep- 
 tre of James the Fifth, a sword presented by Pope 
 Julius the Second to James the Sixth, and other 
 articles of inferior note. It is somewhat singular 
 that the Regalia should have lain concealed from 
 1745 to the year 1818. At the time of the Union 
 in 1707 between England and Scotland, they were 
 walled up by some Scottish patriots, in order to 
 prevent their being removed to London. 
 
 What recollections of the stormy but glorious 
 history of Scotland cluster around the mind, while 
 gazing at that antique-looking crown w^hich adorned 
 the head of the Bruces and the ill-fated Mary. 
 The freedom and prosperity now enjoyed by the 
 nation had a gloomy and tempestuous birth. Their 
 very religion, placid and beautiful now, was cra- 
 dled amid the war of elements and the shock of 
 battle. But, thanks to God, it is all the purer and 
 stronger for its rough and tempestuous youth. 
 
 Draw near to the edge of that battlement, and 
 look down over the frowning rock. Would it be 
 possible, think you, to storm the Castle from that 
 side ? One would suppose it beyond the power of 
 man. It has been done, however, and the circum- 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 45 
 
 stance illustrates the spirit of hardihood and enter- 
 prise which has ever distinguished the people of 
 Scotland. In the vear 1313, when the Castle was 
 in the possession of the English, Randolph, Earl of 
 Moray, was one day surveying the gigantic rock, 
 when he was accosted by one of his men at arms 
 with the question, " Do you think it impractica- 
 ble, my lord ?" Randolph turned his eyes upon the 
 speaker, a man a little past the prime of hfe, but of 
 a firm well-knit figure, and bearing in his keen eye 
 and open forehead marks of intrepidity which had 
 already gained him distinction in the Scottish army. 
 " Do you mean the rock, Francis ?" said the Earl ; 
 " perhaps not, if we could borrow the wings of our 
 gallant hawks."* 
 
 " There are wings," replied Francis, with a 
 thoughtful smile, "as strong, as buoyant, and as 
 daring. My father was keeper of yonder for- 
 tress." 
 
 " What of that? You speak in riddles." 
 
 " I was then young, reckless, high-hearted : I 
 was screwed up in that convent-like castle ; my 
 sweetheart was in the plain below" — 
 
 " Well, what then ?" 
 
 " 'Sdeath, my lord, can you not imagine that I 
 speak of the wings of love ? Every night I de- 
 scended that steep at the witching hour, and every 
 morning before the dawn I crept back to my bar- 
 
 ^ We give the version of Leitch RitchiOj who has thrown the 
 facts into the form of a dialogue, and given a false name to the 
 hero \ otherwise the narration is entirely authentic. 
 
46 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 racks. I constructed a light twelve-foot ladder, by 
 means of which I was able to pass the places that 
 are perpendicular ; and so well, at length, did I be- 
 come acquainted with the route, that in the darkest 
 and stormiest night, I found my way as easily as 
 when the moonlight enabled me to see my love in 
 the distance waiting for me at the cottage door." 
 
 " You are a daring, desperate, noble fellow, 
 Francis ! However, your motive is now gone ; 
 your mistress" — 
 
 " She is dead ; say no more ; but another has 
 taken her place." 
 
 "Ay, ay, it's the soldier's way. Women will die 
 or even grow old ; and what are we to do ? Come, 
 who is your mistress now ?" 
 
 "My Country ! What I have done for love, I 
 can do again for honor ; and what I can accom- 
 pUsh, you, noble Randolph, and many of our com- 
 rades can do far better. Give me thirty picked 
 men, and a twelve-foot ladder, and the fortress is 
 our own !" 
 
 " The Earl of Moray, whatever his real thoughts 
 of the enterprise might have been, was not the man 
 to refuse such a challenge. A ladder was provided, 
 and thirty men chosen from the troops ; and in the 
 middle of a dark night, the party, commanded by 
 Randolph himself, and guided by William Francis, 
 set forth on their desperate enterprise. 
 
 "By catching at crag after crag, and digging 
 their fingers into the interstices of the rocks, they 
 succeeded in mounting a considerable way ; but 
 the weather was now so thick, they could receive 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 47 
 
 but little assistance from their eyes ; and thus they 
 continued to climb, almost in utter darkness, like 
 men struggling up a precipice in the night-mare. 
 They at length reached a shelving table of the 
 cliff, above which the ascent, for ten or tw^elve feet, 
 was perpendicular ; and having fixed their ladder, 
 the whole party lay down to recover breath. 
 
 " From this place they could hear the tread and 
 voices of the ' check watches,' or patrol, above ; 
 and, surrounded by the perils of such a moment, it 
 is not wonderful that some illusions may have min- 
 gled with their thoughts. They even imagined 
 that they were seen from the battlements, although, 
 being themselves unable to see the warders, this 
 was highly improbable. It became evident, not- 
 withstanding, from the words they caught here and 
 there in the pauses of the night- wind, that the con- 
 versation of the English soldiers above related to a 
 surprise of the Castle ; and at length these apalling 
 words broke like thunder on their ears : ' Stand ! 
 I see you well !' A fragment of the rock was 
 hurled down at the same instant ; and as rushing 
 from crag to crag it bounded over their heads, 
 Randolph and his brave followers, in this wild, 
 helpless, and extraordinary situation, felt the damp 
 of mortal terror gathering upon their brow, as they 
 clung with a death-grip to the precipice. 
 
 " The startled echoes of the rock were at length 
 silent, and so were the voices above. The adven- 
 turers paused, listening breathless ; no sound was 
 heard but the sighing of the wind, and the mea- 
 sured tread of the sentinel who had resumed his 
 
48 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 walk. The men thought they were in a dream, 
 and no wonder ; for the mcident just mentioned, 
 which is related by Barbour, was one of the most 
 singular coincidences that ever occurred. The 
 shout of the sentinel and the missile he had thrown, 
 were merely a boyish freak ; and while listening to 
 the echoes of the rock, he had not the smallest idea 
 that the sounds which gave pleasure to him carried 
 terror and almost despair into the hearts of the 
 enemy. 
 
 " The adventurers, half uncertain whether they 
 were not the victims of some illusion, determined 
 that it was as safe to go on as to turn back ; and 
 pursuing their laborious and dangerous path, they 
 at length reached the bottom of the wall. This 
 last barrier they scaled by means of their ladder ; 
 and leaping down among the astonished check- 
 watches, they cried their war-cry, and in the 
 midst of answering shouts of ' treason ! treason !' 
 notwithstanding the desperate resistance of the 
 garrison, captured the Castle of Edinburgh." 
 
 Sit down here on the edge of this parapet. That 
 huge cannon there is called Mons Meg, from being 
 cast at Mons, in Flanders, and reminds us, some- 
 what significantly, of the terrible use to which all 
 the arrangements of the Castle are appHed.* How 
 singular, that men have to be governed and con- 
 trolled like bull-dogs, that castles and dungeons, 
 halters, and cannon, are necessary to keep them 
 
 "* At present it is used as a barracks for soldiers and a maga- 
 zine of arms. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 49 
 
 from stealing each other's property, or cutting each 
 other's throats ! Surely mankind have ills enough 
 to bear without turning upon each other like 
 tigers. 
 
 ^* Many and sharp the numerous ills, 
 Inwoven with our frame ! 
 More pointed still we make ourselves, 
 
 Regret, remorse, and shame ; 
 And man, w^hose heaven-erected face 
 
 The smiles of love adorn, 
 Man's inhumanity to man 
 Makes countless thousands mourn." 
 
 Burns. 
 
 But all is quiet now. The tendency of the times is 
 to peace ; and Edinburgh Castle, Mons Meg, and 
 the whole array of cannon bristling over the preci- 
 pice, are but objects of natural curiosity or of po- 
 etical interest. 
 
 Do you see yonder turreted building, with high 
 pointed gables and castellated walls, in the EHza- 
 bethan style, just beyond the North Bridge. That 
 is George Heriot's Hospital, one of the proudest 
 monuments of the city, and one of the most beauti- 
 ful symbols of its peaceful prosperity. It was foun- 
 ded by the rich and benevolent George Heriot, 
 jeweller to King James the Sixth, " Jingling Geor- 
 die," as he is quaintly termed in the '* Fortunes of 
 Nigel." It is of vast extent, as you perceive, and 
 presents a good specimen of the mixed style of 
 architecture prevalent in the days of Queen Mary. 
 The object of this noble institution is the mainte- 
 nance and education of poor and fatherless boys, or 
 of boys in indigent circumstances, " freemen's sons 
 
 5 
 
50 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 of the town of Edinburgh." Of these, one hundred 
 and eighty receive ample board and education 
 within its walls. By this means they are tho- 
 roughly prepared for the active business of Ufe, 
 each receiving at his dismissal a Bible, and other 
 useful books, with two suits of clothes chosen by 
 himself Those going out as apprentices are al- 
 lowed $50 per annum for five years, and $25 at the 
 termination of their apprenticeship. Boys of supe- 
 rior scholarship are permitted to stay longer in the 
 institution, and are fitted for college. For this 
 purpose they receive $150 per annum, for four 
 years. Connected with this institution are seven 
 free schools, in the different parishes of the city, for 
 the support of which its surplus funds are applied. 
 In these upwards of two thousand children receive 
 a good common school education. The girls, in 
 addition to the ordinary branches, are taught knit- 
 ting and sewing. 
 
 In addition to these provisions for the education 
 of the poor, there are also ten "bursaries," or uni- 
 versity scholarships, open to the competition of 
 young men, not connected with the institution. 
 The successful candidates receive $100 per annum 
 for four years. No w^onder that Sir Walter Scott 
 felt authorized to put into the mouth of the princely 
 founder of these charities the striking sentiment : 
 " I think mine own estate and memorv, as I shall 
 order it, has a fair chance of outliving those of 
 greater men." 
 
 Edinburgh abounds in charitable hospitals, and 
 particularly in free educational institutions, in the 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 51 
 
 support of which the citizens evince a laudable 
 enthusiasm. Thus, for exanjple, we have Watson's 
 Hospital, the Merchant Maiden's Hospital, the 
 Trades' Maiden Hospital, Trinity College Hospital, 
 Cauvin's Hospital, a little out of the city ; Gilles- 
 pie's Hospital, Donaldson's Hospital, Chalmers's 
 Hospital, the House of Refuge, the House of Indus- 
 try, the Strangers' Friend Society, the Institution 
 for the Relief of poor old Men, and another for the 
 Relief of indigent old Women, and many others. 
 
 Below us, on one side of High Street, you see 
 the fine old Go-thic Cathedral of St. Giles. It was 
 founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century, and 
 named after St. Giles, abbot and confessor, and 
 tutelar saint of Edinburgh in the olden time. The 
 Scottish poet, Gavin Douglas, bishop of Dunkeld, 
 was sometime provost of St. Giles. He translated 
 Virgil into Enghsh, the first version of a classic 
 ever made in Britain, and was the author of " The 
 Palace of Honor," from which some have absurdly 
 supposed that John Bunyan borrowed the idea of 
 the " Pilgrim's Progress." This edifice is interest- 
 ing, chiefly as connecting the past with the present 
 condition of Scotland, and indicating the mighty 
 transitions through which it has passed. In the 
 fifteenth century incense ascended from forty dif- 
 ferent altars within its walls ; now it contains three 
 Protestant places of worship. Once it enshrined 
 the relics of St. Giles ; now its cemetery contains 
 the body of John Knox ! On the 13th of October, 
 1643, " the solemn League and Covenant" was sworn 
 to and subscribed within its walls, by the Commit- 
 
52 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 tee of the Estates of Parliament, the Commission of 
 the Church, and the EngHsh Commission. The 
 sacred vessels and reUcs which it contained, in- 
 cluding the arm-bone of the patron saint, were 
 seized by the magistrates of the city, and the pro- 
 ceeds of their sale appUed to the repairing of the 
 building. Puritanism has thus often showed itself 
 a rough and tempestuous reformer ; nevertheless 
 it possesses wonderful vitality, and has conferred 
 upon Scotland the blessings of civil and religious 
 liberty. Its outer form is often hard and defective, 
 and its movements irregular and convulsive, but its 
 inner spirit is ever generous and free. Its rudeness 
 and excess none will approve ; its life, energy, and 
 activity, all will admire. It came forth, like a 
 thunder-cloud, from the mountains. Its quick light- 
 ning-flashes went crashmg amid the old images of 
 papal worship. The atmosphere of spiritual pollu- 
 tion was agitated and purified. Upon the parched 
 ground fell gentle and refreshing showers. The 
 sun of freedom began to smile upon hill and valley, 
 and the whole land rejoiced under its placid in- 
 fluence. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 John Knox^s House — History of tlie Reformer — His Character— 
 Carlyle's View — Testimony of John Milton. 
 
 Let us now descend from the Castle, and, pass- 
 ing down High Street, turn to the right, at the 
 head of the Nether-bow, where we shall see the 
 house of that stern but glorious old reformer, John 
 Knox. There it is, looking mean enough now 
 among those miserable gin-shops, paint-shops, and 
 so forth ; yet hallowed by the recollections of the 
 past. Over the door is an inscription, invisible 
 from the numerous sign-boards that cover it, con- 
 taining the spirit and essence of that lofty Puritan- 
 ism which Knox preached : 
 
 " LUFE . GOD . ABOVE . ALL . AND . YOUR . NICHBOUR . 
 AS . YOURSELF." 
 
 In this house Knox lived many years ; here also 
 he died in holy triumph; and from that httle win- 
 dow he is said frequently to have addressed the 
 populace. A rude stone effigy of the Reformer may 
 be seen at the corner, and near it, cut in the stone, 
 the name of God, in Greek, Latin, and English. It 
 is gratifying to know that measures have recently 
 been taken to erect a monument to Knox, near this 
 spot, which shall be worthy of his memory. 
 
 The character of Knox has been terribly black- 
 ened by heartless and infidel historians, and espe- 
 
 5# 
 
54 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 cially by sickly sentimentalists of the Werter school. 
 Nevertheless, he was a noble-hearted, truth-loving, 
 sham-hating, God-fearing, self-sacrificing man; a 
 hero in the proper sense of the word, a minister of 
 righteousness, an angel of Reform. Not, indeed, a 
 soft, baby-faced, puling sentimentalist ; but a lofty, 
 iron-hearted man, who "never feared the face of 
 clay," and did God's will, in spite of devils, popes, 
 and kings. His history possesses the deepest and 
 most romantic interest. It is one of the most mag- 
 nificent passages in Scottish story. Bruce battled 
 for a crown; Knox battled for the truth. Both 
 conquered, after long toils and struggles ; and con- 
 quered mainly by the might of their single arm. 
 But the glory which irradiates the head of the Re- 
 former far outshines that of the hero of Bannock- 
 burn, for the latter is earthly and evanescent ; the 
 former celestial and immortal. 
 
 John Knox was born in Haddington, not far from 
 Edinburgh, of poor but honest parents, in the year 
 1505; grew up in sohtude ; was destined for the 
 church ; received a thorough collegiate education ; 
 became an honest friar ; wore the monk's cowl for 
 many years ; adopted silently and unostentatiously 
 the principles of the Protestant Reformation ; spent 
 much of his time in teaching, and in the prosecution 
 of liberal studies, of which he was considered a 
 master ; was suddenly and unexpectedly called, at 
 St. Andrews, by the unanimous voice of his bre- 
 thren, to the preaching of the Word, and the de- 
 fence of their religious liberties ; after a brief strug- 
 gle with himself yielded to the call, nobly threw 
 
GENIUS OP SCOTLAND. 55 
 
 himself into the breach, at the hazard of his hfe, 
 attacked "Papal idolatry" with unsparing vigor, 
 was seized by the authorities, and sent a prisoner 
 to France in 1547, where he worked in the galleys 
 as a slave, but evermore maintaining his lofty cou- 
 rage and cheerful hope; was set at liberty two 
 years afterwards: preached in England in the time 
 of Edward the Sixth ; refused a bishopric from the 
 best of kings ; retired to the continent at the acces- 
 sion of Mary, residing chiefly at Geneva and Frank- 
 fort; returned to Scotland in 1555; labored with 
 indomitable perseverance to establish Protestant- 
 ism ; rebuked the great for immorality, profaneness 
 and rapacity, and succeeded in greatly strengthen- 
 ing the cause of truth and freedom. At the earnest 
 soUcitation of the English congregation in Geneva, 
 he went thither a second time ; there he published 
 " The First Blast of the Trumpet against the Mon- 
 strous Regiment (Government) of Women," directed 
 principally against Mary, Queen of England, and 
 Mary of Guise, Regent of Scotland, two narrow- 
 minded miserable despots ; returned to Scotland in 
 1559; continued his exertions in behalf of Christ's 
 truth ; did much to establish common schools ; finally 
 saw Protestantism triumphant in Scotland ; and died 
 in 1572, so poor that his family had scarce sufficient 
 to bury him, but with the universal love and homage 
 of his countrymen, a conscience void of offence, and 
 a hope full of immortality. " He had a sore fight 
 of an existence ; wrestling with popes and prin- 
 cipalities ; in defeat, contention, life-long strug- 
 gle ; rowing as a galley-slave, wandering as an 
 
56 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 exile. A sore fight, but he won it. * Have you 
 hope V they asked him in his last moment when he 
 could no longer speak. He lifted his finger, ' pointed 
 upwards with his finger,' and so died. Honor to 
 him ! His works have not died. The letter of his 
 work dies, as of all men's ; but the spirit of it 
 never."* 
 
 Knox has been much abused for his violent treat- 
 ment of Queen Mary. His addresses and appeals 
 to her have been characterized as impudent and 
 cruel ; but, thoroughly inspected, they will be 
 found the reverse. Strong and startling they were, 
 but neither impudent nor cruel. Doubtless they 
 fell upon her ear like the tones of some old pro- 
 phet, sternly rebuking sin, or vindicating the rights 
 of God. Mary was a woman of matchless beauty ; 
 and had she been educated differently, might have 
 blessed the world with the mild lustre of her Scot- 
 tish reign ; but she was the dupe of bad counsels, in 
 spirit and practice a despot, the plaything of pas- 
 sion, and the reckless opposer of the best interests 
 of her country. Her beauty and sufferings have 
 shed a false lustre over her character ; above all, 
 have aided in concealing the terrible stain of infi- 
 delity to her marriage vows, and the implied mur- 
 der of her wretched husband, charges which her 
 apologists can extenuate, but not deny. But, for- 
 sooth, it is an insufferable thing for a plain honest- 
 hearted man like John Knox to tell the truth to 
 such an one ! She was young, beautiful, fascinating ; 
 
 * Carlyle— "Hero Worship," p. 174. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 57 
 
 and however recklessly, madly, ruinously wrong, 
 he must not advise her — above all, must not warn 
 her ! Now, such a notion may possibly commend 
 itself to your " absolute gentlemen, of very soft so- 
 ciety, full of most excellent differences and great 
 showing ; indeed, to speak feelingly of them, who 
 are the card and calendar of gentry ;" but it cannot 
 be imposed upon our plain common sense. Mary was 
 a queen, however, and John Knox a poor plebeian ! 
 Aye, aye ! that is a difficulty ! Kings and queens 
 may do what they please. The people are made 
 for them, not they for the people. And sure enough 
 it is a vulgar thing to oppose them in their ambi- 
 tious schemes, or to tell them the honest truth be- 
 times ! Poor John Knox ! thou must fall down and 
 worship " a painted bredd" after all. A beautiful 
 queen must be spared, if Scotland should perish. 
 But looking at the matter from the free atmosphere 
 of New England, we maintain that John Knox was 
 of higher rank than Mary Queen of Scots. He 
 was more true, more heroic, more kingly, than all 
 the race of the Stuarts. He had a right, in God's 
 name, to speak the truth, " to reprove, rebuke, and 
 exhort, with all long-suffering." Hence, though his 
 words were stern and appalling, they were uttered 
 with a kind and generous intention. " Madame," 
 said Knox, when he saw Mary burst into tears 
 from vexation and grief, " in God's presence I 
 speak ; I never delighted in the weeping of any of 
 God's creatures, yea, / can scarcely well abide the 
 tears of mine own boys, when mine own hands cor- 
 rect them, much less can I rejoice in your Majesty's 
 
58 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 weeping ; but seeing I have offered unto you no 
 just occasion to be offended, I must sustain your 
 Majesty's tears, rather than I dare hurt my con- 
 science, or betray the commonwealth by silence." 
 
 Yes, he was a stern old puritan, a lion of a man, 
 who made terrible havoc among the "painted 
 bredds" of Popery, and turned back the fury of 
 wild barons and persecuting priests. " His single 
 voice," says Randolph, " could put more life into a 
 host than six hundred blustering trumpets." Single 
 handed, he met the rage of a disappointed govern- 
 ment and an infuriated priesthood, and conquered 
 by the silent might of his magnanimous audacity. 
 In the wildest whirl of contending emotion, he 
 never lost sight of the great end of his being, as a 
 servant of God, nor swerved a hair's breadth from 
 truth and right. 
 
 Yet this stern old Covenanter was not with- 
 out a touch of gentleness and even of hilarity. 
 He loved his home, his children, and his friends. 
 An honest, quiet laugh often mantled his pale ear- 
 nest visage. " They go far wrong," says Carlyle, 
 whose thorough appreciation of such men as Lu- 
 ther, Cromwell, and Knox, is truly refreshing 
 amid the vapid inanities or coarse prejudices of 
 ordinary historians, " who think that Knox was a 
 gloomy, spasmodic, shrieking fanatic. Not at all. 
 He is one of the soUdest of men. Practical, cau- 
 tious, hopeful, patient ; a most shrewd, observing, 
 quietly discerning man. In fact, he has very much 
 the type of character we assign to the Scotch at 
 present : a certain sardonic taciturnity is in him ; 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 59 
 
 insight enough ; and a stouter heart than he himself 
 knows of. * * An honest-hearted, brotherly man ; 
 brother to the high, brother also to the low ; sincere 
 in his sympathy with both." 
 
 Knox, doubtless, had his faults ; and what of 
 that ? He made some mistakes ! and what, too, of 
 that ? Was he not a true man, and a true minister 
 of God's Word ? Did he not accomplish a great 
 and beneficial work of Reform ; and, having done 
 this, did he not die a sweet and triumphant death ? 
 God has set his seal upon him, and upon his work ; 
 and that is enough for us. 
 
 We hesitate not, with Carlyle, to name the Re- 
 formation under Knox as the great era in Scottish 
 history, as the one glorious event which gave life 
 to the nation. Thence resulted freedom, activity, 
 purity of morals, science, national and individual 
 greatness. Previous to this event Scotland pos- 
 sessed only a rough, tumultuous physical life ; her 
 politics — dissensions and executions; her religion — 
 a puerile superstition ; — her literature — ballads and 
 monkish legends ; her joy — hunting, fighting, and 
 drinking ! But the Reformation breathed into her 
 the breath of a spiritual existence. Her national 
 prosperity dates from that era. Thence proceeded 
 faith and order, education, industry, and wealth. 
 " It was not a smooth business ; but it was welcome 
 surely, and cheap at that price, had it been far 
 rougher. On the whole, cheap at any price, as life 
 is. The people began to live ; they needed first of 
 all to do that, at what cost and costs soever. Scot- 
 tish literature and thought, Scotch industry, James 
 
60 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Watt, David Hume, Walter Scott, Robert Burns : 
 I find Knox and the Reformation acting in the 
 heart's core of every one of these persons and phe- 
 nomena ; I find that, without the Reformation, they 
 would not have been. Or what of Scotland ? The 
 Puritanism of Scotland became that of England, 
 of New England. A tumult in the High Church of 
 Edinburgh spread into a universal battle and strug- 
 gle over all these realms ; and there came out of it, 
 after fifty years' struggling, what we all call ' the 
 Glorious Revolution,' a Habeas Corpus Act, Free 
 Pariiaments, and much else." 
 
 It has become fashionable of late, in certain 
 quarters, to undervalue the Reformation, and con- 
 temn those great and rugged spirits by whom it 
 was accomplished. A sentimental, baby-hearted, 
 superstition-smitten generation, cannot appreciate 
 those mighty men, and mightier reforms of the olden 
 time. But how well and worthily does the large- 
 hearted and ethereal Milton speak of it : " When 
 I recall to mind, at last, after so many dark ages, 
 wherein the huge over-shadowing train of error 
 had almost swept all the stars out of the firmament 
 of the church ; how the bright and blissful Refor- 
 mation, by Divine power, struck through the black 
 and settled night of ignorance and anti-Christian 
 tyranny, methinks a sovereign and reviving joy 
 must needs rush into the bosom of him that reads or 
 hears, and the sweet odor of the returning Gospel 
 imbathe his soul with the fragrancy of Heaven. 
 Then was the sacred Bible sought out of the dusty 
 corners, where profane falsehood and neglect had 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 61 
 
 thrown it, the schools opened, divine and human 
 learning raked out of the embers of forgotten 
 tongues ; the princes and cities trooping apace to 
 the new-erected banner of salvation ; the martyrs, 
 with the unresistible might of weakness, shaking 
 the powers of darkness, and scorning the fiery rage 
 of the red old dragon."* A noble testimony like 
 this far outweighs all the cant of a whining senti- 
 mentalism. Its truth, as well as its eloquence, all 
 must admit. 
 
 ^ '' Of Reformation in England.'^ By John Milton. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Edinburgh University — Professor Wilson— His Life and 
 Writings, Genius and Character. 
 
 We will now re-enter High Street, and thence 
 turn at right angles into South-bridge Street, and 
 proceed to the University. It is a large and im- 
 posing structure, but fails to produce its proper 
 impression from the circumstance of being wedged 
 in among such a mass of other buildings. We 
 enter by a magnificent portico on the right, sup- 
 ported by Doric columns, twenty-six feet in height, 
 each formed of a single block of stone, and find 
 ourselves in a spacious quadrangular court, sur- 
 rounded by the various college edifices. The build- 
 ings are of free stone, beautifully polished, and of 
 recent erection, the old buildings, which were un- 
 sightly and incommodious, having been taken down 
 to make way for this elegant and spacious struc- 
 ture. The University itself was founded by King 
 James the Sixth, in the year 1582, and has enjoyed 
 uninterrupted prosperity to the present time. The 
 average number of students is from ten to twelve 
 hundred. The Rev. Dr. Lee, one of the most ami- 
 able and learned men, is at present Principal of the 
 University, and the various chairs are filled by 
 gentlemen of distinguished talent. The students are 
 not resident within the college, but choose their 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 63 
 
 boarding-houses, at pleasure, in any part of the 
 city. They are not distinguished, as at Glasgow 
 and Oxford by any peculiar badge ; are of all ages, 
 and enjoy the liberty of selecting the classes which 
 they attend. Those however who take degrees 
 are required to attend a particular course, but this 
 is not done by more than one-half or at most two- 
 thirds of the students. The government of the 
 University is not particularly strict. The exam- 
 inations are Hmited and imperfect ; and hence it 
 is very possible for a young man to slip through 
 the University, without contracting any great tinc- 
 ture of scholarship. It is mainly the talent of the 
 professors, and the high literary enthusiasm they 
 inspire, which sustain the institution. There are 
 thirty-four foundations for bursaries or scholarships, 
 the benefit of which is extended to eighty students. 
 The aggregate amount is about filty dollars a year, 
 for each. The Annual Session lasts from October 
 to May, with an occasional holiday, and a week or 
 two's vacation at Christmas. The rest of the year 
 which includes most of the summer and autumn is 
 vacation, which gives the professors an opportunity 
 for rest and preparation, and the students facilities 
 either for private study, or for teaching and other 
 employments. This order prevails in all the other 
 Scottish Universities, and is attended with many 
 advantages. But a truce to general remarks. 
 
 We have not time to visit the Museum, which is 
 quite extensive and admirably arranged, nor the 
 Library, which is distinguished by its ample dimen- 
 sions and beautiful decorations. Neither can we 
 
64 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 dwell upon the celebrated men who have encircled 
 this Institution with a halo of literary and scientific 
 glory. But we will step into that door in front of 
 us, ascend the stairs, and enter the lecture-room of 
 Professor Wilson, the far famed " Christopher 
 North," poet and novelist, orator, critic and phi- 
 losopher. The young gentlemen have assembled, 
 but the Professor has not yet come in. Good look- 
 ing but noisy fellows these ! Some of them, you 
 perceive, are very young, others are considerably 
 advanced in years. Most of them are well dressed, 
 some poorly so. A few look studious and care- 
 worn, but the majority hearty and joyous. How 
 their clear loud laugh rings through the hall ! They 
 are from all ranks of society, some being the sons 
 of noblemen, others of farmers and mechanics. 
 Most of them probably have wherewithal to pay 
 their college expenses, but not a few, you may rely 
 on it, are sorely pinched. The Scots are an ambi- 
 tious, study-loving race, and quite a number of these 
 young men are struggling up from the depths of 
 poverty ; and if they do not die in the effort, will 
 be heard of, one of these days, in the pulpit, or at 
 the bar. 
 
 But there comes the Professor, bowling graciously 
 to the students, while he receives from them a hearty 
 " ruff," as the Scots call their energetic stamping. 
 What a magnificent looking man ! Over six feet 
 high, broad and brawny, but of elegant propor- 
 tions, with a clear, frank, joyous looking face, a 
 few wrinkles only around the eye, in other respects 
 hale and smooth, his fine locks sprinkled with gray, 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 65 
 
 flowing down to his shoulders, and his large lus- 
 trous eye beaming with a softened fire. His sub- 
 ject is " the Passions." He commences with free- 
 dom and ease, but without any particular energy, — 
 makes his distinctions well, but without much pre- 
 cision or force ; for, to tell the honest truth, philo- 
 sophical analysis is not his particular forte. Still, 
 it is good, so far as it goes, and probably appears 
 inferior chiefly by contrast. But he begins to de- 
 scribe. The blood mantles to his forehead, thrown 
 back with a majestic energy, and his fine eye 
 glows, nay, absolutely burns. And now his impas- 
 sioned intellect careers, as on the wings of the wind, 
 leaping, bounding, dashing, whirling, over hill and 
 dale, rises into the clear empyrean, and bathes itself 
 in the beams of the sun. His audience is intent, 
 hushed, absorbed, rapt ! He begins, however, to 
 descend, and O ! how beautifully, like a falcon from 
 " the lift," or an eagle from the storm-cloud. And, 
 now he skims along the surface with bird-like 
 wing, glancing in the sunlight, swiftly and grace- 
 tifully. How varied and deUcate his language, 
 how profuse his images, his allusions how affecting, 
 and his voice, ringing like a bell among the moun- 
 tains. At such seasons his style, manner and tone, 
 are unequalled. Chaste and exhilarating as the 
 dew of the morning in the vale of Strathmore, yet 
 rich and rare as a golden sunset on the brow of 
 Benlomond. But Hsten, he returns to his philo- 
 sophical distinctions, — fair, very fair, to be sure, but 
 nothing special, rather clumsy perhaps, except in re- 
 gard to his language. True, undoubtedly, but not 
 
 6* 
 
66 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 profound, not deeply philosophical, and to me, not 
 particularly interesting. His auditors have time to 
 breathe. You hear an occasional cough, or blow- 
 ing of the nose. A few of the students are dili- 
 gently taking notes, but the rest are Hstless. This 
 will last only a moment, and now that he is ap- 
 proaching the close of his lecture, he will give us 
 something worth hearing. There, again he is out 
 upon the open sea. How finely the sails are set, 
 and with what a majestic sweep the noble vessel 
 rounds the promontory, and anchors itself in the 
 bay.* 
 
 ^ The writer describes not an imaginary, but an actual lecture 
 of Professor Wilson's, wbicli lie beard some years ago. 
 
 We have honestly given our own impressions relative to Wil- 
 son's metaphysical powers, and stated simply what we heard and 
 saw while attending his Lectures in Edinburgh University. 
 Others however may have different impressions ; and we cheer- 
 fully append the following from Gilfillan as an offset to our stric- 
 tures : 
 
 "It is probable that the very variety and versatility of Wil- 
 son's powers have done him an injury in the estimation of many. 
 They can hardly believe that an actor, who can play so many 
 parts, is perfect in all. Because he is, confessedly, one of the 
 most eloquent of men, it is doubted whether he can be profound : 
 because he is a fine poet, he must be a shallow metaphysician ; — 
 because he is the Editor of Blackwood^ ho must be an inefficient 
 professor. There is such a thing on this round earth, as diffusion 
 along with depth, as the versatile and vigorous mind of a man of 
 genius mastering a multitude of topics, while others are blunder- 
 ingly acquiring one, or as a man ' multiplying himself among man- 
 kind, the Proteus of their talents,' and proving that the Voltair- 
 ian activity of brain has been severed, in one splendid instance, 
 at least, from the Voltairian sneer and the Voltairian shallowness. 
 Such an instance as that of our illustrious Professor, who is ready 
 for every tack, — who can, at one time, scorch a poetaster to a 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 67 
 
 Instead of spending our time gazing at public 
 buildings, let us continue our conversation about 
 the Professor, whose life has been a tissue of inter- 
 esting and romantic events. We shall find it profit- 
 able as well as pleasant, to glance at the principal 
 points in his history, as they tend to throw light on 
 the Genius of Scotland. 
 
 John Wilson is the oldest son of a wealthy manu- 
 facturer in the city of Paisley, and was born there 
 in the year 1788, and is now therefore fifty-eight 
 years of age. He was reared and educated, with 
 almost patrician indulgence, and inherited from his 
 father a considerable amount of property, variously 
 estimated from twenty to fifty thousand pounds 
 sterling. Of course he enjoyed the bestfacihties for 
 acquiring a thorough and polished education. His 
 instructor in classical learning was Mr. Peddie 
 of Paisley, to whom a public dinner was given in 
 1831 by his friends and pupils. Professor Wilson 
 was present, and on proposing the health of his 
 
 cinder, at another cast iHumination into the ^ dark deep holds' of 
 a moral question, by a glance of his genius ; at one time dash off 
 the picture of a Highland glen, with the force of a Salvator, at 
 another, lay bare the anatomy of a passion with the precision 
 and force of an Angelo, — write, now, the sweetest verse, and 
 now the most energetic prose, — now let slip, from his spirit, 
 a single star, like the ' evening cloud,' and now unfurl a Noctes 
 upon the wondering world, — now paint Avarice till his audience 
 are dying with laughter, and now Emulation and Sympathy till 
 they are choked with tears, — write now ^ the Elder's Deathbed,' 
 and now the ' Address to a Wild Deer,' — be equally at home in 
 describing the Sufferings of an Orphan girl, and the undressing 
 of a dead Gluaker, by a congregation of ravens, under the brow 
 of Helvellyn."— Xi^erar^^ Portraits^ p. 209. 
 
68 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 venerable preceptor, delivered a brilliant oration, 
 not the least interesting portion of which had refe- 
 rence to his somewhat erratic course at school. 
 " Sometimes," said he, " I sat as dux — sometimes 
 in the middle of the class — and I am obliged to 
 confess, that on some unfortunate occasions, I was 
 absolutely dolt /" The confession was received, 
 of course, with roars of laughter. 
 
 From this school he was entered at the Univer- 
 sity of Glasgow, when he was little more than thir- 
 teen years of age. But he was tall for his years, 
 and possessed an original and remarkably exube- 
 rant mind ; and though distinguished at this time, 
 more for the vigor of his physical constitution, and 
 the buoyancy of his spirits, than for any particular 
 attainments in literature, he generally kept his 
 standing among his fellow students, many of whom 
 were greatly his seniors. 
 
 From Glasgow he was transferred to Oxford, 
 and here he first distinguished himself as a man 
 of genius. He contended in the annual competi- 
 tion for the Newdigate prize of fifty guineas for the 
 best fifty lines of English verse, and though the 
 contest was open to not less than two thousand in- 
 dividuals, he carried off the palm from every com- 
 petitor. 
 
 At Oxford as at Glasgow he was distinguished 
 for his fine athletic frame, his joyous and even bois- 
 terous spirits, and his excessive devotion to all sorts 
 of gymnastics, field sports and frolicking. This 
 however was blended with an extraordinary de- 
 votion to literature, and a peculiar simplicity and 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 69 
 
 frankness of character, which rendered him a uni- 
 versal favorite. It is well known that at Oxford 
 great latitude is enjoyed, especially by " gentlemen 
 commoners," as they are called, to which class 
 Wilson chose to belong. It is expected that the 
 " gentlemen commoners" shall wear a more splen- 
 did costume, — spend a good deal more money, — 
 and enjoy various immunities, which amount occa- 
 sionally to a somewhat unbridled license. " Once 
 launched on this orbit," says a fellow student of 
 Wilson's, writing to a friend in America, "Mr. 
 Wilson continued to blaze away for four succes- 
 sive years. * # * Never did a man, by vari- 
 ety of talents and variety of humors, contrive to 
 place himself as the connecting link between or- 
 ders of men so essentially repulsive of each other ; 
 from the learned president of his college. Dr. 
 Routh, the Editor of parts of Plato, and of some 
 theological selections, with whom Wilson enjoyed 
 unlimited favor, down to the humblest student. In 
 fact from this learned Academic Doctor, and many 
 others of the same class, ascending and descend- 
 ing, he possessed an infinite gamut of friends and 
 associates, running through every key ; and the 
 diapason closing full in groom, cobbler, stable boy, 
 barber's apprentice, with every shade and hue of 
 blackguard and ruffian. In particular, amongst 
 this latter kind of worshipful society, there was no 
 man who had any talents, real or fancied, for 
 thumping, or being thumped, but had experienced 
 some taste of his merits from Mr. Wilson. All 
 other pretensions in the gymnastic arts he took a 
 
70 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 pride in humbling or in honoring, but chiefly did 
 his examinations fall upon pugilism ; and not a man 
 who could either * give,' or ' take,' but boasted to 
 have been punished by Wilson of Malleus (cor- 
 ruption of Magdalen) College." 
 
 Whether the statement of Wilson's pugilistic at- 
 tainments is not somev^hat exaggerated we have 
 not the means of deciding. All reports however 
 go to confirm its general accuracy. His career 
 was certainly a wild and hazardous one, and would 
 have ruined an ordinary man. But underlying the 
 wild exuberance of Wilson's nature, there was a 
 soHd foundation of good feeling and good sense, 
 which ever and anon manifested itself, and finally 
 formed the principal element of his character. Be- 
 sides, he could never forget the holy instructions 
 of his childhood. Scotland throws a thousand sa- 
 cred influences around the hearts of her children ; 
 and hence, wild and wayward in their youth, they 
 not unfrequently hve to be the safeguards of virtue 
 and the ornaments of society. 
 
 It may be well supposed that on leaving Oxford, 
 in the very heyday of youth, with an amazing exu- 
 berance of animal spirits, and the command of an 
 ample fortune, he must have run a somewhat ex- 
 travagant career. He purchased a beautiful estate 
 on the banks of Windermere, not far from the res- 
 idences of Southey, Coleridge and Wordsworth, 
 and yielded himself to the full enjoyment of every 
 pleasure. Having built upon his estate a new and 
 splendid edifice, he furnished it with every appli- 
 ance of taste and luxury, and succeeded by his 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 71 
 
 " magnificent" style of housekeeping, in spending a 
 large amount of his property. He gave himself up 
 to the most diversified pursuits, now conning his lit- 
 erary treasures, and now frolicking in sailor jacket 
 and trowsers, with the young men of the country. 
 The following, from a writer already quoted, 
 will give a lively idea of Wilson's habits and ap- 
 pearance, at this period of his life. " My intro- 
 duction to him — setting apart the introducee him- 
 self — was memorable from one circumstance, viz., 
 the person of the introducer. William Words- 
 worthy it was, who in the vale of Grasmere, if it 
 can interest you to know the place, and in the lat- 
 ter end of 1808, if you can be supposed to care 
 about the time, did me the favor of making me 
 known to John Wilson. I remember the whole 
 scene as circumstantially as if it belonged to but 
 yesterday. In the vale of Grasmere — that peer- 
 less Kttle vale which you, and Gray, the poet, and 
 so many others have joined in admiring as the very 
 Eden of EngUsh beauty, peace, and pastoral soli- 
 tude — you may possibly recall, even from that fly- 
 mg glimpse you had of it, a modern house called 
 Allan Bank, standing under a low screen of woody 
 rocks, which descend from the hill of Silver Horn, 
 on the western side of the lake. This house had 
 been recently built by a wealthy merchant of Liv- 
 erpool ; but for some reason, of no importance to 
 you or me, not being immediately wanted for the 
 family of the owner, had been let for a term of 
 three years to Mr. Wordsworth. At the time I 
 speak of, both Mr. Coleridge and myself were on 
 
72 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 a visit to Mr. Wordsworth, and one room on the 
 ground floor, designed for a breakfasting room, 
 which commands a subUme view of the three 
 mountains, Fairfield, Arthur's Chair, and Seat San- 
 dal, was then occupied by Mr. Coleridge as a 
 study. On this particular day, the sun having 
 only just risen, it naturally happened that Mr. Cole- 
 ridge — whose nightly vigils were long — had not yet 
 come down to breakfast ; meantime and until the 
 epoch of the Coleridgean breakfast should arrive, 
 his study was lawfully disposable to profane uses. 
 Here, therefore, it was, that opening the door has- 
 tily in quest of a book, I found seated, and in earn- 
 est conversation, two gentlemen, one of them my 
 host, Mr. Wordsworth, at that time about thirty- 
 eight years old ; the other was a younger man,, by 
 at least sixteen or seventeen years, in a sailor's 
 dress, manifestly in robust health — -fervidus juventa, 
 and wearing upon his countenance a powerful ex- 
 pression of ardor and animated intelligence, mixed 
 with much good nature. Mr. Wilson ofElleray — 
 delivered as the formula of introduction, in the deep 
 tones of Mr. Wordsworth — at once banished the 
 momentary surprise I felt on finding an unknown 
 stranger where I had expected nobody, and substi- 
 tuted a surprise of another kind. I now under- 
 stood who it was that I saw ; and there was no 
 wonder in his being at Allan Bank, as Elleray stood 
 within nine miles ; but (as usually happens in such 
 cases) I felt a shock of surprise on seeing a person 
 so little corresponding to the one I had half uncon- 
 sciously prefigured to myself." 
 
 I 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 73 
 
 Mr. Wilson here appears in a comparatively 
 grave and dignified aspect. The same writer de- 
 scribes him in quite a different scene. Walking in 
 the morning, he met him, with a parcel of young 
 " harum skarum" fellows on horseback, chasing an 
 honest bull, which had been driven off in the night 
 from his peaceful meadow, to furnish sport to these 
 "wild huntsmen." About this time, also, he was 
 the leader of a •* boating club," which involved 
 him in great expense. They had no less than two 
 or three establishments for their boats and boat- 
 men, and innumerable appendages, which cost each 
 of them annually a little fortune. The number of 
 their boats was so great as to form a liitle fleet, 
 while some of them were quite large and expen- 
 sive. One of these in particular, a ten-oared barge, 
 w^as believed at the time to have cost over two 
 thousand dollars. In consequence of these and 
 other expenses, and perhaps the loss of some of 
 his patrimony by the failure of a trustee, subjected 
 him to the necessity of seeking a change of life. 
 This led to his becoming a candidate for the chair 
 of Moral Philosophy in the University of Edin- 
 burgh. 
 
 Previous to this he had formed plans of exten- 
 sive travel. One was a voyage of exploration to 
 Central Africa and the sources of the Nile. An- 
 other was concocted with two of his friends, with 
 whom he proposed to sail from Falmouth to the 
 Tagus, and landing w4ierever accident or fancy 
 might determine, to purchase mules, hire Spanish 
 servants, and travel extensively in Spain and Por- 
 
 7 
 
74 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 tugal, for eight or nine months ; then, by such of the 
 islands in the Mediterranean as particularly at- 
 tracted them, they were to pass over into Greece, 
 and thence to Constantinople. Finally, they were 
 to have visited the Troad, Syria, Egypt, and per- 
 haps Nubia ! 
 
 But the reduction of his means, and his marriage 
 with a young and beautiful English lady, to whom 
 he was greatly attached, broke up these extrava- 
 gant schemes. His marriage took place in 1810. 
 Two sons and three daughters were the fruits of 
 it ; and the connection has doubtless proved one 
 of the happiest events in the Professor's life. Death 
 however has entered this delightful circle. " How 
 characteristic of him," says Gilfillan, " and how 
 affecting, was his saying to his students, in apology 
 for not returning their essays at the usual time, ' I 
 could not see to read them in the Valley and the 
 Shadow of Death.'" 
 
 His application in 1820 for the professorship of 
 Moral Philosophy which he now fills, was success- 
 ful, notwithstanding he had for his competitor one 
 of the profoundest thinkers, and most accomplished 
 writers of the age. Sir William Hamilton, who 
 conducted himself in the affair w^ith the greatest 
 dignity and urbanity. Many things were said, at 
 the time, derogatory to Wilson's personal charac- 
 ter, and his fitness to fill the chair of Moral Phi- 
 losophy. The matter probably was decided, more 
 with reference to political considerations than any- 
 thing besides, as at that time party politics ran ex- 
 ceedingly high. Professor Wilson has disappointed 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 7& 
 
 the expectations of his enemies, to say the least, 
 and has been gaining in the esteem and good will 
 of all classes of the community. 
 
 His splendid career as a poet, editor, critic and 
 novelist, is well known. His poems, the principal 
 of which are the " Isle of Palms," and the " City of 
 the Plague," are exquisitely beautiful, but deficient 
 in energy, variety and dramatic power. He ex- 
 cels in description, and touches, with a powerful 
 hand, the strings of pure and delicate sentiment. 
 Nothing can be finer than his "Address to a Wild 
 Deer"—" A Sleeping Child"—" The Highland Bu- 
 rial Ground," and " The Home Among the Moun- 
 tains" in the " City of the Plague." His tales and 
 stories, such as " Margaret Lindsay," " The For- 
 esters," and those in " The Lights and Shadows 
 of Scottish Life," are well conceived, and charm- 
 ingly written. They breathe a spirit of the purest 
 morality, and are highly honorable not only to the 
 head but to the heart of their eloquent author. But 
 it is in criticism and occasional sketching in which 
 he chiefly excels. In this field, so varied and de- 
 lightful, he absolutely luxuriates. His series of pa- 
 pers on Spenser and Homer are remarkable for 
 their delicate discrimination, strength and exube- 
 rance of fancy. No man loves Scotland more en- 
 thusiastically, or describes her peculiar scenery and 
 manners with more success. Here his "meteor 
 pen," as the author of the Corn Law Rhymes aptly 
 called it, passes like sunlight over the glowing 
 page. His descriptions of Highland scenery and 
 Highland sports are instinct with life and beauty. 
 
76 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 In a word, to quote the eulogy of the discrimina- 
 ting Hallam, " Wilson is a writer of the most ar- 
 dent and enthusiastic genius, whose eloquence is as 
 the rush of mighty waters." 
 
 Professor Wilson's nature is essentially poetical. 
 It is sensitive, imaginative and generous. It is also 
 said to be deeply religious. Age and experience, 
 reflection, and the Word of God, which he greatly 
 reveres, have tamed the wild exuberance of his 
 youth, strengthened his better principles, and shed 
 over his character the mellow radiance of faith 
 and love. " The main current of his nature,'' says 
 GilfiUan, " is rapt and religious. In proof of this 
 we have heard, that on one occasion, he was cross 
 ing the hills from St. Mary's Loch to Moffat. It 
 was a misty morning ; but as he ascended, the mist 
 began to break into columns before the radiant fin- 
 ger of the rising sun. Wilson's feelings became too 
 much excited for silence, and he began to speak, 
 and from speaking began to pray; and prayed 
 aloud and alone, for thirty miles together in the 
 misty morn. We can conceive what a prayer it 
 would be, and with what awe some passing shep- 
 herd may have heard the incarnate voice, sound- 
 ing on its dim and perilous way." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Culton Hill — Burns's Monument — Character and Writings 
 of '•' the Peasant Poet" — His Religious Views — Monument of 
 Professor Dugald Stewart — Scottish Metaphysics — Thomas 
 Carlyle. 
 
 Let us take a walk on the Calton Hill, this after- 
 noon ; we shall find some objects of interest there. 
 At the termination of Prince's Street, commences 
 Waterloo Place, in which are situated the Stamp 
 Office, Post Office, Bridewell and the Jail. This 
 also leads to Calton Hill, and is one of the most de- 
 lightful promenades in the city. We skirt around 
 the Hill, a little to the right, pass the beautiful and 
 spacious buildings of the Edinburgh High School 
 on the left, one of the best educational institutions 
 in Scotland, continue our walk a short distance, 
 and come to a round building on the farther de- 
 clivity of the hill. That is "Burns's Monument.'' 
 By giving a small douceur to the keeper, we are 
 permitted to enter the interior, in the center of 
 which stands a statue of the poet, by Flaxman. 
 Beautiful and expressive certainly, as a work of 
 art, but it is not quite equal to one's conception of 
 the poet. The forehead is particularly fine — open, 
 massive and high, with an air of lofty repose. The 
 mouth is unpoetical and vulgar — at least something 
 of this is visible in its expression. It wants the 
 chiseled delicacy, as well as gracious expression 
 
78 GENIUS OP SCOTLAND. 
 
 of noble and generous feeling which we naturally 
 look for in the countenance of Burns. But the 
 likeness, we understand, is defective. In his best 
 days, Burns had a noble, and almost beautiful coun- 
 tenance. In stature he was about five feet ten 
 inches, of great agility and muscular vigor. His 
 countenance was open and ruddy, with a fine, 
 frank, generous expression, eyes large and ra- 
 diant, forehead arched and lofty, with curling 
 hair clustering over it, and his mouth, especially 
 when engaged in animated conversation, or lighted 
 with a smile, wreathed with intelligence and good 
 humor. 
 
 Burns has been termed "the Shakspeare of 
 Scotland." And certainly no poet has ever been 
 regarded, in that country, with such enthusiastic 
 love and reverence. With all his faults, some of 
 which were bad enough, all classes of the Scottish 
 people, from the noble to the peasant, cherish him 
 in their heart of hearts. Indeed he is a sort of na- 
 tional idol, to whom all feel bound to do reverence, 
 notwithstanding his admitted failings. Nor is this 
 a matter of surprise. For, taken as a whole, the 
 poetry of Burns is the poetry of nature — of the 
 heart — and especially of the Scottish heart. It 
 represents the genius of the nation — wild, beautiful 
 and free, shaded by thoughtfulness, and set oflf by 
 devotion, at once merry as her mountain brooks, 
 yet deep, strong and passionate as the stormy 
 ocean which encircles her coast. " Tam O'Shan- 
 ter," or " Halloween," the " Cotter's Saturday 
 Night," or "Mary in Heaven," are the two ex- 
 
GEi^IUS OF SCOTLAND. 79 
 
 tremes of the picture. In Burns, Scotland saw in- 
 carnated her poetry and song, her music and pas- 
 sion, her love and devotion, her seriousness and 
 merriment, her strong-hearted adherence to integ- 
 rity and truth, her occasional recklessness and 
 madness of spirit, her love of nature, her venera- 
 tion for God. The grave and the gay, the old and 
 the young, the religious and the reckless, all saw 
 themselves represented in the glorious fragments 
 of his witching poetry. Hence the enthusiasm 
 with which his first volume of poems was received. 
 It seemed as if a new realm had been added to the 
 dominions of the British muse — a new and glorious 
 creation fresh from the hand of nature. There 
 the humor of Smollett, the pathos and tenderness 
 of Sterne and Richardson, the real life of Field- 
 ing, and the description of Thomson, were all 
 united in delineations of Scottish manners and 
 scenery by the Ayrshire ploughman ! The vol- 
 ume contained matter for all minds — for the lively 
 and sarcastic, the wild and the thoughtful, the po- 
 etical enthusiast and the man of the world. So 
 eagerly was the book sought after, that when 
 copies of it could not be obtained, many of the 
 poems were transcribed and sent round in manu- 
 script among admiring circles. His songs are 
 the songs of Scotland. A few have been furnished 
 by Tannahill, Fergusson, Ramsay and others ; but 
 the main body of the most exquisite and most pop- 
 ular Scottish melodies are from the pen of Burns. 
 Evermore they echo among her heathy hills and 
 bosky dells. You hear them by the sides of her 
 
80 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 " bonnie burns," and along the shores of her silver 
 lakes and " rivers grand." At evening gray, they 
 are heard resounding from gow^an'd braes and " bir- 
 ken shaves," in the shadow of haunted woods, and 
 hoary ruins ; and especially, on winter nights, and 
 *• tween and supper times," from her ten thousand 
 happy " inglesides." In Burns's " Cotter's Saturday 
 Night" are seen his reverence for religion " pure 
 and undefiled," combined with exquisite description 
 and melodious verse ; in " Tam O'Shanter," his 
 vivid fancy and dramatic energy ; in " Hallow- 
 een," his spirit of humor and fun ; in his " Lines to 
 a Mountain Daisv," his fine moral sense and ten- 
 derness of spirit ; and in his " Address to Mary in 
 Heaven," his true heartedness, and sweet lyric 
 power. His native country is beautifully pictured 
 in all his poetry. The " Banks of the Dee," " Edi- 
 na's lofty seat," " Old Coila's hills and streams" — 
 the " Braes of Glerifter"— " Allan Water"—" Bon- 
 nie Doon" — " Sweet Afton among her green braes" 
 — "Auld hermit Ayr," "Stately Irwine," "The 
 birks of Aberfeldy," — where " simmer blinks o'er 
 flowery braes," the " lovely Nith, with fruitful 
 vales and spreading hawthorns," — " Gowrie's rich 
 valley and Firth's sunny shores," " the clear wind- 
 ing Devon," — " Castle Gordon, — where waters flow 
 and wild woods rave," — " the banks and braes 
 and streams around the Castle of Montgomery," — 
 Bannockburn, EUerslie and Sheriff' Muir ; — these, 
 and a thousand other beautiful or storied scenes, 
 mirror themselves in the stream of his sweet and 
 varied verse. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 81 
 
 Some vulgar and foolish things he has written ; 
 and we condemn them as heartily as others. But 
 his poetry embodies much that is pure and beauti- 
 ful and true, much of which Burns had no occasion 
 to repent, even on a deathbed, and much of which 
 his native country may well be proud. He was 
 somewhat intemperate, but not to the extent which 
 is generally supposed. Strong temptations, — the 
 habits of the times — the folly of his friends, who 
 thoughtlessly introduced him to the gaities of the 
 metropolis, and then left him to contempt and pen- 
 ury, broke down his constitution, and consigned 
 him to a premature grave. But he was not a man 
 of base and vulgar passions. His was not the cold 
 heart of the sceptic, nor the envenomed spirit of 
 the villain. It was a wild and wayward heart, I 
 grant, but honest and true, generous and kind. 
 The temple was shattered by the lightnings of 
 Heaven, but it was a temple still ; and from its 
 broken altars ever and anon ascended the sweet 
 incense of prayer and praise. Burns could never 
 forget his good old father, and the hallowed influ- 
 ences of religion, shed upon his young heart. He 
 loved the Psalms of David, and the holv melodies 
 of his native land ; and we presume often sang 
 them, of an evening, accompanied, as he himself 
 intimates, with " the wild woodland note," of his 
 beloved w^ife. Several of his letters to Miss Dun- 
 lop and others indicate a strong conviction of the 
 Divine existence and the immortality of the soul, 
 his struggles against the doubts which haunted his 
 spirit, and his earnest longing for purity and per- 
 
82 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 fection. " You may perhaps think it an extrava- 
 gant fancy," he says in a letter to Mr. Aiken, " but 
 it is a sentiment which strikes home to my very 
 soul ; though sceptical on some points of our current 
 belief, yet I think, I have every evidence for the 
 reality of a life beyond the stinted bourn of our 
 present existence ;" and then adds — " O thou great, 
 unknown Power, thou Almighty God ! who has 
 lighted up reason in my breast, and blessed me with 
 immortality ! I have frequently wandered from that 
 order and regularity necessary for the perfection 
 of thy works, yet thou hast never left me nor for- 
 saken me." Having expressed to Mrs. Dunlop his 
 strong conviction of the immortality of the soul, he 
 writes as follows, " I know not whether I have 
 ever sent you the following lines, or if you have 
 ever seen them ; but it is one of my favorite quota- 
 tions, which I keep constantly by me in my pro- 
 gress through life, in the language of the Book of 
 Job, 
 
 " Against the day of battle and of war." — 
 
 spoken of religion : 
 
 " 'Tis this my friend that streaks our morning bright, 
 ^Tis this that gilds the horror of our night. 
 When wealth forsakes us, and when friends are few ; 
 When friends are faithless^ or when foes pursue j 
 'Tis this that wards the blow, or stills the smart, 
 Disarms aflBiiction, or repels her dart ; 
 Within the breast bids purest raptures rise, 
 Bids smiling Conscience spread her cloudless skies.'^ 
 
 One of the most beautiful letters ever written by 
 Bums has reference to this subject, and was ad- 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 83 
 
 dressed to the same lady, on New Year's day. — 
 " This, dear Madam, is a morning of wishes ; and 
 would to God that I came under the Apostle 
 James's description ! — * the prayer of the righteous 
 man availeth much.' In that case, Madam, you 
 should welcome in a year full of blessings : every- 
 thing that obstructs or disturbs tranquillity and self- 
 enjoyment should be removed, and every pleasure 
 that frail humanity can taste should be yours. I 
 own myself so little a Presbyterian, that I approve 
 of set times and seasons of more than ordinary acts 
 of devotion for breaking in on that habitual rou- 
 tine of life and thought, which is so apt to reduce 
 our existence to a kind of instinct, or even some- 
 times, and with some minds, to a state very little 
 superior to mere machinery. 
 
 *' This day, the first Sunday of May, a breezy, 
 blue skyed noon, sometime about the beginning, 
 and a hoary morning and calm sunny day about 
 the end of Autumn, — these, time out of mind, have 
 been with me a kind of holy day. * * * * I 
 believe I owe this to that glorious paper in the 
 Spectator, " The Vision of Mirza ;" a piece that 
 struck my young fancy before I was capable of 
 fixing an idea to a word of three syllables. * On 
 the fifth day of the moon, which, according to the 
 custom of my forefathers, I always keep holy, after 
 having washed myself, and oflTered up my morning 
 devotions, I ascended the high hill of Bagdad, in 
 order to pass the rest of the day in meditation and 
 prayer.' 
 
 " We know nothing, or next to nothing, of the 
 
84 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 substance or structure of our souls, so cannot ac- 
 count for those seeming caprices in them, that one 
 should be particularly pleased with this thing, or 
 struck with that, which, on minds of a different 
 cast, makes no extraordinary impression. I have 
 some favorite flowers in spring, among which are 
 the mountain daisy, the harebell, the foxglove, the 
 wild brier rose, the budding birch, and the hoary 
 hawthoni, that I view and hang over with particu- 
 lar delight. I never heard the loud solitary whistle 
 of the curlew in a summer noon, or the wild, mix- 
 ing cadence of a troop of gray plover in an autum- 
 nal morning, without feeling an elevation of soul 
 like the enthusiasm of devotion or poetry. Tell 
 me, my dear friend, to what can this be owing ? 
 Are we a piece of machinery, which like the ^Eo- 
 lian harp, passive, takes the impression of the pass- 
 ing accident ? Or do these workings argue some- 
 thing within us above the trodden clod ? I own 
 myself partial to such proofs of those awful and 
 important realities — a God that made all things — 
 man's immaterial and immortal nature — and a world 
 of weal or woe beyond death and the grave." 
 
 A fit comment on this and other passages of sim- 
 ilar import in his letters is the following affecting 
 poem, entitled '* A Prayer in the Prospect of 
 Death." It seems to us to utter the deep throb- 
 bings of the poet's spirit : 
 
 Why am I loth to leave this earthly scene ? 
 
 Have I so found it full of pleasing charms ? 
 Some drops of joy, with draughts of ill between : 
 
 Some gleams of sunshine -mid renewing stornii : 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 85 
 
 Is it departing pangs my soul alarms ? 
 
 Or death's unlovely, dreary, dark abode ? 
 For guilt, for guilt, my terrors are in arms ; 
 
 I tremble to approach an angry God, 
 And justly smart beneath his sin avenging rod. 
 
 Fain would I say, ' forgive my foul offence V 
 
 Fain promise never more to disobey ; 
 But should my Author health again dispense, 
 
 Again I might desert fair virtue's way j 
 Again in folly's path might go astray ; 
 
 Again exalt the brute and sink the man. 
 Then how should I for heavenly mercy pray ; 
 
 Who act so counter heavenly mercy's plan, 
 Who sin so oft have mourn'd, yet to temptation ran ? 
 
 O thou great Governor of all below, 
 
 If I may dare a lifted eye to Thee, 
 Thy nod can make the tempest cease to blow, 
 
 Or still the tumult of the raging sea ; 
 With that controling power assist ev'n me. 
 
 Those headlong furious passions to confine , 
 For all unfit I feel my powers to be, 
 
 To rule their torrent in the allowed line ; 
 O aid me with thy help, Omnipotence Divine !" 
 
 After writing thus far, we read for the first time, 
 " The Genius and Character of Burns," by Pro- 
 fessor Wilson, the richest garland yet wreathed 
 around the poet's brow ; and we are happy to find 
 the views expressed above fully corroborated by 
 that distinguished writer. It is true that Wilson 
 delineates the character of Burns with enthusiastic 
 admiration ; but his views are so discriminating, 
 and withal backed by such an array of facts, that 
 no candid man can deny their correctness. We 
 cannot therefore resist the temptation of making 
 the following extract, in which the finest discrimi- 
 
 8 
 
86 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 nation is blended with the largest charity. Long 
 may the Literature of Scotland be guarded by such 
 a critic ! But one thing must not be forgotten 
 here, namely, that no one, and especially one per- 
 sonally unacquainted with Burns, can pronounce in 
 regard to his actual spiritual state. Whether he was 
 truly ' born of God,' and notwithstanding the errors 
 of his life, died a Christian and went to heaven, 
 is happily not a question which we are called to 
 decide. 
 
 " We have said but little hitherto of Burns's re- 
 ligion. Some have denied that he had any reli- 
 gion at all — a rash and cruel denial — made in the 
 face of his genius, his character, and his life. What 
 man in his senses ever lived without religion ? 
 " The fool hath said in his heart. There is no God" 
 — was Burns an atheist ? We do not fear to say 
 that he was religious far beyond the common run 
 of men, even them who may have had a more con- 
 sistent and better considered creed. The lessons 
 he received in the " auld clay biggin" were not for- 
 gotten through life. He speaks — and we believe 
 him — of his " early ingrained piety" having been 
 long remembered to good purpose — what he called 
 his " idiot piety" — not meaning thereby to dispar- 
 age it, but merely that it was in childhood an in- 
 stinct. " Our Father which art in Heaven, hal- 
 lowed be thy name !" is breathed from the lips of 
 infancy with the same feeling at its heart that beats 
 towards its father on earth, as it kneels in prayer 
 by his side. No one surely will doubt his sincerity 
 when he writes from Irvine to his father — "Honor'd 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 87 
 
 sir— I am quite transported at the thought, that ere 
 long, perhaps soon, I shall bid an eternal adieu to 
 all the pains, and uneasinesses, and disquietudes of 
 this weary life ; for I assure you I am heartily tired 
 of it, and, if I do not very much deceive myself, I 
 could contentedly and gladly resign it. It is for 
 this reason I am more pleased with the 15th, 16th, 
 and 17th verses of the 7th chapter of Revelations, 
 than with any ten times as many verses in the 
 whole Bible, and would not exchange the noble 
 enthusiasm with which they inspire me, for all that 
 this world has to offer. * 15. Therefore are they 
 before the throne of God and serve him day and 
 night in his temple ; and he that sitteth on the 
 throne shall dwell among them. 16. They shall 
 hunger no more, neither thirst any more ; neither 
 shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17. For 
 the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall 
 feed them, and shall lead them unto hving foun- 
 tains of waters ; and God shall wipe away all tears 
 from their eyes.'" When he gives lessons to a 
 young man for his conduct in life, one of them is, 
 " The great Creator to adore ;" when he consoles 
 a friend on the death of a relative, " he points the 
 brimful grief-worn eyes to scenes beyond the 
 grave ;" when he expresses benevolence to a dis- 
 tressed family, he beseeches the aid of Him " who 
 tempers the wind to the shorn lamb ;" when he 
 feels the need of aid to control his passions, he im- 
 plores that of the " Great Governor of all below ;" 
 when in sickness, he has a prayer for the pardon 
 of all his errors, and an expression of confidence 
 
88 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 in the goodness of God ; when suffering from the 
 ills of life, he asks for the grace of resignation, 
 "because they are thy will ;" when he observes the 
 sufferings of the virtuous, he remembers a rectify- 
 ing futurity ; — he is religious not only when sur- 
 prised by occasions such as these, but also on set 
 occasions ; he had regular worship in his family 
 while at Ell island — we know not how it was at 
 Dumfries, but we do know that there he catechised 
 his children every Saturday evening ; — Nay, he does 
 not enter a DruidicaJ circle without a prayer to God. 
 
 He viewed the Creator chiefly in his attributes 
 of love, goodness and mercy. ** In proportion as 
 we are wrung with grief, or distracted with anx- 
 iety, the ideas of a superintendmg Deity, an Al- 
 mighty protector, are doubly dear." Him he never 
 lost sight of, or confidence in, even in the depths 
 of his remorse. An avenging God was too seldom 
 in his contemplations — from the little severity in 
 his own character — from a philosophical view of 
 the inscrutable causes of human frailty — and most 
 of all, from a diseased aversion to what was so 
 much the theme of the sour Galvanism around him ; 
 but which would have risen up an appalling truth 
 in such a soul as his, had it been habituated to pro- 
 founder thought on the mysterious corruption of 
 our fallen nature. 
 
 Sceptical thoughts as to revealed religion had 
 assailed his mind, while with expanding powers it 
 " communed with the glorious universe ;" and in 
 1787 he writes from Edinburgh to a "Mr. James 
 M'CandHsh, student in physic, College, Glasgow," 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. ' 89 
 
 who had favored him with a long argumentative 
 infidel letter, " I, likewise, since you and I were 
 first acquainted, in the pride of despising old 
 w^omen's stories, ventured on ' the daring path 
 Spinoza trod ;' but experience of the weakness, not 
 the strength of human powers, made me glad to 
 grasp at revealed religion,^^ When at Ellisland, 
 he writes to Mrs. Dunlop, " My idle reasonings 
 sometimes make me a little sceptical, but the ne- 
 cessities of my heart always give the cold philoso- 
 phizings the lie. Who looks for the heart weaned 
 from earth ; the soul affianced to her God ; the 
 correspondence fixed with heaven ; the pious sup- 
 plication and devout thanksgiving, constant as the 
 vicissitudes of even and morn ; who thinks to meet 
 with these in the court, the palace, in the glare of 
 public life ! No : to find them in their precious im- 
 portance and divine efficacy, we must search 
 among the obscure recesses of disappointment, af- 
 fliction, poverty and distress." And again, next 
 year, from the same place to the same correspon- 
 dent, " That there is an incomprehensibly Great 
 Being, to whom I owe my existence, and that he 
 must be intimately acquainted with the operations 
 and progress of the internal machinery, and con- 
 sequent outward deportment of this creature he has 
 made — these are, I think, self-evident propositions. 
 That there is a real and eternal distinction between 
 vice and virtue, and consequently, that I am an ac- 
 countable creature ; that from the seeming nature 
 of the human mind, as well as from the evident im- 
 perfection,-nay positive injustice, in the administra- 
 
 8* 
 
90 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND, 
 
 tion of affairs, both in the natural and moral worlds, 
 there must be a retributive scene of existence be- 
 yond the grave, must, I think, be allowed by every 
 one who will give himself a moment's reflection. 
 I will go farther and affirm, that from the sublim- 
 ity, excellence, and purity of his doctrine and pre- 
 cepts, unparalleled, by all the aggregated wisdom 
 and learning of many preceding ages, though to 
 appearance he was himself the obscurest and most 
 illiterate of our species : therefore Jesus was from 
 God." Indeed, all his best letters to Mrs. Dunlop 
 are full of the expression of religious feeling and 
 religious faith ; though it must be confessed with 
 pain, that he speaks with more confidence in the 
 truth of natural than of revealed religion, and too 
 often lets sentiments inadvertently escape him, that, 
 taken by themselves, would imply that his religious 
 beUef was but a Christianized Theism. Of the im- 
 mortality of the soul, he never expresses any seri- 
 ous doubt, though now and then, his expressions, 
 though beautiful, want their usual force, as if he 
 felt the inadequacy of the human mind to the mag- 
 nitude of the theme. " Ye venerable sages, and 
 holy flamens, is there probability in your conjec- 
 tures, truth in your stories, of another world be- 
 yond death ; or are they all alike baseless visions 
 and fabricated fables ? If there is another life, it 
 must be only for the just, the amiable, and the hu- 
 mane. What a flattering idea this of the world to 
 come ! Would to God I as firmlv believed it as I 
 ardently wish it." 
 
 How, then, could honored Thomas Carlyle bring 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 91 
 
 himself to affirm, "that Burns had no religion?" 
 His religion was in much imperfect — but its in- 
 completeness you discern only on a survey of all 
 his effusions, and by inference ; for his particular 
 expressions of a religious kind are genuine, and as 
 acknowledgments of the superabundant goodness 
 and greatness of God, they are in unison with the 
 sentiments of the devoutest Christian. But remorse 
 never suggests to him the inevitable corruption of 
 man ; Christian humility he too seldom dwells on, 
 though without it there cannot be Christian faith : 
 and he is silent on the need of reconcilement be- 
 tween the divine attributes of Justice and Mercy. 
 The absence of all this might pass unnoticed, were 
 not the religious sentiment so prevalent in his confi- 
 dential communications with his friends in his most 
 serious and solemn moods. In them there is fre- 
 quent, habitual recognition of the Creator ; and 
 who that finds joy and beauty in nature has not 
 the same ? It may be well supposed that if com- 
 mon men are more ideal in religion than in other 
 things, so would be Burns. He who has lent the 
 colors of his fancy to common things, would not 
 withhold them from divine. Something — he knew 
 not what — he would exact of man — more impres- 
 sively reverential than anything he is wont to offer 
 to God, or perhaps can offer in the way of institu- 
 tion — in temples made with hands. The heartfelt 
 adoration always has a grace for him — in the silent 
 bosom — in the lonely cottage — in any place w^here 
 circumstances are a pledge of its reality ; but 
 4he moment it ceases to be heartfelt^ and visibly 
 
92 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 SO, it loses his respect, it seems as profanation. 
 " Mine is the religion of the breast ;" and if it be 
 not, what is it worth ? But it must also revive a 
 right spirit within us ; and there may be gratitude 
 for goodness, without such change as is required 
 of us in the gospel. He was too buoyant with 
 immortal spirit within him not to credit its immor- 
 tal destination ; he was too thoughtful in his human 
 love not to feel how different must be our affec- 
 tions if they are towards flowers which the blast 
 of death may wither, or towards spirits which are 
 but beginning to live in our sight, and are gather- 
 ing good and evil here for an eternal life. Burns 
 beheved that by his own unassisted understanding, 
 and his own unassisted heart, he saw and felt those 
 great truths, forgetful of this great truth, that he 
 had been taught them in the Written Word. Had 
 all he learned in the " auld clay biggin" become a 
 blank — all the knowledge inspired into his heart 
 during the evenings, when "the sire turned o'er 
 wi' patriarchal air, the big ha'-bible, ance his fath- 
 er's pride," how little or how much would he then 
 have known of God and Immortality ? In that de- 
 lusion he shared more or less with one and all — 
 whether poets or philosophers — who have put their 
 trust in natural Theology. As to the glooms in 
 which his sceptical reason had been involved, they 
 do not seem to have been so thick — so dense — as 
 in the case of men without number, who have, by 
 the blessing of God, become true Christians. Of 
 his levities on certain celebrations of religious 
 rites, we before ventured an explanation ; and 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 93 
 
 while it is to be lamented that he did not more fre- 
 quently dedicate the genius that shed so holy a 
 lustre over " The Cotter's Saturday Night," to the 
 service of religion, let it be remembered how few 
 poets have done so — alas ! too few — that he, like 
 his tuneful brethren, must often have been de- 
 terred by a sense of his own unworthiness from ap- 
 proaching its awful mysteries — and above all, that 
 he was called to his account before he had attained 
 his thoughtful prime." 
 
 Speaking of Burns's last sickness. Professor Wil- 
 son says : " But he had his Bible with him in his 
 lodgings, and he read it almost continually — often 
 when seated on a bank, from which he had diffi- 
 culty in rising without assistance, for his weakness 
 was extreme, and in his emaciation he was like a 
 ghost. The fire of his eye was not dimmed — in- 
 deed fever had lighted it up beyond even its natu- 
 ral brightness ; and though his voice, once so va- 
 rious, was now hollow, his discourse was still that 
 of a Poet. To the last he loved the sunshine, the 
 grass, and the flowers ; to the last he had a kind 
 look and word for the passers-by, who all knew it 
 was Burns. Laboring men, on their way from 
 work, would step aside to the two or three houses 
 called the Brow, to know if there was any hope 
 of his life ; and it is not to be doubted that devout 
 people remembered him, who had written the Cot- 
 ter's Saturday Night, in their prayers. His scep- 
 tical doubts no longer troubled him ; they had never 
 been more than shadows ; and he had at last the 
 faith of a confiding Christian." 
 
^ GENIUS OF SCOTLAND^ 
 
 Leaving Burns's Monument, we ascend the hill, 
 in the opposite direction, pass the unfinished Par- 
 thenon, consisting only of a few elegant columns, 
 and intended to commemorate the battle of Water- 
 loo, the Observatory, and the Monument of Pro- 
 fessor Playfair, the celebrated mathematician and 
 astronomer, and reach the elegant though not im- 
 posing monument of Professor Dugald Stewart, not 
 the most acute, but certainly the most finished and 
 instructive of all the writers of the Scottish meta- 
 physical school. Let us linger here, a few mo- 
 ments, for the name of Professor Stewart is pecu- 
 liarly dear to Scotland. No man was ever more 
 enthusiastically regarded by his pupils, or more 
 generally loved and revered by the community. 
 Dr. Reid of Glasgow University, the immediate pre- 
 decessor and preceptor of Stewart, was a man of 
 an acute and original mind, though not possessed 
 of half the grace and fluency of his illustrious pu- 
 pil. It was Reid however that first gave clearness 
 and method to the metaphysics of Scotland. His 
 writings on first principles, or, as he called them, 
 principles of Common Sense, gave a death-blow, at 
 least in Scotland, to the ideal theory of Berkeley 
 and Hume, and greatly affected the course of phi- 
 losophical investigation not only in England but in 
 France. In fact, his philosophy supplanted, for a 
 time, the infidel metaphysics of Hume and the 
 French rationalists. It cut the roots equally of 
 idealism and sensualism, and was eagerly received 
 by thoughtful men in Europe and in this country. 
 It can be seen running like a sunbeam, through the 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 99 
 
 speculations of Royer CoIIard, Constant, Jouffroy 
 and even of Cousin. Based on the Baconian 
 method, it proceeded, modestly and unostenta- 
 tiously, to ascertain, and then to classify the facts 
 of mind ; and, because it projected no splendid 
 theories, or blazing fancies, it has been rejected by 
 superficial and visionary thinkers, v^ith some de- 
 gree of contempt. After all, it may yet be recog- 
 nized, by all genuine philosophers, as the only true 
 scientific method. In the hands of Stewart and of 
 Brown, his colleague and successor, it began to as- 
 sume a lofty and attractive position ; but alas ! it 
 has remained stationary for the want of strong and 
 true-hearted defenders. Stigmatized by the Ger- 
 mans as " pallid and insular — timid and cold," it 
 has been forsaken, of late, by the more popular 
 metaphysical writers, for the brilliant and astound- 
 ing, but ever varying visions of the Transcendental 
 School. Smitten with the love of Ontology, or the 
 doctrine of " the absolute and the essential," scorn- 
 ing the methods of Bacon and Newton as empiri- 
 cal and shallow, and setting their foot on the mod- 
 est, perhaps timid speculations of Reid and Stew- 
 art, metaphysicians have plunged one after another, 
 into the abyss of an absolute Spiritualism, where, 
 amid the glimmerings of a half-dark and lurid ra- 
 diance, may be seen the disciples of Kant and 
 Fichte, Hegel and Schelling, floundering in the 
 gloom, changing places continually, now rising 
 towards the light of heaven, and then sinking in 
 the " abysmal dark." 
 
96 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 The writings of Reid, Stewart and Brown have 
 exerted a great influence on the thinking of Scot- 
 land, which, even among the common people, has 
 a somewhat metaphysical turn. Combining with 
 religion and poetry, it has given to both a pecuUar 
 depth and earnestness of tone. In some it is deeply 
 practical, in others speculative and visionary. 
 
 Thomas Carlyle, the product chiefly of Scotland, 
 but partly also of Germany — or perhaps, rather, a 
 magnificent " lusus naturae," has a large amount of 
 Scottish shrewdness, enthusiasm and speculation, 
 overlaid and burnished with German spiritualism 
 and romance. A native of Annandale, and im- 
 bued with the religion of the Covenant, and the 
 poetry of the hills, he has wandered oflf into the 
 fields of metaphysical speculation, where, amid 
 dreams of gorgeous and beautiful enchantment, he 
 is evermore uttering his burning oracular words, 
 of half pagan, and half Christian, wisdom. A 
 genuine Teufelsdrockh, — he is yet a genuine 
 Scot, and cannot therefore forget the holy wis- 
 dom of his venerable mother, and his Annandale 
 home.* 
 
 * The following graphic description of the residence, personal 
 appearance and conversation of Carlyle is from the pen of Elizur 
 Wright, Junr. " Passing the long lines of new buildings which 
 have stretched from Westminster up the Thames, and engulphed 
 the old village of Chelsea, in omnivorous London, you recognize 
 at last the old Chelsea Hospital, one of the world-famous clusters 
 of low brick palaces, where Britain nurses her fighting men when 
 they can fight no more. A little past this and an old ivy-clad 
 church, with its buried generations lying around it, you come to 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 97 
 
 an antique street running at right angles with the Thames, and 
 a few steps from the river, you find Carlyle's name on the door. 
 A Scotch lass ushers you into the second story front chamber, 
 which is the spacious workshop of the world-maker. Here are 
 lots of books — ponderous tomes in Latin, Greek, and black letter 
 English, — some are on shelves occupying nearly all the walls, and 
 some are piled on tables and a reading rack as having just been 
 read. The furniture speaks of Scotch economy, and the whole 
 face of things of more than common Scotch tidiness. In fact, a 
 superbly wrought bell-rope indicates that the wife is a true hero 
 worshipper. Carlyle is a mere man, ordinary size, lofty and jut- 
 ting brow, keen — exceedingly keen eye, and modest unassuming 
 manners. His voice is melodious, and with its rich Scotch ca- 
 dence, and rapid flow, reminds you of Thulberg's music in some 
 strange out of the way key. Just set him agoing, and he runs 
 without stopping, giving you whole masses of history, painting 
 and poetry, and a great mass of the boundless system of Carlyle- 
 ism. There is nothing which he does not touch ; and figures of 
 speech come tumbling in from all corners, top and bottom of the 
 universe, as the merest matter of course. Doubt, hesitation or 
 qualification have no place among his opinions, he having kicked 
 them all out of doors when he began his philosophy." 
 
 Many inquiries have been made respecting Carlyle's religious 
 opinions ; but it is difficult to say anything very decisive in reply. 
 That he has a deep reverence for the Christian faith, — that he 
 strongly inclines to a sort of transcendental orthodoxy, — that he 
 loves, moreover, true-hearted piety, and is himself a model of in- 
 tegrity and affection cannot be doubted. He often speaks of Je- 
 sus as divine. — as the most perfect of all heroes — as the God 
 man — as the Divine man. He possesses a profound sympathy 
 for the higher and more beautiful forms of Christian virtue, and 
 describes the lives and characters of good men with the live- 
 liest relish. We incline therefore to believe, that notwithstand- 
 ing his transcendental speculations, and philosophical doubts, he 
 has a true (though not thoroughly defined) heart faith in the es- 
 sential doctrines of the Christian system. Clouds and darkness 
 hang upon the horizon of his spiritual vision, but gloriously ir- 
 radiated with light from heaven, and here and there opening 
 into vistas of serene and ineffable beauty. Many of his follow- 
 ers, we think, do not understand him, and we fear, will never 
 
 9 
 
98 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 reacli his purity and elevation of mind. They are more likely to 
 be led astray, by the magnificent illusions of his gifted but some- 
 what erring fancy. Instead of resting in the simple-hearted and 
 heroic ftiith which he loves so much to describe, they may plunge 
 into the abysses of doubt and despair. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Preachiug in Edinburgli — The Free Church — Dr. Chalmers — 
 A Specimen of his Preaching — The Secret of his Eloquence. 
 
 Edinburgh has ever been distinguished for its 
 preachers. In former times the classic Blair, the 
 fervid Walker, the impassioned Logan, the judi- 
 cious Erskine, the learned Jamieson, the exquisite 
 Alison, the candid Wellw^ood and the energetic 
 Thomson delighted and instructed all classes of the 
 community. To these have succeeded a host of 
 learned and truly eloquent men, some of w^hom are 
 members of "the Kirk," others of the Episcopal 
 communion, and others of the various bodies of 
 Presbyterian "Seceders," Congregationahsts and 
 Baptists. Among the clergymen of the Free Church, 
 Dr. Chalmers of course is "facile princeps ;" Dr. 
 Candlish, in effectiveness and popularity probably 
 stands next, while Drs. Cunningham, Bruce, Gor- 
 don and Buchanan, the Rev. James Begg, and one 
 or tw^o others form a cluster of influential and elo- 
 quent preachers. Among the Congregationahsts, 
 Rev. William L. Alexander is the most learned 
 and polished. He has written ably on the Tracta- 
 rian controversy and on the connection of the Old 
 and New Testaments, and recently received a 
 pressing invitation to become associated with Dr. 
 Wardlaw of Glasgow, as assistant pastor and Pro- 
 
100 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 fessor of Theology. He is a fine looking man, be- 
 ing some six feet high, with expressive features, 
 dark penetrating eyes, and massive black hair, clus- 
 tering over a fair and lofty forehead. His manner 
 is dignified and agreeable, but not particularly im- 
 passioned. 
 
 Among the " seceding" Presbyterians, Dr. John 
 Brown, minister of Broughton Place, and one of 
 the Professors of Theology in the United Secession 
 Church, the Rev. Dr. Johnstone and the Rev. 
 James Robertson of the same communion are 
 among the most effective preachers in Scotland. 
 The Baptists are justly proud of the learned and 
 polished Christopher Anderson, author of an able 
 work on the "Domestic Constitution," and an elab- 
 orate " History of the English Bible" — the Rev. 
 William Innes, one of the most amiable and pious 
 of men, and the Rev. Jonathan Watson, whose 
 earnest practical discourses are well appreciated 
 by his intelligent audience. Mr. Innes at one 
 time was a minister of the established Church, 
 with a large salary and an agreeable situation, but 
 abandoned it for conscience' sake, as he could not 
 approve of the union of Church and State, nor of 
 some of the peculiarities of Presbyterianism. His 
 pious, consistent course, and liberal, catholic spirit, 
 have won for him the admiration of all denomina- 
 tions of Christians. 
 
 Bishop Terrot of the Episcopal Church is some- 
 what high in his church notions, but is regarded as 
 an amiable and learned man, while the Rev. 
 Messrs. Craig and Drummond of the same church. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 101 
 
 are able and influential preachers. Among those who 
 adhere to " the Kirk" as it was, the Rev. Dr. Muir is 
 one of the most accomplished, and the Rev. Dr. Lee, 
 of the University, the most learned and influential. 
 Taken as a whole, the Edinburgh clergy are fair 
 representatives of the Scottish preachers generally. 
 Those therefore who wish to form a just estimate 
 of the spirit and power of the pulpit in Scotland, 
 have only to hear them repeatedly, in their respect- 
 ive places of worship. They hold doctrinal views 
 somewhat diverse, though essentially one, adopt 
 different styles of preaching, and in certain aspects 
 diflferent styles of life. Yet they manifestly be- 
 long to the same great family, and preach the 
 same glorious gospel. They are remarkably dis- 
 tinguished for their strong common sense, laborious 
 habits, pious spirit and practical usefulness. Occa- 
 sionally they come into keen polemical strife ; but 
 it amounts to little more than a gladiatorial exhibi- 
 tion, or rather a light skirmishing, without malice 
 prepense, or much evil result. Generally speak- 
 ing, they are not pre-eminently distinguished for 
 their learning, though certainly well informed, and 
 devoted to the great work of their ministry. They 
 are more practical than speculative, more devout 
 than critical, more useful than renowned. They 
 live in the hearts of their flocks, and the results of 
 their labors may be seen in the integrity, good or- 
 der and industry of the people. It is not our pur- 
 pose to say much on the subject of the recent 
 " break" in the Scottish church, in which, as the 
 members of the " Free Church" assert, the suprem- 
 
 9* 
 
102 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 acy of Jesus Christ is concerned. The intrusion 
 by lay patrons, of unpopular ministers upon the 
 churches, is certainly a vicious practice, and ought 
 to be abolished. But this is only a fragment of a 
 greater and more vital question, pertaining to the 
 spirituality and authority of Christ's church, which 
 must be settled one of these days. The Free 
 Church movement has developed much fine enthu- 
 siasm, and no small amount of self-denial ; and the 
 results will doubtless be favorable to the progress 
 of spiritual freeedom ; but this is only a single 
 wave of a mighty and ever increasing tide, which 
 is destined to sweep, not over Scotland alone, but 
 over the world. In this place, however, we can- 
 not refrain from expressing our conviction that this 
 division in the Presbyterian ranks is not properly a 
 schism or a heresy. It breaks up an existing or- 
 ganization, but affinity remains. The doctrines 
 and discipline of the two churches are essentially 
 the same. The one may be purer and stronger 
 than the other, but they are members of the same 
 family, professedly cherish the same spirit, and aim 
 at the accompHshment of the same ends. This, 
 too, may be said of nearly all the other sects ; so 
 that in Scotland, there is more real unity among 
 Christians than there is in Papal Rome. The lat- 
 ter is one, only as a mountain of ice, in which all 
 impurities are congealed, is one. The unity of the 
 former is like that of the thousand streams which 
 rush from the Alpine heights, proceeding, as they 
 do, from a common source, and finally meeting and 
 blending in a common ocean. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 103 
 
 But enough of general speculation and descrip- 
 tion. Dr. Chalmers is to preach at Dr. Candlish's 
 church, so let us go to hear him. He has lost 
 something of his early vigor, but retains enough of 
 it to make him the most interesting preacher in 
 Scotland or the world. Let us make haste, or 
 we shall fail of obtaining a seat. Already the 
 house is filled with an expectant congregation. 
 The Doctor comes in, and all is hushed. He is 
 dressed in gown and bands, and presents a striking 
 and venerable appearance. His serious, earnest 
 aspect well befits his high office. He is of the mid- 
 dle height, thick set and brawny, but not corpu- 
 lent. His face is rather broad, with high cheek 
 bones, pale, and as it were care-woni, but well 
 formed and expressive. His eyes are of a leaden 
 color, rather dull when in a state of repose, but 
 flashing with a half-smothered fire when fairly 
 roused. His nose is broad and lion-like, his mouth, 
 one of the most expressive parts of his counte- 
 nance, firm, a little compressed and stern, indica- 
 ting courage and energy, while his forehead is am- 
 ple and high, as one might naturally suppose, cov- 
 ered with thin, straggling grey hair. He reads a 
 psalm in a dry, guttural voice — reads a few verses 
 of Scripture, without much energy or apparent 
 feeling, and then offers a brief, simple, earnest, and 
 striking prayer. By the way, the Doctor's prayers 
 are among his most interesting exercises. He is 
 always simple, direct, reverent, and occasionally 
 quite original and striking. You feel while joining 
 in his devotions, that a man of genius and piety is 
 
104 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 leading your willing spirit up to the throne of 
 God. How striking, for example, when he calls us 
 to remember "that every hour that strikes, — every 
 morning that dawns, and every evening that dar- 
 kens around us, brings us nearer to the end of our 
 pilgrimage." Yet he has no mouthing or manner- 
 ism, in this solemn exercise. He is not makings 
 but offering a prayer. His tones are earnest and 
 solemn ; most manifest it is that his soul is holding 
 intimate fellowship w^ith the Father of Spirits. 
 
 But he announces his text — 1 John iv. 10. "God 
 is love" — a text from which he has preached be- 
 fore ; but no matter for that.* He commences, 
 with a few broken sentences, pronounced in a 
 harsh tuneless voice, with a strong Scottish accent. 
 The first feeling of a stranger would be that of dis- 
 appointment, and apprehension that the discourse 
 was to prove a failure. This was the case with Can- 
 ning and Wilberforce, who went to hear Dr. Chal- 
 mers, when he preached in London. They had got 
 into a pew near the door, when " the preacher began 
 in his usual unpromising way, by stating a few near- 
 ly self-evident propositions, neither in the choicest 
 language, nor in the most impressive voice ; ' If this 
 be all,' said Canning to his companion, ' it will never 
 do.' Chalmers w^ent on, — the shuffling in the con- 
 gregation gradually subsided. He got into the 
 
 * In looking oyer the Doctor's printed yrorks, we have found 
 this discourse in a somewhat different garb from that in which 
 we have presented it. We were not at first aware of this, or we 
 might have selected some other discourse; for it was our good for- 
 tune to hear the Doctor frequently. This and other delinea- 
 tions, however, are taken from personal observation. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 105 
 
 mass of his subject; his weakness became strength, 
 his hesitation was turned into energy ; and bring- 
 ing the whole volume of his mind to bear upon it, 
 poured forth a torrent of most close and conclusive 
 argument, brilliant with all the exuberance of an 
 imagination which ranged over all nature for illus- 
 trations, and yet managed and applied each of 
 them with the same unerring dexterity, as if that 
 single one had been the study of his whole life. 
 * The tartan beats us,' said Mr. Canning, ' we have 
 no preaching hke that in England.'" 
 
 It may be well to state here that Chalmers is a 
 slavish reader, — that is, he reads every thing he 
 says, — but then he reads so naturally, so earnestly, 
 so energetically, that manuscript and everything 
 else is speedily forgotten by the astonished and de- 
 lighted hearer. 
 
 He proceeds with his subject — God is love. His 
 object, as announced, is not so much to elucidate 
 the thought or idea of the text, as to dislodge from 
 the minds of his hearers, the dread and aversion 
 for God, existing in all unregenerate men. He in- 
 sists, in the first place, that it is not as a God of 
 love, that the Deity is regarded by mankind — but 
 simply as God, as a being mysterious and dread- 
 ful, a being who has displeasure towards them in 
 his heart. This arises from two causes — the first, 
 that they are ignorant of this great and awfully 
 mysterious Being — the second, that they have 
 sinned against him. This feeling then is displaced 
 first by the incarnation of the Deity in the person 
 of his Son, so that we may know him and love 
 
106 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 him as a Father and a friend ; and secondly, by 
 the free pardon of our sin, through the sacrifice of 
 the Cross. The division is rather awkward ; but 
 it serves the purpose of the preacher, who thus 
 brings out some of the most subhme pecuUarities 
 of the Gospel, and applies them with overwhelm- 
 ing force and pathos to the sinner's heart. Under 
 the first head, he shows, in language of uncommon 
 energy, that it is impossible for man, in his present 
 state, to regard a being so vast, so mysterious, and 
 so little known as God, except with superstitious 
 dread. "All regarding him," says he, "is inscru- 
 table ; the depths of his past eternity, the mighty 
 and unknown extent of his creation, the secret pol- 
 icy or end of his government — a government that 
 embraces an infinity of worlds, and reaches for- 
 ward to an infinity of ages ; all these leave a being 
 so circumscribed in his faculties as man, so limited 
 in his duration, and therefore so limited in his ex- 
 perience, in profoundest ignorance of God ; and 
 then the inaccessible retirement in which this God 
 hides himself from the observation of his creatures 
 here below, the clouds and darkness which are 
 about the pavilion of his throne, the utter inability 
 of the powers of man to reach beyond the con- 
 fines of that pavilion, render vain all attempts to 
 fathom the essence of God, or to obtain any dis- 
 tinct conception of his person or being, which have 
 been shrouded in the deep silence of many centu- 
 ries, insomuch that nature, whatever it may tell us 
 of his existence, places between our senses and this 
 mighty cause a veil of interception." 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 107 
 
 It is not unnatural to dread such a being. Na- 
 ture, though full of God, furnishes no clear and sat- 
 isfying evidence of his designs ; for sunshine and 
 shower, green fields and waving harvests are in- 
 termingled with tempests and hurricane, blight and 
 mildew, destruction and death. " While in one 
 case we have the natural affection and unnumbered 
 sweets of many a cottage, which might serve to 
 manifest the indulgent kindness of him who is the 
 universal parent of the human family ; we have on 
 the other hand the cares, the heart-burnings, the 
 moral discomforts, often the pining sickness, or the 
 cold and cheerless poverty, or, more palpably, the 
 fierce contests and mutual distractions even among 
 civilized men ; and lastly, and to consummate all, 
 the death, — the unshaken and relentless death with 
 which generation after generation, whether among 
 the abodes of the prosperous and the happy, or 
 among the dwellings of the adverse and unfortu- 
 nate, after a few years are visited, laying all the 
 varieties of human fortune in the dust, — these all 
 bespeak if not a malignant, an offended, God." 
 
 But this vague uncertainty and dread are cor- 
 rected and displaced by the incarnation of the 
 Deity in the person of Christ — " the brightness of 
 the Father's glory and the express image of his 
 person." "The Godhead then became palpable 
 to human senses, and man could behold, as in a 
 picture, and in distinct personification, the very 
 characteristics of the Being that made him." 
 
 Upon this idea, a favorite one with Dr. Chalmers, 
 he dwells with the profoundest interest, presenting 
 
108 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 it with a strength of conception and exuberance 
 of illustration which makes it clear and palpable to 
 the minds of all. How his heart glows, almost to 
 bursting, with the sublime and thrilling idea that 
 God is manifest in the flesh. How he pours out, as 
 in a torrent of light, the swelling images and emo- 
 tions of his throbbing spirit. " We could not scale 
 the height of that mysterious ascent which brings 
 us within view of the Godhead. It is by the de- 
 scent of the Godhead unto us that this manifes- 
 tation has been made ; and we learn and know it 
 from the wondrous history of him who went about 
 doing good continually. We could not go in 
 search of the viewless Deity, through the depths and 
 vastnesses of infinity, or divine the secret, the un- 
 told purposes that were brooding there. But in 
 what way could a more palpable exhibition have 
 been made, than when the eternal Son, enshrined 
 in humanity, stepped forth on the platform of vis- 
 ible things, and there proclaimed the Deity ? We 
 can now reach the character of God in the human 
 looks, in the human language of Him who is the 
 very image and visible representative of the Deity ; 
 we see it in the tears of sympathy he shed ; we 
 hear it in the accents of tenderness which fell 
 from his lips. Even his very remonstrances were 
 those of a deep and gentle nature ; for they are 
 remonstrances of deepest pathos — the complaints 
 of a longing spirit against the sad perversity of 
 men bent on their own ruin." 
 
 Not content with this clear and ample exhibition 
 of his views, he returns to it, as if with redoubled 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 109 
 
 interest, and though presenting no new conception 
 upon the point, delights to pour upon it the exube- 
 rant radiance of his teeming imagination. The 
 hearers, too, are as interested as he, and catch with 
 dehght the varying aspects of his pecuhar ora- 
 tory. In fact, their minds are in perfect sympathy 
 and harmony with his ; and tears start to every 
 eye, as he bursts out, as if applying the subject to 
 himself, in the following beautiful and affecting 
 style : — '* Previous to this manifestation, as long as 
 I had nothing before me but the unseen God, my 
 mind wandered in uncertainty, my busy fancy was 
 free to expatiate, and its images filled my heart 
 with disquietude and terror ; but in the life and 
 person and history of Jesus Christ, the attributes 
 of the Deity are brought down to the observation 
 of the senses, and I can no longer mistake them, 
 when, in the Son, who is the express image of his 
 Father, I see them carried home to my understand- 
 ing by the evidence and expression of human or- 
 gans — when I see the kindness of the Father, in 
 the tears that fell from the Son at the tomb of Laza- 
 rus — when I see his justice blended with his mercy, 
 in the exclamation, ' O Jerusalem, Jerusalem !' by 
 Jesus Christ, uttered with a tone more tender than 
 human bosom or human sympathy ever uttered — 
 I feel the judgment of God himself flashing convic- 
 tion on my conscience, and calling me to repent, 
 while his wrath is suspended, and he still waiteth 
 to be gracious !" 
 
 But a more distinct and well-grounded reason 
 for distrust and fear in reference to the Deity arises 
 
 10 
 
110 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 from the consciousness of guilt. In spite of ourselves, 
 in spite of our false theology, we feel that God has 
 a right to be offended with us, that he is offended 
 with us, and not only so, but that we deserve his 
 displeasure. This he shows is counteracted by the 
 doctrine ol the atonement : " Herein is love, not 
 that we loved him, but that he loved us, and sent 
 his Son into the world to be a propitiation for 
 our sins." By the fact of the incarnation, a con- 
 quest is gained over the imagination haunted with 
 the idea of an unknown God ; so also by that of the 
 atonement, a conquest is gained over the solid and 
 well-grounded fear of guilt. This idea the Doctor 
 illustrates with equal force and beauty, showing that 
 by means of the Sacrifice of the Cross, justice and 
 mercy are brought into harmony, in the full and 
 free pardon of the believing penitent. By this 
 means the great hindrance to free communion with 
 God is taken away. Guilt is cancelled, for tbe sake 
 of Him who died, and the poor trembling sinner is 
 taken to the bosom of Infinite Love. " In the glo- 
 rious spectacle of the Cross, we see the mystery 
 revealed, and the compassion of the parent meeting 
 in fullest harmony with the now asserted and now 
 vindicated prerogative of the Lawgiver. The Gos- 
 pel is a halo of all the attributes of God, and yet 
 the pre-eminent manifestation there is of God as 
 love, which will shed its lustre amid all the perfec- 
 tions of the Divine nature. And here it should be 
 specially remarked, that the atonement was made 
 for the sins of the whole world ; God's direct and 
 primary object being to vindicate the truth and 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. Ill 
 
 justice of the Godhead. Instead of taking from his 
 love, it only gave it more emphatic demonstration ; 
 for, instead of love, simple and bending itself with- 
 out difficulty to the happiness of its objects, it v^as 
 a love which, ere it could reach the guilty being it 
 groaned after, had to force the barriers of a neces- 
 sity w^hich, to all human appearance, was insupera- 
 ble." With this fine idea the Doctor concludes his 
 discourse, presenting it with a mingled tenderness 
 and vehemence of style and tone perfectly irresisti- 
 ble. " The love of God," he exclaims, '* with such 
 an obstacle and trying to get over it, is a higher 
 exhibition than all the love which radiates from his 
 throne on all the sinless angels. The affirmation 
 that God is love, is strengthened by that other, to 
 him who owns the authority of Scripture, that God 
 so loved the world — I call on you to mark the em- 
 phatic so — as to give his only-begotten Son. ' He 
 spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for 
 us all ;' or that expression, ' herein is love, not that 
 we loved God, but that he loved us, and gave his 
 Son to be the propitiation for our sins.' There is a 
 moral, a depth, an intensity of meaning, a richness 
 of sentiment that Paul calls unsearchable, in the 
 Cross of Christ, that tells emphatically that God is 
 righteousness, and that God is love." 
 
 Such is a feeble and imperfect outline of a rich 
 and eloquent discourse, from one of the richest and 
 most expressive texts in the Bible. But we cannot 
 transfer to the written or printed page the tone, 
 look and manner, the vivida vis, the natural and 
 overwhelming energy, the pathos and power of 
 
112 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 tone, whicli thrill the hearer as with the shocks of 
 a spiritual electricity. It is this peculiar energy 
 which distinguishes Chalmers, and which distin- 
 guishes all great orators. His mind is on fire with 
 his subject, and transfers itself all glowing to the 
 minds of his hearers. For the time being all are 
 fused into one great whole, by the resistless might 
 of his burning eloquence. In this respect Chalmers 
 has been thought to approach, nearer than any 
 other man of modern times, the style and tone of 
 Demosthenes. His manner has a torrent-vehe- 
 mence, a sea-like swell and sweep, a bannered 
 tramp as of armies rushing to deadly conflict. 
 With one hand on his manuscript, and the other 
 jerked forward with electric energy, he thunders 
 out his gigantic periods, as if winged with " volleyed 
 lightning." The hearers are astonished, — awed, — 
 carried away, — lifted up as on the wings of the 
 wind, and borne ** whithersoever the master list- 
 eth." 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Biograpliical Sketch of Dr. Chalmers. 
 
 As an evangelical divine, a preacher of great 
 strength and earnestness, a man of a truly devout 
 and generous spirit, of great independence, energy 
 and perseverance, a leader of the Free Church of 
 Scotland, and a successful advocate of the doctrine 
 of Christ's supremacy. Dr. Chalmers may be re- 
 garded as a fair embodiment of the religious spirit 
 of his native land. In his mode of thinking, in 
 his doctrinal belief and practice, especially in his 
 devout and fervid eloquence, the Doctor is emi- 
 nently Scottish. His whole spirit is bathed in the 
 piety of " the Covenant." On this account a brief 
 sketch of his history will not be inappropriate in 
 this place. 
 
 Thomas Chalmers, D. D., was born about the 
 year 1780, in the town of Anstruther in Fifeshire, 
 the birth-place of another man of genius. Professor 
 Tennant, of St. Andrews, the celebrated author of 
 " Anster Fair," one of the most facetious poems 
 in the language, and making a near approach to 
 the dramatic energy of " Tam O'Shanter." Young 
 Chalmers gave decided indications of genius and 
 energy, and was sent to the College of St. An- 
 drews, and soon became " a mathematician, a nat- 
 ural philosopher, and though there was no regular 
 
 10* 
 
114 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 professor of that science at St. Andrews, a chemist." 
 After having been Hcensed as a preacher, he offici- 
 ated for sometime, as assistant minister, at Cavers 
 in Roxburghshire. He w^as subsequently called to 
 the care of the parish church in Kilmany, beauti- 
 fully situated " amid the green hills and smiling 
 valleys," of his native county. He was ordained 
 on the 12th of May, 1803, and soon displayed the 
 vigor and activity of his mind. In addition to his 
 regular parochial engagements, he devoted much 
 attention to botany and chemistry ; lectured on the 
 latter science and kindred subjects in the neigh- 
 boring towns ; became an officer in a volunteer 
 corps ; assisted the late Professor Vilant in teach- 
 ing the mathematical class in the College of St. An- 
 drews ; on the succeeding session opened a private 
 class of his own, on the same branch of science, 
 to which all the students flocked ; and wrote one 
 or two books, and several pamphlets on the topics 
 of the day. His first publication appeared at Cu- 
 par in Fife on what was called the Leslie Contro- 
 versy. It was written in the form of a letter ad- 
 dressed to Professor Playfair ; and abounds in talent, 
 wit and humor. It was published anonymously, 
 and for a long time was not known to be his. He 
 vindicates in it very powerfully, the divines of the 
 Church of Scotland, from the imputation of a want 
 of mathematical talent, a reproach which he thought 
 Professor Playfair had thrown upon them. He also 
 wrote a volume on the resources of the country, 
 which attracted much attention, as a work of ability 
 and eloquence. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 115 
 
 From these statements it must be evident that 
 Dr. Chahiiers had but h'ttle time to devote to the 
 spiritual interests of his parish. He performed his 
 stated duties, it is true, but devoted his energies 
 chiefly to Hterary and scientific pursuits. Indeed 
 he was in rehgious behef a rationahst, and had not 
 yet adopted those profound and spiritual convic- 
 tions which subsequently formed the main-spring 
 of his ministry. In 1805 he offered himself as a can- 
 didate for the vacant chair of Mathematics in the 
 University of Edinburgh, with considerable chan- 
 ces of success, but afterwards withdrew his name 
 at the earnest solicitation of his friends, who wished 
 to retain him in the Church. 
 
 When Dr. Brewster's Edinburgh Encyclopedia 
 was projected Dr. Chalmers was engaged as one 
 of the contributors, and wrote the article " Chris- 
 tianity," which was subsequently published in a 
 separate form. It was about this time that his 
 mind underwent a radical change on the subject of 
 vital religion. He discovered the utter inefficiency 
 of a utilitarian morality, for the renovation and gui- 
 dance of man, and eagerly embraced those peculiar 
 views of evangelical faith, which recognize the sac- 
 rifice and intercession of Christ as a ground of hope 
 to the fallen, the necessity of " being born of the 
 Spirit," and the ineffable beauty and blessedness of 
 " a fife hid with Christ in God." It is said that this 
 change took place while writing the article refeiTed 
 to ; he then felt the necessity of acting upon his 
 own principles, of yielding his heart absolutely and 
 forever, to the truths of that Revelation, the reality 
 
116 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 and authority of which he was called to prove. It 
 will be remembered by those acquainted with the 
 article in question, that he takes the ground that a 
 divine revelation must necessarily be mysterious ; 
 that coming from God, it must belong to the infi- 
 nite and the obscure, and thus contain many things 
 which shock our preconceptions, — that a priori ob- 
 jections to its doctrines are therefore null and void, 
 and that the whole must be received, without ex- 
 ception or modification. He insists that while we 
 have experience of man, we have little or no expe- 
 rience of God, that the thoughts of such a Being 
 must infinitely transcend ours, and in all probabil- 
 ity contradict ours, especially with reference to 
 the great problem touching the salvation of the 
 guilty. If then the genuineness and authentic- 
 ity of the sacred books can be proved as historical 
 facts, we have nothing to do with the revelation 
 which they contain, but to receive it with adoring 
 gratitude and submission. The incarnation of the 
 Godhead, the sacrifice of the Cross, justification by 
 faith, the re-birth of the soul by the Holy Spirit, 
 the resurrection of the body, and eternal judge- 
 ment are revealed facts or truths, already proved, 
 and must therefore constitute the heart's-creed of 
 every true believer. These doctrines conse- 
 quently were embraced by Chalmers himself, and 
 formed thenceforward the subjects of his preaching 
 to the people. A great excitement ensued. The 
 community was aroused — multitudes were con- 
 verted. Chalmers preached with the greatest fer- 
 vor and unction, and hundreds flocked to hear him 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 117 
 
 from the neighboring parishes. This produced 
 inquiry, and he found it necessary to give explana- 
 tions in reference to the causes which had ef- 
 fected such a change in his ministry. In this 
 view the following will be read with interest and 
 profit: 
 
 " And here I cannot but record the effect of an 
 actual though undesigned experiment which I prose- 
 cuted upwards of tw^elve years amongst you. For 
 the greater part of that time I could expatiate on 
 the meanness of dishonesty, on the villany of false- 
 hood, on the despicable arts of calumny — in a word 
 upon all those deformities of character which awa- 
 ken the natural indignation of the human heart 
 against the pests and the disturbers of society. Now, 
 could I, upon the strength of these warm expostu- 
 lations, have got the thief to give up his stealing, 
 and the evil speaker his censoriousness, and the 
 liar his deviations from truth, I should have felt 
 all the repose of one who had gotten his ultimate 
 object. It never occurred to me that all this might 
 have been done, and yet every soul of every hearer 
 have remained in full alienation from God ; and 
 that even could I have established in the bosom of 
 one who stole such a principle of abhorrence at the 
 meanness of dishonesty that he was prevailed upon 
 to steal no more, he might still have retained a 
 heart as completely unturned to God, and as to- 
 tally unpossessed of a principle of love to Him as 
 before. In a word, though I might have made him 
 a more upright and honorable man, I might have 
 left him as destitute of the essence of religious 
 
118 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 principle as ever. But the interesting fact is that 
 during the whole of that period in which I made 
 no attempt against the natural enmity of the mind 
 to God, while I was inattentive to the way in which 
 this enmity is dissolved, even by the free offer on 
 the one hand, and the beheving acceptance on the 
 other, of the Gospel salvation ; while Christ, through 
 whose blood the sinner, who by nature stands afar 
 off, is brought near to the Heavenly Lawgiver 
 whom he has offended, was scarcely ever spoken 
 of, or spoken of in such a way as stripped him of 
 all the importance of his character and offices, 
 even at this time I certainly did press the reforma- 
 tions of honor, and truth, and integrity among my 
 people ; but I never even heard of any such refor- 
 mations being effected amongst them. If there 
 was anything at all brought about in this way, it 
 was more than I ever got any account of I am 
 not sensible that all the vehemence with which I 
 urged the virtues and the proprieties of social life 
 had the weight of a feather on the moral habits of 
 my parishioners. And it was not till I got im- 
 pressed with the utter alienation of the heart in its 
 desires and affections from God ; it was not till 
 reconciliation to Him became the distinct and the 
 prominent object of my ministerial exertions ; it was 
 not till I took the scriptural way of laying the 
 method of reconciliation before them ; it was 
 not till the free offer of forgiveness through the 
 blood of Christ was urged upon their acceptance, 
 and the Holy Spirit given through the channel of 
 Christ's mediatorship to all who ask him, was set 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 119 
 
 before them as the unceasing object of their de- 
 pendence and their prayers ; it was not, in one 
 word, till the contemplations of my people were 
 turned to these great and essential elements in the 
 business of a soul providing for its interest with 
 God, and the concerns of its eternity, that I ever 
 heard of any of those subordinate reformations 
 which I aforetime made the earnest and the zeal- 
 ous, but I am afraid, at the same time, ultimate ob- 
 ject of my earlier ministrations. To servants, 
 whose scrupulous fidelity has now attracted the 
 notice and drawn forth, in my hearing, a delightful 
 testimony from your masters, what mischief ye 
 would have done, had your zeal for doctrines and 
 sacraments been accompanied by the sloth and re- 
 missness, and what, in the prevailing tone of moral 
 relaxation, is counted the allowable purloining of 
 your earlier days ! But a sense of your heavenly 
 Master's eye has brought another influence to bear 
 upon you ; and while you are thus striving to 
 adorn the doctrine of God your Saviour in all 
 things, you may, poor as you are, reclaim the great 
 ones of the land to the acknowledgment of the 
 faith. You have, at least, taught me that to preach 
 Christ, is the only effective way of preaching mo- 
 rality in all its branches ; and out of your humble 
 cottages have I gathered a lesson, which I pray 
 God I may be enabled to carry with all its sim- 
 plicity into a wider theatre, and to bring, with all 
 the power of its subduing efficacy upon the vices 
 of a more crowded population." 
 
 In 1815 Dr. Chalmers was translated to the 
 
120 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND 
 
 Tron church of Glasgow, and here displayed all 
 the resources of his brilliant and vigorous mind. 
 Fired with a generous ardor for the salvation of 
 souls, he poured the truth of God upon rapt and 
 crowded congregations. In addition to the inde- 
 fatigable performance of his ministerial duties, he 
 embarked with eagerness in plans for the ameliora- 
 tion of the condition of the poor. He urged the 
 importance of free school education, and although 
 he had to encounter much prejudice, he accom- 
 plished a large amount of good for the city of 
 Glasgow. His views upon this subject are deve- 
 loped in a large work, published at the time, on the 
 ** Christian and Civic Condition of Large Towns," — 
 a production somewhat elaborate and diffuse, but 
 abounding in important suggestions and earnest 
 appeals. 
 
 In 1816 he was invited to preach before the 
 King's Commissioner in the High Church of Edin- 
 burgh. His discourse on that occasion comprised 
 the essence of his astronomical sermons, and was 
 probably " as magnificent a display of eloquence as 
 was ever heard from the pulpit." The effect upon 
 the audience was immediate and electric. It broke 
 upon them like a shower of light from the opening 
 heavens. By means of this discourse his fame was 
 perhaps first widely established. From that day 
 crowds followed him wherever he went, and, to 
 quote his own words, he began to feel the burden 
 " of a popularity of stare, and pressure and animal 
 heat." 
 
 In 1819 Dr. Chalmers removed to the new church 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 121 
 
 and parish of St. John's, in which place the writer, 
 while a student at Glasgow College, had the plea- 
 sure of hearing some of his thrilling discourses. 
 He was then in the hey-day of life, full of mental 
 and bodily vigor, and preached with a rapidity, 
 force, and pathos perfectly overwhelming. He 
 continued to devote himself to the interests of the 
 poor, and indeed took part in every plan which 
 contemplated the welfare of society. 
 
 In 1823 he was elected Professor of Moral Phi- 
 losophy in the University of St. Andrews, " where 
 he imparted a very different character to this course 
 from the mere worldly cast which it too generally 
 assumes in our universities." Firmly convinced of 
 the great truths of the Gospel, he infused into his 
 prelections the spirit of a profound and earnest 
 godliness. While here, he also delivered a sepa- 
 rate course of lectures on Political Economy, as 
 connected with the chair of Moral Philosophy. 
 
 It may be supposed from his frequent changes 
 that Dr. Chalmers was either a fickle or an ambi- 
 tious man. But those best acquainted with the 
 circumstances, feel assured that this could not pos- 
 sibly have been the case. He neither increased 
 his income nor his popularity by means of these 
 changes, and all, we doubt not, were made with a 
 view to greater usefulness. In one instance, cer- 
 tainly, he proved his disinterestedness by refusing 
 the most wealthy living in the Church of Scotland, 
 the west parish of Greenock, which was presented 
 to him by the patron. 
 
 He was more than once offered an Edinburgh 
 
 11 
 
122 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 church, but uniformly declined it ; as he had long 
 conceived that his widest sphere of usefulness was 
 a theological chair. He was accordingly elected 
 to this office, in the University of Edinburgh, and 
 soon attracted the attention of a large and enthu- 
 siastic class of students. His lectures were able 
 and brilliant ; but this, in our judgment, was not the 
 principal cause of his success. It consisted, as 
 we believe, in his own ardor and enthusiasm, and 
 the consequent ardor and enthusiasm which he in- 
 spired in his pupils. " At one time the object of 
 the young men seemed to be to evade attendance 
 on the Divinity Lecture ; now the difficulty be- 
 came to get a good place to hear their eloquent 
 instructor." By this means much good was accom- 
 plished for the Church of Scotland, by diffiising 
 amongst its ministry a true evangelical spirit. 
 Still we believe that Dr. Chalmer's true sphere of 
 labor was the pulpit, and that here alone he could 
 exert his widest influence. It is true he preached 
 occasionally while occupying the chair of Divinity, 
 and gave a series of lectures on Church Establish- 
 ments, which at that time he earnestly defended. 
 " He considered that each established church 
 throughout the land may be termed a centre of 
 emanation, from which Christianity, with proper 
 zeal, be made to move by an aggressive and con- 
 verting operation, on the wide mass of the people ; 
 whilst a dissenting chapel he views as a centre of 
 attraction only for those who are religiously dis- 
 posed." Recently the Doctor has found his centre 
 of emanation sadly curtailed. The union of church 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 128 
 
 and state has proved, even to him, a prodigious 
 hindrance and difficulty — a proof this, that theory 
 and fact are very different things. 
 
 It w^as while Professor of Theology in Edin- 
 burgh, as we believe, that he visited London, and 
 attracted so much attention by his sermons and 
 lectures. While there, Mr. Canning, Lord Castle- 
 reagh. Lord Eldon, the Duke of Sussex, with seve- 
 ral branches of the Royal Family, whom, as the 
 journals remarked, " they were not accustomed to 
 elbow at a place of worship," were found anxiously 
 waiting to hear this modern Chrysostom. Caught 
 by the irresistible charm of true genius and piety, 
 they listened with wonder and delight to his honest 
 and earnest appeals. They felt and acknowledged 
 that his sermons, " as far transcended those of the 
 mawkish productions to be frequently met with, as 
 does the genius of Milton or of Newton surpass 
 that of the common herd of poets and philosophers." 
 It was a sublime sight to behold crowds of all ranks 
 and conditions hstening devoutly to the vehement 
 exhortations of this man of God. 
 
 '' Can earth afford 
 Such genuine state, pre-eminence, so free, 
 As when arrayed in Christ's authority, 
 He from the pulpit lifts his awful hand ; 
 Conjures, implores, and labors all he can 
 In resubjecting to Divine command 
 The stubborn spirit of rebellious man ?" 
 
 Wordsworth. 
 
 Dr. Chalmers, as all are aware, is the principal 
 leader of the Free Church movement. He has 
 
124 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 uniformly asserted the supremacy of Christ in his 
 own church, and the right of the people to the elec- 
 tion of their pastors. This being denied and with- 
 held by the legal authorities in Scotland, Dr. Chal- 
 mers, and the noble host of ministers and churches 
 that agreed with him, departed in a body from " the 
 Established Kirk." In 1843 he relinquished his 
 station as Professor of Theology in the University ; 
 and since that time has occupied the same office, in 
 connection with "the Free Church of Scotland." 
 He is now considerably advanced in years. His 
 head is silvered with gray, and much of his natural 
 strength is abated. But his mind is yet clear and 
 strong, his heart calm and joyful ; and we can only 
 hope and pray that he may be spared many years 
 to come, as an ornament to his country, and an 
 honor to the Church. 
 
 It is not our pupose in this place to say much on 
 the subject of the published works of Dr. Chalmers. 
 These are quite volumnious. The EngHsh edition 
 of his works consists of twenty-five duodecimo 
 volumes. Of these the two first volumes on Nat- 
 ural Theology J the third and fourth on the Evi- 
 dences of Christianity , the fifth on Moral Philoso- 
 phy, the sixth. Commercial Discourses, the seventh, 
 Astronomical Discourses, and the last four on 
 PauVs Epistle to the Romans, are the most inte- 
 resting and valuable.* In style and arrangement, 
 
 =* AU these, with the addition of four volumes of Sermons, form- 
 ing the Theological Works of Dr. Chalmers, have been repub- 
 lished, in handsome form, by Mr. Carter of New York. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 125 
 
 n logic and definition, they possess some obvious 
 defects, but ever indicate a genius of the highest 
 order, a heart burning with love and zeal, a con- 
 science void of oflfence tov^ard God and toward 
 all men ; and a devotion, akin to that of angels and 
 the spirits of just men made perfect.* 
 
 * In the introduction to " Vinet's Vital Christianity,^ I have 
 given a more elaborate estimate of the mental peculiarities of Dr. 
 Chalmers, in connection with those of Vinet, " the Chalmers of 
 Switzerland.'' 
 
 11* 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Dr. John Brown of Edinburgh — Rev. John Brown of White- 
 burn — Professor John Brown of Haddington — Rev. Dr. Cand- 
 lish — Specimen of his Preaching. 
 
 Before leaving the Edinburgh clergy, I wish to 
 give you some account of the Rev. Dr. John 
 Brown, minister of Broughton Place Chapel, and 
 Professor of exegetical Theology in the United Se- 
 cession Church, one of the most amiable and ac- 
 complished of the Scottish ministers. He is the 
 son of the Rev. John Brown of Whiteburn, and the 
 grandson of the Rev. John Brown of Haddington, 
 of whom I shall have something to say before the 
 close of the chapter. 
 
 Dr. Brown is between fifty and sixty years of 
 age, with a fine form and expressive countenance. 
 Rather tall and slender, he looks much as one 
 might conceive the Apostle John to have done. His 
 countenance is mild and dignified, nose slighly aqui- 
 line, brow arched and high, eyes dark and piercing, 
 and his mouth indicative of mingled firmness and 
 delicacy of character. His hair, once dark as the 
 ravens, bears the marks of age and thought. In 
 his youth, he was extremely vigorous and active ; 
 but he is evidently passing into " the sere and yel- 
 low leaf.'' 
 
 Dr. Brown is a man of decided talent, though 
 distinguished more for clearness and strength of 
 
 J 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 127 
 
 intellect, than for genius and imagination. His 
 mind is highly cultivated, but it seldom glows and 
 sparkles. His discourses are always interesting 
 and instructive, but not often thrilling or overpow- 
 ering. They never fall below mediocrity, are al- 
 ways clear, sensible and useful, but perhaps never 
 rise to the highest heaven of invention. In this re- 
 spect he much resembles the celebrated Dr. Ward- 
 law, though, as a speaker, he is more effective. 
 Dr. Wardlaw uniformly reads his sermons, Dr. 
 Brown does not even use notes. He preaches 
 probably from memory, as is the case with most of 
 the Scottish clergy. They practice " the commit- 
 ting" of their sermons from their youth, and ac- 
 quire astonishing facility in this exercise, on which 
 account their preaching is often distinguished as 
 much for its accuracy, as its energy and freedom. 
 Dr. Brown appears to great advantage in the pul- 
 pit. His ease, energy, gracefulness and variety of 
 tone, attitude, and expression, are equally striking. 
 Occasionally he hesitates for a word, but never 
 fails to find the right one. His language is re- 
 markably full and accurate. His topics, too are 
 uniformly well selected, clearly divided and thor- 
 oughly discussed. If he does not, like Chalmers, 
 awe and subdue his audience, he seldom fails to in- 
 terest and instruct them. His style is lucid and 
 vivacious, and well adapted to useful practical 
 preaching. A tone of deep and fervid piety per- 
 vades the whole, giving the impression that a 
 man of God is addressing to you the messages of 
 Heaven. 
 
128 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Dr. Brown is orthodox, but liberal in his views 
 and feelings. As a theologian he belongs to 
 the school of the moderate Calvinists. In con- 
 nection with the late amiable and accomplished 
 Dr. Balmer of Berwick, he was called to account 
 some years ago, for his views of the atonement, 
 which he regards not as a restricted, but as a uni- 
 versal blessing, that is to say, as a blessing, in- 
 tended for the benefit not of a class, but of the 
 whole world. This gave rise to a war of words, and 
 to much useless recrimination in the courts of the 
 United Secession Church, which have left the mat- 
 ter pretty much where it was before. Dr. Brown's 
 views, however, are becoming prevalent in Scot- 
 land. 
 
 Dr. Brown has done much to promote the study 
 of Biblical Literature, which has received compar- 
 atively little attention in Scotland. As theologians 
 the Scottish preachers are sound and practical, but 
 with the exception of Dr. Campbell of Aberdeen, 
 and Dr. McKnight of Edinburgh, they have not 
 distinguished themselves for their critical investi- 
 gations. A new spirit begins to prevail among 
 them. The highly respectable denomination with 
 which Dr. Brown is connected, is making rapid 
 advances in this interesting branch of Biblical 
 study. 
 
 Dr. Brown has taken an active part in the dis- 
 cussion of the question touching the seperation of 
 Church and State, and has published one or two 
 pamphlets upon the subject. In polemics he has 
 always evinced a sober and generous spirit. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 129 
 
 The family, from which the subject of these re- 
 marks is descended, has been highly distinguished 
 for its talents and piety. The most of its members 
 have been eminent and useful preachers for several 
 generations. Dr. Brown's father, the Rev. John 
 Brown, of Whiteburn, was for many years one of 
 the most devout and useful ministers of the Seces- 
 sion Church. Indeed, he was a perfect patriarch 
 in the rural district, where he exercised his minis- 
 try. Every one knew him and loved him, as a man 
 of singular goodness and apostolic zeal. When a 
 boy the writer used to attend his church, and well 
 does he remember his meek and venerable counte- 
 nance, and the thrilling tones of his musical voice. 
 He rode about his parish on an old white pony, fat 
 and good-natured hke his master ; and never failed, 
 when he met one of his youthful parishioners, to 
 stop and enter into conversation with him. " Weel, 
 my lad," he would say, patting my head, " how 
 d'ye do — and how's your faither, and how's your 
 mither ? And a' the family, are they weel ? Gie 
 them my compliments. And now you maun be a 
 good boy ; dinna forget to say your prayers, and 
 God will bless you. Gude day !" So off he would 
 amble .with a benignant smile, leaving a sweet and 
 holy impression behind him, not forgotten to this 
 very day. In preaching, Mr. Brown had a pecu- 
 liar tone or tune, which at times was perfectly 
 thrilling. He frequently used the Scottish dialect 
 in the more pathetic and practical parts of his dis- 
 courses, and by this means produced a great im- 
 pression upon his simple-hearted hearers. His 
 
130 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 style, too, was naturally quaint and terse, and this, 
 set off by his benignant look, his varied and tender 
 tones, often made his sermons verv memorable. 
 Some of his illustrations I remember now, though 
 I ceased to hear him preach in my eighth year, 
 having been removed to another part of the coun- 
 try. The following are specimens, perhaps not the 
 best that might be given, but certainly characteris- 
 tic. ** There are three sorts of folks in the world ; 
 the butterfly, the wasp, and the bee. The butterfly 
 is the gaudy fool, the wasp is the malicious wicked, 
 but the bee is the gude Christian !" Imagine this, 
 and the following, uttered with a peculiar sing-song 
 and most expressive look and emphasis. " When 
 ye see reek coming out at the chimney, ye may 
 conclude there's fire in the house ; so, when ye 
 hear a man cursing and swearing, ye may be sure 
 that the fire of hell is kindled in that man's heart !" 
 " O my friends, hold on and persevere in the good 
 ways of the Lord. A few more losses and crosses, 
 a few more troubles and trials, and we'll cross the 
 swellings o' Jordan, and then, O then, we'll sit and 
 sing thegither on the hills of Zion !" " Fear not, 
 little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give 
 you the kingdom. O the heart of our heavenly Fa- 
 ther is a heart of tenderness and love. He will 
 never leave you, nor forsake you. Why, only 
 think on't — ye'r his ain dear bairns ; he'll tak you by 
 the han', and lead you through the wilderness, till 
 he bring you safe to the Heavenly Canaan, the hame 
 of his children, the inheritance of his family !" 
 Good old man ! he has gone, long since, to that 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 131 
 
 blessed " hame " where faithful ministers meet their 
 beloved flocks, and " sing together on the hills of 
 Zion !" 
 
 Mr. Brown had a brother Ebenezer, minister of 
 Inverkeithing, who was still more distinguished as 
 a preacher. In his boyhood he was " a great 
 rogue," and used to teaze his ** douce" and pious 
 brother John, and occasion a good deal of trouble 
 to his worthy father. But he was converted when 
 a young man, and became an exceedingly devout 
 and eloquent preacher. I had the pleasure of hear- 
 ing him preach once in the open air, at a sacramen- 
 tal occasion connected with his brother's congrega- 
 tion in Whiteburn, but have a very indistinct recol- 
 lection of the discourse. But I well remember his 
 earnest look, and the thrilling tones of his powerful 
 voice. He was of small stature, but spoke with 
 great force and vehemence, and occasionally with 
 the same sing-song voice, common among the old 
 Scottish preachers. The congregation was rapt : 
 a solemn stillness pervaded the atmosphere all 
 around, so that one could hear the chirpings of the 
 grasshopper, and the song of the bird in the neigh- 
 boring woods, during the pauses of his long and 
 earnest sentences. 
 
 The father of John Brown of Whiteburn, and 
 grandfather of Dr. John Brown of Edinburgh, was 
 the celebrated professor John Brown, author of the 
 Self-Interpreting Bible, Exposition of the Assem- 
 bly's Shorter Catechism, and other works ; and 
 teacher of Theology in the United Secession Church. 
 He was an extraordinary man. When a poor 
 
132 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 shepherd boy, he conceived the idea of learning 
 Latin and Greek, and having procured a few old 
 books, actually accomplished the task, w^hile tend- 
 ing his cattle on the hills. So successful was he, 
 that some of the old and superstitious people in 
 the neighborhood concluded that he must have 
 been assisted by " the evil spirit." On one occa- 
 sion he went to Edinburgh, plaided and barefoot, 
 walked into a bookseller's shop, and asked for a 
 Greek Testament. " What are you going to do 
 with a Greek Testament?" said the bookseller. 
 " Read it," was the prompt reply. ** Read it !" ex- 
 claimed the sceptical bookseller, with a smile ; " ye 
 may have it for nothing if ye'll read it." Taking 
 the book, he quietly read off a few verses, and gave 
 the translation ; on which he was permitted to carry 
 off the Greek Testament in triumph. 
 
 Professor Brown was an eminently holy man. 
 He was equally distinguished for his simplicity and 
 dignity of character. His preaching was much 
 admired by old and judicious persons. On one oc- 
 casion, wiien he and others were assisting a brother 
 minister in services preparatory to the celebration 
 of the Lord's Supper, which services in Scotland 
 usually take place on the last days of the week pre- 
 ceding the "sacramental sabbath," and are fre- 
 quently held in the open air, a couple of gay young 
 men had been out hunting, and on their return home 
 drew near to the large congregation who were 
 listening at that moment to the preaching of an 
 eloquent but somewhat showy divine. After stand- 
 ing a few moments, the one said to the other, " Did 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 133 
 
 you ever hear such preaching as that ?" " No," he 
 rephed with an oath, " but he don't beHeve a word 
 of it !" After this preacher had closed, there stood 
 up, in the " tent," (a temporary pulpit erected in the 
 open air for the accommodation of the ministers,) 
 an old, humble looking man, who announced his text 
 in a trembling voice, as if he were afraid to speak 
 in God's name. He went on, and became more and 
 more interesting, more and more impressive. The 
 young men were awed, and listened with reverent 
 attention to the close, when the one, turning to the 
 other, said, " And what d'ye think of that ?" '* Think 
 of it," he replied, " I don't know what to think. 
 Why, didn't you see how every now and then he 
 turned round in the tent, as if Jesus Christ were 
 behind him, and he was asking, ' Lord, what shall 
 I say next V " This preacher was John Brown, 
 the secret of whose pulpit eloquence was, the inspi- 
 ration of an humble and contrite heart, touched by 
 the finger of the Almighty ; an eloquence as far trans- 
 cending that of the mere orator as the divine and 
 heavenly transcends the human and earthly. This 
 too, was the eloquence of the early Scottish preach- 
 ers, — of Knox and Rutherford, of Guthrie and Ers- 
 kine, of Cameron and Boston. This fired the hearts 
 of the people with a holy and all-conquering zeal ; 
 this shed a glory over the death of the martyrs, and 
 diflTused among their descendants the love of " the 
 Covenant" and the love of God. May this ever 
 continue to be the eloquence not only of the Church 
 in Scotland but of the Church throughout the world ! 
 There is one other preacher in Edinburgh, ol 
 
 12 
 
134 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 whom it would be desirable to give a full-length 
 portrait. I refer to Dr. Candlish, certainly one of 
 the most popular and effective preachers in the 
 Free Church of Scotland. But I am not in pos- 
 session of the materials for such a portrait, having 
 heard him preach only once, and being imperfectly 
 acquainted with the events of his life. He is pro- 
 bably about forty-five years of age, rather short of 
 stature, and not particularly imposing or prepos- 
 sessing in appearance. His face is rather long and 
 sallow, but set off by an immense forehead, dark 
 bushy hair, and a pair of fine black eyes. He 
 stands bolt upright in the pulpit, and speaks in a 
 clear, strong, deliberate, yet rapid voice. Judging 
 from his published discourses, and the single speci- 
 men which I heard, I should think him destitute of 
 pathetic power. He is evidently most at home in 
 the regions of ratiocination. His language is copi- 
 ous, energetic, and harmonious. In clearness and 
 finish it is decidedly superior to that of Chalmers, 
 and little inferior to Robert Hall's. It possesses a 
 stateliness, combined with a bounding energy, which 
 render it very effective. His method is remarkably 
 lucid, and his reasoning strong and convincing. In 
 fancy, in touching pathos, in overwhelming energy, 
 in the vivid lightning flashes of genius, he is greatly 
 inferior to Chalmers ; but in clearness of definition, 
 in compactness and purity of style, in strength of 
 logic, and in completeness of arrangement and 
 finish, he must be acknowledged superior. His 
 discourses are highly evangelical. They abound in 
 clear and instructive statements, and defences of 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 135 
 
 the cardinal truths of the Gospel. If deficient, it 
 is in directness and pungency of appeal, in holy 
 pathos, in solemn and subduing unction. 
 
 As a debater, Dr. Candhsh stands pre-eminent. 
 He may not possess the ponderous strength of 
 Cunningham, the overpowering energy of Chal- 
 mers, the quick and versatile humor of Guthrie, or 
 the eloquent polish of Buchanan. But he posses- 
 ses, in unusual combination, clearness of method, 
 logical acumen, force and beauty of style, and an 
 easy, graceful, commanding elocution. When 
 Chalmers dies, v^e predict that Candhsh will be 
 the leader in the courts of the Free Church of 
 Scotland. 
 
 Dr. Candhsh has published quite a number of 
 occasional sermons, and a volume of lectures on 
 the record of the Creation in the book of Genesis. 
 These lectures are interesting and instructive, but 
 to our taste, they are too diffuse and elaborate, and 
 not sufficiently critical, or rather exegetical and 
 compact. They say much about a thing, without 
 actually saying the thing itself. But this is rather 
 the fault of their design or plan, than of their ex- 
 ecution, which as a whole indicates a high degree 
 of talent. They contain many fine passages, and 
 valuable suggestions. 
 
 Among his published discourses, one of the best 
 is on the " Incompetency of Reason, and the Fit- 
 ness of Revelation ;" from iVcts xvii. 23. " Whom 
 therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto 
 you." The following passage from that discourse 
 will give a fair idea of his power. Speaking of 
 
136 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 the mournful condition of those who delight to in- 
 vestigate the works of God, but have never found 
 God himself, he says : — " They may feel a proud 
 and high satisfaction, arising from the importance 
 of the knowledge acquired in the successful em- 
 ployment of their powers and faculties of mind. 
 But brethren, they scarcely meet, in all the various 
 and diversified tracks which they take, and in all 
 the endless varieties of objects which encounter 
 their judgments — they scarcely ever meet their 
 God ; they scarcely ever find him in the way ; 
 they scarcely ever seek him. In the wondrous el- 
 ements, the richly scattered treasures of power, and 
 wisdom and goodness, through which they make 
 their progress, they cannot shut their eyes to the 
 presence of God ; they must acknowledge a God : 
 but it is God with attributes of their own choosing, 
 not the God of Scripture, — the God of nature, not 
 the God of justice. Him they exclude from their 
 view ; Him they do not like to retain in their 
 thoughts ; and in the circumstances in which they 
 cultivate the idea of a God, if mingling in their re- 
 searches at all, they strip their ideas of all which 
 might remind them of their unsettled controversy 
 with Him. Conceive of a man in such a state, so 
 blind as to have exercised his powers of discovery, 
 in the full blaze of all the glory and the terrible 
 majesty of a just God and a Saviour, without re- 
 ally finding him, condemned to carry on his future 
 work of discovery with a clear and startling ap- 
 prehension of all the moral attributes of God — his 
 holiness, — his justice, — his truth — all as manifested 
 
GENIUS OP SCOTLAND. 137 
 
 in the cross of Christ, and all still carried on in a 
 carnal mind and a self-condemned heart. Where 
 now will be the joy of his lofty inquiries ? Where 
 now the triumph of his lofty powers of knowl- 
 edge ? Every object he contemplates now, is con- 
 nected with the idea of a righteous God ; every 
 subject he can examine now, is fraught with the 
 presence of a righteous God ; every new ray of 
 light that meets his eye, reveals to him a righteous 
 God ; every sound carries to his ear the name of 
 God, repeated by a thousand echoes. He can 
 make no experiment now that will not show him 
 more of the wonders and terrors of God. He can 
 look at nothing, he can think of nothing, that does 
 not speak to him of God, and remind him of his 
 justice : and all the bold traces of his profound 
 discoveries regarding nature, now do but suggest 
 reminiscences of nature's God as a God of judg- 
 ment ; and so the very faculty which was ever his 
 pride and admiration, — the capacity of deep reflec- 
 tion and enlightened inquiry, does but add new 
 sting and torture to his reprobate mind, by sug- 
 gesting always, everywhere, and in all things, new 
 images and representations of that awful, that Al- 
 mighty Being, whom he has chosen to make his 
 foe." 
 
 12* 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Ride into the Country — The Skylark — Poems on the Skylark by 
 Shelley and the ^ Ettrick Shepherd'— Newhall—' The Gentle 
 Shepherd' — Localities and Outlines of the Story — Its Popu- 
 * larity in Scotland. 
 
 'Tis a beautiful morning in early June. The 
 sun is peeping over Arthur's Seat, and glancing 
 from the turrets of the old Castle. The carriage is 
 ready, and Sandy the driver is cracking his w^hip 
 with impatience. So, take your place, and let us 
 be off. Passing ' Bruntsfield Links' we plunge 
 into the very heart of the country, so rich and va- 
 ried, with park and woodland scenery, handsome 
 villas, and sweet acclivities. Yonder is Merchis- 
 ton Castle, the birth-place of the celebrated Napier, 
 the inventor of Logarithms. A little further on, 
 we reach the smiling village of Morningside, and 
 pass some pretty country residences, with plea- 
 sant grounds and picturesque views. We enter a 
 narrow and thickly wooded dell, through which 
 tinkles a small rivulet, called the Braid Burn. At 
 the bottom we come to the Braid Hermitage, as 
 sweet a sylvan retreat as ever greeted the eye of 
 the rural wanderer. Those rocky heights above 
 us are the Braid Hills, from which can be enjoyed 
 some of the most splendid views in Scotland. 
 Leaving the carriage a few minutes we ascend 
 that lofty eminence, and gaze, with delight upon 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 139 
 
 the vast and beautiful landscape, including the city 
 of Edinburgh, the Firth of Forth, with its " eme- 
 rald islands," and the winding shores of Fife in 
 the distance. Blackford hill, a little to the north 
 of us is the spot mentioned in " Marmion :" 
 
 " StiU on the spot Lord Marmion stay'd, 
 For fairer scene he ne'er survey 'd, 
 When sated with the martial show 
 That peopled all the plains below, 
 The wandering eye could o'er it go. 
 And mark the distant city glow 
 
 With gloomy splendor red ; 
 For on the smoke wreaths, huge and slow, 
 That round her sable turrets flow, 
 
 The morning beams were shed, 
 And tinged them with a lustre proud, 
 Like that which streaks a thunder cloud ; 
 Such dusky grandeur clothed the height, 
 Where the huge castle holds its state, 
 
 And all the steep slope down, 
 Whose ridgy back heaves to the sky, 
 Piled deep and massy, close and high, 
 
 Mine own romantic town ! 
 
 But northward far with purer blaze 
 On Ochil mountains fell the rays. 
 And as each heathy top they kiss'd, 
 Jt gleamed a purple amethyst. 
 Yonder the shores of Fife you saw ; 
 Here Preston Bay, and Berwick-Law j 
 
 And broad between them roll'd 
 The gallant Firth the eye might note. 
 Whose islands on its bosom float, 
 
 Like emeralds chased in gold." 
 
 Descending from the hill we resume our journey, 
 musing on the days of old, when " shrill fife and 
 martial drum" awakened the echoes of these peace. 
 
140 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 ful vales, now resounding with the melody of birds. 
 How delightful the gushing music of those sky- 
 larks, which descends upon us from " heaven's 
 gates," like a shower of "embodied gladness." 
 Why, it seems as if a hundred of them were soar- 
 ing " i' the lift," and singing with a joyous energy, 
 akin to that of the blessed spirits in heaven. To 
 me, the lark is the noblest of all birds, the most 
 pure and spirit-like of all aerial songsters. In Scot- 
 land, too, she seems to sing the sweetest and strong- 
 est. Others may praise the nightingale, if the}^ 
 please, and my own heart has often thrilled, to hear, 
 at the " witching time of night," her wild and mel- 
 ancholy strain from some English copsewood, or 
 Italian grove. But nothing so rich and beautiful, 
 so spirit-like and divine ever greeted my ear as the 
 glad singing of the heaven-aspiring lark. It seemed 
 as if the very spirit of song had taken wings, and 
 were ascending to God, in a flood of melody. But 
 listen to the following strains written by Shelley 
 under the inspiration of the sky-lark's song : 
 
 Hail to thee, blithe spirit, 
 
 Bird thou never wert, 
 That from heaven or near it 
 
 Pourest thy full heart 
 In profuse strains of unpremeditated art. 
 
 Higher still and higher 
 
 From the earth thou springest. 
 Like a cloud of fire ! 
 
 The blue deep thou wingest, 
 And singing, still dost soar ; and soaring, ever singest. 
 
 In the golden lightning 
 Of the sunken sun, 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 141 
 
 O'er which clouds are brightening, 
 Thou dost float and run ; 
 Like an embodied joy, whose race has just begun. 
 
 All the earth and air 
 
 With thy voice is loud, 
 As, when night is bare 
 
 From one lonely cloud. 
 The moon rains out her beams, and heaven is overflowed. 
 
 What thou art, we know not. 
 
 What is most like thee ? 
 From rainbow clouds there flow not 
 Drops so bright to see, 
 As from thy presence showers a rain of melody 
 
 Like a poet hidden 
 
 In the light of thought. 
 Singing hymns unbidden 
 
 Till the world is wrought 
 To sympathy with hopes and fears it heeded not. 
 
 Sound of vernal showers 
 
 On the twinkling grass, 
 Rain awakened flowers, 
 
 All that ever was 
 Joyous and fresh and clear thy music doth surpass. 
 
 Teach me, sprite or bird. 
 What sweet thoughts are thine : 
 
 I have never heard 
 Praise of love or wine 
 That panted tbrth a flood of rapture so divine. 
 
 Chorus hymeneal 
 
 Or triumphant chaunt, 
 Matched with thine would be all 
 
 But an empty vaunt — 
 A thing wherein we feel there is some hidden want. 
 
142 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 What objects are the fountains 
 
 Of thy happy strain ? 
 What fields or waves or mountains? 
 
 What shapes of sky or plain ? 
 What love of thine own kind ? What ignorance of pain ? 
 
 With thy clear keen joyance 
 
 Languor cannot be : 
 Shadow of annoyance 
 Never came near thee : 
 Thou lovest, but ne'er knew love's sad satiety 
 
 Waking or asleep 
 
 Thou of death must deem, 
 Things more true and deep 
 Than we mortals dream, 
 Or how could thy note flow in such a crystal stream? 
 
 We look before and after, 
 
 And pine for what is not j 
 Our sincerest laughter, 
 With some pain is fraught : 
 Our sweetest songs are those which tell of saddest thought. 
 
 Better than all measures 
 
 Of delightful sound, 
 Better than all treasures 
 That in books are found, 
 Thy skill to poet were, thou scorner of the ground I 
 
 Teach me half the gladness. 
 
 That thy brain must know ; 
 Such harmonious madness 
 
 From my lips would flow, 
 The world should listen then, as I am listening now. 
 
 Inferior to this, but still very beautiful, more 
 natural, and more especially Scottish, are the fol- 
 lowing lines to the Skylark by the " Ettrick Shep- 
 herd:" 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 143 
 
 Bird of the wilderness, 
 
 Blitliesome and cumberless, 
 Sweet be thy matin o'er moorland and lea ! 
 
 Emblem of happiness, 
 
 Blest is thy dwelling place — 
 O to abide in the desert with thee ! 
 
 Wild is thy lay and loud, 
 
 Far in the downy cloud, 
 Love gives it energy, love gave it birth. 
 
 Where on thy dewy wing, 
 
 Where art thou journeying? 
 Thy lay is in heaven, thy love is on earth. 
 
 O'er fell and fountain sheen, 
 
 O'er moor and mountain green. 
 O'er the red streamer that heralds the day, 
 
 Over the cloudlet dim, 
 
 Over the rainbow's rim. 
 Musical cherub, soar singing away ! 
 
 Then when the gloaming comes 
 
 Low in the heather blooms, 
 Sweet will thy welcome and bed of love be ! 
 
 Emblem of happiness. 
 
 Blest is thy dwelling place — 
 O to abide in the desert with thee ! 
 
 Filled with these pleasant images, we pursue our 
 journey, and wind along the edge of the Pentland 
 Hills, with their thrilling memories of " Auld-lang- 
 syne ;" pass the " bonnie braes" of Woodhouselee, 
 and reach old Glencorse Church, "bosomed high 
 *mong tufted trees ;" cross " a bonnie burn," called 
 " Logan Water," and get a glimpse of " House of 
 Muir," in the vicinity of which the old Scottish 
 Covenanters met with a terrible slaughter, from 
 General Dalzell of Binns, the " bluidy Dalzell," as 
 the Scots call him to this day. Passing through the 
 humble village of Silver Burn, we reach Newhall, 
 
144 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 once the residence of Dr. Penny cuick, a poet and an 
 antiquary, and subsequently of the Forbes family 
 highly distinguished for their talents and virtues. 
 Disposing of our carriage, let us ramble, at our 
 "own sweet will," amid those beautiful grounds. 
 The mansion of Newhall, once a battlemented cas- 
 tle of the Crichton family, stands on the left bank of 
 the North Esk, within a curvature of the stream, 
 under the shadow of the Pentland Hills. On either 
 side is a deep ravine, terminating in the glen of the 
 Esk, one of the most romantic spots in Scotland. 
 Passing round on the eastern side, we gaze down 
 into the ravine, overhung by the remains of a small 
 round tower, and densely shaded with tangled 
 trees. A dark rill gurgles at the bottom, here and 
 there leaping into beautiful cascades, and flinging 
 its glittering spray among the dark woods. Pass- 
 ing to the other side, we come to what was formerly 
 the site of an old prison and chapel, encircled by a 
 pleasant walk. The ravine beneath is filled with 
 trees and shrubbery, but has no stream. From this 
 point the eye glances up through the wooded glen, 
 echoing with the songs of the mavis and the linnet, 
 and over to a mineral well, sheltered by copsewood 
 and pines. 
 
 But Newhall, and the grounds around it, derive 
 their chief interest from their connection with the 
 well-known pastoral poem of "Allan Ramsay." 
 The very air seems redolent with the poetry of 
 " The Gentle Shepherd." Leaving the house, we 
 reach a little " haugh," or low sheltered spot, where 
 the Esk and the rivulets from the Harbour Craig 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 145 
 
 mingle their waters. At the side of the stream are 
 some romantic gray crags, directly fronting the 
 south, and looking up a turn in the glen. These, 
 adorned with green birches, shrubs, and copsewood, 
 and shading the limpid stream which makes a curve, 
 and then glides underneath their overhanging cliffs, 
 form " a shady bield," completely protected from 
 observation. In this spot is laid the first act of 
 " The Gentle Shepherd." 
 
 " Beneath the south side of a craggy field. 
 Where crystal springs the halesome vater yield, 
 Twa youthful shepherds on the gowans lay, 
 Tenting their flocks ae bonny morn of May." 
 
 Ascending the vale, and just behind the house, 
 we come to a considerable holm or green, with the 
 babbling burn, now gentler in its movement, wind- 
 ing sweetly among the white pebbles. At the head 
 of this quiet retreat, on the edge of the burn, are the 
 ruins of an ancient washing-house, protected by an 
 aged thorn. It was here that the "twa lasses" 
 proposed to wash their " claes," unseen by their 
 lovers, 
 
 " A flowery howm between twa verdant braes, 
 Where lasses use to wash and spread their claes, 
 A trotting burnie wimpling through the ground ; 
 Its channel pebbles shining smooth and round." 
 
 A little further up the burn we come to a hollow, 
 a little beyond what is called "Mary's Bower," 
 where the Esk divides it in the middle, and forms a 
 linn or cascade, called the " How Burn ;" a small 
 enclosure above is called the " Braehead Park ;" and 
 
 13 
 
146 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 this hollow beneath the cascade with its bathing 
 pool and little green, its rocks and birches, its wild 
 shrubs and natural flowers, and general air of 
 sequestered and romantic beauty, in every respect 
 corresponds with the poet's exquisite description of 
 the spot called " Habbie's Howe." 
 
 " Gae farer up the burn to Habbie's Howe, 
 
 Where a' the sweets o' spring and summer grow, 
 There, 'tween twa birks out ower a little linn, 
 The water fa's and mak's a singand din •* 
 A pule breast deep, beneath as clear as glass, 
 Kisses wP easy whirls the bordering grass.'^ 
 
 Ascending yet further, at a place called the 
 ** Carlops," (a contraction of " Carline's Loups," so 
 called, in consequence of a witch or carline having 
 been seen leaping, at night, from one rock to an- 
 other,) two tall rocks shoot up on either side. Near 
 this, by the side of that old ash tree, stood Mausers 
 Cottage. 
 
 " The open field, a cottage in a glen. 
 An auld wife spinning at the sunny end. 
 At a sma' distance, by a blasted tree, 
 Wi faulded arms and half-raised look, ye see 
 
 Bauldy his lane !"t 
 
 " A green kail-yard ; a little fount, 
 Where water poplin springs ; 
 There sits a wifej wi' wrinkled front. 
 An' yet she spins and sings." 
 
 With these localities in our mind, let us sit down 
 on this " gowan'd brae," and run over the story of 
 " The Gentle Shepherd," one of the most graphic 
 
 * Singing noise. f Alone. t Old woman. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. H"* 
 
 pictures of Scottish manners, and one of the sweet 
 est pastorals in any language. 
 
 Patie or Patrick, a humble shepherd-lad, born 
 and bred in the region we have entered, about the 
 middle of the seventeenth century, was a handsome 
 fellow, and remarkably distinguished for his good 
 temper and rustic accomplishments. He was of a 
 gay-hearted cheerful disposition, and made the 
 woods and hills ring again with his mirthful songs. 
 Moreover, he was sensible and well-informed. His 
 mind, indeed, was superior to his station ; still he 
 was contented and happy. 
 
 Symon Scott, a worthy man and a wealthy 
 farmer, with whom Patie had lived from his child- 
 hood, was a tenant of Sir William Preston's, owner 
 of the neighboring lands, who, to save his head, he 
 having taken part with the royalists, had fled his 
 native country, and was living abroad, no one 
 knew where. 
 
 Patie loved Peggy Forsyth, a " neebor lassie," 
 of excellent character and great beauty, who fully 
 requited his attachment. This girl was the reputed 
 niece of Glaude Anderson, a comfortable farmer, 
 and a tenant of Sir William's. He had found her 
 one summer morning, at his door, carefully wrap- 
 ped in swaddling clothes. Being a warm-hearted 
 man, he had adopted the little stranger as his own 
 relative. 
 
 The interviews and conversations of the lovers, 
 and their friends, Roger and Jenny, who after some 
 embarrassments from Jenny's independence, are 
 found to be warmly attached to each other are re- 
 
148 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 lated by the dramatist with great beauty and sim- 
 plicity. The reader sees them at early morn, or 
 amid the shadows of the gloaming, wandering by 
 the " bonnie burnie's side," and with hearts of inno- 
 cence, giving themselves up to the full enjoyment 
 of nature's beauties and their own sweet affections. 
 Glaude and Symon are fine specimens of the hon- 
 est and hospitable farmers of Scotland. The house 
 of the former is such as one often sees in the rural 
 districts : 
 
 •' A snug thack* house, before the door a green, 
 Hens on the midden, ducks in dubsf are seen. 
 On this side stands a barn, on that a byre 4 
 A peat stack joins, an' forms a rural square. 
 The house is Gland's ; — there you may see him lean, 
 And to his divot§ seat invites his frien.^' 
 
 The character and fate of Bauldy are graphic- 
 ally described. He is a wealthy but vulgar minded 
 farmer, attached to Peggy, and resolved, if possi- 
 ble, to withdraw her affections from Patie and se- 
 cure them for himself. For this purpose he has re- 
 course to Mause, a sensible and worthy old wo- 
 man, but reputed a witch, from her superiority to 
 the common people. Mause agrees to assist him, 
 but secretly resolves to expose his ignorance and 
 punish his effrontery. The following is Bauldy's 
 account of the matter : 
 
 ^- Ah ! Sir, the witch ca'd Mause, 
 That wins aboon the mill amang the haws. 
 First promised that she'd help me wP her art, 
 To gain a bonnie thrawart|| lassie's heart. 
 
 * Thatch, t Pools. J Barn for the cows. § Turf. H Wayward. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 14$ 
 
 As she had trysted, I met wi' 'er this night ; 
 But may nae frien o' mine get such a fright ! 
 For the curst hag, instead of doing me guid, 
 (The very thocht o'ts like to freeze my bluid !) 
 Raised up a ghaist, or deil, I kenna whilk, 
 Like a dead corse, in sheet as white as milk ; 
 Black hands it had, and face as wan as death ; 
 Upon me fast the witch and it fell baith, 
 And got me down ; while I like a great fool 
 Was 'laboured* as I used to be at school : 
 My heart out o' its hoolf was like to loup, 
 I pithlessi grew wi' fear, an' had nae houp. 
 Till wi' an elritch laugh, they vanished quite ; 
 Syne I, hauf dead wi' anger, fear and spite, 
 Crap up, and fled straught frae them." 
 
 Tidings had arrived that Sir William, who had 
 now been absent several years, might be expected 
 home, as the king was restored and the royal party 
 was now^ predominant. 
 
 This tidings created the liveliest sensations of joy 
 among Sir William's tenantry, as he was much be- 
 loved for his kindness and generosity of disposi- 
 tion. Old Symon Scott and Glaude Anderson 
 were especially delighted, and resolved, each of 
 them, to celebrate the event with a feast. Symon 
 however had already begun to make preparations 
 for a banquet, to w^hich he invited Glaude and all 
 the old and young people of the neighborhood : 
 
 " It's Symon's house, please to step in, 
 
 And vissy't§ round and round. 
 There's nought superfluous to gie pain, 
 Or costly to be found. 
 
 ^ Belabored. t Place or socket, 
 
 t Powerless. § Examine it. 
 
 13* 
 
150 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Yet a' is clean — a clear peat ingle=* 
 
 Glances amidst the floorf ; 
 The green horn spoons, beech luggiesj mingle 
 
 On skelfs§ foregainst the door. 
 While the young brood sport on the green, 
 
 The auld anes think it best, 
 Wi' the brown cow|| to clear their een 
 
 Snuff, crack and tak their rest." 
 
 While they are engaged Sir William appears 
 among the young people on the green, in the garb 
 of a fortune teller. Jenny runs into the house and 
 tells her father, who, particularly good-natured and 
 hospitable at such an hour, replies : — 
 
 *' Gae bring him in ; we^ll hear what he can say, 
 
 Nane shall gae hungry by my house the day. [Exit Jenny. 
 
 But for his telling fortunes, troth I fear 
 
 He kens nae mair o^ that than my grey mare. 
 
 Glaud. — Spae men !T[ the truth o' a^ their saws I doubt, 
 For greater lears never ran thereout. 
 
 [Jenny returns bringing in Sir William ; — rvith them Patie. 
 
 Symon. — Ye're welcome honest carle, here take a seat. 
 
 Sir W. — I gie ye thanks, gudeman, Fse be no blate.^-^ 
 
 Glaud. — Come, t'yejt frien. How far came ye the day ? 
 
 Sir W. — I pledge ye, neibour, e^en but little way. 
 
 Symon. — Ye're welcome here to stay a' night wP me. 
 And tak sic bed and board as we can gie. 
 
 Sir W. — That's kind unsought. — Weel gint J ye hae a bairn, 
 That ye like weel, an wad his fortune learn, 
 I shall employ the farthest o' my skill. 
 To spae it faithfully, be 't good or ill. 
 
 Symon (pointing to Patie). — Only that lad : alake! I hae nae mae 
 Either to mak me joyf u' now or wae. 
 
 * A fire of peats, f In Scotland the old peasant houses have 
 the fire in their centre. % Cups of beech wood. § Shelves op- 
 posite the door. || Brown ale. Tl Fortune-tellers. ^^ Bashful. 
 It Your health. W If. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 151 
 
 Sir W. — Young man, let's see your hand ; what gars=*=ye sneer? 
 Patie. — Because your skill 's but little worth, I fear. 
 Sir W. — Ye cut before the point : but, Billy, bide, 
 ni wager there's a mouse-mark on your side. 
 
 This being the case, all are astonished at the old 
 man's knowledge, who goes on to predict that 
 Patie, one of these days, will be a rich laird. 
 
 Elspa. — Hear, ye gudeman, what think ye now ? 
 
 Symon. — I dinna ken! Strange auld man, what art thou ? 
 Fair faf your heart, it 's guid to bode o' wealth 
 Come, turn the timmer to laird Patie's health. 
 
 (Fatieh health goes round.) 
 
 Old Symon, by the request of the spaeman, goes 
 out to meet him, and they have much conversation 
 together. At length — 
 
 " Sir William drops his masking beard, 
 Symon transported sees 
 The welcome knight, wi' fond regard, 
 An' grasps him round the knees.'^ 
 
 They converse concerning Patie, who is actually 
 Sir WilUam's son and heir, and agree to make 
 known his true position. This is accordingly done, 
 and produces great excitement among the parties. 
 Patie is glad and sorrowful at the same time, and 
 Peggy sees nothing in it but disappointment and 
 grief. A gulf has intervened between her and 
 Patie, and she feels that she must give him up for 
 ever. But Patie assures her of his constant affec- 
 tion, and the "puir thing" absolutely '* greets for 
 joy to hear his words sae kind." 
 
 ^ Makes. t Good befal. 
 
152 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Next morning — 
 
 " While Peggy laces up her bosom fair 
 
 WV a blue snood, Jenny binds up her hair ; 
 Glaud by his morning ingle, taks a beek,* 
 The rising sun shines mottyf thro' the reek,$ 
 A pipe his mouth, the lasses please his een, 
 An' now and then his joke must intervene.'' 
 
 But all parties are sent for to Symon's house — 
 
 " To hear and help to redd § some odd debate 
 'Tween Mause and Bauldy, 'bout some witchcraft spell, 
 At Symon's house : the knight sits judge himsell." 
 
 All then are assembled — 
 
 " Sir William fills the twa armed chair, 
 
 While Symon, Roger, Glaud, and Mause, 
 Attend, and wi' loud laughter hear 
 
 Daft Bauldy bluntly plead his cause : 
 For now it 's tell'd him that the taz I| 
 
 Was handled by revengeful Madge, 
 Because he brak guid breeding's laws, 
 
 And wi' his nonsense raised their rage. 
 
 Bauldy, however, confesses his wrong, and adds — 
 
 "But I had best 
 Hand in my tongue, for yonder comes the ghaist H 
 An' the young bonny witch^ whose rosy cheek 
 Sent me, without my wit, the de'il to seek." 
 
 Sir William {looking at Peggy). — Whose daughter's she that 
 wears the aurora gown, 
 With face so fair, and locks o' lovely brown ? 
 How sparkling are her eyes ? What 's this I find, 
 The girl brings all my sister to my mind. 
 Such were the features once adorned a face, 
 Which death so soon deprived of sweetest grace. 
 Is this your daughter Glaud ? 
 
 * A glass of beer. f Mottled. J Smoke. 
 
 § Clear up, unravel. || Birch or strap. If Ghost. 
 
 I 
 
 ( 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 153 
 
 Glaud — Sir, she-s my niece, 
 An' yet she's not, but 1 shoud hand my peace. 
 
 Sir Wil — This is a contradiction. What d' ye mean ? 
 She is, and is not ! pray thee, Glaud, explain. 
 
 Glaud. — Because I doubt, if I should mak' appear, 
 What I hae kept a secret thirteen year — 
 
 Mause. — You may reveal what 1 can fully clear. 
 
 Sir Wil. — Speak soon ; Fm all impatience. 
 
 Patie. — Sae am I ! 
 
 For much I hope, an' hardly yet ken why. 
 
 Glaud. — Then, since my master orders, I obey. 
 This honny foundling.^ ae' clear morn o' May, 
 Close by the lea-side o' my door I found, 
 A' sweet an' clean an' carefully hapt=^ 'round, 
 In infant weeds, o' rich and gentle make. 
 What could they be, thought I, did thee forsake ? 
 Wha, worse than brutes, cou'd leave exposed to air 
 Sae much o' innocence sae sweetly fair, 
 Sae helpless young ? for she appeared to me 
 Only about twa towmandsf auld to be. 
 I took her in my arms ; the bairnie smiled, 
 Wi' sic a look, wad mak a savage mild. 
 I hid the story : she has pass'd sinsyne % 
 As a poor orphan, an' a niece o' mine : 
 Nor do I rue my care about the wean. 
 For she's weel worth the pains that I hae tane. 
 Ye see she's bonny ; I can swear she's guid, 
 An' am right sure she's come o' gentle bluid, 
 O' wham I kenna.§ Naething I ken mair, 
 Than what I to your honor now declare. 
 
 Sir Wil. — This tale seems strange ! 
 
 Patie. — • The tale delights my ear ! 
 
 Sir Wil. — Command your joys, young man, till truth appear. 
 
 Mause. — That be my task. Now sir, bid a' be hush j 
 Peggy may smile ; thou hast nae cause to blush. 
 Lang hae I wish'd to see this happy day, 
 That I may safely to the truth gi'e way ; 
 
 * Covered. t Two years. | Since then. § Know not. 
 
154 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 That I may now Sir William Worthy name, 
 The best and nearest friend that she can claim : 
 He saw ^t at first, an' wi' quick eye did trace 
 His sister's beauty in her daughter's face. 
 
 Sir Wil. — Old woman, do not rave, — prove what you say, 
 It's dangerous in aifairs like this to play. 
 
 Patie. — What reason, Sir, can an auld woman have 
 To tell a lie when she's sae near her grave ? 
 But how or why, it should be truth I grant 
 I every thing that looks like reason want. 
 
 Omnes. — The story's odd ! we wish we heard it out. 
 
 Sir Wil. — Make haste, good woman, and resolve each doubt. 
 [Mause goes forward., leading F eg gy to Sir William.'] 
 
 Mause. — Sir, view me weel ; has fifteen years sae plow'd 
 A wrinkled face that you hae often viewed, 
 That here I as an unknown stranger stand. 
 Wha nursed her mother that now hands my hand ? 
 Yet stronger proofs I'll gie, if you demand. 
 
 Sir Wil. — Ha ! honest nurse, where were my eyes before ! 
 I know thy faithfulness, and need no more ; 
 Yet from the lab'rinth, to lead out my mind, 
 Say, to expose her, who was so unkind ? 
 
 [Sir William embraces Peggy and snakes her sit by him.] 
 Yes surely thou'rt my niece ; truth must prevail, 
 But no more words till Mause relates the tale." 
 
 Mause then relates how Peggy's life being threat- 
 ened by a wicked aunt, who wished to take pos- 
 session of her estate, she herself had stolen her 
 away, in the dead of night, and travelled with her 
 some fifty miles, and left her at Gland's door ; 
 that she had taken a cottage in the vicinity, and 
 had watched over the child ever since. All of 
 course are delighted with this discovery. The be- 
 trothment of Patie and Peggy is sanctioned by Sir 
 William ; and even Bauldy 
 
 " the bewitch'd, has quite forgot 
 Fell Madge's taz, and pawky Madge's plot," 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 155 
 
 and exclaims : • 
 
 " Fm friends wP Mause, — wi' very Madge Fm greed, 
 Although they skelpit* me when woodly flied :t 
 Fm now fu' blithe, an' frankly can forgive 
 To join and sing, ' Lang may Sir William live.' '^ 
 
 Sir William bestows upon " faithful Symon, 
 and " kind Glaud," and upon their heirs, " in end- 
 less fee," their " mailens," or farms, and takes old 
 Mause into his family, in peace 
 
 '• to close her days, 
 With naught to do but sing her Makers praise.'^ 
 
 Glaud consents to give Jenny to Roger, who says ; 
 
 " I ne'er was guid o' speaking a' my days, 
 Or ever loo'd to make o'er great a fraise ;| 
 But for my master, father, an' my wife, 
 I will employ the cares o' a' my life.'^ 
 
 To which, Sir William adds, summing up the 
 whole : 
 
 " My friends I'm satisfied you'll all behave, 
 Each in his station as I'd wish or crave. 
 Be ever virtuous, soon or late you'll find 
 Reward and satisfaction to your mind. 
 The maze o' life sometimes looks dark and wild ; 
 And oft when hopes are highest, we're beguiled. 
 Oft when we stand on brinks of dark despair. 
 Some happy turn, with joy, dispels our care." 
 
 Thus ends the " Gentle Shepherd," which with 
 all its faults, possesses an inimitable charm. In 
 Scotland it is a sort of household poem. Every 
 one, young and old, reads it with delight. Indeed, 
 
 * Whipt. t Sorely frightened. J Fuss or perhaps flattering 
 speech. 
 
156 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 it is probably the most popular pastoral drama ever 
 written. The common people, in the rural dis- 
 tricts of Scotland, know it by heart. The Bible, 
 the Pilgrim's Progress, Robinson Crusoe and " the 
 Gentle Shepherd" are read by them a thousand 
 times more than any other book. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 Biographical Sketch of Allan Ramsay — Lasswade — Ramble along 
 the banks of the North Esk — Glenesk — A Character — Anec- 
 dote of Sir W. Scott — Hawthornden— 'Drummond the Poet — 
 His Character and Genius — Sonnets — Chapel and Castle of 
 Roslin — Barons of Roslin — Ballad of Rosabelle — Hunting 
 Match between Robert Bruce and Sir William St. Clair. 
 
 Leaving Habbie's Howe, we will let Sandy 
 drive us along the banks of the river, through Au- 
 chindinny, Roslin and Hawthornden, to the pretty 
 village of Lasswade, where we will spend the 
 night. Sandy can take the carriage back to Edin- 
 burgh, and to-morrow we will ramble on foot 
 through the classic shades of Roslin and Haw- 
 thornden, visit Dalkeith and some other places, 
 and return to Edinburgh by the railway. In the 
 meantime I will give you some account of Allan 
 Ramsay. 
 
 Allan was born on the 15th of October, 1686, in 
 Crawford Muir, Lanarkshire, and died in the city 
 of Edinburgh, in the year 1784. He was at first 
 a wigmaker, and afterwards a bookseller. In 1726 
 he kept a little bookstore opposite Niddry's Wynd 
 in the city of Edinburgh, whence he removed to 
 another, somewhat more commodious at the east 
 end of the Luckenbooths, having exchanged his 
 old sign of Mercury for the heads of Ben Jonson 
 and Drummond of Hawthornden, whom he greatly 
 
 14 
 
158 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 admired. His early education was limited. He 
 attended the village school at Leadhills, where, as 
 he himself informs us, he acquired just learning 
 enough to read Horace " faintly in the original." 
 Of a vigorous constitution, and a cheerful temper, 
 he spent his time happily in the country, till his fif- 
 teenth year, though his lot seems to have been a 
 hard one. 
 
 '•' Wading througli glens wi' chorking feet, 
 Where neither plaid nor kilt could fend* the weet ; 
 Yet blithely would he bang out o'er the brae, 
 And stend o'er burns as light as ony rae, 
 Hoping the mornf might prove a better day.'' 
 
 He went to Edinburgh, a poor country boy, and 
 gradually made his way to competence, and re- 
 spectability. Whether he was particularly suc- 
 cessful as a wigmaker we are not informed ; but 
 he found the trade of bookseller infinitely more 
 congenial. Ensconced behind his counter, he 
 could study, write poetry, chat with his customers, 
 and publish his own lucubrations. His first princi- 
 pal poem was " Christ's Kirk on the Green," a con- 
 tinuation of King James's poem of the same name, 
 a rough but graphic and humorous picture of rus- 
 tic revelry. Its indelicacy is rather gross, but it 
 has all the vigor and humor of Hogarth's pictures. 
 His other poems, containing songs, fables, pasto- 
 rals, complimentary verses (of which he has a very 
 large number,) stories and epistles are quite nume- 
 rous. They contain a large amount of trash, with 
 
 ^ Keep off. t To-morrow. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 159 
 
 here and there some beautiful gems. He is mainly 
 successful in Scottish verse. His imitations of the 
 English poets are rather poor. " The Vision^^ is 
 one of his ablest productions. The Genius of Scot- 
 land is painted " with a touch of the old heroic 
 Muse :" 
 
 " Great daring darted frae his ee, 
 A braid sword shaggled* at his knee, 
 
 On his left arm a targe ; 
 A shining spear filled his right hand, 
 Of stalwart make in bane and brawnd, 
 
 Of just proportions large ; 
 A various rainbow colored plaid 
 Owre his left spaulf he threw, 
 Down his braid back, frae his white head 
 The silver wimplersf grew. 
 Amazed, I gazed 
 
 To see, led at command, 
 A stampant and rampant 
 Fierce lion in his hand." 
 
 But his most popular production is the " Gentle 
 Shepherd" which appeared in 1725 — and was re- 
 ceived with enthusiasm, not only in Scotland, but 
 in England and Ireland. It was much admired by- 
 Pope and Gay, the latter of whom, when on a 
 visit to Scotland, with the Duke and Duchess of 
 Queensberry, used to lounge in Allan Ramsay's 
 shop, and obtain from him explanations of the Scot- 
 tish expressions that he might communicate them 
 to Pope. 
 
 Allan uniformly had an eye to the " main 
 chance." He sedulously courted the great, and 
 
 *■ Dangled. t Shoulder. | Tassels or dangles. 
 
160 GENIUS GF SCOTLAND. 
 
 managed to accumulate a good many pennies. " In 
 the mingled spirit of prudence and poetry," he con- 
 trived 
 
 " To theek* the out and line the inside 
 Of many a douce and witty pash,t 
 And baith ways gathered in the cash." 
 
 He was foolish enough however to lay out his 
 gains in the erection of a theatre which was pro- 
 hibited by the magistrates, as an injury to good 
 morals. So that Allan lost his cash and his pains 
 together, and not only so, but his good temper. 
 This exposed him to much obloquy, in part perhaps 
 deserved. He was somewhat Jacobinical in his 
 views, and hated the Presbyterian clergy, who 
 were afraid of him, as " a half papist," and a some- 
 what Hcentious writer. Hence he lampooned them 
 with great severity, in consequence of which he 
 was pretty well lampooned in his turn. 
 
 After all Allan was a true poet, and by no 
 means a bad man. He was honest, kind-hearted 
 and cheerful. Some of his poetical strains indicate 
 much elevation and tenderness of spirit. 
 
 In personal appearance he was somewhat pecu- 
 liar. The following amusing description he has 
 given of himself: 
 
 ^' Imprimis, then, for tallness, I 
 Am five foot and four inches high, 
 A black a vicedj snod dapper fellow, 
 Nor lean, nor overlaid wi' tallow ; 
 With phiz of a morocco cut. 
 Resembling a late man of wit, 
 
 * Thatch. t Head. t Of a dark complexion. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 161 
 
 Auld gabbet Spec* who was sae cunning, 
 
 To be a dummie ten years running. 
 
 Then for the fabric of my mind, 
 
 ^Tis mair to mirth than grief inclined : 
 
 I rather choose to laugh at folly 
 
 Than show dislike by melancholy ; 
 
 Well judging a sour heavy face 
 Is not the truest mark of grace. 
 I hate a drunkard or a glutton, 
 Yet Pm nae faef to wine and mutton : 
 Great tables ne'er engaged my wishes 
 When crowded with o'er many dishes ; 
 A healthfu' stomach, sharply set, 
 Prefers a back-say, J piping het, 
 I never could imagine *t vicious 
 Of a fair fame to be ambitious ; 
 Proud to be thought a comic poet, 
 And let a judge of numbers know it, 
 I court occasion thus to show it.'' 
 
 Allan never suffered his poetry to interfere with 
 his business. Indeed he abandoned verse altogeth- 
 er in the latter part of his life, rightly judging that 
 he might not equal his earlier productions, and feel- 
 ing moreover that other and more serious engage- 
 ments demanded his attention. The following 
 epistle to Mr. Smibert, an eminent painter and inti- 
 mate friend, dated Edinburgh, 10th May, 1736, is 
 highly characteristic ; 
 
 " My Dear old Friend : — ^ 
 
 Your health and happiness are ever «7ie addi- 
 tion to my satisfaction. God make your life ever 
 easy and pleasant. Half a century of years have 
 now row'd oe'r my brow, that begins now to be 
 
 * Does this mean Spectator ? f Foe. t Sirloin, 
 
 14* 
 
162 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 lyari ;* yet thanks to my Author, I eat, drink, and 
 sleep as sound as I did twenty years syne ;f yes, I 
 laugh heartily too, and find as many subjects to 
 employ that faculty upon as ever ; fools, fops and 
 knaves, grow as rank as formerly, yet here and 
 there are to be found good and worthy men, who 
 are arte honor to human life. We have small 
 hopes of seeing you again in our world ; then let 
 us be virtuous and hope to meet in heaven. My 
 good auld wife is still my bedfellow ; my son Al- 
 lan has been pursuing your science since he was a 
 dozen years auld — was with Mr. Hyffidg, at Lon- 
 don, for some time, about two years ago — has been 
 since at home, painting here like a Raphael — sets 
 out for the seat of the beast, beyond the Alps, in 
 a month hence — to be away about two years. I'm 
 sweerX to part with him, but canna stem the cur- 
 rent which flows from the advice of his patrons 
 and his own inclination. I have three daughters, 
 one of seventeen, one of sixteen, and one of twelve 
 years of old, and no rewayled dragle^ among them, 
 all fine girls. These six or seven years past I 
 have not written a line o( poetry. I e'en gave 
 over in good time, before the coolness of fancy, 
 that attends advanced years, should make me risk 
 the reputation I had acquired. 
 
 Frae twenty-five to five and forty, 
 My muse was neither sweer\\ nor dorty^ 
 My Pegasus wad break her tether** 
 E'en at the sliagging of a feather ; 
 
 * Wrinkled. f Since. J Loth. § Uncouth sloven. 
 11 Reluctant. H Proud or stiff. ** Halter. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 163 
 
 And throw* ideas scour like drift ^ 
 Streaking his wings up to the lift ; 
 Then when my soul was in a lowf 
 That gart| my numbers safely row 5J 
 But ei1d\\ and judgment gin^ to say, 
 Let be your sangs and learn to pray. 
 
 I am, Sir, your friend and servant, 
 
 Allan Ramsay.'' 
 
 In 1743 his circumstances were such as enabled 
 him to build a small octagon shaped house on the 
 north side of the Calton Hill, which he named 
 Ramsay Lodge, but which some of his witty 
 friends compared to a goose pie. He told Lord 
 Elibank one day of this ungracious comparison. 
 " What," said the witty peer, " a goose pie ! In 
 good faith, Allan, now that I see you in it, I think 
 the house is not ill named." He lived in this odd- 
 looking edifice till the day of his death, enjoying 
 the society of his friends, and cracking his jokes 
 with perhaps greater quietness, but with as much 
 gust and hiliarity as ever. He was a man of 
 genius, and has exerted great influence on the 
 lighter literature of Scotland. He was an im- 
 mense favorite with Burns, his equal in genius, his 
 superior in depth of feeling, in tenderness and 
 beauty of expression. But Burns doubtless owed 
 something to the *' wood notes wild," of his illus- 
 trious predecessor. Both have done much to illus- 
 trate and beautify their native land. 
 
 Next morning at early dawn we are rambling in 
 
 * Through, f Blaze. | Caused. \ Roll. 1| Age. IF Begin. 
 
164 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 and around the pretty village of Lasswade, which 
 lies so sweetly on the left bank of the North Esk. 
 The river runs in many charming sinuosities 
 through the parish, now passing over a smooth 
 ledge of rocks, then " wimpling'' over shining peb- 
 bles, then gliding with a scarcely perceptible mo- 
 tion " among the green braes," now wetting the 
 pendant branches of the birch and broom, anon 
 sleeping in a deep pellucid pool, then leaping " o'er 
 a linn," and then gushing with a hollow murmur, 
 among the loose gray rocks. Nothing can be more 
 beautiful and picturesque. Many pretty cottages 
 and handsome villas adorn the neighborhood. De 
 Quincy, the celebrated EngHsh "opium eater" 
 lives here, and Sir Walter Scott at one time occu- 
 pied a cottage in the vicinity. The following is a 
 happy description from his pen, of the enchanting 
 scenes through which the North and South Esk flow. 
 It is taken from his ballad of the " Grey Brother." 
 
 Sweet are the patlis — O passing sweet ! 
 
 By Esk's fair streams that run, 
 O'er airy steep, through copsewood's deep, 
 
 Impervious to the sun. 
 
 There the rapt poet^s step may rove, 
 
 And yield the muse the day ; 
 There beauty led by timid love, 
 
 May shun the tell-tale ray. 
 
 From that fair dome^ where suit is paid, 
 
 By blast of bugle free, 
 To Auchindinny's hazel glade, 
 
 And haunted Woodhouselee. 
 
 * Pennycuick House, the romantic and elegant residence of Sir 
 George Clerk, Baronet. " It stands on a flat, in a curve of the 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 165 
 
 Who knows not Melville's beechy groove, 
 
 And Roslin's rocky glen, 
 Dalkeith, which all the virtues love, 
 
 And classic Hawthornden. 
 
 It is not surprising that multitudes from Edin- 
 burgh come to reside here in the summer time ; for 
 what with the varied scenery of rock and river, 
 copsewood and fell, the pleasant associations of the 
 present, and the thrilling memories of " Auld lang 
 syne," no region can be more attractive and agree- 
 able. 
 
 Sauntering along, we approach Glenesk, so call- 
 ed from the deep and charming glen, formed by the 
 winding river. Yonder is an old man at work in 
 his garden, who looks quite patriarchal, and I dare 
 say knows a good deal of the neighborhood. Let 
 us accost him. 
 
 " Good morning, sir !" 
 
 " Gude mornin' gentlemen !" 
 
 " You seem to be quite early in your garden this 
 morning." 
 
 " Ou aye, we maun mak hay while the sun shines, 
 ye ken, and this is a graund time for planting." 
 
 river, with a picturesque glen behind, carrying up the view to the 
 ruins of Branstane Castle, and the western extremity of the Pent- 
 lands — a little plain in front, gemmed with a beautiful artificial 
 pond, and overhung by ascents which are mantled all over with 
 wood — and swells and eminences on each side, dissevered by rav- 
 ines, and moulded into many curvatures of beauty. On the oppo- 
 site side of the river, at the end of an avenue at the top of a bank^ 
 stands an obelisk, raised by Sir James Clerk, to the memory of his 
 friend and frequent inmate, Allan Ramsay." 
 
166 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 " You have lived in the neighborhood a consid- 
 erable time, I presume." 
 
 " A' my days." 
 
 " Well, it 's a beautiful country." 
 
 " Ou aye, it 's weel eneuch. My faither before 
 me lived in that bit housie out yonder amang the 
 trees, and he used aften to say, gude auld man ! 
 that the lines had fallen to us in pleasant places, and 
 that we had a goodly heritage. For my pairt, I 
 like the country unco v^eel. The burn there is 
 verra pleasant, its sae caller* like, wimpling amang 
 the rocks and bushes. And v^hat's mair to the 
 pint, it has got a fouthf of fine fish in 't, though thae 
 new fangled mills are frightening them awa." 
 
 " Trout, 1 suppose." 
 
 " Yes, sir, and fine anes too. Ah ! mony 's the 
 day I hae paidlt in that burn, when a wee bit cal- 
 lant, catching the trout amang the stanes, when the 
 water was low." 
 
 " Did you know any thing of Sir Walter Scott ? 
 He used to live near Lasswade, and I dare say 
 often wandered this way to fish." 
 
 " Ken him ! That I did fu' weel. And an hon- 
 est freendly man he was. He cam up the burn 
 every noo and then, sometimes wi' a fishing-rod, 
 and sometimes wi' a staflf in his han. He and I got 
 weel acquaint after a time, for he was nane o' your 
 upstarts, but an unco frank, freespoken kind of a 
 man. Not that he talked sae muckle himsel, but 
 he was aye askin about something or ither, and 
 
 * Fresh. f Abundance. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 167 
 
 kept my tongue waggin' a' the time. Ah yes, Sir 
 Walter was a canny man. He knew the hail kin- 
 tra side, and used to spier a great many questions 
 about the ways o' the auld folks. One day he cam 
 alang the burn side, wi' anither gentleman. I hap- 
 pened to be working down there. His line got 
 tangled in a stane, and he got me to fetch it out. 
 He then coost it into the deep pule below, making 
 the flee skim alang the top o' the water, as skeel- 
 fuUy as onything ye ever saw. When up louped a 
 muckle spotted trout, and in a moment dragged the 
 line to the other side, then spanked up the burn at 
 an unco rate, running the line afi* the reel, which 
 birred like a spinnin' wheel. Sir Walter hobbled 
 after it as weel as he could. He was lame, ye ken, 
 but managed to move pretty quick. The trout 
 plunged and flounced over the shallow water, got 
 into another deep pule, and ran into the bank, in 
 the hollow of twa big stanes that were lying there. 
 Now, cried Sir Walter, I have you my boy ; so he 
 kept jerkin awa at him, and out he cam again, when 
 Sir Walter gave him a wallop, and laid him flat 
 amang the gowans. 'Twas a bonny sight, I tell 
 you. The trout was nae less than a fit and a quar- 
 ter lang, as thick as my arm, and spotted all o'er 
 wi' shinmg spots, like a leopard. Sir Walter was 
 unco pleased — rubbed his bans', and every now and 
 then broke into a smile, as he cracked some joke 
 about the trout. Hech ! it was a guid sight for 
 sair een — to see Sir Walter after the trout, and 
 specially to see the trout walloping amang the 
 gowans." 
 
168 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 "But don't you think that it was rather cruel 
 sport ?" 
 
 " Cruel ! why man, the fish kens naething ava, 
 and out o' its ain element, it gets choked in a min- 
 ute* And, for my pairt, I dinna see what fish is 
 guid for, if not to be catch'd and eaten, specially 
 the big anes ! My gude auld faither used often to 
 say to us, * Boys, ye mauna be cruel to the dumb 
 beasts, and when ye gang a fishing, be sure to let 
 the wee fish gae/ "* 
 
 " Your father was a worthy man, I dare say." 
 " That he was, I can assure you. He was re- 
 speckit by the hail kintra side. When auld and 
 feeble, he wud sit before the door, on a divot seat, 
 the hail simmer day, wi' a braid bonnet on his head, 
 and a lang staff* by his side, reading the Bible, or 
 maybe * Pilgrim's Progress,' or takin' wi' the nee- 
 bors wha cam to see him." 
 
 " Did he belong to the established kirk?" 
 " Na, na, he was ane o' the auld Covenanters, and 
 used to talk a deal about Cameron and McMillen, 
 as unco powerfu' preachers. He thocht the present 
 times were wonderfu' degenerate, that the solemn 
 League and Covenant o' Scotland was amaist for- 
 gotten, and that the people now-a-days were a sort 
 o' inferior race. But he was a gude man ; unco 
 pleasant to look upon, and unco pleasant to hear, 
 when he talked o' the faithfulness o' Israel's God, 
 and the comfort and blessedness of being his chil- 
 dren. When he deed, he seemed to fa' asleep. A 
 smile was on his pale face, and his han' lay upon his 
 breast, as it were in token of resignation to the will 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 169 
 
 o' heaven. He lies buried in the auld kirk-yard, 
 o'er yonder, wi' the words on his head-stane at his ain 
 request,* Blessed are the deed that dee in the Lord.' " 
 
 " Are you too a Cameronian ?" 
 
 " Why no, to tell ye the honest truth. The auld 
 Cameronians are amaist a' gane ; and I just gang 
 o'er here to the free kirk, where, to my notion, we 
 hae as guid sound preachin as ye'll meet wi' in the 
 hail kintra side. I'm no sae gude a man as my 
 faither ; but I canna forget his counsels and his 
 prayers." 
 
 " Have you any family, my friend ?" 
 
 " Ou aye. A bit callant, and twa strapping las- 
 ses, one of whom is married." 
 
 " Well, that 's a comfort." 
 
 " A great comfort, sir, in my auld days. Jeanie 
 is weel married, and has bairns o' her ain. Marion 
 wad a been married, but she was kind a skary, and 
 so she stays at hame. The bit callant is no my ain, 
 but a neebor's son that we adopted frae pity, seeing 
 his mither is puir, and his faither was lost at sea." 
 
 " And your wife, is she well ?" 
 
 " Well ! Aye, that she is — in heaven ! She's 
 been gane these five years — (here the tears started 
 in the old man's eyes.) We maun a' dee. (A brief 
 pause.) But, as my gude auld faither used to say, 
 * The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, 
 blessed be the name of the Lord.' " 
 
 " Yes, my good old friend, the hope of a Chris- 
 tian, which you seem to cherish, is a source of in- 
 finite comfort. It sweetens the cares of life, and 
 robs death of its sting. Good morning." 
 
 15 
 
170 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 " Gude mornin ; and the Lord bless you !" 
 Ascending the river a short distance, we come to 
 Hawthornden, once the property and residence of 
 the celebrated poet and historian, William Drum- 
 mond, the friend of Shakspeare and Ben Jonson. 
 The house, originally constructed with reference to 
 strength, surmounts the very edge of a precipitous 
 cliff, which rises above the river. Winding around 
 it are charming walks, among the green foliage, 
 which fringes the summit and sides of the rock, 
 down to the very edge of the water. Wild tangled 
 bushes, flowering shrubs, birches and oak trees, are 
 mingled in most picturesque and delightful confu- 
 sion ; while the gray cliffs here and there, peep out 
 from their sylvan garniture as if sunning themselves 
 in the summer radiance. Below, the stream, impe- 
 ded in its course by huge ledges of rocks, hurries un- 
 seen, but distinctly heard, amid the woods ; further 
 on, emerges into the light of day, and forms a broad 
 clear pool, on the banks of which you may see 
 some industrious fisherman plying his rod. 
 
 " The spot is wild, the banks are steep, 
 With eglantine and hawthorn blossomed o'er, 
 Lychnis and daffodils, and hare-bells blue. 
 From lofty granite crags precipitous, 
 The oak with scanty footing topples o'er, 
 Tossing his limbs to heaven ; and from the cleft^ 
 Fringing the dark brown, natural battlements, 
 The hazel throws his silvery branches down : 
 ' There starting into view, a castled cliff. 
 
 Whose roof is lichen'd o'er, purple and green, 
 O'erhangs thy wandering stream^ romantic Esk, 
 And rears its head among the ancient trees.'' 
 
 Standing in front of it you see certain artificial 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 171 
 
 caves, hollowed with immense labor, out of the 
 solid rock. These communicate with each other, 
 and contain a well of prodigious depth bored from 
 the court-yard of the mansion. The caves are re- 
 ported by tradition to have been a stronghold of 
 the ancient Pictish kings, and three of them bear 
 respectively the name of * the king's Gallery, the 
 king's Bed-chamber and the king's Guard-room.' 
 They were doubtless hewn out, as places of refuge, 
 during the terrible wars between the English and 
 the Picts, or the English and the Scots. In the 
 reign of David II, when the English had possession 
 of Edinburgh, they and the neighboring caves of 
 Gorton afforded shelter to the heroic Sir Alexander 
 Ramsay of Dalhousie and his adventurous band. 
 
 Adjoining the house, and overlooking the stream, 
 a kind of seat is cut in the face of the rock, called 
 ' Cypress Grove,' where Drummond is reported to 
 have sat, in the fine summer weather, and com- 
 posed many of his poems. The magnificent woods 
 in the vicinity suggested to Peter Pindar the caus- 
 tic remark respecting Dr. Samuel Johnson, that he 
 
 ^' Went to Hawthornden's fair scene by night, 
 Lest e'er a Scottish tree should wound the sight." 
 
 Crossing the river at a suitable place, we will 
 saunter tow^ards Roslin on the other side, and while 
 doing so, will beguile the way by talking of Drum- 
 mond, whose genius haunts every nook and corner 
 of the shady dell. 
 
 William Drummond was born in 1585 and died 
 in 1649. His father, John Drummond, was gentle- 
 
172 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 man usher to King James. He was hence edu- 
 cated in profound reverence for royalty and its pre- 
 rogatives. Indeed his feelings upon this subject 
 were entirely slavish ; and it is said that his strong 
 grief at the death of Charles the First hastened his 
 death. 
 
 He was well versed in classic literature, and en- 
 joyed the advantages of a refined and Hberal edu- 
 cation. Having studied civil law for four years in 
 France, he succeeded in 1611 to an independent es- 
 tate, and took up his residence in Hawthornden. 
 Its cliffs, caves, and wooded dells were in harmony 
 with his genius, and he spent many happy years 
 in this beautiful retreat. His first publication was 
 a volume of occasional poems, of various merit, to 
 which succeeded a moral treatise, in prose, called 
 " Cypress Grove," in allusion probably to the fairy 
 nook on the face of the rock where he meditated 
 and wrote, and a second poetical work entitled 
 " Flowers of Zion." He also wrote the History 
 of the Five James's, a production of no great merit, 
 in which he urges, to an extravagant length, the 
 doctrine of the absolute supremacy of kings. " The 
 Cypress Grove" contains reflections upon death, 
 written in a solemn and agreeable strain, and con- 
 tains some fine passages. " This earth," says he, 
 " is as a table book, and men are the notes ; the first 
 are washen out, that new may be written in. They 
 who forewent us did leave room for us ; and should 
 we grieve to do the same tct those who should come 
 after us ? Who, being suffered to see the exquisite 
 rarities of an antiquary's cabinet, is grieved that 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 173 
 
 the curtain be drawn, and to give place to new 
 pilgrims ? And when the Lord of the Universe 
 hath shown us the amazing wonders of his various 
 frame, should we think it hard, when he thinketh 
 time, to dislodge ? This is his unalterable and in- 
 evitable decree ; as we had no part of our will in 
 our entrance into this life, we should not presume to 
 any in our leaving it ; but soberly learn to will that 
 which he wills, whose very will giveth being to all 
 that it wills." 
 
 The death of a beautiful young lady, to whom 
 he was betrothed, affected him deeply ; and he 
 sought relief to his wounded feelings in foreign 
 travel. On returning, some years afterwards, he 
 met a young lady by the name of Logan, bearing 
 a strong resemblance to the former object of his 
 affections ; on accouut of which he soUcited and 
 obtained her hand in marriage. 
 
 Drummond was intimate with Drayton and Ben 
 Jonson. The latter paid him a visit at Hawthorn- 
 den, and they had much free conversation together. 
 Drummond kept private notes of these conversa- 
 tions, which subsequently saw the light, and were 
 found to be somewhat injurious to Jonson's mem- 
 ory. But Drummond himself had no hand in their 
 publication. 
 
 As a poet Drummond belonged to the school of 
 Spenser, though far inferior to the latter in strength 
 of conception and splendor of imagination. His 
 poems are distinguished for their singular har- 
 mony and sweetness of versification. They seem 
 to partake of the character of the quiet romantic 
 
 15* 
 
174 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 scenery amid which they were composed. His 
 " Tears on the Death of Moeliades," (Prince Henry, 
 son of James I.,) and his " River Forth Feasting," 
 have been much admired. His sonnets, however, 
 are his best productions. They flow with as much 
 grace and beauty, (though not perhaps with the 
 same variety,) as the romantic river which mur- 
 murs past his ' wooded seat.' His madrigals, com- 
 plimentary verses, and other short pieces, abound 
 in foolish conceits, and what is worse, in coarse and 
 licentious language. But he was one of the best 
 poets of the age, and only inferior to two or three 
 of his great contemporaries. 
 
 The following sonnet — " To His Lute" — is very 
 sweet. It was probably written after the death of 
 the lady to whom he was betrothed ; 
 
 My lute be as thou wert "wlien thou didst grow, 
 
 With thy green mother, in some shady grove, 
 
 When immelcdious winds but made thee move, 
 
 And birds their ramage* did on thee bestow. 
 
 Since that dear voice which did thy sounds approve, 
 
 Which wont in such harmonious strains to flow, 
 
 Is reft from earth to join the spheres above. 
 
 What art thou but a harbinger of woe ? 
 
 Thy pleasing notes be pleasing notes no more, 
 
 But orphan wailings to the fainting ear. 
 
 Each stroke a sigh, each sound draws forth a tear ; 
 
 For which be silent as in woods before ; 
 
 Or if that any hand to touch thee deign, 
 
 Like widowed turtle still her loss complain. 
 
 His sonnet " In Praise of a Solitary Life," was 
 written, we can well imagine, in his summer bower 
 
 * Warbling. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 175 
 
 on the banks of the Esk. It is peculiarly harmO' 
 nious : 
 
 Thrice happy he who by some shady grove, 
 
 Far from the clamorous world doth live his owiij 
 
 Thou solitary, who is not alone. 
 
 But doth converse with that eternal love. 
 
 O how more sweet is bird's harmonious moan, 
 
 Or the hoarse sobbings of the widowed dove. 
 
 Than those smooth whisperings near a prince' throne, 
 
 Which good make doubtful, do the ill approve ! 
 
 O how more sweet is zephyr's wholesome breath. 
 
 And sighs embalm'd, which new-born flowers unfold, 
 
 Than that applause vain honor doth bequeath. 
 
 How sweet are streams, to poison drank in gold ! 
 
 The world is full of horror, troubles, slights : 
 
 Woods, harmless shades have only true delights. 
 
 The following, *• To a Nightingale," is still more 
 beautiful : 
 
 Sweet bird ! that singst away the early hours 
 
 Of winters past or coming, void of care. 
 
 Well pleased with delights which present are. 
 
 Fair seasons, budding sprays, sweet-smelling flowers : 
 
 To rocks, to springs, to rills, from leafy bowers, 
 
 Thou thy Creator's goodness dost declare. 
 
 And what dear gifts on thee he did not spare, 
 
 A stain to human sense in sin that lowers. 
 
 What soul can be so sick as by thy songs 
 
 (Attired in sweetness) sweetly is not driven 
 
 Gtuite to forget earth's turmoils, spites and wrongs. 
 
 And lift a reverend eye and thought to heaven ? 
 
 Sweet, artless songster ! thou my mind dost raise 
 
 To airs of spheres — ^yes, and to angels' lays. 
 
 But we have entered the vale of Roslin, and 
 there, in its beauty, stands the Chapel of Roslin, 
 one of the most exquisite architectural ruins in 
 Scotland. It was founded in 1484, or even earlier 
 
176 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 than that, by the Earl of Caithness and Orkney. 
 The whole Chapel is profusely decorated with the 
 most delicate sculpture both within and without. 
 The roof, the capitals, key-stones and architraves, 
 are all overlaid with sculpture, representing foli- 
 age and flowers, grotesque figures, sacred history 
 and texts of Scripture. The fine fluted column 
 called the " Apprentice's Pillar," so named from a 
 tradition which no one believes, and which there- 
 fore we do not repeat, is exceedingly beautiful, be- 
 ing ornamented with wreaths of foliage and flow- 
 ers twining around it in spiral columns. So per- 
 fect are these alto relievos, that the author of a 
 pamphlet describing them, says that he can liken 
 them to nothing but Brussels lace. 
 
 How solemn a thing it is in this chequered light, 
 to wander amid these sounding aisles and ancient 
 monuments ! In the vaults beneath lie the Barons 
 of Roslin, all of whom, till the time of James the 
 Seventh, were buried without a coffin, in complete 
 armor. This circumstance, and the vulgar belief 
 that on the night preceding the death of any of these 
 barons, the chapel appeared in flames, has been 
 finely described by Walter Scott, in his touching 
 ballad of Rosabelle. 
 
 O listen, listen, ladies gay ! 
 
 No haughty feats of arms I tell; 
 Soft is the note, and sad the lay, 
 
 That mourns the lovely Rosabelle. 
 
 '• Moor, moor the barge, ye gallant crew ! 
 
 And gentle ladye deign to stay I 
 Rest thee in castle Ravensheuch, 
 
 Nor tempt the stormy Firth to-day. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 177 
 
 " The blackening wave is edged with white, 
 
 To inch and rock the sea-mews fly ; 
 The fishers have heard the water sprite, 
 
 Whose screams forebode that wreck is nigh. 
 
 ^' Last night the gifted seer did view, 
 A wet shroud swathed round ladye gay ! 
 
 Then stay thee, fair, in Ravensheuch ; 
 Why cross the gloomy Firth to-day V^ 
 
 " 'Tis not because Lord Lindesay's heir, 
 
 To-night at Roslin leads the ball, 
 But that my ladye mother there, 
 
 Sits lonely in her castle hall. 
 
 '' 'Tis not because the ring they ride — 
 
 -^nd Lindesay at the ring rides well — 
 But that my sire the wine will chide 
 
 If ^tis not filled by Rosabelle.'' 
 
 O'er Roslin all that dreary night, 
 
 A wondrous blaze was seen to gleam, 
 'Twas broader than the watchfire's light^ 
 
 And redder than the bright moonbeam. 
 
 It glared on Roslin's castled rock, 
 
 It ruddied all the copsewood glen, 
 'Twas seen from Dry den's grove of oak. 
 
 And seen from cavernM Hawthornden. 
 
 Seem'd all on fire that chapel proud, 
 
 Where Roslin's chiefs uncoffined lie, 
 Each baron, for a sable shroud. 
 
 Sheathed in his iron panoply. 
 
 Seem'd all on fire, within, around. 
 
 Deep sacristy and altar pale ; 
 Shone every pillar, foliage bound. 
 
 And glimmer'd all the dead men's mail. 
 
 Blazed battlement and pinnet high, 
 
 Blazed every rose-carved buttress fkir, — 
 
 So still they blaze, when fate is nigh 
 The lordly line of high St. Clair. 
 
178 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND* 
 
 There are twenty of Roslin's barons bold, 
 Lie buried within that proud chapelle y 
 
 Each one the holy vault doth hold — 
 But the sea holds lovely Rosabelle. 
 
 And each St. Clair was buried there, 
 With candle, with book, and with knell , 
 
 But the sea caves rung, and the wild winds sung, 
 The dirge of lovely Rosabelle. 
 
 We now pass over a bridge of great height, 
 spanning a deep cut in the solid rock, and reach 
 Roshn Castle, with its triple tier of vaults, standing 
 upon a peninsular rock overhanging the romantic 
 glen of the Esk. This castle was, for, ages, the 
 seat of the St. Clairs, or Sinclairs, descended from 
 William de Sancto Clare, the son of Waldernus de 
 Clare, who came to England with William the Con- 
 queror, and fought at the battle of Hastings. The 
 enumeration of their titles, says Sir Walter Scott, 
 would take away the breath of a herald. Among 
 others, they were Princes of the Orcades, Dukes of 
 Oldenburgh, Lord Admirals of the Scottish Seas, 
 Grand Justiciaries of the kingdom. Wardens of the 
 border. Earls of Caithness, titularies of more than 
 fifty baronies, patrons and Grand Masters of Ma- 
 sonry in Scotland, &c. &c. 
 
 Of the grandeur and opulence of the family, some 
 conception may be derived from the following de- 
 scription, given in a manuscript in the " Advocate's 
 Library," of the state maintained by William St. 
 Clare, founder of the chapel. — " About that time 
 (1440) the town of Roslin, being next to Edinburgh 
 and Haddington in East Lothian, became very popu- 
 lous by the great concourse of all ranks and degrees 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 179 
 
 of visitors that resorted to this Prince, at his palace 
 of the Castle of RosUn ; for he kept a great court, 
 and was royally served at his own table, in vessels 
 of gold and silver. Lord Dirleton being his master 
 of the household. Lord Borthwick his cup-bearer, 
 and Lord Fleming his carver, &c. He had his 
 halls and other apartments richly adorned with em- 
 broidered hangings. He flourished in the reigns 
 of James the First and Second. His princess, Eliza- 
 beth Douglass, was served by seventy-five gentle- 
 women, whereof fifty-three were daughters of no- 
 blemen, all clothed in velvets and silks, with their 
 chains of gold and other ornaments, and was at- 
 tended by two hundred riding gentlemen in all her 
 journeys ; and if it happened to be dark when she 
 went to Edinburgh, where her lodgings were at the 
 foot of Blackfriars' Wynd, eighty lighted torches 
 were carried before her." 
 
 The old castle is almost entirely gone, and the 
 p? esent structure is a comparatively modern one. 
 It belongs to the Earl of Rosslyn, descended from 
 a collateral branch of the St. Clair family. 
 
 It is interesting to think of the magnificent old 
 barons who kept state in the mouldering castles 
 which everywhere adorn the Scottish landscape. 
 Some of them were noble specimens of humanity, 
 but the greater proportion of them were but splen- 
 did barbarians. They led a sort of rude animal 
 life, and were distinguished chiefly for their tower- 
 ing pride and ungovernable passion. The follow- 
 ing story of a hunting match between King Robert 
 Bruce and Sir William St. Clair, throws an inter- 
 
180 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 estiiig light on the spirit of the age and the history 
 of the St. Clair family. " The king had been re- 
 peatedly baulked by a fleet white deer which he 
 had started in his hunt among the Pentland Hills ; 
 and having asked an assembled body of his nobles 
 whether any dogs in their possession could seize 
 the game that had escaped the royal hounds, Sir 
 William St. Clair promptly offered to pledge his 
 head that two favorite dogs of his called * Help and 
 Hold,' would kill the deer before she crossed the 
 March burn. The king instantly accepted the 
 knight's bold and reckless offer, and promised him- 
 self to give the forest of Pentland Moor in guerdon 
 of success. A few slow hounds having been let 
 loose to beat up the deer, and the king having 
 taken post on the best vantage-ground for com- 
 manding a view of the chase, Sir William stationed 
 himself in the fittest position for slipping his dogs, 
 and in the true style of a Romanist, who asks a 
 blessing upon a sin, and supposes the giver of the 
 blessing to be a creature, earnestly prayed to St. 
 Katherine to give the fife of the deer to his dogs. 
 Away now came the raised deer, and away in full 
 chase went Sir William on a fleet-footed steed ; 
 and hind and hunter arrived neck and neck at the 
 critical March burn. Sir William threw himself 
 in a desperate fling from his horse into the stream ; 
 * Hold,' just at this crisis of fate, stopped the deer 
 in the brook, and * Help' the next instant came up, 
 jdrove back the chase, and killed her on the winning 
 «ide af the stream. The king, who had witnessed 
 the nieesly poised result, came speedily down from 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 181 
 
 his vantage-ground, embraced Sir William, and 
 granted him, in free forestry, the lands of Logan 
 House, Kirkton, and Carncraig. Sir WilUam, in 
 gratitude for the fancied interference of St. Kathe- 
 rine in his favor, built the chapel of St. Katherine 
 in the Hope§. The tomb of the w^ildly adventurous 
 knight who was so canine in his nature as to reckon 
 his life not too high a pledge for the fleetness and 
 fierceness of his dogs, is still to be seen in Roslin 
 chapel ; and it very properly represents the sculp- 
 ture of his armed person to be attended by a grey- 
 hound, as a joint claimant of the honor and fame of 
 his exploits." 
 
 In the neighboring moor of Roshn is the scene 
 of a great battle, in 1302, in which the Scottish 
 army gained, in one day, three successive victories, 
 a circumstance touchingly referred to by Delta^ 
 Dr. Moir of Musselburgh, author of * Casa Wappy,' 
 * Wee Willie,' and many other exquisite contribu- 
 tions to Blackwood's Magazine. 
 
 " Three triumplis in a day ! 
 
 Three hosts subdued by one ! 
 Three armies scattered like the spray, 
 
 Beneath one summer sun 
 Who pausing 'mid this solitude 
 
 Of rocky streams and leafy trees, — 
 WhOj gazing o'er this quiet wood, 
 
 Would ever dream of these ? 
 Or have a thought that ought intrude 
 
 Save birds and humming bees ?'' 
 
 How delightful, as we wander amid these hoary 
 ruins and leafy bowers, so still and beautiful under 
 the rich light of a summer noon, to think that the 
 
 16 
 
182 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 old stormy times of feudal warfare have passed 
 away forever, and that peace, with balmy wing, is 
 brooding over this and other Christian lands. 
 
 But in this everyday life, the wants of nature 
 must be met. Let us hie then to the village inn, 
 just beyond the chapel. With our keen appetites, 
 a snug dinner there will relish better than the most 
 splendid banquet of the St. Clairs. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Ramble through the Fields — Parish Schools — Recollections of 
 Dominie Meuross — The South Esk — Borthwick and Crich- 
 toun Castles — Newbattle Abbey — Dalkeith — Residence of the 
 Duke of Buccleugh — ^' Scotland's Skaith/' by Hector Macneil — 
 His Character and Writings — Extracts from the " History of 
 Will and Jean." 
 
 Recrossing the North Esk, we rambie through 
 the country in a north-easterly direction, passing 
 through highly cultivated farms, with large com- 
 fortable homesteads. The fields everywhere are 
 filled with laborers, hoeing, ploughing, and weed- 
 ing, most of them cheerful as larks, and making the 
 woods ring with 'whistle and song.' That plain 
 but substantial edifice, under the shadow of the 
 great oak tree hard by the old church, is a parish 
 school-house, in which perhaps are gathered some 
 fifty or sixty boys and girls, from all ranks of so- 
 ciety, plying their mental tasks, under the supervi- 
 sion of an intelligent schoolmaster. Every morn- 
 ing in that school-house the Word of God is reve- 
 rently read, and earnest prayer oflTered, exerting 
 upon all minds a healthful moral influence, and 
 producing impressions of a religious kind, which 
 may last forever. Any boy may be fitted for col- 
 lege, or for commercial pursuits, in such a school, 
 and the expense to the parent will be next to no- 
 thing. What then must be the amount of good 
 
184 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 accomplished by the combined influence of all the 
 parish schools in Scotland, equally endowed, and 
 supplied with adequate teachers ? Popular educa- 
 tion has made great advances in Scotland within a 
 few years. The greatest zeal for learning exists 
 among the people, end they require no compulsive 
 acts, as in Germany, to induce them to send their 
 children to school. Not to be able to read and 
 write is regarded, in Scotland, as a great disgrace ; 
 and hence the poorest people are equally ready 
 with the rich to avail themselves of the benefits of 
 instruction. Good teachers are uniformly secured, 
 because they receive an ample compensation, and 
 none but well-educated and truly moral men would 
 be accepted. In this respect their situation is 
 greatly superior to that of parish schoolmasters in 
 Germany or in the United States. On this subject. 
 Kohl, the German traveller, mentions an amusing 
 conversation which he had with the parish school- 
 master at Muthil. Having stated to the latter that 
 the situation of Scottish teachers was far superior 
 to that of teachers in his country, he inquired what 
 was the average pay of schoolmasters there. 
 
 " It varies a good deal," was the reply of Kohl. 
 " Some have a hundred, some a hundred and fifty, 
 but many no more than fifty dollars." 
 
 "How many pounds go to a dollar?" asked he. 
 
 " Seven dollars go to a pound." 
 
 "What!" he exclaimed, springing up from his 
 chair, " do you mean to tell me that they pay a 
 schoolmaster with seven pounds a year ?" 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 185 
 
 " Even so," was the reply, " seven pounds ; but 
 how much then do they get with you ?" 
 
 " I know no one who has less than from forty 
 to fifty pounds in all Scotland ; but the average is 
 seventy or eighty pounds ; and many go as high as 
 a hundred and fifty pounds." 
 
 " What !" cried Kohl, springing up in his turn, 
 " a hundred and fifty pounds ! that makes one thou- 
 sand and fifty dollars. A baron would be satisfied 
 in Germany with such a revenue as that ; and do 
 you mean to say that there are schoolmasters who 
 grumble at it ?" 
 
 " Yes," said he ; '' but recollect how dear things 
 are with us. Sugar costs eighteenpence a pound ; 
 coflfee two shillings ; chocolate is siill dearer, and 
 tea not much cheaper. And then how dear are 
 good beef, and pork, and plums, and puddings, and 
 everything else !" 
 
 " I could not deny this," adds Kohl ; " but I thought 
 that our poor schoolmasters were content if they 
 had but bread." 
 
 In former times the parish schoolmasters did not 
 receive so much as they now do ; but then they 
 were clerks of the parish, frequently precentors in 
 the church, and received a multitude of little per- 
 quisites. Their support has been made quite am- 
 ple, having an average salary of a hundred pounds, 
 with a free house. 
 
 But the sight of that school-house brings back 
 the days of " lang syne." Well do I remember the 
 old parish school — a long thatched building, at the 
 " Kirk of Shotts," where I received my preparation 
 
186 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 for college, under the free and easy, but most effi- 
 cient, administration of ' Dominie Meuross,' famed 
 through all the country for his great classical at- 
 tainments, his facetious disposition, his kind-heart- 
 edness, and his love of the pure ' GlenHvet.' Those 
 were not the days of temperance societies, and the 
 Dominie had so much to do with christenings and 
 weddings, parish difficulties, " roups" and law-suits, 
 that he was greatly tempted by the bottle. But 
 he was a worthy man, and an enthusiastic teacher, 
 especially of the classics. Teaching A, B, C, was 
 rather a dull business to the Dominie ; but oh, how 
 merrily he would construe the Odes of Horace, 
 what jokes he would crack over our lessons, and 
 what effiilgent light he would cast upon the classic 
 page ! Yet Dominie Meuross was a dignified man 
 — no one more so. The boys, indeed, enjoyed 
 considerable latitude, especially at that end of the 
 school opposite the one in which the Dominie sat, 
 and many facetious tricks were played upon the 
 duller boys, the " sumphs," as we used to call them. 
 But the Dominie had only to pull down his glasses 
 from his forehead, where they were usually perched, 
 and direct a keen glance to " the other end," instantly 
 to bring us all to perfect order. Dear old man ! he 
 has long ago " gone to the yird," but his memory 
 is green as the grass which waves upon his grave. 
 The school and the church, the light of learning, 
 and the light of religion, form the glory of Scotland, 
 These have twined around her rustic brow a wreath 
 of fadeless glory. These have given her stability 
 and worth, beauty and renown. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 187 
 
 But we have reached Dalhousie Castle, with its 
 charming and romantic grounds, situated on a 
 branch of the South Esk, a stream similar to the 
 North Esk, and running in the same direction. 
 These streams, after passing through scenery the 
 most picturesque and beautiful, and watering a 
 hundred spots consecrated by song and story, as 
 if by a mutual attraction, unite a little above Dal- 
 keith, and fall near the old town of Musselburgh into 
 the Firth of Forth. Behind us, at the distance of a 
 few miles, are the celebrated ruins of Borthwick 
 and Crichtoun castles, the one on a branch of the 
 South Esk, the other somewhat to the right, in the 
 vale of Tyne. It was into Borthwick Castle that 
 Queen Mary retired after the death of Darnley, and 
 her unhappy marriage with Bothwell, and from 
 which she was obliged, a few days afterwards, to 
 flee to Dunbar in the guise of a page. Crichton 
 Castle is beautifully described by Sir Walter Scott, 
 in Marmion, and as we cannot visit this interesting 
 ruin, take his description of it as the best substitute. 
 
 *' That castle rises on a steep 
 
 Of the green vale of Tyne ; 
 And far beneath, where slow they creep 
 From pool to eddy, dark and deep. 
 Where alders moist, and willows weep, 
 
 You hear her streams repine. 
 The towers in different ages rose j 
 Their various architecture shows 
 
 The builders' various hands ; 
 A mighty mass, that could oppose. 
 When deadliest hatred fired its foes, 
 
 The vengeful Douglas' bands. 
 
188 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 ^* Crichtoun ! though now thy miry court 
 
 But pens the lazy steer and sheep, 
 
 Thy turrets rude and tottered Keep, 
 Have been the minstrel's loved resort. 
 Oft have I traced within thy fort, 
 
 Of mouldering shields the mystic sense, 
 
 Scutcheons of honor or pretence, 
 duartered in old armorial sort, 
 
 Remains of rude magnificence. 
 Nor wholly yet hath time defaced 
 
 Thy lordly gallery fair ; 
 Nor yet the stony cord unbraced. 
 Whose twisted knots with roses laced, 
 
 Adorn thy ruined stair. 
 Still rises unimpaired below, 
 The court-yard's graceful portico : 
 Above its cornice, row and row. 
 Of fair hewn facets richly show, 
 
 Their pointed diamond form. 
 Though there but houseless cattle go, 
 
 To shield them from the storm. 
 And shuddering still may we explore. 
 
 Where oft whilom were captives pent, 
 The darkness of thy Massy More ;=^ 
 
 Or from thy grass-grown battlement. 
 May trace, in undulating line, 
 The sluggish mazes of the Tyne.'^ 
 
 Proceeding along the stream, we pass Cockpen, 
 reminding us of the Laird of Cockpen and his amus- 
 ing courtship, when 
 
 •' Dumb-founder'd was he, 
 But nae word did he gae ; 
 He mounted his mare. 
 And he rade cannilie. 
 
 But aften he thought. 
 As he gaed through the glen. 
 
 =^ The prison vault. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 189 
 
 She's a fule to refuse 
 The Laird o' Cockpen.^' 
 
 We linger a few minutes by Newbattle Abbey, 
 founded by David I., for a community of Cistercian 
 monks, brought hither from Melrose, but now the 
 residence of the Marquis of Lothian ; and soon after 
 reach the old " burgh town" of Dalkeith, most de- 
 lightfully situated between the two Esks, and re- 
 minding us forcibly of " Mansie Waugh," the paw- 
 kie tailor of Dalkeith, whose amusing history we 
 read in our boyhood. Dalkeith is a considerable 
 place, and has many elegant residences. In its im- 
 mediate vicinity is Dalkeith Palace, seat of the Duke 
 of Buccleugh, standing on an overhanging bank of 
 the North Esk. Here too, in earlier times, Hved 
 the Grahams, and the Douglases ; and into this 
 strong retreat, then called the " Lion's den," retired 
 the celebrated Regent Morton, who was subsequent- 
 ly beheaded. We might enter the house, as this 
 favor is often granted to strangers, but we will not 
 now ; though it boasts the possession of some fine 
 old paintings, and some exquisite pieces of furniture. 
 But the grounds around it are infinitely more at- 
 tractive, adorned, as they are, with magnificent 
 trees and shrubbery, and the serpentine windings 
 of the two Esks, whose waters unite in the park, a 
 little distance below the house. How placidly the 
 stream glides through the verdant meadows, and 
 mirrors the green foliage of the overhanging trees, 
 or the branching horns of some deer, bent to drink 
 its clear waters ! How softly and delicately the 
 pencil rays of green and yellow light glimmer 
 
190 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 through those shady retreats to the right. See the 
 startled deer bounding through the woods ! How 
 softly and lovingly sleeps the sunshine on that wide 
 pool at the bottom of the green slope, adorned with 
 flowers and honeysuckles ! And see, through that 
 shady vista the open sky in the distance, " so dark- 
 ly, deeply, beautifully blue." The birds too, mavis, 
 lintie, and bulfinch, are caroling among the trees, as 
 if their little hearts were filled with boundless joy. 
 
 The cottage of " Jeanie Gairlace," supposed to be 
 conferred upon her by the Duchess of Buccleugh, 
 is placed by Macneil, the author of " Scotland's 
 Skaith," in this beautiful vicinity. As we have yet 
 to wait some time for the rail cars that are to take 
 us to Edinburgh, let us sit down on this rustic seat, 
 and I will give you some account of Macneil, and 
 his touching poem of " Will and Jean." 
 
 Hector Macneil was born in 1746, and died in 
 1818. He was brought up to mercantile pursuits, 
 but did not succeed in business. He cultivated in 
 secret his passion for the muses, and published at 
 intervals several poetical eflTusions, among which 
 were " The Harp, a Legendary Poem," — " The 
 Links of the Forth, or a Parting Peep at the Carse 
 of Sterling," and " Scotland's Skaith, or the His- 
 tory of Will and Jean," his most natural and suc- 
 cessful production. Though not successful in lyri- 
 cal effusions, or in song writing, he is the author, 
 we believe, of that exquisite ballad, " Bonny Wee 
 Mary o' Castlecary." He also wrote some prose 
 tales, in which he laments the effects of modern 
 changes and improvements. In the latter years of 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 191 
 
 his life, he resided in comparative comfort, at Edin- 
 burgh, enjoying the congenial society of its refined 
 and literary circles. 
 
 " Scotland's Skaith (curse) or the History of Will 
 and Jean," is intended to depict the ruinous effects 
 of intemperance, and the possibility of reform, with 
 the happiness thence resulting. A happy couple, in 
 humble life are gradually drawn into the vortex of 
 intemperance, and at last are reduced to the deep- 
 est extremities. The husband enlists as a soldier, 
 and the wife is compelled, with her children, to beg 
 her bread. In the commencement of the poem 
 Willie is represented as passing a rustic alehouse, 
 whose attractions prove too much for him. The 
 situation of the alehouse, and the commencement of 
 Willie's career as a drunkard, are admirably de- 
 scribed. The rhythm of the poem is peculiarly 
 harmonious and lively. 
 
 In a howm^ whose bonnie burniej 
 Whimpering rowed its crystal flood, 
 
 Near the road where travellers turn aye, 
 Neat and bieldf a cot house stood. 
 
 White the wa's, wP roof new theckit.f 
 
 Window broads§ just painted red ; 
 Lownll 'mang trees and braes it reekitj1[ 
 
 Hafflins'^* seen and hafflins hid. 
 
 Up the gaveltt end thick spreading, 
 
 Crap the clasping ivy green, 
 Back owre firs the high craigs cleadin,||: 
 
 Raised around a cosey screen. 
 
 Hollow, or glen, f Sheltered. J Thatched. § Boards. 
 Serene and lonely. IT Smoked. ^^ Half. ft Gable. 
 
 Jt Clothing. 
 
192 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Down below a flowery meadow ; 
 
 Joined the burnies rambling line, 
 Here it was that Howe the widow 
 
 That same day set up her sign. 
 
 Brattling=* down the brae, and near its 
 
 Bottom, Will first marvelling sees 
 ^ Porter, ale, and British spirits,' 
 
 Painted bright between twa trees. 
 
 ' Godsake Tarn ! here's walth for drinking ! 
 
 Wha can this new-comer be V 
 ' Hout,' quo Tam, ' there's drouth in thinking — 
 
 Let's in Will, and synef we'll see.' 
 
 The two thoughtless friends have " a jolly meet- 
 ing," and do not break up till " 'tween twa and three" 
 next morning. A weekly club is set up at the ale- 
 house, a newspaper is procured, and things move on 
 bravely. Willie becomes a " pot-house politician," 
 and a hard drinker, the consequence of which is that 
 he speedily goes to ruin. His wife also, to drown 
 her sorrows, takes to drinking. The contrast be- 
 tween their past and present condition is touching- 
 ly described by the poet. 
 
 Wha was ance like Willie Gairlace? 
 
 Wha in neeboring town or farm ? 
 Beauty's bloom shone in his fair face, 
 
 Deadly strength was in his arm. 
 
 When he first saw Jeanie Miller, 
 
 Wha wi' Jeanie could compare ? 
 Thousands had mair braws and siller.^ 
 
 But war ony half so fair ? 
 
 See them now ! how chang'd wi' drinking ! 
 A' their youthfu' beauty gane ! 
 
 * Rattling, or running. f Then. 
 
 J Fine clothing and money. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 198 
 
 Davered,* doited,! dazedj and blinking — 
 Worn to perfect skin and bane. 
 
 In the cauld month o' November, 
 
 (Claise,§ and cash, and credit out,) 
 Cowering o'er a dying ember, 
 
 Wr ilk face as white's a cloutH 
 
 Bond and bill, and debts a' stoppit. 
 
 Ilka sheaf selt^ on the bent ;** 
 Cattle, beds, and blankets roupit,tt 
 
 Now to pay the laird his rent. 
 
 No anither night to lodge here — 
 
 No a friend their cause to plead ! 
 He's ta'enlJ on to be a sodger, 
 
 She wP weans§^ to beg her bread! 
 
 Fortunately, Jeanie attracts the attention of the 
 Duchess of Buccleugh, and obtains from her a pret- 
 ty cottage, rent free, and such aid and protection as 
 her circumstances demand. Willie loses a leg in 
 battle, and returns a changed man, with a pension 
 from government. Finding his wife and family, he 
 is received to their embrace. The soldier's return, 
 and the situation of the cottage are beautifully de- 
 picted, * 
 
 Sometimes briskly, sometimes flaggin'. 
 
 Sometimes helpit, Will gat forth ; 
 On a cart or in a wagon, 
 
 Hirplinllll aye towards the north. 
 
 Tired ae evening, stepping hooly,^! 
 
 Pondering on his thraward*** fate, 
 In the bonny month o' July, 
 
 Willie, heedless, tentftt his gatctiJ 
 
 * Bewildered. t Foolish. I Stupid. 
 
 § Clothes. II Cloth. l" Sold. 
 
 ♦* Stubble field, tf Sold at auction. J| Engaged, §§ Children 
 1111 Limping. IfH Carefully. *** Untoward, ftt Lost, ttt Way 
 
 17 
 
194 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Saft the southland breeze was blowing, 
 Sweetly sugbed* the green oak wood ; 
 
 Loud the din o' streams fast fa'ing, 
 Strack the ear with thundering thud. 
 
 Ewes and lambs on braes ran bleating ; 
 
 Linties chirped on ilka tree ; 
 Frae the west the sun near setting, 
 
 Flamed on Roslin's towers sae hie.f 
 
 Roslin's towers and braes sae bonny ! 
 
 Craigs and water, woods and glen ! 
 Roslin's banks unpeered by ony. 
 
 Save the Muses' Hawthornden * 
 
 Ilka sound and charm delighting. 
 
 Will (though hardly fit to gang,)t 
 Wandered on through scenes inviting, 
 
 Listening to the mavis' sang. 
 
 Faint at length, the day fast closing, 
 
 On a fragrant strawberry steep, 
 Esk's sweet dream to rest composing, 
 
 Wearied nature drapt asleep. 
 
 ' Soldier, rise ! — the dews o' e'ening, 
 
 Gathering fa' wi' deadly skaith ! — 
 Wounded soldier ! if complaining, 
 
 Sleep ifo here, and catch your death.' 
 
 Accepting an invitation to take shelter in a neigh- 
 boring cottage, slowfully and painfully he followed 
 his guide. 
 
 Silent stept he on, poor fellow ! 
 
 Listening to his guide before. 
 O'er green knowe, and flowery hollow, 
 
 Till they reached the cot-house door. 
 
 Laigh§ it was, yet sweet and humble j 
 Decked wi' honeysuckle round ; 
 
 * Sighed. t High. J Walk. § Low. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 195 
 
 Clear below Esk's waters rumble, 
 Deep glens murmuring back the sound. 
 
 Melville's towers sae white and stately, 
 
 Dim by gloaming glint* to view ; 
 Through Lasswade's dark woods keekj sweetly, 
 
 Skies sae red and lift sae blue. 
 
 Entering now in transport mingle, 
 
 Mother fond, and happy wean,J 
 Smiling round a canty§ ingle, 
 
 Bleezing on a clean hearth-stane. 
 
 ^ Soldier, welcome ! Come, be cheery ! 
 
 Here ye'seH rest, and tak' your bed — 
 Faint, waes me ! ye seem and weary. 
 
 Pale's your cheek, sae lately red !^ 
 
 ^ Changed I am,' sighed Willie till^ her ; 
 
 ^ Changed nae doubt, as changed** can be j 
 Yet, alas ! does Jeanie Miller 
 
 Naught o' Willie Gairlace see V 
 
 Hae ye mark'd the dews o' morning, 
 
 Glittering in the sunny ray, 
 duickly fa' when, without warning, 
 
 Rough blasts came and shook the spray ? 
 
 Hae ye seen the bird fast fleeing, 
 
 Drap when pierced by death mair fleet? 
 
 Then see Jean, wi' color deeing,tt 
 Senseless drap at Willie's feet. 
 
 After three lang years' affliction, 
 
 A' their waes now^ hush'd to rest, 
 Jean ance mair, in fond affection, 
 
 Clasps her Willie to her breast. 
 
 But hark ! the first bell rings for the cars ; so let 
 us be off, and get our places. The sun has slipped 
 
 * Gleam. f Peep. | Child. § Merry. 
 
 II You shall. 1 To. ** As much as possible, 
 
 tt Dying. 
 
196 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 down behind the trees yonder, and it will be gloam- 
 ing, if not ' 'tween and supper time,' before we get 
 to Edinburgh. 
 
 All is right, and off we go, whirring through the 
 quiet and beautiful scenery of these highly cultiva- 
 ted regions. We pass through " Samson's ribs," 
 that is, the granite rocks of Duddingston, b)^ means 
 of a tunnel, glide along the base of Arthur's Seat, 
 on whose summit linger the last rays of evening ; 
 and land at the upper end of the city, well prepar- 
 ed to relish a Scottish supper of substantial edibles, 
 and after that, " tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy 
 sleep." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 City of Glasgow — Spirit of the place — Trade and Manufactures 
 — The Broomielaw — Steam — George's Square — Monuments to 
 Sir Walter Scott, Sir John Moore, and James Watt — Sketch 
 of the Life of Watt — Glasgow University — Reminiscences — 
 Brougham — Sir D. K. Sandford — Professor Nichol and others 
 — High Kirk, or Glasgow Cathedral — Martyrdom of Jerome 
 Russel and John Kennedy. 
 
 Taking the steam-cars from Edinburgh, we ar- 
 rive at Glasgow, a distance of forty-four miles, in 
 a couple of hours. As Edinburgh is the represen- 
 tative of Scottish literature and refinement, Glas- 
 gow is the representative of its commerce and man- 
 ufactures. It is an immense city, and contains a 
 prodigious number of inhabitants. At the period of 
 the Union it had a population of only twelve thou- 
 sand : since which time it has doubled this number 
 twelve or thirteen times, and now contains nearly 
 three hundred thousand inhabitants. It owes this 
 unprecedented increase to its trade, domestic and 
 foreign, which is almost unparalleled in its ex- 
 tent. There is probably not a single inland town 
 in Great Britain, with the exception of London, 
 which can show such a shipping list. 
 
 Glasgow has ever been distinguished for its me- 
 chanical ingenuity, its industry and enterprise. Its 
 situation doubtless is highly favorable, but without 
 
 17* 
 
198 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 an intelligent, ingenious and active population, it 
 could never have reached such a height of pros- 
 perity. 
 
 But it is not our intention to visit this commercial 
 city as tourists. There are enough such to describe 
 her agreeable situation, and handsome public edifices, 
 her long and elegant streets, her beautiful " green," 
 and magnificent river. At present v^e shall not fa- 
 tigue ourselves with visiting the Royal Exchange, the 
 Royal Bank, the Tontine and the Assembly Rooms. 
 Neither shall we trouble our readers to go with us 
 through Queen street, St. Vincent street, Greenhill 
 Place, or Woodside Crescent. 
 
 It might be worth while however, to look into 
 some of those immense factories ; from which rise 
 innumerable huge chimnies, some of which overtop 
 the steeples and towers of the churches, and reach 
 far up into the heavens.* Thousands and thousands 
 of spindles and power looms, with thousands and 
 thousands of human hands and heads are moving 
 there from morn to night, and from night to morn. 
 What masses of complicated and beautiful machin- 
 ery ! What prodigious steam-engines, great hearts 
 of power in the centres of little worlds, giving life 
 energy and motion to the whole. Here is a single 
 warehouse, as it is called, for the sale of manufac- 
 tured goods, containing no less than two hundred 
 clerks. What piles of silks and shawls, cottons and 
 calicoes ! The productions of Glasgow reach every 
 part of the world. You will find them in India, 
 China, and the United States, in the wilds of Africa 
 
 * One of these chimnies is said to be over 400 feet high. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 199 
 
 and the jungles of Burmah, amid the snows of La- 
 brador, and the savannahs of Georgia. 
 
 But let us go down to the Broomielaw, and take 
 a look at the river Clyde. That mile of masts, and 
 those immense steamers, plying up and down the 
 river, connect Glasgow with every part of the 
 British Empire and the world. 
 
 What grand agency has accomplished all this ? 
 Steam ! — steam, under the guidance and control of 
 genius and enterprise. The extended prosperity of 
 Glasgow commenced with the inventions of Watt, 
 the greatest mechanical genius of the age, and the first 
 man that constructed a steam-engine of much practi- 
 cal use. Steam has raised all those huge factories 
 which we have been admiring, and keeps their innu- 
 merable wheels and pistons, spindles and power looms 
 in motion. Steam it is which brings untold masses of 
 coal and iron from the bowels of the earth, and con- 
 verts them into machinery and motive power. 
 Yonder it comes, rolling and dashing, in a long 
 train of cars and carriages filled with the produce 
 and population of the land. Here it gives life and 
 energy to a cotton mill with a thousand looms ! 
 There it casts off, from day to day, the myriads of 
 printed sheets which spread intelligence through 
 the country. All around us it moves the cranks 
 and puUies, ropes and wires, wheels and tools, 
 which work such wonders in beating and grinding, 
 cutting and carving, polishing and dyeing. Steam 
 has added thousands, nay millions to the annual in- 
 come of Glasgow. It has augmented the resources 
 of Great Britain to such an extent that it saves 
 
200 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 seventy millions of dollars annually in the matter 
 of motive power alone ! No pen can describe the 
 additions which it has made in other parts of the 
 world to their manufactures and commerce: It has 
 brought all nations into more intimate relations, and 
 is yet destined, in many respects, to revolutionize 
 the world. 
 
 Let us go then to George's Square, near the cen- 
 tre of the city, and look at Chantrey's monument of 
 the man who has done so much to bring about such 
 a change. The Square contains also a fine monu- 
 ment of Sir Walter Scott, in the form of a fluted 
 Doric column, about eighty feet high, surmounted 
 by a colossal statue of " the great magician of the 
 north." He is represented standing in an easy at- 
 titude, with a shepherd's plaid thrown half around 
 his body. The likeness is said to be remarkably 
 good. It has that expression of shrewdness, hon- 
 esty and good nature for which he was distinguish- 
 ed, but none of that ideal elevation which graces 
 the countenances of Schiller, Goethe and Shak- 
 speare. Immediately in front of this monument, is 
 a beautiful pedestrian statue in bronze, by Flaxman, 
 of Sir John Moore, the subject of Wolfe's exquis- 
 ite lyric, — 
 
 " Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, 
 As his corpse to the ramparts we hurried, 
 Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot, 
 O'er the grave where our hero we buried.'^ 
 
 Sir John Moore was a citizen of Glasgow, and 
 his townsmen have erected this statue as expressive 
 of their veneration for his memory. To the right 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 201 
 
 of this monument, in the southwest angle of the 
 square, you see in bronze, and of colossal magni- 
 tude, the noble figure of James Watt. He is re- 
 presented in a sitting posture on a circular pedestal 
 of Aberdeen granite. It is considered one of the 
 happiest productions of the distinguished Chantrey. 
 The fine meditative features of the great inventor 
 are strikingly developed. Watt was born in Green- 
 ock, on the 19th of January, 1736, but conducted 
 his experiments chiefly in Glasgow. He came 
 thither in 1757, first as a mathematical instrument 
 maker to the college, and subsequently as an engi- 
 neer. In early life he gave indications of his pecu- 
 liar genius, by various little mechanical contrivan- 
 ces. At the age of six years, he was occasionally 
 found stretched on the floor, delineating with chalk 
 the lines of a geometrical problem. At other times 
 he greatly obliged his young companions by making 
 and repairing their toys ; and before he had reach- 
 ed his seventeenth year he had amused them with 
 the wonders of an electrical machine of his own 
 construction. He had also instructed himself by 
 making experiments on the steam of a tea-kettle. 
 He subsequently stored his mind with the wonders 
 of physics, chemistry and medicine. 
 
 In the University of Glasgow, Watt was employ- 
 ed to fit up the instruments of the Macfarlane Ob- 
 servatory, which gave him an opportunity of be- 
 coming acquainted with Adam Smith, Joseph Black, 
 and Robert Simson, names immortal in the scien- 
 tific annals of Scotland. Here also he formed an 
 intimacy with John Robinson, then a student at col 
 
202 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 lege, and subsequently the celebrated Dr. Robin- 
 son, who first called the attention of Watt to the 
 subject of steam engines, and threw out the idea of 
 applying them to steam carriages and other pur- 
 poses. 
 
 The steam-engine had existed before this time, 
 but it was extremely imperfect, and, moreover, of 
 no great practical use. Hence Mr. Watt was 
 not, properly speaking, the inventor but the im- 
 prover of the steam-engine. Still his improvement 
 was equal to an invention of the highest order. It 
 made the instrument available for the highest prac- 
 tical purposes. " He found the crazy machines of 
 Savery and Newcomen laboring and creaking at 
 our mine heads, and occupying the same rank as 
 prime movers with the wind-mill and the water- 
 wheel ; and by a succession of inventions and dis- 
 coveries, deduced from the most profound chemical 
 knowledge, and applied by the most exquisite me- 
 chanical skill, he brought the steam-engine to such 
 a degree of perfection as to stamp it the most pre- 
 cious gift which man ever bequeathed to his race."* 
 
 Watt had " a sore fight of existence," at least in 
 the early part of his career, and he came near 
 being deprived of the emolument which w^as his 
 just due as a benefactor of his race. But he even- 
 tually triumphed over all opposition, retired from 
 business, and continued to reside during the rest of 
 his life on his estate at Heathfield Soho. He was 
 exceedingly happy in his domestic relations, though 
 
 ^ Edinburgh Review. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 203 
 
 called, in 1804, to suffer a painful bereavement in 
 the loss of his youngest son Gregory, who had 
 given high promise of literary and scientific emi- 
 nence. In 1808 he was elected a corresponding 
 member of the Institute of France; and in 1814, 
 he was nominated by the Academy of Sciences as 
 one of its eight foreign correspondents. In 1819 
 his health suffered a rapid decline, and he himself 
 felt that this was his last illness. " Resigned, him- 
 self, he endeavored to make others resigned. He 
 pointed out to his son the topics of consolation 
 which should occupy his mind ; and expressing his 
 sincere gratitude to Providence for the length of 
 days he had enjoyed, for his exemption from most 
 of the infirmities of age, and for the serenity and 
 cheerfulness which marked the close of his life ; he 
 expired at Heathfield on the 25th of August, 1819." 
 He was interred in the parish church of Hands- 
 worth ; and over his tomb his son erected an ele- 
 gant Gothic chapel, containing a beautiful marble 
 bust by Chantrey. Another bust by the same ar- 
 tist has been placed in one of the halls of Glasgow 
 College. A colossal statue of Carrara marble, pro- 
 cured at great expense by public subscription, 
 graces the recesses of Westminster Abbey. 
 
 The most useful memorial of Watt, however, 
 exists in Greenock, in the form of a large and hand- 
 some building for a public library, erected by his 
 son, in which the citizens have caused to be placed 
 a handsome marble statue, with an inscription from 
 the pen of Lord Jeffrey. Lord Brougham con- 
 cluded an eloquent speech on the merits of Mr. 
 
204 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Watt, in the following striking terms : — " If in old 
 times the temples of false gods were appropriately 
 filled with the images of men who had carried de- 
 vastation over the face of the earth, sm-ely our 
 temples cannot be more worthily adorned with the 
 likenesses of those w^hose triumphs have been splen- 
 did indeed, but unattended by sorrow to any — who 
 have achieved victories, not for one country only, 
 but to enlarge the power and increase the happi- 
 ness of the whole human race." 
 
 Passing up High Street, we come to an arched 
 gateway, and find ourselves in a quadrangular 
 court, with antique looking buildings on each side. 
 Beyond this we come to another quadrangle, also 
 surrounded by buildings of perhaps more recent 
 date. Passing straight on we reach a handsome 
 edifice of pohshed freestone, directly in front of 
 us, and standing alone, which is nothing less than 
 the Hunterian museum. These then are the build- 
 ings of Glasgow^ University. Beyond us is the 
 college-green, ornamented with trees, and divided 
 into two parts by a sluggish stream which passes 
 through the centre. A number of the students, 
 having laid aside their scarlet gowns, are playing 
 at football, a violent but delightful and invigorating 
 exercise. 
 
 The University of Glasgow was founded in 1450, 
 in the time of James the Second. Bishop TurnbuU 
 was then in possession of the see, and his successors 
 were appointed chancellors. The history of the 
 institution has been various ; but, generally speak- 
 ing, it has enjoyed a high degree of prosperity. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 205 
 
 Of late years the number of students has decHned, 
 from what cause we know not. The number, in 
 all the departments, does not exceed a thousand, 
 whereas, in 1824, when the writer was a student in 
 Glasgow, there were from fourteen to fifteen hun- 
 dred. Well does he remember the enthusiasm 
 with which they welcomed their popular candidate 
 for rector, Henry Brougham, Esq., M. P., as he 
 was then termed, and the eager interest with which 
 they listened to his inaugural discourse. Sir James 
 Mcintosh, a fine hearty looking man, with bland 
 expressive eyes, and two of the sons of Robert 
 Burns, tall, good looking young men, but with no 
 particular resemblance to their illustrious father, 
 were present, with others, to grace the occasion. 
 Brougham was in the maturity of his strength, and 
 the heyday of his fame. Tall, muscular, and wiry, 
 with searching visage, dark complexion, keen pierc- 
 ing eyes, ample forehead, and long outstretched fin- 
 ger, he stood up the very personification of strength 
 and eloquence. But Brougham has been frequently 
 described, and we therefore pass him by. The 
 next rector that was chosen was Thomas Camp- 
 bell, the poet, once a member of the college, and 
 one of its most distinguished ornaments. A large 
 portion, if not the whole of the " Pleasures of Hope'* 
 was written while he was a student at college. 
 
 Many distinguished men have been professors in 
 this institution. Among these Dr. Reid and Dr. 
 Hutcheson, Dr. Simpson and Dr. Moore, Adam 
 Smith, and Professor Sandford stand pre-eminent. 
 Well does the writer remember the accomplished, 
 
 18 
 
206 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 but unfortunate Sandford, and the profound enthu- 
 siasm for the Greek classics which he inspired in his 
 students. He was a son of the venerable Bishop 
 Sandford, a distinguished graduate of Oxford, and a 
 man of the highest attainments in Greek and Enghsh 
 literature. Of small stature, he yet possessed an ele- 
 gant and commanding form. His pale face, finely 
 chiselled mouth, dark eyes, and marble forehead are 
 before me now. I hear his clear, musical voice, roll- 
 ing out, ore rotitndo, the resounding periods of Ho- 
 mer, or the energetic lines of Eschylus. No man 
 ever recited Greek with such enthusiasm and ener- 
 gy. It was a perfect treat to hear him read the odes 
 of Anacreon or the choral hymns of Eschylus ; to 
 say nothing of his elegant translations, or his fine 
 critical remarks. He was created a baronet bv the 
 government, and bade fair to be one of the most 
 distinguished and influential literary men in the 
 country. But he was seduced into party politics, 
 was sent as the representative of Glasgow to par- 
 liament, and failed — failed utterly and forever ; for 
 his want of success in the House of Commons 
 preyed upon his spirits, and caused his death. 
 
 Among the distinguished men now occupying 
 places in this university we find Mr. Lushington, 
 of Trinity College, Cambridge, professor of Greek, 
 and Dr. Nichol, author of the popular Lectures on 
 the Wonders of the Heavens, professor of practical 
 astronomy. Mr. Mylne, professor of moral philo- 
 syphy, and Mr. Buchanan, professor of logic, are 
 acute and learned men. 
 
 Leaving the college, we ascend High Street, and 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 207 
 
 after reaching the top of the hill, a Httle to the 
 right, we see before us the " High Kirk," or rather 
 the old cathedral of Glasgow, one of the finest re- 
 mains of antiquity, surrounded by a vast church- 
 yard, containing many rich and ancient monumen- 
 tal tombs, and the mouldering bones of many 
 by-gone generations. It has a superb crypt, 
 " equalled by none in the kingdom," — once used as 
 a place of worship, but now as a place for burying 
 the dead. The author of Waverley has invested it 
 with additional interest by making it the scene of a 
 striking incident in Rob Roy. The whole edifice 
 has a most commanding appearance. 
 
 At the north-east end of the cathedral the spot is 
 yet to be seen where papal bigotry and superstition 
 lighted the fires of religious persecution. There 
 in the year 1538, Jerome Russel, a member of the 
 convent of Franciscan friars, in Glasgow, a man of 
 considerable talents, and John Kennedy, a young 
 man from Ayr, of high family, only about eighteen 
 years of age, were burned for having embraced the 
 doctrines of the infant Reformation. They sustain- 
 ed the terrible ordeal through which they passed to 
 glory with a becoming dignity and fortitude. " This 
 is your hour and power of darkness," said Russel, 
 "now you sit as judges, and we are wrongfully 
 condemned, but the day cometh which will clear 
 our innocency, and you shall see your own blind- 
 ness to your everlasting confusion — go on and fulfil 
 the measure of your iniquity." Is it surprising that 
 the reaction of reform which followed such pro- 
 ceedings should occasionally have gone to unjusti- 
 
208 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 fiable lengths, and that the people should have 
 torn down " the rookeries," which sheltered those 
 birds of prey, as the papal tyrants of that day 
 might well be termed? Never were a nobler 
 or more heroic set of men than the martyrs and 
 confessors of that trying time ! Knox, Melville, 
 and Wishart might be stern, but they were men of 
 godlike .temper and heroic zeal, of whom the world 
 was not worthy ; and whatever poetasters and 
 novelists, sentimental journalists, and infidel histo- 
 rians may say of them, they will be found at last, 
 occupying an honored place, at God's right hand. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Necropolis — Jewish Burial Place — Monument to John Knox 
 — Monuments of William Macgavin and Dr. Dick — Reminis- 
 cences — Character and Writings of Dr. Dick — Pollok and ' the 
 Course of Time'— Grave of Motherwell— Sketch of his Life— 
 His Genius and Poetry — ' Jeanie Morrison.' — ' My Held is like 
 to rend J Willie—^ A Summer Sabbath Noon.' 
 
 East of the Cathedral, a few steps, lies the Ne- 
 cropolis, on the brow of a hill which overlooks the 
 city and the surrounding regions. We pass over 
 the " Bridge of Sighs," so named from its leading 
 to the Cemetery, and consisting of a handsome arch, 
 spannmg the " Molendinar Burn," a brawling rivu- 
 let, whose waters, collected into a small basin, dash 
 over an artificial cascade into the ravine below. 
 The Necropolis covers the rocky eminence for- 
 merly crowned with dark firs, and supposed, in 
 ancient times to have been a retreat of the Druids, 
 who here performed their fearful rites. But how 
 sweet and peaceful now, ornamented with fine 
 trees and shrubbery, shady walks, and beautiful 
 monuments, a serene retreat for the peaceful dead. 
 In point of situation and appearance, the Necropo- 
 lis is superior to " Pere la Chaise," though certainly 
 inferior to " Greenwood " and " Mount Auburn," in 
 our opinion the most attractive burying-places in 
 the world. Still, each of these has a beauty of its 
 own, well fitted to soften and subdue those feelings 
 
 18* 
 
210 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 of grief and horror naturally excited by death and 
 the grave. Such sweet and attractive places of 
 burial are in harmony with the genius of the Gos- 
 pel. The ancient Greeks, from their very horror 
 of death and their ignorance of futurity, endeav- 
 ored to invest the tomb with festal associations. 
 Why, then, should not we, upon whom the light of 
 immortality has descended, lay those we love in 
 scenes of quiet beauty, where " the wicked cease 
 from troubling, and the weary are at rest ?" Does 
 not Holy Writ declare, *^ Blessed are the dead that 
 die in the Lord ?" It is therefore meet to place 
 their bodies only in scenes which remind us of 
 rest, of hope, and of Heaven. 
 
 " The Dead cannot grieve. 
 Not a sob nor a sigh meets mine ear, 
 
 Which compassion itself could relieve. 
 Ah, sweetly they slumber, nor love, hope, or fear ; 
 Peace ! peace is the watchword, the only one here." 
 
 Let affection, then, bury her dead and build her 
 tombs amid the trees and the flowers, which preach 
 to us of the resurrection-morn and the paradise of 
 God. 
 
 " The first tabernacle to Hope we will build, 
 And look for the sleepers around us to rise ! 
 
 The second to Faith which insures it fulfilled ; 
 And the third to the Lamb of the great sacrifice, 
 Who bequeathed us them both when he rose from the skies !'' 
 
 This cemetery was founded in 1831, and the first 
 sale was to the Jews, who require a burying-place 
 for themselves. It lies in the north-west corner 
 of the grounds. The enclosure contains the requi- 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 211 
 
 site accommodations for washing the bodies before 
 interment as required by the Jewish law, which 
 also forbids one body to be deposited above another. 
 The place is ornamented with excellent taste. On 
 the left is a beautiful pillar, in imitation of Absalom's 
 pillar in the " King's dale." On the front of this 
 column, and immediately under its capital, is a 
 piece of fret- work, formed of Hebrew letters, re- 
 presenting the w^ords, " Who among the gods is 
 like unto Jehovah?" On the shaft of the column 
 are those touching stanzas from Byron's Hebrew 
 Melodies, concluding thus : 
 
 ^' Tribes of the wandering foot and weary breast. 
 When shall je flee away and be at rest ; 
 The wild dove hath her nest, the fox his pave, 
 Mankind his country — Israel but the grave." 
 
 On the lower part of the column is the following : 
 
 '' Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive, and 
 let thy widows trust in me.'^ 
 
 On the other side of the gateway are engraved 
 the following verses : 
 
 " A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping : 
 Rachel weeping for her children, refused to be comforted for her 
 children, because they were not.'^ 
 
 " Thus saith the Lord, Refrain thy voice from weeping, and 
 thine eyes from tears, for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the 
 Lord, and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.'' 
 
 " And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy chil- 
 dren shall come again to their own border." 
 
 And on the opposite pillar is the following : 
 " How hath the Lord covered the daughter of Sion with acloud 
 
212 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 in his anger, and cast down from heaven to the earth the beauty ' 
 of Israel, and removed not his footstool in the day of his anger.'' 
 
 " But though he caused grief, yet will he have compassion ac- 
 cording to the multitude of his mercies. For he doth not aflftict t 
 willingly, nor grieve the children of men.'' 
 
 On the summit of the hill, and towering above i 
 the rest, is the commanding monument of John 
 Knox, intended to be commemorative of the Refor- 
 mation. On a lofty square pedestal, stands the 
 statue of the stern old Reformer, with the Bible in 
 one hand, and the other stretched out, as if in the 
 act of addressing the multitude. On one side of 
 the pedestal is the following inscription : 
 
 To testify gratitude for inestimable services 
 
 In the cause of Religion, Education, and Civil Liberty, 
 
 To awaken admiration 
 
 Of that Integrity, Disinterestedness and Courage, 
 
 Which stood unshaken in the midst of trials, 
 
 And in the maintenance of the highest olyects — 
 
 Finally, 
 
 To cherish unceasing reverence for the principles and blessings 
 
 of that Great Reformation, by the influence of which our 
 
 country, though in the midst of difficulties, has 
 
 risen to honor, prosperity, and happiness. 
 
 This Monument is erected by Voluntary Subscription, 
 
 To the Memory of 
 
 JOHN KNOX, 
 
 The chief instrument, under God, of the Reformation 
 
 in Scotland, 
 
 On the 22d day of Sept. 1825. 
 
 He died rejoicing in the faith of the Gospel, at Edinburgh, on the 
 
 24th of Nov. 1532, in the 69th year of his age. 
 
 On the other sides are the following: 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 213 
 
 " The Refbrmation produced a revolution in the sentiments of 
 mankind, the greatest as well as most beneficial that has happen- 
 ed since the publication of Christianity.'^ 
 
 ^'In 1547, and in the city where his friend George Wishart had 
 suffered, John Knox, surrounded with dangers, first preached the 
 doctrines of the Refbrmation. In 1559, on the 24th of August, the 
 parliament of Scotland adopted the confession of faith, presented 
 by the reformed ministers, and declared popery no longer to be 
 the religion of this kingdom. 
 
 '' John Knox beaame then a minister of Edinburgh, where he 
 continued to his death, the incorruptible guardian of our best in- 
 terests. 
 
 " ' I can take God to witness,' he declared, ' that I never preach- 
 ed in contempt of any man, and wise men will consider that a true 
 friend cannot flatter ; especially in a case that involves the salva- 
 tion of the bodies and the souls, not of a few persons, but of the 
 whole realm.' When laid in the grave, the Regent said : ' There 
 lieth he who never feared the face of man, who was often threaten- 
 ed with pistol and dagger, yet hath ended his days in peace and 
 honor.' 
 
 " Patrick Hamilton, a youth of high rank and disUnguished at- 
 tainments, was the first martyr in Scotland in the cause of the Re- 
 formation. He was condemned to the flames in St. Andrews, in 
 1528, and the 24th year of his age. 
 
 "From 1530 to 1540, persecution raged in every quarter, many 
 suffered the most cruel deaths, and many fled to England and the 
 continent. Among these early martyrs were Jerome Russel and 
 Alexander Kennedy, two young men of great piety and talent, who 
 suffered at Glasgow. William Wishart returned to Scotland, 
 from which he had been banished, and preached the Gospel in va- 
 rious quarters. In 1546, this heavenly-minded man, the friend and 
 instructor of Knox, was committed to the flames at St. Andrews." 
 
 Let the thoughtful ponder these interesting me- 
 morials, and say whether the Reformation in Scot- 
 land was not a glorious event ! 
 
 At a little distance from Knox's monument, is 
 one to the memory of Mr. Macgavin, a banker in 
 Glasgow, and author of " the Protestant ;" and 
 
214 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 i 
 
 another of great elegance and beauty, to the mem- 
 ory of Dr. Dick, late professor of theology in the 
 United Secession Church. " Say not that the good 
 ever die,'* and " he sleeps a sacred sleep," are en- 
 graven, in Greek, upon the sides of the monument, 
 beautiful and appropriate sentiments for the tomb 
 of a Christian. Dr. Dick vs^as pre-eminently a good 
 man, and not only so but a man of the highest at- 
 tainments. Well does the writer remember his 
 dignified bearing, fine countenance, and silver hair. 
 But a few years ago, he sat at the feet of this ven- 
 erable man, as his instructor in theology, and re- 
 ceived from his lips lessons of holy wisdom. While 
 professor of theology, the reverend doctor was 
 also pastor of one of the largest and most influential 
 of the Secession churches in the city of Glasgow. 
 He was greatly venerated, both by the people of 
 his charge and by his theological pupils, for his 
 dignity and purity of character, his clear, well bal- 
 anced intellect, his calm and consistent piety. He 
 wrote lucidly and elegantly on the " Inspiration of 
 the Scriptures," a work which a distinguished En- 
 glish bishop so much admired that he carried it 
 about with him in his pocket. His " Lectures on 
 the Acts of the Apostles," though inferior to the 
 production just named, is also a valuable work. 
 Since his death, his " Theological Prelections" have 
 been published, and are much esteemed for their 
 clear statement, and defence of evangelical truth. 
 Always lucid, always logical and satisfactory, he is 
 never profound or original. His style glides in 
 pellucid beauty, like a rivulet through the meadow, 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 215 
 
 mirroring in its calm depths the green foliage 
 which adorns its banks, and the blue heavens bend- 
 ing above it, but never cutting itself a new channel, 
 or sweeping onward, with majestic force, like a 
 torrent to the sea. The labors of Dr. Dick were 
 pre-eminently useful ; and a host of young men, 
 educated under his influence, now fill posts of the 
 highest responsibility in Scotland, and in other parts 
 of the world. PoUok was a student of the Doctor's 
 at the same time with the writer, but was not 
 known to be possessed of any extraordinary genius 
 till after the publication of " The Course of Time." 
 He was considered a man of talent, however, and 
 had written two or three sermons, containing pas- 
 sages of considerable power. But his heart was 
 in his great poem during the whole of his student 
 life. So intensely did he work upon it, that he had 
 often to be assisted to bed, from sheer exhaustion. 
 "The Course of Time" has many obvious faults, 
 but abounds in strokes of genius and power. A 
 great soul has poured itself into this rugged and 
 sometimes gloomy channel, which, traversing the 
 whole course of time, finally loses itself in the 
 ocean of eternity. Pollok was tall, well propor- 
 tioned, of a dark complexion, " sicklied o'er with 
 the pale cast of thought," with deep-set eyes, heavy 
 eyebrows and black bushy hair. A smothered 
 light burned in his dark orbs, which flashed, with a 
 meteor brilliancy, whenever he spoke with enthu- 
 siasm and energy. He was born in 1798, at North 
 Muirhouse, in the parish of Eaglesham, Renfrew- 
 shire, — 
 
216 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 " 'Mong hills and streams 
 And melancholy deserts, where the sun 
 Saw as he pass'd, a shepherd only here 
 And there, watching his little flock ; or heard 
 The ploughman talking to his steers." 
 
 His father was an honest farmer, and his early 
 home a scene of much domestic endearment. To 
 the trees which overshadowed the paternal mansion 
 he thus pays homage in his verse : 
 
 ^'Much of my native scenery appears, 
 And presses forward, to be in my song ; 
 But must not now ; for much behind awaits, 
 Of higher note. Four trees I pass not by, 
 Which o'er our house their evening shadow threw j — 
 Three ash, and one of elm. Tall trees they were, 
 And old ; and had been old a century 
 Before my day. None living could say aught 
 About their youth ; but they were goodly trees ; 
 And oft I wondered, as I sat and thought 
 Beneath their summer shade, or in the night 
 Of winter heard the spirits of the wind 
 Growling among their boughs — how they had grown 
 So high, in such a rough, tempestuous place : 
 And when a hapless branch, torn by the blast 
 Fell down, I mourned as if a friend had fallen." 
 
 Pollok had just finished his studies, and was 
 licensed as a preacher, by the United Secession 
 Church, when he published his poem which thrilled 
 all hearts in Scotland, and struck his fellow-students 
 with perfect amazement, not unmingled, however, 
 with delight. But he was then sick. His over- 
 wrought frame began to yield, and he sought 
 health in a foreign country, which he did not live 
 to reach. He died in England in the autumn 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 217 
 
 of 1827, the same year in which he had pubHshed 
 his poem, having lived just long enough to com- 
 plete it, and receive the applause of his coun- 
 trymen. 
 
 Before leaving the Necropolis, we must visit a 
 grave at one corner of the grounds, in a quiet, 
 shady spot, as if retired somewhat from the rest. 
 There it is, the grave of William Motherwell, one 
 of the sweetest of the Scottish poets, the author of 
 " Bonnie Jeanie Morrison" and " My Heid is like 
 to rend, Willie," and many other poems of exquisite 
 grace and pathos. 
 
 William Motherwell was born in the city of 
 Glasgow in the year 1797, and died there in 1835. 
 In his eleventh year he was transferred to the care 
 of his uncle in Paisley, who brought him up. Here 
 he received a liberal education, and commenced 
 the study of law. At the age of twenty-one he 
 was appointed Deputy to the Sheriff-Clerk of Pais- 
 ley, a highly respectable but not lucrative situation. 
 He early evinced a love of poetry, and in 1819 
 became editor of a miscellany, called " The Harp 
 of Renfrewshire," w^hich he conducted with much 
 taste and judgment. A relish for antiquarian re- 
 search led him to investigate the subject of the 
 ballad poetry of Scotland, the results of which he 
 published in 1827, in two volumes, entitled " Min- 
 strelsy, Ancient and Modern." His introduction to 
 this collection is admirably written, and must form 
 the basis of all future investigations upon this sub- 
 ject. He seems to have been unusually successful 
 in recovering many of the old ballads, which were 
 
 19 
 
218 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 never committed to writing, and known to very 
 few persons. Some of these, though rude and gro- 
 tesque in thought or style, are exquisitely beautiful. 
 Allan Cunningham, another of Scotland's sweetest 
 poets, had labored in this field, but not with the 
 same success. But the genius of both of these 
 poets was deeply imbued with the spirit of the old 
 ballad rhymes. They had conned them in their 
 minds so frequently that they naturally wrote their 
 own effusions in the same simple and touching 
 style. Soon after the publication of his " Ancient 
 Minstrelsy," Motherwell became editor of a weekly 
 journal in Paisley, and established a magazine 
 there, to which he contributed some of his finest 
 poems. The talent and spirit which he evinced in 
 these literary labors, were the occasion of his being 
 removed to the city of Glasgow, to the editorial 
 care of the Glasgow Courier, in which situation he 
 continued till his death. He conducted this paper 
 with great ability. 
 
 Motherwell was of small stature, but thick set 
 and muscular. His head w^as large and finely 
 formed ; his eyes were bright and penetrating. In 
 mixed society he was rather reserved, " but ap- 
 peared internally to enjoy the feast of reason and 
 the flow of soul." Somewhat pensive in his mood, 
 he lived much in the solitude of his own thoughts, 
 and at times gave way to a profound melancholy. 
 This spirit pervades his poetry. The wailings of a 
 wounded heart mingle with his fine descriptions of 
 nature, and his lofty aspirations after the beautiful 
 and true. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 219 
 
 In 1832 he collected and published his poems in 
 one volume. He was also associated with the 
 Ettrick Shepherd in editing the works of Burns, 
 and at the time of his death was collecting mate- 
 rials for the life of Tannahill, an humble weaver in 
 Paisley, but one of the finest song- writers Scotland 
 has ever produced. " Accompanied by a literary 
 friend, on the first of November, 1835, he had been 
 dining in the country, about a couple of miles from 
 Glasgow, and on his return home, feeling indisposed, 
 he went to bed. In a few hours thereafter he 
 awakened, and complained of a pain in the head, 
 which increased so much as to render him speech- 
 less. Medical assistance was speedily obtained ; 
 but alas ! it was of no avail — the blow was struck, 
 and the curtain had finally fallen over the hfe and 
 fortunes of William Motherwell. One universal 
 feeling of regret and sympathy seemed to extend 
 over society, when the sudden and premature de- 
 cease of this accomplished poet and elegant writer 
 became known. His funeral was attended by a 
 large body of the citizens, by the most eminent and 
 learned of the literary professions, and by persons 
 of all shades of political opinions. He was interred 
 in the Necropolis of Glasgow, not far from the 
 resting-place of his fast friend, Mr. William Hen- 
 derson." 
 
 Though Motherwell's death was thus sudden and 
 unexpected, he seems to have had something like a 
 premonition of it. The following touching lines 
 were given to a friend, a day or two before his 
 decease : 
 
220 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 When I beneath the cold red earth am sleeping, 
 
 Life's fever o'er, 
 Will there for me be any bright eye weeping, 
 
 That I'm no more ? 
 Will there be any heart still memory keeping, 
 
 Of heretofore? 
 
 When the great winds through leafless forests rushing, 
 
 Sad music make ? 
 When the swollen streams, o'er crag and gully gushing. 
 
 Like full hearts break, 
 Will there then one whose heart despair is crushing. 
 
 Mourn for my sake ? 
 
 When the bright sun upon that spot is shining, 
 
 With purest ray, 
 And the small flowers their buds and blossoms twining, 
 
 Burst through that clay, 
 Will there be one still on that spot repining. 
 
 Lost hopes all day ? 
 
 When no star twinkles with its eye of glory. 
 
 On that low mound. 
 And wintry storms have with their ruins hoary. 
 
 Its loneness crowned ; 
 Will there be then one versed in misery's story, 
 
 Pacing it round ? 
 
 It may be so, — but this is selfish sorrow, 
 
 To ask such meed — 
 A weakness and a wickedness to borrow 
 
 From hearts that bleed. 
 The wailings of to-day for what to-morrow 
 
 Shall never need. 
 
 Lay me then gently in my narrow dwelling. 
 
 Thou gentle heart : 
 And though thy bosom should with grief be swelling. 
 
 Let no tear start ; 
 It were in vain — for Time hath long been knelling — 
 
 Sad one, depart ! 
 
 These are mournful, but somewhat hopeful 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 221 
 
 strains ; for one who feels that " time has long been 
 knelling, sad one, depart !" must, if not a sceptic, 
 have looked beyond the grave, and descried in 
 better worlds, rest and solace for the aching heart. 
 Here, in his "narrow dwelling," he gently sleeps, 
 while pilgrims from afar drop tears of sympathy 
 upon its *• grassy mound." 
 
 Motherwell was a man of pure genius. His 
 poems are distinguished for their deep tenderness 
 and exquisite melody. They are gemmed, more- 
 over, w^th beautiful conceptions, with original and 
 striking expressions. There is nothing, in the 
 whole range of Scottish poetry, except Burns's 
 " Highland Mary," equal in beauty and pathos to 
 
 '•JEANIE Morrison;^ 
 
 I've wandered east Fve wandered west, 
 
 Through mony a weary way ; 
 But never, never can forget. 
 
 The luve o' lifers young day ! 
 The fire that's blawn on Beltane* e'en, 
 
 May weel be black 'ginf Yule.j: 
 But blacker fa' awaits the heart 
 
 When first fond luve grows cule. 
 O dear, dear Jeanie Morrison, 
 
 The thocts of bygane years. 
 Still fling their shadows o'er my path, 
 
 And blind my een wi' tears : 
 They blind my een wi' saut,§ saut tears, 
 
 And sair and sick I pine, 
 As memory idly summons up 
 
 The blithe blinksH o' lang syne. 
 'Twas then we luvit ilk^ ither weel, 
 
 'Twas then we twa did part ; 
 
 * Holy-rood day. t Until. t Christmas. ^ Salt. 
 
 11 Gleams, or flashes. ^ Each other. 
 
 19* 
 
222 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Sweet time — sad time ! twa bairns at school, 
 Twa bairns and but ae* heart ! 
 
 'Twas then we sat on ae laighf bink, 
 To lier| ilk ither lear ; 
 
 And tonesj and looks, and smiles were shed. 
 Remembered evermair. 
 
 I wonder, Jeanie, affcen yet, 
 
 When sitting on that bink, 
 Cheek touchin' cheek, loof§ locked in loof, 
 
 What our wee heads could think. 
 When baith bent down o'er ae braid page 
 
 WP ae bulk on our knee, 
 Thy lips were on thy lesson, but 
 
 My lesson was in thee. 
 
 O mindll ye how we hung our heads, 
 
 How cheeks brent red wi' shame, 
 Whene'er the schule^f weans laughin^ said, 
 
 We cleeked** thegither hame? 
 And mind ye o' the Saturdays, 
 
 (The schule then skail'ttt at noon,) 
 When we ran aff to speelH the braes, 
 
 The broomy braes o' June ? 
 
 My held runs round and round about, 
 
 My heart flows like a sea, 
 As ane by ane the thocts rush back, 
 
 O' schule time and o' thee. * 
 
 O mornin' life ! O mornin' luve ! 
 
 O lichtsome days and lang. 
 When hinnied§§ hop^s around our hearts, 
 
 Like simmer blossoms sprang ! 
 
 O mind ye, luve, how aft we left 
 The deavin'llll dinsomelFlf toun, 
 
 To wander by the green burnside, 
 And hear its waters croon ?*^^ 
 
 ^ One. t Low bench. J To teach. § Hand. || Remember. 
 1 School children. ** Clasped, ft Dismissed, tt Climb. 
 §§ Honied. |||| Deafening. lH Noisy. ^^^ Murmur. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 223 
 
 The simmer leaves Lung ower our heads. 
 
 The flowers burst round our feet, 
 And in the gloamin' o* the wood. 
 
 The throssil* whusslit sweet. 
 
 The throssil whusslit in the wood, 
 
 The burn sang to the trees, 
 And we wi' Nature's heart in tune, 
 
 Concerted harmonies ; 
 And on the knowef abune the burn. 
 
 For hours thegither sat : 
 In the silentness o' joy, till baith 
 
 Wr very, very gladness grat.J 
 
 Ay, ay, dear Jeanie Morrison, 
 
 Tears trinkled down your cheek, 
 Like dew-beads on a rose, yet nane 
 
 Had ony power to speak ! 
 That was a time, a blessed time, 
 
 When hearts were fresh and young, 
 When freely gushed all feelings forth, 
 
 Unsyllabled, — unsung ! 
 
 I marvel, Jeanie Morrison, 
 
 Gin§ I hae been to thee, 
 As closely twined wi' earliest thocts, 
 
 As ye hae been to me ? 
 O I tell me gin their music fills 
 
 Thine ear as it does mine ; 
 O ! say gin e'er your heart grows]] grit 
 
 Wi' dreamings o' lang syne ? 
 
 Fve wandered east, I've wandered west, 
 
 I've borne a weary lot ; 
 But in my wanderings far or near. 
 
 Ye never were forgot. 
 The fount that first burst frae this heart, 
 
 Still travels on its way ; 
 
 '^ Thrush or mavis. f Knoll. t Wept. 
 
 § If. II Swells. 
 
224 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 And channels deeper as it runs, 
 The luve o' life's young day. 
 
 O dear, dear Jeanie Morrison, 
 
 Since we were sindered young, 
 Fve never seen your face, nor heard 
 
 The music o' your tongue ; 
 But I could hug all wretchedness, 
 
 And happy could I die, 
 Did I but ken your heart still dreamed, 
 
 O' bygane days and me ! 
 
 Equally beautiful and still more pathetic, is ^' My 
 Held is like to rend, Willie^ Indeed, we know 
 of nothing so affecting as the last stanzas of this 
 exquisite ballad. The poor heart-broken girl gives 
 abundant evidence of her profound penitence. 
 
 ! dinna mind my words, Willie, 
 I downa seek to blame, — 
 
 But O ! it^s hard to live, Willie, 
 
 And dree a world's shame I 
 Het tears are hailin' ower your cheek, 
 
 And hailin' ower your chin ; 
 Why weep ye sae for worthlessness^ 
 
 For sorrow and for sin. 
 
 Fm weary o' this warld, Willie, 
 And sick wi' a' I see, — 
 
 1 canna live as I hae lived, 
 
 Or be as I should be. 
 But fauld unto your heart, Willie, 
 
 The heart that still is thine, — 
 Aud kiss ance mair the white, white cheek, 
 
 Ye said was red lang syne. 
 
 A stoun^ gaes through my heid, Willie, 
 
 A sair stoun through my heart, — 
 O ! hand me up, and let me kiss 
 
 Thy brow, ere we twa pairt. 
 
 ^ A darting pain. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 225 
 
 Anither^ and anither yet I — 
 
 How fast my life's strings break ! — 
 Farewell ! farewell ! through yon kirk-yard, 
 
 Step lichtly for my sake ! 
 
 The lav'rock^«in the lift.t Willie, 
 
 That liltsi far ower our heid, 
 Will sing the morn as merrilie 
 
 Abune the clay-cauld deid ; 
 And this green turf we're sittin' on, 
 
 Wi' dew-draps shimmerin^ sheen, 
 Will hap§ the heart that luvit thee. 
 
 As warld has seldom seen. 
 
 But O ! remember me, Willie, 
 
 On land where'er ye be, — 
 And O ! think on the leal, leal heart. 
 
 That ne'er luvit ane but thee ! 
 And O ! think on the cauld, cauld mools,ll 
 
 That fileU my yellow hair, — 
 That kiss the cheek, that kiss the chin. 
 
 Ye never sail kiss mair. 
 
 As a specimen of MotherwelFs descriptive pow- 
 ers, the exquisite grace of Iiis diction, and the deep- 
 toned melody of his verse, and not only so, but of 
 his high devotional feelings, v^e give the following : 
 
 A SABBATH SUMMER NOON. 
 
 The calmness of this noontide hour, 
 
 The shadow of this wood, 
 The fragrance of each wilding flower 
 
 Are marvelously good ; 
 O ! here crazed spirits breathe the balm, 
 
 Of nature's solitude ! 
 
 It is a most delicious calm 
 
 That resteth everywhere, — 
 The holiness of soul-sung psalm, 
 
 Of felt, but voiceless prayer ! 
 
 * Lark. j Sky. | Sings. § Cover. 1| Clods. T[ Soil. 
 
226 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 With hearts too full to speak their bliss, 
 God's creatures silent are. 
 
 They silent are ; but not the less 
 
 In this most tranquil hour, 
 Of deep, unbroken dreaminess, 
 
 They own that Love and Power, 
 Which like the softest sunshine rests, 
 
 On every leaf and flower. 
 
 How silent are the song-filled nests 
 That crowd this drowsy tree, — 
 
 How mute is every feathered breast 
 That swelled with melody ! 
 
 And yet bright bead-like eyes declare, 
 This hour is exstacy. 
 
 Heart forth ! as uncaged bird through air, 
 
 And mingle in the tide 
 Of blessed things, that, lacking care, 
 
 How full of beauty glide, 
 Around thee, in their angel hues 
 
 Of joy and sinless pride. 
 
 Here on this green bank that o'er-views 
 
 The far retreating glen. 
 Beneath the spreading beech-tree muse. 
 
 On all within thy ken ; 
 For lovelier scene shall never break, 
 
 On thy dimmed sight again. 
 
 Slow stealing from the tangled brake. 
 
 That skirts the distant hill. 
 With noiseless hoof two bright fawns make 
 
 For yonder lapsing rill ; 
 Meek children of the forest gloom. 
 
 Drink on, and fear no ill ! 
 
 And buried in the yellow broom. 
 That crowns the neighboring height, 
 
 Couches a loutish shepherd groom. 
 With all his flocks in sight ; 
 
 Which dot the green braes gloriously. 
 With spots 0* living light. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 227 
 
 It is a sight that filleth me 
 
 With meditative joy, 
 To mark these dumb things curiously, 
 
 Crowd round the guardian boy j 
 As if they felt this Sabbath hour 
 
 Of bliss lacked all alloy. 
 
 I bend me towards the tiny flower. 
 
 That underneath this tree, 
 Opens its little breast of sweets 
 
 In meekest modesty, 
 And breathes the eloquence of love, 
 
 In muteness, Lord I to thee. 
 
 ***** 
 
 The silentness of night doth brood 
 
 O^er this bright summer noon ; 
 And nature, in her holiest mood, 
 
 Doth all things well attune, 
 To joy in the religious dreams 
 
 Of green and leafy June. 
 
 Far down the glen in distance gleams, 
 
 The hamlet's tapering spire. 
 And glittering in meridial beams 
 
 Its vane is tongued with fire ; 
 And hark, how sweet its silvery bell. — 
 
 And hark, the rustic choir ! 
 
 The holy sounds float up the dell 
 
 To fill my ravished ear, 
 And now the glorious anthems swell,— 
 
 Of worshippers sincere, — 
 Of hearts bowed in the dust, that shed 
 
 Faith's penitential tear. 
 
 Dear Lord ! thy shadow is forth spread, 
 
 On all mine eye can see 5 
 And filled at the pure fountain-head 
 
 Of deepest piety, 
 My heart loves all created things, 
 
 And travels home to thee 
 
228 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Around me while the sunshine flings, 
 
 A flood of mocky gold, 
 My chastened spirit once more sings, 
 
 As it was wont of old, 
 That lay of gratitude which burst 
 
 From young heart uncontrolled. 
 
 When in the midst of nature nursed, 
 
 Sweet influences fell, 
 On childly hearts that were athirst^ 
 
 Like soft dews in the bell 
 Of tender flowers, that bowed their heads, 
 
 And breathed a fresher smell. 
 
 So, even now this hour hath sped, 
 
 In rapturous thought o'er me, 
 Feeling myself with nature wed, — 
 
 A holy mystery, — 
 A part of earth, a part of heaven, 
 
 A part, great God ! of Thee. 
 
 Fast fade the cares of life's dull even. 
 
 They perish as the weed, 
 While unto me the power is given. 
 
 A moral deep to read, 
 In every silent throe of mind. 
 
 Eternal beauties breed. 
 
 It would be pleasant, but we have not time, to 
 make the acquamtance of some of the Glasgow 
 clergy, particularly of the classic Wardlaw, the 
 vigorous Heugh,* the accomplished King, the 
 
 * Since the above was written, the Rev. Dr. Heughhas gone to 
 his reward in heaven. He was a man of fine talents, deep piety, and 
 most engaging manners. We met him some years ago on the 
 banks of Lake Leman, whither he had gone for his health, in com- 
 pany with Merle D'Aubigne, Joseph J. Gurney and others ; on 
 which occasion Dr. Heugh gave an interesting and graphic ac- 
 count of the Free C^hurch movement, which was translated for the 
 benefit of those who did not understand English, by Professor La 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 229 
 
 energetic Robson, the intelligent Buchanan, the 
 eloquent Willis, the strong " in knee'd" Anderson, 
 and others of equal distinction. A fair specimen 
 
 Harpe. Never shall we forget tliat interview. There were pre- 
 sentj French and English, German and Swiss, Scots and Ameri- 
 cans. Some of these were Presbyterians, others Episcopalians, 
 and others Baptists, Lutherans and Gluakers ; but all were " one 
 in Christ Jesus.*' Joseph J. Gurney closed our interview with a 
 prayer in the French language, the most simple, solemn, and touch- 
 ing we ever heard. Ah ! little did we think that one of the most 
 agreeable of that happy company was so soon to pass away from 
 the scenes of earth. The following sketch of Dr. Heugh as a 
 preacher, is from a funeral sermon by Dr. J ohn Brown, of Edin- 
 burgh. 
 
 '• As a preacher, he was judicious, faithful, discriminating ; not 
 exclusively doctrinal or practical, or experimental, but all by 
 turns, and often all in the same discourse. The matter of his dis- 
 courses was drawn from the living oracles, and his constant aim 
 was to explain and to apply the saving doctrines of the cross — to 
 bring the mind and hearts of men into harmony with the mind and 
 will of God, especially as those are revealed in the person and 
 work of his incarnate Son. He was eminently a scriptural preach- 
 er, both in substance and in form. The commands of the Master^ 
 ' Divide rightly the word of truth,' - Feed my sheep,' • Feed my 
 lambs,' seemed to be ever present to his mind, and to guide all his 
 ministerial studies ; and hence it was that his pulpit services were 
 marked by a lucid, pointed, and affectionate inculcation of those 
 varied truths which the circumstances of his hearers required. 
 There was nothing trivial or extraneous in his discussions. He 
 stated massy important thoughts, wide and comprehensive views — 
 the result of much reflection and experience — illustrative of his 
 subject and suited to the occasion — in simple and appropriate 
 words ; and the hearer was made to feel that he was not listening 
 to human speculations, but that Christ was, by the preacher, un- 
 folding his mind and will — ' making manifest the savor of his 
 knowledge.' 
 
 " His manner in the pulpit was singularly easy, graceful and 
 pleasing. All that he said and did was natural and becoming. 
 
 20 
 
230 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 of the Scottish clergy has been given in the min- 
 isters of Edinburgh, and that must suffice for the 
 present. 
 
 His fine open countenancCj his animated appearance, his fluency 
 of utterance, the pleasantly modulated tones of his voice, his grace- 
 ful action, and the solemn devotional feeling which obviously per- 
 vaded all these, rivetted attention, and threw a peculiar charm 
 over his whole discourse. There was no seeking for effect, no 
 going out of the way for ornaments, no efforts to dazzle and to over- 
 whelm. He was occupied with his subject, and sought to fill the 
 minds of his hearers with it, as his own mind was filled with it. 
 There were occasionally passages of great beauty, touchingly ten- 
 der statements, stirring suddenly the deeper emotions of the heart ; 
 but the ordinary character of his eloquence was instructive and 
 pleasing, rather than affecting or overpowering.^^ 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Dumbarton Castle — Lochlomond — Luss — Ascent of Benlomond — 
 Magnificent Views — Ride to Loch-Katrine — Rob Roy Mac- 
 gregor — ' Gathering of Clan Gregor' — Loch-Katrine and the 
 Trossacks — The city of Perth — Martyrdom of Helen Stark and 
 her husband. 
 
 Embarking in a steamer at Glasgow, we glide 
 down the Clyde as far as Dumbarton Castle, which 
 rises, in stern and soKtary majesty, from the bosom 
 of the river, — 
 
 ^- A castled steep, 
 Whose banner hangeth o'er the time-worn tower 
 So idly, that rapt fancy deemeth it 
 A metaphor of peace." 
 
 In ancient times, however, those old battlements 
 frequently stood the shock of invading war. Dum- 
 barton was the " Alcluith" of the ancient Britons, 
 subsequently " Dumbriton," or " the fortified hill of 
 the Britons." The vale of the Clyde was called 
 " Strathclutha," and here was the capital of the king- 
 dom of the " Strathclyde Britons." " Alcluith" is 
 the " Balclutha" of Ossian ; halla signifying a wall 
 or bulwark, ,from the Latin vallum^ a waM. " I 
 have seen the walls of Balclutha," sings Ossian, in 
 the poem of Carron, "but they were desolate. 
 The fire had resounded in the halls ; and the voice 
 of the people is heard no more. The stream of the 
 Clutha (Clyde) was removed from its place by the 
 
232 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 fall of the walls. The thistle shook here its lonely 
 head; the moss whistled to the wind. The fox 
 looked out from the windows ; the rank grass of 
 the walls waved round its head. Desolate is the 
 dwelling of Morna; silence is in the house of her 
 fathers." In the reign of Queen Mary this strong- 
 hold was taken by an escalade. This was accom- 
 plished by Captain Crawford, an officer of great 
 energy and talent, who acted for the confederated 
 lords who opposed Queen Mary after the death 
 of her husband, Henry Darnley. Provided with 
 scaling-ladders, and whatever else was necessary, 
 Crawford set out from Glasgow with a small but 
 determined body of men. The night was dark and 
 misty, when they reached the castle- walls. Craw- 
 ford, and a soldier who acted as a guide, scrambled 
 up to a ledge of rock, w^here they fastened a ladder 
 to a tree, which grew on one of its cliffs. Ascend- 
 ing by this means, the whole party stood together 
 with their chief on this natural parapet. But they 
 were far from the point w^hich they hoped to 
 reach. Again the ladder was planted, and the 
 ascent begun. But all at once one of the foremost 
 soldiers, when half way up the ladder, was seized 
 with a sudden fit, and clung to the ladder stiff and 
 motionless. All further progress was at an end. 
 What to do they knew not. To cut him down 
 would be cruel, and besides might awaken the 
 garrison. In this emergency, Crawford had the 
 man secured, by means of ropes to the ladder, 
 which was turned over and all passed up in safety 
 to the foot of the wall. Day began to break, and 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 233 
 
 they hastened to scale the wall. The first man 
 who reached the parapet was seen by a sentinel, 
 who was quickly knocked in the head. The whole 
 party, with furious shouts, rushed over the wall, and 
 took possession of the magazine, seized the can- 
 non, and before the besieged could help them- 
 selves, had entire control of the Castle. 
 
 But we cannot linger here ; so, bidding adieu to 
 Dumbarton, with its martial associations, we strike 
 off from the river at right angles, and, after a plea- 
 sant ride of four or five miles, through a peaceful 
 and agreeable country, we reach the south end of 
 Lochlomond, the " Queen of the Scottish lakes," 
 where we find a little steamer in waiting, which 
 takes us, and a company of sportsmen, travellers 
 and others, over the placid waves of this magnifi- 
 cent sheet of water. The lake is some thirty miles 
 in length, and of unequal breadth, being sometimes 
 four or five miles, and then again not more than a 
 single mile in width, gorgeously begemmed with 
 verdant and beautifully wooded islands, of larger 
 and smaller size, to the number of thirty, and 
 shaded here and there by mountains, covered with 
 verdure and trees to their summits, or grim cliflfs, 
 towering, in solitary grandeur, above the dark and 
 heaving waters beneath. How finely our little 
 steamer dashes the water from her prow, as if she 
 really enjoyed the trip, among the beautiful scenery 
 of this charming lake ! What variety of light and 
 shade ! What diversity of scene, as isle after isle, 
 bold headland, lofty cliff", or wooded acclivity, 
 meets the gaze ! How earth and air and sky, yon 
 
 20* 
 
234 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 fleecy clouds that skirt the horizon, wild crags, and 
 verdant slopes, clumps of trees on the water's edge, 
 islands of green mirroring their foliage in the bosom 
 of the lake, mingle and intermingle in ever varying 
 forms of beauty and grandeur ! Yonder, too, is 
 Benlomond, the genius of the place, towering above 
 the lesser mountains, and looking down, as if pro- 
 tectingly, upon the lake he loves. The shores are 
 exceedingly beautiful ; on one side lying low, " un- 
 dulating with fields and groves, where many a 
 pleasant dwelling is embowered, into lines of hills 
 that gradually soften away into another land. On 
 the other side, sloping back, or overhanging, mounts 
 beautiful in their bareness, for they are green as 
 emerald ; others, scarcely more beautiful, studded 
 with fair trees, some altogether woods. They soon 
 form into mountains, and the mountains become 
 more and more majestical, yet beauty never deserts 
 them, and her spirit continues to tame that of the 
 frowning cliffs." " The islands," continues Profes- 
 sor Wilson, from whom we make this fine extract, 
 " are forever arranging themselves into new forms, 
 every one more and more beautiful ; at least so 
 they seem to be, perpetually occurring, yet always 
 unexpected ; and there is a pleasure even in such a 
 series of slight surprises that enhances the delight 
 of admiration." 
 
 The southern part of the lake is the most beauti- 
 ful, but the northern the most sublime. The chan- 
 nel narrows, and the mountains rise higher and 
 higher, casting dark shadows into the water. For 
 a moment it seems gloomy, but high up in the 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 235 
 
 mountains you discover spots of green ; and the 
 sunlight glancing down, between the masses of 
 shadow, lights up the waves of the lake with a 
 strange beauty, as if it were something purer and 
 more spirit-like than the beauty of the ordinary 
 world. 
 
 But we will stop at the village of Luss, near the 
 edge of the lake, surrounded by mountain scenery, 
 in some places rough and bleak, but charmingly 
 diversified by deep wooded glens, and romantic 
 ravines. 
 
 The sun is sinking behind the western hills — the 
 evening shadows are resting in the vallies, while 
 the tops of those craggy heights around us are still 
 burning with the last rays of departing day. We 
 wander towards the southern part of the parish, 
 with feelings subdued by the magnificent scenery 
 which everywhere meets our gaze, and the solemn 
 stillness which reigns among the mountains, broken 
 only by the tinkling of a small stream winding its 
 way to the lake, as if seeking a home in its bosom, 
 like the soul of a true Christian, which is ever tend- 
 ing onward to the infinite and immortal. At length, 
 while the sweet and long continued " gloaming" of 
 the Scottish summer envelopes everything in its 
 soft and dubious light, we reach the remains of a 
 large cairn, a mound of stones and earth, called 
 " Carn-na-Cheasoig," the cairn of St. Kessog. Here 
 then, according to tradition, lies the dust of St. 
 Kessog, who is said to have suflfered martyrdom 
 near the site of this cairn, in the sixth century, and 
 who anciently was venerated as the guardian saint 
 
236 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 of Luss. Was St. Kessog a true martyr? We 
 trust he was, and can easily imagine the cruel but 
 triumphant death of the holy man. At such an 
 hour, and in such a scene, with the shadow of these 
 great, sky-pointing mountains, resting on our spirits, 
 we might almost believe anything ; anything, at 
 least, lofty and heart-stirring. It is not surprising 
 that the Highlanders are superstitious : but it is 
 surprising that they are not more religious. An 
 infidel or a fanatic among the hills seems an im- 
 possibility. Nor are the inhabitants of these high 
 regions inclined either to scepticism or fanatacism. 
 But they are ignorant of Christianity in its purer 
 forms ; and hence are easily subjected to supersti- 
 tious fears. But we are not yet among the High- 
 landers ; for Luss and the regions around are natu- 
 rally subjected to Lowland influences. 
 
 Next morning w^e pass over the lake in a small 
 boat to Rowardennan, on the eastern shore, whence 
 we commence the ascent of Benlomond, which 
 rises to a height of something more than three 
 thousand feet. The distance from Rowardennan 
 to the top is generally reckoned about six miles. 
 Wending along the sides of the mountain we gra- 
 dually ascend to the bare and craggy summit, but 
 not without resting here and there, and stopping to 
 gaze upon the expanding landscape, as it spreads 
 further and further towards the distant seas. We 
 are somewhat fatigued, but how refreshing the 
 mountain breeze, and how exhilarating the magnifi- 
 cent scenery which opens on every side, and ab- 
 solutely reaches from sea to sea ! There, beneath 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 237 
 
 US, like a belt of liquid light, stretches the long and 
 beautiful Lochlomond, sparkling under the rays 
 pf the sun, fringed with hills, rocks, and woods, 
 and adorned with green isles, reposing on its heav- 
 ing bosom, like gems of emerald chased in gold. 
 Far off are the islands of Bute and Arran, and 
 nearer the fertile Strath-Clutha, through w^hich 
 flows the river Clyde, adorned with villages, 
 castles and country-seats, the city of Glasgow, 
 covered with a misty vapor, the whole of Lanark- 
 shire, the city of Edinburgh, and the vast and de- 
 lightful tract of country beyond, the Firth of Forth, 
 Stirling Castle, and the links of the Forth gliding in 
 peaceful beauty through its green and wooded 
 vale. To the north a scene presents itself of wild 
 and varied grandeur, long ranges of Alpine heights, 
 mighty crags towering to the sky, dark lakes, and 
 deep-cloven ravines, wild and desolate moors, 
 straggling forests, and rich secluded vales. Near 
 us rises the hoary Benvoirloich ; and further north, 
 among inferior mountains, Bencruachan and Ben- 
 nevis lift their lofty heads. Taking a wider range 
 we get a distant glimpse of the wide Atlantic, and 
 the coast of green Erin, the mountains of Cumber- 
 nauld, and the German Ocean, washing the north- 
 fyas\ern coasts of Scotland. But the eye rests, as 
 if by enchantment, upon the magnificent mountain 
 scenery to the north, inferior only in grandeur and 
 beauty to the mountains of Switzerland. 
 
 ^^ Crags, knolls and mounds, confusedly hurled, 
 The fragments of an earlier world j 
 
238 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 And mountains that like giants stand. 
 To sentinel enchanted land.'' 
 
 How elevating such a position, and such scenery. 
 How the soul dilates and rejoices, as if it were a 
 part of the mighty spectacle. Ah ! this were a 
 place for angels to light upon, and hymn the 
 praise of that infinite Being " whose are the moun- 
 tains, and the vallies, and the resplendent rivers." 
 
 But it is time to descend, though it would be 
 pleasant, doubtless, to linger here till sunset, and 
 see those mountain heights shining like stars in the 
 departing radiance, while all beneath was covered 
 with shadow ; and if the evening were still, to Hs- 
 ten to the mingled murmur which ever ascends 
 through the calm air, from a region of streams and 
 torrents. 
 
 Coasting along the lake we reach Inversnaid 
 mill at its upper extremity, and securing some 
 Highland ponies, little tough shaggy fellows, sure- 
 footed and self-willed, we ramble through a lonely, 
 rock-bound glen, the scene of the feats of Rob Roy 
 Macgregor. In one of the smoky huts of this glen 
 we are shown a long Spanish musket, six feet and 
 a half in length, said to have belonged to the fa- 
 mous outlaw, whose original residence was in this 
 lonely region. We also pass the hut in which 
 Helen Macgregor, his wife, was born and brought 
 up. By forgetting a few years, one can easily 
 imagine the whole region filled with wild ' kilted' 
 Highlanders, shouting the war-cry of Macdonald, 
 Glengarry, or Macgregor. The spirit of these 
 wild clans has been admirably depicted by Sir 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 239 
 
 Walter Scott. Nothing can be more spirited than 
 his " Gathering of Clan-Gregor," which in this 
 rough glen, seems to gather a peculiar intensity of 
 meaning. 
 
 The moon's on the lake, the mist's on the brae. 
 And the clan has a name that is nameless by day ; 
 Then gather, gather, gather, Gregalich ! 
 
 Our signal for fight that from monarchs wc drew. 
 Must be heard but by night in our vengeful haloo ; 
 Then haloo, Gregalich, haloo Gregalich ! 
 
 Glen Orchy's proud mountains, Coalcbuirn and her towers, 
 Glenstrae and Glenlyon no longer are ours ; 
 We're landless, landless, Gregalich ! 
 
 But doomed and devoted by vassal and lord, 
 Macgregor has still both his heart and his sword ; 
 
 Then courage, courage, courage, Gregalich ! 
 
 If they rob us of name, and pursue us with beagles, 
 Give their roofs to the flame, and their flesh to the eagles ; 
 Then vengeance, vengeance, vengeance, Gregalich ! 
 
 While there's leaves in the forest, or foam on the river, 
 Macgregor despite them, shall flourish forever ! 
 
 Come then, Gregalich ! Come then, Gregalich ! 
 
 Through the depths of Lochkatrine the steed shall career, 
 O'er the peak of Benlomond the galley shall steer. 
 And the rocks of Craig-Royston, like icicles melt. 
 Ere our wrongs be forgot, or our vengeance unfelt ! 
 Then gather, gather, gather, Gregalich !" 
 
 We reach Lochkatrine, a narrow sheet of water, 
 ten miles in length, winding, in serpentine turns, 
 among the huge mountains which guard it on every 
 side. This, and the wild glen called the Trosachs, 
 are embalmed in the poetry of Sir Walter Scott, 
 whose ethereal genius has imparted to them a 
 
240 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 charm which they would not otherwise possess. 
 Wild and grand the scenery certainly is, secluded 
 so far among the mountains, and guarded so won- 
 drously by 
 
 ^' Rocky summitSj split and rent/' 
 
 which, gleaming under the rays of the morning sun, 
 appeared to the eye of poetical inspiration, 
 
 " Like turret, dome or battlement, 
 Or seemed fantastically set 
 With cupola or minaret, 
 Wild crests as pagod ever deck'd, 
 Or mosque of Eastern minaret.'' 
 
 And not only so, but richly adorned with forest- 
 trees and wild flowers among the rifted rocks and 
 the " smiling glades between," lovelier by far than 
 ever met any but a poet's eye. 
 
 '• Boon nature scattered free and wild, 
 Each plant or flower, the mountains' child. 
 Here eglantine embalmed the air, 
 Hawthorne and hazel mingled there; 
 The primrose, pale and violet flower. 
 Found in each cliff a narrow bower ; 
 Foxglove and nightshade, side by side, 
 Emblems of punishment and pride. 
 Group'd their dark hues with every stain 
 The weather-beaten crags retain. 
 With boughs that quaked at every breath 
 Gray birch and aspen wept beneath ; 
 Aloft the ash and warrior oak. 
 Cast anchor in the rifted rock; 
 And higher yet the pine tree hung 
 His shattered trunk, and frequent flung 
 When seemed the cliffs to mount on high, 
 His boughs athwart the narrow'd sky. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 241 
 
 Highest of all, where white peaks glanced, 
 Where glistening streamers waved and danced, 
 The wanderer's eye could barely view 
 The summer heaven's delicious blue ; 
 So wondrous wild, the whole might seem 
 The scenery of a fairy dream." 
 
 The scenery at the east end of Lochkatrine, 
 where the lake narrows, like a placid river, under 
 the eye of Benvenue, the lower parts of which are 
 richly wooded, is exceedingly beautiful. Through 
 the whole of this glen, the Highland guides point 
 out the localities and incidents mentioned in the 
 " Lady of the Lake," as if it were a historical 
 verity. Such is the power of genius, which "gives 
 to airy nothings a local habitation and a name." 
 
 *^ Oh ! who would think, in cheerless solitude, 
 
 Who o'er these twilight waters glided slow. 
 
 That genius, with a time-surviving glow. 
 These wild lone scenes so i^roudly hath imbued ! 
 Or that from ^ hum of men' so far remote, 
 
 Where blue waves gleam, and mountains darken round, 
 
 And trees, with broad boughs shed a gloom profound, 
 A poet here should from his trackless thought 
 Elysian prospects conjure up, and sing 
 
 Of bright achievement in the olden days, 
 
 When chieftain valor sued for beauty's praise. 
 And magic virtues charmed St. Fillan's spring : 
 
 Until in worlds where Chilian mountains raise 
 Th«ir cloud-capt heads admiring souls should wing 
 
 Hither their flight, to wilds whereon I gaze." 
 
 Leaving Lochkatrine, we pass in a south-east- 
 erly direction, through Callendar to Auchterar- 
 der, a parish famous in the annals of the Free 
 Church of Scotland, and thence, travelling through 
 a delightful country, reach " the bonnie town o' 
 
 21 
 
242 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Perth," which lies so charmingly on the banks of 
 the Tay. Surrounded by some of the finest scenery 
 in Scotland, with Kinnoul House and Kinfauns 
 Castle on the one side, and Scone, the old palace in 
 which the kings of Scotland were crowned, on the 
 other, clustering with memories of the olden time, 
 and withal being a well-built city, with some ven- 
 erable churches and handsome public edifices, 
 Perth is one of the most interesting places in Scot- 
 land. Moreover, it was anciently the capital of 
 the kingdom, and contains a good many relics of 
 its former glory. Here the doctrines of the Re- 
 formation early took root, and some of the citizens 
 suffered martyrdom for Christ's sake. Helen Stark 
 and her husband, for refusing to pray to the Virgin 
 Mary, were condemned to die. She desired to be 
 executed with her husband, but her request was 
 refused. On the way to the scaffold, she exhorted 
 him to constancy in the cause of Christ, and as she 
 parted with him, said, " Husband, be glad ; we have 
 lived together many joyful days, and this day of 
 our death we ought to esteem the most joyful of 
 them all, for we shall have joy forever ; therefore, 
 I will not bid you good night, for we shall shortly 
 meet in the kingdom of Heaven." After the men 
 were executed, Helen was taken to a pool of water 
 ard by, when, having recommended her dear 
 children to the charity of her neighbors, her infant 
 having been taken from her breast, "she was 
 drowned, and died," says the historian of the town, 
 " with great courage and comfort." 
 
 Perth rejoices in the possession of two beautiful 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 243 
 
 " Commons," or " Inches," as they are called, green 
 as emerald, and bordered by long avenues of mag- 
 nificent trees. The Tay gleams through the ver- 
 dant foliage, and is seen winding, in serene beauty, 
 far dow^n among the rich meadows and smooth 
 lawns which adorn its banks. Behind it are the 
 Sidlaw hills, and looming up, in the distance, the 
 blue ridges of the Grampians. The lands around 
 it are highly cultivated, and support a numerous 
 race of farmers, many of whom have grown rich 
 from the produce of the soil. 
 
 But the shadows of evening are beginning to fall 
 upon the landscape ; to-morrow is " the rest of the 
 holy Sabbath," and a comfortable "'tween and sup- 
 per-time" awaits us at the house of a friend at some 
 distance from Perth, which we must immediately 
 leave. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Sabbath Morning — ' The Sabbath/ by James Grahame — Sketch 
 of his Life — Extracts from his Poetry — The Cameronians — 
 * Dream of the Martyrs.' by James Hisiop — Sabbath Morning 
 Walk — Country Church — The old Preacher — The Interval 
 of Worship — Conversation in the Churchyard — Going Home 
 from Church — Sabbath Evening. 
 
 Sabbath morning dawns upon us, bright and 
 clear, and all around a hushed stillness pervades 
 the air. 
 
 *' With silent awe I hail the sacred morn, 
 That scarcely wakes while all the fields are still 5 
 A soothing calm on every breeze is borne, 
 A graver murmur echoes from the hill. 
 And softer sings the linnet from the thorn ; 
 The skylark warbles in a tone less shrill. 
 Hail, light serene ! hail, sacred Sabbath morn ! 
 The sky a placid yellow lustre throws ; 
 The gales that lately sighed along the grove 
 Have hushed their drowsy wings in dead repose j 
 The hovering rack of clouds forgets to move, 
 So soft the day when the first morn arose." 
 
 Thus sang Leyden, the celebrated scholar, poet, 
 and traveller, who, hke all true sons of Scotland, 
 revered the holy Sabbath, regarding it as the best 
 of days, the sweetest, purest, calmest of the seven ! 
 The same images, borrowed not from Leyden, but 
 from nature and his own heart, are used by Gra- 
 hame, in his delightful poem of * The Sabbath,' a 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 245 
 
 production not without defects, but one of the most 
 popular in Scotland. 
 
 " How still the morning of the hallowed day ! 
 Mute is the voice of rural labor, husVd 
 The ploughboy's whistle and the milkmaid's song. 
 The scythe lies glittering in the dewy wreath 
 Of tedded grass, mingled with fading flowers, 
 That yestermorn bloomed waving in the breeze. 
 Sounds the most ftiint attract the ear — the hum 
 Of early bee, the trickling of the dew, 
 The distant bleating, midway up the hill. 
 Calmness seems throned on yon unmoving cloud. 
 To him who wanders o'er the upland leas, 
 The blackbird's note comes mellower from the dale ; 
 And sweeter from the sky the gladsome lark 
 Warbles his heaven-tuned song ; the lulling brook 
 Murmurs more gently down the deep-sunk glen j 
 While from yon lowly roof, whose curling smoko 
 O'ermounts the mist, is heard at intervals 
 The voice of psalm, the simple song of praise.'^ 
 
 The Rev. James Grahame, the author of ' The 
 Sabbath,' ' The Birds of Scotland,' * BibHcal Pic- 
 tures,' and so forth, was born in 1765, in the city 
 of Glasgow. He studied law, but afterwards took 
 orders in the Church of England, and officiated as 
 curate in the counties of Gloucester and Durham. 
 He is said to have been a popular and useful 
 preacher. Possessed of great simplicity of cha- 
 racter, purity of morals, and kindness of heart, he 
 won the affections of all his parishioners. Suffering 
 from ill health, he gave up his curacy, and returned 
 to Scotland, where he acted, we beheve, as a 
 school-teacher. His poems, particularly that of 
 ' The Sabbath,' attracted much attention in his 
 native land, which he dearly loved. A deep re- 
 
 21* 
 
246 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 ligious vein pervades the whole. Attached to the 
 ritual of his own church, he could yet appreciate 
 the solemn * hill worship' of the Covenanters. His 
 descriptions of Scottish scenery are accurate and' 
 beautiful. His Sabbath is the Sabbath of Scotland. 
 All its pictures are drawn from real life. His 
 verse may seem prosaic at times, but it is melodi- 
 ous as a whole. Nothing can be more natural or 
 agreeable, in its easy gentle flow. Moreover, it 
 often sparkles with original turns of thought, and 
 feHcitous expressions. 
 
 An interesting anecdote is told of Grahame in 
 connection with the publication of * The Sabbath.' 
 He had finished the poem, and sent it to the press 
 unknown to his wife. When it was issued he 
 brought her a copy, and requested her to read it. 
 As his name was not prefixed to the work, she did 
 not dream that he had anything to do with it. As 
 she went on reading, the sensitive author walked 
 up and down the room. At length she broke out 
 in praise of the poem, and turning to him said: 
 " Ah ! James, if you could but produce a poem like 
 this." Judge then of her delighted surprise when 
 told that he was its author. The effect upon her is 
 said to have been almost overwhelming. 
 
 After describing the solemn and delightful wor- 
 ship of God's house, particularly the music, ascend- 
 ing in ' a thousand notes symphonious,' he touch- 
 ingly adds : 
 
 " Afar they float, 
 Wafting glad tidings to the sick man's couch : 
 Raised ou his arm, he lists the cadence close, ' 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 247 
 
 Yet thinks he hears it still : his heart is cheered ; 
 He smiles on death ; but, ah ! a wish will rise — 
 Would I were now beneath that echoing roof ! 
 No lukewarm accents from my lips would flow j 
 My heart would sing : and many a Sabbath day 
 My steps should thither turn ; or wandering far 
 In solitary paths, where wild flowers blow, 
 Then would I bless his name who led me forth 
 From death's dark vale, to walk amid those sweets — 
 Who gives the bloom of health once more to glow 
 Upon this cheek, and lights this languid eye." 
 
 His description of the shepherd boy's Sabbath 
 worship among the hills is a passage of great 
 beauty. 
 
 '' It is not only in the sacred fane 
 That homage should be paid to the Most High ; 
 There is a temple, one not made with hands, 
 The vaulted firmament. Far in the woods, 
 Almost beyond the sound of city chime^ 
 At intervals heard through the breezeless air ; 
 When not the limberest leaf is seen to move, 
 Save when the linnet lights upon the spray 
 When not a floweret bends its little stalk, 
 Save when a bee alights upon the bloom — 
 Then rapt in gratitude, in joy, and love 
 The man of God will pass his Sabbath noon ; 
 Silence his praise ; his disembodied thoughts 
 Loosed from the load of words, will high ascend 
 Beyond the empyrean. 
 
 Nor yet less pleasing at the heavenly throne, 
 The Sabbath service of the shepherd boy ! 
 In some lone glen, when every sound is lulled 
 To slumber, save the tinkling of the rill, 
 Or bleat of lamb, or hovering falcon's cry. 
 Stretched on the sward, he reads of Jesse's Son j 
 Or sheds a tear o'er him to Egypt sold, 
 And wonders why he weeps : the volume closed, 
 V7ith thyme sprig laid between the leaves, he sings 
 
248 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 The sacred lays, his weekly lesson conned 
 With meikle care beneath the lowly roof, 
 Where humble love is learnt, where humble worth 
 Pines unrewarded by a thankless state. 
 Thus reading, hymning, all alone, unseen, 
 The shepherd boy the Sabbath holy keeps, 
 Till on the heights he marks the straggling bands 
 Returning homeward from the house of prayer." 
 
 The hill worship of the Covenanters is also de- 
 scribed with much beauty and pathos. 
 
 " With them each day was holy, every hour 
 They stood prepared to die, a people doomed 
 To death — old men, and youths, and simple maids. 
 With them each day was holy ; but that morn 
 On which the angel said, ^ See where the Lord 
 Was laid,' joyous arose — to die that day 
 Was bliss. Long ere the dawn, by devious ways, 
 O'er hills, through woods, o'er dreary wastes, they sought 
 The upland moors, where rivers, there but brooks 
 Dispart to different seas. Fast by such brooks 
 A little glen is sometimes scooped, a plat 
 With greensward gay, and flowers that strangers seem 
 Amid the heathery wild, that all around 
 Fatigues the eye : in solitudes like these 
 Thy persecuted children, Scotia, foiled 
 A tyrant's and a bigot's bloody laws ; 
 There, leaning on his spear, (one of the array 
 That in the times of old had scathed the rose 
 On England's banner, and had powerless struck 
 The infatuate monarch and his wavering host, 
 Yet ranged itself to"aid his son dethroned,) 
 The lyart veteran heard the Word of God 
 By Cameron thundered, or by Renwick poured 
 In gentle stream : then rose the song, the loud 
 Acclaim of praise ; the wheeling plover ceased 
 Her plaint : the solitary place was glad. 
 And on the distant cairns, the watcher's ear 
 Caught doubtfully at times, the breeze-borne note* 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 249 
 
 But years more gloomy followed, and no more 
 The assembled people dared, in face of day. 
 To worship God, or even at the dead 
 Of night, save when the wint'ry storm raved fierce, 
 And thunder peals compelled the men of blood 
 To crouch within their dens, then dauntlessly 
 The scattered few would meet, in some deep dell 
 By rocks o'ercanopied, to hear the voice, 
 Their faithful pastors voice : he, by the gleam 
 Of sheeted lightning, oped the sacred Book, 
 And words of comfort spoke : over their souls 
 His accents soothing came — as to her young 
 The heathfowFs plumes, when at the close of eve 
 She gathers in her mournful brood, dispersed 
 By murderous sport, and o'er the remnant spreads 
 Fondly her wings, close nestling 'neath her breast 
 They cherished, cower amid the purple blooms." 
 
 This is finely pictured ; and, coming from a mem- 
 ber of the Episcopal Church, does honor to his 
 heart and head. Sir Walter Scott has somewhat 
 injured the memory of the Scottish Covenanters, 
 by presenting the darker features of their charac- 
 ter, and forgetting utterly their earnest piety, their 
 generous fervor, their heroic endurance. Many 
 of them, doubtless, w^ere deficient in high-bred 
 courtesy and learned refinement. Others were 
 narrow-minded and superstitious. But the great 
 mass of them were men of lofty faith, of generous 
 self-sacrifice. They feared God, and perilled their 
 lives for freedom, in the high places of the field. 
 " Lately," says a vigorous writer in Blackwood's 
 Magazine, " the Mighty Warlock of Caledonia has 
 shed a natural and a supernatural light round the 
 founders of the Cameronian dynasty ; and as his 
 business was to grapple with the ruder and fiercer 
 
250 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 portion of their character, the gentle graces of their 
 nature were not called into action, and the storm 
 and tempest and thick darkness of John Balfour of 
 Burley, have darkened the whole breathing con- 
 gregation of the Cameronians, and turned their 
 sunny hillside into a dreary desert." It requires 
 men of no ordinary character to become martyrs 
 for principle, especially when that principle is one 
 of the highest order, and has been chosen calmly, 
 deliberately, and in the fear of God. When such 
 men go forth to defend the right, and shed their 
 life's blood for its enthronement, their's is no vulgar 
 enthusiasm, no unnatural and infuriate fanaticism. 
 Read the following from James Hislop, once a 
 poor shepherd boy, and afterwards a school-teacher, 
 written near the grave of the pious and redoubtable 
 Cameron, and several of his followers, slain by 
 tyrants in the moor of Aird's-moss, and say whether 
 such martyrs for truth are worthy of our reverence ! 
 
 In a dream of the night I was wafted away 
 To the muirland of mist where the martyrs lay, 
 Where Cameron's sword and his Bible are seen, 
 Engraved on the stone where the heather grows green. 
 
 ^Twas a dream of those ages of darkness and blood, 
 When the minister's home was the mountain and wood ; 
 When in Wellwood's dark vaUey the standard of Zion, 
 All bloody and torn 'mong the heather was lying. 
 
 'Twas morning, and summer's young sun from the east 
 Lay in loving repose on the green mountain's breast ; 
 On Wardlaw and Cairntable the clear shining dew, [blue. 
 Glistened there 'mong the heath bells and mountain flowers 
 
 And far up in heaven near the white sunny cloud, 
 The song of the lark was melodious and loud, 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 251 
 
 And in Glenmuir's wild solitude, lengthened and deep, 
 Were tlie whistling of plovers and bleating of sheep. 
 
 And Wellwood's sweet valley breathed music and gladness, 
 The fresh meadow blooms hung in beauty and redness ; 
 Its daughters were happy to hail the returning, 
 And drink the delights of July's sweet morning. 
 
 But oh ! there were hearts cherished far other feelings, 
 Illumed by the light of prophetic revealings, 
 Who drank from the scenery of beauty but sorrow. 
 For they knew that their blood would bedew it to-morrow. 
 
 'Twas the few faithful ones, who with Cameron were lying 
 Concealed 'mong the mist where the heathfowl was flying, 
 For the horsemen of Earlshall around them were hovering, 
 And their bridle reins rung through the thin misty coTering. 
 
 Their faces grew pale, and their swords were unsheathed. 
 But the vengeance that darkened their brow was unbreathed j 
 With eyes turned to heaven, in calm resignation. 
 They sung their last song to the God of salvation. 
 
 The hills with the deep mournful music were ringing, 
 The curlew and plover in concert were singing : 
 But the melody died ^mid derision and laughter. 
 As the host of ungodly rushed on to the slaughter. 
 
 Though in mist and in darkness and fire they were shrouded, 
 Yet the souls of the righteous were calm and unclouded, 
 Their dark eyes flashed lightning, as firm and unbending. 
 They stood like the rock which the thunder is rending. 
 
 The muskets were flashing, the blue swords were gleaming, 
 The helmets were cleft, and the red blood was streaming, 
 The heavens grew dark, and the thunder was rolling, 
 When in Wellwood's dark muirlands the mighty were falling. 
 
 When the righteous had fallen, and the combat was ended, 
 
 A chariot of fire through the dark cloud descended. 
 
 Its drivers were angels on horses of whiteness. 
 
 And its burning wheels turned on axles of brightness. 
 
 A seraph unfolded its doors bright and shining, 
 All dazzling like gold of the seventh refining, 
 
252 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 And the souls that came forth out of great tribulation 
 Have mounted the chariot and steeds of salvation. 
 
 On the arch of the rainbow the chariot is gliding, 
 Through the path of the thunder the horsemen are riding ; 
 Glide swiftly, bright spirits ! the prize is before ye, 
 A crown never fading, a kingdom of glory !'' 
 
 But we are forgetting oui'selves ; and as we pro- 
 pose spending the Sabbath in a small country ham- 
 let, at some distance, we must be off immediately. 
 It would be gratifying to return to Perth and hear 
 some of the clergymen there, Dr. Young especially, 
 who is a preacher of great depth and energy ; but 
 the Sabbath will be sweeter amidst the woods and 
 hills. 
 
 We enter a quiet unfrequented road, skirting 
 around those fine clumps of trees, and that green 
 hill to the west, and after wandering a few miles, 
 we pass into a narrow vale, through which a small 
 wooded stream makes its noiseless way, and adorn- 
 ed on either side with rich green slopes, clumps of 
 birches, and tufts of flowering broom. As you 
 ascend the vale, it gradually widens, the acclivi- 
 ties on either side recede to a considerable dis- 
 tance, and the road, taking a sudden turn, runs 
 over the hill to the left, and dives into a sort of 
 natural amphitheatre, formed by the woods and 
 braes around it. On the further side you descry a 
 small antique-looking church, with two or three 
 huge ash trees, and one or two silver larches sha- 
 ding it, at one end, a pretty mansion built of free- 
 stone, and handsomely slated, at a little distance 
 at the other. Approaching, we find a few strag- 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 253 
 
 glers, as if in haste, entering the church door ; 
 the bell has ceased tolling, and the service probably 
 is about to commence. We enter, and find seats 
 near the door. How tenderly and solemnly that 
 old minister, with his bland look, and silver locks, 
 reads the eighty-fourth psalm, and how reverently 
 the whole congregation, with book in hand, follow 
 him to the close. A precentor, as he is called, 
 sitting in a sort of desk under ihe pulpit, strikes the 
 tune, and all, young and old, rich and poor, imme- 
 diately accompany him. The minister then offers 
 a prayer, in simple Scripture language, somewhat 
 long, but solemn and affecting. He then reads 
 another psalm, which is sung, as the first was, by 
 the whole congregation, and with such earnest and 
 visible delight, that you feel at once that their 
 hearts are in the service. The preacher then rises 
 in the pulpit and reads the twenty-third psalm, as 
 the subject of his exposition, or lecture, as the Scot- 
 tish preachers uniformly style their morning's dis- 
 course. His exposition is plain and practical, 
 occasionally rising to the pathetic and beautiful. 
 Ah, how sweetly he dwells upon the good Shep- 
 herd of the sheep, and how tenderly he depicts the 
 security and repose of the good man passing 
 through the dark valley and the shadow of death. 
 His reverend look, the tremulous tones of his 
 voice, his Scottish accent, and occasionally Scot- 
 tish phrases, his abundant use of Scriptural quota- 
 tions, and a certain Oriental cast of mind, derived, 
 no doubt, from intimate communion with prophets 
 and apostles, invest his discourse with a peculiar 
 
 22 
 
254 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 charm. It is not learned ; neither is it original 
 and profound ; but it is good, good for the heart — 
 good for the conscience and the Hfe. Old preach- 
 ers, like old wine, in our humble opinion, are by far 
 the best. Their freedom from earthly ambition, 
 their deep experience of men and things, their pro- 
 found acquaintance with their own heart, their evi- 
 dent nearness to heaven, their natural simplicity 
 and authority, their reverend looks and tremulous 
 tones, all unite to invest their preaching with a 
 peculiar spiritual interest, such as seldom attaches 
 to that of young divines. Everything, of course, 
 depends upon personal character, and a young 
 preacher may be truly pious, and thus speak with 
 much simplicity and power. But, other things 
 being equal, old preachers and old physicians, old 
 friends and old places possess qualities pecuKar to 
 themselves. 
 
 After the sermon, prayer is offered, and the 
 whole congregation unite in a psalm of praise. 
 The interval of worship, it is announced, will be 
 one hour. A portion of the congregation return to 
 their homes, but most of them remain. Some re- 
 pair to a house of refreshment in the neighborhood, 
 where they regale themselves on the simplest fare, 
 such as bread and milk, or bread and beer. Others 
 wander off, in parties, to the green woods or sunny 
 knolls around, and seated on the greensward, eat 
 their bread and cheese, converse about the sermon 
 or such topics as happen to interest them most 
 The younger people and children are inclined t 
 ramble, but are not permitted to do so. Yet th. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 255 
 
 little fellows will romp, • a very little^ and occa* 
 sionally run off, but not so far as to be beyond call. 
 A large number of the people have gone into the 
 grave-yard connected with the church. Some are 
 seated on the old flat tombstones, others on the 
 greensward, dotted all around with the graves 
 of their fathers. See that group there. The old 
 man, with " lyart haffets" and broad bonnet, looks 
 like one of the old Covenanters. The old lady, 
 evidently his wife, wears a sort of hooded cloak, 
 from which peeps forth a nicely plaited cap of lace, 
 which wonderfully sets off her demure but agree- 
 able features. These young people around them 
 are evidently their children and grandchildren. 
 How contented they look, and how reverently 
 they listen to the old man. Let us draw near, and 
 hear the conversation. 
 
 " Why, grandfaither," says one of the younger 
 lads, "don't you think th' auld Covenanters were 
 rather sour kind o' bodies ?" 
 
 "Sour!" replies the old man, "they had eneqch 
 to mak' them sour. Hunted from mountain to 
 mountain, like wild beasts, it's nae wonder if they 
 felt waefu' at times, or that they let human passion 
 gain a moment's ascendancy. But they were guid 
 men for a' that. They were the chosen o' God, 
 end wrastled hard against principalities and pow- 
 ers, against the rulers o' the darkness of this world, 
 gainst spiritual wickedness in high places. Read- 
 j their lives, I've aften thocht they must ha'e 
 ^n kind o' inspired. Like the auld prophets and 
 ^rtyrs, they were very zealous for the Lord God, 
 
256 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 and endured, cheerfully, mair distress and tribula- 
 tion than we can well imagine." 
 
 " Weel, weel !" says one of the girls, " I wish 
 they had been a wee bit gentler in their ways, and 
 mair charitable to their enemies." 
 
 "Ah, Nancy," is the quick reply of the old man, 
 " ye ken but little about it. A fine thing it is for 
 us, sitting here in this peacefu' kirkyard, wi' nane 
 to molest us or mak' us afraid, to talk about gentle- 
 ness and charitv. But the auld Covenanters had 
 to encounter fire and steel. They wandered over 
 muir and fell, in poverty and sorrow, being desti- 
 tute, afflicted, tormented. But oh, my bairns ! they 
 loved and served the Lord ! They endured as 
 seeing him who is invisible ; and when they cam' 
 to dee, they rejoiced that they were counted wor- 
 thy to suffer for his name. Nae doot, some of 
 them were carnal men, and ithers o' them had 
 great imperfections. But the maist o' them were 
 unco holy men, men o' prayer, men o' faith, aye, 
 and men of charity of whom the world was not 
 
 worthv." 
 
 %/ 
 
 This answer silences all objections. 
 But the bell, from the old church tower, begins 
 to toll. 
 
 ''Slowly the throng moves o'er the tomb-paved ground, 
 The aged man^ the bowed down, the blind 
 Led by the thoughtless boy, and he who breathes 
 With pain, and eyes the new-made grave, well-pleased ; 
 These, mingled with the young, the gay, approach 
 The house of God — these, spite of all their ills, 
 A glow of gladness feel ; with silent praise 
 They enter in : a placid stillness reigns. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 257 
 
 Until the man of God, worthy the name, 
 Opens the book, and reverentially 
 The stated portion reads." 
 
 The services of the afternoon are much the same 
 as those of the morning, except that the preacher 
 comments briefly on the portion of Scripture read 
 at the opening of the service, and dehvers a regu- 
 lar discourse, from a single text. The congrega- 
 tion follow the preacher with evident attention, 
 and look up in their Bibles, which all have in their 
 hands, the passages of Scripture cited as proofs and 
 illustrations. This, w^ith an occasional cough, and 
 a little rustling from the children, are the only 
 sounds which break the solemn stillness of the 
 scene. 
 
 Dismissed, with a solemn benediction, all take 
 their several ways homeward. The sun is going 
 down ; but its mellow light yet lingers upon the 
 uplands, and tinges the foliage of the trees with 
 supernal tints. A sabbath stillness reigns over 
 hill and dale. The very trees appear to slumber ; 
 the birds are silent, except a single thrush, which, 
 in the deep recesses of that shadowy copsewood, 
 appears to be singing " her hymn to the evening." 
 A little later, you might hear the voice of psalms 
 from the low thatched cottage, on the hillside or 
 in the glen. For, in Scotland, family worship is 
 generally maintained, and singing, in which the 
 whole family join, always forms a part of the ex- 
 ercises. 
 
 '• They chant their artless notes in simple guise ; 
 They tune their hearts, by far the noblest aim 5 
 
 22* 
 
258 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Perhaps Dundeeh wild warbling measures rise, 
 Or plaintive Martyrs^ worthy of the name, 
 
 Or noble Elgin beets the heavenward flame, 
 The sweetest far of Scotia's holy lays." 
 
 Wandering thus, through the fields, with Sabbath 
 influences all around us, it is impossible not to be 
 grateful and devout. A holy calm steals upon the 
 mind — a heavenly beatitude, akin to that of angels 
 and the spirits of just men made perfect. 
 
 " Oh Scotland ! much I love thy tranquil dales ; 
 But most on Sabbath eve, when low the sun 
 Slants through the upland copse, ^tis my delight. 
 Wandering and stopping oft, to hear the song 
 Of kindred praise arise from humble roofs ; 
 Or when the simple service ends, to hear 
 The lifted latch, and mark the grey -haired man, 
 The father and the priest, walk forth alone 
 Into his garden plat and little field. 
 To commune with his God in secret prayer — 
 To bless the Lord that in his downward years 
 His children are about him : sweet, meantime 
 The thrush that sings upon the aged thorn. 
 Brings to his view the days of youthful years, 
 When that same aged thorn was but a bush ! 
 Nor is the contrast between youth and age 
 To him a painful thought •, he joys to think 
 His journey near a close ; heaven is his home." 
 
 Thus, in his own simple and charming style, Gra- 
 hame describes the Sabbath evening. So beautiful 
 it is, so Sabbath-like, in its spirit and tone, that we 
 venture one extract more. 
 
 "Now, when the downward sun has left the glens, 
 Each mountain's rugged lineaments are traced 
 Upon the adverse slope, where stalks gigantic 
 The shepherd's shadow, thrown athwart the chasm, 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 259 
 
 As on the topmost ridge he homeward hies. 
 How deep the hush ! the torrent's channel dry, 
 Presents a stony steep, the echo's haunt. 
 But harkj a plaintive sound floating along ! 
 'Tis from yon heath-roofed shieling ; now it dies 
 Away, now rises full ; it is the song 
 Which He, who listens to the hallelujahs 
 Of choiring seraphim, delights to hear ; 
 It is the music of the heart, the voice 
 Of venerable age, of guileless youth, 
 In kindly circle seated on the ground 
 Before their wicker door. Behold the man, 
 The grandsire and the saint ; his silvery locks 
 Beam in the parting ray ; before him lies, 
 Upon the smooth-cropt sward the open book, 
 His comfort, stay, and ever new delight ; 
 While heedless at his side, the lisping boy 
 Fondles the lamb that nightly shares his couch." 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 LocWeven — Escape of Glueen Mary from Lochleven Castle — Mi- 
 chael Bruce — Sketcli of his Life — Boyhood — College Life — 
 Poetry — '• Lochleven" — Sickness — " Ode to Spring" — Death — 
 " Ode to the Cuckoo." 
 
 Pursuing our journey southward, next day finds 
 us on the banks of Lochleven, distinguished not so 
 much from the beauty of its situation, as from its 
 poetic and historical associations. It is adorned 
 with four small islands, the principal of which are 
 St. Serf's Isle near the east end, so called from its 
 having been the site of a priory dedicated to St. 
 Serf, and another near the shore on the west side, 
 which immediately attracts the eve, from its con- 
 taining the picturesque ruins of Lochleven Castle, 
 in which Mary, Queen of Scots, was confined, and 
 from which she made her wonderful escape. Here, 
 also, Patrick Graham, Archbishop of St. Andrews, 
 and grandson of Robert the Third, was imprisoned, 
 in consequence of a generous attempt to reform 
 the profligate lives of the Catholic clergy. In this 
 place he died, and was buried in the monastery of 
 St. Serf The keys of the castle, thrown into the 
 lake at the time of Queen Mary's flight, have re- 
 cently been found by a young man belonging to 
 Kinross, and are now in the possession of the Earl 
 of Morton. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 261 
 
 The castle, with its massive tower yet standing, 
 looks dismal enough, but how much it is beautified 
 by the fine old trees and shrubbery which encircle 
 it, and the mellow light which mantles its hoary 
 sides ! 
 
 " Gothic the pile, and high the solid walls, 
 "With warlike ramparts, and the strong defence 
 Of jutting battlements : an age's toil ! 
 No more its arches echo to the noise 
 Of joy and festive mirth. No more the glance 
 Of blazing taper through its window beams, 
 And quivers on the undulating wave ; 
 But naked stand the melancholy walls, 
 Lash'd by the wint'ry tempest, cold and bleak 
 That whistles mournful through the empty halls 
 And piecemeal crumble down the towers to dust." 
 
 This description is by Michael Bruce, whose 
 early promise and premature death have awakened 
 so much sympathy among all classes in Scotland. 
 He was born in the vicinity of Lochleven, and has 
 written a poem of considerable merit descriptive 
 of the lake and surrounding scenery. His " Ode to 
 Spring," and especially his " Ode to the Cuckoo," 
 now universally acknowledged to be his, are among 
 the most beautiful poems in the English language. 
 He was born at Kinnesswood, parish of Portmoak, 
 on the 27th of March, 1746. By going round to 
 the north-east bank of the lake, we shall find this 
 village, insignificant in itself, but sweetly situated 
 on the south-west declivity of the Lomond hills. 
 Ascending a narrow lane, we reach, near its centre, 
 the house in which Bruce was born. It consists 
 of two stories, with a thatched roof. Michael's 
 
262 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 parents were very poor, and occupied only the 
 upper part of the house, which served them at 
 once for a workshop and dwelling, " A true nest- 
 ling place of genius," exclaims his biographer, 
 quoting the words of Washington Irving respect- 
 ing the birth-place of Shakspeare, " which delights 
 to hatch its offspring in bye corners." Mean as it 
 is, an angelic soul has been here, and a charm lin- 
 gers upon its homely walls. Dr. Huie of Edin- 
 burgh has given the following touching account of 
 a visit which he paid to this place, in company 
 with one of Bruce's old friends. " On returning," 
 says he, " from Portmoak church-yard, where 
 Bruce is buried, I attended my venerable guide to 
 the lowly dwelling where the parents of the poet 
 resided. We first entered the garden : ^ This,' 
 said Mr. B. ' was a spot of much interest to Mi- 
 chael. Here he used alternately to work and to 
 meditate. There stood a row of trees which he 
 particularly cherished, but they are now cut down,' 
 added the good old man, and as he said this, he 
 sighed. ' Here again,' said he, ' was a bank of soft 
 grass on which Michael was accustomed to recline 
 after he became too weak to walk ; and here his 
 father would sit beside him in the evening, and 
 read to amuse him.' We next entered the house. 
 I experienced an involuntary feeling of awe when 
 I found myself in the humble abode, where neg- 
 lected worth and talents had pined away and died. 
 The little square windows cast but a feeble light 
 over the apartment, and the sombre shades of 
 evening, for the sun had now set, were strikingly 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 263 
 
 in unison with the scene. * There/ said my con- 
 ductor, ' auld Saunders used to sit at his loom. In 
 that corner stood the bed where the auld couple 
 slept, in this the bed which was occupied by Mi- 
 chael, and in which he died.' The good old man's 
 eyes filled as he spoke. I found it necessary to 
 wipe my own. I was not ashamed of my tears. 
 They were a tribute to departed genius, and there 
 was nothing unmanly in their flow." 
 
 Saunders Bruce, as he was called, the father of 
 Michael, had eight children, and as the business of 
 weaving has always been a poor one in Scotland, it 
 was with extreme difficuky that he was enabled to 
 give Michael a suitable education, though early per- 
 ceiving in him the seeds of genius. Saunders was 
 a pious thoughtful man, universally respected, and 
 a sort of village chronicle. He is supposed to be 
 referred to in the poem of Lochleven, in the lines 
 commencing, — 
 
 ^' I knew an aged swain whose hoary head 
 Was bent with years, the village chronicle," etc. 
 
 Of his mother we have no means of forming a 
 judgment, and suspect that her character was not 
 particularly marked. It is his father to whom Mi- 
 chael himself, and the friends that knew him, chief- 
 ly refer in connection with his early studies and 
 pursuits. Some indeed have intimated that the 
 stern orthodoxy of the old man was called into re- 
 quisition to repress the youthful aspirings of his son, 
 particularly in the matter of books, but of this not 
 the slightest evidence can be adduced. 
 
264 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 He succeeded in procuring copies of Shakspeare, 
 Pope, Milton, Fontenelle and Young, all of which 
 he devoured with avidity and delight. The Scrip- 
 tures he read at home and at school, and thus be- 
 came familiar with the magnificent images and 
 thrilling conceptions of oriental inspiration. 
 
 Michael was a great favorite at school, and made 
 rapid progress in his studies. But he was frequent- 
 ly called away from school, partly by sickness, to 
 which he was subject at an early age, and partly 
 by his father's straitened circumstances. On this 
 latter account he was employed for a time as a 
 shepherd, on the Lomond hills, which rise in ver- 
 dant beauty behind his native village. This, how- 
 ever, was rather a benefit than an injury to his 
 mind as well as body. His poem of " Lochleven'* 
 is made up of reminiscences of the romantic scenes 
 with which at that time he became famiHar : — 
 
 '• Where he could trace the cowslip-covered bank 
 Of Leven. and the landscape measure round." 
 
 " The late proprietor of the upper Kinneston, a 
 small estate upon the southwest declivity of the 
 Lomond hills, used to relate with much feeling, the 
 amusing stories told him, and the strange questions 
 put to him by Michael when herding his father's cat- 
 tle, and how he would offer his services to carry 
 the boys' meals to the hill, for the sake of having 
 half an hour's conversation with this interesting 
 youth."* While his progress in learning was much 
 
 * Memoir of Bruce, by Dr. Mackelvie, to which I am chiefly 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 265 
 
 interrupted in this way, his mind was advancing, 
 nevertheless, by communion with nature and his 
 own individual heart. Besides, his frequent ab- 
 sence from school was compensated by the prose- 
 cution of his studies on the hillside, or by his father's 
 ingle, so that w^hen he returned to school, it took 
 him but a few days to reach the top of his class. 
 Though modest, and even shy, he had great in- 
 fluence with his school-fellows. Somehow they re- 
 garded him as a sort of superior being, and his 
 word among them was law\ This, doubtless, arose 
 from the originality of his character, which devel- 
 oped itself at a very early age. 
 
 '• Silent when glad, affectionate though shy, 
 And now his look was most demurely sad. 
 And now he laughed aloud, and none knew why. 
 And neighbors stared and sighed, and bless'd the lad; 
 Some deemed him wondrous wise, and some believed him mad.'* 
 
 Beattie's Minstrel. 
 
 The same deference, it is said, was paid him at 
 home. Indeed, he was the pet of the family, and 
 all vied to make Michael comfortable and happy, a 
 homage to genius and worth infinitely more precious 
 than the plaudits of the world. 
 
 While attending school, he formed some interest- 
 ing friendships, particularly with William Arnot, a 
 peculiarly amiable young man, who died in early 
 life, and to whom Bruce makes a touching refer- 
 ence in " Lochleven." Through the son he be- 
 
 ; came acquainted with the father, a wise and liberal 
 
 I '. — 
 
 ' indebted for the facts of which the accompanying sketch is com- 
 
 23 
 
266 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 man, who greatly assisted Michael in his studies, 
 and gave him the free use of his library. It is to 
 him the following description refers. 
 
 ^' How blest the man, who, in these peaceful plains, 
 Ploughs his paternal field ; far from the noise, 
 The care and bustle of a busy world ! 
 All in the sacred, sweet, sequestered vale 
 Of solitude, the secret primrose path 
 Of rural life he dwells ; and with him dwells 
 Peace and content, twins of the sylvan shade, 
 And all the graces of the golden age. 
 Such is Agricola, the wise, the good ; 
 By nature formed for the calm retreat, 
 The silent path of life. Learned, but not fraught 
 With self-importance, as the starched fool 
 Who challenges respect by solemn face. 
 By studied accent, and high-sounding phrase, 
 Enamored of the shade, but not morose. 
 Politeness, raised in courts by frigid rules 
 With him spontaneous grows. Not books alone, 
 But man his study, and the better part ; 
 To tread the ways of virtue, and to act 
 The various scenes of life with God's applause. 
 Deep in the bottom of the flowery vale. 
 With blooming sallows, and the leafy twine 
 Of verdant alders fenced, his dwelling stands 
 Complete in rural elegance. The door 
 By which the poor or pilgrim never passed 
 Still open, speaks the master's bounteous heart. 
 Then, O how sweet ! amid the fragrant shrubs, 
 At evening cool to sit ; while, on their boughs 
 The nested songsters twitter o'er their young ; 
 And the hoarse low of folded cattle breaks 
 The silence, wafted o'er the sleeping lakes. 
 Whose waters glow beneath the purple tinge 
 Of western cloud ; while converse sweet deceives 
 The stealing foot of time !" 
 
 He found an opportunity of acquiring the Latin 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 267 
 
 language and preparing for college, with a Mr. 
 Dun, who, for the sake of his son, formed a class 
 of boys, of which Michael was decidedly the best 
 scholar, as all acknowledged. 
 
 But he was of a slender make, and gave early 
 indications of pulmonary consumption. In his 
 personal appearance he is said to have resembled 
 Shelley ; having yellowish curling hair, a long 
 neck and narrow^ chest, skin white and shining, 
 and his cheeks " tinged with red rather than ruddy." 
 He was " early smitten with the love of song," and 
 began occasionally to write verses. Possessed of 
 a fine musical ear, he was impatient to get hold of 
 all sorts of old ballads and songs ; and while the 
 other children of the village or school were amu- 
 sing themselves with play, or spending their money 
 on trash, he was poring with delighted eyes over 
 ♦* Chevy Chase," or "The Flowers of the Forest." 
 When he had made himself famihar with the music 
 and sentiments of these ballads, he would endeavor 
 " to supply his lack of novelty with verses of his 
 own." It is in this way, probably, that his fine 
 ballad of " Sir James the Ross," and some of his 
 pastorals originated. 
 
 After he had left school, and saw no way of pur- 
 suing his studies, a relative left him the sum of two 
 hundred merks Scots, about sixty dollars, when it 
 was resolved forthwith that Michael should repair 
 to Edinburgh University. Mr. Arnot encouraged 
 him in this enterprise, and promised some assis- 
 tance, in the shape of provisions and so forth. 
 Accordingly he set out for the metropolis, and 
 
268 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 entered college. But he was often subjected to 
 severe privations. Some of his fellow students 
 who suspected his povertj^ were willing to share 
 their meals with him, but he could not bear the 
 thought of being fed out of pity, and whenever he 
 imagined the invitation to proceed from this feeling 
 he uniformly declined it. He was high-spirited ; 
 and yet he was truly pious. Indeed, he had de- 
 voted himself to Heaven in his boyhood, and never 
 swerved from the high principles of Christian in- 
 tegrity. 
 
 At college Bruce became acquainted with seve- 
 ral young men who subsequently acquired distinc- 
 tion. Dr. Lawson and the Rev. John Logan were 
 his fellow students and warmly attached friends. 
 His relations with Logan subsequently became in- 
 volved, much to the discredit of the latter, who is 
 suspected of having dealt ungenerously with his 
 friend's poems, which, after the death of Bruce, 
 were committed to his care. He is charged par- 
 ticularly with purloining the " Ode to the Cuckoo," 
 and publishing it as his own. Logan was a singu- 
 lar man — an orator of a high order, an accom- 
 plished scholar, and an elegant poet. Some of his 
 poems, particularly his " Visit to the Country in 
 Autumn," " The Braes of Yarrow," " The Lament 
 of Nature," and other odes and hymns, are beauti- 
 ful and finished productions. Some of his dis- 
 courses, preached at Leith, through not profound, 
 are eloquent and effective. But he was imper- 
 fectly imbued with the high principles which he 
 endeavored to recommend to others, and he has 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 269 
 
 greatly tarnished his fair fame by the use which, 
 he is supposed to have made of the labors of Bruce. 
 It is probable, however, that the "Ode to the 
 Cuckoo" was only drafted by Bruce, and subse- 
 quently polished into its present state of perfection 
 by the classic pen of Logan. 
 
 The companion to whom, of all others, Bruce 
 became the most attached at college, was Mr. 
 William Dryburgh, from Dysart. Like Bruce, he 
 was possessed of piety and genius, and like him, 
 too, suffered from pulmonary disease, and died in 
 early Hfe. Both had a presentiment that they were 
 destined to a premature grave. And this, with 
 their bright hope of a blessed immortality, was the 
 frequent subject of their conversations. Dryburgh 
 died in his eighteenth year, and Bruce followed 
 him in less than a year after. How keenly he felt 
 this separation may be gathered from the following 
 letter to a friend, written on receiving the intelli- 
 gence of Dryburgh's death : — 
 
 " I have not many friends, but I love them well. 
 Death has been among the few I have. Poor 
 Dryburgh ! — but he is happy. I expected to have 
 been his companion through life, and that we should 
 have stepped into the grave together ; but Heaven 
 has seen meet to dispose of him otherwise. What 
 think you of this world ? I think it very little 
 worth. You and I have not a great deal to make 
 us fond of it ; and yet I would not exchange my 
 condition with any unfeeling fool in the universe, 
 if I were to have his dull hard heart into the bar- 
 gain. Farewell, my rival in immortal hope ! My 
 
 23* 
 
270 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 companion, I trust, for eternity ! Though far dis- 
 tant, I take thee to my heart ; souls suffer no sepa- 
 ration from the obstruction of matter, or distance 
 of place. Oceans may roll between us, and cli- 
 mates interpose in vain — the whole material crea- 
 ation is no bar to the winged mind. Farewell ! 
 through boundless ages, fare thee well ! May'st 
 thou shine when the sun is darkened. May'st thou 
 live and triumph when time expires ! It is at least 
 possible that we meet no more in this foreign land, 
 in this gloomy apartment of the universe of God. 
 But there is a better world in which we may meet 
 to part no more. Adieu.'' 
 
 But the grief of a true poet embodies itself in 
 verse. The following lines, on the death of Dry- 
 burgh, were found among Bruce's papers. 
 
 Alas ! we fbndly thought that heaven designed 
 
 His bright example mankind to improve ; 
 All they should be was pictured in his mind, 
 
 His thoughts were virtue, and his heart was love. 
 
 Calm as the summer sun's unruffled face, 
 He looked unmoved on life's precarious game, 
 
 And smiled at mortals toiling in the chase 
 Of empty phantoms, opulence and fame. 
 
 Steady he followed virtue's onward path. 
 
 Inflexible to error's devious way, 
 And firm at last, in hope and fixed aith, 
 
 Through death's dark vale he trod without dismay. 
 
 Whence then these sighs ? And whence this falling tear 
 
 In sad remembrance of his merit just ? 
 Still must I mourn ! for he to me was dear 
 
 And still is dear, though buried in the dust. 
 
 Bruce's father made great efforts, by means of 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 271 
 
 saving and borrowing, to assist his son during his 
 college course, and Mr. Arnot continued to send 
 him occasional supplies from his farm and dairy. 
 But he was sadly straitened in the matter of books. 
 The following letter upon this subject is character- 
 istic and striking. 
 
 "Edinburgh, Nov. 27, 1764.— I daily meet with 
 proofs that money is a necessary evil. When in 
 an auction, I often say to myself, how happy should 
 I be if I had money to purchase such a book ! 
 How well should my library be furnished, *nisi 
 obstat res angusta domi,' 
 
 * My lot forbidSj nor circumscribes alone 
 My growing virtues, but my crimes confines.' 
 
 Whether any virtues would have accompanied 
 me in a more elevated station is uncertain, but that 
 a number of vices of which my sphere is incapable, 
 would have been its attendants, is unquestionable. 
 The Supreme Wisdom has seen this meet, and the 
 Supreme Wisdom cannot err." 
 
 The annual session in the colleges of Scotland 
 lasts only from six to eight months, and thus leaves 
 considerable time for relaxation and private study, 
 or for other occupations necessary to recruit the 
 students' exhausted finances. At the end of each 
 of these terms, Michael returned home, much ex- 
 hausted by his application to study. His system, 
 however, soon recovered its wonted energy in the 
 congenial scenes of his boyhood, and the kind at- 
 tentions of the proprietor of Portmoak. Still he 
 was seldom in perfect health, and often complained 
 
272 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 of headache and depression of spirits. Most of his 
 time during the summer months, the season of va- 
 cation, was spent either in reading or in writing 
 poetry. 
 
 During his last session at College, Michael ac- 
 cepted a proposal to teach a small school at Gairney 
 Bridge, which lies on a small stream running into 
 Lochleven. He finished his collegiate studies hon- 
 orably, having distinguished himself chiefly in rhet-- 
 oric and belles lettres. At Gairney Bridge he had 
 some thirty or forty pupils under his care, whom 
 he governed entirely without the rod, then pretty 
 thoroughly used in Scotland. But the compensa- 
 tion was a mere trifle, not exceeding more than 
 sixty or seventy dollars a year. 
 
 It was in this place that he wrote several of his 
 poems, and became deeply attached to a beautiful 
 young woman in the neighborhood, to whom, how- 
 ever^ he never declared his passion. 
 
 About this time he joined the church in Kinross, 
 under the pastoral care of the Rev. Mr. Swanston, 
 recently appointed professor of Theology in the 
 United Secession Church. This learned and amia- 
 ble man conceived a strong attachment for Michael, 
 and ever treated him with the greatest considera- 
 tion and kindness. Subsequently he engaged to 
 teach a school at Forest Mill, a dreary sort of place, 
 with miserable school accommodations. His health 
 too, w^as declining. While fording the Devon on 
 horseback, the horse stumbled and immersed him 
 in the stream, a circumstance which greatly ag- 
 gravated his consumptive tendency. Moreover he 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 273 
 
 was disappointed in his school, and his health and 
 spirits rapidly declined. In a letter to Mr. Arnot, 
 he says, " I expected to be happy here, but I am 
 not. The easiest part of my life is past. I some- 
 times compare my condition with that of others, 
 and imagine if I was in theirs it would be well. 
 But is not everybody thus ? Perhaps he whom I 
 envy thinks he would be glad to change with me, 
 and yet neither would be better for the change. 
 Since it is so, let us, my friend, moderate our hopes 
 and fears, resign ourselves to the will of Him who 
 doeth all things well, and who hath assured us that 
 he careth for us. 
 
 ' Si res sola potest facere et servare beatum 
 Hoc primus repetas opus, hoc postremus omittas.' 
 
 " Things are not very well in the world, but they 
 are pretty well. They might have been worse, 
 and such as they are may please us who have but 
 a few short days to use them. This scene of affairs, 
 though a very perplexed, is a very short one, and 
 in a little while all will be cleared up. Let us en- 
 deavor to please God, our fellow creatures and our- 
 selves. In such a course of life we shall be as hap- 
 py as we can expect in such a world as this. Thus 
 you, who cultivate your farm with your own hands, 
 and I who teach a dozen blockheads for bread, may 
 be happier than he, who having more than he can 
 use, tortures his brain to invent some new methods 
 of killing himself with the superfluity." In this let- 
 ter, worthy of Cowper or of Foster, we see a brave 
 spirit struggling with the direst misfortunes, pover- 
 
274 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 ty and disease, and overcoming both by the silent 
 might of a believing spirit. 
 
 Another thing which greatly afflicted Bruce at 
 Forest Mill, was the total want of agreeable scen- 
 ery, and it was only by an effort of memory and 
 imagination that he could, in some measure make 
 up this deficiency, by recalling the delightful scen- 
 ery of his early home. To this combination of un- 
 favorable circumstances he touchingly refers in the 
 poem of Lochleven, which was actually produced 
 under their influence, as a means of relaxation and 
 enjoyment. 
 
 *' Thus sang the youth amid unfertile wilds, 
 And nameless deserts, unpoetic ground ! 
 Far from his friends he strayed, recording thus 
 The dear remembrance of his native fields, 
 To cheer the tedious night, while slow disease 
 Preyed on his pining vitals, and the blasts 
 Of dark December shook his humble cot.*' 
 
 " Lochleven" is his longest, and in most respects, 
 his most beautiful poem. It has defects, obvious 
 enough to a critical eye, but its general excel- 
 lei '-e strikes every reader. Its descriptions and de- 
 lin*. ations are natural and striking, its imagery is 
 simple and poetical, and its measure sweet and 
 melodious. Nearly the whole of it has been " used 
 up," in beautiful extracts by different writers of dis- 
 tinction. 
 
 But the composition of this poem seems to have 
 been too much for Bruce's shattered frame ; for he 
 was compelled almost immediately toreUnquishhis 
 school. He had just strength to walk home to 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 275 
 
 Kinnesswood, a distance of nearly twenty miles, 
 resting only a short time at Turf-hills on the way. 
 Though nowhere on earth could he be happier than 
 in the humble cottage of his parents, it was yet the 
 worst place in the world for his disease. '' The 
 vapors rising from the lake," says his biographer, 
 " particularly in spring, keep the atmosphere con- 
 stantly in a state of moisture, whilst in the morn- 
 ings and evenings the eastern haars, as the fogs 
 which come up from the sea are called by the in- 
 habitants, come rolling down the hills, and hang 
 suspended over Kinnesswood like a dripping cur- 
 tain." 
 
 He had expected, in the quiet of his father's home 
 and in the vicinity of his dear Lochleven, a resto- 
 ration of health ; but in this hope he was disappoint- 
 ed. The mark of death was upon him. The heart 
 of the beauteous tree was poisoned by disease, and 
 all its leaves faded and fell to the ground. It was 
 under the consciousness of this fact, that he wrote 
 his beautiful and affecting " Ode to Spring," which 
 he sent to a dear friend to apprise him of his ? b- 
 proaching dissolution. The following are its c« ;i- 
 cluding stanzas. 
 
 Now spring returns : but not to me returns 
 The vernal joy my better years have knovm 5 
 
 Dim in my breast, lifers dying taper burns, 
 And all the joys of life with health are flown. 
 
 Starting and shivering in the inconstant wind, 
 
 Meagre and pale, the ghost of what I was, 
 Beneath some blasted tree I lie reclined, 
 
 And count the silent moments as they pass : 
 
276 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 The winged moments, whose unstaying speed 
 No art can stop, or in their course arrest ; 
 
 Whose flight shall shortly count me with the dead, 
 And lay me down in peace with them at rest. 
 
 Oft morning dreams presage approaching fate j 
 And morning dreams, as poets tell, are true ; 
 
 Led by pale ghosts, I enter Death^s dark gate, 
 And bid the realms of light and life adieu. 
 
 I hear the helpless wail, the shriek of wo ; 
 
 I see the muddy wave, the dreary shore, 
 The sluggish streams that slowly sleep below, 
 
 Which mortals visit, and return no more. 
 
 Farewell, ye blooming fields ! ye cheerful plains ! 
 
 Enough for me the church-yard's lonely mound, 
 Where melancholy with still silence reigns, 
 
 And the rank grass waves o'er the cheerless ground. 
 
 There let me wander at the shut of eve, 
 When sleep sits dewy on the laborer's eyes ; 
 
 The world and all its busy follies leave. 
 And talk with Wisdom where my Daphne lies. 
 
 There let me sleep, forgotten in the clay. 
 When death shall shut these weary, aching eyes j 
 
 Rest in the hopes of an eternal day, 
 Till the long night is gone, and the last mom arise. 
 
 He intimated his approaching death to another 
 friend, in prose, as affecting as his poetry, and if 
 possible, more instructive. 
 
 " A few mornings ago, as I was taking a walk on 
 an eminence which commands a view of the Forth, 
 with the vessels sailing along, I sat down, and 
 taking out my Latin Bible, opened by accident, at 
 a place in the Book of Job, chap, ix : 23, * Now 
 my days are passed away as the swift ships.' Shut- 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 277 
 
 ting the book, I fell a musing on this affecting com- 
 parison. Whether the following happened to me in a 
 dream or waking reverie I cannot tell, but I fancied 
 myself on the bank of a river or sea, the opposite 
 side of which was hid from view, being involved 
 in clouds of mist. On the shore stood a multitude, 
 which no man could number, waiting for passage. 
 I saw a great many ships taking in passengers, and 
 several persons going about in the garb of pilots, 
 offering their service. Being ignorant, and curious 
 to know what all these things meant, I applied to a 
 grave old man who stood by giving instructions to 
 the departing passengers. His name, I remember, 
 was the Genius of Human Life. ' My son,' said 
 he, ' you stand on the banks of the stream of Time. 
 All these people are bound for ETERNITY, that 
 undiscovered country whence no traveller ever re- 
 turns. The country is very large, and divided into 
 two parts, the one is called the Land of Glory ^ the 
 other the Kingdom of Darkness, The names of 
 those in the garb of pilots, are Religion^ Virtue^ 
 Pleasure. They who are so wise as to choose Re- 
 ligion for their guide, have a safe, though frequent- 
 ly a rough passage ; they are at last landed in the 
 happy climes where sorrow and sighing forever 
 flee away. They have likewise a secondary direc- 
 tor. Virtue ; but there is a spurious Virtue, who pre- 
 tends to govern by himself; but the wretches who 
 trust to him, as well as those who have Pleasure for 
 their pilot, are either shipwrecked or are cast away 
 on the Kingdom of Darkness. But the vessel in 
 which you must embark^ approaches, and you must 
 
 24 
 
278 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 he gone. Remember what depends upon your con- 
 duct.' No sooner had he left me, than I found my- 
 self surrounded by those pilots I mentioned before. 
 Immediately I forgot all that the old man said to 
 me, and seduced by the fair promises of Pleasure, 
 chose him for my director. We weighed anchor 
 with a fair gale, the sky serene, the sea calm. 
 Innumerable little isles Ufted their green heads 
 around us, covered with trees in full blossom ; dis- 
 solved in stupid mirth, we were carried on regard- 
 less of the past, of the future unmindful. On a sud- 
 den the sky was darkened, the winds roared, the 
 seas raged ; red rose the sand from the bottom of 
 the deep. The angel of the waters lifted up his 
 voice. At that instant, a strong ship passed by ; I 
 saw Religion at the helm. ' Come out from among 
 these,^ he cried. I and a few others threw our- 
 selves out into his ship. The wretches we left 
 were now tossed on the swelling deep. The wa- 
 ters on every side poured through the riven vessel. 
 They cursed the Lord ; when lo ! a fiend rose from 
 the deep, and in a voice like distant thunder, thus 
 spoke : — ' I am Abaddon, the first-born of death ; — 
 ye are my prey. Open thou abyss to receive them !' 
 As he thus spoke they sunk, and the waves closed 
 over their heads. The storm was turned into a 
 calm, and we heard a voice saying, * Fear not, I 
 am with you. When you pass through the waters 
 they shall not overflow you.' Our hearts were fill- 
 ed with joy. I was engaged in discourse with one 
 of my new companions, when one from the top of 
 the mast cried out, ' Courage, my friends, I see the 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 279 
 
 fair haven, the land that is yet afar off.' Looking 
 up, I found it was a certain friend, who had mounted 
 up for the benefit of contemplating the country be- 
 fore him. Upon seeing yoUy (the friend to whom 
 he was writing,) I was so affected that I started 
 and awaked. Farewell, my friend, — Farewell !" 
 
 See that fragile form, then, with the glowing 
 spirit within, panting for freedom and its " native 
 skies," borne along in the vessel of Religion, upon a 
 calm and sunny sea. He looks aloft, and anticipates 
 with serene and joyful trust, his entrance into the 
 port of everlasting peace. The vessel glides, with 
 increasing velocity, her sails all set, and gleaming 
 in the reflected radiance of the spirit- world. Now 
 she enters the port, and nears that blessed shore, 
 
 *^ Where tempests never beat, nor billows roar." 
 
 The few days which remained to Michael on 
 earth, he spent in correcting his poem of the " Last 
 Judgment," and in pluming his spirit for its upward 
 flight. His bodily strength was exhausted, and he 
 was obliged to keep his bed. His mind was medi- 
 tative and hopeful, dwelling almost wholly upon 
 various passages of Holy Writ, which he would re- 
 peat and comment upon to his friends. 
 
 Mr. George Lawson, afterwards Dr. Lawson, 
 professor of theology in the " Secession Church," 
 being called to preach for a settlement in the neigh- 
 borhood of Kinnesswood, hastened upon his arrival 
 there, to see his friend Bruce. He found him in 
 bed, with his countenance pale as death, while his 
 eyes shone like lamps in a sepulchre. The poet 
 
280 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 was delighted to see him, and spoke with as much 
 ease and freedom as if he had been in perfect 
 health. Mr. Lawson remarked to him that he was 
 glad to see him so cheerful. " And why " said he, 
 " should not a man be cheerful on the verge of hea- 
 ven ?" " But," said Mr. L., " you look so emacia- 
 ted. I am afraid you cannot last long." " You re- 
 mind me," he replied, " of the story of the Irishman, 
 who was told that his hovel was about to fall, and I 
 answer with him, Let it fall, it is not mine /" 
 
 This cheerfulness continued during his illness, 
 till his mother, one morning, announced to him, just 
 as he was awaking out of sleep, that Mr. Swanston 
 was dead. He looked at her with a fixed stare, as 
 if stunned by the intelligence. Upon recovering 
 he satisfied himself as to the correctness of the 
 statement, and was never afterwards seen to smile ! 
 Still we do not attach much importance to this cir- 
 cumstance ; for it often happens that when the coun- 
 tenance is cold and ghastly, the heart within is warm 
 and serene. He lingered for a month, manifesting 
 little interest in what was said or done around him, 
 and on the 5th of July, calmly and imperceptibly 
 fell asleep, aged twenty-one years and three 
 months. 
 
 So fades a summer cloud away, 
 So sinks the gale when storms are o'er, 
 
 So gently shuts the eye of day, 
 So fades a wave along the shore. 
 
 Life's labor done, as sinks the clay, 
 
 Light from its load the spirit flies, 
 While heaven and earth combine to say. 
 
 How blessed the Christian when he dies ! 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 281 
 
 His Bible was found upon his pillow, marked 
 down at Jer. xxii : 10, " Weep ye not for the dead, 
 neither bemoan him ;" and on the blank leaf this 
 homely but expressive verse was written : — 
 
 ^' *Tis very vain for me to boast, 
 How small a price my Bible cost ; 
 The day of judgment will make clear, 
 ^Twas very cheap or very dear." 
 
 He was buried in the church-yard of Portmoak, 
 in the very centre of the scenes hallowed and 
 beautified by his muse. A monument has been 
 erected to Bruce, through the subscription of his 
 friends, of which the following is the simple but 
 appropriate inscription : 
 
 MICHAEL BRUCE, 
 
 Born in 1747 at Kinnesswood, 
 
 In the County of Kinross, 
 
 Died at the age of twenty-one. 
 
 In this brief space, 
 
 Under the pressure of indigence and sickness, 
 
 He displayed talents truly 
 
 Poetical. 
 
 For his aged mother's and his own support 
 
 He taught a school here. 
 
 The village was then skirted with old ash trees, 
 
 The cottage in which he dwelt 
 
 Was distinguished by a honeysuckle 
 
 Which he had trained round its 
 
 Lashed window. 
 
 Certain inhabitants of his native county, 
 
 His admirers, 
 
 Have erected this stone 
 
 To mark the abode 
 
 Of 
 Genius and Virtue. 
 i 24* 
 
282 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Bruce was designed for the service of the church. 
 In this view, as well as with reference to the culti- 
 vation of his fine poetical talents, his death may be 
 deemed a calamity. And yet, such a view of the 
 case may fairly be questioned. For himself, is he 
 not happier, in the bosom of his God ; and for us, 
 does he not, by means of his Christian life, his he- 
 roic death, his ethereal strains, embalmed in blessed 
 memories of the past, preach more effectually than 
 he could have done, even had he lived to occupy a 
 material pulpit. " Being dead he yet speaketh," 
 and speaketh with a power and pathos which can 
 be reached only by the dead. 
 
 Had we room we might give many pleasant ex- 
 tracts from his poetry ; but we must content our- 
 selves with his " Ode to the Cuckoo," in our judg- 
 ment one of the most beautiful and perfect little 
 poems in any language. 
 
 TO THE CUCKOO. 
 
 Hail, beauteous stranger of the grove ! 
 
 Thou messenger of Spring ! 
 Now heaven repairs thy rural seat, 
 
 And woods thy welcome sing. 
 
 What time the daisy decks the green, 
 
 Thy certain voice we hear ; 
 Hast thou a star to guide thy path, 
 
 Or mark the rolling year ? 
 
 Delightful visitant ! with thee, 
 
 I hail the time of flowers, 
 And hear the sound of music sweet. 
 
 From birds among the bowers. 
 
 The schoolboy wandering through the wood, 
 To pull the primrose gay^ 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 283 
 
 Starts the new voice of spring to liear,^''' 
 And imitates thy lay. 
 
 What time the pea puts on the bloom, 
 
 Thou fliest thy local vale, 
 Another guest in other lands, 
 
 Another spring to hail. 
 
 Sweet bird ! thy bower is ever green, 
 
 Thy sky is ever clear ; 
 Thou hast no sorrow in thy song, 
 
 No winter in thy year ! 
 
 O could I fly, I'd fly with thee ! 
 
 We'd make, with joyful wing. 
 Our annual visit o'er the globe, 
 
 Companions of the spring. 
 
 * In his own copy Bruce had written, "Starts thy curious 
 voice to hear f curious is a Scotticism, being equivalent to strange. 
 This Logan probably altered to save the quantity. But the 
 original expression is preferred by good judges, as more natural 
 and poetical. " It marks the unusual resemblance of the note of 
 the cuckoo to the human voice, the cause of the start and imitation 
 which follow." 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Dunfermline — Ruins of the Abbey — Grave of Robert Bruce — 
 Malcolm Canmore's Palace — William Henryson, the poet — Wil- 
 liam Dunbar — Stirling Castle — Views from its Summit — City 
 of Stirling — George Buchanan and Dr. Arthur Johnston — Fal- 
 kirk—Linlithgow — Story of the Capture of Linlithgow Castle 
 — Spirit of War — Arrival in Edinburgh. 
 
 Bidding adieu to Lochleven, we journey slowly 
 through a pleasant and highly cultivated region, 
 till we reach the ancient town of Dunfermline, in 
 which some of the old Scottish kings formerly held 
 court, and which is yet adorned with the remains 
 of a magnificent abbey. Robert Bruce was in- 
 terred here, in complete armor, and much interest 
 was excited, a few years ago, by the discovery of 
 his skeleton. In the vicinity are the ruins of Mal- 
 colm Canmore's palace and stronghold, standing on 
 the edge of a deep romantic glen, in which, more 
 than three hundred years ago, the poet Henryson, 
 a schoolmaster in Dunfermline, was wont to wan- 
 der, singing his beautiful lays, in the quaint and 
 difficult dialect of former times. 
 
 " In myddis of June, that jolly sweet sessoun, 
 
 Cluhen that fair Phoebus, with his beamis brycht, 
 
 Had dryit up the dew fra daill and doun, 
 And all the land made with his lemys lycht ; 
 In a morning betwene mid-dsy and nycht, 
 
 I raiss and put all sluith and sleep on syde ; 
 
 Ontill a wod I went allone, but gyd. (glad ?) 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 285 
 
 Sueit was the smell of flowris quhy t and reid, 
 The noyis of birdis rycht delitious ; 
 
 The bewis brod blumyt abune my held ; 
 The grund gowand with grassis gratious 
 Of all pleasans that place was plenteous, 
 
 With sueit odours and birdis armonie ; 
 
 The mornyng mild my mirth was mair forthy. 
 
 Henryson was contemporary with William Dun- 
 bar, a poet, says Sir Walter Scott, unrivalled by 
 any that Scotland has ever produced. He flour- 
 ished at the court of James IV. His poems are of 
 all sorts, allegorical, moral and comic. The fol- 
 lowing lines on the brevity of human existence are 
 a fair specimen of his style. 
 
 This wavering warld's wretchedness, 
 The failing and fruitless business. 
 The misspent time, the service vain, 
 For to consider is ane pain. 
 
 The sliding joy, the gladness short. 
 The perjured love, the false comfort, 
 The seveir abade (delay), the slightful train (snare), 
 For to- consider is ane pain. 
 
 The sugared mouths, with minds therefra. 
 The figured speech, with faces tway ; 
 The pleasing tongues, with hearts unplain, 
 For to consider is ane pain. 
 
 In another poem he takes a more cheerful view 
 of Hfe. 
 
 Be merry, man, and tak' not sair in mind 
 
 The wavering of this wretched world of sorrow : 
 e To God be humble, to thy friend be kind. 
 
 And with thy neighbors gladly lend and borrow, 
 His chance to-night, it may be thine to-morrow, &c. 
 
 From Dunfermline, we cross the country in the 
 
286 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 direction of Stirling, and of course linger to view 
 the famous battle-ground of Bannockburn, immor- 
 talized by the prowess of Scotland, and the poetry 
 of Burns. 
 
 But we approach Stirling Castle, one of the 
 oldest and most imposing strongholds in the coun- 
 try. How often have these old rocks rung again, 
 " with blast of bugle free ;" and how frequently 
 has the ground at its base been soaked with human 
 blood ! The castle stands on a huge leage of basal- 
 tic rock, rising rapidly from the plain, and over- 
 looking the country far and near, and backed by 
 the rising ground on which the city is built. As- 
 cending to the summit we pass round it, by a 
 narrow pathway cut in the sides of the mountain, 
 and thence enjoy the most extensive and delightful 
 views. How charmingly the Links of the Forth, 
 as the serpentine windings of the river are called, 
 adorn the rich vale, in which they love to linger, 
 as if loth to depart. To the north and east are the 
 Ochil hills, " vestured" in blue, and looking down 
 upon fertile fields, umbrageous woods, and stately 
 mansions. On the west lies the vale of Menteith, 
 and far off the Highland mountains, lost in the 
 mist. On another side are the pastoral hills of 
 Campsie, and underneath our eye the town of Stir- 
 ling, the Abbey Craig, and the ruins of Cambus- 
 kenneth Abbey. The Forth, with " isles of eme- 
 rald," and white sails skimming its glassy surface, 
 expands into the German Ocean ; and Edinburgh 
 Castle, just descried amid the haze, crowns the 
 distant landscape. Stirling was a favorite resi- 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 287 
 
 dence of the Stuarts ; but the castle is now em- 
 ployed only as a barracks for soldiery. 
 
 Leaving the castle we pass into the city, by 
 High Street, adorned with several palaces of the 
 old nobility, antique-looking edifices, of a solid 
 structure. Here was the palace of the Regent, 
 Earl of Mar, whose descendants were the keepers 
 of Stirling Castle. Here too was the palace of 
 Sir WiUiam Alexander, "the philosophical poet" 
 of the court of James the Sixth, and tutor to Charles 
 the First, who created him Earl of Stirling. But 
 an object of still greater interest is the tower where 
 George Buchanan, the historian of Scotland, and 
 one of the first scholars of his age, lived and wrote. 
 He was tutor to James the Sixth of Scotland, and 
 First of England. He wrote a paraphrase of the 
 Psalms in elegant Latin verse, of which he was a 
 perfect master. Most of this work was composed 
 in a monastery in Portugal, to which he had been 
 confined by the Inquisition about the year 1550. 
 It was continued in France, and finished in Scot- 
 land. His prose works, particularly his history of 
 Scotland, are characterized by clearness and re- 
 search. His celebrated contemporary, Dr. Arthur 
 Johnston, was equally distinguished for the variety 
 of his attainments, and his perfect command of the 
 Latin tongue ; so that the one has been called the 
 Scottish Virgil, and the other the Scottish Ovid. 
 The Latin version of the Psalms by Buchanan is 
 still used in some of the Scottish schools. It is ele- 
 gant and faithful, but somewhat formal and para- 
 phrastic. 
 
288 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 There are many objects of interest in Stirling , 
 and the scenery around is rich and beautiful, and, 
 moreover, associated in every part, with recollec- 
 tions of the olden time ; but we cannot linger here. 
 The stage-coach is waiting to take us to Falkirk, 
 a town of great antiquity, having been the site of 
 one of those military stations on the wall made by 
 the Romans at their invasion of the country, known 
 by the name of the Forts of Agricola. It w^as also 
 the scene of one or two famous battles in the days 
 of Wallace and Bruce. Being the principal town 
 in the midst of a rich agricultural country, it is 
 now the scene of immense fairs or trysts, as they 
 are called, to which large droves of Highland 
 cattle are brought annually for sale, and where an 
 immense amount of business is transacted. But 
 there is nothing here of sufficient interest to detain 
 us ; so we proceed in the rail-cars to Edinburgh. 
 In passing, we get a glimpse of the castle and 
 palace of Linlithgow ; in the twefth century one 
 of the most important burghs in Scotland, the resi- 
 dence of several of the kings of Scotland, and the 
 birth-place of Queen Mary. 
 
 •^ Of all the palaces so fair 
 
 Built for the royal dwelling 
 In Scotland, far beyond compare 
 
 Linlithgow is excelling. 
 And in its park, in genial June, 
 How sweet the merry linnet's tune, 
 
 How blythe the blackbird's lay, 
 The wild buck bells from thorny brake, 
 The coot dives merry on the lake, 
 The saddest heart might pleasure take 
 
 To see a scene so gay.*' — Marmion. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 289 
 
 When Robert Bruce was lying in Torwood 
 Castle, not far from Falkirk, a man by the name 
 of Binnoch, a farmer in the neighborhood, who 
 supplied the garrison at Linlithgow, then in pos- 
 session of the English king, proposed to Bruce to 
 take possession of the garrison by a stratagem, 
 which he accomplished. This incident has been 
 wrought into a lively form by Wilson, not Profes- 
 sor Wilson, but John Mackie Wilson, author of the 
 Border Tales, of whom I shall have something to 
 say by and by. The following is his account of 
 the matter, somewhat condensed. 
 
 Having been introduced to Bruce at Torwood, 
 Binnoch intimated that he had something of great 
 importance to communicate, and inquired whether 
 he might speak with confidence. Being assured 
 that he might, he proceeded thus : 
 
 " Aweel sir, the business I cam' upon is just this. 
 I supply the garrison, ye see sir, o' Lithgow wi' 
 hay ; now Fve observed that they're a' wheen 
 idle, careless fellow^s, mair ta'en up wi' their play 
 than their duty." 
 
 Bruce's eye here kindled with a sudden fire, and 
 his whole countenance became animated with an 
 expression of fierce eagerness that strongly con- 
 trasted with its former placidity. He was now 
 all attention to the communication of his humble 
 visitor. 
 
 " What ! the castle of Linlithgow, friend !" ex- 
 claimed Bruce, with a slight smile of mingled sur- 
 prise and incredulity. " You take the castle of 
 
 25 
 
290 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Linlithgow ! Pray, my good fellow, how would 
 you propose to do that V 
 
 "Why sir, by a very simple process," replied 
 Binnoch, undauntedly, " I wad put a dizen or fif- 
 teen stout weel armed, resolute fellows, in my cart, 
 cover them owre wi' hay, and introduce them into 
 the garrison as a load o' provender. If they were 
 ance in, an' the cheils were themselves of the richt 
 stuff, ni wad my head to a pease bannock that the 
 castle's ours in fifteen minutes." 
 
 " And would you undertake to do this, my good 
 friend ?" said Bruce, gravely, struck with the idea, 
 and impressed with its practicability. 
 
 " Readily, and wi' a richt guid will, sir," replied 
 Binnoch, " provided ye fin' me the men ; but they 
 maun be the very wale o' your fiock ; its no a job 
 for faint hearts or nerveless arms." 
 
 " The men ye shall have, my brave fellow ; and 
 if ye succeed your country will be indebted to you. 
 But it is a perilous undertaking ; there will be hard 
 fighting, and ye may lose your head by it. Have 
 you thought of that ?" 
 
 " I have, sir," replied Binnoch, firmly. " As to 
 the fechtin', we are like to gie them as guid as we 
 get. And for the hangin', the Scotsman is no de- 
 servin' o' the name that's no ready to brave death, 
 in any form, for his country." 
 
 Bruce caught the enthusiasm of the speaker ; a 
 tear started into his eye, and seizing the hand of 
 the humble patriot — 
 
 " My noble fellow," he said, " would to God all 
 Scotsmen were like thee. Beneath that homely 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 291 
 
 plaid of thine there beats a heart of which any 
 knight in Christendom might be proud. Lose or 
 win, this shall not be forgotten." 
 
 Having made the necessary arrangements, and 
 agreed upon a sign, for communicating with each 
 other, Binnoch took his departure from the castle 
 of Torwood. 
 
 The next day the men selected by Bruce were 
 at Binnoch's house, having been admitted through 
 the preconcerted signal. They repaired to the 
 barn, and were snugly packed away in the hay 
 cart, armed with steel caps and short swords. 
 Everything being in readiness, Binnoch hid a 
 sword amongst the hay, for his own use, and in 
 such a situation that he could easily seize it when 
 wanted. He also provided himself with a poniard, 
 which he concealed beneath his waistcoat. Thus 
 prepared at all points, the intrepid peasant set for- 
 ward with his load of daring hearts, and having 
 arrived at the castle, he and his cart were imme- 
 diately admitted. They proceeded onwards till 
 they came to the centre of the court-yard, when 
 Binnoch gave the preconcerted signal to his asso- 
 ciates, which was conveyed in the words, spoken 
 in a loud voice — " Forward, Greystail, forward !" 
 as if addressing his horse, which he at the same 
 time struck with his whip to complete the de- 
 ception. 
 
 These words were no sooner uttered than the 
 hay, with which the daring adventurers were 
 covered, was seen to move, and the next instant 
 it was thrown over upon the pavement, to the in- 
 
292 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 expressible amazement of the idlers who were 
 looking on ; and, to their still greater surprise, 
 fifteen armed men leapt, with fearful shouts, into 
 the court-yard, when, being instantly headed by 
 Binnoch, the work of death began. Every man 
 within their reach at the moment was cut down. 
 The guard-room was assailed, and all in it put to 
 death, and passing from apartment to apartment, 
 they swept the garrison, and took possession of it. 
 The attack had been so sudden, so unexpected, 
 and so vigorous, that its unfortunate occupants, six 
 times their number, had no time to rally or defend 
 themselves, and thus fell an easy prey to the bold 
 adventurers. 
 
 We have only to add that Binnoch was rewarded 
 by Bruce, for this important service, with some 
 valuable lands in the parish of Linlithgow; and 
 that his descendants had for their arms a hay-wain, 
 with the motto, virtute doloque.^ 
 
 * The following is a different, and probably a more correct 
 version of Binnoch's adventure, from Sir W. Scott's Tales of a 
 Grandfather. " Binnoch had been ordered by the English gov- 
 ernor to furnish some cart-loads of hay, of which they were in 
 want. He promised to bring it accordingly ; but the night before 
 he drove the hay to the castle, he stationed a party of his friends, 
 as well armed as possible, near the entrance, where they could 
 not be seen by the garrison, and gave them directions that they 
 should come to his assistance as soon as they should hear him 
 cry a signal, which was to be, ' Call all, call all !' Then he loaded 
 a great waggon with hay. But in the waggon he placed eight 
 strong men, well armed, lying flat on their breasts, and covered 
 over with hay, so that they could not be seen. He himself walked 
 carelessly beside the waggon ; and he chose the stoutest and bra- 
 vest of his servants to be the driver, who carried at his belt a 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 293 
 
 By the way, these two words, courage and stra- 
 tagem, express the very spirit and essence of an- 
 cient war, and indeed of all war, a relic of barba- 
 rism, the most foul and horrible the world has 
 ever seen. Defensible, perhaps, in cases of ex- 
 tremity, when it is the last and only means of 
 protecting our homes and altars, but in all other 
 cases a fearful atrocity, fit only for cannibals and 
 demons ! 
 
 But yonder are the peaceful towers of Edin- 
 
 Btrong axe or hatchet. In this way Binnoch approached the 
 castle, early in the morning ; and the "watchmen, who only saw 
 two men, Binnoch being one of them, with a cart of hay, which 
 they expected, opened the gates, and raised up the portcullis, to 
 permit them to enter the castle. But as soon as the cart had 
 gotten under the gateway, Binnoch made a sign to his servant, 
 who, with his axe, suddenly cut asunder the soam^ that is, the yoke 
 which fastens the horses to the cart, and the horses finding them- 
 selves free, naturally started forward, the cart remaining behind 
 under the arch of the gate. At the same time Binnoch cried, as 
 loud as he could, ' Call all, call all !' and drawing his sword, which 
 he had under his country habit, he killed the porter. The armed 
 men then jumped up from under the hay where they lay con- 
 cealed, and rushed on the English guard. The Englishmen tried 
 to shut the gates, but they could not, because the cart of hay re- 
 mained in the gateway, and prevented the folding doors from 
 being closed. The portcullis was also let fall, but the grating 
 was caught in the cart, and so could not drop to the ground. The 
 men who were in ambush near the gate hearing the cry, ' Call all, 
 call all !' ran to assist those who had leaped out from among the 
 hay ; the castle was taken, and all the Englishmen killed or made 
 prisoners. King Robert rewarded Binnoch by bestowing on him 
 an estate, which his posterity long afterward enjoyed. The Bin- 
 nings of Wallyford, descended from that person, still bear in their 
 coat armorial a wain loaded with hay, with the motto, ^ virtute 
 doloque.' *' 
 
 25* 
 
294 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 burgh, bathed in the sombre Ught of evening. The 
 very castle looks like an image of repose, as it 
 silently looms up amid the smoke and hum of the 
 busy city. Signs of peace and prosperity are 
 every where around us, indicating, if we have not 
 yet reached, that at least we are approaching 
 that happy time when " men shall beat their swords 
 into plough-shares, and their spears into pruning 
 hooks." 
 
 *' O scenes surpassing fable, and yet true, 
 Scenes of accomplished bliss ! which who can see, 
 Though but in distant prospect, and not feel 
 His soul refreshed with foretaste of the joy ?" 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Journey to Peebles — Characters — Conversation on Politics — 
 Scottish Peasantry — Peebles — " Christ's Kirk on the Green" — 
 A Legend — An old Church — The Banks of the Tweed — Its 
 ancient Castles — The Alarm Fire — Excursion to the Vales of 
 Ettrick and Yarrow — Stream of Yarrow — St. Mary's Lake and 
 Dryhope Tower — " The Dowie Dens of Yarrow" — Growth of 
 Poetry— Ballads and Poems on Yarrow by Hamilton, Logan 
 and Wordsworth. 
 
 On a cold, drizzly morning we start, in a sub- 
 stantial stage-coach, well lined with cushions in- 
 side, for the ancient town of Peebles, which lies to 
 the south of Edinburgh, some twenty-five miles or 
 more. The ' outsides' are wrapped in cloaks and 
 overcoats, and literally covered in with umbrellas ; 
 and from their earnest talking seem to be tolerably 
 comfortable. The " Scottish mist," cold and pene- 
 trating, would soon reach the skin of an unsheltered 
 back; all hands, therefore, and especially the dri- 
 ver in front, and the guard behind, are muffled to 
 the neck with cravats and other appHances. Eyes 
 and mouth only are visible, not indeed to the pass- 
 ers by, but to the denizens of the stage-coach, who 
 cling together for warmth and sociability. Our 
 travelling companions inside are a Dominie from 
 Auchingray, fat as a capon, with face round, sleek 
 and shiny, little gray eyes glancing beneath a pla- 
 cid forehead, and indicating intelligence and good 
 
296 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 nature ; and a south-country laird, a large, brawny 
 man, with a huge face and huger hat, corduroy 
 breeches and top boots, a coat that nearly covers 
 the whole of his body, and a vest of corresponding 
 dimensions. A mighty cravat is tied neatly around 
 his capacious throat, and a couple of large gold 
 seals dangle from beneath his vest. In addition to 
 these two, a little man, thin and wrinkled, but with 
 a clear, quick, restless eye, is sitting in the corner, 
 squeezed into a rather straight place by the laird 
 and the dominie. From his appearance and con- 
 versation, we should take him to be a lawyer. 
 With some little difficulty we get into conversa- 
 tion, but once set agoing, it jogs on at a pretty 
 fair pace. Insensibly it glides into politics, and 
 becomes rather lively. The lawyer is evidently a 
 whig, the laird a tory of the old stamp, and the 
 dominie neither the one or the other, but rather 
 more of a tory than anything else, as he is depen- 
 dent, in some sense, upon 'the powers that be.' 
 
 " For my part," says the laird, taking hold of his 
 watch-seals, and twirling them energetically, " I 
 do not believe in your two-faced radicals, who 
 have more impudence in their noddles than money 
 in their pockets, and who go routing about the 
 country, crying up democracy and all that sort of 
 stuff, to the great injury of her majesty's subjects.'* 
 
 " But, my dear sir," replies the lawyer, " you for- 
 get that money is not the summum bonum of hu- 
 man life, and that the gentlemen to whom you 
 refer are not impudent radicals, but clear-headed 
 and patriotic whigs." 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 297 
 
 " All gammon, sir ! all gammon !" is the rejoinder 
 of the laird, " I wouldn't give a fig for the whole 
 pack. One or two of them, I admit, are tolerably- 
 respectable men. Lord John Russel belongs to 
 the old nobility, and is a man of some sense, but 
 sadly deceived, full of nonsensical plans and dan- 
 gerous reforms. As to Dan. O'Connel, he is an old 
 fox, a regular Irish blackguard, who has not heart 
 enough to make a living by honest means, but 
 fleeces it out of the starving Irish, in the shape of 
 repeal rent ! Hang the rascal, I should be glad to 
 see him gibbeted ! Hume is a mean, beggarly ad- 
 venturer. And even Sir Robert Peel, with all his 
 excellences, has made sad mistakes on the subject 
 of reform and the corn laws. He's not the thing, 
 after all ! Sadly out of joint, sir, sadly out of 
 joint !" 
 
 All this is said with such terrible energy, and 
 such a menacing frown, that even the lawyer 
 cowers a little, and the dominie is almost fright- 
 ened. We think it best, upon the whole, to say 
 little. But, plucking up courage, the lawyer re- 
 plies : 
 
 " Sir, you come to conclusions that are too 
 sweeping. That Lord John Russel is a man of 
 clear intellect and admirable forethought no one 
 will think of denying. His plans are well matured, 
 and, moreover, aim at the good of his country. 
 Hume is a great political economist : Sir R. Peel 
 is a man of the highest order of mind ; and Daniel 
 O'Connel, with all his faults, possesses uncommon 
 
298 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 powers of eloquence, and, doubtless, seeks the 
 good of his country." 
 
 " The good of his country ! All humbug, sir ! If 
 you had said his own good, you would have come 
 nearer the mark. He's a rascal, sir, rely on it, a 
 mean cowardly rascal, who, pretending to benefit 
 the poor Irish, fills his own pockets with their hard 
 earnings. I appeal to Mr. Cooper here, my re- 
 spected friend, the parish schoolmaster of Auchin- 
 
 gray." 
 
 To which the dominie replies demurely : 
 " As to my opinion, gentlemen, it is not of much 
 consequence, but such as it is I give with all can- 
 dor. In the first place I opine that we are liable 
 somewhat to yield to our prejudices in estimating 
 the characters of public men ; for, as my old friend, 
 the Rev. Mr. Twist, used to say, they have * twa 
 maisters to serve, the government and the public, 
 and it's unco difficult sometimes to sail between 
 Scylla and Charybdis.' Moreover, these are try- 
 ing times, and much of primitive integrity and 
 patriotism are lost. For myself, I do not approve 
 altogether of the course of the whigs, and especially 
 of the radicals. Daniel O'Connel is a devoted 
 Catholic, with no generous aspirations, or enlarged 
 conceptions of the public weal. A great man, cer- 
 tainly, a wonderful orator, no doubt, but much 
 tinctured with selfishness, and carried away by 
 wild and prurient schemes. Lord John Russel is 
 a man of decided talent and fine character, but I 
 have not much confidence, after all, in his practical 
 wisdom, and good common sense. Sir Robert 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 299 
 
 Peel, however is, with some slight exceptions, a 
 model statesman, a man of a wonderfully clear, well 
 balanced mind, and a deep insight into men and 
 things. Still, as my friend on the left says, he's 
 somewhat out of joint just now, and, for my own 
 part, I could never altogether approve his schemes." 
 
 " There sir," quickly interposed the laird, " There 
 sir ! didn' t I tell you, sir ? All humbug, sir ! Noth- 
 ing safe — nothing useful about the whigs ! Give 
 me the good old days of my grandfather, when the 
 rascals dared not peep or mutter !" 
 
 " But you forget, sir," is the answer of the law- 
 yer, " that your friend, the schoolmaster here, has 
 admitted nearly all for which I contend." 
 
 " Admitted nothing, sir ! Comes to nothing, sir ! 
 And to tell you the plain honest truth, I believe the 
 whole pack of them are a set of humbugs ! All 
 sham, sir ! nothing but hypocrisy and humbug !" 
 
 "But a modification of the corn laws is cer- 
 tainly desirable for the sake of the poorer classes, 
 many of whom are living upon the merest trifle ;" — 
 we venture to remark. 
 
 " All a mistake, sir ! all a mistake ! An honest, 
 sensible man can always make his way, and secure 
 bread for his family !" 
 
 "Well, but sm^ely you consider a shilling or 
 eighteen pence a day rather miserable support !" 
 
 " Not at all, sir ! not at all ! They're used to it, 
 and thousands of them are happier than you or I '" 
 
 " Upon this point we beg leave to doubt, and 
 hope the time is not far distant when the common 
 people will have cheap bread :" — we quietly rejoin, 
 
300 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 " Amen !'' responds the dominie. " That I am 
 confident would be an improvement ; but how it is 
 to be brought about is a question of great difficulty. 
 The common people of Scotland are not so poorly 
 off as foreigners represent them. Their habits are 
 primitive and simple, and I certainly have known 
 many families, particularly in the country, make 
 themselves very comfortable on eighteen pence or 
 a couple of shillings a day. 
 
 " Give us an example, if you please !" 
 
 "Why, there is James Thomson, a working 
 man, who makes, upon an average, say eighteen 
 pence or a couple of shillings sterling (fifty cents) 
 daily, through the year. He has a wife and four 
 children. He built himself a kind of stone and turf 
 cottage on the edge of one of Lord B.'s planta- 
 tions, with a but and a ben,* or a little out- house. 
 One day I called in to see him about one of his 
 children, and, in the course of conversation, asked 
 him how he got along." 
 
 " Brawly ;"t was the reply. 
 
 *' Can you make ' the twa ends meet' at the close 
 of the year V 
 
 " Yes," said he, " and something mair than that. 
 Last Candlemas I laid up nae less than ten and 
 saxpence." 
 
 " But how can you do it. Have you any land 
 to cultivate ?" 
 
 " A wee bittock," was the answer, " but it's 
 graund for taties and turnips." 
 
 ♦ Two apartments. j Finely. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 301 
 
 " Have you a cow ?" 
 
 " O aye, we have a coo, and a gude coo she is." 
 
 *' Well, what have you for victuals ?" 
 
 " The best o' parritch and milk in the morning, 
 and at nicht. And as for denner, we ha' nae great 
 variety, but what's wholesome eneuch. And ye 
 ken. Dominie C, that hunger's the best sauce." 
 
 " True enough, but excuse me, I should like to 
 know what you generally have for dinner." 
 
 " Ou," said he, laughing, " the graundest kail i' 
 the world, made o' barley, butter and vegetables, 
 wi' a bit o' beef, or a marrow bane in't once in a 
 while, and mealy tatties, scones and cakes, the 
 very best in the kintra !" 
 
 ** Well, you're content !" 
 
 " To be sure we are ! and gratefu', besides, to 
 the Giver o' a' gude." 
 
 " But you have a little pinch occasionally — in the 
 cold and stormy winter weather ?" 
 
 " Why ye-s — but it's nae mair than a body may 
 expeck, and it's a great deal less than we deserve. 
 For mysel' I ha' nae great reason to complain, but 
 Sandy Wilson, ower the way, has had a sair time 
 on t. 
 
 " What's the matter ?" 
 
 "Why, ye see, Sandy is no very able-bodied, 
 and maybe a little shiftless, and he fell sick about 
 the middle o' winter. His wife is a proud kind o' 
 body, and she said naething to the neebors, and I 
 jalouse they had a sair pinching time on't. The 
 wee bit lassie seemed to be dwining awa', and 
 Sandy, puir fellow, was just at death's door. But 
 
 26 
 
302 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 the minister o' the parish found it out, and Sandy- 
 was soon provided for. Hech sir ! we ought to 
 be thankfu' that we hae our health. It's a great 
 blessing. For if a man only has health and a clear 
 conscience he needna fear famine or the deevil." 
 
 " Sandy then got over his troubles, did he ?" 
 
 " In a measure," was the cautious reply, " but 
 the puir wee lassie grew paler and paler ; and noo 
 her bonny brown hair is covered wi' the yird. She 
 w^as a sweet bit lassie, but she was frail in the con- 
 stitootion, ye see, and the hard famishing winter 
 was ower muckle for her feeble frame. But she 
 was weel cared for on her sick bed. And when 
 she died, the hail kintra side turned out to attend 
 the funeral, and mony tears were shed upon her 
 wee bit grave. My Mary, who gaed to school wi' 
 her, canna get ower it to this day. She was an 
 unco bonny thing — sweet as the mornin' wat wi' 
 dew, and gentle as a pet lamb. But her grave is 
 green by this time, and Sandy is better off than he 
 used to be." 
 
 The burly laird listened attentively to this nar- 
 rative, and at the close of it, a tear dimmed his eye. 
 He gave a slight cough, as if to repress and to 
 hide his rising emotion, and looking out the coach 
 window, exclaimed, " There's Peebles, at last, and 
 yonder's the sign of the Black Bull," as if he were 
 prodigiously reheved. 
 
 The day is brightening, and this ancient city on 
 the Tweed, looks quite agreeable, reminding us of 
 the days of old, when the kings and nobles of Scot- 
 land used to witness, on its beautiful green, games of 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 303 
 
 archery, golf, and so forth. It is supposed to be the 
 scene referred to in the opening stanza of " Christ's 
 Kirk on the Green," by James the First, the royal 
 poet of Scotland. 
 
 " Was never in Scotland hard nor sene, 
 
 Sic dansing nor deray, 
 Nouther at Falkland on the green, 
 
 Nor Pebllis in the play ; 
 As wes of wowarris as I wene, 
 
 At Christ's Kirk on ane day ; 
 Thair came our kittles washen clene, 
 
 In thair new kirtillis of gray 
 Full gay, 
 At Christ's Kirk o' the Grene that day." 
 
 This old town was burnt and laid waste more 
 than once during the invasions of the English. 
 Still, from its sequestered situation, it never figured 
 largely in any great event. An antique bridge, con- 
 sisting of five arches, connects the old and new 
 towns, w^hich lie on either bank of the river. Ram- 
 bling through the place, we come to a large mas- 
 sive building, in a castellated form, known to have 
 belonged to the Queensberry family, and believed 
 to be the scene of a romantic incident, thus related 
 by Sir Walter Scott : — " There is a tradition in 
 Tweedale, that when Nidpath castle, near Peebles, 
 was inhabited by the Earls of March, a mutual pas- 
 sion subsisted between a daughter of that noble 
 family and the son of the Laird of Tushielaw, in 
 Ettrick Forest. As the alliance was thought unsuit- 
 able by her parents, the young man went abroad. 
 During his absence, the young lady fell into a con- 
 sumption, and at length, as the only means of saving 
 
304 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 her life, her father consented that her lover should 
 be recalled. On the day when he was expected to 
 pass through Peebles, on the road to Tushielaw, the 
 young lady, though much exhausted, caused herself 
 to be carried to the balcony of a house in Peebles, 
 belonging to the family, that she might see him when 
 he rode past. Her anxiety and eagerness gave 
 such force to her organs that she is said to have 
 distinguished his horses' footsteps at an incredible 
 distance. But Tushielaw, unprepared for the 
 change in her appearance, and not expecting to see 
 her in that place, rode on, without recognizing her, 
 or even slackening his pace. The lady was unable 
 to support the shock, and after a short struggle 
 died in the arms of her attendants." 
 
 Here are the ruins of some very old churches, 
 one in particular, at the western extremity of the 
 old town. This was the original parish church of 
 Peebles, and was built upon the site of one still 
 more ancient, occupied by the Culdees, (probably 
 from Cultores Dei, worshipers of God,) an ancient 
 class of monks, whose forms of worship and doctri- 
 nal belief were extremely simple, and, as some sup- 
 pose, evangeUcal. They had monasteries at Jona, 
 and in various parts of Scotland, before the Anglo- 
 Saxon period, and preserved for many years, the 
 pure worship of God. An altar in St. Andrew's 
 church, was dedicated to St. Michael, with a spe- 
 cial endowment for the services of " a chapellane, 
 there perpetually to say mes, efter the valow of the 
 rents and possessions gevin thereto, in honor of Al- 
 mighty God, Mary his Modyr, and Saint Michael, 
 
GENIUS OP SCOTLAND. 305 
 
 for the hele of the body and the sawl of Jamys, 
 King of Scotts, for the balyheis, ye burges, and ye 
 communite of the burgh of Peebles, and for the hele 
 of their awn sawlis. thair fadyris sawlis, thair mo- 
 dyris sawlis, thair kinnis sawlis, and al Chrystyn 
 sawlis." Part of the tithes of this church are now 
 used to support a Grammar school, and while the 
 people still worship Almighty God, they have but 
 little reverence for " Mary his modyr, and St. Mi- 
 chael." 
 
 Let us wander along the banks of this far-famed 
 and beautiful river, gliding sweetly through one of 
 the most beautiful vales in Scotland, and once 
 adorned with numerous castles and monasteries, 
 whose mouldering remains yet diversify the land- 
 scape. The whole vale of the Tweed, both above 
 and below Peebles, was studded with a chain of 
 castles, built in the shape of square towers, and or- 
 dinarily consisting of three stories, to serve as a de- 
 fence against the invasion of the English freeboot- 
 ers. They were built alternately on each side of 
 the river, and at such distances that one could be 
 seen from the other. A fire kindled on the top of 
 one of these, to give warning of a hostile incursion, 
 could thus be perpetuated through the whole, till a 
 tract of country seventy miles long, " from Berwick 
 to the Bield," and fifty broad, was alarmed in a few 
 hours. What objects of terror and sublimity these 
 blazing summits, lighting, in a dark night, the whole 
 valley of the Tweed, and flashing their ruddy 
 gleam upon copsewood and river, hill-top and cas- 
 tle turret ! 
 
 26* 
 
306 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 " A score of fires, I ween. 
 From height, and hill, and cliff were seen, 
 Each with warlike tidings fraught, 
 Each from each the signal caught ; 
 Each after each they glanced in sight, 
 As stars arise upon the night : 
 They gleamed on many a dusky tarn 
 Haunted by the lonely earn,* 
 On many a cairn's grey pyramid, 
 Where urns of mighty chiefs lie hid.'' 
 
 Lay of the Last Minstrel. 
 
 But the grey mist of evening is beginning to set- 
 tle upon the vale of the Tweed, and the quaint old 
 town of Peebles, " with its three old bridges, and 
 three old steeples, by three old churches borne." 
 
 With fair weather, and in admirable spirits, we 
 set off next morning, after breakfast, and travel at 
 an easy pace down the fair banks of the " silver 
 Tweed," till we reach the pretty village of Inner- 
 leithen, at the bottom of a sequestered dell, encir- 
 cled on one side by high and partially wooded hills, 
 and enlivened by the clear waters of the Tweed, 
 rolling in front. Passing a handsome wooden 
 bridge which crosses the river, we reach the ham- 
 let of Traquair and Traquair house, and naturally 
 enquire for the far-famed " Bush aboon Traquair." 
 It is pointed out at the bottom of the hill which 
 overlooks the lawn, where a few birch trees may 
 be seen, the only remains of that dear old spot, 
 made sacred by melody and song. Continuing our 
 journey across the country, we get among the hills, 
 and after travelling some time through a deep glen, 
 
 * The Scottish eagle. 
 
I 
 
 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 307 
 
 we see before us the " haunted stream of Yarrow," 
 the very name of which has become a synonym 
 for all that is tender in sentiment and beautiful in 
 poetry. 
 
 " And is this Yarrow ? This the stream, 
 Of which my fancy cherished 
 So faithfully a waking dream, 
 An image that hath perished ?" 
 
 Following in somewhat pensive mood, " its beauti- 
 ful meanderings" through this hill-guarded valley, 
 we come to St. Mary's Lake, lying in solemn but 
 beautiful serenity among the mountains, whose 
 heathy sides and bare cliffs are mirrored in her 
 pellucid depths. 
 
 " Nor fen nor sedge 
 Pollute the pure lake's crystal edge ; 
 Abrupt and sheer the mountains sink 
 At once upon the level brink ; 
 And just a trace of silver sand 
 Marks where the water meets the land. 
 Far, in the mirror bright and blue, 
 Each hilPs huge outline you may view ; 
 Shaggy with heath, but lonely bare, 
 Nor tree, nor bush, nor brake is there, 
 Save where of land, yon slender line 
 Bears thwart the lake the scattered pine. 
 Nor thicket, dell, nor copse you spy. 
 Where living thing concealed might lie ; 
 Nor point retiring hides a dell 
 Where swain or woodman lone might dwell ; 
 There's nothing left to fancy's guess, 
 You see that all is loneliness ; 
 And silence adds, — though the steep hills 
 Send to the lake a thousand rills. 
 In summer tide so soft they weep, 
 The sound but lulls the ear asleep ; 
 
308 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Your horses hoof- tread sounds too rude, 
 
 So stilly is the solitude.'^ Marmion. 
 
 Passing to the eastern extremity of the Lake, we 
 come to Dryhope Tower, the birth-place of Mary 
 Scott, the famous " Flower of Yarrow." Her lover, 
 or husband, was slain by Scott of Tushielaw, from 
 jealousy, or from a desire to secure her fortune, her 
 father having promised to endow her with half his 
 property. Seized by the imagination of the an- 
 cient Minnesingers, this incident became the subject 
 of a ballad, or ballads of great beauty and pathos, 
 well known through Scotland, and frequently sung 
 " amang her green braes." This has invested Yar- 
 row with a deep poetical charm, and given rise to 
 a great variety of sw^eet and pathetic strains, afford- 
 ing a fine exemplification of the manner in which 
 poetry grows, as by a natural law of progress. 
 A single incident gathers around itself all beautiful 
 images, all tender thoughts, feelings and passions, 
 till the region in which it occurred becomes instinct 
 with fantasy, and absolutely glows with a sort of 
 conscious beauty. The very air is burdened with 
 a melancholy charm. The stream meandering 
 through the vale, and the winds whispering through 
 the mountain glens or rippling the surface of St. 
 Mary's lake, " murmur a music not their own." In 
 a word, we have come from the real, every-day 
 world, into one that is ideal, where, in the deep 
 stillness of nature, the voices of the past reveal them- 
 selves to the listening soul. In this view we know 
 not a more interesting or instructive series of poems 
 than those relating to Yarrow. The first is the 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 309 
 
 ballad of the " Dowie Dens," or rather, " Downs of 
 Yarrow." This is variously printed, but we give 
 p. the version of Motherwell. 
 
 There were three lords birling at the wine, 
 
 On the Dowie Dens of Yarrow ; 
 They made a compact them between, 
 
 They would go fecht to-morrow. 
 
 ^' Thou took our sister to be thy wife, 
 
 And thou ne'er thocht her thy marrow. 
 Thou stealed her frae her daddy's back, 
 When she was the Rose of Yarrow." 
 
 ^' Yes, I took your sister to be my wife, 
 And I made her my marrow ; 
 I stealed her frae her daddy's back, 
 And she's still the Rose of Yarrow." 
 
 He is hame to his lady gane, 
 
 As he had done before, O ; 
 Says, " Madam I must go and fecht, 
 
 On the Dowie Downs o' Yarrow." 
 
 " Stay at hame, my Lord,'^ she said, 
 ^' For that will breed much sorrow ; 
 For my three brethren will slay thee, 
 On the Dowie Downs o' Yarrow." 
 
 " Hold your tongue, my lady fair ; 
 For what needs a' this sorrow ? 
 For I'll be hame gin' the clock strikes nine, 
 From the Dowie Downs o' Yarrow." 
 
 He wush his face, and she combed his hair, 
 
 As she had done before, O ; 
 She dressed him up in his armour clear. 
 
 Sent him forth to fecht on Yarrow. 
 
 ^^ Come ye here to hawk or hound, 
 
 Or drink the wine that's sae clear, O j 
 Or come ye here to eat in your words, 
 That you're not the Rose o' Yarrow ?" 
 
310 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 " I came not here to hawk or hound. 
 
 Nor to drink the wine that's sae clear, O ; 
 Nor came I here to eat in my words, 
 For Pm still the Rose o' Yarrow." 
 
 Then they all begud to fecht, 
 
 I wad they focht richt sore, O ; 
 Till a cowardly man cam' behind his back, 
 
 And pierced his body thorough. 
 
 ^'Gae hame, gae hame, its my man John, 
 As ye have done before, O : 
 An tell it to my gaye ladye 
 
 That I soundly sleep on Yarrow." 
 
 His man John he has gane hame, 
 
 As he had done before, O ; 
 And told it to his gay ladye, 
 
 That he soundly slept on Yarrow. 
 
 " I dreamed a dream, now since the 'streen,* 
 God keep us a' frae sorrow ! 
 That my lord and I was pu'ing the heather green, 
 From the Dowie Downs o' Yarrow." 
 
 Sometimes she rode, sometimes she gade,t 
 
 As she had done before, O ; 
 And aye between she fell in a swoon, 
 
 Lang or she cam' to Yarrow. 
 
 Her hair it was five quarters lang, 
 
 'Twas like the gold for yellow ; 
 She twisted it round his milk white hand, 
 
 And she's drawn him hame frae Yarrow. 
 
 Out and spak her father dear, 
 Savs, " What needs a' this sorrow ? 
 
 For I'll get you a far better lord 
 Than ever died on Yarrow." 
 
 " O hold your tongue, father," she said, 
 " For you've bred a' my sorrow ; 
 For that rose '11 ne'er spring so sweet in May, 
 As that Rose I lost on Yarrow !" 
 
 * Yesternight. t Walked. 
 
r 
 
 » 
 
 I 
 
 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. ^ 311 
 
 More than a century ago, William Hamilton, of 
 Bangor, a gentleman of rank, education, and poet- 
 ical talents, wrote the following exquisite ballad :* 
 
 THE BRAES OF YARROW. 
 
 Busk ye, busk ye, my bonny, bonny bride, 
 Busk ye, busk ye, my winsome marrow ! 
 
 Busk ye, busk ye, my bonny, bonny bride, 
 And think nae mair o' the Braes o' Yarrow. 
 
 Whare gat ye that bonny, bonny bride ? 
 
 Whare gat ye that winsome marrow ? 
 I gat her where I darena weil be seen 
 
 Pouing the birks on the Braes o^ Yarrow. 
 
 Weep not, weep not, my bonny, bonny bride, 
 
 Weep not, my winsome marrow ! 
 Nor let thy heart lament to leave 
 
 Pouing the birks on the Braes o' Yarrow. 
 
 Lang maun she weep, lang maun she weep, 
 Lang maun she weep with dule and sorrow, 
 
 And lang maun I nae mair weil be seen, 
 Pouing the birks on the Braes o' Yarrow. 
 
 Why runs thy stream, O Yarrow, Yarrow, red ? 
 
 Why on thy braes heard the voice o' sorrow ? 
 And why yon melancholious weeds. 
 
 Hung on the bonny birks o' Yarrow ? 
 
 What's yonder floats on the rueful flude ? 
 
 What's yonder floats, O dule and sorrow ! 
 'Tis he, the comely swain I slew. 
 
 Upon the duleful braes o' Yarrow. 
 
 , "Wash, O wash his wounds in tears, 
 
 His wounds in tears with dule and sorrow, 
 And wrap his limbs in mourning weeds, 
 And lay him on the Braes o' Yarrow. 
 
 ^ * # * ^ 
 
 =* We quote only a portion of Hamilton's ballad. 
 
312 . GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Sweet smells the birk, green grows the grass. 
 
 Yellow on Yarrow bank the gowan, 
 Fair hangs the apple frae the rock, 
 
 Sweet the wave of Yarrow flowan. 
 
 Flows Yarrow sweet, as sweet flows Tweed, 
 As green its grass, its gowan as yellow, 
 
 As sweet smells on its braes the birk. 
 The apple frae the rock as mellow. 
 
 Busk ye, then busk, my bonny, bonny bride, 
 Busk ye, busk ye, my winsome marrow. 
 
 Busk ye and lue me on the banks o' Tweed, 
 And think nae mair on the Braes o' Yarrow. 
 
 How can I busk a bonny, bonny bride, 
 How can I busk a winsome marrow, 
 
 How lue him on the banks o' Tweed 
 
 That slew my love on the braes o' Yarrow ? 
 
 O Yarrow fields, may never, never rain, 
 Nor dew thy tender blossoms cover. 
 
 For there was basely slain my love. 
 My love, as he had not been a lover. 
 
 The boy put on his robes o' green. 
 His purple vest, 'twas my ain sewing 
 
 Ah ! wretched me ! I little kenned 
 He was in these to meet his ruin. 
 
 The boy took out his milk-white steed, 
 Unheedful of my dule and sorrow, 
 
 But ere the to-fall of the night 
 
 He lay a corpse on the Braes o' Yarrow. 
 
 Much I rejoiced that waeful day ; 
 
 I sang, my voice the woods returning, 
 But lang ere night the spear was flown. 
 
 That slew my love, and left me mourning. 
 
 * =^ # * # 
 
 Yes, yes, prepare the bed of love. 
 With bridal sheets my body cover, 
 
 Unbar, ye bridal maids, the door, 
 Let in the expected husband lover 
 
If 
 
 I 
 
 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 313 
 
 But who the expected husband is ? 
 
 His hands, methinks, are bathed in slaughter. 
 Ah me ! what ghastly spectre^s yon, 
 
 Comes in his pale shroud, bleeding after ? 
 
 Pale as he is, here lay him down, 
 
 O lay his cold head on my pillow j 
 Take off, take off these bridal weeds. 
 
 And crown my careful head with willow. 
 
 Return, return, O mournful bride, 
 
 Return and dry thy useless sorrow -, 
 Thy lover heeds naught of thy sighs. 
 
 He lies a corpse on the Braes o' Yarrow. 
 
 Somewhat more than half a century later, Lo- 
 gan wrote a song with the same title, of which 
 the following are the concluding stanzas, 
 
 " Sweet were his words when last we met j 
 
 My passion I as freely told him ; 
 Clasped in his arms I little thought 
 
 That I should never more behold him ! 
 Scarce was I gone, I saw his ghost ; 
 
 It vanished with a shriek of sorrow ; 
 Thrice did the water wraith ascend 
 
 And gave a doleful groan through Yarrow. 
 
 ^' His mother from the window looked 
 
 With all the longing of a mother : 
 His little sister weeping walk'd 
 
 The green wood path to meet her brother : 
 They sought him East, they sought him West, 
 
 They sought him all the forest thorough ; 
 They only saw the cloud of night, 
 
 They only heard the roar of Yarrow ! 
 
 " No longer from thy window look, 
 
 Thou hast no son, O tender mother ! 
 No longer walk, thou lovely maid ! 
 Alas ! thou hast no more a brother I 
 27 
 
314 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 No longer seek hiin East or West, 
 
 And search no more the forest thoro' ; 
 For wandering in the night so dark, 
 
 He fell a lifeless corpse in Yarrow. 
 
 *• The tear shall never leave my cheek, 
 
 No other youth shall be my marrow ; 
 ni seek thy body in the stream, 
 
 And then with thee FU sleep in Yarrow.'' 
 The tear did never leave her cheek, 
 
 No other youth became her marrow ; 
 She found his body in the stream, 
 
 And now with him she sleeps in Yarrow. 
 
 We are now prepared to read Wordsworth's 
 two exquisite poems, " Yarrow Unvisited," and 
 " Yarrow Visited," the splendid flowering, so to 
 speak, of this poetical growth. 
 
 From Stirling Castle we had seen 
 
 The mazy Forth unravelled ; 
 Had trod the banks of Clyde and Tay, 
 
 And with the Tweed had travelled j 
 And when we came to Clovenford, 
 
 Then said ^ my winsome Marrow j' 
 " Whate'er betide, we'll turn aside, 
 
 And see the braes o' Yarrow." 
 
 " Let Yarrow folk frae Selkirk Town, 
 
 Who have been buying, selling, 
 Go back to Yarrow, 'tis their own ; 
 
 Each maiden to her dwelling ! 
 On Yarrow's banks let herons feed, 
 
 Hares couch and rabbits burrow ! 
 But we will downward with the Tweed, 
 
 Nor turn aside to Yarrow. 
 
 " There's Galla Water, Leader Haughs, 
 Both lying right before us ; 
 And Dryborough where with chiming Tweed 
 The Lintwhites sing in chorus ; 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 315 
 
 There's pleasant Tivoitdale, a land 
 
 Made blithe with plough and harrow, 
 Why throw away a needful day 
 
 To go in search of Yarrow 1 
 
 ^^ What's Yarrow but a river bare, 
 
 That glides the dark hills under ? 
 There are a thousand such elsewhere 
 
 As worthy of your wonder." 
 — Strange words they seemed of slight and scorn ; 
 
 My true love sigh'd for sorrow ; 
 And looked me in the fkce to think 
 
 I thus could speak of Yarrow ! 
 
 *• Oh green, said I, are Yarrow Holms 
 
 And sweet is ' Yarrow flowing !' 
 Fair hangs the apple frae the rock, 
 
 But we will leave it growing. 
 O'er hilly path and open Strath, 
 
 We'll wander Scotland thorough ; 
 But though so near we will not turn 
 
 Into the Dale of Yarrow. 
 
 " Let beeves and home-bred kine partake 
 
 The sweets of Burnmill meadow ; 
 The swan, on still St. Mary's Lake, 
 
 Float double, swan and shadow ! 
 We will not see them ; will not go, 
 
 To-day, nor yet to-morrow ; 
 Enough if in our hearts we know 
 
 There's such a place as Yarrow. 
 
 " Be Yarrow stream unseen, unknown ! 
 It must, or we shall rue it ; 
 We have a vision of our own : 
 
 Ah ! why should we undo it ? 
 The treasured dreams of times long past, 
 
 We'll keep them ' winsome Marrow !' 
 For when we're there, although tis fair, 
 
 'Twill be another Yarrow ! 
 
 " If care with freezing years should come, 
 And wandering seem but folly, — 
 
316 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Should we be loth to stir from home, 
 
 And yet be melancholy ; 
 Should life be dull, and spirits low. 
 
 'Twill soothe us in our sorrow, 
 That earth has something yet to show. 
 
 The bonny Holms of Yarrow.'' 
 
 This is beautiful, but the following is more so. 
 Indeed it is the very perfection of descriptive 
 poetry. 
 
 YARROW VISITED. 
 
 And is this — Yarrow ? — This the stream 
 
 Of which my fancy cherished 
 So faithfully a waking dream ? 
 
 An image that has perished ! 
 O that some minstrel's harp were near, 
 
 To utter notes of gladness, 
 And chase this silence from the air. 
 
 That fills my heart with sadness ' 
 
 Yet why ? — a silvery current flows 
 
 With uncontrolled meanderings ; 
 Nor have these eyes by greener hills 
 
 Been soothed in all my wanderings. 
 And, through her depths, St. Mary's Lake 
 
 Is visibly delighted ; 
 For not a feature of those hills 
 
 Is in the mirror slighted. 
 
 A blue sky bends o'er Yarrow Vale, 
 
 Save where that pearly whiteness 
 Is round the rising sun diffused, 
 
 A tender hazy brightness ; 
 Mild dawn of promise ! that excludes 
 
 All profitless dejection ; 
 Though not unwilling here to admit 
 
 A pensive recollection. 
 
 Where was it that the famous Flower 
 Of Yarrow Vale lay bleeding ? 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 317 
 
 His bed perchance was yon smooth mound 
 
 On which the herd is feeding : 
 And haply from this crystal pool, 
 
 Now peaceful as the morning, 
 The Water Wraith ascended thrice, 
 
 And gave his doleful warning. 
 
 Delicious is the lay that sings 
 
 The haunts of happy lovers, 
 The path that leads them to the grove, 
 
 The leafy grove that covers ; 
 And Pity sanctifies the verse 
 
 That points, by strength of sorrow, 
 The unconquerable strength of love ; 
 
 Bear witness rueful Yarrow ! 
 
 But thou, that didst appear so fair 
 
 To fond imagination. 
 Dost rival in the light of day 
 
 Her delicate creation : 
 Meek loveliness is round thee spread, 
 
 A softness still and holy ; 
 The grace of forest charms decayed. 
 
 And pastoral melancholy. 
 
 That region left, the Vale unfolds 
 
 Rich groves of lofty stature, 
 With Yarrow winding through the pomp 
 
 Of cultivated nature ; 
 And rising from those lofty groves. 
 
 Behold a ruin hoary ! 
 The shattered front of Newark's towers 
 
 Renowned in Border story. 
 
 Fair scenes for childhood's opening bloom, 
 
 For sportive youth to stray in. 
 For manhood to enjoy his strength : 
 
 And age to wear away in ! 
 Yon cottage seems a bower of bliss, 
 
 A covert for protection 
 Of tender thoughts that nestle there, 
 
 The brood of chaste affection. 
 27^ 
 
318 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 How sweet on this autumnal day, 
 
 The wild wood fruits to gather, 
 And on my True-love's forehead plant 
 
 A crest of blooming heather ! 
 And what if I en wreathed my own ! 
 
 'Twere no offence to reason ; 
 The sober hills thus deck their brows 
 
 To meet the wintry season. 
 
 I see, but not by sight alone, 
 
 Loved Yarrow, have I won thee j 
 A ray of Fancy still survives — 
 
 Her sunshine plays upon thee ! 
 Thy ever youthful waters keep 
 
 A course of lively pleasure ; 
 And gladsome notes my lips can breathe, 
 
 Accordant to the measure. 
 
 The vapors linger round the Heights, 
 
 They melt, — and soon must vanish ; 
 One hour is their's, nor more is mine — 
 
 Sad thought, which I would banish. 
 But that I know, where'er I go. 
 
 Thy genuine image, Yarrow ! 
 Will dwell with me, to heighten joy. 
 
 And cheer my mind in sorrow. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Hamlet and Church-yard of Ettrick — Monument to Thomas Bos- 
 ton — Birth-place of the Ettrick Shepherd — Altrieve Cottage — 
 Biographical Sketch of the Ettrick Shepherd— The Town of 
 Selkirk— Monument to Sir Walter Scott— Battle-field of Philip- 
 haugh. 
 
 Proceeding westward from St. Mary's Lake 
 about half a mile, we come to the hill of Mere- 
 cleughhead, where King James the Fifth entered 
 the district to inflict summary vengeance upon the 
 outlaws who frequented the Ettrick Forest in the 
 days of old, a circumstance which gave rise to 
 many of the old Scottish ballads. At the centre 
 of the parish lie the hamlet and church-yard of 
 Ettrick, on the stream of that name. Entering the 
 burying-ground we behold the recently erected 
 tomb of Thomas Boston, author of the well known 
 work called " The Fourfold State," one of the best 
 and holiest men that ever " hallowed" the " bushy 
 dells" of Ettrick. With apostolic fervor did he 
 preach the Gospel among these hills and vales, and 
 his work, for more than three generations, has in- 
 structed the Scottish peasantry in the high doc- 
 trines of the Christian faith. His memory will 
 ever be fragrant among the churches of Scotland. 
 Not far from the burying-ground a house is pointed 
 out in which the celebrated " Ettrick Sepherd" was 
 bom. Passing to the east end of the lake we see 
 
 I 
 
320 GENIUS OP SCOTLAND. 
 
 before us Altrieve Cottage, " bosomed low mid 
 tufted trees," and nearly encircled bj^ the " sweet 
 burnie," in whose limpid waters the green foliage 
 is mirrored. Here the poet lived, in the latter 
 period of his life, and here also he died. The 
 scenes around, moor, mountain and glen, lake, 
 river and ruin, are hallowed by the genius of the 
 " shepherd bard," who, to quote his own words, 
 
 " Found in youth a harp among the hills, 
 Dropt by the Elfin people ; and whilst the moon 
 Entranced, hung o'er still Saint Mary's loch, 
 Harped by that charmed water, so that the swan 
 Came floating onwards through the water blue, — 
 A dream-like creature, listening to a dream j 
 And the queen of the fairies rising silently 
 Through the pure mist, stood at the shepherd's feet, 
 And half forgot her own green paradise, 
 Far in the bosom of the hill — so wild ! 
 So sweet ! so sad ! flowed forth that shepherd's lay." 
 
 James Hogg, born in 1772, was descended from 
 a family of shepherds, and spent his boyhood and 
 youth herding his flocks among the hills. Far 
 from the bustle of the world, in the deep solitudes 
 of nature, his young and vigorous imagination be- 
 came familiar with all wild and beautiful sights, all 
 sweet and solemn sounds. Alone with nature 
 during the day, he spent his evening hours in lis- 
 tening to ancient ballads and legends, of which his 
 mother was a great reciter. This fed his imagina- 
 tion, and supplied it with an infinite variety of 
 strange and beautiful imagery. To this fact he 
 has himself thus strikingly referred. 
 
p 
 
 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 321 
 
 " O list the mystic lore sublime, 
 Of fairy tales of ancient time I 
 I learned them in the lonely glen, 
 The last abodes of living men ; 
 Where never stranger came our way, 
 By summer night or winter day ; 
 Where neighboring hind or cot was none — 
 Our converse was with heaven alone — 
 With voices through the cloud that sung 
 And brooding storms that round us hung. 
 O lady judge, if judge ye may. 
 How stern and ample was the sway 
 Of themes like these, when darkness fell 
 And gray-haired sires the tales would tell ! 
 When doors were barred and elder dame* 
 Plied at her task beside the flame. 
 That through the smoke and gloom alone 
 On dim and cumbered faces shone — 
 The bleat of mountain goat on high, 
 That from the cliff came quavering by ; 
 The echoing rock, the rushing flood. 
 The cataract's swell, the moaning wood ; 
 The undefined and mingled hum — 
 Voice of the desert never dumb ! 
 All these have left within this heart 
 A feeling tongue can ne-er impart 
 A wildered and unearthly flame, 
 A something that's without a name." 
 
 Another circumstance in the early life of Hogg 
 tended to nurse his fancy. He had, in all, some- 
 thing like six months' schooling, and having entered 
 the service of Mr. Laidlaw, another great lover of 
 legends, songs and stories of the olden time, he sub- 
 scribed to a circulating library at Peebles, v^hose 
 diversified contents he devoured within a short 
 time. He read poetry, romances and tales w^ith 
 avidity, and stored his mind with traditionary bal- 
 
322 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 lads, songs and stories. This circumstance will 
 account for his wayward, changeable life, as well 
 as for the wildness and strength of his imagination. 
 In the field of reality he was nothing, in that of 
 fancy everything. 
 
 He is said to have been a remarkably fine-look- 
 ing young man, having a florid complexion, and a 
 profusion of light brown hair, which he wore, coiled 
 up, beneath his " blithe blue bonnet." An attack 
 of illness induced by over-exertion, on a hot sum- 
 mer's day, so completely altered his appearance, 
 that his friends scarcely recognized him as the 
 same person. Of a jovial and merry disposition, 
 he was a great favorite in all companies, and at 
 times partook too freely of " the mountain dew." 
 
 Being introduced by the son of his employer to 
 Sir Walter Scott, the Ettrick Shepherd assisted 
 him in the collection of old ballads for the "Border 
 Minstrelsy." He soon began to try his own hand 
 in imitation of these traditionary poems, and pub- 
 lished a volume of ballads, which attracted some 
 attention, but never became very popular. Having 
 embarked in sheep farming, and attempted one or 
 two speculations in which he failed utterly, he re- 
 solved to repair to the city of Edinburgh, and sup- 
 port himself by his pen. " The Forest Minstrel," a 
 collection of songs, was his first publication here ; 
 his second, " The Spy," a light periodical, which 
 enjoyed a brief and precarious existence. It was 
 not till the publication, in 1813, of his principal 
 poetical production, " The Queen's Wake," that his 
 reputation as a poet was firmly established. The 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 328 
 
 plan was so simple and striking, and the execution 
 so vigorous and delightful, that it " took" at once, and 
 became universally popular. The old " Wake" or 
 festival in Scotland was ordinarily celebrated with 
 various kinds of diversions, among w^hich music 
 and song held the principal place. The " Queen's 
 Wake" consists of a collection of tales and ballads 
 supposed to be sung by different bards to the young 
 Queen of Scotland, — 
 
 " When royal Mary, blithe of mood, 
 Kept holyday at Holyrood.'' 
 
 The various productions of the minstrels are 
 strung together by a thread of light and graceful 
 narrative. The " Wake" lasts three successive 
 nights, and a richly ornamented harp is the victor's 
 reward. Rizzio is among the number of the com- 
 petitors ; but Gardyne, a native bard, obtains the 
 prize. The plan supplies the Ettrick Shepherd 
 with an opportunity of displaying the extreme 
 facility with which he could adapt himself to all 
 kinds of style, a facility so great that he subse- 
 quently pubUshed, under the title of " The Mirror 
 of the Poets," a collection of poems ascribed by 
 him to Byron, Campbell, Scott, Southey, Crabbe, 
 Wordsworth and others, in which the deception is 
 so admirable, that multitudes actually supposed 
 them genuine productions. Conscious of his 
 strength, he breaks forth in the " Queen's Wake," 
 in the following exulting strains. 
 
 " The land was charmed to list his lays ; 
 It knew the harp of ancient days. 
 
324 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 The border chiefs that long had been 
 In sepulchres unhearsed and green, 
 Passed from their mouldy vaults away 
 In armor red. and stern array, 
 And by their moonlight halls were seen 
 In visor, helm, and habergeon. 
 Even fairies sought our land again, 
 So powerful was the magic strain." 
 
 . Scott had advised him to abandon poetry, as 
 " a bootless task," a circumstance to which he thus 
 refers : 
 
 ^- Blest be his generous heart for aye I 
 He told me where the relic lay ; 
 Pointed my way with ready will, 
 Afar on Ettrick's wildest hill ; 
 Watched my first notes with curious eye ; 
 And wondered at my minstrelsy : 
 He little weened a parent's tongue 
 Such strains had o'er my cradle sung. 
 
 ^' But when to native feelings true 
 I struck upon a chord was new ; 
 When by myself I *gan to play. 
 He tried to wile my harp away. 
 Just when her notes began with skill 
 To sound beneath the southern hill, 
 And twine around my bosom's core, 
 How could we part forevermore ? 
 'Twas kindness all — I cannot blame — 
 For bootless is the minstrel's flame : 
 But sure a bard might well have known 
 Another's feelings by his own !" 
 
 Scott, it is said, was grieved at this reference to 
 his friendly counsel given at a time when he knew 
 not the powers of Hogg. This, however, illus- 
 trates a fact often occurring in the history of ge- 
 nius, which often struggles hard to develop itself, 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 325 
 
 alone conscious of its native powers. When Sher- 
 idan first spoke in the house of commons he made 
 an utter failure. But instead of being discouraged, 
 he remarked with energy, " I know that it is in me, 
 and I must have it out !" Campbell offered his 
 " Pleasures of Hope" to nearly all the book pub- 
 Hshers in Scotland, who refused it. Not one of 
 them could be prevailed upon even to risk paper 
 and ink upon the chance of its success ; and at last, 
 it was only with considerable reluctance that Mun- 
 dell & Son, printers to the University, undertook 
 its publication, with the liberal condition that the 
 author should be allowed fifty copies at the trade 
 price, and in the event of its reaching a sep ond 
 edition, a thing hardly anticipated, that he should 
 receive the immense sum of fifty dollars ! 
 
 The Ettrick Shepherd continued for a number 
 of years to publish sketches, stories, and so forth, 
 in prose and verse. He describes well, and in his 
 prose compositions often breaks out into flashes of 
 keen broad humor, but he is not particularly suc- 
 cessful in the construction of plots, or in the ar- 
 rangement of incidents. He is most at home in 
 the regions of pure fancy. The moment he sets 
 foot in fairyland he becomes inspired, and pours 
 out "in delightful profusion" his beautiful imaginings. 
 Inferior to Burns in depth of passion, in keen per- 
 ception of the beautiful, and in the description of 
 actual scenes, he is perhaps superior to him in the 
 wild delicacy of his inventions and in the rich 
 coloring of his imaginative pictures. Burns was 
 the poet of nature, and went far beyond his Scot- 
 
 28 
 
S36 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 tish contemporaries and successors, in strength of 
 conception, beauty of imagery, intensity of feeling, 
 and melody of verse. But Hogg excelled in ima- 
 ginative musing, and became, by natural right, the 
 acknowledged " bard of fairy-land." His legend of 
 " Bonny Kilmeny" has been universally admired. 
 
 Bonny Kilmeny gaed up the glen, 
 
 But it was na to meet Duneira's men ; 
 
 Nor the rosy monk of the isle to see, 
 
 For Kilmeny was pure as pure could be. 
 
 It was only to hear the yorlin sing, 
 
 And pu' the cress flower round the spring ; 
 
 The scarlet hypp and the hind berrye. 
 
 And the nut that hung frae the hazel tree j 
 
 But Kilmeny was pure as pure could be. 
 
 But lang may her minny* look o'er the wa', 
 
 And lang may she seek i' the greenwood shaw ; 
 
 Lang the laird of Duneira blame, 
 
 And lang, lang greet or Kilmeny come heme ! 
 
 When many a day had come and fled, 
 
 When grief grew calm, and hope was dead, 
 
 When mass for Kilmeny's soul had been sung. 
 
 When the beads-man had prayed, and the dead-bell rung, 
 
 Late, late in a gloamin, when all was still. 
 
 When the fringe was red on the western hill, 
 
 The wood was sere, the moon i' the wane. 
 
 The reek o' the cot hung over the plain, 
 
 Like a little wee cloud in the world its lane ;t 
 
 When the ingle lowedj with an eiry§ leme. 
 
 Late, late in the gloamin, Kilmeny came hame ! 
 
 Kilmeny, Kilmeny, where have you been ? 
 Lang hae we sought baith holt and dean,|| 
 By linn, by ford and greenwood tree, 
 Yet you are halesome and fair to see. 
 
 * Mother, f Alone. J Blazed. 
 
 § Lonesome flame. |1 Hollow and den. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 327 
 
 "Where gat you that joup* o' the lily scheen ? 
 That bonny snookt o' the birk sae green ? 
 And these roses, the fairest that ever were seen? 
 Kilmenyj Kilmeny, where have you been 1 
 
 Kilmeny looked up wi' a lovely grace, 
 But nae smile was seen on Kilmeny^s face ; 
 As still was her look, and as still was her ee, 
 As the stillness that lay on the emerant lea, 
 Or the mist that sleeps on a waveless sea. 
 
 For Kilmeny had been she knew not where. 
 
 And Kilmeny had seen what she could not declare ; 
 
 Kilmeny had been where the cock never crew, 
 
 Where the rain never fell, and the wind never blew j 
 
 But it seemed as the harp of the sky had rung, 
 
 And the airs of heaven played round her tongue, 
 
 When she spake of the lovely forms she had seen, 
 
 And a land where sin had never been, 
 
 A land of love and a land of light, 
 
 Withouten sun, or moon, or night ; 
 
 Where the river swa'd| a living stream, 
 
 And the light a pure celestial beam : 
 
 The land of vision it would seem, 
 
 A still, an everlasting dream. 
 
 In yon greenwood there is a walk, 
 
 And in that walk there is a wene. 
 
 And in that wene there is a maike,§ 
 
 That neither hath flesh, blood nor bane. 
 
 And down in yon greenwood he walks his lane ! 
 
 In that grene wene Kilmeny lay 
 
 Her bosom happed wi' the flowrets gay ; 
 
 And the air was soft, and the silence deep, 
 
 And bonny Kilmeny fell sound asleep ; 
 
 She kenn'd nae mair, nor opened her ee. 
 
 Till waked by the hymns of a far countrye, 
 
 ♦ Ornament. t Snood or headband. J Swelled or swept. 
 § Briefly the meaning is, that in the greenwood there is a 
 sweet lonely place where a spritual being wanders alone. 
 
328 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 She wakened on couch of the si]k sae slim 
 
 All striped wi' the bars of the rainbow^s rim ; 
 
 And lovely beings around her were rife, 
 
 Who erst had travelled mortal life. 
 
 They clasped her waist and her hands sae fair, 
 
 They kissed her cheek, and they kamed her hair, 
 
 And round came many a blooming fere, 
 
 Saying, " Bonny Kilmeny, ye're welcome here." 
 
 # ^ ^ ^ ^ 
 
 They lifted Kilmeny, they led her away, 
 And she walked in the light of a sunless day, 
 The sky was a dome of crystal bright, 
 The fountain of vision, and fountain of light ; 
 The emerant fields were of dazzling glow, 
 And the flowers of everlasting blow. 
 Then deep in the stream her body they laid, 
 That her youth and beauty might never fade ; 
 And they smiled on heaven, when they saw her lie 
 In the stream of life that wandered by ; 
 And she heard a song, she heard it sung. 
 She kenn'd not where, but so sweetly it rung, 
 It fell on her ears like a dream of the morn : 
 " O, blest be the day Kilmeny was born ! 
 Now shall the land of spirits see, 
 Now shall it ken what a woman may be ! 
 The sun that shines on the world so bright, 
 A borrowed gleam from the fountain of ]ight : 
 And the moon that sleeks the sky sae dun, 
 Like a gowden bow, or a beamless sun, - 
 Shall skulk away, and be seen nae mair. 
 And the angels shall miss them travelling the air. 
 Bat lang, lang after both night and day. 
 When the sun and the world have ^eelged* away, 
 When the sinner has gane to his waesome doom, 
 Kilmeny shall smile in eternal bloom V^ 
 
 They sooftf her away to a mountain green, 
 To see what mortal had never seen ; 
 
 =* Vanished, f Swept or spirited away, with a rapid motion. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 329 
 
 And they seated her high on a purple sward, 
 
 And bade her heed what she saw and heard ; 
 
 And note the changes the spirits wrought, 
 
 For now she lived in the land of thought. 
 
 She looked and she saw no sun nor skies, 
 
 But a crystal dome of a thousand dyes. 
 
 She looked and she saw no lang aright, 
 
 But an endless whirl of glory and light. 
 
 And radiant beings went and came, 
 
 Far swifter than wind, or the linked flame ; 
 
 She hid her een from the dazzling view, 
 
 She looked again, and the scene was new. 
 
 She saw a sun on a simmer sky. 
 
 And clouds of amber sailing by ; 
 
 A lovely land aneath her lay. 
 
 And that land had lakes and niountains gray ; 
 
 And that land had valleys and hoary piles. 
 
 And merlit seas, and a thousand isles ; 
 
 She saw the corn wave on the vale ; 
 
 She saw the deer run down the dale ; 
 
 And many a mortal toiling sore, 
 
 And she thought she had seen the land afore. 
 
 # :^ =K= # # 
 
 To sing of the sights Kilmeiiy saw. 
 So far surpassing nature's law. 
 The singers voice would sink away, 
 And the string of his harp would cease to play, 
 But she saw while the sorrows of man were by, 
 And all was love and harmony ; 
 While the sterns of heaven fell lonely away, 
 Like the flakes of snow on a winter's day. 
 
 Then Kilmeny begged again to see 
 
 The friends she had left in her ain countrye. 
 
 To tell of the place where she had been, 
 
 And the glories that lay in the land unseen. 
 
 With distant music soft and deep, 
 
 They lulled Kilmeny sound asleep ; 
 
 And when she awakened, she lay her lane. 
 
 All happed with flowers in the greenwood wene 
 
 28* 
 
330 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 When seven lang years had come and fled, 
 
 When grief was calm and hope was dead, 
 
 When scarce was remembered Kilmeny's name^ 
 
 Late, late in the gloamin Kilmeny came hame ! 
 
 And oh ! her beauty was fair to see. 
 
 But still and steadfast was her eej 
 
 Such beauty bard may never declare, 
 
 For there was no pride nor passion there ; 
 
 And the soft desire of maiden's een. 
 
 In that mild face could never be seen. 
 
 Her seyman was the lily flower. 
 
 And her cheek the moss-rose in the shower j 
 
 And her voice like the distant melodye, 
 
 That floats along the twilight sea. 
 
 But she loved to range the lanely glen, 
 
 And keeped afar frae the haunts of men. 
 
 Her holy hymns unheard to sing, 
 
 To suck the flowers and drink the spring ; 
 
 But wherever her peaceful form appeared, 
 
 The wild beasts of the hill were cheered j 
 
 The wolf played blithely round the field, 
 
 The lordly bison lowed and kneeled, 
 
 The dun deer wooed with manner bland, 
 
 And cowered aneath hor lily hand. 
 
 And when at eve the woodlands rung, 
 
 When hymns of other worlds she sung, 
 
 In ecstacy of sweet devotion, 
 
 Oh, then the glen was all in motion ; 
 
 The wild beasts of the forest came, 
 
 Broke from their bughts and faulds the tame. 
 
 And gooed around, charmed and amazed ; 
 
 Even the dull cattle crooned and gazed, 
 
 And murmured and looked with anxious pain 
 
 For something the mystery to explain. 
 
 The buzzard came with the throstle cock j 
 
 The corby left her houf in the rock ; 
 
 The blackbird along with the eagle flew ; 
 
 The hind came tripping o'er the dew ; 
 
 The wolf and the kid their raike began, 
 
 And the tod, and the lamb, and the leveret ran j 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 331 
 
 The hawk and the hern attour them hung, 
 
 And the merl and the mavis forhooyed"* their young ; 
 
 And all in a peaceful ring were hurled : 
 
 It was like an eve in a sinless world ! 
 
 When a month and a day had come and gane, 
 
 Kilmeny sought the greenwood wene, 
 
 There laid her down on the leaves so green. 
 
 And Kilmeny, on earth was never mair seen ! 
 
 The close of " The Queen's Wake" is graceful 
 and touching. 
 
 Now my loved harp a while farewell ; 
 
 I leave thee on the old gray thorn ; 
 The evening dews will mar thy sv^ell 
 
 That waked to joy the cheerful morn. 
 
 Farewell, sweet soother of my woe, 
 Chill blows the blast around my head ; 
 
 And louder yet that blast may blow, 
 When down this weary vale Tve sped. 
 
 The wreath lies on St. Mary's shore j 
 The mountain sounds are harsh and loud *, 
 
 The lofty brows of stern Clokmore 
 Are visored with the moving cloud. 
 
 But winter's deadly hues shall fade 
 On moorland bald and mountain shaw, 
 
 And soon the rainbow's lovely shade 
 Sleep on the breast of Bowerhope Law ; 
 
 Then will the glowing suns of spring, 
 
 The genial shower and stealing dew, 
 Wake every forest bird to sing, 
 
 And every mountain flower renew. 
 
 But not the rainbow's ample ring, 
 That spans the glen and mountain gray 
 i Though fanned by western breeze's wing, 
 
 And sunned by summer's glowing ray, 
 
 * Forsook. 
 
332 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 To man decayed can ever more 
 
 Renew the age of love and glee ! 
 Can ever second spring restore 
 
 To my old mountain harp and me. 
 
 But when the hue of softened spring 
 
 Spreads over hill and lonely lea, 
 And lowly primrose opes unseen, 
 
 Her virgin bosom to the bee ; 
 
 When hawthorns breathe their odors far, 
 
 And carols hail the year's return. 
 And daisy spreads her silver star 
 
 Unheeded, by the mountain burn, 
 
 Then will I seek the aged thorn, 
 
 The haunted wild and fairy ring, 
 Where oft thy erring numbers borne. 
 
 Have taught the wandering winds to sing. 
 
 Hogg was unfortunate in all business transac- 
 tions. But the Duchess of Buccleugh made him a 
 present of some seventy acres of moorland, on 
 which he built a pretty cottage. Here he lived 
 during the latter years of his life, engaged in Hte- 
 rary labors, which he reheved by angling and field 
 sports, for which he had quite a passion. When 
 he could no longer fish and hunt, he avowed his 
 belief that his death was near. He was seized 
 with a dropsical complaint in the autumn of 1835, 
 and died, after some days of insensibility, " with as 
 little pain as he ever fell asleep in his gray plaid 
 upon the hillside." With many imperfections, he 
 possessed a leal Scottish heart, and has left behind 
 him memorials of genius, which posterity will not 
 " let die." 
 
 But we have arrived at the ancient town of Sel- 
 kirk, on the Ettrick, famous for its * sutors' or shoe- 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 333 
 
 makers, from time immemorial burgesses of the 
 town, and distinguished for their loyahy. In the 
 market-square are a pubUc well, ornamented with 
 the arms of the city, and a handsome monument 
 erected by the county, in 1839, in memory of Sir 
 Walter Scott, who was sheriff of the county from 
 1800 to 1832. On one of its sides are the follow- 
 ing lines from one of his poems : 
 
 '^ By Yarrow's stream still let me stray, 
 Though none should guide my feeble way, 
 Still feel the breeze down Ettrick break, 
 Although it chill my withered cheek.'' 
 
 In the immediate neighborhood of Selkirk is 
 Phihphaugh, the celebrated battle-field, where Gen- 
 eral Leslie, fighting for freedom and the Covenant, 
 routed the fierce Montrose, who cut his way 
 through the enemy and fled for his life. This de- 
 feat destroyed the fruit of Montrose's six splendid 
 victories, and ruined the royal cause in Scotland. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Return to the banks of the Tweed— Abbotsford—The Study- 
 Biographical Sketch of Sir Walter Scott — His Early life— Re- 
 sidence in the Country — Spirit of Romance — Education — 
 First Efforts as an Author — Success of ^ Marmion' — Character 
 of his Poetry — Literary Change — His Novels — Pecuniary 
 Difficulties — Astonishing Efforts — Last Sickness — Death and 
 Funeral. 
 
 Leaving the Ettrick, we proceed once more in 
 the direction of the Tweed, which we soon reach. 
 How sweetly the river winds through this wooded 
 region — quick and even impetuous in its flow, but 
 so translucent that the white pebbles at the bottom 
 are distinctly visible. What a picture of peaceful 
 enjoyment is presented by that shepherd boy, lean- 
 ing against the rock, and basking himself in the 
 sun, while his sheep are nibbling the short grass on 
 the edge of the water. But yonder is Abbotsford, 
 with its castellated walls and pointed gables, shoot- 
 ing up from a sylvan declivity on the banks of the 
 river, which almost encircles the place with a 
 graceful sweep, and contrasts beautifully with the 
 deep-green foliage of the straggling clumps of 
 trees. But every traveller in Scotland visits Ab- 
 botsford, and therefore we say nothing about its sin- 
 gular construction, its curious ornaments, its ancient 
 rehcs, its broad-swords and battle-axes, its coats ar- 
 morial, oak carvings and blazoned windows, its old 
 
GENIUS OF SCOrLANV. 335 
 
 portraits and fine library. We will not describe the 
 door taken from the old Tolbooth in Edinburgh, 
 nor the pulpit from which Ralph Erskine preached ; 
 nay more, we shall not even moralize on "the 
 broad-skirted blue coat, with metal buttons, the 
 plaid trowsers, heavy shoes, broad-brimmed hat 
 and stout walking stick," the last worn by " the 
 Great Magician of the north," when he took to his 
 bed in his last illness. We will pass, however, 
 into his study, a room about twenty-five feet square, 
 containing a small writing table in the centre, on 
 which Sir Walter was accustomed to write, and a 
 plain arm-chair, covered with black leather, on 
 which he sat. A subdued light enters from a 
 single window, and a few books lie on the shelves, 
 used chiefly for reference. By the pemaission of 
 the good lady who has charge of the house, we are 
 permitted to seat ourselves, and linger here for an 
 hour, calling up the memory of the most wonderful 
 genius that Scotland has ever produced. 
 
 The father of Sir Walter Scott was a writer to 
 the Signet in Edinburgh, an excellent and highly 
 respectable man. His mother, Anne Rutherford, 
 a noble and gentle-hearted woman, was the daugh- 
 ter of a physician, in extensive practice, and Pro- 
 fessor of Medicine in the University of Edinburgh. 
 By both parents he was remotely connected with 
 some ancient and respectable Scottish families, a 
 circumstance to which he frequently referred with 
 satisfaction. He was born on the 15th of August, 
 in the year 1771. In consequence of lameness and 
 a delicate state of health, produced by a fall, ho 
 
336 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 was sent, in early life to Sandyknowe, a romantic 
 situation near Kelso, and placed under the care of 
 his grandfather. Here he fortified his constitution 
 by long rambles on foot and on horseback among 
 the picturesque scenery and old ruins of the neigh- 
 borhood. Smallholm, a ruined tower, and the 
 scene of Scott's ballad, " The Eve of St. John's," 
 was close to the farm, and beside it were the Eil- 
 don Hills, the ruins of Ercildoune, the residence, in 
 ancient times, of Thomas the Rhymer, Dryburgh 
 Abbey, the " silver Tweed," with its storied banks, 
 and other localities renowned in song and story. 
 It was here also that he delighted in supplying his 
 memory with the tales of his nurse, and some old 
 grandames, deeply versed in the traditions of the 
 country. All these left indelible impressions on 
 his young imagination, and nursed the latent germ 
 of poetry and romance, so late, but so beautiful in 
 its flowering. Subsequently he resided with an- 
 other relation at Kelso. Here, under the shadow 
 of a great platanus or oriental palm tree, in an old 
 garden, he devoured " Percy's Reliques of Ancient 
 Poetry," and permitted his fancy to wander at will 
 amid the scenes of Border romance. This ex- 
 plains, in some degree, the peculiar characteristics 
 of his first poems, and that fine strain of romantic 
 feeling which runs through his tales. Speaking of 
 this matter, he says himself: "In early youth I had 
 been an eager student of ballad poetry, and the 
 tree is still in my recollection beneath which I lay 
 and first entered upon the enchanting perusal of 
 * Percy's Reliques of Ancient Poetry,' although it 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 337 
 
 has long perished in the general blight which af- 
 fected the whole race of oriental platanus, to which 
 it belonged. The taste of another person had 
 strongly encouraged my own researches into this 
 species of legendary lore. But I had never 
 dreamed of an attempt to imitate what gave me so 
 much pleasure. Excepting the usual tribute to a 
 mistress's eyebrow, which is the language of pas- 
 sion rather than poetry, I had not for ten years in- 
 dulged the wish to couple so much as love and dove, 
 when finding Lewis in possession of so much repu- 
 tation, and conceiving that, if I fell behind him in 
 poetical powers, I considerably exceeded him in 
 general information, I suddenly took it into my 
 head to attempt the style by which he had raised 
 himself to fame." He refers to the same thing in 
 the following lines : 
 
 ^'' Thus, while I ape the measure wild, 
 Of tales that charmed me — yet a child, 
 Rude though they be, still with the chime 
 Return the thoughts of early time : 
 And feelings roused in life's first day, 
 Glow in the line, and prompt the lay ; 
 Then rise those crags, that mountain tower, 
 Which charmed my fancy's wakening hour. 
 Though no broad river swept along, 
 To claim perchance heroic song ; 
 Though sigh no groves in summer gale, 
 To prompt of love a softer tale, 
 Yet was poetic impulse given 
 By the green hill and clear blue heaven. 
 It was a barren scene, and wild, 
 Where naked cliffs were rudely piled, 
 But ever and anon between 
 Lay velvet tufts of loveliest green ; 
 29 
 
338 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 And well the lovely infant knew 
 
 Recesses where the wall-flower grew. 
 
 And honey-suckle loved to crawl 
 
 Up the low crag and ruined wall. 
 
 I deemed such nooks the sweetest shade 
 
 The sun in all its round surveyed ; 
 
 And still I thought that shattered tower 
 
 The mightiest work of human power ; 
 
 And marvelled as the aged hind, 
 
 With some strange tale bewitched my mind, 
 
 Of foragers who, with headlong force 
 
 Down from that strength had spurred their horse. 
 
 Their southern rapine to renew 
 
 Far in the distant Cheviot^s blue, 
 
 And home returning filled the hall, 
 
 With revel, wassail-route and brawl. — 
 
 Methought that still with tramp and clang 
 
 The gateway^s broken arches rang ; 
 
 Methought grim features seamed with scars, 
 
 Glared through the window's rusty bars. 
 
 And even by the winter hearth ; 
 
 Old tales I heard of woe or mirth, 
 
 Of lovers' sleights, of Jadies' charms, 
 
 Of witches' spells, of warriors' arms ; 
 
 Of patriot battles won of old 
 
 By Wallace wight and Bruce the bold ; 
 
 Of later fields of feud and fight. 
 
 When pouring from their Highland height, 
 
 The Scottish clans in headlong sway, 
 
 Had swept the scarlet ranks away. 
 
 While stretched at length upon the floor, 
 
 Again I fought each combat e'er, 
 
 Pebbles and shells in order laid 
 
 The mimic ranks of war displayed ; 
 
 And onward still the Scottish lion bore, 
 
 And still the scattered Southron fled before. 
 
 In addition to this, young Scott was a perfect 
 helluo lihrorum. He had access to a large hbrary 
 filled with romances, histories, biographies, and so 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 339 
 
 forth, which he indiscriminately devoured. His 
 memory was quick and tenacious, and his mind be- 
 came stored with all sorts of facts, fables and fancies. 
 Still, even in youth, he possessed a sound judgment, 
 a clear, well balanced mind, and separated the 
 chaff from the wheat with tolerable discrimination. 
 His father was a good Presbyterian, and did what 
 he could to imbue his mind with religious princi- 
 ples, which never deserted him. Among the first 
 lines he is known to have written are the following. 
 They were found wrapped up in a paper inscribed 
 by Dr. Adam of the Edinburgh High School, 
 * Walter Scott, July, 1783.' 
 
 ON THE SETTING SUN. 
 
 Those evening clouds, that setting ray, 
 And beauteous tints, serve to display 
 
 Their great Creator's praise ; 
 Then let the short-lived thing called man, 
 Whose life's comprised within a span, 
 
 To Him his homage raise. 
 
 We often praise the evening clouds, 
 
 And tints so gay and bold, 
 But seldom think upon our God, 
 
 Who tinged these clouds with gold. 
 
 Scott was educated at the Edinburgh High 
 School, and University. He had an aversion to 
 Greek, a singular fact, but made some proficiency in 
 Latin, moral philosophy and history. He also made 
 himself tolerably familiar with the French, German 
 and Italian tongues. Being much at home, he in- 
 dulged in reading romances and poetry. From 
 early life, he was an industrious collector of old bal- 
 
340 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 lads, many of which he committed to memory. Ap- 
 prenticed to his father, as " a writer," he com- 
 menced the study of law, and began to practice in 
 his twenty-first year. As his health was now vig- 
 orous, he made long excursions into the country, 
 which he facetiously denominated raids, rambling 
 over scenes of external beauty or of historic interest, 
 making acquaintance with the country people, and 
 picking up information about men and things. By 
 this means he amassed an immense store of every- 
 day facts, and an intimate knowledge of character, 
 w^hich were of immense service to him in the con- 
 struction of his novels. 
 
 Scott's first appearance as an author was in the 
 translation from the German of Burger's Leonore, 
 and " Der Wilde Jager," or the '' Wild Huntsman," 
 ballads of singular wildness and power. These, 
 however, made little impression on the public mind. 
 Of this he says, " The failure of my first publica- 
 tion did not operate, in any unpleasant degree, 
 either on my feelings or spirits. To speak can- 
 didly, I found pleasure in the literary labor in 
 which I had, almost by accident, become engaged, 
 and labored less in the hope of pleasing others, 
 though certainly without despair of doing so, than 
 in the pursuit of a new and agreeable amusement 
 to myself." He continued to read the German, 
 and to make translations from it, and became more 
 and more interested in the ballad poetry. He w^as 
 delighted to find the affinity of the old English, and 
 especially of the Scottish language to the German, 
 not in sound merely, but in the turn of phrase, so 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 341 
 
 that they were capable of being rendered line for 
 line, with very little variation. 
 
 By degrees he acquired sufficient confidence to 
 attempt the imitation of what he so much admired. 
 His first original poem was "Glenfinlas." Next 
 followed " The Eve of St. John." Owing to unfor- 
 tunate circumstances these had no great success. 
 Nothing daunted, however, he again appeared be- 
 fore the public with his " Minstrelsy of the Scottish 
 Border," which immediately became popular. The 
 success of this last work, not only established his 
 reputation as an author, but encouraged him to 
 devote himself to literary pursuits. Under appoint- 
 ment as SheriflT of Selkirkshire, he enjoyed the kind 
 of associations and employments favorable to the 
 cultivation of his poetical powers. Among other 
 things, he edited the metrical romance of " Sir 
 Tristrem," supposed to be written by " Thomas the 
 Rhymer," or Thomas of Ercildoune, laird, poet 
 and prophet, who flourished about the year 1280. 
 The dissertations which accompanied this work, 
 and the imitation of the original to complete the 
 romance, evinced his antiquarian attainments and 
 fine poetical taste. At length appeared " The Lay 
 of the Last Minstrel," a higher, purer strain, which 
 was received with universal enthusiasm, and 
 stamped him a great and original poet. His fine 
 conception of the minstrel, his easy versification, 
 his admirable narrative, his glowing pictures, his 
 wild ballad enthusiasm, his legendary lore, and his 
 exquisite touches of the marvellous and supernatu- 
 ral, combined to render the poem popular beyond 
 
 29* 
 
342 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 all precedent. Thirty thousand copies were speed- 
 ily sold by the trade. Then, in quick succession, 
 followed that splendid series of poems, so popular 
 in their day, and still so interesting and delightful. 
 Intrinsically, they are inferior to some of the higher 
 strains of English poetry, but they possess certain 
 qualities which gained the public ear, and found a 
 place in the national heart. These doubtless were 
 the novelty of their style, their natural and simple 
 versification, their easy, dramatic narrative, and 
 their lively descriptions of national scenes and 
 manners, in contrast with the formal hexameters, 
 with "all their buckram and binding," of which 
 the pubhc had become tired. 
 
 Being in easy, and almost in affluent circum- 
 stances, Scott became ambitious of founding a fam- 
 ily. For this purpose he bought land on the banks 
 of the Tweed, and built Abbotsford, at a very con- 
 siderable expense. He received the order of 
 knighthood, and looked forward to days of ease 
 and prosperity. Devoting himself almost entirely 
 to literary pursuits, he formed connections in busi- 
 ness with James Ballantyne, then rising into exten- 
 sive business in the city of Edinburgh. This in- 
 volved the necessity of large advances, and Scott 
 became involved in large pecuniary responsibilities. 
 He received an appointment as one of the principal 
 Clerks of the Court of Session, with perhaps six 
 thousand dollars per annum. This, with the gains 
 of the printing establishment, and other sources of 
 revenue, would have secured to him and his family 
 an ample provision. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 343 
 
 With his customary sagacity, Sir Walter per- 
 ceived that his peculiar style of poetry would not 
 continue popular, and therefore he betook himself 
 to a new field of literary enterprise, which proved 
 still richer, and, by far, more congenial. Then ap- 
 peared his historical novels, which became so popu- 
 lar, that his fame as a poet was almost forgotten. 
 Volume after volume came from the press, and 
 spread like wildfire over the land. Translated into 
 French, German, and Italian, they reached every 
 part of Europe, and completely superseded the old 
 run of novels, with their unnatural plots and extra- 
 vagant nonsense. It was Scott's ambition to ele- 
 vate this species of literature, and whatever objec- 
 tions may be made against it, on the score of moral 
 influence, this much must be conceded to him. In 
 his hands novel writing became comparatively pure 
 and dignified, nay, as some, with considerable show 
 of reason, contend, beneficial. The moral tone of 
 all Sir Walter's productions is pre-eminently pure. 
 They are characterized by shrewd sense, a pro- 
 found insight into men and things, a keen percep- 
 tion of the beautiful and brave, the generous and 
 leal, a fine sense of honor, reverence for God, and 
 a deep sympathy with all the wants and woes, the 
 hopes and joys of our common humanity. Sir 
 Walter is the Shakspeare of novel writing, and if 
 he falls below the great dramatic poet, in the quick- 
 ness and universality of his genius, he approaches 
 him in the soundness of his intellect, the breadth of 
 his imagination, and the versatility of his powers. 
 From his Tory and High Church predilections he 
 
344 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 has done some injustice to the old Covenanters and 
 Puritans of Scotland ; but he possessed a noble and 
 generous heart, a spirit of faith and reverence, a 
 love for God and all his creatures. His soul v^as 
 naturally blithe and joyous, hopeful and strong. 
 He loved Scotland with intense affection, and has 
 spread the hght of his genius over all her hills and 
 vales. Under the magic influence of his pen the 
 hoary mountains, the dark tarns and trosachs of the 
 Highlands gleam v^ith supernal beauty. Tv^eed 
 murmurs his name, while the Firth and Tay repeat 
 it through all their windings. His " own romantic 
 town" glories in his memory ; every city, village 
 and hamlet of the Lowlands, with strath, meadow 
 and moorland, echo his praise. The Genius of his 
 country has crowned him with the same wild 
 wreath which erst she hung upon the head of 
 Burns, and the world has acknowledged the con- 
 secration. 
 
 It was in the year 1826 that Ballantyne and 
 Company became insolvent, and Sir Walter Scott, 
 in the very midst of his splendid career, found him- 
 self involved to the amount of $600,000. But he 
 nobly refused to become a bankrupt, considering, 
 says Allan Cunningham, " like the elder Osbaldis- 
 tone of his own immortal pages, commercial honor 
 as dear as any other honor." All he asked for was 
 time ; and in seven years he paid off" more than the 
 half of this sum by the labors of his pen. His 
 efforts to accomplish this subhme purpose were 
 gigantic, but they broke down his constitution. 
 "Sometime in the beginning of the year 1831,'* 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 345 
 
 says his friend Cunningham, " a sore ilhiess came 
 upon him ; his astonishing efforts to satisfy his cred- 
 itors, began to exhaust a mind apparently exhaust- 
 less ; and the world heard with concern that a 
 paralytic stroke had affected his speech and his 
 right hand, so much as to render writing a matter 
 of difficulty. One of his letters to me at this period, 
 is not written with his own hand : the signature is 
 his, and looks cramped and weak. I visited him 
 at Abbotsford, about the end of July, 1831 : he was 
 a degree more feeble than I had ever seen him, 
 and his voice seemed affected ; not so his activity 
 of fancy, and surprising resources of conversation. 
 He told anecdotes and recited scraps of verse, old 
 and new, always tending to illustrate something 
 passing. He showed me his armory, in which he 
 took visible pleasure ; and was glad to hear me 
 commend the design of his house, as well as the 
 skill with which it was built. * * * In a 
 small room, half library and half armory, he usu- 
 ally sat and wrote : here he had some remarkable 
 weapons, curious pieces of old Scottish furniture, 
 such as chairs and cabinets, and an antique sort of 
 a table, on which lay his writing materials. A 
 crooked headed staff of Abbotsford oak or hazel 
 usually lay beside him to support his steps as he 
 went and came." 
 
 " When it was known," continues Cunningham, 
 " that Sir Walter Scott's health declined, the deep 
 solicitude of all ranks became manifest ; strangers 
 came from far lands to look on the house which 
 contained the great genius of our times ; inquirers 
 
346 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 flocked around, of humble and of high degree, and 
 the amount of letters of inquiry or condolence was, 
 I have heard, enormous. Amongst the visitors, 
 not the least welcome was Wordsworth, the poet, 
 who arrived when the air of the northern hills was 
 growing too sharp for the enfeebled frame of Scott, 
 and he had resolved to try if the fine air and cli- 
 mate of Italy would restore him to health and 
 strength. 
 
 " When Government heard of Sir Walter's 
 wishes, they offered him a ship ; he left Abbotsford 
 as many thought forever, and arrived in London, 
 where he was welcomed as never mortal was 
 welcomed before. He visited several friends, nor 
 did he refuse to mingle in company, and having 
 written something almost approaching to a fare- 
 well to the world, which was published with ' Castle 
 Dangerous,' the last of his works, he set sail for 
 Italy, with the purpose of touching at Malta. He 
 seemed revived, but it was only for a while : he 
 visited Naples, but could not enjoy the high honors 
 paid to him : he visited Rome, and sighed amid its 
 splendid temples and glorious works of art, for 
 gray Melrose and the pleasant banks of Tweed, 
 and passing out of Italy, proceeded homewards 
 down the Rhine. Word came to London, that a 
 dreadful attack of paralysis had nearly deprived 
 him of Hfe, and that but for the presence of mind 
 of a faithful servant he must have perished. This 
 alarming news was followed by his arrival in Lon- 
 don : a strong desire of home had come upon him ; 
 he travelled with rapidity, night and day, and was 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 347 
 
 all but worn out, when carried into St. James's 
 Hotel, Jermyn street, by his servants." 
 
 As soon as he recovered a little, he resumed his 
 journey to Scotland, reached Abbotsford, and 
 seemed revived, smiled when he was borne into 
 his library, and enjoyed the society of his children. 
 When he was leaving London the people, wherever 
 he was recognized, took off' their hats, saying, " God 
 bless you, Sir Walter !" His arrival in Scotland 
 was hailed with equal enthusiasm and sympathy; 
 and so much was he revived that hopes were en- 
 tertained of his recovery. But he gradually de- 
 cHned, listening occasionally to passages from the 
 Bible, and irom the poems of Crabbe and Words- 
 worth. Once he tried to write, but failed in the 
 attempt. " He never spoke of his literary labors 
 or success." Occasionally his mind wandered, and 
 then he was preparing for the reception of the Duke 
 of Wellington at Abbotsford, or exercising the 
 functions of a judge, as if presiding at the trial of 
 members of his own family. It may be regarded 
 as a singular fact, that in his delirium, his mind 
 never wandered toward those works which had 
 filled the world with his fame. But the flame of 
 life now flickered feebly in its socket, and gave un- 
 erring indications of its speedy extinction. "About 
 half past one, P. M.," says Mr. Lockhart, his son- 
 in-law and biographer, "on the 21st of September, 
 1832, Sir Walter breathed his last, in the presence 
 of all his children. It was a beautiful day — so 
 warm that every window was open — and so per- 
 fectly still that the sound, of all others most de- 
 
348 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 licious to his ear, the gentle ripple of the Tweed 
 over its pebbles, was distinctly audible, as we knelt 
 around his bed, and his eldest son kissed and closed 
 his eyes." 
 
 The remains of Sir Walter were buried in Dry- 
 burgh Abbey. *' As we advanced," says one who 
 was present at the funeral, which was conducted 
 with the greatest simplicity and solemnity, " the 
 ruined abbey disclosed itself through the trees ; 
 and w^e approached its w^estern extremity, where a 
 considerable portion of vaulted roof still remains 
 to protect the poet's family place of interment, 
 which opens to the sides in lofty Gothic arches, and 
 is defended by a low rail of enclosure. At one 
 extremity of it, a tall thriving young cypress rears 
 its spiral form. Creeping plants of different kinds, 
 ' with ivy never sere,' have spread themselves very 
 luxuriantly over every part of the Abbey. These 
 perhaps w^ere in many instances the children of 
 art ; but however this may have been, nature had 
 herself undertaken their education. In this spot 
 especially, she seems to have been most indus- 
 triously busy in twining her richest wreaths around 
 those walls which more immediately form her 
 poet's tomb. Amongst her other decorations, we 
 observed a plum tree, which was perhaps at one 
 period a prisoner, chained to the solid masonry, but 
 which having long since been emancipated, now 
 threw out its wild pendent branches, laden with 
 purple fruit, ready to drop, as if emblematical of 
 the ripening and decay of human life. 
 
 " In such a scene as this, then, it was that the 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 349 
 
 coffin of Sir Walter Scott was set down on trestles 
 placed outside the iron railing ; and here that sol- 
 emn service, beginning with those words, so cheer- 
 ing to the souls of Christians, ' I am the resurrec- 
 tion and the Hfe,' was solemnly read. The manly, 
 soldier-like features of the chief mourner, on whom 
 the eyes of sympathy w^ere most naturally turned, 
 betrayed at intervals the powerful efforts which he 
 had made to master his emotions, as well as the in- 
 efficiency of his exertions to do so. The other 
 relatives who surrounded the bier were deeply 
 moved ; and amid the crowd of weeping friends, 
 no eye, and no heart could be discovered that was 
 not altogether occupied in that sad and impressive 
 ceremonial, which w^as so soon to shut from them 
 forever, him who had been so long the common 
 idol of their admiration, and of their best affections. 
 Here and there, indeed, we might have fancied 
 that we detected some early and long tried friends 
 of him who lay cold before us, who, whilst tears 
 dimmed their eyes, and w^hilst their lips quivered, 
 were yet partly engaged in mixing up and con- 
 trasting the happier scenes of days long gone by, 
 with that which they were now witnessing, until 
 they became lost in dreamy reverie, so that even 
 the movement made when the coffin was carried 
 under the lofty arches of the ruin, and when dust 
 was committed to dust, did not entirely snap the 
 thread of their visions. It was not until the harsh 
 sound of the hammers of the workmen who were 
 employed to rivet those iron bars covering the 
 grave, to secure it from violation, had begun to 
 
350 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 echo from the vaulted roof, that some of us were 
 called to the full conviction of the fact, that the 
 earth had forever closed over that form v^hich we 
 were wont to love and reverence ; that eye which 
 we had so often seen beaming with benevolence, 
 sparkling with wit, or lighted up with a poefs 
 frenzy ; those lips which we had so often seen 
 monopolizing the attention of all listeners, or heard 
 rolling out, with nervous accentuation, those pow- 
 erful verses with which his head was continually 
 teeming ; and that brow, the perpetual throne of 
 generous expression, and liberal intelligence. Over- 
 whelmed by the conviction of this afflicting truth, 
 men moved away without parting salutation, singly, 
 slowly, and silently. The day began to stoop 
 down into twilight; and we, too, after giving a 
 last parting survey to the spot where now repose 
 the remains of our Scottish Shakspeare, a spot 
 lovely enough to induce his sainted spirit to haunt 
 and sanctify its shades, hastily tore ourselves 
 away." 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 Melrose Abbey — The Eildon Hills — Thomas the Rhymer — 
 Dryburgh — "-Monuments to the Author of • The Seasons' and 
 Sir William Wallace — Kelso — Beautiful scenery — A Pleasant 
 Evening — Biographical Sketch of Leyden, Poet^ Antiquary, 
 Scholar and Traveller — The Duncan Family — Journey Re- 
 sumed — Twisel Bridge — Battle of Flodden — Norham Castle 
 — Berwick upon Tweed — Biographical Sketch of Thomas 
 Mackay Wilson, author of 'The Border Tales' — Conclusion — 
 ^ Auld Lang Syne.' 
 
 After visiting " fair Melrose," whose ruins, rising 
 in the centre of a rich landscape, and rendered im- 
 mortal by the exquisite descriptions of Sir Walter 
 Scott, are the most interesting and beautiful of 
 any in Scotland ; — wandering over the Eildon 
 Hills, the Trimontium of the Romans, from the 
 summits of which some thirty miles of wild and 
 varied scenery can be surveyed ; gazing on the 
 ruins of Ercildoune, the manor-house of Thomas 
 the Rhymer, whose real name was Thomas Lear- 
 mont, author of " The Romance of Tristan," a poem 
 of the thirteenth century, in the language of an- 
 tique Chaucer ; lingering in Dryburgh Abbey, em- 
 bosomed in a richly wooded haugh on the banks of 
 the Tweed ; and especially gazing, in reverent 
 homage, on the grave of " the Great Magician of 
 the North," in St. Mary's Aisle, so sad and yet so 
 fair ; crossing the Tweed, and pausing a few mo- 
 ments, to examine a circular temple on the banks 
 
352 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 of the river, dedicated to the Muses, and surmount- 
 ed by a bust of Thomson, author of " The Seasons," 
 and a little further on the colossal statue of Sir 
 William Wallace, the hero of Scotland, which 
 stands upon a rocky eminence and overlooks the 
 river, and a fine prospect of "wood and water, 
 mountain and rock scenery," we pass along the 
 banks of the Tweed, till we come to the handsome 
 town of Kelso, on the margin of the river, with its 
 ancient Abbey and delightful environs. 
 
 As the day is far spent, we will stay here for the 
 night. But, before the sun goes down, let us wan- 
 der over the neighborhood, which is singularly 
 beautiful, and redolent with the genius of Scott and 
 of Leyden, who has described it in his " Scenes of 
 Infancy." 
 
 '' Bosom'd in woods where mighty rivers run, 
 Kelso's fair vale expands before the sun ; 
 Its rising downs in vernal beauty swell, 
 And fringed with hazel, winds each flowery dell, 
 Green spangled plains to dimpled lawns succeed. 
 And Tempe rises on the banks of Tweed : 
 Blue o'er the river Kelso's shadow lies, 
 And copse-clad isles amid the water rise." 
 
 As the view from the bridge which spans the 
 river is said to be one of the richest in Scotland, 
 we linger there till the sun goes down. 'Tis a soft, 
 still, summer afternoon, beginning to gUde into the 
 long and beautiful twilight. The rays of the sun 
 are yet upon the mountains, and tinge the summits 
 of the woods, the rocks, and the castellated edi- 
 fices, which adorn the landscape. The Tweed is 
 gliding, in shadow, through the w^ooded vale, and 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 353 
 
 the songs of the mavis and blackbird are echoing 
 among the trees. A little above the bridge the 
 clear waters of the Teviot and the Tweed flow 
 together, as if attracted by each other's beauty. 
 Beyond are the picturesque ruins of Roxburgh 
 Castle, and somewhat nearer the ducal palace of 
 Fleurs, rising amid a rich expanse of wooded de- 
 corations, sloping down to the very margin of the 
 river ; in front are gleaming two green islets of the 
 Tweed, and between that river and the Teviot re- 
 poses the beautiful peninsula of Friar's Green, w^ith 
 the soft meadow in its foreground. On the south 
 bank of the river are the mansion and woods of 
 Springwood Park, and the bridge across the Te- 
 viot, on which are reposing the mellow rays of the 
 setting sun. On the right the town lies along the 
 bank of the river, with its elegant mansions and 
 venerable abbey. There too is Ednam House, 
 near which the poet Thomson had his birth. Far 
 beyond these, the eye rests pleasantly on " the 
 triple summits" of the Eildon Hills, looking down 
 protectingly upon the vale of Tweed, the hills of 
 Stitchell and Mellerstain, and the striking ruin of 
 Home Castle, still arrayed in the purple and gold 
 of departing day. Intermingled with all these are 
 the windings and rippling currents of the river, 
 clumps of rich green foliage, orchards laden with 
 fruit, tufted rocks, verdant slopes, single trees of 
 lofty stature, standing out from the rest, in the 
 pride and pomp of their " leafy umbrage," cattle 
 browsing peacefully on the banks of the stream, 
 here and there a sylvan cottage, and an infinite 
 
 30* 
 
354 GENIUS OP SCOTLAND. 
 
 variety of light and shade, of blending colors and 
 changing forms, hallowed, moreover, by the hoary 
 memories and poetical associations of bygone days. 
 No wonder that Leyden loved to wander in such 
 scenes, or that Scott, a more transcendent genius, 
 should have ascribed to this influence the awakening 
 in his soul '' of that insatiable love of natural sce- 
 nery, more especially when combined with ancient 
 ruins, or remains of our fathers' piety and splen- 
 dor," which gave a charm to his life, and imparted 
 to the productions of his genius a warmth and rich- 
 ness of coloring unequalled in the history of lite- 
 rature. 
 
 But it is time to return to our comfortable hotel 
 in Kelso, where mine host, who is an honest, round- 
 faced, rosy-cheeked, good-natured Scot, will give 
 us good cheer for supper, and a bed soft as down 
 upon which to repose our weary limbs. 
 
 Well now, this is pleasant! Here in this snug 
 room, with a cheerful cup of tea, and such toast, 
 broiled chicken, and other edibles, as mine host 
 only can produce, we feel as easy and independent 
 as kings, aye, and a great deal more so ; for who 
 so satisfied and happy as the man, whatever his 
 estate, who has a clear conscience, a mind brimful 
 of sweet memories, a heart grateful to God and at- 
 tached to those he loves? Let any person only do 
 what is right, trust in God, enjoy nature, cultivate 
 his mind, exercise his body, and he may secure as 
 much happiness as falls to the lot of mortals. Trials 
 may come, but joys will come also. All things 
 shall " work together for good." 
 
GENIUS OP SCOTLAND. 355 
 
 But it is easy moralizing over a good cup of tea, 
 with a cheerful fire blazing in the grate, and a soft 
 bed in prospect for weary limbs. Moreover, I 
 promised to give you some account of Leyden, 
 poet and antiquary, scholar and traveler. 
 
 John Leyden was born in 1775, in Denholm, 
 Roxburghshire, not far from Kelso, of poor but 
 honest parents. He displayed in early life the 
 most eager desire for learning, but possessed few 
 opportunities for gratifying it, as he had to spend 
 much of his time in manual toil. His parents, 
 however, seeing his thirst for knowledge, resolved 
 to send him to Edinburgh University. He entered 
 this institution in his fifteenth year, and made un- 
 usual progress in his studies. He distinguished 
 himself in the Latin and Greek languages, acquired 
 the French, Spanish, Italian and German, besides 
 forming some acquaintance with the Hebrew, Ara- 
 bic and Persian. During his college vacations he 
 returned to the humble roof of his parents, and as 
 the accommodations of the house were scanty, he 
 looked for a place of study elsewhere. " In a wild 
 recess," says Sir Walter Scott, who has furnished 
 an animated biography of Leyden, "in the den or 
 glen which gives name to the village of Denholm, 
 he contrived a sort of furnace for the purpose of 
 such chemical experiments as he was adequate to 
 performing. But his chief place of retirement was 
 the small parish church, a gloomy and ancient 
 building, generally beHeved in the neighborhood 
 to be haunted. To this chosen place of study, 
 usually locked during week days, Leyden made 
 
356 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 entrance by means of a window, read there for 
 many hours in the day, and deposited his books 
 and specimens in a retired pew. It was a well 
 chosen spot for seclusion, for the kirk, (excepting 
 during divine service,) is rather a place of terror to 
 the Scottish rustic, and that of Cavers was rendered 
 more so by many a tale of ghosts and witchcraft, 
 of which it was the supposed scene, and to which 
 Leyden, partly to indulge his humor, and partly to 
 secure his retirement, contrived to make some 
 modern additions. The nature of his abstruse 
 studies, some specimens of natural history, as toads 
 and adders, left exposed in their spirit vials, and 
 one or two practical jests played off upon the more 
 curious of the peasantry, rendered his gloomy 
 haunt, not only venerated by the wise, but feared 
 by the simple of the parish.'' 
 
 Leyden was originally intended for the clerical 
 profession, but abandoned it for more secular em- 
 ployments. His spirit was intense, restless and 
 ambitious, and he longed for foreign travel and 
 literary distinction. After spending five years at 
 college, he became tutor to a highly respectable 
 family, with whose sons he repaired to the Univer- 
 sity of St. Andrews, where he pursued his Oriental 
 studies, and in 1799 published a History of African 
 Discoveries. He was the author, also, of various 
 translations and poems, w^hich attracted consider- 
 able attention and introduced him to the best so- 
 ciety. In 1800 he was ordained as a minister, and 
 his discourses were highly popular ; but he was 
 dissatisfied with them, and felt that he was called 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 357 
 
 to a different sphere. He continued to write and 
 compose, contributed to Lewis's " Tales of Won- 
 der," and Scott's "Border Minstrelsy." He was 
 an enthusiastic admirer of the old ballads, and on 
 one occasion actually walked between forty and 
 fifty miles for the sole purpose of visiting an old 
 person who possessed an ancient historical ballad. 
 He edited the " Scot's Magazine," for a year, and 
 published " The Complaynt of Scotland," an old 
 work written about 1548, which he accompanied 
 with a learned dissertation, notes and a glossary. 
 His strong desire to visit foreign lands induced his 
 friends to procure for him an appointment in India, 
 where he might study the oriental languages and 
 literature. The only situation which they found 
 available was that of assistant surgeon, for which 
 it was necessary to have a medical diploma. But 
 such was the energy, decision and perseverance of 
 Leyden's character, that he qualified himself in six 
 months ; and not long after set out for Madras. 
 Before taking his departure he finished his "Scenes 
 of Infancy," as it were, the last token of his love 
 for Scotland, which he never again beheld. He 
 was resolved to distinguish himself or die in the 
 attempt. Indeed a premonition of such an issue 
 seems to have haunted his mind, and was ex- 
 pressed, with touching beauty, in his " Scenes of 
 Infancy." 
 
 " The silver moon at midniglit cold and still, 
 Looks sad and silent o'er yon western hill j 
 While large and pale the ghostly structures grow, 
 Reared on the confines of the world below. 
 
358 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 Is that dull sound tlie hum of Teviot's stream? 
 Is that blue light the moon's or tomb-fire's gleam? 
 By which a mouldering pile is faintly seen, 
 The old deserted church of Hazeldean, 
 Where slept my fathers in their natal clay, 
 Till Teviot's waters rolled their bones away ? 
 Their feeble voices from their stream they raise — 
 ^ Rash youth ! unmindful of thy early days, 
 Why didst thou quit the simple peasant's lot ? 
 Why didst thou leave the peasant's turf-built cot, 
 The ancient graves where all thy fathers lie. 
 And Teviot's stream that long has murmur'd by ? 
 And we, when death so long has clos'd our eyes, 
 How wilt thou bid us from the dust arise. 
 And bear our mouldering bones across the main, 
 From vales that knew onr lives devoid of stain 1 
 Rash youth ! beware, thy homebred virtues save. 
 And sweetly sleep in thy paternal grave.' " 
 
 After his arrival in Madras, his health became 
 impaired, and he removed to Prince of Wales Isl- 
 and. He resided there some time, visiting the 
 neighboring countries, and amassing curious infor- 
 mation on the literature and history of the Indo- 
 Chinese, which he embodied in an elaborate disser- 
 tation read before the Asiatic Societv at Calcutta. 
 Quitting Prince of Wales Island, Ley den was 
 appointed a professor in the Bengal College, which 
 he soon exchanged for the office of judge, a more 
 lucrative employment. His spare time was de- 
 voted to the prosecution of his oriental studies. 
 " I may die in the attempt," he wrote to a friend, 
 " but if I die without surpassing Sir William Jones 
 a hundredfold in oriental learning, let never a tear 
 for me profane the eye of a borderer." In 1811 
 he accompanied the governor general to Java. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 359 
 
 His spirit of bold adventure led him literally to 
 rush upon death. He threw himself into the surf 
 in order to be the first Briton who should set foot 
 upon Java. When the invaders had taken posses- 
 sion of Batavia, the same reckless eagerness took 
 him into a cold damp library, in which were many 
 books and manuscripts. Affected perhaps by the 
 disease of the climate he had a fit of shivering on 
 leaving the library, and declared that the atmos- 
 phere was enough to give any one a mortal fever. 
 In three days after he died, August 28, 1811, on 
 the eve of the battle which secured Java to the 
 British Empire. 
 
 Leyden's Poetical Remains were published in 
 1819, with a memoir. In addition to the " Scenes 
 of Infancy," it contains some vigorous ballads. To 
 one of these, " The Mermaid," as well as to the 
 untimely death of its author. Sir Walter Scott has 
 referred in his " Lord of the Isles." 
 
 ^' Scarba's Isle, whose tortured shore 
 Still rings to Corrievreckin's roar, 
 
 And lovely Colonsay ; 
 Scenes sung by him who sings no more : 
 His bright and brief career is o'er, 
 
 And mute his tuneful strains ; 
 Gluenched is his lamp of varied lore, 
 That loved the light of song to pour : 
 A distant and a deadly shore 
 
 Has Leyden's cold remains.'^ 
 
 His " Scenes of Infancy" is distinguished for the 
 sweetness of its versification, and its pleasant pic- 
 tures of the vale of Teviot. In strength and en- 
 thusiasm, it is much inferior to his ballads. The 
 
360 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 opening of " The Mermaid," has been praised by 
 Sir Walter Scott " as exhibiting a power of num- 
 bers, which for mere melody of sound has rarely 
 been excelled." 
 
 On Jura's heath how sweetly swell 
 The murmurs of the mountain bee ! 
 
 How softly, mourns the writh'd shell 
 Of Jura's shore, its parent sea. 
 
 But softer, floating o'er the deep, 
 
 The mermaid's sweet, sea-soothing lay, 
 
 That charmed the dancing waves to sleep, 
 Before the bark of Colonsay. 
 
 But better known, and far more affecting, is 
 Leyden's " Ode to an Indian Gold Coin," written 
 in Cherical, Malabar, which in addition to its vigor 
 and beauty, has a fine moral which it is not neces- 
 sary to point out. 
 
 Slave of the dark and dirty mine ! 
 
 What vanity has brought thee here ? 
 How can I love to see thee shine 
 
 So bright, whom I have bought so dear ? 
 
 The tent-ropes flapping lone I hear, 
 t'or twilight converse arm in arm ; 
 
 The jackal's shriek bursts on my ear. 
 When mirth and music wont to cheer. 
 
 By Chericars dark wandering streams, 
 
 Where cane-tufts shadow all the wild, 
 Sweet visions haunt my waking dreams 
 
 Of Teviot loved while still a child ; 
 
 Of castled rocks stupendous piled 
 By Esk or Eden's classic wave, 
 
 Where loves of youth and friendship smiled 
 Uncursed by thee, vile yellow slave ! 
 
 Fade, day-dreams sweet, from memory fade ! 
 The perished bliss of youth's first prime, 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 861 
 
 That once so bright on fancy played, 
 
 Revives no more in after time. 
 
 Far from my sacred natal clime 
 I haste to an untimely grave ; 
 
 The daring thoughts that soared sublime 
 Are sunk in ocean's southern wave. 
 
 Slave of the mine, thy yellow light 
 
 Gleams baleful as the tomb-fire drear. 
 A gentle vision comes by night 
 
 My lonely widowed heart to cheer : 
 
 Her eyes are dim with many a tear, 
 That once were guiding-stars to mine ; 
 
 Her fond heart throbs with many a fear ! 
 I cannot bear to see thee shine. 
 
 For thee, for thee, vile yellow slave, 
 
 I left a heart that loved me true ! 
 I crossed the tedious ocean wave, ^ 
 
 To roam in climes unkind and new. 
 
 The cold wind of the stranger blew 
 Chill on my withered heart ; the grave 
 
 Dark and untimely met my view — 
 And all for thee, vile yellow slave ! 
 
 Ha ! com'st thou now so late to mock 
 
 A wanderer's banished heart forlorn, 
 Now that his frame, the lightning shock 
 
 Of sun-rays tipt with death has borne ? 
 
 From love, from friendship, country, torn, _ 
 
 To memory's fond regrets the prey : 
 
 Vile slave, thy yellow dross I scorn ! 
 Go mix thee with thy kindred clay ! 
 
 While conversing about Leyden, we must not 
 forget a gentler, purer spirit, Mary Lundie Duncan, 
 who first saw the light " amid the blossoms of 
 Kelso," and whose young heart first warbled its 
 poetic strains on the banks of the Tweed. Her 
 "Memoir," by her gifted mother, is one of the 
 
 31 
 
362 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 most beautiful and touching biographies in the 
 English language. Possessed of genius and piety, 
 at once pure and tender, her brief hfe was the fair 
 but changeful spring-time which preceded the long 
 summer of eternity. 
 
 Sweet bird of Scotia's tuneful clime, 
 
 So beautiful and dear, 
 Whose music gusbed as genius taught, 
 With Heaven's own quenchless spirit fraught, 
 
 I list — thy strain to hear. 
 
 Bright flower on Kelso's bosom born, 
 
 When spring her glories shed, 
 Where Tweed flows on in silver sheen, 
 And Tiviot feeds her valleys green, 
 
 I cannot think thee dead. 
 
 Fair child — whose rich unfoldings gave 
 
 A promise rare and true, 
 The parent's proudest thoughts to cheer, 
 And soothe of widowed woe the tear, — 
 
 Why hid'st thou from our view ? 
 
 Young bride, whose wildest thrill of hope 
 
 Bowed the pure brow in prayer, 
 Whose ardent zeal and saintly grace. 
 Did make the manse a holy place. 
 
 We search — thou art not there. 
 
 Fond mother, they who taught thy joys 
 
 To sparkle up so high ; 
 Thy first born, and her brother dear 
 Catch charms from every fleeting year : — 
 
 Where is thy glistening eye ? 
 
 Meek Christian, it is well with thee, 
 
 That where thy heart so long 
 Was garnered up, thy home should be : — 
 Thy path with Him who made thee free ; — 
 
 Thy lay — an angel's song. 
 
 Lydia H. Sigourney, 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 363 
 
 Some of Mary Lqndie Duncan's poems are cha- 
 racterized not merely by pm'ity and elevation of 
 sentiment, but by sweetness and melody of versifi- 
 cation. The following written at " Callander," 
 though not without defects, indicates the possession 
 of true poetical genius. 
 
 How pure the light on yonder hills, 
 
 How soft the shadows lie ; 
 How blythe each morning sound that fills 
 
 The air with melody ! 
 
 Those hills, that rest in solemn calm 
 
 Above the strife of men, 
 Are bathed in breezy gales of balm 
 
 From knoll and heathy glen. 
 
 In converse with the silent sky, 
 
 They mock the flight of years ; 
 While man and all his labors die 
 
 Low in this vale of tears. 
 
 Meet emblem of eternal rest. 
 
 They point their summits grey 
 To the fair regions of the blest, 
 
 Where tends our pilgrim way. 
 
 The everlasting mountains there 
 
 Reflect undying light ; 
 The ray which gilds that ambient air, 
 
 Nor fades, nor sets in night. 
 
 Then summer sun more piercing bright, 
 
 That beam is milder too ; 
 For love is in the sacred light 
 
 That softens every hue. 
 
 The gale that fans the peaceful clime 
 
 Is life's immortal breath. 
 Its freshness makes the sons of time 
 
 Forget disease and death. 
 
864 
 
 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 And shall we tread that holy ground, 
 And breathe that fragrant air ; 
 
 And view the fields with glory crowned 
 In cloudless beauty fair ? 
 
 # 
 
 # 
 
 Look up ! look up, to yonder light, 
 
 That cheers the desert grey : 
 It marks the close of toil and night, 
 
 The dawn of endless day. 
 
 How sweet your choral hymns will blend 
 
 With harps of heavenly tone ; 
 When glad you sing your journey^s end 
 
 Around your Father's throne. 
 
 Mary's contributions to " The Philosophy of the 
 Seasons," over the signature of M. L. D., such as 
 " The Rose," " The Bat," " Sabbath Morning," an 
 " Autumnal Sabbath Evening," are simple and ele- 
 gant, indicating the possession of good sense and a 
 refined imagination. Like her brother Archibald 
 Lundie, who went to the South Sea Islands in 
 order to benefit his health, and to labor in the sub- 
 lime work of Christian missions, Mary passed 
 away in the morning of her days, but not without 
 leaving a blessed fragrance behind her, which yet 
 lingers, not over Scotland alone, but over the 
 whole Christian world. And well might her 
 stricken yet resigned and hopeful mother say, in 
 the words quoted at the close of her daughter's 
 Memoir : 
 
 '^ I know thou art gone where thy forehead is starred 
 With the beauty that dwelt in thy soul ; 
 Where the light of thy loveliness cannot be marred, 
 Nor thy heart be flung back from its gaol ; 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 365 
 
 I know thou hast drank of the Lethe that flows 
 Through a land where they do not forget j 
 
 That sheds over memory only repose, 
 And takes from it only regret. 
 
 ^' And though like a mourner that sits by a tomb, 
 I am wrapt in a mantle of care ; 
 Yet the grief of my bosom — oh ! call it not gloom — 
 
 Is not the black grief of despair. 
 By sorrow revealed, as the stars are by night, 
 
 Far oif thy bright vision appears ; 
 And hope like the rainbow, a creature of light, 
 Is born like the rainbow — in tears." 
 
 /. K. Hervey. 
 
 The Duncan family to which Mary Lundie, by 
 her marriage with one of the sons, belonged, is one 
 of the most interesting in Scotland. All of its 
 members seem possessed of fine talents, devoted 
 piety, and generous affections. Several of the 
 sons, with the father, were ministers of the estab- 
 lished church of Scotland at the time of the seces- 
 sion of the Free Church from that body, and made 
 a sacrifice, for conscience' sake, of not less than 
 seventeen thousand dollars a year ! Without the 
 shghtest hesitation, and without a murmur even, 
 they abandoned their beautiful manses, their 
 churches and people, and threw themselves, with 
 their brethren of the Free Church, upon the provi- 
 dence of God, not knowing what might be the 
 issues of that sublime movement. " The Philosophy 
 of the Seasons,"* though written mainly by the 
 father, the Rev. Dr. Duncan of Ruthwell, received 
 contributions from all the members of the family, 
 
 ♦ Published by R. Carter, in four handsome octavos. 
 31* 
 
366 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 and remains a splendid monument of their talents, 
 piety and mutual affection. It is fast becoming a 
 classic. Filled with information, and imbued with 
 a spirit of fervid piety, and, moreover, written in a 
 lucid, flowing style, it is well fitted at once to in- 
 struct and please. 
 
 As Dr. Duncan has recently deceased, a brief 
 sketch of his Hfe may not be uninteresting in this 
 connection. 
 
 Dr. Henry Duncan was " a son of the Manse.'* 
 He was born in 1774, at Lochrutton, in the stew- 
 artry of Kirkcudbright, of which his father and his 
 grandfather were ministers successively, during a 
 period of eighty years, a striking instance of pasto- 
 ral permanence. If wealth consists " in the num- 
 ber of things we love," then those good men must 
 have been rich beyond the common lot of ministers ; 
 and young Henry must have received from them 
 a rich heritage of blessings. He was educated at 
 the Universities of St. Andrews, Glasgow, and 
 Edinburgh. While attending the latter he was a 
 member of the " Speculative Society," to which 
 many of the most distinguished literary characters 
 belonged, and associated freely with Lord Brough- 
 am, the Marquis of Landsdowne, Dr. Andrew 
 Thomson and others. He became the pastor of 
 the Established church in Ruthwell, Dumfriesshire, 
 where he labored with great success for many 
 years. He died in the forty-seventh year of his 
 ministry. 
 
 Dr. Duncan was imbued with a spirit of enlarged 
 Christian benevolence, and felt a peculiar interest 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 367 
 
 in the amelioration of the condition of the poorer 
 classes. Hence he formed the scheme of the 
 " Cheap Repository Tracts," addressed to the 
 working classes, and designed to enforce the most 
 useful lessons suited to their condition. It was in 
 this collection that his " Cottage Fireside" was 
 first published, a production which became exceed- 
 ingly popular, and passed through many editions. 
 The book abounds in happy delineations of Scot- 
 tish manners, fine strokes of humor, and admirable 
 lessons of practical wisdom. *' The South Country 
 Weaver,'' possesses the same qualities and aims ; 
 and, in a time of excessive political excitement, did 
 much to allay the discontent and revolutionary 
 tendency of the people. He is also said to be the 
 author of another work of a higher grade, written 
 in the same style of fictitious narrative, and intended 
 to vindicate the principles and proceedings of the 
 Scottish Covenanters, from the aspersions cast 
 upon them by the author of Waverley. This pro- 
 duction has been highly esteemed by good judges 
 of literary merit, but it never became popular. 
 
 It may well be supposed that Dr. Duncan felt a 
 peculiar interest, not only in the spiritual but also 
 in the temporal condition of his own parish, and 
 hence he was ever devising plans for its benefit. 
 In this respect he much resembled the benevolent 
 Oberlin, whose well directed schemes turned the 
 barren parish of Waldbach into a little paradise. 
 Entering upon the duties of his charge at a time of 
 national scarcity and distress, he imported from 
 Liverpool, at considerable expense, and with great 
 
368 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 personal inconvenience, large quantities of food, 
 which he distributed among his poor parishioners. 
 He also devised new modes and sources of employ- 
 ment, and cheered them amid their privations by 
 his counsel and sympathy. He instituted among 
 them two admirable " Friendly Societies," one for 
 males and another for females, the advantages of 
 which are enjoyed to this day. But perhaps his 
 highest claim to distinction as a philanthropist was 
 the establishment of " The Ruthwell Parish Bank," 
 the first " Savings Bank" in Europe, which, it is 
 said, was suggested to him partly by the beneficial 
 results and partly by the admitted defects of the 
 Friendly Societies. His undoubted title to be re- 
 garded as the originator of " Savings Banks," has 
 been acknowledged by the highest authorities ; but 
 it is not so generally known at what an immense 
 expenditure of time, talent, energy and pecuniary 
 means he succeeded in accomplishing this good 
 object. 
 
 Dr. Duncan's learning and talents were of a 
 high order, and these were devoted exclusively to 
 the benefit of his fellow men. His principal lite- 
 rary work, " The Sacred Philosophy of the Sea- 
 sons," was planned and written in a single year, 
 an astonishing instance of mental energy, industry 
 and talent. " Never were the different kingdoms 
 
 a 
 
 and varying aspects of nature, the characteristics 
 of the seasons, and all the grand and beautiful phe- 
 nomena of the year, more philosophically and more 
 eloquently described than in this charming book. 
 The comprehensive views of the philosopher, the 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 369 
 
 poetic feeling of the lover of nature, and the pious 
 reflection of the Christian divine, are all combined 
 in its pages, and win at once the admiration and 
 affection of the reader." Here genius and piety, 
 the love of nature and the love of God spread their 
 sunlight over the face of creation, and make visible 
 to all reverent and thoughtful minds 
 
 " The Gospel of the stars — great Nature's Holy Writ." 
 
 As a preacher Dr. Duncan v^as interesting and 
 instructive, but not particularly striking and popu- 
 lar. In 1839 he was elected Moderator of the 
 General Assembly, the highest honor the church 
 could confer. Warmly attached to evangelical 
 religion, and deeply interested in the purity and 
 progress of the church of Christ throughout the 
 world, he earnestly promoted the cause of Chris- 
 tian missions, and kindred schemes of benevolence. 
 He was intimately associated with Dr. Chalmers 
 and others, in sustaining the great principles of vital 
 Christianity, the supremacy of Christ in his own 
 church, and particularly the freedom and indepen- 
 dence of his ministers. " True, therefore, to the 
 principles he had espoused, and ever warmly de- 
 fended — true to what he considered the genuine 
 constitution of the Scottish church, this venerable 
 and amiable father left, in the ever memorable year 
 1843, that manse, which he had inhabited for four 
 and forty long and happy years, and which his 
 own fine taste had so greatly beautified and adorn- 
 ed — that hallowed home in which his dutiful and 
 attached children had been reared — in w^hich his 
 
370 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 first beloved wife had died, and which was asso- 
 ciated with many delightful recollections of joy and 
 kindness, and prayer, indelibly engraven on many 
 hearts — for there was many a young idea fostered, 
 and many a guest and many a stranger hospitably 
 entertained. But with a cloud of many eminent 
 witnesses, whose names will be embalmed in the 
 records of their country. Dr. Duncan lifted up his 
 testimony for the glorious prerogative of Zion's 
 King, and counted the reproach of Christ, greater 
 inches than all the treasures of earth. And actu- 
 ated by the same spirit of faith as the martyrs and 
 confessors of other days — the men of whom the 
 world was not worthy — he abandoned, at an ad- 
 vanced age, all the comforts of his lovely and 
 endeared home, and all the emoluments and de- "^ 
 lights connected with it, and meekly took up his 
 lowly dwelling in an humble cottage by the way- 
 side, willingly enduring hardship, and submitting 
 to ingratitude from man, that he might honor his 
 God and hold fast his integrity, dearer to him than 
 life. He was one of seven moderators of the old 
 General Assembly, men like himself of high name 
 and holy deeds, who sacrificed all their honors and 
 emoluments, and cast in their lot with the Free 
 Church of Scotland, that they might display a ban- 
 ner for the truth, and who, when driven by a cruel 
 and miserable policy from those altars which they 
 sanctified, went forth, a veteran band of Christian 
 heroes, and preached the Gospel of peace and sal- 
 vation under the broad canopy of heaven, with 
 gray hairs streaming in the breeze." 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 371 
 
 During the summer of 1843 Dr. Duncan preached 
 in the open air, but finally succeeded by great 
 efforts, in securing a site, and erecting upon it a 
 church and a manse, a school and a schoolmaster's 
 house. A suitable successor was appointed to this 
 charge, and Dr. Duncan removed his residence to 
 the city of Edinburgh. But his affections lingered 
 around his beloved Ruthwell, and he undertook a 
 journey to England to secure funds to pay off the 
 debt upon the new buildings and bring them to a 
 state of completion. Having accomplished his ob- 
 ject, he returned to Scotland in excellent spirits, 
 and reached Comlogan Castle, the residence of his 
 brother-in-law. On that and the succeeding day 
 he occupied himself in laying out the grounds about 
 the manse and giving directions respecting the 
 buildings. On the following Sabbath he preached 
 to an overflowing audience. Monday and Tues- 
 day were devoted to visiting his old parishioners. 
 He was invited to address a prayer meeting at the 
 house of an elder of the Established church, and it 
 was while engaged in the perforinance of that duty 
 that the messenger of Death met him. He had not 
 spoken ten minutes, when his voice trembled, his 
 body shuddered, and it was evident to all that he 
 w^as struck with a sudden paralysis. He was im- 
 mediately conveyed to Comlogan Castle. " On his 
 way, though his speech was much affected, his 
 consciousness w^as entire, and he repeatedly lifted 
 up his hand, in devout admiration of God's beauti- 
 ful works, for the moon, surrounded by thousands 
 of stars, was shedding its calm and chastened lustre 
 
372 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 over the face of Nature, and presented a meet em- 
 blem of the inward peace of the dying saint, whose 
 characteristic taste and love of Nature's beauties 
 were still manifested even in this trying hour."* 
 After two days, in which he suffered little pain, he 
 gently " fell asleep in Jesus," on Thursday evening, 
 12th of February, 1846. 
 
 Behold the western evening light, 
 
 It melts in deepening gloom ; 
 So calmly Christians sink away, 
 
 Descending to the tomb. 
 
 The winds breathe low ; the yellow leaf 
 
 Scarce whispers from the tree ; 
 So gently flows the parting breath, 
 
 When good men cease to be. 
 
 How beautifQl on all the hills, 
 
 The crimson light is shed ! 
 ^Tis like the peace the Christian gives 
 
 To mourners round his bed. 
 
 How mildly on the wandering cloud 
 
 The sunset beam is cast ! 
 So sweet the memory left behind, 
 
 Where loved ones breathe their last. 
 
 And lo ! above the dews of night 
 
 The vesper star appears ; 
 So faith lights up the mourner's heart, 
 
 Whose eyes are dim with tears. 
 
 Night falls, but soon the morning light 
 
 Its glories shall restore ; 
 And thus the eyes that sleep in death 
 
 Shall wake to close no more. 
 
 Peahody, 
 
 =* " Dumfries Advertiser and Galloway Standard,'' from which 
 "we quoted a preceding extract. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND, 373 
 
 Daylight is on the hills, and we are off once 
 more down the Tweed, which gathers volume by 
 accessions from tributary streams, and mirrors in 
 its clear bosom many a happy home, nestling 
 among the trees on its banks. We pass Cold- 
 stream, on the north bank of the Tweed, from its 
 proximity to England a sort of Gretna Green in 
 former times, where Lord Brougham was married 
 at one of the hotels ; whence we journey to Till- 
 mouth ; at which place the Till, a narrow, deep, 
 sullen stream, flow^s into the Tweed. Beneath 
 Twisel Castle, which stands upon its banks, you 
 see the ancient bridge by which the English crossed 
 the Till before the battle of Flodden. 
 
 — " They cross'd 
 The Till, by Twisel Bridge. 
 High sight it is, and haughty, while 
 They drew into the deep defile ; 
 Beneath the cavern'd clitf they fall, 
 Beneath the castle's airy wall. 
 
 By rock, by oak, by hawthorn-tree, 
 Troop after troop are disappearing ; 
 Troop after troop their banners rearing, 
 
 Upon the eastern bank you see. 
 Still pouring down the rocky den 
 
 Where flows the sullen Till, 
 And rising from the dim wood glen 
 iStandards on standards, men on men 
 
 In slow succession still. 
 And sweeping o'er the Gothic arch, 
 And passing on, in ceaseless march 
 
 To gain the opposing hill." 
 
 Marmion. 
 
 Flodden Field, on which the " flowers of the for- 
 est," were cut down so mercilessly, is not far from 
 
 32 
 
374 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 here, and the whole region seems invested with an 
 air of "dule and wae." 
 
 ^^ Dule and wae for the order sent our lads to the Border ! 
 The English, for once by guile won the day ; 
 The Flowers of the Forest, that focht age the foremostj 
 The prime o' our land a^e cauld in the clay. 
 
 ^' We hear nae mair lilting at our yowe-milking, 
 Women and bairns are heartless and wae ; 
 Sighing and moaning on ilka green loaning — 
 The Flowers of the Forest are a' wede away.''* 
 
 Pursuing our way, we come to Norham Castle, 
 so magnificently described in Marmion. 
 
 " Day set on Norham's castle steep, 
 And Tweed's fair river broad and deep, 
 
 And Cheviot's mountains lone ; 
 The battled towers, the donjon keep. 
 The loop-hole grates where captives weep, 
 The flanking walls that round it sweep. 
 
 In yellow lustre shone." 
 
 Nine miles further on, we arrive at "Berwick 
 upon Tweed," where the river falls into the Ger- 
 man Ocean, and where our wanderings in Scot- 
 land cease, — the scene of fierce struggles between 
 the Scots and English. North Berwick was some- 
 times in the hands of the one, sometimes in the 
 hands of the other. Its streets often ran blood ; its 
 walls echoed the tramp of armies, the shrieks of 
 the wounded and the groans of the dying. Its old 
 ramparts are yet standing ; but all is quiet and 
 
 * '• The Flowers of the Forest," by Miss Jane Elliot, one of the 
 sweetest and most affecting ballads of Scotland. By the ' Flowers 
 of the Forest' are meant the young men of Ettrick Forest, slain 
 at Flodden Field. 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 375 
 
 passionless now. A sort of stillness pervades the 
 place, in striking contrast with the havoc and tur- 
 moil of the ancient Border wars. The environs 
 are full of historic recollections, which have been 
 well illustrated in the "Border Tales," by John 
 Mackie Wilson, who was a native of Berwick, and 
 resided here till his death. This event took place, 
 suddenly and unexpectedly, on the 2d of Septem- 
 ber, 1835, when he was only thirty-one years of 
 age. His early days were spent, in peace and 
 happiness, under the parental roof At school he 
 was distinguished for his love of knowledge, and 
 the rapidity with which he executed all his tasks. 
 At a suitable age he was. apprenticed to a printer, 
 and found the employment congenial, as it brought 
 him into contact with books. Eagerly thirsting for 
 knowledge, he soon exhausted his scanty means of 
 gratifying his taste in Berwick on Tweed, and 
 leaving the place of his nativity, repaired to Lon- 
 don, where he encountered the greatest difficulties 
 and hardships. It is said that some of the most 
 touching descriptions of the sufferings endured by 
 the aspirant for fame were actually endured by 
 himself, and " that the sobs and tears which invol- 
 untarily burst from the family circle when these 
 tales were read, were poured forth for him whose 
 pen had described them." Often amid the splendor 
 of London, did he wander " homeless and friend- 
 less." But nothing could repress the native ardor 
 and buoyancy of his mind. And amid all the dark- 
 ness of the night which enveloped his pathway, he 
 
376 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 was ever looking for sunrise. Despair and poverty, 
 hov^ever, drove him from the British metropoUs, 
 and he was forced to seek in the provinces w^hat 
 he could not find in London, nor did he seek in vain. 
 He reaped " a golden harvest of opinions ;" but 
 poverty continued to be his companion for years. 
 During a sojourn in the city of Edinburgh, he pub- 
 lished several dramas and other poems, which had 
 a share of success. He wrote a series of" Lectures 
 and Biographical Sketches," which he deUvered 
 with considerable eclat in different towns of Scot- 
 land and England. Three years before his death 
 "he rested from his wanderings," in his native 
 village, among his friends and early associates, 
 having been invited to become editor of" The Ber- 
 wick Advertiser," which he conducted with great 
 spirit. Amid his labors as an editor, he found time 
 to indulge his taste for literature, and the matter 
 of his journal was often enlivened by his own lite- 
 rary and poetical effusions. But it was " The Bor- 
 der Tales," which made him a decided favorite 
 with the public, and gave him a warm place in the 
 Scottish heart. They were published in a fugitive 
 form, and commanded a circulation far beyond the 
 author's most sanguine hopes. It was from these 
 that he and his friends saw a prospect of reward 
 for his toils. But the scene which was thus open- 
 ing upon him was blighted, — and from the high 
 place which he had gained in the estimation of his 
 townsmen, from the caresses of his friends, and 
 from the reproaches of his foes, he now lies " where 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 377 
 
 the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are 
 at rest." 
 
 We do not admire Wilson's poetry as a whole ; 
 and yet some beautiful strains might be culled from 
 it. He wrote rapidly and diffusely; throwing off 
 everything at a first draft, without much correction 
 or polish. His " Border Tales" are quite miscella- 
 neous in their character, and contain much that he 
 would doubtless have thrown out, had he lived to 
 place them in a permanent form. Others are writ- 
 ten diffusely and carelessly. But with all their 
 faults, they give indications of genius, humor and 
 pathos, a keen insight into character, great descrip- 
 tive powers, and a fine conception of the beautiful 
 and true. Some of them are told with great pith 
 and raciness ; and though inferior in some respects, 
 to Professor Wilson's *' Lights and Shadows of 
 Scottish Life," are more natural and easy, more 
 characteristic and amusing. Upon the whole, they 
 give a better idea of the Scottish character than 
 the Professor's splendid, but exaggerated pictures. 
 James Mackay Wilson died too young for his fame ; 
 but his simple tales will be read, for many a day, in 
 the homes of "bonny Scotland." Among other 
 things, they give a just representation of the reli- 
 gious character of the Scottish peasantry. While 
 their faults and foibjes are depicted with graphic 
 power, their solemn faith, their profound enthusi- 
 asm, and their leal-hearted piety are exhibited in 
 beautiful relief. Justice is done to the old Cove- 
 nanters, whose rough patriotism and burning zeal 
 
 32* 
 
378 GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 
 
 were the salvation of their native land. Long may 
 their martyr spirit, softened by charity, prevail in 
 Scotland ; and generations yet unborn shall " rise 
 up and call her blessed." 
 
 In this series of sketches, now brought to a close, 
 it has been the author's aim to make a contribution 
 to literature, which, while it might prove attractive, 
 would yet exert a pure moral influence. Such an 
 excursion beyond the peculiar limits of his profes- 
 sion, he thinks, was permitted him, at least for 
 once, and may tend to promote the great object for 
 which he desires to live. At all events, if he has 
 accomplished nothing more, he has yet succeeded 
 in calling up "a gentle vision" of "Auld Lang 
 Syne," by which his own heart has been solaced 
 and cheered. 
 
 '*' Lang Syne I how doth the word come back, 
 
 With magic meaning to the heart, 
 As memory roams the sunny track, 
 
 From which hope's dreams were loath to part ! 
 No joy like by-past joy appears; 
 
 For what is gone we fret and pine ; 
 Were lift spun out a thousand years, 
 
 It could not match Lang Syne ! 
 
 " Lang Syne ! — ah, where are they who shared 
 
 With us its pleasures bright and blithe ? 
 Kindly with some hath fortune fared ; 
 
 And some have bowed beneath the scythe 
 Of death ; while others scattered far 
 
 O'er foreign lands, at fate repine. 
 Oft wandering forth 'neath twilight's star. 
 
 To muse on dear Lang Syne ! 
 
 " Lang Syne ! — the heart can never be 
 Again so full of guileless truth ; 
 
GENIUS OF SCOTLAND. 379 
 
 Lang Syne ! — the eyes no more shall see 
 
 Ah, no ! the rainbow hopes of youth. 
 Lang Syne ! — with thee resides a spell 
 
 To raise the spirit, and refine. 
 Farewell ! — there can be no farewell 
 
 To thee, loved, lost Lang Syne !'' 
 
 Dr. Moir. 
 
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