The Modern Scottish Minstrel Volume Ii Part 32

On the strings o' my heart she bewitchingly plays, An' each languishing note is a sigh frae my soul!

LOUISA IN LOCHABER.

Can ought be constant as the sun, That makes the world sae cheerie?

Yes, a' the powers can witness be, The love I bear my dearie.

But what can make the hours seem lang, An' rin sae wondrous dreary?

What but the s.p.a.ce that lies between Me an' my only dearie.

Then fare ye weel, wha saw me aft, Sae blythe, baith late and early; An' fareweel scenes o' former joys, That cherish life sae rarely; Baith love an' beauty bid me flee, Nor linger lang an' eerie, But haste, an' in my arms enfauld, My only pride an' dearie.

I 'll hail Lochaber's valleys green, Where many a rill meanders; I 'll hail wi' joy, its birken bowers, For there Louisa wanders.

There will I clasp her to my breast, An' tent her smile fu' cheerie; An' thus, without a wish or want, Live happy wi' my dearie.

THE HAZELWOOD WITCH.

For mony lang year I hae heard frae my grannie Of brownies an' bogles by yon castle wa', Of auld wither'd hags that were never thought cannie, An' fairies that danced till they heard the c.o.c.k caw.

I leugh at her tales; an' last owk, i' the gloamin', I daunder'd, alane, down the hazelwood green; Alas! I was reckless, and rue sair my roamin', For I met a young witch, wi' twa bonnie black e'en.

I thought o' the starns in a frosty night glancing, Whan a' the lift round them is cloudless an' blue; I looked again, an' my heart fell a-dancing, When I wad hae spoken, she glamour'd my mou'.

O wae to her cantrips! for dumpish I wander, At kirk or at market there 's nought to be seen; For she dances afore me wherever I daunder, The hazelwood witch wi' the bonnie black e'en.

FAREWELL TO AYRSHIRE.[111]

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!

Bonny Doon, sae sweet at gloamin', Fare thee weel before I gang; Bonny Doon, whare, early roamin', First I weaved the rustic sang.

Bowers, adieu! where, love decoying, First enthrall'd this heart o' mine; There the saftest sweets enjoying, Sweets that memory ne'er shall tine.

Friends sae near my bosom ever, Ye hae render'd moments dear; But, alas! when forced to sever, Then the stroke, O how severe!

Friends, that parting tear reserve it, Though 'tis doubly dear to me; Could I think I did deserve it, How much happier would I be.

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!

[111] This is another song of Richard Gall which has been a.s.signed to Burns; it has even been included in Dr Currie's edition of his works. It was communicated anonymously by Gall to the publisher of the "Scots Musical Museum," and first appeared in that work. The original MS. of the song was in the possession of Mr Stark, the author of a memoir of Gall in the "Biographia Scotica."

GEORGE SCOTT.

George Scott was the son of a small landowner in Roxburghshire. He was born at Dingleton, near Melrose, in 1777; and after attending the parish-schools of Melrose and Galashiels, became a student in the University of Edinburgh. On completing a curriculum of cla.s.sical study, he was in his twenty-second year appointed parochial schoolmaster of Livingstone, West Lothian; and in six years afterwards was preferred to the parish-school of Lilliesleaf, in his native county. He was an accomplished scholar, and had the honour of educating many individuals who afterwards attained distinction. With Sir Walter Scott, who appreciated his scholarship, he maintained a friendly correspondence. In 1820, he published a small volume of poems, ent.i.tled, "Heath Flowers; or, Mountain Melodies," which exhibits considerable poetical talent.

Having discharged the duties of an instructor of youth for half a century, he retired from his public avocations in November 1850. He survived till the 23d of February 1853, having attained his seventy-sixth year.

THE FLOWER OF THE TYNE.

AIR--_"Bonnie Dundee."_

Now rests the red sun in his caves of the ocean, Now closed every eye but of misery and mine; While, led by the moonbeam, in fondest devotion, I doat on her image, the Flower of the Tyne.

Her cheek far outrivals the rose's rich blossom, Her eyes the bright gems of Golconda outshine; The snow-drop and lily are lost on her bosom, For beauty unmatched is the Flower of the Tyne.

So charming each feature, so guileless her nature, A thousand fond voices p.r.o.nounce her divine; So witchingly pretty, so modestly witty, That sweet is thy thraldom, fair Flower of the Tyne!

Thine aspect so n.o.ble, yet sweetly inviting, The loves and the graces thy temples entwine; In manners the saint and the syren uniting, Bloom on, dear Louisa, the Flower of the Tyne.

Though fair, Caledonia, the nymphs of thy mountains, And graceful and straight as thine own silver pine, Though fresh as thy breezes, and pure as thy fountains, Yet fairer to me is the Flower of the Tyne.

This poor throbbing heart as an offering I give her, A temple to love is this bosom of mine; Then smile on thy victim, Louisa, for ever, I 'll kneel at thine altar, sweet Flower of the Tyne.

THOMAS CAMPBELL.

Thomas Campbell, author of the "Pleasures of Hope," was descended from a race of landed proprietors in Argyleshire, who claimed ancestry in Macallummore, the great head of clan Campbell, and consequent propinquity to the n.o.ble House of Argyle. Alexander Campbell, the poet's father, had carried on a prosperous trade as a Virginian merchant, but had suffered unhappy embarra.s.sments, at the outbreak of the American war. Of his eleven children, Thomas was the youngest. He was born on the 27th July 1777, in his father's house, High Street, Glasgow, and was baptised by the celebrated Dr Thomas Reid, after whom he received his Christian name. The favourite child of his parents, peculiar care was bestowed upon his upbringing; he was taught to read by his eldest sister, who was nineteen years his senior, and had an example of energy set before him by his mother, a woman of remarkable decision. He afforded early indication of genius; as a child, he was fond of ballad poetry, and in his tenth year he wrote verses. At the age of eight he became a pupil in the grammar school, having already made some proficiency in cla.s.sical learning. During the first session of attendance at the University, he gained two prizes and a bursary on Archbishop Leighton's foundation. As a cla.s.sical scholar, he acquired rapid distinction; he took especial delight in the dramatic literature of Greece, and his metrical translations from the Greek plays were p.r.o.nounced excellent specimens of poetical composition. He invoked the muse on many themes, and occasionally printed verses, which were purchased by his comrades. From the commencement of his curriculum he chiefly supported himself by teaching; at the close of his fourth session, he accepted a tutorship in the island of Mull. There he prosecuted verse-making, and continued his translations from the Greek dramatists. He conducted a poetical correspondence with Hamilton Paul; and the following lines addressed to this early friend, and ent.i.tled "An Elegy written in Mull," may be quoted in evidence of his poetical talent in his seventeenth year. These lines do not occur in any edition of his works:

"The tempest blackens on the dusky moor, And billows lash the long-resounding sh.o.r.e; In pensive mood I roam the desert ground, And vainly sigh for scenes no longer found.

Oh, whither fled the pleasurable hours That chased each care, and fired the muse's powers; The cla.s.sic haunts of youth, for ever gay Where mirth and friendship cheer'd the close of day, The well-known valleys where I wont to roam, The native sports, the nameless joys of home?

Far different scenes allure my wondering eye: The white wave foaming to the distant sky; The cloudy heavens, unblest by summer's smile; The sounding storm that sweeps the rugged isle, The chill, bleak summit of eternal snow, The wide, wild glen, the pathless plains below, The dark blue rocks, in barren grandeur piled, The cuckoo sighing to the pensive wild!

Far different these from all that charm'd before, The gra.s.sy banks of Clutha's winding sh.o.r.e: The sloping vales, with waving forests lined; Her smooth blue lakes, unruffled by the wind.

Hail, happy Clutha! glad shall I survey Thy gilded turrets from the distant way!

Thy sight shall cheer the weary traveller's toil, And joy shall hail me to my native soil."

He remained at Mull five months; and subsequently became tutor in the family of Sir William Napier, at Downie, near Loch Fyne. On completing a fifth session at the University, he experienced anxiety regarding the choice of a profession, chiefly with the desire of being able speedily to aid in the support of his necessitous parents. He first thought of a mercantile life, and then weighed the respective advantages of the clerical, medical, and legal professions. For a period, he attempted law, but soon tired of the drudgery which it threatened to impose. In Edinburgh, during a brief period of legal study, he formed the acquaintance of Dr Robert Anderson, through whose favour he became known to the rising wits of the capital. Among his earlier friends he reckoned the names of Francis Jeffrey, Henry Brougham, Thomas Brown, James Graham, and David Irving.

In 1798, Campbell induced his parents to remove to Edinburgh, where he calculated on literary employment. He had already composed the draught of the "Pleasures of Hope," but he did not hazard its publication till he had exhausted every effort in its improvement. His care was well repaid; his poem produced one universal outburst of admiration, and one edition after another rapidly sold. He had not completed his twenty-second year when he gained a place among the most distinguished poets of his country. For the copyright Mundell and Company allowed him only two hundred copies in quires, which yielded him about fifty pounds; but they presented him with twenty-five pounds on the appearance of each successive edition. He was afterwards permitted to publish an edition on his own account,--a privilege which brought him the sum of six hundred pounds. Resolving to follow literature as a profession, he was desirous of becoming personally acquainted with the distinguished men of letters in Germany; in June 1800 he embarked at Leith for Hamburg. He visited Ratisbon, Munich, and Leipsic; had an interview with the poet Klopstock, then in his seventy-seventh year, and witnessed a battle between the French and Germans, near Ratisbon. At Hamburg he formed the acquaintance of Anthony M'Cann, who had been driven into exile by the Irish Government in 1798, on the accusation of being a leader in the rebellion. Of this individual he formed a favourable opinion, and his condition suggested the exquisite poem, "The Exile of Erin." After some months' residence at Altona, he sailed for England; the vessel narrowly escaping capture by a privateer, landed him at Yarmouth, whence he proceeded to London. He had been in correspondence with Perry of the _Morning Chronicle_, who introduced him to Lord Holland, Sir James Macintosh, and Samuel Rogers. Receiving tidings of his father's death, he returned to Edinburgh. Not a little to his concern, he found that warrants had been issued for his apprehension on the charge of high treason; he was accused of attending Jacobin clubs at Hamburg, and of conspiring with General Moreau and the Irish exiles to land troops in Ireland! The seizure of his travelling trunk led to the ample vindication of his loyalty; it was found to contain the first draught of the "Mariners of England." Besides a magnificent quarto edition of the "Pleasures of Hope," he now prepared a work in three volumes, ent.i.tled "Annals of Great Britain;" for which the sum of three hundred pounds was paid him by Mundell and Company. Through Professor Dugald Stewart, he obtained the friendship of Lord Minto, who invited him to London, and afterwards entertained him at Minto.

In 1803, Campbell resolved to settle in London; in his progress to the metropolis he visited his friends Roscoe and Currie, at Liverpool. On the 10th September, 1803, he espoused his fair cousin, Matilda Sinclair, and established his residence in Upper Eaton Street, Pimlico. In the following year, he sought refuge from the noise of the busy world in London, by renting a house at Sydenham. His reputation readily secured him a sufficiency of literary employment; he translated for the _Star_, with a salary of two hundred pounds per annum, and became a contributor to the _Philosophical Magazine_. He declined the offer of the Regent's chair in the University of Wilna, in Russian-Poland; but shortly after had conferred on him, by the premier, Charles Fox, a civil-list pension of two hundred pounds. In 1809, he published his poem, "Gertrude of Wyoming," along with the "Battle of the Baltic," the "Mariners of England," "Hohenlinden," "Glenara," and others of his best lyrics. This volume was well received, and added largely to his laurels. In 1811, he delivered five lectures on poetry, in the Royal Inst.i.tution.

Campbell was now a visitor in the first literary circles, and was welcomed at the tables of persons of opulence. From the commencement of his residence in London, he had known John Kemble, and his accomplished sister, Mrs Siddons. He became intimate with Lord Byron and Thomas Moore; and had the honour of frequent invitations to the residence of the Princess of Wales, at Blackheath. In 1814, he visited Paris, where he was introduced to the Duke of Wellington; dined with Humboldt and Schlegel, and met his former friend and correspondent, Madame de Stael.

A proposal of Sir Walter Scott, in 1816, to secure him a chair in the University of Edinburgh, was not attended with success. The "Specimens of the British Poets," a work he had undertaken for Mr Murray, appeared in 1819. In 1820, he accepted the editorship of the _New Monthly Magazine_, with a salary of six hundred pounds per annum. A second visit to Germany, which he accomplished immediately after the commencement of his editorial duties, suggested to him the idea of the London University; and this scheme, warmly supported by his literary friends, and advocated by Lord Brougham, led in 1825 to the establishment of the inst.i.tution. In the year subsequent to this happy consummation of his exertions on behalf of learning in the south, he received intelligence of his having been elected Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow. This honour was the most valued of his life; it was afterwards enhanced by his re-election to office for the third time,--a rare occurrence in the history of the College.

The future career of the poet was not remarkable for any decided achievements in literature or poetry. In 1831, he allowed his name to be used as the conductor of the _Metropolitan_, a short-lived periodical.

He published in 1834 a "Life of Mrs Siddons," in two volumes, but this performance did not prove equal to public expectation. One of his last efforts was the preparation of an edition of the "Pleasures of Hope,"

which was ill.u.s.trated with engravings from drawings by Turner.