The Modern Scottish Minstrel Volume Iii Part 5

Could a la.s.s, sae sweet an' comely, Ever bless a lover's arms?

Could the bonnie wife o' Vulcan Ever boast o' hauf the charms?

While the zephyrs fan the meadows, While the flow'rets crown the lea, While they paint the gowden simmer, Wha sae blest as her an' me?

WOO ME AGAIN.

TUNE--_"On a Primrosy Bank."_

Whan Jamie first woo'd me, he was but a youth: Frae his lips flow'd the strains o' persuasion and truth; His suit I rejected wi' pride an' disdain, But, oh! wad he offer to woo me again!

He aft wad hae tauld me his love was sincere, And e'en wad hae ventured to ca' me his dear: My heart to his tale was as hard as a stane; But, oh! wad he offer to woo me again!

He said that he hoped I would yield an' be kind, But I counted his proffers as light as the wind; I laugh'd at his grief, whan I heard him complain; But, oh! wad he offer to woo me again!

He flatter'd my locks, that war black as a slae, And praised my fine shape, frae the tap to the tae; I flate, an' desired he wad let me alane; But, oh! wad he offer to woo me again!

Repulsed, he forsook me, an' left me to grieve, An' mourn the sad hour that my swain took his leave; Now, since I despised, an' was deaf to his maen, I fear he 'll ne'er offer to woo me again!

Oh! wad he but now to his Jean be inclined, My heart in a moment wad yield to his mind; But I fear wi' some ither my laddie is taen, An' sae he 'll ne'er offer to woo me again.

Ye bonnie young la.s.ses, be warn'd by my fate, Despise not the heart you may value too late; Improve the sweet sunshine that now gilds the plain; With you it may never be sunshine again.

The simmer o' life, ah! it soon flits awa', An' the bloom on your cheek will soon dow in the snaw; Oh! think, ere you treat a fond youth wi' disdain, That, in age, the sweet flower never blossoms again.

STUART LEWIS.

Stuart Lewis, the mendicant bard, was the eldest son of an innkeeper at Ecclefechan in Annandale, where he was born about the year 1756. A zealous Jacobite, his father gave him the name of Stuart, in honour of Prince Charles Edward. At the parish school, taught by one Irving, an ingenious and learned person of eccentric habits, he received a respectable ground-work of education; but the early deprivation of his father, who died bankrupt, compelled him to relinquish the pursuit of learning. At the age of fifteen, with the view of aiding in the support of his widowed mother, with her dest.i.tute family of other five children, he accepted manual employment from a relation in the vicinity of Chester. Subsequently, along with a partner, he established himself as a merchant-tailor in the town of Chester, where he remained some years, when his partner absconded to America with a considerable amount, leaving him to meet the demands of the firm. Surrendering his effects to his creditors, he returned to his native place, almost penniless, and suffering mental depression from his misfortunes, which he recklessly sought to remove by the delusive remedy of the bottle. The habit of intemperance thus produced, became his scourge through life. At Ecclefechan he commenced business as a tailor, and married a young country girl, for whom he had formed a devoted attachment. He established a village library, and debating club, became a diligent reader, a leader in every literary movement in the district, and a writer of poetry of some merit. A poem on the melancholy story of "Fair Helen of Kirkconnel," which he composed at this period, obtained a somewhat extensive popularity. To aid his finances, he became an itinerant seller of cloth,--a mode of life which gave him an opportunity of studying character, and visiting interesting scenery. The pressure of poverty afterwards induced him to enlist, as a recruit, in the Hopetoun Fencibles; and, in this humble position, he contrived to augment his scanty pay by composing acrostics and madrigals for the officers, who rewarded him with small gratuities. On the regiment being disbanded in 1799, he was entrusted by a merchant with the sale of goods, as a pedlar, in the west of England; but this employment ceased on his being robbed, while in a state of inebriety. Still descending in the social scale, he became an umbrella-maker in Manchester, while his wife was employed in some of the manufactories. Some other odd and irregular occupations were severally attempted without success, till at length, about his fiftieth year, he finally settled into the humble condition of a wandering poet. He composed verses on every variety of theme, and readily parted with his compositions for food or whisky. His field of wandering included the entire Lowlands, and he occasionally penetrated into Highland districts. In his wanderings he was accompanied by his wife, who, though a severe sufferer on his account, along with her family of five or six children, continued most devoted in her attachment to him. On her death, which took place in the Cowgate, Edinburgh, early in 1817, he became almost distracted, and never recovered his former composure. He now roamed wildly through the country, seldom remaining more than one night in the same place. He finally returned to Dumfriesshire, his native county; and accidentally falling into the Nith, caught an inflammatory fever, of which he died, in the village of Ruthwell, on the 22d September 1818. Lewis was slender, and of low stature. His countenance was sharp, and his eye intelligent, though frenzied with excitement. He always expressed himself in the language of enthusiasm, despised prudence and common sense, and commended the impulsive and fanciful. He published, in 1816, a small volume, ent.i.tled "The African Slave; with other Poems and Songs." Some of his lyrics are not unworthy of a place in the national minstrelsy.

LANARK MILLS.

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

Adieu! romantic banks of Clyde, Where oft I 've spent the joyful day; Now, weary wand'ring on thy side, I pour the plaintive, joyless lay.

To other lands I 'm doom'd to rove, The thought with grief my bosom fills; Why am I forced to leave my love, And wander far from Lanark Mills?

Can I forget th' ecstatic hours, When ('scaped the village evening din) I met my la.s.s 'midst Braxfield bowers, Or near the falls of Corhouse Linn!

While close I clasp'd her to my breast, (Th' idea still with rapture thrills!) I thought myself completely blest, By all the lads of Lanark Mills.

Deceitful, dear, delusive dream, Thou 'rt fled--alas! I know not where, And vanish'd is each blissful gleam, And left behind a load of care.

Adieu! dear winding banks of Clyde, A long farewell, ye rising hills; No more I 'll wander on your side, Though still my heart 's at Lanark Mills.

While Tintock stands the pride of hills, While Clyde's dark stream rolls to the sea, So long, my dear-loved Lanark Mills, May Heaven's best blessings smile on thee.

A last adieu! my Mary dear, The briny tear my eye distils; While reason's powers continue clear, I 'll think of thee, and Lanark Mills.

O'ER THE MUIR.[12]

Ae morn of May, when fields were gay, Serene and charming was the weather, I chanced to roam some miles frae home, Far o'er yon muir, amang the heather.

O'er the muir amang the heather, O'er the muir amang the heather, How healthsome 'tis to range the muirs, And brush the dew from vernal heather.

I walk'd along, and humm'd a song, My heart was light as ony feather, And soon did pa.s.s a lovely la.s.s, Was wading barefoot through the heather.

O'er the muir amang the heather, O'er the muir amang the heather; The bonniest la.s.s that e'er I saw I met ae morn amang the heather.

Her eyes divine, mair bright did shine, Than the most clear unclouded ether; A fairer form did ne'er adorn A brighter scene than blooming heather.

O'er the muir amang the heather, O'er the muir amang the heather; There 's ne'er a la.s.s in Scotia's isle, Can vie with her amang the heather.

I said, "Dear maid, be not afraid; Pray sit you down, let 's talk together; For, oh! my fair, I vow and swear, You 've stole my heart amang the heather."

O'er the muir amang the heather, O'er the muir amang the heather; Ye swains, beware of yonder muir, You 'll lose your hearts amang the heather.

She answer'd me, right modestly, "I go, kind sir, to seek my father, Whose fleecy charge he tends at large, On yon green hills beyond the heather."

O'er the muir amang the heather, O'er the muir amang the heather; Were I a king, thou shou'dst be mine, Dear blooming maid, amang the heather.

Away she flew out of my view, Her home or name I ne'er could gather, But aye sin' syne I sigh and pine For that sweet la.s.s amang the heather.

O'er the muir amang the heather, O'er the muir amang the heather, While vital heat glows in my heart, I 'll love the la.s.s amang the heather.

[12] The more popular words to the same tune and chorus, beginning, "Comin' through the Craigs o' Kyle," are believed, on the authority of Burns, to have been the composition of Jean Glover, a girl of respectable parentage, born at Kilmarnock in 1758, who became attached to a company of strolling players. Lewis is said to have claimed priority for his verses, and the point is not likely ever to be decided.

This much may be said in favour of Lewis's claims, that he had long been the writer of respectable lyrics; while Jean Glover, though well skilled as a musician, is not otherwise known to have composed verses. One of the songs is evidently an echo of the other.

DAVID DRUMMOND.

David Drummond, author of "The Bonnie La.s.s o' Levenside," a song formerly of no inconsiderable popularity, was a native of Crieff, Perthshire. Along with his four brothers, he settled in Fifeshire, about the beginning of the century, having obtained the situation of clerk in the Kirkland works, near Leven. In 1812, he proceeded to India, and afterwards attained considerable wealth as the conductor of an academy and boarding establishment at Calcutta. A man of vigorous mind and respectable scholarship, he had early cultivated a taste for literature and poetry, and latterly became an extensive contributor to the public journals and periodical publications of Calcutta. The song with which his name has been chiefly a.s.sociated, was composed during the period of his employment at the Kirkland works,--the heroine being Miss Wilson, daughter of the proprietor of Pirnie, near Leven, a young lady of great personal attractions, to whom he was devotedly attached. The sequel of his history, in connexion with this lady, forms the subject of a romance, in which he has been made to figure much to the injury of his fame. The correct version of this story, in which Drummond has been represented as faithless to the object of his former affections, we have received from a gentleman to whom the circ.u.mstances were intimately known. In consequence of a proposal to become his wife, Miss Wilson sailed for Calcutta in 1816. On her arrival, she was kindly received by her affianced lover, who conducted her to the house of a respectable female friend, till arrangements might be completed for the nuptial ceremony. In the interval, she became desirous of withdrawing from her engagement; and Drummond, observing her coldness, offered to pay the expense of her pa.s.sage back to Scotland. Meanwhile, she was seized with fever, of which she died. Report erroneously alleged that she had died of a broken heart on account of her lover being unfaithful, and hence the memory of poor Drummond has been most unjustly aspersed. Drummond died, at Calcutta, in 1845, about the age of seventy. He was much respected among a wide circle of friends and admirers. His personal appearance was unprepossessing, almost approaching to deformity,--a circ.u.mstance which may explain the ultimate hesitation of Miss Wilson to accept his hand. "The Bonnie La.s.s o' Levenside" was first printed, with the author's consent, though without acknowledgment, in a small volume of poems, by William Rankin, Leven, published in 1812. The authorship of the song was afterwards claimed by William Gla.s.s,[13] an obscure rhymster of the capital.

[13] Gla.s.s was a house-painter in Edinburgh; he ultimately became very dissipated, and died in circ.u.mstances of penury about 1840. He published, in 1811, "The Alb.u.m, a Collection of Poems and Songs," 12mo; in 1814, "Scenes of Gloamin'," 12mo; and in 1816, a third volume, ent.i.tled "Songs of Edina." The last is dedicated, by permission, to the Duke of Gordon. In the "Scenes of Gloamin'," Gla.s.s has included the "Bonnie La.s.s o' Levenside," as a song of his own composition.

THE BONNIE La.s.s O' LEVENSIDE.