Chapter XXIV: Section II: Poetry of the Nineteenth Century

Robert Tannahill,¹ a lyrical poet of high distinction, was a native of Paisley. His education was limited: at an early age he was sent to the loom, and he continued to follow this occupation. He was a dutiful and kind son to his mother, full of the warmest filial piety.

¹ Born in 1774; died in 1810. James Montgomery, though born at
Irvine, in Ayrshire, in 1771, can hardly be called a Scottish
poet, for he was educated in England, and afterwards lived
there till his death in 1854. He is chiefly distinguished
as a religious poet; but he was a man of marked ability and
culture, and is the author of a large quantity of poetry. A
collected edition of his works, in four volumes, was issued
in 1841.

The first edition of his poems and songs appeared in 1807; and the volume, consisting of 900 copies, was sold out in a few weeks. He afterwards contributed some songs to Mr. Thomson’s _Select Melodies_, and interested himself in collecting Irish airs, of which he was exceedingly fond. Many of his own songs are very fine, rich, and original in sentiment and description. His diction is copious, appropriate, and expressive, and often touching and pathetic. His “Gloomy Winter’s noo Awa’” may be taken as a fair specimen of his songs:――

“Gloomy winter’s noo awa’,
Saft the wastlin breezes blaw:
‘Mang the birks o’ Stanley-shaw
The mavis sings fu’ cheerie O.

Sweet the craw-flower’s early bell
Decks Gleniffer’s dewy dell,
Blooming like thy bonny sel’,
My young, my artless dearie O.

Come, my lassie, let us stray
O’er Glenkilloch’s sunny brae,
Blithely spend the gowden day
‘Midst joys that never wearie O.

Towering o’er the Newton woods,
Lavrocks fan the snaw-white clouds;
Siller saughs, wi’ downie buds,
Adorn the banks sae brierie O.

Round the sylvan fairy nooks
Feathery breckans fringe the rocks,
‘Neath the brae the burnie jouks,
And ilka thing is cheerie O.

Trees may bud, and birds may sing,
Flowers may bloom, and verdure spring,
Joy to me they canna bring,
Unless wi’ thee, my dearie O.”

John Mayne was a native of Dumfries,¹ and was trained to the printing business. When an apprentice, in 1777, he published the germ of his “Siller Gun,” in twelve stanzas. The subject of the poem is an old custom in Dumfries, called “Shooting for the Siller Gun;” the gun itself is a small silver tube presented by James VI. to the incorporated trades as a prize to the best marksman. He continued to enlarge and improve the poem till the year of his death, when it was reprinted for the fourth time, and extended to five cantos. He is the author of some other pieces, including his ballad of “Logan Braes,” which begins thus:――

¹ Born in 1761; died in 1836.

“By Logan’s streams, that rin sae deep,
Fu’ aft wi’ glee I’ve herded sheep:
Herded sheep and gathered slaes,
Wi’ my dear lad on Logan braes.

But wae’s my heart, thae days are gane,
And I wi’ grief may herd alane,
While my dear lad maun face his faes,
Far, far frae me and Logan braes.”

John Leyden was born at Denholm, (1775), in Roxburghshire, and the centenary of his birth was celebrated at Edinburgh, ♦1875. He was an oriental scholar of some note, as well as a poet. He was a persevering youth, and early manifested a taste for literature. He contributed to Lewis’ _Tales of Wonder_, and to Scott’s _Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border_. In 1802, he published his poem entitled, “The Scenes of Infancy,” and left Scotland for India. His career there was successful and honourable, but it was cut short by his death from fever in 1811. His poetical remains were published in 1819, with a memoir of his life by the Rev. James Morton; while Sir Walter Scott and Sir James Malcolm both honoured his memory with notices of his life and genius. His longest poem is the one already mentioned, which is devoted to a description of his own native vale of Teviot. His poetry is smooth and flowing, but rather lacking in strength. The following is from the opening of his ballad called “The Mermaid”:――

♦ “1785” replaced with “1875”

“On Jura’s heath how sweetly ♦swell
The murmurs of the mountain bee!
How softly mourns the writhed 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.”

♦ “swells” replaced with “swell”

Thomas Campbell¹ was a native of Glasgow, the son of a merchant in the city. He was educated at the University of Glasgow, and began early to manifest a taste for poetry. His _Pleasures of Hope_ appeared in 1799, the copyright of which was sold for £60; but it is said that the publishers for some years gave him £50 on every new edition of two thousand copies. The poem was immediately successful. After the publication of the first edition, he added 154 lines to the poem. It attracted all classes of readers by its varied and fine melody, polished style, and the strain of generous sentiment pervading it. He touched on many points and incidents of deep human interest; and in depicting the dismal horrors of war, and the infamous partition of Poland, he rose to a high pitch of inspiration, as in these lines:――

¹ Born in 1777; died in 1844.

“Oh, bloodiest picture in the book of time!
Sarmatia fell, unwept, without a crime;
Found not a ♦generous friend, a pitying foe,
Strength in her arms, nor mercy in her woe!
Dropped from her nerveless grasp the shattered spear,
Closed her bright eye and curbed her high career:
Hope for a season bade the world farewell,
And freedom shrieked as Kosciusko fell!
The sun went down, nor ceased the carnage there;
Tumultuous murder shook the midnight air――
On Prague’s proud arch the fires of ruin glow,
His blood-dyed waters murmuring far below.
The storm prevails, the rampart yields a way,
Bursts the wild cry of horror and dismay!
Hark! as the smouldering piles with thunder fall,
A thousand shrieks for hopeless mercy call!
Earth shook, red meteors flashed along the sky,
And conscious nature shuddered at the cry!”

♦ “generons” replaced with “generous”

This poem was a wonderful effort for a youth of twenty-one years. But the chief source of its inspiration was not British, as the lines just quoted show traces of ancient Grecian heat, and especially Homeric fire.

Campbell’s minor poems and songs are universally admired. Such as his “Exile of Erin,” “Lochiel’s Warning,” “The Battle of Hohenlinden,” and the songs, “Ye Mariners of England,” and the “Battle of the Baltic,” are popular favourites.

In 1809, his poem, _Gertrude of Wyoming, a Pennsylvanian Tale_, appeared; but his subsequent literary efforts added little to his fame as a poet.¹ The finest of his later pieces is one entitled “The Last Man,” which may be ranked among his best compositions; the following lines are from this poem:――

¹ Campbell contributed several papers to the _Edinburgh
Encyclopædia_, and also wrote the _Annals of Great Britain
from the Accession of George III. to the Peace of Amiens_,
in three volumes. In 1806, through the influence of Fox,
he received a pension. He delivered a course of lectures
on poetry at the Surrey Institution, in 1820; and in 1827,
he was elected Lord Rector of the University of Glasgow. In
1849, a selection from his correspondence and an account of
his life was published by Dr. Beattie.

“All worldly shapes shall melt in gloom――
The sun himself must die,
Before this mortal shall assume
Its immortality!
I saw a vision in my sleep,
That gave my spirit strength to sweep
Adown the gulf of time!
I saw the last of human mould
That shall creation’s death behold
As Adam saw her prime!
The sun’s eye had a sickly glare,
The earth with age was worn;
The skeletons of nations were
Around that lonely man;
Some had expired in fight――the brands
Still rusted in their bony hands――
In plague and famine some:
Earth’s cities had no sound nor tread;
And ships were drifting with the dead
To shores where all were dumb!”

The whole of the poem shows high conceptive power and elevated sentiment. I shall quote a few lines from his piece――“A Thought suggested by the New Year”:――

“The more we live, more brief appears
Our life’s succeeding stages:
A day to childhood seems a year,
And years to passing ages.
The gladsome current of our youth,
Ere passion yet disorders,
Steals, lingering like a river smooth
Along its grassy borders.
But as the careworn cheek grows wan,
And sorrow’s shafts fly thicker,
Ye stars that measure life to man,
Why seem your courses quicker?
When joys have lost their bloom and breath,
And life itself is vapid,
Why, as we reach the falls of death,
See we the tide more rapid?”

His _Specimens of the British Poets, with biographical and critical notices_, which appeared in 1818, is a work of much value. The truth, justness, and beauty of his criticisms have been universally recognised, and some of them present elegant models of this branch of literature.

Sir Walter Scott¹ was not only a distinguished poet, but also a novelist of the first rank, and wrote on various other subjects. He studied law, and was called to the bar in 1792. He was a diligent reader, and acquired some knowledge of the German, French, Italian, and Spanish languages; but from his early years the bent of his mind was manifested in his fondness for ballads and romantic stories. In 1799 he was appointed sheriff of Selkirkshire. He had already begun to collect the materials for the ballad literature of the Border; and the result appeared in his _Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border_, two volumes of which were published in 1802, containing more than forty pieces never before published, along with a large quantity of prose illustration, in the form of introduction and notes. The following year, a third volume appeared, which contained some imitations of the old ballads by Scott himself and his friends. After performing other editorial work in the field of early rhyme, he made an independent effort, which appeared in 1805, under the title of _The Lay of the Last Minstrel_.

¹ Born in 1771; died 1832.

This poem at once placed him in the front rank of living poets. His chief gifts and powers were admirably displayed in it. Its success was great and unexampled in Scotland; and, for a time, Scott was worshipped as the poet of the day. But, unfortunately, his natural ambition to found a family to vie with the ancient Border names seems to have developed into an over-ruling passion, which obscured his sagacity and good sense, and thus he was led into doubtful projects, and financial responsibilities which proved ruinous.

In 1808, his remarkable poem of _Marmion_ was published; and the same year he published his edition of Dryden. Scott was now fairly launched as a poet, and volumes from his pen flowed rapidly. In 1810, _The Lady of the Lake_ appeared, which was exceedingly popular. The following year, _The Vision of Don Roderick_ was published; in 1713, _Rokeby_ and _The Bride of Triermain_; in 1814, _The Lord of the Isles_; in 1815, _The Field of Waterloo_; and in 1817, _Harold the Dauntless_. By this time, it had become manifest that his later poems were inferior to his earlier ones, while the star of Byron was rising, and the readers of poetry were turning to the new worship. No one with any title to give an opinion on the point would venture to place Scott upon a par with Byron. Scott had merits of his own, within a limited circle of poetic conception and execution he is a real poet. For emotional power, passion, and poetic fire, as well as intellectual qualities, Byron stands above Scott. In short, Byron is, perhaps, the greatest poet that has appeared in Britain during the past two centuries. He has the true glow of poetic fire, which in intensity of emotion, passion, and intellectual qualities, warms his poetry to a high pitch.

Scott himself was no doubt well aware of this, and turned his attention to fiction, in which his genius attained its highest development. _The Lady of the Lake_ was the most popular of his poems; in a few months twenty thousand copies of it were sold. His poems, though still read, are not so popular as his novels. It is unnecessary to dwell on his poetry, and I shall only quote a few lines from _Marmion_, which is mainly a tale of Flodden field. The following refers to the close of the battle:――

“Tweed’s echoes heard the ceaseless plash,
While many a broken band,
Disordered through her current dash,
To gain the Scottish land;
To town and tower, to down and dale,
To tell red Flodden’s dismal tale,
And raise the universal wail.
Tradition, legend, tune, and song,
Shall many an age that wail prolong;
Still from the sire the son shall hear
Of the stern strife and carnage drear
Of Flodden’s fatal field,
Where shivered was fair Scotland’s spear,
And broken was her shield.”

The next poet was a contemporary and friend of Scott’s. James Hogg,¹ a native of the vale of Ettrick, in Selkirkshire, was descended from a family of shepherds, and is best known by his poetic name of “The Ettrick Shepherd.” He was sent to service when a child, and received but little education: however, his mother was in the habit of reciting old legends and ballads, and many of the evenings in his early years were occupied in listening eagerly to her. He also became an earnest reader of poetry and romances, and devoured the contents of a circulating library in Peebles. He assisted Sir Walter Scott in the collection of old ballads for the _Minstrelsy of the Border_.

¹ Born in 1771, and died in 1836.

At first he tried his hand in song writing, and in 1801, he published a small volume of pieces. He soon acquired a felicity of imitating the style of the old ballads; and under the title of _The Mountain Bard_, he published another volume of songs and poems, in 1807. In 1810, he published a collection of songs called _The Forest Minstrel_; and in 1813, his legendary poem, entitled _The Queen’s Wake_, appeared. This work consists of a number of tales and ballads supposed to be sung to Queen Mary of Scots by the native bards of Scotland assembled at a royal wake at Holyrood, so that the fair Queen might prove

“The wondrous powers of Scottish song.”

The work was well conceived, and its elaboration so complete that Hogg was soon placed in the front rank of Scottish poets. At the end of this poem, he alluded to his friend Scott, and adverts to an advice which Sir Walter had once given him, to abstain from his worship of poetry:――

“The land was charmed to list his lays;
It knew the harp of ancient days.
The border chiefs that long had been
In sepulchres unhearsed and green,
Passed from their mouldy vaults away
In armour red and stern array.
And by their moonlit halls were seen
In visor, helm, and habergeon.
Even fairies sought our land again
So powerful was the magic strain.
Blest be his generous heart for aye!
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 for evermore?
’Twas kindness all――I cannot blame――
For bootless is the minstrel flame:
But sure a bard might well have known
Another’s feelings by his own!”

Subsequently, Hogg wrote many other works――_Mador of the Moor_, a poem in the Spenserian stanza; _The Pilgrims of the Sun_, in blank verse; _The Poetic Mirror_; _Queen Hynde_; _Dramatic Tales_, etc. He also produced several novels――_Winter Evening Tales_; _The Three Perils of Man_; _The Three Perils of Woman_, etc., and _Jacobite Relics_, referred to in a preceding volume.

He was a strong and versatile man, a veritable genius. His imaginative and reproductive faculties were of a high order, his sympathies were wide and catholic, and his power of realisation has rarely been excelled. What he wanted was culture, and more art. There are passages in his writings which, for lofty imaginative representation, few poets or painters have ever surpassed. It is true, that both his poetry and prose is unequal in composition; yet few can read them without being impressed with the poet’s inspiration. The following is from his verses to the Comet of 1811:――

“How lovely is this wildered scene,
As twilight from her vaults so blue,
Steals soft o’er Yarrow’s mountains green,
To sleep embalmed in midnight dew!
All hail, ye hills, whose towering height,
Like shadows, scoops the yielding sky!
And thou, mysterious guest of night,
Dread traveller of immensity!

Stranger of heaven! I bid thee hail!
Shred from the pall of glory riven,
That flashest in celestial gale,
Broad pennon of the King of heaven!
Art thou the flag of woe and death,
From angel’s ensign staff unfurled?
Art thou the standard of His wrath.
Waved o’er a sordid, sinful world?

* * * * *

Whate’er portends thy front of fire,
Thy streaming locks so lovely pale――
Or peace to man, or judgment dire,
Stranger of heaven, I bid thee hail!

* * * * *

O! on thy rapid prow to glide!
To sail the boundless skies with thee,
And plough the twinkling stars aside,
Like foam-bells on a tranquil sea!
To brush the embers from the sun,
The icicles from off the pole;
Then far to other systems run,
Where other moons and planets roll!”

His lyric, “The Skylark,” has often been quoted as one of the best of his short pieces; and his song, “When the Kye comes Hame,” is also fine. His life was recently published by his daughter, Mrs. Garden.

Sir Alexander Boswell,¹ the eldest son of Johnson’s biographer, was the author of some amusing songs which were very popular, such as “Jenny’s Bawbee,” “Jenny Dang the Weaver,” etc. This gentleman was a warm admirer of early Scottish literature, and reprinted several works at his own private printing-press at Auchinleck. One of his songs, entitled “Good-night, and joy be wi’ ye a’,” is supposed to proceed from the mouth of an aged chieftain, thus:――

¹ He was born in 1775. “When politics ran high, he
unfortunately wrote some personal satires, for one of which
he received a challenge from Mr. Stuart of Dunearn. The
parties met at Auchtertool in Fifeshire. Conscious of his
error, Sir Alexander resolved not to fire at his opponent,
but Mr. Stuart’s shot took effect, and the unfortunate
baronet fell. He died from the wound on the following
day, the 26th of March, 1822. He had been elevated to the
baronetcy only the previous year. His brother, James, was
an accomplished scholar and student of early literature, and
edited Malone’s edition of Shakespeare, 21 volumes, in 1821;
but he died in 1822, and Sir Alexander had just returned
from the funeral of his brother when he engaged in the fatal
duel.”

“Good-night, and joy be wi’ ye a’;
Your harmless mirth has charmed my heart;
May life’s fell blasts out owre ye blaw,
In sorrow may ye never part.
My spirit lives, but strength is gone;
The mountain fires now blaze in vain;
Remember, sons, the deeds I’ve done,
And in your deeds I’ll live again!

* * * * *

The auld will speak, the young maun hear;
Be cantie, but be good and leal;
Your ain ills aye hae heart to bear,
Anither’s aye hae heart to feel.
So, ere I set, I’ll see you shine,
I’ll see you triumph ere I fa’;
My parting breath shall boast you mine――
Good-night, and joy be wi’ you a’.”

Allan Cunningham,¹ a native of Blackwood, in Dumfriesshire, was a man of varied accomplishments and marked abilities, combined with persistent application. In his early days he had few advantages, and was sent to learn the trade of a mason, but in 1810 he removed to London and engaged in newspaper work. In 1814 he entered the establishment of Sir Francis Chantrey, the eminent sculptor, as superintendent of the works, and remained in this situation until his death.

¹ Born in 1784, died in 1842. William Tennant, a native of
Anstruther, originally a clerk in a mercantile establishment,
studied ancient and modern literature, and taught himself
Hebrew, is the author of the mock-heroic poem, “Anster
Fair,” which appeared in 1812, and soon became popular.
The subject of the poem was the marriage of Maggie Lauder.
After the appearance of this remarkable production, Tennant
obtained an appointment as a schoolmaster, and finally he
was appointed Professor of Oriental Languages in St. Mary’s
College, St. Andrews. He was the author of several other
poems on local subjects. He died in 1848.

He was an exceedingly industrious writer. He began at an early age to contribute poetical effusions and songs to the periodical press, and attained a facility of imitating the strains of the old Scottish ballads. In 1822 he published a dramatic poem entitled _Sir Marmaduke Maxwell_, founded on Border tradition and superstition, and afterwards two volumes of traditional tales, and three novels drawn from similar sources. In 1832 his rustic epic, _The Maid of Elvar_, in twelve parts, appeared. He edited a well-known collection of _Scottish Songs_ in four volumes; and an edition of Burns in eight volumes, to which he prefixed a valuable life of the poet. Cunningham contributed to Murray’s “Family Library” a series of _Lives of Eminent British Painters, Sculptors, and Architects_, which extended to six volumes. It is an interesting and very useful work. His last work was a _Life of Sir David Wilkie_ in three volumes, which he completed a few days before his death.

All Cunningham’s literary work was executed in his spare hours, in the intervals from his regular occupation. His taste and attainments in the fine arts were considerable, and his art criticisms are candid and able. His prose style is remarkable for its freshness, energy, and ease, and in some of his songs there is warm emotion and real pathos. The two following stanzas are from his piece called “The Poet’s Bridal-day Song”:――

“Oh! my love’s like the steadfast sun,
Or streams that deepen as they run;
Nor hoary hairs, nor forty years,
Nor moments between sighs and tears――
Nor nights of thought, nor days of pain,
Nor dreams of glory dreamt in vain――
Nor mirth, nor sweetest song which flows
To sober joy and soften woes,
Can make my heart or fancy flee
One moment, my sweet wife, from thee.

* * * * *

At times there come, as come there ought,
Grave moment of sedater thought――
When fortune frowns, nor lends on night
One gleam of her inconstant light;
And Hope, that decks the peasant’s bower,
Shines like the rainbow through the shower.
O, then I see, while seated nigh,
A mother’s heart shine in thine eye;
And proud resolve and purpose meek,
Speak of thee more than words can speak:
I think thee, wedded wife of mine,
The best of all that’s not divine.”

William Motherwell¹ was a native of Glasgow, and early manifested a taste for poetry and song. He attained a thorough knowledge of the early history of Scottish literature. Reference was made in a preceding volume to the admirable historical introduction to his _Minstrelsy, Ancient and Modern_. In 1832 he collected and published his own poems in one volume. Some of his pieces are very touching, and the following short one may be taken as a specimen:――

¹ Born in 1797 and died in 1835.

“Mournfully! oh, mournfully
This midnight wind doth sigh,
Like some sweet plaintive melody
Of ages long gone by.
It speaks a tale of other years――
Of hopes that bloomed to die――
Of sunny smiles that set in tears,
And loves that mouldering lie!
Mournfully! oh, mournfully
This midnight wind doth moan;
It stirs some chord of memory
In each dull heavy tone.
The voices of the much-loved dead
Seem floating thereupon――
All, all my fond heart cherished
Ere death had made it lone.
Mournfully! oh, mournfully
This midnight wind doth swell,
With its quaint pensive minstrelsy,
Hope’s passionate farewell,
To the dreamy joys of early years,
Ere yet grief’s canker fell
On the heart’s bloom――ay, well may tears
Start at that parting knell!”

William E. Aytoun¹ was born in Edinburgh, educated in the University there and in Germany, and having studied law, he was called to the bar in 1840. In 1845 he was elected to the chair of rhetoric in the University of Edinburgh, and in 1852 he was appointed Sheriff of Orkney.

¹ 1813, and died in 1865.

Mr. Aytoun is the author of _Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers_, which appeared in 1849. These range from the battle of Flodden to the extinction of the Jacobite cause at Culloden, and are pervaded by a warm spirit, interspersed with scenes of pathos and mournful regret. In 1858 he published a collated edition of the _Old Scottish Ballads_ in two volumes, which was noticed in a preceding volume.¹ He also attained distinction by his satirical and humorous compositions; his tales and sketches, which appeared in _Blackwood’s Magazine_, are vigorous and amusing.

¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation Scotland_, Volume I.,
page 446.

1. Robert Nicoll was born at Auchtergaven, Perthshire,
in 1814, and cultivated literature in the face of many
difficulties and discouragements, but his severe struggles
probably shortened his life; he died in the twenty-fourth
year of his age. His poems consist of short pieces and songs,
which display a command of happy imagery and fancy.

2. Robert Gilfillan was born at Dunfermline in 1798, and
died in 1850. His poems and songs have passed through
several editions, and some of his songs have been set to
music. His pieces are marked by warm and kindly feelings,
and one called “The Exile’s Song” is very fine and touching.

3. William Thom, commonly called “The Inverurie Poet,” was
born in Aberdeen in 1789, and died in 1848. He was a weaver,
and followed this trade for many years. In 1844 he published
a volume of _Rhymes and Recollections_. He subsequently
visited London, and was warmly patronised by Scotsmen there
and others. Thom, within his own range of ideas, was a real
poet, and some of his pieces are very fine, sweet, pathetic,
smooth, and flowing in versification.

4. David Gray was born at Merkland, near Kirkintilloch,
in 1838, a son of humble parents, who intended him for
the Church. He studied for four sessions in the University
of Glasgow, and supported himself by teaching. He was
passionately fond of poetry, and wrote many verses, some
of which had appeared in the _Glasgow Citizen_. In his
twenty-second year, this warm-hearted youth went to London
to push his fortune; but he was soon attacked by consumption,
and naturally longed to return to his father’s house, and
he came back to Merkland. There he worked hopefully at his
poems, but his strength was fast ebbing away. He ardently
desired to see his poems in print, and they were sent to the
press. One page was immediately set up, and the dying poet
had the ineffable gratification of seeing and reading it on
the day before his death. The dying poet then exclaimed that
“he could now depart tranquilly into his eternal rest.” In
1865, a monument was erected to his memory in Kirkintilloch.
His chief poem is called “The Luggie,” but he composed a
number of sonnets, which have many touching features both in
feeling and expression. His genius was rich though immature.

Alexander Smith was born at Kilmarnock in 1830, but he passed his early life as a designer in a Paisley factory. His first volume of verse appeared in 1853, and the chief poem in it was “A Life Drama,” a series of thirteen dramatic scenes. Afterwards he was appointed to the office of secretary to the University of Edinburgh, and continued his literary efforts. He contributed prose articles to periodicals, and, in 1857, he published another volume called _City Poems_. In 1861, his _Edwin Deira_ appeared. But his health began to fail, and he died in 1867.

Smith had a vein of fervid poetic feeling, and his imaginative faculty was pretty keen, but in chaste poetic elaboration he was not strong. The greater part of his poetry is immature, overloaded with imagery and ornament――defects which, if his life had been spared, he might have overcome. On the other hand, his prose writings are better than his poetry. His short papers and essays, “Dreamthorp,” “A Summer in Skye,” and some literary remains published after his death, are written in an easy, pleasing, and admirable style.

Dr. Charles Mackay was born in Perth in 1814. He united political sympathies and aspirations with lyrical poetry, and some of his songs have long been familiar to the people of this country and America. His first poems were published in 1834, in a small volume. Soon after he became connected with the London press――_The Morning Chronicle_, a daily journal. In 1840, his poem called _The Hope of the World_ appeared; and in 1842, _The Salamandrine_, one of the most finished of his works. In 1845, his _Legends of the Isles_ was published; _Voices from the Crowd_, 1845; _Voices from the Mountains_, 1847; _Town Lyrics_, 1848; _The Spirit of Nature_, 1850; _The Lump of Gold_, 1856; _Songs for Music_, 1857; _Under Green Leaves_, 1858. He is also the author of a number of prose works, among which may be mentioned, _The History of London from its Foundation by the Romans to the Accession of Queen Victoria_, published in 1838; _Memoirs of Extraordinary Public Delusions_, in three volumes, 1841; _A History of the Mormons_, 1851; _Life and Liberty in America_, 1859, in two volumes; _The Gaelic and Celtic Etymology of Western Europe_, 1877; and other works. The following lines are from the opening of his song, “Tubal Cain”:――

“Old Tubal Cain was a man of might
In the days when earth was young;
By the fierce red light of his furnace bright
The strokes of his hammer rung;
And he lifted high his brawny hand
On the iron glowing clear,
Till the sparks rushed out in scarlet showers,
As he ♦fashioned the sword and spear.
And he sang: Hurra for my handiwork!
Hurra for the spear and sword!
Hurra for the hand that shall wield them well,
For he shall be king and lord!”

♦ “fashoned” replaced with “fashioned”

Alexander G. Murdoch was born in Glasgow in April, 1843. He is the author of many poems and songs of much merit. He had a wide command of expressive language, and some of his poems roll in very powerful strains. His _Humorous Readings_ were published in 1888‒89; he also wrote several interesting tales. He died at Glasgow on the 13th of February, 1891.

Lewis Morrison-Grant was born on the 9th of December, 1872, at a cottage in the vicinity of Loch Park, in the parish of Botriphnie, Banffshire. He received the rudiments of education at the parish school and at the Public School of Keith, and entered the University of Aberdeen in 1890. After attending two sessions his health failed, and he was unable to attend his third session. His short life was remarkable. When a mere boy he commenced to write verse, and his passion for this kind of writing became very strong. In the spring of 1892 his _Protomantis and Other Poems_ was published in a volume of three hundred and nine pages, containing four pretty long poems, and one hundred and thirty-two shorter ones, which touch on a wide variety of subjects. His poems are of unequal merit, and in general they lack concentrated thought and strength; yet, taking into account that they were all written before he was twenty years of age, and the circumstances in which he was placed, his volume of poems is an extraordinary effort. If his life had been longer spared, no doubt he would have produced more highly finished work. After a protracted illness he died at Goldenwells, near Keith, on the 29th of June, 1893.¹ The following lines are from his fine poem entitled “More Light”:――

¹ A very interesting account of him, under the title of _His
Life, Letters, and Last Poems_, edited by Jessie A. Anderson,
was published by Gardner in 1894.

“I wait for light, I wait for God
To fall in living lines on thee,
O Soul!――in thoughts on which bestowed
Gleams some unveiling mystery.
And light is that I seek alone,
A light wherein all things shall seem
Even as to God they all are known:
Our human light is faint and dim.”

Before passing from this branch, I may remark that though a number of poets have been noticed in the preceding pages, they only form a fraction of the Scottish Poets, for “The Poet’s Corner” of the Mitchell Library in Glasgow contains upwards of 5336 volumes of Scottish poetry, embracing the writings of 2000 different authors. Even this collection, which I understand is the most complete in existence, may not contain specimens of all the Scottish rhymers and poets.¹

¹ In connection with this, a volume appeared in 1887 entitled
_The Bards of Bon-Accord_, by William Walker, Aberdeen,
which is an important work of its class. It covers the
period from 1375 to 1860, and embraces notices of many
poets and writers of rhyme――natives of Aberdeen and the
neighbouring counties. In itself the work is exceedingly
interesting. The notices of the various writers are very
well executed――with taste, judgment, and sometimes keen
and warm sympathy. The numerous quotations also show care
and discrimination in their selection, while the author’s
comments exhibit much consideration, fairness, and good
sense.

In an Appendix a Bibliography of the subject of the work is
given which greatly enhances its value, especially to all
those who take a lively interest in matters of this kind――a
class gradually increasing in numbers with the advance
of exhaustive historical inquiries and liberal culture.
The work has also a very complete index, which the author
has very skilfully arranged, “to serve a threefold purpose
――biographical items being printed in small capitals――poems
quoted, in italics――other matters, in ordinary type.”
Those who have had occasion to make literary inquiries will
appreciate the value of an index of this character.