Her sail was the web of the gossamer's "Macgregor! Macgregor!" he bitterly loom, cried ; The glow-worm her wakelight, the rainbow her boom; " 'Macgregor! Macgregor!" the echoes replied. A dim rayless beam was her prow and her He struck at the lady, but, strange though mast, Like wold-fire, at midnight, that glares on the waste. it seem, His sword only fell on the rocks and the stream; Though rough was the river with rock and But the groans from the boat that Whate'er portends thy front of fire, Where hast thou roamed these thousand years? Why sought these polar paths again, From wilderness of glowing spheres, To fling thy vesture o'er the wain? And when thou scal'st the Milky Way, 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, Where other moons and planets roll! Stranger of heaven! O let thine eye Our northern arch at eve adorn ; Light the gray portals of the morn! WHEN THE KYE COME HAME. Come all ye jolly shepherds That whistle through the glen, I'll tell ye of a secret That courtiers dinna ken: What is the greatest bliss That the tongue o' man can name? 'Tis to woo a bonnie lassie When the kye come hame. When the kye come hame, When the kye come hame, 'Tween the gloamin' and the mirk, When the kye come hame. 'Tis not beneath the burgonet, Nor yet beneath the crown, When the kye come hame. And love 'tis a' the theme, Has fauldit up his e'e, Then the laverock frae the blue lift When the kye come hame. Then the eye shines sae bright, And joy in every smile; And his lambs are lying still; 2 X Awa' wi' fame and fortune- On man's life and libertie! That the heart o' man can frame My bonnie, bonnie lassie, When the kye come hame. Down through the Lowlands, down wi' the Whigamore, Loyal, true Highlanders, down wi' them rarely! Ronald and Donald, drive on wi' the broad Over the necks of the foes o' Prince Follow thee! Follow thee! &c. CAM YE BY ATHOL? Cam ye by Athol, lad wi' the philibeg, Saw ye our lads wi' their bonnets and Leaving their mountains to follow Prince Follow thee! Follow thee! wha Lang has thou loved and trusted Charlie, Charlie, wha wadna follow THE SKYLARK. Bird of the wilderness, Sweet be thy matin o'er moorland and Emblem of happiness, Blest is thy dwelling-place, Oh! 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; King o' the Highland hearts, Thy lay is in heaven, thy love is on earth. bonnie Prince Charlie? I hae but ae son, my gallant young But if I had ten they should follow Glen- 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, Health to M'Donnell and gallant Clan Musical cherub, hie, hie thee away! She's stown the "Bangor" frae the clerk, The ploughman ploughs without the sock; The gadman whistles sparely; The cobbler ca's a parley; The weaver's neb's out through the web, An' a' for Meg o' Marley. What's to be done, for our gudeman Is flyting late an' early? He rises but to curse an' ban, An' sits down but to ferly. Than light his torches sparely At the bright e'en an' blythesome brow O' bonny Meg a' Marley. MACLEAN'S WELCOME. Come o'er the stream, Charlie, dear Charlie, brave Charlie, Come o'er the stream, Charlie, and dine with Maclean; And though you be weary, we'll make your heart cheery, And welcome our Charlie and his loyal train. We'll bring down the track deer, we'll bring down the black steer, The lamb from the breckan, the doe from the glen ; The salt sea we'll harry, and bring to our Charlie, The cream from the bothy, and curd from the pen. Come o'er the stream, Charlie, etc. And you shall drink freely the dews of Glen-Sheerly, That stream in the star-light when kings do not ken, And deep be your meed of the wine that is red, To drink to your sire, and his friend the Maclean. Come o'er the stream, Charlie, etc. O'er heath-bells shall trace you, the maids to embrace you, And deck your blue bonnet with flowers of the brae; And the loveliest Mary in all Glen M'Quarry Shall lie in your bosom till break of the day. Come o'er the stream Charlie, etc. If aught will invite you, or more will delight you, 'Tis ready; a troop of our bold Highlandmen Shall range o'er the heather with bonnet and feather, Strong arms and broad claymores three hundred and ten. Come o'er the stream, Charlie, etc. SIR WALTER SCOTT. 1771-1832. SCOTT, like Burns, is in everybody's | ever, a great reader; and some volumes possession, and it is as unnecessary as it is impossible, in a publication such as this, fully to exhibit the varied characteristics of his poems. We shall therefore confine ourselves to those in which their specially Scotch aspects are most conspicuous, and supply a chronological summary of his life and chief literary labours. His paternal lineage is tracable to the Scotts of Buccleuch, through the Harden branch of the family. His father, Walter Scott, writer to the Signet, Edinburgh, was the eldest son of Robert Scott of Sandyknowe. His mother, Anne Rutherford, was the eldest daughter of Dr John Rutherford, Professor of Medicine in Edinburgh University. Walter Scott was born in Edinburgh, at the head of the College Wynd, on the 15th August 1771. When eighteen months old he lost the power of his right leg, and on this account was sent to his grandfather's, at Sandyknowe, At four years of age, he was taken by his aunt to Bath, where he remained a year. He was then sent to Prestonpans to try the effects of sea-bathing on his lameness. Here, at this early age, he loved to attend to the curious stories of his father's friend, George Constable. Having come home to Edinburgh, he was, in 1778, sent to the High School, where he was behind his class-fellows in years and progress." He was, how of Shakspeare's plays having come in his way, he read them with great avidity. He became intimate with the blind poet, Dr Blacklock, who interested himself in his youthful studies, besides giving him access to his library, where he read Ossian and Spenser with much delight, especially the latter. His health becoming again doubtful, he was sent to his aunt's at Kelso, where he attended the Grammar School, and made the acquaintance, through a circulating library, of "Percy's Anecdotes," and the writings of Tasso, Richardson, Fielding, Smollett, and Mackenzie. Here, too, began his acquaintance with the Ballantynes, who were his school-fellows. He returned to Edinburgh in November 1783, and entered College. In 1786, he was apprenticed to his father for five years, during which time he studied French, Italian, and Spanish, in order to read the poets and romancists of those languages. In 1787, his meeting Burns at the house of Professor Ferguson, and his first journey into the Highlands, strongly impressed his imagination. In 1790, he decided on preparing for the bar, and attended the law classes in the University; he also attended the lectures of Professor Dugald Stewart, in whose class-room he read some essays, which won him the esteem of that great man. |