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SEA FORTH ; PRINTED AT THE OFFICE OF THE SEAFORTH SUN. 1S84. xK' ^0jThey were intended to be purely descriptive of our trip to Ayrshire, and were elaborated from notes taken on the spot. These, as our readers will see, constitute th3 first six of the Burn a letters. At this point we called a halt and told Mr. Matheson that our labours were endied. That gentleman wrote to us saying that the letters were literally devoured by the readers of the Beacon, and that "surely we had a few more shots in the locker," and he urged us to write a defence of the life and character of the poet, which would make the subje^jt complete and very acceptable le> the readers of the Beacon. We nev^r thought that the life and works of Robert Burns PKKFACK. needed a defence, if properly understood, but that was the point. How few under- stand either aright ? We tliought we did, therefore we sicceeded to Mr. Matheson'.s request, and have the satisfaction of knowing that we have phased one man at least, foi that giintlenlan tohi us ])eison.illy tliat it was the hest and most Concise defence of the Scottish poet that he had ever seen in print. We have only picked out a few of the letters sent from Great Britain during our sojourn there, as the volume would be too large and expensive were we to publish them all. We have no mercenary motives in view in publishing these reminiscenses — we publish them by urgent request, but at the same time we wish to cover expense of publication. We have no time either to re- write or correct them, hence we present them just as they were written, with any imperfections they may contain, to a discriminating and incilligont public, hoping that their influence on the whole will be on behalf of the uood and the tr ue. THE AUTHOK. The LAf^D OF BuF{f^^. GLASGOW-KILWINNING-THE CASTLE 0' MONTGOMERY— HIGHLAND MARY'S THRON. ETC., ETC. *'Hail land of 80ii({ where countless bards Have tuned the heavenly lyre, Where Tannahill's mild strains are heard To blend with Burn's fire." On the 29tb of Apiil, 1882. I took my ticket at "Anld Keekie*' for Glasgow, at which place I remained for a few hours, and went on to Kilwinning. We elected to step otf the cars at this place on account of its connection with our favorite poet, Robert Burns. This is an ancient looking town of some 3,000 inhabitants. The streets are narrow, and many of the buildings poor. It was raining steadily. We trudged on, and meeting with a young man on the main street of the town, we asked him the question. *'Cau you show uie the building in which Burns was made i H TIIK LAND OF JlTRVS. a Miison?" Ho looked at jim; in an ^'arii(?st, .sii.'ipk*, chiUllike manner, anil sail, "I don't think I know him. I lie a tall man that teaches school?" He had never heard ol'tlui poet Burns ! I thankee him, telling him that my Hums was not the school teafiher, and 1 did not think he was very tall, hut they might be relations. 1 passed on, saying to niyself, "A prophet is not without honor, save in his own countiv and amongst his own kindred." However, I fount! that there waa a good deal of coal-milling going on in the vicinity and the prohability was that the voung man in question wi/.s a miner, and this class have not the reputation of being very intelligent. As I passed through the town I observed "Burns Hotel,"and upon inquiry was told that this was the tavern which the poet used to frequent when he came into the town. Inquiring about the Masonic Lodge where Burns was made a Mason and where he was afterwards elected Master of the lodge, I was dii-ected to a Mr. Wylie, merchant tailor, who is at present Master of the Kilwinning Lodge. He showed me the mallet which Burns wielded while in the chair. This is the oldest lodge in Scotland. The lodge room is quite venerable too, and an effort is being made to build a new place of THE LANI> OK BURNS. ineetiug for the nipther lod<,'o. Mr.Wylie is a very ^gentlemanly inan,antl some time auo received a handsome testimonial from the Masons of Scotland. He had been a candidate for the (>rand Mastership of Scotland, and had retired in favor of another gentleman who was elected' to that position. We examined the rnins of a Franciscan Abbey, which was founded by H.ugh de Morville in 1140. The church stands near the old spire of the Abbey, the last Abbot of which was Gavin Hamilton. I was told that while this Abbey was being built, the Society of Scottish Free Masons was first instituted. There is a handsome bell tower, about 105 feet high, which was erected In 1816. Kilwinning is celebrated for the practice of archery, which has been described by Sir Walter Scott in ''Old Mortality." The Archery Club was established in 1488 in which the popinjay is held. Kilwinning has in its vicinity Eglington castle, the magnificent residencj of the Earl of Eglington, which was the scene of the revival of the ancient tournament in 1849, under circumstances of unusual splendor. We were told that it nearly ruined this noble family. We walked out in the rain towards the seat of the Montgomeries, and as there were few people out on account V 10 THE LAND OF BURNS. of the inclemency of the weather, we had to fall back on nur own knowledge of the life and poetry of Burns for the associations which we undei stood it presented. We had only two hours until our train would arrive, hence we only went in sight of the castle, which is situated one mile and three-quarters from Kilwinning. We understood that in the days of Burns this castle was the residence of Colonel Hugh Montgomery, great grandfather of the present Earl, and that Highland Mary, or Mary Campbell, was dairy maid in the family. This was Burns* first and truest love. Had she lived co become his wife, it is difficult to say what his future course might have been. No doubt that honest, simple minded, beautiful Highland girl held the big burning h«iart of the poet all in her own keeping, she could have sv/ayed the impulsive, passionate mind of Burns as with the wand of an enchantress. We believe her influence would have been exerted for good and that many of those indiscretions which clouded his after-days would have been prevented. A great grief is often the turning point in a man's earthly career, especially if the man has wild passions like Robert Burns. Certainly Burns loved her with a manly sincerity, and a tenderness which he alone was THE LAND OF BURNS, U capable of cherishing. This, too, was in his '-glorious youthful prime," when his heart was a^ yet unseared by the cankering cares of a troublesome world, and we find that after the idol of hia warm heart had passed to that land. Where the wicked cease from troubling And the weary are at rest, she remained to him a blessed presence and a holy inspiration, which never failed to call forth his best thoughts till his sun went down amid the lurid clouds of his brief and troubled day. The deep scar which Mary's early death mads upon his manly heart was never healed. It opened many a time in after life, and strains of soft, sweet, melodious sorrow gushed forth, such as his address to Mary in Heaven : Thou ling'rin^ star, with less'ning ray, That lov'st to greet the early morn. Again thou usher'st in the day, My Mary from my soul was torn. Oh, Mary ! dear departed shade! Where is thy place of blissful rest ? See'st thou lover lowly laid ? Hear'st thou the groans tliat rend his breast ? We would have liked to have stood on the spot where that tender nicctiii^ between Burns and his Highland Mary took place — that meeting which was destined to be the last, and where he 12 THE LAND OF BURNS. .1* I: delivered to her the two Bibles with her name inscribed on tlieni with his own hand — the same Bil»les which 1 saw preserved in the monument on the banks of Bonnie Doon. We would have wished to have stood under Highland Mary's thorn, where the last fiirewell was taken — that thorn which was destine ^ to bloom forever in immortal song, but the time for retracing our footsteps had now arrived, so I took a last, long look at the Castle 0* Montgomery, near which Burns parted from his Highland Mary foiever, and as my eye wandered over the beautiful grounds by which it was surrounded, I recited that glorious lyric which I had learned while yet a boy in the backwoods of Old Lanark : Ye biinks and braes, aiul streams around The Castle o' Montgomery, (lireen be your woods, and fair your flowers, Your waters never drum lie ! Tiiere simmer first unfauld her robes, And there the langeat tarry ; For there I took the hxst farewell O' my sweet Highland Mary. How sweetly bloom'd the gay green birk ! How rich the hawthorn's blossoiy ! Att underneath their fragrant shade, I clasp'd her to my bosom ! The golden hours, on angel wings, Flew o'er me and my dearie ; For dear to me as light and life Was my succt Hii^hlaiid Mary I THE LAND OF BURNS 13 r I) V s :l s 1 1 B V Q 3 t ) 1 \Vi' iiiutiy a vow and loeked embrace. Our parting was fu' tender ; And, pledging aft to meet again, Wo tore ourselves ayun other business. After liaving taken np my rocni and (deposited Wy valise} 1 stated that I was going ;t« walk out to tlie'buidis of tht^Poon to ^3^ J:Jnrns' Cottage, Monnment and other places of interest, uud that ]• would examine Ayr on the following day. Having received tlwj proper instructions from the good lady, we started by way of the "llace Course" road. W-e set out from General Neill's status, passing between two rows of houses, that o» the right being Alloway IMace; that on the left, Burns' Terrace. We SiDon readied the " Kace Course,** which has in its vicinity some very fine villa residences. The " course " is said to be one of the best in Scotland, and has been the scene of many a contest by the best horses of the day. Further on in front of us we observed a hill of considerable height, and upon inquiiy vas told that ii was Carrick Hill. We wrdked on until we reached the low bridge of Doon, \yhfcn we turned to the left by a broad road, which we were told was Greenfield Avenue. We were fortunate" in. having overtaken a person who v>%fi well acquainted with TIIK LAND OF BURNS. 17 lue. veil 'ith the country, and as usual I made free to ask for information, which was cheei fully given. We observed a splendid mansion on thejight, which we were told was the residence of the late James Baird, Esq., of the famous iron firm. The mansion in question is constructed in the pure Elizabethian style and its beautiful gardens slope to the Doon river, We passed on until we reached the other end 'of Greenfield Avenue, and then turned a short distance to the left when we found ourselves at Burns* Cottage. This is one of the places we resolved to visit when we set foot in Great Britain. A sight of this **Auld Clay Biggin " had more charms for me than a glimpse of the Empress of Ind\a, notwithstanding the loyal feelings with which we regard the British Queen. This feeling is experienced by nearly all tourists from this side of the Atlantic — we might say by all — for All iisk the cottage of his birth, Gfize on tlie scenes he loved and sang, And gather feelings, not of earth His woods and streams amang We entered the cottage and stood on the clay floor, viewed the table with many a name carved on it, which had been used by the poet*« father and mother, the fire place with its grate and tongs, the lecess in the wall with a bed in it, the place '- 1 I I n ! 11 18 THE LAND OP BURNS. where the original bed once stood, where Burns was born on the 25th day of January, 1759, and a stormy night it was, too, and was quaintly referred to by the poet in the following h'nes : Our monarch's hiiulmost year but une. Was five and twenty days betjun, Twas then a blast o' Januar' win' Blew hansel in on Robin. Poor fellow! The " JAnnar' win'" never ceased to blow upon him, though at times he would Snap his fiHcjers puir and hearty. Before its face, until he finally succumbed to tae chill blast in the thirty-eighth year of his age. Upon the night of the poet's birth the house was rent by the storm and the child and its mother had to be removed to a house opposite. The place where the house in question stood was also shown us. It is replacsd by a neat cottage. The rent in Burns' cottage is still seen. It is easier to imagine than to describe my feelings while gazing on the identical spot where Burns' voice w^as first heard and where he first saw the light of day. His light then was easily extinguished ; it was flickering in its socket, but it grew brighter and stronger until it illumined the whole earth, and is THE LAND OP BURNir. 19 to-duy shilling with ever increasing power und splendour, undimraed by the years that hMve gone. First the Banks of Doon beheld it, Then bis own hand whs its span, Till the world became his empire, And his home the heart of man. We now visited the kitchen, which was in former days the chief apartment, and where until lately vij^itors met to drink to the immortal memory of Burns close to his natal spot — and we were told that many a carousal had taken place there — but this is all changed now, and no intoxicating liquors are allowed to be sold on the premises, however, we drank to the immortal memory of Otir favorite poet in a cup (»f good strong coffee, which was })repared m the spacious hall behind. This hall was foanded on the poet's natal day in 1847,the first stone being laid with Masonic honors by the late Maxwell Dick, Esq., of Irvine, an enthusiastic admirer of the Bard. Within thrs hall the poet's birthday is annually celebrated by Burns* club of Ayr and Alio way. At the celebration of I859,the gifted and eloquent Hartely Waddell presided and spoke with great ability. Here also on the 15th of Aug. 1871, the centenary of Sir Walter Scott,another brilliant son of Scotland, was celebrated. We 20 THE LAND OF BURNS. 1 ' f n ll H i...i now looked into the memorial room where we sa w many beautif ufl ai»d in tercjst ing relics of the Bard,such as photogra])hs and fancy work, likewise specimens of his handwrit- ing, which lait wereintensely interesting to ns as showing the original copies of some of his poems as well as one of his books accounting for collections he had made while acting as exciseman, laboring for his indispensable daily bread. From the door of the cottage a large field was pointed out to us where 80,000 people col- lected on the 6th of Aug.in the year 1844, to welcome Burns* three sons to the land of their father. There never was such an assembly, nor such enthusiasm seen in Ayrshire. Amongst those present were the Earl of Eglington, Prof. Wilson, Sir Archibald Allison, the late Lord President Boyle, Sir John McNeill, the late Prof. Ay ton n. Sheriff Glassford Bell, Douglass Jerrold, Noel Paton, R. S. A., besides Mrs. Begg, and poet's sister,and his three sons, Eobert, the eldest,Lieut.-Oolonel William Nicol, his second, and Major James Glen- cairn, his youngest. The field m which the great banquet celebration was held is, agriculturally, one of the finest in Ayr- shire. It is situated on the Banks of the Doon. This finished my inspection of the ''clay biggin" where the Scottish THE LAND OF filiUNW. dl Homer was born, and writing niy name in the visitors' book, to testify to the fact that one of his admirers from Seaforth, in Canada, had ma friends and relations of Burns mouldering in the silent dust. We entered, and to the right our eyes rested upon the tombstone erected by the poet to his revered father, who is known to have inspired one . of Burns* finest poems, " The Cotter's Saturday Night." The original tombstone, erected to the poet's father, had been all carried away by relic hunters, and is now in all parts of the globe, so Rebert, to his credit, be it said, placed the presc nt modest monument over his sire's ashes, and as yet it remains THE LAND OF BURNS. 27 intact. In refeience to this poem, critics have differed widely, some considering it rather tame, and certainly it cannot be compared with Tarn 0*8hanter in fini, originality, invention, and in that pecu- liarity of jumping, as it were, from the sublime to the ridiculous, and no poem that we are acquainted with can compare with it, but still The Cottar's Saturday Night is a poem pregnant with fine sentiment, and has the merit of being a true j)icture of a pious Scottish family of the olden time. Moreover, it is not lacking in originality, pathos and patriot- ism, and what is better than all, it has a strong tendency to make the h* art better. It is, in short, one of the best sennons that «ver was written. Out poet ne^^er fails in all his writings to draw a good moraliesson, and here the lesson is grand, and as we stood by the grave of the hero of the poem, v/e quoted that lesson in words strong and earnest — that lesson that seemed to be echoed back to us from the city of the dead in the midst of which we were standirvg : "From scbues like these old Scotia's grandeur springs, That makes her lov'd at home, rever'Ci abroat fe^^ ^^^^^. .^ the numerous memeutos „e„t poet which . c*^^-^,,,, uowever. is in on the banks of >he ^ memorial of every way a more ^ asm^ ^ the bard than the one y^^^,,^^uA metropolis, being P -»';«« .^ ^^^d grounds, well .^tocke.l J-Hh ^- ^^ ^^^ turubs a" «"d»Ti'fe£.; ismade lor crowded city. A small a as ^ j^, 'visiting the -omune. .-dj ^^^^„^^^,y the P»^P««\ ^"^* f J„ds from this source expenses. Thejun^^^^^^^^ in a short we were told, *'«"/': ,j . vejy elegant ti«e suffici^ly to bmW^*,l, J.,,i„g„e cottage for the ^^', TOonumeiti was '''^'"'^iS^eSwion stone having built m 1820,Hie TO on the beenlMd ^Uh ^.-^r^^ySby the late 25tb of Jamury of that J^ ? ^^ p.^ M*.' Boiweil ot ^^^"^ ^,„3^,U>, to (afterwards Sw Aiex»i THE LAND OF BURNS 37 [letcT. tiding ,i tbe II arc L by ti a fivo' iibuvgH ing our \^ seat iutercst fgLVOvite inuinent /ev, is in lovial of Scottie^H beautiful vers and ,ke of the . made lor ounds, for necessary g source, in a short y elegant nildingwfe tnettt was otie Wing jvs on the w the late c, M. P-^ loswell), ^^ s K wlioso fjxertion« tlie monument owes its existence. The kee|)eri8 a civil.intelligent man and like moot Hcotchmen we have mot, a great admirer of the poet. Ho showed us many interesting memorials of the Ayrshire bard and amongst them the two Wbles to whieh we hdvo r»)fored in a ])revious letter, one "having belonged to Burns an(l tht otiier to Highland Mary. The ])oet and hi;* sweetho^rt, it will be remembered, met under a thorn tree near the castle of Montgomeiy and exchanged Bibles across a small innrving stream, lifted up water in their hands and vowing to love each other while woods grew and water ran. It was of this parting he sang many years afterwards when Bonnie Jean was his wife, in thai ballad which is probably ths finest he ever composed: Ayr, gMi'glinp, ki;afiM hia pebbled shore, O'trhuug with wild wcx^ds thick'niiig grecu The fragrant birch and hawthorn hoar, Twin'd amorous round the raptur'd scene. The flow'rs sprang wanton to he prest. The birds siiDg love on every spray — ^ Till too, too soon the glowing >ve8t Proclnini'd tbe speed o^ wiiip^ed day. Still oVr these scenes my memVy wakes, And fomUy fagroo^s with mi^^ care I . Tinie but the impression strpugor raakes, As streams their cihannels" deeper wear, My Mary 1 dear departed sbadfe ! ' Whtire is tl^y place of blusful rost? See'st thou thy lover lowly lairt ? Hesr*8t thou the groans thut reud bib breast ? V • tSSK -Ti-yr'^ca^ '!] II h i n .* if 1 1 it 38 THE LAND OF BURNS. We were told that this sublime ode was composed by Burns in one of bis periodical fits of melancholy, on the anniversary of Highland Mary's death. All day he had been thoughtful and at evening he went out and threw himself down by the side of one of his cornricks and with eyes fixed on a bright particular star, was found by his wife, who with difficulty l[)rought him in from the chilly midnight aii. His address co "Mary in Heaven " was already composed and he had only to commit it to paper. We examined both Bibles particularly, as they recalled many reminiscences of the poet. The Bible which Burns gave Mary had been elegantly bound and on it was written legibly in the bold hand of Burns, the words : " Ye shall not f.wear by my name falsely, I am the Lord." — Lev. xix : 12. On the blank leaf of the Bible which Highland Mary gave to her lover are the words : " Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oath."— Matt, v.: 23, and on another blank leaf his name and mark as a Royal Arch M|ison. The lovers never met again, Mary Campbell dying suddenly of lever in Grennock. The genius of Burns has rendered her immortal. Her mortal remains were interred in Greenock church THE LAND OP BURNS. 39 e ode )f bis ti the death, ind at dmself nricks ticular 3 with ! chilly liaxy in and he r. We as they lie poet, aiy had it was Burns, ' by my ev. xix : e which ' are the brswear he Lord another a Eoyal et again, of lever urns has mortal k church yard, and many tourists visit the town to see her grave and the monument which Burns erected over it. We were told that in after years Burns often shed tears al the recollection of his Highland Mary. We weie shown a lock of Burns* hair, A'hich was placed side bj side with a lock of Highland Mary's hair. The latter was very long and very bright, and of a deeper hue than flaxen. Within the monument we observed a bust of Burns by i,h3 lato Mr. P. Park, R. S. A., the famous Scotch sculptor. This bust is very delicate and fine, but too much* poetized, so much so that the likeness of the poet can hardly be traced. We purchased likenesses of Burns, Highland Mary and Bonnie Jean, Mary appearing to be a beautiful artless country lassie, with a face remarkably I weet. We thought at the time that it was no wonder that she captivated the heart of the poet. We now took a look at the grounds around the monument, which are very beautiful indeed. Few spots of earth can compare with it. Here we observed a tasteful grotto, in which are placed the statues of Tam O'Shanter and Soutei Johnny. These are by a self-taught sculptor of the nasne of Thom, but aie worthy of the great sculptors of modern times. Whether we lock at the ■I 40 THE LAND OF BURNS. letn* on tho jolly face of the Soutei, the inturning of the foet, the careless twist of the apron, his right himd holding a jug of ale, while his left lies carelessly upon his left knee — whatever part we view we must say it is well done. Tani is sitting on a chair with a tumblerful of ale in his right liFipd — in the act of drinking the Souter*s health. Tarn's face is the very picture of good nature, while the very texture of his worsted leggings are remarkably well rindered. You recognize then) at once as the veiy men described by Burns in "Tarn O'Shanter" : Ae market nicht, Tarn had got planted unco riclit. Fast by an ingle blrezijig finely, Wi' reaming swats that drank -Tivinely; Ami at his elbow Souter Johnny, His ancient, trusty, drouthy crony, Tam lo'ed him like a vfirra brither. The} had been foufor weeks thegither.'' While gazing on the statues of Tam (VShanter and Souter Johnny und recalling the words of the poem, we thought of a remark once made bv an old Scotch friend near Seaforth, "What a pity a man should ever be miserable, when ten cents can make him happy !" There is more truth than postry in the remark. Here is happiness beyond compare — especif^Uy for THE LAND OP BURN?. 41 ei, the A^ist of jug of )on bis ew we sitting 3 in his ing the he very le very igs tii'e 3 cognize escribed ely; lei". / of Tarn I recalling ught of a itch friend an should cents can nore truth Here is )ecially for Tarn — of the ten cent variety, for we are told by the master painter that "King;8 may be blest, bat Tarn was glorious, O'er a' the ilJs o' life victorious," but the poet does not forget to rvarn us that all such happiness as this is evanes- cent and perishing. That is the giand lesson h^ inculcates, and here it is : ''But pleasures are like poppies spread, You seize the flow'r, its bloom is shed; Or like the snow flake on the river, A moment white, then melts forever; Or like the borealis race. That flit ere you can point their place; Or like the rainbow's lovely form, Evanishing amid the storm." So perishes^ the happiness that is bought with ten cents worth of whiskey. Our Scotch friend will not dispute this statement The keeper of the monument learning that I had come all the way from Canada, and that I was an enthusiastic admirer of his favorite poet, was particu- larly friendly and gave all the information he could. He told me how Sir Alexander Boswell, M. P., had called a meeting in the county town for the purpose of starting a fund for the erection of a monument to Burns on the banks of the Doon. The meeting was held, but only one person attended, and that was Sir Alexander himself. He took the chair, 42 THE LAND OP BURNS. ^ ' however, read the resolutions that he had prepared, moved and seconded their adoption, and, without the usual vote of thanks having been passed to the chair- man, though he deserved it all the same, the meeting broke up. Sir Alexander then advertised the resolutions in the Times/Scotsman, and other leading papers to the effect that at a public meeting held at Ayr, these resolutions had been moved, seconded, and unanimously aj^^reed to; and the result fully justified the confidence the member for the county had in his scheme. Subscriptions immediately flowed in from all quarters, and the amount required for the erection of the monument and the laying off of the grounds was soon procured. This ought to teach us never to despair, even though *. days may be dark and friends may be few. . " Never give up," was evidently part of the creed of Sir Alexander Boswell. and this fine monument costing nearly four thcusanc pounds sterling, fully verified the concluding words of a poem which he had himself composed in prospect of the event : ''His birthright, his muse ! like the lark in the mornin', When nature enraptur'd, and artifice scorning, How blithely he carollM, his praise of the fair; How sweet were his notes on the hank of the Ayr' THE LAND 0¥ BURNS. 43 And ne^r to the spot where his kindred dust slumber, And marked by the Bard on the tablets of fame; And near to the thatched roof where he first lisp'd in numbers, Well raise a proud tribute to honor his name." Before bidding the agreeblc keeper farewell we asked him how many had visited the monun ent during one day since he came to the "banks and braes " He replied that one day during the summer eighteen hundred had paid the fee and viewed the monument and grounds surrounding it, and moreover he told me that if I would visit the graveyard in Dumfries where all that was mortal of the peasant bard had long ago mixed with its kindred dust, I would find a pathway where no grass would grow, worn by the feet of tourists from everv nation and clime, who had gone to pour their sorrows o'er the poet's dust, and view the last resting place of the foremast man of his time. To the pilgrim to this land of poets and of song, every place connecte I with the Bard's name is dear. **Wc linger by the Doon's low trees. And paft'ral Nith,and wooded Ayr, And round thy sepulchres, Dumfries! The poet's tomb is there. But what to us the sculptor's art. His funeral columns, wreaths, and urns; Wear we not graven on the heart, The name of Robert Burns ?'* 44 THE LAND OF BURNS. li ! ' i 1 1 VVe now bade the keeper farewell, and as we made our exit at the gate by which we had entered we turned round and took a last, lingering look at the lovely grounds consecrated to the poet's memory, and as we did so we could not help recalling the words which the great poet applied to another but certainly not a more pictures- que scene: •'Fair scenes for childhood 'e opening bloom, • For youth's gay feet to stray in; For manhood to enjoy his strength, And age to wear away in!" What a retreat from the toil and fever of this weary life ! And oh ! to sleep the last sleep, when Heaven's appointed time shall come, in some such scene as this, surrounded by so many images and reflections of the peaceful, the beautiful and the everlasting. As we turned to- wards the new bridge with the intention of ascending the rising ground beyond the Doon, reflecting as we went on the bright and beautiful scene, m the midst of which the poet's monument stands, we mentally hoped that this Eden we had just left might be only emblematic of that better Eden above to which the poet's freed spirit may have gone to sing immortal songs and bask in uncreated rays in the presence of the Great Author cf his wonderful genius, and as we climbed ^ the rising W h THE LAND OF BUIINS. 45 ground on the old Maybolti road leading to the "Brown Hill" of Carriok, which the bright rays of the setting sun had just turned into gohl, we hummed to ourselves the last verse of Gray's elegy, hoping it might be applicable to the poet of whom I might say in all sincerity, "Beyond the sea, beyond the snn, Till then, and then, I loye thee. ' With the following quotations v;e will leave the name and fame of Caledonia's darling son in the hands of a people, who though they have well nigh forgotten the Pitts, the Foxes, the Peels and the other famous men of the age in which the Scottish ploughman lived and sang, have preserved the honor and renown of the modern Homer in unfading green, by placing his monument on the banks of the Doon, his bust in Westminster Abbey and what is still better his undying memory in a sunny nook in each of their warm, jmtriotic hearts: "No further seek his merits to disclose, Or draw his frailties from their dread abode; There they alike in trembling hope repose. The bosom of his Father and his (iod," < I 1 i; The Laj^d of Buf^jh^. THE BROWN HILL OF CARRICK— ROBERT THE BRUCE -DISTANT VIEW OF AYR — ARRAN IN ARGYLE-THE WAL- LACE TOWER— THE AULD BRIG OF AYR, &c., &c. Amone the lionxiy winding banks Where Doon rins, wimplin', clear, Where Bruce ance ruled the martial ranks, And shook his Carrick spear. . — Bunu. At the conclusion of my last letter we had just commenced the ascent of the "Brown Hill of Carrick," once owned and often trod by the hero king of Scotland — the immortal Bruce. To this historical fact our poet refers in the above quotation from his poem of Hallowe'eD,the quotation constituting one of those brilliant flashes of genius which illumine the more commonplace descriptions with which the poem abounds, just as a sudden discharge 48 THE LAND OF RFRNS, . , I of electricity lights i:p for an instant the sombre sky. We realized the fact, liowever, that we were now treading on the ground once trod by the mighty Bruce as well as by the immortal Burns, the greatest king aud the greatest 'poet ever prodii<;ed by "the land 'of bi«own heath and shaggy wood/* What more do we require to stimulate the heart and fire the soul. We ascended the rising ground about a quarter of a mile and w^ere so fortunate as to overtake a gentleman able and willing to show us the various points of interest in the glorious sceni'iy which now burst upon our admiring eyes,a view which I feel certain cannot b(^ surpassed, if indeed equalled, in this land so rich in bright prospects, lovely scenes and magnificent landscapes. In the immediate foreground we beheld the monument already described, the *'auld brig" and the "Alio way Kirk," while a little further on is the cottage with its thatch covered roof where our poet was born. Continuing our gaze through- massive trees away beyond the "auld clay bisgin" we beheld the town of Ayr, sleeping in a calm little bay, the country stretching from "b<:)nny Doon" to the "bonny banks of Ayr," being dotted with modest cottages for the humble poor and elegant mansions THE LAND Of BURN8. 4$ bant the le fact, ding on y Brttce ins, the jet ever 1 heath do we fire the ground were so I an able ^ points y which j,a view 'passed, rich in es and mediate iiument and the ther oa •ed roof tinuing :avvay beheld la calm from inks of lottagei [insions fbr thff neh, the ornate gronnds around the latter giving the landscape a sweet aylvan aspect in keepiag with that admired so much on the "banks^and braes o' bonny Doon/' Lifting our eyes above the glorious foreground and turning them to the left we observe the blue Firth of Clyde, sparkling and gleaming in the rays of the setting sun like a silver sea and itretchini; away as fary as the ey ©^ can reach along a coast line bitten and dotted with hamlet, town and glittering spire, till the fleecy clouds above and the waves of "old ocean" l)elow became blended in one. Vision fails, and we close our weary eyes for a moment upon one of the finest sights we have ever beheld. Curiosity at once prevails. We open our eyes again and for relief look behind us, where we behold the "Brown JSill of Canick" and the storm beaten Ailsa Craig, while away to our right are the Craigs of Kyle, and in the distance the Cumnock and Muirkirk hillt. To the left, looking straight across the Firth, with straining eyes, we observe amidst settling mist below and clouds above, the lofty and heather-clad hills of Arran in the sliire of Argyll, the land of my forefathers, the only gliwipse I ever got of Argyll being snatched amidst clouds and mist, which recalled vividly ^Km I . y\ pt )r I In II' I m 50 THE LAND OP BURNS. the lilies of Byron ou to my mind J^chuagav : Ronnd Lochuagar while the storiiiy mist ({athers, Wiut«r preaides iu his cold icy car, Clouds there encircle ^he torma of my fathers: They dwell in the tempests of dark Lochnagir. England ! thy beauties are tame and domestic To one who has roved on the mountains afar, Oh, for the crags that are wild and majestic 1 Tiie steep frowQing glories of dark Lochnagar. Turning from the Highlands to the Lowlands again, and taking another glance at **AU'ld Ayr," with its lofty spire and tower, v/e gazed one minute at the lovely panorama of hill and dale that lay between, then, turning to our obliging friend who had aided us so much, we said, " What a mignificent landscape for an artist to paint — if done to peifection it wonld be unequalled in the world." He told me that a celebctjited Scotch artist had arranged to paint Ayr from Carrick hill, but death paralyzed his hand all too soon, and that it was one of the regie ts of the gifted Horatio McCuUoch as he sank calmly to rest, that he would see ^'Browu Carrick Hill" no more. As the shades of evening weie gradually blottinj^ out the grand panorama which we admired so much, we bade our companion farewell and slowly retraced our steps down the hillsidu,over the new bridge, past the inn. mv THE LAND OF BURNS. 51 the monument and the new Alloway Kirk to my ri|{ht and the auld Alloway Kirk to my left We pauaed a moment at the gate to take another look at the grassy mound which covered the ashes of William Burns, ''the saint, the father and the husband " of the "CJotter's Saturday Night," which is one of the beat sermons that was ever composed. Amid^it night's gathering gloom we repeated th j well- known lines which his son, the famous Bobbie, had insciibed on his father's tombutonc, a worthy epitaph on a worthy man : — . - ye, whose cheek the tear qf pity stnins/ ' Draw near with pioua reverence and attend Here lie the loving husband s dear rf>inaiu8, The tender father and the generous friend; The pitying heart that feh for ha ma woe. The dauntiessheart that feared no human pride, The friend of man, to vice alone a foe, •'For even his failings leaned to virtue's side." Taking a parting look at " Alloway's auld haunted kirk" — hoary relic of the past — we turned our backs upon the "banks and braes o' bonny Doon," perhaps forever, and quickening -our pace we soon reached the "auld elay biggin," dear to Scotchmen and their descendants the world over, passed it, turned round and with uplifted hat bade it adieu, solemnly for the sake of him who was born inside 52 THE LAND OF BURNS, its walls. May his \nemory still be fresh and green when the clay of which the cottage is composed will have mouldered into dust and mixed with the kindred soil aroun 1 it. We doubt it not for his is One of the few, the immortal names That were not born to die. We pashed on towards A.yr — the road leading through a beautiful grove — the branches of the trees overhanging oui pathway. It must be a delightful walk on a rummer's evening, when the grove is vocal with the melodious notes of the feathered songsters, for which this country is so famous. That night we needed not the fihade, for the sun had gone and wc heard not the birds ; they too had gone to rest. As we passed through the grove and the lights of the town came in view, the stillness could be felt, silence reigned supreme. We were rather pleased than otherwise at this state of things, for we werft calmly m«ditating on what we had seen and heard during the few eventful hours we had been in "the land of Bums." We entered Ayr by a very fine street in what is called the "New Town," there being rows of clean, comfortable, as well as commodious houses on each side, and soon reached Eamsay's Lotue Hotel, where we had engaged rooms previous to THE LAND OF BURNS 53 » starting on our excursion to the "banks •f the Doon." We oidered dinner, as we only had a hasty lunch at Kilwinning, and our appetite being somev/hfit sharpened by the exercise of walking as well as by the fresh sea breezes blowing over the hills of Carriok, we did full justice to the eatables which the good lady set before us, in fact they disappeared before our vigorous att^acks like snow b^'.fore an April sun. I have no doubt the good lady at first sight took me for an Englishman in disgaise. I had an Englishman's appetite at anymte for once in my life. It was now nine o'clock at night and little more could be done by way of sight seeing — we, however,Te8olved to take a short walk and see the '*auld brig of Ayr" and the new one, and the Wallace Tower. An agreeable Scotsman — and I have found all Scotsmen agreeable — a guest at the hotel, kindly volunteered to accompany us and away we went for the "auld brig." We passed the Wallace Tower on our way to the old bridge. When chere was as yet no monument dreamt of the people of Ayr showed their gratitude to the "Deliverer of the North" by building this handsome tower in the centre of their town. It is 113 feet high and supports a statue of Wallace, by r I . i I" I I t i! Si; f I I $4 THE LAND OP BURNS. Thom On the corner of the street opposite is another statue of Wallace, of a rud^r kin I, but which evinces the same grateful feeling to the brave patriot of whom Burns sings in the following lines : We'll sin^ auld Coila's plains and fella. Her moors red brown wi' heather bells. Her banks and braes, her dens and dolls, Vf here glorious Wallace Affc bore tlie gree, as story teils Frae Southern billies. At Wallace's name, what Scottish blood. But boils np in a springtide ilood. Oft have our fearless fathers strode By Wallace's side, Still pressing onward, red-wat shod, ^'** Or glorious died. The Wallace Tower, we were told by our friend, is built on the very spot where the house stood in which the hero was once imprisoned and the spot is also shown, marked by a round stone in the sidewalk where his head struck when he was thrown out of a window by the English soldiers. Our Scotch friend was a great admirer of WalUce and Bruce as well as of Burns. He quoted a verse or two from "Scots, wha hae wi' Wallace bled," and asked what I thought of that as a War ode. I said that if it might be called an ode, it was the grandest one out of the Bible. I told him I had recited Bruce's address standing on the "Bore staue" on the field of Bannockburn and tried to niE LAND OP BURNS. 65 I* realize the situation,the two armies facing eacli other in order of battle. It was life or d3atli with the Scots. In the death- like repose before the onset, Bruce's voice is heaid clear, shrill, loud as a trumpet — **Soot8 wha hae wi' Wallace bled," &c, It was enough to fan the patriotic flame within them into a devouring fire, and it did it. The result was, the oppressors were overthrown. Scotland was free I But a few paces further on and we stood upon the *'auld brig of Ayr." Our informant gave us the following history of this edifice. It was built in 14.85 by two sist^^vs, near what was known as the Bucat stream, a ford just above it. It is narrow, roughly causewayed, and still wears the look of sturdy independence which drew forth the admiration of Bums. It was insufficient, however, to meet the growing requirements of the increasing population, and in 1788 the new bridge was completed at an expense of £5,000. During some heavy floods in 1877 gave way and a more capacious bridge was erected in 1879 on the same site at a cost of £15,000. This, we were told, is a!so giving way on account of being built on a foundation partly composed of a sort of quicksand. However, even if this fine structure stand? the floods and storrn^,^ v^'l t nw 1^ TH£ LAND OF BURNS. Burna', prophetic words have already been fulfilled, namely: "1*11 be a brig when ye're a shapless cairn.** As our enthusias- tic Scotch friend ond I stood on the '^auld brig" gazing toward) the new, which stands about 100 yards off, he recited part of Burns' poem on the twa brigs. Conceited gowk! puflfd up wi' windy pridv! This mony a year I've stood the flood aad tide, And tho' wi' crazy eiM I'm sair forfairn I'll be a brig when ye're a shapeless oaiml As yet yo Uttle ken about the matter, But two, three wintera will inform ye better, When heai'y, dnrk, continued a'-day rains, Wi' deepening deluges o'«^ow the plains: Wltenfrom the hills where springs the brawling Coil, Or stately Lugar's mossy fountoins borl. Or where the Greenock winds his moorland course. Or haunted Carpal draws his feeble source, Aroused by blust'ring winds and spouting thowes. In mony a torrent down ttie snaw-broo rowes; WhHe creaking ice, borne on the roaring spate; Sweeps dams, an' mills, an' brigs a' to the yskte^ And from Glenbuck down to the Rattcn-key, Attld Ayi is just one lensthen'd tumbling sea — Then down ye '11 hurl, deal nor ye never rise 1 And dash the gumlie JAupaup to the^pouring skies. ^ The Laf^d Of BuF^i^p. skies. THE BONNY BANKS OP AYR— BURNS AND SHAKESPEARE— A SCOTSMAN'S OPINION —THE WALLACE TOWER— TAM O' SHANTEF HOTEL— THE BURN WEEL MONUMENT, Ac, Ac, FarewelL old CoiU^s hills aud dales. Her heathy moors and winchng valea, The scenes where wretched fancy roves, Parsuini^ past unhappy loves. Farewell my friends, farewell my foes. My peace with these, my love with those— The bursting tears ray heart declare. Farewell the bonny banks of Ayr. — Bums. At the conclusion of my last letter I ^as standing on the auld bi^ of Ayr at ten o'clock at night in the com])ahy of a Scotch friend, and both were gazing towards the new brig. To the right and to the left we had a moonlight view of the "bonny banks of Ayr," of which Burns sang in the poem from which I I iflH C8 THE LAND OP BURNS, have made the above extract. Our friend had just given a quotation from Burns' poem, "The Twa Brigs," with which we finished our letter. Wishing to extract an opinion from me, he turned round and looking me squarely in the face, said, "What do you think of our \yrshire poet ?*' "He is worthy," I said, "of a prominent place in that brilliant constel- lation of poets who revolve round the mighty bard of Avon 'as their common sun and centre.*' •*Biirna i evolve roun* Shakespeare 1" said he, "Burns was too indepandent to revolve roun' onybody, and he didna need to do it." "I only refer to their relative merits as men of genius and my judgment puts the myriad- minded Shakespeare ahead of them all," we replied. *'Weel," he sftid, somewhat nettled and disappointed, "Shakespeare may be guid enough, but in my opinion he's no to be compared with oor ain Burns." I admitted that in naturalness, independence, fervor, pathos, patriotism, pity and sonlft other qualities Burns was ahead of Shakespeare,and perhaps, superior to any poet with whom I was acquainted, but in other respects tta grei^t master of the English language putshoue bur favorite bart(, as the sun surpassed the moon in brightness. "We must consider, however,** THE LAND OF BURNS. 5^ »» er, I said, '*that Burns died at the early age of 38 years, when his intellect could hardly be said to have matured, at an age when few poets have produced anything of lasting merit. We can hardly conceive what immgrtal works he might have produced had he lived to be sixty years of age. Moreover, he was always toiling and moiling in order to procure the indispensible daily bread, so that he had little time left during his brief sojourn to cultivate the Muses and give expression to those glorious original ideas with which his wonderful brain was so replete." This explanation fully satisfied our Scotch friend, and we prepared to return to our hotel. I found that in Scotland you must not meddle with Robert Burns or John Knox. Those two names are sacred. I in\vardly resolved to say nothing more about Shakespeare until I had cr^jssed the borders. It was the only time since I entered Scotland that I fired the Scottish blood. The very idea of Bobert Burns '^revolving" round an Englishman seemed to be too much for Sandie. Ho could not stand that, and coming from one whom he was almost claiming for a Scotsman was the unkindest cut of all. Wo returned to Ramsev's Lome hotel and soon retired to our room, which was a ' GO THE LAND OF BURNS. fino Olio and well ventilated. Indeed, I think I got tlie best one in the house. 1'he landlady herself was a great admirer of 13iiins, and appeared to be well pleased when she found out that T had made the ]>ilgi image to Ayrshire solely on his account. This fact, I believe, contributed largely to my comfort. 1 soon retired to rest, reflecting on what I had seen during the day — the most remarkable day in my life — in a literary point of view. With what interest, said I to myself, will I now read the works of my favorite poet ? His matchless descriptions will be a real presence to me forever. The beautiful landscapes he painted in such vivid colors are stamped indelibly on the canvas of my imagination. I will be able to gaze upon them when the wild Atlantic rolls between. You may call this anusement, recreation, relaxation 1 Away with such names, it is a thing of beauty, a thing of joy forever. With such feelings, such ideas, in my head, I turned into bed and and was soon lost in sleep. **Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleeve of care, And steeps the senses in forgetf alness. " Had breakfast at 8 next morning, after having a good night's rest, the first I had spent in the land of Burns. I now set out to view the points of interest by THE LAND OF BURNS. 61 daylight and a lovely day it was. We again visited the "auld brig" and then the new one,still retaining our kindly feelings for the "auld," in short we loved it for the poet's sake. We repeatedly turned round to view the tall gothic clock tower,erected in memory of Wallace, and as we did so the remembrance of many a thrilling event in the war of Scottish independence rushed through our biain. Such men do not require a monument to perpetuate their memories. They live in the hearts of a libeiated people for all time» as Wcllace lives in the hearts of <,ae people of Scotland to-day. We now,for curiosity visited the "Tarn 0*Shanter hotel," on the fjign of which we ol>served Tarn on his gray mare "Meg," bidding farewell to the landlord and "Souter Johnny," as he wps about to start for home on that fearful night, so vividly described by Br.rus in his well- known poem of Tam O'Shanter. The wooden cup or bicker from which Tam drank upon that awful night is still shown and many visitors have the ambition to drink from it too,but as it did not do much for either Burns, Tam, the Souter, or indeed for any of their countrymen, we decline to honor with thanks. These immortal heroes of what Burns justly looked upon as his standard performance 7^.-- T- 1 I ■; I ti \ G2 THE LAND OF BURNS. in the poetic line where Douglass Oraham, a farmer of "Slianter," near Kirkoswald, and .fohu Davidson, a shoemaker, or *'Souter," to give him the Scotch title, of the same place where both aie buried. This is snid to be the identical inn, and was then kept by a woman of the name of Jean Kennedy. We now visited St. John's old church of Crom well's day, which is built on the site of a Friary. There was an older church of the 13th century, of which a tower is left at the Fort, which Cromwell built in his Scottish c impaign. It stood close to William the Lion's castle, where Bruce held a parlia- ment to confirm the succession of the crown. We examined particularly the ruins of the old Cromwellian fort, until we felt sure that as a ruin we could not improve upon it. Next wo visited the liarbour and made inquiries in reference to the shipping. We found that over 5,000 tons of shipping are registered at the port, which has a well constructed pier. New docks were opened here in 1878, which covered six acres. Ayr has over 18,000 inhabitants and re'jurns one member. It is situated at the mouth of the river Ayr.a picturesque stream lunning Ixjtween steep banks, from about 30 miles in the interior. Salmon and water o' Ayr ri THE LAND OF BURNS. G3 at ;ted in has one of whetstones.as is well known, are oxporttd from this plaoe. The chief branches of manufactures are shoes, cotton ami woolen goods, carpets and nails, A lamentable occurrence took place here in 1875, which is still spoken of with horror. It was the burning of 30 persons in a factory. Wc were told that the county buildiu<^s at Ayr were copied from the temple of Isis at Eome. We found that Burns' memory was fresh an J green in auld Ayr. They are proud to claim him for their son. He was born a short dibtance from the town, though his father came from the north country. The next place we visited was the **Buin Weel Monument," in the vicinity of the town. It is built on a small eminence. We enquired why it was called "Burn Weel," and were told it was built to .commemorate an exploit performed by Wallace, known as the burning of the, "Barns of Ayr." It is said that Wallaoe with a small detachment of Scots stood on this hill when the -"Barns" in question were burning with the English oppiessors inside of them,and he remarked that he never thought that the "Barns of Ayr" would burn "bO weel," hence the name of the hill, and monument erected thereon. The event in question is believed by the people ot Ayr and indeed of all 04 IHE TiAND OF BURNS. »l Scotland to have actually taken place, and I suppose it did. At any rate you must not express any doiibts on the subject when speaking to the people of this part of the country. The story as related to ine was as follows, and it agrees with what Sir Walter Scott gives in his "Tales of my Grandfather'* and Blind Harry in his poetical Life of Wallace,both of which I brought from the old country with me: The English governor of Ayr had invited the Scottish nobility and j^entry of the west to meet him at some large buildings called the "Barns of Ayr," for the purpose of consulting on the affairs of the nation. The real object, however, was to put the nobles to death. The English hid halters ready prepared and hung on beams abt^vo so that as the Scots were admitted, the nooses were thrown over their heads and they were hanged. Among those who were slain in this treacherous manner were Sir Randolph Cmwtora, Sheriff of the county and uncle of Sir William Wallace. Wallace was terribly enraged when he heard what had befallen the flower of the land, and he resolved to be revenged on the authors of this great crime. He found out that the English had drunk freely and had lain down to sleep,and so collectiughk men he stationed THE LAND OK BUKNS. them in a wood near the town of Ayr until he would require their services. He found out that they kept no guard, as they did not expect that enemies were su near them. He then sent a party of men, who, with strong ropes tied the doors fast on the outside, while another pirty pre- pared heaps of straw, which they set on fire, and the "Barns of Ayr" being of wood were soon in flames. When the English awoke thoy tried to save their lives, but the doors would not yield and those who jumped out of the windows were killed by the Scots who had sur- rounded the building in question, thus great numbera perished miserably. The crime of the English was gveat the revenge of Wallace terrible. His hand was ever the sworn foe of the tyrant and the oppressor and it was for the freedom of his native land that he dealt the deadly stroke. Wallace believed that they who would be free, themselves must strike the blow : and he did it. All honor to him ; ki'^gs and princes die ; heroes and patriots J immortal; Wallace will live forever. i faced death in many a form and when udsely betrayed into the hands of his enemies suffered an ignominious death on the char^^e of treason to the English king — thouf he never owned hip authority 66 THE LAND OF BUWNS. or swore allegiauce to him. Death had no terrors for him. His desire was to have liberty or death. He got the latter; his country got the former. Death, thou art terrible to the coward and the slave. But to th« hero, when his sword Has won the battle for the free, Thy voice sounds like a prophc^/s word. And in its hollow tones are h?ard The thanks of mrl?ions yet to be. :1 ! I. V// .1 '}ih // tiU The Lajsd of Buf^js^. FAREWELL TO AVR-THE TOWN OF IRVINE— THE POET JAMES MONTGOM- ERY - THE BUCHANITES - THE DEATH OF BURN'S FATHER — DEFENCE OF THE POET- CRITICISM OF HIS WORKS, &c. Farewell ! a word that must be and iiath been, A sound that n^kca us linger, yet farewell. — Byron. HaviLg seen all the points of interest around "aujd Ayr," we prepared to leave it, Mid we must i*ay we did so with regret, and with the feeling that in all probability we would never see it again. Our short sojourn in this place had been the moit delightful and interesting we yet had in Scotland, mainly, we suppose, on account of its intimate connection with the life and early days of our favorite G8 IHE I.ANi> Of BL'HNK. poet We felt that when we were bidding farewell to Ayr we were bidding farewell to Burns. However, as we had to visit Irvine, where the poet once resided, we could not say that we had done with the land of Burns yet. We recalled to mind Burns' own farewell when he had made up his mind to leave his native land forever, his trunk being at that time on its way to Greenock. He was sailing for the West Indies, a country which he seems to have looked upon as a sortof chai'nel-house : "Farewell, old Scotia'a bleak domains, Far dearer than the torrid plains, Where rich anauaK blow ! Farewell, a mother's blessing dear 1 A brother's sigh ! a sister's tear ! My Jean's heart reiifling throe ! Leaving Ayr on a bright sunshiny morning, a ride on the cars of about eleven miles brought us to Irvine, a town of about 7,000 inhabitants, with a consijler* able coal and shipping trade. Irvine is situated at the mouth of the Irvine water, and contains some good public buildings and a ruined castle of the Earl of Eglington. It was of interest to me mainly on account of its connection with literary men. It is the birthplace of the poet, James Montgomery, whobe poems I hnd read with interest while vet a boy — THE LAND OF BURNS 69 and whose lines on "Praver*' I had often quoted. This town has also the honor of being the birthplace of Gait, the novelist, whose works have been extensively read and are still much admired. It is likewise the cradle of the wildly fanatical sect called the Buchanites. Jack, one of the leaders of the Buchanites, lived in Irvine. This sect was called Buchanites from Mrs. Buchau, the founder, who considered herself to be the woman spoken of in the 12th chapter of Revelations, in the following word^ : "And there appeared u great wonder in heaven : a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars, &c." However, I did not take much stock in Mrs.Buchan, notwith- standing her gorgeous raiment, and it was not on her account that I visited Irvine. If Burns had not lived in Irvine and dressed flax in Glasgow-Vennel street, I would not have visited that town. Mv visit to it was not as unfortunate as the poet's,foi Burns was robbed by his partner in trade his flax dressing shop was burned down and he returned home impaired in purse, spirits and character, to find his father on his death bed at Loch lea. This town did Burns no good. The place swarmed at that time with smugglers 70 THE LAND OF BCRNS, I If UV « ; .11 11 niili iinkn«»wu, ^ almighty, cause Of aJl my hopp and fear ,' itt whose liread praKeuce, ere an hour, Fcrhape I ouiat appear. (1 I r 72 THK LAND OF BUKN8. If 1 have wandered in those path* Of life I ought to shnn ; As Romethinfl:, loudly, in my breast, Reinonttrates I have done. Thou know'»t that Thou hast forin'd nis With passions wild and strong ; And listening to their witching voice ; Has af ten led me wrong. Where human weakness has come short, Or frailty stept aside, Do Thou, All-good, for such Thou art. In shades of darkness hide. Where with intention I have err'd No other plea I have, But Thou art icood and goodness still Dclighteth to forgive. The something of which he speaks is his conscience — the voice of the soul — which always speaks the truth and never yet led man astray. The part which is often held up to condemnation is where he says : "Thou know'st that Thou hast formd me With passions wild and strong, " ftc. Let us examine these lines. Mankind are all formed with animal passions. They are natural to men, and there are no tv'o creatures exactly alike in this respect. These passions are intended to be kept in subjection to our reasoning powers and our moral nature. It is only when our passions are allowed to run '*wild as the wave*' that, they become sidful and unnatuml. "But/' says the critic, '^Burns THB LAND OF BURNS. 73 allowed th»»ni to do this." "Ave ! there's the ruh." He confessed it himself and deplored the fact. But did not King David CO the same? Bums sinned --how deep I do not know ; but however heinous his sins were, King David committed sins of a still deeper dye. David was an on en till autocrat and belonged to a warm* blooded and somewhat voluptuous race, and these things no doubt go far to pal- liate or even excuse his offence in the eyes of some. With fair judges Burns also does not want his pilliators. He was a fervent poet like the son of Jesse, and like him he had hot blood and quick nerves. He had dynamite in his com- position and we know that dynamite is a powerful explosive. We cannot estimate the actions of a man of this kind as we would a cold blooded precisionist who had been trained from infancy in the strict proprieties of life — without feeling — impulse or soul. As well judge cold iishes and hot salaniandeis by the same law. They are not fed on the same food. They have nothing in common. *'But David repenied/' says the critic. So did Burns, we reply, and we have no reason to doubt his repentance was less sincere than that of the crowned Hebrew sinner. The prayer we have just quoted bears us 74 THK LANI» OK III UNH. Ji! .4' I ! ! I'll !; |!i" out ip this statement. Both men sinned — both men repented. We claim the same even handed justioc fur the Soot as for the Jew. "But David was inspired/* intercedes the critic. So much the worse for David then, we reply. If the inspired Kiu^ of Isiuel, who had l)eiin surrounded by good induences from his earliest years — who had been hedged around as it weie by a wall of inspiration — who had been anointed and led in the path of rectitude by the good old Samuel — if he the highly favored leader of a chosen race — if he with such surroundings fell and committed sins before which the combined sins of the Scottish poet dwindle into insignifi* cance — surely we ought not to deal too harshly with Burns when we consider the age in which he lived and the malign influences by which he was surrounded, but mther use the language of that Divine Being, who kntw what was in the heart of man. *'Judge not that yc may not be judged." "Except for grace," said John Bunyan,"! should have been yonder sinner." Bunyan had strong passions, and had been ,a great sinner, but had re- pented. "Granted,*' says Carlyle, in his essay on Burns, "Granted the ship comes into harbor with shrouds and tackle damaged, and the pilot is therefore blame TUK LAND OF BURNS. 76 M'oitliy, tell us first whether his voyage lias been avound the glohe or only to llanisgute anil the Isle of Dogs." This puts Burns' case in ics true light. In sitting in judgment upon him, if we are justitied in doing so, let us in all reason consider his fiery, poetic temperament and the strong passions of the man. We find this idea strongly put in the "Vision," where the guardian genius of old "Coila" addresses her poetic son in the following words : **1 saw thy pulse's maddeniiig play, Wild 8en^h they may gan< a kentiin wraug, To »tcp aside is haman ; One point must still be grtut^ly dark, The moving why they do it ; And just OB lamely cun ye mark, How far perhaps they nte it. are by 3 in THE LAND OF BURNS. Who made the heart, 'tis he alone Decidedly can try us, He knows oaoh chord— iU various tone, Each spring— ita various bias ; Then at the balance lets the mute, We never can adjust it. What's done we partly may compute. But know not wnats resisted. fil We believe that Burns, like nioAt think- ing men in all ages, was often harassed with doubts in matters of religion — but we also know that during his lingering illness, when he had come to look upon this world as a fleeting show, and all its allurements as vanity of vanitief>, he set- tied down in right earnest to that gi-aiid old bcJr, whidi he made his constant coimpanion, and read earnestly during the latter days of his life. Indeed, the laf.t tim9 he ^a^ seen out of doors, he was poring over his Bible on the banks of the river Nitb. In those days of fever and weakness he read no other book. This was surely a good sign — a sign that he was preparing at any rate, if not already prepared for the great and important change that ^vas awaiting him. For nmuy weeks if not months before be died Bums knew that his end was approach- ing. He removed to a place oilled Brow, on the Boiway shore, to get the benefit of the sea bathing, but the relief from this «3 THE LAND OF BURNS. I ; I li> ( source was only temporary, and he re- solved to return to Dumfriea. The fol- lowing anecdote of himrat this time has been [)reserved. A night or two before Burns left Brow he drank tea with Mrs. Craig, widow of the minister of Ruthwell. His altered appearance excited much silent sympathy, and the evening being bu^autiful and the sun shining brightly through the casement, Mrs. Craig was afraid the light might be too much for him and rose to let down the window blinds. Bums immediately guessed what she meant, and regaiding the good lady with a look of great benignity, said, "Thank you, my dear, for your kind attention ; but oh ! let him shine, he will not siJne long for me," His old friend, Mrs. Riddell, who wae revived against him tc the in- jury of his future reputation; tiiht his letters and verses written with unguard- ed and impmpcr freee put to straits to pay back the money he had lent him years before, but which his soon-to-be-widowed wife and his orphan children would so soon require ? Here was a struggle between poveity on one side and brotherly love on the other which discloses the finer feelings of his nature. '' ' ".t » ii: t!! 86 IHE F^ND OF BURNS. which the critics generally pass over ia silence. About this time a cool, calcukt* ing scoundrel who was aware of his pov- erty, ofTerei Burn» fifty pounds for a col- lection of those unguarded and rougher pieces which the poet intended to consign tooblivioii. This offer he repelled with indignation and remorse. Money coild not induce the dying man even when in indigent circumstai:>ces, with want staring his family in tlve face — money could not induce hiontry where storms can never come. He has issed the icy river, he has passed through oatttie into eternity, has entered the undiscO'Vered land from whose pre- cincts iM> wanderei has ever yetVeturned ; he has passed into the Presence Chamber of that All Wise Creator, whose laws he frequently violated, and whose pardon through the Great Meditator he as fre- quently supplicated, and we hope at last received, for we know that — **To err is human,— bat to forgive, divine." Wc will not attempt to disturb the sub- lime silence of that calm country, whose secrets are kept so well, but will now )eave him in the handa of that Mysterious 94 THE LAND OF BURNS. Person who came "Dot to call the right- eous, but sinners to repentance/' that Be- ing who, when on earth, told his hearers to ** Judge not that they might not be judged/' that Divine Man who, when asked by an unfeeling Pharisaical mob to pass sentence of condemnation on a great, lonely and friendless sinner, lifted his ficornful eyes towards the self-righteous ones and said with a knowledge which be- longed only to the Groat Searchtr of Hearts, and with a Jpfty sarcasm which banished the canting hypocrites in question from His holy presence, "He that is with- out sinamon^ you l^t him cast the first stone." n\/f Lkiid of Wklliide kii^ 8rtide ■ li VISIT TO STIRLING CASTLE -OTHIL AND GRAMPIAN HILLS — TH^ LINKS OF. THE FOBTHt^ABBEY CRAI<^ AND CRAIG FO^TH — A GLORIOUS PANORAMA — THE FI^LD OP BANNOCKBUM, 1^TC., Etc. We crossed pv^r a draw, bridge, a dee^ fo39e thrpugh two walls, of de/enpe asd two gateways, and then we really ent^re^ the stronghold. The whole for* res? reminded nie very mMcli of Edinburgh castle, to Tirhich ; I had paid three visits while in the northern capital- The only part o^, this castle we werQ alloin;ed to enter was the Douglas UpoBi and the Gardens. In this room Wip.,Earl pf Douglas wps murdered by James II. and his,bo% thrown pu^.pf.th^ window, beneath wl|icl> a skeleton was lately dug up, evidently the remains of ■4- i \\ 96 THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. that powerful chief. This wing of the castle was burned in 1855, including the Douglass Room, but was rebuilt in keeping with itd former style. The rastle is not so high as the Edinburgh castle, being 340 feet above the tide level and stooping precipitously like the latter on one side. Here it is north west. We walked round the ramparts and viewed the country on all sides, from the **Princes' Walk" to the "Ladies* Look-out," "Queen Mar/'s Look- out," "Victoria Look-out," the last taking its name from our present Queen's admi- lation of it in 1842. The view on all sides was without exception the finest I ever set my eyes upon. It was one magniticent pauoiama over foregrounds of exquisite beauty, away to Arthur Seat Tinto, the Lennox and Ochil Hills and the Grampians. Turning my eyes downward to what is known aai^he Carse of Stirling, a part of which must have been at one time covered by the sea when the rock upon which I stood no doubt was the terror of the seanr an and the cause of many a wreck, turning my eyes to the Carse on which the bright rays of an April SUE were beaming, I beheld the "Links of the Firth," wending their way through tbi^t green and lovely vale, like a huge sea serpent making his way with l! THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. 97 he jhe pg lot e. d n ne many a curl to his home in the dark blue sea, and mauy a curve an 1 many a sweep, his head being lost to view away down where the Fri jh of Forth joins the ocean. To my left is Abbey Craig, overtop[»ed with the Wallace monument, while awav bahind mo is Craig Forth, with its thickly wooded sides, and in the distant north, the blue rugged mountains of the High* lands loom up in everlasting grandeur, down below me and a little to the left is the old bridge of Stilling, near which stood the Kildean brulge, the scene of Wallace's greatest victcn-y, and imagina- tion pictures him looking down in lofty, Ipnely splendor on a country freed main- ly through his exertions. Before m«i oh tJie esplanade Bruce is still pointing and will pdnt forever towards Baanockbuin, the crowning victory of his life, which se- cured the liberties of his country ,registered the deed of her independence in the record- ing office of thdliationa,and placed it in the archives of eternity. I am standing on the spot where Queen Victoria and many Kings and Princes stood before me. The ground is histoiic. Here Queen Mary and her son James Yl.wei'e crowned and here many of the Hoyul Stuarts lived and died. Many a time has the battle, fierce and bloody, raged around the spot on wr- v'i ! I i i I 'i 98 THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. which I am now standing, from the time the old Eoni an warriors made a fortress of this rock and held it as the key to ancient Caledonia, down to the time when **l'he Hammerer of Scotland" held it, nntil it was retaken by the Bruce and became Scotland's forever. The suiToundings are inspiring, the spot pregnant with interest, thrilling reminiscences fill my brain, the mind for the time bursts its fetters and sweeps back millions of years, and in imagination sees old ocean dashing its waves into foam ofjthe rock on which I am now standing, as armies dashed against it in more modern times. The scene before me is magnificent, the inspiration is com- plete. Wbll do I understand the ardent, patriotic, intense, burning feeling of the Scottish poet, when he composed the fol- lowing lines while gazing on such a scene as this, with a glorious national history wafted to his brain by evei;y breath of air that fanned his fervid brow : — **Let Italy boast of her gay shining waters, Her views and heir towers anci her bright spang- li.s ' led akies^ 4 Mer sons drinking Iovq froni the eye8 of Her daughters, While freedom expires 'midst coldness and sighs,' Scotland's blue mountains wild, where hoary ciifl's are piled, Towernlg in grandettr far dearer io me, Land of the misty idofud, land- of %ht torrent lont^ Land of the bold and proiid, land of the free ; THE LAND OP WALLACE AND BRUCE. S>9 Eiitliron^d on the peak of her own Highland mountain. The spint of Scotia sits fearless and free, Her green tiirtaat waving by blue lake and fonn* tain, While proudly she flrowns o*er the far distant Here 'midst her native wild, she has serenely smiled. Whilst armies and empire* a^inst her were hurled. Firm as iter native rock, she has withstood the shock Of England, of Denmark, of Rome and the world. When Kings of the nations in council assemble, The frown of her brow makes (heir proud hearts to quake. The flash of ber eyes mskes the boldest to tremble. The sound of her war note makes armies to sbak^. Prance lonn^ shall mind the strain heard on yon bloody plain. Which made Europe's armies in terror to shiver, Emhroud^ 'midst fire and blood, the pibroch played long and loud. W d*re dying out unsubdoed, Scotland forever !'* We now passed out at the gate by which we entered^ taking a look at the Parliaments House (or Boom), 120 feet long, which was built by James III. but is now a barrack, as is also the presence chamber in Jam^ Y's palace. The chapel added by Jain^s VI is now an armory. \Ym took a walk behind Castle Hill, which i*mJiM)«l^i4eliyi^tflal^^ and reminded 100 THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. mo of the Lovers* Walk behind the Par- liament Buildings at Ottawa, but it is more beautiful still. The hill side is thiokly wooded and has fine walks, and a well of bnghtjSparkling, spring water flowing out of the bin side and spouting from a stone fountain, which has a cup chained to the rock, out of which the thirsty traveller may drink the best of all beverages, "the cup that cheers but not inebriates/* The wild hawthorn and the cherry wero put- ting forth their leaves and scenting the evening breeze,* while a bright evening sun was smiling on the tranquil, lovely scene. We stood entranced,gazing towards the top of the castle for the last time, when we were accosted by a man and woman in a dialect v/hich told me they were not natives of the soil, one asking me the time of day, the other for money» as they had travelled far and were hun- gry. My reverie was broken. I looked towards the spot from which the Voicep came and saw a man and woman smok- ing short clay pipes. They appeared to be poor enough but hiappy withal. W« .gave J^hem something to proenre refresh* mehts and started for the fieM of Bantioelt^ burn, which is about three miles distant. We passed through the village of St. jTiujan^ with its church tower which was f » THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. 101 used by Prince Charlt^y as a powcJer mat^azine in 1740, he having halted here on his retreat, It is said that an ex- plosion took place, wliich blew the church to pieces, leaving the isolated toWer as we now see it. Here are the ruins of a castle which belongel to Sir John Graham, the trusty friend of WalKice, also Bruce castle, an old ruined building. On our wa3' to Bannockburn we passed the village of Mewhonse, where Randolph with 500 itifaiflry defeated Surrey with 800 cavalry, the evening before the battle. In due tirare we arrived at the famous battle field and were sadly disappointed to find that the whole country was in a perfect state of cultivation and there was nothing like a battle fiftld such as I had depicted in my imagination. However, there was the Bore Stane with a tall cast- iron flagstaff, not in the original stone, but in one brought there for the purpose. The original Bore Stane is incased in iron to prevent relic hunters from carrying it all away in pieces to put it in rings and bi-Qoches. It has indeed been shamefully abused by relic hunters. An intelligent young man pointed out a white farm house where the right wing of Bruce's army stood and then the place where the left wing was placed was also shown, while Bru^e with 102 THE LAND OF WALLACE ANP BRUCE. i;^ lil i I ' the centre occupied the spot on which the Hagstflff stands. To Brnce's left hand were the steep banks of the Bannock, a sriial) stream which gives the name to the battle field. This prevented EdMjird's army frt,m o])eraiing on his left flank. Directly in front of the centre which Bruce commanded was a soft morass, which prevented any attack, especially by cavalry, in that direction. Away to his right, where the other wing was placed, the ground was not so soft nor wet, but here Bruce took the precau- tion to dig pits in which he placed sharp pikes and covered them niiiely over. The horse IP en, it seems, tri^d the left, but found the river bariks too steep, they could not cross opposite the centre, which was a mere morass : they then dashed on the right wing, but many of th^ir horses falling into the pits they were thrown into confusion, which was a signal for the Scot's army to attack, ^i^hich they did simultaneously with great fury, lighting with a determination either to be victorious or to die on the field. They were fighting for their very national e7:istencf», and this thought as well as the heroic conduct of their biave leader, nerved them for the unequal contest. The language which the poet uses in reference to the Greeks, when THE LAND OF WALLACE ANi) BRUCE. 103 fighting t'oi' their independence against the Turks, might well have been r[. plied to the Scota upon this occasion ; — "Strike till the laHt armed foe expires, Strike for your altr.r8 a»iH your firea, Strike for tiie green gruves and your tires, God and yonr native land. They did it and did il well, top. The army of King Robert was estimated at somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000, the English army at 100,000. Historians inform us that 30,000 English fell on the fileld and 20,000 more were killed in the pursuit. This great battle was fought on the 24th day of June, 1314, and sealed forever the independence of Scotland. Bruce, while riding on his palfrey, it is said, met an English Knight of known skill and bravery. Tliey engaged in single combat, but Bruce soon cleft his ,,head in two uith h^s battle axe. His attendants remonstrated with him for risking his life in that manner, when he jocularly replied that what concerned him most was the loss of his good battle axe, the handle of whiwh was shivered by the powerful blow which, laid the Knight dead at his feet. Gillieg Hill, on top of which Brnce's camp followers appeared during the battle, leaving the Ei^glish to '- believe that hi^ reserve A'ere coming up, which added to their discomtiture, was I w lii 104 THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. pointed out to us It is a thickly woodpd hill of some height^ to the right of Btuce's right wing and considerably behind. The CAinp followers must have bad a fine view of the battle from such an tininence; and as there was no powder and bullets in those days, they were perfectly safe. It must have been a glorious sight. ** Twere worth ten years of peaoeiul life, Oiieglanc? at that array." It would be as fine a sight as that which the poet Campbell had of Hohen- lindi h from the top of a convent. His description of that battle was from eye sight. The panorama actually passed before him We walked on to a sn^all village on the banks of the Bannock, that we might have a good view of the ground that Edward and his army occupied and the difficulties he had to encounter, lind as we looked up to 'Byock Brae, where Bruce and his centre stood arid observed the low ground in his front, which was a marsh in his day, with his left protected by the steep bank of the river with ground no doubt rough and uneven at that remote time, his right wing also on rising ground, protected by pits dug in thci low ground at their front, as we lodced at this, the more we admired Biuce's geneialship in choosing such an I ' THE LAND OP WALLACE AND BRUCE. 105 advantagaous position, and when we considered that he was fighting for his Tightfnl crown and for the liberties of his native ]Hnd, while Ed wanl was ap invader, a tyrant and a U8ur])er, when I thought of that and also that fortune generally favors the Te^!s, the Wallaces, the Washing tons, those who fight for human liberty,! no longer wondered that 30,000 or 40,000 Scots, poorly eq«ipped,pnt 100,000 of the best soKliers of that day to flight. We' were told the people from bX\ parts of the world visit the field of Ban^nockbnrn, and especially a large number from America. As the sun was now sinking behind Gillies' Hill We wended our way back to the flagstaff, having a sight of the mill at the village of Newton to the right as we returned, where Jaines III. was murdered after the battle oi Sauebieburn, whiclr was fought with his own son and his rebellious nobles. W^ were fully sati.stied with our examination of the field, and with our informant, who had now left us. We were alone with the Bore Stane, which has a round hole in the centre whore Bruce's flagsLiif was placed and every indication of being the real stone that did service on that ever memorable day in Scottish history. Turning onse more towards the sonth, in w 9 k 1 106 THE LAUD OF WALLACE AND BRUOB. iinngination we 1)eheM King Edwari and his grand army on the opposite »ide of the Bannock, while Bruce with Uiree to one against him, makes up his mind to secuie the independence of his country or die in the attempt. Every man is prepared to do the same. To ray mind as he rode along the ranks on his Highland pony he would address some such lan- guage as Burns puts into his mouth in his stirring poem of " Scot's wha* hae wi' Wallace bled," £o mounting the Bore Stiuie we recited the poem to the flagstaff,the green fields and the wimplin' bnrn, making the Ciilui evening air of Bannockburn ring with the voice of a free Canadian and the ever sacred words of human liberty : — "8coTB, wha hae wl' Wallaob bl«d» , Scot^s, wham Bruce has often led ; Welcome to Vofur gory bed, Of to Victory I Now's the da5^ and now*s the hour ; dee the front o' battle loHr ; . See approach proud Edward^s power— Chaiiu. and slavery ! Wha will be a traitor knave ? Wha caa fill a coward's grave ? Wha sae base as be a slave ? Let him turn and flee ! , Wha, from Sootlakd's king and law, Frbbdom's sword ivill strongly draw ; FreeuHtn stamU or freemui fa\ *' Let him follow me I By Oppressioi^B woe*s and pains I &[ your sins in servile chains ! We e v^^ill drain our didarest veins, Blil f Jiey shaU be f re^ I Lay the proud usurpers low ! Blil f Jiey shaU be f re^ I proud t^naits Hii to evesy foe ! laoBRTY's in every blow !— Let UB do or die r M I^ai^d of Wklliide iii}d 8f ude RETURNED FROM BANNOCKBURK-ANEC DOTiS BY A SCOTCHMAK--"SMITH INSTI- TUTION" — BAlRD AND HARUIE-THE ATHfiNiBUM — THE OLD BRIDGE OP STIRLING - WALLACE S GREATEST VICTORY-CAUSEWAY-HEAD- ABBEY CRAIG-THB WALLACE MONUMENT ,f —CiESAR, WALLACE AND CROM* WELL-THE COMMON PEOPLE AND THE ARISTOCRACY- RE- FLECTION ON THE FATE OF THE SCOTTISH HERO-CAM- BUSKENNETH ABBEY-* TO- DAY AND TO-MORROW. »* I returned to Stirling as the i un was sinking behind the bine mountai ns of the Highlands, the sweet sihgers of Scotland that had cheered me when rambling amopgst the sweet-scented hawthorns of fair '^Snowden/* Were now tuning their mellow throats Itnd singifig the requiem y th i ' : f i 1 I \ 108 THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCE, of departing day, as I entered the ancient town of Stirling. I was tired and foot- sore, I had been on my feet all day, but buoyed up and delighted by the ever changing, varied and gorgeous scenery I had been viewing. The walk to Bannock burn and back was one of at least six miles on a stone road, and now that the excitement was over and my patriotism had ebbed with the conchuion of "Scot's wha hae," I felt eichausted. I was fully satisfied with Banuockburn, and had no desire to see it again, or at least to walk to it. History says that King Edward was fully satisfied, not to ' j disgnMted, with the sight he had of lu, and never wished to see it again either. If he was as tired and foot*sore as I was, I know how to sympathize with him, especially as be went faster and farther without stopping or taking refreshments than I dil. I ordered my supper immediately, to which I did ample justice, a gentleman in the meantime relating some incidents in reference to Bannock burn, one of which I will reproduce. A sontheni gentleman had visited the battleground and got a Scotsman to Bhow liim the various points ^^ intore«l, jii9t as & native of tlie soil rtftd done with u^e. When fully iMti»fied he pulled out A gctld ooin and offered it THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. 1C9 ,7 ver to the Scotsman, br.t "8ftDdic" said, "Na^ na, YOU jist keep yer siller, yer kintrymen paid dear enough for seeing Bannock bum/' In due tiin'3 we retired to rest and had the b^;St sleep we have had since we arrived on theso shores. The following morning we visited several other places of intere3t,sotne of which we will merely men- tion,such as the "Smith Institution," which consists of a reading room, librar/^ museum, and pictuie galWry ; the U. P<^ Church and monument which marks the place where £benez6r Erskine is interred; the old *'mint," where the first ''bawbee" was coined; "McFarlaiie's reading roonw and musenm contaiiring the library and chair of Jamej Gathrie, the martyi ;'* a piece of the roof of Beaton Cottage, ia which James III. was killed,an old dagger from Bannockburn, a mask and hatchet used at the execution of Baird aud Hardie, the political martyrs. In the days of Castlereagh they had a sharp and sure way of setlling political Beformers^ and this hatchet that severed the heads of poor Baird and Hardie from their bodies was supposed to have setstled forever the claims of the Biadicali^ as they were called, buirthe day came when those cUums had to be met and granted too, so that tba principles for whieh these men's lives 'ill f 110 THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCB. were sacrificed is now the law of the land. This has been the case in all lands and in every age^ one generation sows the the seed in sorrow, in tears and in blood, the next rejoices in the golden harvest of freedom, and briiig.*^ home the sheaves with rejoicing ^ f r * * Fhun* dred years this old stone hidge iipbn which I am now standing, was the only one over which wheeled vehicles could THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. Ill pass. It has four arches, is high in the centre and narrow between the parapKs. In 1745 the south arch was taken down to y»i*event the march of Prince Charli?} 's Higlilanders. Here HHniilton was hang- ed, in 1671, for ♦he murder of the Eegent Momv. But what interested me most was that aitont a mile further up the river at Ilildean, stood the ol 1 wooden' bridge whi 'h ]»1ayed such an important part in the battlt^ of Stirlinju'. The spot is still pointed out ti» tlm tomist, where Wallace peiformed a wonderful exploit that contributed much to the libemtion of Scotland from England's yoke. At this late day all must admire his pluck, his courage, and his stratagetus, when we consider that he was fighting in the sacred cause of freedom, and for the liberties of a people whom God and nature intended should be free. The battle of Stirling was fought on the lltk of September, 1?87. We are told that Wallace had concealed his men behind Abbey Craig, and suspecting that the English army, which was 50,000 strong, would pass Kildeau bridge, laid his plans accordingly He had only 10,000 men and could hardly have been expected to meet his foe with five to one against him. He arranged the beams of the bridge in such a manner 112 THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. ' I i I ^?!h that by diiviog out r wed^e the whole work .would couu down. A cord was attached to the wedge and John the- Wright undertook, by means of this cord, to pull away the we«ige, on a signal being given. To ward off suspicion,the boatmen went the ienisth of ferrying across numbers of his country's foes. Beturning to the h^ft bank he espied a Hag v/aviilg in the wind from a certain elevated position — the sign he was to receive. Dropping down the river to a spot, which is still pointed out, he seized the cord, pulled it with all his might, and the fatal deed was done. The boatumn in the confusion escaped, and oft recounted the exploits of that ever memorable day. Wallace gave a good account of those who had passed over. A panic seized the £nglish,and Wallace in the meantime fell upon tliem with great fury^l were either speared or drowned in the Forth, except three men — the insolent Crefisingham being among the slain. Those on tHe soutb side fled in disorder. Thus ended the battle of Stirling — Wallace's greatest and most important victory. We now took the way to Abbey Craig, through the village of Causewayhead. A foot*path. leads round the north, side of the Craig, to the summit, where stands the Wallace !>.., I. THE LAND OP WALLACE AND BRUCE. 1 13 iiole was . the- jord, eing men Bros8 :ning iviilg /ated jeive. irhich cord, fatal , the pdthe day. ^ who d the le fell either jxcjept ighaia n tKe ended reatest e now igh the ^i-path . Ctalg, V^allace tdmiument, which cost £20,0u0. The ••Craig" is ^^ i^reen-stone hill 5O0 feet «bove the level of the plain, and over- topping ever3rthing RTound it btit the Ochtl Hills. As we follow the romatiti 1 1 m i^imi i: I «ii; 114 THE LAND OF WAilACR AKD BRPCF. renew a Koman mound Perhaps even the great Caesai, tlie Ciomwell «f oM Borne »tood where I am now standing, if 80, two of the gieatest levellers, one of ancient, the other of comparativelj reoeBt times rendered this spot suggestive and historical. Both beaded the common people, hoth sapped the foundation of the aristocracy, both were disbelievers in the theory that kings have a divine right to do wrong, both scattered the rulers of the land, both were the ablest generals and the most original men of their day, and both when they thought it absolutely necessary sent a King or Huler out of the world without his head. We might have added that both were loved by the common people and hated by the nobles, and of "Oliver" — in particular we might 3ay he was indeed the friend cf the poor end downtrodden, and ^tho,ug)[i ^h^ Gov^n« anters fought a^^inst him ,9«nd werfa^ scattered at Punbav like c^^0^ before tite wind, he proved hiin^^^ a bett^^ ifriend to tkem £hani ,tl)e perfidious, hc^usp , fov which they were fh^^dii^ their hl^po^^ for under his ri^le they were allpwfdtM worship God "under tbeii; Qwn ^^inyqand fig tree, none darif>g to i^iplesC them or make them afraid,-* what they were never permitted to do under the persecuting THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. 115 house of Stuart. But we must cliiiil) the mouument. We pay the fee and follow the spiral staircase in the inteiior, which leads to the top of the tower. Thin is a gigantic edifice built in the old Scotch baronial style, surmounted by a crown, and is 220 foot high, We are now looking down from a giddy elevation on four Ijattle fields, towns and villages bedot the landscape, like stars which begem th) firmament on a moonlight night. Arthui^'s seat is seen to the east, watching over the gray metropolis of the north, while, as we turn round, we obsei ve Ben Lomond and the Grampians, craggy peaked and Uue, rising up in stern, solemn and eternal grandeur, looking down upon the straths and glens of ancient Oaledoniai which even the Roman legions failed to conquer. The view is the most extensive, the most magnificent, by all odds the grandest we have yetseea. No doubt the enthusiastic Scotch poet was gazing on such a scene as this when he burst forth in poetic rapture, saying : '*Sco*Uiid 1 land of all I love, XM Und of *U that love me, . Land whoee green aod my youth haa trod, Wboae Md shall lie aliove nie. t 1 HiiaI 1 oonntry of the great and good, Hail \ land of aong and itory, Land of the oncorrupted heart, Of anoient faith and glory \ r u ^1 II ' ! i i i lltf TRE LAND OrWALLACTR ANI> BRVt^fT. JLikft mother'! V>M)itt •'tr ber oMk^ Thy sky is glowing o'«r me. LMce motbcr't evcr-sKiihiic fiite, Thv land lies bright b«|oJtt^. Land ot my hoDM^my tatlMr's iMii. Lan4 where n>y sonl wa» iioi^risheil. Land of nntieipftten joy, AnH aA my memory elicri>he itb OF WALLACE AND BRTTOK. 117 pondered ofi the sfid fate of Sir Wm^ WaUaco, a mM4 who deserved well of his •ooMDlry, of all lovers of Itberfey and of the yfwld at large. Defeated at Falkirk on tke 22nd ef #iily, i298^ hi* army almost itnnilliliitedihiB liosom friends the Graham ««d the Sie wait latd l^w^ Wallace led a wandenng li£e, keeping up a tBort of g«dxiila waifare ittttil the year 1303, when lie ^a« ibaaely botray^ by Sir John Monteithy a frieadin- whom ha trusted. Httviag been itaken prisoner, he was removod io London and on the 22nd of August, liSOfs executed under the English tL'easMi law, with every circumstsuice of oruelty and ignoimny that could bo devised-^the English populace, however, sympathising with his &te as that of a fellow country«ian rather than an enemy. The student of Scottish hiscory, if he appreciates the prtnciplea (>f true liberty, and es|ieciaUy if he is of Scotch descent, will, as he pondeis over the page, oft feel iudigoftnt to think that the Scotch nobl es basely deserted their country's cause, or oalnl^ atood aloof from it, leaving the national contest to be headed by the one mam wlio.^aslaatbfulamofi^ the faithless, biitaitl ^ittghtful student will soon be able to solve the pfplHera. The nobility of the oonntry' were of Norman descent and their If-'."' ^n i;l H >K h I < • 'h* If . ... ;; if H •f 118 THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. sympathies were on this account with th« Norman King of England. Waktce 's family belonged to the old gentry, whose sympathies were naturally with the people. The Scots of Saxon origin,during the time to whicli we refer, were made to feel the kingly and aristocratic oppression under wliich the Saxons of E'^^land had been governed since the cooquest. Sir Walter Scott puts this picturesquely in **Ivanhoe," where Cedric, the Saxon, is described as feeling keenly the ascendency of the dominant race with the rich Norman blood in their veins. The young beic of Elderslie like all true men, men of genius, felt bis capacity for the task of freeing his oppressed countrymen, and therefore put himself at the head as the leader of what at the time appeared to be liberty's "forlorn hope," while the aristocratic Norman nobles stood aside until Wallace bravery cleared the way, and they saw some prospect of dominating in the libemted land. The country then,as now, was cursed by caste, and few, or none of the high toned nobles would follow where a plain Knight of humble Saxon origin led the way,hence Wallace was pre-eminently "the people's William/' a leader of the masses. This was no disgrace to him. From such a source has come the liberties THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. 110 of every nation or people on the face of the earth, who to-day rejoice in the sacred Daue of freedom. If the downtrodden and enslaved nations olT the globe had worn their yoke patiently until the aristocracy moved in the matter, and the King and Nobles granted them their liberties, the judgment day would find them still wearing their political chains. We do not expect to find grapes on thorns, nur ^gB on thistles. When he who spoke as never man spake, appeared on our sin cursed earth, the aristocracy of that day held aloof from Him, but it was the crowning glory of his ministry that "the poor had the gospel preached unto them, and that the conimon people heard him gladly."The world could get along without an aristocracy but it could not 'get along withouii"the common people. "Wallace then was a leader of the common people. All honor to him. Bums is the poet of the*'com* mon people," and both will live in the hearts of the "common people" of old Scotia,when perhaps its titled nobility will h«ve taken its place in history as a relic of a by-gone age. Whatever may be the fate of crowns andcoronets in the dark and cloudy future,of one thing we feel certain,tliere is one name that will never cease to charm, one name that will always stir the Scottish 'i li , if 'i ■' h ,«1^ M ^^ i r ^^ 3 1540 TUE UVNll OF WALLACE AND BUUCE. heait to its €ore,oue imnie that will always nmke the blood leap thFough ks cbantiels wild as the cataracts of this rocky land, that name is, "William WaHace." **At Wallace name whrtt Scottish Wobd Bnt Voiis «p ill a spriiig-^ido flood! Oft have onr fearless fathers atro4e By Wallace side, Still pressing onward, red-w»C shod, . Or gloriooa died." Bnt we must now bid freedom's son adien. We will leave him with the Tells, the^ EmmetSjthe Washington8,and other lorers and defenders of human liberty, feeling sure that he like them will live forever. •* Among the few immortal ones That were not born to die. " As the bee extracts honey from every flower, so ought the student «>f history to extract a lesson from every event in the history of the world. The Creator who gives us our lives, at the same time gave us our liberty ,and never takes it from us, but since the human race began one nation or people, or class, has always been tryit?jf to oppress or enslave another, hence war, cruelty and bloodshed has been a oonstant attendant on mankind. If it were not for this melancholy fact we would aot require patriotic men to shed their blood, but ala^s t it is far otherwise. When we see a head taken off, or blood shed in the cause of THE LXHD OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. 121 civil and religious liberty, we 8ay,(b^caiise we cannot see the beginning from the end) the life is sacrificed/ the cause is lost. This does not aecesaarily follow, the shedding of his blood may be the very means of rendering the cauae for which he died victorious) for we know by walking the centuries and scanning the ann&ls of hibtoiy that in civil,aa well as in religious matters, the old maxim holds good, **Tho blood of the martyrs ih the seed of the church." This is the lesson we wi^h to convey, Bruce as Kiug,and the people of Scotland as subjects, reaped the golden harvest of liberty, grown from the seed which WsUlace had sown in blood. Gerald Massey, in his poem, "To-»day and To- morrow" inculcates thcbe idbaa more forcibly than we can, and as we walk ed down the wooded mountain side, towards Cambus Kenneth Abbey, we could not help reciting his words to the trees aiound us and to the birds which were singing thg song of libeity in their branches. "Hi(;h hopes that bunrad like stars stiblinie, Go down in the hearens of freedom; And true hearts perijih in the time We BH^liestneed them ! But never sit we down and say There's nc^hing left but sorrow ; We walk the wHdemesi to-day— The promised land to-morrow. ;1, 122 THE LAND OF WALLACE AND BRUCE. '! Is Oiir \nrd» of sonf( »i« silent dgw^ There are no flowen Uoominir, Yet life holds in the frosen bough, And freedom 'h spring is coining ; And freedom's tide comes ap alway. Though we may strand in sorrow; And our good Imrk a^rround to*day — Shall float again to-morrow. Throngh all the long, long night of years The pec^M^'s o<7 asoendeth; And earth is wet with blood and tears But our meek suffiirence endeth ! The few shall not totevw sway. The many moil in corrow. The powers of hell are strong to-day, But Christ shall rise to-morrow. Thongh hearts brood o'er the past, our eyei With smiling futures glisten ! For lo ! our day bursts up the skies. Lean out your souls and listen ! The world rolls freedoms radiant way, And ripens with her sorrow; Keep heart! who bears the cross to-day. Shall wear the crown to-morrow. O vouth flame earnfst, sttli aspire With energies immortal ! To many a heaven of desire. Our yearning opes the portal, And though ue wearies by the way, And hearts oreak m the farrow — Well sow the ffolden grain to-day — The harvest reap to-m6rrow ! Build up heroic lives, and all Be like a sheathen sabr^ Ready to flash out at God's call— O chivalry of labour ! Triumph and toil are twnis; and aye Jov suns the cloud of sorrow. And *tis the martyrdom to-day Srings victory to-morrow ! TheLai^doftheQae;!. THE AUTHOR VISITED DUNKELD— WITH ITS ANCIENT CATHEDRAL — BIBNAM HILL-DUFF'S PAKS AND OTHER PLACES FAMIUAR TO THE READ- ERS OF SHAKESPEARE'S PLAY OFMacBETH-AFTER WHICH HE INSPECTED THE " PASS OP KILLIECRANKIE " AND GAVE THE FOLLOW. ING DESCRIP. TION: After having a very good dinner at a temperance hotel in the village of Birnam, from one window of whiefa we could see DnfTs oaks, and from dnother Bimam Hilli we took a ticket for Pitlochry, near the Pass of Killiecrankie, which we wished to examine particularly, as it was here that the famous battle was fought in 124 THE LAND OF THE UAEL. h It I, ii I which Claverhouse, alias Viscount Dundee, with his Highlanders, defeated Mackay, one of the best Generals of the day, who was in command of the Royal army. As we moved on towards the north we passed a station called BaUinling, from whi«h piekOQ there is tv branch taiiyay nine miles long running up to Aberfeldy, which was the scene of Burns' song, ''The birks of Aberfeldy." We would fain have ascended this brainch line, which we were toW passed along the batiks of the Tay amidst beautiful scenery. We would have liked also to have se^n tjjose birks which the poet h^ immoi'talUed in his beautiful and welUknoWB song. We were inl'ormed, however, by an old lady that there were few birks at Aberfeldy now. They have vanished like the"Bush AboonTraquair" — before the march of civilization, and the relentless hand of progress. I saw some very beautiful birks, or birches, as we would call them in Canada, on each side of the railway t^ack as we went north, showing that the t^ks ba»ve not been entirely ex^ern^ii^i^. Thsy look more likd t we took a view of Pitlochty, which is a favorite resort c* invalids, on account of the beauty of the place and the hydro- pathic ins»tit*ution, Which cost £50,000. It was a beautifttl evening, cold enough to be bmcing, as with a light valise in hand we started to walk through the Pass of Killfccr&lnkio, inten^^ifig to reach Blair Athole by the time the sun, wbich was shining glofionsly in a dear Highland sify, bad ^Ided Schech^llion-s lofliy peak with goM. We were father early, we Were told, tit> see the Pass in it^ surpassing beaury, but«t^TI the bud^ on some of the trees had bttTOfe/ and the tender leaves g«te the woods k tinge of living gi«en, while a specjies of wild dhen^ wai* in bliDfoiri and^ sce**ed the air with tl^ svp^eetest pe^tne. As if td^make xip^ for the deilei^nc^ ititttiifb^d by othet^ and iiiore tertdef'pktits atid' ioi^ers^ the^ti^y; iite|ir€isl4bie wfem, srtiern pointed, indi^ pendent a& the Highlein^ diaradtei- itselif; bl6otned ib ijeep y^lM^ magtiifrcencie on every hill and bme, and' lasit, but n6t least, the sweet toned sMig of the Highland m^ 126 THfi LAND OF THE QAEU birds, as if proud of their own native vale, were pinging the praises, the beauties, the grandeur, the native sweetness of the iinest, the most romantic glen on the face of the earth. The river Tummel, which falls int^ the Tay in the vicinity of Ballinling, issues from Loch Eannoch, runs eastward through Strathtummel and Lodi Tummel, makf^s its famous fall eastward of the Loch, receives the Garry on its left bank at a point two miles from Pitlochry is everywhere a grandly impressive stream, and has been described by Mrs. Brunton as the ^'stream of her affection, of all rivers the most truly Highland, impetuous, melancholy and romantic, forming among the fragments that have fallen from mountains which seem to have been cleft for its course." But we have now reached the battle field of Killieerankie, which was fought in 1689. A stone mi^itks the place where Mackay left his baggage on the level grounds by the banks of the Garry, apd where the Highlanders sei^d it .Ai|di fell to plundering iqatead of following up th^r victory by pursuing the red coats. Dundee was lying by this time amongst the "thickest of the Blain,*' or the result would hav« been far otherwise ; prpbably if be had been alive not a man of the Royal army would have THE LAND OF THE GAEL. 127 escaped. We were somewhat disappointed by the appearance of the hill down which the Highlanders came. It has been badly spoiled by cultivation, still the ridge is there, which no dpubt gave Dun lee's army a great advantage. The brooui amongst which the haidy mountaineers lay concealed, while Mackay's army was slowly passing through the dark defilo is ^one. It has been replaced by some kind of grain which had just been sown. The river with its rapids and thickly wooded banks is there pretty much the same as it was upon the morning of the battle two hundred years ago, for rivers don't change much» unless through the art of man, and that has not been tried on the Garry. As it leaps from rock to rock and dashes over its pebbly bottom, now fretting itself iutio fqam against its rocky banks, anon flowing in quiet, beautiful curves and eddies, it seemis to aay tp th^ on-looker as it said on that morning after, Dundee had b^en laid low, Jiiack^/ apd his. aripy nearly aiunibilated, anct its wa^i^ ciimt Boned ipritf^ t(l^ life blocnl of m.^y a li^ray^ W^^-}yTr^if\ -^'r *^^ ' ::- 'i-mh hoi) . But I flow on forever. , , How puny is man who liyf s out his little d$y, and is gone, compared to the works 128 TWE LAND OF THE GAEL. ofnattire, thfj rocks, the hills, thd ifiVe^, and the mighty ocean, whidi arc the same yesterday, to-doy, and forever. It is easy for one with a fertile, poetic imagination to call up the ghosts of the past and people a plain, a mountain or a pass with contending armies, especially if }ou happen to be in a country which is stern, romantic, solemn, sublime, such as the one whose heather my feet is no w pressing. This is what I did upon the present occasion. I had read Macauley's descrip- tion of the battle, had read Aytoun's poem describing the fight, and while doing so could not help admiring the dashing bravery of the rude, fearless mountaineers, a courage well worthy of a better fate, a better King, and a better cause; Though from our standpoint we cannot '^diiiire either the principles of Dundee or the cafttse^ for which he was cotttendingk We must abknowledgo that h^ was folloNVing hts o^h ccmVititibnd, was in red-hot earnest arid moreover that %e was on^ 6f the brttxrest of the brftVe, We feellifappy t6 fMirik, ^however, that whrilemiiii' proposes, God disposes, and that it is better- fbr Scotland. Ibr Britain ahd for th^ world to-dfty tjiat the sceptre passed away from the ancient House of Stuart, At the same time we cannot but admire the Tiri!^ LA^P OF TIIK OAKL. 129 JS, matchless courage nml dashing bravery of the man who led the brave claiu of tlie north to victory at the Battle of Killie- crankie, and as we stood by Dundee's grave, in Bhiir Athol, we could not help humming to ourselves the concluding verses of Aytoun's poem commemorating the victory gained by the man whose ashes lay beneath, the evening sun at the same time shining brightly on Schehal- lion's lofty brow as it shone on the evening of the ever memorable battle. " And tho evening star was shining On Schehallion's distant head, When we wiped our bloo or THE OAEL, w m l:i !' ) Many lost their all, while otlnrs were banished forever from the land of their forefathers. Thu3 ended the Jacobite rebellion of 1745, which constituted the most remnrkable march and series of victories on record, taking everything into consideration, thus too, was ex- tinguished in blood the last flickering ray of hope of an ancient line of King;^, Well might Dr. Norman McLeod say, while visiting Culloden, as we are doing : — ^*The thunder 18 hushed on the bleak heather Moor. Aud the shield from the Grsel hsis been wreoched ill the stoure, Tlie sword has been broke in the grasp of the brave And the blood of the valiant is shed by the slave. * » ♦ * » « ♦ Farewell, Royftl Charles ! the conflict' is o'er, Thy ancestor's kingdom no strife can restore, Thine essay with the clans of my love have been grand. The fame of wliose prowess forever will stand." Having viewed the cairn where the Diike stood during the battle, not a point of much danger, we should think, and taken another look at the ground occup ied by the bonuetted eaieftains and their faithful followers, we turned our backs on Cul- loden and our faces towards the gay capital of the Highlands. Several questions came prominently Wore my THE LAND OF THE GAEL. 139 mind, as deductions from the historical event which I had just be«n contemplat- ing. They were these : Was the Stuart, or in fact any other dynasty worfcli fighting for? Had they not been a tyrannical race throughout? Had they not been believers in the Divine right of Kings, to do wrong ? Had they not persecuted the Presbyterians, and hunted the Covenanters like partridges upon the mountains ? Were not the best of the people, the most liberal minds of that day, against them ? Was not the very clan to which, my ancestors belonged on the other side ? Did not the chiefs of that clan, the ancestors of the late Governor- General of Canada, command in the field against them ? Did they not know them better than we at this distant day ? Had not the last of the race who sat on the throne of Britain proved himself to be unfit to govern, live or die ? Am I not led away by feelings of sympathy, pity for the unfortunate, which is naturally strong in my breast ? Have I not, so to speak, allowed my heart to run away with my head ? These questions and a hundred more flashed through my brain as we returned slowly towards Inverness, from the place where the last hope of the Stuarts was extinguished forever. Then I 140 THE LAND OFTHEOAt:!. I I il.' i 1*1' 1 itii ' 11'' ' tlie question carH^ lip, ** p6thnps if Chntrles Edward had been placed on the thtDne ho might have reigned better than his ancestors, for whose sins he wassufeHng." But then the thought came before my jviirid, that even Ahab and Ahnz the Wicked Kings of Judah, began to reign well, and We know how they ended. The result was that by the time we had reached the Waverly, we had come to the conclusion that it was all for the best, and was in accordance with the will of Him who said, " By me Kings reign and Princes decree justice, and that what seemed hard upon one family and severe upon his countrymen, was for the benefit of the majority of the people of Britain and a blessing to the world at large." This view musL be correct if it is true what Pope says, that : — '* All nature is but art, unknown to thee, All chance, direction, which thou cans't not see ; All fliscorcl, harmony not understood ; All partial evil, universal good ; And spite of pride in erring reason's spite, One tTuth is clear, whatever is, is right. Now, that lam leaving the Highlands likely forever, I must confess that 1 am fairly enraptured with both the country jind the people, and will nevet forget the warm reception I got in Inverness. I have heard it related of Sir Walter Scott ♦» THE LAND OF THE GAEL. 141 that shortly before his death wlicn worn down by literary labours, he took a trip to Italy in order to recruit his failing strength,-a«d when nearing the top of Mount Vesuvius one day, he wrts heard humming something to himself, and his attendant being cm ions to know what the great man was paying, went near and found be was singing in a low voice ; — ** My heart's in the Highlanik, my heart is not here, My heart's iu the Highlands a chasing the deer, A chasing the wild deer and following the roe, My heart's in the Highlands wherever I go." Snob I believe will be my feelings to- wards the land of the Celt and its whole- souled, warm-hearted people, to the latest days of my life, and now that I Jim turn- ing my face towards the Lowlands, I will say in the language of Burns : — When death's dark stream I ferry o'er, A time that surely shall come. In Heaven itself I'll ask no more Than just a Highland welcome. ■a;! i ■ 1. ''I i:r [; I f-. 1 h I i M i I I t I t > > r !l ii ; I ^he I in this country, and having been toU, moreover, that Sir Walter never visited Melrose Abbey by moonlight himself, we resolved to visit the venerable ruin on a bright sunshiny day, one of the few bright days we meet with in this moist climate at this season of the year, so along with Drs. Aikins and Wylie, and a young Scotsman from " Auld Reekie," we started on our excursion to the land which has been rendered immortal by the magic pen of Sir Walter Scott, Accord- ingly we repaired to the Waverly Station and took tickets for Melrose — returm tickets — resolving to spend one day with Scott, The young Scotsman was intelli- gent and well acquainted with th& country, and pointed out everything that he thought would interest " Yankee tourists,*' as he was pleased to call us, though the only real live Yankee amongst us was Dr. Wylie. Dr. Aikins and your humble servant had to swallow the hard name as best we could, seeing that our young friend did not know the distinction between the citizens of our Dominion and those who have had the misfortune to be born farther south. There was no «ii.^ «» * vl ft 14t TFIK I. AND OF SIR WAI/J'KIl WCOTT. I ' I I h iiKc in uiakinj,' geographical t'Xi)lauati(jns, I 8iin])ly yjiid, " thai Aikins ai)d I in- tended tu uniiex the couutiy Wylio hailed from, sliortly, and then we would all be Canadians/' Wylie hoped that he would he present when the thing was done. The course of the railway was through a beautiful country with the *' Gala water" ilowing through it, which stream we crossed quite a number of times. We passed the house of the " Laird of Cock- pen," which our Scotch friend, finding that I was fond of poetry, pointed out to ]ne. I recited a verse or two of the song, beginning tlius : — " Tliii Lrfunl o' Cockpen he's proiui and lie's great ; His niiiul is ta'en up wi' ti»e tbiugs o' tho state ; He wanted a wife his ))raw house to keep ; ]iut favor wi' wooin' was fashious to seek." As we uassed on, Boithwick Castlo was pointed out. It is about thirteen miles from Edinburgh. It was built in 1430 and is a double tower on the fnodel of the old border keep, the largest structure of the kind in the kingdom. It contains a room called Queen Mary's, on account of that unfortunate Queen taking refuge in it shortly after her marriage to Bothwell. It was then menaced by her enemies and she fled from it in male attire. It is 74 feet in len<^th, 68 feet in breadth and 90 feet in \ THE T.ANP OP SIR WALTEM S<^OTT. 145 )»eight. I^s walla Rie crowd dowii a narrow street, and soon found ourselves at the Ablu^y gate, and, strange to say, were allowed to enter without any fee heing demanded. ''This is different from the rules of Artemus Ward's ihow," 1 remarked to our American friend, which was, "You may pay witliout going in, but ye can't go in without pay- ing." However, they mcide us pay here before they let us out. The Abbey, like all the churches of the olden time, lies east and west. We entered on the west and examined it carefully, first the nave then the south aisle, then in order the south transept, the tower base, the choir, the chancel, the north transept, the sacristy, and t'.ie cloisters, after which we examined the interioi- of the fine old edifice and the cemetery. We will not attempt to describe what has been described so well by Grose and by Billings, and by Sir Walter Scott in his Monastery, and also in his Lay of the Last Minstrel. I will merely mention some things which impressed me ''(•rcihly TilE LANU OF hiR WAtTKR ^COTT. U7 'A\)]\ and put me into a serious mood. Quo thing was that we were treading on the ashes of the mighty dead of cent'ries long gone by, for under th^se flagstones We fire toUi their bones have mingled with the eailh. Indeed, in the choir md the chancel the graves of many illustriouh dead were pointed out to us,a printed label showing us the exact spot. Amongst these v^as Alexander II, King of Scotland, whose ashes lie under the high altar, James, Earl Douglass, who was slain by Enrl Pen.y at the battle of Otterburu in 1388, Wni, Douglass,the dark Knight of Liddes- dah, who was slain by a kinsman while hunting in Ettrick Forest, Michael Scott, ihe Wizard, and the heart of Robert the Bruce. As we stood on the flat mossy stone, broken across the middle, which is reported to be the grave of the famous wizard or natural philosopher, we thought of the superstitious times in which he lived, when his knowledge was so mis- understood that ignorance had transformed him into a wizard. If lie had bad the misfortune to be an old woman he would undoubtedly have been burned for a witch. It is said that the wizard's magic books were buried with him by the Monk, who rave the following weird desciiption of £j£9.,;^»iz3;9:x.E :; JJ S tW T C 3 3»u. V! - -T * 148 THE LAPfl) OB' SIR WALTER ftOOTT. ^ f ii Hi i 'I i ( lii h ■ I ! I II i The lay of the Last the funeral in Minstrel" : — •'I buried him on St. Micbaerp night, When the 1»eil tolled one »nd the mooti was bright^ And I dug Ivis rbainber an>onG; tne dead, When the flow of the Chancel was stained red That i>i8 patron '» cross might over hitn wave And scare the fiends from the wizard's gmve.** Michael Scott, the wizard, of Balwearie^ flourished during the thirteenth century, and was one of the Ambassadars sent to bripg the fair maid of Norway to Scotland npon the death of Alexander III, 1290. He wrote several works upon the abetrus^ sciences.and passed among his contempora* ries for a skilfnl magician. His memory survives in many a legend, and in the south of Scotland any work of great labot and antiquity is ascriljed either to the Agency of "Anld Michael,*' "Sir William Wallace," or the **devir' these being the three cleverest men of whom they had any knowledge. But we now passed on and stood on the heart of Scotland's greatest King. We had stood on the spot m Dunfermline, where the Bruce*8 body was interred and had given expression to the solemn thoughts which crowded oor brain on that auspicious occasion, but now we stand on the very spot where the Liberator's heart, which beat for Scotland ami Scotland alone, mingled with the THJi LAND OF ilR WALXEU SCOTT. U9 red kindred dust of the kiid he loved so welU This grand old ruin, with its exquisite curving, may well be considered a fitting luid appropriate monument for a heart finch as his. In the Brace's last letter tp his son, written about a month before iiis death, he commanded that his heait should be buried in Melrose Abbey. But subsequent to that he withed rather that it n^ight be sent to Palestine and buried in the holy sepulchre. Sir James Douglass entrusted with the sacred deposit, set sail with a nui:^erous and splendid retinue. In Spain ae encountered the Saracens, and beint sorely Dressed, he threw the siWer casquet containing Bruce's heart, amongst the thicket of the enemy, saying, **Now pass thou onward before us, as thou wert wont, and I will follow thee or die.'* In this battle, which was fought in 1331, "the good Sir James" as he was called, met his death, being too brave to retreat, hence he did follow the heart of the Bruce — followed it to the sb dowy regions of the dead. The body of Douglass was recovered an3 brought back for burial, and the heart of the master he loved and served so well was interred, agreeably with the former wish of the King, under the high altar of Melrose Abbey. After all Scotland, and in particular the Abbey 1 i f ' t il l\ 150 THE LAND OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. which he had rebuilt, was a more suitnVrfe resting place for the heart of "King Robert the Bruce," than the land of the Saracen, where few of his grateful countrymen could ever visit the silent heart which had so long beat for them and them alone. His body lies under the pulpit of the Memotial Church m Dunfermline, his heart under the high altar of Melrose Abbey, and his libei ty- loving spirit has gone, we hope, to a brighter and better world than this, where oppression is unknown and where tyrants can never enter. ^i ! f II f i M. %Q I. I But may dislionor blight our iioines Au4i qutiuch our bouHehold Hres, If we or ours forget thy name Orceii Island of our sires. • t Our native land, our native vale, A long and last adieu ! Farewell to l>onn> Teviotdale And Huotiand's mountains blue." As we retrace oui steps dowti tbe lathtr steep sides of the Eil Ion Hill we repeat- edly stopped to collect some of the heather by which the mountain is covered, to take home to Canada as an emblem of the country we had been visiting, and of the people amongst whom we had spent so many pleasant days. The heather was not a very good sample, being somewhat withered, the sweet little flowei that constitutes it- principal attraction being "Like angel visits, few and far between." In coming down the mountain side we ol^)served several stone enclosures and we asked the young Scotsman what they were erected for. He told us they were for the ])urpose of driving the ewes into when they were going to milk them or when they were required to be gathered for any other pujrpose. We had not gone far when we met three bouncing Scotch lasses with tin pails coming tripping up towards the ewes which we saw grazing amongst the heather on the hill side, which TIlK I.ANDoK SIK WAI.TKU sro TT 151) • > circumstance vcnfieci what our Scotch friend hud just been telling us. Our Ynnkee friend, who is a bit of a wa;^', accostett thcni, saying', **Can you give ua a drink of Scotch whiskey — beg your pardon — milk Imean?" The girls laughed heartily^ud pushed on towards their ewes. The Scotsujan, turning to nie, said, •'Y(»u are full of Scotch Doetry, now you see the sheep on the hill side and the blooming lasses with their pails hurrying up to milk them. Of what does that remind you in Scottish song ?" I s^id it reminded nie of the song called the "Flowers of the Forest," composed by Miss Jane Elliott, on the battle of Flodden, and I turned round and recited it to the sheep, the girls and the heath covered mountain ; — "I've heard the lilting at our yowe rnilkiiig, i«' Lisaea a-liltiiig l)efore the dawu o'day. But now they are inoauiiig, on ilka ^reeu loaning. The flowers of tlio T^'oreat are a'wede away, V * ,! ■!! m 1- I » At huohts, in the morning, nao blythe lads are **» scorning, The laffle» are lonely, and dowie, and wae. Nn ifftij', nae gabbin', but sighing and sabbing. <^ane lifts her leglin and hies her away. I 'livbt. at tile shearing, uae youths now are jeering. The bandster? are lyart, and runkled and grey ; At fair, or at preaching, nae wooing, nae fleechiug, The FIo\ H of the Forest are a' wede uway. L'l i ICO THE LAND OP SIR WALTER SCOTT. ' i At e'en in the gloaming, nae swankieH are roaming, 'Bout stacks wi* the latwos at bogte to play ; But ilk ane sits drearie, lamenting her ilearii. The Flowers of the Forest a' wede away. Dlile and wae to the order, sent our lads to the torder, The Bnglish, for ance, by guile wan the day ; The flowers of the Forest, that foucht stye the jforemost, . The prime o' our land lie cauld In the clay. We hear nae mair lilting at our yowe-milkinir. Women and bairns are heartless and wae ; Sighing and tnoaning on ilka green loaning — The flowers of the Forest are a' wede away. " The name of "The Forest" was given to Selkirkshire with a portion of Pebble- shire and Clydeshire and it was noted in those days for its fine archers. These were almost to a man slain at the battle of Flodden, which was fought in the year 1513. We now took the road for Abbots- ford by way of Cue village of Damick, where the battle of Melrose was fought and examined Darnick Tower, said to be the best specimen of the ancient Border Keeps now in existence. It is within a mile of Melrose and has been in the possession of the Heiton family for up- waixls of four hundred years. It has been renovated and furnished by the proprietor in a highly creditable manner. The owner must be both an architect and an antiquarian. Amonst the curioeities kept THE LAND OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. 161 on exhibition in this Tower are hnlberds and helmets used in border warfare. We conversed with several of the people of this village, w)^o tell many anecdotes of Sir Wilier l^oott, who was familiarty called the ''Duke f f Dartiick/* and w^o frequently walked in this direction attended by his favorite dog. We lunched here, as the clear, cold iiir of the Eildon HiU had siDsrpened pur appetites, and afterwards walked to A^bbotsford, the famed residence of "The Great Unknown," asSirWaltet was once called. The walk from Darnick village to Abbotsford, along the hi^h banks of the beantiful Tweed, is a romantic one indeed, and we were not astonished that Sir Walter Scott, whon a boy, journeying this way with his father, was enammireu witli the scene and after* wards decided to purchase the farm then called "Clarty Hole," and transform it into the ornate groundj which we see to-day, and build thereon that woiiderful "romance in stone and lime,'* known as ••Abbtitsfoid." K. I m ffmmmm i! *fl\e IM^ of ^\t W^Itef tott. ABBOTSFORD -BATTLE OF MKU108B-THB ARMOURY— BONAPARTE'S PlSTOL^-KINO JAMES' BOTTLB-MENTRO««'S SWORD ^ ROYAL CHARLEY— OLA VERHOUSR- ROB ROY-FLORA McDONALD-BAL- FOUR OF BURLEY— HEART OF MIDLOTHIAN— OUVER CROM- WELL-SIR WALTER'SGREAT- GRANDFATHER— LORD BY- \ , RON-GEO. Ill— PRESEN- TATION BY THE P0P;2- M ARY QUEEN OF SCOTS —DEATH OF SIR WAL- TER-CONCLUDING REFLECTIONS ON HISUFEAND , DEATH, E-iC. We now eame in sight of Abbotsford wilh its ornate grounds. This is the fmrious mansion of Sir Walter Scott, his residence for many years and the place of his death. It stands on the west bank of the beautiful Tweed, opposite Abbotsford Fen*y Statiim, on th*^ Selkirk railway ll! t THE LAND OF 8IE WiLLTKa SCO??. 163 The house is situaM closef^Millie road from Melrose to Selkirk, 19 sarroupdedhy plaDtat.i9im audoverlaoki.i(iegrfissf^ lu|tvk$ of the Tweed j^sl befoife J^e GaU Water joins it. The name ''A^^bet^f^rti*' was given to it OQ aecouut q\ th^re beiMg a ford or ferry at this pko, the r>4(bbot of course being the presiding {(^tber o^ MeU rose Abbey, to whom. . the properly originally belonged. T^e.^a 'Wita an old Boman road which led froa) thei Eil^ou Hills to thi«^ ford . The grou nd- is his^rieal inanpther respecti for it was Qn tl^ rising ground on the north bank of lihe nver that traces of the British barrier, tbe Catrail were discovere4 ap(i| #1^ still to be seen. Last, but^not; ItjaJB)!,/ anc) tJilis is l%id ta have had more infl.Ufs^^ ia induc- ing Scot t to ' build his pap^pn . ob t^ gr<)uud than any thing else,, it was kei.e that the battle of Melrose was ibught, between the Earls of Angus and Hom^ apd the i>uke of BuccWcli. The w^e paid tiit shilling and entered by the east aide Ihrough H porcjh copii^d from Linlith- gow Falkee. Stags' horns adorn tlie ♦»iiteranoe, while the walls of the vcstrbule are p^fifelled with (^rVed oak tVom Ban* fenfiliue Palace, the arched roof being of tb« same niaterial. The guide,^ho shewed ns the curosities of the ^lli6e, spoke In a strong English accent and tcld his stoty in a very rapffd hianii^r, Hire k kdiool hoy teciting'hiisl^sOfr, bi^t 6tii abniVany Wtiie toot to be ptii/hed thToUDb the place at thfo rat^, we went im ^iSwly, cfxan^ining thritfgs to our own Wtiifkctioh, a coolness '} I TH£ LAND OF 8IE WALT£B SCOTT. 165 which seem^ to anaoy out English (viend not |k Httl^ I Bupposfe he put im uU down for cool pamttent Yankees, wlio like a well-known animal, have a way of their own. All the rooms in the houae with the exception of the drawing room which was left to Lady Scott, are of antique carved oak with coats of arms placed here and thei eat the intersections of the beams, resting on heads, copied from the arohi*. tecturea ofMelroeeapd Roslyn. Bound the cornipe we observed the armorial bearings of the Sootts, Kerrs, Armstrongs, and of the D)i|(hty Douglasses, which clans according to Uie ioMription, ''Keepit the Marchys of Scotland in old tyme for the I^ynge.** On one side of the haU we obaerved stained glass windows with the spaces between them decorated with pieces of armour, crossed swords, stag horns and other ouiiosities. At the bottotu of the hall are two figures in complete armour, one with a huge two handed sword, another with a spear, standing in a gothic niche with a canopy above. The fireplace war designed from a niche in Melrose Abbey, and is a fine specimen of carving. On the opposite side from this fireplaoe we observed a sort of side table, which the guide told us was ooostructed from the boards of the pulpit of the ehurch at 1 ;• 1?«< W«^i^ H, 11 III iK I'! fh I id^ THK LAJTD Ol^ SIR WALTER SOOTT. Dnnferirilitit^' w^htre Ralph Erskine, on6 of tbe foirndi3H6f^t!M5 8e(Jeisian 'h wc wnr^ sfcititiittg wtt^ laid ifc'ltli black and wliite timrtile. The Armottt^ is enteri&d fiofn thn vestibule. ■ It ^uoa^o thfe furth- est efi^ of the hons^', and to the light and left of th^ house we not^cejf openings into th^ dining and drawirt^ ibonis. On the wat?4- df the Afmoury >ve noticed Highland targets, Loehrtber ' a>tes, broad mwohIh, whifrgefs; dncgt'TS, old innskets. bugle horii3 and other instf nments of war, conspicnons arnoi^st^ Ihe decomtions he- inu: stag hoi lis. as iiVtl^ case with nt^arly all theapaitments. Amongst the nuiner- ons nrticle« cf intei'est to the antiquarian as well as the historian, we may mention a great two-handed Swiss sword, which WHS present eii to Scott by his Swiss ad- mirers. This one is similar to that descrilied in "Anneof Geierstein ' Here aluo we saw a bottle that once belonged to King JaUes, the sword of the great 'Mirqnis of Montrose, Andrew Hofer*s gnu, Bonaparte's pistol, with a portfolio trtml gdden bees, which al*) belonged to •*Bonny,*' aiid wefe picked npat Waterloo. In anothfi pla^e were pointed out the the pistols of "Royal Charley/' a case of *^i»lwirlid^a g«^ wliicfa oiic^ belonged* to THE LAND OF 8ia WALTER 800TT. 167 the famous "Rob Roy'* and no doubt v> ere used by bun too, when **The eagle he waa Iorm Abbotsford, below the junction of thf Gkla in the vale of the Allen is Glen* dearg the scene of *'The Monastery.'' In tlii^ room we saw a silver urn, which had ':Hi n i r 170 THE LAND OV SIB WALTKA 80OTT. I teen presented to Sir Walter by Lord Byron, an ebony writing erson to reach books which otherwise would have been inaccessable. Here we saw Seott's writ- ing table, the black leather arm chair he commonly used, and one other chair which we suppose was used by his private secretary. This was all the furniture which that wonderful little room contain- ed, yet the influence which proceeded from that room is felt in all lands to-day, that influence is gradually extending and strengthening, and will go on incieasmg until time shall be no more. We passed through the study to the closet, where we were shown some of the body clothes worn by Sir Waltei im medial ty before his death. They were carefully preserved i THi LAND OF «IR WALTClt SCOlTt. 171 in a glass case. The suit consists of a bine coat with large brass buttons, pluid tTous(^r8, a broid brimmed hat and a pair ofsfotit f»hoes. Hif? walkrn^ stick was lying beside them. We now prepared to leave Abbotsford. We saw a* good deal to remind us of what Sir Walter's prin- ciples wef^, both iti polities and feligoh, one curious thing being a picture of Mary Queen of Scott's head on a charger. Tliis was undoubtedly to re- mind him of the manner in which that 1)eautiful and unfortunate Queen had b«en treated by the Reformers of those times. Scott sympathized with the House of Stewart and admired Grahani Claver* house. He was a High Churchman in I'eligion, and a Tory of the Tories ih politics, and in* some of his writings did but meagre justice, if justice at all, to the Covenanters, as for instance, in his novel, •*• Old Mortality," and his tales of a grand- father, but with all his faults, " 1 love him still." His wntings, on the whole, have a good influence, and are calculated to have a fine moral effect upon the reader. He was a wonderful, if not a great man, ths chief of story tellers, ati interesting, if not at all times an exact historian, and a poet of no mean order. His versatility was most extraoidinury. m t w 172 Tll£ LAND or MR WALTSE 0COTT^ V His powers of deseriptioQ were unsui* passed by any writer who ever handled a pen. He h»s immortalized almost every Jhill and glaii, loch and liver in his native land. The people o( Scotland, nc matter of whi&t class in politics, or what their religious belief may be, are proud of Sir Walter Scott to^y, and they have a right to be. Scott died here in 1832, utterly broken down by the wonderful exeitions he had made to pay off the im- mense incumbrances in which his con- nection with the Ballantynes' had involv- ed him. As they biought him in help- less with palsy, on his return from Italy, he murmured, *' Now T know I am at Abbotsford.'' Alx>ut three months after- wards the minstrel of Scotland, the grefit- est novelist, and the most distinguished literary man of his day, bieathed his last, aged 61 years, one month and six days. Sir Walter loved Abbotsford. After re- turning from Italy he got his friends to wheel him about through the rooms, and as they did so he kept saying, " I have seen much, but nothing like my ain house." It is very interesting to know how celebrated men die. How 3ver, one famous man has saiil, "Tell me how a man lives, and I will tell you how he dies." The living is still more impoitaat TiflC LAMit or SIR WAttKR SCOTT. 173 than the dying. 9ff Walter bad been a kind hnabatHi and a loving father, iu fact he was beloved by all thone with whom he cAitie iti contact. He wns an aident lovei of hhi " ain fireside," and his own fainily, and Bnrns teHs uh that ' > in; To vuLk» » hiqppy ftrMide clime To weana aud wite, ' That** 'Die ttnv MHm ta»4 fl«*>liffw v; Uf huaiaa lifai'* fiiedtt <^id thie. He did more than this. While teaching others the way :o lire, 4ie hiTti8§1f had learned the way to die. Font days before he died he sent for his soR-in^law His eve A'as clear and cahn when he thus addressed him : ** Lockhart, I tatxy have bnt a nifnute to speak to you. My dear, he a good man, be ^ viVtuou?, 'he reKgiotw, be a good man. Nothing else wili give yon mrre oomfoit %heti yoUi cdme to lie hem." We ^tood in the large iroOTi where Sir Walter Scott died. It eammandi!) a beantifnl viaw of the Tweed below, and the Vale df Ettrick *and Yarrow beyond, toid the walls are hnng round by many exquisite drawings by Turner and ThOtnptfon. It was a lovely t>laoe in which to die, though with 'inch surrduiMliugs one irould rather live ^after all. « It ii^s a beafutfftil day." says his Moigrapher, ** so waidD that every i! I {: if ! L i 'Ai 14 ill- I 1,74 THE LANPj 9f dlR WALTER 800TT. window waa t^vown open and so per- fectly still, l^\9\. HxH sound of all others, most delicious ta the ear, the gentle rjipple of the Twe^d ov^r its pehbles was , distinctly audible, as wo knelt around iiie bed, and his eldest son kifdnd and closed hie eyes.*' He who had charmed the world, could not char in away doath. From the iw:nks of Tweed's silver stream he had passed to the gre^n fields beyond. Humbly the great man died, leaving Abbotsford we p-ssed down the banks of the river to the ferry, where a boy was waiting to take passengers across. All four jumped into the boat and we were soon on the other sidu. We then walked on to Galashiels through a beautiful country and on a fine sUme road. We V^ere actx)st'd occasionally by beggars whom we found w^^re more numerous than ii? Canada. Tais is not to be wondered at when it is considered that competition here is k^en, wiges low and the struggle for existence a hard one in many instances, here it is not very easy to lay by spinething for a rainy day and the poor man has often to choose L^etween the workhouse or the beggar*« wallet. Eeachin,'^ Gah\sheils wo had a pic-nic of our own as we were hungry once more,our walk having given us a good appetite. We THE L Armor SIR WALTER SCOTT. 17f^ •■t then examined the town. Chilashif^s is a town^f about 10,000 inhdbilants and the people are engaged in the xnaniifactuia of Tartan and Tweed cloths, which are said to be the boet in the world. It hks quite a ntiinber of large factories, twenty in all, several liotels, a lanje public hall, a corn excbftnge, ornate Episcopalian and Roman Catholic churches and nine other places i»f worship. The town is long and narrow and lief chiefly at the bottom of a vaW, imtntidiately flanked by considerable heights. It has a brewery, large tan yards; library, grammar schools andnenr to the hunting lower of the Scottish Kir.os. Mugget Hill, Lander, Cowden Knowes ^ ith its vitrified fort and Ashes- tiel where Mcott wrote his "M^rniion." The "Gala water" which flows through Galashiels like most of th««t streams of Scotland is renowned in soi^g. It is a beautiful little stream threading its way through a lovely country like a thread of gold in cloth of silver. But our train arrived punctually and we took our seats and were soon Itack in Edinburgh again, Aniving at the Waverly station at 8.30, p.m.. after liavmg walked on foot fifteen miles, besides the delightful railway journey throfigh thy garden of Si'otland We had seen a great many sights never il ^m ' II I': f f i - *- 176 THK LAND Of SIH W4L1KR 8COTT. to be forgotten and treasure up 8om^ glorious reminisoenaea of the U^d of Hogg, Leydea, Pringle, and of tbe ipi^r mortal Scott. In fiict we bad pf^s^ 021^9 day of our lives ia the atnio^pheii^, so 1^ speak, bf the greet magician of the i^Qrth, and uow we had arrived under (lj»e fhiidow of his luonuinent in Princess fitreet, one of the finest in the British Bmpii^, and in the city of his nativity wJiere his nHise is un every tongue and his volum- inons works in every bouk-seUer's win- dow. Here aiso«!'*8(X)tt in peerless splen,* dor reigni>d/' jut where can we go in ilie '*land of brown heath and sliagjb;y wood/ ' Wkiere his name is not a housdiold word. He hves lu the hearts of Mie people of Caledonia, sted'U aod wild, And the longer he occupies h spot in their hearts the greener that spot becomes, for . *Tiine but the iBiprttnaion ttrqugar iniike«» At f^reams their ohanneU deeper w^ar." Walking slowly up to our lodgings we resolved as we had spent the day, to spend the night with Scott so we began by read- ing the ]>oeni composed by Jainfis Ballau* tyne for the Scott centenary, which was sung at the Edinburgh banquet on that occasion and v'ith this we will bid Scott farev^ell. TAE LAND OF tflR WALTER SCoTT. 17^ *'Oome, let us raise a gratetKl song On this, our minstrel a natal day, And all the world shall v^z~A yn throng, Heart> homage, to his name to pay. One hundred years have |>assed away Since first awoke that watehfnl eye, WhoKe sparkKng ^anceand mrttial rav Have kindled hght thfrit ae^tr can Aie. ^e his glory krigHIIy '^fenniiie, Over palace, hail and cot ^ See the mynad iiaKons twiifiDg Lauiel'wreatHs ratud Walter SusoUy. Immortal strains of Anid Lang Syne Are tqating on thu ambient air. While fame and time strew ftowera divine Apoaad the witard mtmftnrf's -ciiMTv Who in bis huadi^dth year site lAiere With songs and stoi^es as of yors ) ^i 11 charming aH the brave «nd fair. Still linking heaits forever morsv Cho, — See hie glorVk etCt Statesmen and warriors gAther round And p»noe«nd peasant swell the tratn The nky-cleft bills, the gleas profoDind Prolong the uciversil strain. O'er all the world tbe loud rfcfrain Of grateful ^oy spreads wide «nd far. And Scotland's radiance ne'er tun wane, (Uumed by such a lustrous star. Oho. —See his glory^ &c. I ' I t , I Yl\e dity of I^eki'qi'ng kT\d WOULD 1 JCXOHANGK CANADA FOR BRt- TAIN?- ANSWER TO MR. CAMPBELL. OF HEAPORTH -GREAT BRITAIN AND CAN- ADA COMPARED AND CONTRASTED- CANADA MY HOME-FUNERAL OF SIR ROBERT CHRlOTiaON — COM' PARISON WITH McGEES -THE GREAT DARKNEHd - LONG- FELLOW — BLAIR — SOLO- MON — NELSON — PLAY- FAIR —HUME^ GEORGE BROWN-CAUDUSH— GUTHRIE, *c., Ac. In reference to friend Campbeirs quos- tion I would say that this u a grand old land with a magniiicent history and glor- ious reminiscences. Britain we must confess, has been the bulwark of civil and religious liberty to the nations of the earth in days gone by, and in many re- spects she is still their hope in years to I' THE CITY OF LEARNING. 179 cwme. She has heen, in short, a cloiul liy day, and a pi)l»r of fire by night to the oppreesed, down«trodden and enslaved nationalities and races of the sons of men, and her benign influence is exerted to- day in the cause of truth and jnstiiio wherever her glorious old flag waves, but taking her up on one side and down on the other, I would not exchange my own youthful, forest land, with its possi- bilities and probabilities and the future which I believe is in store for her, I would not exchange Canada, my home, for this hoaiy old land, with its magni- ficent seats of learning and history preg- nant with noble events and daring deeds. The future of Britain is behind her, if you will allow me the paradoxical ex- pression, the future of Canada is befoi'e her. If it is true, and I believe it is, that a nation — like an individual passes through a peiiod of childhood, youth, manhood, old age and decay ; then Britain has reached the zenith of her power and glory, or in other words, her future is behind her, while Canada is in her glorious youthful prime, with her future all before her, and who w*iil say what that future will be, if Canadians are only true to themselves, and true to the laud of their birth, and remember that I i h n •: >, i ,1 w- mm W r ii I \m THE CITY UF LEAKMNO. the |>eople rtiHke the couiitiy, and not the country the people thereof. We need i;(t apologize tor our youth, but remem- iKjr what Lord Bacon says "That the youth of a country in ulsu its antiqui:y.'* In the ages yet to he when (Canada is the home of teeuiin^ million;), the historian will look back thr«iU^h the dim vista of the past and point to our time as the ancient days of a great, powerful, in- lluential and happy people, hence we are living in the days of our nation's youth, and likewise her antiquity. . There is another glorious Hpectacle which I love to contemplate, and it is this, that while in the populous cities and ovei-crowdeu nations of the old world, the people are ]>ushiu<(, and kicking, and stabbing and shooting one another for vant . of room ; this sturdy youth. Canada, is standing on the rooky mountains with the olive branch of peace in one hand, and the maple leaf of his native land in the other, and with outstretched arms towards the starving multic«f which on Poisons, has gone through several editions, and is still considered a standard on that subject. He was no doubt a very learned and peculiarly };irted man. The funeral procession was ihe jstrHudest I have ever seen. The only fiiueral cortege to which' I could at all com pare it was that of the lamented Mc'^iee. I was a student in McGill Uni- versity. Montreal, when McGee was hssassiiiated. I saw the botly l>ing in state, and along with the other students, wiih the Professors leading, we took our ]»lHces in the procession. There were 11)01 e [eople at McGee*s, but Ohristison's funeral was the grandest by all odds. It would he hard to get so many large-brain- ed, intelligent, learned, 7<;verend looking men together ut one time in any city in the world — certainly not in any cit/ with H like population. We will not attempt to desciibe the procession. Six feet of earth in the Calton Hill burying gi'ound was the end of it all. Death is a great TBI CITY Of LEAENim). 18& leveller. The riph and the poor there meet together, and all proud ditttinctions are forgotten. There is no aristocracy amongst the inhabitants of the city uf the dead. It is one grand democracy. As Thomas McQueen, of the Signal used to to remark : "At)' enter the great dark- ness.** Well might tlie poet Shirley say : •««■ The gloriei of our blood and state Are flhudows, not suhsUntuI things ; Tnere ia no armor Agiiinst death ; Death lays his icy hand on Kings.'* There is no dlischarga in thts war, there is no dispensation against death, and there is no device, nor knowle(*ge, nor wiadom in thegrave,and when there we can never return. Can storied nrii, or animated bust Back to its mansion oaU the fleeting breatih^ Can honor's voice provoke the silent dust, Or flattery sooth the dafl, cold ear of death ? tt would be indeed a mournful termi* nation of onr busy lives if this "nairow house apriointed for all living," in which Christison has ju^t been laid was the end of all. Here reason can ^o no further ; it gropes. Faith now comes in and raises us above the "Great Darkness," and th ) "eternal sleep/' and the mysteries which snrround the 6na1 exit of man from this ,1 '! 'll i^ 1*84' ^ tHh ivtr or r.RAitNrN ti/ his King and country, and who^e dyin^ vrords were, "Think (led I have don*t my duty." Tlie nwnutnont to Hayfair and DoQgnId Stewart, men eminent in thtiir day, deep thinkers, famous in tlieir sfthere ; the monuinunt to Kobeit Hurns^ t)>e poet of Scotland, and of nature ; that to the political martyrs,who went to their graves witliout th^ir lioadn, on account of their adherence to human liberty ; the luoD anient to Sir David Hume, the hic^ toi'ian, the philosopher,the man of genius, a hard worker in his day ; that to l>r. Oaiidlitth, the famous Free Church Divine, and controversialist, and— but their name is legion, for there are many, who lie. mouklehng on the Gallon Hii1» and as we looked abroad and h^w the High School, where our own George Bvown had receiv- ed his ^arly training, we tlionght that if he could answer the roll call from over the sea, and the others rise from their graves for a few minutes, what impressive advice could they give ? It would be woith a thousand sernons. It would be like the trumpet tongues of the angels ! We woul 1 never forget it ! What would th«« advice be ? It would be work ! work ! work !!! while it is called to-day, for the iii^ht of death conieth when no man can I A ,%*, ^^ %, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) I 1.0 * I.I "IIIIIM 11^ IIIIIM ||||Z2 ir m 2.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1 =^^ 1.6 * 6" — ► % <^ /}. "9:. oth far and near, the sea roaring in the distance, the birds singing at our sides, the glorious blue sky over our heads, proud palaces in the shadows of Scottish mountains and grand fortresses, nature's creation, looking down contemptumisly upon the famous and most perfedrt works of man. And when we consi'ler that this gloiious land has also a glorious history I i«l ill : 190 THK OITV OF LKAKNINU* running back through the dim past for a thousand years, a thousand years of poets, statesmen, warriors, divines, orators, phil- osophers, sages, kings, crowned and un- crowned, we may well break out in the language of one of Scotland's sons, who had returned to see this country ere he passed from the Highlands of his native land to the Highlands of a brighter and better than this : — ^ There it a land, a lovely land, EncompaRsed by the sea. Whose every mountain, glen and strand Thrice hallowed is to me. It is the land whose heathery hilb No foe e'er trod with scorn. The land of rocks and dancing rills, The knd where I was born. Old Scotia ! hail ! with love for thee, My raptured bossom swells ; Land of the bold, the gocd, the free. Of woods and flowery dells. Land where the thistle proudly blooms, Fresh as the rising morn, ril love till time this heart consumes The land where I was boni. Thou art the land on which, of yore, Rome poured her cuuntless hordes Till Scotia gleamed from shore to shore. With empire, winning-swurdti. Bat glory to oar sires of old. From them wei'e never torn The stainless laure^ls that enfold The land where I was born. In thee when Southern foes anail'd To load the neck >vith chains, THE CITY i>F LRAHNINCJ. i9>l ^nd Edward's wJietted veugeauce pealed lu thunder o'er vour plains, A Wallace, niatchieaa, daitnltesa,. good,. His tbreate defied with scorn And nobly saved in fields of Uocd The land where T wasi born Uail Bruce I dread eseeuce of the ^''^^e ! Hail monarch of my soul ! Your deeds where thraldom formed a grave To endless fame sball roll, Your deeds on Bannock's bloody field. Your name shall aye adorn : Bright glory crowns, and valor shields, The land where 1 was bmrur |^ Hail ! land of song, where countless bards Have toned the heavenly lyre. Where TanDahill's mild strains were heard. To bleud with Burns' fire. Where Scott in peerless splendor reigned And Hogg aWoke hie born. Till echo swelled through wood and gleu. Bright land where 1 was born. Land of my K>ve ! land of my joy ! Land where my life began, Land where I rambled when a boy And left it when a man. Land where the eagles cleave the sky. And view the plain with scorn, I'll breathe thy name in Kf^'s last tigh, Great land wliere I was born ! But here we are sifting on " East and be Thankful'* How suggestive the words? What a text from which to preach a sermon f There is food for thought in those soft words, those autum* iial flowers of Eden's bowera. Rest is the si wmm 192 THK CITY OV LKXRNINMi, ' I moonlight of a tired spirit. How dear ia rest to llie etiident f Mental workers alone can understand what rest in this sense means. We all look forward to rest at last, to the time when we shall r?st from onr labours, and in the noble language of SsSripture, ** be gathered to our fathers." But we mnst not rest too long nor too early, we ra«st work while it is called to-day, " for the night conieth when no man can work." " t>ay" with us is *' our glorious youthful prinje" when the brain is active, the mind vigorous, the memorv retentive. ** Niyht'" is the time when our physical and inteU«ctual powers shall fail at«d when onr " day of grace, as far as intellectual labor is con- cerned, has g(nie iiito iho great pa^t eternitv nev»^r to netutn.*' But we are not only to " Ilest," but we are to be "Thankful," that is we are to teei grate- ful for the past. Gratitude is one of the noblest principles that over moves the human breast. I never had any faith in a man who was ungrateful for benefits re- ceivtid or favors bestowed. Such a person would make a first-class ^Assistant to Satan himself, who we understaiid is a stranger to gratitude. Di. Aikius and myself considered that wfg had evary reason tol>e thankful for health, strength THE CITY OF LEAUNiNO. in «nd intellectual ]}ower8, as well as the success which had just crowned our la\x>rs and al90 tkit we deserved a rest dfter the hard mental woik we had just gone through, and ve resolved to take it by viewing the beautiful scenery of this beautiful country, and breaking in on the monotony of our |mst work and subsii- tu ting a complete change of ideas. This itself is rest to tlie weary mind. Soon he will return to congenial work amongst the hospitals of the continent, and I will return to my professional work in Seaforth. Such is life ! However, whether working or resting let us always heed the promi)t- ings of what Gmy calls *'The still small voice of gr»titi»do," and be not like unto those of whom Wordsworth si)caks when he says : — *' I've heard of hearts unkind, kind deeds With coldness still returniug, Alas 1 the gratitude of men Hath oftcner left me mourning." Now, night has descended upon the Corstorphine Hill, the proud scene is over, the panorama has passed away. We must descend too, and return to our homes in this beautiful city, and take that rest which will prepare us for the duties on enjoymetits of the M: 4t TTX: T04 THE riTY OF LEARN ma morrow, remembering always to "Rest and be Thankful " betime& as we journey on towards " that ekv that hath found- ations'' wheie I hope we shall '* rest" for ever and be ** thankful" thrwigliout aU t-feernity. i^ ♦ *!i ¥l)e dity of i^eki'i^in^ ai^l VISIT TO JOHN KNOX'S HOUSE-THE DE- SCRIPTION OF THE HOUSE AND ARTI- CLES IN IT OMITTED.— THE AUTHOR REFERS TO THEM AS '• THESE ARTI- CLES" AND BEOINS WITH THE CHAIR IN WHICH THE REFOR MER SAT-REVIEW OP THE STORMY TIMES OF KNOX — LATER, THE PERSECUTION OF THE COVENANTERS UNDER CHARLES STU- ART AND THE CRUEL CLAVERHOUSE, Ac. These articles were, so to speak, pregnant with interest, and recalled many historical reminiscenses of stormy and cruel times, it was not for these however, that I entered the Honse. That chair to me was worth them all, because Knox sa*) in it, and that ^nndow through which the assassin's bullet came — and through which Knox issu ed Ihte one night when i [H\ TIIK CITY uF LEARNING I. I I ^iiMvded by hia friends foi tear of H«sa«.si- iiation, and sought tlic solitude of an eiH closfd space in the ivar: one of liis friends following him heard him three tinjts in ngonizing earnestness repeat the words, " 0, Lord, give me Scotland, or I die.'* No wonder that the English Am- basspdor said that ^John Knox pnt move life into him than six hundred trumpet-*," when he was a man of such earnestness, nnd no wonder that the nnfor^unate Queen Mary said that she " was more afraid of the prayers of John Knox than o\ p,n army of 10,000 men." We now retired from the building nnd took a view of the west front over which is the in- scription, " Lnfe God, Ai>ove Al, And Your Neighbou As Yoitrself." Knox v/as buried in St. Giles* Chnrchyard, alongside his friend, tlie " good Regent,** as the Ear! of Murray wf s called. The newly appointed Regent Morton pro- nouncing the ever mf^morable words over his body, ** There lies Jolin Knox, v/ho never feared the face of man," We now ,ptvf:sed up High stieet to St. Giles, en- temd Parliament Square, passed by the monument to that great and mighty Prince Charles It., uwd soon stood on the grave of one greater and mightier than he or any of his race. ' All that marks the 1 THE OiTV OF I.RARNINQ. 107 III ))lace wheie th*^ dust of the groat IJo- foriner re]K)8e3 are the letters, "J. K., 1572," on the stoiiL* pavement, tlie stoim being of somewhat different colour from those around it. lb was difficult to un- derstand, and still more difficult to de- scnl)e my feelinj^s upon this ocoasiou. For the first time in my life 1 felt as if I stood upon Jioly ground. A strcing**, solemn feeling crept over me. The stoimy scenes of Scottish history passed rapidly through ray brain. A grand panorama passed swiftly before ^le. I saw an almost universal upheaval taking place in the woild of thought. The nations of the earth are rent, as it were, by the throes of volcanic dissolution, the fonmlations of belief, which were suj)- posed to be laid deep down on the ever- lasting rocks, are now tottering like the mountains when an earthquake is rend« iug thp globe. The times have come that tries men*s souls, and at such a time John Knox, like Moses of old, appears on the scene as a leader of Scottish people. He appears on the historie canvas as the first and greatest of the Scottish Re- formers. Not like John the Baptist merely the forerunner of a greatei than he, before whom he must wane at the ap- proach of the rising snn. — Knox is tlic if H II 108 THE CITY OF LEARNING. ii i in r Buii itself, utid all others in this land are stars of lesser magnitude, compared to him. Through him the nation spoke and the voice of the people was the voice God." The oracle gave no uncertain lound It warned the tyrannical Stuart line that the sceptre was fast departing from them. They had been weighed in the balances and wsre found wanting. Soon their Kingdom would be given to a better dynasty ; in short, *' The Lord had done with them." As Moses had led the chil- dren of Israel out of the land of Egypt, so did Knox lead his countrymen, and like him, he had th(^ desert to pass through, and died before he reached the ))romised land, for dark and cloudy days were to follow him — the days when Charles Stuart reigned and Claverhouse commanded. The canvas moves! The blue flag of Preabyterianism is waving on the green mountuin side, the perse- cuted ministers are preaching in the glens under a covei of a friendly Scotch mist. Peden with a heavy price on his head is giving out the words : — '*Thon art my hiding place, Thou stialt from trouble keep me free, And with sougs of deliverance About shall compass me." And the music of Ziou rises high on THE CITY OF LEAllMN"0. 1^9 t?be air, beside their own mountaiR stream. Ricliai'd Cameron and his few faithful followers having heard the sound of the horseman's bridles through the darkness, are lying low in the heather or to use the language of the poet 4 ** Twos the few faithful ones wteoQ8 were calm u\u\ uncloiKied. Their flark eyes ffaabed Kghtuing^ as finri, 9ne thmidei* i» rend ma?, Tbe rmraketn were flash mg, the Uiie f»worfls were gleamine. The heh»et» were cielt, and tbe re»l Mood wuf^ stream >ng, Tlie heaven* Sfrew (tark, and the thmider wa» rolling, When in VVcFtwood^s dark miMr^ndM tin? mighty were fallrng. Thei«» scenes ffashect fhroogFi my brain with the speed of lightning, 1 was gaz- ing through the veil which hid tbe dim inisty pa?jt, bnt for the time, the picture to me was a real obe ; the historic pan- orama was there, the scenes changing rapidly by the swiflest of all powers — the power of thought. I saw the best of Scotia's sons hunted like partridges on the mountains by the cruel Claverhouse, or hiding like wild beasts in the dens and raves of t!>e earth, while the nobles treacherous as usual, were plotting against each other and against the weak monarch, who unfortunately filled the throne. All this was photographed vividly n THE CITT OP LEAWNINO. 201 »pon the canvas of my imagination, as if by some magic power, as I stood on Job n Knox's ffv&ye. Then, " I had a dream winch was not all a dream." I looked upwards towards the everlasting monn* tains, aed I beheld the guardian genius which has presided over this mountain land during the days when clouds and darkness were round about her, as well as the days when the sunlight of prosperity bathed her hill tops with glory, I saw her descend through the mist which had now settled down upon the ancient capital, and waving her enchanting wand over the Parliiment buildings, where the Scottish nobles often met to quarrel and plot against each other, and over that grand old Cathedral wheie Knox had often ex- horted his countrymen, *'to know God and his work in Scotland, and to stand by the gude cause," descending towards the grave of the Scottish Reformer, on whose dust I wap standing, and passing by the great and noble of the past, the immortal Bruce, the dauntless Wallace, the Stu- art dynasty, with their "divine right of Kings," and all. She lowered her wand over the grave of tlie good old man who is to-day without a monument, except that his memory is fresh and green in the htarts of his countrymen, and n I 1 » 202 TIIEt'ITy OF LEARNlNn in touos sweet as those of the Eolian harp, bat still penetrating as tlie native music of the country. A voice which pen- etrated every nook and corner in " High Dunedin, "said in tones that thrilled the hearts "Verily, verily, I say unto you, of those that have been born of wo- men," there hath not arisen in this moun- tain land, a greater, nor a better man, than the eloquent, earnest^ staunch Eeformer, John Knox. (^m n e o 11 / ''Yi\e i^iti^doni of S^ife.'' VISIT TO ST. ANDREWS ALONG WITH MR. HODGSON OF THE FIFESHIRE JOURNAL, BROTHER-IN-LAW OF THE MESSRS KERR OF McKILLOP- THE COWER OF ST. RE- GULUS- THE CATHEDRAL— TOMB OF DR. R. CHAxMBERS-THE PRIORY— BRUCE'S FIRST PARLIAMENT— THE CASTLE OF ST. ANDREWS-CARDI- NAL BEATON— GEORGE WISH- ART— NORMAN LESLY— JOHN KNOX THE BOTTLE DUNGE- ON -GEORGE BUCHANAN- PATRICK HAMILTON- PRIN- CIPAL TULLOCH— THE LI- BRARY — ST. SALVADOR COLLEGE-BISHOP KEN- NEDY'S TOMB — RE- TURN TO CUPAR — FAREWELL TO MR. HODGSON AND HIS GOOD LADY. By 10 o*c!ock Mr. and Mrs. Hodgson both were ready, and the " machine*' wiaa driven to the door by the Bailie's man, and all three took seats therein. The day was bright and beautiful, the air balmy and the drive of 12 miles through one ot the most b<^autiful tracts of old IT 204 THE KINGDOM OF FIFE. / mother earth it has ever been my lot to set eyes upon. Mr. Hodgson too, c?r- tainly did his part. He is probably the most interesting companion (of course the ladies excepted) that T ever had the privilege of travelling with. He has a smcere love of the beautiful in nature, an inexhaustible fund of humor, apt in anecdote and illustration, and in literary matters is a regular walking encyclopae- dia, that is when he is not riding, as he was upon the present occasion. He com- pletely surpassed in every thing what John Kerr promised on his behalf. In due time we reached the ancient city of St. Andi'ews, and having attended to the Bailie's beast, we went directly to the Tower of St. Kegulus, which Mr. H. and T climbed while Mrs. H. was meditating among the tombs in the beautiful ceme- tery below. This is a square tower 108 feet high, the top being reached by 152 steps. Some claim that it is 1,400 years old, and was built bv the Picts. Others that its age is somewhere between 700 and 1,000 years. It was left untouched by the follower^ of Knox when the splendid cathedral was destroyed. We had a most magnificent view from the top of this hoary monument of ancient days, which space will not permit us to >'! , TIIK KINUDOM i.V FIFE. 2m desciibe. Our next object of investi- gfition was the cathedral, which was founded by Bishop Arnold in 1160. In 1159 it was destroyed by the Presby- terian party under Knox, after he had preached one of those sermons which had so much power o^'er liis^countrymen. It oriyinallv consisted of a nave 200 feet long and 62 wide, including the two lateral aisles, a transept with an eastern aisle 160 feet long, a choir with two lateral aisles 98 feet long, and at the eastern extremity a lady chapel 33 feet in length. It is the largest and most magnifioent ruin of the kind in Sqotland. We paid a visit to the tomb of Di^ Kobert Chambers (of W. & |L Chambers, publishers) who was interred in tlie in- terior of the chapel of St. Regnlus, oM the 22nd March, 1871. His friends would not allow his second wife to be buried ] beside him, because she had l:>een Uis houaekeeper. She lies by herself in qu out of the way corner amongst coiimiou people. After taking a glance at the ie- maius of the Priory, which was a hion*« astery of the Augustine Order of Fiiars, founded in the reign of David I, and a most gigantic atTdir, we visited the ruins of the castle of St. Andrews, which ':'! # ' I I 20C THE KINGDOM OF FIFE. ! i played such an important part in Scot- tish history. Before leaving the Priory we might mention that it is famous as the place where Robert Bruce, Scotland's greatest King, held his first parliament in 1309, when working out the inde- pendence of his country. We ei^tered the old castle, now in ruins, once a palace, where James III. was l)orn, where Car- dmal Beaton watched from a window the burning of George Wishart, and where he himself was murdered by Norman tesly in 1546, Lesly and his fellow conspir- ators subsequently holding the castle against the Earl of Arran, until reduced by a fleet from France, when John Knox «.nd many of the garrison were carried into slavery. Henry VIII had also sent a fleet to aid the conspirators, but it arrived too late. These were tioublesome times, times that tried men's souls, and bar- barous things were done on both sides, and excused by both; even Sir David Linf^say of the "mount" whose birth-place was pointed out to me by Mr. Hodgson, wrote in reference to the murder of Car- dinal Beaton : — •' As for the Cardinal I freely grant, He was the man we weel could waat God will forgive it soon, Bnt troth although the loon is weel awa' The deed was touUy done. THE KINGDOM OF FIFB. 2%\ The spot >f here Wishart was burned and the window from which Beaton beheld the sight, and where his own body was afterwards hang out to convince the mob that he was dead, were both pointed otrfc, but whether report is correct in these matters or not m'© cannot sav. In the grass grown court, a rocky well was shewn us, which is 50 feet deep. It sup^ plied the garrison with water. What in- terested ns most, however, was tha cele- brated Bottle Dungeon situated under the northwest or sea tower of the castle. It is in the form of a bottle, as the name implies, the neck being 8 .feet deep by 7 across, when it widens to 17 feet in dia- meter at the bottom, the total depth being 34 feet, this gloomy hole being cut out of the solid rock, Prisoners were let down by a pnlley slung from a cransverse beam in the upper room. A few steps down throngh a narrow slit of a door leads to a dark vault, in the ceuti-e of the floor of which yawns the Bottle Dungeon. The keeper swings a couple of flickering candles into the yawning pit, which en- ables you to see its peculiar shape. It is said that the celebrated George Buchanan, John Rodger, Geoige Wishart and Pat- rick Hamilton were all inmates of this dungeon at diffeTeiit times. Bread and i :; it t y 1^1 mmm^mmmm wm 208 TllK KINGDOM OV b'lVK. Vi water were lowered into the dungeon by means of the pulley already mentioned, when indeed it was thought desirable to give the poor wretches such things, some it is said, being allowed to die of star- vation or thirst. These were the stories told us, Kud which tradition records. How far they are worthy of belief, we at thip distant date have no means of know* ing. One thing, however, puzzled me while viewing this castle: it wa^ this, how it was possible thai the seat of an Archbishopric, an honor which was <;laimed for th(; city, from its possessing the bones of JSt. Andrew, th« patron saint of Scotland, over whose body the cath- edral is supposed to be built; bow it was possible that the people of this ancient city on both sides, could be guilty of such cruelties, and that in the holy name of religion. Were they not afraid that the bones of the old saint would desert the grave and confront them in the midst of their atrocities ? It is very creditable to the patience and forbearance of the ol.M OF FIF>V. l>n^ Tiiljocli, iVof. of Divinity, and tlie Epis- liopal clei*gyinaH. Mr. Hodgson intro* ducing mo to both gentlemen. The clergyman pointed to a St. Andrew'^ cross, made of blocks of stone in the centre of the street which marks the place wliere Patrick Hamilton and thret3 others were burned. We were shown through the library whidi contains 100,000 vol* tunes, tlie Parliamentary Hall, where the Scottish Parliament occasionally as* 3*}mbled in old times, a curiously carved 'oak chair *ud the mace, both supposed to have been used by the Speaker at the meeting of Parliament when Bpottis* woode was tiied. John Knox*ij Latin Ijible with chiiin attached, a curious old astronomical clock, said to have been used by the celebrated Prof. James Gregory, when regent of St. Salvadoi's co'lrge. Beautifully illuminated books written by the monks in their cells in tlie very early days, were also shown. The University was founded by Bishop Wai-dkw, the Library by James VL Some fine por- traits adorned the walls, such as thc'se of Cardinal Beaton, Knox, Adam Ferguson^ Dr. Haldane, Lord Melville and others. From the Library we stepped inco St. Mary's College adjoining, we walkel through all the rooms, be^-iiming with 210 THK KlXCJDo.M OR FfFK, Principal Tulloch's, known as the prayer hall, from tb^ sfiideBts assembling hero every nM)rnii>g for prayer.. St. Leoimnr?* College was now examined as well as the ehapel. About foi ty feet from the chapef the official residence of George Bnchanan the celebrated Principaf, is stilt seen and in good condition. The house was the resideiKje of the Inte Sir D.ivid Brewster^ iliiring the time he was Fiincipul of the United college. Mr. H. and I now visit- ed St. Salvador's college and cHapeT, having had some difficulty in procuring the key, finally a member of the city council came and shewed us through the chapel himself, and treated us with the greatest kindness. The late I>r. Chal- mers, who was five yearS Professor of Moral Philosophy at St. Andrews, in hi» description of thi« chapel, says that " It has no parallel in Scotland." It is built in an exquisite gothic style and is of a light elegant construction. As we enter, the first object of interest we observe is the old oaken pulpit from which John Knox, on the 5th of June, 155 (y, preached that soul -Stirling sermon that aroused the populace so much that thoy afterwards went and destroyed the cathedral and other monastic buildings in the city„ which event hm been de«cribed by Prof. ! I •J TIIK KINGDOM OF HFK. 211 it Tenncint in his poem *' Dinging Down o' the Cathedral.'* I entered the pnlpit nnd sot down in it, and examined the stand for thf. hour glass, which was used by Knox when he preached ; we had already seen th«5 Bible which was attach»^d to tlu» same pulpit by a chain, when hepreachcil that famous sermon. We now entered and examined the chapel proper, the most wonderful thing in which is Bishop Kennedy's monument or tomb, which is at the left side of the altar as we enter. It is a piece of the uiost gorgeous and elaborate architecture, all modern im- provements sinking into insignificance when compared with it. Though much injured, it still remains a noble specimen of art, with its columns, canopies and pendants. There were originally silver figures in the niches, which arc now empty. As I stood in that aisle like one of old between the living and the dead, with the plain oaken pulpit of old John Knox on one side and the magnificeuu tomb of the founder of St. Salvador college on the other, I asked myself the question, " Why has the power, the grandeur, the magnificence, the doctrines, yea, the very fame and name of the Prelate and his successors, paled before TIIK KIXiOoM OF FIFK. liii iiii! tlu.'. ruiiolj, rude, earnest, uiiadoruc'l clo- •incnceHiitl simple cliil(Jlike faith of the riesbyter, who, from that oaken pulpit, ilenouDwd the pomp and vanities of the world, and told even th<>se who were clothed in purple and fine linen that unless they received the kingdom of heaven as a little cnild they shouli never enter therein? "Why am I to-day gazing on the gorgeous tomb which re- minded me of tlie departed glorv of one, while the other has, and is still g(.ing forth, fair as the moon, clear as the aun, and teriible as an army with banners?" ti' (( ¥l\e Kingdom of J^ife )^ FROM CUPAR TO KINROSS-THE LOMOND HILLS-TARBET TOWER— LINDIFFERON HILL— THE CRAWFORD PRIORY -SIR OAVID LINDSAY OF THE MOUNT- FALKLAND— NTITH ILL MANSION- KINROSS HOUSE- MR GEO. BAR- NETT OF THE -KINROSS AD VERTISER."- LOCH LEVEN- THE CASTLE-QUEEN MARY HILLS-LORD - KINNESS. MICHAEL . 'LOCH BBNARTY UNDSAY WOOD - BRUCE LEVEN ANGLER"- 8E C E SSI ON CHURCH- FAREWELL TO MR. BARNET. The country froia Cupar to Kinross, is picturesque and beautiful. There are so many objects of interest in sight at one time, the Lomonds, the Tarbet Tower Lindifferon Hill, crowned by its obeliesk the Crawford Priory, Sir David Lindsey's quandum seat, Falkland under the hill, Nuthill mansion, with other magnificent 'l\i TIIK KINGDOM OF FIFK. ifbideiiues fit for Kings to reside in, aloni^ witli the fertile vales of Fife, well oul- liviited.vvith numerous streams alive with tr(»nt, \.'impling under deeply shaded banks, a bright sun shining above us, healthy, invigomting brees^ps blowing jiroundi while the birds ^ith sweeter notes than ever, are making tbe air vocal with their praises of the far-famed, lovely, historical kingdom ot Fife. It is with such feelings and amidst such scenery that we sweep past Loch Leven, get a passing glimpse of its hoary cattle, and find ourselves at the station in the town of Kinross. We immediately made our way to the sanctum of Mr. George Bar- ntt, editor of the " Kinross Advertiser,'' to whom we presented Mr. Hodgson's note of introduction, and were cordially received. Observing, however, that Mr. Barnet was busy proof reading, it being publication day, rnd having still a linger- ing fear of editors before our eyes, and knowing how dangerous it is to disturb them, I at once proposed to take a walk by the banks of Loch I^even, promising to i-eturn when his paper would be in the hand?: of the " devil." This was satis- fa3tory. and away we went. W« soon found the pathway that leads up the edge of the Loch to an old church and grave THE KINGDOM OV FIFK, 21"& yard, from which we had an excel lent view of this celebrated Loch and the castle in which 13116611 Mary was im- prisoned. A fresh breeze was blofwings wliich made the water somewhat rough, -or we might have hh^»d a boat and had a sail. However, 1 was more iticlhied to pondsr over the slirring scenes which •took place in and iiround that Loch and <{a3tle, than to indnlge in the pleas wes of -a sail. T4ie old church ai^d cemetery where we toolc our rtand occupies an elevated fwsition, from whicli we liad a iina view of the Lodi, the islands, and 4;lie surrounding country. Kinross House, between tlie town and the lalve, is the seat of Sir Grraliam Montgomery, Bart., and used to be open to visitors, but foT some reason or other it had been closed for some time to all picnics and otht r parties, the proprietor being abseirt. The Loch is overhung on the south and cast by the Lomond and Benaity Hills, rising to the altitudes of 1167 and 1492 feet above the level of the sea, the lake itself being 360 feet above the sea level. Loch Leven castle stands on an islet of about two acres, a quaiter of a mile from the nearest part of the wes^ shore. It be- Ionised anciently to the Kings of Scotland «nd was the residence of Alexander TIL 2U) TIIK KIN(ilU)M OF KIFKr but passed into the hands of the Douglaws family about the year 1542. Queen Mary was imprisoned beye in 1567 and re- luaiaed in durance vile for eleven long months. It was hc^re too that <8he was compelled by Lord Lindsay to abdicate her claim to the Scottish throne. Lindsay it is said, seizing her roughly by the shoulder, and ordering her to sign the document The beautiful Queen lived in stormy times, and her disturl>ed eventful life, and mournful death, fully verifies the words of the great dramatist, " Un- easy rests the bead that wears a crown. **^ From this castle she was lescued bv George Douglass, whose heart was moved with pity for her, on account of her mis- fortunes. Then began the final struggle for power, which ended unfortunately as all her undertakings did. " Chances and war were against her.*' After eighteen years of clo3e confinement under Queen Elizabeth, in whom she trusted, she finally ended her days on the scaffold, having long previously giveq up all hopss of sitting on a throne or wearing a crown, neither of which in her estimation were worth retaining. The one had certainly noi been to her a bed of eider down, while the other had undoubtedly becin a *• crown of thorns." It was of the castle ( ' THE KINGDOM OF FIFF. 21 *■ and island upon which I am now gazing and of the imprisonment to which! hrwe referred that the ])oet cojn)X)sed the fol- lowing lines :— *' The scene was chaugetl. It was a lake with one HinaJl lonely isle. And there within the prison walls of it» baronial S^rn, (n«n 8,to(xl menacing their Qneen till she ' ihcrulfi stoop to sign," The tiaitorbtts sci'oll that snatched the orpwn from her ancestral iit^. *' My lords ! ojy lords !" the captive said, •*werc I biit once free. With ten good Knights on yonder shore to aid m}' cause and me. That parchment would I scatter, wide to every breeze that blows, And once more reign a ^^tuart Queen o'er my rumorseless foes." A red spot burned upon her cheek, streamed her rich tresses down, !*4he wrote the words, she stood erect, a Queen withbut ft crown !" It is plain to my mind that the ])oet who penned the above never saw Loch Leven or he would never have said, " It was a lake, with one small lonely isle,'* for there are several islands, one of them Inch, or St. Serf's, containing 35^ acres. Castle Island, to which the poet refers, containing only 2 acres, Roy's Folly, J of an acre. Heed Bower, Green Isl«», Alice Bower, Scart and others. The castle in question which now consists mainly of a ■h '^\ ■kii:. THE KINGDOM OF FlUE. four sloiey, «quHie tower, figHieS gmplh icjall}' in Sir Walter Scott's novel, ** 'tti«3 Abliot." The St. Serf's Islaad lies about ^jue and a quarter miles southeast of the "castle Islet, and contains ruins of apricjuy uM OF FIFE. 210 r (leejs ^^'« ivtvaced our steps slowly to- vvjinis Kinross Aud met Mr. Bavnet ou tlje street search iujj lor us. We bad spent over two houis and a half musing on tbe banks of Loch Leven and medi- talino; among the tombs. I bad not felt tbti time passing, tbe air was so fvesh, the soeneiy so beautiful, tbe historical remin- iscences so intensely interesting. We lejiaired with tbe editor to his hospitable mairsion, a here, we were introduced to bis yuod laily and her sister, a Mrs. Guthrie, tbe latter having a son, a medical man practicing in Australia, We were Uf^ated to an excellent lunch, were shewn Bruce's poems, bad a view of tbe largest trout ever caught in tbe Loch Leven, which has been preserve! by Mr. Barnet, who is a veteran angler, after which he presented us with the " Loch Leven Angler," a work published by himself, a little book of great interest v/hich we piize highly. He upbraided us with staying sc long on tbe banks of the Loch, as he had influence enough to get us into the beautiful giounds of the Kinross House, and would also have given us a sail on the lake. However, there was no use I'ppiniug. We can't recall what is It was now nearl past. •ly we bade the ladies good bye, and Mr. X. 5>20 THE KINGDOM OP FIFE. Barnet and we made oui way to the station. While at the station the editor pointed out the church where the first se- cession from the Kirk of Scotland took place, and related other interesting re- miniscences of Kinrosshiie. But the bell rings — th*^ train is in sight, now it is at the station, a shake of the hand and a parting good-bye, we jump aboard and are soon thundering on towards Dun- fermline, the last resting place of the Scottish Kings, leaving the lovely Loch Leven sleeping in placid beauty, amongst the everlasting hills. ''1% iiiii^doiii oi f^ife." THE GRAVE OF BRUCE IN THE MEMORIAL CHURCH- BRUCE AND THE SPIDER- THE BATTLE OF KILDRUMMIE RXK* CUTION OF BRUCE'S BROTHER—CAP- TIVITY OF HIS WIFE-THE HERO OF PARADISE LOST.-STRIKE FOR FREEDOM—'* NEVER GIVE UP" -LADY AUGUSTUS STANLEY -RALPH ERSKINE AND HIS BROTHER EBENEZER — HENRY ERSKINE THE FATHER— ACT OF UNI- FORMITY -TRYING TO MAKE ALL MEN THINK AUKE IN RELIGIGN — A MISTAKE-A BLUNDER- PASSING AWAY. Oil ! otice again to freedom's cause retttrn, The patriot Tell, the Bruce of Bannockbiirii. — Campbbll. It was v'ith niantliug pride in hia cheek, that the guide told me, as I stood above the ashes of Scotland's greatest King, the story of Bruce and the spider •222 TIIK KTNOnOM OF FIFE. vrhicli perhaps you have h'^ard boforo. Certainly I haH, in both prose an«l poetry, but an anecdote with a valuable lesson is always worth repeating. We may ponder seriously on the moral it contiins, it may nerve ns for some great deeM to be done, as it did the Bruce, or if we live ill an uneventful age when there is no chance to perform such deeds, it may do what is probxbly better, it may teach us the valuable lesson of perse veranc« under difticultie-i and nerve us »or the stem battle of life. As you are no doubt aware, it was not always smooth sailing with the hero of Scottish inde- pendence, on the eontraiy, no man who was finally successful as he was, ever perhaps suffered such a seii»*s of defeats or came through puch hardships, and this makes the lesson of perseverance more valuable to U3. The story of the spider is as follows : — The Kinji; — as he was call- ed — for he had bt;en crowned at Scone at the very commencement of his war for the independence of Scotland, was living in a misemble dwelling at Racbrin when the news reached him of the taking of Kildrummie, the execution of his brother and the captivity of the wife of his bo^om, and for the time he was at the point of despair. He was lying one Tlir KINtiDOM <»K KIKK. •>»>»♦ C ^^« ^ morning on hi» wretched bed, pondering m his own mind whether he had noO belter Q[ive np all though *:s of re r* tori n^ the freedom of Scothmd, when his eye WHS attracted by a spider oi> the roof of his miserable cabiu. It wa» hanging at the end of a long thread of it« own spin- ning, and WHS trying to swing itself fron^ one beam in the roof to another, for th(? purpose of attaching a line on whi'^h to stretch its web. The insect mad* the attempt repeatedly without success, Bruce carefully counting the mimber of attempts nt!til it h<'u] reaehec the sixth time. '* Surely, thought the King, it will stop now. This is just the number of times I have been defeated by the English. If this insect tries again I will try loo.'' It was a momentous moment for the liberties of Scotland. The future of the country hung by a spider's thread. Just as Bruce was forming this resolution firmly in his own mind the spider made another exertion with all the force it could muster, and this time suc^eded in fasten- ing its thread to the beam it hnd so often tried m vain to reach. Bruce seeing the success of the spider grasped his well- tried blade once more, resolving to try bis own fortune, and history records that though he never l>efore gained a victory, ^m t TUK KlNatnre's eternj'.l law, everything is in motion and vve unsfc move too. Afver nil we will honor his menrry more by emulating those Stirling qualities, those " never give up" principles which cnahled him to surmount every obstacle and trij.mph over every foe, and which has embalmed his mimo *' *' Amongst the few imioortal cues That Were not, born to "die," rather than by standing idly on his tomb eulogizing his noble pame. We have all a work to do. Let us d9 it ; do it ,\vith the industry, coiirage, and perseverance of a I if li •'■■1 226 THE Kl NGDOM OF FIFE, Bri;cp and ** never give np" until our face, like his, u run. onr warfare over, ticlory litcUired in onr favor, Buiiuock- bum inscribeti on our bannei9. " Never give ap; %w the iecret of g}ory, K(ithiu|{ to wUe can phi!ere 19 a nK>uunient to the famous deceder in front of the church. His brother £l)eneZi'r Erskine as my friend Mr. John Kerr, of McKillop, knows, was the founder of the Secession Church of Scotland and prohably the most famous man of the t«vo. While Kalph was tbe author of a volume of sermons which DO doubt Mr. Kerr has read and THK KINGDOM OF FIFE. 227 le appreciated too. as Er^kine was a renrnrk- able man, far ahead of hi« times. They were sons of a nohle sire as their father Henry E«'8kine was a Frest»yteiian divine who suflertfd iuipri-'oniiient under the act of Uniformiiy, aftd was finally min- ister at Bel wick. He died in the yenr 1696. Whv do I irention these names and why are they dear to nie ? Hie reason is that they w*»Ye heioes of volun- taryi^ir, a prinrif»al which I have always maintained and udiuirfd. Tlie Erskines claimed the ri^dit to worship God as their cotisciencett dictated, and denied the right of the state to interfere lietween God and the conscien e. The act of Uniformity nnder which Henry Erskine, the father of the two celebmied sons referred to, was impnson«*d. was passed for the pur* pohe of making all men think alike in religious matters. The law-makers of those days forgetting that there is as much diversity of opinion in the minds of men, as there is differences in sha^ie, site and appearance in the blades of grass or in the leaves of the mighty fore;9t. This supposed power of making aP men think alike in religion ha* been the most gigantic mistake the ralers of the nations have ever committed. It was worse than A mistake, it was a blunder. Wo •* 2ii8 THE KINGDOAI OJT FlFK. ~i have Erskines in ^^jy nation of the 'globe, independent, thinkers uiulpiv every sky, and this vy ill always be the. case Sinless the. hnnmn miud is changed by (jreative poy\^er, and yyh'ih this.is the case, iip act of pavliamunt. vvill ever make "men tliink aHke in reiii;ion pi' anything else, thou jj J it,n;iay majvef^onienien pre- tend to do so, or jft other Wi^s transform them iptp hyppcnt^^. ,,Jho |el lowers^ of "the Ijli'skintts to-dAy, in* the United ^Presbyterifkn Chnrch of Spptlanct are also '^doing good service against the principle ^6f an «^tul»lished church, as they advocate the principle thot the ©tate has no vight whatever to interfere* in religion.* matters. That every church oi;ght,to be; supported ^by the voluntary contributions of its •ineinbers and adherent^ apart altogether Trom Gpv^riiment aid, and that the idiiiich that has not vitality enough in Uself to enable it to live by such means, ought to go to the wall. This principle vv'ill yet J be, triumphant in Scoiland aad fing^and \to6, a^nd all (^ nominations placed on an equaUfopting in the eye of the law, as it is to-^ayiu Ireland, the United JStiites and C/anada. We now bade. fare- Hvell tp this ancient uf^d baautifal town With "its paiyifactjurea of Unen, its^fine cpr^joration buildings, with a spire 144 ■ THE KINGDOM OP FIFE. 229 feet high, built in the Scotch baroniiil style, its Mechanics* Institute, school of design, libraries, uiaiket, mills, breweries, gas woiks, soap, to')acco, and candle factories itsr^fine bridge over it^ pic- turesque '"^Ib^,' its' h^qjitalMts memorial church of Bruce,, iXs Abbey, its Palace and the dust of ttie feings, the Quteii's the. Princes an»d niighty men of Scotland, ** dust*' tiow i"c;xed with the common clay of the cpuntry, as ifit had not once been th6 dust of the great a;id noble of the land ^nd animated by a hjUmau soul. Verily the first seii|tenee parsed upon man has been faithfully carried out irres- pective oi rank. /^ Bust thou art, and unto j^tist shalt thou return.** The dull grave, is the end of all ,the ponij) and nity of this "vv^orld,: . ^^* . " Pnssing away, passing away I AH things lovely are passios away." o;i'?d '*.I) 1»*i Wi'ttali J' ill .oijff ' >miiif/> 1 ii •m "» va ^fW «'* J U''5* r 4> hi! ; r! -V 4! Tl)9 followini? u ihe Beacon report of an acldre»«s delivered by the author at tlie the festiviil held in the Royal Hotel, Stratford, on St. Andrew's Night, A.D., 1883. It is published because it contains the author's views as to the vaiious causes that have been instrumental in fonning the Scottish chaiBcter: — •* '1 he Day an* a* wha honor it" was enthusiastically received, and Mr. Casaels sang with capital eff'Ct "Scotland for- ever." Dr. Cainpliell. of Seafoith, who was present by invitation, was coupled with the toast. The Doctor on risins; was greeted with rounds of applause. He thank^'d the sons of St. Andrew for the honor they had conferred upon him. He said he wa4 not a Scotsman by birth but was of Scotch parentage. While yet a boy he had mastered th« Lowland Scotch dialect that he might be able to unde*«tapd the literature of the country. The first iiooks that he read were the lives of Wallace ST. ANDREWS DAY. t31 and Bruce, the Scotc'i Worth iVs, Bnms*g poeius ami the Ui)*le — liooks < ear to every Stotsnmn. Thtsu gav« \m 3'o»'ng mind a bias v.hicli liore I'liiit in after days. The result was that he had a great desire to «e* a couuvry of which he hail heard aii«l ri*ati so uinch^ con.se* quenily in thii fail of 1881, >ihrn hi« health bi-uke clown, h* gsive np practice and sailed fot Scothnd He ImhI lieen a1 sent eight months six of which were s|;eiit in "the grt-y meirojK»H8 of the KoJth," the most romantic city he ever was in. Asa seat of learning it well de* srrved he name of the "Mcdem Athens.** He wonhi not dettiiti th< ni with a des* cri|«tion of ** Seotia's dtirling ceat " as no douht most of his andienct* knew more a)K)nt Edinburgh than he himself did ; suffice it to any he ui*nt for lieahh an ( he got it. H« got knowh'dge too, which he could not have got elsewhere. Hd wishecl to study tlie ctmracteiistics of th« people and the philoso) hy, so to speak, of Scottish history. With Ihi^ view hi made excursions in varioui directions through, thri land of '* the mountain and the flood.'* He then gave a running account of his Highknd trip, desoribtd an \ named the places and soen«*s h** haci visited. Anioiigst the characteristics o 232 8T* ANDREWS DAY, the people with whom lie conversed wi{s tht'jr love of conn try am) the pride they experienced wht^n people from otftei i lands, like himself, rtcinired its irtc6m*- * paral'le scenery. He spoke of . their re.«4pect for the Habhath day — their revel*- enc^e for the riame of the Creator — theh^ horit^sty and trnthfnlriess a^ a people — • their love of liheity and adhen^nce to free institutions. * He then n)ade a htTmormis allusion to the fact that no native horti Scotsman had ever been canonized rs a saint — thev had to borrow one from thp Jews. He told thirs to an old Scots- woman who replied that they, ** had a man in Scutland Dnc3 who was vdrih a baker's dozen o' the best o' ye'i' s.iiiits— John Knox, the foinider o' oor parish schules." The old apostle of Scotland occupied a snnny spot m their hearts and desi^rved it too. No livini^ man, however, had such a atrbni^ hold of the people of Scotland as the ** people's William," as thev called him. (Cheers.) He related an anecdote of an electoi in Midlothian,' who said he believed that "Williaoi Ewart Gladstone, wis the b^ist man the %varr had ever seen sin' the, diys a* *b6''" spostle Paul/' Hp puts Ww\ a littile**^^ aliortd—jn.st a littK Gkdstone nnj»ht well feel proud of the estiraatjioii in which V,- ST, ANDREWS DAY. 233 . he WA$ h^'l(l by the people of that country to-day, aiid he believed the grand old man —the uiioiowned king of the British peojf^le — vfronUi not V>etray the eoiifideiice reposed in hiuj. Je, kind almofit to f^ ifault. He spoke of their, weakness for their native inountain dew — (langhter)-— and their lingering love iningh'd with pi^y, for the ancient and unfortunate house of Strart. . He dts- cribed his visit to the field of Cullodeu with a Highlandnian who showed hiiu the si ot where an ancestor of his, named Donald McBain, had killed thirteen of the Britissh soldiers before a bayonet thrust Touched his j^jalhnt heart and laid as lirave a man on liis native heather as any who defended the pass of Ther- niopylse. The speaker next spoke of the philosophy of Scottish history whieh he said had gone far to form the Scottish character and had contributed la^'gely to make Scotsmen and their descendants what they are to-day. The aneient Caledonians were a noble, brave, warliktis race when the Romans first made their descent upon the Island, It oidy re^ quired the poWer of educatipn and the blessirigs of chiistianity to transform i 234 8T. ANDREWS DAY. them into what we find them in later times^— the foremost men of all the earth. (Cheers.) We all recollect vhe said) that the Romans who carried their conquering eagles to the remotest corner of the eaith failed to suIhIuh our hardy ancestors and were constiHiued to build walls at different times for the purpose of preventing the warlik<^ ininisionsof an unoonqueit'd and unconquerable race. There certainly was the raw mat<;rial here out of which to mak« the free, inde- pendept, libel ty*loving nation our rude ance8t(»i8 ifterwaiils liecame. Then the physical geo«>raphy of the oo'niti*y filayed a most important |iart in forming the character of the people. Scotland whs a hind of lofty mountains, deep glens, broad lochs, nipid rivers, dashing cataracts, im* pt net ml lie mista, and sublime storms. Was this a land to nurture a race of slnves ? We wouLI ex|>eet to find in such a cimntry, every other thing lieing equai« a race free as the air that plays around the mountain's brow — the heather that bjooms on her native hills, or as the eagles that cleave her native ^ki«.*s — and in renlity this is what we have. These are the men with iron slioes of whom Dr. Wild speaks, and long may they waar ST. AMI>RKWti DAY. 235 thoM shoes in defence of the rights atid liberties of innnkiiid, and in crushing out tyranny and oppreHsion the world over. (Loud applause.) There is also a wild, weird ftUi)er8tition lingeiing around rude mountain lands like the Scottish High- lands, and we find all these influecoes re« fleeted in the character of the inhabitants. (Hear, hear.) Lonl Byron refers to these ill his beautiful poem of Loch-na«Oarr : Away, ye gay Undscapes, ve gardens of roMt ! In you let the n inion* of luxury rove, Restore me the rockM where the snow -flake nposes. Though still they are sacred to freedom and love ; Vjt C lie 1 tuia. baloveil ird thy mountains. Rouml the^r white summits thouffh elements war ; Though cataracts foam 'vtead of smooth*flowing I sigh for the vaUey of dark Locb>ua*Gar, Hliades of the dead ! have I not heard your voices KtHe on the night-rolling breath of the gale ? Surely the soul of the hero rejoices, And rides on the wind, o'er his own Highland valei Round Loch*na*GMrr while the stormy mist (atheni, Winter presides in his cold icy oar ; Clouds there encircle the forms of my fathers, Theyfdwell in the tempests of dark Loch-na-Oarr. Another influence of which ht would speak was the war of Independence. If we look at that period of Scottish history froim the time that Baliol igoouiinioitaly suri-enderad the crowo qi Sootland to 23a ^ ST. ANDBBWS IXAY. Edward of Englrind, until die time that ScjDtlaud gave England a Kin^y in the r piM'son of James VI. of Scotland ttU'l I. of ^ England — a period which extends over 400 years— we iind it with hut flight intermissions, to 4)e a period of war, treachery, cruelty and lloodsiied. Dur-.i ing theaie four centuries, the powerful and ^i pop jIous countrv t') th« south, often aided by traitors in the, northern camp, was al- most constantly endeavouring to subdue the comparitively small, poor, rocky and sparsely populated country to the north. The unequal con '.est of Sir William ^ Wallace and his intrepid followers against,' the power of Enjjland is fresh in the mind of every student of Scottish history. Well might Burns say in reference to the hero of Scotland, At Wallace's name what Scottish blood But lioiU u^ ia « spriug-tide flood, '^i\ Oft have our fearless fathers strode by WftUftce's , Bide Still pressing cn«irard, red-wat shod, or glorioas And Brpce, *• dread essence, qt tha brav©j" you know how agninst fearful odds he fought and vanquished the enetnies of his" ^untry on the evei>mfenriorable field of Bannookburn — sealed the lijaerties of that land with his blood; registered the deed of her independence in the recording «T. ANDRKWB DAT. 237 oflRca of the nations, jind placed it in tlie archives^of KtMniry. (Cheers.) Such n •history as this has done much to monM i the charajcter of her people and njnke Hcotsmen mid theh*' descendants %thtit -they are to-^iuy. Thfe' eslitblishiilefit o 'the pwrish^chools'WaA another powerful influence that wer.t far to^' wotild the Scottish character for all time to cpme. The soils of Scotland educated' at the^e » parish schools '>vrt in the future, or for impressing the minti with the idea of a future state of b!iss Take '*Burus's uddress to Marv in Heaven" or the " Cotter's Saturday Ni^ht" — or for teaching manly indu- pendenco and self-reliance what can com- pare with " A man*') a man for a' that ?" Or if you want to siir Scots nen to deeds of dariui^ and make their blood l*^ap wild as the cataracts of their own rocky land, take "Scots wha hae wi Wallace bled/' the grandest war ode outside the Bible. (Cheers.) Bjr oppreMion'i wom and paint I By your 90ns in tervile ohaint, Wtt wiU drain otir deareak veiiia. But they ahall be f raa ? Lay the prond nraper low : Tvranta laU in every foe ! liherty'a in every blow Tjet n« do or dw. I 8T, ANDREWS DAT. 239 That song has K^d a powerful influence in Htiniiix the Soots t<> deetls of cluiin$; in many a well fon^ht huttle and it wi!j still cohtinae to ring dovn throngh the cen- turies, an . , . .'.lit'' handed justice be dealt out to all irrespec- tive of race, language, color^^ or religion, — let truthfulness and honesty be the guide of our business transactions — lit temperance sit at the helm and flourish in the homes of the people— let our laws have thtir foundation Uid deep in those eternal principles of truth .and justice that are coeval with the throne of God — let tant grand old book — the palladium of the world's liberties be honored by our legislature, revered by the people, and \ep thp faith, the glorious faith, of freedom be j>roc)aimed in its ancient purity from our Canadian pnlpits — then we mav rest assured that whatever enemies may arise, around all the glory there ^halri^^^. ^ defenco. (Loud appUuse.) • Vkledi<5toi^. The foHowtng^ ipaledictoiy on behalf of the graduates in medicine waa delivered by the author in the Convocation Hall oi MeGill University, Siioqtreal, on the 4th of May, 1869; It is published at the re- quest of Dr. Stewart. Prof, of materia medica, McGill College ; Dr. McCrim- moD, of Luckuow, Ont. ; Dr. MbKay, of Woodviile, Ont.; aikl others of the old^ graduating dass^ who elected the author as valedictorian upon that occasion after a very ezcitiBg contest. Mr. Chameellor^ Ladie9 and Qentlemen : I have been ransacking every nook and! corner of my brain to find out why 1 have been etected to deliver the valedictory on behalf of the Graduates io Medicine, and the conclusion at which I have arrived is! that it must be because I was ^he most modest man of Uie whole class ; if so, my modesty is put to a severe test upon the present occasion — called' vpon as I am to address this magnificent assembly — com- posed as it is of the learning, the wealth 242 VALKl>lUTOKr. and the beauty of the most populous city iu Mie Dominion of Canada. While still on the threshold of my remarks, I would thank the ladies from the inmost recesses of my heart for gracing thid Hall witli ' their fascinat- ing presence, and smiling their sweet approval upon the labours„of the success- ful student. The enthiisiaatic astronomer gazes wit(i ecstasy upon the myria is of stairs which twinkle in yjon empyreal blue but were I in his pUee I would often be tempx^d to turn fiside to view the bright stars of ear;U and bask iD the sunshine of l)eautiful eyes such as are sending forth their brilliant sclat illations here to day. Travellers to a well known land, from which some of you hail, tell us of a rug« gerl path winding up a weary ascent — every turn the tourist imagines will bring him to the top (f the n^ountain, but every turn only reveals the fact that other heights have to be dimbed — other ob-^ lEitacles surmounted. At tepfth, when faint and weary, a sudden, turn of the path discloses ,to his deKiglited gaze a fount of cool spiftrk ling water oozing from, the niotintaiu aide and leceived into a reservoir hewn out cf the flinty rqck-^ whil6 at the side is a stone seat with tlie words carved above it-^^^st ^d be VA%.BDICTOMr, 243 thanicful/' Fellow«Graduate8, w€ have reiiched just such a tzharuiing spot to day — let ut *'re8t and be ^bankfu]/' Let us not for a luoment iiuagiDe that we have reached the summit of the Mount of •Sdenoe, for like the tourist in que.stioH we have only reached a cool refreshing arbor by tlie way-side — and like him by turning our eyes upwai'ds we can see the rugged cliffs and bristling cra^s far «bu' e us — yea, we can even get a glimpse of '/Jie eternal clouds that enshroud tlu) «.p4)x of that mount where no mortal has even . tfod— and anon w« can see the de^iijs of Science wwitig heT enchanting wand — beckoning us onward — while the gentle zephyrs im our fevered brows, and a voice whispers in our ear^ ''Came tgi higher J* It >?iould not comfort with my claim to nK>«1esty to give iny adv^ioe whatever to my Fellow.Gi*ad'*»«*tes — many of whom are older than I am — therefore be it di-^linctly ^understood, I give none. Four yeais ago we wended our way from the lianks of Lake Huron, from the banks of Ne\vfoundlt%i|d froui all parts of the I>oroinion and from the neighboring ]^epubli(^toward« thisgi'eat city, for the pur|K)8e of pursuing our studies in wliat we then believed^ and what we »tiU 244 VALEDICTORT. bcliefve tb be the bost School of Medicitre on thid Continent. Four years ago I and this is what we hrtive cotiift to I Four years of the hardest; happiest hours of our lives have glided arWiftly past. Four years! during which we parted alway$ to meet again — now we pait to meet no mote. Parting is alWays painful, whether from eouutyy, friends or classmates. Many of us know what parting is. Some have part- ed froth their native land (Which to them^ was almddt as dear as Heat yen itself) — and as her' her blue cliffs faded in fch«i dSs:ance haVe eaid with tear^bedimmt^d eyes — *'We leave thee to rettli^ no mord Noi' view thy oiifft again." Others have followed near md dear friends to the cold, the silent tomb, atad have sAid in anguish of soul, while this deep foun-^ tainii of theii^ hearts ha^ oeeta stiiTed— "Wemtist go te them, but tbey cannot leturn to us." But the parting to which I refi^r is is somewhat different from a«y of these. We have to bid adien to our dear old Alma Mater tvith her sunny memories —adieu to those eArnefst able men who constittrte* the "Medical Facufty'* of McGill Univer ity- a •'Medicil Facfulty Btciyitdtoti^XiQ in Americet." May tlieir memoites ever be gtieeti as( the cedat^ that beautify our Cnn^ian lands^pin-*^. YAl4*DI0TOBT. 245 .. ma^uficent as the gigantic pines thfit overtop the hills of the Ottawa. We may freZZ address ea<;ih Profeasor in the Ian* guage which a well-known hard U3e4 towards the kitijd b^pefiactor of ilia eafly daye : *'Tbe brideEToom am £6c^t the bride Was made Bis wedded wife yestreen ; The Moaarch may forget the crown That on his head an hoar has been ; ] The mother may forget the diild That smiles sae sweetly on her knee { But ni remember thee^ QlencMm^ And a* tha.t tko¥. hast done for m«/' There is one thing to which I must allude before dropping this part of my subject, and that is that the Medical Faculty of this University was the first on this side of the Atlantic to raiae the Standard of Medical Education — and they have persistently kept the standard of Graduation as high as that of the Univer^ 9ities of our fatherland — even though some CoUegeti that could be named were lowering their standards— and what is still worse --several extensive man u facto - lies to the south of u«, were continually exporting their raw product, which they were pleased to call "Eclecticst** which have continued to afflict Canada like a ()ire epidemic for u^any years past. Thpse pfieudo doctor^, manufactured out \ 246 VALEDICTOBT. I ■i of the raw material (often very mw) — minfactured in iho short apace of four month 9-^i\\ea*^ are the men (along with others of a siairlar qiinlity, but with different names) — whom the Legisliituro of Ontario has (in its wisdom ?) lately elevated into "Doctors" by legal enact* ment, placing them in the eye of the law on a level with tlie aona of the soil who spend fom* hard years at OW' McGill. I think the intelligence of Canada will soon discern that sncli men liave only the ou".* side skin of Medical Science — wrapped closely around them and tied on by the ligatures of the law — in short that it is but a repetition of the old fable of a well known but ratn- er disreputable quadruped cloth- ing himself in a lion's skin and trying to pass for that respectable animal — their speech and their actions too like his viust betray them. It would be well for such men to lemember that it took a special act of Parliament to exalt them into "Doctors", ani that a subsequent, a wiser and more beneficial act may sink *^hem into quacks again. But what I msh to say is this— the country ought to honor the men who have kept up the standard of medical proficiency in ApTte of 30 many temptations to lo>^er \t " VALEDICTCRT. 247 — and this is what our Professors have doDe. If we have to work hard for four years to obtain the degree of **M.D.C.M.*' we prize it the more when we get it, and people of intelligence will honour the men who hold such "degrees." while qua';ks, charlatans, eclectics and empirics, like the impurities thfown into the mighty St. Lawrence, will sink quietly to the bottom or be swept down by the current of public opinion. Before bidding our honoured Professors farewell, a sense of j istice inpels me to say that each of them has promptly informed us of any discoveries and imprcwements that have taken place in his particular branch — giving the lie to those would-be "Profes* sors" who are in the habit of taunting us with being of ^the **01d School"— as if there was more than one real School, one true Science of medicine. In conclusion, in behalf of the Graduate?, I thank our teachers one and all for their kind efif trts in our oehalf^ and I can assure them that there is a twining of tt)o*heartstrings at bidding them farewell — and that as long as reison with us maintains its primeval throne, so long will they occupy a bdony flook in our memories. Fellow*Graduatea» we also must part. Soon we shall be scattered to wards the four winda •f 248 VALEDICTORY! Heaven. Those able men who have piloted our barks thus far now leave us — the vast ocean of medical knowledge is still before iis, with many rocks and quick-sands in It True, part of that ocenn has been navigated by able sea- men— lighthouses built and buoyg laid down to warn us wher^ sunken reefs and hidden dangers lie. We can see the red lights glimmt^ring through the darkness ^he buoys dancinfi; in the sunshine, and, with caution for our pilot, w« can steer clear of these dangers of which our predecessors were not aware. *But wo must remembei'thdt medicine is the most comprehensive 6f nil the Profesiuons, and still progiessive ; that there are depths in it ^Vhich no plummet has ever sound- ed, bays and inlets where no bark has ever sailed. Let us go on then with 6iititk>n, bat \et us go on. Let us get hold pf a big' thought, an idea, a prin- ciple, and ^let ns tx)Und it upon the north, upon' the sou th,apon the «ast,aii'd upon the west. L^t us never forget chat we live in a^oubting age, an age in which every- ihiTYg'thttt is not. mii:de of the asbestos of trttth is^estined to he burned ^p. While scantling the dizi^'heights and k>unu- itig the:viii^t deptl^ of scientific truth, let ns uojt forget tha 11^ t^res'^a of .ourDomi- »^ VALBDIQTUBY. 249 # f W Dion in this* the morning of itn youthful days — yea I let us remember the interests of the World at large. Let our hearts beat synchronously with the big heart of humanity, which to-day is panting after knowledge — our lungs respire in unison witli the gigantic lungs of civUisation, whose aspii'ations toKiay the world over, are after truth and liberty of thought and action. la ,tHo world 'r broad fi«ld of fa«tU«* In the bivouac of life, Be < >t ' IHie dumb ilri fen cattle JBe « herot in th» strife ! Trust no future, howe'r pleasant ! Let the dead |Mt8t bury its dead t Act-^act in tlie livisff present, Heart within ana God o'eriMad. Let US remember tkaJb the liope of the Dominion is not in her guns, her batde- ments, nor yet in the wily tricks of her crooked politicians, but; in the integrity, the loyality, tlie deep true faith of >her souA — in short in that "BighteousBesa which exal teth a BatioA." Let fts endeo* vour to Atrei;^then the hwd% that unite us to that vaaten)pire ofwiueh we are proud Tto form a partr-n-that eitiptn upcm which an eternal ^auasbiiiea-r-tlHit empire that iato-di^ the crowai, theiglorytof.the workL May V na rntblesa iMnd ever sever the jgoldea thiieada jof 4ilTectiiiii by ivkibh weave attached ta ^the-^est^ the aoblait 250 VA LIDIOTORY. woman that evbt sat upon an earthly throne, who now sways a golden sceptere over a free happy and contended people — Queen Victoria. God bless her! vVtien •he surrenders her earthly crown — may she "receive a crown incorruptible, un* defiled and that fadeth not away." Now, Fellow-Qraduates, farewell 1 May we who have spent so much time, and money too, in the pursuit of earthly knowledge, may we not foiget that knowledge that comoth down from above, but may our lives be like the bright streak of morning light, which at first gilds the mountain tops with glory, hut shines on brighter and brghter till lost in the pure, the perfect day. In short, amidst all our getting — all oui choosini; —•let us "choose that good part which shall not be taken away." Kow, a few words to the nnder->3radu- ates, and I have done. We aUo must part. At the painful thought, a strange, melancholy feeling seems to freeze the warm fountains of my soul. I almost feel sorry that I have graduated. In spi« rit we shall often meet in ^he familiar halls of old McGill. I know that yon will receive kindly any suggestions that I have to make, as you know that they ana dictated 1:^ an earnest desire t VALBDICTORV. 251 .. for your welfare and that they come baV)blFng up from the deep foun* tarns of a warm heart. f^^irst of all, attend to tfotir helishe 1 by the request of a resident of Seaforth ; "You have read of the inspirec poet, who, while gazing on his own beloved city, burst forth io poetic rapture, saying, ^* Beautiful for situation ; the joy of the whole earth is Mount 2ion.** A kindred feeling must have aniu >ted the breast of the sunburn: sailor as he climed tbe beattiftil mountain t^efiind HocheJaga three hundred years kgo, add as the magr nificent landscape, lich with forest, lake and river, burst upon view, heexdaimsd with enthusiasm, ;"0h 1 the Iloyal Mount T hence the name of our oomniercial me* tropoli^, vrhich in bur day has degenerated ipto Monti eal. Upon a k>vely evening In **thi? u:onth of rosy beauty,'* we have stood with a friend on the mmmit of that royal mountain. The prospect was in- deed one of the grandest which this eartk VI£W FROM Jf OUNT ROTAL. affords. The sun was sinking slowly be^ hind my own native Ontario, dispensing its favors a few eeconds longer to the brightest and best of all the Provinces*! The St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers pure sieen to westward like threads of gold interwoven In cloth of wlver. We follow them with opr eyes until like l^iide lu;^^; bridegroom who meet and embrace at the hytneniat! altar, they become one and flow on in sweet tranquility towards that mtignilicent gulf-^fit entrance to a qonnt- ry 1^ vast — where they mingle ritb and are forever Io6|t in old ocean, as our lives merge into and are lost forever in the vast ocean of eternity. Turning tQ tbe south-east we behold the blue mountains of Vermont and ^ew Hampshire in the distance, theii lofty pes^ks tinged with puiple and gold by the parting rays of the setting sun. At our feet is the busy. Qommercial mietrppolis of our young Do- miniqn, the smoke of its manufactories rising slpwly and calmly to heaven, like incense from an evening sacrifiqe. The tall towers o^ the French (Jathedral are rising majestically above the rest of the . city, indicating to my mind the nation- atitv and the religion that are atill in the ascendant The harbor is crowded with / 26e VI»W mOX MOUNT ROYAL, vesB^ of all mdons and'of every dencrip- tka^ loodSug and; nnloadiog tlieir (savgoeB« teUjngtUS that this is ind^ the rich em*' poriuin of the west, while further down to the centre of that noble river w^ ob* aervtt St. Helenas island with its guns, its ibldi^rt, atid its forteress, with, the gIorioti3 fl^ of old En^and still fioating, protdly in the breeze. Further up Onr eyes rest upon the Victoiia bridge,, the longest and perhaps the most wonder^! All in the world. We watch a train ap- j^roacl^ that Ions dark tube ; it enters— it h lost from vibw as % wild animal that enjKers Ms cavern in the rocks — now it m^eti its exit— it passes on in triumph to iui destinattbp, iMMEO^ing the rich produce of the wei^ to tJtie seaboard. Welook down, but not In the contempt upon th^ inodest vnpretDtidfiig edifice of McGltf Utiiversttj^ with it«% pleasant walks and ver^nt mieads. Surrounding us on atl dfdes Si'th^ ridi fbliage of the trees that oveirton the moun^n, with the featheied soiigstlfrs of th^ grove singing the requiem of depaithig ds^ amongst their branches^ wiUtp away bbhind u6 lies the Necropolis, thedty of tbed^ #herethe riohfmd great laie Montreal are mouldering in the silenft dfost of the earth, where they shall He in silence And in glo6m until the VIEW FROM MOUNT ROYAL. 25: argoes, down we ob- 8 guns, th the loating, er up bridge,, rouder* lin ap- ere— it Ell that now it iuniph roduce "elook m th^ IcGlir s and )ti atr that hexed uiem ches, lis, and hall the Hrst slnill blast of the Archaiigors trumpet calls them from behind the mountain. r>ut the dark curtain of the sable goddess is being drawn closely arotind us, the sun has now sunk benL*ath the western horizon, the gas lights are glimmering in the city, it is time to re- turn. We retrace our steps slowly down tiie mountain side, saying to our compan- ion, as we go, "Well might the hardy mariner of St. Malo call this the "Royal mountain,"but this mount shall be moved, this city shall pass away, but they that trust in the Lord shall be like Mount Zipn, which can never bo moved." NDEX. — — ^— . • rreface, .. ^ . ' o to 5 The Lind of Burns 7 to 94 The Land of Wallace and IJnice 95 to 122 The Undofthe Gael,.. 123 to 141 The Land ofSir Walter Scott,.. 142 to 177 The City o^ Uarning and Philosophy, 178 ^^ 202 The Kingdom of Fife 203 to 229 St. Andrews' Day, 230 to 240 Valedictory, 241 to 253 View from Mount Royal 254 to 257