i h CRAIG PHADRIC, VISIONS OF SENSIBILITY. wixa LEGENDARY TALES, OCCASIONAL PIECES. By DAVID CAREY, AVTHdR OF THE " REIGX OF FANCY," «* PLEASURES OF NATUBEj" &C. &C. &C. PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR, *ND SOLD BY J. YOUNG, h. GRAXT & CO. AND SMITH & CTiARK} INVERNESS; 1. FORSYTH, AND W. YOUNG, ELGIN J AACHD. CONSTABLE & CO. AND W. CREECHj EDINBURGH ; AND VERNOR, UOOD^ & SUARPE, LONDON. 1811. Printed by J. Yoii',j<;j, Irsvcrncss. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE FRANCIS LORD SEAFORTH. My Lord, As every Work which treats of that part of the country wherein your Lordship's extensive domains are situate, and to the prosperity of which your Lordship has so materially contri- buted, must connect the name of Lord Seaport h with whatever has the advancement of taste and the interests of the Highlands of Scotland for its object, I take the liberty of 645143 dedicating this volume to your Lordship ; and in doing this Jt feel a considerable degree of pride and satisfaction from the well founded hope that, in whatever light these pages may be viewed by others, they will meet with an indulgent, though a discerning, critic in your Lordship. I have the honour to be. With the profoundest respect. My Lord, Your Lordship^s most obedient humble Servant, THE AUTHOR. PREFACE. Few observations, it is presumed, are necessary by way of Pre- face to the following Poems. If any preliminary remark be requi- site, it should be such as might induce the Reader to view with a favourable eye an attempt to perform a self-imposed task, by no means easy of execution — to delineate with the hand of a Poet, and the pen of a Historian, an extensive and highly romantic district, comprehending the scenes of many remarkable events hitherto but indistinctly pointed out, or inaccurately narrated ; and now exhi- biting a very different aspect from what it bore in former times; a district which, perhaps. Tinrc than any other in the kingdom, pre- sents a train of pleasing and splendid examples of industry in a class of people formerly not remarkable for possessing that quality, and of well directed attention in the Proprietors, whose exertions have happily been at length called forth with success in the improve- ment of their native land. To these are to be added the bene- ficial results arising from the beneficence of Government, which by the great Avorks it has completed, and is still completing, throughout the Highlands of Scotland, has not a little fostered the interests of the empire at large. To give, therefore, in a small compass, a picture of the past and present slate of a part of the country so deserving of attention, and to bestow the meed pf praise where praise is so justly due, is the intention of the poem 6 entitled Craig PiiADnic, and of the Notes vrhich accorapany it. If, from such a contrasted view of the state of the High- lands, any conclusion miy be drawn favourable to the encourage- ment of that love of country so intimately blended with happiness, which the good possess, and the Patriot ever strives to cherish in the minds of a people, (and how much of the happiness of human life springs from contrast!) ?n object of still greater importance will be attained. The Muses who have of late years made rural life their theme, have laboured too long and too zealously, perhaps too successfully, to augment the causes of discontent among a numerous class of society, and to unnerve the arm of industry where its most strenuous efforts are necessary to the comfort of the whole community. Let the most querelous of these writers, or any inhabitant of the Highlands who has imbibed a portion of dissatisfaction respecting the means of happiness to be found upon his native soil, and its capability of improvement, let such look upon the prospect here described, and the change which has recently been effected by the hand of industry, and if they can travel from Dan to Beersheba, and say " 'tis all barren," how much are such persons to be pitied ! how much have they yet to learn respecting the path which leads to the dwel- lings of prosperity and content ! The author of this volume has not the vanity to suppose that any production of his may serve the pur- pose of even a finger post upon such a road ; but if one Muse has led astray, another ought, for the honour of truth, at least to en- deavour to point out the proper tract : and to twine a wreath for the brow of meritorious individuals is the Muse's peculiar province j such as she has here attempted to twine — not for the destroying brands of ambition, but for the peaceful improvers of their native country ; such as Cincinnatus was solicitous to earn, and gave a lus- tre to the imperial diadem of Maximilian. No author ought to be a r stranger to his subject, but the present writer has to confess, what perhaps will appear but too evident, that he is not a native of that part of the country which he attempts to describe, and is but little acquainted with its ancient and still existing language, con- sequently is not possessed of that information regarding many subjects connected with those he has chosen for his theme, v/hich such an acquisition must furnish ; but if industry and a love of his subject, which are equally necessary in an author, can supply such deficiency, he is not without hope that his labours in a depart- ment so new to him, will be favourably accepted, and his errors, though they be many, indulgently forgiven. The Poem entitled Visions of Sensibility may be regarded as a more free and extended exemplification of the feelings which must naturally arise in minds of sensibility upon beholding the works of nature, or in contemplating cases where our sympathies are excited by other circumstances, and where the imagination is called into play by the wishes of the heart. Views of human life, therefore, in various situations, together with such scenes as tend to awaken the fancy, and interest the heart in the cause of taste, virtue, and human happiness, make up the subjects treated of in that Poem. The world, it must be allowed, has too many objects calculated to awaken Sensibility, and draw the tear of sorrow from the most obdurate eye, but it has also landscapes bright with the sun-shine of innocent pleasure, in wl ich the mind participates with a lively feeling of enjoyment. To the admirers, then, of natural and moral beauty, whose contemplations are always the sources of endless gratification, because they art- pure, and who cherish virtuous feeling because it is the parent of happiness, this poem is particu- larly addressed. — If there are any who shall regard these effusions as the reveries of morbid melanchi >ly, it is only necessary to say, that such persons are very much mistaken, and that they make a rcry erroneous estimate of the extent and nature of that pleasure which springs from the reflections of a cultivated mind. The smaller Pieces in this volume are a species of wild ffowers gathered with no great degree of care pretty near the bottom of the Muses' hill. Some of these have before appeared in print, but ra- ther in an imperfect state, which the publication of the present vo- lume has given the author an opportunity of correcting to the beat of his judgment. Upon the whole, though the author, like some other writers, wh6 make a parade of the pains and difficulties attending the com- pilation of their works, for the purpose of inducing the Reader to overlook faults, and speak only in the gentle language of com- mendation, has ventured to hint that the track which he has been treading has not in all places been smooth and free from difficulty,- yet it must be allowed that it has already been productive of no small degree of pleasure. It was an observation of a miser, upon being- told on his death-bed that his son, who was a youth of Tastet ■would soon run through the dear loved hoard he was about to leave him, that " if he experienced as much pleasure in spending it as his father had enjoyed in collecting it, the precious ore would not be scattered in vain ;" in like manner should the Reader feel as much- pleasure in running through these pages as the author has experi- enced in writing them, it is presumed he will think neither his time nor his money mispcnt, and the Work will have completely an- swered the purpose for which it was intended. That he may not have to reproach himself or the author for the misapplication of either, is the sincere wish of the Reader's most obedient humble servant, D. C. Inverness, Sept. 17th. I8II. CONTENTS. CRAIG PHADRIC. PagC. Part I 9 Part II 75 VISIONS OF SENSIBILITY. Part 1 119 Part II 143 LEGENDARY TALES, &C. Slochd Altrimen, or the Nursling Cave 174 The Maid of Boradalc 18D The Lady of Barra-glen.... 195 To Miss 199 An Apology for Frequent Visits , 203 for Absence i 206 Inscription for a Mausoleum to the Memory of Ro- bert Bourne, Esq 207 To Miss M. S. A 210 To 213 To L. Macintosh, Esq. of Raigmore 215 Written while walking along the sea-shore 219 The Warrior's Grave , 222 The Parting,,.. I.. »..,.. , ,..., 224 ARGUMENT OF PART f. The Poem commences with a cursory view of the scenery in the immeal- ate neighbourhood of Inverness as beheld on a vernal morning from the summit of Craig Phadric. Hence the subject suggests itself as well to the imagination as to the eye of the Poet, by affording a review of objects and events celebrated in history, rendered interesting by the traditions connected therewith, or attractive in themselves by the ap- pearance they exhibit on the face of nature. For the purpose of giving a more animated and poetical picture of the country in the early pe- riods of its history, an attempt is made to describe an invasion of the Danes — the alarm posts — and method of arousing the inhabitants. This-' gives occasion for allusions to the monuments of still more remote times and the warlike spirit of the ancient Caledonians. Macbeth having, as is believed, signalized himself in an exploit of this kind, is introduced as repelliug the foe. Hence the story of his usurpation — the Weird Sis- ters — and the motives which actuated the conduct of this powerful Chief and his ambitious Consort to assassinate King Duncan in the Castle of Inverness. Reflections suggested by this event, and the retri- biftive justice of Heaven — Parallel between Macbeth and Bonaparte ■^The regal palace at Inverness destroyed, and its scite now only point- ed out by the hand of tradition — Brief sketch of the state of the High- lands consequent upon changing the seat of Government — Origin of the Clan-Chattan — and their efforts to repel the encroachments of more powerful Clans — Massacre of the M'Donalds of the liles at Drum- derfait, near Inverness— Battle of Clachnaharry, of Blar-nan-lein, or Cean-Loch Lochie — of Glenlevit — Aultdearn. Vale of Glence, — Episode illustrative of the i-haracter of the times — Battle of Cullo- den — and the emigrations of the Highlanders to America, which shortly after took place— Reflections suggested by the subject. CRAIG PIIADRIC. PART I. r^HiLE reddeninff Phoebus climbs Craig Phadric's * brow. And streams his light on fields and waves below, ^ Where long Canals uprear their verdant sides. And Kessock rolls his congregated tides — Labour's light sons, and barks with streamers gay. And fleecy flocks, all jocund in the ray — Here, 'mid surrounding hills that rise to meet Th' ethereal dew, and court the sun-beam sweet ; Here where the rampart, vitrified, sublime, Brav'd the rude ravages of War and Time ; Where now the wild bee sips the rathe perfume, And lambkins sport amid the yellow broom, * The hill, or rock, of Craig Phadric is situate nearly a mile west o£ the town of Inverness. It forms the eastern extremity of that range of elevated country vi'hich is interposed between Loch Ness and the river Beauly. The elevation of Craig Phadric above the sea is 510 feet, as as- certained by Barometrical measurement. Dr. Robertson, in his Agricul- tural Survey of Inverness-shire, states it to be 1 IJO. It commands an ex- tensive prospect along the shores of the Moray Firth, as far enstward as Burghead, (the Alatj Castra of the Romans,) more than 40 miles distant, and a considerable extent of country northward ; overlooks the Peninsu- la of the Black Isle, and the vales of the Ness, the Beauly, and the Conan. The summit of this rock exhibits evident traces of ancient fortification, and is one of the most celebrated of those objects which have of late at- wcted much notice under the name of vitrified forts. The cncknte at B 10 "tVliile many a vernal flower of humble birtK Decks the green borders of the peaceful firth. Here let me mark fair Scotia's mountain reign, And teach the Doric Muse a bolder strain. Poetic fields ! I trace your honour'd round. Nor vainly think I tread on Classic ground : For whatsoe'er of magic charm pertains To'l|Bfes that bind the captive soul in chains. Rapt where her tear and heart's warm sigh are vvoiv Where Bardi have dwelt, or valorous deeds been done. To you belongs, ye Vales atid waving Woods, Ye celebrated Hills, and far fam'd Floods. Though fairer scenes have caught my wandering eye,. That bask, like Hope, beneath a brighter sky. top 13 of an oblong or elHptkal figure, about 220 feet in length, and nearly half as broad. It is surrounded with a rampart of earth and loose stone, parts whereof appear in many places to have been agglomerated together by fire . On the East, West, and South sides, the rock is precipitous, and descends on the North with three successive and lower summits to the village of Clachnaharry, at the mouth of the Caledonian Canal. On the last mentioned side of the fort there appears to have been some outworks calculated, probably, for the greater security of the gate. An exterior ram- part, or line of vitrification, is likewise perceptible on the East side, bur. does not seem to have extended round the whole of the hill. From the vast masses of vitrified matter which this and several other hills in the neighbourhood exhibit, it has been imagined by some that the whole were of volcanic origin, and that these ramparts were, in fact, masses of lava ; others, and in particular Williams, in his Natural History of the Mineral Kingdom, have supposed that this was a parti- cClar species of military architecture, employed in preference to, or per- haps anterior to the use of lime -mortar. In support of this opinion^ it has been alleged, that two parallel walls being formed of turf or other csmbuitibl«mattcrjthciptermcdjatc space was filled witlijuch stones as were 11 Ah '. ne'er metliinks the flowers of joy have smird So sweet as those which deck this fragrant wild. As up Craig Phadric's woody steep sublime. Like Fame's eternal heights, I fondly climb, Where, pleased, I mark, in various hues array'd. An amphitheatre of objects spread ; AVhile Fancy's art and History's page recall Events that sleep beneath Oblivion's pall. Ah ! bloomy Hills, and Vales of jocund song ! Where peaceful Culture drives his team along. Not always thus from cruel uproar far Ye slept unconscious of the din of warj known to be easily fusible, and the whole set on fiie. A wall or rampart would be thereby formed equally indestructible by any kind of artillery then known, as by the still more powerful hand of time. As this, however, seems an operation of greater nicety than could be expected among a savage people in the formation of a regular structure, it has been maintained on the other hand that the vitrification is merely accidental ; in consequence of the destruction of the original building by fire, which was the most common mode of besieging a strong hold employed among barbarous na- tions .That the vitrification was accidental seems indeed highly probable, for in no instance can we trace a complete structure formed of vitrified matter. Indeed no opinion seems more entitled to credit than this. These hills were the appointed stations on which to kindle fires for alarming the coun- try in the event of an invanon. A line of telegraphic communication of this kind can be traced through most of the northern parts of the island. To convey information, these fii-es must have been constantly rekind- led in the same place and order; and it is probable that a variety of infor- mation could be conveyed in this way; such as a single fire for a single ship — two or more for several — and a line of fire for a fleet. The stones thac were used to keep these fires within bounds would undoubtedly, if of a fu- sible nature, soon give way to the repeated application, and might in time produce all t ,e apriearances we now see. This is the opinion of a gentlei* fnan of dist;.. , • -^ ;;: '.iv? neighbourhood, who lias cxa.nijned many of thcs« 12 Not always thus at dawn and evening's close. The valley's lily and the mountain rose Oped their fair bosoms to the beauteous sky, Unstain'd by murder's everlasting dye. Where countless themes appear, to which belong Immortal fame, what first demands the song i O ! as the eye of Fancy, backward cast, Pierces the dim pavillion of the past. What visionary forms unfold afar The blazing pomp and revelry of war ? Hark ! from on high the shell's arousing cliime Peals the loud voice of Scotia''s elder time, — Hear it, ye Hills ! while through your miduiglit haze From steep to steep your answering war-fires blaze. forts very carefully, and who it is to be hoped will soon communicate his observations to the public. Craig Phadric is lyidoubtedly well situated for an area speculator'ta, or beacon-fort of this kind. It seems to have been the centre of tl-«; s)'ilem. On the North we have in view Knockfarrel, on the Valley of Strathpeffer above Dingwall, and several others in Rossshire — up the Beauly, the Dun, or Castle of Reindown; Dun Evan on the East, near Calder, (not vitrified, so called from Evan a Danish Prince who, tradition says, was kil- led while besieging it, and who lies buried there.) The Dunmore of Davi- ot, to the South; and Duudardaill on the South West, on the Side .of Loch Ness at the influx of the Farigag from the bank of which it rises with 9 precipitous front of 430 yarJs perpendicular, and from which a succes- sion of these forts continues the line to Fort William and into Argyle. The lock of Craig Phadric is a pudding-stone, or breccia, in which there is a considerable quantity of feltspar, and other matter, that soon gives way to fire. Knockfarrel and Dundardaill are of a similar description. Craig Phadric, or Peter's Rock, as the name signifies, has been most ac- curately explored by Mr. Fraser Tytler, now Lord Woodhouselee, the result of whose researches are published in the lid vol. of (he Philosopbi* tal Transaction of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 13 Bright on Dundardaill's height the faggots bealn> While high Knockfarrel's fieiy ensigns stream j ^o lovely star of night, no moon's faint glow Has flush'd, Mealfourvonie!* thy reddening brow. But fires of death thy shadowy vesture stain, And columns gleaming to the Western main Foretel the danger nigh f. — Anon, sublime DuxEVAN flames, and lights the eastern clime. Where rest the brave who own their country's call ? The War-horn sounds — Arouse ye, one and all ! Lo ! where Drumderfait's 'I airy beacons show Close at his winding foot the lurking foe, * The lofty mountain of Mealfocrvonie, fi. e. hill of thi cold lump,) in the Parish of Urquhart, rises almost perpendicular in one uniform face from the Lake on the south east side to the height of 3060 feet. On the other side rises a round rocky peak, about a fifth part higher than the general elevation of the mountain. The prospect from the sum- mit of this peak is highly interesting. The view is chiefly extended in the course of east and west, commanding an extent from the environs of Fort George nearly to Fort William. The whole expanse of Loch Ness, stretching below, appears at such a distance as to suggest the Idea of 4 narrow ditch deep sunk within steep banks. The distant horizon from the west, round over the north, is bounded by the mountains through Ross and Sutherland to the shores of Caithness. The peak itself may be descried by the mariner immediately on his clearing Kinnaird's Head, where the Moray Firth is lost in the German Ocean. Notwithstanding it is a most commanding station, and must consequently have frequently been used as an alarm post, Mealfourvonie exhibits no traces of vitrification. t We find the custom of kindling fires upon high places as a signal of^ distress so far back as the days of Jeremiah. " Blow the trumpet in Tekoa, set up a sign of fire in Beth-haccerem ; for evil appeareth out ff the north, and great destruction." Chap. vi. i. \ Drl'MDERFait, Druim deur, or the Ridge of Tears, on the north side of the Kessock, at its entrance. For an account of a most sangui- jiary massacre of the invading Islanders which took place at this fpot, sec a fubsequent note. u Tliere, while his fc'on eyes your creeks explore, Rides the proud Vikixguu* from Lociuis's shore* But check thy swelling sails, thou Ocean King ! And cowr in midnight shades thy raven wing ; • Commonly spelt Vikikcr. Danish rovers, or pirates, by whom the eastern and western coasts of Scotland were often annoyed. The first serious attack of the Danes was made on Ireland, and vigorously repulr sed during the year 812, They however obtained considerable establish* ments in various parts of that kingdom, from which tliey were the more enabled to annoy the western shores of Scotland, which then became the pbjects of their attack and plunder ; while from their native havens they had an easy passage to tlie eastern shores of that devoted country. The firth of Moray in particular, the river Tay, and the Forth, offered these predatory warriors attractive harbours, and fertile fields, with still more precious spoils furnished by the Royal seats, religious houses, &c. The Da- nish power in North Britain was crushed by Malcolm II. in a fierce conflict at Mortlich, near Fochabers, in the year 1010. Notwithstanding his tri- umphs over the common foe, the vigorous reign of Malcolm could not pass iway without the horrors of civil conflict. Finlegu, the Maormor, or Ruler of Ross, and the father of the celebrated Macbeth, together with GiLcoLMGAiN.the Maormor of Moray, having headed separate rebellions, fell each a sacrifice to the vengeance of their irritated Sovereign, who, according to Boece, Buchannan, and Lesley, was also the father-in-law of Finleghjthe btter having married Doada,the daughter of Malcolm. Though this Monarch, whose crimes as well as his virtues were many, died shortly after without feeling the point of the dirk, or the poison of the bowl, revenge never sheathed her sword until she avenged the fall of Finlegh, who, at the commencement of the eleventh century, carried on a vigo- rous war in defence of his country against the incursions of that power- ful vikingr, Sigurd, the Earl of Orkney and Caithness. These inva- sions were contijmed by the sons of Sigurd, Earls of Orkney, assisted by their brother pirates tlie Danes, hi the days of Macbeth, and of the "gracious Duncan," the grandson of Malcolm II. who was now to ex- piate by his blood his grand-father's cruelty, and his great grand-iather'e crimes. The latter, Kenneth III. son of Malcolm I. attempted to chang» the old mode of succession, by the murder of Princes who stood before bis son, whilst Kenneth IV. who was reigning lawfully, was slain by Malcolm II. at the battle of Monivaird. Kgnneth left a son, who appear; 15 Ah ! shun the land, where at each step appeai' The eternal Cairns* that mark th* Invader's bier. to have been unable to contend with the slayer of h!s father, Init who dying, left a son and daughter to inherit his pretensions, and avenge his wrongs. This son, however, was slain in 1033, by one of the last orders of Alakolm. The daughter was the Lady Gruoch who married for her first husband the before mentioned Gilcolmgain, the Maormor of Aloray, tha father of her son Lulach, and who, by the cruel orders of Malcolm, wa^s burnt in his liutfj, or Castle, along with fifty of his friends. For her second husbandshe married the never-to-be-forgotten Macbetli. The l-ady Gruoch had, therefore, with great strength of character, the most afflictive injuries r&nkling at her heart ; agrand-father dethroned and slain, her brother murder- ed, her husband and friends burnt by the unrelenting mandates of the jealous Malcolm, and herself and son fugitives on the earth : and surely these were injuries sufficient to fill her, as Shakespeare says, " from the crown to the toe top full of the direst cruelty." Having fled into Ross, then ruled by Macbeth, she was espoused by him, who thus became Maormor of Moray, during the infancy of I. ulach. If therefore Macbeth vias, added to this, as wc are assured by Boece and Lesley, the son of Doada, a daugh- ter of Malcolm II. he might well enter into competition for the crown ■with Duncan, the grandson of Malcolm ; and we thus perceive that he '* wanted no spur to prick the sides of his intent." Fiction represents this period as disturbed by some rebellion; possibly the sohs of Sigurd may, as Mr. Chalmers in his Caledonia, from which I have collected most of the above particulars, poetically expresses it, have " tried their young pinions as eaglet vikingr, and soared for prey along the shores of the Moray Firth, while the Maormor of that district was yet an infant." As however the rebellion of MacdonaId,from the Western Isles, as feigned by Shakespeare, is mere fable, and as that which is reported to have at this time disturbed the tranquillity of the kingdom, and for the quelling of which Macbeth is said to have obtained the peculiarfavour of King Duncan, could not have been, as some have ignorantly asserted it was, the rebellion of Gilcolmgain who was burnt by the orders of Malcolm ; and also as tlie hostile descents made on the kingdom must have come with much greater force from the Norwegian ^ores than from those of Orkney, whose vi- kingrs were now weak and divided, I have ventured to ascribe to Mac beth not the triumph over a petty Chieftain, but the honour of checking the last effort of a powerful enemy to establish himself on our shores, and of overturning for ever the Nor-wegian banner which flouted the sky so of- ten and with such havoc along the coasts of Scotland, In ehort I am ia- 16 Attest* ye mouldering Urns by Beauly's wave Tliat frequent point the hapless Warrior's grave ; And ye that on Drlmasbk^t \ ridge proclaim The foes defeat and Fingal's deathless name ; tlined to believe there was no revolt, in the time of Dimcaii, in tlie West- ern Isles, for this obvious reason, that the Hebrides then belonged not to Scotland but to Norway. Lochlin is the name which the ancient Cale- donians gave to Norway, or Scandinavia in general. • Amongst the antiquities of the district under review, the Cairns, or heaps of stones, which are to be met with in so many places, are not a little entitled to attention. Thofe which come more immediately under consideration in this place are the Cairns on the Firth of Bcauly. Thes« are numerous, but two are much larger than the rest. One is oppositd to Redcastle, and the other about two miles above the ferry of Kessock, and may be distinctly seen above the surface of the water during ebb tide. In some of those which are accessible, beams of wood have been found ; in others urns and human bones, which, together with many concur- ring circumstances, leaves no doubt that the spot where they are situate was at one period dry ground, and that they have been used as cemete- ries for those w-ho have fallen in battle, chiefly, no doubt, ftor the invading Danes, whose fate our ancestors may have been anxious to point out. The supposition entertained by some that they may have boon dwellings of the living, who, by the sudden encroachments of the sea, may have rtiet a watery grave, is not supported by any thing like hiflorical data. That they were intchded to secure the ashes of departed friends from the ravages of ravenous beasts is more probable. The practice, however, of Raising the grey flone over the graves of the valiant dead, as well to perpetuate their fame as to preserve their remains from insult, was of ■very remote antiquity, as we learn from Ossian. Cairdh mi clach ar do charn — " I shall add a stone to your Cairn," is still among the High- landers an expression of gratitude or esteem. The two immense Cairns of this kind which are to be seen near the ancient mansions of Kilcoy and Redcastle, arc also believed to have been raised with this viewj the largeft is said to mark the grave of a Danish Prince, Irenan, or Ear- nan.who fell there in battle. Hence the Parish is called Kilearnan, or the burying place of Earnan. t Numbers of these monuments of death and victory are still to be seen on the summit of Drimashie, and on the plain stretching beyond that mbwntainous ridgj. Drimashie, or th< bllt of -war (literally disfeaci) a few 17 Wliere ofc at eve, long faded bliss to share, His ghost reposes in his Rocky Chair — Musing on scenes, where> 'mid the ranks of war, The beams of conquest lightened from his car.— Tyrants, avaunt ! ye tread on holy ground, Once bright with sacred flame, with temples crown'd, The everlasting shrines that Kings revere. And dear to Liberty, to Justice dear ; Where, starting from their rites, with horrent hair^ Pale victims saw even Druid* bands prepare miles to the south of the town of Inverness, is believed to have been the spot on which Fingal established his fame as a Warrior ; and a rock, some- what resembling a chair, is still pointed out in which the father of Ossiaa is said to have rested after the fatigues of the battle. At the south end o£ the Moor is another rock on the summit of which some traces of building are visible. It is called Dun-rl-chath, or " the Castle of the King of the Fight." Though Fingal's residence was in the midft of his kingdom, ]S/Ior-heinr., a term of the same import as Highlands, and which is now confined to a single parish, that of Morven, in Argyleshire, he had many other places of residence, the names of which are ftiil extant ; such as Sealuma^ or Sdma^ signifying " a beautiful view." Taura, " a house ■on the sea-coast," and Tigh-mor-ri, " a royal palace." It is not easy to lix with precision the boundaries of Fingal's kingdom, but it is most likely that it comprehended almost all that territory, which afterwards made up what was called the Scottish kingdom, before the Pictish kingdoms were annexed to it. According to two ancient fragments of Scottish history, published in the appendix to Innes's Critical Essay, *' Fergus the son of Ere reigned over Albany, from Drumalbin to the sea '^of Ireland and Innisfail (or Hebrides.)" The sea of Ireland is a boundary well known; and by Drumalbin is meant, according to the best antiquaries, those high mountains which run all the way from Loch- lomond, near Dunbarton, to the Frith of Tain, which separates the coun- ty of Sutherland from a part of Ross. * In the days of Druidism, " Ere the Day-spring from on high had vi ' tited us," the Deity was worshipped in open fields, in a kind of sacred ijiclosurc,_formcd by a circle of large stones, generally standing upon en^e C *8 To mingle in the sacrifice of strife, And for their country's spoilers bare tiie knife ] — The Highlander's call them Clachan, i.e. a collection of stones, and hence they call a Church, ChcJian, as Claclian Miclial, Clachaii Muire, i. c. Michael's Church, Mary's Church. The altar-stone they call Cromhachd^ which signifies the bowing or worshipping stone, and tlie Priest, Crompear. The Saxons calkd it Circ-, from Circle, and hence, no doubt, the word Kirk. One of these Druid temples, consisting of three concentric circles, is to fee seen in an entire state oh a part of the Estate of Inches, upan the ridge of Drimashic, the whole of which seems to have been, a sacred por- tion. The contiguous Estate of Drakies, has evidently derived its name from Dtui, a Druid. On this property there was lately dug up, while making a drain, a stone of about fourteen inches in length, round at the one end, and at the other tapering to a point, and very sharp, virhich it is supposed, must have answered the purpose of a knife in theii' sacrifices, as not far from it was also found a cup of stone which to all appearances was used for holding the blood of the victim. If this was the purpose which these articles actually served, it would carry us back into those times when the use of iron was not known, and that state of Society in which the South Sea Islands are yet sunk, where such im- plements are through ignorance and necessity still used. But We find that the Druids were not unacquainted with the use of metals. Cassar says that they knew the uses of money, and consequently, at least in his time, they must have been acquainted with the metals of which it was made. And if we place any reliance as authentic authority upon those Poems which have come down to us under tlie name of Ossian, we must allow that blacksmiths existed even in the days of Fingal, long before the Dru- ids were extirpated. It is true that the smith who so admirably tem- pered the sword of Fingal was z Scandinavian -oulcan, but as swords and spears were in great use in those days, we are not to suppose that the an- cient Caledonians imported all their weapons of war, or such other in- struments as required to be made of metal, from I.ochlin. Be this pare of their history as it may, there appear to have been so many mild fea- tures in the character of the Celtic Druids, that I am averse to enter- fain the opinion that human sacrifices made any part of their religious rites. They owned the imnvjrtality of the soul, they taught a warm de- votion to God, and the strictest virtue and equity among men, and offer- ed oblations and sacrifices, but these I believe to have been of the ani- mal kind. If the sacrifice was at any time of a human creature, it si probable that it was only of such as had been found guilty at their Assi- acs) as the i)ruids acted also in the capacity of Judges, and this they 10 What time on yonder strand no ray divine Fell on the dark Crantara's* battle sign, When on his stormy rock that awes the main, Wrapp'd in thick clouds, the Watchman watch'd in vaiti, night consider as an acceptable offering to the great and just Being whom they worshipped. To be intrepid was also one of the grand articles in their religion, and enforced by the doctrine of reward in a future state. The Druids in other countries seem to have delighted in groves, and under the shade of lofty oaks, performing their rites in the most retired places, which, if they did not actually there perform human sacrifices, might give rise to the supposition that they did so ; but tlic Druids who lived in this country do not seem to have been so fond of the shade ; their circles are mostly to be found on level plots of ground, and even upon mountains. This does not argue any great wish to conceal the nature ct their rites. Besides the Chchan at Inches, which I have mentioned, there were similar places of worship at Ness Castle, at Dores, Gask of Dun- niaglas, Achnaclach, (or Stoncy-field,) at Petty, and three in the AhJ, on the south side of the Bcauly. But the most complete Druidi- cal Temple which is now to be seen, is upon the property of Kilcoy, on the opposite side of the Beauly, or Firth of Kessock. This Clachan is composed of three concentric circles, tlie largest of which is about 100 feet in diameter, the other two decreasing by twenty; from the outer circle there is a passage of about three feet broad to the centre. Some of the large stones which composed this avenue falling down, im- pede the passage ; in the centre there is a large flat stone, on which the sacrifices must have been offered, and in the outer sides are foyr stones at right angles, N. S. E. and W. * The Cra/iiara, a piece of half burnt wood, dipt in blood, the sig- nal of distress or approaching battk, which was used at no very distant period in this country for convoking the Clans, as afterwards more parti- cularly noticed, seems to have been common to other northern nations. — See Olaus Magnus, page 146. It literally signifies " the gathering pole," and was not used only on land; it was carried at the mast head of such vessels as were going to war, and answered to the fires4tindled upon eminences for the same purpose. In a Poem entitled Dargo, Dan an JDdrg, (son of the Druid) in Smith's Gaelic Antiquities, and said to be the composition of Ullin, a Bard who lived prior to the days of Os- ^D, and frequently spoken of by him, we meet with the following niep" ^0 While o'er each hill and plain, by rapine led. Ye rush'd — and Eagles track'd your darkling tread. Till loud t.ie Slughorn* blew, and bcil fires red The birds of carnage to their quariy led Even now, rejoicing in the sanguine rays. They leave their eyries at the blood-fire's blaze . Pale at the sight, the virgin's courage dies. And o'er the heath th' affrighted mother flies, Her faint babes sinking in convulsive swoon. Or trembling, w^ondering at the fiery noon ! Convok'd from glens obscure and hill and plain. The gathering crowds come rushing in amain ; And still on each bright steep that blazes high They turn with ardent glance th' expectant eye. tion of the Crantara. I quote the passage at length, for it Is beautiful.;-=. *' Our eyes were turned to the sea. On the distant wave arose a cloud. We knew the skiff of Innisfail, (the Hebrides.) On its masts we saw the Crantara hung. " Spread," said Comhal, " the white wings of my sails. On the waves we fly to help our friends." Night met us, with its shades on the deep. Waves lifted before us their white breasts, and in our sails was the roar of winds, " The night of storms is dark ; but a desert isle is nigh. It spreads its arms like my bow when bent, and it» bosom, like the breast of my love, is cnlm. There let us wait the light, it is the place where mariners dream of dangers that are over." Our course is to the bay of Botha. The bird of night howled above us from its grey rock. A mournful voice welcomed its sullen note from a cave " It is the ghost of Dargo," ^aid Comhal; " Dargo, whom we lost re- turning from Lochlin's wars." Waves lifted their white heads among the clouds. Blue mountains rose between us and the shore. Dargo climbed the mast to look for Morvern ; but Morvcrn he saw no more. The thong broke in his hand ; and the waves, with all their foam, leapt over his red wandering hair. The fury of the blast drove our sails, and wc lost sight of the chief. We raised the song of grief in his praise, and bade the ghosts of his fathers convey him to the place of their rest." * See a subsequent note. 21 To thee, whose sanguine fires their path illume, Whose blaze has lighted monarchs to their doom. To thee, CiiAiG Phadric! rock of strength, they tmn, While in each breast indignant ardours burn } Till, lo ! descending like mahgnant star, A Chief appears, and guides the shock of war. Loud sounds the clash of arms, that brightly glow Like war-fires blazing on the mountain's brow. Weep in your beauty, maids of Lochlin ! weep For each fond youth who sinks in death's long sleep. Shun, ye gay Summerlids !* the fatal strand. The Maormor chief uplifts his levinf brand— The battle rages, furious — fell — and death Shoots glancing from the faulchion of Macbeth." O ! hide thy face, thou blessed Morning Sun ! Till the dire business of destruction's done ; And ope thy charnelled womb, thou green ToRVAlNE ! % Where oft the captive dragg'd the penal chjun : ♦ Summerlids, Seafaring people, who only venture abroad In the Summer. — Danhh. f Le-viii, Lightning. SPENCER. \ The hill of ToRVAiNE Is situated in the middle of the valley of the Ness, close to the line of the Caledonian Canal, It is now difBcult to determine whence it derived its name. Tor signifying hill, and Bain being a common name in the country, it may imply Bains Hill, and should the name be spelt with an h after the h, as is done in forming the genetivc case, this derivation will appear the more probable, as it would then exactly sound like Torvaine,bk in the Gaelic being pronounced like v. Tradition says a noted m assuring us, the certainty that Earls existed many centuries earlier, an in- stance of which we have mentioned in the Sigurds, Earls of Orkney and 24 What haggard forms, the ministers of Deatli, Have loos'd the winds on yonder blasted heath :* To them the mirror of enchantment's given That shows to man the dark decrees of Heaven, Caithness. DufF, Earl of Fife, as has been ohserved, vas the firfl Earl created in Scotland proper. The first Duke we had was Davidj son of King Robert HI. so created about the year 1397. The first Mar- quisses were, George Marquis of Huntly, and John Marquis of Hamil- ton, so created in one day ; viz. 19th A{)ril, 1599. The first Viscount was Thomas Lord Erskine, created Lord Viscount Fenton, anno 1606. How early we had Lords or Barons, either by tenure or by writ, I do not find. It is certain, we had such named, Leg. Male. cap. 8. but Lords by patent we had not before the reign of Queen Mary, or of King James VI. Throughout the whole extent of the Sc'oto-Saxon period, from 1097 to 1306, there only appeared, in North Britain, thirteen Earls, without any Lords of Parliament. Ten of those Earls certainly existed under David I. as has been already observed, perhaps under Alexander I. ; the Earl of Lenox, under Malcolm IV.; and the Earls of Sutherland and Carrick, under Alexander II. Such, then, was the whole peerage of thirteen Earls, at the end of the Scoto-Saxon period, when Robert Bruce ascended the throne. Of all those ancient Earls, not one of them is lineally repre- sented by the same blood at this day, except the Earl of Sutherland, by the Marchioness of Stafford. Respecting Thanes, For:liin, lib. 4. cap. 4,>, may be consulted. See also Dempster, p. 120. They were at first the King's servants, (so the word signifies) or officers in provinces, and during pleasure only, or for life; but afterwards the title and the lands granted to them were made hereditary. In the Highlands, Maormor and Thane were the same. A- mong the Thanes, of whom we have authentic record, may be mention- ed the Thane of Moray, the Thane of Brodie, and " last, but not least,"' the Thane of CalJer. The succession of these Thanes, always so de- signed, continued to the year 1,500. Buchanan says " about the yc'ar 1040, the tyrant Macbeth cut off the Thane of Nairn. This, no doubt, was the Thane of Calder ; for no history or tradition mentions a Thane of Nairn, distinct from the Thane of Calder, who, as Constable, resided in that town; and Heylin in his Geography, expressly calls him Thane of Calder. But not to deal in uncertainties, Dovenaldus Thanus de Calder was one of the estimators of the Baroulcs of Kilravock, 25 Fraught with fell charms from Hecate's rounds that came, The Cauldron boils with lightning kindled flame, and Gcddcs, anno 1295, His son William had from King Robert Bruce, 7mo August!, anno regni 4to, 1310, " Thanageum de Kaledor, infra vicecomitatum de Inner Nairn, propter servitia debita et as- sueta tempore Alcxandri Regis predeccssoris nostri ultin;o defuncti," {Pen, Cald.) His son Andrew was. killed by Sir Alexander Raite, whose son Donald was served heir to his father Andrew in 1405, and sahed in the offices of Sheriff and Constable of Nairn in 1406, {Ibid.") He pur- chased the lands of Dunmaglas froni William Menzies of Balwhonzie in 1414 ; the lands of Moy in Moray from the Earl of Ross in 1419; and Urchany-beg in Caldcr from Henry Bishop of Moray in 1421, {Hid.') His son William was in 1 442 infeft in the Thanage of Calder, the Sheriff- ship and Constableship of Nairn, in Boath, Benchir, half of Raite, and six merks out of Bdmakeith, {Fen. Cald.) In 145o, he built the Tow- er of Calder by a royal licence. His son William, in 1471, bought from Andrew Lefsley master of the hospital of Spey, with consent of the Bishop of Moray, the miln of Nairn with its pertinents, {Hid.) ; and in 1476, the Thanage of Calder, Baronage of Clunie and Boath, Belmakeith,haif of Raite, Moy, Dunmaglas, two Kinkells, Kindess, Invermarkie, Mifl- choich, Drumurnie, Ferintosh, &c. were united in one Thanage, and such lands as lie in Inverness or Forres shires, to answer to the Sheriff Court of Nairn, {Jtid.) ; hence Ferintosh, Moy, and Dunmaglass, are a part of the shire -of Nairn. fSl/azv's Moraij, \^c.) * It was on the Hardtnoor, on the west side of the park of Brodie Hotise where Macbeth and Banquo, according to Shakespeare, going to wait on King Duncan then in the Castle of Forres, on his way to Inverness, were saluted by the Weird Sisters. This long waste which seems to have ex- ceedingly fatigued the patience of Banquo, as it doubtless has of many a less celebrated traveller, may be seen from the top of Craig Pha- dric. Mr. Chalmers (vide Caledonia) is of opinion that there were no such persons as Banquo ani Fleance. He says their very names seem to be fictitious, as they are not Gaelic. " History" he adds, " knows nothing of Banquo, the thane of Lochaber, nor of Fleance his son. None of the an- cient chronicles, not even Fordun, recognise these names, though the lat- ter is made " the root of many Kings." Surely that industrious compiler has never read the authorities he mentions, or the Rev. Author of the History of the Province of Moray, laboured under an egregious mis- take when he wrote thus, quoting the authorities of Fordm and £»• D \ 2G Macbeth appeals, and blood confirms the spcli— = Yet stay, ye Sisters dread I and tell, O ! tell Whose steps shall tread with courage not his own Yon bloody path that leads to Scotland's crown. Couch'd in that Lion heart, the Dove resides. Let not Ambition with resistless tides Sweep love and peace and mercy from the soul — Oh ! hide the dagger's blade, the murderer's goal ! *' All hail, Macbeth ! spiamg of a royal line, ** Hail, Cawdor ! Glammis Pyon glittering crown is thine. '^ Quick they disperse — yet breaks no beam of joy On Cawdor's soul, or lightens to destroy ! Pile high the Banquet, let the choral straiiv- Ring in the hall of ancient Kings again,* No cloud deform the day — no blast aiinoy The sacred mansion dedicate to joy. chanan In support of what he says. " It was in this fort, (at Forres) ait^- no 9G5 or 9GG, that King Duffus, was barbarously murdered. Donald^ grand-uncle of Baticho, Thane of Lochaber, and ancestor of the family of Stuart, was Governor of the fort, and much trusted when the King came to Forres. The King was a strict Justiciar, and would not grant re- mission to some criminals, for whom Donald and his wife had warmly so- licited ; wherefore they caused strangle him in his bed, and hid his corps, under a bridge near Kinloss. Donald, conscious of his guilt, fled from Cul- len to Duffus: but his wife, being put to the torture, confessed the whole. Donald was seized, and with his accomplicefput to death, and the fort ■was razed." Buchanan's account of the appearance of the witches differs from Shakespeare's representation. It is amusing, and often favours the cause of truth to compare difFcrent views of the same subject. Buchanan says, " When matters thus prosperously succeeded with the Scots botlj at homr and abroad, and all things flourished in peace, Macbeth, who had always ^ disgust at the inactive slotjifuln^ss of his cousin germane and had from / ^7 Welcome with festal pomp and grateful state Xlie coming honours that on Valour wait^ A l^ing shall grace the feast, and bow his crown iBeneatfa your lofty banners of renown — But say not when the mantling cup goes round. And fancy's ear should list no warning sound, A redder stream shall flow — and that fair face Be changed — that smiles with such enchanting grace 5 And even the bird of darkness learn to shun The fatal mansion where such deeds are done. *' Revenge ! revenge I" the Lady Gruoch jCucs, And bids adieu to Woman's tears and sighs. Reft of a crown» whose ill-won splendours shine To gild the brows of Duncan's bastard lyie, thence conceived a secret hope of the kingdom, 111 his mind was farthej' encouraged in his ambitious thougius hy a dream which he had : For one night, when he was far distant from the king, he seemed to see three women, of a more majestic statute than mortals usually are ; of whom one saluted him Tbane of Angus^ (meaning Glammis) ; another, Tbane *f Moray, (Calder) ; and a third King of Scotland." * In the sixth century, Inverness was the capital of the Pictish kingdom, as appears from a variety of authorities, hut from none more evidently than from the life of the celebrated Saint Columija, who left his monastery of Icolmkill, and cam^ to the Pictish Court, " ad O-Ham Nessa" in order to convert Brudius II. son of Mailcoh, and his subjects, to the doctrines of Christianity. The Pictish Monarch seems to have exercised an exten- sive jurisdiction, as there was a " Eegulus'^ of Orkney at that time, m his Palace. Adomnan himself, the Biographer of the Saint, had frequent- ly visited the Northern Capital, and describes even the very route in the subsequent century. What was the exact scite of the Regiam Domum, he mentions, it is now become difficult to ascertain. It .is, however, highly probable, that the town of Invepiess did not then stand in its pre- sent situation, for that seems not long ag^ to have been a mere peat ipifi acd was, perhaps., at a stiil earlier period pervaded by the tiy^-, 28 Stern Vengeance checks the big drops ere tliey fall, And turns the milk of Woman's breast to gall — ** Now, while in prosperous quiet Scotland lies, " Soft as the sleep that sits on Duncan's eyes, *' Won by the valour of thy conquering sword, ** And dauntless Chieftains hail their long lost Lord, *• What ! shall Macbeth, \vho heirs, who eaiT.s a crown, *' In coward, hopeless slumber lay him down, *• Nor make his loud tongued wrongs and rights his care,— <* Wasting his triumphs on the idle air ? ** No ! while pale Fear and sceptr'd Dulness sleep, «• Let Vengeance wake and plant her dagger deep. — *' 'Tis thine to still the voice that ever cries *• From the dark tomb where murder'd Finlegh* lies, **That pleads to kindred breasts, nor pleads in vain> " O God! from the red bed of Gilcolmgain. *' Their dying malison a power has given •' On regal pomp to work the wrath of Heaven : " Then lift on high, in Fortune's golden hour, " Thy arm of strength — thy amulet of power, ** And bid again returning splendour bless *• The lone and dusky halls of Inverness." We must, therefore suppose, agreeable to tradition, that the towji WJ3 chiefly situated above the bank which is now on the south, and the Ef- giam Domum, or Palace, must have been the spot now called the Crozv.i, a little to the eastward of the present town. That the scite of the town is now different from what it was, is rendered "almost beyond doubt, from the circumstance of a stone cross having been dug up not long ago on the road to King's Mills, and I doubt not many concurring ttstioionics might still be found to support this opinion. See Page 14, 29 See ! gliiiltig to tlielr prey, in yonder tower, While sad and solemn tolls the midmght hour, And rocking whirlwinds vainly strive to wake. Conscience ! thy throes for bleeding Mercy's sake, What denizens of Hell, in human form Presiding, add new horrors to the storm ? O ! foulest blot ! O, most accurst of deeds That shun the light ! the blameless Duncan bkeds* Yet not unmark'd by heavenly eyes, ye fall, Ye drops that stain the hospitable hall I And, hark ' a voice that nature's pulses tore Proclaims aloud " Macbeth shall sleep no more." Ah, never, never more, her gentle balm Shall steep his senses in her holy calm ; In vain may golden Seasons bless his reign. And liberal gifts and vows be made in vain ; * Frantic he grasps, while hope and joy are flown, A barren sceptre and a joyless crown. * The true character of Macbeth and of his reign has not been faith' fully repreeentcd. On the stage we behold this wily Usurper, with his " fiend-like Queen," partaking more of the demon than of any thir>g that is human ; but history, which conceals not the crimes of the guijty, also records the virtues which are not unfrequently blended with the acts by which they are " damn'd to everlasting fame." Whatever defect there may have been in Macbeth's title to the sceptre of his unhappy predecessor, he seems to have been studious to remove it by a vigorous and beneficent administration. During his reign plenty is said to have abounded, justice ■was dispensed, and quiet was for a long time preserved in the kingdom. The Chieftains who would have disputed his claim to the Sovereign au- thority, being either overawed by his power, pa«ifi«d by his bounty, os so Here mark thy .prototype, and mark thy fate» Thou who with Power's presumptuous dream elate O'er peaceful nations spread'st the flames of war, And yok'st the Furies to thy baleful car. Thus, though the Imperial Diadem adorn Thy brow supreme, thus shall thou droop forlonn ; Even when the Banquet's high, and Pleasure's cup Rests on thy lip, Remorse shall dry it up ; While pale Affright, for ever hovering nigh. Shall wake to horror with prophetic cry. ♦ Now not a single vestige tells where stood Th' o'ershadowipg palace, stain'd with royal blood : *•' repressed by his valour. Yet the odious crime by which MacTieth ac- quired his authority, seems to have haunted his most prosperous moments, and to obtain relief from " its terrible affliction" he is said to have bribed the Court of Rome, G(y)dal, the Editor of Ferdun, says, visited it; distributed money to the poor, and made largesses to the clergy, but without effect. Let Ambition read and profit by the page of history which records his fate and his misdeeds. * The scene of the murder of King Duncan is laid by Shakespeare in Macbeth's Castle at Inverness. " And here," says Dr. Johnson, in his Journey to the Western Islands, " is a Castle called Macbeth's Castle, the walls of which are still standing." Mr. Chalmers, however, dis- putes with reason the accuracy of this statement, but is rather too confi- dent in his ability to rectify the mistake. He says, " There was in fact a Caftle built at Inverness" (he should have added on an eminence to the ivest, and close adjoining the toivn, as it was not the only Castle built at Inverness,) " as early as the twelfth century, which, even as late as the eighteenth century, was, with some modern Barracks, used as a Royal Fort, and was destroyed by the rebels in 1745. The remains of thi^ Castle were a shapeless mass of ruins when Johnson visited Inverness in 1773; and it was an illusion both in the traveller and the commentator to talk of Macbeth's Castle, ivJicre be never hud a Castle wr a rujdenet." The Clironicle has indeed fixf d the scite of tbis tragica^ 31 Tradluon hand alone dares part tht veil, Points to he Crown, and hrars her tragic taltf § That talet which in every age and chme Gompassio weeps, but scorns Ambition's crime* Ah ! let rt Hope, deceitful, hang her wreath Upon the rightful precipice of death 3 And ye, b.st Guardians v.lio an Virtue wait. And vvatclbelow the changes of her fate, O ! smile ppitious on her slumbering hour. And shiclcwith holiest spells her blameless bower* Till o'er yn cope, where no kind radiance streams. Her own wcet star of glory sheds its beams. event at Bnhgowanan, (®f which nothing is now known, thcugh staled to be) " nca Elgin ;" but with what accuracy this statemfnt is made ha» been questioed. This Chronicle, however, of the rhyming Monk of Melrose, sems to be a ftrange mixture of truth and fable. The au- thor, who \rote at a distance, and perhaps knew but very little of the geographica situation of places in the Highlands, might consequently be under the ncessity of taking the current nimonr, without having it in his power to je either minute or accurate in his statement. It is not im- possible that tie meeting between Macbeth and Duncan may have taken place at Booth on the old road from Nairn to Forres, and which, if it ever was called Bot'igozvanan, which is not very unlikely, may have thus been mistaken for he scene of the murder. But as Duncan must, while on his journey, lave been attended by a strong travelling g^ard, and was avowedly going to repose the utmost confidence in his kinsman, it is na- tural to suppose that Macbeth would delay the execution of his •* mosC treasonable" design until he had got the King more completely into his power. Buchanan, who wrote a century after Winton, says" Macbeth gota fit opportunity at Inverness to slay the King, which he did in the seventh year of his reign." Whatever be the fad, a Castle certainly might have been at Inverness, (even Craig Phadric, as already stated, is believed to have exhibited at one time something ofthi? kind) wherein Macbeth might have resided and received the visit of his 'Sovereign, though the one in question is not allowed to have poeessed that hon- 32 "Why from the halls of Heroes and of Kings Plies Pleasure's jocund train on summer wings ? Mourn, Land of Warriors ! clouds arc on the hill The Sun withdraws his smile^ — thy Courts are stll our. Accordingly, tradition says that a Castle lehi'mg to Mac- beth actually stood in the close neighbourhood of nverness, oft a rising ground to the eastward of the present sciteof the town, now called the Cro-zvn, for what reason, unless from thi circumstance, or some fancied resemblance to that ensign of Royalty, s now uncer- tain. So that if the conjecture above huzarded rcspeing the scite of the Reglani Domum of the Pictish Monarch is in ay wise war- ranted by probability, that the ambitious Macbeth hould choose to fix his residence on the same spot where Kings befo: had dv/elt, is not beyond the reach of belief; and if we admit tat the sclte of the town itself was at one time clilTerent from wht it now is, there appears no place so likely for Macbeth, th.i the most powerful Chieftain in the North, to have had a Castk and which would have thus stood in the centre of his extensive dmnins. The ravages of time, and the more destructive zeal of a arbarous and reforming age, are sufficient to have long ago effaced everjtrace of this ancient structure. Fragments, however, of a castellated bilding have, in the remembrance of persons living, been dug up upon he spot here mentioned, and I am told the Fraser Clan distinguished theiiselves in the loyal defence of a Castle which stood upon the Crotvn in th troubleson e times of Bruce. The Hon. Colonel Fraser, therefore, to whom the property now belongs, and who has a residence upon it could not fix his abode in a more congenial or a more honourable place The improve- ments which have of late produced such a pleasing change upon the face of the country have been very fatal to the remains of intiquity. But vrhen cumberous ruins give place to gardens, corn fielcs, or the more chearful edifices of modern date, who would be antiquary enough to re- pine at the transformation ? Among the ancient furniture and decorations still preserved in -Calder Castle, there is the bed-stead on which, it is said, King Durcan wasassas- sinated by Macbeth, in the Castle of Inverness : it is entirely of timber, appearing never to have had curtains, and the frame and pests are adorn- ed with figures In low has relief, not inelegantly carved. It should also be added here that there is a Clachan, oi coilc(5lion of stones, about a mile from the town of Inverness, not far from the road 33 As whert a ray from the great source of morn Tails on the Greenland native's cave forlorn, Shivering and sad, he blames its long delay. And mourns 'mid icy fields the niggard day ; sile, where the property of Inches inarches with that of Culduthel which is pointed out as the spot where King Duncan was buried. It is called Clacban Donacha'idh, i. e. the grave of Duncan. Against thi» however, we have a;;ain the evidence of history, to which Shakespeare, with all his fancy, has most scrupulously adhered. Thus Ross — " Where is Duncan's body ?" Macduff — «' Carried to Icolmkill, the sacred store- house of his predecessors, and guardian of their bones." How much is it to be lamented that the numerous Jlones of memorial which we meet with, were cre(5l:ed in vain, fince they have no infcriptions, or such as have long since becbme unintelligible ! and how valuable to the world, and dear to feeling, is the monumental art, the monumental Vcrfe ! As these notes are intended not merely tx) elucidate the allusions to local circumstances throughout the Poem, which cannot descend to minute particulars without losing a great part of its effect, but to give a more in- timate view of what may appear worthy of attention in the scenery and objects around the capital of the Highlands, a few words farther on the remains of ancient building in its vicinity, may not be deemed superflu- ous by such as take an interest in these subjects. The Castle alluded to ty Dr. Johnson stood on what is called the Castle h'lll^ an immense heap of quick sand, which had the disadvantage of being easily sapped or un- dermined. It is not easily ascertained when this Castle was built, thout^h said to have been as early as the twelfth century. It was in a ruinous state in the year 1715, when it was begun to be repaired for the purpose of lodging the officers of the royal army, and was from that circumstance named Fort George. A fine house was built for the Go- vernor ; a pile of barracks stood as wings to the castle, 2 chapel, ma- gazine, and store-house were also built, the old draw-well opened, and the whole surrounded by a strong wall, proof against any artillery buC battering cannon. Tt was not, however, a place of great strength, for in i746, it fell an easy conquest to the rebels, and was reduced by them to its former ruinous state. The ancient walls are still to be seen on one side, but do not overtop the area which they surrounded. The Citadel of Inverness, called Olivers fott, from its having been bmlt by Oliver Cromwell in 16.51, was a regular building, which stood on the east side of the river Ness, where its foundation is still visible, and its ruin; form a part of the pier. It was a regular pentagon, wlik E 34 So -faint attd p»we!fJess on this northern clime Fell the blest light of polity sublime ; So mourn'J the land the absent genial ray, Rank and untill'd — to fierce brigands a prey. Justice had lost her balance and her spear, And Honour's sacred stream was frozen here.* bastions, rampartJ, and wet ditches, a covered way and glacis, arf^I could lodge 2000 men ; but it had also several inconveniences — the foun- dation was bad, and brandered with oak, the water brakish, and the air moist from i's low situation and vicinity to the sea ; approaches to it were easy, and the town was a shelter for an enemy. In the year 1662 it was demolished because it tvas a relict of usurpation, but chiefly because it was a check upon the adjacent highlanders. When it was judged expedient by Government to build a fort near Inverness for the same purpose when the events of 1745 had rendered it necessary, the scite of this Fort was, not- withstanding the inconveniences above mentioiicd, deemed a proper situ- ation for the erection of Fort George, afterwards built at Ardersier; and few will now be inclined to question the propriety which dictated this change of position in the erection of this beautiful Fort, from the com- manding view which it possesses on the peninsula of Ardersier, and the si- tuation so well calculated for trade and commerce thus afforded by the former scite, which, I presume, is much better occupied by an extensive ma- nufactory which has been established there by several public spirited individuals, where, instead of the tactics and parade of war, a number of industrious persons chearfuUy earn a comfortable subsistence. * It has been said by Historians, that the introduction into Scotland at the commencement of the Scoto Saxoli period of a people posses- sing habits and knowledge, acquired in countries of more refinement, gave unwonted energy . to all the pursuits of an improving hus- bandry^ whilst the municipal law introduced at the same time for the protection of right and the punishment of wrong, preserved public tran- quility, and by divesting powerful individuals of their assumed privileges, confirmed the jurisdiction of the State. This might be the case in the low countries, and such districts as were near the centre of government, but so slow was the growth of order in the Highlands, arising out of that policy which the laws of England, and the salutary division of the coun- try into Sheriffdoms, introduced to supersede the Celtic customs, and re- press the family feuds and depredations upon property which so ofteri wasted every district of a wretched land, that wc see whole centuries 35 Hence -fell Contention woke, whose wasting ami Spread havoc as she went, and wild alarm. elapse before the influence of the government is visible, either in cnr couraging industry or repressing crime. This ib of course attributable to the deep rooted habits of the people, and the stubborn system of vas- salage, which often put the Chief of a Clan above the reach of the law, and enabled him to do whatever he pleased with impunity. The Chiefs of Clans, or great men in the Highlands, therefore, for many ages lived independent of the Kings; they held their lands by no other tenure thau duchus, or possession, which tliey were ready on all occasions to maintain by force ; and as tbe few royal forts in that large portion of the kingdom, where it was next to impossiole for a regular army to act, were insufficient to awe them into subjection, they set the sovereign edicts at defiance with impunity, whilft the public peace was often disturbed by jealousy and re- venge amongst themselves, productive of the most sanguinary conflicts of tbe Clans. Every Chief of his Clan was considered by his depen- dants as a Httle Prince, by whom their differences were removed, and their injuries punished or redpessed, and who considered himself amen- able to no court of law or justice whatever for his conduct. Even u century back, probably not so much, the Laird of Glenmoriston, whose family seat is not quite thirty miles from Inverness, was considered by his vassals beyond the reach of the law, which gave rise to the following Gaelic proverb: — T/ia Mac Phadrigfade on Lrrgh, or M'-Phadrig, (Peter, or the son of Peter, Mr. Grant's chriftian name,) is at a great distance from the laiv. 'I'hus, without the fear of punishment before their eyes, and that " vigour beyond the law" which honour and honesty supply, it will not be wondered at that when the supreme Courts of justice were removed to a distance, dissension and the most daring outrages should prevail. To such a degree had this warlike spirit of insubor- dination attained, that Cliiefs and head* of families were regarded ac- cording to their military or peaceable dispositions. If they revenged a Clan-quarrel by killing some of the enemy, or carrying off their cattje, and laying waste their lands, they were highly esteemed, and great hopes were entertained of them ; but if they failed in such attempts they were little respected, and if they did not incline to them at all, they were despised, and looked upon as a degenerate progeny. Nor were the Clans without organization ; each had their military officers, who were not ar- bitrarily or occasionally chosen, but fixed and perpetual. The Chief was Colonel, or principal Commander. The oldest Cadet was Lieutenant- ^plppel, and commanded the right wing. The ygungcst Cadet c^iu* 56 Discord nnsheaths her fratricidal sword. And marks the footsteps of*each savage horde. Cu war and rapine bent, the Clans awake Bold issuing forth from mountain, glen, and brake* Fast flit around the presages of death. And quick the Fire-Cross* travels o'er tlie heath, manded the rear. Every head of a distinct family was Captain of hi* own tribe; and every Clan had an ensign or standard bearer, whose of- fice, obtained at first as the reward of valour, became hereditary in his family. Their military music was the great bagpipe ; and thus equipped^, they sallied forth to try their prowess, " War in each breast, and freedom on each brow." * The manner of convoking the Clans on any sudden emergency, was by the Fiery Cross ; the Crantarah, or Crois-tarich, already mentioned. It was done in this manner : — The Chief ordered two men to be dispatched one to the upper, and the other to the lower part of his lands, each car- rying a pole with a cioss tree in the upper end of it, and that end burnt black. As they came near to any village or house, they cried aloud the military cry of the Clan, and all who heard it quickiy armed, and re- paired to the place of rendezvous, for which each Clan had a stated spot. If the runner became fatigued, another was obhged to take the pole. Each Clan had a peculiar cry of war, by which they were con- voked .to the place of general meeting. The cry of the Erasers was JMhor-fhakh, i. e. the great plain, latterly Castle t)ounie ; of the Macdon- alds frh'ch, heather; of the Macphersons, Croig tMie, or the black rock in Badenoch ; of the Mackenzie's, TuUkh ard, or the high hill ; of the Grants, Craig Elachie, rock of alarm ; names of places belonging to the respective Clans. The war cry was sometimes denominated Slughoru, from a horn being frequently used at the same time to spread alarm, as was common among people in a rude state. It was also called Slagan^ an evident corruption of Slughorn. The words of alarm were repeated ■with great emphasis, to denote the place of meeting. At the fatal battle of Floddon, says Pitscottie, the Earl of Huntly thinking to regain the field, " called his men together by Slughorn, and sound of trumpet ; and fo late as the year 1745, the M'Pherfons, and I doubt not many other Clans, were convened by the Cross'tarkh and by Slughorn.'" The war cry may be traced up to the earliest ages, it was a sort of watch- word by which the individuals of the same Clan recognised each other 37 While loud die Bag-pipes yell, and shouts resound *Dulsg! Clanua-Chti'il an gualahh che'il around. either amidst the darkness of the night, of confusion of battle. 7» the Lord and to Gidecn, was the cry wiiich Gideon gave to his party against the Midioiiitcs. The Irish also had their war criet si- milar to tJie Celts and the Chieftains of the Border, which the Irish Par- liament attempted in vain to abolish. These, when the manners of the people underwent a change, were converted into mottos, which the ancient families whose war-crios they were, placed upon escrois above their Crests, as may be seen in those of the Dukes of Lennox and Lein- ster. Districts had also their peculiar pennons, which distinguished the several septi amid the conflicts of the Clans. Every Clan had also a dis- tinguished badge, by which they might be known, as they had no military habit or livery. These badges were very simple, and worn in their bonnets. The Macdonalds wore a bush of heather ; the Macintoshes, box- wood ; the Grants, a fir bush ; the Frasers, a yew tree branch, to which they are still very partial, and wear, if it can be got, in their caps or bonnets when going to war ; this they generally obtained from an enor- mous yew tree (supposed to be the largest in Scotland) which grows at the western extremity of the district of Stratherrick, part of the Estate of Levat. Upon an expedition they much regarded omens. If a woman crossed the road, barefooted she had good cause to rue her want of fhoes and circumspection, for they immediately seized her, and fetched blood from her forehead. If a deer, fox, or hare, or any beast of game ap- peared, and they did not kill it, they regarded it as an unlucky omen. This disposition in the Cltins to predatory warfare called forth, it would seem with no great success, an Act of the 14th Parliament' of James VI. for the punishment of theft, r/V/, oppression, and sorning, and the Maisterisy^nA smteinares of thieves, rie/,Si.c, which runs in this extraordi- uary way. — " Sik hes bene, and presently is the barbarous cruelties, and daily Heirschippes of the wicked thieves and limmers of the Clannes and surnames following, inhabiting the Hie-landes and lies; That is to say, Clangregore, Clan,'"arlane, Clanlawren, Clandowall, Clandonoquhy,Clan- chattane,Clanchevvill,Clanchamron,ClunrannaldinI,ochaber, Clanrannald in Krioydert, Moydert, and Glengarry, Clanlewid of the Lewis, Clan- lewid of Harrlche, Clandonald South and North Clangilleane, Clanlanc, Clankinnon, Clanneil, Cknkenzie, Clannandreis, Clanmorgun, Clangun, Cheilphale : And als monie broken men of the surnames of Stewarts in Athol, Lome, and Balquhidder, Campbells, Grahams in Mecticth, B^- 38 When man and nalure suffered cruel wrong, And bade tlic weak unite to awe the strong, f chanancs, Galbraiths, Mackaulais, Macknabbes, Macknabrichtes, Mcifi- zies, Fergussoncs, Spaldinges, Mackintosches in Athoil, Mackthomas i^ Glensche, Ferquliardsonnes in the Braie of Mar, Mackinpheisonnes, Grants, Rosses, Frasers, Monroes, Neilsonnts: and uthers inhabiting the Sheriffdomes of Argile, Bute, Dumbartane, Strivehng, Perth, For- fare, Aberdene, Baniff, Elgin, Forres, Name, Innernes, and Cromartic, Stewartries of Stratherne and Mentieth. And Ukevvays a great number of wicked thieves, oppressours, and peace-breckers, and receipters of theift, of the surnames of Amiestrangs, EUottes, Grahames, Beatisones, Littles, Thomsones, Moffets, and uthers inhabiting the Bordoures. And understanding that this mischief and schamful disordour increasis, and is nurishcd be the oversight, receipt, mainteinance, and not punishment of the thieves, limmers, and vagaboundes; partly be the Landlordes, Mas- ters, and Baillies of the landes and bounds, quhair they dwell or resortis : And partly throw the counselles, directions, receipt, and partaking of Chieftains principalles of the branches, and houshalders of the saids sur- names and Clannes, quhilkis beares quarrel, aud seeks revenge for the least hurting or slauchter of ony ane of their unhappy race, although it were ordour of Justice: So that the saids Chieftains, principal of the branches, and houshalders, worthely may be esteemed the very authors, fosterers, and maintainers of the wicked deeds of the vagabounds, of their Clannes and surnames. FOR remeid quhairof, &c." it was statute and crdained that the landlords' and Baillies should be held sureties to bring the offenders to justice, and that no action criminal or civil should be competent to rebels for ejection, spulzie, slaughter, fire-raising, or other violent deeds, committed against them, to bring them to justice and order. I have been thus ample in the detail of these customs as they are now happily but little practised, and the memory of them is, consequent- Jy, fast wearing away — But the contrast between the past and present times will appear the more striking as we proceed to give some account of the battles of the Clans, 'Duisg/ Clan-na-Ghail, ^c. — "Awake! the sons of the Gauls shoulder to shoulder." — An expression generally used when any great eaiterprise or act of friendship is about to be performed. t In the days of barbarism and misrule, when right and wrong were determined by the sword, those clans or families who were but feeble in cemparison to others united thciu^elves under one common head for pr»- 39 Where was tliy brand, M*Phers6n ! in that hour, The first to break the arm of lawless Power ? tiction and defence against their more powerful neighbours. In the pra-^ vince of Moray, in particular, the M'Phersons, M'Beans, Shavvs, M'Gil- livrays, M'Queens, M'Phails, the Davidsons, &c. &c. entered into a com- bination of this nature, and denominated themselves the Clan Chattan, which since the period of recoM, viz. the end of the 12th century, to the time Trhen it might be expected such an association would cease, continued under the direction of the I-aird of M'Intosh, who was calkd Captain of the Clan Chattan. As the question of honour and privilege derived from the Captainship of the Clan Chattan has long been a subject of dis- pute between the M'Phersons and M'Intoshes, and but very little is known generally of the era of this remarkable association, I doubt not but that I might find a! ready pardon from many of my readers, were I to be more prolix than my present limits will allow, in detailing its history. An account of the origin of the Clan Chattan is to be found in the Dic- tionaries of Collier, Moreri, in the family papers of the M'Phersons and M'Intoshes, from which I have been favoured with extracts, and in Shaw's History of Moray ; but these accounts are too long and con- tradictory to be copifid here. I shall only state what appears to me to be interesting, from the sources to which I have had access. The Clan Chattan originally comprehended none but M'Phersons, or Siuch as came v To rove and feed the wasting flames of war ; known by th? name of the Gibbet Knotu. He died aliout 1209. rdf- •uhar had no Issue, and was succeeded by Shaw, son of William, and, by a daughter of the Thane of Calder, was father of Farquhar. who fought at the head of his Clan againft. Haco, King of Norway, in the battle of Largs, ap.no 1 203. By Mora, daughter of Angus Oig, Lord of the Ifles, he had Angus, who married Eva, the only child and heir of Dowal Dal, Chief of the Clan Chattan, or descendants of MacGili Cattan, as has been already observed. By her he obtain- ed the lands of Locharkeg, Glenluy, and Strathlochie, which remain- ed with the Family, till they were sold to Lochiel in 16G5, Argyle paid the purchase-money, and is superior of these Lands. In consequence of this marriage, the Lairds of Macintosh were designed " Captains of Clan Chattan," and here commenced the union of the Clans ol M'Pher- son and M'latosh, when the Chief of the latter became the Captain of the Clan Chattan. In a bond of man-ient, dated 4th April 1609, and granted by the MPhersons to M'Intosh, they name him, " Our Chief, as it was of auld, according to the Kings of Scotland, their gift of Chief- tainry of the hail Clan Chattan." But if there were such a royal gift, it is now bst. Yet it cannot be doubted, that the M'lntosbes, M'Pher- sons, M'Beans, Shaws, M'Gillivrays, M'Oueens, M'Phails, Smiths, M'lnnes's, &c. as one incorporated body, did own M'Intosh for their Captain and Leader, for about 300 years. Having gone into the genealogy of the family of M'Pherson, for the purpose of illustrating their claim to the Captainship of the ancient Clan Chattan, I trust it will not be deemed foreign to the subject briefly to trace the descent of the highly respectable and rival family of M'Intosh, since the head of that Clan became, in the place of M'Pherson, the Chici »f the Clan Chattan. It is as follows: — Angus, by his wife Eva, had a numerous issue, and dying, about 1346 his eldest son William, married a daughter of Rory More M'Leod of Lewis, and had Laciilan, who fought the Camerons at Invernahavon, at •will be afterwards noticed, and by a daughter of Fraser of Lovat, had Farquhar: this gentleman, being of a peaceable disposition, lived a pri- vate life, and resigned the Chitftainry and fortune in favour of his unck Malcolm Beg, who brought a battalion to the battk of Harlavv anno 1411. and for his conduct there obtained the Lands of Braelochabcr, iu 1447. By a daughter of M' Donald of Moidart, he had Duncan, Wil- Jiani of Kylachie, and Ladiian Cadcnachj and died 1457. Duncan, bj While murder mars each social scene of jojv As when the fatal sign was given in Jlfoy ?* Florence, daughter of R I' Donald, Earl of Ross, had Farquhar, who ilci 1514, without male issue, and was succeeded by William, son of Lachbn Badenoch, who married Isabel M'Nivan, Heiress of Bunachtin : he was murdered in Inverness, by one of his own Clan, in 1515 ; of him came Strone. His Brother, Lathlan Oig, succcecded, and married Jean, Heiress of the line of Gordon of Lochinvar, and was also barbarously murdered by fomeof hisClan inl524. His son Williammarried adaughter of Findlatcv, and was treacherously murdered in Huntly Castle by that Earl's orders, anno 1550, for which Huntly paid a. compensation in lands. His son J^achlan More was a gentleman greatly respected, for his behaviour in the Battle of Glcnlivat, afterwards noticed, 159<1. He married a daugh* ter of Lord Kintale, and died \G06 ; of his sons are descended the fami- lies of Borlum, Aberarder, and Corrybrugh. His eldest son Angus died at Padua in 1593; by a daughter of the Earl of Argyle he left a son. Sir Lachlan, who was, for some time, a gentleman of the Bed Chamber to Prince Charles : he married a daughter of the Laird of Grant, and died in 1622, leaving two sons, William and Angus of Daviot. Wil- liam, by a daughter of Graeme of Fintrcy, had a son, and dying in 1660, Lachlan married the daughter of Liudscy of Edzel, and dying in 1704, his son Lachlan fucceedcd, but died in 1731 without issue, and was succeeded by William, son of Lachlan of Daviot. This gentleman- dying in 1740 withont issue, was succeeded by his brother Angus, .who married a daughter of John Farquharson of Invercauld, and died in 1770 without issue : he was succeeded by his nephew JEnezs, son of Alexander, third son of Lachlan of Daviot, the present Laird of M'lntosh. M'Intosh's Motto is the same as Clunie's. He quarters for arms, a Lyon for M'Duff, supported by two wild Cats. He bears also a dagger pointing downwards, alluding to the M'Insoshcs tutting off the Cumniings in their own castle of Rait, an account of which follows. • Cumming, the Earl of Badenoch and Athole, was denominated the tVolf of Badenoch. The great and powerful Clan of the Cummings were almost cut off by private quarrels, and their opposition to King Ro- bert Bruce. Their war with the M'Intoshes was long, and of the most inveterate kind. A desperate battle was fought betwixt the two Clans at Leac na Maigh, near Moy, not far from Inverness, where the Cum- mings were defeated with great slaughter. This did not, however, end the quarrel. As M'Intosh on his way^.home passed through a wood, his servants (who had gone a considerable way before their master), were 45 Hark! the louJ wnr crv, heard o'er all the land. Convenes in Baden s fn.lds a dauntless band ; — Death's ensign then the fierce Clan Chaltan bore, And show'd their vengeful poniards dipt in goie. 'Twas then with hearts unknowing how to yield. They reaped a sanguine palm on Avon's* field ; found luing up upon the trees at the way side when their Chief came up At last Cummiug of Rait pretended to make peace ; and with an inttn- tion to destroy the whole Clan, he invited M'liUosh with his followers to a feast. M'Intosh was to be placed at the head of the table, and Cum- ming himself was to be at his right hand ; the rest of the Clans were to be seated in the same manner, i. e. a Gumming on a Al'Intosh's right hand, from the Chief down to the lowest man, as a particular mark of the friendship now commenced between them ; a bull's head was to be brought in as a signal to the Cummings, for every man to stab his left hand neighbour, being a M'Intosh. But, unluckily for Cumming, he revealed his design to a gentleman who was a well wisher to Al'Intosh, and for the better security took his oath to keep it secret ; the gentleman, however, con'.rived a method to reveal it to M'Intosh, without breaking his oath. As they were walking in the fields he desired M'Intosh to stand on one side of a large stone that lay in their way, while he went to the other, and, in M'lntosh's hearing, tolJ Cumming's plot to the stone; upon which M'Intosh convened his Clan in all haste, who were no sooner got together, than an invitation was sent for them to the feast and, according to the custom of the times, it was cowardly not to accept of it. Accordingly they went well prepared: Cumming met them on the way; and told them his method of entertainment, and hoped they would be so kind as to comply with it. Macintosh answered, that he would not; but, on the contrary, he would give Cumming the preference, otherwise he would not enter ; Cumming with some reluctance at last agreed to it ; both clans seated themselves according to this last proposal ; the Maclntsohes had tlieir eye constantly on the door; at last the bull's head appeared, and the Macintoshes drew their daggers, and treated the Cum- mings in the same manner in which they were intended to be treated themselves. * In'vernahai'a-cross, the billock of the crost. A little more than half an acre planted with fir, mingled with a few oak, birch, and elm trees, now almost eclipse the church : and, after the manner of the most ancient religion in the island, public worship is still performed here in a grove. There are six Druid tem- ples within a mile of the church : one of these is within the pre- sent church-yard, A small farm near the church is named ard druigh NAUGu, the high place of the Druids: another place is named blar- NA-CARRACHAN, the moor of the circles: and a third, BALL-NA-CAR- RACHAN, the toivn of the circles. About two miles east from the church is situated Castle Spynie ; in the Gaelic, chastail spuinidh, /Ae ybr- tress of the spoil. The wall of the building is compietly circular, formed of a stone without any kind of cement, about ten feet thick, and 54 yards in circumference; it is placed on a hill almost 800 feet above the plain, so as to be in view of Knock Farril, a contemporary strong- hold, in the parish of Fodderty on the north; and on the west it is in sight of DUN FHioN, Fingal's fort, whicb is situated on a conical hill, accessible only on the eastern side ; it is also perfectly circular, about 60 yards in circumference, just visible only above ground, but completely vi^ trified almost to the depth of three feet. * In all the accounts which I have feen of the Priory or Monastery of B'aulie, it is stated that it was established in the year If 30, by James JJistet of Loveth. But in the family papers of Lovat, it is insinuated that it was built and partly endowed by the lady of Sir Simon Fraser, who was killed at Hollydown hill in the service of his country and law- tul Sovereign, a century after the Bissets had been banished the north. The following paragraph to this effect is quoted from " Annals of th^ family of Fraser" printed, Jut ntt publitked, a copy of which I was some Q3 Yet here, even here, in sorrow's darkest hoor Came sympathy with joy dispensing power ; Won to relent the gaoler turns the key, And sliows the realms of light and liberty. Ah ! then what mingled hopes and fears assail The warm, unchanging heart of Fraserdale ! As down yon tranquil stream's romantic side His boat glides silent with the refluent tide. By moonlight glades to waking fancy dear, i^nd hallow'd oft by love's enraptur'd tear, How glowing yet, by busy Mem'ry shed. Seem the warm traces of the transports fled I How quick disperse the meteor beams of joy» And darker presages the soul employ ! Still, still, his anxious thoughts to Helen turn, And Love's and Anger's fires commingling burn. time ago favoured with by the present worthy head of that family, " This good lady lived at Kirkhill, till her son came to be of age ; she spent much of her time in piety, virtue, and charity; slie con- tributed liberally to the LulUl/ig and beautifying the monastery of Beau- lie, and Intended to build a stone bridge over the river, and for that end, began to found a pier of large stones, which is still to be seen in the river, called in the language of the country Carn-na-F'antiern, i.e. the lady*s cairn, or heap." The Sir Simon Fraser above mentioned is said, in the work here quoted, to have been Nephew to King Robert Bruce. The Monastery was of the same order with that of Pluscarden. The only remains of the building are the walls of what had been the place of wor- ship, bearing no trace of turret or steeple, or any ornament of architec- ture. The floor is almost covered with tomb-stones of various ages, many nearly coeval with the building itself: the most ancient, from their construction and form, appear tahave been the lids of stone coffins; oot each is a large crofs, surrounded by ancient vignettes, swords, animals, ana ether symbols, the import of which is not now to be defined. 04 Much injur'd Fair! from woe's entranced sleep *Twas thine with bitter throes to wake and weep. In yonder hall, by no fond tics detcrr'd, A Tyrant long his odious suit preferred ; Long, long, inhuman, drew the precious tear For Love reposing on an early bier. And, flattering still, in splendid guise pourtray'd, Life's brighter smile and Fortune's gay parade. But vain each dark insidious effort proves To win a heart that droops, yet fondly loves; And, leaning on that breast too sadly gor'd. Spurns the stain'd hand of Lovat's haughty Lord. " And why, she asks," where ruder thoughts annoy, *' Sudden resounds the revelry of joy; *' For whom awakes the hymeneal sfrain, " The banquet smiles, and joy invites in vain ?" " For thee, my fair ! the minstrel wakes the string, *' And the gay Loves their hymeneals f ing ; ** For thee the splendid banquet decks the hall, *• And lo ! my vassal crowds attend thy call." Avert, ye gracious Powers ! the impious plan, Ere force confirm what violence began ! As when 'mid scenes that festal mirth endeared Banquo his horrid, gory front uprear'd. And blanch'd the Tyrant's cheek with deadly pale. So Lovat mark'd the form of Fraserdale A darkly frowning barrier interpose. And snatch a sweet reward for all his woes. &5 •» Proud Chief!" he said, " thou canst not now vvith-hold *' That dearest blessing which my arms infold— «« Fierce in their ire, on yonder spreading lawn, *' My Clan is marshall'd, and their swords are drawn : — ** But be a nobler, sweeter vengeance mine, *' Thu3, pleas'd, our hands in amity to join, " And while symphonious sounds the warbling lay, «* And the gay feast invites, keep we the bridal day ! Like some fair maid whose tender heart of love Is given where prudence never can approve, Whose tears (for Love is cause of cruel smart,) Atone, how amply! for her erring heart j So Caledonia, heedless of the crime, With love and hopes romantic as her clime, Welcom'd her Royal Exile* to that zone He fear'd to tread, yet dar'd usurp its throne, * The attempts made by the unfortunate House of Stuart to regain the abdicated throne are sufficiently known, but it is not generally known Viow much the Pretenders were prompted to the enterprizes in which they embarked by representations from this quarter of the kingdom of the affection and sincerity of the people, who were ready to espouse their cause. The Highland Jacobites, attached to their King as much as to their Juc/ias, (a word signifying right, or possession, but ill translated by either, or any set of words in the English language,) and who were apprenhensive of the annihilation of their power and people, by the House of Bruns- wick, on whose part they had received but few assurances of protection or conciliatory advances, complained loudly that they were deserted by the Princes whom they had called to the throne, and used every argument to induce them to come over, and the Court of Versailles to prepare an expedition for the coast of North Britain. For this purpose they endea- voured in the following curious account of the Highland Clans, which I feel myself warranted in adding here, as not irrelevant to the object of ftis work, and which was sent to the Court of France, to induce I 66 How quick, when Fancy, like a gifted jw-, » Saw unappall'd dishonour's phantoms near. She grasp'd, as oft in fields of fair renown. The dirk that guards her Duchasy and her Crown ! How vain she strove another's triumphs show^ Her sons by long hereditary woe. Lewis XIV. to send aid, by representing their own power. Nothing in thi paper appears to be exaggerated, though its design is sufficiently evident. The loyalty therein mentioned, it will be observed, relates to the House of Stuart. That and the Catholic religion seem to have been inseparable. State of the Highland Clans at the beginning or the 18th. Century. The Clans are here mentioned, with five hundred men to a regiment. It is true, that some of them can bring more men into the field, and others fewer, but, computing them one with another, they may be reckoned so. The three great branches of the M'Donalds, viz. Clanranald. — Glengarie. — Sir Donald M'Donald of Sleat. The captains of CiaiM-anald's family have still been loyal, and had a good regiment in the fields for King Charles I. and II. and this present captain, at fourteen years of age, was, with 500 men, at the battle of Killicranky for King James VII. This family has suffered much for their loyalty, by the oppressions of the family of Argyle, who have been re- bels for four generations past. Clanranald's family and their followers are Catholics. Glengarie his predecessor, the late Lord M'Donald, had still a regi- ment for the service of King Charles I. and II. and this present Glenga- rie had tlie same for King James VII. This family has suffered much also by the family of Argyle. Both he and his followers are Catholics. Sir Donald M'Donald of Sleat was with his regiment at the battle of Killigranky, for King James VII. and continues still very loyal. These three branches of the M'Donalds, including other lesser branches of that name, may bring to the field, of very good men, 1500. The three great branches of M'Duff or Clanchattan, viz. FARti^L'UAKSONS. M'InTOSHES. M'PhERSONS. The Farq.uharsons have still been loyal: for FJndlay Farquharson of Braemar and Inverey was killed carrying the royal banner at the battle of Pinkie, in the year 1547, against the English. His grand-child, Jame9 Farquharson of Inverey was, at 70 years of age, kept two years prisoner at Edinburgh for his loyalty ; and was forced to pay a considerable fine- ksfgre he was released. His son, Colouti William Farquharson o£ In- 67 War ! whose inhuman arm and poisoned dart, Red with the blood of many a noble heart, vcrey, had still a good regiment for the service of Kings Charles I, and II. under the command of the Marquisses of Huntly and Montrose, and the Earls of Glencairn and Middleton ; and being still without pay, and at his own charges, mortgaged all his estate for the said service, worth about 5001. sterling a year. Yet his son, Colonel John Farquharson of Inverey, was among the first who took arms for King James Vll.; and after all the other Highlanders had given over coming to the field, he raised betwixt eight and nine hundred men, and sustained the small par- ty of the King's officers a whole compaign, acting offensively as well as defensively ; for which he had six parishes (belonging to him and bis rela- tions) entirely burnt and destroyed, which was procured by the Lord Forbes and his family ; one of the most rebellious in Scotland, and their next neighbours. Witnesses of their last services and sufferings are Colo- Eel Rattrey, Major Holnie^;, Lieutenant- Colonel Fitzsimons, and several others present in France. Many of the name of Farquharson and their fallov/ers are Catholics. The M'lntoshes and M'Phersons, although they did not rise to arms all of them, yet they still sent men to the field, both for the service of Kings Charles I. and II. and for King James VII.; and are all of them f-t present loyal. These three fore-mentioned branches, including other;; lesser about them, can bring to the field, of very good men, 1500. The M'Leans have still been loyal; their chief and 500 of his name being killed at Inverkeithing, for King Charles II. by Cromwell. They have been also in the field for King Charles I. and they had, at the battle of Killicranky, for King James VII. five hundred men, and will be found very ready when the King shall have use for them. They are might- ily oppressed by the family of Argyle, They can bring to the field, of very good men, 500. The Camcrons have still been loyal, and have still had a good regimeut in the fields, for Kings Charles I. and II. and for King James VIF. and continue very loyal ; and may bring to the field, of very good men, 500. The Stuarts and Robertsons of Athol have still been loyal, and have still taken the field for the Kings Charles I. and II. and for King Jame.? VII. notwithstanding the present ATarquis of Athol, who was superior to the most part of them, was then for the Prince of Orange ; but it is now the better that he himself is loyal at present. They may bring to the field, of good men, 1000. The M'Naughtons and Stuarts of Appin have still been loyal to the Kivgi Charles I. and U. and to King James VII. and were in the fieliii: 68 I'he angel Pity strives to check in vain— Ah, never did thy foul, abhorred fane Rise blazing with a sacrifice so dread. As on yon heath that hides the nameless dead ; for them; as was alao M'Neil of Barra, who, with his men, arc all Ca- tholics. They may raise, of very good men, 500. The Drummonds* loyalty is not to be doubted ; since they will cer- tainly follow their chief, the Duke of Perth, or his son the Earl of Drummond. They may bring to the field, of very good men, 500, The M'Kenzies are neither to be doubted; since tiuy will follovr their chief the Marquis of Seaforth. They, with other little names about them, may bring to the field, of indifferent good men, 1000. The Frasers are loyally inclined ; and may bring to the field , of very good men, 500. The M'Leods are loyally inclined; and may bring to the field, of -vivj good men, 500. The Sindairs are esteemed loyal; and may bring to the field, of in- different good men, 500. The M'Kays and the Highlanders of Strathnaver ; their superiors are not loyal ; yet their commons can be brought to the field, and may do good service, being joined with others ; they may make, of very good men, 500. ,The Rosses of Balnagowan ; their chief is not loyal, yet his clan might be brought to the field; and they may make, of none of the best men, 500. The Grants; their chief has been very violent against the late King, and raised a regiment against him, and entertained it three years at his own charges; yet his clan might be called to the field, and joined to others of unquestioned loyalty. They may raise of none of the best of men, 500. The Campbells of Breadalbin ; their superior, the Earl of Breadalbin, is a very cunning man ; yet still pretends to be very loyal. They may bring to the field, of indilfcrent good men, 500. The Grahams of Monteith and Stuarts of Down are loyal ; and may bring to the field, of very good men, 500. The M'Neils of Galchyle, M'Lauchlans, M'Kinnons, M'Aulays, M'Nabs, M'Gregors, M'Gibbons, M-Echins of Dumbarton, Argyle and Stirling-shires arc loyal ; and may bring to the field, amongst them all, of very good men, 1000. Then follow representations of the number of men which the King 69 Where, full ui front, her brow in vapours dun, Cullodcn* rears, dark frowning to the sun. There the lone ashes of the brave repose. O'er whom no weeping marble ever rose, might expect from the I^ov-'lands, but the8c it is not necessary to specify here. — M^Phenoii^s Original Papers. The true motive of the Court of Versailles for not embarking more heartily than it did in the cause of the Pretenders, appears not to be well understood by historians. It had evidently an interest in keeping these personages in France. Whilst this was the case, and whilst they were kept in expectance of aid from France, she had a powerful friend in each of them in the heart of her dominions, whom she could wield at will, vvhether in war or at peace with this country; for the friends of the Che- valiers, who were many and powerful in both Houses of Parliament, and throughout Britain, could not but be influenced by their expressed wishes. A memorable instance of this is given in Nairne's Papers, (vide the do- cuments above quoted,) where it is said that the Chevalier, father to the young Pretender, ordered his friends in England to promote the views of France in obtaining peace with Britain, which they effected, and by which the French themselves acknowledge they were saved from ruin. * The memorable field of Culloden is about three miles to the east- ward of the town of Inverness, and in full view of Craig Phadric. It is a bleak moor, upon which the graves of those who fell are strikingly dis- tinguishable by their verdant surface of grass rising through the brown surrounding heath, where bullets and fragments of armour are Still picked up. To the traveller of sensibility it is a most interesting scene, where the disasters of civil war terminated with the lives of many brave men, who, notwithstanding the principle by which they were guided, deserved a better fate. The rebel army could not have choseti a worse field to meet an enemy such as they had to engage, nor the royal troops a better, had the choice of ground been left to them- selves. A moor extending many miles in length, from near Nairn to the foot of Stratheric, and of several miles in breadth, from the river of Strathnairn to the Moray Firth, without a hillock or glen, or thicket or rock, for a cover, was a most extraordinary situation to receive the shock of the Royal army. To draw up an irregular body of men, in such a place, to contend with disciplined, veteran troops, with can- non, and cavalry, was a fatality which might have prognosticated the fate of the day. Tq accouat for this ehgice on their part, and to sav? 70 But mouldering bones alone remain to tell Where Scotia's standard wav'd, her heroes fell, When, rushing from the steep, her plumed van Pour'd the red thunder of each mountain Clan ; the trouble of referring to the accounts given of the battle, it may not be amiss in this place to give a brief sketch of the event. The Duke of Cum- berland having arrived at Aberdeen about the end of February, and com- pleted his magazines, commenced his march northv^ard, crossing the Spey without opposition ; although the Duke of Perth, the Lords John Drum- mond, Kilmarnock, and Belmerino, and Secretary Murray, engaged in the cause of Prince Charles Edward, had taken up their quarters in and near the Manse of Spey mouth, with 2000 men, a force sufficient to have prevented the passage of the royal army, but who retreated to Elgin with the most unaccountable precipitation. On the 14th of April, the royal army arrived at the town of Nairn, where they solemnized the anniversary of the Duke's birth-day, and trimmed their accoutrements and arms. By this time the greater part of the rebel troops, from various quar- ters, under different chiefs, had rendezvoused with Prince Charles, at Invernefs. But instead of prudently retreating to the fastnesses of the mountains, which then afforded store of live cattle for provision, where their regiments would have been recruited, and their force aug- mented by a strong reinforcement of the M'Phersons, then actually in full march to join them, and where subsequent disaster might have thus been prevented, they determined to make a desperate efTort to arrest the pro- gress of the Duke's forces upon the moor of Culloden, where they lay the •whole night under arms ; having very Httle provision — two bannocks of bread only to each man. And in the anxious expectation of the advance of the royal army, they waited in order of battle the whole of the succeed- ing day; during which they were joined by 1400 men, under young Lovat, Kcppoch, and Locheil. Having formed the weak purpose of surprising the Duke's army in the night of the birth-day solemnization they marched eastward after sun-set in two columns : but, faint with hunger and fatigue, many were unable to come up ; embarrassed by the length of the columns, they were obliged to make several halts; and many overpowered with fleep, dropped off unperceived in the dark, and lay hid in the fields. At the diftance of three miles, it was found impossible to reach the Duke's army before the rising of the sun, and only then with half the number that had marched off the moor. Charles therefore was reluctantly prevailed upon to measure back his way to the 71 WKen blaz'd the bright Claymore o'er hills of staiiij That shore the pride of England's fair domain; ground first chosen for the battle, in which he was rejoined by the greater part of those who had straggled in the nocturnal march. Immediately on regaining their station, great numbers dispersed in quest of provision, and many, overpowered with fatigue, lay down to sleep on the heatlii. About 5 o'clock in the morning, the royal army began their march from Nairn, nearly 15 miles distant from the place of engagement; and thi repose of the wearied Clans was disturbed by the alarm of their ap- proach. They formed the order of battle with at least 1000 fewer than they had mustered on the preceding day : the front in 13 divisions, each clan under its respective chief, having 6 field pieces in the middle of the line ; to support the front, were disposed Fitz-James's horse on the right, covered by the wall of an inclosure ; 4 companies of French picquets composed the middle column ; and on the kft were 5 companies of Lord John Drummond's foot, and a body of horse composed of the Prince's guards: open to the centre of the foot was the young Adventu- rer and his body guard ; and in his rear was the line of reserve. The Duke's army fo'-med in 2 lines also, and 3 regiments for the corps of reserve : the dragoons, under Hawley, were on the left flank, and Kingston's horse guarded the right ; the artillery, consisting of 10 field pieces, were placed 2 in the centre of each regiment, so that some pieces were capable of flanking the enemy on whatever part of the line the impression might be made. The royal army consisted of 8,8 11 , and the other numbered 8,350. About one o'clock afternoon the artillery of both parties opened : that of the Prince's was ill served and inefficient, but the king's made dreadful havoc among them ; which Lord George Murray, the leader of the right wing, perceiving, called on them to ad- vance ; and 500 charged the left wing with their usual impetuosity. Burrel's regiment and Monro's were yielding to the pressure of this co- lumn, when they were sustained by two battalions under Wolfe, ad- vancing from the second line; by whose close fire great numbers fell, while the cannon continued to pour destruction with their cartridge-shot. Meanwhile the dragoons, aided by the militia of Argyle, having opened passages in the dyke, which is still seen standing at the western extremi- ty of the moor, broke in upon the right flank ; while Kingston's horse, upon the left, met them in the centre, completing the confusion of the rebels ; their rout in less than thirty minutes was final, and the field co- vered with the slain. The French piquets in their right covered their retreat for a little by a close and regular fire j tb«U reUting to Invcrncs^i^ 72 When Albin's pibroch* bade her echoes ring^* And quire the triuriph of her Wanderer King — • they surrendered themselves prisoners of war. The road to that tovvji was strewed with the l>odIcs of the dead. Many friends, who had come to share the victory, were sacrificed in the undistinguishing exulta- tion of the victors over the unresisting foe. An entire bcciy of the Era- sers from the Aird, however, marched off the field of battle, their pipe* playing, and their colours displayed. These colours, perforated by num- herkss bullets, are still preserved in Castle Downey. In every instance of civil war, rapine, desolation, and murder, wiil pre- vail. The moderation, however, of the rebels in thf season of their success, considering their necessities, is deservedly v^orthy of the most distinguished praise. But with an extremely different measure was it meted to them in the day of their calamity. The soldiers of the King, not contented with the blood which had been so profusely shed in the heat of a « Mercy her flag displays — on Heaven's high van Shines the ethereal bow, — the pledge of peace to maa ! 'Tis Sabbath morn, and holy themes inspire A kindred glow, and prompt the moral lyre. While the bright beams ofGod's own hallow'd day Gleam on yon spires that point to Heaven the way. And, hark ! the cheerful bells chime sweetly roundj 'Tis sweet to mark from this aerial ground, The pious crowds in decent order press To earthly shrines of heavenly happiness. Along yon ancient Arch* their way they keep. That spans like human life a wasteful deep. Awhile the walking figures greet the view, Then fade like forms that idle fancy drew. Thus MiRZA sat in visionary hour On Bagdat's hill, and own'd the Genii's power. And mark'd with tranced eye in moral mood Of Life's short course the just similitude. The vale that bounds the toils, the hopes, and fears Of man's unthinking heart, and winged years, * The Old Bridge across the river Ness, when viewed at a little dis- tance, from its proximity to the town, into which the crowds pas- sing are suddenly lost, suggests to the contemplative naind a fine clas- sic representation, fortunately not true in all respects, but possessing a strong resemblance in others to the bridge so beautifully figured as the pictwre of human life by AddUon ia the Vision of Mirza, see Spectator. 106 The glittering arch tliat spans the valley o'er, Which thousands read, and soon are seen no morr_^ The mist born river rushing to tiic sea, Profound and vast, of dim Eternity, And all the train of objects to whose sway The wanderer yields him on his winding way. Behold them spread before thy musing eye, And *mid the smiling prospect heave the sigh. To think while journeying o'er this mortal scene We walk on rainbows and on shadows lean, While ceaseless cares the mazy track pursue. And fury Passions bring the vengeance due. If, since my morning sun his course began. Like yonder orb, to gild my little span, Thou, dove-eyed Innocence I in meek array. Hast been the blest companion of my way. Though these gay flowers, these stars be quench'd in nigh^, And life's frail fabrics vanish from my sight. My soul shall with instinctive ardour bold. Though plung'd in death's dim gulph, thy garments holdj Thou who art seen along the vast profound. Treading the dim obscure with glory crown'd ; Thee, Heavenly Guide and Saviour ! will I win To ope fair Mercy's gate, and let me enter in. Such are the charms the wide spread prospect yieldi When vernal suns illume the spangled fields ; But, ah 1 how alter'd, yet how pleasing still, When gloomy Winter reigns on every hill. 107 And, tempest -winged, tlie spirit of the storm Mantles in clouds Beswevis' * giant form. And brews the baleful blast which Pity weeps, Sad as it wakes to rage th' unconscious deeps- Dark as Cape Wrath, when 'gainst the wreck-strew'd shore Atlantic waves in long succession roar," Pleasing, though torrents sweep yon verdant vale. And the woods bow beneath th' ungenial gale, Pleasing to rove where Inglis' f taste appears, Or GoDSMAx's + breezy walk his name endears To love-sick maid, or stripling fluttering gay, —Pleasing though she 1 love is far away. Untir'd, unsated with the various view, Trom scenes to Fancy dear, to nature true, The Muse turns joyful her prophetic eyes To where yon domes and glittering spires arise j There on her Isthmus, won from warring tides. Thy guardian Genius, Ixverkess ! presides, — • * Benwevis, or Ben-Uaish, i. e. Mountain of Storm, is situate in the parish of Kiltearn. It rises to a great height, and has its summit con- stantly covered with snow. The reddendo, or quit-rent from the family of Foulis, for the tenure of the forest of Uaish, is the payment of a snow-ball to his Majesty, on any day of the year, if required. t The late William Inglis, Esq. Provost of Inverness, took great pains in ornamenting his residence at Kingsmills. It is now in the possession o£ his brother, George Inglis, Esq. and is one of the most pleasing villas in the neighbourhood of Inverness. I A beautiful walk in the vicinity of the town of Inverness, affording s view of the picturesque valley of the Ness for several miles. It owes its name and formation to Alexander Godsman, Esq. late factor to the Duke of Gordon, O 108 Nurse of heroic ardours and of arts That prompt to deeds of fame congenial nearts, — Offspring of Science that in every zone Have made thy pohsh'd, dauntless spirit known. There Patriot worth unfolds the glowing heart, There Beauty cliarms without the gloss of art ; There Trade industrious pKes in every street His busy toils, and bids the light heart beat ; — Trade, by whose ceaseless, ever varying toil. Wealth, empire, glory, crown'd Britannia's Isle* So rose Imperial Rome, and view'd elate. Each civil discord o'er, her growing state ; — - So to the borders of the silver Thame From wood and hill and town the wanderers camcy The fabric rais'd, the bellying sail unfurl'd, And London smilM the Mistress of the world. Yes ! triumph on thy Clach-na-cuttn * throne, Queen of the North ! Thy star that brightly shone Till discord quench'd its beams, again returns Serene, and with redoubled splendour burns^ liike the fair orb that ushers in the dawn, And gilds with orient beanis the spangled lawn. • Clacft-na-Cut'tn yor ClacJi-na-Vrchatln\ Is a large stone upon the Exchange at Inverness, so called from the servant maids having been accustomed td rest their washing tubs upon it when carrying them to and from the river. It is looked upon by the Invernesians as a kind of Palladium, which, like that of Pallas at Rome, it is to be hoped, will, together with the best in- terests of the place, long be the favourite charge of the Goddess of Wis*- i^QXo. and Valow. 100 And lo ! like Sin*s enfeebling power, the yoke Of cruel Feudal Tyranny is broke, And Pride, and fell Revenge, stern demons, fly, And sullen Prejudice, with jaundic'd eye. And mark ! by Enterprise ^nd Science led, A vigorous progeny revive instead, — Taste, Industry, Content, a happy train. That clothe with summer blooms the arid plain 5 Benevolence, that, like the morning beam. Sheds on the night of woe a gladdening stream ; And all the Charities beneath whose care Each god-like action shines divinely fair, While Learning in her Academic shade Points to aspiring breasts the wreaths that never fade. Warm with the sacred ardour which inspires The breast that. Science ! owns thy quickening fire8,| How looks fond Fancy with admiring eyes While Learning's youthful sons dispute the prize t In yonder Academic Hall * 1 seem To stand, and court awhile the pleasing dream — ■ Hark ! ye who Genius love, from her fair fane, Symphonious bursts the rapt unbidden strain — * The Royal Academy of Inverness. An Institution of incalculable be- nefit to the town and quarter in which it is situate. The verses which immediately follow, forming the first outlines of this poem, and intended at the same time to give a view of the different branches of education taught at that seminary, are already in somq degree known to the public, having been spoken at the Orations usually delivered by the students at the close of the «es»oi26 of the Acadeniyj and handed about in a printed form. HO Come to these shades and Academic bowers> And twine the garland of unfading flowers. Ye in whose ear, as davvn'd Youth's smiling day. Prophetic Hope has sung her winning lay. ho I sudden bursting o'er your native north. The young Auroras fling their radiance forth ; So by thy banks, O Ness, and silver streams ! I^ie Sun of Science sheds his brightening beams. Sons of the rugged North, sedate and brave. For you the prospect wakes as from the grave. O'er all your fields, no more the haunts of strife, The Liberal spirit breathes creative life ; Wealth's ample tide flows fraught with blameless spoiljj. And Fame applauding waits to crown your toils. There busy Industry his labour plies And rears the lofty fabric to the skies, — Or bids the waste in new-born beauty shine. Or forms the long Canal's unrivall'd line j, Here in the shade which hallow'd hands have rear'dj To Virtue's sons by no vain charms endear'd. Young Genius sits and culls the seeds of thoughtj With struggling energies sublimely wrought, And meditates with rapt aspiring mind The deeds that shed a lustre on mankind. Does Fame enchant thee with the smiles of Peace : Thy honours, Rome ! and thine, unrivall'd Greece 5 Shall here in vision bright delight thy view With blameless toils and triumphs ever new— > Ill Shall bid ihe smiling Arts go hand in hand And bloom on Caledonia's farthest strand- — Has Science trimm'd her lamp at midnight hour To watch o'er Mind's illimitable power, Or fondly mark, by Chcmic art rcfin'd. New scenes that claim the wonder of mankind ? Here shall the studious mind be richly fed, And sweet enchantment close around his head. Or, eager still in Nature's book to pry, Wilt thou the Astronomic tube apply. And trace with Fancy thro' the wide inane The Comet's blaze and planetaiy train ? Here shalt thou mark the various systems roll. And learn the laws that regulate the whole. Do Nature's fairest charms, in summer bower. Sweet task ! awake the Pencil's mimic power ? Thy scenes, O Ness ! shall piompt the pleasing toil, So oft by Beauty view'd with raptur'd smile. Or wake sublimer transports in thy soul To trace her mountain walks when torrents roll ? Benwcvis' pomp shall swell the bold design, And all Salvador's daring scenes be thine. Does Valour fire thee ? — In this calm abode Sliall War's dread arts to glory point the road, And still may never Scottish blood run cold When Freedom calls to guard her little fold ; But, Oh ! while Honour's generous stream flows warrc^ May Scotia's weal atiU nerve thy dauntless arm, JV2 firm as that band, who late on Maida's field, Gahi'd high renown, and taught the foe to yield; Or that bold arm, unconquerably brave. That snatch'd a wreath to deck his desert grave. When Scotia's bleeding sons on Egypt's shore Fell — nobly fell — and grasp'd their dread claymore ; So firm, so bold, the patriotic band That form " a wall of fire to guard their native land j" To Fancy's eye does Commerce spread the sail. And gaily flit before the wanton gale, Fraught with the gorgeous stores of every zone, Hailing from far the woody Caledon ; From where the Pentland rolls his waste of tide To Morven's streamy hills, fair Scotia's pride I Mark where the bark shall hold her liquid way Through winding vales with vernal beauty gay ; Where by the labouring hind are oft upthrown The bones of Chiefs, and tokens of renown : Securely there, when roar the weltering waves And murmur long in Staffa's twilight caves, And the sad seer the mariner deplores, Toss'd where Cape Wrath* frovyns o'er his tangled shores ; * Cape Wrath, or Wraith, is the extreme N.W. point of North Britainj and is exposed at once to the fury of the North Sea, and the reging pressure of the Atlantic ocean. Even in the calmest weather the waves roil in and impinge with vast force around the base of the precipice ; and what renders it peculiarly dangerous when it blows a fresh gale, is a shallow that runs in a north-east direction for more than six miles from the extreme point of 113 >~Then by Torvaine's gay yellow blossom'd side The bark shall cleave the scarcely ruffled tide ; While Joy shall mark the flickering pennons play, And list the sailor's note-^the shepherd's pastoral lay. Or sigh'st thou sttU more sacred notes to hear ? Religion's voice shall oft delight thy ear With sounds all-eloquent thy soul to raise. Where infant voices hymn the song of praise, And Wisdom rises calm with lips unseal' d. And Zion's heavenly beauty shines reveal'd. So Hope illumes her torch at Learning's shrincj And hymns her song, and spreads her hues divine. O, sons of Virtue ! fan the generous flame ; And wake the blossoms of immortal fame, j Ye Patriots ! born those sacred fires to fan That guide, embellish, and ennoble man. the cape ; besides these, there are dangers'still greater ; these are two hIJ- den rocks, one of which is about nine m'lles due north, and is only visible in neap-tides. The tremendous violence of the sea during a storm from the north, or a tempest bursting in all its fury from the west, is inconceiv- ■ ably awful ; and, in truth, the whole way from Cape Wraith to Duncan's- bay-head, including the raging whirlpools of the Pentland Frith, presents to the stoutest-hearted sailor perils the most formidable, and but too fre- quently the most fatal. Hence the propriety and vast utihtv of effecting au inland navigation by means of the Caledonian Canal, the incalculable advan- tages of which to Great Britain, and particularly to the northern parts of the Island, stand in need of no further illustration in this place. The idea of a.spirit, or wr«»Vi6, that haunts the dangerous head-land called Cape Wraith is not unnatural to minds unaided by reason, nor guided by ex- perience; accordingly the ignorant natives that live near the spot, and the mariners who dread the approach to this fatal rock, believe firmly in the existence of the spirit of the Cape. 114 --^Haply from minds tliat here their gems unfold May Scotia gain, to deck her mountain? cold, The wreaths that blossom in eternal hue. And here her vows be paid, her honours due. Hence on bold pinion may some Newton soar, And shed reflected splendours round her shore— ^ Some future Ossian, 'mid her valleys gay. To love and glory pour th' incondite lay — And hence some fearless Wallace of the North Shall wake and call her m.ountaiu heroes forth. And, following where he leads, a patriot band Stretch their strong arm, and save a sinking land. Hail to the morn whose orient splendours gleam, "With bounties fraught, by Ness's favoured stream. Where many a generous deed of fair renown With lasting honour shall her temples crown, Lo ! v.'hcre Benevolence her arm extends To calm the pang that Misery's bosom rends. — ■ When want and woe by turns assail the heart, And fell disease plants deep her barbed dart. Yon friendly Mansion * shall the mourner hail, And soothe his sorrows in the quiet vale * The Northern Infirmary, a fine and extensive building lately erected on the weft bank of the Ness. From the elegance of its structure, and the garden and cultivated grounds pertaining to it, which are inclosed w;th a stone wall, topped with cast metal railing, it has more tlie appearance of the habitation of a Prince than that of the diseased poor, and must conse- quently very powerfully impress the mind with ideas of that well directed munificence to which it owes its origin and support. 115 "With balms medicinal, till Joy at last O'er bleeding Memory's wounds her veil shall cast, And health triumphant lead him o'er the plain Buoyant, to tread his native fields again. Still, still, Britannia ! view with fostering smile The Mountain Bulwarks of thy favour'd islc- 'Tis these when round thy coasts a threatening foe Marshals his bands and aims the deadly blow, 'Tis these, who oft on many a distant shore, Have dyed thy vengeful sword in hostile gore These to the ground shall dash Oppression's crest And plant thy standard on the tyrant's brsast *Tis these, when milder fates a pause allow, Shall bind a brighter laurel round thy brow. yiSIONS OF SENSIBILITY. ARGUMENT OF PART I. Objects that awaken sympathetic feelings, — their pleasing effects on a c«t- tivated mind — The Harp, — its analogy to the human heart. Hence the subject is proposed — Apostrophe to Nature, — feelings excited by z review of her works — The Painter — The Poet — their enthusiasm and labours for immortality — Excursions of the Muse — Valley of Cashmir —The Nightingale — A Caravan perishing in the desart — West Indies — Luxury, — its baneful effects — Virtue triumphing over the seductions of Pleasure — A range of Alpine scenery — Moses on Mount Pisgah — Music, — its influence on the Passions — The power of Love in various situations — Rural and fashionable life contrasted — Aquatic objects — • Story of Juliet and Antonio^^The Mariner — The Shipwreck — Domes- tic affection and anxiety — Patriotic Enthusiasm, and the force of Syav pathy exemplified— -Address ta Sensibility, VISIONS OF SENSIBILITY, PART I. tV hy falls t,hc tear for Beauty's faded bloom Where flowery garlands deck yon Virgin tomb ? Why mourns the heart when sad and far away The lov'd companions of Life's happier day, Whose presence taught her vernal scenes to shine^ "Whose image lives in every soften'd line ? Why throbs the breast with feeling's softest glow To share the bliss that Nature's charms bestow ; While Fancy pictures in romantic mood The heaven of joy that waits the wise and good ? 'Tis Love's soft power, 'tis Friendship, Taste refin'd. Prompts each fond thought, and sways the gentle mind. For her shall Virtue, heavenly fair, be seen To shed o'er life's dim path a ray serene : For her shall Science spread her ample page, And sister Arts with kindred charms engage ; For her the tuneful Virgins raise the strain. And bounteous Nature never smiles in vain. 120 When, fled afar, the Angel of the Lyre Wakes not its music with celestial fire ; When o'er the chords no wandering seraphs move, And raise no chaunt to Freedom or to Love, But Fancy fades, and Night her shadow flings, And Silence sleeps on the reposing strings. Ah ! who has power to say what numbers dwell. What spirits slumber in their magic cell ? What mortal hand, with passion-kindling power, Slhall wake to life in Inspiration's hour The charmed wires, that, warbling unconfin'd, Pour the full tide of rapture o'or the mind. And warm with high-born energies the soul. Or o'er the heart the stream of pity roll ? In vision deep methinks I see him stand. The wild harp rings to his impetuous hand. And as he views with all a poet's fire. Futurity reposing on his lyre, Throws on the winds the deeds of other years, And calls th' immortal wanderers from their spheres. So, darkly clouded o'er in Error's night. Dead to each finer impulse of delight, The soul's fine faculties neglected he. With all its hidden tones of harmony. So fond and free the vocal strings impart At Feeling's call the music of the heart ; 121 So quick the essenCed spirit mounts on high At thy command, O ! SemlhllUy ! And such the joys thy blameless triumphs tell, Dwell in thy courts, and in thy presence dwell. O ! Thou, whose boundless universal reign Pirst gave the heart to throb with joy or paini Nature ! whence Science gathers all her lore. And Fancy borrows and augments her store ; Thou spread'st the lawn, and rear'st the shady grove. And breath'st the notes of harmony and love ; Thy hand with hfe and beauty clothes the plain. And dyes the rainbow in her orient grain ; Thou bid'st the mountain brave the lapse of time, And Uft'st the starry firmament sublime. And pour*st the arrowy day-spring on mankind. And dew drops, like thy bounty unconfin'd ; Thou bid'st the Ocean's maddening billows roar. Or chain' st his slumbering waters on the shore ; At thy command the winds of winter sweep Athwart the earth, athwart the darkening deep ; And while the Comet shakes his burning brand. And red-wing'd lightnings blast the smiling land. Or rules the wave or rides the blasted heath. The Tempest, leagued with Darkness and with Death; Thou walk* St supreme, and wav'st thy wand divine, And call' St thy wondering votaries to thy shrine. 122 O ! as the mind by Feeling taught to share. With transports keen, each pleasure and each care. Warms with the glow thy pictur'd scenes impart. And turns to trace their influence on the heart, What joys endear the consecrated earth, As Pity or Affection gives them birth. Or Love's fair scenes bid tender thoughts arise. Or Piety exalts them to the skies ! Such soft emotions in your bosoms swell, Such sacred drops your secret triumphs tell. Ye Guardian Spirits that on Virtue wait, And watch below the changes of her fate ! O ! as ye mark with sympathy divine The scenes that ask no borrow'd luics to shine» Whether ye tranquil ghde, immortal forms ! Or hush with Mercy's voice the howling stormS, O I as ye hover round my verse inspire. And blend your sacred music with the lyr&. When earth and sea and skies together blend. And all the jarring elements contend ; When groans the falling oak from cliffs above. And shadows skim along the lurid grove. Even then the fond enthusiast of his art To Glory gives the pulses of his heart ; By shaggy steep his steps undreading climb#s Aerial arch, or precipice subhme> 1§3 Tame's glittering palaces and bright abodes, The shrines and granite pathways of the Gods. O ! not in vain the forked lightnings glow. And dark woods wave and mountain-torrents flow, — He marks the strife, and while his bosom warms. Steals from the landscape its tremendous charms, And while his pencil borrows hues divine, Salvator's spirit guides the bold design. With him in kindred rapture shall be join'd The Bard, whose witch-notes, wandering on the wind. Convene each shadowy unsubstantial form That walks the earth or rides the howling storm : *Tis his, what time the charmed accents breathe Such mingled tones as thrill the caves of Death, To bid the spirits in long line unfold Each mystic rite, event, and vision old. And embryo ripening in the womb of Time, Each dark unfathom'd thought and baleful crime, And ask why Mercy is for ever fled. And stand between the living and the dead j Then each attesting truth to man impart. And teach him all the science of the heart.' Yes ! these are they whose names shall never die, Grav'd on the records of eternity. Yet while ye mount where Science sits sublime. And stamp your fame beyond the reach of Time, 12i Scorn not the softer scenes a Claude approvM, Poussin ador'd, or Shakespeare* t spirit lov'4 J The vernal prospect trac'd at eve or dawn. Pure stream, or suriViy hill, or flowery lawn. And shepherd loitering on the thymy lea, And cot half-shaded by the green-wood tree. Nature's faii face, and Art's endearing strife. And varied change of many-coloured life. There while they twine the amaranthine wreath> The song shall mQrmur and the canvas breathe ; Hope, smilmg, lend her energies divine, Expression paint, and live along the line, Till Beauty bid her amber tresses wave, Like Venus rising from her pearly cave. Child of the feeling heart ! awake ! arise f The muse invites thee wheresoe'er she flies ; For thee she soars, for thee she fondly sings. And her wild music trembles from the strings ; For thee presumes on venturous wing to ride. Fancy her friend, and Nature for her guide* What glory bursts ! what beauty meets my eyes i What dazzling splendour beams in eastern skies ! O'er Cashmir's * vale with opening blossoms fair. Walks the young Spring, and waves his golden hair: * The season when the rose of Cashmir first opens into blossom is cele- brated with much festivity by the Cashmirians, who resort in crowds to- the adjacent gardens, and enter into scenes- of gaiety and pleasure rarely koown among other Asiatic nations. Foster's travels in cashmir. 125 Daughters of light ! ye maids of Persia*s plain ! Thrid ye the maze, and quire the jocund strain ; And seek the bower, ye Youths so meek and mild ! And sigh your loves, and weave the vale flowers vvildj Or raptur'd rove where fairer sweets disclose, And chaunt the birth of Cashmir's blooming rose. So when Zoharah * waves at shut of even Her starry standard at the gates of heaven. Sings tlie lone Nightingale in twilight bowers. To hail the Rose, resplendent Queen of flowers. The Moon, as from the chambers of the grave. Lifts her fair head above th' illumin'd wave. Sing on, sweet bird ! thy roseate blooms among. And many a harp shall mingle with thy song, And many a youth shall bless thy soothing powerp And many a fine form wanton round thy bower. Till yon fair Orb, that shines with trembling horn. Hang its bright diadem on the brow of Morn. O'er boundless deserts, rocking in hig ire, Each blood-stain'd altar, and each fane of fire. Dread Sirius marches with triumphant stride, Death and Contagion riding at his side ! Earth heaves— the caravan is buried deep— The Camel-drivers cease their songs and weep. * Zoharah, or « the Beautiful," is the Arabian name of the planet Venus, S£ nSKB£tOT« 126 Mourn ill your beauty, Maids of Mecca ! mourn The faithful youths that never shall return. Priests of Medina ! chaunt the sorrowing verse, And hang with blackening pomp the sacred hearse : For you, with ceaseless step and anxious toil, No sainted pilgrinfiS bring th' accustomed spoil ; No balms from Mecca's glades your shrines to heap- Priests of Medina ! mourn ! and Maids of Mecca ! weep ! Or wilt thou ride upon the lightning's wing, To Western skies that breathe a second Spring ? Still Slavery there along the rolling year Pours her sad plaint and unavailing tear, O Mercy ! there diffuse thy brighter ray. And mould the heart to Pity's gentle sway ; For Murder walks and waves his demon crest O'er the green isles and gardens of the West. As when some traveller, with averted eye. Lingering and slow, awhile neglects to fly From realms where Luxury spreads her fatal charms? And syren Pleasure lures him to her arms, And o'er the flowery prospect fraught with fate. Sees Virtue's rugged paths his steps await ; So flies the Muse and shuns your influence bland, Isles of the West, and Pleasure's sea-girt land I Flies, where wkh Nature in her chosen seat. Far other raptures teach her breast to beat. 157 Such mingled strife assails his gentle heart, Who feels, almighty Love ! thy conquering dart. While in tTie presence of the lovely maid, Adown some smooth descent he seems to tread, Hope's devious way, where, crown'd with fairest flowers, The Queen of Joy invites to rosy bowers. But forc'd unwilling from the fair one's smile, Slow up some nigged steep he seems to toil. While still outstretch'd before his longing eye The flowery realms of sweet Perdition He. The summit gain'd, whence Virtue, heavenly fair, Long smil'd benignant on her votary's prayer. What scenes by Hope's awakening touch unroll'd To Rapture's eye their brightening tints unfold ! The joys that with no borrow'd lustre shine. And shed o'er Woe oblivion all divine ; — So when some stranger's steps intrepid climb Where Alps with giant grandeur towers sublime, Sudden the prospect wears a brighter hue. And bursts in boundless rapture on the view. O'er Jura's ridge, with reddening splendour bright, Walk'st thou, O Sun ! and shed'st thy purple light, While many a carbuncle with living gleam Joys in thy ray, and drinks thy orient beam, And many a songster trills his matin lay, And many a vine leaf trembles in the ray ; 12S Or where Albano *= spreads her tranquil floods. And shakes her dark-green crown of waving woods j Or Tivoli, exalted to the skies. Sees at his feet new Appeniaes arise; Throws a long shadow on the plains of Aar, And on his helmet binds the western star. Shall mortal foot these awful summits tread ? Docs mortal eye behold the prospect spread :' Gaze, child of earth ! and wonder as you gaze, Kneel at the shrine, and whisper words of praise ; Thy heart with Feeling's hallow'd ardour bums» And thy fleet soul its mortal mansion spurns. Awhile in worlds that bless yet mock the mind, Imagination riots unconfin'd. And many a wandering phantom of delight. And many a dream shall flit before thy sight. And many a soothing thought thy bosom swell, Whose office and whose nature, who shall tell ? * The favourite abode of landscape painters who travel into Italy for improvement, where the admirable assembh^e ofhilis,meadows, lakes, cas- cades, gardens, meadows, and groves, and the ruins of temples and tombs rising amidst these, afford a delightful and magnificent spectacle. It was the favourite country residence of the ancient Romans, as Frescati is of the moderns. Horace is thought tx> have composed great part of his works m a retreat near Tivoli. Perhaps the country here mentioned possessed ia the eyes of the gay Roman one still more attractive qaality ; Est mihi nonum superantis annum Plcous Albani cadus, &c. Sic. 129 Emotions sweet ! your tranced hours prolong. I The heart shall dance, but speechless be the tongue^. So bright with heavenly hues, from Pisgah's height/ The Land of Promife charm'd the Prophet's sight ; *' Hail ! happy land, with gleams of glory gay I" Fondly he cried, and gaz'd his soul away. Sure bliss may Virtue's ebbing pulse employ. And he may gaze who never must enjoy ! O ! then let Rapture wing the fleeting bi;eath. And Fancy flutter in the arms of death : These are the scenes thy spirit sigh'd to see. The sunny realms of light and liberty j For these, exulting in thy high behest, Thy steps intrepid trod th* Assyrian waste, Pac'd the lone wilderness with dauntless tread. And fearless follov?'d where the night-fire led ; But, lo ! when bursts the day-spring from on higbj And Joy's fair prospects greet thy longing eye, Alas ! the envious grave obtrudes between, And bars thy passage to the happy scene. Or, Child of Concord ! is thy spirit givea To watch the power of sound and find it heaven ? Come to the breathing shrine, whose liearts are warmj Whose souls attun'd shall vibrate to the chatm. And catch the mellow murmurs that dispense Etherial sweets to bless the rSvish'd sea»e. 130 The soul's fine accents living on ilie string That thrills, O Harmony ! thy hidden spring. Hark ! the loud Organ peals melodious, clear, Angelic strains in midnight's hallow'd ear, I.ikc love-notes swelling sweet on moonlight sees, And long, long lingering on the conscious breeze ; Ah ! sure such sounds no mortal hand obey'd, — Some hapless lover or some sainted maid. With sweet assurances of holy rest. Pours on the night the music of the blest : Sweet Harmonist ' Child of a happier sphere ! Awake the deepening tones to Nature dear. And Joy shall lay her fingers on the soul. And all the passions own thy high controul. But most our hearts the power of Feeling prove Rapt in the fond anxieties of Love. Ah ! why should virtuous bosoms feel the dart That ever rankles in the guilty heart. And bend on bliss a dim despairing eye, And start in moody fit, and gaze and sigh ? When Beauty shines with Virtue's hallowed fires, Wakes the warm wish, the guiltless flame inspires, And smiles, and heaves the sweet assenting sigh, What vision's rise to Love's enraptur'd eye, What seraph forms their virgin charms unroll. Spread all their wiles, and win the love-sick soulj 131 And smiliug beckon to the realms of rest. And hail him with the language of the blest I But if the eye that wont with love to melt, And on those maiden beauties mutely dwelt. And bade the heart dissolve in Passion's dream, Must never prove a lover's fond esteem — What woes are his, what struggles rend his frame, Doom'd but to sigh and feed a hopeless flame ! Or warn'd from Love's deluding haunts to fly, A prey to grief and maddening agony, He sinks in torpor lost, or fierce Disdain Rides on the tottering axis of the brain. Thus when the happy hand of plastic i^-rt Quick into being bade the marble start. O'er charms divine the eye of rapture rov'd, Danc'd the fond feeling heart, and sigb'd and lov'd. But who shall bid the kindling ardours dart Through breasts of snow and warm the stony heart, Or snatch from realms of everlasting day The fatal flame that burns without allay ? 'Tie his to feel the avenger's fiery reign, And his the lash of never dying pain. But who can speak the soul entrancing power That triumphs in that visionary hour. When o'er those beauties vanish'd from the view The lover weeps -and sighs a long adieu ! R O'er her green grave the fond enthusiast stands With frequent sob, fix'd eye, and folded hands. And bends to kiss the roses round her shrine, As blushing emblems of her bloom divine,. And in the balmy breath of evening sips The fancied odours of her ruby lips. Can Virtue's tears the soul's rapt flight delay. Or Love's warm kisses animate the clay ? Wak'd from the tranced slumber of the dead, She comes in more than bridal pomp array'd. Spreads her fair hands amid the waste of night, Smiles through the gloom, and parts her veil of light, "While Love, wild wandering o'er her glowing charms. Grasps the fair prize, and folds with eager arms ; But clasps in dreamy mood and vision vain The love-form'd phantom of a labouring brain, The fair creation of a minute's stay That fades ere Reason can resume her sway ; So Hope expires, a fancy-breathing shade, So Rapture dies though Love and Beauty wed» All strive to shun the ills that life annoy. And all pursue the fleeting phantom Joy, And happiest they, remov'd from all alarms. By gentlest means who win her to their arms. *• Grant me, ye Powers !" th' enamour'd youth replies. And bends on Heaven his supplicating eyes ; 135 ■* Where never footstep mark'd the trackless glades, And all unmark'd the blossom blooms and fades, One flowery spot to rest and silence given Where man may taste the borrow'd bliss of Heaven, And I^ove and Happiness may find a home. Nor Vice be near, nor Folly ever come ; But Joy may smile where Peace before has smil'dj And Science spread her volume in the wild. There be it mine the gurgling rill beside, When the loud tempest rocks the throne of Pride, To fence with guardian spells my humble bower, And gather bliss from every passing hour. Clasp to my breast perfection all my own. Hang on her smile and live for her alone." O ! happy state when kindred spirits meet, And Fate allows a triumph so complete 1 In some romantic glade or flowery nook. By sunny hill or wildly wimpling brook, They build their bower, a happy, blameless pair, And Pleasure dwells a loving inmate there. Thus, stranger to repose, the pilgrim bee Each mountain haunt explores, and thymy lea, Till in the depth of some sequestered dell Wandering he lights, and builds his fairy cell. Ah ! how unlike the giddy, servile train That bow the knee ip Folly's idle faac, 134 Or feel Ambition's lawless fires invade, Or flaunt their lives in Fashion's masquerade ; Who chace bewildering Pleasure's meteor ray. And squander life and happiness away ; With nightly blaze illume tlte crowded streets. And talk of Joy but never taste its sweets. O ! where art thou for whom these lays are sungv With golden tresses o'er thy shoulders flung, And fine form by the Graces taught to move. And eye that speaks the chastity of love ? O! come in all thy matchless charms array'd, And we will leave the city's vain parade. And waste in vales of fragrance far away Our morn of life and inoffensive day. Where the light Loves, and rosy-winged Hours Shall strew our path with sunshine and with flowers. Farewell the domes where regal trophies blaze. And pagan Flattery worships in the rays. And Fashion still pursues the changeful toy. And guilty Pleasure steals the smile of Joy, And Merit mourns her indigent reward. And barren laurels crown the hapless Bard, While Wisdom views from far, with eyes intent, Wealth walk with Power, on ravening purpose bent;^ And Grandeur glorying in her borrow'd glare. And Folly wondering with an idiot's stare. 13o Where Thames slow wanders down his subject vale, The bark is launch'd, and fresher blows the gale ; Lo ! Beauty rising <)'er the sculptur'd prow Waves her thin kerchief, and her arms of snow. Augusta's spires are lessening on the view, Adieu thy doniies, imperial Queen ! adieu ! Now let the lute with voice of dulcet sound. And songs of joy and tales of love go round, Till Pleasure, borne sublime with streamers gay» Thron'd on the deep, shall rule the watery way. And oft shall Pity drop the glistening tear For Beauty floating on its watery bier. While Love's last struggles catch the fleeting breath, And sweet Affection steals the sting of death, When Fancy pencils on the shuddering brain The night of Fate and terrors of the main. And half inspires with Sympathy's soft art The mutual pang that tore the bleeding heart. " Adieu, the vales ! Adieu, the coasts of Spain V' Was Juliet's sigh, and Juliet's parting strain, And still Antonio gaz'd and fondly strove To soothe the panting bosom of his love, Dew'd. her fair hand, with warmer wishes prest, And clasp'd her closer to his manly breast ; While day's faint lustre gleaming on the bay, Just told where Commerce smil'd, and Cadiz lay. 136 The anchor weigh'd — the swelling sails unfurl' d — The vessel launches on the watety world, And themes full dear the sailor's heart employ. That sighs a long farewell to love and joy ; But Oh ! when roli'd upon their blasted view The mists of death and cloud of baleful hue. While earth, and air, and ocean were asleep. And winds were cradled on the fitful deep. Mute as the lips and silence of the grave. Till Thunder issuing from his echoing cave, Burst his strong bands and shook the vast serene, And whirlwinds woke and lightnings flash'd between. How sunk the heart a prey to keen distress. With all its wandering dreams of happiness ! Oh ! what is Man ? an atom in the blast. Life but a dream, a shadow fleeting fast — Long, long the seaman view'd th' adjacent shore, Toil'd on the deep — and sunk to rise no more j Long on the deck the lovers gazing stood. Mantled in clouds, and eyed the briny flood, Met with moist lip, and took a last farewell, — • And Ocean's waters rung their funeral knell ! Ah ! ye who ride triumphant on the main, When moonbeams danding on the liquid plain Wake with unwarming ray and glimpses pale Each blue-eyed sister in her briny vale, J57 Ail ! thcn> when winds nor weltenng waves annoy? Break not the silence with unholy joy, So shall the songs of Fancy's fairy clime •Steal on your midnight watch in hallow'd chime, For there, Iberia's youths and damsels say, The Maids of Ocean quire the soothing lay, As there they scatter from their sea-fan urn Ambrosial sweets, and tears, and tone? that mourn The hapless pair who own no mortal charms. Spread their white bones, and clasp with lifeless arms. Who mounts the breach ? who braves the voUied fire Where thousands rush to glory and expire j The sword of death with brandish'd arm who draws, And hfts his banner in his country's cause. Where o'er Iberia's plains and wasted fields, A British arm its high protection yields ? There quench not, Liberty ! thy vengeful brands Till the Sun rise upon a rescued land. Bellona bids her crimson ensigns wave And wraps in bloody vest the hapless brave — Why melts the breast that throbs with valour warm To mark the havoc of his conquering arm, Like Pity rising from the fatal strife. And lonely weeping o'er the ills of life ? Such mingled pangs Marcellus' * bosom wrung As o'er the pride of Syracuse he hung, • " Marcellus, general of the Roman army," says RoUin, " when he besieged Syracuse, in the midst of his success, shed t?ars as he con- 138 When warriors joy'd the warrior's sword to meet, And Ruin nodded o'er each crowded street, And Greece in faded majesty deplor'd The cruel triumphs of the victor's sword. Thus when at Victory's call triumphant rode Down Thracia's verdant steep the warrior Gcxl, His rapid coursers felt the slacken'd rein, And bore him vengeful to th' embattled plain. The coming wrath his mighty bosom feels, And Pain and Peril ride between the wheels ; Till lo ! by Music's sacred numbers charm'd, He drops the lance of all its rage disarm'd. The lulling strains his fiery course arrest, And drive each bloody purpose from his breast. O'er hill and plain, and o'er ih' infuriate deep The winds of winter dread dominion keep, templated from an eminence the loftiness, heaufy, and extent of U\:d city, and deplored the unhappy condition to wliich it was npon the point of being red'.iced." Hard indeed must tl>at heart be that would not experience one feeling of humanity in a similar situation. Yet thac there exist wretches " whose breasts the l-urlcs steel," the French armies by their horrid and wanton barbarities, particularly in Spain, have given us ample and lamentable proof ; witness even their own account of the siege and sacking of Tarragona. What is here ascribed to a sudden impulse of Compassion excited by real objects, Pindar in his first Pythian Ode (See West's Translation) at- tributes with equal propriety, to the force of Harmony, The same ef- fect Sulpicia, or as some critics will have it, Tibullus, ascribes to the power of female charms. Hoc Venus ignoscet, at tu violente caveto Ne tibi miranti turpiter arma cadant This sentiment and the images contained in the Greek poet have beea imitated by Gray and Akenside with their usual felicity of expression. 139 Thron'd on the storm, Destruction rules the waves. And calls his howling monsters from their caves. Who ploughs the boisterous deep at midnight hour, And braves the tempest's desolating power, No friendly star to light him on his way, No guide but Heaven, and his no other stay ? Poor homeless wanderer on the faithless tide ! 'Tis thiae the calls of hunger to abide. Affection's throb, and Misery's pointed dart. And all the nameless pangs that rend the heart. Hark ! on the rocks and savage bulwarks cast, Groans the rent bark, and creaks the falling mast. The dread waves mount, and part each splintering beam, And Hydra bathes him in her maddening stream. In vain for thee in yonder vale remotej Where Virtue dwells and Angels guard the spot. Love pleads to Heaven, and Beauty plies her care. And infant lips prefer the ardent prayer. And Filial tenderness and Friendship form The wish that Heaven would guide thee through the storm ; For long, long shalt thou Hnger on the maiaj^ And Beauty weep and infants pray in vain» In vain for thee the radiant Star of Morn On Ocean's wave shall ray her silver horn ; No more the rising Sun with splendour bright Kindle his beams and wake thee to delightj HO Nor Dian's lamp, when anxious cares annoy, Pour on thy midnight watcli the borrow'd beams of Joy. Queen of the human heart ! whose powerful sway The spirits own and all the nerves obey ! O ! as the mental melody you loll, And thy rapt fingers vibrate on the soul, Tliey open to the heart and glowing brain A thousand paths for pleasure or for pain — So various are the ways where mortals press And chace the fading form of Happiness ; From earth born scenes the winged phantom flies. Celestial fair ! and centres in the skies. ARGUMENT OF PART II, Imagination presents a review of scenes and events celebrated in Greek and Roman history. Hence emulation and an interest in the cause of Freedom and Science is excited, — Athens — Plato teaching the Im- mortality of the soul — Epicurus — Aristotle — Demosthenes — Ancient and present state of Italy contrasted — Bonaparte crossing the Alps — Solitude and the Muse — Distresses and Sensibility of the Poetical character — Virgil — Horace — Sannazarius — Tasso — Burns — Patronage cf Genius — Moral reflections, with a simile descriptive of the life of a Coal Miner — The Nun — Vespers — "Women feel the pleasure aris- ing from the contemplation of a beautiful prospect more acutely than men — Pride as much a foe to Happiness as to Sensibility of heart — Child nursing — The mother at the grave of her child — Allusion to a fabulous account of the Creation of Man — Youth — its visionary prospects — Re- flections tending to elevate the mind. — Survey of the works of Crea- tion — An enquiry into the cause — terminates in Deity — Age, and tran- quillity — Prospect of Immortality — Concluding reflections on the death of a friend, and the influence of Grace on tlie Soul. VISIONS OF SENSIBILITY. PART II. Ah ! most that Power to whom her lays belong Demands the incense of the Muse's tongue. Whose magic wand from Time's eventful urn Can bid the scenes of ancient fame return, Where dauntless Freedom led her patriot band. And all the smiling Muses blest the land. Still may their magic influence warm the heart. And Emulation's sacred fires impart ; Still may the dream my British harp inspire, And light their faded torch with funeral firq I O ! by Ilissus' waves of silver light That flash their mirror on the dazzled sight, What fanes appear ? what structures rise sublimC| And mock the rage of all-devouring Time ? What God his * voice inspires, what periods roll, And flash conviction on th? awakened soul ? 144 _ " This vital spark that warms its dark abode Is everlasting as its parent God — Fan the pure flame, and nurse the Virtues given, And emulate the purity of Heaven." And fly afar yon gardens of delight, * That bloom so fair and every sense invite, Though there the flovvers are fairer to the view. And sweeter to the taste the mantling dew, When the ripe Vine her purple spirit pours. And Beauty wantons in her roseate bowers, For there a wizzard waves the wand of Fate, Joy flies, and pale Repentance comes too late* Hear not his words, nor list his syren song. For sweet persuasion hangs upon his tongue. The Stagyrite with glory not his ownf Lifts high his laurel'd brows and spurns the throne, With Plato's god-like rage the bosom warms, And gives to Order all her glowing charms. But who with ire, and liberty bis choice, % Peals the arousing thunder of his voice — « Shall Tyranny, with blood-stain'd flag unfurl'd, Wrap in its baleful shade the subject world ? * The Gardens of Epicurus near Athens. f Aristotle was Plato's disciple, and may be said not to have Invented a new philosophy, but to have tempered the sublime mysteries of bis nxa*- tcr with method, order, and a stricter mode of reasoning. I Demosthenes, 145 Ye splendid domes where Science first began To trim her fires and lend her hght to man, Sliall ye no more in attic grandeur tower, Crush'd by Ambition in his march to power ? Philippi's lord the lord of earth become, And Freedom sink a martyr to the tomb ? Rise, Chiefs of Greece ! prepare the shock of war, And hurl Oppression from his crimson car." Short is the date to human bHss assign'd. And lofty looks and labours of mankind — Mark where, elate with Pride's presumptuous dream, Child of Mortality, man walks supreme ; 'Tis his to bid the wood crown'd mountains bow, Or ride the infuriate wave with daring prow. War's demon bands with sinewy arms controul, Or speak in moral thunder to the soul ; Or guide the car, or brave the boreal storm, Or bid the quarry teem with life and form. The statue lives, the column towers sublime. But moulder soon beneath the touch of Time. The Minstrel sings the tnumph of his power. And Man, the mortal, vantshis little hour:— How ! soon the lo Paeans cease to breathe ! The harp is mute, the songs are steep'd in death.-^ He dies, nor leaves the shadow of a name ; But bounteous Nature ever is the same. 146 Tfheir toils are o'er, their voice in silence drown'd. Yet still the Seasons roll their annual round. No Plato walks the consecrated grove And breathes the soul of eloquence and love ; No Phidias wakes to life resistless charms; No Myro paints, no Theseus calls to arms ; Yet still the Vine-tree waves in purple pride. Yet still the wild-bee loves Hymettus' side.* From these, if Fancy still her aid bestow, To wake, O Genius ! thy celestial glow ; Through gentle bosoms kindred ardours roll. And touch the finer feelings of the soul. Enthusiast, turn ! and mark with musing eye Rome's awful Genius stalk in triumph by ;— Where'er she roves, see Glory's hands impart The wreaths of conquest and the palm of art, And scenes arise with deathless trophies fair, And all but Pity smile divinely there ! ■ Lo ! the gorg'd Eagle whets his beak in blood. And Tiber blushing rolls a sanguine flood ; Pompey's freed shade indignantly retires. And Cato bleeds, and Liberty expires. « Caesar, beware ! the fatal Ides are nigh !'* *Twas vain — he girds the dagger on his thigh ; * Notwithstanding the various fate of Athens as a city, Attica, we ar« informed, is«tiU famous for olives, and Mount Hymettus for honey. 147 The Forum shakes — for thee, Imperial Rome ! What blood has flow'd— what brooding ill to come, Shed their malignant influence on the day, With Omens dire, and mark thee for their prey ! Even now, what tears and crimson torrents flow ! — ** Assassin, strike! 'tis Cjesar feels the blow. Brutus, my son ! Oh, Brutus ! this from thee !'* The deed is done, and Rome again is free. Ye echoing shades, proud Latium's fairest boastj How is your beauty fled, your glory lost ! Shades that could once the tuneful sound detain Of Tully's voice, and Maro's deathless strain; Who now with Inspiration's sacred fire Attunes his numbers to the living lyre. And bids your listening echoes still prolong The melting notes of soul-subduing song ? Who now for Freedom lifts the arm of might. With ardent soul devoted to the fight ; The friend of man, the champion of his God, Who, curst Oppression ! breaks thy iron rod. And stamps on shrines abhorr'd, with patriot zeal, Thy altars. Tyranny ! his fiery seal ? To thee, O Power ! whose living accents thrill The factious crowd, and mould them to thy will, Who fearless now the heart's devotion pays, A^i shares thy smile and intellectual blaze j 148 Tliy thunders his, and his thy speaking eyts. As when thy voice was heard in Attic skies i No Roman ardours revel in thy veins. No Hngering glories bless thy ravag'd plains^ At whose high mandate empires rose and fell. At whose command the Arts could charm so well ! Mourn, Latlum I mourn the proud Oppressor's sway. Thy myriads slain and vengeance far away. Since on those heights where Valour first appear'd, The Scourge of God, * his baleful banner rear'd, Urg'd the long march o'er Alpine heights subhme. The Tocsin pealing 'mid the savage clime. While Danger scatter'd terror o'er the van. Death in the rear disclos'd his bar and ban j And fell Despair the dagger planted deep. And sinking sigh'd for everlasting sleep. Ere yet from tyrant Rigour's dim domain The Spoiler rush'd, with Slavery in his train. Such are the scenes, that, fitted to engage. Awake the poet's or the patriot's rage, By Genius taught those sacred fires to fan That guard th' inviolable rights of man ; — * The cruelties committed by the modern Attila in effecting the subju- gation of Italy formed a prelude rever to be forgotten to the scenes of barbarity which he and his minions have since exhibited in the face of a wvllized world, and which it would be difficult to parallel even in the darkest ages or most barbarous climes. U9 And such the charms th' Historic Muse adorn, When, rapt beyond a tyrant's haughty scorn, She holds the faithful mirror to mankind. And forms for Glory some intrepid mindo Bright from his eye Rome's piercing ardours dart. While Britain's generous spirit warms the heart. The Muse still flies afar the courtly dome To make the woods and wilds her humble home, For there her panting bosom is at rest, And there the flowers of Fancy blossom best. Heard ye not Virgil load with sighs the breeze S " Hide me, O Haemus ! in thy vales of ease. And woods impervious to the noon-day beams, And gelid caverns, and translucent streams." Saw ye not Horace sadly pensive sit Amid the rich and gay in moody $t ? " Oh ! my lov'd fields, and my lov'd Sabine shade ! When, when shall I, beneath your covert laid. Far from the haunts of folly and of strife, Enjoy the sweet forgetfaluess of life ? The tranquil hours to learned ease resigu'd. The soul's soft dream, the slumber of the mind ?" '^ * An imitation of some animated exclamations of Virgil in Ijis second Georgic, and of Horace in his sixth satire, descriptive of their feeling? when surrounded by the bustle, pomp, and pleasures of Imperial Rome. Rural retirement has ever been a favourite theme with poets in general ; Scri/itorum chorus omnls amat nemus, et fugit Urbes, And what, it may be asked, would be the charms of the Muse divested of the attractions which sbc borrows from rural scenes I 150 Ah ! ne'er may hearts that scorn the power of song Be found where Mincio rolls her waves along ; And ne'er unhallow'd footstep dare invade The bosom of Aquinnam's fairy glade. Where Mergillina * spreads her nymph-like charms^ And wooes the gales of Ocean to her arms. And gives her bosom to th' enamour' J bee, • And weds her laurel to the citron tree, A Druid harp resounds, and through the grove The notes in sweet Sicilian measure move. Ah ! never poet pour'd a sweeter lay Where Aganippe's wandering waters play. But hark ! in air what deafening clamours float. And drown th' Eolian harp's mellifluent note ? In Mergilline's lov'd bowers and spany caves The trumpet twangs, th' Imperial banner waves. And Rapine mars each prospect of delight-— And lo ! the master sickens at the sight. Weeps his stain'd streams, and grotto's ruin'd charms. And Death receives him in his sable arms. * Mergillina, the villa of Sannazarius, near Naples. So strong was hi* afFection for it that, we are informed, the destruction of this favourite re- treat by Philibert, Prince of Orange, General of the Emperor's army, threw him into an illness of which he died. It is said that being inform- ed a few days before his death that the Prince of Orange was killed in battle, he cried out, " I shall die contented since Mars has punished thi» barbarous enemy of the Muses." He vrrote a great number of Italian and Latin poems, in which his place of retirement is beautifully dctcribed^ Some of these descriptions have been noticed by Mr, Harris in treating of natural beauty. 151 Must sorrows mark the noble mind below. And chains eternal wed it to its woe ? Must Genius still distracting vigils keep ? Why weeps the Muse ? ah ! why does Tasso weep ? Can Sion's lute and heavenly harpings cease To soothe the rebel passions into peace ? 'Tishis the power, though friendless and forlorn* To vvake the tones of Inspiration born. Hark ! bow'd to earth, he spurns the cumberous load. And calls the spirits to his dim abode, * With shadowy pomp, and ensigns wide unfurl'd. The gory triumphs of another world. Or doom'd alike to wander and deplore, A lonely exile from his native shore. He feeds th' indignant flame that mocks repose, And strikes the lyre that maddens with its woes. Hence still to kindred bosoms ever dear The scenes that prompt the sympathetic tear. From climes where first the soft Melesian -f strain With dying murmurs charm'd the ear in vain. * The roirantic misfortunes and heroic conduct of Tasso during exile and imprisonment, and the singular effects of the melancholy or phrenzy by which he was at times visited, afford a striking and not uninteresting picture of the poetical character, and the vicissitudes which Genius is born to experience. But it is not necessary to resort to foreign countries for instances to this effect ; our ovnx affords but too many examples. f Homer was bom