Rough Scan
PREFACE.
LIKE every other "Man of the Mearns," as well as of Angus and Aberdeenshire, the editor became acquainted with _Lindy_ and _Nory,_ as _Helenore_ is familiarly called, from hearing quotations of its proverbial lines, and recitations of its descriptive passages, in his very childhood. As he advanced in years he enjoyed the pleasure of reading it for himself, sympathising with Lindy in his fall, and little dreaming that the depredations of the Kettrin were made in a neighbouring county, and at a comparatively recent period. Becoming gradually acquainted with the literature of his country, he assigned to Ross a high place among those sons of song who have done honour to their "mither leed." On examining different editions of the work, however, he was shocked at the great injustice that had been done the author by the inaccuracy with which, from the very first, it had been printed; and the wish naturally arose in his mind that he might have an opportunity of superintending a new edition of Ross's poems. The knowledge of this desire extended from one friend to another, till at last he had the pleasure of receiving a request from a metropolitan printer to prepare a correct edition of the "Fortunate Shepherdess," together with some account of the author. This request immediately suggested the propriety of visiting the scene of Ross's protracted labours, and of inquiring into the fate of the numerous manuscripts that he had submitted to the judgment of Dr Beattie. The result of that visit, and of those researches, prosecuted during a season of convalescence, is now submitted to the public.
With regard to the text of the present edition, it may be necessary to premise, that two editions only were published during the life of the author. The former of these was printed by Francis Douglas at Aberdeen, 1768; and it is evident that no proof-sheet had ever found its way to Lochlee for the author's corrections; for we have _Savilians_ for Sevitians, _standing_ for stending, _naughty_ for maughty, _eaten_ for etnach, _cauls_ for cauts, and many other blunders that evidently obscure, if not destroy, the sense. The second edition, which did not make its appearance till 1778, was very neatly printed by J. Chalmers and Co., Aberdeen, and exhibits the remarkable pains that the author had bestowed in the interval to improve his work; for, if it would be exaggeration to say there is not a _line_, it would be none to assert that there is not a _page_ to which the hand of correction had not been freely applied. These corrections are for the most part decided improvements: the lines are rendered more vigorous; some provincialisms are rejected; several couplets in different parts are omitted, and others are inserted; _Helenore_ is adopted as the principal title; Dr Beattie's complimentary verses are prefixed, but without his name; the "Advertisement" of the former edition is omitted; three of the songs are rejected; the division into three cantos is discarded; and a limited glossary is added. The proof-sheets of this edition, however, had no more visited Lochlee than those of the former; and, consequently, we still meet with important typographical errors, such as _stand_ for fand, _linking_ for liking, _argue_ for urge, &c.; so that, although this edition is _facile princeps_, the editor ould not, as he had originally intended, reproduce it _verbatim_. The third edition was printed by J. Boyle, Aberdeen, 1789; and, although it is said to be corrected, the number of typographical errors is increased; and _hellier_, in the glossary, is improperly explained a _whole_ year, instead of _half_ a year. The fourth edition, which he has not seen, was produced in 1791. The fifth was printed by Burnett and Rettie, Aberdeen, 1796. It is printed on larger type; the dedication at the beginning, and the songs and glossary at the end are omitted ; but instead of these the reader is favoured with "Rural Love," by Francis Douglas; the "Farmer' Ha'," by Dr. Keith; and "Will and Jean," by Hector M'Neil. There is also a peculiarity in this edition, which has been followed by several others; from the beginning to the one hundred and sixty-third line the first edition is followed, and thenceforward the second. Was this in order to escape the consequences of pirating the author's edition, which had been entered in Stationers' Hall? Into the description of Flaviana, the word _keely_ has been introduced instead of _feckly_, which occurs in the first three editions, and for which Sir Walter Scott, in his quotation of the passage, has substituted _gently_. The next edition was printed at Edinburgh, by John Turnbull, 1804, and is still more typographically incorrect than any of its predecessors. It had evidently been printed from the last edition; but, by using a smaller type room was made for the _Waes of War_ in the same number of sheets. Passing over many cheap editions, we may just allude to that of David Chalmers, Aberdeen, 1811, evidently a reprint of the second edition by his father; and consequently more accurate than its predecessors; but the glossary was abridged, and _Woo'd and Married and a'_ was the only song that was retained. This brings us to the most pretentious edition of the work that had yet been published, and which has ignorantly been regarded as the best - for the world is still deceived with ornament. The Rev. Alexander Thomson, minister of Lintrathen, and grandson of the poet, published at Dundee, 1812, an edition of _Helenore_, 8vo, the price of which, on fine paper boards, was ten shillings and sixpence. The poem alone was given, without either songs or glossary; and, instead of being a reprint of the second edition, it was a mere copy of such a compound edition as that of 1796; perpetuating the former typographical errors, such as _riesing_ for riefing, _ugly_ for hulgy, _stand_ for fand, _linking_ for liking; and to the old error, the _Savilians_, we have to add that of _Flavinia_, which is consistently preserved throughout the poem, although the word must have been as familiar to the editor as his own name, and might have indicated its improper treatment by refusing to conform to the rhythm of the line. The great value of this edition consists in the extended biographical sketch of the author - although it is by no means free from inaccuracies - and the account of the manners of the people in the district in which he lived, as well as of those in the neighbourhood. One cannot, however, but regret that Mr Thomson's literary taste was not as great as his musical, so that we might have learned at least as much of the poetry as of the music of the glen. It would have been interesting to know at what time "Helenore" was composed; whether the leading incidents were founded on local occurrences; whether the scene, therefore, was laid in the neighbourhood, what were the author's times or habits of composition, his mode of tuition, and many other particulars that might have been easily supplied by one who had resided in the poet's family for the space of eight years.
The edition at present in the hands of the trade was published by Alexander Black, Brechin, 1851, under the superintendence of the late Mr Laing, author of "Wayside Flowers." The poem was printed from the second edition; but the orthography was brought into conformity with more modern practice; only six stanzas of _The Rock_ were given; songs were attributed to Ross which he never wrote; great liberties were taken with one which he did compose; and the glossary was entirely omitted.
In the present edition the Editor has closely followed the second, being the last which received the author's corrections. He has carefully corrected the typographical errors; introduced one passage which he thinks had been injudiciously rejected from the text, and preserved in foot-notes those lines that Ross had omitted in his careful revision. All the songs, with one exception, that Ross subjoined to his last edition of the "Shepherdess" have been reprinted, and the glossary has been greatly extended. The sketch of the author's life, containing documents hitherto unpublished, together with the notice of his inedited works, he now submits with deference to the public, assured that candour will admit his assiduity, and piety be pleased to find the character of Ross more fully placed in its proper light.
To the numerous friends whom he has personally visited, and to those with whom he has corresponded, in prosecuting his inquiries, he tenders the expression of his sincere gratitude for their kind hospitality and their valuable assistance.
ABERDEEN, 20_th October_ 1865.
GLENESK.
LOCHLEE, the parish to which we intend to conduct the courteous pilgrim, that he may view the home and the haunts of genius, lies in the north-west corner of Angus or Forfarshire, at the foot of that part of the Grampian range which is called the Binchinnin mountains. Running from south-west to north-east, they divide the Lowlands from the Highlands; and, from their commanding altitude, they afford a brilliant view of portions of the contiguous counties. Their summits, as might be expected from their height, for Mount Keen rises 4OOO feet above the level of the sea, present the familiar granite; their shoulders are wrapped in gneiss and mica schist, while their feet are enveloped in the old red sandstone. There are frequent irruptions of trap and limestone, while galena and iron occasionally occur. Scattered on the hills lie numerous masses of white quartz, with crystals shooting into their cavities, which seem to be much prized as ornaments, especially for the garden walls, in many parts of the district. The hills are not generally either abrupt or majestic; but, being much crowded together, and presenting a rounded outline, they appear somewhat tame in their uniform garb of brown indigenous heath. They afford, however, many a picturesque glen, cheered with its native burn, glowing with wild-flowers, and sending up the peaceful smoke from the cottage in the midst of a cultivated patch; large flocks of sheep speck the sides of the mountains, while the deer may occasionally be seen against the sky-line, peering from their summits. The clouds, also, as they sail across the glen, pause for a little on the tops of the hills, and pay their tribute in a passing shower.
Lochlee may be reached either from the south or the north. Should we start from Brechin, we might take occasion, when we reached Edzell, six miles on our way, to pay a visit to the stately ruins of Edzell Castle, which stand at a short distance to the left of the village. It was one of the residences of the Lindsays, who at one time possessed extensive properties throughout Forfarshire, and of whom much curious and important information will be found in Lord Lindsay's volumes, entitled "The Lives of the Lindsays." The Stirling Tower is nearly entire, and those remarkable sculptures in high relief that still adorn the garden walls, representing the emblems of the planets, the sciences, and cardinal virtues, must have presented an unparalleled instance of garden ornament in the seventeenth century. The civil wars may be said to have brought this remarkable family to ruin; for, though they regained their footing, and struggled on for a season, it was only to sink into irretrievable ruin. Their declension began from the day that the troops of Montrose entered Angus. The last Laird of Edzell was David Lindsay, whose domain embraced the parishes of Edzell, Lochlee, Lethnot, and Navar, and whose downfall was hastened by his own recklessness and extravagance. His property was purchased by the Earl of Panmure, about 1714, only to be forfeited next year, on his lordship's joining the standard of the Chevalier de St George, in his ill-concerted enterprise to regain the throne of his forefathers. The property was then sold by Government to the York Buildings Company, from whom it was afterwards purchased, in 1764, by the nephew of the former Lord Panmure. These brief statements will tend to illustrate several points which will afterwards occur in our narrative.
It may, however, be more agreeable to the visitor to start from Laurencekirk, where Ross taught for a time the parish school, and formed that acquaintance with Dr Beattie's father, which, as we shall afterwards find, stood him in good stead.
Laurencekirk is not devoid of interest; for with it are associated not only the name of its founder, Lord Gardenston, but also that of Thomas Ruddiman the grammarian, who was parish schoolmaster here before removing to Edinburgh; and that of Dr Beattie, "The Minstrel," who was born here, as well as that of his nephew of the same name, who was Professor of Natural History in Marischal College; here, also, and in the neighbourhood, struggled George Menzies, a poet of no mean rank, who emigrated to Canada in 1833, where he attained a respectable place as printer and journalist, and died in 1847; neither should we overlook Mr Stiven, whose admirable "boxes," patronised by Her Majesty, have carried the name of Laurencekirk both far and near. Leaving Laurencekirk, (formerly called Conveth,) we cross the Luther, a clear trouting-stream, and tributary to the North Esk, and, on the left, we pass Thornton Castle, art of which bears the date 1531, the residence of Alexander Crombie, Esq., with its thriving plantations and sheltering hedge-rows; and, about a mile to the right, but not in sight from the road, there lie the old burial-ground of St Catherine and the royal palace of Kincardine, once the county town, where Kenneth III. resided, and is said to have been murdered by Finella, and where the draft of Baliol's resignation of his crown is also said to have been drawn up. Pursuing our journey, we have next a full view of Fasque House, the residence of Sir Thomas Gladstone, Bart., situated on a rising ground, and commanding a magnificent prospect towards the south. Within half a mile of the village, we pass Fettercairn House, the seat of Sir John Stuart Forbes, Bart., grandson of the author of the "Life of Dr Beattie," which was once the property of the Earl of Middleton, whose initials, and the date, 1666, still mark the oldest portion of the house. At the distance of five miles from Laurencekirk, we reach Fettercairn, a neat and cleanly village, in which Her Majesty and her late lamented Consort spent a night, in September 1861. In honour of this event, a stone arch, flanked by battlemented towers that rise to an elevation of forty-six feet, after a design by Mr Milne, St Andrews, to whose liberality the subscribers were greatly indebted, has been erected at the end of the bridge, which contributes an interesting feature to the locality. Leaving Fettercairn, which may be regarded as having superseded the ancient Kincardine, we pass, on the right, Balbegno Castle, memorable as the residence of Ranulphus, the king's falconer, whose descendants are now represented by the noble family of Kintore. Having passed through the hands of the Middletons and Ogilvies, it is now the property of Sir Thomas Gladstone. A little farther on, we pass, on our left, the remains of the vitrified castle of Greencairn, which is supposed to have been the abode of the notorious Finella now we are overshaded by the woods of The Burn, the beautiful and romantic estate of Colonel M'Inroy; and soon, at the distance of four miles from Fettercairn, we join the Brechin road into Glenesk, in the vicinity of Gannochy Bridge. This bridge, built in 1732, and widened in 1796, unites the rocky banks of the North Esk by a single arch. The river, struggling and foaming through its rugged channel; the precipitous and lofty banks, adorned with trees and beautified with wild-flowers, produce a scene in no small degree picturesque; while the tale of the ghostly visitor, whose humanity urged the erection of the bridge, and whose engineering skill pointed out its proper site, adds the necessary ingredient to render the whole romantic.
Turning our faces towards the north, and skirting the policies of The Burn, we begin to perceive that we are winding ourselves into the bosom of those mountains which, at a distance, appeared as an effectual barrier against all intrusion. Our road now necessarily lies along the banks of the river, from each side of which the heath-clad hills rise abruptly, leaving but contracted haughs on each side for the labour of the husbandman, who has evidently availed himself of every rood of land on which he could successfully operate.
About seven miles beyond Gannochy Bridge, however, we find ourselves descending into a beautiful valley, formed by an unusual recession of the mountains. Just as we begin the descent, we observe, on the right hand, and at a short distance from the road, a farm-steading, and, in its immediate vicinity, the remains of two of those stone circles, that have been called Druidical, but which carry us back to practices that were familiar to the nations of the East before the twelve stones were erected at Gilgal, on the banks of the Jordan. The place is called Colmealie, or the kirk on the height; and it is to the credit of those concerned, that these stones have not, as in many instances throughout the country, been broken up for building purposes, seeing they are the only records we possess of the religious or judicial customs of the earliest inhabitants of our country. We now cross the Turret, a tributary to the Esk, and, in the angle formed by the tributary and its principal, we pass, on the left, Millden, with a handsome shooting lodge belonging to Lord Dalhousie, the extent of the building, with its cone-roofed turrets, giving it quite a castellated appearance.
The bold mountain-range, apparently terminating the opposite side, is called the Wirran Hill, which stretches away towards the west. Having toiled our way up the opposite side of this sweetly-sheltered valley, "where the bright waters meet," we get upon a high level; and, in looking around, we are struck with a conical protuberance, placed on the brow of a hill, looming at a considerable distance before us toward our left, suggesting to the fancy the horn of the rhinoceros or the tantour of a Druse maiden. That is Craigmaskeldie, rising from the western end of the Loch, which is in the terminus of our journey. Although it is twelve miles distant, yet the mind is cheered by a glimpse of anything bearing so close a relation to Lochlee.
We are now moving along the side of the hill of Modlach, on the top of which stands the Masons' Tower, which for some time has been attracting our attention. The brethren of "the mystic tie" walk to it on St Andrew's day and other great occasions, when it is the scene of no small hilarity: but, like every earthly object, it has its dark as well as its bright side; for in its vicinity, when the road went over the hill, the Rev. Mr Jolly, who had been celebrating a marriage at Mill Aucheen, and Miss Catherine Douglas, who had accompanied him, were overtaken, on their return to Tarfside, by a snow-storm, in January 1827, in which they lost their way, and wandered through the dismal night, till the lady expired in her companion's arms, and he himself, when found, was so much exhausted, that he must in a short time have shared the fate of his feebler companion.
Our way is now agreeably fringed with the graceful birch and the rowan, in all the richness of its creamy Ilowers, more especially when we reach the Birks of Ardoch, among which, upon the brae-side on our right, is snugly ensconced the cottage appropriately called The Retreat, which was built by the late Admiral Wemyss, and is now occupied as a shooting lodge. A little farther on, but on the opposite side, we reach the well-sheltered and pleasantly-situated Free Church manse; then the Free Church itself, with its handsome tower, forming a conspicuous and suggestive feature in the landscape; and now, on the right hand, we come to the new and rather ornamental buildings comprehending the parish school and the teacher's house, forming a striking contrast to the hut appropriated to both these purposes at the end of last century. Close by, and on the same side, we find a white two-storied house, the upper floor of which is the St Andrew's Mason Lodge, and the lower floor was occupied as a school, under the superintendence of the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge, so early as 1760. On the opposite side of the road there are a few neat cottages, forming the village of Tarfside - the only one in the parish. Here we find the post-office, the rendezvous of the Brechin carrier, together with the abodes of those handicraftsmen that are necessary for the convenience of every rural district; and here, we are happy to say, we find _not_ the sign of the taverner, alluring to the degradation of character, the ruin of morals, the fomentation of quarrels, the perpetration of crime, and hostility to every good and benevolent enterprise. Here we get a glimpse of the neat Episcopal chapel, parsonage, and school the right, as we cross the Tarf, a little above its junction with the Esk. This is a true Highland torrent, rising with great rapidity, and coming down with vast impetuosity. Hence in 1829 it overflowed its banks, which look so steep, flooded the parsonage, and carried away the bridge, which was replaced by that which we are now crossing. Our attention is becoming proportionally excited, as we are now four miles beyond Millden, and within five of Lochlee.
As we ascend the rising ground, we pass a labourer repairing the road, who was among the brave Highlanders in the battle of the Alma. He describes the effect of the first volley of the Russians, as the Highlanders were pushing up the steep, as a perfect "shower of feathers" from their bonnets. A ball perforated his own bonnet, and lodged in a bank, from which he afterwards extracted it, and brought it home. But for the waving plumes of the bonnets, the enemy might have aimed lower, and a loss of brains, instead of feathers, would have been the inevitable result. This reference to war naturally leads us to point out the "gray cairns" that are so numerous along the side of the Rowin hill on our right. Tradition represents this as the scene of conflict between the foilowers of Bruce and those of Comyn, Earl of Buchan. His poet and panegyrist, Barbour, has taken no notice of such a battle; but, at the time when it most probably took place, he states that the "nobill king," on his way to Inverury,
="Towart the Munth has tane hys way,
=Rycht stoutly, and in gud aray."
Over this Munth went the road from Fettercairn to Deeside, - hence called the Cairn o' Munth road, and alluded to by Beattie in his address to Ross:-
="An' chiels will come frae yont the Cairn
===O' Munth right vousty."
Buchanan, however, seems to countenance the tradition; for he states that the Earl of Buchan came up wth Bruce, and followed him into Glenesk. Comyn, however, perceiving that Bruce was prepared to give him battle, sought an armistice in order to treat of peace, although his real object was to obtain assistance from England. Bruce acordingly stuck close to the enemy's forces, "harassing them now in one place, now in another;" and these cairns may cover those that fell previously to hir advancing to Inverury, and gaining his decisive victory in 1308, when he
="Gert hys men bryn all Bouchane,
=Frae end till end, and sparyt nane,
=And heryit thaim in sic maner,
=That eftir that weill fyfty yer,
=Men menyt the Herschip of Bowchane."
Through the ravine on the opposite side of the river tumbles the romantic Effock; and near its junction with the Esk stands the farm-house of Gleneffock, once the abode of a firm friend of our poet. Another mile brings us to the Branny, which hurries its tributary waters from our right to the Esk, and in the angle formed by the road and the stream we find the parish church of Lochlee, encompassed by its graveyard, surrounded by a wall. A little onward, and a larger tributary, the Mark, comes rolling from the same side ; and in the angle formed by it and the Lee stands the tower of the old castle of Invermark. We may note, however, that the Lee and the Mark, which had been previoudy joined by the Branny, here unite their waters, and become the North Esk, which now rolls along its rocky bed for fifty miles, when it falls into the sea three miles north-east of Montrose. Invermark Castle was one of the strongholds of the "lichtsome Lindsays," that were once the most powerful family in the county, and wielded undivided sway in the glen. This castle would command the passes from the west and north, and check the incursions of the caterans into the glen. David of Edzell, ninth Earl of Crawford, died here in 1558; and here his grandson took refuge after his rencontre with the Master of Crawford on the streets of Edinburgh, and the "pitiful mistake" of killing Lord Spynie, his cousin, who was in the Master's company.
What remains of the castle is the strong tower, about fifty-two feet in height, and divided into four stories, with a turret in the south-east corner, called the gun-room, which commands the door; but the rowan, instead of the banner of the Lindsays, waves from the crumbling wall. The grated gate, which it required the permission of the sovereign to erect, is said to have been manufactured of iron, found in the neighbourhood, and smelted at a place called Bonny Katie, on the banks of the Tarf. This gate, opening upon the second floor, had been reached by a drawbridge, where there were all the usual buildings of such a habitation clustering around it; and the whole was approached through avenues of stately beech, which have long since wholly disappeared. The castle is supposed to have been built in 1526, and continued to be inhabited till the end of the last century. After the forfeiture of the Earl of Panmure, it became the property of the York Buildings Company, when their agent inhabited one part of it, and, previous to 175O, the minister of the parish, another.
We find on the opposite side the parish manse, which was erected in 1803, partly of materials derived from the castle, which from that time was left to fall before the corroding influence of the elements. The manse is said to occupy the site of the famous public-house of Drousty, which had been as welcome to the peaceful traveller over Mount Keen, as the castle was terrible to the hostile invader. No sooner do we hear the name of Drousty than we begin to repeat,-
="An' ilka Mearns an' Angus bairn
=Thy sangs an' tales by heart will learn,
=An' chiels will come frae yont the Cairn
==O' Munth right vousty,
=Gin Ross will be so kind as share in
==Their pint at Drousty."
In the neighbourhood we have Lochiemore, where the shop of the general merchant had once held out its varied commodities; and a saying connected with it is only valuable, in as far as it not very darkly indicates the manners of a former age. When one neighbour asked another, "Well, are you going to the hurvh to-morrow?" the answer would not unfrequently have been, "I dinna think it, man; for there is neither snuff at Lochiemore, nor good ale at Drousty;" as they had taken occasion of being in the neighbourhood to replenish the mull before going to church, and to prove the goodness of the ale at the close of the service. The receptacle of "snuff and tobacco" is now swept away, and the manse has supplanted the alehouse, "a consummation devoutly to be wished" throughout the land!
But we now observe on the brae before us the handsome shooting quarters of the Earl of Dalhousie, called Invermark Lodge, sheltered among the natural birches, and commanding an extensive view adown the glen.
Looking up Glenmark, which stretches away in a north-westerly direction, reminds us that most of the roads that the visitor might take, in proceeding from the upper districts of Deeside into Glenesk, would converge in this beautiful glen. Our limited space compels us to restrict our description only to the route pursued by Her Majesty and Prince Albert when, together with their suite, they visited this interesting locality. Having driven from Balmoral to the Bridge of Muick, in the neighbourhood of Ballater, the royal party there took ponies and proceeded along a cart road, used for driving peats from the hill of Pullach, through which, extending about a mile, there is scarcely a road at all, and then entered a bridle-road, which conducted them into Glenesk. About six miles and a half from the bridge of Muick, the road crosses the Tanner, wending its way to the richly-wooded glen to which it gives its name. The road from this point to its highest elevation on the shoulder of Mount Keen is very steep; and there, on the boundary of his extensive property, Her Majesty and party were met by the Earl of Dalhousie, at a distance of seven miles and a half from the bridge of Muick. The road from this point is steep and rugged in its descent for upwards of a mile; and hence this portion of it is called The Ladder, having the Couternach Hill on the right, and the Ladder Burn on the left, hastening to join the Easter Burn, whose united streams soon afterwards flow into the Mark. The party then reached Glenmark, which is now occupied by one of his lordship's keepers, and there took luncheon. Her Majesty, having taken a sketch of Craig Doon, which lies to the north, resumed her progress; but, about three hundred yards from the keeper's house, she was arrested by a beautiful fountain, which has since been surrounded by six flying buttresses, composed of granite, which, rising to the height of about fifteen feet, form by their union an imperial crown, surmounted by a cross. The structure is ten feet in width within the buttresses; and a basin, formed of sandstone, two feet eight inches in diameter, into which the water flows, bears, in raised letters, the following legend:-
="REST, TRAVELLER, ON THIS LONELY GREEN,
=AND DRINK, AND PRAY FOR SCOTLAND'S QUEEN."
A black marble slab, twelve inches by nine, inserted into the inside of one of the buttresses, near the base, is thus inscribed:-
="HER MAJESTY QUEEN VICTORIA AND HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE CONSORT VISITED THIS WELL, AND DRANK OF ITS REFRESHING WATERS, ON THE 20TH SEPTEMBER 1861, THE YEAR OF HER MAJESTY'S GREAT SORROW."
Resuming their journey along the beautiful banks of the Mark,
="Whose water feckly on a level slade,
=Wi' little din, but couthy what it made,"
the royal party, at the distance of three miles from the keeper's cottage, reached Invermark Lodge. Her Majesty viewed the Loch from the rising ground, and had no doubt learned something of the Poet of the Glen, as a copy of "Helenore" was ordered for Her Majesty's use on her return to Balmoral. Having visited the ruins of the castle, whose strategic position in commanding the mountain passes was at once perceived by His Royal Highness, the party at length reached the woods of The Burn. Having there dismounted, they traversed part of the walks on the high and rocky banks of the Esk, greatly admiring the romantic scenery they disclose; and then, re-entering the highway, they pursued their journey, till, at the close of a delightful day, they reached the humble hostelry of Fettercairn. The villagers never dreamt that they reposed that night so near the beloved "head that wears the crown;" and their consternation next morning cannot be easily conceived, when they found that Her Majesty had eluded the hearty expression of their loyalty. It soon, however, took a more permanent form than that of huzzas, however loud and long.
Resuming our walk, we soon gain a slight elevation, and are unable to suppress the exclamation, "There's the loch!" A little farther on we pass on the right the old manse, built in 1750, but now considerably enlarged, with its garden in front, and, in an appropriate erection in the corner, a live eagle of great dimensions; right before us stand the ruins of the old church; but where is Ross's cottage? Its ruins lie behind these walls that form a sheepfold, and cannot be seen from the road. Let us, then, first of all explore the ruins of the house in which our poet lived, and rhymed, and "taught his little school;" of which it might have once been said, as of another cottage near another Esk:-
="Laigh it was; yet sweet, though humble,
==Deck'd wi' honeysuckle round;
=Clear below Esk waters rumble,
==Deep glens murmuring back the sound."
The cottage we have so much longed to see can scarcely be said to exhibit its roofless walls, for, with the exception of the western end, they are all in a lamentable state of dilapidation. The external length of the building is about forty feet, and its breadth sixteen feet. It had consisted of only a ground-floor, divided into two apartments; the one of which was considered sufficient for the school of the parish, and the other for the residence of the teacher! The door was in the middle, and the apartment in the west end was the kitchen, parlour, nursery, study, and bed-room of our poet. In the front of this room, facing the south, was a comparatively large window, twenty-eight inches high, and twenty inches wide; and in the west end, towards the back of the house, was another, that absorbed all our interest, although it was but twenty inches in height and sixteen inches in breadth, for here stood the poet's table and chair; and in the sole of that little window would stand his Bible, together with a book or two in more immediate use, and those neatly-written, home-made little volumes, into which he transcribed the corrected copies of his poems, and which he would occasionally read to an intelligent friend, or lend among his neighbours, either for their spiritual benefit or their innocent amusement, according to the theme. Here, when raising his head from his manuscript in search of a rhyme, or the more harmonious arrangement of a line, the nearest object that met his eye in summer would be the honeysuckle that he had trained around this window; and, more remotely, a reach of the loch, now unruffled by the breeze, and reflecting the sunbeams like a mirror; or, at other times, lashed into fury by the tempest, sweeping through the mountain gorge, and dashing its waters against its rocky ramparts, and sending a shower of spray a couple of miles down the glen! Who, contemplating the alternate beauty and stern sublimity of such a scene, would not exclaim,
="Meet nurse for a poetic child!"
Yet the spectator will be surprised to find that the poet, to whom this fine sheet of water in its various and interesting aspects must have been so familiar, has not, in all his writings, made the slightest allusion to it, or drawn from its varying moods a single illustration.
Were we to attempt to account for a fact so singular, we might refer the omission to a desire on the part of the poet, which we shall find further indicated as we proceed, to prevent the identification of the scenes described in his works with the places in which the events he relates had actually occurred, in order to avoid the awkwardness or inconvenience of personal reference to the relatives of his principal characters.
The feal, that had been used for cropping, has now formed a sufficient amount of soil near the corner above the poet's window to afford footing and nourishment to a dwarf-like willow, that fondly casts its contorted branches around the endeared spot. Standing at his door, Ross had the parish church at a short distance, and slightly to the west, between him and the eastern end of the loch; and the manse somewhat to the east of his humble abode. Behind it rises a dark precipitous hill of gneiss, called the Priest's Craig, along the face of which, in a somewhat slanting direction, flows the Lawrie, which, at a distance, presents the appearance of a few small patches of snow lying on the mountain; but on a nearer approach we find that these are the indications of
="The silent water slipping from the hill."
When it reaches the plain it flows between the old school-house and the manse; and, murmuring along the east end of the churchyard, mingles its waters with those of the Lee at the Monk's Pool, from which salmon of considerable size are occasionally taken, and near which flint arrow-heads are occasionally found. As he mused in his study, or taught in the school, the roar of the Lawrie would indicate to his experienced ear the amount of rain that had fallen among the hills. At the end of his cottage, around which we found the foxglove and the viper's bugloss, with its turquoise flowers, in great luxuriance, whilst the nettles within rendered it difficult to enter, he had found pleasure, profit, and recreation in cultivating a little garden, of which not a vestige now remains. Among the flowers we habitually meet in the rural garden, we have reason to believe that there was a highly-valued bed of camomile, which would not only afford him an agreeable seat of repose after he had finished the labours of the "noisy mansion;" but whose flowers would also be stored away among the native "simples" of the healing art. Hence, in his "Helenore," when the squire recounts the pleasures that his shepherdess would enjoy, should she consent to become the mistress of "Bonny-ha';" telling her she might either pull apples or eat "hinny pears," or enjoy the privilege
="Upon the camowyne to lean her down,
=With roses red and white all husked round;"
who does not feel that the poet is, perhaps unconsciously, describing the simple but natural ingredients of his own happiness, which he therefore supposed could not fail to afford similar happines to others?
When visited by the author of "Attic Fragments," the cottage, although even then in ruins, still retained some interesting traces of its distinguished inhabitant; for he had the pleasure of seeing "the little bank of camomile" in the garden; and near the little window "he saw, or fancied he saw, the marks of his rude chair and little table in the clay floor." He expresses his opinion that "Helenore" "contains some of the most romantic descriptions that ever were written, and preserves traces of customs and traditions not to be found elsewhere."
We know not how it may affect others, but we confess we should have enjoyed more pleasure in finding the cottage still inhabited, - perhaps by some lone widow of the glen, turning a loop in the front of the cottage from which had gone up so long the voice of prayer and praise, and so much been written in a cheerful spirit and a Christian strain, whilst some kind neighbour would of an evening have "delved in the yard" and preserved the poet's "bed o' camowyne," - than in seeing the walls bulging to their fall, employed as part of a sheepfold, and overgrown with nettles. As Lord Dalhousie is understood to have prevented these walls from being entirely removed, would it not be a suitable tribute to genius to go a step farther and preserve them a little longer from the inevitable effects of neglect? While scanning the interior of the west end, we descried on the left-hand side of the fireplace the outline of the "bole," or square aperture for holding small articles, well known to the thrifty housewife to be necessary to the comfort of the family; it has been carefully built up.
Th loch is somewhat more than a mile in length and about half a mile in breadth; in some places it is sixteen fathoms, or ninety-six feet in depth; but the general depth is from thirteen to fourteen fathoms, except at the western extremity, where a process of silting has evidently been for ages gradually going on. For a considerable distance from the margin, the "sand bed," as it is appropriately called, is not covered by above two feet of water, but the next step might suddenly plunge the unwary explorer into a depth of as many fathoms. The greatest depth, however, shows what an immense hole thus forms the bed of the loch, and forcibly suggests the idea of its having one day been the mouth of a volcano. Towards the west, the view is bounded by Craigmaskeldie, which we formerly saw when emerging from the valley of Millden. A hollow near the top of it is called the Bride's Bed, and tradition avers that this name commemorates the death of a bride at this place whilst the marriage-party was either going to Clova or returning from it. At the base of the crag, the Lee comes brattling down the glen, having been previously joined by the Unich, at the distance of about two miles, and, in singularly fantastic links or windings, meanders through an alluvial plain covered with sprots, intermingled with cuckooflowers, which has evidently been formed by the matter brought from the mountains by the Lee, in the same manner that it is now forming the "sand bed." The farm-steading at the south-west corner of the loch is Inchgrundle, where Dr Guthrie spends his annual summer holiday, musing on its banks or floating on its breast, and occasionally tempting the tinny dwell in the deep. On the slope of the hill on the north side of the loch may still he traced the foundations of many of the cottages that had formed the hamlet of Glenlee, whose last inhabitant, Johnny Gordon, who died in 1852, was wont to declare that it was once the largest clachan in the parish. Cairn Caidloch, the hill on the south side of the loch, rises so abruptly that for thirty days in winter the direct rays of the sun never fell on the humble abode of our poet.
Let us now make a more particular survey of the old church and its interesting kirkyard, standing on the very verge of the placid lake. With the exception of the front, the other walls are pretty entire, being thick and strongly built. At what period a church was first planted here, it would be difficult to ascertain. The name Droustie, so familiar to all in the parish, as Droustie's Kirk, Droustie's Well, and Droustie's Meadow, together with the Priest's Craig and the Monk's Pool, would naturally suggest the name and days of St Drostan. He was an abbot, and the nephew of St Columba; but, having withdrawn from the rule of the Abbey of Dulquongale in Ireland, he betook himself to Scotland, where he lived the life of a hermit, and "built a church in a place called Glenesk." It has been contended that that place was Edzell; but the names of places in this locality would seem to form no inconsiderable plea in favour of Lochlee. When Montrose was in this district he burnt the church, in 1645, so that we are probably looking on the ruins of the building that was reconstructed in its stead, and which, down to the year of our poet's death, was thatched with heath. There had, been but one gallery, and that in the east end, which had been reached by a stair from the outside, so that the pulpit had probably been in the west end; and with these simple elements we can easily reproduce in our mind the former appearance of this house of prayer, and readily imagine that, in a stormy day, while the foam would float around the church, the dash of the waves would mingle with the voice of the preacher, or bear their part in the song of praise. On entering the gate of the graveyard, we are confronted by the gravestone erected to the memory of our poet, and opposite to it that of his beloved wife, which will afterwards be described. In the east wall, a little further to the north, we find a large mural tablet, containing a Latin inscription in verse, which is understood to be the composition of Mr Ross. In the triangular portion at the top of the monument there are the usual skull, crossbones, sand-glass, and cherub's head. Then we are informed, in Latin prose, that near that monument lie the ashes of John Garden of Midstrath, Esq , and of Catharine Farquharson, his dearly beloved wife, who were married 29th October 1696, and died at Invermark; he on the 26th April 1745, in the 73d year of his age, but she on the 24th November 1738, in the 63d year of her age. Then comes the following verses:-
="Quos Hymen thalamo, teneris conjunxerat annis;
=Queisque dedit multos vivere laute dies;
=Peracto vitae, summo cum decore, cursu,
=Componit tumulo, nosce, viator, uno.
=Ast probos, providos, benevolos, atque benignos,
=Veridico vivens buccinat ore Fama."
The substance of which may be thus expressed:-
="Whom Hymen led to nuptial bed,
==And bless'd with length of days,
=When run their race, in joy and grace,
==In this one tomb he lays;
=But deathless Fame records their name,
==Illumed with Virtue's rays."
We are further informed that this stone was erected by one of their sons - the Rev. Robert Garden of St Fergus. In front of this monument we find, on a long, flat stone, broken across and clamped, another poetical epitaph, which has also been ascribed to our poet. It is so overgrown by the matted sward that we had difficulty in deciphering it; and, unless these epitaphs are renewed, they will soon be hopelessly illegible. It covers the remains of Mr Charles Garden of Ballastreen, in Aboyne, who died in 1761, at the age of 90 years:-
="Entomb'd here lies what's mortal of the man,
=Who fill'd with honour life's extended span;
=Of stature handsome, front erect and fair,
=Of dauntless brow, yet mild and debonair;
=The camp engaged his youth, and would his age,
=Had cares domestic not recall'd his stage,
=By claim of blood, to represent a line,
=That, but for him, was ready to decline;
=He was the Husband, Father, Neighbour, Friend,
=And all their special properties sustain'd;
=Of prudent conduct, and of morals sound,
=And who, at last, with length of days was crown'd."
These families were related to Garden of Troup, and were tacksmen and factors for the Panmure and Glenesk portions of the forfeited estates; and Ross would feel a deeper interest in them, as being connected with his early patron.
We have another epitaph, composed by Ross, on the gravestone of Helen Milne, spouse to David Christieson, in Auchrony, who died in 1775, aged 64 years:-
="Stop, passenger, incline thine head,
=And talk a little with the dead;
=I had my day as well as thou,
=But worms are my companions now.
=Hence, then, and for thy change prepare,
=With best endeavour-earnest care;
=For Death pursues the(e) as a post;
=There's not a moment to be lost."
Another poetical epitaph apparently belongs to a member of the same family. On the 4th of June 1751, Daniel Christieson, a comparatively young man, for he was only 36 years of age, had got himself so completely entangled in moor-burn, or the intentional burning of heath on the hills, that he was unable to extricate himself; and thus lamentalily perished "in the sparks that he had kindled." This might, therefore, have been looked upon by his uncharitable neighbours as an evidence that vengeance had overtaken him for some unknown sin. Ross, therefore, in the epitaph he wrote for this humble head-stone, took care to counteract such an uncharitable surmise, as well as to assert the sovereignty of God:-
="From what befalls us here below,
==Let none from thence conclude,
=Our life shall after death be so:-
==The young man's life was good;
="Yet heavenly wisdom thought it fit,
==In its all-Sovereign way,
=The flames to kill him to permit,
==And so to close his day."
The graveyard is surrounded by ash and rowan trees. One of these, on the south side, presents a singular contrast to the luxurious foliage of the rest; for, after having attained the same height with its neighbours, it stands completely blighted and bleached. Mr Jervise, in his interesting work, "The Land of the Lindsays," informs us that at the foot of this tree were laid the ashes of a young man, who had run a brief and bright, but wayward career; so that it may, in a manner, be looked upon as the most remarkable sepulchral monument of the whole. We shall now gather the more striking features of the scene and some of their associations into the following sonnet:-
===TO LOCHLEE.
=Wending through crowded hills our heath-grown way,
==We gravely hail thy lonely Loch, dark Lee;
==Then view thy ruin'd church, whose blighted tree
=Pictures thy student's bright but hapless day.
==There Time's spent glass, gaunt skulls and transverse bones,
==With moral rhymes, adorn thy mossy stones,
=While thy soft wavelets and the sighing leaves,
==That once in concert swell'd the weekly psalm,
==Prolong thy shepherds' slumbers deep and calm;
=Here green the turf that wraps thy poet heaves,
=Who, wisely musing on thy tranquil face,
==When zephyr's whisper hush'd the tempest's roar,
==Sung through thy glen, the Lord would thus restore
=Peace, where He breathes the Spirit of His grace!
Such are the old church and graveyard of Lochlee, and such are some of the epitaphs which our author had composed to gratify the feelings of the relatives of the departed, and to "teach the rustic moralist to die."
LIFE OF ROSS.
HOWEVER much hero worship may be condemned by some, and ridiculed by others, yet the principle that prompts to it is deeply implanted in our nature, and may therefore be regulated, but not eradicated; and that regulating principle may be found in the statement of the apostle to the Gentiles, "They glorified God in me."
There are few, accordingly, that can contemplate with indifference the grave of the patriot, the spot of the martyr's immolation, the battle-field of freedom, or even the humble abode of one who spent a long life in imparting to the young the inestimable blessing of a religious education, shedding around him the powerful example of an upright life, and imparting both harmless amusement and useful instruction by the productions of his genius. It was in obedience to this impulse that we recently found our way to the retired region whose wild and beautiful aspects must have been so familiar to the gaze of the author of "Helenore;" and we would now submit, as the result of our various inquiries, such events as diversified the "even tenor" of his active and useful, but retired and studious life.
ALEXANDER ROSS was born on the 13th April 1699, in the parish of Kincardine O'Neil, county of Aberdeen. His father, Andrew Ross, subtenant of Torphins, sent his son at an early age to the parish school, which was then taught by Mr Peter Reid, who earned a high reputation for assiduity in the discharge of his office, and success in imparting instruction to his pupils. It was the practice, as the Latin class advanced in their studies, not only to teach them to analyse and translate select passages from the poets, but also to require them to commit those lessons to memory; and, as "the new cask, thus early seasoned, would long retain the odour," so Ross, after he had attained the age of eighty years, would repeat some of these favourite passages with great pleasure; and there can be little doubt that his early acquaintance with Virgil, and his admiration of his pastorals, had no small influence on his own compositions, just as there is reason to believe that some of his earliest attempts at versification were translations of select odes of Horace into English, without any other object than that of the young bird when it "snatches the fearful joy" of exercising its new-fledged wings.
There had long been, and still remains in this county, even among parents in humble life, a strong desire, excited perhaps by the facility of obtaining a classical education at the parish schools, to afford their sons, or at least one of them, a university education. The hope of accomplishing this object would be fostered byt he possibility of the young aspirant's obtaining, by competition in Latin composition, one of those bursaries or exhibitions which are at once the reward of merit, and the means of enabling the student to prosecute his literary and scientific career.
Thus young Ross, having studied Latin about four years, went, as a matter of course, to the competition at Marischal College, Aberdeen, in November 1714; and, from the progress he had made under his excellent teacher, he was successful in obtaining a bursary, which would be duly paid to him for four successive sessions.
What progress he made in the subjects then studied at college we have no means of ascertaining, although for his own satisfaction he was known, even in advanced life, to peruse the New Testament in the original. During part of his course, Thomas Blackwell, William Meston, and Colin M'Laurin were profesors-names that are all well known in the republic of letters and science. On completing his college curriculum, he received the degree of Master of Arts, in the year 1718; and, having been recommended by a gentleman who had formed a favourable opinion of his attainments, he entered the family of Sir William Forbes of Craigievar, who then resided at Fintray House, in the capacity of family tutor. How long he continued in this situation is uncertain; but there is no doubt that he gave satisfaction to his employer, both from Sir William's saying on one occasion of paying him his salary, "I am very well satisfied with your deportment," and from his assuring him that, should he study divinity, his interest would not be wanting in promoting his views; and, when it is considered that Sir William had no fewer than fourteen benefices in his gift, the promise had a very important significance. Young Ross, however, notwithstanding this stimulating promise, did not professionally study divinity, modestly alleging his unfitness for the responsible office of the holy ministry.
After leaving Fintray house, where his manners received a polish that they ever after retained, he taught for some time the parish school of Aboyne, not far from Baremuir, the place of his nativity, and afterwards in that of Laurencekirk, where he became acquainted with the father of Dr Beattie, whom Ross was wont to describe as a man of great natural acuteness, of surprising knowledge, and of no mean poetical powers. Mr Ross, however, could not have continued long in each of the situations through which we have now traced his course; for in 1726 he married Jane, daughter of Charles Catanach, farmer in the parish of Logie-Coldstone, and presbytery of Kincardine O'Neil, and therefore probably the object of an early attachment. One of hisbiographers has surmised that the reason why ROSS did not study divinity was, that he preferred a wife to the church; but when it is considered that young men have generally resolved what profession they are to follow before the end of their philosophical course, and then enter on their professional studies, and that Ross might have passed through his divinity course in four sessions, and thus have been a preacher of the gospel for other four years before he was married, the improbability of such a reason at once becomes apparent.
Although his wife, who was a grand-daughter of James Duguid, Esq. of Auchinhove, was avowedly of Popish principles; yet those disagreeable consequences that generally result from such unequal unions seem to have been escaped, partly by the liberality of Mrs Ross, who occasionally attended the Established Church with her husband, and made no objection to their children being trained up in the Protestant doctrines-the result, perhaps, of her distance from priestly interference; and partly by the pious and amiable character of her husband.
About six years after his marriage, Mr Ross, through the interest of Alexander Garden, Esq. of Troup, obtained the parish school of Lochlee, where he pursued the important avocation of a teacher during the remainder of his protracted life. One cannot but regret that a man who possessed such natural abilities and eminent attainments, at least in the Latin language, and whose qualifications had at an early period become known to men of influence, should thus have been permitted to lead the life of a recluse, and to obtain a reward so inadequate to his merit, especially as it was only in the profession he had chosen that he could have any hope to rise; for it would have been a very different matter had he qualified himself for the ministry, as he might then have expected any day that one of the numerous presentations in the gift of Sir William Forbes might have been put into his hands. Whilst we have no desire, however, to overestimate his emoluments, yet, when the whole circumstances of his case are taken into consideration, they were not so insignificant as some have hastily represented them; and perhaps they were not inferior to those of other parish schools in the districts with which he was acquainted. The school-house was latterly by no means centrical: so that the children of only five or six families could conveniently attend, and their fees, accordingly, must have been but trifling; but, indeed, we do not see how the school-room could have contained more scholars than the average that these few families would have afforded.
In giving us an account of Ross's emoluments, his grandson, whose information on this matter ought to have been accurate, has not distinguished the allowance of the "reader and catechist" from that of the schoolmaster. At the beginning of the present century, the salary of the schoolmaster of Lochlee was £22, 6s. 8d. sterling, together with a house and garden; but, during Ross's incumbency, the highest legal allowance was barely the half of that sum. Then the allowance formerly granted to the "reader and catechist," and afterwards transferred to the schoolmaster, was one hundred merks, or £5, 11s. 1 1/3d. sterling, six bolls of meal, and "feal and divot in the hill of Invermark, together with six acres of arable and pasture land, in lieu of the two crofts and pasture for twenty-sheep" mentioned in the original grant; as session-clerk and precentor he would, according to the rate at the beginning of this century, have perhaps £2 more; and then he would have a trifle for school-fees. When we were in Lochlee, through the exertions of a gentleman who entered warmly into our inquiries, we had an opportunity of seeing two documents drawn up and signed by Mr Ross as Notary Public-a fact that had escaped the notice of his former biographers; and, through the kind attention of Mr Stuart, General Register House, we are enabled to give the following extract from the Register of Notaries Public, which is not without interest:- "23 July 1730, Alexander Ross, son to Andrew Ross, subtenant in Torphins;" which we have no doubt refers to our author; as the date would indicate that he had seen the propriety of taking this step four years after his marriage, as he might anticipate that this office would contribute somewhat to his income, while it shows his activity and prudence in availing himself of all legitimate means for the respectable maintenance of his family. All these considerations prove that our poet's emoluments were no doubt on an average with those enjoyed in the district around him by the members of the profession which he had chosen to adopt; but let it not for a moment be supposed that we think such an allowance was sufficient for a graduate of a university, discharging the important functions of an instructor of youth, as well as other duties in the service of the Church, especially when we know that the inadequacy of such remuneration called for legislative interference about 1803, and that the salary of the parish schoolmaster of Lochlee was doubled about that time. All things considered, however, our poet occupied a far more congenial and comfortable position than did Robert Burns, in "gauging clarty barrels" for £50 a year, with a deduction of £10 or £12 of expenses. Thus genius may be feasted, applauded, intoxicated, ruined - anything but remunerated! In connexion with this subject, we may here advert to a circumstance which is not only characteristic of the simplicity of Ross's mind, but as indicating a sagacity that was not displayed by the united wisdom of the British legislature till nearly a century afterwards.
We allude to the importance he attached to the registration of births, and the efforts he made to counteract the carelessness or indifference of the parishioners. We find the following entry, which supports these statements, in the session-book, as quoted by Mr Jervise:- "I designed to have kept a regular accompt of the baptisms of this parish during my incumbency as session-clerk and precentor; but no man, whether attending kirk or meeting-house, ever once desired me to do that office for him, or ever gave me the dues for enrolling their children, except David Christieson of Auchrony, that paid me for recording his eldest son, John; and even the few that are recorded were done by informing myself of their names, and the time of their baptism, the best way I could, so that I hope the world will excuse me when the register is found deficient as to this particular." Yes, the world readily excuses the imperfection of the register, seeing that it required an Act of Parliament, and a penalty of twenty shillings, to compel parents to perform the duty that the parishioners of Lochlee neglected; the world applauds thy disinterestedness that spontaneously forced a favour on those families whose children's names thou didst record; and the world regrets that thou shouldst have been thus deprived of the slight addition that the dues arising from these registrations would have added to thy slender income!
The only literary companion with whom Mr Ross could have had any intercourse for the greater part of the year was his parish minister. The parish of Lochlee was not erected into an independent charge till 1723, when the Rev. Mr Garden was appointed minister. As the Rev. Mr Blair, who is said to have been the first to institute a Sabbath-school in Scotland, and was one of those who appended their signatures to Willison's "Fair and Impartial Testimony," was translated to Brechin in 1733, Mr Ross could have had little intercourse with him, as the one must have been leaving when the other was arriving. Mr Blair was succeeded by the Rev. John Scott, who baptized Mr Ross's eldest daughter in 1734, and who died suddenly near Tarfside, on his way to the presbytery of Brechin, 24th January 1758. At the time when Mr Ross became an author, the minister also bore the same name, came originally from the same parish, and had been a schoolfellow of our poet. He had reached the age of sixty-six years before he was advanced to the honour of a parish minister; yet he occupied that position for twenty-one years. There are many anecdotes respecting him yet afloat in the district, one or two of which may be narrated, as indicating the manners of that period. On one occasion, while he was preaching, a puff of wind deranged the leaves of his sermon, and he was unable to find the place where he had been so unceremoniously interrupted. Looking down to one of his hearers who had an excellent memory, and who was sitting with his plaid drawn up about his cars, the minister exclaimed, "You are sleeping, Bush!" "Od, I'm nae the like, sir," was the reply. "What were the last words that I said, then?" Bush immediately told him ; the minister found the place, and then proceeded. The other anecdote refers to our poet, and has been variously told, although the point is the same, and we shall tell it as we last heard it. A gentleman having come to see Mr Ross after he had become known by the publication of his poem, on inquiring for Mr Ross, was directed to the minister, who was within sight. After entering into conversation, the minister discovered the stranger's mistake, and in his usual repetitive manner said, "I doubt, I doubt ye're wrang. I'm only the minister!" It is also reported that, when "Helenore" was published, he told the author he had read his work, but did not much approve of it, as it was not true; to which the author replied, that he presumed it was not more deficient in that respect than the "AEneid" of Virgil, or the "Gentle Shepherd" of Ramsay. It is said, however, that he gave satisfaction to his hearers by his plain and sound doctrine; but it is evident there could have been but little sympathy between him and our author in the regions of poetry.
During the dreary months of winter, when the snow lay so thick that the roads were impassable, and for thirty days the shade of the opposite mountain cast its gloom on the school-house, the office of the teacher must have been a sinecure, when he would, however, have abundant leisure to gratify his literary tastes. One of the recreations of the inhabitants of the glen during this dreary period, was derived from the strains of the violin of John Cameron, from Glenmuick, who continued to pay them an annual visit for upwards of forty years, when some enjoyed the exhilarating dance, and some acquired from him the art of performing on his instrument. Mr Ross appears to have enjoyed the company of Cameron, who was a man of unblemished character, and could speak of not a few of the customs of the Highlanders that were even then beginning to disappear; such as the practice of the nearest relatives leading off a solemn dance, to a plaintive melody, immediately after the death of a member of the family. Although this practice had prevailed in a district not more than sixteen miles distant from Lochlee, yet no tradition records that it was ever known in this district. As Mr Ross himself was also a performer on the violin, he would the more appreciate the music of Cameron, and probably enjoy the singing of some of his own songs to the accompaniment of the more experienced musician.
In the summer season, however, the case was very different; and we should form a very erroneous conception of Ross's condition did we not advert to the company with whom he was then accustomed to meet in the glen. "I may venture to say, indeed," remarks his grandson, "that never was there a man in his station more taken notice of, and more esteemed, not only on account of his genius as a poet, and his abilities as a scholar, but the decency and propriety of his conduct, his genteel address, and particularly his readiness to oblige."
We may briefly advert to some of those parties who were thus wont to visit the district, and to show respect for our author.
Many invalids were attracted to the glen in summer, not only by the beauty of the scenery and the purity of the air, but also for the benefit of goats' milk; while others came to enjoy the pleasures of shooting and fishing. As the Lee when it issues from the loch is but a small stream, it seems to have occasionally formed part of the amusement of parties thus brought together to hire some of the country people to close up the apperture by which it issues from the loch; the bed of the river was then left dry between the loch and the Mark, and no small amusement was created in catching the trouts and eels that were thus left aground in the bed of the stream. Our author, who was a keen fisher, was always invited by the gentlemen to join in the sport, and to dine with them in the evening afterwards.
The year 1767 was especially rendered memorable to the dwellers in the glen by the appearance, for the first time, of the Earl and Countess of Northesk, with several members of their family, who took up their residence at Gleneffock, then rented by Mr Thomas Jolly, a man of education and polite manners, with whom our poet lived on very intimate terms.
A few days after their arrival, Lord Northesk called on Mr Ross, complimented him on his works, which he could have examined only in manuscript, and invited him to dine. He was much gratified with the kindness and attention they showed him; and, during the time they remained in the glen, he was frequently invited to partake of their hospitality.
Another proof of the estimation in which Ross was held may here be noticed, although not in the strict order of time. The Earl of Panmure, having visited this remote corner of his extensive property, was met at Droustie, where he intended to dine and spend the night, by a number of his tenantry, headed by the minister and the schoolmaster. After mutual congratulations had been exchanged, the innkeeper informed the company that a repast had been prepared for them at his lordship's desire. Mr Ross modestly went along with the rest; but his lordship immediately sent for him, placed him near himself, and frequently conversed with him. Next day, his lordship, intending to make the tour of the loch, kindly invited Mr Ross to join the party. He accordingly set out with them; but as he was now bordering on eighty, and the road was very rough, he began to fall behind. His lordship, on observing the circumstanes, very considerately desired him to return, and to be sure to meet him at dinner.
Sir James and Lady Carnegie of Southesk also spent some weeks for several years in the glen, and always treated the schoolmaster with much kindness and regard, which he humbly conceived rather proceeded from condescension on their part than from any merit in the object of their attention.
But the important event was now approaching which was to extend the knowledge of Ross's genius and character far beyond the limits of his romantic glen, to which he has undoubtedly added an additional charm. We have seen that Ross was noticed and esteemed long before any of his compositions were given to the public through the press; and we have also learned that he was a composer of verses from his youth. As some of the gentlemen who showed so much regard to Ross did so not only on account of his character, but also his genius, several of the compositions of Ross must, therefore, have been circulated before they were printed. His songs would be handed about in manuscript, or transmitted from memory to memory among the maidens of the district. Now that we have examined several of his compositions, written in his own neat and careful hand, and stitched up in separate fascicles, well dog-eared, and deeply imbrowned with the reek of the ingle, we have little doubt that these had circulated among the cottages of the glen; and this conviction has, in some measure, diminished our regret that some of them, such as his "Religious Pastorals," had not been committed to the press, that they might have extended sound theological and moral lessons, as based on doctrines which, we fear, were not then so common as now; for Ross had clearly imbibed evangelical principles, and believed that the true source of obedience was love to Him who died for our sins, and rose again for our justification. Neither can it be properly said that he had never written a single line with a view to publication, but only to amuse a solitary hour for the preface to his "Religious Pastorals," dated 1754, or fourteen years before the publication of the "Fortunate Shepherdess," intimates that, at first, the author had no intention of publication; but, after the work had lain by him for some time, a reperusal of it led him to think that it might "creep forth and show itself without any ostentation among the papers that were designed for general good."
Be this, however, as it may, in 1766, urgent business brought him to Aberdeen. Six years before that date, Dr James Beattie had been installed Professor of Moral Philosophy at Aberdeen, and had published a volume of poems, of which a new edition was demanded in the summer of that very year; but, although "The Minstrel" was on the way, yet the first canto did not appear till five years afterwards. Mr Ross, to whom these things could not be unknown, relying on his early acquaintance with Dr Beattie's father, and the congeniality of their poetical temperament, and carrying with him his little manuscript volumes, sought and obtained an interview with the professor. Beattie was not less pleased with Ross himself, than gratified by the information he received from him respecting his father, who had died when the professor was so young that he scarcely remembered that he had seen him. Such an interview must have been highly gratifying to Beattie, who readily undertook to examine the manuscripts that Ross had brought with him, and to select such pieces as he thought most worthy of publication. At last this selection, consisting of the "Fortunate Shepherdess," and a few songs, was printed and published at Aberdeen by J. Boyle, in 1768. Ross realised about £2O by the speculation, which appears to have far exceeded his expectations.
Prefixed to the work was the following "Advertisement," to which Dr Beattie adverts in his letter; but which has been omitted in all subsequent editions:-
"It would be unpardonable in the author to let slip this opportunity of making his just acknowledgments to the great number of gentlemen and ladies who have by their subscriptions so generously promoted the publication of this little work.
"Sensible as he is of the defects in his performance, he has little to hope from the most candid criticism. To set before the readers' eyes, in their plain and native colours, a variety of incidents in low life, was what he had chiefly in view. How far he hath succeeded in his design, every reader will judge for himself.
"Sequestered from the polite world, and, by his situation in life, barred from society, he found much amusement in observing the natural effects of the human passions on the conduct and manners of plain country people. And though that depravity of manners, so generally and so justly complained of by moral writers, hath found its way into the cottages of the poor; yet one-he hopes he may say it without offence-meets sometimes with a degree of innocent simplicity and honest meaning among the lower ranks of people in remote parts of the country, which he can hardly expect to find in large towns, or among the higher ranks of mankind.
"He hath endeavoured to support the characters introduced in the best manner he could, and to give the various scenes such colouring as to him seemed just and natural. He is sensible that in some places he bath been rather too prolix; but hopes the reader will forgive that fault, when he considers how unwillingly the mind turns away from an interesting object, and that even this prolixity is characteristic of the people he describes; for the lower ranks of mankind cannot think or speak in that elegant and concise manner which distinguisheth those in higher spheres of life.
"With regard to the conduct of the story in general, the author will possibly be blamed for throwing so many rubs in the way of the young couple he makes so fond of one another from their infancy, and much more for disappointing their hopes in the conclusion. To obviate this, in part, he shall only observe that the incidents which bring all this about to him seemed possible and natural; and he thinks this important lesson is inculcated by the trouble and disappointment that Rosalind met with, that when two young people have come under strict engagements to one another, no consideration whatever should induce them to break their faith, or to promise things incompatible with keeping it entire. And besides, though they are disappointed, they are not unhappy, for all things are settled to their mutual satisfaction.
"Though many of the phrases are broad, the author has endeavoured, as much as possible, to avoid gross indelicacies; and the reader will consider, that he represents only the expressions and sentiments of plain country people. Many of them, he is sensible, will not bear to be tried by the rules of grammar. In many cases to have altered would have been nearly the same as to have spoiled them. Most of them, he imagines, will be understood by those who are conversant in the old Scottish language and our present provincial dialects.
"To conclude, this small work has lain many years by the author, and copies of the manuscript had got abroad. One of these was seen by a gentleman, who desired it should be published, and wrote to the author to that effect. As he was conscious that the tendency and design were moral, however faulty the execution, his objections were easily got over. Had he printed a list of those subscribers who do him so much honour, he would have laid himself open to the imputation of the greatest vanity. He chooses to impute the favourable reception which the proposals met with rather to the benevolence of those ladies and gentlemen who interested themselves in his favour, than to any merit in his work; and of this obligation they have laid him under he shall always retain the most grateful sense."
Dr Beattie, however, as a true friend, did not satisfy himself with merely exercising his judgment and taste in the selection of the pieces that composed the volume, but also wrote a letter in commendation of the work, under the _nom de plume_ of Oliver Oldstyle, together with the only poem in the Scottish language that he ever published, and sent them to the editor of the _Aberdeen Journal,_ in which they both appeared under date June 1, 1768. These verses have ever since been prefixed to the "Fortunate Shepherdess." Dr Beattie, in forwarding a copy of the work to Dr Blacklock, thus speaks both of the work and of the author:-
==DR BEATTIE TO DR BLACKLOCK.
==="ABERDEEN, _July_ 1, 1768.
"I have at last found an opportunity of sending you the Scottish poems which I mentioned in a former letter. The dialect is so licentious, (I mean, it is so different from that of the south country, which is acknowledged the standard of broad Scotch,) that I am afraid you will be at a loss to understand it in many places. However, if you can overlook this inconvenience, together with the tediousness of some passages, and the absurdity of others, I doubt not but you will receive some amusement from the perusal. The author excels most in describing the solitary scenes of a mountainous country, and the manners and conversation of the lowest sort of our people. Whenever he attempts to step out of this sphere, he becomes absurd. This sphere is, indeed, the only one of which he has had any experience. He has been for these forty years a schoolmaster in one of the most sequestered parishes in the Highlands of Scotland, where he had no access either to company or books that could improve him. His circumstances and employment confine him at home the whole year long; so that his compositions, with all their imperfections, are really surprising. My personal acquaintance with him began only two years ago, when he had occasion to come to this town, on some urgent business. He is a good-humoured, social, happy old man; modest without clownishness, and lively without petulance. He put into my hands a great number of manuscripts in verse, chiefly on religious subjects. I believe Sir Richard Blackmore himself is not a more voluminous author. The poems now published seemed to me the best of the whole collection. Indeed, many of the others would hardly bear a reading. He told me he had never written a single line with a view to publication, but only to amuse a solitary hour. Some gentlemen in this country set on foot a subscription for his Scottish poems; in consequence of which they were printed; and he will clear by the publication about twenty pounds, a sum far exceeding his most sanguine expectations; for I believe he would thankfully have sold his whole work, for five. In order to excite some curiosity about his work, I wrote some verses in the dialect of this country, which, together with an introductory letter in English prose, were published in the _Aberdeen Journal;_ and the bookseller tells me he has sold about thirty copies since they appeared. I have sent you enclosed a copy of the verses, with a glossary of the hardest words. Having never before attempted to write anything in this way, I thought I could not have done it, and was not a little surprised to find it so easy. However, I fear I have exhausted my whole stock of Scottish words in these few lines; for I endeavoured to make the style as broad as possible, that it might be the better adapted to the taste of those whose curiosity I wished to raise. You will observe that Mr Ross is peculiarly unfortunate in his choice of proper names. One of his heroes is called by a woman's name, Rosalind. The injurious mountaineers he called Sevitians, with a view, no doubt, to express their cruelty; but the printer, not understanding Latin, has changed it into Sevilians. The whole is incorrectly printed."
It would appear, from this letter, that the subscription for Ross's Scottish poems had been commenced by some gentlemen before Ross had enjoyed the benefit of Beattie's taste in making the selection; and to them, therefore, is due the credit of having urged him forward as an author. As Dr Beattie has stated that most of the pieces that he had examined were of a religious character, it is evident that he had seen the very manuscripts that are yet preserved. His remark, that he was as voluminous an author as Sir Richard Blackmore is a mere piece of exaggeration, or a prettily-turned sentence in an evidently studied letter; for one of Sir Richard's goodly tomes would have swallowed up all the little manuscripts of our modest poet. We cannot help smiling at the affectation of our professor, who had, at that time, little more than turned his thirtieth year, in saying that he had exhausted his Scottish vocabulary in writing a few stanzas, and that he wondered how easily he could write the language he had daily used during, at least, the half of his life!
Blacklock, however, to whom it was sent, and whose copy, with Beattie's verses pasted to the end, we have had the p!casure of using in preparing our edition, seems to have thought more highly of the performance than the depreciatory language of Beattie might have led us to expect; for Dr Irving tells us that he had been assured by one of Dr Blacklock's pupils, that the doctor regarded it as equal to the pastoral comedy of Ramsay. This is the only fact we have derived from Irving's sketch of Ross's life, which abounds in inaccuracies and uncertainties. The lofty style in which he tells us that the verses prefixed to "Helenore" were ascribed to Dr Beattie, "on what foundation I know not," is amusing, as the "Life of Beattie," by Forbes, containing the letter we have quoted, was published four years before Irving's "Lives." Currie's "Life of Burns" had also made its appearance; and in one of the letters the poet assigns the authorship to Beattie, a fact which he had probably learned from Dr Blacklock, on his coming to Edinburgh, two years after Ross had been joined to "the sons of the morning." The high appreciation of Ross by Burns is expressed in several of his letters. In one of them he says-
"I will send you the 'Fortunate Shepherdess' as soon as I return to Ayrshire, for there I keep it with other precious treasure. I shall send it by a careful hand, as I would not for anything it should be mislaid."
In addressing the Rev. John Skinner of Linshart, he says - "There is a certain something in the old Scotch songs, a wild happiness of thought and expression, which peculiarly marks them, not only from English songs, but also from the modern efforts of song-wrights, in our native manner and language. The only remains of this enchantment, these spells of imagination, rests with you. Our true brother, Ross of Lochlee, was likewise 'owre cannie' - a 'wild warlork' - but now he sings among the 'sons of the morning.'" This is high praise from such a master of song as Burns; and although we decline the invidious task, it would not be difficult to point out in his writings evidences of the impression that Ross's poems had produced on his memory.
In another letter, in which he alludes to the information that a lady was then engaged in making a picture of the muse of his district, Coila, he says - "I am highly flattered by the news you tell me of Coila. I may say to the painter who does me so much honour, as Dr Beattie says to Ross the poet, of his muse Scota, from whom, by the by, I took the idea of Coila, ('tis a poem of Beattie's in the Scots dialect, which, perhaps, you have never seen,)
='Ye shak your heid; but o' my fegs,
=Ye've set auld Scota on her legs;
=Lang had she lain wi' beffs an' flegs,
==Bumbazed and dizzie;
=Her fiddle wanted strings an' pegs;
==Wae's me, poor hizzie!'"
The acknowledgment of Burns that he borrowed the idea of his Coila in the "Vision" from Ross's Scota, is honourable to his candour, as no one would have ever suspected the likeness; for the "Vision" is one of the highest flights of his imagination, and exhibits his great descriptive powers and elevated conception of his aerial visitant, whereas Ross, as if playfully drawing a comparison from his own profession, represents his muse as humbly superintending a writing-class, in which
="Some were writing fair, and, like mysel, some foul."
After this frank acknowledgment, and his high admiration of Ross as "an auld warlock," it is strange that, in a poem on pastoral poetry, in which he asks whether "nane wad blaw the shepherd's whisle mair?" he replies-
="Yes, there is ane, a Scottish callan;
=There's ane; come forrit, honest Allan,"
and makes no reference to Ross, although his first friend, Blacklock, regarded his "Helenore" as equal to the celebrated pastoral of Ramsay.
The first edition, as Beattie has remarked, was most inaccurately printed; for, evidently, no proofsheet had ever found its way to the author.
The work, however, had been favourably received not only throughout the glen, but also in the neighbouring counties, to the inhabitants of which the language was not merely intelligible but familiar, as the dialect in which they daily spoke.
It was ten long years, however, before another edition was called for; and during the interval our author had been busy in improving his work in anticipation of this event.
The new edition, accordingly, exhibits several retrenchments, as well as additions, especially that of Bydby's amusing dream, in which the author has no doubt embodied the notions of the district with respect to "the fair folk." Some of the songs in the former edition are removed, and a glossary is added; the original preface is also omitted, and Dr Beattie's verses are prefixed, but without his name.
The admirable fairy-dream of the forlorn Bydby has been considered as the highest flight of our author's imagination. Beattie had introduced a fairy scene in the form of a dream also into his "Minstrel;" but the difference between the two is as great as between two different races of aerial beings. The Minstrel, in his lonely wanderings, indulges his fancy in picturing the scenes of fairyland, as suggested by the "haunted stream," till sleep overpowers him, and his imagination, in his dreaming state, continues the train of thought which he had been indulging when the setting moon
="Hung o'er the dark and melancholy deep."
The vision is then described in two stanzas, in which "the host of little warriors," with golden targes and diamond lances, march to the sound of the warbling wire and martial pipe; while "the troop of dames" advance from their myrtle bowers, and "thrid the flying maze" with their martial partners. All this, although stately and elegant, is comparatively distant and cold, but in keeping with the character of the hero and the tone of the poem. In poor Bydby's dream, however, extending through upwards of eighty lines, Ross has had equal regard to the character of the dreamer and the traditions of the district. His "little foukies" are playful elves, dancing, eating, and drinking, with whom the hungry dreamer readily partakes. She is then alarmed at the thought of being placed in the top of the tree; honoured by the proposal of being made nurse to Fizzee, and amused at the account they give of their various tricks. Great liveliness is imparted to the scene by making Bydby not a mere onlooker, but a deeply interested party; and her awakening at the "reemish" of the falling house, and doubting whether the whole were not a reality, is admirably imagined and well described; while the author, by putting his narrative into this form, indirectly teaches that these fairy legends had no better foundation than the dream of a shepherd sleeping by the side of some verdant knoll.
It would scarcely be an exaggeration to say, that there is some touch of the revising pen in every page; and, in general, the spelling is everywhere brought into nearer conformity to the English standard. This tends in some measure to confirm the opinion that the poem was originally written in English and not in Scotch. This statement, which will startle those who have ever looked upon the poem as having originally welled up in its present form from a Scottish fount, is thus made by the Rev. Harry Stuart of Oathlaw, in a note to his treatise on "Agricultural Labourers:" - "I well remember hearing my grandfather often tell how, when taking a near cut through the Grampians by Lochlee, home to the north of Aberdeenshire, he lodged a night with Ross, the schoolmaster of that parish, and the poet of that glen, being his kinsman. Ross started next day with him, to convey him over Mount Keen; and, to beguile a resting hour, at the foot of this very steep mountain, when they had crossed it, Ross, with great hesitation, pulled a paper out of his pocket and read it to my grandfather. It was a poem he had composed in English verse. When he had done reading, 'Your poem, Mr Ross,' said the traveller, 'is delightful, and you are nearly as good at the English as you are at the Latin. You are trying, I see, to imitate some of these great English poets; but it will not go down just yet to speak of Scotch fashions to Scotch people in the English tongue. Gae awa hame, man, an' turn it into braid Scotch verse; an' gin ye print it, the not a jot will my lassies do at their wheel, an' some thousands mair like them, till they have read it five or six times o'er.' The poet took his advice, and the poem turned out to be the once popular 'Fortunate Shepherdess.'"
Naturally astonished at this statement, we wrote to Mr Stuart on the subject, when he was kind enough to reply:- "I lived a summer or more with my grandfather: he was quite blind the last ten years of his life, and some one read to him constantly. It was when reading 'Lindy and Nory' to him for an exercise to myself - being then at school - that he told me again and again that it was first written in English verse."
This remarkable fact, so well established, receives confirmation in the circumstance, that all Ross's other considerable poems are written in English, with the exception of the "Orphan," which seems to have been composed after success had crowned the "Shepherdess." It is also to be observed that the conclusion of his poem, even in the first edition, is written in English, although in some late editions the removal of the final letters in such words as _all, and, with,_ has given it a Scottish appearance.
An event of no small importance in the monotonous life of the author was connected with the publication of this second edition. The Rev. Mr Stuart has communicated to us the interesting fact, that the celebrated Duchess of Gordon of that day sat up a whole night reading "Lindy and Nory" when it first came into her hands; although Andrew Shirrefs informs us that "her grace was not altogether pleased with the manner in which the author concludes that story," to which he had thus alluded in a rhyming letter to Skinner-
="She saw the bonny Shepherdess
==Of Flaviana's Braes;
=And though she lik'd nae a' her dress
==She boot to gie her praise
====And help yon day."
Dr Beattie, who had been spending some time at Gordon Castle, erroneously stated by Mr Thomson to have been in 1779, and was aware of his humble friend's intention to publish a new edition of his poem, had requested the permission of the Duchess to have it dedicated to her grace and the gracious permission he immediately communicated to the author. The second edition, accordingly, was published in 1778, printed more accurately, and in a superior style, by Chalmers, with the following neat dedication, contrasting so favourably with the fulsome adulation of many similar productions:- "To Her Grace the Duchess of Gordon these Poems are most respectfully inscribed, by Her Grace's most obliged and most humble servant, AL. Ross. Lochlee, January 1, 1778." Dr Irving infers from this dedication that the author "seems to acknowledge an antecedent obligation. But this obligation, it is more than probable, was only some instance of condescension." The "instance of condescension" at this time was the permission to dedicate his volume to her grace; but, probably, with the foresight of a poet, he anticipated that he would soon be laid under deeper "obligation" to her grace. Accordingly he received an invitation to visit Gordon Castle, and to present in person the volume that the Duchess was thus pleased to patronise; and he complied with the invitation about the beginning of July the same year. This was an undertaking in those days of no inconsiderable difficulty to a man on the border of his eightieth year. His grandson tells us that "he set out from Lochlee on horseback, with a young man, a friend of his own, to attend him, arrived at Gordon Castle in safety, presented his amiable patroness with an elegant copy of his book, which she was graciously pleased to accept; and, after staying for some days in this hospitable mansion, where he was honoured with much attention and kindness both by the Duke and Dutchess, he was presented by the latter with an elegant pocket-book, containing a handsome present," &c. Now, although the reader may not regret much that he has not been made acquainted with the name of the young man who attended our bard as his henchman, yet he may feel a little disappointed in not learning what in those days was considered "a handsome present" from a duchess to her minstrel, "infirm and old;" and others would like to know more particularly how he spent the time, and what impression he made on his patrons. The Rev. Mr Stuart will so far gratify us on the last point; for he says, "He surprised them all by his easy gentlemanly manners and conversation;" and the other points will be fully met in the following introductory letter written by Dr Beattie, and in the letter which Ross gratefully wrote to the Professor, giving an account of his reception at the castle, and the contents of his "pocket-book," which must indeed have gratified him, seeing that the gift it contained amounted to three-fourths of all that he had realised by his former edition. These letters we have the pleasure of submitting to the reader for the first time, through the kindness of the gentleman who possesses the originals.
We extract only the first part of Dr Beattie's introductory letter; the second refers to a volume of his works he had sent her grace, and to the state of Mrs. Beattie's health. The letter is dated 1st July 1778:-
"MADAM, - The person who will have the honour to deliver this is no other than Mr Alexander Ross, the bard of Lochlee, who craves permission to lay his 'Helenore' at your grace's feet. He is almost afraid to venture into such a presence, and thinks that fourscore years of retirement must have disqualified him for it; but I have encouraged him in the best manner I could, and assured him that the smiles of your grace's countenance will make him young again."
Ross's grateful acknowledgment of Dr Beattie's kindness, and his simple account of his reception at Gordon Castle will be read with interest. The latter part of the letter applies for a recommendation to "Sandy Thomson, who was thinking of applying for the then vacant school of Fochabers." This letter is dated at Gordon Castle, 6th July 1778:-
"DEAR SIR, - I arrived at Gordon Castle Friday afternoon, went to Mr Ross, who, on reading your letter, said he would go down to the castle in a little, and tell the Duchess that I was come, and that I might then wait at my quarters till she should send for me. Accordingly a servant came at night, desiring me to come down next day betwixt ten and eleven, which I did, and was carried up to a room where were the Duke, Lady Maxwell, and the Duchess, who soon made me easy by her standing up and smiling on me. I gave her your letter, which she presently read; I then presented my copies, which she commended for their elegance, scarce thinking they could be so well done at Aberdeen. I found by the behaviour of the house that orders had been given to take care of me, as I met with the utmost of discretion. Sunday, I went to church, came back to the castle, dined, and signified to her grace's gentlewoman that I would be glad to be permitted to set off on Monday, (for the Duchess had desired me to stay some time, and write home.) Accordingly, on Sunday's evening I was called up-stairs again, when the Duke and Duchess talked very freely and easily with me; and, on parting with me, she slipt a pocket-book, as she called it, into my hand, saying, 'I make you a present of a pocket-book; pray accept it.' It was elegant, indeed, of itself, but covered fifteen guinea notes, which considerably heightened the value of it. This, Sir, I owe to your goodness, for which you have my sincere thanks, and will while I live. Saturday night and Sunday night I slept in the castle - that wonder of a house. Having my grandson, Sandy Thomson, schoolmaster at Glenmuick along with me," &c.
His grandson tells us that "he returned to Lochlee in good health, and with great satisfaction."
His aged partner would sympathise with him in the satisfaction produced by this agreeable journey; but after she had passed with him through all the chequered events of domestic life for upwards of fifty years, she was removed from him the following year, at the advanced age of seventy-seven, - Mr Thomson says, eighty-two. The stone which he erected to her memory far surpasses all around it in the superiority of its workmanship, and elaboration of its ornaments, bearing no indirect evidence of the affection of the husband, and the easy circumstances of the poet. It originally stood at the
corner of the church; but it was displaced by the erection of the stone to his own memory, to which it now stands opposite, against the churchyard wall, as the visitor enters the gate. It bears the following inscription:-
==="This stone was erected by
==Mr ALEXR. Ross, Schoolmaster at Lochlee,
in Memory of JEAN CATANACH, his Spouse, here interr'd,
==who died May 5th, 1779, aged 77 years.
="What's mortal here Death in his right would have it,
=The spiritual part returns to God who gave it;
=Which both at parting did their hopes retain,
=That they in glory would unite again,
=To reap the harvest of their Faith and Love,
=And join the song of the Redeem'd above."
Although he was himself now in his eightieth year, yet his mental vigour was not abated, nor his love of literature impaired; for, as we learn from the preface which he prefixed to his version of Ramsay's "Poemata Sacra," he hegan that undertaking when he was "going his eighty-second year." Three years more, however, had so vigorously assailed the clay house of his tabernacle, that the process of dissolution became apparent. His grandson tells us, that during the time which, on account of increasing weakness, he stood so much in need of some proper person to attend and take are of him, "his second daughter, then a widow, was providentially sent for that purpose."
This language, which might have been more explicit, would certainly suggest that his daughter came to live with him in his own house; but Mr Jervise, in his "Land of the Lindsays," has stated that Ross went to live with his daughter at Buskhead, a farm-steading on the right bank of the Esk, opposite to the mouth of the Tarf, and died there. In answer to our inquiry, he obligingly stated that his authority was merely oral tradition. We have made particular inquiry at several parties most likely to be acquainted with this matter, and some friends have been kind enough to make others for us, and no evidence has been found that ever his daughter lived at Buskhead, or that he ever removed from his own cottage till he died. A member of an intelligent family of the name of Christison, with whom, as will afterwards be proved, Mr Ross lived on intimate terms, expressly declares that he died in his own house. This event occurred on the 29th May 1784, when, having entered a few weeks into his eighty-sixth year, he breathed his last with the composure of a man at peace with the world, and the hope of a believer in the only Mediator. As his remains had been deposited in the same grave with those of his wife, so the stone he had erected to her memory had, apparently, been considered as sufficient for both; for it was not till about sixty years after his decease that a few of his admirers thought of erecting an appropriate monument to his own memory. When this was at last accomplished, the stone was, singularly enough, set up in the burying ground of the new parish church, at least a mile from the place where his honoured dust had been interred, as if it had been rather intended to ornament the church than to honour the poet. This incongruity having been pointed out to the Earl of Dalhousie, the mistake was rectified about the year 1854, when the stone was removed to the common grave of himself, his wife, and those of his children who had died in their infancy.
It is a plain slab of polished Aberdeen granite, of the ordinary dimensions, and bears the following inscription:-
======"Erected
=====To the Memory of
===ALEXANDER ROSS, A.M.,
====Schoolmaster at Lochlee,
=Author of 'Lindy and Nory;' or,
==the 'Fortunate Shepherdess,'
and other Poems in the Scottish Dialect.
=====Born, April 1699.
=====Died, May 1784.
"How finely nature aye he paintit,
O' sense in rhyme he ne'er was stintit,
An' to the heart he always sent it,
==Wi' might an' main;
An' no ae line he e'er inventit,
==Need ane offen'!"
We regret that this stone, so creditable to the feelings and liberality of those who erected it, does not either state the fact that it was erected by the subscriptions of a number of the poet's admirers, nor the year of its erection.
In drawing these remarks to a close, we shall now briefly advert to Mr Ross's family, his personal appearance, and domestic habits.
His family consisted of two sons, who died in infancy or childhood, and five daughters, one of whom likewise died at an early age; but the remaining four daughters were all married, and had families. Helen, the eldest daughter, was baptized on the 9th September 1734, by the Rev. John Scott; and on the 8th November 1753, she was married to Mr George Thomson, schoolmaster in Glenmuick, in the church of Lochlee, by Rev. William M'Kenzie, of Glenmuick. Their son, Mr Alexander Thomson, who accompanied his grandfather to Gordon Castle, was afterwards minister of Lintrathen, who, in his boyhood, resided eight years in his grandfather's house, published an edition of "Helenore," with a life of the author, in 1812, and died the following year. Jean was married to one of the same family name with her mother, and her descendants are still on Tarfside.
A gentleman, who spent his boyhood in Lochlee, and to whom the writer of these pages would express his gratitude for the interest he has taken in this work, states that he had often talked with one who had frequently seen Ross, and still retained a vivid impression of his mild and gentle appearance, his kindliness and goodness of heart, and of the sort of wonderment with which the good folks of the glen used to regard the man who had written a book, and whose name was actually in print!
Our poet was rather below the usual standard, but was neatly formed and active in his habits. He had a ruddy complexion, the index of his uniformly temperate habits and good health; a piercing eye, and an animated countenance, a somewhat irritable temper, the characteristic of the poetical temperament, that was easily allayed, as might have been expected in the Christian, who had learned not to let the sun go down upon his wrath.
Mrs Grant of Carron, Speyside, who afterwards became Mrs Murray of Bath, authoress of "Roy's Wife o' Aldivalloh," in a communication to Cromeck, says:- "I knew a good deal of Mr Ross, author of the 'Fortunate Shepherdess,' but it was many years ago. I still remember him with respect, as a man of most amiable character. His genius and talents speak for themselves in the above-mentioned beautiful little poem; and one cannot help regretting that such abilities were only born to 'blush unseen, and waste their sweetness on the desert air;' for in truth his humble abode was little better than a desert, although not inhabited by savages; nothing on earth being less savage than a mere uncultivated Highlander."
As the greater part of his poems are on scriptural or religious subjects, it is pleasant to be assured that this evidently arose from his conviction of the importance of such subjects, and the pleasure he enjoyed in the contemplation of themes divine. Sitting in the desk as precentor on the Lord's day, his grandson, who must, as a boy, so often have looked up to him with reverence, tells us that "he appeared to be all attention and all devotion, but was best pleased with such discourses as were strictly Calvinistic and systematic, and, whatever was the subject, contained in some part of them the scheme of salvation by [the] Saviour, and had the practical part enforced from Christian motives only." In short, that he agreed with a brother bard in his exclamation-
="Talk they of morals! O thou bleeding Lamb,
=The true morality is love of Thee."
It is pleasant still further to be able to follow him into his retirement and family, and find that this devout appearance was not professional grimace; for we are assured, on the same authority, that he arose early on the morning of the Lord's day, before any of his domestics, and employed that "sweet hour of prime," in reading the Scriptures, meditation, and player. He regularly observed family worship, sending from his humble abode "the melody of joy and health," and pouring out the desires of his heart in Scriptural exressions, without a slavish of devotion as led those who united with him to feel that it was good to draw near to the throne of grace.
He appears to have enjoyed his health and vigour to the last; for, as he had been wont to pay a summer visit o his eldest daughter every year, he continued this practice, travelling on foot a distance of sixteen miles, till past the seventieth year of his age. These visits were rendered all the more attractive by the pleasure he enjoyed in the company of Francis Farquharson, Esq., of Monaltrie, whose friendship he procured by his merit, and whose kindness excited the warmest gratitude of hte poet. He frequently gave expression to his feelings by writing copies of verses on the numerous instances of Monaltrie's beneficence; but they were only shown to some of that gentleman's intimate acquaintance, and never intended for publication. His habits were studious, and rhyming had become habitual to him. Whether there was anything peculiar in his studious modes we have not learned, although we think it is highly probable that he would enjoy a solitary walk by the margin of the loch, or wander amid the beauties of the glen, listening to the "couthy din" of the river, or rising to the brow of the hill, and listening to the softened sounds that would blend into an agreeable harmony, in correspondence with the close of day, and croon into verse those impressions of the appearances of nature which he has so frequently introduced into his poems. On other occasions, from the nature of the work, he would more mechanically take his seat at his desk, and pursue his task till some intractable verse might lead him to suspend his labours; but he would bear it in his mind as he was enticed to wander abroad, and, laying it on the anvil, he would turn it over and over, applying now the hammer and now the file, till he would overcome the obstacle, and return with pleasure to introduce his improvements.
Having thus seen the close of the long and useful life of a man of letters and of genius, who, as a conscientious teacher, a sympathising neighbour, a loving husband, an affectionate parent, and a devout worshipper, adorned the doctrines of the gospel by obeying its precepts, we shall now advert to his works, both published and inedited.
With regard to the "Fortunate Shepherdess," as the author of which he is principally known, we may consider the language, the characters, and the scenery, and then advert to some objections that have been brought against it. As to the language, it is said to be "the broad Scotch," although it is neither the language of Ramsay nor Burns, neither is it what is known as the Buchan dialect, which may be regarded as the broadest in Scotland. Burns not unfrequently forgets his Scotch, and passes into unexceptionable English, and we cannot fail to perceive that there is such an elevation in the language of Ramsay as makes us feel that this is not the every-day dialect of Scottish shepherds. Fergusson, again, frequently runs into the opposite extreme, and makes his characters speak a sort of burlesque or antiquated Scotch, that could not have been colloquial in the streets of Edinburgh in his day. It is remarkable that none of the authors whose works are now under consideration was an uneducated man: for Ramsay was sufficiently acquainted with Latin to imitate the odes of Horace; Fergusson finished a college curriculum; Burns received a superior English education, and had acquired a smattering of French; and Ross obtained the honour of graduation as a Master of Arts. We consider Ross's language, however, as more idiomatic and characteristic than that of any of the poets we have named; we feel, in reading his work, that his language is neither elevated by education, nor degraded by affected vulgarity or antiquity; it is, in short, the ordinary dialect of the people whom he has so successfully represented; and it has accordingly furnished a rich vein from which Jamieson extracted much valuable material. It is to be observed, however, that in the second edition he rejected not a few words that were perhaps becoming obsolete - such as _fum_ for _whom, loor_ for _rather, piece_ for _though, gray-mercies_ for _thanks_; while in a few other instances Scottish words were substituted for English - as _ilka_ for _every, kaips_ for _meets, couthy_ for _civil, gar'd_ for _made, syne_ for _then, fairley_ for _wonder, boore_ for _kept, sakeless_ for _honest, winn'd_ for _lived;_ and we now and then meet with an expression that rather belongs to an old book than to the district into which the poem conducts us, as _shoop, loor by far, ferleyt ilka dele_, which suggest to the reader Barbour, Wynton, or Chaucer, rather than the "hills an howes" of Glenesk. Our opinion of the language of Ross is corroborated by that of Pinkerton, who says, "The language and thoughts are more truly pastoral than any I have yet found in any poet save Theocritus." Upon the whole, it must be said that in his second edition, while he has not destroyed its pastoral character, the language is brought into nearer conformity to English, and the composition rendered more correct.
There is evidently in the work an attempt to discriminate character, as the author admitted in his "Advertisement;" and we consider the attempt not to have been unsuccessfully made. That Ross was fully aware that such discrimination was necessary, is further evident from the preface to his unpublished "Religious Pastorals," in which he states that he wished to try how far he could keep up the characters of the respective parties whom he had introduced. Ralf, accordingly, is throughout a plain, simple shepherd, often overpowered by Colin's loquacity and worldly wisdom, and, although showing a little opposition at first, brought to admit that Colin saw farther through things than he himself did, and consequently unites with him in advising his son to fulfil his promise to Bydby. Colin, again, is "a sicker boy," and consistently maintains the character of a shrewd, selfish fellow, who first advises Lindy, with a hypocritical admission that it was "wrang to lear fouk to do ill," to deceive Bydby, in order to obtain their freedom, and then, when their trick failed, urges him to marry her, either that they might escape the further ravages of the Kettrin, or recover their stolen cattle. Lindy, who made so favourable an impression upon us as an ardent, yet considerate lover, as well as a brave shepherd, yields, like a simpleton, to the persuasions of Colin to give up Nory, and to the browbeating of the laird to accept Bydby.
The character of the squire is well sustained: he is chivalrous to Nory, bold in meeting the Kettrin, and ready in his replies to Lindy's objections to fulfil his promise to Bydby; although, as he afterwards frankly admits, he had a selfish motive "in labouring to have it sae."
Among the females, the most powerfully marked is undoubtedly Bydby: every one that meets her soon forms am opinion of her frank manner, her sarcastic answers, her defence of her own character, and maintenance of her own rights; and hence one calls her "snell," another "forthersome," and another "fiery." Her simplicity in accepting Nory's assistance in finding out Flaviana, and her astonish ment on discovering her motive, are striking contrasts; and we cannot but sympathise with her when she exclaims-
="I might ha kent, had I not senseless been,
=That ye for noth wad not be hauf so keen:
=But, maks na, be the matter as it may,
=To stap your claim I have enough to say."
Jean always commands our respect as a modest, sensible matron. We cannot but, feel for her when we see her sitting by the fire,
="Nae jot intil her hand, but greeting sair,"
when she believes herself to be deprived of both husband and daughter; while the love of the wife and the affection of the mother are finely implied in her direction to Lindy:-
="And ilka gate ye gang, baith far and near,
=As well for Colin as for Nory speer;
=Alas! I wat na what to bid you dee,
=Or which is dearest to me, he or she."
Her motherly pride in describing the abilities and acquirements of her daughter, of which a disparaging account had been given by her father; her modesty in refusing to sing, with her sensible observation, that "youngsom sangs were sareless frae an aged mou," are all in harmony with her character; for Ross seems to have deeply imbibed the sentiment of his great master, who says:-
="Oh, what an easie thing is to descry
==The gentle bloud, however it be wrapt
=In sad misfortune's foule deformity
==And wretched sorrowes, which have often hapt."
And this principle is again brought out in the welldrawn character of the "eldern dy," who was so much struck with the beauty of Nory, that she declared-
="Blind mat I be, and I am now threescore,
=Gin e'er I saw the maik of her afore;"
and was set a dreaming about bonny Jean, which led to the discovery that Nory was the laird's cousin-german, and thus saved him from the charge of having made a misalliance. The principle once more crops out when the author, in his concluding lines, says of Nory-
="Her comely face, that look'd aboon her lot,
=A chance becoming her descent has got."
The scene in which Bydby encounters the two men among the hills, affords a lively specimen of such piquant banter as is not unusual in such circumstances; and we have a singular proof, in the preface to the "Orphan," that Ross himself thought favourably of it. He says:-
="Hence lang, perhaps, lang hence may cotted be,
=My auld proverbs well lined with blythesome glee;
=As when the jampher, in my former tale,
=O'ertook a cabrach knibblach with his heel,
=And headlins stoited o'er into the moss;
=Some reader then may say, 'Fair fa' thee, Ross,'
=When aiblins I'll be lang, lang dead and gane,
=And few remember there was sic a ane."
The interview between the squire and the Kettrin is also admirably and prudently managed, and embodies ideas that were afterwards introduced by Wordsworth into his verses on _Rob Roy's Grave_-
===="The good old rule
==Sufficeth them, the simple plan,
=That they should take who have the power,
==And they should keep who can."
So when the squire asks-
="But tell me this, how ye wad like the case,
=If others on yourselves should turn the chase?"
They are ready with their reply-
="Say they, We know no reason but they might;
=The strongest side has aye the strongest right.
=If we our side unable are to guard,
=Let them the booty have for their reward."
The description of Nory is admirably delineated in every scene in which she appears: her tenderness in binding up Lindy's cut brow; her passionate lamentation for his supposed loss; her modest deportment with the squire; her cautious inquiries at Bydby; her cold reception of the ardent embraces of the faithless Lindy, - are all in strict harmony with her character. There is great beauty in her dream, in which the coming events are ingeniously foreshadowed, and the deep impression, perhaps unconsciously, made on her heart by the squire, is delicately implied in the lines-
="Great was the care this stranger took of me,
=And, oh, I thought him bonny, blythe, and free!
=Dry claiths, I thought, he gae me to put on,
=Better by far, and brawer, than my own."
But unquestionably the finest piece of description in the whole poem is the squire's finding of Nory sleeping beneath the tree by the burn-side. The picture is complete. The painter is saved the trouble of inventing details; he has nothing more to do than transfer it to his canvas, for the very colours are provided him. The whole is too long for quotation; and, as shreds would give no idea of its beauty, we must refer the reader to the poem. To the same source we also refer him for the admirable description of Flaviana, which Sir Walter Scott thought fit to transcribe into his "Heart of Midlothian;" and on other scenes a few remarks will be found on a subsequent page.
The _denouement_ of the poem has been very generally condemned as doing violence to our feelings, which had been so deeply interested in the growth and maturity of the pure and reciprocal affection of Lindy and Nory, and are then so rudely shocked by the disruption of those ties apparently by such mercenary motives on both sides; but the case is supposable, and the means by which it is brought about are ingeniously contrived. We are well aware that the poet, instead of reproducing the painful scenes with which real life makes us familiar, should rather "sing of what the world will be when the years have died away;" yet Crabbe has gained no small applause and popularity as "nature's sternest painter, and her best;" neither are we convinced that a poet may not advance the interests of morality by painting, as the wisest of kings has done, the painful consequences of sin, as well as by describing the happiness of those who are guided by heavenly wisdom. Ross was perfectly aware of the objection that might be taken against this part of his poem, and appears to have constructed his "Orphan" according to the more approved model of crowning unalterable affection with conjugal felicity. He does not, however, intend that his readers should imitate Lindy's inconstancy, and so incur his disappointment,
="But rather to evince, when we pretend
=To gain by slight, that we shall lose our end."
And he very characteristically concludes by reminding us that, when with such tales we have recreated the overstrained mind, we should be found
="Still saving room for graver subjects' right."
To the blemishes of the poem, for which the author made a suitable apology in the "Advertisement" prefixed to the first edition, we have no inclination to advert. Almost the only imperfection in our sight is the courting scene, described by Olimund to his aunt, in which, as Beattie remarked, Ross was evidently out of his place; and its greatest imperfection, in our judgment, is the incongruity between the characters that it professes to describe and the persons that are actually made to pass before us. Thus the scene is laid at some remote period,
="Whan yet the leal and ae-fauld herding life
=Was not o'ergane by _falsehood_, sturt, and strife,"
and yet the whole action of the poem turns on the deceit of one of the chief characters, to which he was incited by one of those that
="Boore love and lawty in their honest face;"
and most of the characters can, on occasion, depart from the simplicity of truth to serve their own purposes, from Nory in her childhood suggesting to Lindy that, in order to escape censure, they should say the fox carried off the lamb when he fell on the stone; to Lindy deceiving Bydby, at the suggestion of the man who was introduced to us as knowing nothing "but what was downright, fair, and plain." He seems to forget the golden age he purposed to describe, and has, perhaps unintentionally, given us a picture of the shepherds by whom he was daily surrounded.
Ross expresses the hope that there is nothing base or vicious in his pages; and certainly they form a pleasing contrast to those of Burns, in the absence of those profane expletives that so painfully disfigure his poems. Ross, as might have been expected from his character, has almost nothing of this, although he might have pleaded, as others have done, that this was characteristic of the people whom he undertook to describe; and, strangely enough, there is more of this objectionable phraseology in the few complimentary verses of Beattie than in the whole of Ross's poems.
With regard to the songs that were added to the first edition of "Helenore," they had no doubt taught "the rocks of Lochlee to yamour wi' melody" long before the publication of the "Fortunate Shepherdess;" and the general impression in the district is, that they originated in occurrences connected with his own family. The most of them are still included in collections of Scottish songs, although very great liberties have been taken in their reproduction "The wife an' the wee pickle tow" is well known, but is far too long for modern taste; and hence it is greatly curtailed, and even marred, in modern editions. When it is reproduced, it ought, at least, to give the whole of the "auld wife's" experience of the "wanchancie beginnin' o't." The first stanza, which is ancient, is unequalled in description; and, in the eighth, there are all the elements of a scene that cannot but fill and please the imagination - the return of spring, the sowing of the lintseed, the old husband, at the request of his wife, going down to the how, and selecting a branch of the rantree which had grown withershins, that it might, both by the nature of the wood, and its anti-magical twist, defy the cantrips of Maggy Grim, are all represented in the happiest and tersest manner. The latter part of the song, in which the three daughters give their opinions of the matter, although displaying no small ingenuity in minutely describing the processes of preparing the lint, and embodying the sentiments of the Peasantry as to the importance of manufacturing linen for home consumption, does not possess the interest of the former part. "To the Begging we will Go" is written with great fluency and force; and the admirable description of the equipment and tricks of the cunning gaberlunyie must have had more influence in putting down the nuisance of "sturdy beggars," that then infested the country, than all the Acts that Parliament passed against them. It is composed in the measure of an English song on the same subject, which is attributed to Brome, the _quondam_ servant of Ben Jonson. The latter, however, consists of only eight verses, and has neither the full description, nor the pawky selfishness of Ross's production. "Woo'd an' Married an' a'" has had a singular fate. There are no fewer than three songs to this tune, each enjoying a measure of popularity. Ross's song has been ascribed to a lady who certainly did not write it; and, with a degree of unaccountable carelessness, one of the other two has been substituted for that of Ross in the Brechin edition of his "Helenore." It contains a profane exclamation, which might have excited a suspicion in those who were acquainted with Ross's character, that it was not his production. The song is given both in the first and second editions of his poems - the principal alteration in the latter being the obvious improvement of placing the wooing before the marriage. Three songs of the first edition are properly enough omitted in the second, as their inferiority to the others is evident. "The Bride's Breast-knot" is not without humour; and in the edition to which we have referred it has been supplanted by the popular song, "Hey the Bonny Breast-knot." Another was on "The Taking of Havana," and is marred by the difficulty of finding double rhymes for three short lines in the last strain; and yet it is no small praise to say that the first verse will readily suggest a warlike song by a modern bard of high standing:-
="What flag is't that now so gloriously waves,
=That storms and that tempests and oceans outbraves,
=With ardour impatient the anchor that weighs,
=And Britain's unwearied achievements displays?"
The last is also of a warlike character, and had originated in our military operations against the French in America. It is written in an exceedingly crabbed measure, and looks like the versification of a despatch in the _Gazette;_ but it clearly proves the interest our poet took in the affairs of the country, and his acquaintance with public measures, when the appearance of a newspaper must have been a rare sight in Lochlee. The following may be taken as a fair specimen, and may be further interesting, probably, as indicating the political leanings of the bard:-
="Let great, ingenious Pitt never be forgot,
=Who wisely laid the great and successful plot,
==Which now retains his name,
==And that by justest claim,
=And which ever shall be great in America:
==We'll drink his health, and hope for wealth,
===Through his auspicious name,
==Pursue his schemes, which are no dreams,
===Or do the actors shame,
=But still are crown'd with glory, and increase of fame,
==Throughout the spacious bounds of America."
It has been the strange fate of Ross to be misapprehended even by those who have highly appreciated his genius, and justly commended his works. Thus Alexander Campbell, who has devoted no inconsiderable space to extracts from his poems in his "History of Scottish Poetry," has nevertheless represented the squire as setting out to recover the cattle that had been forcibly carried off by the Kettrin from Flaviana; although the poet represents him as saying to his aunt, who had communicated to him the unexpected tidings of his father's death,
="Ye ken yoursel that I the morn maun gang,
=And keep the things at hame frae gain wrang;"
he then promises to return as soon as possible, and directs his aunt to keep Nory "frae thinking lang," and to assure her that he would make good his promise to "gar the gueeds come dancing hame," but certainly not on that particular occasion, as the subsequent narrative clearly proves. Singularly enough, Lord Lindsay, in his admirable work, "The Lives of the Lindsays," who quotes largely from "Helenore," to show the state of society in Glenesk in times not far removed from our own, has fallen into the same error. Of Ross, however, he justly says, "There are passages in the poem which vindicate for the author a higher place in the list of Scottish poets than has as yet been assigned to him." While part of these sheets was in the hands of the printer, reference was made to Ross's poem in the pages of the _North British Review_. The reviewer has not only fallen into the error of representing the "heroine as carried off" by the Kettrin; but he has also brought against our author a charge so novel and extraordinary that we must bestow a few words upon it. It could scarcely be credited that any one who had read the "Fortunate Shepherdess" could have hazarded the following statement:- "Another poet was much more untrue to his native hills, though he professed to sing of them. This was Alexander Ross, the author of the 'Fortunate Shepherdess.' That work is a remarkable testimony to a phenomenon which might be termed absolute blindness to sublimity in scenery." What idea this reviewer has of the manner in which a poet should sing of hills we have no means of knowing; but we are still of opinion, with Dr Beattie,