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ELLEN IRWIN :

OR,

THE BRAES OF KIRTLE.1

FAIR Ellen Irwin, when she sate
Upon the braes of Kirtle,
Was lovely as a Grecian maid
Adorned with wreaths of myrtle;
Young Adam Bruce beside her lay,
And there did they beguile the day
With love and gentle speeches,
Beneath the budding beeches.

From many knights and many squires.
The Bruce had been selected;
And Gordon, fairest of them all,
By Ellen was rejected.

Sad tidings to that noble Youth!

For it may be proclaimed with truth,
If Bruce hath loved sincerely,
That Gordon loves as dearly.

But what are Gordon's form and face,
His shattered hopes and crosses,
To them, 'mid Kirtle's pleasant braes,
Reclined on flowers and mosses?
Alas that ever he was born!

The Gordon, couched behind a thorn,
Sees them and their caressing;

Beholds them blest and blessing.

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The Kirtle is a river in the southern part of Scotland, on the banks of which the events here related took place.

Proud Gordon, maddened by the thoughts 25
That through his brain are travelling,
Rushed forth, and at the heart of Bruce
He launched a deadly javelin!

Fair Ellen saw it as it came,

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Thus, from the heart of her True-love,

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The mortal spear repelling.

And Bruce, as soon as he had slain

The Gordon, sailed away to Spain;
And fought with rage incessant
Against the Moorish crescent.

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But many days, and many months,
And many years ensuing,

This wretched Knight did vainly seek
The death that he was wooing.

So, coming his last help to crave

Heart-broken, upon Ellen's grave
His body he extended,

And there his sorrow ended.

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Now ye, who willingly have heard
The tale I have been telling,

May in Kirkonnel churchyard view
The grave of lovely Ellen:

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By Ellen's side thè Bruce is laid;
And, for the stone upon his head,
May no rude hand deface it,

And its forlorn Hic jacet!

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1800. (?)

VI.

TO A HIGHLAND GIRL.

At Inversneyde, upon Loch Lomond.

SWEET Highland Girl, a very shower
Of beauty is thy earthly dower!
Twice seven consenting years have shed
Their utmost bounty on thy head:•

And these grey rocks; that household lawn; 5
Those trees, a veil just half withdrawn ;

This fall of water that doth make

A murmur near the silent lake;

This little bay; a quiet road
That holds in shelter thy Abode-
In truth together do ye seem
Like something fashioned in a dream;
Such Forms as from their covert peep
When earthly cares are laid asleep!
But, O fair Creature! in the light
Of common day, so heavenly bright,
I bless Thee, Vision as thou art,
I bless thee with a human heart;
God shield thee to thy latest years
Thee, neither know I, nor thy peers;
And yet my eyes are filled with tears.

With earnest feeling I shall pray
For thee when I am far away:
For never saw I mien, or face,
In which more plainly I could trace
Benignity and home-bred sense
Ripening in perfect innocence.
Here scattered, like a random seed,

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Remote from men, Thou dost not need
The embarrassed look of shy distress,
And maidenly shamefacedness:
Thou wear'st upon thy forehead clear
The freedom of a Mountaineer:
A face with gladness overspread!
Soft smiles, by human kindness bred!
And seemliness complete, that sways
Thy courtesies, about thee plays;
With no restraint, but such as springs
From quick and eager visitings
Of thoughts that lie beyond the reach
Of thy few words of English speech:
A bondage sweetly brooked, a strife
That gives thy gestures grace and life!
So have I, not unmoved in mind,
Seen birds of tempest-loving kind—
Thus beating up against the wind.

What hand but would a garland cull
For thee who art so beautiful?
O happy pleasure! here to dwell
Beside thee in some heathy dell;
Adopt your homely ways, and dress,
A Shepherd, thou a Shepherdess!
But I could frame a wish for thee
More like a grave reality:
Thou art to me but as a wave

Of the wild sea; and I would have
Some claim upon thee, if I could,

Though but of common neighbourhood.
What joy to hear thee, and to see!

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Thy elder Brother I would be,

Thy Father-anything to thee!

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Now thanks to Heaven! that of its grace Hath led me to this lonely place.

Joy have I had; and going hence.
I bear away my recompense.
In spots like these it is we prize
Our Memory, feel that she hath eyes:
Then, why should I be loth to stir?
I feel this place was made for her;
To give new pleasure like the past,
Continued long as life shall last.
Nor am I loth, though pleased at heart,
Sweet Highland Girl! from thee to part;
For I, methinks, till I grow old,
As fair before me shall behold,
As I do now, the cabin small,
The lake, the bay, the waterfall;
And Thee, the Spirit of them all!

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VII.

GLEN-ALMAIN;

OR, THE NARROW GLEN.

In this still place, remote from men,
Sleeps Ossian, in the NARROW GLEN;
In this still place, where murmurs on
But one meek streamlet, only one:
He sang of battles, and the breath
Of stormy war, and violent death;
And should, methinks, when all was past,
Have rightfully been laid at last

Where rocks were rudely heaped, and rent
As by a spirit turbulent;

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Where sights were rough, and sounds were wild, And everything unreconciled;

In some complaining, dim retreat,

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