"Not long upon that alien shore 66 My banish'd master pin'd; "With silent grief we saw his corpse "To common earth consign'd, "No pibroch led the loud lament, "No funeral train appear'd; "No bards, with songs of mighty deeds, "The hopeless mourners cheer'd *. "When midnight wore her sable robe, "We dug his humble grave; "Where fair Narcissus droops its head, "And darkest poppies wave. "We strew'd the tomb with rosemary, "We water'd it with tears; "And bade the Scottish thistle round "Erect his warlike spears. "And soon we left the fatal spot, "And sought our native shore; "And soon my lady blest her son, "And clasp'd him o'er and o'er." See note No. 5. "On thee, my son, (she fondly cried) "May happier planets shine; "And may'st thou never live to brook "A fate so hard as mine: "And may'st thou heir thy father's worth, "But not his hapless doom; "To honour and thy country true, "May'st thou his rights resume, "And when my weary eyes shall close, "Forever let me rest *." "She spoke, and died-in yonder grave "Her dear remains are laid: "Let never impious murmur rise "To grieve her hovering shade !" The lady was buried very near the dwelling of her happier years. NOTES ON A BALLAD, FOUNDED ON FACT, No. 1. The amiable and unfortunate lady, the subject of this poem, was the daughter of a nobleman who suffered death in consequence of having secretly abetted the rebellion of 1745. Her consequent afflictions are here recited with no exaggeration, no alteration of fact, and very little poetical decoration; the narrative is given just as the Author received it, at such a place, at such a time, in such a manner, and from such a person, as is here faithfully delineated. No. 2. Retir'd at close of day.-P. 146. Workmen being now employed in demolishing the ruin, in order to erect a new fabric in the same place, suggested the idea of endeavouring to "Snatch a portion of those acts from fate." No. 3. Survey'd the fragments rude.-P. 146. The faithful adherent who delivered this narration, and spent fifty years and upwards in the service of this family, (by the younger branches of which she was regarded with filial veneration) died about two years since, and was buried beside her lady, at the foot of the eminence on which the ruin stood. No. 4. The caves that hid their lord.-P. 153. It is a singular fact, but well ascertained, that this Chief, before escaping to France, remained nine years in his native strath, concealed in different places, though. all that time a company of soldiers were quartered in the country to discover his haunts, and were so diligent in their search of him, that they have been known at midnight to surround a house where he was enjoying himself with his friends; and to enter at a door while he escaped from a window. His haunts were known to near a hundred people; though he never left them in daylight. Many of his adherents had caves dug for him in woods adjacent to their houses. His consort lived in a small house adjoining the ruined castle, where there was a concealment in the wall, to which he retreated upon any alarm during the stolen visits he paid to his family. Several of the caves dug for his concealment still remain. He was a man of good natural parts, but before his misfortunes a mere hunter and soldier, like other lairds of those times, whose lives were too active, and too social for much men⚫ tal improvement; but during this recess from the world, he made considerable literary attainments. No. 5. "The hopeless mourners cheer'd.-P. 154. He died near Boulogne, as far as the Author recollects, and was buried, on account of his close adherence to the Protestant faith, in his own garden: This was a great additional grief to his friends, Highlanders holding the rights of sepulture in high veneration, which indeed is always the case where people are eminent for filial piety: Luxury looks neither backward nor forward, but merely dwells on the present, and centres in Self. |