The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume II. - The Songs of Scotland of the past half century

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• Publié par: urma
• Publié le: 08 décembre 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 22
• Langue: English

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Project Gutenberg's The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume II., by Various This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Modern Scottish Minstrel, Volume II. The Songs of Scotland of the past half century Author: Various Release Date: June 19, 2006 [EBook #18619] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MODERN SCOTTISH MINSTREL *** Produced by Ted Garvin, Susan Skinner and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net [Pg i] THE ETTRICK SHEPHERD. Lithographed from an original Portrait in the possession of his widow by Schenck & McFarlane, Edinburgh. THE MODERN SCOTTISH MINSTREL; OR, THE SONGS OF SCOTLAND OF THE PAST HALF CENTURY. WITH Memoirs of the Poets, AND SKETCHES AND SPECIMENS IN ENGLISH VERSE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED MODERN GAELIC BARDS. BY CHARLES ROGERS, LL.D. F.S.A. SCOT. IN SIX VOLUMES; VOL. II. EDINBURGH: ADAM & CHARLES BLACK, NORTH BRIDGE, BOOKSELLERS AND PUBLISHERS TO HER MAJESTY. M.DCCC.LVI. EDINBURGH: PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY, PAUL'S WORK. [Pg iii] [Pg ii] TO JOHN BROWN, ESQ., OF MARLIE. MY DEAR SIR , I dedicate to you this second volume of "THE MODERN SCOTTISH MINSTREL ," as a sincere token of my estimation of your long continued and most disinterested friendship, and of the anxiety you have so frequently evinced respecting the promotion of my professional views and literary aspirations. I have the honour to be, MY D EAR SIR, your most obliged, and very faithful servant, CHARLES ROGERS. ARGYLE H OUSE, STIRLING , December 1855. [Pg v] iv] INTRODUCTION TO The Modern Gaelic Minstrelsy.[1] The suspicion which arose in regard to the authenticity of Ossian, subsequent to his appearance in the pages of Macpherson, has unjustly excited a misgiving respecting the entire poetry of the Gael. With reference to the elder poetry of the Highlands, it has now been established[2] that at the period of the Reformation, the natives were engrossed with the lays and legends of Bards and Seanachies,[3] of which Ossian, Caoillt, and Cuchullin were the heroes. These romantic strains continued to be preserved and recited with singular veneration. They were familiar to hundreds in different districts who regarded them as relics of their ancestors, and would as soon have mingled the bones of their fathers with the dust of strangers, as ventured on the alteration of a single passage. [Pg vi] Many of the reciters of this elder poetry were writers of verses,[4] yet there is no instance of any attempt to alter or supersede the originals. Nor could any attempt have succeeded. There are specimens which exist, independent of those collected by Macpherson, which present a peculiarity of form, and a Homeric consistency of imagery, distinct from every other species of Gaelic poetry. Of an uncertain era, but of a date posterior to the age of Ossian, there is a class of compositions called Ur-sgeula,[5] or new-tales, which may be termed the productions of the sub-Ossianic period. They are largely blended with stories of dragons and other fabulous monsters; the best of these compositions being romantic memorials of the Hiberno-Celtic, or Celtic Scandinavian wars. The first translation from the Gaelic was a legend of the Ur-sgeula. The translator was Ierome Stone,[6] schoolmaster of Dunkeld, and the performance appeared in the Scots Magazine for 1700. The author had learned from the monks the story of Bellerophon,[7] along with that of Perseus and Andromeda, and from these materials fabricated a romance in which the hero is a mythical character, who is supposed to have given name to Loch Fraoch, near Dunkeld. Belonging to the same era is the "Aged Bard's Wish,"[8] a composition of singular elegance and pathos, and remarkable for certain allusions to the age and imagery of Ossian. This has frequently been translated. Somewhat in the [Pg vii] Ossianic style, but of the period of the Ur-sgeula are two popular pieces entitled Mordubh[9] and Collath. Of these productions the imagery is peculiarly illustrative of the character and habits of the ancient Gael, while they are replete with incidents of the wars which the Albyn had waged with their enemies of Scandinavia. To the same period we are disposed to assign the "Song of the Owl," though it has been regarded by a respectable authority[10] as of modern origin. Of a portion of this celebrated composition we subjoin a metrical translation from the pen of Mr William Sinclair. The Bard, expelled from the dwellings of men by plunderers according to one account, by a discontented helpmate according to another, is placed in a lone out-house, where he meets an owl which he supposes himself to engage in an interchange of sentiment respecting the olden time:— H UNTER. O wailing owl of Strona's vale! We wonder not thy night's repose Is mournful, when with Donegal In distant years thou first arose: O lonely bird! we wonder not, For time the strongest heart can bow, That thou should'st heave a mournful note, Or that thy sp'rit is heavy now! OWL. Thou truly sayest I lone abide, I lived with yonder ancient oak, Whose spreading roots strike deep and wide Amidst the moss beside the rock; And long, long years have gone at last, And thousand moons have o'er me stole, And many a race before me past, Still I am Strona's lonely owl! H UNTER. Now, since old age has come o'er thee, Confess, as to a priest, thy ways; And fearless tell thou unto me The glorious tales of bygone days. OWL. Rapine and falsehood ne'er I knew, Nor grave nor temples e'er have torn, My youthful mate still found me true— Guiltless am I although forlorn! I 've seen brave Britto's son, the wild, The powerful champion, Fergus, too, Gray-haired Foradden, Strona's child— These were the heroes great and true! H UNTER. Thou hast well began, but tell to me, And say what further hast thou known! E'er Donegal abode with thee, In the Fersaid these all were gone! OWL. Great Alexander of the spears, The mightiest chief of Albyn's race, Oft have I heard his voice in cheers From the green hill-side speed the chase; I saw him after Angus brave— Nor less a noble warrior he— Fersaid his home, his work he gave Unto the Mill of Altavaich. H UNTER. From wild Lochaber, then, the sword With war's dread inroads swept apace; Where, gloomy-brow'd and ancient bird, Was then thy secret hiding-place? [Pg viii] [Pg ix] OWL. When the fierce sounds of terror burst, And plunder'd herds were passing on, I turn'd me from the sight accurst Unto the craig Gunaoch lone; Some of my kindred by the lands Of Inch and Fersaid sought repose, Some by Loch Laggan's lonely sands, Where their lamenting cries arose! Here follows a noble burst of poetical fervour in praise of the lonely rock, and the scenes of the huntsman's youth. The green plains, the wild harts, the graceful beauty of the brown deer, and the roaring stag, with the banners, ensigns, and streamers of the race of Cona,—all share in the poet's admiration. The following constitutes the exordium of the poem:— Oh rock of my heart! for ever secure, The rock where my childhood was cherish'd in love, The haunt of the wild birds, the stream flowing pure, And the hinds and the stags that in liberty rove; The rock all encircled by sounds from the grove, Oh, how I delighted to linger by thee, When arose the wild cry of the hounds as they drove, The herds of wild deer from their fastnesses free! Loud scream'd the eagles around thee, I ween, Sweet the cuckoos and the swans in their pride, More cheering the kid-spotted fawns that were seen, With their bleating, that sweetly arose by thy side, I love thee, O wild rock of refuge! of showers, Of the leaves and the cresses, all glorious to me, Of the high grassy heights and the beautiful bowers Afar from the smooth shelly brink of the sea! The termination of the Sub-Ossianic period brings us to another epoch in the history of Gaelic poetry. The Bard was now the chieftain's retainer, at home a crofter and pensioner,[11] abroad a follower of the camp. We find him cheering [Pg x] the rowers of the galley, with his birlinn chant, and stirring on the fight with his prosnuchadh catha, or battle-song. At the noted battle of Harlaw,[12] a piece was sung which has escaped the wreck of that tremendous slaughter, and of contemporary poetry. It is undoubtedly genuine; and the critics of Gaelic verse are unanimous in ascribing to it every excellence which can belong either to alliterative art, or musical excitement. Of the battle-hymn some splendid specimens have been handed down; and these are to be regarded with an amount of confidence, from the apparent ease with which the very long "Incitement to Battle," in the "Garioch Battle-Storm," as Harlaw is called, was remembered. Collections of favourite pieces began to be made in writing about the period of the revival of letters. The researches of the Highland Society brought to light a miscellany, embracing the poetical labours of two contemporaries of rank, Sir Duncan Campbell[13] of Glenurchay, and Lady Isabel Campbell. From this period the poet's art degenerates into a sort of family chronicle. There were, however, incidents which deserved a more affecting style of memorial; and this appears in lays which still command the interest and draw forth the tears of the Highlander. The story of the persecuted Clan Gregor supplies many illustrations, such as the oft-chanted Macgregor na Ruara,[14] and the mournful melodies of Janet Campbell.[15] In the footsteps of [Pg xi] these exciting subjects of poetry, came the inspiring Montrose wars, which introduce to our acquaintance the more modern class of bards; of these the most conspicuous is, Ian Lom[16] or Manntach. This bard was a Macdonald; he hung on the skirts of armies, and at the close